'Pas possible'

[vanessaf]

I'm back with another language question. I'd love to hear from any native French reading this.

A phrase that I hear a lot here is pas possible. I know that, in informal conversation, it means something like 'I couldn't believe it' or 'no way', but I've also had experiences such as

• may I speak with Mr Blah, non, ce n'est pas possible.
• May I have the bread sliced, non, ce n'est pas possible (no explanation given, I understood later that it was because the bread was too warm).
• Do you carry X brand of vegan cheese? Non, ça n'existe pas. But one of your competitors carries it. Ce n'est pas possible, we order from the same fournisseur.

Then the other day I came across this thread in the Riviera Reporter. Basically, a passenger saw a bus driver use a cell phone while driving, complained, and received the following reply:

Ce n'est pas possible parce que ce n'est pas permis

that's some circular thinking. But I don't want to discuss that - I want to know, what does pas possible actually mean for the French? Is it literally just 'not possible'? It sounds very negative, bad attitude. Or does it mean a casual 'sorry, no can do'?

My boyfriend (from Quebec, where they don't use that phrase) threw a minor fit in a meeting the other day because he kept hearing that things were pas possible, pas possible. He asked them all what they meant exactly by that and no one replied. I once tried to discuss this with my (French) best friend here and she didn't seem to 'get' it, the conversation followed another path.

Thoughts??
Cheers, Vanessa

[_Sarah_]

A very versatile phrase? Asking my hubby (French), and he doesn't seem to be able to define the boundaries.....I suppose you could chose an appropriate English comparison in each case. Hubby said that it could possibly be a harsh "that's not possible" and also "sorry but we can't do that" depending on the tone/situation.

To take your examples, we can try to find a "gloss" in English:
may I speak with Mr Blah, non, ce n'est pas possible.
- No, that's not possible (he's not available)
May I have the bread sliced, non, ce n'est pas possible
- No, we can't do that
Ce n'est pas possible parce que ce n'est pas permis
- That can't be the case since it's not allowed

I just think it's one of those things that cannot be tied down to a single translation. Imagine trying to explain certain English expressions that seem to apply to a million situations, for example:
It's ok
- It seems simple, but can you imagine all the different connotations OK can carry?

Thinking of other times I've heard it used:
"Mais non! C'est pas possible qu'il soit aussi con!"
- No way! He can't possibly be that stupid!

[Bevdeforges]

Ah, that's one of "those" French phrases that seems to have an infinite variety of meaning.

Literally it does mean "not possible" but usually in the sense of "no way!"

When a French person is just being obstinate (like the vendor who insists it's "pas possible" that his competitor carries the brand he just told you doesn't exist), it kind of means "no way, I don't believe you."

But often it just means "no way - I don't want to deal with this." It's a handy expression when you just want to blow something or someone off without giving a reason.

There is also the (in)famous expression "impossible n'est pas un mot français" - which is kind of funny, since you hear "impossible" all the time, too, when someone just doesn't want to deal with something.
Cheers,
Bev

[decandcollectables]

a lot of french people just say this to you in reply to your questions to get you out of their way !
meaning a quick end to the conversation ! they just don't wish to elaborate in detail a complete explaination as to why they cannot or will not help ! it is a very very popular reply and often means - get lost !

[Bevdeforges]

Oddly enough, this phrase came up today in a training class I was sitting in on. We were discussing situations where, as a volunteer, someone asks for something that is absolutely against the rules (in a volunteer association) as a special favor, or a one-off kind of situation.

It was suggested that instead of telling the person that what they are asking is "against the rules" or "not allowed" it was better to help the person understand why what they are asking is simply "pas possible." That apparently is the last word in "no, no way, you can't do it."
Cheers,
Bev

[Marianne2010]

I think you all are perfectly right.
I would say that the "no can do" is the most common sense because when you ask something to a French (and let me remind you I am French...), the first answer is No. No not possible, no don't want to, no get lost, no whatever etc. Then if you look OK, you are nice, you don't get mad, it turns to a "maybe I might be able to want to think about something that could be in the direction of the thing you asked me for (but usually not right now, at a later time more convenient for me)". Of course, it is said to be worse when adressing a member of the Administration, for example the Poste people. I just love the chapter on the post office in the book A year in the merde (I think it's that one). I have almost never heard a simple Yes to a question anywhere anytime here. Must be a peculiarity of the French language, you know, the only language without Yes in it ;-)
Marianne

[Mike_P]

a lot of french people just say this to you in reply to your questions to get you out of their way ! meaning a quick end to the conversation ! they just don't wish to elaborate in detail a complete explaination as to why they cannot or will not help ! it is a very very popular reply and often means - get lost !

As I am the person who made the original posting on the Riviera Reporter Forum I'll have my say here too. The way it was said to me, rather as quoted above, wanting to end the conversation, but more along the lines of : "You're lying."

One of the less endearing characteristics of the French is that they are never wrong, and will never admit blame or guilt. So by accusing their driver of nearly causing an accident because he was using his phone, I was lying. He couldn't have been doing so because it's not allowed.

Next time it happens I shall take a phptograph and submit that to the operating company. It has also been pointed out to me that in some countries, not reporting a crime is, in itself, a crime.

[Marianne2010]

Originally Posted by Mike_P

One of the less endearing characteristics of the French is that they are never wrong, and will never admit blame or guilt. So by accusing their driver of nearly causing an accident because he was using

I agree with you. And being French, I can't be wrong. In fact, being French, I' m perfect...
Marianne

[Bevdeforges]

Don't forget that the normal way to state that someone has made an error in France is to say "un erreur s'est produit" (literally, "an error has occurred"). It's really dangerous, or at least terribly impolite, to state who exactly made said error.

You can use this to your advantage. Once, when the clerk at the mairie didn't want to help me, she said that the form I had gotten from the gendarmerie was not filled out correctly. I grabbed the form back from her and told her (very earnestly) that I would take the form back to the gendarmerie and tell the gendarme that SHE SAID he had made an error. Sure changed her mind about helping me, despite what she claimed was an error on the form!

Actually, in France lying isn't considered all that bad a thing. Everyone does it and frankly I doubt that "pas possible" in that context means anything other than the phrase I claim is the first one any French child learns "ce n'est pas ma faute!" (It's not MY fault.)
Cheers,
Bev

[Mike_P]

Actually, in France lying isn't considered all that bad a thing. Everyone does it .....

It's unacceptable and the fact that 'everybody does it' makes it no less acceptable.

the phrase I claim is the first one any French child learns "ce n'est pas ma faute!"

Of course one of the worst things about the French and their attitude, particularly when working with them, is their cowardly and reprehensible behaviour when confronted with their errors and failures.