revenantthewolf

[cosmic spire]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

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Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[blazing pecan]

I mean using them in the same sentence sounds dumb ''Hier j'ai mangé qc et je jouais un jeu''

[untold belfry]

Ah yes, the age-old question of imparfait or passé composé. You can read that article for more and this one too.
Basically, the imparfait describes something you used to do but now didn't, and background events that have duration in them. The passé composé describes something you did once that continues to have an impact until today, and actions that only happen once or twice.

[blazing pecan]

What about the other times?

[untold belfry]

That's because it doesn't make sense. « Hier j'ai mangé qqch » makes sense because it was an action you did once with a clear time. « je jouais à un jeu » makes less sense « hier » is a clear time adverb and it wasn't repeating

[untold belfry]

What other times?

[blazing pecan]

Aren't there like 2 forms for the future?

Je vais manger qc
Je mangerai qc

[untold belfry]

Oh yeah, jouer takes different prepositions depending on what you mean with it, read this.

[blazing pecan]

Je suis en train de manger qc

[untold belfry]

« on joue à un jeu, on joue du piano, etc »

[untold belfry]

That's the futur simple and futur proche, same difference as 'will' and 'be going to'. The first describes something that will be happening in the future in general whereas the second implies that it'll be happening within a shorter time frame.

« je mangerai de la viande »
-> implies you'll do it in a day, a week, a month, just vaguely in the future
« je vais manger de la viande »
-> implies you're going to do it today or tomorrow

it's a subtle nuance and many people do use the two interchangeably but it exists

[blazing pecan]

And je suis en train is that I'm omw to do it?

[untold belfry]

« être en train de » is a different structure tense, it's translated closer as 'to be in the middle of'.

[blazing pecan]

Isn't Je suis en train like je viens de?

[distant maple]

It's the closest you are getting to a present continuous in French

[distant maple]

In what sense? Construction, yes. Meaning? No.

Je viens de is "I just Xed"

[untold belfry]

A: Tu peux m'aider, Bertie ?
[Can you help me, Bertie?]
B: Non, je suis en train d'écrire une lettre, je ne le peux pas.
[No, I'm in the middle of writing a letter, I can't do it.]

[blazing pecan]

I meant construction

[untold belfry]

should be tense, not structure, edited

[blazing pecan]

Which times are important for me rn?

I mean I know the Futur proche/simple, passé composé and l'impératif

L'imparfait

[distant maple]

All of them eventually

[blazing pecan]

But I also know l'impératif lol

[distant maple]

There isn't really an unimportant verb form (except maybe production of passé simple)

[blazing pecan]

I mean should I expand my vocabulaire or grammar knowledge?

[distant maple]

That's really like a runner asking if they should train more or improve their diet. The answer is both.

Vocabulary will be an ever-present barrier so pick that if you'd like

They very much feed into each other.

[untold belfry]

Probably:

1. Présent [je parle], passé récent [je viens de parler], futur proche [je vais parler]
2. Passé composé [j'ai parlé], imparfait [je parlais], futur simple [je parlerai]
3. Conditionnel présent [je parlerais], conditionnel passé [j'aurais parlé], plus-que-parfait [j'avais parlé], futur antérieur [j'aurai parlé]
4. Subjonctif présent [que je parle], subjonctif passé [que j'aie parlé], impératif [parle !]
   From there you can learn the literary tenses: passé simple [je parlai], passé antérieur [j'eus parlé], subjonctif imparfait [que je parlasse], subjonctif plus-que-parfait [que j'eusse parlé]

[blazing pecan]

The best way to learn vocab is probably reading

[blazing pecan]

I‘ll note that once I have a cahier for that

[untold belfry]

edited with example

[blazing pecan]

You‘re the best ❤️

Thank you

I also have to redraw that pic you sent in the other thread

Is "À votre service" a rather weird way to say "You‘re welcome" or do people actually say that?

[blazing pecan]

@untold belfry

[untold belfry]

Some people do

[blazing pecan]

What is something comparable in english?

[untold belfry]

At your service/disposal

Finding comparatives can be difficult. A common reply is « je t’en prie / je vous en prie » even though it literally means « I beg you (of it) » and figuratively means ‘please’

[blazing pecan]

I always say ''Je t'en prie'' and I never knew it meant that lol

[blazing pecan]

@untold belfry
Je peux utiliser que tu m‘as appris

J‘éspere que c‘est correct