Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Recette: Boeuf Bourguignon Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 1, 2016
It’s getting much colder here in New York– a sure sign that winter is fast approaching. Today, the grass was covered in a thin coat of frost (le givre) when I woke up–a not-so-pleasant reminder of the supposedly especially cold winter we are facing in the northeast! When it gets very cold, I tend to…
French: Regional Variants Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 17, 2016
It’s easy to forget that French is a living language that is in a constant state of flux. We know this to be true, of course, because of new words that are added to the French dictionary each year, or the development of verlan. But sometimes it is easy to forget that language is very…
Le Temps: Both Time and Weather? Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 10, 2016
In French, le temps can mean both “time” and “weather”–which can be a bit confusing for new French learners. In French, le temps when referring specifically to time refers to time in the abstract. That means that you cannot ask the equivalent of “What time is it?” in French (Quel temps est-il, which is not correct). Rather, you would ask…
La Poésie (French Poetry) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Sep 26, 2016
It can be very difficult for non-native French speakers to read, comprehend, and even enjoy poetry in French. This is because the language can be more florid than in prose, there may me multiple layers of meaning not easily deduced by the non-native reader, and it may depend on cultural references. But, alas, not all is…
Les Adjectifs Démostratifs (Demonstrative Adjectives) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Sep 13, 2016
What are demonstrative adjectives, you may ask? While the term may sound scary, we use them all of the time. Demonstrative adjectives are adjectives that “demonstrate” or point out a particular noun. In English, these include this, that, these, and those. In French, there are only four adjectifs démonstratifs: ce, cet, cette, and ces. As with most adjectives in French, they must agree…
Innovations in Public Transportation: The Navya Arma Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Sep 6, 2016
The French are known for their innovations in public transportation, particularly the TGV (train à grande vitesse), which set the record for the fasted wheeled train in the world. More recently, France’s capital city has adopted driverless trams on two of its metro lines. Now, the French are again experimenting with driverless public transportation. This…
My Favorite French Recipe Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Aug 8, 2016
My favorite French recipe, the one I use every week–if not every day–is deceptively simple. But once you begin using it, you’ll never be able to go back. There aren’t any precise measurements, but that’s what makes it special: add a little bit of this, a pinch of that, to adjust the recipe to your…