French Etc » Blogue

à vs. au and de vs. du

Anne — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:44:24 +0000

à vs. au and de vs. du

Je vais aux Baux-de-Provence.

À and DE change according to the gender of the noun that follows. Review the rules here, in the Premium area.

Practice À and DE

Replace the blank by à la, à l’, au or aux.

Je vais _______ mer.
Tu aimes la tarte _______ fruits ?
Laisse-le _______ air libre.
Il vit _______ château.
Ils ne sont pas allés _______ école.
Elle ira _______ restaurant demain.
Nous boirons _______ amitié.
Vous avez mal _______ tête ?
On le cuit _______ vin.
Elles partent _______ village.

Replace the blank by de la, de l’, du or des.

Les assiettes viennent _______ fin du XIX.
La fin _______ voyage est proche.
Je voudrais manger _______ tarte aux pommes.
Ce bout _______ éclair au chocolat est trop petit.
Nous faisons _______ cassoulet.
Le bonheur _______ chats est de dormir sur le lit.
C’est l’heure _______ petit déjeuner.
C’est _______ œuf que tu vois sur la pizza.
Où est la sortie _______ bagages ?
Je parle _______ films français.

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Bonne journée française !

To miss – Manquer, Rater

Anne — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:11:42 +0000

Il manque une souris.

TO MISS is translated by MANQUER in French.

A mouse is missing in this picture.
Une souris manque à cette photo.

TO MISS is translated by RATER: to not reach, to not be present

I missed the exit and the concert.
J’ai raté la sortie et le concert.

Continue with the Premium worksheet here.

Related: Practice TO MISS .

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Bonne journée française !

aller, to go

Anne — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:12:05 +0000

AUDIO below, by a native speaker.

Nous allons au marché.

*Indicatif* – Indicative Mode	statements
présent	present tense
je vais	I go*
je ne vais pas	I’m not going
je vais	I go
tu vas	you go
elle va	she goes
il va	he/it goes
on va	we go
nous allons	we go
vous allez	you go
elles vont	they go
ils vont	they go
	*also I’m going…
imparfait	imperfect
j’allais	I used to go*
je n’allais pas	I didn’t use to go
j’allais	I used to go
tu allais	you used to go
elle allait	she used to go
il allait	he/it used to go
on allait	we used to go
nous allions	we used to go
vous alliez	you used to go
elles allaient	they used to go
ils allaient	they used to go
	•also I was going, I would go…
passé composé	preterit or present perfect
je suis allé/e	I went*
je ne suis pas allé/e	I didn’t go
je suis allé/e	I went
tu es allé/e	you went
elle est allée	she went
il est allé	he/it went
on est allé/s/es	we went
nous sommes allés/es	we went
vous êtes allés/es	you went
elles sont allées	they went
ils sont allés	they went
	*also I have gone…
futur simple	future tense
j’irai	I will go
je n’irai pas	I won’t go
j’irai	I will go
tu iras	you will go
elle ira	she will go
il ira	he/it will go
on ira	we will go
nous irons	we will go
vous irez	you will go
elles iront	they will go
ils iront	they will go

Continue with this verb and many more in the Premium area.

Note : aller is also used in greetings, to say that something fits or goes well with and in the expression s’en aller to go away, to take off (to split), to die:

« Comment ça va ? » – ‘how are you doing ?’
« Ça va » – ‘it fits’
« Ça va bien avec » – ‘it goes well with’
« Je m’en vais » – ‘I’m leaving/splitting’
« Il s’en est allé » – ‘he died’

AUDIO

Voyager – Traveling Vocabulary

Anne — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:42:49 +0000

: L’avion décolle.

Voyager – Traveling Vocabulary

AUDIO below, with a French accent.

General – Général

destination …. f …. destination
passenger …. m/f …. passager/ère
route …. m …. itinéraire
to drive …. ø …. conduire / rouler
to go …. ø …. aller / rouler
to hitch-hike …. ø …. faire du stop
to travel by …. ø …. voyager en
to travel to …. ø …. aller à
travel agent …. f …. agence de voyage
travel agent …. m …. agent de voyage
trip …. m …. voyage

Air – Air

airport …. m …. aéroport
check-in …. m …. enregistrement
flight …. m …. vol
gate …. f …. porte
land …. f …. terre
landing …. m …. atterrissage
plane …. m …. avion
to fly …. ø …. voler
to get on board …. ø …. embarquer dans
to land …. ø …. atterrir
to leave (plane) …. ø …. sortir de
to take off …. ø …. décoller

Land – Terre

bicycle …. m …. vélo
bus (city) …. m …. bus
bus station …. m …. arrêt de bus
bus/coach …. m …. car
bus/coach station …. f …. gare routière
car …. f …. voiture
metro …. m …. métro
motor bike …. f …. moto
rail …. m …. rail
road …. f …. route
seat (#) …. f …. place
continue with the Premium worksheet here

Related: Games . Test . Flashcards . About ‘voyager’ . Visit 5 villages .

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Bonne journée française !

Bourges

Anne — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:33:06 +0000

Visit Bourges, a quiet city of 100,000 people, right in the Berry region, in the heart of France.

. Version pour le portable .

Le futur antérieur – Future perfect

Anne — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:33:10 +0000

Le futur antérieur – Future perfect

J’aurai pris mon petit déje quand elle arrivera.

Use the future perfect when an action in the future happens before another one:

I will have eaten breakfast when she comes in.

J’aurai pris mon petit déje quand elle arrivera.

Continue here, with a Premium worksheet.

practice (advanced level)

Translate the sentences using a future perfect in every one of them.

He’ll taste his beer as soon as it’s done carbonizing.
I’ll go as soon as I’m finished with the book.
I’ll have learned how to flip crêpes before Crêpe Day.
She’ll come and see you as soon as she’ll have gotten the results.
They’ll go fishing when they’ve rented a boat.
They’ll have bought the guidebook before they visit the museum.
We’ll go to the movies as soon as we’re done with dinner.
We’ll have had a jam session before we play at the concert.
You’ll be able to work on the house when you’ve gone to the DIY store.
You’ll call us when you’re home?

Answers in the Premium worksheet

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Bonne journée française !

La chandeleur

Anne — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:41:02 +0000

faire sauter les crêpes

FrEnch DicTation – DiCtée – Listen and Write

You want to make progress in French? Do this dictée, it’s one of the best exercise you’ll ever do. You can work on listening, on speaking if you choose to repeat what you hear, and you can work and reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary as well with a dictée.

How does it work? It’s simple: you listen to a passage and write down exactly the words you hear. Then get to the nitty-gritty you need to work on with the worksheet here.

FRENCH ETC. keeps the language current, so you don’t sound like Voltaire when you speak. Become a member and learn a lot more French today.

Today’s dictée is called ’la Chandeleur’ – crêpe day. France is making crêpes for la Chandeleur. Listen to it and find out why she wasn’t rich all year.

Dictée

La chandeleur

C’est la chandeleur et… continue with the Premium worksheet.

Crepe day

It’s crêpe day and… get the Premium worksheet.

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Bonne journée française !

Verbs with the prefix RE-

Anne — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:26:17 +0000

Je reprends une crêpe.

Translate these verbs with the prefix RE, RÉ, RES or R.

Je reprends une crêpe.
Tu te réabonnes à FRENCH ETC. ?
Il referme la fenêtre.
Elle repose le livre.
Vous leur redonnerez les clés demain.
Ils repaient toujours.
Le lait refroidit dans la casserole.
Le temps s’est radouci.
Tu n’as pas rechuté.
Les enfants se sont encore resalis après le bain.

Get the answers and explanation in the Premium worksheet.

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Bonne journée française !

Useful links to learn more French

Anne — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:12:01 +0000

This is a list of the most popular links with my students for practicing.

If there is a resource that you feel strongly about, send us the link with your name and a brief explanation. We will be happy to add it to this list.

DICTIONARIES

The best word reference/dictionary I could find.
Great resource for all kinds of dictionaries.
Explanations and origins of expressions, fantastic. All in French.
French Language on Wikipedia. It’s Wikipedia, so there might be some mistakes, however, this is a really nice quick guide into French.

CONJUGATE

Conjugueur: pretty accurate
Conjuguemos is a fun site for checking your conjugations
Conjugation I haven’t used this one much, but it seems fine as well.

NUMBERS

Learn how to write numbers.

METRIC CONVERSION

Conversions: quick and simple

GAMES

Lots of computer games on French language. Look for ours or just French in general.

MISCELLANEOUS

Really fun: Katie and Kiliemac, two young ladies explain French colloquial expressions.
Good resource for stories and destinations.
The Franco-American Web site with lots to choose from
Miam, miam. David Lebovitz’s blog on French foods is delicious.
Kristin Espinasse blogs about her life in France.
Rent a nice apartment in Paris
Time and Weather in Paris right now.
Great interactive maps of France.

WATCH TV

TV5 French and Francophone TV with all kinds of shows. Ask your local TV company if they offer TV5. Their Web site is good, but doesn’t work well in my area.

French news

For those of us who like books still

Schaum’s grammar
Schaum’s French Vocabulary
501 verbs

READING

Reading list
Online novel in progress concerning a twelve year old American girl named Daisy Tannenbaum who is exiled to Paris and gets into all kinds of trouble and adventure.

Post your comment about this right down here at ‘Leave a Reply’.

Bonne journée française !

La Chandeleur

Anne — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:49 +0000

La Chandeleur

La Chandeleur is celebrated on February 2^nd (40 days after Christmas). It’s also called la fête des chandelles. Continue on la Chandeleur…

Recette de la pâte à crêpe

La santé et la forme – Health and fitness

Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:37:55 +0000

La santé et la forme - Health and fitness

AUDIO below.

25 Fitness Terms

abs, obliques …. mp …. abdos
agility …. f …. agilité
balance …. m …. équilibre
bar …. f …. barre
bench-press …. m …. développé couché
better wellness* …. m …. mieux-être
biceps …. mp …. biceps
bike …. m …. vélo
body …. m …. corps
body fat …. f …. graisse, masse graisseuse
body work, body control …. m …. renforcement musculaire
bodybuilding …. f …. muscu, musculation
burn feeling …. f …. sensation de brûlure
cardio, cardiovascular …. m/f …. cardio-vasculaire
class …. m …. cours
coach …. m, m/f …. entraîneur, coach
cross over …. m …. traversée
dumbbell, barbell …. m …. haltère
elliptical machine …. m …. elliptique
endurance …. f …. endurance
equipment …. f …. installation
fitness …. f …. forme
fitness club …. m …. club de gym
flexibility …. f …. flexibilité
floor bar, floor exercises …. f …. barre au sol

*new term used quite a lot in the French fitness world

15 Health Terms

body …. m …. corps
deficiency …. f …. carence
diet …. m …. régime
doctor, physician …. m/f …. docteur (de famille)
fat …. m, m/f …. gras (food), gros/se (person)
food group …. f …. famille d’aliments
health …. f …. santé
health assessment …. m …. bilan de santé, de forme
healthy …. m/f …. sain/e, en bonne santé
lipid …. m …. lipide
medical …. m/f …. médical/e
minerals …. mp …. minéraux
protein …. f …. protéine
restrictive …. m/f …. restrictif/tive
sick, ill …. m/f …. malade

Tons more in the Premium worksheet.

Related: Body parts .

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Bonne journée française !

Au club de gym – At the fitness club

Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:25:43 +0000

Advanced Podcast Series

Welcome to this FRENCH ETC. Advanced Podcast where you can learn every day French every day and brush up on vocabulary and grammar with the companion worksheets that you can get as a member on the Web site.

It’s almost springtime in France and it’s time to renew that membership at the fitness club. Today’s podcast is called ‘Au Club de gym – At the fitness club’. France is telling us about her new membership to the gym. In the worksheet, learn fitness vocabulary and get a review of an easy to grasp tense: the near future.

Anne is bringing you today’s French, with authentic and useful expressions. Merci et thank you for listening to FRENCH ETC. We hope you found this helpful, and if you want more, please visit www.frenchetc.org. We love questions, comments, and suggestions. Feel free to leave a reply in the post. Now, it’s time for you to make progress in French, become a member and get the worksheets with fun and targeted material.

Puisque vous partez en voyage

Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:18:04 +0000

Les Chansons françaises – French songs

Welcome to this intermediate FRENCH ETC. Podcast called ‘Les Chansons françaises – French songs’, where you can learn every day French and new vocabulary and grammar in the companion worksheet that you can get on the Web site as a Premium member.

He’s leaving for a trip, she’s staying in Paris. They’re at the train station and it’s the first time they’re getting separated. But they just can’t do it. Françoise Hardy sings this quiet song with her husband Jacques Dutronc. It’s called ‘Puisque vous partez en voyage – Because you’re taking a trip’. Get the worksheet with a list of travel vocabulary, about comings and goings, pronouns and reflexive verbs such as in ‘se moquer de’.

. Version pour le téléphone .

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Bonne journée française !

ALLER et VENIR – TO GO and TO COME

Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:02:19 +0000

Aller et Venir – To Go and To Come
Review ALLER ET VENIR here (for members only) and practice right here.

To practice your knowledge of ALLER and VENIR in a sentence, translate into the French. The answers are in the premium worksheet.

We’re coming back at 5 pm.
We’re going back after the concert.
Come in!
I’m going back to France for the second time.
He’s coming back here tomorrow.
At what time will you come?
They were leaving the room laughing.
They’re leaving sad. (They are sad about leaving).
Where are you going?
She’s returning the book to the library.

Related : Future tense . How to ask a question .

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Bonne journée française !

Conférence au Carnavalet

Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:11:26 +0000

FrEnch DicTation – DiCtée – Listen and Write

How does it work? It’s simple: you listen to a passage and write down exactly the words you hear. Then get to the nitty-gritty you need to work on with the worksheet here.

FRENCH ETC. keeps the language current, so you don’t sound like Voltaire when you speak. Become a member and learn a lot more French today.

Dictée

Conférence au Carnavalet

La semaine dernière, je suis allée au Musée de … continue with the Premium worksheet.

Translation

Lecture at the Carnavalet Museum

Last week, I went to the Museum of … … continue here as a Premium member.

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Bonne journée française !

The menu please

Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:54:58 +0000

Bonjour et bienvenue to FRENCH ETC. (www.frenchetc.org)

So far, you’ve learned how to introduce yourself, the basic basics about French grammar and you’ve learned numbers. Don’t worry if numbers are still shaky for you. We’ll have many opportunities to go over them again. But today, we’re getting to serious material. This unit is called ‘The menu please ‘ and in French ‘La carte s’il vous plaît’. Today, we will go over vocabulary you can use in a restaurant to order food from the menu. There is also a list of extra vocabulary, of typical French dishes that will make your ordering much more pleasant.
The culture capsule on the worksheet has tips on French restaurants and where you ‘must’ eat in Paris when you visit.
FRENCH ETC.’s podcasts teach you the latest contemporary French, with authentic useful expressions you can use right away.
The worksheet is available to FRENCH ETC. members.

Post your comment about this podcast right down here at ‘Leave a Reply’.

Bonne journée française !

venir – to come

Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:22:26 +0000

AUDIO below

Indicatif – Indicative Mode …. statements

présent …. present tense

je viens …. I come*
je ne viens pas …. I’m not coming
je viens …. I come
tu viens …. you come
elle vient …. she comes
il vient …. he/it comes
on vient …. we come
nous venons …. we come
vous venez …. you come
elles viennent …. they come
ils viennent …. they come
* also I’m coming

imparfait …. imperfect

je venais …. I used to come*
je ne venais pas …. I didn’t use to come
je venais …. I used to come
tu venais …. you used to come
elle venait …. she used to come
il venait …. he/it used to come
on venait …. we used to come
nous venions …. we used to come
vous veniez …. you used to come
elles venaient …. they used to come
ils venaient …. they used to come
*also I would come

passé composé …. preterit or present perfect

je suis venu/e …. I came*
je ne suis pas venu/e …. I didn’t come
je suis venu/e …. I came
tu es venu/e …. you came
elle est venue …. she came
il est venu …. he/it came
on est venu/s/es …. we came
nous sommes venus/es …. we came
vous êtes venus/es …. you came
elles sont venues …. they came
ils sont venus …. they came
*also I have come

futur simple …. future tense

je viendrai …. I will come
je ne viendrai pas …. I won’t come
je viendrai …. I will come
tu viendras …. you will come
elle viendra …. she will come
il viendra …. he/it will come
on viendra …. we will come
nous viendrons …. we will come
vous viendrez …. you will come
elles viendront …. they will come
ils viendront …. they will come
continue with the Premium worksheet here.

AUDIO

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Come to FRENCH ETC. for French, French vocabulary, French grammar, French culture, all about French, français, vocabulaire, learn French, French podcasts, learn French by podcast, French language podcasts, French tutorial, French one on one, French expressions, expressions, e-learning, learning French, French online, France, listening comprehension, dictées, sign up for FRENCH ETC. at frenchetc.org (http://www.frenchetc.org/fe-signup-page/)

Bonne journée française !

aimer, to love, to like

Anne — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:10:52 +0000

AUDIO below, with a French accent.

aim- is the root of the verb

-er is the ending of the verb

*Indicatif* – Indicative Mode	statements
présent	present tense
j’aime	I love*
je n’aime pas	I don’t love
j’aime	I love
tu aimes	you love
elle aime	she loves
il aime	he/it loves
on aime	we love
nous aimons	we love
vous aimez	you love
elles aiment	they love
ils aiment	they love
	*also I’m loving…
imparfait	imperfect
j’aimais	I used to love*
je n’aimais pas	I didn’t use to love
j’aimais	I used to love
tu aimais	you used to love
elle aimait	she used to love
il aimait	he/it used to love
on aimait	we used to love
nous aimions	we used to love
vous aimiez	you used to love
elles aimaient	they used to love
ils aimaient	they used to love
	•also I was loving, I would love…
passé composé	preterite, present perfect
j’ai aimé	I loved*
je n’ai pas aimé	I didn’t love
j’ai aimé	I loved
tu as aimé	you loved
elle a aimé	she loved
il a aimé	he/it loved
on a aimé	we loved
nous avons aimé	we loved
vous avez aimé	you loved
elles ont aimé	they loved
ils ont aimé	they loved
	*also I have loved…
futur simple	future tense
j’aimerai	I will love
je n’aimerai pas	I won’t love
j’aimerai	I will love
tu aimeras	you will love
elle aimera	she will love
il aimera	he/it will love
on aimera	we will love
nous aimerons	we will love
vous aimerez	you will love
elles aimeront	they will love
ils aimeront	they will love

AUDIO

Saying hello and goodbye – French greetings

Anne — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:04:56 +0000

À bientôt.

Saying hello and goodbye – French greeting expressions and their register in French – Salutations en français. Get the AUDIO in the Premium worksheet.

À bientôt. …. See you soon. …. neutral
À demain. …. See you tomorrow. …. neutral
À la prochaine. …. Until next time. …. neutral
Au revoir. …. Goodbye. …. neutral
Bon après-midi. …. Good afternoon. …. neutral
Bonjour chez vous. …. Send my regards to your family. …. familiar
Bonjour. …. Hello during the day. …. neutral
Bonne journée. …. Have a good day. …. neutral
Bonsoir. …. Hello or Goodbye at night. …. neutral
Tchao …. Ciao …. informal
coucou …. hi …. casual
Enchanté/e. …. Pleased (delighted) to meet you. …. formal
Mes amitiés à [nom]. …. Best regards to [name]. …. neutral
Ravi/e de faire votre connaissance. …. Pleased to meet your acquaintance. …. very formal
Salut …. Hi, Bye …. informal
more in the Premium worksheet

Useful sentences in the classroom

Anne — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:21:17 +0000

Useful sentences in the classroom - Phrases utiles dans la salle de classe

la salle de classe d’Anne

I’ve compiled this list of useful words and phrases to help you ‘keep French’ in the classroom. AUDIO below.

Basic words – Mots de base

a/the class …. un/le cours
a/the classroom …. une/la salle de classe/cours
a/the phrase …. une/la locution
a/the question …. une/la question
a/the sentence …. une/la phrase
a/the word …. un/le mot
an/the answer …. une/la réponse
a homework assignment …. les devoirs*
a/the key …. une/la solution
No …. Non
Okay. …. Okay. Ouais. D’accord.
So… …. Alors…
Sorry. …. Désolé/e.
Yes …. Oui

* ‘’les devoirs’ is always plural in French

Understanding – Compréhension

I don’t know. …. Je ne sais pas. J’sais pas. Ch’pas.
I don’t think so. …. Je ne crois pas.
I forgot XXX. …. J’ai oublié XXX.
I think so. …. Je crois.
I’m confused. …. Je suis perdu/e. Je ne comprends pas.
In English? …. En anglais ?
In French? …. En français ?
Is it correct? …. Est-ce que c’est bon ?
What is the French word for xxx? …. Quel est le (mot en) français pour xxx ?
What page/worksheet/lesson? …. Quelle page/fiche/leçon ?

Being proactive – La prise en main

Let me think. …. Laissez-moi réfléchir.
Let me guess. …. Laissez-moi deviner.
May I have/borrow/take XXX? …. Est-ce que je peux avoir/emprunter/prendre XXX ?
Once more. …. Encore (une fois).
Slower please. …. Plus lentement s’il vous plaît.
Don’t tell me the answer. …. Ne me dites pas la réponse.
I can’t hear. …. Je n’entends pas.
I can’t see. …. Je ne vois pas.
I would like XXX. …. Je voudrais XXX.
I need XXX. …. Il faut que je XXX.

About having questions… continue with the premium worksheet.