Heat-Related Vocabulary in French Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jul 2, 2015
For the past couple of days, anyone in France who’s stepped foot outside or even opened a window has certainly noticed that Mother Nature a allumé le chauffage à fond (has turned the heat up on high)! It’s actually the result of hot winds making their way up from Africa. France isn’t the only one experiencing…
La Fête De La Musique – World Music Day in France Posted by John Bauer on Jul 1, 2015
Pendant le moi de juin (During the month of June) there’s a big event that’s worth talking about that’s not mon anniversaire (my birthday) or du gâteau (cake). Every year on June 21 there is a huge party across all of France. C’est la fête de la musique ! Une fête (a celebration/festival) with all…
How to Guess the Gender of French Nouns Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jun 29, 2015
One of the hardest things about French is memorizing the genders of nouns. In the beginning, it’s based on pure memorization. However, after a while, many non-native French speakers will tell you that they just have a feeling about a word, even if its one they’ve never heard before. But, as the band Boston puts…
French Adverb Spelling Tips! Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jun 25, 2015
Adverbs are a fun little part of a language – they’re used to modify adjectives, prepositions, verbs, and even other adverbs. La bonne nouvelle (the good news)? They’re invariable! No need to worry about all those tricky agreement rules. La mauvaise nouvelle (the bad news)? They sometimes follow pretty specific placement rules. Ok, the rules…
Let Them Eat Du Gâteau – French Cakes Posted by John Bauer on Jun 24, 2015
I recently celebrated mon anniversaire (my birthday). I had a nice time with un gateau (a cake) and des cadeaux (presents). However, The first time I celebrated mon anniversaire in France, I was surprised by quelque chose (something) that was a little different. When I tried to find a birthday cake, all I could find…
Reader Request: French Expressions Using “Tomber” Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jun 22, 2015
One of our readers wrote in and mentioned hearing the following phrase: son embauche était tombée à pic. Many French learners might find this expression confusing without more context. If son embauche refers to someone’s job, would using the verb “to fall” (tomber) necessarily mean something bad happened at that person’s place of employment? Idioms can be tricky in general…
Cat Got Your Tongue? Cat-Related Expressions in French! Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jun 18, 2015
Ah, June. The latin name is Junius. Roman déesse (goddess) Juno, the protector of and special counselor of the state, says the month was named after her. It’s also the month that starts summer. Warm temperatures and White Nights in the northern countries. At the beginning of the month, the sun rises in la constellation…