Breakdown of Je venais pour l'annulation ou la prolongation.
je
I
ou
or
pour
for
venir
to come
l'annulation
the cancellation (f)
la prolongation
the extension
Questions & Answers about Je venais pour l'annulation ou la prolongation.
Why is the imperfect tense used (Je venais) if the speaker is currently standing right there?
This is the imparfait d'atténuation (imperfect of politeness). By using the imperfect instead of the present (Je viens), the speaker softens their request, making it sound less abrupt or demanding. It is extremely common in French when approaching a receptionist or clerk to explain why you are there.
Does Je venais strictly mean you are talking about a past action here?
Not in this context. While it literally translates to the past continuous (I was coming), in English we would more naturally translate this present-moment interaction as "I am here for..." or "I've come about...". The French imperfect here is doing a social job (being polite in the present), not indicating a past interrupted action.
What are the verbs related to the nouns annulation and prolongation?
Why do we need to say la before prolongation if we already used l' before annulation?
In English, we can often drop the second article and say "for the cancellation or extension". In French, however, you generally cannot share articles across a list. You must repeat the determiner (definite, indefinite, or partitive article) before every single noun.
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