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Que vas-tu faire? * Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 7, 2016
After last week’s example of the passé composé, I thought this week we’d take a look ahead . . . to the avenir (“the future”). There are two common ways of forming the future in French: the futur proche which like the passé composé is formed using an auxillary verb (recall that the passé composé…
Qu’est-ce que j’ai fait?* Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 31, 2016
In 1986, Sabine Paturel had a hit with the song “Les bêtises“. There is just a handful (une poignée) of verbs in French that use the verb être to form the past tense, but most verbs in the passé composé are formed using the verb avoir (to have). Les bêtises gives you lots of chances…
Silence, on tourne!* Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 24, 2016
« A mes yeux Paris restera le décor d’un roman que personne n’écrira jamais.»** Paris, Julien Green, 1984 Before we get to this week’s post, I wanted to revisit last week. While I included examples like Bonjour / Bonne journée, I forgot to include Bonsoir et Bonne soirée (good evening) . . . and bonne matinée…
L’heure de la sortie / Quitting Time Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 17, 2016
Listening to one of my old favorites in the car the other day, I got to thinking about French expressions for time and in particular the difference between some very common expressions that, while not exactly confusing, can trip up the novice and experienced language learner alike. You see, the French have two words for…
A singer captures mon cœur Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 10, 2016
Not every country is lucky enough to have a former model as their “first lady”, but France isn’t just any country! Carla Bruni Sarkozy, the wife of France’s former president, Nicolas Sarkozy (president from May 2007 – May 2012)* is not only a model, but also an accomplished singer. Italian by birth, Carla Bruni grew…
‘Zapping’ for beginners Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 3, 2016
« Le zapping est, dans le langage familier, une manière de regarder la télévision consistant à changer régulièrement de chaîne, et le plus souvent à une fréquence élevée, dans le but de trouver un programme que le spectateur jugera satisfaisant à regarder. Une pratique courante est de zapper durant les coupures de publicité. »* https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapping, May 1…
Because you can’t always have Paris in the springtime . . . Posted by Tim Hildreth on Apr 26, 2016
It’s no secret that Paris is my favorite city. If I could, I would go there every year. Unfortunately, it’s all the way on the other side of the ocean! And with a limited budget (and limited American-style vacations!), I have to content myself with a trip every few years. Fortunately I live within driving…