Re: Jennifer Saunders Fan Club

MurielB Sam 11 Mar - 18:34

Gerard a écrit:Cowboys are used to rodeos, they can't be frightened by 5 blondies.

I would advise the cow boy not to underestimate the 5 blondies'capacity

Guilaine Sam 11 Mar - 22:00

Ten more years would be too much for him to bear, poor lad !

gerardM Lun 13 Mar - 17:42

Jennifer Saunders Fan Club - Page 10 17202873_1563560480340435_5880271785475872652_n

When hearing "belong", a serious French learner automatically thinks "... to...".
No!
Here's another meaning: "belong on".

gerardM Lun 13 Mar - 19:28

MurielB Lun 13 Mar - 21:34

gerardM a écrit:

When hearing "belong", a serious French learner automatically thinks "... to...".
No!
Here's another meaning: "belong on".

Hi Gérard, everyone
As I would have also said "belong to"I had a look in "word reference"
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/belong-belong-to-belong-on.1427254/

Is there any difference between "belong to" and "belong on"? I didn't find "belong on" on any dictionary and I read it in a sentence which said "she does belong on Mango Street".

Besides, in Sandra Cisnero's The House on Mango Street, Esperanza says "I'm going to tell you a story about a girl who didn't want to belong".
How could I translate that "belong"? The matter is that she feels she doesn't belong to that street, but I can't translate the setnence. I think I must write more information in Spanish to fit the meaning in English.

I ope you help me. Thanks a lot

platypuckSenior Member

"Belong" generally has the idea of ownership and so the usual preposition is "to", but sometimes the idea of place is needed, hence the use of "belong in", as in "you don't belong in here: leave this place immediately. The use of "on" in your example has everything to do with the idea that things are placed "on" a street.

gerardM Lun 13 Mar - 21:53

So what translation (or detailed explanation) would you suggest Muriel?

MurielB Lun 13 Mar - 22:04

Gérard I would develop "on" because the idea that things are placed "on" is important. I would translate into French "J'appartiens à la surface de cette plage" something like that.

gerardM Lun 13 Mar - 22:20

Muriel, forget "appartenir".
The meaning is simply you're well in/on that place.
As a matter of fact, the translation of to belong in/on goes from "être (bien) à sa place" to ""se bien sentir à cet endroit" (yes there's a far idea of belonging).

MurielB Lun 13 Mar - 22:40

Tx Gérard for all these explanations !

gerardM Mar 14 Mar - 10:52

gerardM Mar 14 Mar - 17:51

MurielB Mar 14 Mar - 22:53

Better work than wait, I think !

gerardM Jeu 16 Mar - 10:39

A woman went to the Doctor’s office, where she was seen by one of the new doctors, but after about 4 minutes in the examination room, she burst out, screaming as she ran down the hall.
An older doctor stopped her and asked what the problem was, and she told him her story.
After listening, he had her sit down and told her to go relax in another room.
The older doctor marched down hallway to the back where the first doctor was and demanded, “What’s the matter with you? Mrs. Terry is 63 years old, she has two grown children and several grandchildren, and you told her she was pregnant?”
The new doctor continued to write on his clipboard and without looking up said,
“Does she still have the hiccups?”

gerardM Jeu 16 Mar - 20:46

gerardM Jeu 16 Mar - 21:05

MurielB Jeu 16 Mar - 21:24

gerardM a écrit:A woman went to the Doctor’s office, where she was seen by one of the new doctors, but after about 4 minutes in the examination room, she burst out, screaming as she ran down the hall.
An older doctor stopped her and asked what the problem was, and she told him her story.
After listening, he had her sit down and told her to go relax in another room.
The older doctor marched down hallway to the back where the first doctor was and demanded, “What’s the matter with you? Mrs. Terry is 63 years old, she has two grown children and several grandchildren, and you told her she was pregnant?”
The new doctor continued to write on his clipboard and without looking up said,
“Does she still have the hiccups?”

Yes Gérard, I will remember that story when one of my friend has the hiccups ! I will let her doctor know about it !

gerardM Ven 17 Mar - 15:34

MurielB Ven 17 Mar - 20:15

It is the same for a multilingual person isn't ?

gerardM Dim 19 Mar - 19:09

MurielB Dim 19 Mar - 19:57

What a shame!

gerardM Lun 20 Mar - 14:22

Lawyers should never ask a Grandma a question if they aren’t prepared for the answer.
In a trial in Mississippi, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness to the stand… a grandmotherly, elderly woman. He approached her and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?”
She responded, “Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a boy, and frankly you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a big shot, when you haven’t got the brains to realize you’ll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.”
The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?”
She again replied, “Why yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He’s lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state… not to mention, he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.”
The defense attorney nearly died on the spot.
The judge asked both counselors to approached the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said… “If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I’ll send you both to the electric chair.”

gerardM Lun 20 Mar - 14:45

MurielB Lun 20 Mar - 18:17

unfortunately, nowadays, children exercise far less ! Sad

gerardM Lun 20 Mar - 23:31

MurielB Mar 21 Mar - 10:00