INTERMEDIATE. LESSON #3. QUAND J'ÉTAIS PETITE
- Nous n’irons pas voir Victor et Marie, Suzanne.- Oh… pourquoi ?
- Victor est malade.
- Moi, je ne suis jamais malade.
- Ce n’est pas vrai. Quand tu étais bébé, tu étais toujours malade.
- J’étais malade ?
- Oui, tu toussais et tu pleurais beaucoup.
- C’était grave ?
- Non. Un jour, tu as arrêté de tousser et tu as retrouvé ton sourire.
TRANSLATION
- We won’t go and see Victor and Marie, Suzanne.
- Oh…Why ?
- Victor is sick.
- I’m never sick.
- When you were a baby, you were always sick.
- I was sick ?
- Yes, you were coughing and crying a lot.
- Was it serious ?
- No. One day, you just stopped coughing and you found your smile back.
- We won’t go and see Victor and Marie, Suzanne.
- Oh…Why ?
- Victor is sick.
- I’m never sick.
- When you were a baby, you were always sick.
- I was sick ?
- Yes, you were coughing and crying a lot.
- Was it serious ?
- No. One day, you just stopped coughing and you found your smile back.
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We don’t have a word for toddler so we use bébé a little longer. |
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Bébé (masc.) : baby. Pleurer : to cry. Arrêter : to stop. Retrouver : to find back. Sourire (masc.) : smile. |
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We always use the imparfait tense to express habits in the past :
Quand tu étais bébé, tu étais toujours malade.
Oui, tu toussais et tu pleurais beaucoup. What Jean is telling to Suzanne happens a lot of times in the past. That’s why he choosed this tense. Then Jean uses the passé composé : it’s a sudden and important action in the past. It shows the end of the habit.
Un jour, tu as arrêté de tousser et tu as retrouvé le sourire.
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Translate in French : 1. When I was a baby. 2. When you were young, you were nice. Translate in English : 1. Quand nous étions bébé, nous étions petits. 2. Quand j’étais malade, je toussais beaucoup. Jeune : young. Vieux, vieille : old. What do you understand ? Answers |
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