French Etc

coup de foudre means love at first sight

Anne — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:09:39 +0000

le or un coup de foudre - lightning strike – means ‘love at first sight’ when talking about people. It can also apply to thing and it means to have a sudden passion for something in that case. It’s used with the verbs ‘avoir‘ or ‘être‘. There is another expression that uses foudre – ligthning, but it means something very different: ‘s’attirer les foudres‘ means ‘to provoke wrath’.

« J’ai eu le coup de foudre dès que je l’ai vu sur scène. »
“It was love at first sight, as soon as I saw him on stage.”

présent : j’ai un coup de foudre, c’est un coup de foudre

passé composé : j’ai eu un coup de foudre, c’est un coup de foudre

passé simple : j’ai un coup de foudre, c’est un coup de foudre

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Bonne journée française !

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 !

cœur d’artichaut means fickle in love

Anne — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:12:10 +0000

avoir un cœur d’artichaut – to have an artichoke heart – means to be fickle in love, to engage in many frivolous love affairs.

« [Ne] Sors pas avec lui, il a un cœur d’artichaut. »
“Don’t go out with him, he is a philanderer.”

présent : j’ai un cœur d’artichaut, nous avons un cœur d’artichaut

imparfait : j’avais un cœur d’artichaut, nous avions un cœur d’artichaut

Try using this expression at least once today.

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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 !

La Chandeleur expliquée

Anne — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:38:20 +0000

Le français tel quel – French as it is

Welcome to this very advanced French Podcast called Le français tel quel – French as it is – where you hear regular French people talk, and where you learn vocabulary and grammar along with it in the companion worksheet that you can get on the Web site. Le français tel quel features videos & audios of real French people talking, because we know that ‘French as it is’ isn’t always clear: people seems to speak fast and eat their words. We try to break it down and make it easier for you.

Today, we’ll hear about crêpe day. Crêpes are thin pancakes. But don’t go away if you’re not interested in crêpes. The lady we’re listening to uses colloquial French and it’s an excellent listening comprehension exercise. She does speak very fast as well, so this podcast is really only for very advanced students. I think you’d be frustrated if your level isn’t almost fluent. In the companion Premium worksheet, you’ll get to practice Crêpe Day vocabulary and study Verbs with the prefix RE-. Watch the video in the Podcast and see if you can ‘faire sauter la crêpe’ as well as the little boy in the video.

Anne is bringing you today’s French, with authentic and useful expressions. Merci et thank you for listening to FRENCH ETC. I hope you found this helpful, and if you want more, please visit www.frenchetc.org. I 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.

. Version pour le smartphone .

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 !

Chandeleur, Crêpe day

Anne — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:15:32 +0000

French Advanced Podcasts Series – Bonjour et bienvenue to FRENCH ETC.

France is calling Henri to invite him to make crêpes to celebrate la chandeleur, crêpe day. Find out how she –and you – can get rich by doing this on the worksheet. The culture capsule explains this fun French holiday celebrated on February 2^nd. As well as using tons of common expressions, France’s conversation will help us today with the future perfect and that EN structure that can be so fussy.

‘I will have eaten all the crêpes by noon’ – ‘J’aurai mangé toutes les crêpes à midi’
‘I want two’ – ‘J’en veux deux’

You’ll also find Anne’s list of kitchen and cooking related words, and of course, the crêpe recipe. Really easy to make, and fun.

France and Henri use a lot of colloquial expressions. FRENCH ETC. brings you up-to-date expressions, not the ones you may find in your textbook. The translation of the text and everything else is in the worksheet you can get on the Web site, as usual when you are a member.

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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 !

retourner comme une crêpe

Anne — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:51:32 +0000

une crêperie

Yeah, today is crêpe day. In France, we’re making crêpes and flipping them over in the pan. retourner comme une crêpe retourner means to flip over retourner comme une crêpe – to flip over like a crêpe – means three things:

1. In a contact sport, such as judo, retourner comme une crêpe means that the player has literally been flipped over.

2. retourner comme une crêpe also means to be very moved by something. J’ai été retournée comme une crêpe par la nouvelle de l’accident.

3. or retourner comme une crêpe also means to make someone change their mind

« Elle ne voulait pas venir à l’expo, mais je l’ai retournée comme une crêpe et en fait, elle paie même les billets. »
“She didn’t want to come to the exhibit, but I made her change her mind and in fact, she’s even paying for the tickets.”

présent : elle est retournée comme une crêpe

passé composé : elle a été retournée comme une crêpe

futur : elle sera retournée comme une crêpe

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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.

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Bonne journée française !

la chandelle means the third wheel

Anne — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:18:25 +0000

Tenir la chandelle – tenir is to hold and une chandelle is another word for une bougie, a candle. tenir la chandelle – to hold the candle means to be the third wheel, to go out alone with a couple or to feel excluded.

« Non, je [ne] sors pas avec eux deux. Je [ne] veux pas tenir la chandelle. »
” No, I’m not going out with the two of them. I don’t want to be the third wheel.”

présent : je tiens la chandelle, nous tenons la chandelle

passé composé : j’ai tenu la chandelle, nous avons tenu la chandelle (/U/ sound)

futur : je tiendrai la chandelle, nous tiendrons la chandelle

Related: About LA CHANDELEUR . Expressions with TENIR .

Try using this expression at least once today.

Post your comment about this Mot du Jour 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

tomber dans le panneau is to fall into the trap

Anne — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:03:48 +0000

tomber dans le panneau

tomber dans le panneau – to fall in the sign. tomber dans le panneau means ‘to fall into the trap’ , ‘to fall for it’. There are many expressions that use TOMBER.

« J’ai acheté une méthode pour apprendre le français en une semaine, mais ce n’est pas possible, je suis tombée dans le panneau. »
“I bought a textbook to learn French in a week, but it’s impossible, I fell in the trap.“

Related: Expressions with TOMBER . TOMBER conjugated .

Try using this expression at least once today.

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

Bonne journée française !

La neige perturbe Paris

Anne — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:32:52 +0000

French As Is Series - Advanced Podcast @ www.frenchetc.org

Give the weekly Gift of FRENCH ETC.

Today, what’s keeping the French busy is the snow on the ground. Listen to French people talk about how they cope with it in this ‘French As Is’ episode called ‘La neige perturbe Paris – Snow disrupts Paris’. You might know ‘une bretelle’ as a supender, but do you know what it is on the freeway? Or do you know what a peeing cow is in France? Find extra vocabulary road and weather-related words in the worksheet. Also, in the grammar part of the worksheet, review how to translate ‘What’ with ‘Ce qui, Ce que, Ce dont’.

This FRENCH ETC. series of podcasts is probably the most advanced we offer. It’s called le français tel quel and features videos & audios of real French people talking, because we know that ‘French as is’ isn’t always clear: people seems to speak fast and eat their words. We’ve tried to break it down and make it easier for you to get authentic French.

Visit www.frenchetc.org

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

Bonne journée française !

avoir des fourmis dans la jambe is my leg is asleep

Anne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:21:39 +0000

avoir des fourmis dans la jambe – to have ants in the leg. avoir des fourmis dans la jambe means ‘my leg is asleep’.

« Je ne peux plus bouger, j’ai des fourmis dans la jambe gauche. »
“I can’t move, my left leg is asleep.“

Related: Spatial prepositions .

Try using this expression at least once today.

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

Bonne journée française !

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 !