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- "Can you break this thing wit…
"Can you break this thing with your bare hands?"
Translation:Peux-tu casser cette chose à mains nues ?
17 Comments
2125
There is this other phrase in Duo: "J'adore me promener pieds nus dans l'herbe."
Why is there an "à" before "mains nues" in "Peux-tu casser cette chose à mains nues ?"
Why isn't there an "à" before "pieds nus"?
Are both variants - with and without the "à" - valid for both phrases? If not, how to decide when to use "à" and when not? Thanks!
1128
English is equally capricious ... we walk barefoot rather than with bare feet, but we break things with our bare hands, not 'barehand'.
246
In case you don't know already, aux = à + les, whereas in this case the article isn't used. Hands is plural.
702
Sitesurf, can you shed some light on this? These questions have been here for two years with no one explaining. Please help. Thanks.
1799
"avec les mains nuesé means "with naked hands" (without gloves), while "à mains nues" is the colloquial expression "with bare hands" (without any gloves or any tools).