Lecture 7 (Restriction) Flashcards
Only they will tell you (use seul)
Eux seuls te le diront.
He alone can understand her (use seul)
– Lui seul peut la comprendre.
Only my mother can understand her
Seule sa mère peut la comprendre.
– Sa mère seule peut la comprendre
‘seul’ can be placed after or before the subject noun:
He only has trust for him mother
Il n’y a qu’en sa mère qu’il a confiance. (Il
n’a confiance qu’en sa mère).
He does nothing but drink.
Il ne fait que boire.
Denis only works on saturdays
Denis does nothing but work on saturdays
Denis ne travaille que le samedi.
Denis ne fait que travailler le samedi.
He buys anything
Il achète n’importe quoi
I’ll meet him anywhere
Je le rencontrerai n’importe où.
He can go anytime.
Il peut y aller n’importe quand.
He is sloppy in his work
Il travaille n’importe comment.
Every day, he took the bus, whatever the weather (no matter what the weather was like).
Chaque jour il prenait le bus, par n’importe quel temps.
/ Chaque jour il prenait le bus quel que soit le temps
The expressions related to n’importe (seen before) cannot introduce a
subordinate clause. Therefore, we cannot use them as conjunctions.
If the exclusion of the restriction is on the totality of the subordinate clause, they are two possibilities:
the subordinate clause can be introduced by:
• The following conjunction: “où que…” = wherever; “qui que…” = whoever; “quoi que…” =whatever. The verb of the subordinate is in the subjunctive.
• The construction “quel(les) que soit/soient…” = whatever
Wherever we go, we meet them.
Où que nous allions, nous les rencontrons.
No matter who you are, abide by the rules of the game.
Qui que vous soyez, respectez les règles du jeu.
Whatever your excuses, you must see the principal.
Quelles que soient vos excuses, vous devez voir le directeur.
