Breakdown of J'entends le client qui marchande de plus en plus fort.
je
I
qui
who
entendre
to hear
le client
the client / the customer
de plus en plus
more and more
fort
loudly (volume)
marchander
to haggle
Questions & Answers about J'entends le client qui marchande de plus en plus fort.
Why does the French sentence use qui marchande instead of a participle like marchandant?
After a verb of perception like entendre (to hear), you can describe the action you observe with a relative clause using qui plus a conjugated verb. This emphasizes the action happening right in that moment, matching the English -ing form ('haggling'). Unlike English, French does not use the present participle (marchandant) directly after the object here.
Could I use the infinitive marchander instead?
Yes, you could say J'entends le client marchander. The meaning is almost identical. However, the infinitive can sometimes imply you hear the whole action from start to finish ('I hear the customer haggle'), whereas qui marchande strongly focuses on the ongoing process ('I hear the customer haggling').
Why is fort used instead of fortement to mean 'loudly'?
Certain French adjectives can act directly as adverbs, skipping the -ment ending, when paired with specific verbs. With verbs related to speaking, shouting, or making noise, fort is used as an invariable adverb meaning 'loudly'. Because it is acting as an adverb modifying the verb marchande, it never changes to agree with a noun.
The English translation says 'haggling', but marchande looks like 'merchant'. What is the connection?
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