Archive for 'Grammar'
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…
The French Imperative Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on May 30, 2016
In my last post, one of my astute readers pointed out that, in a French si clause, the imperative can also result from “si+present tense” (in addition, of course, to the present and future tenses, as I discussed). I hadn’t included the imperative mood in my previous post because I wasn’t sure if readers…
Punctuation Mark and Symbol Names in French Posted by Josh Dougherty on May 26, 2016
John’s post yesterday reminded me of the first time I had to orally give mon adresse mail. I knew she was talking about my email address. I’d mastered the alphabet and proudly spelled out the letters, but I stopped when I got to the at sign. How do you say that?? I didn’t want to say…
French Grammar: Si Clauses Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on May 23, 2016
Also known as conditional sentences, si clauses in French posit what will happen if something else happens first. In English, this would be something like: “If I go to the store, I will get you some dessert.” In conditional sentences, the possibility of the second part of the sentence (the second clause; in this example, “I will get…
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…
Dual Gender Nouns Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on May 2, 2016
I’ll never forget the moment my husband pointed at the tie he was wearing and said, “Do you think she’s too short?” He was just learning English at the time and was used to all nouns having a gender in French. I didn’t understand who he was talking about at first … me? Some other…
Le Monde: L’Atelier Diktée Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Apr 18, 2016
The French newspaper Le Monde has great resources for those who are trying to learn French. While Le Monde would certainly be useful for intermediate-advanced learners, it’s also a great way to learn not only about vocabulary, but about culture (including, of course, current events and politics!). In fact, Le Monde has several sections dedicated to French students…