31 Comments
i wrote 'Son commentaire' and got marked wrong. (i know it's not a sentence, but duolingo often gives you things which aren't sentences.) Should i have been able to tell the difference in sound between 'sans' and 'son'?
son commentaire = his/her comment.
ton/votre commentaire = your comment.
Asking for comments to an audience, we say: "des commentaires ?"
Anyway, "son" and "sans" are not pronounced the same. There are 4 nasal sounds in French and I suggest you get to differentiate them better by using forvo.com for example, with a sentence like: lundi matin, je prends mon temps. (note that "an" = "en" = "em")
If I propose something to an audience, "Is it easy to understand vocal inflections when learning another language via computer voice ?" Then I pick you to ask specifically, I would say, "Your comment ?" How would that be said ? If I ask you in French, would it be proper to ask you in this manner, "Son commentaire ?"
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Well, Duo, and a few of the native French speakers here seem to convey the message that in France it's pretty common to ask questions using intonation alone, so I think that maybe it should work, but I'd definitely like to see what a native French would say as I'm only on day 60 of learning French.
But "Son commentaire?" would be "His (or her) comment?", not "Your comment?". If you wanted to ask this, It would have to be "Ton commentaire?" or "Votre commentaire?"
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I also wrote this and so would like to know how you would say without commentary?
It seems to me that "No comments" is a pretty common abbreviation for "I have no comments," such as in a response to an article, paper, or publication sent to colleagues for comments, but I may be overestimating how common it is because I use it. I used it here because "No comment" feels more idiomatic. Is this French expression used the same way "No comment" is in English?
Perhaps "No comments?" might work, but definitely "No comment?", "Any comment (s)?" will do the trick much better.
"No comment" is used by people being questioned by the media who don't wish to answer. "Where'd all the money go?" - "No comment!"
I put in "cent commentaires" which wasn't accepted. Surely it sounds exactly the same? Or is it wrong and you'd translate "a hundred comments" another way?
"Cent" and "sans" do sound very close, but "cinq" sounds quite a bit different.
Try going to http://www.acapela-group.com/ Pick a French voice, put "sans commentaire; cinq commentaires" into the box, and listen. You can try more than one voice. You'll notice the vowel sound in "cinq" is quite a bit flatter; also, you can hear a teensy pause as the speakers actually make the "k" sound at the end of "cinq" before starting "commentaires".
That's what I heard too. I'm pretty sure it's correct, but Duolingo marked it as incorrect.
At least you all heard "commentaires". I played it on both speeds before and after getting the answer wrong with "sans comment faire" !!
So, to clarify "Sans commentaire" means "I don't have anything to say to you"? It doesn't mean "Please don't talk"?
Sans is literally without, right? Wouldn't it make more sense if 'no comment' translated to 'pas commentaire' ? Sort of like how 'no problem' translates to 'pas de probleme'?
If you know "pas de problème", you can use the same construction with "pas de commentaire".
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I have only ever heard it said "No comment." That doesn't mean that "No comments" is grammatically incorrect, it just isn't the way it is usually said. :)
Re: sans and son, its poor enunciation which is common this course, I think.
the hover hint on commentaire includes commentary. Why is "With commentary" an incorrect answer?
