Tag Archives: French vocabulary
French vocabulary – Food shopping Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 4, 2019
While it is true that there are more and more épiceries (grocery stores) in France and that more people font leurs emplettes dans des grands-surfaces (do their shopping in big stores) or in des supermarchés (super markets), most Français (French people) still do a fair amount of their food shopping in small, often-family-owned shops that…
French Colors and Commercials Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 28, 2019
We’ve talked about colors in the past. And we’ve looked at a pub (French TV commercial) for Haribo as well. But these two that I came across recently do such a good job of combining the two, that I just had to share them. They also provide a nice illustration of the useful French verb préférer. Je…
French Vocabulary – Cars Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 21, 2019
As I’ve shared before, I love to drive in France. The post I shared a few weeks ago and a recent passage in the book I’m reading got me thinking about car-related vocabulary. This week we’ll look at some key words related to cars … and some examples of how to use them in context…
French Vocabulary – Cleaning Up Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 14, 2019
Spring is the perfect time for cleaning … that’s why we call it “spring cleaning!” So ouvrez les fenêtres (open the windows), sortez les balais et les serpillères (get out the brooms and the rags*), et commençons (and let’s begin)! Le nettoyage de printemps Spring cleaning (also known in French as le ménage de printemps…
French Commercial – Renault Robbers Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 7, 2019
When I was 14, the French car company, Renault, made their entrée sur le marché américaine (entrance to the American market). My parents even bought two … matching red and blue Renault Alliances. Sadly, they weren’t great … and Renault didn’t last long in the US. Imagine my surprise then, when I got to France…
French Music – Nach Posted by Tim Hildreth on Apr 30, 2019
The global music scene is so diverse these days. Musical styles and personal styles mix to give us fun and inspiring songs that reflect a broader sense of the human condition. I really like this song from the French singer Nach and its message. Nach (Anne Chedid) is another scion of the well known Chedid…
French Wit Posted by Tim Hildreth on Apr 23, 2019
When I was first living in France and learning French, understanding humour was one of things that took me the longest. As John discussed recently, a lot of this is due to the fact that so much humour depends on more than simply understanding the words. It’s also because, for the French, humour is an…