Search from various Engels teachers...
Julia
"I must have" vs "I had to" in French
I have seen both of these translated as:
"J''ai dû..."
But how would you differentiate between the two in the following example:
I had to eat a fly...
vs
I must have eaten a fly...
?
Thanks in advance.
18 feb. 2017 18:03
Antwoorden · 4
Hello Julia,
"I had to eat a fly" is as you said "j'ai dû" like in "J'ai dû manger une mouche", but you can also say "Je devais manger une mouche à cause de/pour x raison" when you're talking about a story that happened in the past. But, when you mean "I must have eaten a fly", you can only use "J'ai dû", but in "manger" you do the action, but in "gober", you undergo it, so you'll say "J'ai dû gober une mouche".
Now, in french, the difference can be understood depending on the context. Feel free to ask me more questions if you want to know anything else ! :)
18 februari 2017
Heb je je antwoorden nog steeds niet gevonden?
Schrijf je vragen op en laat de moedertaalsprekers je helpen!
Julia
Taalvaardigheden
Engels, Frans, Italiaans
Taal die wordt geleerd
Frans, Italiaans
Artikelen die je misschien ook leuk vindt

How to Ask for a Raise or Promotion in English
9 likes · 8 Opmerkingen

The Key to Learning a Language Faster
30 likes · 8 Opmerkingen

Why "General English" is Failing Your Career (An Engineer’s Perspective)
30 likes · 12 Opmerkingen
Meer artikelen
