cyortonic

[prime ruin]

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.

[magic lichen]

@magic sphinx 'Être en train de + inf' translates roughly to 'to be in the middle/process of +inf'.

It's the closest you can get to the present continuous in English, though it's only used in French if you happen to be doing the thing at that very moment.

[quiet bronze]

But doesn’t je suis acheter communicate the same thing? Do you think Duolingo should’ve accepted his answer

[magic lichen]

No, because the present continuous does not exist in French.

'Je suis acheter' doesn't work. Either 'J'achète' or 'Je suis en train d'acheter'.

[quiet bronze]

Ahhh so j’achète = je suis en train d’acheter?

[magic lichen]

They're different.

'J'achète' is just the normal French present: 'I am buying'.

Whereas 'en train de' turns it into 'I'm right in the middle of buying'.