Invited on Franceinfo Thursday, Jean-Michel Blanquer did not escape the subtleties of the French language. Submitted to a small quiz by the journalist Renaud Dély, the Minister of National Education made some mistakes on the agreement of the past held with the auxiliary have. The minister is fiercely opposed to simplifying this rule.
Back to school is a difficult time for everyone, including the Minister of National Education. Invited in the morning of France info Thursday, September 6, Jean-Michel Blanquer had difficulty with a game of question-answer on the agreement of past participle with the auxiliary have. The minister made two errors on the three questions he was asked.
If he correctly answered the first question ( "the pancakes I ate" ), he was wrong in the second on "pancakes, I ate" . The minister also proposed the spelling "eaten" , but in this case, the past participle does not decline because of the presence of the pronoun "in" , as Marianne explains.
Past Participant Agreement: The Minister of National Education has been assessed on his grammatical knowledge: http://t.co/zVZwX71aE1 pic.twitter.com/iS88nYR4Ys
- franceinfo (@franceinfo) September 6, 2018Debate on the agreement of the past participle
" It is morning ! " Joked Jean-Michel Blanquer, specifying to justify his mistake that he had not heard the question. The minister finally answered correctly the last question ( "the ten euros that cost me this book" ) ... but giving a wrong justification, not recognizing the presence of DOC in the sentence.
If Jean-Michel Blanquer was entitled to this little quiz, it is because of a tribune published Sunday, September 2 in Libération . Two Belgian professors militate for a simplification of the current rule on the agreement of the past participle with the auxiliary having, causing a lively debate among the lovers of the French language. The minister is fiercely opposed to this simplification, denouncing a desire to "always sweeten things" .