"Il est actuellement fermé pour travaux."
Translation:It is currently closed for works.
61 Comments
"It is currently closed for maintenance" now accepted. And "It is currently closed for repairs" now appears at the top of this page.
I think "workings" is a poor translation. "It is currently closed for work." is slightly better. "Work" here meaning because of work being done. Some sentences just don't translate well.
"Workings" is not a word native English-speakers use in this sense. Work/maintenance/renovation are all acceptable translations in my view.
I've heard it in the UK, actually ("Traffic is heavy because of road works")
That's interesting. I've never seen that before (but then again I speak Am. English).
Road works is very specific when we don't have any context; in particular, we don't know what "il" stands for: it may be a bridge (un pont) but not a road (une route); it may be a store (un magasin) or a hotel (un hotel), but then the works would be refurbishment or renovation; it may be a park (un parc / un jardin public), but then the works would be earthmoving or gardening...
The point is that in English (UK English at least) the use of "work" or "works" in isolation in this sort of context is rare and sounds rather odd. It is customarily accompanied by another qualifying noun such as maintenance works, repair works, building work, or your example road works. Equally, the qualifying noun can sometimes be used on its own e.g. it is closed for maintenance. But not work/works on its own.
Yes, it's fine with an explanation: road works, building work, repair work etc.
"It is currently closed for repairs" expressed the idea in a normal idiomatic way. No native English speaker would ever say "closed for workings." this is simply idiotic
But, "closed for works" would be seen in the U.K. I have seen signs that rad "Closed whilst we complete these important works."
It's really not strange to refer to a shop/business by it's owner's name or gender. And some brands have a gender by itself. Like Wendy's, Papa John's or maybe The Colonel for KFC.
If it was a small business.. I live in a small town and we would definitely say that
It is 9:00 pm, the owner has closed and locked the door. Someone knocks on the door hoping to be let in, does the owner say it's closed? Or does he say I am closed. The potential customer enters the establishment next door, he asks "Is Sam still open?" Would the response given be "He's closed." Or "It's closed"? He is closed is a resonable answer.
So in actual, practical French, spoken by native french speakers, what would a person speak for "It is closed for repairs/maintenance?" Would they actually use the word travaux, or another word? Is there another word for repairs/maintenance?
Il est fermé pour réparations (rénovation)
Il est fermé pour maintenance (entretien)
This brings up a very important question. How much of what we are learning here would be spoken or written actually in everyday France where real people exist? Are we learning the language of DL so we can reside on the planetary home of DL people who look like owls, and talk and write like this, lol? Just want to ensure I am not wasting my time on the actual sentences, and focus instead of the useful syntax teachings .
I think Duo is balancing the formal and informal ways to say stuff as i have noticed from the multitude of replies the moderators have posted :)
At least Duo is trying to, but Duo is incomparable to others like him / her :)
And learning new languages starts from the bottom (i.e., how to say this and that formally and technically correct)...as I`ve scrolled down Sitesurf also has simply mentioned.
One has to be really patient so we have learnt in life and are still learning :)
One should try Mandarin! XD
:))
Bonne journee!
Patience I have beaucoup of -- I believe that is the origins of this term lol. I think you have misread my complaint which is confirmation of what is being learnt is useful and utilized by speakers of the language whether colloquial or academia. For instance, how many times are we going to hear the phase "Le loup est près de la singe." or something like this. I understand the need to teach syntax but can it done with words that is used by most people? That is the heart of the issue.
ah, yes :))
Maybe Duo sees that the majority is still having a hard time catching up with "simple correctness" of the french language up to this point, or...well, one has to assume a lot of things :))
But I too, agree with what you`re saying! :D
However much conflicted I am of Duos ways. Nevertheless, Maybe thats where the Discussion and immersion pages come in - to practice what we have learnt here :) And on discussion pages like these! :D
Good luck to us jazzy!
:))
Yes, I agree jcboy14. No tool is perfect. I have gotten more of of DL than most plus it is free with no adverts. The discussions pages are the biggest asset especially with the French contributors so I am with you on that.
If there were a small subscription fee, I would be more than happy to pay if they would take care of what I believe are shortcomings especially the voice.
I am halfway thru the tree, and I do plan to see it all the way there.
Good luck to you as well!
Many thanks for the lingots as I have been burning thru these in order to complete the past imperfect which seems not ready yet for prime time but a good and necessary introduction to the subject. I can't wait for the future!
"Le loup est près de la singe."
I don't necessarily see the sentence as being something you might say in real life, but rather in exercise in understanding sentence construction.
Once you understand the above construction, for example, then it's easy for you to replace the nouns (le loup and la singe) with something that may be relevant to you at the time, because in my view, the lesson is about remembering that NOUN + est près de + NOUN = NOUN + is near the + NOUN
Here's a question though, if the original sentence was "Le garçon est près de la table" would you be more or less likely to remember it?
Sometimes we remember the unusual because it stands out.
I would rather have everyday words. Perhaps if I were a child, I would be fascinated the wolves and such. But, I accept that others feel different about the subject.
In Québec, they definitely use travaux for things like road and bridge repairs, both on signs and in speech. (Whether they actually do the repairs, however, is a whole 'nother story….)
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Could this statement mean "it is currently closed for business"? Closed for workings is not an English phrase that I am aware of.
No. If the works were just electrical repairs then it's not a knock-down / rebuild scenario. Or if they were road works it might mean they're patching up the holes. Or painting lines.
It ssid for mine "It is currently closed for works". I don't think that thats right even for English.
can someone explain where the word "travaux" come from? shouldn't it be "travails" ?
A majority of masculine nouns ending in -ail in singular take an -s in plural:
Ex: un rail - des rails; un détail - des détails; le portail - les portails; un éventail - des éventails
Exceptions: le corail - les coraux, l'émail - les émaux - le soupirail - les soupiraux; le travail - les travaux, un vitrail - des vitraux
Quelle surprise! Merci beaucoup, Sitesurf. Who'da thunk it--that "les émaux" would be the plural of "l'émail". Your tips and your explanations throughout the lessons are deeply appreciated.
Oh so "travaux" is plural. I was confused because i saw somewhere "travails" as the correct plural. It was most likely a mistake. Thx for the great explanation.
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Why does " work " have to be plural in French i.e. " travaux " in this sentence ?
Well, it is "roadwork" (or "construction work") in Canada and the U.S., which is why many have trouble understanding the plural.
Is 'repair works' not possible? Or did I get confused there by my German (Reparaturarbeiten)?
Why would you use "il" instead of "ce"? Wouldn't that be more correct, when we are speaking of "it"?
Level 9 in french. And I havnt still gotten my hands on the il est and c'est
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"pour travaux" doesn't really have a good translation into English. Both translations offered are not current English phrases. "Due to construction" or "for repairs" are more common. "Due to road work" is also OK, but not "due to work"!
I see below that this means closed for repairs. But, unlike what it says below, both the interactive interface and the translation above say 'closed for works.' I am a midwestern American English speaker, and 'closed for works' is guessable, but not something that would be said or written.
I'm fairly literate in my native English, and the translation offered conveys no meaning to me. Or, in the modern parlance, WTF?
"...closed for works." Doesnt suggest repairs/renovation/maintenance like the sentence seems to want to teach. To my american ears it is suggests when soemone says currently closed for works is like ayaing the gallery is closed to add new art submissions. Or a new exhbit is being added. It's just such an odd phrase that it means almost nothing without context.
