ventodue
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Posts posted by ventodue
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[quote user="Hereford"]My son lives and works in Québec and says his (French speaking) colleagues often write the infinitive of a verb instead of the past participle in official letters to "customers" of the Min of Justice ... <snip>[/quote]
Yup, it's not as uncommon here in France as it should be, either [:)].
It also gained a certain amount of renown in connection with a celebrated murder case in 1991. The scrawled accusation, "Omar m'a tuer" pointed the finger at a certain Omar Raddad as being the killer of Ghislaine Marchal who had employed him as her gardener. Raddad was tried, found guilty and sentenced to 18 years, but has always protested his complete innocence. He was released early, in 1998, under a partial presidential pardon. His defence counsel continues to ask for new DNA analyses to be made of blood samples, which are not his, that were found on the scene of the crime.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affaire_Omar_Raddad#La_gr.C3.A2ce_pr.C3.A9sidentielle
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1. Here you are, Chancer:
http://66.46.185.79/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?t1=1&id=4208
2. And it's definitively, "Allez!" (As in, "Allez, circulez, il n'y a rien à voir" ... [:)])
Btw, it's always "Allez" even if you're tutoy-ing the person you're addressing. So, "Allez, finis ton travail". Or even better* [:D] [8-)], "Allez, viens, on s'en va!"
* La grammaire? On s'en moque, quoi .. [:-))]
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The 'Bible' of French grammar, Grevisse's Le Bon Usage, is curiously silent on the matter. However, here FWIW is a rather long-winded - but with examples! - discourse that supports Angela's contention. That said, I have a sneaking suspicion that Araucaria's idea may also hold good ... [+o(]
(From l'Office québécois de la langue française btw).
Impératif et infinitif
L'impératif et l'infinitif peuvent tous deux être employés pour exprimer un ordre, un conseil, une consigne, une marche à suivre ou une interdiction.
Exemples :
- POUSSER/TIRER
- POUSSEZ/TIREZ
Dans des textes administratifs, techniques ou commerciaux, on a parfois le choix d'employer l'impératif ou l'infinitif, mais leur utilisation entraîne le respect de règles de concordance avec les autres éléments de la phrase. On doit aussi veiller à les utiliser de manière uniforme, dans un même texte ou document.
Toutefois, ces deux modes comportent des nuances particulières qui font que l'emploi de l'un ou de l'autre est parfois plus approprié dans certains contextes, selon notamment le type d'écrit et son intention.
1. L’infinitif
1.1. L'emploi de l'infinitif convient davantage aux avis de sécurité, aux simples indications techniques, aux instructions très courtes, aux modes d'emploi généraux ou aux consignes qui s'adressent à un lectorat indifférencié. Le texte à l'infinitif est impersonnel, neutre, distant, moins prescriptif que l'impératif.
Exemples :
- AVANT D’OUVRIR, COUPER LE COURANT
- Avant de partir, fermer la porte
- À conserver au frais
- Ne pas nourrir les animaux
- Ne rien laisser dans la salle
- Ne pas mettre en marche
- Éteindre et débrancher l’appareil après usage.
- Indiquer la date d'entrée en vigueur du contrat.
- Découper suivant le pointillé.
- Appuyer sur le bouton entrée pour ouvrir le menu principal.
- Faire sauter le jambon et les échalotes pendant cinq minutes.
1.2. Lorsqu'on emploie l'infinitif, on doit dépersonnaliser les pronoms et les adjectifs possessifs ou les utiliser à la troisième personne (éviter l'emploi de vous, votre, vos), et employer des tournures impersonnelles, comme prière de.
Exemples :
- Commencer par l'emploi le plus récent. (et non : par votre emploi le plus récent)
- Prière de ne pas déranger.
- Pour bénéficier de ces avantages, il faut en faire la demande avant le 31 décembre (formule non infinitive, mais impersonnelle)
- Les candidats sélectionnés devront se présenter aux auditions qui auront lieu le 8 mars prochain. (formule non infinitive, mais à la troisième personne)
2. L’impératif
2.1 Le mode impératif évoque un ton plus personnel, plus proche du public lecteur. Il convient davantage pour donner des instructions ou des conseils à suivre personnellement.
2.2 On l'emploie notamment dans les formulaires dans lesquels on demande explicitement de répondre à des questions précises, comme une demande d'emploi, et dans le texte des affiches de sécurité dont le style est direct, parfois familier, et accompagné d'une illustration. Les recettes sont souvent à l’impératif.
Exemples :
- N'oubliez pas de remplir le verso du formulaire de demande d'emploi.
- Portez toujours votre équipement de sécurité dans l'usine.
- Si le poste vous intéresse, faites parvenir votre candidature à l’adresse ci-dessous.
- Si vous désirez participer au concours, remplissez le coupon de participation et postez-le avant le 10 mars.
- Ajoutez 50 ml de jus d’orange.
2.3 Avec l'impératif, on emploie les pronoms personnels et les adjectifs possessifs à la deuxième personne (vous, votre, vos).
Exemples :
- Veuillez faire parvenir votre curriculum vitæ à madame Lise Hudon.
- Vous voyagez à l’étranger? Consultez notre site Internet avant votre départ.
2.4 L’expression s'il vous plaît (ainsi que son abréviation SVP d’un usage plus familier), ne s’emploient qu’avec l’impératif et se place en principe à la fin de la phrase.
Exemples :
- Respectez le silence des lieux, s'il vous plaît!
- Faites-moi parvenir vos commentaires SVP.
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Thanks for the photos, John. Can be right scary things, Sparrowhawks - and she's a 'Big Girl' [:)]We have one here who visits here occasionally, targetting the innocents squabbling over the bird feeders. She (I think it is a female ...) sometimes uses people as a bit of cover: the first you know she's there is the rush of wings as she passes just over your head, striking before her targets can give the alarm ...Glad I'm not a Great Tit ...[+o(]
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Hi James and welcome,
Norman's advice is spot-on (I speak as the owner of a number of rented flats).
All that I would add is that you need to appreciate that attitudes to property, its ownership and its occupancy, are NOT the same here as they are in the UK. Making this mistake can lead you into all sorts of problems - do NOT rely on your knowledge of how things work in the UK.
Good Luck!
Craig
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(Just to get this thread back on topic ...[:)][quote user="NormanH"]As for how the figures are calculated, there is this:http://www.pole-emploi.org/actualites/comment-sont-calcules-les-chiffres-du-chomage--@/543/view-article-75876.html <snip>[/quote]Thanks Norman - good. I s'pose we should assume that Yovan Menkevick, the author of the original piece, was not aware that Pole Emploi considers " les comparaisons internationales impossibles". But then again, it's just so much easier to say, "Le chômage anglais est, disons-le, une vasteescroquerie" - n'est-ce pas?I can't find much about this M. Menkevick. I had assumed he was an economist; but from what I gather, he's actually a political commentator - or rather, as he puts it, "Journaliste, activiste, non-moraliste, écriviste".Hmmm. Pas de commentaire [:P].
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Good post, Norman - thanks.
It's always a shame when an economist overlays his science with his own political interpretation [:)]. But at least some of his figures seem to check out:
- UK deficit (as % of GDP) is indeed "plus de 90%". It's 90.6% (Office National Statistics). Strangely, he fails to mention that it's higher in France - 95.1% (Projet de loi des finances 2014)
- (If we can forgive him a little inflation [:-))]), then UK debt (as % of GDP) is indeed "près de 6%"; It's actually 5.3% (OECD. France 3.8%).
- And the latest report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies does indeed maintain that 23.2% of the UK population is living below the poverty line.
His claimed UK inflation rate of 4.5% is a bit wonky, mind: according to the ONS, the RPI is at 2% and the Consumer Prices Index is at 1%.
Making comparisons of national unemployment rates is always difficult. But all I do know is that the UK uses the definition of the International Labour Organisation (an agency of the United Nations). Dunno what France uses ...?
But, hey! Just don't ask me what it all means ..[8-)]
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[quote user="crack"] <snip> ...ou une sous-couche au chromate de zinc.[/quote]Zinc chromate primer! Blimey, that brings back memories (as per Théière) ...[:-))]Still ... worth a try, I s'pose [:)].
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As Chancer says, it really depends on how old the surface is, Paul. 2 years +, and the galvanised has started to acquire a surface layer of zinc carbonate which is well bonded to the underlying layer. In this state, there's no surface prep to do, besides a clean to remove dust and muck.Partially exposed galvanised can be a pain, however. The surface compounds (zinc oxide and zinc hydroxide) are relatively weakly attached electrostatically, and should ideally be removed before painting. They can be washed off; but even so, if you've got a large area to paint, that can be a right PITA. And even then, the result can be disappointing - DAMHIK.Guess it all depends on what you're painting, how big a surface area, and what you want as a result ( I rather like Chancer's idea of bitumen paint ... [:)])HTHCraig
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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]I bet there are times when you wish there was a French Anne Robinson. [/quote]Claire Barsacq.http://img.tvmag.lefigaro.fr/ImCon/Arti/75386/Claire-Barsacq-350.jpghttp://www.france4.fr/emissions/on-n-est-plus-des-pigeons/a-la-une
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Will depend on whether it's a full cooker (cuisinière) or just an oven (four) because of the different loads.
Cooker: 32 amp. Note: also needs 6mm cable.
Oven: 16 amp.
Btw, I can't imagine any sparkie fitting 'fuses' (cartouches) these days. He'll use MCBs (disjoncteurs divisionnaires). And there should also be a RCD (interrupteur différentiel) to protect people against leaks/imbalances.
HTH
Craig
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[quote user="Frederick"] ... when I see a guy look at a computer and tell me his one mechanic at say £50 an hour is going to take 4 hours to do the work on my car knowing at the time he is going to do it 2. At that moment, he is ripping me off for a hundred quid .. In fact planning to steal from me.[/quote]
So, applying this logic, you'd presumably be happy if he billed you for the 2 hours work he reckons the job will take; but charged his mechanic's time out, not at £50/hour, but at £100/hour?* [:-))] .
The point I'm trying to make is that it's not how the final bill is calculated that matters. What matters is whether you, the customer, believes the price charged is justified by the outcome. Trying to break-down a bill in a simplistic way like this is simply a pointless exercise (and one likely to get you hot under the collar!): you don't know what his charge-out rates are or even, as others have pointed out, how long the job actually takes. So, at the end of the day, either you buy the package - or you don't.
* And £100 an hour for a trained Technician (as they like to be called these days) is not exceptional - go http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2655078/Garage-repair-labour-rates-hit-jaw-dropping-record-highs.html. And this isn't just the normal press rubbish: I have friend who is a BMW Meister Technician at a main South Coast dealer and even 10 years ago his charge out rate was well over £100/hour. Hate to think what it might be today - but then again, I don't own a BMW!
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[quote user="idun"]When I was talking to my son, he reckoned that the landlord had to put the fire detector in .. <snip>[/quote]
(For rented accommodation) Your boy's right, Idun - see Chancer's post above (or follow the link given in mine).
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[quote user="Chancer"]Well rather than rely on a 3 year old article in an English magazine perhaps the French law might be more illuminating
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000027169390 [/quote]
+1 [:)].
Makes me laff, tho'. We have always installed smoke detectors in all our rented properties. Of course, since the tenants and/or their friends are smokers, they take the batteries out ...
[quote user="Chancer"] And still France ignores the existence of smokeseal on fire doors, despite it being an EU requirement and in use in all other countries and insists on désenfumage to feed oxygen to any fire [:(] [/quote]
Me too, Chancer [8-)].
P.s. According to the Mairie de Paris, the legislation has actually been in place since 2010; but le loi ALUR has changed things by making it the reponsibility of the owner to install detectors in rented accommodation. Go http://www.paris.fr/accueil/logement/detecteurs-de-fumee-obligatoires-dans-les-logements-en-2015/rub_9649_actu_142622_port_23745)
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Update to my previous:
I see from here, http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F11094.xhtml, that in order to make a claim under 'défaut de conformité' the fault needs to have appeared within 6 months of purchase. I don't know whether this is so in your case; but seeing as 9 months have now past, you could struggle making the case.
Unfortunately, to prove a 'vis caché', the fault needs to have been there from the start. Which too, could be hard to prove ...
http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F11007.xhtml
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(As I understand it. If anyone reading this knows better, please do not hesitate to make the necessary corrections).
Essentially, there are 2 guarantees that a professional seller is legally obliged to supply in France:
1) That the product is 'de conformité'. This guarantee includes a 'fitness for purpose' undertaking. It is also the guarantee that would most readily cover repeated break-downs, or instances of something repeatedly not working correctly. It lasts for 2 years from the date of purchase.
2) That the product contains no 'vices cachés'. As with the 'garantie de conformité', this guarantee covers faults which make the product "impropre à l’usage auquel on la destine, ou qui diminue tellement cet usage que l’acheteur ne l’aurait pas acquise". It too could cover repeated beak-downs. It lasts for 2 years.
After these, there is the 'garantie commerciale' (it's name when offered by a seller); or a 'garantie du fabriquant' when offered by the manufacturer. However, these guarantees are not obligatory; and their terms, including the guarantee's duration and the extent of redress offered (e.g repair or replacement, parts and labour or parts only) will vary according to who is providing it.
In your case, you might be able to invoke your legal 'garantie de conformité'- and be sure to make specific reference to it - either with Brico Depot or with Airton. However, it is my understanding that, despite what the law says, consumer rights are not as readily accepted by either sellers or manufacturers here in France as they are in the UK.
For more, go (for example):
http://www.conso.net/bases/5_vos_droits/1_conseils/conseil_1072_garanties_du_vendeur-2011.pdf
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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]I don't think people do use the subjunctive that much. I know that when I do use it (not often) people sometimes look at each other with a slightly quizzical "Ooh, hark at her" expression. [/quote]
Same as in English. Use 'may' and 'might', and some people think you're being ever so 'la-de-da'. But if you wanna speak yer language proper, then ..
P.s one very common use of the subjunctive in French: "Il faut que j'y aille."
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[quote user="mint"] It invites us for (date) at the foyer afin de partager un petit moment de convivialité. I use afin que and pour que quite readily, but the afin de made me think that I might not have got the preposition right.[/quote]
You can always use 'afin que' + subjunctive. But, because 'afin de' takes the infinitive, you can't use it if the subject changes. So, for example:
1. "Je vous invite à la mairie afin de faire votre connaissance".
In this case, I'm doing the inviting and I will be meeting you. And yes, you could also say, ""Je vous invite à la mairie afin que je puisse faire votre connaissance".
However, if I'm doing the inviting, but it's Robert who will be meeting you, you have to say:
2. "Je vous invite à la mairie afin que Robert puisse faire votre connaisasance". What you CAN'T say is, "Je vous invite à la mairie afin de Robert faire votre connaisasance".
It's the same in English, btw: "I invite you to the town hall in order to meet you" vs. "I invite you to the town hall so that Robert may meet you".
HTH
Craig
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Lots of light, and avoidance of low temperatures, seems to be the main things. And cut back with care - they are a vine, so will tend to straggle.
Quote from http://containergardening.about.com/od/floweringcontainergarden/a/Dipladenia.htm
" Overwintering Dipoladenia - If you live in a cold climate, it is possible to overwinter dipladenia indoors. Take in your plant before evening temperatures dip below 50 °F. Put it in a place with as much direct sun as you can, though it may even survive if you can provide lots of indirect light. Dipladenia doesn't like the cold so protect it from drafts.
Don't be alarmed if your plant doesn't flower or sheds some leaves in the winter. In the fall, you may see long shoots or sprouts, which you can trim back lightly or train onto a trellis or support.
Stop feeding through the winter. Though plants generally need less water in the winter, central heating can dry the air and your plant very quickly. Keep your plant on the dry side during the cold months, but make sure it doesn't dry out too much. In the spring, increase watering and resume fertilizing. Don't cut the plant back, or you will miss out on next seasons flowers. You can put your plant outside once the nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50°F."
Similar advice here. http://www.jardiner-malin.fr/fiche/mandevilla-dipladenia.html
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[quote user="Jonzjob"]Day-jar-flamin-view or wot [:-))] <snip> Hammerite Smooth White. The best paint anywhere for metal. Not French, Irish!!
[/quote]Btw, Hammerite is owned by AkzoNobel (as is Dulux, International, Cuprinol, Sikkens, Sadolin, Levis etc), a Dutch company based in Amsterdam. (And the formulation sure ain't as the same as the paint you used on your Ford back in 1970 ... [:(])
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No Dave, as far as I understand hydraulics, the id of the pipe shouldn't make any difference.* Think of the hydraulic line as a 'solid but flexible' rod connecting the two cylinders. Move the piston in one cylinder and that movement is transmitted by our 'solid but flexible' rod to the other piston How much the second piston moves is the result of the ratio between this second piston and the first piston. And that you haven't changed.
However (as I appreciate you know ...), if there is any air in the line, then the 'solid but flexible rod' is no longer solid. Instead, the small amount of air in the line compresses and by so doing reduces the amount of movement transmitted to the second piston. And now the clutch doesn't disengage properly ...
Sorry, but it sounds like you've got air in the line. Just remember:
1. Air rises. Unfortuunately, many people think they can get air out of the bottom of a system, often by using a bleed valve placed on the slave cylinder. That may bleed the slave, but not the line.
2. Air bubbles get trapped at joints, elbows, bends, junctions etc (including the cylinders themselves). No amount of pumping will make a bubble move from these points - all you do is shift it up and down the line a bit. Instead, try tapping the bend, flexing the hose etc, always with the notion that, once released, the bubble will rise up the line.
3. Pump slowly. Pumping fast simply breaks an air bubble into lots of little ones - which are very hard/impossible to remove until they've reformed into one big one.
HTH and good luck!
Craig
* E.g. "A tube that is too small causes high fluid velocity, which has many detrimental effects. In pressure lines, it causes high friction losses and turbulence, both resulting in high pressure drops and heat generation. High heat accelerates wear in moving parts and rapid aging of seals and hoses, all resulting in reduced component life. High heat generation also means wasted energy, and hence, low efficiency."
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[quote user="dave21478"]Maybe since this is a forum for people in France, we should be doing as the French do ...[/quote]
For a mo' there, I thought you were inciting us to monter une opération escargot. Wasn't quite sure how, mind ... [:D]
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With Norman on this one, Debra. Unless you're very desperate to sell, I'd keep well, well clear.
Basically it involves someone paying you the equivalent of a monthly rent plus a little bit of capital towards the purchase price. At the end of the contract term, they then pay you a lump sum for whatever is left of the purchase price.
And who would be attracted by such a scheme? Well, people who can't raise a bank mortgage and who haven't saved up enough money for a house deposit, of course. So, what chance their ability to fulfill their part of the bargain? Pretty slim, in my estimation. It might work between family members - father/mother with big family house, children trying to make a go of things, that kind of situation. But between strangers? NO ........
EDIT: And another thing :
And during all this time, who's responsible for maintaining the building, keeping it watertight etc? Well, you, of course - you're the owner [+o(]. And what happens when, at the end of the contract, they refuse to pay over the rest of the capital? You're stuffed, cent pour cent ...
"Run, Debra - RUN!" [:D]
Rising Damp in Stone Village House
in House Renovations
Posted
Hi and welcome,
I’m afraid that I can’t answer your queriesabout injection creams, having no personal experience of them. However, I would advise you to be verysuspicious of the diagnosis you’ve been given. Here’s why:
1. You say you’ve been renting out the house for 10 years, but only now hasthis ‘rising damp’ become a problem. Well,rising damp doesn’t work like that - it doesn’t just ‘appear’ after 10 years. Rising damp comes from water that is under thewall; and this water will start to rise through a stone wall, with its finecapillary pores, as soon as the wall is in place. So, for rising damp to appear after all this timewould require a new source of water to have found it’s way under your wallsomehow. Do you have any reason tosuspect this ?
2. You say the walls are wet 2 meters up. Again, this sets the alarm bells ringing. The size of the capillary pores which lead torising damp means that it rarely gets above 1.5m; and you finding the walls wetto the touch at such heights makes the alarm bells ring even harder!.
3. You say the house is on a hill. So,obvious question: where do you think this the water could be coming from,especially during the summer? Do youhave reason to think that there may be a spring or other underground watersource under your house? For example, isthere a well in the cellar? If not, you have another reason to be suspiciousof a diagnosis of rising damp.
4. You say you had “A "Free" dampsurvey by a specialist firm who detected nitrates”. This is presumably the very same firm who isnow trying to sell you an expensive rising damp solution? Just remember, free advice is worth exactlywhat you paid for it! I need say no more(I totally fail to see the relevance of the claim that they found nitrates inthe sample, btw).
What I suspect what you have is a badcondensation problem. Here’s why:
You say the damp is on 2 walls, one a stoneparty wall, the other a wall between the kitchen and the main room.
1. Ibet that stone party wall is cold? (particularly if it’s the one your neighbourhas built a false wall against). Any warm,moisture-rich air will readily condense on that wall, saturating it from top totoe.
And the wall between the kitchen and themain room? Well, what do your tenants doin the kitchen? Boil kettles and potsand pans of this and that and - hey presto! Condensation on the dividing wall.
And why now? Almost definitely related to a run of tenantswho’ve done a little more boiling of kettles, taking of shower etc than othershave done in the past!
Solution: install some fresh air inlets andsome stale air outlets. They don’t needto be fan driven, altho’ this would be best; but be sure to put the inlets downlow and the outlets up high (warm air is lighter than cold air).
P.s. Please be aware that injection of thickstone walls, normally using silicone, is more of an ‘Answer to a Maiden’s Prayer’than a practical solution. Put simply,the silicone rarely manages to fill all the pores that lead to rising damp -and the problem persists.
HTH
Craig