uses of comme

[Suparna Salahuddin]

Comme means as or like

Why do they ask in french like"Qu'est-ce que vous avez comme boisson"?

Why not "pour"(for) instead? pls explain this to me so that i c0uld come free of confusion.

 

[Neil Coffey]

It's important to realise that beyond their "basic" meaning, in languages as a whole, prepositions can have a whole range of idiomatic uses that aren't always easy to reconcile with their basic meaning.

 

That said, I think the meaning you mention is more or less part of the basic meaning of "comme" in French. The thing that's maybe a bit unusual for native English speakers is that "comme" doesn't tend to be used with the indefinite article in French, so in French you could say "comme boisson", whereas in English you would say e.g. "by way of a drink".

 

I'm not actually why I'd expect to use "pour" here: perhaps you could elaborate on why you'd expect "pour" to be used?

[stu harris]

This translates to the very ungainly (and now seldom used) expression by way of. "What do you have by way of drinks?" is grammatically correct but might induce a giggle these days.

 

The French construction Qu'est-ce que vous avez pour boire? is perfectly ok, too.

[Erwan]

I'm sorry Stu but I think that it's better to say Qu'est-ce que vous avez à boire? . The use of pour seems to me improper.

But a word comes from the expression C'est pour boire : un pourboire (a tip in Eglish)

[stu harris]

Ah yes, OK, agreed.

[stu harris]

Ah yes, OK, agreed.