Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Parlez-vous Français?: A Study of French Expressions (Part 4) Posted by mtaulier on Jun 26, 2014
Fewer things are more revealing of a person’s familiarity with a language than utilizing expressions to convey an idea. Unlike expletives, which many people use to add emphasis to a statement, a thoughtfully used expression is la meilleure façon (the best way) to convey your understanding of French that might surprise, and even impress, the…
Le Bescherelle: Your Gateway to French Conjugation Posted by mtaulier on Jun 19, 2014
In the last post, we looked at indefinite articles and how to conjugate the verbs avoir (to have) and être (to be) in the most basic tense (present indicative). If you want to learn French, getting a grasp on these fundamentals is a must. There is no other way around it. So what if you…
French Grammar: The *NE* explétive Posted by Hichem on May 31, 2014
*NE*… A two-letter word can be a source of serious confusion for new French learners! What is it exactly? It is un adverbe called the “ne explétif.” When do we use it? Right after some verbs and conjunctions. It is used in situations where the main clause has a negative meaning (in the sense of negation), or expressing situations of warning, doubt…
Parlez-vous Français?: A Study of French Expressions (Part 3) Posted by mtaulier on May 21, 2014
Let’s discover some more French expressions, some of which may be completely foreign to you. **Phrase in parentheses is the literal translation, or as close to it as possible.** Il fait un temps de chien! (It a dog time!) – It’s very bad weather! Coincer le bulle (Trapping the bubble) – Not doing anything, relaxing…
Who Wants a Last Dance in Paris? Posted by Hichem on May 17, 2014
Care to improve your French comprehension skills by joining Indila for une dernière danse (a last dance) in the streets of the French capital? * * * Indila’s new song “Dernière danse” (“Last Dance”) Oh, ma douce souffrance Oh, my sweet suffering Pourquoi s’acharner, tu recommences Why try so hard, you start again Je ne suis…
Parlez-vous Français?: A Study of French Expressions (Part 2) Posted by mtaulier on May 16, 2014
I hoped you learned a few French expressions from the last post that you might not have been familiar with. Today, we’ll continue our little study of colloquialisms that will make you think and speak à la Française. Keep in mind that some of these are more popular than others and they might differ slightly…
Do You Want a French Mustache—Or an Austrian Beard?! Posted by Hichem on May 9, 2014
In less than 24 hours, the 2014 Eurovision grande finale will be taking place. Six pays (six countries) are en lice (battling it out) for la première place. What does France has to offer this time, you may reluctantly wonder? A group whose chanson (song) seems to hint at the general zeitgeist reigning a bit everywhere in the world: the “I-got-many-things-but-I-still-want-more” kind of syndrome. Of course, without reading…