#cillese

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

wheat whaleBOT
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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.

dire shadow
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Direct word for word translations are less useful than overall sentence translations in my experience, but my novice mind would directly translate that as "I managed to make the TV function" when switching to a more natural english word order

wooden steeple
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prepositions like à/de/en are something that translate extremely poorly to English.
What's happening is that verbs can accept specific constructions that may or may not use certain prepositions.
Here, the construction is "réussir à [infinitive]", meaning "managing to [verb]". There is no specific meaning to the preposition "à".

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regarding conjugated vs unconjugated verbs, you can only have one conjugated verb in a sentence, usually the first one. The following verbs are infinitives linked to the first verb using such constructions

jagged harbor
wooden steeple
# jagged harbor Is there a rule of thumb on what prepositions to use in what constructions with ...

there are some patterns, for instance communication verbs most often use à (parler à, demander à, expliquer à...)
but the actual rule is on a case by case basis. They can be pretty random, and you'll mostly get them through experience
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/a-vs-de-2/

Lawless French
lkl
À vs de after Verbs - Lawless French Grammar

The prepositions à and de are found in many verbal constructions that look very similar, but the choice of preposition makes all the difference. - Lawless French

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;jouer

wheat whaleBOT
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Jouer un rôle
Jouer à un jeu
Jouer d'un instrument

wooden steeple
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jouer for instance changes preposition whether what follows is a role (no preposition), a game (à) or an instrument (de)

jagged harbor
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This is all fantastic to know, thank you!

Out of curiosity, if I was speaking to a native speaker and, for example, said "je joue de un jeu", is it passable or is it like nails on a chalkboard?

wooden steeple
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it does feel wrong for sure, similar to saying "I believe at you" in English

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but if you're learning, that alone isn't gonna be enough to cause real confusion (but can when paired with other mistakes)

jagged harbor