"J'ai vu hier, je vois aujourd'hui, mais peut-être ne verrai-je pas demain."
Translation:I have seen yesterday, I see today, but maybe I will not see tomorrow.
22 Comments
Is there any significance to the use of "ne varrai-je pas" instead of "je ne varrai pas"? I think I've only seen that form in questions. Is it just poetic license?
Yep, poetic license. "Mais peut-être que je ne verrai pas demain" would be perfectly fine.
Just to emphasize: if you use the more common word order "je ne verrai pas demain", "que" is required but it must not be used with "ne verrai-je pas demain".
It comes after "peut-être, as feryyn demonstrated: "Mais peut-être que je ne verrai pas demain"
I confused it with the ver "boire" Can somebody tell me where is the tell to differantiate those two sentences?
You mean boire and voir? If someone has a funny accent or maybe the flu, it can indeed be a bit tricky one. :)
They are similar in the present tense. But in fact, they are quite different. For example, "I'll drink" is "je boirai," wheras "I'll see" is "je verrai". They are spelled and pronounced quite distinctly.
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What is wrong with this: Yesterday I have seen, I see today, but maybe I will not see tomorrow?
But, shouldn't it be "I saw yesterday" instead of "I have seen yesterday"?
Passé composé can be translated by either in most cases. In this case, "have seen" sounds a little better to my ear.
According to what I've learned in a grammar class, combination of words like yesterday and present perfect tense is grammartically incorrect.
Yesterday can be either an adverb or a noun. If you see it as a noun, have seen is better. If you see it as an adverb, saw is better. It changes the meaning quite a bit.
"I might not see tomorrow" = "maybe I will not see tomorrow" (and in fact is less awkward English) -- but DL did not accept
I find your version flows better, but it may be that DL wants you to actually translate "peut-être". DL, with some notable exceptions, generally prefers the most straightforward translation.
