Quiz
De or par with French action nouns: who does what?
Eight questions on French action nouns: identify who arrives, what is checked and who evaluates. Resolve ambiguous de phrases with clear par complements.
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In short
After an action noun, de can name the person doing the action or the thing affected: l’arrivée des élèves means the pupils arrive; l’évaluation des élèves can mean the pupils are evaluated. With nouns such as évaluation and vérification, par can make the actor explicit.
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| Noun phrase | Underlying action | Role of the complement |
|---|---|---|
| l’arrivée de Nora | Nora arrive. | Nora is the person arriving. |
| la vérification des dates | On vérifie les dates. | The dates are checked. |
| la vérification des dates par Nora | Nora vérifie les dates. | Nora checks; the dates are checked. |
A compact de phrase can leave two readings open. L’évaluation des enseignants may describe evaluation by teachers or evaluation of teachers. Use the surrounding sentence to recover the roles. When both parties matter, a fuller phrase can name them: l’évaluation des élèves par les enseignants.
De or par after a French action noun?
Le comité évalue les enseignants. L’évaluation des enseignants par le comité commence lundi.
The committee evaluates the teachers. The committee’s evaluation of the teachers begins on Monday.
The second sentence names the event and gives its start date. The first puts the committee directly before its action. Both make the roles clear. A possessive such as son évaluation needs context too: it can refer to an evaluation someone conducts or one they receive.