Breakdown of On ne trouve pas cette superficie n'importe où.
on
one / we (informal)
ne
not (used before the verb)
pas
not (used after the verb)
ce
this (before a noun)
trouver
to find
n'importe où
anywhere
la superficie
the area
Questions & Answers about On ne trouve pas cette superficie n'importe où.
How does superficie relate to the dimension structures we are learning in this lesson?
In this lesson, you are learning to use a dimension noun at the end of a measurement, such as de longueur or de largeur. superficie is the specific noun used for surface area. You might see a phrase like un terrain de cent mètres carrés de superficie, and our example sentence simply uses that same dimension noun on its own as the direct object.
How exactly does the phrase n'importe où work to mean just anywhere?
If I wanted to say that you find this surface area nowhere, how would the sentence change?
You would drop pas and replace n'importe où with the negative phrase nulle part. The sentence would become On ne trouve cette superficie nulle part. Remember that nulle part acts as its own negative partner to ne, so using pas with it would be a grammatical mistake, whereas n'importe où requires the earlier pas to make the sentence negative.
Why use On in this sentence instead of a passive structure?
English speakers frequently use the passive voice for general statements, saying things like this surface area is not found anywhere. French strongly prefers using the active voice with the impersonal pronoun On to express general facts, universal truths, or what people in general can or cannot find.
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