"Who is talking?"
Translation:Qui parle ?
16 Comments
The basic rule: there is no 'IS' 'ARE' or 'AM' before any "ing". Examples: Wrong: "He is talking" (Il est parle) Right: "He talking" (Il parle) Wrong: "I am going" (Je suis vais) Right: "I going" (Je vais).
If there is no "ing" then you put 'IS' 'ARE' or 'AM': Right: "I am red" (Je suis rouge) Wrong: "I red" (Je rouge) Right: "I am pretty" (Je suis jolie) Wrong: "I pretty" (Je jolie)
Hope it makes sense.
If you wanted to translate word for word, it would be "il est parlant" (present participle or gerund).
However, that verbal form does not exist in French to express a continuous action.
Therefore, if you are given "who is talking?" you have to translate either "qui parle ?" or "qui est en train de parler ?", where être en train de + infinitive is the expression which best expresses that the action is in progress at the time you speak.
1714
You cannot choose to translate word-for-word and end up with a correct translation here. The French "qui parle ?" is conjugated according to French rules or grammar and the English "who is speaking?" is translated according to English rules of grammar. One cannot take a word-for-word translation such as "est parlant" and expect to end up with a correct translation.
Present participle is the "ing" in English or "ant" in french - talking = "parlant", walking = "marchant".
- 1714
One would not use the French present participle here at all in translating "Who is speaking?" It is a false translation made to look like a literal translation. It is just wrong.
- 1714
You need to know how to conjugate verbs in English as well as French. Qui parle may be translated as "who speaks" or "who is speaking". From English (since you know there is no present continuous in French), you will translate it to French Simple Present. I.e., you do not translate every single word. You translate the meaning.
I think 'Qui parlent' should be accepted seeing as the question could refer to multiple people.
No it does not work, since the English sentence shows "is talking".
In French, we would say "qui sont ceux qui parlent ?" to mean a plural, otherwise "parle" would remain singular.
French does not have continuous tenses.
"is talking" is a continuous present tense that you can translate to a French simple present: qui parle ?
