Topic: French

"His father had as many pairs of spectacles as mine did."

Translation:Son père avait autant de paires de lunettes que le mien.

January 29, 2018

8 Comments

https://www.duolingo.com/Daniel199309

    Sorry for my (quite likely) silly question, but why can't we use passé composé here?

    August 15, 2018
    https://www.duolingo.com/MitchellWe485525
    • 586

    I have the same question.

    March 5, 2019
    https://www.duolingo.com/msinykin
    • 1238

    The mapping between the various English and French past tenses is not clear cut, and it seems like Duo will accept either in many cases.

    This article: https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/passe-compose-vs-imparfait/ lists a number of rules, all of which seem to point to the imparfait for this sentence.

    There is also a discussion on the Duo forums here: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/17567672/Imparfait-vs-Passé-Composé

    March 6, 2019
    https://www.duolingo.com/mplscurt
    Plus
    • 227

    I translated it as "aussi beaucoup" rather than "autant." This is wrong?

    February 17, 2018
    https://www.duolingo.com/Katharine995402

      why isn't it les miennes because pairs of eyeglasses is plural

      January 29, 2018
      https://www.duolingo.com/relox84

        "Le mien" here refers to "my father", which is why it's masculine singular.

        January 29, 2018
        https://www.duolingo.com/lmparis49
        • 21

        is 'de paires' necessary ? Can't we just say lunettes ?

        December 28, 2018
        https://www.duolingo.com/msinykin
        • 1238

        Depends on how literally you want to translate "pairs of spectacles". Duo seems to want it literal.

        February 5, 2019
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