French Blog

French Grammar - This and That

Chanda — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:45:26 +0000

Demonstrative articles are a little bit different in French as opposed to English. And since they are words that you often want to use when speaking, well, I thought we’d discuss them today. First of all, not only is there a singular and plural form, but there are also masculine and feminine forms. So, that makes it a little more complicated than in English.

Singular THIS (an object that is close to you)
Masculine - ce (but careful… cet is used with a word that begins with a vowel or with a word that begins with a silent consonant!!)
Feminine - cette

Plural THESE (more than one object that is close to you)
Masculine and Feminine - ces

Now, if you want to use THAT / THOSE for objects that are further away, you can either use the same as the translations for this/these or you can use là or là-bas like this to insist on the fact that you are talking about objects that are not close to you:
Singular: Ce (masc. noun) là-bas / Cet (noun begins with vowel or silent consonant) là-bas / Cette (fem. noun) là-bas
Plural: Ces (plural noun) là-bas

Here are some examples:
J’aime ce tableau. (I like this painting.)
Cet ami est un bon ami. (This friend is a good friend.)
Cet homme est mon mari. (This man is my husband.)
Pose les livres sur cette table. (Put the books on this table.)

Ces tables sont marrons. (These tables are brown.)
Ces amis vont à la même école. (These friends go to the same school.)
Ces hommes travaillent à Paris. (These men work in Paris.)

J’aime ces tableaux-là-bas. (I like those paintings over there.)

Some other useful expressions using demonstrative adjectives include:
à ce moment-là (at that moment)
à cette époque-là (at that time)
Elle est allée par là. (She went that way.)

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French Vocabulary - Phone Language

Chanda — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:16:57 +0000

I once worked in a call center and was responsible for making the calls to French-speaking Québec. Although I had just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in French, I was a bit intimidated the first time I had to make a call. I mean what was I supposed to say to these people??? And the fact that I had to remind them of their debts and their obligation to pay them ASAP was not so comfortable either. In any case, I quickly got used to making the calls. I thought I would share this experience with all of you since you may just have to either answer a phone or make a phone call in French some day.
So, if you ever do have a need for French phone vocab, well, here are some ideas:
First of all, use ‘vous’ if you’re not sure who is on the phone. This is the way the phone was answered at my university office in Paris: ‘Central College, Bonjour!” Now, I find that really simple and it works quite well for any type of office really. You could say, “(Company Name), Bonjour!”. But, you will probably have to add who is on the phone…in other words, your name. So, you could say, “(Company Name) Bonjour! (Your Name) à l’appareil“.
If you are making the call from your office, you will probably want to say something like this: “Bonjour, pourrais-je parler à (person’s name you want to speak to)” (Could I speak with…?) or “Bonjour, je voudrais parler à (person’s name you want to speak to)” (I would like to speak with…). When they ask you who’s calling (C’est de la part de qui?), you can say: “C’est (your name) de la part de (company name) à l’appareil”. They might tell you “Ne quittez pas” which means to please hold or “Je vous le passe” which means I’m transferring you. If you’re not very lucky, the line might be busy for the person you want to speak with and they’ll say, ‘La ligne est occupée”. If the person is not there, you can ask, “Pourrais-je laisser un message? (Can I leave a message?) …but then for the message, you’re all on your own!

Now, if you are in a private home, you can just answer the phone by saying Allô? That’s really simple!

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French Cuisine - Coquilles Saint Jacques

Chanda — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:51:54 +0000

The summer is underway and the pilgrims on St. James’ Way can be seen making their way to Santiago. One of my very favorite appetizers or first course dishes is Coquilles Saint Jacques or what is known in English as simply ’scallops’. I don’t know about you, but I find Coquilles Saint Jacques much more elegant…but then again that seems to happen a lot with French cuisine. The funny thing about them is the fact that their history is actually tied to Spain and that they don’t have such an elegant name in Spanish…Saint Jacques or Saint James was one of the 12 Apostles and the scallop shell is the symbol of the crusaders of the Order of St. James, which was founded to protect pilgrims headed to Santiago de Compostela. The story goes that St. James saved a drowning knight’s life and the knight came out of the water covered in scallop shells. It is also said that the body of St. James, himself, was lost in the ocean on the way to Spain for burial and later washed ashore covered in scallops. There are also other versions. In any case, the order and the French dish were named in his honor.

I thought I would share this very simple Coquilles Saint Jacques recipe with all of you.

Ingredients:
1 lb. of scallops
2 pints mussels
10 oz. shrimp
3 shallots
1 glass of white whine
1 cup of fresh cream
2 tablespoons of olive oil
5 teaspoons of butter
2 small cans of mushrooms
salt
pepper

Mince the shallots and sauté them in the oil until clear. Add the scallops, mussels and shrimp and let them cook for 3 minutes on low heat. Then, add the mushrooms and again let it cook for a minute.
Pour the white wine over this and then pour in the fresh cream and let it cook for 5 more minutes. Thicken the sauce with butter. Salt and pepper.
Serve this in the scallop shells after you have cleaned them.

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French Scattegories

Chanda — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:31:07 +0000

I’ve said before…I LOVE GAMES! Games are one of the best ways to learn another language as they are often competitive which makes you want to do an even better job and you learn without realizing you are learning, which is quite important. When looking to purchase the game, I’ve seen it categorized as un jeu de société (board game) as well as un jeu de lettres (word game) and it is both, but it can also be un jeu en ligne (online game). So, I am proposing that we start our own Scattegories game with the readers of this blog as the contestants. You’ll get points for all the words that you propose that have not been proposed by any other contestant in each round. I’ll be the judge as far as whether or not the words actually fit the corresponding categories and I’ll keep track of the points with my own comments. I think we should shoot for five rounds to begin with to see how much interest you all have in participating and the person with the most points will be crowned Le Roi ou La Reine de Scattegories en Français!

Règles
Je vous donne dix catégories et une lettre. Vous devez répondre avec un mot qui commence avec cette lettre. Évidement, vous ne devez pas répondre le même que les autres et il faut être créatif. Bonne chance!

Lettre: D
Catégories:
1. petit déjeuner
2. mode
3. cinéma
4. mer
5. famille
6. animal
7. pays
8. fruit/légume
9. couleur
10. jour

As a side note, you can order a bilingual version of the real Parkers Brothers Scattergories Le Jeu at Toys R Us Canada, for example.

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More Colloquial French

Chanda — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:02:44 +0000

I broke my husband’s iPhone yesterday and no, he was not content. And just like many other people in today’s society, I decided to share this event with all of my friends on Facebook. About an hour later, one of my French friends responded with “Tu as des mains à faire des mottes!” and to be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, so I did some investigating. And it turns out that ‘avoir des mains à faire des mottes’ is an expression from the Languedoc region where Montpellier is located and where my friend is from. Well, ‘motte’ can mean ‘a clod of earth’ or ’slab of butter’. So, it looks as though in this case it is referring to the slab of butter and my friend is referring to the fact that my hands are slippery perhaps. Maybe a native French reader out there could help me out with this one by leaving a comment…???
In any case, this Facebook comment got me thinking about expressions again because after all, they are quite fun. So, today I’ll give you some more expressions with ‘avoir’.

avoir le pot près des talons	to be short
avoir du pot	to be lucky
avoir le cul bordé de nouilles	to be very lucky
avoir le nez creux	to have flair
avoir les dents longues	to be very ambitious
avoir une araignée au plafond	to be a bit crazy, but not so much that you are dangerous or bothersome
avoir un polichinelle dans le tiroir	to be pregnant
avoir un cœur d’artichaut	to easily and often fall in love
avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre	to ask for more food than you can eat
avoir un nom à coucher dehors	to have a name that is difficult to pronounce or remember

And now, j’ai un poil dans la main (I’m feeling lazy), so I’m going to end this article now. I hope you enjoyed it!

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French Regions - Montpellier

Chanda — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:37:25 +0000

While I was studying in Paris, I went home with a friend for a weekend to Montpellier and it was really a beautiful city. Montpellier is located in the south of France on the Mediterranean coast and is the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon. Its name refers to the fact that it sits up on hilly ground. The hills make for beautiful pictures of the city from different altitudes. It is not a huge city (approx. 300,000 residents), but that’s probably part of what makes it so appealing. It is a popular destination for language programs and exchange students perhaps because of the openness of the locals, the fact that one out of every two residents are under 35 and also because its University is one of the oldest in the world.

When I visited, the city was undergoing several infrastructure projects including the tramway, which is now in full operation and makes it much easier to get around. There are many things to do in and around Montpellier besides enjoying the beautiful beaches. You can tour the University, Saint-Pierre Cathedral, huge centuries-old private mansions that were built by noblemen, the Arc de Triomphe (which is quite similar to the one in Paris), a 13th century Jewish bath, the Montpellier follies (castles) and violin workshops as it is the violin-making capital of the world. My two favorites are the squares - the Peyrou royal square and la Place de la Comédie which is the city’s egg-shaped main square featuring a magnificent Opera house and one of the largest pedestrian areas in Europe. The official website of the Montpellier Tourist Office can be found here in English and French. There you can get more information on what the city has to offer and book hotels and vacation stays.

Right now and until July 4th, it is hosting the International Dance Festival during which over 300 dance troupes from around the world put on 3-10 shows daily. Later in July, it will host the Radio France and Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon Festival when it will be the site of over a hundred concerts featuring all genres of music. There are more than a dozen museums to take in around the city and around the same number of large parks, including the Botanical Garden, which is one of the oldest in Europe. The city’s restaurants offer excellent food and wines. Montpellier can also be your base for touring several World Heritage sites including le Canal du Midi, the Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard and the medieval city of Carcassonne.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnV5X5oFBCI

Finally, it is interesting to note that many cities around the world have been named after Montpellier, including the capital city of Vermont in honor of the French, who were very highly regarded in the United States after the American Revolutionary War because of their assistance in the struggle against the British for independence.

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Street French II - Food

Chanda — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:38:47 +0000

French argot (slang) can be difficult to understand, but it’s really quite fun. So, today, we’ll talk about some expressions involving food that don’t have so much to do with food really, but might be useful to know. For example, if you want to say that you are a bit down in the dumps, you could say “J’en ai gros sur la patate” because ‘patate‘ although it really means ‘(potato) spud’ in English, is often used to refer to many other things when using French slang. So, be careful, because ‘patate’ can also mean ‘idiot’ as in “Il est vraiment une patate”. Or if you want to say that you have a friend who parties all night because he has a lot of energy or stamina, you could say “Il a la patate” or if you are wondering how you can get your energy back when you are sick with a cold, for example, you could ask “Qu’est-ce que je dois prendre pour avoir la patate?”. If you’ve been overloaded with information and your head is going to explode, you could say “J’ai la tête comme une patate!“. If you want to encourage someone by telling them to hang in there and not give up, you can say “Lâche pas la patate!” and although we could go on and on with the spuds (the French do grow 20 different varieties and perhaps for this reason, they seem to love using the word) finally, “patati patata” means ‘blah, blah, blah…’.
Moving on to sausages… If someone calls you “une andouille”, don’t thank them as they are calling you ‘a fool’. If your mother or someone else tells you “Fais pas l’andouille!”, they are telling you not to be silly (or, rather, not to do silly things).
As for other foods, a really bad movie is referred to as “un navet” (a turnip). “Chou” (cabbage) can mean ‘honey’, ’sweatheart’, ‘granny’ and ‘love’ when talking about another person. “Bête comme chou” refers to something that is really easy or ‘easy as pie’. “Faire chou blanc” means to ‘draw a blank’.
And just to throw a few fruits in, ‘”une poire” (a pear) or even “une pomme” (an apple) can mean ‘a sucker’ as in someone who is gullible and falls for anything. “Avoir la pêche” (peach) means to feel great and energetic just like “avoir la patate” above.
Well, I’m starting to get hungry, so until next time, je m’en vais (I’m outta here)!

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French Literature - Petit Nicolas

Chanda — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:36:56 +0000

In my very first French class, the students were required to read Petit Nicolas by Jean-Jacques Sempé and René Goscinny. That was the beginning of my love affair with these French stories about a young schoolboy who gets into all sorts of mischief (un écolier à malice), his friends and family, all told through the little boy’s eyes. I also have Joachim a des ennuis, which continues with the adventures of petit Nicolas. I recommend these books to any beginning French student as they are easy to read, yet full of interesting new vocabulary. Each book is divided into very amusing, short stories about the adventures of the Bande des Vengeurs (Vengeful Gang). There’s Un souvenir qu’on va chérir (A souvenir to cherish), which is all about the difficult task of reigning in the kids for the class picture. There’s Les cowboys where Nicolas invites his friends over to play cowboys, they get into all sorts of fights and trouble and when Nicolas’ father starts to scold them, he ends up playing too and getting tied to a tree. Then, there’s La visite de Mémé where Nicolas’ grandmother, who is a bit mischievous herself, comes to stay and his father has to sleep on the sofa and suffers in other ways because of his annoying mother-in-law. There are many of these hilarious shorts stories and best of all, the little cartoon pictures that accompany them are adorable and humorous at the same time.

Anyone who has read the books or anyone who reads the books now can answer the questions below:
1. Comment s’appelle le petit frère de Joachim?
2. C’est quoi la profession du père de Rufus?
3. Qui est le chouchou de la maîtresse?

On attend vos réponses… Bonne lecture!

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French Music - Patrick Bruel

Chanda — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:37:32 +0000

Another of my favorite French singers is Patrick Bruel and he just released a new album called Seul o presque (Alone or almost) with live acoustic versions of his songs that were recorded while he was on tour. Born Maurice Benguigui on May 14, 1959, in Tlemcen, Algeria, he was slow to find success as a singer, but eventually topped the French music charts with six of his albums including Entre Deux (2002), which is a classic chanson française double CD with duets featuring Jean-Jacques Goldman and Renaud, among others. That CD sold more than 2 million copies and made Bruel the highest-paid French singer that year. My favorite album of his is Juste avant (another of his #1s) and my favorite song is Tout s’efface. However, his chart-topping single Qui a le droit (Who has the right) is probably the most well-known of his entire repetoire. It talks about how people are not upfront and sometimes even lie to children thinking it is best for them, when it really isn’t as they grow up with unanswered questions, fears and anguish, especially as regards the loss of a parent, which is what Patrick himself went through at the tender age of 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPy7ke75OGA

Here are the lyrics:

On m’avait dit : “Te poses pas trop de questions.
Tu sais petit, c’est la vie qui t’ répond.
A quoi ça sert de vouloir tout savoir ?
Regarde en l’air et voit c’ que tu peux voir.”

On m’avait dit : “Faut écouter son père.”
Le mien a rien dit, quand il s’est fait la paire.
Maman m’a dit : “T’es trop p’tit pour comprendre.”
Et j’ai grandi avec une place à prendre.

[Refrain] :
Qui a le droit, qui a le droit,
Qui a le droit d’ faire ça
A un enfant qui croit vraiment
C’ que disent les grands ?

On passe sa vie à dire merci,
Merci à qui, à quoi ?
A faire la pluie et le beau temps
Pour des enfants à qui l’on ment.

On m’avait dit que les hommes sont tous pareils.
Y a plusieurs dieux, mais y’ a qu’un seul soleil.
Oui mais, l’ soleil il brille ou bien il brûle.
Tu meurs de soif ou bien tu bois des bulles.

A toi aussi, j’ suis sur qu’on t’en a dit,
De belles histoires, tu parles… que des conneries !
Alors maintenant, on s’ retrouve sur la route,
Avec nos peurs, nos angoisses et nos doutes.

[Refrain]

On passe sa vie à dire merci,
Merci à qui, à quoi ?
A faire la pluie et le beau temps
Pour des enfants à qui l’on ment.

Besides a best-selling singer, he is also an actor and professional poker player. He has acted in more than 40 different television and film productions and has won the World Series of Poker. His official website is www.patrickbruel.com. There, you can hear his music, read about him and even buy mp3 albums.

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French Vocabulary - Idioms with Avoir

Chanda — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:05:19 +0000

One of the first mistakes I, just like most beginning French learners whose native tongue is English, made is to say ‘Je suis chaud‘ (can be quite vulgar depending on who says it and in which situation) when I mean to say ‘J’ai chaud‘ (I’m hot as in temperature). In English, we usually use the verb ‘to be’ with an adjective to describe ourselves or someone else no matter what. However, in French, you have to be careful so that you don’t suggest something you don’t really want to!

*avoir chaud*	to be hot	J’ai chaud en été.
*avoir froid*	to be cold	J’ai froid en hiver.
*avoir faim*	to be hungry	Nous avons faim à midi.
*avoir soif*	to be thirsty	J’ai soif, donc je bois.
*avoir sommeil*	to be sleepy	Je vais au lit parce que j’ai sommeil.
*avoir mal à*	to have an ache	J’ai mal à la tête.
*avoir l’air*	to seem	Il a l’air triste.
*avoir ____ ans*	to be __years old	J’ai trente ans.
*avoir peur de*	to be afraid of	Elle a peur des chats noirs.
*avoir honte de*	to be ashamed of	Il a honte de ses notes.
*avoir raison*	to be right	Elle a raison.
*avoir tort*	to be wrong	Ils ont tort de ne pas aller.
*avoir envie de*	to feel like	J’ai envie de crier!
*avoir besoin de*	to need	J’ai besoin de 2 œufs.
*avoir lieu*	to take place	La réunion a lieu à 8h.
*avoir de la chance*	to be lucky	Tu as de la chance !
*avoir l’occasion de*	to have the opportunity	Nous avons l’occasion de voyager.

By the way, ‘Je suis chaud‘ can be used to mean you’re warmed up if you’re an athlete or a singer, for example. Or it can refer to a woman in a vulgar way. In Québec, it can mean you are drunk.

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