45 Comments
I can't believe nobody asked this, what's the difference between "adore" and "aime?"
1711
The interpretation of "aimer" is dependent on context. People may have learned it different ways in the past, but here is the convention used on Duolingo. You will also see this explained in the Tips & Notes.
- Aimer (with people or pets) means "love" (Je t'aime = I love you)
- Aimer bien (with people) means "like". (Je vous aime bien = I like you)
- Aimer (with things) means "like" (J'aime ce livre = I like this book)
- Adorer = love (or) adore (or) worship. Context will suggest which word fits best.
Why did DL choose adorer over aimer when expressing "love" in regards to her children in this sentence?? Why is adorer more appropriate ?
- 1711
We may have the idea that DL's sentences are prime examples of the use of key words. If only that were true! Sometimes, sentences are generated just to use the word in a sentence which works. You could also translate it as "She adores her children".
That is exactly how I did translate it as it seemed the only appropriate translation in this circumstance. I was just curious why adorer was used to mean love here. Merci pour ton explication.
- 1711
I see. So you were concerned that the translation shown at the top of the page uses "loves" instead of "adores". That translation is not the only one accepted nor is it the only correct translation. There can be many translations, but the key is to learn that "adorer" can mean "love", "adore", or even "worship" in the right context.
And how would I translate " she loves HIS children "? there is a difference in the meaning, yet they're both apparently spelled the same, with "ses" so how can I tell when it is his or hers?
- 1711
It's a great question. When we learn about son/sa/ses, etc., we learn that grammatically these words may be translated as either "his" or "her". That's true, but it's not at all random and we dont say, well it could be this or it could be that. It's time to peel the onion a little bit more.
- French speakers know that it is not arbitrary about his/her. They will understand what is being said based on the reference to the subject. So even though "ses enfants" could technically be either "his children" or "her children", when the subject is "elle", it would be understood as "she loves her children".
- If it was necessary to clearly state that "She loves his children", you would say "Elle aime ses enfants à lui". Note that the entire expression "ses enfants à lui" would be translated as "his children".
- If the sentence was "Il aime ses enfants", it would be understood as "he loves his children". "Il aime ses enfants à elle" would be understood as "he loves her children.
Why can't the "ses" in "Elle aime ses enfants" just be both without having to add "a lui"
Because "ses" relates back to "elle", so it's understood that she loves HER children and not his. "à lui" makes the distinction that she loves HIS children as opposed to her own.
Can we translate this sentence like this, "She LIKES her children"? Is it wrong? Thanks for your help. :)
- 1711
No, that would be "elle aime bien ses enfants". See my note to sevillaarvin above.
Because "She loves HER children", not "She loves THESE children."
Ses = her/his Ces = these
Because it serves no purpose (the second e in elle is silent anyway) and it's just not how it's done?
How would we distinguish "Elle adore" from "Elles adorent"? Do those conjugations have different pronunciations?
In this sentence "Elle adore ses enfants", we know that it is singular "elle" because it talks about HER children (ses enfants). "She loves her children" = "Elle adore SES enfants." "They love their children" = "Elles adorent LEURS enfants."
- 1711
It's a good question and yes, there is a different pronunciation. The "s" at the end of "elles" would be joined to "adorent" with what is called a liaison. It will sound like a "Z" where the words run together. This audible clue will tell you the difference between "she" and "they". http://french.about.com/library/pronunciation/bl-liaisons.htm
- 1711
It would be understood as her own children. If it was really referring to a third person, there would be more context there.
- 1711
The present continuous tense is often a viable alternative to give the English a natural feel. But some verbs don't work that way all the time. Specifically, "love" in this sense is not an action but an emotion. There are action verbs and stative verbs. One of the features of stative verbs (regarding thoughts, opinions, possession, senses and emotion) is that they are not used in continuous tenses. The use of stative verbs can be tricky and there are exceptions when a verb that is stative in one tense may be active in another tense. This will actually change the meaning. Verbs of sense are usually stative. Take a look at the verb "smell", for example.
- She smells roses. This is a state (not an action). There may or may not actually be any roses but she is picking up a scent of them (maybe it's air freshener, who knows?)
- She is smelling the roses. This is an action (not a state). She is perhaps in her garden bending over to bring a rose close to her nose so she can pick up the scent. Whether there is much of a scent, we don't know, but we know that she is actively smelling them.
- 15
Thank you very much for the full explanation and example as "sentir", and this link. This will serve me for the next modules. Have good day to you
Thanks for that. It explains why every time I hear "I'm loving it" I wince!
Wouldn't "aime" mean "love" if you use it on a person/pet? Because I got a sentence "Je t'aime" and it said the translation was "I love you"
- 1711
That is exactly right. "Adorer" is also used with people (or things) to mean "love".
She has more than one child, obviously. "her child" = "son enfant". "her children" = "ses enfants."
- 1456
I types "elle adore ces enfants" and while I was marked correctly (as ces and ses sound alike), the translation of "she loves her children" is inconsistent.
- 1711
That is because "ces enfants" and "ses enfants" sound alike and since you got the audio exercise (not the written exercise), Duo let it slide. The written sentence, however, was "ses enfants" and translates to "her children". So there is no inconsistency, just a little slack considering the audio could be understood either way.
