Log inSign up

À force d'écouter les gens, elle parle ce dialecte couramment.

À force d'écouter les gens, elle parle ce dialecte couramment.
Through repeatedly listening to people, she speaks this dialect fluently.
From Lesson 330:Cause by repetition (à force de)·French

Questions & Answers about À force d'écouter les gens, elle parle ce dialecte couramment.

How does à force de differ from just using the gerund en écoutant (by listening) here?
While en écoutant simply means 'by listening' or 'while listening', the phrase à force de adds the idea of intense repetition or accumulated effort. It emphasizes that doing the action over and over is exactly what caused the result.
Could I use a conjugated verb after à force de, like à force qu'elle écoute?
No, à force de must be followed either by an infinitive (like écouter here) or by a noun (like à force de patience). The structure 'à force que' does not exist in standard French.
Why does the adverb couramment end in -amment with a double 'm'?
When a masculine adjective ends in -ant (like courant, meaning fluent or current), its adverb form is created by replacing -ant with -amment. Note that the -am- part is pronounced with an 'ah' nasal sound.
Why use the definite article in les gens if she is just listening to people in general?
In French, the definite article (le, la, les) is used to express generalities. Here, les gens means 'people in general'. If you used the indefinite des gens, it would mean she listened to 'some people', which loses the broad, general sense intended here.

Learn À force d'écouter les gens, elle parle ce dialecte couramment and more in French

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning French →