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- "C'est un moyen efficace."
46 Comments
479
I have to wonder why the word "efficacious" is being used here when the dictionaries I looked up translate "efficace" first as "efficient" with "efficacious" way down the list. "Efficacious" is not a commonly used word so I am puzzled as to why it is being used here.
2265
"Efficacious" and "efficacy" are most likely found in medical/scientific journals when speaking of drugs. Efficient and effective aren't quite what the writers mean sometimes. "Efficient" refers to the time frame (how fast a drug will take to work) and "effective" simply refers to whether or not it works. "Efficacious" is more about the drug working as expected. I first came across it working in marketing research, and then again as a law clerk doing intellectual property law in, for the most part, the pharmaceutical industry.
Yes, it's not a common word and probably most people won't need to use the words "efficacy" or "efficacious", but it's an excellent word that succinctly describes something more specific than "effective" or "efficient". If we're here to learn new languages, I don't see that it should be troublesome to learn new words in our own language. ;-)
1283
I think helenvee's point (with which I agree) is not that efficacious is wrong, but that it is not, by far, the most common contextual translation for the word "efficace." Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, "efficace" will be translated in context as "efficient," so why is Duo using the one percent answer, rather than the ninety-nine percent answer?
1283
The exercise has been updated since I wrote my response. When I wrote that, the 99% answer ("efficient") WAS rejected, with the 1% answer ("efficacious") being the suggested answer.
Yes, the "efficacy" of a drug, for example. "Efficacious" is a word that I've either heard or read a number of times in my life. As your comment implies, petedarwin, it is the kind of word that is usually reserved for sophisticated speech or writing -- a journal article, a university lecture, a scientific study, and such. Whether or not it belongs in a Duolingo exercise, I guess is debatable. But it is a perfectly good English word, and still very much in use.
2265
I'm confused that you've heard of "efficacy" and not its associated adjective "efficacious" (e.g., "the drug is efficacious")...
1283
It's commonly used in medical literature in discussing drugs or treatments; that's about the only time you hear or read it.
It is not my rule... take look at this:
http://french.about.com/library/pronunciation/bl-liaisons-f.htm
In this sentence, all 3 can work, since we don't know what exactly the "way" is referring to.
Generally speaking, "une façon" and "une manière" are pretty much interchangeable, referring to non-concrete things. "I'll do it my way" = "je vais le faire à ma façon/manière".
"un moyen" is more concrete: un moyen de transport, un moyen de paiement, un moyen de communication, je n'ai pas les moyens (I can't afford it)...
1283
No, "means" has to have the "s" at the end in order to mean "method." :-) Without the "s," the infinitive "to mean" represents a definition, it can be used as an adjective meaning "nasty" or "vicious," or in mathematics, it is another word for "average." Only "means" with an "s" had the definition of method or route.
2273
When moyen is used as "medium", it refers to sizes. Be aware that "moyen" can be translated as "means" or "way", so either of those work here.
I played the recording over and over and "efficase" always sounded like "efiDicase," which of course, is not a word. Bye-bye heart. Can someone recommend a playback setting for me? This is the umpteenth time I have been unable to discern what the recordings are saying. And yes, my ears are clean and working. Thanks.
2273
Except that "average" makes no sense in as "it's an efficient average"....huh? Try "way" or "means".
What I first read when I hover on "moyen" is: way, means, method
And in reverse: way = moyen, manière, façon
Just don't scroll down the hint list, for you get further and further away from the expected translation.
Pick the one that appears first for it is probably the one used in the Best translation.