Archive for May, 2017
Music At The Opéra Garnier Posted by John Bauer on May 17, 2017
Now that I am settled in I have time to explore the sights and sounds of Paris. La ville lumière (the city of lights) is a massive international hub with history pouring out of every corner. Walking down any street can lead to amazing sights and new experiences. L’autre jour (the other day), I was…
French pronunciation basics part 3 Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 16, 2017
Many words in French end in ‘e’. And while the final ‘e’ can make us pronounce other letters (think ‘petit‘ vs. ‘petite‘ or ‘français‘ vs. ‘française‘), it is, in itself, usually silent. Usually, but not always! In poetry, and often in songs (which are, after all, just poems set to music), a final silent ‘e’…
Back to the Basics: French Articles Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on May 15, 2017
Today we will be going back to the basics of French grammar. The very building blocks of the French language require articles. What are they? Well, in English, they would be words like the or a. In any language, articles are used to show whether a noun is specific or unspecific. For example, in English, you could say “After the…
Don’t Forget La Fête Des Mères! Posted by John Bauer on May 10, 2017
Mother’s day is this weekend aux États-Unis, but not everywhere else in the world. As la fête des mères that matters to my mother approaches there are no ads to remind me because la fête is still a couple weeks away en France! Holidays celebrating les mères can be traced back to antiquity. La Grèce…
A question of size Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 9, 2017
The results are in! I’m sure you all have heard, but as discussed last week, France held the second tour of the presidential elections dimanche (Sunday). And dimanche prochain (next Sunday) Emmanuel Macron will be sworn in as the youngest French president. There has been so much coverage of the topic, I didn’t think it worth…
Problematic Prepositions: De (Part Trois) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on May 8, 2017
Last week on the blog, we went over the rules regarding de when used as an expression of quantity. This is typically very confusing for French learners, as it can be difficult to pick out what exactly an expression of quantity is. We’ll delve a bit more into the grammatical nitty-gritty of what constitutes an expression of…
Talking About Music In French Posted by John Bauer on May 3, 2017
Listening to music is a fun and easy way to not only learn more, but also have fun while doing it! Singing along to Stromae or Baptiste W. Hamon hardly feels like studying, but it is an amazingly useful way to improve your French. I have always loved music and used to be involved in…