Back to the Basics: French Definite Articles Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on May 22, 2017
Last week, we went over the basics of French articles. This week, we are going to dive more into French definite articles and the ways in which they can change when they are combined with prepositions such as à and de. In French, the preposition à means “to” and the preposition de means “from.” When they are combined with definite articles…
How Did France do in the 2017 Eurovision Competition? Come Hear Their Song Choice! Posted by Josh Dougherty on May 18, 2017
Another May, another Eurovision. May is that special time of the year in Europe where countries go to battle for the best song. Each country chooses a singer to represent the them, and both an official jury and the European public decide on the winner via a point system. You can learn more about the…
Music At The Opéra Garnier Posted by John Bauer on May 17, 2017
Now that I am settled in I have time to explore the sights and sounds of Paris. La ville lumière (the city of lights) is a massive international hub with history pouring out of every corner. Walking down any street can lead to amazing sights and new experiences. L’autre jour (the other day), I was…
French pronunciation basics part 3 Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 16, 2017
Many words in French end in ‘e’. And while the final ‘e’ can make us pronounce other letters (think ‘petit‘ vs. ‘petite‘ or ‘français‘ vs. ‘française‘), it is, in itself, usually silent. Usually, but not always! In poetry, and often in songs (which are, after all, just poems set to music), a final silent ‘e’…
Back to the Basics: French Articles Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on May 15, 2017
Today we will be going back to the basics of French grammar. The very building blocks of the French language require articles. What are they? Well, in English, they would be words like the or a. In any language, articles are used to show whether a noun is specific or unspecific. For example, in English, you could say “After the…
Don’t Forget La Fête Des Mères! Posted by John Bauer on May 10, 2017
Mother’s day is this weekend aux États-Unis, but not everywhere else in the world. As la fête des mères that matters to my mother approaches there are no ads to remind me because la fête is still a couple weeks away en France! Holidays celebrating les mères can be traced back to antiquity. La Grèce…
A question of size Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 9, 2017
The results are in! I’m sure you all have heard, but as discussed last week, France held the second tour of the presidential elections dimanche (Sunday). And dimanche prochain (next Sunday) Emmanuel Macron will be sworn in as the youngest French president. There has been so much coverage of the topic, I didn’t think it worth…