-- Posted by Charolastra at 6:35 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 quand on utilise le mot << dont >> ? je ne sais pas ! je m'aide s'il vous plaît. merci ! -- Posted by Charolastra at 6:37 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 alright get out of my thread if you don't speak french. i really don't give a shit if you don't. you're not helping me any. -- Posted by elementality09 at 6:37 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 eh, je ne sais pas aussi. comment di t'on dont? -- Posted by babecakes at 6:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 chao!   -- Posted by Ndskewll at 6:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Umm. What do you need help with? -- Posted by Prom3theus at 6:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 You should usually put it into context and translate it. Like... Quand on parle dont le topique est le français... -- Posted by Lulu Nobody at 6:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 To replace sentences with the preposition de. For example: L'argent dont j'ai besoin Where the original phrase is "J'ai besoin d'argent". It mostly translates as "which/that" and in some cases "who/whom," but if the verb after it takes the preposition de, you should use dont. More info: http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa092799.htm Hope that's a little clearer. -- Posted by redhotchilis64 at 6:39 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 That wasn't a question... but if you need to know how to say "don't"... it's "ne faire pas". -- Posted by Charolastra at 6:39 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from Ndskewll at 9:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Umm. What do you need help with? i need to know when to use the pronom relatif "dont". i know it replaces "de" but... that doesn't help me any. i feel like i could just use "qui" or "que" anywhere for these exercises i'm working on. -- Posted by Lulu Nobody at 6:40 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from redhotchilis64 at 9:39 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 That wasn't a question... but if you need to know how to say "don't"... it's "ne faire pas". She's talking about the relative pronoun 'dont', not the English word "don't." -- Posted by isobel at 6:41 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Ah, comment l'expliquer... Ex.: Où est le livre DONT j'ai besoin? ou... Ça c'est la fille DONT je t'ai parlé. The original sentences would have been: J'ai besoin d'un livre. Je t'ai parlé de cette fille. I know fuck all about grammar, so I can't really explain it in grammar terms. -- Posted by Lulu Nobody at 6:44 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from charolastra at 9:39 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from Ndskewll at 9:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Umm. What do you need help with? i need to know when to use the pronom relatif "dont". i know it replaces "de" but... that doesn't help me any. i feel like i could just use "qui" or "que" anywhere for these exercises i'm working on. Because it relies on what the preposition is that follows the verb. If you have a verb like parler de or something else that takes de, it will almost always (and should be) dont. Like in the example I gave above, because avoir besoin takes de, when you say "The money that I need," you will need to use 'dont' because of de. I know that sounds like a crappy explanation, but that's all there really is. You just have to know if the preposition is de or something else. -- Posted by Charolastra at 6:45 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from Lulu Nobody at 9:44 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from charolastra at 9:39 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from Ndskewll at 9:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Umm. What do you need help with?    i need to know when to use the pronom relatif "dont". i know it replaces "de" but... that doesn't help me any. i feel like i could just use "qui" or "que" anywhere for these exercises i'm working on. Because it relies on what the preposition is that follows the verb. If you have a verb like parler de or something else that takes de, it will almost always (and should be) dont. Like in the example I gave above, because avoir besoin takes de, when you say "The money that I need," you will need to use 'dont' because of de. I know that sounds like a crappy explanation, but that's all there really is. You just have to know if the preposition is de or something else. actually this (and your last post) just helped me a lot. i think i got the hang of this now. merci beaucoup ! -- Posted by vanquisher91 at 6:46 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Dont: "Whose / of which" Pour example: Le garcon dont.... "The boy whose..." -- Posted by Lulu Nobody at 6:47 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 http://lilt.ilstu.edu/jhreid/grammar/relative_pronouns_i__ii.htm Here's another website I found quick, with some more examples and some more explanation. http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/fren/Language_tools/grammar/relative_pronouns/ And another. Just click on the link that has "de" in it. -- Posted by Lulu Nobody at 6:48 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from charolastra at 9:45 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from Lulu Nobody at 9:44 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from charolastra at 9:39 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from Ndskewll at 9:38 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Umm. What do you need help with?   i need to know when to use the pronom relatif "dont". i know it replaces "de" but... that doesn't help me any. i feel like i could just use "qui" or "que" anywhere for these exercises i'm working on.    Because it relies on what the preposition is that follows the verb. If you have a verb like parler de or something else that takes de, it will almost always (and should be) dont. Like in the example I gave above, because avoir besoin takes de, when you say "The money that I need," you will need to use 'dont' because of de.    I know that sounds like a crappy explanation, but that's all there really is. You just have to know if the preposition is de or something else. actually this (and your last post) just helped me a lot. i think i got the hang of this now. merci beaucoup ! De rien :) I still have trouble with this, and with other things in French since many grammatical structures like this rely on prepositions that go with verbs. So, pretty much, when you learn a new verb or verb phrase, remember the preposition. It'll definitely help you in the long run. -- Posted by Charolastra at 6:48 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Quote: from Lulu Nobody at 9:47 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 http://lilt.ilstu.edu/jhreid/grammar/relative_pronouns_i__ii.htm Here's another website I found quick, with some more examples and some more explanation. http://apps.carleton.edu/curricular/fren/Language_tools/grammar/relative_pronouns/ And another. Just click on the link that has "de" in it. yes! these are great! thanks so much for all your help!! -- Posted by Shaknbake at 3:32 pm on Nov. 26, 2008 Quote: from vanquisher91 at 6:46 pm on Nov. 20, 2008 Dont: "Whose / of which" Pour example: Le garcon dont.... "The boy whose..." I was gonna say, probably the simplest way to think of 'dont' is as "of which," "de lequel/laquelle." Is "dont" gender specific? I forget.