Questions & Answers about Chacun a ses petits travers.
Why does this use Chacun instead of Tout le monde for "Everyone"?
Chacun focuses on individuals within a group ("each person"), whereas tout le monde refers to the group as a whole ("everybody"). Using chacun emphasizes that every single person individually has their own specific quirks. English uses "their" here. Why does French use ses instead of leurs?
In French, chacun is strictly grammatically singular, just like "each one" in English. Because the subject is singular, the possessive adjective must match it: son, sa, or ses. Since the noun travers is plural, we use ses. French doesn't use a plural "their" to refer back to a singular pronoun. Does the noun travers always end in an "s"?
Yes, un travers inherently ends in an "s" even in its singular form. It is spelled exactly the same in both singular and plural. We only know it is plural in this sentence because of the plural words ses and petits coming right before it. I know à travers means "through" or "across". How does travers mean "flaws" here?
As a noun, un travers refers to a quirk, idiosyncrasy, or minor character flaw. The physical idea of something being "across" or "crooked" evolved into a metaphor for a personality trait that deviates from what is perfectly straight or expected. How would I use the prepositions from this lesson to say "Everyone among us has their little flaws"?
You could say Chacun parmi nous a ses petits travers, using parmi because "nous" is a collective group. However, French also has a very common fixed expression: chacun d'entre nous (each of us). This is a special exception where entre is used even without a specific list of distinct items. Learn Chacun a ses petits travers and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free