# FR: Did you have a good vacation?



## s3ct0r3

Phrase originale: "Did you have a good vacation?"
Mon essaie d'traduction: «Vous êtes passée de bonnes vacances?» (Je parle à une femme : c'est pourquoi j'ai ajouté un «e» après le participe passé.

Merci de votre aide!

Sean.


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## Benoît abroad

Hello Sean,

Here you have to use the "avoir" auxiliary and not "être":

"Avez-vous passé de bonnes vacances?" even for a woman, though it's a bit literal.

The usual form would be "Vous avez passé de bonnes vacances?" with an interragative tone at the end of the phrase.

I hope it helps.....


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## s3ct0r3

Ok, thanks.

Would the reason that the auxiliary verb changed be because the verb «passer» is no longer intransitive?


EDIT:
I was searching through WR Dictionary, and it says that «passer des vacances» is an intransitive verb? Is it that colloquially one would use avoir with passer? Or is it just an error on the Word Reference part?


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## Benoît abroad

Maybe this thread can helps:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=585000


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## jann

Hello s3ctor3 

The thread Benoit suggests is indeed helpful. 

Quite simply, _passer_ is both transitive and intransitive.  There is nothing informal, incorrect, or "colloquial" about using _passer_ as a transitive verb, nor about using _avoir_ as the auxiliary when it is transitive.  It is simply normal and correct.

Je suis passé(e) la voir = I stopped by to see her.
Il est passé devant le juge = He appeared before the judge.
Après être passés devant l'église, nous avons pris à droite. = After passing in front of the church, we turned right.

J'ai passé du temps à lire = I spent time reading.
J'ai passé le beurre à mon frère = I passed the butter to my brother.
Elle m'a passé les détails = She spared me the details.


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## marget

s3ct0r3 said:


> Ok, thanks.
> 
> Would the reason that the auxiliary verb changed be because the verb «passer» is no longer intransitive?
> 
> 
> EDIT:
> I was searching through WR Dictionary, and it says that «passer des vacances» is an intransitive verb? Is it that colloquially one would use avoir with passer? Or is it just an error on the Word Reference part?


 

I think it is an error to say that in passer des vacances, _passer _is an intransitive verb.  I think that if a verb can take a direct object, it's transitive.


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## s3ct0r3

Thank you so much. Perhaps I should e-mail my old high-school French teacher 

Thanks so much!


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## itka

marget, please, read the jann's post and the thread Benoit suggested. 
You can see that a verb can be transitive _and_ intransitive.
There is no mistake at all.


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## s3ct0r3

itka said:


> marget, please, read the jann's post and the thread Benoit suggested.
> You can see that a verb can be transitive _and_ intransitive.
> There is no mistake at all.



itka:
So, the answer rests? One would use "avoir" because "passer" is transitive in this context?


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## itka

Yes.
When speaking, the best way to say it would be :
_"Vous avez passé de bonnes vacances ?"_

And if you write (specially to a teacher !) 
_"Avez-vous passé de bonnes vacances ?"
"Est-ce que vous avez passé de bonnes vacances ?"
_Both are correct and convenient in this context.
Note that "passé" doesn't agree with anything : with "avoir" as auxiliary and the complement "de bonnes vacances" following the verb ---> no agreement.


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## marget

itka said:


> marget, please, read the jann's post and the thread Benoit suggested.
> You can see that a verb can be transitive _and_ intransitive.
> There is no mistake at all.


 

I read Jann's post and the thread Benoît suggested and I still maintain that in the expression passer des vacances, it is an error to consider passer intransitive. I was referring specifically to this expression in my post.  I don't think that the WR dictionary should list passer des vacances as intransitive, as s3ct0r3 pointed out.


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## Maître Capello

marget said:


> I think it is an error to say that in passer des vacances, _passer _is an intransitive verb.  I think that if a verb can take a direct object, it's transitive.





marget said:


> I read Jann's post and the thread Benoît suggested and I still maintain that in the expression passer des vacances, it is an error to consider passer intransitive. I was referring specifically to this expression in my post.  I don't think that the WR dictionary should list passer des vacances as intransitive, as s3ct0r3 pointed out.



You're right, Marget. _Passer des vacances_ is definitely a *transitive* verb.


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## jann

I did not mean to suggest that _passer des vacances_ was intransitive!  

I see the error in the dictionary entry.  Please, when you find such errors in the future, click on "Suggestions" in the Links box to the left of the dictionary entry where the error appears.  Use the suggestions form to file an error report.  The dictionaries are developed by team (not by the moderators), and this is the best way to contact them.  

I will file this error report.

Thanks!


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## Maître Capello

jann said:


> I did not mean to suggest that _passer des vacances_ was intransitive!



We know you didn't   – but *s3ct0r3* did (in this post)…


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