Topic: French

"Il faudrait qu'ils en parlent au patron."

Translation:They should tell the boss about it.

April 24, 2018

7 Comments

https://www.duolingo.com/benmaja
  • 3

Would "they must talk about it to the boss" be OK?

April 24, 2018
https://www.duolingo.com/Sitesurf
Mod

    "They must" does not express the conditional mood there is in "faudrait". The best translation is really "they should". Alternatively, you can use "they would need/have to".

    April 24, 2018
    https://www.duolingo.com/benmaja
    • 3

    Many thanks Sitesurf, I hadn't noticed the conditional ending

    April 24, 2018
    https://www.duolingo.com/steve381279
    • 243

    Why is "They should talk to the boss" marked wrong?

    July 4, 2018
    https://www.duolingo.com/Sitesurf
    Mod

      You missed the translation of "en", which stands for "de + something mentioned before", and which translates to "about it".

      July 5, 2018
      https://www.duolingo.com/DeeStern

        So I put "They would have to talk about it with the boss. DuoLingo said "They would have to talk with the boss about it." I'm sorry, but I don't see the difference! I'm sure grammarians will have a complex answer why my answer was wrong; but it really bothers me when things like this come up on Duo. Thanks for letting me vent!

        August 4, 2018
        https://www.duolingo.com/Sitesurf
        Mod

          I am the grammarian here, but I can make a short and simple answer:

          • parler à = to talk to
          • to talk with = parler avec
          August 9, 2018
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