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How do you say this in french?
Asked Jan 23, 2007, 04:44 PM
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7 Answers Well I want to learn how to say a sertain frize in french... "Do they not have pen or paper where you are?" Anybody know? And I will check it with a book to se that it is right... Just want it to be in the right order and use right bending on the verbs and stuff Its hard to put together real sentences.... I have checked with a couple of online translators but id doesn't seem to be working so well. Would be great if anyone french could check it out and say how they would say it  Thanx! |
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| I don't know french but will point this out: Most translation software is based on one of 2 "formats". You can see an example of each at Free Translation.com And Systransoft.com Both will do adequately with very basic words and phrases (like yours) but neither does well with complex sentences, expecially ones including any colloquialisms. | ||||
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| Often, it is impossible to perform a literal translation of an English phrase into French. You will have more luck if you simplify the sentence down to the bare meaning. "Are there no pens or paper where you are?" This makes things easier, because it eliminates the unspecified "they" from the English phrase. Also, the "where you are" may translate properly as "chez vous," literally, "at your place." You'll probably want to use the construction "il why a" - "there are", and then negate it with "il n'y a pas" there are not. Then just add the pen & paper nouns, and turn it into a question. | ||||
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| RickJ: Thanx Rick. Already tried bable fish and asked my friend if itseemed right but she said it didn't... Aötough she didn't know how to do it either though :P Dmatos: So do you know French? Does anyboy else know? Because it would be great if a french person could confirm it being right or wrong. Thanx guys! | ||||
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| I took French until my OAC year (grade XIII), but haven't really used it much at all since. Theoretically, I could order a hamburger, or ask where the washroom is, but the reply would have to be spoken very slowly for me to follow. Written French is easier for me, as long as it doesn't use esoteric verb tenses. | ||||
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| Though more long-winded, I would use "Est-ce q'il n'y a pas" instead of "N'ont-ils pas." The literal translation would be "Are there no" instead of "Do they not have." The problem is in the way that the word "they" is used. In English, you are not specifying any particular person. In French, I think you are when you use "ils." Also, you should pluralize the pens ("des" instead of "de"), and you need to add a "l" before your "o." That would make the whole sentence: Est-ce q'il n'y a pas des stylos ou du papier l o vous tes ? | ||||
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