46 Comments
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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.
- 1689
"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. ;-)
- 728
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?
- 728
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.
Never heard it in Australia in my entire lifetime either... lol however, we use 'efficacy' in the scientific literature quiet a bit.
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.
- 1689
I'm confused that you've heard of "efficacy" and not its associated adjective "efficacious" (e.g., "the drug is efficacious")...
- 728
It's commonly used in medical literature in discussing drugs or treatments; that's about the only time you hear or read it.
on pronunciation: is the robot right to pronounce the 'n' in 'moyeN efficace', please?
It is not my rule... take look at this:
http://french.about.com/library/pronunciation/bl-liaisons-f.htm
Can anyone offer any guidance on the different uses of the words "moyen", "facon" and "maniére"? They all seem to mean "way", "style" or "manner".
When would you use each?
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)...
With that meaning, you have to use the spelling "means": "an effective means"
Merci. :) Could we have a sentence which looks like this : It is an efficient means ?
Not really, since in French television, radio, press, etc are called "media"
Hi sitesurf, Does moyen mean carrier such as water or oil that can carry molecules or germs?(Sorry my mastery was biology : P) If so I think medium is a perfect alternative. Cause medium has other meanings!
un moyen (= means) should be complemented by something to mean carrier: moyen de transport, moyen de transmission...
As better words, to mean 'carrying germs', you would use: vecteur, transmetteur, véhicule...
- 143
From my internship in france as molecular biologist, millieu is used as medium
Guys, I'm not native english speaker so please tell me - is the expression "an efficient meanS" is correct, with the "s" at the end? Couldn't it be "an efficient mean" ?
- 728
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.
Thanks! I know all the other meanings, just didn't know that this one has the -s :P I knew that you say "by all/no means" and "means of transportation" and so on, I guess that what got my attention was the strange -s in coincidence with the article :P Well, learn something every day :P
"It is an effective medium" should also be accepted. If one were discussing television as a medium to advertise to children for example, we would use the above sentence.
- 1697
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.
"Medium" and "means" are interchangeable under the definition: "an intervening agency, means, or instrument by which something is conveyed or accomplished." This is what I was trying to get at. For instance, "Words are a medium of expression" or "Words are a means of expression".
I agree that "medium" can be used when it comes to "un moyen de communication".
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.
"moyen, moyenne, moyens, moyennes" as an adjective does mean "average", an sometimes "normal" or "regular".
"un moyen" as a noun most often refers to "a means"
- 1697
Except that "average" makes no sense in as "it's an efficient average"....huh? Try "way" or "means".
it seems duolingo tends to translate this as "way" or "method," while giving you useless hints of "of medium thickness," "medium" and "by means of". Bizarre! After the first time I knew the word, but talk about terrible default hints.
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.
the 3 I listed were the top 3 hints, and were each time I came back to that sentence. I didn't even know you could scroll down. In fact, they are still showing when I mouse over moyen at the top of this page!
i'm surprised by the liason between 'moyeN' and 'efficace'. I thought that liasons were not allowed with nouns in singular...
I heard ''C'est en moyenne efficace'', as in ''It is efficient on average''. Is that correct French? Or would it sound different?
"Moyen" has a nasal sound at the end, not an N sound.
Also "un" and "en" do not sound alike.
I suggest you go to Google Translate, enter "un moyen" and "en moyenne" side by side and train your ears and mouth to the differences.
