I am a native French speaker and I have learnt so much from your post. Nevertheless, I’d like to add some elements for the French part. When it comes to drinks, you said that we usually say “proposer à boire”. You are totally right but we could also (like in English) say when the context is clear : “qu’est-ce que je peux vous offrir ?”. When it’s the apéritif time and we know we are all gonna get a drink, the host can say that. Now if you say the same thing in a bar to all your friends, that means that you are gonna pay for the drinks of everybody.
The other expression that seems a bit awkward to me is in the case of a death, to say just one simple word : “condoléances”. I have never said it so abruptly and never heard it either. Like in English, we would elaborate a bit more and say: “Je te/vous présente toutes mes condoléances”.
Thank you again for your very interesting posts! 🙂
Rosemary Kneipp
August 9th, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Hi Dinah and thank you for your comments. I shall add your information about “condoléances”. I told my husband, since he’s the one that taught me to say it and he says you’re perfectly right but that since that is what the people around him (work, family) say, he doesn’t want to stand out. Maybe, then, it’s also a question of “milieu”. From now on, I’ll say “je vous présente toutes mes condoléances”.
Dinah
August 9th, 2013 at 12:33 pm
Sorry I forgot an option: it’s also possible to say: “Toutes mes condoléances”.
Jacqueline
August 9th, 2013 at 12:38 pm
a very common usage of offrir is when you are buying anything in a store. The clerk will ask, c’est pour offrir? which means is it a gift because if it is she will wrap it for you. By the way re “je lui ai proposer de l’aide” after the preposition “de” the verb would be in the infinitive. Aider can be one of those verbs that have multiple meanings too, like help financially. If you want to be sure it’s more manual rather than financial, it;s common to say je lui ai proposé de lii donner un coup de main.
Rosemary Kneipp
August 9th, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Thank you for your input, Jacqueline. I’ve corrected my sentence and put “j’ai proposé de l’aider”. I hadn’t thought of the ambiguity. That’s what’s great about comments!
Really useful and informative post, clarifying some things I kind of knew but couldn’t have explained. The implications of the differences when you offer a drink I didn’t know, and your point about elegance is well made too. I must try to be more elegant…
Rosemary Kneipp
August 9th, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Go for the elegance! Though you will see from Dinah’s comment that you can say “Qu’est-ce que je t’offre à boire?” I was actually thinking more of the sentence “Il m’a proposé deux vins différents” and not “il m’a offert deux vins différents” – in the first case, he gave me a choice while in the second case he gave them to me as a present.
Very interesting article! Thank you!
I am a native French speaker and I have learnt so much from your post. Nevertheless, I’d like to add some elements for the French part. When it comes to drinks, you said that we usually say “proposer à boire”. You are totally right but we could also (like in English) say when the context is clear : “qu’est-ce que je peux vous offrir ?”. When it’s the apéritif time and we know we are all gonna get a drink, the host can say that. Now if you say the same thing in a bar to all your friends, that means that you are gonna pay for the drinks of everybody.
The other expression that seems a bit awkward to me is in the case of a death, to say just one simple word : “condoléances”. I have never said it so abruptly and never heard it either. Like in English, we would elaborate a bit more and say: “Je te/vous présente toutes mes condoléances”.
Thank you again for your very interesting posts! 🙂
Hi Dinah and thank you for your comments. I shall add your information about “condoléances”. I told my husband, since he’s the one that taught me to say it and he says you’re perfectly right but that since that is what the people around him (work, family) say, he doesn’t want to stand out. Maybe, then, it’s also a question of “milieu”. From now on, I’ll say “je vous présente toutes mes condoléances”.
Sorry I forgot an option: it’s also possible to say: “Toutes mes condoléances”.
a very common usage of offrir is when you are buying anything in a store. The clerk will ask, c’est pour offrir? which means is it a gift because if it is she will wrap it for you. By the way re “je lui ai proposer de l’aide” after the preposition “de” the verb would be in the infinitive. Aider can be one of those verbs that have multiple meanings too, like help financially. If you want to be sure it’s more manual rather than financial, it;s common to say je lui ai proposé de lii donner un coup de main.
Thank you for your input, Jacqueline. I’ve corrected my sentence and put “j’ai proposé de l’aider”. I hadn’t thought of the ambiguity. That’s what’s great about comments!
Really useful and informative post, clarifying some things I kind of knew but couldn’t have explained. The implications of the differences when you offer a drink I didn’t know, and your point about elegance is well made too. I must try to be more elegant…
Go for the elegance! Though you will see from Dinah’s comment that you can say “Qu’est-ce que je t’offre à boire?” I was actually thinking more of the sentence “Il m’a proposé deux vins différents” and not “il m’a offert deux vins différents” – in the first case, he gave me a choice while in the second case he gave them to me as a present.
Great article, showing how one word like “offrir” can be put in many different contexts, just like in English. I enjoy reading this kind of posts!
Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy them. I find language fascinating.