acheter à, to mean both “from” and “for”?Acheter qqch à/de/pour qqnBook for learning grammar (DELF B2)(L'Étranger de Camus) The usage of “se” with “laisser + faire”How to emphasise different parts of a phrase using “ne … que”?Rules for word order in more complex sentencesWhen to use 'de' and 'du' as preposition?understanding a passage with “tenir” as well as “en prenant”“ne…que” with an infinitive?1) How can I use a dictionary to translate payer [something] à [location] 2) definite article?What is the difference between “Ça, c'est ~” and “C'est ~”?Why is the `à` used in the sentence - “Les poissons sont des animaux à sang froid.”?

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acheter à, to mean both “from” and “for”?


Acheter qqch à/de/pour qqnBook for learning grammar (DELF B2)(L'Étranger de Camus) The usage of “se” with “laisser + faire”How to emphasise different parts of a phrase using “ne … que”?Rules for word order in more complex sentencesWhen to use 'de' and 'du' as preposition?understanding a passage with “tenir” as well as “en prenant”“ne…que” with an infinitive?1) How can I use a dictionary to translate payer [something] à [location] 2) definite article?What is the difference between “Ça, c'est ~” and “C'est ~”?Why is the `à` used in the sentence - “Les poissons sont des animaux à sang froid.”?













1















I understand from this post:



Acheter qqch à/de/pour qqn



that "acheter qqch à qqun" could mean "to buy something for someone", or "to buy something from someone", and that only context clarify the ambiguity.



How do I say the following sentence in French, then, which requires both "for" and "from"?



"Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?"










share|improve this question




























    1















    I understand from this post:



    Acheter qqch à/de/pour qqn



    that "acheter qqch à qqun" could mean "to buy something for someone", or "to buy something from someone", and that only context clarify the ambiguity.



    How do I say the following sentence in French, then, which requires both "for" and "from"?



    "Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?"










    share|improve this question


























      1












      1








      1








      I understand from this post:



      Acheter qqch à/de/pour qqn



      that "acheter qqch à qqun" could mean "to buy something for someone", or "to buy something from someone", and that only context clarify the ambiguity.



      How do I say the following sentence in French, then, which requires both "for" and "from"?



      "Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?"










      share|improve this question
















      I understand from this post:



      Acheter qqch à/de/pour qqn



      that "acheter qqch à qqun" could mean "to buy something for someone", or "to buy something from someone", and that only context clarify the ambiguity.



      How do I say the following sentence in French, then, which requires both "for" and "from"?



      "Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?"







      grammaire prépositions






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited 2 hours ago







      silph

















      asked 4 hours ago









      silphsilph

      1,145722




      1,145722




















          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes


















          1














          I would translate the following sentence:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          In french this way:




          Pouvez-vous acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire pour mon neveu, à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière?





          Q:Can I have more explanations about why did you use "à" in the last sentence ?

          A: Yes, I'll try:



          à is a french préposition used here in order to describe a destination;




          FR: Où allons nous? Nous allons à Paris.
          EN: Where are we going? We're going to Paris.



          FR: Où allons nous pour acheter le gâteau d'anniversaire? Nous allons à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière.

          EN: Where are we going to buy the birthday cake ? We're going to that fancy bakery we went to last year.







          share|improve this answer























          • 1) So if I say "I'm going to buy a birthday cake for my nephew, from Paul", I can still use "à", even though "Paul" is not a destination? 2) With "Je vais acheter un gâteau à mon neveu", could this indeed mean both "I'm going to buy a cake for my nephew" and "I'm going to buy a cake from my nephew"? 3) If I mean to say "for my nephew", is there a difference in meaning between "à mon neveu" and "pour mon neveu"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago


















          1














          The question you linked already tells a way to disambiguate the intended meaning when à is followed by a person:



          J'achète un livre à/pour mon ami.




          • à : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :

            1. ...


            2. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.



          • pour : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :


            1. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.

            2. ...


          However, your English sentence is not a good example if this potential issue as you use a different à:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          Here from doesn't mean from someone but from some place. In such case, there is no ambiguity so you might still use à for both terms:




          Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie où on est allés l'année dernière ?




          In any case, the meaning is very often obvious, even without more context than the sentence itself. e.g.




          J'ai acheté des chaussures à mon fils (for my son)



          J'ai acheté une langouste à mon poissonnier (from my fishmonger)







          share|improve this answer























          • is it true that your example sentence (with "... un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie") could mean (even if it's very unlikely) "Can you buy a cake from my nephew (ie, paying my nephew some money), for the bakery (ie, giving the cake to the bakery)" ? Or is there in fact zero possibility of this sentence meaning this, because of some reason involving "à + [non-person]" always meaning "from [non-person]"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago











          • The eventuality for à la pâtisserie to mean for the bakery is essentially zero. Even when the place is not a commercial one, you won't say à. The sentence j'ai acheté une nouvelle porte d'entrée à la maison is not idiomatic. There is however a slight possibility for the nephew to work at the bakery and then the cake to be for someone else's birthday: Can you buy a birthday cake from my nephew in that fancy bakery...

            – jlliagre
            1 hour ago











          • so, "Can you buy a cake for my husband from my nephew in that fancy bakery" could be translated by "Mon neveu est pâtissier. Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau à mon mari à mon neveu à la pâtisserie de luxe"? If so, it interests me that a sentence can use à multiple times in the same short sentence.

            – silph
            17 mins ago











          Your Answer








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          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes








          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes









          1














          I would translate the following sentence:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          In french this way:




          Pouvez-vous acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire pour mon neveu, à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière?





          Q:Can I have more explanations about why did you use "à" in the last sentence ?

          A: Yes, I'll try:



          à is a french préposition used here in order to describe a destination;




          FR: Où allons nous? Nous allons à Paris.
          EN: Where are we going? We're going to Paris.



          FR: Où allons nous pour acheter le gâteau d'anniversaire? Nous allons à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière.

          EN: Where are we going to buy the birthday cake ? We're going to that fancy bakery we went to last year.







          share|improve this answer























          • 1) So if I say "I'm going to buy a birthday cake for my nephew, from Paul", I can still use "à", even though "Paul" is not a destination? 2) With "Je vais acheter un gâteau à mon neveu", could this indeed mean both "I'm going to buy a cake for my nephew" and "I'm going to buy a cake from my nephew"? 3) If I mean to say "for my nephew", is there a difference in meaning between "à mon neveu" and "pour mon neveu"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago















          1














          I would translate the following sentence:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          In french this way:




          Pouvez-vous acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire pour mon neveu, à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière?





          Q:Can I have more explanations about why did you use "à" in the last sentence ?

          A: Yes, I'll try:



          à is a french préposition used here in order to describe a destination;




          FR: Où allons nous? Nous allons à Paris.
          EN: Where are we going? We're going to Paris.



          FR: Où allons nous pour acheter le gâteau d'anniversaire? Nous allons à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière.

          EN: Where are we going to buy the birthday cake ? We're going to that fancy bakery we went to last year.







          share|improve this answer























          • 1) So if I say "I'm going to buy a birthday cake for my nephew, from Paul", I can still use "à", even though "Paul" is not a destination? 2) With "Je vais acheter un gâteau à mon neveu", could this indeed mean both "I'm going to buy a cake for my nephew" and "I'm going to buy a cake from my nephew"? 3) If I mean to say "for my nephew", is there a difference in meaning between "à mon neveu" and "pour mon neveu"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago













          1












          1








          1







          I would translate the following sentence:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          In french this way:




          Pouvez-vous acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire pour mon neveu, à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière?





          Q:Can I have more explanations about why did you use "à" in the last sentence ?

          A: Yes, I'll try:



          à is a french préposition used here in order to describe a destination;




          FR: Où allons nous? Nous allons à Paris.
          EN: Where are we going? We're going to Paris.



          FR: Où allons nous pour acheter le gâteau d'anniversaire? Nous allons à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière.

          EN: Where are we going to buy the birthday cake ? We're going to that fancy bakery we went to last year.







          share|improve this answer













          I would translate the following sentence:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          In french this way:




          Pouvez-vous acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire pour mon neveu, à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière?





          Q:Can I have more explanations about why did you use "à" in the last sentence ?

          A: Yes, I'll try:



          à is a french préposition used here in order to describe a destination;




          FR: Où allons nous? Nous allons à Paris.
          EN: Where are we going? We're going to Paris.



          FR: Où allons nous pour acheter le gâteau d'anniversaire? Nous allons à cette
          boulangerie de luxe où nous sommes allés l'année dernière.

          EN: Where are we going to buy the birthday cake ? We're going to that fancy bakery we went to last year.








          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 3 hours ago









          CedCed

          1,574120




          1,574120












          • 1) So if I say "I'm going to buy a birthday cake for my nephew, from Paul", I can still use "à", even though "Paul" is not a destination? 2) With "Je vais acheter un gâteau à mon neveu", could this indeed mean both "I'm going to buy a cake for my nephew" and "I'm going to buy a cake from my nephew"? 3) If I mean to say "for my nephew", is there a difference in meaning between "à mon neveu" and "pour mon neveu"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago

















          • 1) So if I say "I'm going to buy a birthday cake for my nephew, from Paul", I can still use "à", even though "Paul" is not a destination? 2) With "Je vais acheter un gâteau à mon neveu", could this indeed mean both "I'm going to buy a cake for my nephew" and "I'm going to buy a cake from my nephew"? 3) If I mean to say "for my nephew", is there a difference in meaning between "à mon neveu" and "pour mon neveu"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago
















          1) So if I say "I'm going to buy a birthday cake for my nephew, from Paul", I can still use "à", even though "Paul" is not a destination? 2) With "Je vais acheter un gâteau à mon neveu", could this indeed mean both "I'm going to buy a cake for my nephew" and "I'm going to buy a cake from my nephew"? 3) If I mean to say "for my nephew", is there a difference in meaning between "à mon neveu" and "pour mon neveu"?

          – silph
          2 hours ago





          1) So if I say "I'm going to buy a birthday cake for my nephew, from Paul", I can still use "à", even though "Paul" is not a destination? 2) With "Je vais acheter un gâteau à mon neveu", could this indeed mean both "I'm going to buy a cake for my nephew" and "I'm going to buy a cake from my nephew"? 3) If I mean to say "for my nephew", is there a difference in meaning between "à mon neveu" and "pour mon neveu"?

          – silph
          2 hours ago











          1














          The question you linked already tells a way to disambiguate the intended meaning when à is followed by a person:



          J'achète un livre à/pour mon ami.




          • à : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :

            1. ...


            2. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.



          • pour : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :


            1. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.

            2. ...


          However, your English sentence is not a good example if this potential issue as you use a different à:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          Here from doesn't mean from someone but from some place. In such case, there is no ambiguity so you might still use à for both terms:




          Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie où on est allés l'année dernière ?




          In any case, the meaning is very often obvious, even without more context than the sentence itself. e.g.




          J'ai acheté des chaussures à mon fils (for my son)



          J'ai acheté une langouste à mon poissonnier (from my fishmonger)







          share|improve this answer























          • is it true that your example sentence (with "... un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie") could mean (even if it's very unlikely) "Can you buy a cake from my nephew (ie, paying my nephew some money), for the bakery (ie, giving the cake to the bakery)" ? Or is there in fact zero possibility of this sentence meaning this, because of some reason involving "à + [non-person]" always meaning "from [non-person]"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago











          • The eventuality for à la pâtisserie to mean for the bakery is essentially zero. Even when the place is not a commercial one, you won't say à. The sentence j'ai acheté une nouvelle porte d'entrée à la maison is not idiomatic. There is however a slight possibility for the nephew to work at the bakery and then the cake to be for someone else's birthday: Can you buy a birthday cake from my nephew in that fancy bakery...

            – jlliagre
            1 hour ago











          • so, "Can you buy a cake for my husband from my nephew in that fancy bakery" could be translated by "Mon neveu est pâtissier. Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau à mon mari à mon neveu à la pâtisserie de luxe"? If so, it interests me that a sentence can use à multiple times in the same short sentence.

            – silph
            17 mins ago















          1














          The question you linked already tells a way to disambiguate the intended meaning when à is followed by a person:



          J'achète un livre à/pour mon ami.




          • à : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :

            1. ...


            2. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.



          • pour : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :


            1. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.

            2. ...


          However, your English sentence is not a good example if this potential issue as you use a different à:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          Here from doesn't mean from someone but from some place. In such case, there is no ambiguity so you might still use à for both terms:




          Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie où on est allés l'année dernière ?




          In any case, the meaning is very often obvious, even without more context than the sentence itself. e.g.




          J'ai acheté des chaussures à mon fils (for my son)



          J'ai acheté une langouste à mon poissonnier (from my fishmonger)







          share|improve this answer























          • is it true that your example sentence (with "... un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie") could mean (even if it's very unlikely) "Can you buy a cake from my nephew (ie, paying my nephew some money), for the bakery (ie, giving the cake to the bakery)" ? Or is there in fact zero possibility of this sentence meaning this, because of some reason involving "à + [non-person]" always meaning "from [non-person]"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago











          • The eventuality for à la pâtisserie to mean for the bakery is essentially zero. Even when the place is not a commercial one, you won't say à. The sentence j'ai acheté une nouvelle porte d'entrée à la maison is not idiomatic. There is however a slight possibility for the nephew to work at the bakery and then the cake to be for someone else's birthday: Can you buy a birthday cake from my nephew in that fancy bakery...

            – jlliagre
            1 hour ago











          • so, "Can you buy a cake for my husband from my nephew in that fancy bakery" could be translated by "Mon neveu est pâtissier. Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau à mon mari à mon neveu à la pâtisserie de luxe"? If so, it interests me that a sentence can use à multiple times in the same short sentence.

            – silph
            17 mins ago













          1












          1








          1







          The question you linked already tells a way to disambiguate the intended meaning when à is followed by a person:



          J'achète un livre à/pour mon ami.




          • à : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :

            1. ...


            2. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.



          • pour : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :


            1. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.

            2. ...


          However, your English sentence is not a good example if this potential issue as you use a different à:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          Here from doesn't mean from someone but from some place. In such case, there is no ambiguity so you might still use à for both terms:




          Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie où on est allés l'année dernière ?




          In any case, the meaning is very often obvious, even without more context than the sentence itself. e.g.




          J'ai acheté des chaussures à mon fils (for my son)



          J'ai acheté une langouste à mon poissonnier (from my fishmonger)







          share|improve this answer













          The question you linked already tells a way to disambiguate the intended meaning when à is followed by a person:



          J'achète un livre à/pour mon ami.




          • à : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :

            1. ...


            2. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.



          • pour : Ceci peut signifier deux choses selon le contexte :


            1. J'achète un livre avec l'intention de le donner à mon ami.

            2. ...


          However, your English sentence is not a good example if this potential issue as you use a different à:




          Can you buy a birthday cake for my nephew from that fancy bakery we went to last year?




          Here from doesn't mean from someone but from some place. In such case, there is no ambiguity so you might still use à for both terms:




          Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie où on est allés l'année dernière ?




          In any case, the meaning is very often obvious, even without more context than the sentence itself. e.g.




          J'ai acheté des chaussures à mon fils (for my son)



          J'ai acheté une langouste à mon poissonnier (from my fishmonger)








          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 2 hours ago









          jlliagrejlliagre

          67.9k247110




          67.9k247110












          • is it true that your example sentence (with "... un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie") could mean (even if it's very unlikely) "Can you buy a cake from my nephew (ie, paying my nephew some money), for the bakery (ie, giving the cake to the bakery)" ? Or is there in fact zero possibility of this sentence meaning this, because of some reason involving "à + [non-person]" always meaning "from [non-person]"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago











          • The eventuality for à la pâtisserie to mean for the bakery is essentially zero. Even when the place is not a commercial one, you won't say à. The sentence j'ai acheté une nouvelle porte d'entrée à la maison is not idiomatic. There is however a slight possibility for the nephew to work at the bakery and then the cake to be for someone else's birthday: Can you buy a birthday cake from my nephew in that fancy bakery...

            – jlliagre
            1 hour ago











          • so, "Can you buy a cake for my husband from my nephew in that fancy bakery" could be translated by "Mon neveu est pâtissier. Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau à mon mari à mon neveu à la pâtisserie de luxe"? If so, it interests me that a sentence can use à multiple times in the same short sentence.

            – silph
            17 mins ago

















          • is it true that your example sentence (with "... un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie") could mean (even if it's very unlikely) "Can you buy a cake from my nephew (ie, paying my nephew some money), for the bakery (ie, giving the cake to the bakery)" ? Or is there in fact zero possibility of this sentence meaning this, because of some reason involving "à + [non-person]" always meaning "from [non-person]"?

            – silph
            2 hours ago











          • The eventuality for à la pâtisserie to mean for the bakery is essentially zero. Even when the place is not a commercial one, you won't say à. The sentence j'ai acheté une nouvelle porte d'entrée à la maison is not idiomatic. There is however a slight possibility for the nephew to work at the bakery and then the cake to be for someone else's birthday: Can you buy a birthday cake from my nephew in that fancy bakery...

            – jlliagre
            1 hour ago











          • so, "Can you buy a cake for my husband from my nephew in that fancy bakery" could be translated by "Mon neveu est pâtissier. Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau à mon mari à mon neveu à la pâtisserie de luxe"? If so, it interests me that a sentence can use à multiple times in the same short sentence.

            – silph
            17 mins ago
















          is it true that your example sentence (with "... un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie") could mean (even if it's very unlikely) "Can you buy a cake from my nephew (ie, paying my nephew some money), for the bakery (ie, giving the cake to the bakery)" ? Or is there in fact zero possibility of this sentence meaning this, because of some reason involving "à + [non-person]" always meaning "from [non-person]"?

          – silph
          2 hours ago





          is it true that your example sentence (with "... un gâteau d'anniversaire à mon neveu à la super pâtisserie") could mean (even if it's very unlikely) "Can you buy a cake from my nephew (ie, paying my nephew some money), for the bakery (ie, giving the cake to the bakery)" ? Or is there in fact zero possibility of this sentence meaning this, because of some reason involving "à + [non-person]" always meaning "from [non-person]"?

          – silph
          2 hours ago













          The eventuality for à la pâtisserie to mean for the bakery is essentially zero. Even when the place is not a commercial one, you won't say à. The sentence j'ai acheté une nouvelle porte d'entrée à la maison is not idiomatic. There is however a slight possibility for the nephew to work at the bakery and then the cake to be for someone else's birthday: Can you buy a birthday cake from my nephew in that fancy bakery...

          – jlliagre
          1 hour ago





          The eventuality for à la pâtisserie to mean for the bakery is essentially zero. Even when the place is not a commercial one, you won't say à. The sentence j'ai acheté une nouvelle porte d'entrée à la maison is not idiomatic. There is however a slight possibility for the nephew to work at the bakery and then the cake to be for someone else's birthday: Can you buy a birthday cake from my nephew in that fancy bakery...

          – jlliagre
          1 hour ago













          so, "Can you buy a cake for my husband from my nephew in that fancy bakery" could be translated by "Mon neveu est pâtissier. Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau à mon mari à mon neveu à la pâtisserie de luxe"? If so, it interests me that a sentence can use à multiple times in the same short sentence.

          – silph
          17 mins ago





          so, "Can you buy a cake for my husband from my nephew in that fancy bakery" could be translated by "Mon neveu est pâtissier. Est-ce que tu peux acheter un gâteau à mon mari à mon neveu à la pâtisserie de luxe"? If so, it interests me that a sentence can use à multiple times in the same short sentence.

          – silph
          17 mins ago

















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