La Dune du Pilat Grammar question and size of Dune ?

N. Hilary (Shamrockhill) W.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor

La Dune du Pilat Grammar question and size of Dune ?

Thank you for this fun exercise. I had never heard of the Dune du Pilat. I looked it up and it is beautiful!

Grammar Question: 

In the sentence:

"Comme son nom l'indique, c'est une immense dune de sable", where is the grammar lesson for using the pronoun " l' " in this case? The two pronoun lessons listed don't address this particular usage of the pronoun. Since there isn't a previous idea stated, what does the 'l' refer to?  I seem to remember a lesson about this, but couldn't find it in the library. Would it be correct to say, "Comme son nom indique, c'est une immense dune de sable."?

Also, when I read, "Elle mesure environ 102 metres !", I was thinking of the length not the height.

Maybe the phrase could be amended to say, "Elle mesure 102 metres de hauteur." ?

Just for fun, here are the entire measurements from the Wikipedia page:

"The dune has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³, measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 2.7 km in length from north to south (1.35 km2).[2][3] Its height was 106.60 m above sea level as of 2018."

Merci beaucoup !


Asked 2 years ago
Maarten K.C1 Kwiziq Q&A super contributor Correct answer

I can confirm La Dune du Pilat is most impressive - have climbed it but not yet walked its full length, as I was too busy taking photos while my brother-in-law did the full walk. It has been off limits during the recent ‘canicule’ but hopefully will be open again in October, when I hope to “conquer” it fully.  

‘Indiquer’ is transitive - the object pronoun is required in this construction. 

Son nom indique que c’est une immense dune de sable ? Oui, son nom l’indique.  

In the transcript, the ‘previously mentioned idea’ follows immediately in the same sentence - so it is still known to the reader/listener what the object pronoun refers to. (Effectively, the sentence is inverted ‘C’est une immense dune de sable, comme son nom l’indique’.) 

https://dictionnaire.lerobert.com/definition/indiquer 

Using le/la/l'/les = it/him/her/them (French Direct Object Pronouns) 

Using neuter pronouns le or l' to refer to previously mentioned ideas (French Direct Object Pronouns)

La Dune du Pilat Grammar question and size of Dune ?

Thank you for this fun exercise. I had never heard of the Dune du Pilat. I looked it up and it is beautiful!

Grammar Question: 

In the sentence:

"Comme son nom l'indique, c'est une immense dune de sable", where is the grammar lesson for using the pronoun " l' " in this case? The two pronoun lessons listed don't address this particular usage of the pronoun. Since there isn't a previous idea stated, what does the 'l' refer to?  I seem to remember a lesson about this, but couldn't find it in the library. Would it be correct to say, "Comme son nom indique, c'est une immense dune de sable."?

Also, when I read, "Elle mesure environ 102 metres !", I was thinking of the length not the height.

Maybe the phrase could be amended to say, "Elle mesure 102 metres de hauteur." ?

Just for fun, here are the entire measurements from the Wikipedia page:

"The dune has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³, measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 2.7 km in length from north to south (1.35 km2).[2][3] Its height was 106.60 m above sea level as of 2018."

Merci beaucoup !


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