French procedural writing question

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MrCoffee
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French procedural writing question

Postby MrCoffee » Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:40 pm

When writing out the steps in procedures, I've seen it done a few different ways. Ignoring instructions using the vous à l'impératif structure with "ez," I've noticed that sometimes the command is left in the infinitive form and other times it isn't. An example:

Verser une tasse d'eau...
Verse une tasse d'eau...

Mélanger l'eau...
Mélange l'eau...

I know that the first sentence in each example is what you would use if you were to begin with "tu dois," but when would you use the second example? If my sentence were simply, "Premièrement, ...." would I write "verse" or "verser"? "Mets" or "mettre"?

Thanks!
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FRAnglais1919
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Re: French procedural writing question

Postby FRAnglais1919 » Wed Nov 16, 2022 4:37 am

It depends on your intended audience.

For public announcements and instructions directed to the unidentified masses, use the infinitive (examples: advertisements, campaigns, food recipes, owner's manual, etc.) If you're writing someone in particular, like a letter to a friend, your professor, or a group of identified persons, use the imperative of the verb, so "versez" or "verse". Hope this helps!
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anitarrc
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Re: French procedural writing question

Postby anitarrc » Wed Nov 16, 2022 8:42 am

We translate mainly technical manuals.
Here, we use the infinitive most of the time, unless it gets complicated and it is a two person job, like changing a heavy part such as a truck axle or part of a crane.
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