Module 3.4 Questions/Concerns

Salut-
I just finished Level 1 Module 3, and have some lingering questions about content covered in the lessons.

1. Non, la date est déjà imprimée sur les tickets. (No, the date is already printed on the tickets.)
What is the role of imprimée in this sentence? Am I correct that this form of 'imprimer' is an adjective used to describe the state of 'the date'?

2. 'tour' vs. 'une visite guidée'
In a previous lesson, I learned that a guided tour was 'une visite guidée.' So I just assumed that 'tour' was 'guidé'. But in 3.4, this sentence was used: Merci, mais j'ai déjà fait le tour de la Bastille. (Thanks, but I have already done the tour of the Bastille.) Are there two French words for 'tour'? If so, how do I know when to use each one?

3. Un billet plein tarif vs. un billet tarif enfant & un billet tarif étudiant
Why does 'plein' come before 'tarif' in 'un billet plein tarif, but 'enfant' & 'étudiant' appear after 'tarif' in their respective phrases? Does it have to do with the fact that 'plein' counts as referring to the quality of the tarif? So as an adjective, it comes before the noun it is describing?

4. Est-ce qu'on doit les composter ? (Do we have to validate them?)
I believe this is mentioned in the audio, but why does 'composter' represent 'to validate'? What is the reason/logic behind that?

5. Non merci, j'ai déjà visité le musée. No thanks, I have already visited the museum.
Why is 'déjà' positioned where it is? It cuts the verb phrase in half. Is there a rule on this?

6. Est-ce qu'on doit acheter des billets aller-retour ? Do we have to buy round-trip tickets?
I have a feeling this answer is obvious, but why is 'des' used instead of 'les'? Is the verb 'acheter' always followed by 'de'?

7. Plein tarif vs. tarif complet
According to the lesson 'plein tarif' means 'full price' and 'tarif complet' means 'price fully booked'. I feel like those two terms mean the same thing, how are they different? Why is tarif the first word in the phrase, yet is the second verb in the second phrase?

8. Faire la vaiselle vs faire les courses
I recently learned these terms in one of the quizzes, along with 'faire les magasins' & 'faire les valises'. Why does 'faire la vaiselle' use 'la' instead of 'les' like the rest? Also, I thought dishes was spelled 'vaisselle' in French, using two 's'.

I know 8 grammar questions is a lot. So to whoever responds, please take your time! And please know that your answers are truly appreciated!

Merci Beaucoup!!!
-Calli 

 

Salut CalliW,

1. Imprimer is the verb 'to print', but you can take the past tense or participle of this verb 'imprimé' (male) or 'imprimée' (female) and use it as an adjective, i.e. 'printed'. As you correctly noted, it is used to describe the state of 'the date', i.e. that it is printed.

2. 'Tour' is used much in the same way as we do in English. It may be guided in a museum, campus or house, but it doesn't have to be, just in the same way you may take a quick tour of a park, shops etc. However, it naturally indicates movement around something. 'Visite' tends to be used more broadly than our 'visit' in English, encompassing the meaning of 'visit', 'tour', 'house call', 'viewing' and doesn't necessarily indicate movement around something. However, if you have 'une visite guidé' or 'a guided visit' then we can assume it is a formal, guided service.

3. Plein. Most adjectives are placed after the noun in French, hence why the convention to place 'enfant' and 'étudiant' after the word 'tarif'. Here are a couple more examples of that convention: 'les yeux bleues' (blue eyes) and 'l'économie chinoise' (the Chinese economy). However, there are some exceptions and those exceptions include quantitative adjectives. 'Enfant' and 'étudiant' are qualitative adjectives, not quantitative so they follow the noun, but 'plein' is quantitative, indicating that the amount you pay is in 'full', so it appears before the noun.

4. 'Composter' comes from the word 'composteur' which is a machine that validates tickets, usually by marking them or punching holes in them. It is related to words used in printing as well. 

5. Déjà. This adverb is usually placed between the auxiliary verb i.e. j'ai and the past participle i.e.  visité. So, this position here is correct.

6. Est-ce qu'on doit acheter des billets aller-retour? Here, is it easiest to translate it and work with the English to see the distinction. Remember 'des' means 'some' and 'les' means 'the'. So, 'do we have to buy the round-trip tickets?' - which indicates we know exactly which tickets we are talking about and/or are perhaps questioning whether they need to be 'round-trip'. Whereas, 'do we have to buy some round-trip tickets?' indicates we haven't spoken about this before and are questioning the purchase in general. 

7. Plein tarif and tarif complet. Basically, there isn't really a difference between the two. However, the former is only ever in reference to a 'full price', whereas 'tarif complet' can be more qualitative, encompassing a pricing structure or package. Remember what I said about adjectives. Those before nouns can be quantitative, those after nouns are usually qualitative, and that distinction works quite well here.

8. La vaisselle. La vaisselle (yes, with two 's') can be translated most commonly as 'dishes' in English which is obviously plural. However, in French it is more of a collective noun used in the singular which is why we use 'la' instead of 'les'. Again, we can use (British) English examples to distinguish this clearer. Dishes is obviously plural, but crockery or tableware is a collective noun used in the singular (this is how 'la vaisselle' works). For example, we can say (again in British English) 'the dishes are over there', but 'the tableware is over there'.

I really hope this helps. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Mitchell

Mitchell-
Merci, beaucoup- I know that was a lot! Your answers really cleared things up for me.

À la prochaine fois,
Calli