Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Happy “Premier Mai” (First of May)! Posted by Hichem on May 1, 2014
Today is la fête du travail (International Workers’ Day), a celebration that, as everyone is aware, takes place in almost every country in the world… But did you know that le premier mai (the First of May) is also the special date of another celebration in France? It’s called la fête du Muguet (the Lily of the Valley Celebration), ans it is estimated to be…
Parlez-vous Français?: A Study of French Expressions Posted by mtaulier on Apr 28, 2014
Si tu veux vraiment apprendre le Français, il faut connaître quelques expressions Françaises (If you really want to learn French, you need to know a few French expressions). You aren’t going to find these in formal language books but equipping yourself with some of these idioms, colloquialisms and tournures de phrases (turns of phrase) will…
French Grammar: Using *Depuis*! Posted by Hichem on Apr 17, 2014
Un peu de grammaire aujourd’hui (A little bit of grammar today)! Here is a “flashback lesson” from The French Blog, using sentences which you might hear if you are talking to French people. Today, we’ll focus on the word “depuis“, which usually means “since.” Let us see the different cases it can be used…
Pan-Pan!: French vs. English Onomatopoeias Posted by mtaulier on Apr 14, 2014
The word onomatopée (onomatopoeia) has been floating around the Internet as of late and I thought it would be fun to devote a post to French onomatopoeias vs. their English counterparts. What is an onomatopoeia? An onomatopoeia is a word meant to mimic a certain sound made by un humain (a human), un animal (an…
Who Changed the Names of the Parisian Neighborhoods? Posted by Hichem on Apr 3, 2014
Did you know that the names of many French cities were once completely changed, practically du jour au lendemain (overnight)? Some of them had their age-old names simply canceled, such as Marseille, which became known as “Ville-sans-Nom” (“City-without-a-Name”)! When did took place? During the tumultuous times of la Révolution française, when the government decided the sudden déchristianisation of the country that was…
*IL FAUT* que tu apprennes le Français (You *Must* Learn French)! Posted by Hichem on Mar 30, 2014
Learning French is not optional anymore; it is now mandatory! Well, just kidding, bien sûr… One thing you must do, however, if you already speak French, is to watch out for the good use of le subjonctif. Just pay a bit of attention to when French people speak, or to French books, articles, etc., you will…
Stop! Sens Interdit!: A Quick Guide to French Roadway Vocabulary Posted by mtaulier on Mar 10, 2014
If you’ve ever visited France and found yourself behind the wheel of une voiture (a car), you were most likely confronted with some signs you had never seen before. Although France and the United States share some road signs such as the ubiquitous red octagonal STOP and the sens interdit (no entry), others are not…