"They would not give us snails!"
Translation:Eux, ils ne nous offriraient pas des escargots !
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1182
Could someone explain why although the sentence is in the negative, it is des escargot, and not d'escargots?
It may be another opportunity to show you the gap between familiar French and proper French, who knows?
- 1237
Or... was the speaker referring to some specific escargots that she could see, but her the hosts didn't want to share ??? Knowing how delicious they are, it seems possible, but not very nice.
- 983
I have the same question. Is this an exception to the rule of using "de" instead of "des" in negative sentences? When is this acceptable?
No, it's not an exception but a mistake. Or maybe it's intentional to show you how the French butcher their mother tongue.
- 1490
'Eux, ils ne nous offriraient pas d'escargots' is accepted. Duo thinks they are both right, but Sitesurf points out 'des escargots' is a mistake really.
Yup - it isn't necessary & versions without it are accepted! Note: some of the accepted answers put it at the end instead! :)
I wasn't sure why it was there but the hint suggests that it is used for emphasis
- 877
The Eux, also indicates to the listener that it is "they" otherwise it could be "he",
No: « eux » is masculine; you would use « elles » with « elles » (yes they use the same word)! :)
"Ils ne nous donneraient pas d'escargots !" Yay! I risked it, and it was accepted.
- 1237
Eux is is one of the so-called "disjunctive" or "stressed" pronouns" (moi, toi, lui, elle, soi, nous, vous eux, elles). They are primarily used for emphasis and usually help make the sentence more clear.
They can be also used alone. EX: Qui veut de la glace ? - Moi.
The confusing thing about them (at least, for me at first) is that some are spelled the same as subject / object pronouns. It is important to note that disjunctive pronouns have specific functions. This website has a lot of examples and explains these functions well: https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/stressed-pronouns/
Hope that is helpful.
How is the translator supposed to know if you want an eux or not? We are not mind readers. Sometimes you want the pronoun and at other times you don't and mark it wrong. You are not consistent or willing to accept something which is equally correct.
Duo usually, and definitely does here, accepts both answers with or without the emphatic pronoun: if your answer wasn't accepted without it, you had another error! :)
Did i miss where we get to know when we need the extra subject for emphasis and when we don't?
Nope - it's just for emphasis, so essentially "personal choice"; Duo usually accepts the sentence without the extra subject so report if yours wasn't! :)