48 Comments
But you wouldn't say that in English, normally. You'd probably say - She speaks Japanese or - She can speak Japanese. Lost a heart
"She speaks Japanese" = "Elle parle japonais". Remember that there is the verb "savoir" in this sentence, even though idiomatically this sentence can be translated without it, but the general meaning that she knows how to speak the language. On the other hand, saying that she speaks Japanese may imply that she is speaking it at the moment.
Not in english, where it can just as easily mean she habitually speaks french or an implied she knows how to speak french, so she does so
I see 'know' but I do not see the word for 'how'. That is why I answered, "She speaks Japanese". This sentence means that she knows how to speak Japanese not that she is speaking Japanese right now.
I'm still unclear as to why an article is sometimes needed before the names of languages but not all the time. ??
263
After the verb parler the article is optional, although its use is required after other verbs.
- 334
So "Elle peut parler japonais" but "Elle sait le japonais"? I'm confused on when to use the definite article with the name of a language.
Would <<Elle connait parler japonais>> mean "She knows to speak Japanese"? I mean, in English, I would interpret that statement to mean that she knows it is contextually appropriate to speak Japanese - so, would replacing "savoir" with "connaître" in this example change the meaning in such a way? Or would I have to say, more like, <<Elle sait qu'elle doit parler japonais>>?
Connaître and savoir are a little more complicated than that. See here: http://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/savoir-versus-connaitre-the-verb-to-know-in-french
I asked a similar question on a different thread a while back, and, as I recall, the answer was something along the lines of your final sentence. Pretty sure "connaître" would not serve the purpose.
Elle connait japonais should be accepted as nobody can completely know all vocabulary and grammar in a language. if this was the case then elle sait parler japonais would be accepted.
- 263
Using connâitre wouldn't change the meaning as much as it would just be wrong. Only savoir is used to say know how to speak a language.
Would "Elle s'est parlée japonais" mean "She spoke to herself in Japanese", and would it sound exactly the same as "Elle sait parler japonais"?
I had the same question. It probably should be an accepted answer for the listening question.
By the way, I think it should be elle s'est parlé japonais instead of parlée. Look here: http://www.leaflanguages.org/french-grammar-reflexive-verbs-passe-compose-past-tense/
I have the same problem with this sentence, though I think she could pronounce "sait" better ("sĕ") than she does know (more like "sû").
I don't understand why it doesn't accept Japonaise (female) if the subject is elle. Any explanation why it only takes Japonais (male)?
It's not speaking of a Japanese person here, which could be male or female. It's talking about the language, and the language's name is japonais. It's not an adjective, it's an object
why not 'parler le japonais?' One of the earlier examples use 'parle le russe,' just curious why not it wouldn't use 'parler le japonais.'
Both should be acceptable here. I think that the "le" option is just adhering to the general rule of using an article before a noun, but probably because the names of languages (e.g. le français) have the same form as the adjective it is acceptable to omit the article when describing the language someone speaks. However I think that when referring to a national language in a more formal context you would use the article before the name.
- 1689
The expression of "savoir" + infinitive is understood as "to know how to" + verb. http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/savoir.htm
I have a question. Would "Japonais" be capitalized or not? Usually I see that in French, ethnicities and languages are not capitalized, but they are here. Why is that?
French adjectives that refer to nationalities are not capitalized, but proper nouns are.
"She knows how to speak Japanese." = "She is able to speak Japanese." "She knows to speak Japanese." = "She is aware that she needs to/should speak Japanese in a certain situation." If the first sentence translates as "Elle sait parler japonais," then how do we translate the second sentence
"Elle peut parler japonais" = "She is able to/She can speak Japanese"
I imagine "She knows to speak Japanese" would be something like "Elle sait qu'il faut parler japonais" (she knows that it's necessary to speak Japanese).
Duolingo is saying that "Elle sais parler japonais" is "She knows how to speak Japanese" but isn't that "Elle sais COMMENT parler japonais" ?? Where did the "How" come into the sentence when translated??
And isn't "Elle sais parler japonais" translated to "She knows to speak Japanese"
so confused....
Relax, it's ok. Just read through some of the comments above - snophie answered your question just a week ago.
J'ai entendu « Elle sépare les Japonais. » au lieu de « Elle sait parler japonais. »…
But isn't 'japonaise' the feminine noun for japense? Therefore shouldn't the answer be japonais because it's a WOMAN/female which is the subject or summit like that?? Very confused!
confused over Japonais and Japonaise, is it using the word as a noun or an ajective, in the threads someone has said it is a noun so is masculine but my dictionary says the noun can be masculine and feminine , any clues??
Given that it is a female who is refered to, why isn’t the correct word, “japonaise” (with the feminine “e”) ?
