- Forum >
- Topic: French >
- "Comme ça, je peux vous accom…
40 Comments
2314
"Comme ça" as "like that" is awkward here. A more natural expression in English is "That way" and it is accepted.
2314
It's the same sense. Here are some of the possibilities that WordReference offers: in this way - like that - like this - on impulse - that way - this - this way - like so - way - for fun - for the fun of it - for the hell of it - Have it your way - how it is - It is all for the best - just like that - keep it up - keep up the good work - off the top of your head - rock on - scot-free - so-so - Such is life - that being so. Why do I mention this? Because we don't need two dozen different ways to translate "comme ça". We can come up with more without trying too hard. Keep it simple.
The French love to use "Comme ça", it's used all the time and not ackward like in English. Donc CSI, je ne suis pas d'accord parce que il me semble que "In that case" = "dans ce cas". COMME CA can be used either on its own or in a phrase. For example, "you take out the trash, I'll do the dishes; COMME CA we'll get the house clean before Maude comes home". 2ème usage, par ex: "Ton mari est vraiment PARTI au milieu de la nuit!?" to which you might reply with resignation: "Ba oui, comme ça".
You're exactly right. In an earlier sentence in this same lesson, they did accept "go with" for "accompagner" (it's also one of their suggested translations). The inconsistency gets tiresome. (In my opinion, English speakers vary a bit from one to the other on using go/come, take/bring; it's beyond frustrating to be told that the kind of thing one says frequently is 'incorrect'!)
I disagree. "Accompany" has the connotation of "going with" and becoming "a team". I can ask to join a couple at a table in a restaurant because there is nowhere else to sit and I need to eat inow comfort. But I would not say I was accompanying them. I would just be sitting at the same table as they. I would not be with them.
If "de cette façon" and "comme ça" are materially different from each other, can you kindly explain what the "comme ça" (probably) means here? I mean, can you think of a context where it would be natural? Is it something like, "If Isabelle sits in the front seat, and we put this in the trunk, the three of us will fit in the back--Comme ça, je peux vous accompagner." Does that work at all?
I am not sure that what Duo had wanted to train us in is Like that. Just look at the quotation yonder from Larousse:
[en intensif]
- alors comme ça, tu te maries ? (oh) so you're getting married ?
- où vas-tu comme ça ? where are you off to ?
So this might've been the so that Duo had had on his mind, but later on someone, in a last ditch attempt, insisted that his translation should be accepted, it was - et voilà!
1362
Just like that is also more natural and what I thought was one of the usages of comme ça. However, Duo rejects it.
952
I tried 'thus' and it was rejected. Isn't it right, though? I was being a bit impish, I admit!
Because "come along" conveys the sense of inviting someone to go with you, while comme ça simply means "that/this way" (in this/that way) or "like that/this" (in such a manner).
You mix the butter and the sugar like this = on mélange le beurre et le sucre comme ça
"Come along" would be something like Venir ! if you want someone to go with you or allez if you are simply urging someone to do something.
Bookmarking a dictionary so you can easily look up definitions is helpful when you need answers to questions like this that you can research yourself. You can learn so much more looking up words than you could just from a rushed one word translation:
Definition of comment: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/comment
Definition of comme: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/french-english/comme