Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Zep sur Lemonde.fr Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 30, 2015
Les bandes dessineés sont très populaires dans le monde francophone. On dit même que les bandes dessineés sont uniquement Belges d’origine. Comics are very popular in the Francophone world. Some people even say that comics are uniquely Belgian. The list of French-language comics is indeed impressive: Tintin, Babar, the Smurfs, Lucky Luke, Asterix, Titeuf, and many…
On t’aime, Paris! Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 23, 2015
I was left shocked, like so many people around the world, after the attacks on Paris last week. These attacks certainly hit “close to home” for me, as my husband’s family lives in Paris and we have many friends there. The initial shock soon turned to fear for the safety of our loved ones, and…
Super Scary…Superlatives (2) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 19, 2015
Last week, I went over French superlatives using the formula le/la/les + plus/moins + adjective/adverb, as well as some irregular superlative forms (le/la meilleur/e). To use the superlative form of bon in order to say that something is “the best,” you would use le/la meilleur(e). For example: Notre-Dame de Paris est le meilleur livre de Victor Hugo. (The Hunchback of…
When is France? Ask Dom and Tom! Posted by John Bauer on Oct 7, 2015
France is 6 hours ahead of the US East Coast most of the time, n’est pas (right)? Where France is, and thus when, on a map is different than what many people think. The story is complex and gets into politics, but even the more easily identifiable parts of France create an interesting map. Surtout…
The Super Moon (et les loups-garous) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 5, 2015
Did you see the super blood moon eclipse this week? My family and I put on Van Morrison’s “Dancing in the Moonlight,” and sat on the lawn watching the special eclipse this past weekend. It was a special experience and, apparently, one that won’t occur again until 2033. Check out the picture we took of the…
French Rules of Capitalization Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Sep 27, 2015
There are quite a few differences between capitalization in English and in French. You may have already noticed that the first person singular pronoun “I” is not capitalized in French except at the beginning of a sentence. For example, you would write: “Je t’aime,” but “Tu sais que je t’aime.” Ok, this seems pretty obvious, right?…
Borges, en français! Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Sep 7, 2015
In my “other” life, I teach college classes in literature. And this week I’m teaching about Jorge Luis Borges, the Argentine short story master and the grandfather of magical realism. I have to say that Borges is one of my favorite authors and his stories, such as “The Aleph,” “The Zahir,” “The Garden of Forking…