Archive for April, 2014
Parlez-vous Français?: A Study of French Expressions Posted by mtaulier on Apr 28, 2014
Si tu veux vraiment apprendre le Français, il faut connaître quelques expressions Françaises (If you really want to learn French, you need to know a few French expressions). You aren’t going to find these in formal language books but equipping yourself with some of these idioms, colloquialisms and tournures de phrases (turns of phrase) will…
Les Inconnus: Les Rois de la Comédie Française Posted by mtaulier on Apr 21, 2014
Who doesn’t like a good laugh? Le rire (laughter) just makes life better and laughing will put you de bonne humeur (in good humor) even if you’re having a bad day. Everyone has his or her share of favorite comedians. Some like Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Martin while others may prefer Chris Rock or Ricky…
French Grammar: Using *Depuis*! Posted by Hichem on Apr 17, 2014
Un peu de grammaire aujourd’hui (A little bit of grammar today)! Here is a “flashback lesson” from The French Blog, using sentences which you might hear if you are talking to French people. Today, we’ll focus on the word “depuis“, which usually means “since.” Let us see the different cases it can be used…
Pan-Pan!: French vs. English Onomatopoeias Posted by mtaulier on Apr 14, 2014
The word onomatopée (onomatopoeia) has been floating around the Internet as of late and I thought it would be fun to devote a post to French onomatopoeias vs. their English counterparts. What is an onomatopoeia? An onomatopoeia is a word meant to mimic a certain sound made by un humain (a human), un animal (an…
À Table!: The French Meal in Seven Courses (Part 2) Posted by mtaulier on Apr 7, 2014
In the last post we looked at the first three courses of a typical French meal: l’apéritif, l’entrée and le plat principal. Let us continue our culinary journey by exploring the four remaining courses. La Salade et le Fromage (Salad and Cheese): The French typically eat their salad after the main course because ça facilite…
Who Changed the Names of the Parisian Neighborhoods? Posted by Hichem on Apr 3, 2014
Did you know that the names of many French cities were once completely changed, practically du jour au lendemain (overnight)? Some of them had their age-old names simply canceled, such as Marseille, which became known as “Ville-sans-Nom” (“City-without-a-Name”)! When did took place? During the tumultuous times of la Révolution française, when the government decided the sudden déchristianisation of the country that was…
À Table!: The French Meal in Seven Courses (Part 1) Posted by mtaulier on Apr 2, 2014
“Sit down for a French meal and expect to stay seated for at least a couple hours.” I remember hearing someone say these words many years ago and later realized truer words were never spoken. You don’t have to be French pour apprécier la bonne nourriture (to appreciate good food) but for people unaccustomed to…