# The journey to Rome took 3 hours by plane, but it was okay because I have always loved plane rides.



## lilblondedude

I am currently writing coursework about travel, and I would like to write this sentence:

"The journey to Rome took 3 hours by plane, but it was okay because I have always loved plane rides."

and I have translated the sentence this much:

"Le journee a Rome temps trois heures en l'avion, mais e'tait d'accord parce que j'aimais toujours _______"


The two problems I have are:

1) I do not know if 'parce que j'aimais toujours' is correct
2) I do not know the word for 'plane rides'





Any help would be appreciated, I am a bit stuck as you can see!


Thank you.


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## Bisou82

You are not allowed to ask help to write your coursework... sorry to say that. Some might still want to help you though...


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## Bisou82

Alright, I am surprised, but if your teacher said so. Actually, you have to write on a certain paper that you got help, and from where, I believe. But anyway, forget about what I said and follow your teacher's instructions. 

Good luck !


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## lilblondedude

In the rules it states: 

"These forums do not provide free schoolwork. If you want help with a school assignment, you are required to do your own work first. Then, and only then, may you post it with a request for help with specific doubts."

Thank you, if you can help me


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## litchi

I won't do your homework, but still I can give you advice.

-Be careful in your sentence with articles. Check in your dictionary the genre of the nouns you're using.

-Check all the words you're using for some are "faux-amis".

-"because I have always loved " You can translate this in present because you still love it.

- plane rides: voyages en avion / voyager en avion

I hope it helps and look for the rest!


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## lilblondedude

Thank you very much for your input, is there any way on 'Word Reference' that I can tell if a word is masculine or feminine?

Thanks.


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## litchi

Yes of course. In the dictionary online, the words are followed by nf (nom féminin) or nm (nom masculin)


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## litchi

be careful with "temps". It's not a verb and can't be used as a verb. It means "time".


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## lilblondedude

Thank you so very much! I'm sorry if I sound so inexperienced, I have just never come across 'nm' and 'nf', this will help me a lot!

And I have found the mistake in refernce to 'faux-amis', and have replaced 'journee' for 'le voyage'.

Thank you for your help


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## lilblondedude

In the dictionary it says:

take	vtr	 (time required) temps	prendre vtr ?
How long did it take?
Combien de temps cela a-t-il pris ?


How can I use 'temps' correctly in this situation, or is there another word to be used?


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## Mouquiette

Yes you're right with your translation.
If fact take (+ time) is translated by prendre (+ temps). So "it takes 2 minutes" will be "Cela prend 2 minutes"


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## litchi

Combien de temps cela a-t-il pris ?

You mustn't repeat the word "temps" in your answer, you will replace it by "minutes" "heures" "secondes", etc.

Cela a pris deux minutes / deux heures / deux secondes, etc.


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## lilblondedude

I see, I was thinking of using the verb 'to last' but I understand that your explanation is more widely used.

Thank you 

 My sentence is now :

"Le voyage a Rome prend temps trois heures en l'avion, mais e'tait d'accord parce que j'adore voyages en avion."

Do you think this is correct?


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## litchi

That's better. It's not correct yet.

- You should use a verb in the infinitive form before "à Rome" (don't forget the accent on the a!!) 
- Just as I said, "temps" mustn't be used here. The verb alone is enough.
- Don't forget the article before "voyages"
- you have to find a better expression for "but it was okay" because what you wrote doesn't mean anything.

But it's getting better!


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## Mzpean55

Etre d'accord meands to agree.

How about "The journey to Rome took three hours by plane, but it did not matter because I love plane rides."

Try not to translate literrally.

M


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## lilblondedude

Thank you for your support litchi, I'm finding it really useful! 

"Le voyage à Rome prend trois heures en l'avion, mais e'tait agréable parce que j'adore le voyages en avion"


I hope you don't mind helping me, I can see you are putting a lot of time into this 

I do not understand what you mean by putting the infinitive form of a verb before 'à rome', I thought that 'The journey to rome' made sense?




PS. Thank you M for that input, I am trying to translate that now (not literally!).


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## Crescent

Gosh, cela me semble presque que ça vous fait plaisir de tourmenter de jeunes étudiants!  
N'importe!..

Here's my two cents to help you, lilblondedude: _it doesn't matter = cela ne fait rien_
But be careful: you're saying ''it *didn't* matter'' so ..one of these words needs to be in the past (l'imparfait, to be precise!) tense!


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## Mouquiette

"en" doesn't take an article after : it's "en + noun"
"le voyages" -> your article is singular, but "voyages" is plural . The plural article may be better 

"Le *voyage* à Rome prend trois heures *en l'avion*, mais e'tait agréable parce que j'adore *le voyages en avion*"
You have two times "voyage en avion". If you know how to contract the second one it will be better


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## litchi

quote: "I do not understand what you mean by putting the infinitive form of a verb before 'à rome', I thought that 'The journey to rome' made sense?"

Yes in English. But " un voyage" is not a perfect match for "a journey", it's closer to "a travel". 

And you wouldn't say "the travel to Rome took 3 hours" but "travelling to Rome took three hours". that's the same in French, it's better to use a verb.

But, "voyager à Rome" wouldn't work because it would mean "to go around in Rome". You have to use a verb like "aller" or "se rendre".

I hope i'm clearer than I think I am...


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## lilblondedude

litchi said:


> quote: "I do not understand what you mean by putting the infinitive form of a verb before 'à rome', I thought that 'The journey to rome' made sense?"
> 
> Yes in English. But " un voyage" is not a perfect match for "a journey", it's closer to "a travel".
> 
> And you wouldn't say "the travel to Rome took 3 hours" but "travelling to Rome took three hours". that's the same in French, it's better to use a verb.
> 
> But, "voyager à Rome" wouldn't work because it would mean "to go around in Rome". You have to use a verb like "aller" or "se rendre".
> 
> I hope i'm clearer than I think I am...





Yes you are! Haha, I will try and translate "Going to Rome took 3 hours"

So this would be : "Aller a Rome prend trois heures" ?


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## Crescent

litchi said:


> quote: "I do not understand what you mean by putting the infinitive form of a verb before 'à rome', I thought that 'The journey to rome' made sense?"
> 
> Yes in English. But " un voyage" is not a perfect match for "a journey", it's closer to "a travel".
> 
> And you wouldn't say "the travel to Rome took 3 hours" but "travelling to Rome took three hours". that's the same in French, it's better to use a verb.
> 
> But, "voyager à Rome" wouldn't work because it would mean "to go around in Rome". You have to use a verb like "aller" or "se rendre".
> 
> I hope i'm clearer than I think I am...



Bonjour, litchi!
Je suis désolée d'être un peu insolente, peut-être, mais à mon avis, mais j'ai du mal à croire que c'est incorrect ou ''mal'' de dire ''le voyage à Rome a pris trois heures...etc.''
C'est la première fois de ma vie que j'entends dire que ''le voyage'' n'est pas la traduction correcte pour ''trip'' en anglais! 
Autant que je sache, il n'y en existe pas de meilleure traduction, et en fait, la phrase illustre ''Bon voyage'' se traduit comme ''Have a good trip!'' ne fait qu'en fournir la preuve. 

Il se peut sans doute que je me trompe, en n'étant pas native, mais..je suis vraiment curieuse! Croyez-vous vraiment que cela sonne mieux de dire ''Se rendre à Rome a pris 3 heures...etc.?''
Et d'ailleurs, je crois que nous ne faisons que compliquer de plus en plus cette affaire..

Merci pour votre...patience.


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## Crescent

A propos, je voulais aussi demander les gentils natifs, (avant que cela ne m'échappe l'esprit! ) si on pourrait aussi employer ''mettre'' dans ce cas pour ''take''. 
Je crois que j'ai une fois vu la phrase, dans le dictionnaire, un peu semblable à ''Cela met deux heures en train'' en voulant dire: It takes two hours on the train.

Peut-on donc dire quelque chose comme ''_Le voyage à Rome *a pris* trois heures, mais cela ne fait rien car je les aime bien!'' ?_


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## Mouquiette

Oui, on peut utiliser 'mettre' mais les cas sont plutôt différents (je saurais pas trop expliquer la différence ni quand on utilise l'un ou l'autre)
J'ai mis 3 heures pour venir ici -> le voyage a duré 3h
J'ai pris 3 jours pour venir ici -> j'ai utilisé 3j de congés pour venir
Le voyage à Rome a pris 3 heures -> Le voyage a duré 3h
Le voyage à Rome a mis 3 heures (au lieu de 2) -> Il fut plus long que prévu


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## Mzpean55

How about....

*Le voyage a Rome a pris trois heures, mais qu'importe... j'adore les voyages en avion*
*OR*
*Le voyage a Rome a dure trois heures....*


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## lilblondedude

I have this sentence now:

"Se rendre a Rome prend trois heures en l'avion, mais e'tait agreable car j'adore les voyages en avion"


Please tell me this is correct! haha, I have tried to take everything into account.


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## Crescent

lilblondedude said:


> I have this sentence now:
> 
> "Se rendre a Rome prend trois heures en l'avion, mais e'tait agreable car j'adore les voyages en avion"
> 
> 
> Please tell me this is correct! haha, I have tried to take everything into account.



Well...it's certainly a lot better than it was at the begining! 
Just a few corrections from my part:
_*Se rendre à Rome en avion a pris trois heures,  mais c'était agréable* (although I still insist on  '' cela ne fait rien'' ou ''cela ne m'importait pas''!  ) *car j'adore voyager en avion/voler!* (to fly) 

_Let's see what the natives will say!


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## Mzpean55

Not totally...

1. trois heures en avion (drop the l')
2. what is the subject of "etait"?
3. Suggestion.. try again (LOL)

You are doing great....

M


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## Crescent

Mouquiette said:


> Oui, on peut utiliser 'mettre' mais les cas sont plutôt différents (je saurais pas trop expliquer la différence ni quand on utilise l'un ou l'autre)
> J'ai mis 3 heures pour venir ici -> le voyage a duré 3h
> J'ai pris 3 jours pour venir ici -> j'ai utilisé 3j de congés pour venir
> Le voyage à Rome a pris 3 heures -> Le voyage a duré 3h
> Le voyage à Rome a mis 3 heures (au lieu de 2) -> Il fut plus long que prévu



Wow, merci beaucoup, Mouquiette! Je ne me doutais même pas de toutes ces nuances fines et délicates entre les deux verbes! 

Donc, ''le voyage à Rome a mis 3 heures'' ne veut pas dire ''the trip took 3 hours''... ou pas éxactement..? Hhm..comme c'est bizarre! 

merci beaucoup de toute façon! J'ai beaucoup appris de votre post!


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## lilblondedude

Thanks Cresent, although it seems all of the natives (except Mzpean) have lost faith in a student doing his coursework!

I do understand about the accents, it is hard because I do not have a french keyboard for these posts.

Mzpean : The subject of 'e'tait' is the journey length, as in 'it was enjoyable because the journey was long'



Now I have :

Se rendre à Rome en avion prend trois heures, mais c'était agréable car j'adore voyager en voler!


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## Crescent

lilblondedude said:


> Thanks Cresent, although it seems all of the natives (except Mzpean) have lost faith in a student doing his coursework!
> 
> I do understand about the accents, it is hard because I do not have a french keyboard for these posts.
> 
> Mzpean : The subject of 'e'tait' is the journey length, as in 'it was enjoyable because the journey was long'
> Now I have :
> 
> Se rendre à Rome en avion prend trois heures, mais c'était agréable car j'adore voyager en voler!



Hey there! 
Don't worry - no one has lost faith in you - you're making real progress!  And besides, I wouldn't loose faith, since I was in the same situation last year! 

You don't have to have a ''french'' keyboard to do accents - I don't have one! But there are accent codes which you can download off the internet and learn, in order to type correctly and legibly. 

e'tait - by any stretch of imagination, does not exist, I'm afraid... 
It should be_ ''c'était''.

_ Se rendre à Rome en avion prend trois heures, mais c'était agréable car j'adore *voyager en voler!
*I'm afraid 'voyager en voler' doesn't work ( I don't think, at least..). YOu can either say ''voyager en avion'' OR ''voler'' but no the two mixed together!


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## lilblondedude

I see, so with the change to your reccomendation it is :


Se rendre à Rome en avion prend trois heures, mais c'était agréable car j'adore voler


I really do hope this makes sense! All of this help for one sentence, I feel guilty!

Thank you very much.


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## Crescent

lilblondedude said:


> Se rendre à Rome en avion prend trois heures, mais c'était agréable car j'adore voler



yes, I think that is perfect!  Or, at least, much better than with what we've started! 

And please don't feel guilty - after all, we're only here to help you resolve these kinds of doubts! 

I'd still wait for a native confirmation of opinion,though! 
Good luck to you.


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## Mouquiette

Yes it's a good translation


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## lilblondedude

Thank you all very much 



I really, really, really appreciate all your help!


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## viera

Se rendre à Rome en avion *a pris* trois heures, mais c'était agréable car j'adore voler.

One last thing:  The first half of the sentence should be in the past tense, as in the original.


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## Horseyangel

Wait! I'm doing my coursework too right now, and I'm at the same thing. This is kind of all going over my head! I've put: « Le voyage à pris sept heures, mais cela ne fait rien car j'aime voyager par avion! » (This is for my own work, not littleblondedude's) and since I've just moved to England I don't know if France French is different to Quebec French...which is what I know. It's late at night so I couldn't read all the suggestions...can anyone help _me_??


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