2023-08-13 07:02:36
We returned your copy and a big red circle caught your attention. You had written “Quand à lui, il…” and this obviously irritated your teacher, who transformed your “when” into “quant”. But don’t we write “when” with a “d”? When it comes to the conjunction or the adverb, yes, but it wasn’t that “when” you wanted. Explanations.
“when” vs “as to”
“When” can be a conjunction, which means “every time”:
“When he drinks, he is pissed off. »
“Quand” can also be an adverb, which means “when”:
” When do you go on holidays ? »
“As for”, on the other hand, is a prepositional phrase which means “with regard to”:
“John is quite cute. As for Jack, he’s a real hottie! »
A Latin origin
According to the French Academy, “as to” comes from the Latin phrase ” as far as “, which means the same thing (literally: ” quantum = “how much”, ” ad = “to”).
How to remember
As for the best way to stop irritating your teachers, it’s childishly simple: write “as to” as you pronounce it. If “when”, followed by a vowel, is said “quante” (“when he will arrive”), it is pronounced “quan” in the other cases (“when you will arrive”, “you arrive quan?”). On the other hand, the comparative “quant à” is always said “quante à”. It’s good, do you have it?
#Quand #written