Tag Archives: french blog
French language and culture – remembering New Year’s Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jan 1, 2019
Bonne Année 2019! Happy New Year! Le jour de l’an (New Year’s Day)* is a time for looking ahead and for looking back. And looking back over the last year got me thinking about the related vocabulary of memories. Like English, French has multiple words for remembering. For the most part, they mean the same…
French Current Events – Les gilets jaunes Posted by Tim Hildreth on Dec 4, 2018
I have been doing my best to avoid the news recently, so it was with a shock that I discovered the recent news of nationwide protests rocking France. From Paris and into the countryside, these past few weeks have seen growing unrest which culminated in a rash of burned cars, smashed store windows, and injuries…
Francophone language and culture – Finding an amazing meal in Québec Posted by Tim Hildreth on Nov 13, 2018
Sometimes the best things in life are surprises. The best meal I ever ate, was just such a surprise. Travelling through Québec on our way to viste la tante Rose, we found a marvelous meal, a wonderful souvenir (memory), and a story we still tell. All of these wonderful memories were brought back last week when ma tante…
French Travel – Montmartre Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 23, 2018
Even after all these years and all the many trips I’ve made to Paris, I’m always delighted when I go back to find that there is still more to see, to learn, and to do. On this most recent trip, I took my son William up to the Sacré Coeur de Montmartre and was enchanté…
French Grammar – Relative Pronouns Posted by Tim Hildreth on Oct 9, 2018
Relative pronouns help add clarity to language by identifying the who, what, where, or when. This week we’ll look at the three main pronoms relatifs (relative pronouns) in French: qui, que, and où. Qui When it stands alone or comes at the start of a sentence, qui generally means who? Qui ? / Who? Qui…
French Culture – Alternative Transportation Posted by Tim Hildreth on Sep 11, 2018
Last week I talked about my love of driving in France. I even love to drive in Paris (zipping around Paris at night to catch the sights in their full lit-up splendeur is hard to beat for sheer joy!) but it’s not for everyone. Fortunately there are more and more ways to get around the…
Follow the leader Posted by Tim Hildreth on Aug 21, 2018
This is the fourth post in my on-going series of lessons for young people from the depths of the 19th century. The French aren’t the only ones to have had interesting ideas about the roles of les garçons et les filles (boys and girls) or about how les enfants (children/kids) should behave, but these stories give us…