{"id":27580,"date":"2017-08-02T18:21:34","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T16:21:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=27580"},"modified":"2017-08-02T20:22:42","modified_gmt":"2017-08-02T18:22:42","slug":"finding-les-toilettes-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/finding-les-toilettes-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Les Toilettes In French"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes you learn des nouvelles expressions <\/strong>(new phrases) not because you want to sing a song<\/a> or cook a meal<\/a>, but because you simply need something. It can be as small as needing to know how to buy a battery<\/a> or as important as knowing how to call les urgences<\/strong> <\/a>(emergency services). Living a normal life in another language is a constant learning experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo<\/a> by Gwen on flickr. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

Satisfying basic needs often requires more than just le vocabulaire<\/strong> (the vocabulary), you have to know how to use the word correctly as well. Apr\u00e8s tout<\/strong> (after all), memorizing a word and saying it when you really need it are two different things.\u00a0I learned this lesson the hard way one day when I needed to find the bathroom.<\/p>\n

Asking “where is the bathroom?<\/em>” is une expression<\/strong> (a phrase) that will be at the beginning of any guide touristique<\/strong> (tourist guide). It is also something that everyone who plans on visiting la Francophonie<\/strong><\/a> should learn how to say!<\/p>\n

La premi\u00e8re fois<\/strong> (the first time) I needed to ask this important question, I made une faute<\/strong><\/a> (a mistake). The person I asked understood me and still led me to my destination, but I left the exchange feeling embarrassed.<\/p>\n

I was au caf\u00e9<\/a> avec mes amis<\/strong> (at a caf\u00e9 with my friends) and after learning about le pastis<\/a><\/strong> and keeping eye contact<\/a> while toasting, I needed to find les toilettes<\/strong> (the bathroom). I knew that the word for bathroom <\/em>or restroom<\/em> was les toilettes<\/strong><\/em>, but I thought, since it was un petit caf\u00e9<\/strong><\/a> (a small caf\u00e9), there probably wasn’t more than une<\/em> toilette<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I ran through les conjugaisons<\/strong> (the conjugations) for \u00eatre<\/strong><\/em><\/a> (to be) before I got up, making sure I know how to conjugate the verb properly for the singular toilette<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Je suis\u00a0<\/strong>
\nTu es\u00a0<\/strong>
\nIl\/elle est\u00a0<\/strong>
\nNous sommes\u00a0<\/strong>
\nVous \u00eates\u00a0<\/strong>
\nIls sont\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am<\/em>
\nYou are<\/em>
\nHe\/she\/it is<\/em>
\nWe are<\/em>
\nYou are<\/em>
\nThey are<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was sure that the right conjugation<\/a> for une<\/em> toilette<\/strong> was est<\/strong><\/em>, which meant it was time to ask la question<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

O\u00f9 est la toilette ?
\n<\/strong>Where is the toilet?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Le barman<\/strong> (the bartender) instantly corrected my grammar before pointing me in the right direction:<\/p>\n

O\u00f9 SONT <\/em>les toilettes.
\n<\/strong>Where ARE the toilets.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I thanked him for his help and was glad he pointed out la faute<\/strong><\/a>, but as I made my way to les toilettes<\/strong> I made sure to remember that it doesn’t matter how many toilettes<\/strong> there are aux toilettes<\/strong> (in the bathroom). In French, les toilettes sont au pluriel<\/strong> (the bathroom is in the plural)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Sometimes you learn des nouvelles expressions (new phrases) not because you want to sing a song or cook a meal, but because you simply need something. It can be as small as needing to know how to buy a battery or as important as knowing how to call les urgences (emergency services). Living a normal…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":27582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27580","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vocabulary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t