Answers
Jun 12, 2012 - 04:38 PM
Hi James,
In this phrase "Vous avez vu quelque chose de bien?" - the French is good. This is an example of something you might follow up with if a friend said they went to the mall today or to see a movie.
I think the confusion is the English translation. In English, we wouldn't say "well" in this sense, but it literally translates to that. We would actually say, Did you see something good?
To answer this question: "Il a fait quelque chose de mal?" matches " Did he do something bad?" This is correct in French, you would just need to say it with the voice raised at the end to form a question.
I hope this helps.
In this phrase "Vous avez vu quelque chose de bien?" - the French is good. This is an example of something you might follow up with if a friend said they went to the mall today or to see a movie.
I think the confusion is the English translation. In English, we wouldn't say "well" in this sense, but it literally translates to that. We would actually say, Did you see something good?
To answer this question: "Il a fait quelque chose de mal?" matches " Did he do something bad?" This is correct in French, you would just need to say it with the voice raised at the end to form a question.
I hope this helps.
Jun 13, 2012 - 05:21 AM
Not really. I am still hung up on using an adverb to modify quelque chose, or at least that is how I see it. In your last example, how would one say "Did he do something badly?" which has an entirely different meaning?
Jun 13, 2012 - 10:05 AM
Mal literally does mean badly or wrong, so it looks to me like this may be somewhat of an idiom. An adverb typically ends in -ment, so you could use "gravement" as a synonym. That may be a bit stronger depending on the situation.
Jul 03, 2012 - 06:09 AM
I still have a problem. I guess the best way to put it is as follows: Can you (someone) tell me how to say "Did he do something bad?" meaning what he did was a bad or evil thing to do, and then tell me how to say "Did he do something badly?" meaning what he did was proper, but he didn't do a good job of doing it? Likewise, how do I say "Did you see something good?" meaning did you see a good movie, for example, then tell me how to say "Did you see something well?" meaning your vision was working as it should? Another issue: in your example, with "de bien" or "de mal" are "bien" and "mal" adjectives or adverbs? I was thinking that "de" was only used for adjectives. And that the adjective form is "bon" while the adverb form is "bien." Likewise, "mauvais" is the adjective, and "mal" is the adverb, right? Please don't shy from being technical in your response. Is this some kind of exception to the rules?
Jul 05, 2012 - 02:29 PM
OK, silence out there, but I have been talking to French speaking friends. It is still a bit mysterious, but I guess there are times when "bien" and "mal" can be used like adjectives. Probably the most common example is "C'est bien." So "You saw something good" is indeed "Tu as vu quelque chose de bien" while "You saw something well" (as in could see clearly) would be "Tu as bien vu quelque chose." Now, I am just guessing here, so if anyone has a more authoritative view on this, I would appreciate your input. Also, I would appreciate it if someone knows a rule whereby this kind of counter-intuitive construction is used. Also, please tell me why one CANNOT say "Tu as vu quelque chose de bonne."
Jul 17, 2012 - 12:34 PM
Hi James,
You pointed out a very interesting issue. Here are a few tricks that might help you out with this:
- Bon is an adjective, its comparative form is: Meilleur and its opposite is: Mauvais.
E.g: Ce plat est bon - Ce plat est meilleur - Ce plat est mauvais
Bien is an adverb, its comparative form is: Mieux and its opposite is: Mal.
E.g: Ça va bien, merci - Ça va mieux, merci - Ça va mal...
However: Bien can also be used as an adjective and translate as “good”, hence the confusion sometimes. The concepts do not exactly overlaspe in the 2 languages, so it's hard to know which one to use at first and has to come with practice...
E.g: This man is good can be:
Cet homme est bon (affective judgement, feelings) or
Cet homme est bien (moral judgement, intellect)
- Now to describe the pronouns: Quelque chose/Something or Rien/Nothing, in French you have to add "de" after them, always.
E.g: Je veux quelque chose de petit = I want something small
Il n'y a rien d'intéressant dans ce musée = There is nothing interesting in that museum
- So to come back to your specific issue:
To see something good can be = Voir quelque chose de bien or Voir quelque chose de bon
(It has to be "bon" and not "bonne" because it doesn't refer to "chose" but to "quelque chose" in general.)
The difference is subtle, it’s mostly a question of viewpoint, you’d rather use the second phrase if you’re referring to food for example, while you’d probably use the first one for most other things..
And: To see something well = Voir bien quelque chose, in this case bien/well is used as an adverb, it's referring to the verb and not just to "quelque chose", so it comes right after the verb, as most adverbs do..
So the example in the software is not the most accurate, and it will be fixed for the next update . In the meantime here’s a good link which explains the difference of use between bon and bien: http://www.lepointdufle.net/ressource...
As for the other phrase: Did he do something bad? = Est-ce qu’il a fait quelque chose de mal? (or it could be: mauvais).
But if you mean: Did he do something badly? Then it’s: Est-ce qu’il a mal fait quelque chose?
We hope this clears things up a little !
You pointed out a very interesting issue. Here are a few tricks that might help you out with this:
- Bon is an adjective, its comparative form is: Meilleur and its opposite is: Mauvais.
E.g: Ce plat est bon - Ce plat est meilleur - Ce plat est mauvais
Bien is an adverb, its comparative form is: Mieux and its opposite is: Mal.
E.g: Ça va bien, merci - Ça va mieux, merci - Ça va mal...
However: Bien can also be used as an adjective and translate as “good”, hence the confusion sometimes. The concepts do not exactly overlaspe in the 2 languages, so it's hard to know which one to use at first and has to come with practice...
E.g: This man is good can be:
Cet homme est bon (affective judgement, feelings) or
Cet homme est bien (moral judgement, intellect)
- Now to describe the pronouns: Quelque chose/Something or Rien/Nothing, in French you have to add "de" after them, always.
E.g: Je veux quelque chose de petit = I want something small
Il n'y a rien d'intéressant dans ce musée = There is nothing interesting in that museum
- So to come back to your specific issue:
To see something good can be = Voir quelque chose de bien or Voir quelque chose de bon
(It has to be "bon" and not "bonne" because it doesn't refer to "chose" but to "quelque chose" in general.)
The difference is subtle, it’s mostly a question of viewpoint, you’d rather use the second phrase if you’re referring to food for example, while you’d probably use the first one for most other things..
And: To see something well = Voir bien quelque chose, in this case bien/well is used as an adverb, it's referring to the verb and not just to "quelque chose", so it comes right after the verb, as most adverbs do..
So the example in the software is not the most accurate, and it will be fixed for the next update . In the meantime here’s a good link which explains the difference of use between bon and bien: http://www.lepointdufle.net/ressource...
As for the other phrase: Did he do something bad? = Est-ce qu’il a fait quelque chose de mal? (or it could be: mauvais).
But if you mean: Did he do something badly? Then it’s: Est-ce qu’il a mal fait quelque chose?
We hope this clears things up a little !
Jul 17, 2012 - 06:26 PM
Thanks! Finally! Complicated, and maybe difficult to get in any other way but getting used to what sounds right. I will spend some time practicing what you sent in my head, looking at other sources, etc.