Friday, September 13, 2013

Please?

One of my minor ongoing tasks in French is to get comfortable with the word en. I look at en so much one friend said you really are too fixated on that, you know.   I can understand about 70% of the times that it's used, but every so often something zings right past me. 

This morning a French person thanked me in an email, saying Je t'en prie, which is a short form of Je te en prie. Based on my understanding, that's literally I you it pray, and is translated as I beg it of you, which in turn is generally translated as my pleasure or no problem, something like that.

Anyway, when I saw that Je t'en prie in the email, I thought that I'd look again for some examples of the use of en, and in particular, en prie.  I found several on the BAB.LA site.  I must say, running my eye down the English translations, it's sort of..... creepy. Not so much on their own, but read in series, as if they were all in one paragraph.  Which may be why Babla notes "These sentences come from external sources and may not be accurate. bab.la is not responsible for their content."

Je t'en prie, juge-le avec compassion et mansuétude.
I pray you, judge him with compassion and understanding.

Je t'en prie, que ça arrive vite, pendant que j'en ai la force.
Please let it happen fast while I have the strength.

Je t'en prie, ne prive pas les enfants de leur mère.
Oh, please, don't deprive the kids of their mother.

Ma puce, je t'en prie, ne repars pas.
Baby... please don't go away anymore.

Je t'en prie, je ne veux pas mourir.
Please, Tony, I don't want to die.

T'inflige pas ça, je t'en prie.
Come on, don't do this to yourself.

Fais ça pour moi, je t'en prie.
Will you do that for me, sweetie?

Je t'en prie, papa, décroche!
Please answer, Daddy, answer.

Je t'en prie, Akin, rétablis -toi vite!
Please, Akin, get well soon.

Oh, mon Dieu, je t'en prie.
Oh, God, I beg you, please.

Parle-moi, je t'en prie.
Please -- Please talk to me.

Steve, je t'en prie.
Steve, baby, no, please.

Pas un mot, je t'en prie.
Not a word, please.

Ricardo, je t'en prie.
Please, Riccardo.

Je t'en prie, Frère.
Please, brother?

Je t'en prie!
Please don't go.

Je t'en prie?
Please, Tony?

Je t'en prie.
Please, Mac!

Je t'en prie!
Please, Lou!

Je t'en prie.
Oh, please.

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