Archive for May, 2019
French Lessons Hiding In Un Café – Coffee Order Mistakes Posted by John Bauer on May 29, 2019
Le café (coffee) hides a lot of surprising lessons for anyone learning la langue de Molière (the Language of Molière, French expression for the French language). From the size of the cup to the establishment itself, there’s a lot to learn from le café français (French coffee). My daily routine has become amazingly regular over…
French Colors and Commercials Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 28, 2019
We’ve talked about colors in the past. And we’ve looked at a pub (French TV commercial) for Haribo as well. But these two that I came across recently do such a good job of combining the two, that I just had to share them. They also provide a nice illustration of the useful French verb préférer. Je…
Claude François Singing About A New Car – Famous French Singers Posted by John Bauer on May 23, 2019
Une chanson rigolote (a funny song) can be a nice way to relax after a long day au bureau (at work) or à l’école (at school). When la chanson comes with an even sillier video, all the stress of the day just disappears for at least a few minutes. Claude François is one of the…
French Vocabulary – Cars Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 21, 2019
As I’ve shared before, I love to drive in France. The post I shared a few weeks ago and a recent passage in the book I’m reading got me thinking about car-related vocabulary. This week we’ll look at some key words related to cars … and some examples of how to use them in context…
Softly Singing About Snails – French Nursery Rhymes Posted by John Bauer on May 16, 2019
This past weekend was la fête des Mères (Mother’s Day), or at least it was aux États-Unis (in the United States). If you’re French, ne vous inquiétez pas (don’t worry), it’s not Mother’s Day until next week! This year was a particularly special fête des Mères for ma famille (my family). It was the first…
French Vocabulary – Cleaning Up Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 14, 2019
Spring is the perfect time for cleaning … that’s why we call it “spring cleaning!” So ouvrez les fenêtres (open the windows), sortez les balais et les serpillères (get out the brooms and the rags*), et commençons (and let’s begin)! Le nettoyage de printemps Spring cleaning (also known in French as le ménage de printemps…
When Pigs Fly And Chicken Have Teeth – Impossible French Expressions Posted by John Bauer on May 9, 2019
When facing the impossible it can be useful to have something fun to say to help make a joke of the situation. Whether it’s au second degré (sarcastic) or an honestly difficult task doesn’t matter as much as far as the language is concerned. Growing up I often heard a fun expression to diffuse anything…