November 30, 2011
Want to sound like you’re better at French than you actually are? Skip the usual lessons in your French language software for the meantime and memorize these phrases instead. You’ll sound like a bonafide froggie with these in your vocabulary stock.
“Ça m’a fait très plaisir!” Pronounced as “sah mah feh treh pleh-zeer,” this translates to “I really liked that” in English.
“On y va!” Pronounced as “oh nee vah,” this is a good follow-up to the previous phrase after everyone agrees to drink with you. It means, “Let’s go.”
“Tu cherches midi à 14h.” Pronounced as “tew shehrsh mee-dee ah kah-tohrz uhr,” this translates directly to “You are waiting for noon at 2PM.” Makes no sense? Yep, the French use it when talking about someone who’s off the mark (hence, the nonsensical statement), such as during an argument.
“Mais je rêve!” Pronounced as “meh zhuh rehv,” this is what you say when something fantastic happens. It literally translates to “But I am dreaming.”
“Passez-moi un coup de fil!” Pronounced as “pah-say mwa an koot feel,” this translates to “Give me a call.”
“Prenons un pot!” Pronounced as “pruh-nohn aN po,” this is what you tell friends when you invite them for a drink. The literal translation is “Let’s take a pot” but a swig of alcohol is what it actually refers to.
June 25, 2011
Yesterday, we brought you five common mistakes that beginners tend to commit during the early stages of learning French. Here are five more you’ll be well-served watching out for:
- Que. French for “that,” the word is required in sentences that involve a subordinate clause, with “que” being the conjunction that joins the two clauses. Emphasis on “required” is often necessary, given how many English speakers now drop “that” from their use.
- Auxilliary verbs. Passé composé (the most common French past tense form) needs to be conjugated with an auxilliary, either avoir or être. Confusion often arises about which of those two to use. The solution is to simply memorize the short list of verbs that use être and use avoir for the rest.
- Tu versus vous. The French use two words for “you,” tu and vous. At their most basic, the former is singular and the latter is plural. Don’t mix them up.
- Capitalization. Days of the week, months of the year, and a whole load of other things that are capitalized in English aren’t done so in French. Best learn them if you’re training to write in the language.
- Plural cette. The plural of cette is not cettes, it’s ces. That’s all you need to know.
June 24, 2011
Any time you start learning a new language, you’re going to make mistakes. And when you’re studying French, these are the most likely things you’re going to get wrong early on.
- Gender. This is one of the hardest concepts for English speakers to understand. In French, every noun is either masculine or feminine, and you have to use it accordingly, as the meaning of some words can change along with its gender. Masculine and feminine nouns exist in English, too (such as actor and actress, host and hostess), so you can use those as starting point to wrap your head around the idea. There’s no neutral in French — all nouns fall in one gender or the other.
- To be. The verb “to be” has three equivalents in French: être (the literal translation), avoir (to have) and fair (to do). Make sure you study all three and learn the right context in which to use them.
- Accents. When writing in French, accents are crucial. They are required, not optional, so learn how to both write and type them.
- Contractions. In English, contractions are optional (and, many times, ill-advised). In French, they are required whenever a short word (je, te, la) is followed by a word that begins with a vowel.
- The letter H. There are two varieties of the letter H in French, called aspiré and muet, respectively. Both are pronounced silently, although one acts as a consonant and the other acts as a vowel. As such, they follow the rules of grammar relating to their classified use.
July 27, 2010
Expressing your thoughts in English is hard enough. Doing it in a second language is even harder. For those of you learning to write in French, here are some ideas to help you along.
Getting Started
Some language software have writing modules included. Use them to help you. Most of the time, they’re excellent beginner resources.
Anyone looking to learn to write in any language should work to write as much as they can. The same holds true when learning to compose words in French. Use as basic a construction as you can manage if you must – just write as often as your time will allow.
Similarly, writing skills tend to advance with your reading level. Partaking in more French-language material should definitely be in your list of things to do.
During Writing
As much as possible, learn to think in French when you’re writing in French. Translating your thoughts from English to French just doesn’t work very well. It also delays your development in the language. It’s better to make do with what you can using your caveman-level French than to go for a translation.
Some General Tips For Good French Writing
- Avoid general words, such as tres or choses.
- Always maintain the subject/verb agreement. It’s even more important in French where gender plays a big part in the language.
- Your adjectives should agree with your nouns, both in gender and number.
- Avoid the passive voice. As with good English writers, French writers also avoid this structure.
- Use transitional words to add depth to your sentences.
May 6, 2010
Learning to write in French with the help of your language learning software? If you’re confused about how you can write with French accents on your Windows US version computer, fear no more. We’ve got the answers you’re looking for.
What you don’t need:
- You don’t need a new version of Windows.
- You don’t need a French writing software to run on top of Windows.
- You don’t need to buy a special French keyboard.
What to do:
- Simply turn on your computer with your old US English keyboard and US version of Windows.
- Go to Control Panel.
- Go to Regional and Language settings.
- Click on the Keyboard tab.
- Choose the international keyboard settings.
This keyboard setting is great because it retains the full QWERTY layout, all while allowing you to use characters with French accents. There are also just five general types of notations to learn, so it won’t require much memorizing on your part. Just write this down on a Post-It stuck by the side of your monitor and you can compose an entire email in full French mode.
- For using the grave accent (e.g. à, è), simply type ` (the character sits on the left of the key for 1) before a vowel.
- For using the aigu accent (e.g. é) or the cédille accent (e.g. ç), simply type ‘ (a single quote) before the vowel.
- For using the circonflexe (ê), type ^ (it’s the same key as 6) before e.
- For using tréma (ö), type ” (a double quote) before o.
- Since the notation uses quote symbols, you can type quotation marks by using «, », ctrl+alt+[ and ctrl+alt+].
September 6, 2009
Learning French has probably graced the to-do lists of many starry-eyed young people, swayed by the romantic nature of the vernacular, along with the whole glamour associated with the locale. Eventually, some of us actually get thrust in situations that force us to learn the language (such as a trip to France or a vacation in Quebec), while others faithfully take to it to fulfill their long-drawn laundry list of things to accomplish in their lives.
Be motivated. Your reasons for studying a language is usually as important as the effort you put in studying your language software. After all, the underlying motivation is usually the fuel that moves the gears of learning. That, right there, is our first tip: find a compelling reason to learn French, and you’ll have a better shot at success.
Start with what you absolutely need to know. This goes back to your reasons. Are you studying French because you’re spending a holiday in France? Will you be meeting with French clients two months from today? Did you meet a French girl online you are looking to impress? Whatever reason you have for studying the language, there will be some skills that are more urgent to learn than others – start with those. Whether that’s memorizing how to ask for directions (if you’re coming as a tourist), learning business-speak (for meeting with clients) or mastering “You are very beautiful” in the vernacular, that’s where you need to begin your study.
Immerse yourself. If you’re in a French-speaking locale, embrace learning and apply yourself beginning today. In case you’re not, the Alliance Française has branches all over the world, where you can find French classes as well as meet native speakers you can practice your developing skills on.
Act French. We don’t mean taking up chainsmoking and being arrogant, but I’m sure both of those will help too. Do things that make you feel French, watching moves for inspiration. Similarly, try things a French local will probably do in your city, like pressing your own coffee, finding a specialty deli for lunch and anything else you can think of.
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