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- "Il s'enfuit."
41 Comments
74
The "s" (or "se" for verbs not starting with a vowel) is a reflexive pronoun. It reflects the subject of the verb and is more common in French than in English. In English we may say: "He sees himself in the mirror" but not "he runs himself away" as it would be the case in French.
just because i've been driving myself mad too...for adult language students, we tend to compare new languages with our own, causing more confusion than necessary. All i would say my friend, is to simple learn and accept it. Not everything translates and not comparing our own language to that which we are learning is half the battle. I feel your pain.
883
Yes it's interesting to learn some of the arcane details. Focusing on linguistic trivia advances "learning" in general, but for me it distracts from actually learning French in particular.
Not always, it could be sometimes possible. You could try reporting it. https://dictionary.reverso.net/english-french/He%20runs%20off
74
"Je m'enfuis", "tu t'enfuis" and "il/elle s'enfuit" is "présent" as well as "passé simple". Although the past tense "passé simple" is hardly used anymore, it is incorrect to say that "il s'enfuit" is clearly present tense.
Here is a verb conjugator for you and it comes with a dictionary: http://conjugator.reverso.net/conjugation-french-verb-s'enfuir.html
"s'enfuir" is a reflexive verb; this means that the subjects refers back to itself. Literally, "il s'enfuit" translates to "he runs away (himself)", as you pointed out. However, it is always a bad idea to translate sentences literally. You would never say "he runs away himself" in English, would you? No. So, think of "s'enfuir" as a regular verb, but with an 'invisible' reflexive pronoun. It's there, just don't translate it into English.
152
How would you say "He runs away with her"? "Il l'enfuit" or "Il s'enfuit avec elle" or some other way? (I'm really bad with pronouns)
1918
So when do we use "il fuit"? What's the difference between "il fuit" and "il s'enfuit"?
Is enfuir always reflexive?
Yes, you would use "fuir" when you run away from someone else. "enfuir" is always reflexive. https://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/S'enfuir https://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/fuir
499
Is this a cultural thing/expression in French cultures? Running away? I am assuming this is as in 'skipping town' in America? Duolingo has repeated this to me at least over 50times in the past year
Not necessarily. You could run away for many reasons and not leave town. https://dictionary.reverso.net/french-english/S'enfuir