Question 1

Why is contiendrait translated as "reportedly contains" rather than "would contain"?

Accepted Answer

You've spotted the "journalistic conditional"! In French, reporters and writers use the conditional tense to share information that hasn't been officially confirmed yet. While contiendrait literally means "would contain," in English we naturally express this doubt by saying "reportedly contains" or "is said to contain."

Question 2

How do I form the conditional for a verb like contenir?

Accepted Answer

Contenir (to contain) follows the exact same irregular pattern as venir (to come) and tenir (to hold). Instead of using the whole infinitive as the base, the stem changes to contiendrai-. Then you add the standard conditional endings (which are identical to the imparfait endings). For ce tunnel (it), the ending is -t, giving us contiendrait.

Question 3

Since choses is plural, shouldn't it be beaucoup des choses?

Accepted Answer

This is a very common trap! After expressions of quantity like beaucoup (a lot / many), peu (few), or trop (too much), you almost always use a bare de or d', regardless of whether the noun is plural. You would only use des if you were specifying which things, like beaucoup des choses que tu as dites (a lot of the things that you said).

Question 4

I learned that size adjectives go before the noun. Why is it tunnel immense?

Accepted Answer

You're likely thinking of the rule where short, common adjectives of size (like grand and petit) go before the noun. However, immense usually acts like a standard French adjective and goes after the noun. You might occasionally see it placed before the noun in literature for poetic emphasis, but placing it after is standard.

Ce tunnel immense contiendrait beaucoup de choses.

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