Breakdown of Je vois quelqu'un qui marchande dans le grand marché.
je
I
grand
big / tall
dans
in, inside
qui
who
voir
to see
le marché
the market
quelqu'un
someone
marchander
to haggle
Questions & Answers about Je vois quelqu'un qui marchande dans le grand marché.
Could I use the infinitive here, like Je vois quelqu'un marchander?
Yes, you can! After verbs of perception (like voir, entendre, or regarder), you have two common options to describe an action you witness: using the infinitive (quelqu'un marchander) or a relative clause with qui (quelqu'un qui marchande). The qui structure often emphasizes the ongoing, continuous nature of the action in the moment, while the infinitive can sometimes imply you witnessed the entire action from start to finish. Both are completely correct and very common in French.
In English, we usually say 'I see someone haggling.' Can I translate that using the French present participle, marchandant?
No, it is highly recommended to avoid that. While English uses the '-ing' form (the present participle) after verbs of perception, French almost never uses its present participle (en -ant) in this role. Instead, you must use the structure seen in this sentence (qui + conjugated verb) or the infinitive.
Is the verb marchande related to the word marché at the end of the sentence?
Why does grand come before marché instead of after it?
This is a great time for a quick BAGS rule refresher! In French, most adjectives are placed strictly after the noun. However, a specific group of short, common adjectives describing Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size (BAGS) go before the noun. Since grand describes Size, it naturally sits before marché.
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