46 Comments
Why is the à required in this sentence? Would it also be correct to say lesquels sont vous?
the preposition "à" complements the verb "être" : "être à quelqu'un" is "to belong to someone".
"lesquels sont vous" would translate in "which are you" (which does not have much sense, I think)
No it is not (in English = which are your?).
You need a possessive pronoun:
- les vôtres/les tiens/les tiennes
or the à + stressed pronoun formula:
- à vous / à toi.
1553
lesquels sont vous ? does not make sense, unless you're in a fancy-dress party (fête costumée)
So you pick up the phone and ask your friend "lesquels sont vous ?"
lesquels sont vous will never work, because the form of verb "être" for "vous" is "êtes": "lesquels êtes-vous ?"
FWIW there's an English colloquialism "which are you" would be "which of these is yours". "I'm the pie" might be a response in a restaurant.
In a French restaurant:
- "Qu'est-ce que vous avez pris/commandé ?"
Or more efficient:
- "Pour qui, la tarte ?"
- "La tarte, c'est... ?"
- 1553
I think you're confused because of "vous"
In French, both "you" and "yours" are translated to "vous"
If it was other pronoun, like "I/je" or "you/tu", it would've been translated like this
Lesquels sont à moi ? -> which ones are mine?
Lesquels sont à toi ? -> which ones are yours?
Hope this clears up the confusion.
in French "which ones do you have?" is "lesquels avez-vous ?" - another sentence, another meaning, another exercise. therefore, the simpler, the better, try and stick to the original language for your translations.
Would the literal translation be "which ones have you?". If so, that's fairly easy to remember as that is archaic, but none the less understandable English.
I know literal translations are often a red herring, but i find them useful for remembering things than trying to do it by rote.
- 1663
No, the "à" is not a conjugation of "avoir". It is the preposition à and in the expression "à vous", it means "yours".
- 1663
It needs to be "les vôtres" as a pronoun = yours. There is no "votres" in French.
All these are correct: lesquels sont les vôtres, lesquels sont les tiens, lesquelles sont les vôtres, lesquelles sont les tiennes.
Why did duolingo count it wrong when i didn't voice the s in sont? Could it be taken as some other word?
- 234
Same here - I listened several times; can't hear it at all. I reported it, but I don't think they can change the recordings too easily.
yes, because "your" translates in "vos" all right but "yours" translates in "le vôtre" or "les vôtres".
Yes, absolutely "lesquels (or depending on context: lesquelles) sont les vôtres (les tiens) ?" is interchangeable with "lesquelles sont à vous (à toi) ?"
yes, it works, but the objective of this exercise is to teach how to use "à moi, à toi, à vous ..." to mean possession.
- 1663
You may be confusing the " a " with " à ". The first is "have" (conjugation of avoir); the second in the expression "à vous" means "yours".
Why isn't 'which ones are from you?' accepted. It's a rather literal translation but why is it incorrect?
why is it some of these phrases are impossible to get the voicerec to accept while others with the same words are instantly recognized? I do not seem to have this problem in the Spanish or German lessons, butrun into it quite often in French
I was ony able to get this one to recognize each word by speaking like a very angry old Frenchman.
- 143
How to distinguish between which ones are yours and which ones are to you?
