Passé composé question yet again!

[mint]

I want to conjugate "je me passe très bien de télé".  And it's usually third person plural that gives me the pips.

So it's "je me suis passé très bien de...."

And for third person plural, it's "ils se sont passé......"

For imparfait, "je me passais...." , "ils se passaient....."

For futur, "je me passerai...", "ils se passeront..."

Is all of that correct, partially or totally or, perhaps more likely, wrong, partially or wholly?

Thank you for your patience [:)]  

[NormanH]

I think you should be adding a s for ils se sont passés, and even an e for yourself as a lady in je me suis passée ...

but it may not be the case for se passer de as opposed to passer

You can check this sort of thing on le Bon Patron

http://bonpatron.com/en/

[mint]

Thank you, Norman, you are right, with "être", I should be "according" the past participles.

BTW, still haven't found time to look at your music link but will put a post there later. 

[sid]

Sweet, When I get stuck (often) I use this conjugation site: http://www.conjugation-fr.com/index.html

 

[ericd]

Hi all.....Sweet, don't want to come across too pedantic but I would slightly rearrange your sentence as : Je me suis tres bien passee de la tele etc..... ........oh dear, bring Esperanto on.....

[mint]

Sid, that is a wonderfully helpful site and it's now in my favourites.  Many, many thanks.

Eric, you aren't being pedantic at all.  It does sound more elegant to place the adverbs where you have done.

Donc....ce soir, je me suis très bien passée de la télé et je me suis promenée avec mes voisines à la campagne!

It's true, got in as it was getting dark, so just had a milky drink, a couple of biscuits and a shower and came on the Forum and found all you nice, helpful people answering my question [:D]  Life can't get better than this....

[5-element]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

ce soir, je me suis très bien passée de la télé et je me suis promenée avec mes voisines à la campagne!

[/quote]

Perfect now, Sweet. If I was nit-picking, I would say "dans" la campagne - now to tell you exactly why in this particular case... perhaps because you are already there.  If you were to go and live in the country, it would then be "à la campagne".

I was going to reply in the same vein as  ericd, but found myself unable to log on yesterday!!!

[nectarine]

yes, conjugation-fr.com ... great site. Thanks for that. I, too, have added it to my favourites!

[ericd]

[quote user="5-element"]

Perfect now, Sweet. If I was nit-picking, I would say "dans" la campagne - now to tell you exactly why in this particular case... perhaps because you are already there.  If you were to go and live in the country, it would then be "à la campagne". [/quote]

[:D]......

[5-element]

[quote user="ericd"][quote user="5-element"]

Perfect now, Sweet. If I was nit-picking, I would say "dans" la campagne - now to tell you exactly why in this particular case... perhaps because you are already there.  If you were to go and live in the country, it would then be "à la campagne". [/quote]

[:D]......

[/quote]

I said "if I was nit-picking", which of course I am not, as that could be seen as pedantic.[:P]

[NormanH]

Pedantry is wot we need innit ..

[Rabbie]

[quote user="5-element"][quote user="ericd"][quote user="5-element"]

Perfect now, Sweet. If I was nit-picking, I would say "dans" la campagne - now to tell you exactly why in this particular case... perhaps because you are already there.  If you were to go and live in the country, it would then be "à la campagne". [/quote]

[:D]......

[/quote]

I said "if I was nit-picking", which of course I am not, as that could be seen as pedantic.[:P]

[/quote]<enter pedant mode> Shouldn't it  be "If I were nit-picking" since it is a hypothetical condition. <exit pedant mode>.[6]

[5-element]

Tell you what Rabbie: how about,  you do English pedantry, and I (and whoever else) can do French pedantry? What do we prefer: mélange des genres, or equitable task distribution?[:D]

[Pickles]

[quote user="NormanH"]Pedantry is wot we need innit ..

[/quote]

Far be it from me, etc, but shouldn't it be:

"pedantry is wot we is needin', innit ..."?

[NormanH]

I bow to the Master [:D] [:D]

[Rabbie]

[quote user="5-element"]Tell you what Rabbie: how about,  you do English pedantry, and I (and whoever else) can do French pedantry? What do we prefer: mélange des genres, or equitable task distribution?[:D][/quote]Sounds like a deal to me although my old french schoolmaster would be disappointed if I had forgotten all the grammar that was beaten into me[:D]

[mint]

OK, OK, guys, pedants, nit-pickers included.  Here is my take on what I was going to write (if you haven't lost the will to live by now and remain interested in the subject!)

5-e, I considered "dans la campagne", "à la campagne" (which I settled for, incorrectly, it seems) and "sur la campagne".

Whilst I wasn't entirely happy with "à la campagne", it felt "safer" somehow, a bit like à la mode, à la française; in fashion, in French style, sic.

"dans" also felt quite safe and I now know (merci, 5-e) that that was the one to use.

So, why did I consider "sur"?  Aha, therein lies a tale and here it is.

Last month, I was negotiating to buy a lustre (very beautiful, handmade, Italian, in art nouveau style) from leboncoin (or sur leboncoin, as the French might say).

I couldn't persuade the man to send it to me as he was concerned that, being très fragile, it might break in the post.  So, I devised a cunning plan and I got him to agree to meet me at a town half-way between where he lives and where I live.  This wasn't as simple as you might expect as I am known neither for my sense of direction nor even my ability to read a map with any sort of facility.

He named the hospital of a large city A and I quaked in my shoes to think of having to find my way there.  Eventually, after much consulting of a map etc. I said, if he was agreeable, we would meet "au parking de Lidl" at a town of manageable size, B.

I was mighty relieved when he said oui, but he wrote "sur le parking" in his email.  So, after so carefully saying  au parking, I was a little crestfallen to find that I had, yet again, got the preposition WRONG!

But, "tout est bien qui finit bien" because, on the day, after eyeing each other and our respective cars for a full 10 minutes, we simultaneously came to the conclusion that the other person was the correct party to meet and we exchanged lustre and money and we both parted on amicable terms.

Which still leaves me with the subject of PREPOSITIONS which perhaps ought to be left to another day and a different thread.  Certainly, I believe with all my heart that prepositions are arguably the most difficult part of a sentence to learn for les étrangers.

When I spent one summer teaching English to Italian teenagers, we had a game called Preposition Bingo, where they had slips of papers with different prepositions (for, from, to, between, etc etc).  The game went on much like Bingo in that I'd read out a sentence (with a missing preposition) and they had to find the right preposition and put it on their Bingo cards.

The game went on for the whole course of a lesson perhaps (yes, easy-peasy for a tired out teacher) because no kid ever got all the prepositions right.

Back on topic and the using of French prepositions, I must observe that they rarely correspond to English ones and thus the task of picking the right one is fraught with anxiety.

[cooperlola]

[quote user="sweet 17"]When I spent one summer teaching English to Italian teenagers, we had a game called Preposition Bingo, where they had slips of papers with different prepositions (for, from, to, between, etc etc).  The game went on much like Bingo in that I'd read out a sentence (with a missing preposition) and they had to find the right preposition and put it on their Bingo cards.[/quote]A little different from (than/to[:@][:@]) the way in which I was taught, Sweets.[:)]

[5-element]

[quote user="sweet 17"]When I spent one summer teaching English to Italian teenagers, we had a game called Preposition Bingo, where they had slips of papers with different prepositions (for, from, to, between, etc etc).  The game went on much like Bingo in that I'd read out a sentence (with a missing preposition) and they had to find the right preposition and put it on their Bingo cards.[/quote]

I like that, Sweet, I like it a lot, and I am going to steal that idea right now for my next French conversation group. I will naturally, include dans la campagne, à la campagne, and sur le parking. As I am sure you worked out, it can't ever be "sur la campagne" - but you've given me plenty of food for thought... THANK YOU!

[ericd]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...................[Www]

 

[:D]

[5-element]

Ah but are you sur le lit, dans le lit, or au lit?

[Rabbie]

Prepositions are the hardest part of any language to get right. Seemingly People who have had speech difficulties after a stroke or other serious head injury find the prepositions the hardest part to get back even in their mother tongue

[mint]

[quote user="5-element"]

I like that, Sweet, I like it a lot, and I am going to steal that idea right now for my next French conversation group. I will naturally, include dans la campagne, à la campagne, and sur le parking. As I am sure you worked out, it can't ever be "sur la campagne" - but you've given me plenty of food for thought... THANK YOU!

[/quote]

5-e, don't forget to torment them with dessous and dessus"

Coops, being a bit old-fashioned when it comes to grammar, I tend to say different from.

[mint]

[quote user="5-element"]Ah but are you sur le lit, dans le lit, or au lit?[/quote]

Best not question him too closely, 5-e, he's probably supposed to be au travail.

[ericd]

[quote user="sweet 17"]

[quote user="5-element"]Ah but are you sur le lit, dans le lit, or au lit?[/quote]

Best not question him too closely, 5-e, he's probably supposed to be au travail.

[/quote]

 

Am working from home now (unless I travel) so I can answer.....j'etais a mon ordinateur......j'etais sur mon ordinateur .....or.....j'etais dans mon ordinateur???????  [:P].....answer please without cheating.