literal translations in English

Does anyone else sometimes find the English translations difficult to relate back to the French? I would find it easier to have the literal translation ( in parenthesis perhaps ) along with the common translation. For instance, in lesson 5.8 Bon Appetite there is a sentence that starts with, " Il ne me reste qu'a ----- " and the translation is given as, " All I have to do is ----" . How do you get that translation? Thanks for any help.

Salut, thank you for your suggestion. The thing with languages is that often you can't really translate one concept directly into another language, just because it wouldn't make much sense. Sometimes you will have three or four words in English that translate into one in French or the other way around. By looking at the whole sentence and translating it in a way that makes sense in English it will help you to get a feel for how French works. I know that when you first start learning a language you really want to know each single word. We tried to find a compromise and sometimes give you a literal translation and a natural translation. I will discuss your suggestion with the rest of the French team. Please let me know if you have any questions. Claire