Session 2, Activity 2 (French)
Activity 2 French – exploring the use of subject pronouns
Follow the steps below.
Step 1
Read the following French text that has been generated with the use of AI following the prompt ‘Create an easy French text about a garden’.
Dans mon jardin, il y a beaucoup de fleurs. Il y a des roses, des tulipes, et même un petit arbre. Pour bien s’occuper du jardin, il faut arroser les plantes tous les jours. Il faut aussi enlever les mauvaises herbes pour que les fleurs grandissent bien.
Quand il y a trop de soleil, il faut mettre de l’eau sur les feuilles pour les protéger. Il y a aussi des oiseaux qui viennent se reposer dans l’arbre, et pour les attirer, il faut mettre des graines. Mon jardin est un endroit magnifique où il y a toujours quelque chose à faire!
Step 2
Input the French text into your chosen OMT and generate an English translation.
Step 3
Compare the differences in subject pronoun usage between French and English. What do you notice regarding the use of subject pronouns?
Discussion
In comparing subject pronoun usage between French and English, a few key differences become evident:
Presence of pronouns in French vs. English
In the French text, ‘il y a’ and ‘il faut’ use the subject pronoun il even though il doesn’t refer to a specific person or object; it’s an impersonal pronoun.
In English, these phrases are translated as ‘there is’ and ‘it is necessary’ without a clear subject reference, using ‘there’ and ‘it’ as placeholders rather than actual subject pronouns with gender or person.
Impersonal pronoun il in French
French uses the impersonal il to indicate general statements (such as il faut for ‘it is necessary’ or il y a for ‘there is/are’).
In English, ‘it’ serves as the impersonal pronoun in it is necessary, and ‘there’ is used in there is/are. Thus, English translations replace il with different words, each serving a specific function, whereas French uses il consistently.
Frequent repetition of il y a in French
In the French text, il y a is repeated several times to list items or introduce new parts of the description (e.g., il y a beaucoup de fleurs, il y a des oiseaux).
In English, while we also use ‘there is’ or ‘there are’, it’s common to rephrase to avoid repetition for flow, but the French version accepts and even expects this repetition for clarity and emphasis.
Translation of il faut as general necessity
In French, il faut is used for general statements of necessity, but it doesn’t translate directly to ‘he must’ or ‘it must’ because it isn’t about a specific subject.
In English, il faut becomes ‘it is necessary’ or ‘one must,’ translating the general meaning without assigning a personal subject, which may feel less direct or impersonal in English.
French relies heavily on the impersonal il pronoun for phrases like il y a and il faut, while English uses separate impersonal constructions like ‘there’ and ‘it’. The French text’s use of il is more flexible and frequent, showing how French can repeatedly use il for emphasis and clarity without altering its structure, whereas English may vary its phrasing to avoid redundancy. This distinction reflects the structural differences in how each language handles impersonal or general statements.
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