Breakdown of J'appelais pour demander la confirmation de la modification.
je
I
pour
for
de
of / from / any (in negative sentences) / about (concerning)
appeler
to call (general)
demander
to ask (for) / to require / demand
la confirmation
the confirmation
la modification
the modification
Questions & Answers about J'appelais pour demander la confirmation de la modification.
Why use the imperfect J'appelais if the person is currently on the phone?
This is the imparfait d'atténuation (imperfect of politeness). Even though the call is happening right now, using the imperfect softens the statement, making it sound less demanding or abrupt than the present tense (J'appelle). It translates perfectly to the English polite phrasing 'I was calling to...'.
Does demander mean 'to ask a question' here?
Not exactly. While demander is used for asking questions, it specifically means 'to request' or 'to ask for' when followed directly by a noun. Here, demander la confirmation means 'to request the confirmation'. If you wanted to ask a question about the modification, you would need the phrase poser une question sur.
Why are there two la's in la confirmation de la modification? Wouldn't de modification work?
The double '-tion' ending in confirmation de la modification sounds repetitive. Is this phrasing natural?
Yes, it is perfectly natural and very common in professional or administrative French! Where English often stacks nouns together as adjectives (like 'the modification confirmation'), French must connect them with de. The rhyming suffixes might sound clunky to an English ear, but they don't bother French speakers at all.
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