Breakdown of On a demandé au chroniqueur de parler avant le générique.
on
one / we (informal)
avoir
to have
parler
to speak
à
at / to / in (general locations) / about (what one thinks about / reacts to)
avant
before
demander
to ask (for) / to require / demand
de
to (introducing an infinitive after a verb)
le chroniqueur
the columnist
le générique
the credits
Questions & Answers about On a demandé au chroniqueur de parler avant le générique.
Why can't we translate 'The columnist was asked' literally as Le chroniqueur a été demandé?
In French, you can only form the passive voice with direct objects. Because the verb is demander à quelqu'un, the person being asked is an indirect object. To express this English passive idea, French uses the active voice with the indefinite subject on (literally, 'One asked the columnist').
Why do we use au chroniqueur instead of just le chroniqueur?
The verb phrase is demander à quelqu'un (to ask someone). You must use the preposition à, which merges with the masculine definite article le to become au. This is what makes the columnist an indirect object.
Why is there a de before the infinitive parler?
The complete verbal pattern is demander à quelqu'un de faire quelque chose (to ask someone to do something). The preposition de is strictly required to link demander to the infinitive verb that follows it.
I know générique means 'generic', so how does it translate to 'credits' here?
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