Hela  +  73662 Sun, 13 Feb 05 01:53 PM Dear teachers, Would you please tell me which meaning have the following English sentences ? 1) He refused to move so that the police had to carry him away. SO THAT here introduces a) a conséquence ? b) an aim ? c) could be both ? 2) Him, talk to Sandra? They couldn't even discuss the weather these days without it turning into an argument. the combination of the past COULD with THESE DAYS isn't odd ? should it not have been "those days" instead ? My question is "should the unability COULD NOT be translated in the present or the past tense?" Thank you in advance for your help. Kind regards, Hela Hela Joined on Mon, Nov 15 2004 Tunisia Regular Member 831 Regards, Tenses, Past Tenses

	Mister Micawber  +  73671 Sun, 13 Feb 05 02:14 PM I see what you mean about (1); we would interpret it as ( a ) on probability; context would determine the real meaning, however. 'They would not be able to discuss the weather these days (if they had/were to have a conversation about it today or tomorrow.)' Conditional II -- non-past improbable/impossible: they are not in fact speaking to each other. Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,802 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' Conversations, Conditionals

	Hela  +  73697 Sun, 13 Feb 05 05:55 PM Dear teachers who also speak French / Dear CalifJim, Taking consideration of what Mr Micawber told me about sentence #2 above, should I translate it by : Lui, parler à Sandra ? Ces jours-ci, ils ne SERAIENT (and not SONT) même pas capables de parler de la pluie et du beau temps sans que cela ne tourne/tournât au vinaigre / sans qu’ils ne se disputent. Sorry for this intrusion of French here but I'd like to have the opinion of English speakers. Best regards, Hela Hela Regards

	CalifJim  +  73711 Sun, 13 Feb 05 09:32 PM "seraient", yes! Not "sont"! the "-ould" words in English (would, could, should) often serve the same purpose in English that the conditional mood/tense of French serves in French. Not in every case, but very often. (You might just as well include Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.) [I liked "tourner au vinaigre" better than "se disputer"! ] CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,399 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Tenses, Conditionals

	Hela  +  73787 Mon, 14 Feb 05 08:05 AM Thanks Jim, May I ask you questions about translation sometimes ? Best regards, hela Hela Regards, Translation

	CalifJim  +  73913 Mon, 14 Feb 05 04:03 PM Of course! As you can well imagine, I'm better at translating from French to English than the other way around. I often translate articles from LeMonde, in fact. CJ CalifJim Articles