Archive for the year 2010
Le jardin secret (The Secret Garden) Posted by Hichem on Nov 22, 2010
Now, take a look around you, and tell us what you see? Walk on les dalles (the pavers) which form l’allée (the path) making your way to la terrasse (the patio) and you will see why people outside don’t know about your jardin secret: It is thoroughly surrounded by une haie (a hedge) and une clôture (a fence.) Along the path, there…
“L’Âme Des Poètes” (“The Soul of Poets”) Posted by Hichem on Nov 20, 2010
Before there was something called le synthétiseur (synthesizer or keyboard), the French had invented an instrument they named l’ondioline. And one of the first musical works ever recorded with this instrument is Charles Trenet‘s hit song called “L’Âme Des Poètes” (The Soul of Poets.) The song has known interpretations by une pléthore d’artistes (a plethora…
French Expressions about Sleep Posted by Hichem on Nov 17, 2010
Don’t sleep on these French sleep expressions. After une longue journée de travail (a long day of work), c’est normal d’avoir sommeil (it’s normal to feel sleepy), but if you can’t fall asleep, then you probably suffer from une insomnie (insomnia.) If you go to bed early, then you are a couche-tôt (early sleeper); if not…
L’ennemi (The Enemy) — Charles Baudelaire, “Les Fleurs du Mal” Posted by Hichem on Nov 12, 2010
Three years before he joined l’autre monde (the Other World), Baudelaire had this to say about his vision of reality, and its levels of existence: – “J’ai quelques convictions, dans un sens plus élevé, et qui ne peut pas être compris par les gens de mon temps.” Meaning: – “I have a few convictions, in a…
À la une Posted by Jennie on Nov 11, 2010
À la une means « on the front page, » or at the head of the news stories. Ce soir, examinons ce qui est à la une en France- ou bien, ce qui est enterré dans les pages au milieu ! Je me suis rendue compte (I realized) que je n’ai pas lu de journal en français (that…
L’imparfait… rhymes with DMCV! Posted by Jennie on Nov 6, 2010
Dieu merci, c’est vendredi! “Thank God it’s Friday” Let’s start with l’imparfait, and see what we can do about DMCV. II. L’imparfait L’imparfait is used for an ongoing state of being (e.g., being young: “When I was young…”) or a repeated or incomplete action. It’s used for actions that did not end at a specific point…
Must-Know French Slang: Laisse Béton Posted by Hichem on Oct 29, 2010
Oyez, oyez ! We’re now officiellement about to cover la première moitié (the first half) of the alphabet in our featured “B.A.-BA de l’argot” (“the ABC of French Slang”), and in order to properly celebrate this one happy occasion, we shall concentrate today on one and only expression which, in many funny ways, epitomizes French Slang: “LAISSE BÉTON !“ This is a “concrete” (uhm) example of a “bétonnière…