Feb 17, 2008 01:10
16 yrs ago
French term
France
nous ayons jamais eu l’occasion
Non-PRO
French to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Use of the subjunctive
...ou encore le Montrachet 1969 du Domaine de la
Romanée Conti, le plus grand vin blanc sec que
nous ayons jamais eu l’occasion de goûter.
This is a grammar question really.
An investor is talking about wines he has bought. I am pretty sure that he, as part of a team, tasted the wine. So he is just saying, "(probably) the best dry white wine that we have ever tasted".
Is this the correct use of jamais and the subjunctive?
Romanée Conti, le plus grand vin blanc sec que
nous ayons jamais eu l’occasion de goûter.
This is a grammar question really.
An investor is talking about wines he has bought. I am pretty sure that he, as part of a team, tasted the wine. So he is just saying, "(probably) the best dry white wine that we have ever tasted".
Is this the correct use of jamais and the subjunctive?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +5 | yes, subjective following superlative |
writeaway
|
| 5 +1 | yes |
Etienne Muylle Wallace
|
Change log
Feb 17, 2008 01:21: writeaway changed "Field" from "Tech/Engineering" to "Art/Literary" , "Field (specific)" from "Wine / Oenology / Viticulture" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"
Proposed translations
+5
8 mins
Selected
yes, subjective following superlative
just (yet) another Fr grammatical fine point. subjunctive is used following a superlative statement.
Superlatives
A superlative is an expression of totality or uniqueness that, in English, is usually expressed with the ending "-est" and some other words. For example, words such as "greatest", "best", "most", "only" are examples of superlatives. The way in which the superlative is formed will be discussed elsewhere. When these equivalents in French are followed by que, they are normally followed by a clause in the subjunctive. Some examples:
# Voilà la plus belle femme que j'aie jamais vue. = There is the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen.
# La seule voiture bleue que nous puissions conduire se trouve là bas. = The only blue car that we can drive is located over there.
http://www.geocities.com/sohlhaut/pressubj.html
http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/French/Grammar/Syntax/Moods...
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Note added at 11 mins (2008-02-17 01:21:56 GMT)
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they really need to add grammar/language section to the category options.
Superlatives
A superlative is an expression of totality or uniqueness that, in English, is usually expressed with the ending "-est" and some other words. For example, words such as "greatest", "best", "most", "only" are examples of superlatives. The way in which the superlative is formed will be discussed elsewhere. When these equivalents in French are followed by que, they are normally followed by a clause in the subjunctive. Some examples:
# Voilà la plus belle femme que j'aie jamais vue. = There is the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen.
# La seule voiture bleue que nous puissions conduire se trouve là bas. = The only blue car that we can drive is located over there.
http://www.geocities.com/sohlhaut/pressubj.html
http://www.orbilat.com/Languages/French/Grammar/Syntax/Moods...
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Note added at 11 mins (2008-02-17 01:21:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
they really need to add grammar/language section to the category options.
Note from asker:
| La meillure réponse que j'aie jamais eu. |
| Sorry, que j'aie jamais eue. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Silvia Brandon-Pérez
33 mins
|
| agree |
David Hollywood
: gets my vote :)
1 hr
|
| agree |
Tony M
: (How about using the nearest field: 'Linguistics'?)
7 hrs
|
|
well, to me it's grammar and general French usage/rules. this I can do, linguistics I can't ;-)
|
|
| agree |
avsie (X)
8 hrs
|
| agree |
rkillings
1 day 3 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you"
+1
6 mins
Etienne Muylle Wallace
Spain
Spain
Native in French
Spain
QUICK SERVICE AND PERSONAL CONTROL
Native in: Dutch 
, French
Works in: French to Catalan, French to Flemish, French to Spanish, and 24 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
yes
jamais, without ne (negation) means 'ever', which means 'always' in the whole life of the person or thing involved.
'Plus que jamais ' for a person of 50 years is 30 years longer than for a person of 20.
'Plus que jamais ' for a person of 50 years is 30 years longer than for a person of 20.
Discussion