language and culture, 1.14 quantities(part 2)

good day near the bottom of the lesson it says je suis le premier dans la course - this is under the picture but then just below it says je suis le premier de la course please advise which is the correct way of saying and learning it merci beaucoup cathy

Like many words, what we would say as "in" in English can be translated a variety of ways, depending on context. I think this is one such instance. Dans can mean "in" or it can mean "during." I wonder if what we have here is the runner was first during the race (dans la course ), and he was also first at the finish line (de la course).

Bonjour Cathrine, Both are fine. 'Dans' as you know means 'in' and 'de' means 'of', so if we want to be pedantic we can translate the two sentences differently 1) 'I am first in the race' and 2) 'I am first of the race', respectively. The second obviously sounds quite awkward in English but nonetheless we can see that they mean the same thing. It is simply up to personal preference which one is used more often but I would advise the former, simply because it translates more cleanly and is easier to understand and therefore repeat. I hope this help - Continuez ainsi! - Marie-Claire