"The woman has dresses."
Translation:La femme a des robes.
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It is not a synonym, it is to "une femme" what a gentleman is to a man, ie of higher standards, or class, or refinement.
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Oui, je suis une femme, mais je ne suis pas une dame. I don't think anyone would call me that. :)
Yeah it seems pretty messed up to put that as one of the options if it's not the answer.
Look at the singular: the woman has a/one dress - la femme a une robe
"des" is the indefinite plural of "un/une" (= more than one).
Les robes: the dresses (talking about specifics dresses) Des robes: dresses or some dresses (is talking about dresses in general)
In theory, yes, but not for this sentence.
"Dresses" is the plural of "a dress". The French plural for "une robe" is "des robes", with "une" and "des" as indefinite articles.
Why is la dame a des robes wrong? I chose both "la femme a des robes" and "la dame a des robes" as translations of "the woman has dresses," but "la dame a des robes" is wrong. I want to know why.
What's the difference? I tend to use woman and lady more or less interchangeably. Is dame used only in formal settings?
"la dame" is more polite and respectful that the ordinary "la femme". That is probably what you should keep in mind.
When you greet a woman, you usually say "Bonjour, Madame", whoever she is, just as a sign of politeness and respect.
In the old days, "dame" was exclusive to nobilities, but as you know, after 2+ centuries of republic and "les droits de l'homme" and our motto "liberté, égalité, fraternité", there is no point in making any difference between higher classes and lower classes (on principle).
'Les' is plural for le and la. It means 'the.' The woman has 'some' dresses. To use 'les' would technically be saying all the dresses, if I am correct. Kind of like when saying "I have piano class on Saturdays" you would say "les Samedis." Not "des Samedis" because it is not some Saturdays. I hope that made sense!
J'ai un chat -> j'ai des chats (= indefinite article).
Note that "un" means both "a/one". In plural, the English skip the article (a cat -> cats) but the French keep it.
URGENT..>> When to use "des" and When to use "les".......earlier I put "des mots"...lost a heart......here i put "les robes"...lost a heart......SOMBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN.....!!??!!
INDEFINITE:
singular: la femme a une robe = the woman has a dress (one)
plural: la femme a des robes = the woman has dresses (more than one)
DEFINITE:
singular: la femme a la robe = the woman has the dress
plural: la femme a les robes = the woman has the dresses
so "les" is plural of "le/la"....right?...and "des" is plural of "de la/du".....right?..... And "la femme a des robes" could also mean "the woman has some dresses".....right?
Could you please read my above comment again?
"de la/du" is another story: this is the partitive case, introducing an uncountable noun (mass word), which consequently has no plural.
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Many thanks. I think I've got it. The rules are (a) french always translates 'some' : English often doesn't e.g. 'She has cats' - 'Elle a des chats' (b) In French whether you use 'des' or 'du' for 'some' depends on countability - so 'des chats' but 'du riz', and 'des baguettes' but 'du pain'.
Is that right? what about when the uncountable object is feminine. Would 'She has walnuts' be 'Elle a de la noix'?
This helped a lot! Should femme have an 's' on the end in the plural example?
"vetements" is generally used for clothes...It can include all types of clothes. "robes" only for dresses. Generally it is used with women having dresses but you never know when you see a sentence with a man having dress. ;)
Okay. How do you say, " a man's dress is informal." Or a party invitation reads in English "dress formal". Or "dress smart casual"
In those cases, we would use "une tenue formelle / informelle".
"dress code" = code vestimentaire
I don't exactly understand your question but I think you need to learn basic conjugations, at least for auxiliaries "avoir " (to have) and "être" (to be), before you can venture synonyms:
avoir, indicative present: j'ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont.
être, indicative present: je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont.
Because if in English singular "a/one dress" becomes "dresses" in plural, in French articles "un" or "une" have a plural form: une robe -> des robes.
"des" is the plural of "une" and it is required: une robe => des robes.
"des" is also the plural of "un": un garçon => des garçons.
"des" is the indefinite article plural of "un" or "une" (= an/an or one).
There is no plural indefinite article in English. But you can use "some" if it is relevant in the sentence (here, it is).
"Les robes" would be specific = the woman has the dresses.
This sentence is only the plural of "the woman has a/(one) dress" = une robe.
The meaning of "the woman has dresses" is that she has more than one = des robes, where "des" is the plural of "une".
"Des" is the plural indefinite article that English does not have. It is the plural of "un" or "une" (= an/an or one).
It is required when the meaning is "more than one".
La femme a UNE robe (a/one dress) --- La femme a DES robes (dresses)
"ont" is the conjugation for "ils/elles" and "a" is the conjugation for "il/elle".