l'une & une

shirley-hong-kong

shirley-hong-kong

October 8, 2010

Hi I am Shirley, would like to know the difference between, l'une des and une des, it was extractd from "Le francaise est l'une de six langues offcielles". Thanks Shirley
shirley-hong-kong

shirley-hong-kong

October 8, 2010

sorry should be "Le francais est l'une des six langues officielles"
Marie-Claire-Riviere

Marie-Claire-Riviere

October 15, 2010

Hi Shirley! Thanks for your post. Good question...The difference is very subtle. As you probably know the translation of "Le francaise est l'une de six langues offcielles" is "French is one of six official languages". "L'une" refers to it being one of many. If it were just "Une" it would be more like "French is an official language" I hope this helps clarify. All the best for your French learning! :)
Oliver-B

Oliver-B

October 25, 2010

Hi, I was just wondering what the abbreviated 'S' in S’il vous plait and S’il te plait stands for - it it Se or Si perhaps? Thanks Oliver
Marie-Claire-Riviere

Marie-Claire-Riviere

November 2, 2010

Salut Oliver! The S' in 'S'il vous plait' does in fact stand for 'Si' meaning 'if'. 'S'il vous plait' literally means 'If you please.' I hope this helps! :) Marie-Claire
Keyatta--16

Keyatta--16

December 4, 2011

Bonjour Marie-Claire, I was wondering from Shirley's question, does it matter if you use l'une or une?
Marie-Claire-Riviere

Marie-Claire-Riviere

January 30, 2012

Bonjour Keyatta, It depends on what you what to say. If you want to say that it is one of the six languages then you would need to use 'l'une' but if you just wanted to say that it is just an official language and not necessarily 'one of a specific set or group' then 'une' will suffice. J'éspère que cela vous aide! - I hope this helps! - Marie-Claire

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