# the light bulb goes



## CALL

"Ahh... The light bulb goes! thanks"

Suite à une explication. Faut-il traduire "Merci de m'avoir éclairé ?"


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## RuK

On comprend l'image type BD de l'ampoule qui s'allume.


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## pieanne

Ah! J'ai compris! /La pièce est tombée!


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## Micia93

"l'ampoule s'est éteinte" plutôt, non ?


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## tilt

pieanne said:


> La pièce est tombée!



Je ne comprends pas cette expression !


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## pieanne

En anglais on dit "the penny has fallen", c'est quand on comprend brusquement quelque chose...


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## tilt

pieanne said:


> En anglais on dit "the penny has fallen", c'est quand on comprend brusquement quelque chose...


OK, merci.
Mais l'expression n'existe pas en français, sauf erreur de ma part.


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## Micia93

Encore une fois, cela dépend du contexte ! j'avoue que je l'ai pris au premier degré, à savoir que l'ampoule s'est réellement éteinte (ou elle a éclaté ou quelque chose comme ça)
quoiqu'il en soit, "la pièce est tombée" ne convient pas Pieanne ; dans ton sens, je dirais : "j'ai eu un éclair", mais ici, je ne pense pas que ce soit le sens abstrait


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## pieanne

Dans le premier post, on dit que c'est suite à une explication, donc il me semble que c'est c'est bien au sens figuré.
J'utilise fréquemment l'expression avec la pièce, et jusqu'à présent, tout le monde a l'air de comprendre! (peut-être ils ne veulent pas me vexer...)


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## tilt

Micia93 said:


> Encore une fois, cela dépend du contexte ! j'avoue que je l'ai pris au premier degré, à savoir que l'ampoule s'est réellement éteinte (ou elle a éclaté ou quelque chose comme ça)
> quoiqu'il en soit, "la pièce est tombée" ne convient pas Pieanne ; dans ton sens, je dirais : "j'ai eu un éclair", mais ici, je ne pense pas que ce soit le sens abstrait


Rien ne dit que l'ampoule se soit éteinte plutôt qu'allumée : _the light goes_ pourrait être suivi de _on _aussi bien que de _off_, non ? 
Cependant, d'après le contexte donné (_Suite à une explication_), et le _thanks_ qui suit l'expression, j'aurais tendance à la traduire par *J'y vois plus clair*, pour garder l'image de la lumière qui jaillit.

Au fait ! Bienvenue sur les forums WR, CALL.


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## George French

This is colloquial British English. (I cannot speak for US-EN etc.)

It this sense: "goes" is used to mean:- "is broken" or "breaks".
This use of goes is quite common for example:-
1 "The fuse went."
2 "The gear-box went."
3 "The light bulb went yesterday and I must replace it today."

A more non colloquial way of saying this of course:-

"The light bulb broke."

Note that this can also be misinterpreted:-

This generally means the filament (the bit giving the light) has broken.
It could also mean "The light bulb smashed into pieces"

It depends.....

George


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## CALL

Peut-on proposer "Eureka ?"


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## Micia93

pourtant, dans le forum, cette expression est utilisée dans le sens de : "s'arrêter", "casser" ... ex: "my car goes" (ma voiture est tombée en panne)
quoiqu'il en soit, OK, je n'avais pas bien retenu "suite à une explication", effectivement, Tilt, "j'y vois plus clair" convient dans ce sens


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## Micia93

George French said:


> This is colloquial British English. (I cannot speak for US-EN etc.)
> 
> It this sense: "goes" is used to mean:- "is broken" or "breaks".
> This use of goes is quite common for example:-
> 1 "The fuse went."
> 2 "The gear-box went."
> 3 "The light bulb went yesterday and I must replace it today."
> 
> A more non colloquial way of saying this of course:-
> 
> "The light bulb broke."
> 
> Note that this can also be misinterpreted:-
> 
> 
> 
> This generally means the filament (the bit giving the light) has broken.
> It could also mean "The light bulb smashed into pieces"
> 
> It depends.....
> 
> George


 
tu as été plus rapide que moi, Georges !


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## Forero

CALL said:


> "Ahh... The light bulb goes! thanks"
> 
> Suite à une explication. Faut-il traduire "Merci de m'avoir éclairé ?"


Est-ce qu'il y a de contexte?

I can imagine this "goes" meaning "turns on" (I've got an idea), "goes off" (flashes an alarm, or is extinguished), goes out (fails or gets turned off), gets rejected (doesn't stay), or just goes (fails utterly).


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## Micia93

so, do we prefer the concrete meaning or the abstract one ?
call said : "suite à une explication", it then tends to be the abstract meaning


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## CALL

Le contexte : une personne demande une information technique sur le web, on lui répond correctement, il remercie avec :

Ahh... The light bulb goes! thanks for the quick reply

Il y a bien une notion de panne, mais dans le contexte, il remercie d'avoir été dépanné. Le sens serait plutôt "j'ai compris mon erreur, merci de m'avoir dépanné" ?


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## George French

RuK said:


> On comprend l'image type BD de l'ampoule qui s'allume.


 
The light bulb goes.

It could be interpreted as it "works" or "is on" or as it "breaks" or "it has broken"

It depends very much on context. Even as a native English speaker I have troubles with this.

It needs to be considered *in context*. My first thoughts were for broke "the light bulb went" but it could also mean "it is giving light"


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## Micia93

comme quoi, il faut vraiment mettre tout le contexte !
moi je dirais :
"l'ampoule a grillé ! merci de m'avoir répondu si vite (en me donnat la solution du problème)


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## FAC13

Having read through this thread I'm left thinking: "yes ... but ...".

Maybe I'm being too picky but the problem is that non-English speakers will now be thinking that "the light bulb goes" is our way of saying "eureka!", "l'ampoule a grillé" etc. 

It isn't, not in BE at any rate, though it is close. 

From the context given by CALL I suspect the person who wrote it was typing in haste and wrote something which is perfectly comprehensible now we have the context, but which isn't a normal English expression. 

George French's posts are therefore correct translations of what the writer _wrote,_ but not, as we now can see, what they_ meant._

_"Ahh! the light bulb has come on!" _was what was meant.


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## Micia93

So, french must be very careful with this expression ? it can either be "it works" or "it breaks" ! WR only mentions "it breaks" or something like that


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## George French

Quote":-

pourtant, dans le forum, cette expression est utilisée dans le sens de : "s'arrêter", "casser" ... ex: "my car goes" (ma voiture est tombée en panne)
quoiqu'il en soit, OK, je n'avais pas bien retenu "suite à une explication", effectivement, Tilt, "j'y vois plus clair" convient dans ce sens "

*My car goes*

Some, in context, meanings are:-

- It *goes very fast* "and I am a danger to the public because I drive it too fast".
- My car goes! I am so annoyed with it I am going to sell it.
- It works
- My car still goes even though it is 15 years old.

I do not think "my car goes :- ma voiture est tombee en panne" is correct. My tranlation of is "Ma voi.. panne:"  is "My car (has become) is broken down", but my French is not that good.

*Broken Down*
One would say:-
My car is broken down. A common occurance. C'est en panne. (excuse my French).
The engine does not start.
The brakes are gone. (The breaks do not work)
In all these cases my car is broken down.

Note this is UK English.


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## Teafrog

Tout d'abord: bienvenu(e) sur le forum CALL 



CALL said:


> "Ahh... The light bulb goes! thanks"
> 
> Suite à une explication. Faut-il traduire "Merci de m'avoir éclairé ?"


Premièrement, c'est du mauvais anglais, àma. Soit "The light bulb has burnt out" *ou* "the light bulb is working". 


pieanne said:


> En anglais on dit "the penny has fallen", c'est quand on comprend brusquement quelque chose...


Nous disont "the penny has dropped" 


tilt said:


> Rien ne dit que l'ampoule se soit éteinte plutôt qu'allumée : _the light goes_ pourrait être suivi de _on _aussi bien que de _off_, non ?
> Cependant, d'après le contexte donné (_Suite à une explication_), et le _thanks_ qui suit l'expression, j'aurais tendance à la traduire par *J'y vois plus clair*, pour garder l'image de la lumière qui jaillit.
> Au fait ! Bienvenue sur les forums WR, CALL.


Oui, le "haa" et le "thanks" indiquent bien que ce serait J'y vois plus clair" qui est est parfait . Ce qui me surprends un peu (beaucoup), c'est que dans ce cas là je dis toujours "ça à fait *tilt*" 


FAC13 said:


> Having read through this thread I'm left thinking: "yes ... but ...".
> 
> Maybe I'm being too picky but the problem is that non-English speakers will now be thinking that "the light bulb goes" is our way of saying "eureka!", "l'ampoule a grillé" etc.
> 
> It isn't, not in BE at any rate, though it is close.
> 
> From the context given by CALL I suspect the person who wrote it was typing in haste and wrote something which is perfectly comprehensible now we have the context, but which isn't a normal English expression.
> 
> George French's posts are therefore correct translations of what the writer _wrote,_ but not, as we now can see, what they_ meant._
> 
> _"Ahh! the light bulb has come on!" _was what was meant.


That could be another option, as it definitely is crap English  (in my ever-so humble opinion), and looks suspiciously to me like a French sentence translated almost verbatim: la lumière marche. In which case, you would be correct: "the light bulb is (finally) working.


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## George French

Quote":-

pourtant, dans le forum, cette expression est utilisée dans le sens de : "s'arrêter", "casser" ... ex: "my car goes" (ma voiture est tombée en panne)
quoiqu'il en soit, OK, je n'avais pas bien retenu "suite à une explication", effectivement, Tilt, "j'y vois plus clair" convient dans ce sens "

*My car goes*

Some, in context, meanings are:-

- It *goes very fast* "and I am a danger to the public because I drive it too fast".
- My car goes! I am so annoyed with it I am going to sell it.
- It works
- My car still goes even though it is 15 years old.

I do not think "my car goes :- ma voiture est tombee en panne" is correct. My tranlation of is "Ma voi.. panne:"  is "My car (has become) is broken down", but my French is not that good.

*Broken Down*
One would say:-
My car is broken down. A common occurance. C'est en panne. (excuse my French).
The engine does not start.
The brakes are gone. (The breaks do not work)
In all these cases my car is broken down.

Note this is UK English.


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## catay

As odd as it sounds, an expression I'm familiar with is "the light bulb goes off or the light bulb went off" meaning, figuratively, that the light has _come on_ and you now understand.  "goes off" is also used in the expression "the alarm goes off/the alarm went off" meaning the alarm came on.


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## FAC13

catay said:


> As odd as it sounds, an expression I'm familiar with is "the light bulb goes off or the light bulb went off" meaning, figuratively, that the light has _come on_


 
Well this will simply confirm the worst fears of BE speakers about what is happening to our dear language on the other side of the Atlantic 

I am of course joking, and I do take your point about alarms "going off".


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## wildan1

Micia93 said:


> OK, je n'avais pas bien retenu "suite à une explication", effectivement, Tilt, "j'y vois plus clair" convient dans ce sens


 
_Ah, a light bulb just went on!_ is how I could say that I understood in AE. Or more colloquially imo, _Now I get it!_

(_A penny drops_ is chiefly British--not really used in AE and many people here would not understand the expression.)

In AE _the light bulb goes_ means nothing. 

_s'allumer _is _go *on *(this light bulb went on); s'éteindre is go *off/out*_; _marcher_ is _work (this light bulb works)._


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## catay

FAC13 said:


> Well this will simply confirm the worst fears of BE speakers about what is happening to our dear language on the other side of the Atlantic
> 
> I am of course joking, and I do take your point about alarms "going off".


Yes, there is definitely a lack of logic in this expression, but referring back to the first post I think that the writer neglected to add "off".


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## George French

Has the penny dropped?


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## pieanne

FAC13 said:


> _"Ahh! the light bulb has come on!" _was what was meant.


That's how I understand it too.


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## FAC13

George French said:


> Has the penny dropped?


 
By George I think we've got it!


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## pieanne

That's exactly what I meant when I wrote "la pièce est tombée"


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## George French

My thoughts, roughly speaking:-

*"The light bulb goes."* is grammatically a sentence (or a clause).

Remember, as a sentence:
It can stand alone and could have some intrinsic or unique meaning. This is *unlikely*

As part of a paragraph:
It adds meaning to the other items in the paragraph and its own meaning become clearer. *Un/Likely*

As a clause:
It would qualify or be qualified by the other entities in the sentence (and paragraph). *Un/Likely*

On the other hand it could have an *idiomatic* meaning for example:-

"The  (light bulb = 'silly girl') goes". I have never come accross this, but it could be!

If no one can identify, source and explain the meaning of this or any other potential idiomatic use then we are left with a logical (literal) usage only.

If we take the sentence literally, we have *at least* the following possibilities for the words used.
*The* is the *definite article*
*light* is an *adjective*
*bulb* is a *noun*
*light bulb* is a *(compound) noun*
*goes* is *3rd person singular*, present tense of the verb to go.​Possible meanings of the sentence include:-
The light (not heavy) bulb (crocus/tulip etc. bulb) goes (*is (to be) thown away*):- for example when you are *tidying the garden*).
The light bulb (light emmiting object) goes (*It is broken* *is thrown away*).
The light bulb (light emmiting object) goes (*fails*).
The light bulb (light emmiting object) goes (*is on* [*works*]).​*Conclusion:-*
My considered opinion is that this is a *useful/useless* exercise in trying:

to understand the consequences of taking a sentence out of context
understand its usage.
Only in context can one restrict the possibilities and find a meaning and even then....

We at least know that there are multiple and some contradictory meanings ot this sentence. The sentence, *on its own*, has no *single* intrisic meaning*.* Even *in a context* it may have little or no intrisic meaning or value. We can try to read too much into 4 one sylable words that have been strung together.

We could classify it as *an idiom,* if we could explain its idiomatic use.

Gramatically it is a valid sentence.​We all know this anyway. "Discuss or let it die."


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