vocab

[isabelle hayes]

not sure how to translate this:

"Il etait etrange de penser que le patron prendrait place bientot dans la barque et qu'il avait les dimensions et le poids de tout le monde."

le patron is the chief of chiefs in the resistance;

it's the last part i'm not sure of; my (free) translation is:

"he had the same size and weight as anyone";

but could it be "he bore the size and the weight of the whole world"?

tia

isabelle

[Frank]

Hello Isabelle,

Both translations are correct. Without more details on the context, I don't know which one should apply here.

[isabelle hayes]

it's interesting that both translations could be correct;

the context is that the patron is going to be brought on board a submarine that 's taking people from France to Great Britain, for resistance purposes, during the occupation of France by Germany;

the man who's having these thoughts is the person who's going to bring the chief out to the submarine in a canoe, and he's waiting for him to arrive in a little cove of the coast..

my guess is that this chief is an almost mythical figure, so his being in reality just another human being, like we all are, is somewhat astonishing to the one who is doing the thinking.

[Pamela Kingfisher]

prendre place

does this mean to place one's self?
Or take his place?
Or put himself somewhere?

Thanks! Pam

[Frank]

Hello Pam,

"prendre place" means "to take place" or "to take a seat".