- Forum >
- Topic: French >
- "They are among us!"
"They are among us!"
Translation:Elles sont parmi nous !
27 Comments
Why is "ils sont parmi nous" correct, but "ils sont entre nous" is not? Is the latter a problem in duolingo, or is it indeed wrong to use "entre"?
Actually, spenceworth is wrong, it would indeed be "ils sont entre nous", but that would be "they are between us", not "among us".
93
I seem to remember Sitesurf saying that putting d'entre rather than entre would change its meaning from between to among but I could be wrong. Is this correct or not?
You can use it in some cases, but this is not one of them. See http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/d%E2%80%99entre for more information.
- 114
They are between us means you and another person (or a few) are standing, with "them" in the middle of you. (Or it could be used more emotionally, to mean pulling you and the other person apart, that "they" have come between you, but that would almost always require the "come")
They are among us is a general phrase, such as e.g. "fans of the rival team...they are among us!" as in they exist in the same area we do.
Research a bit on the nuance difference between "among" versus "between" and the 2 vs many distinction. It may help.
I think this is wrong that we should choose both, as parmi and milieu are not the same thing. Parmi means "among" but "au milieu de" means in the middle. When we say in English that we are among friends, we don't mean we are exactly in the middle of friends. So "au milieu de" seems more specific and often more physically located than "parmi".
I like to get an answer from mods or course writers.
I wrote ce sont parmi nous and it was wrong. I know there is probably a rule why but I don't get it.
Is it possible to use the direct object pronoun here? So would "Il nous sont parmi" be wrong?
- 420
That doesn't make any sense. There is no direct object in that sentence. There is never a direct object of the verb "to be".
"Parmi" is a preposition; after a preposition, you use a stressed pronoun - parmi nous, parmi vous, parmi eux, parmi elles.
"Ce" alone, without a noun, doesn't work for people. You can find "ce" in constructions like "c'est" (singular) and "ce sont" (plural), which are equivalent to "there is/are", so these constructions would be followed be nominal groups "ce sont des professionnels", "ce sont des chiens sauvages", "c'est un livre",...
Only because you have put your words in an incorrect order. Parmi is a preposition ; if there is an English phrase saying that "a preposition is a very bad word to end up a sentence with", in French it is more than bad - it is impossible.
among is just too loose a translation for au milieu de by DL's usual standards - parmi is accurate. I've reported it...much good it will do!
When are you allowed to use 'chez' for 'among'? ('Chez' was one of the hints)
I must admit I never wondered about this one, but I'd say you can use "chez" for "among" when talking about a community even as reduced as a family - as opposed to a home/house.
