- Forum >
- Topic: French >
- "You are writing a book."
"You are writing a book."
Translation:Vous écrivez un livre.
22 Comments
why isn't "tu écris un livre" accepted? Why only the vous form? Did I spell it wrong?
"Tu écris un livre" is currently accepted. Typo maybe? If it happens again, it could be a bug...
Nor should it be accepted. "Tu as écrit un livre" means you wrote a book. Tu écris un livre means you are writing a book.
I forgot. My French teacher just did two semesters worth of classes on passe compose, so now I'm writing like that...
For the purposes of this sentence either are accepted. In real life you will use "tu" with friends, family, and children. Use vous with people you don't know, in professional contexts, your boss, and with anyone to whom you owe respect.
Yes, I get marked wrong for the tu instead of vous. Never sure which is proper
"You" can typically be translated by either tu or vous, since without context, it can be singular, plural, or more formal. Tu écris un livre is another correct translation.
In English, we use the auxiliary verb "to be" to express what someone is in the middle of doing or the present continuous tense. I am writing. French does not have that. I am writing in French is simply j'écris. It doesn't make sense in French to add the verb "être".
"You are writing a book" and "you write a book" can be written as vous écrivez un livre or tu écris un livre.
It's a matter of conjugation. Vous écrivez, ils/elles écrivent.
Can someone explain to me why can't I write "vous êtes / tu es" in this sentence? thanks in advance!
English uses the auxiliary verb "to be" to express what someone is in the middle of doing. This is the present continuous tense. I am writing. French does not have this tense. I am writing in French is simply j'écris. It doesn't make sense in French to add the verb "être".
"You are writing a book" and "you write a book" can be written as "vous écrivez un livre" or "tu écris un livre."
Écris, écrivent, and écrivez are forms of conjugation. The verb form changes depending on the subject of the verb.
j'écris → I write
tu écris → you (singular) write
il/elle/on écrit → he/she/"one" writes
nous écrivons → we write
vous écrivez → (you plural or singular formal) write
ils/elles écrivent → they write
I suggest that you invest in a notebook and pen and practice writing and saying the different conjugations. Fortunately many verbs are regular and follow a similar pattern. Here is a conjugation website: http://conjugueur.reverso.net/conjugaison-francais-verbe-%C3%A9crire.html
No, in correct French, tu isn't ever contracted to t', only te is contracted. In informal speech and in storytelling writing that mimics casual speech you may see it, however.
