"I can go with him?"
Translation:Je peux aller avec lui ?
17 Comments
560
If we're using "puis-je", why is it "puis-je aller" and not "puis-j'aller"?
Maybe because of this grammar rule: http://french.about.com/library/pronunciation/bl-contractions.htm - "Exception: When the first person singular subject pronoun je is inverted, it does not contract." Examples cited are Puis-je + avoir, and Dois-je + être.
This doesn't have to do with grammatical correctness, but I think inversion with je is super formal anyway.
Pronouns are 'stressed' when they are after prepositions.
Because this is the dative pronoun in french... If you say "With him", "He" is the direct object in the sentence, so, we change it to "him". The same happens in French... We change "il" for "lui".
- 51
I wrote simply, "Je puis aller avec lui?" because I thought that "puis" and "peux" were interchangeable. Eons ago when I first studied French, they were, and I just did it on the spur of the moment. Is "puis" never used anymore? It was rejected by DuoLingo and I see it discussed here only in the context of "puis-je".
"puis" was used in literature, at Molière's time, but not much further on.
"puis-je" is the only expression where yo will still use it, because "peux-je" is very difficult to say.
i wrote "puis-j'aller avec lui" and was marked incorrect. is this improper form?
"je" is not elided in front of an infinitive verb, only in front of its own conjugated verb: j'écris, j'aime, j'obéis, j'utilise.
