Discuss and learn French: French vocabulary, French grammar, French culture etc.
French Vocab Games app for iPhone/iPad French-English dictionary French grammar French vocab/phrases
For the latest updates, follow @FrenchUpdates on Twitter!
when i studied "parcourir" i saw that it usually means working your way from the beginning to the end of something big such as a distance or a job. i also saw "parcourir un endroit des yeux/du regard" meaning to quickly glance around. in this scenario, i was wondering how you would respond if you went into a store, art gallery, etc. and were asked if you needed help. would "je ne veux que regarder" be appropriate? would "parcourir" be inappropriate?
since i came across "parcourir un endroit des yeux/du regard" i'm wondering how i would use it. would it be that i'd say "je n'ai que parcouru des yeux" if asked my impression of a place and i responded that i merely had a quick look?
i then googled "je l'ai parcouru" thinking i could say this to mean i merely skimmed something i read. i saw examples in "linguee" that did refer to documents that the speaker hadn't fully examined. i'm still not sure if i could say "je l'ai parcouru" to mean i just skimmed something. i'm aware "jeter un coup d'oeil" is an option.
merci d'avance
Tags:
Hi Alan.
Ta question est pleine de bon sens! Indeed, you are right to hesitate concerning the whole usage of “parcourir”. To say“parcourir du regard” in all cases only is against-indicated.
Here some real usages according to your questionings.
In an Art gallery/a store :
Someone : - “Bonjour, puis-je vous renseigner ?”
You : - “Non merci, Je regarde.” or “Non merci, je jette un oeil.” or “Non merci, je jette un coup d'oeil.”
Some accuracies : “Je ne veux que regarder” is a too negative phrase. “Non merci, je regarde.” is better and is very common in French.
“since i came across "parcourir un endroit des yeux/du regard" i'm wondering how i would use it.”
“parcourir du regard” is used according to two manners ( even if, in French like in English, the language is never definitively fixed. A language evolves often through each person. ) That is to say, the writting manner and the testimony manner. I explain...
1) The writing manner is by the process to write a novel, that is to say the literature process for instance :
“ Alan venait de rentrer dans le bar. En quelques seconde, Il a parcouru du regard chaque visage avant de trouver son internlocuteur, l'homme qui lui avait donné rendez-vous justement en ce lieu.”
( Alan just came in the pub. During some seconds, he glances each face before to find his interlocutor, precisely the man who given him an appointment in this place. )
2) The testimony manner is by the oral process, but is very close to a telling :
[ After a match, a football player said in front of a microphone : ] “On venait de gagner le match. C'était fabuleux! C'était impressionnant de parcourir du regard tous les gradins où s'exprimait une foule en liesse.”
( We just won the match. It was incredible ! It was sensational to glance all benches around where the crowd was jubilant.” )
“i'm still not sure if i could say "je l'ai parcouru" to mean i just skimmed something.”
Yes, you can. “parcourir un livre” means exactly that you want to explain in your comment. So we quite can say :
- J'ai parcouru quelques paragraphes de ce livre.
( I skimmed some paragraphs of this book. )
- La lettre que j'ai parcouru n'était pas très interressante.
( The letter that I skimmed was not interesting. )
- En parcourant ce document, j'ai trouvé l'information que je voulais.
( During the skimming of this document, I found the information that I wanted. )
Anyway, Alan, thanks alot. Due to you, today I learned verbs “to skim” and “to glance” in the expression “glance around”.
J'espère, pour ta part, que tu parviendras à parcourir toute mon explication et que tu sauras à l'avenir utiliser “parcourir du regard/des yeux” avec aisance. ;-)
A bientôt.
absolutely. you're invaluable. by the way, you also skim (usually fat) off of soup, a sauce, etc. so whether reading or cooking, you're just scrathing the surface
sorry. scratching
© 2024 Created by Neil Coffey. Powered by