Have you used google translate?


(Je voudrais réserver la place) dans la période du 16 Juillet au 6 Août.

That doesn't look gramatically correct. It's the grammar (the way you specify a period, I suppose you could argue that that's not grammar, but it's a specific way) I'm struggling with.

It's possible that it is correct, it just looks a bit wrong... Especially "au" can't be right I think.

If someone who knows French could tell me wether this is correct, please tell me:

(Je voudrais réserver la place) dans la période du 16 Juillet à 6 Août.

Steephie, your English isn't clear. What do you mean by "spot"? A hotel room, an appointment? And do you want it for the whole time, or just any time within that time? A suggestion: Why don't you put it in good clear Dutch and let people translate that to French, without going through English?

Camping spot.
Whole time.
It seemed to me that that had less chance of succeeding unless I create an account on some Dutch-French forum, which seems... Redundant...

If the sentence above is incorrect, making it correct will do. It's not that important, and I don't blindly copy and paste. I'll recognize the right sentence when I see it, if the one I gave is wrong.

Okay, so "dans" is probably wrong, since that would be in that period, so you don't know I mean the whole period... Maybe it's best to just leave the period bit out, like this:

(Si des chiens sont permitté, je voudrais réserver une place dans l’ombre et loin du chemin,) du 16 juillet à 6 août.

Is that right though?

Nearly correct. You don't need the brackets, and it's best not to use "permitté" like that, it should really be "autorisés", I think.

So:

"Si des chiens sont autorisés, je voudrais réserver une place dans l’ombre et loin du chemin, du 16 juillet à 6 août."

Not that it matters. Whether you've reserved it or not what you will find when you get there is a full campsite with your spot occupied by a huge Frenchman with big, hairy arms who will use said arms to shrug at you until you leave.

Now, now, Octavious. Less of the UKIP-approved cultural sterotypes please. Instead of fuming about the French, calm yourself down with a nice cup of char and then take your bulldog for a walk.

The brackets were to make clear that that's not what I'm really asking for, so they were never going to be part of the actual sentence, but thanks for the correction :)

@ Jamie

But insulting the French is what calms me down, and it does so very effectively. You should try it sometime. Besides, one of the few things I learnt from French exchanges at school was that every single Frenchman was very hairy :)

Permis not permitté

"chiens" - (plural) dog (not vulg. if for a female dog) bitch; hound.
Ger.: der Hund [Mining (Bergbau) German: tub.]

Oranje boven !

Everybody will obviously understand the Jamie's version, but if you are perfectionist, I would suggest:

"Si les chiens sont autorisés, je voudrais réserver une place à l’ombre et loin du chemin, du 16 juillet au 6 août."

"des chiens" -> "les chiens"
Just the same as in English you say "dogs" and not "some dogs"

"dans l’ombre" -> "à l’ombre"
Don't ask why, it is just how the common expression goes.

"à 6 août" -> "au 6 août"
au = à + le, and you need the extra "le" the same way as you needed it in front of "du 16 juillet" (du = de + le). You just always put a "le" with dates, same as you put a "the" in English.

Octavious ne mérite pas voter attention, mes amis. Faut l'ignorer tout de suite Lol

Octavious lol!

All is for the best in the best of all possible
worlds :).