Breakdown of Nous voulions votre confirmation et votre assistance.
et
and
nous
we / us (object pronoun)
votre
your (formal/plural) (singular and plural forms: votre, vos)
vouloir
to want
l'assistance
the assistance (f)
la confirmation
the confirmation
Questions & Answers about Nous voulions votre confirmation et votre assistance.
Why use the imperfect voulions here instead of the present tense voulons?
This is the imparfait d'atténuation (imperfect of politeness). By using the imperfect instead of the direct present tense (Nous voulons - We want), the speaker softens the request to make it sound less demanding and more polite. It works very similarly to English when we say 'We wanted to get your confirmation' instead of 'We want your confirmation.'
At this level, I usually use the conditional (nous voudrions) to be polite. Is nous voulions interchangeable with it here?
Yes, they are very similar and both serve to soften a request. Nous voudrions (We would like) is the standard polite form you learn early on. Nous voulions (We wanted) feels slightly more conversational and implies a previously formed intention that is now being brought up. Both are perfectly acceptable in professional or formal settings.
Why is the word votre repeated before both nouns? In English, we just say 'your confirmation and assistance.'
Is there a difference between using assistance and aide in this context?
Assistance is a bit more formal and administrative, making it a great fit for a professional request like this one alongside confirmation. Aide is the more common, everyday word for help. Note that assistance can also mean 'audience' or 'people attending' in other contexts, but here it clearly means 'assistance' or 'support'.
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