Breakdown of Je suis sur le point de rater ma correspondance pour le terminus.
je
I
pour
for
mon
my (mon, ma, mes)
le
him, it (masculine direct object pronoun)
rater
to miss / to botch / ruin / to fail / go wrong
être sur le point de
to be about to
la correspondance
the connection
le terminus
the terminus
Questions & Answers about Je suis sur le point de rater ma correspondance pour le terminus.
How is être sur le point de different from just saying je vais rater?
Être sur le point de translates to "to be about to" or "to be on the verge of." It emphasizes that the action is extremely imminent, happening right this second. Je vais rater just means "I am going to miss," which could be happening much further away in the future.
Why do we need the word de before rater?
The fixed expression for imminent action is être sur le point de (literally "to be on the point of"). You must include the preposition de to properly connect this expression to the infinitive (unconjugated) verb that follows it.
Could I use the verb manquer instead of rater here?
Yes, you could say manquer ma correspondance. Both verbs mean "to miss" a transport, opportunity, or event. Rater is slightly more informal but extremely common in everyday French. Just remember that if you want to say you miss a person, you must use the special structure with manquer à (like tu me manques).
Does correspondance always mean a transport connection?
In travel contexts like this one, une correspondance refers to a transit connection or a transfer, such as your next train or flight. In other contexts, it can mean a matching correlation or an exchange of letters, just like "correspondence" in English.
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