"She was only happy with her."
Translation:Elle n'était qu'heureuse avec elle.
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Elle n'était qu'heureuse avec elle.
→ She was only happy with her.
Elle n'était heureuse qu'avec elle.
→ She was happy only with her.
It's not possible to tell the difference between the two phrases as they are so similar they are interchangeable in English.
Yes, perhaps, but you have to know, "Elle n'était qu'heureuse avec elle" is absolutely not french and very clumsy. Once again a very weird Duolingo's translation.
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Do you mean the following with the English sentences?
(1) With her, she was nothing but happy. (2) She was happy just with her, and no one else.
I don't think this matches every day speech. For instance, I am reading the given English sentence only as (2). To express (1), I would rephrase it exactly that way and put "With her, ..." in front.
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Except that even for the second meaning, in US English, we usually say it the first way and use spoken emphasis to make the difference.
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This is the fourth "pair" of such exercises I've come across so far! We need to be very cautious regarding the "que/only" position!
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"Elle n'était qu'heureuse avec elle." est une phrase pour le moins surprenante. En français on dirait plutôt "Avec elle, elle était toujours heureuse."
Elle n'est pas que surprenante... Elle est surtout carrément fausse.... :-)
This is an equally correct translation of an ambiguous sentence: "Elle n'était heureuse qu'avec elle." Meaning, she wasn't happy with anyone else.
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"Elle n'était heureuse qu'avec elle." is accepted as correct for the English -> French translation. 2021-07-06
There's a difference between "She was only happy with her" which requires "Elle n'était qu'heureuse avec elle" and "She was happy only with her" "Elle n'était heureuse qu'avec elle" Though what exactly is the difference?
Most English-speakers (including me) are pretty sloppy with these constructions, and I expect that most French-speakers are, too. But if you're trying to be precise, the word "only" modifies the word or phrase that comes after it, so
"She was only happy with her" means that, in her company, she was never sad.
"She was happy only with her" means that, when not in her company, she was always sad.
"She was happy with only her ." means that she was happy when it was just the two of them together, but might have been sad if a third person joined them.
"She was happy with her only ." means that she wasn't happy with anybody else. Just her.
Again, most of us don't draw these fine distinctions, and we'd sound ridiculous if we tried to. We often say the first sentence when we really mean the second. But if you want to be a stickler, the differences are there.
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I Agree ! Your explanation is perfect ! The subtility is the same in french. Thanks for your help ! But, as I wrote in french, I think that the first way is not an usual sentence. In french we tell more "Avec elle, elle était toujours heureuse." (With her, she was always happy).
You people are confused. Can you let me know which one is correct out of these two.I have tried the two options and you keep on inter changing the answer and wasting my time.
