miketuan

[echo blade]

Please be patient

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

Pro tip: you can rename the thread title with `.tr <thread name>`

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.

[pale berry]

It's "convenir à quelqu'un". It takes an indirect object.

The "me" in "Cette date me convient" is the indirect object.

[median junco]

So in a sentence like: « le rêve des Français convient à Marie ». Is « convenir » or « convenir à » considered intransitive?

[pale berry]

In "le rêve des Français convient à Marie", the verb "convenir" also has an indirect object introduced by "à". "Marie" is the indirect object. So it's transitive indirect.

An intransitive verb has no object. For example, "le rêve des Français a échoué" (the dream of the French has failed).
"échouer" (to fail) has no object, so it's intransitive.

[median junco]

Thanks, that's what I thought, too. But my dictionary confuses me in this picture... (highlighted in red)

[pale berry]

It's telling you that when followed by "à + object", the verb "convenir" means "to suit" or "to fit".

so for example, "Le rêve des Français convient à Marie" means "The dream of the French people suits Marie"

as in she's ok with it

[median junco]

oh I thought it was the French verb itself, thanks a lot

[pale berry]

"à", being a preposition, cannot come at the end of a sentence or phrase, it has to be followed by something

so if you see "<verb> à", then there must be something after the "à"

[outer ingot]

Maybe the thing also confusing you is that the first and second person objects can either be indirect or direct.

« Ils me parlent / Ils me regardent »
« Je te dit / Je te vois »
« Il nous téléphone / Il nous aime »
« Elle vous chuchote / Elle vous cherche »

The same object pronouns but it’s indirect for the first, direct for the second.

[rich condor]

I'm guessing the thing that confused you was the vi in the dictionary ? (Verb intransitive)

[outer ingot]

Well you said that you saw « Cette date me convient » as direct so I thought that you had seen « me » as direct when it can either be direct or indirect, depending on the verb

[rich condor]

(wrong @)

[outer ingot]

Oh yes

[rich condor]

Or well, wrong subject (maybe you meant he)

[outer ingot]

dictionaries only denote transivity with vi (verbe intransitif) and vtr (verbe transitif)

[rich condor]

Because they only take into account the verb, without à right ?

[outer ingot]

they don’t really have a specific sign for indirect/direct verbs since they’d just list the preposition

[rich condor]

Ah oui

[pale berry]

Didn't OP's dictionary mix up "vt" and "vi" in the photo?

Like why is it saying that "je conviens que j'ai eu tort" is vt, and saying that "convenir à" is vi?

[outer ingot]

Oh yeah that makes more sense

[median junco]

yeah, that one, I though it meant for « convenir »

[outer ingot]

Can you check the thingy

It’s like a legend but instead of maps it’s words

GLOSSARY

[median junco]

Thank you, I can distinguish it. Probably it's time to complaint about this dictionary

[median junco]

Thanks for pointing it out, it looks like they are messed up a little bit. I can't imagine how bad it would be, if this happens not just in that entry.

[pale berry]

I'd recommend using WordReference instead
https://www.wordreference.com/fren/convenir