"The Calvary is at the top of the hill on which the village was built"
,
"I think that this actress is at the height of her glory"
... If the formula is not devoid of panache, its writing can quickly turn to the catastrophe.
You will agree, making a mistake in French is commonplace when writing a text.
Nevertheless, some of them are more boring than others.
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The same is true of the spelling of the words 'fait' and 'fête', because of the similarity in their pronunciation in certain cases in particular.
To dissipate any misunderstanding, there is no doubt that reviewing the definition of these terms is essential.
The noun "fact", first of all, designates an act, an action, as well as what has taken place or what exists, recalls
Le Petit Robert
.
Also, we speak of the
"fact of reading"
, of the
"fact that took place yesterday"
, just as we use the following expressions:
"to be caught in the act"
,
"the fact is that"
,
"quite done"
.
But also the phrase "by the way", which is very often found at the beginning of a sentence:
“By the way, what do you think of the dictation exercise?”
The highest degree
For its part, the word “ridge” designates something quite different.
Appeared in 1135 under the forms "fest" and "feste", as we read in Alain Rey
's Historical Dictionary of the French Language
(Le Robert), this name comes from the Frankish "first" ("comble d' a building”), itself taken from the Latin “fastigium” (“two-pitched roof”) originally describes a beam forming the upper edge of an attic.
Apart from its technical meaning, the "ridge" has been said since the 17th century of the highest degree of something.
Of a particular building or prestige.
Example:
"Climbing to the top of a tree"
,
"Reaching the pinnacle of your career."
Read alsoWill you get 10/10 on this spelling test?
It is therefore necessary to distinguish between
"done"
and
"ridge"
, the meaning of which is strictly different.
Writing
“the fact of the building”
, which amounts to speaking of
“the action of the building”
, means nothing.
Remember that when you want to refer to the highest degree of something, you should put a circumflex accent on the “i” of the term.
You will then be at the height of the proper use of the language.
Good to know: in Swiss French, what is “ridge” or “ridge” also designates what is central or, more precisely, what caps something.
We speak of “umbrella organizations” bringing together local or regional bodies, for example.
