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Re: newbie, sort of

From:Aquamarine Demon <aquamarine_demon@...>
Date:Friday, June 20, 2003, 19:54
>>Not really. I had tried to find some reason (like "date vs. duration")
or something like that, but it doesn't quite fit. It's true that the short forms refer usually to dates and the longer ones to durations, but there is a big amount of overlap ("année" is common in dates. "journée" isn't, on the other hand). Usually the long forms are used to refer to the present day or year, but not always. And the opposition "jour-journée" is not identical to the opposition "an-année". For instance, "that year" is "cette année-là", never *"cet an-là". But "that day" is always "ce jour-là", never *"cette journée-là".<< Yikes. Foreign languages can be complicated. Though, I suppose no more complicated than English.... ;)
>>In other words, there seems to be no strict rule. It's what sounds
"best" for us, and you just have to develop a taste for it :))) .<< Ah, yes of course. :) <snip>
>> No need to. Threads are immortal on this list ;))) .
Christophe Grandsire.<< Hehe... so I've been told. :) ===== The Aquamarine Demon "When did I realize I was god? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself." - Peter O'Toole, The Ruling Class __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com