57 Comments
Yes, you can. I believe it's more formal to do so, but it's equally (if not more) correct.
I was just thinking the same thing. " Tu es seul" sounds more like a statement then question. When asking its usually Avez-vous, so Es-tu seems to make logical sense.
Yes of course. But here Duo introduces intonation also. It is there and it must be introduced somewhere. So here "tu es seule" the statement has been turned into a question without changing a thing except two..... The intonation in the audio task. The pitch of the voice is sharply raised at the end of the sentence which turns it to a question. In written form just the question mark at the end of the sentence is the clue. Be patient and allow Duo to give you more of the French than logic alone would ever allow. Just "play along" with the tasks. You are being shown how to "understand" via your trusty ears! But you must train them, and your mindset to work together with and for you. Bon chance! Cordial.
I think it would sound weird, because that is the formal way of asking questions, and 'tu' is informal. If inversion is being used, 'vous' (the more formal pronoun) would make more sense.
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I gather you mean with respect to the gender to apply to seul.
In other instances French requires that if the gender is unknown then it must be masculine.
If you are asking yourself the answer would be "oui" but if you asked anyone they wouldn't be because you are pestering them.
I dont think so. Are you single? is Etes-vous celibataire? (Sorry I dont have accents: there is /\ over the first E of Etes and a / over the first E of celibataire.)
Can I not make the distinction between: 'Are you alone?' (as in, no one is keeping you company) and 'Are you lonely?' (as in, you are feeling lonely)?
Well, IrishSpring, there are some 3 million of us on Duo who are right here with you today. Happy today!
No, Muhilka, "Are you single"=Es tu (or etes vous) celibataire? (There may be other French translations.)
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In another phrase, Duo said that "Vous aidez les hommes seuls" means You help the single men. Ugh!!! Which is it -- single or alone or lonely??? Why single in that case and not this?
that's the first time that I've hear a different pronounciation for "tu"!! :)))
Being "seul" is having no company in a given point of time, whereas "solitaire" tends more to describe the (usually negative) emotional state of feeling lonely. (This can happen even with people surrounding you)
Is there a good way of remembering spelling for the parts when you listen to the woman?
Adjectives default to masculine when the gender of the noun it modifies is unknown or mixed. Only when the noun's gender is known to be feminine does the adjective take its feminine form.. Un homme seul. Une femme seule. Les hommes et les femmes seuls. Les femmes seules.
person 1:Are you alone? person 2:NO! person 1: Are you sure person 2:NO okay?! person 1:I know that your alone. person 2:FINE! I am!
I have a pretty basic question, but here it goes: The verb "être" is used for both basic meanings of verb "to be" in English? I mean, the verb "to be" is used for permanent or long-term characteristics of the subject (I am a man; I am tall) and for short-term states (I am at the beach; I am tired), but in other languages like Portuguese and Spanish there are two different verbs each related to one of these meanings ("ser" for the permanent and "estar" for the states). As the conjugation of the verb "être" is similar to the verb "ser" in Portuguese and in Spanish, I am wondering if in French there are also two verbs instead of just one to deal with those meanings. Thank you in advance!
Good question, but no, French follows English in having only one verb for to be, unlike Spanish.
guy: are you alone? girl: well..., yeah, kinda. guy: mind if I stay with you for the night? girl: sure. (MAYJOR PAUSE)
