Answers
Apr 23, 2015 - 10:54 AM
Hi Jacques, it would sound weird to say "If you want to leave your suitcases, we keep them here" in english, so they have to translate with "we will". I think you know French, so in French "vamos a guardarlos" would sound like "on va les guarder", but the sentence would be better using the future too: "si vous voulez laisser vos valises, on les gardera".
Also, like in French, Spanish can use the present to describe an action that happens in the future but needs the future tense in english, for example: "lo hago mañana“ (je le fais demain, I will do it tomorrow).
Also, like in French, Spanish can use the present to describe an action that happens in the future but needs the future tense in english, for example: "lo hago mañana“ (je le fais demain, I will do it tomorrow).
Apr 24, 2015 - 09:36 AM
Thank you Fabrice. Yes, I am a French native speaker (from the Paris suburbs). However I still question the use of that specific English sentence as it confuses the student, or it should provide an explanation.
Apr 24, 2015 - 01:18 PM
My recollection is that in both French and Spanish, Fluenz does explain to us somewhere about using the present in French/Spanish, when in English we would use the future. I think the distinction is when the future act is to occur. In the example here, they are going to start keeping the suitcases immediately, so present can be used (in Spanish, if not in English). If they were going to keep them sometime tomorrow, I think some form of the future would be necessary.