#kg997
vivid shore
brittle valley
"du/de la/des" in this context means you're using that body part to do the action. While "le/la/les" means the action is done to that body part.
Je tape des mains = I'm using my hands to hit (the hands are the tool)
Je me frotte les mains = I'm rubbing my hands (the hands are the receiver)
supple pagoda
Wouldn’t the hands also be the tool in -je me frotte les mains-?
Could it be that le/la/les is always used with verbs that require the reflexive form? Se frotter, se laver, se brosser etc?
jaunty creek
Not reflexive but the object of the person who owns the body part
It's like how we say "I kicked him in the shin" but "I kicked his shin"
It's just the latter in French usually comes off closer to the body part not being on the person, but in their possession (like they have one lying around in their house or something). Context will clear it up, but that's one of the reasons why it's less common
The frotter les mains thing might come from the fact that frotter can be used for a lot of things so it'd be odd to have something special for it. I don't know
the object pronoun + les(etc) is more common in the vast majority of cases
supple pagoda
Hm, it’s a bit confusing, can’t say that I understand it completely.
When i compare:
je ferme les yeux VS je cligne des yeux for e.g.
jaunty creek
Hm, it’s a bit confusing, can’t say that I understand it completely.
When i comp...
I think it ultimately comes down to what people happened to use for one thing or another, so it's pretty hard to pin down any singular reason why one thing is the way it is
lost galleon
is it like « des X » replaces « avec mes/tes/etc. X »?
supple pagoda
Thanks
Its just that in some cases it seems like it should be -des-:
je lève les mains
je ferme les yeux
Etc.
Guess it’s idiomatic
lost galleon
Its just that in some cases it seems like it should be -des-:
je lève les mains
...
well your hands are what's literally going up, and your eyes are literally what are closing
but in like je tape des mains you aren't literally tapping your hands, you're tapping something with your hands (like the table)