I've decided to live vicariously through Brangelina. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and their six children recently moved into a lovely $70 million home. It sits on 880 acres in the sun-drenched south of France near Aix-en-Provence.
J'habite dans un appartement.(zhah-beet dohnz un ah-part-a-mohn)-- I live in an apartment. J'habite dans une maison.(zhah-beet dohnz ewn may-zohn) -- I live in a house.
J'habite dans un château. (zhah-beet dohnz uhn shah-toe) -- I live in a castle.
. . . avec des douves(ah-vek day doov) . . . with a moat.
Où habitez-vous? (ooh ah-bee-tay voo) Where do you live?
You might be interested to know that Angelina has been busy learning French the past few years. According to this story at TheImproper.com, she eventually wants to try out for a role in a French film. Wonder if Brad knows any French?
For more photos of the humble abode, click on this link from the Huffington Post.
I've been on a quest to speak the language of my teenage students. Not the day to day lingo/slang. I don't even try. What I'm attempting to do, at the age of 40, is to become a digital, techie, texting type of gal. (Still don't get why people text. Eh bien!)I'm starting a blog for students this year in the hopes that they'll write more in the language and spend a little more time listening to French at home through hip video and audio clips. I'm even dipping my toe in the water of podcasting.
As I was on the prowl for fun videos for my students, I found this one. It isn't quite appropriate for them, but you might have a laugh. Ne parlez pas anglais. Enjoy!
I was just pondering the subtitle of this blog: "A Beginner's Guide to French Vocabulary, Phrases, Grammar, and Culture." I looked over my posts so far. The last four entries had at least one mention of le chocolat, but I have yet to address everyone's favorite topic--grammar.
Now, I know that grammar might not be the most riveting subject in the world, but I'll do my best to make it fun. You won't get the live version of the song and dance (literally) that I do with my middle and high school students, but hopefully I can provide a clear, easy-to-understand beginner grammar lesson about . . . Ta-da!
Regular -ER Verbs
Oh, did you want to know what a regular -ER verb is? So glad you asked. French verbs can be classified as regular (following a pattern) or irregular (memorize, memorize, memorize.) There are three types of regular verbs: those ending in -ER, -IR, and -RE.
-ER verbs are my personal favorite. They are partout (everywhere.) Here are just a few:
parler(par-lay) - to speak
écouter(ay-coo-tay) - to listen
penser(pohn-say) - to think
danser (dohn-say) - to dance
regarder(reh-gar-day) - to watch, to look at
jouer(zhoo-ay) - to play
étudier(ay-tew-dee-ay) - to study
habiter(ah-bee-tay) - to live
téléphoner(tay-lay-fone-ay) - to phone/to call
visiter(vee-zee-tay) - to visit
donner (doen-ay) - to give
toucher(too-shay) - to touch
pousser(poo-say) - to push
tirer(tee-ray) - to pull
voyager* (voy-ah-zhay) - to travel
manger*(monzh-ay) - to eat
nager*(nahzh-ay) - to swim
I could go on and on and on. -ER verbs are très, trèspopulaires.
Did you notice that the -ER at the end is pronounced "ay"? And did you also notice that the translations of all of the verbs begin with "to"? These verbs are in their most basic form, an infinitive. Of course, you can't say "I to eat", "He to play", or "Do you to swim?" You've got to conjugate.
Conjugation is simply changing a verb to match it's subject. In English, we say "I eat" and "He eats." The verb ending changes to agree with the subject. You do it all the time without even thinking about it.
But we're learning French. Let's think about it.
To conjugate an -ER verb, first set up a verb chart with your subject pronouns. (You'll do this for every verb you conjugate, forever and ever.) It will always be set up like this:
je = I (j' before a vowel sound)nous = we
tu = you (singular/informal)vous = you (plural or formal)
il = he or itils = they (masculine)
elle = she or itelles = they (feminine)
Let's conjugate the verb parler. Write it at the top of your chart. Now follow these steps:
1. Drop the -ER off of the infinitive. This will leave you with the stem parl
2. Add endings to the stem. Just memorize the following red endings pattern and you can use them on every -er verb:
parler
je parlEnous parlONS
tu parlESvous parlEZ
il parlEils parlENT
elle parlEelles parlENT
I spell out and sing the -ER endings with my students to help them remember the endings. The tune is "The Mexican Hat Dance." Say every letter individually: e, e-s, e, e, (clap, clap) o-n-s, e-z, (clap, clap) e-n-t, e-n-t (now, everyone dansez!)
Try spelling French -ER verb endings with Pork Chop le chat:
I promise I'm almost done . . . just one word on pronunciation. -ER verbs are "shoe" verbs. Draw one large circle-like shape around all of the verbs in your chart with the exception of the nous and vous forms. Doesn't it look like a shoe? Everything in the shoe has something in common. For -ER verbs, it's the pronunciation. That's right . . . parle, parles, and parlent all sound exactly alike (like this-"parl"). Please, please, please, for the love of Dieu, do not pronounce the "ent." Drives this French teacher crazy.
Now go forth and conjugate!
*When -ER verb stems end with the letter G, add E on the nous form before adding the ONS: nous voyagEons, nous mangEons, nous nagEons.
Our backyard deck needs some work. Nothing major--just a little routine staining. My dad happened to have two extra gallons of wood stain at his place, so he loaded the cans into the back of my minivan the other day. This afternoon, I discovered that one of the cans must have already been opened. A quick stop and sudden turn (not unusual when I'm behind the wheel) resulted in the can tipping over and spilling. Stain all over the car. Oh nooooooooo . . . .
Zut! (zewt) Darn! Blast! It's a tame little expression, but it feels good to say it in French. Go ahead . . . picture the interior of your car in a pool of deck stain and say it with feeling. ZUT!
Merde!* (maird) Shit! Bilingual dictionaries will put an asterisk by this one. It's not the worst thing that could slip out, but try not to say it in front of the kids.
This is not what I wanted to deal with my first day back to work. I need du vin blanc et du chocolat!
Crêpes are one of my favorite French specialties. Years ago I was a regular at a little street side crepe stand on la Rue Mouffetard in Paris. If I didn't eat a ham-cheese-mushroom crêpe for lunch, I'd often stop by later for a Nutella pick-me-up after class. (Wish I could recapture that youthful metabolism!)
Later, I discovered les crêperies bretonnes. Heartier galettes, made with buckwheat flour, are folded into the shape of a square. Friends from the northwest region of la Bretagne educated me on the way to enjoy a traditional sit-down meal of crêpes: one galette, then another, and perhaps a salad. The preferred drink is a bottle of the slightly alcoholic apple cidre. Topping off the meal are dessert crepes prepared with a sweeter batter, and sometimes even served flambée.
Too bad crêperies bretonnes are practically non-existent here in my little corner of Michigan. I'll just have to salivate over this crêperie menu and dream of my favorite French meals.
Today, I introduced about 20 preschoolers at my sons' day care to the wonder of crêpes. "They're like thin pancakes without the maple syrup," I explained. My cooking demonstration and taste-testing required a double batch of batter, my trusty crepe maker (see note below), and an array of toppings tempting to any 4 year-old. To say it was a hit would be an understatement.
Learn some French foods as you prepare some tasty crepes! Decent recipes abound online. Here are your basic ingredients:
de la farine (lah far-een)- flour
des oeufs(dayz euf)- eggs
du lait(dew lay) - milk
de l'eau(deh low)- water
du sel(dew sell)- salt
du beurre(dew burr)- butter
Crepe toppings are vast. Here's what the kids enjoyed:
des fraises(day frez) - strawberries
des bananes (day bah-nahn) - bananas
du chocolat(dew show-koh-lah)- chocolate
du sucre(dew soo-creh) - sugar
de la confiture(deh lah cohn-fee-tyer) - jam
de la chantilly (deh la shohn-tee-yee) - whipped cream
My intention wasn't to use every topping at the same time, but the kids assured me the crepes were délicieux!
What's your favorite kind of crepe?
Photo Credit: by woodsy at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/948646
At the risk of sounding like a commercial, I have to tell you how much I love my crepe maker. I bought the one pictured here a few months ago. Je l'adore!!!! You prepare your batter and put it in the shallow tray, and then you just dip the pan upside down into the batter and return it to the counter to cook. When the crepe's ready, you turn the pan upside down over a plate and it falls off. It sometimes needs a little nudge with a rubber spatula, but the non-stick surface is really great. This little crepe maker is perfect "on the go" when I cook in the classroom as a little cultural experience.
I ate dinner outside on my deck this evening, lingering afterward to sip a second glass of white wine (a delicious French Muscadet.) I'm so focused on la rentrée and heading back to school, I haven't been properly enjoying these last summer nights.
I decided that I need to celebrate the end of August with a classic French picnic. Un pique-nique français.
Last spring, when warm sunshine and summer vacations were on the brain, I wrote this French Picnic Lesson. I have fond and fuzzy memories of picnics in the French countryside that feel like they are from a lifetime ago. These days, my picnics usually consist of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, goldfish crackers, juice boxes, and my two favorite little boys in the world.
It's still not too late to spread out a lovely grown-up buffet on a blanket in the park. Here are some of my favorite French pique-nique foods and drinks:
la baguette(la bah-GET)– long, thin, crusty French bread le fromage(ley fro-MAHZH) – cheese (my personal favorite is Port Salut) le sandwich(leh sond-WEECH)– a sandwich served on baguette les fraises(lay frez) – strawberries les raisins(lay ray-zehn) – grapes les oranges(layz-or-ohnzh) – oranges les pommes(lay pum) – apples l’eau minérale(low mee-nare-ahl) – mineral water (I like mine gazeuse--bubbly like Perrier) le vin rouge(leh vehn roozh) – red wine le vin blanc(leh vehn blahnc)– white wine le chocolat(leh show-koh-la) – chocolate
Don't let my list end here. What are your favorite picnic foods? Respond in English if you would like to learn how to say the word in French, or share your favorite specialty en français.
Bon Appétit!
Photo Credit: theswedish at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/191707
Can you feel it? Something's out there, and it's getting closer . . . and closer. Tick . . . tock . . . tick . . . tock. Ready or not, here it comes.
It's time to go back to school. Or, as the French say, it's time for la rentrée.
So, are you ready? Got all those school supplies? There's nothing like sharp new crayons and crisp, blank notebooks. I noticed that my local office supply store was selling French notebook paper. I got such a kick out of seeing the grids that I came to know so well when I was a university student in France. I never did master the French cursive, though. The French teach children cursive much earlier than in the U.S. I didn't learn until I was in the third grade (age 8 or 9.) Here is a sample of French handwriting.
Here's your French school supply list:
le crayon – pencil le taille-crayon – pencil sharpener la gomme – eraser le crayon de couleur – crayon le marqueur - marker le stylo – pen
le surligneur - highlighter le cahier – notebook le cahier d’exercices – workbook le classeur – binder le papier – paper la feuille de papier – sheet of paper la règle – ruler le livre – book la calculatrice – calculator l’ordinateur – computer l’agrafeuse – stapler le dictionnaire – dictionary la trousse – pencil case le sac à dos - backpack
la pomme - apple . . . for the teacher, of course. Unless I'm your teacher, then bring on le chocolat. I'm going to need it!
Take your new vocabulary out for a spin by going on a virtual back-to-school shopping spree. Visit the Office Depot French website to see if you can locate your new vocabulary words. Browse through the online catalog, or search for an item by entering a word in the Rechercher field. (Only enter the word itself, not the article--le, la, l', les.) Look for new useful words, too.
Enjoy getting ready to go back to l'école!
Photo Credit: Public Domain from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Ecole.jpg
To the dismay of my husband, I'm both a country music and an American Idol fan. Do you remember a former contestant--the cute and funny Kellie Pickler from North Carolina? That little country girl can sing! Unfortunately, it looks as though the American educational system has failed Kellie. Big time. Here she is discussing world geography (more or less) on Jeff Foxworthy's game show, "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" (Fox TV)
Oh, Kellie. (sigh. head shaking.) Kellie, Kellie, Kellie. How embarrassing. I know it might be tempting to "pick on Pickler", but I'm not going to do it. Instead, I'm going to make sure that my French students understand that Paris is not a country (I've had to answer that question one too many times) and that my own children know basic geography. Now, I'm no expert, mind you. Believe me, I get as confused as the next person by some of those eastern European countries that were a part of the USSR when I was sitting in my 7th grade World Geography class. (Do those classes still exist?) But, c'mon . . . even my 5 year-old knows that Paris is in France, that France is a country, and that it is located in Europe. Because of a good dose of Hungarian ancestry, he's heard of that country, too.
I make basic geography (countries, continents, capitals, languages, map skills) a part of every French course I teach. Even my preschool students play with inflatable globes and locate oceans and special places. I'm often shocked by what my high school students don't know. I take a deep breath, smile, and take it upon myself to teach them.
I know that readers of this blog are far "Smarter Than 5th Graders," so I'll hop off of my soapbox and we can finally get to our language lesson du jour. Here are some useful geography terms in French.
le monde – the world
le nord - the north
le sud - the south
l'est - the east
l'ouest - the west un océan – an ocean une mer – a sea une montagne– a mountain un fleuve – a river un continent– a continent une langue– a language un pays– a country une ville - a city une capitale – a capital city
Just for the record . . .
L'Europe est un continent. La France et la Hongrie sont des pays en Europe. Paris est la capitale de la France. Budapest est la capitale de la Hongrie. On parle français en France, mais on parle hongrois en Hongrie.
One of the benefits of studying another language is a better understanding of your own. Wondering which foreign language to learn first? Why, French, bien sûr! It is the modern language most similar to English. Though English is not a romance language, the Norman Occupation of England and the Hundred Years War solidified a strong linguistic link between the two languages. Ironic, huh?
I love to present nervous first-time language students with a long, long list of French words and immediately ask them to begin translating. A daunting task? Not with lovely cognates such as these: chocolat, table, art, céréale, carotte, classe, pique-nique, tigre, visite, poème, lion, famille, salade, et musique.
I came across a nifty little video clip from an episode of NBC's Martha Stewart Show that aired November 13, 2006. Martha's French guests make an entertaining presentation of French cognates.
No English-speaker can truthfully state that they do not know any French. For students, French is beneficial for achieving higher verbal scores on standardized tests. Even more important, the French language is breathtakingly beautiful to the ears, n'est-ce pas?
Have you been enjoying the Beijing Summer Olympics? As much as I like to follow the sporting events, the real magic for me is the coming together of diverse people, flags, cultures, and languages. Do you realize that there are roughly 5,000 translators providing 55 language services in Beijing? Two of those 55 are official languages of the Olympic Games: English and French.
Yes, French! Not only is French an influential, global language, but we have the French to thank for the modern Olympic Games. The original games were a Greek invention, of course, but they had disappeared for over 1000 years. Then along came a French teacher named Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who had the idea to bring back the ancient competition. The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896. The first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924.
In honor of the French contribution to the Olympic Games, learn how to say some summer sports in French. You'll see lots of easy-breezy cognates. If you're new to French, you'll be pleased to discover that over 50% of our modern-day English words have French origins.
Try to figure out the meanings of these Olympic events en français. Answers to the tricky ones are at the bottom. Bonne chance!
In my experience, the true joy of speaking another language is meeting interesting people. It's humbling to think about the people I would never have known if I didn't speak French--dear friends in France and Quebec who opened their hearts and homes to me; a former Rwandan Secretary of Social Services who spent hours and hours sharing his stories and photos of Africa; a transplanted family's little boy who became my son's very first friend . . . all "foreigners" who became special, precious amis.
Learn how to introduce yourself in French. It could be the beginning of friendship . . . or maybe even l'amour!
Bonjour (bohn-zhoor) Hello
Je m'appelle (zheh mah-pell) My name is
Je suis (zheh swee or zheh sweez if followed by a vowel sound) I am
Since you'll likely have an opportunity to meet French-speaking people from around the world, you'll want to identify yourself with a nationality. Nationalities are not capitalized in French. Gender agreement is important for communication, too, so you'll see both the masculine and feminine forms of each nationality. Guys use the first version and gals use the second.
américain/américaine (ah-mare-ee-kehn*/ah-mare-ee-ken) American
canadien/canadienne (cah-nah-dee-ehn*/cah-nah-dee-en) Canadian
anglais/anglaise (ohn-glay/ohn-glez) English
australien/australienne (oh-strah-lee-ehn*/oh-strah-lee-en) Australian
Je suis de (zheh swee deh) I am from . . . You can add a country, state, province, region, or city. If you are a true beginner, just stick with a city for now. The pronoun "de" forms various contractions. Take a look at these examples:
Je suis des États-Unis. I am from the United States.
Je suis du Michigan. I am from Michigan.
Je suis de Rochester. I am from Rochester.
Et vous? (ay voo?) And you?
Leave a comment to introduce yourself in French.
*Watch the pronunciation of these masculine adjectives. You do NOT pronounce the "n". It's a nasal sound.
Just as in English, there's more than one way to say goodbye in French.
Give these "fare-thee-well" French expressions a try:
Au revoir (oh-reh-vwahr or or-vwahr when said quickly) This is your classic "goodbye" translation. It means "until I see you again."
À bientôt (ah-bee-en-toh) See you soon.
À la prochaine (ah lah pro-shen) Until next time.
À demain (ah deh-mehn--don't really pronounce the "n" at the end. It's a nasal sound.) See you tomorrow. You can also replace "demain" with a day of the week or time of the day.
À tout à l'heure (ah toot ah ler) See you soon, as in later the same day.
À plus tard or À plus (A+) (ah plew tar or ah plewss) See you later.
Adieu (ah-d'yer) Literally this means "until God" . . . it's a pretty final good-bye. Use sparingly!
Ciao (chow) Okay, this is Italian, but the French use it a lot. Go ahead--it's fun!
Bon week-end (bohn week-end--"bon" is a nasal sound, don't really pronounce the "n", and put a little French accent on the "weekend") Have a good weekend. This is used in France, but not usually in Quebec. The Quebecois say . . .
Bonne fin de semaine (bun fehn-deh-sem-en) Have a good weekend in Canada, eh!
Bonne journée (bun zhoor-nay) Have a good day.
Bonne soirée (bun swar-ay) Have a nice evening.
Bonne nuit (bun new-ee) Good night. Only say this right before going to bed.
Bonjour/Salut (bonzhoor or sah-lew) In Quebec, you'll hear people say "Hello" as a leave-taking. Kind of like aloha or shalom. I'm always reminded of the Beatles song ". . . You say Goodbye, but I say Hello."
See ya!
*Note--the pronunciation guides are only approximate! Some sounds simply don't exist in English.
Photo Credit: by ticci at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/66308
The first French word most people learn is Bonjour. If you break it down, you'll see bon, which means "good" and jour, which means "day" (as in soupe du jour.)
G'day!
Practice saying these greetings and you'll be officially on your way to speaking French!
Bonjour (bohn-zhoor)- Hello, Good Morning, or Good Afternoon
Salut(sah-lew)- Hi (informal)
Bonsoir (bohn-swahr)- Good Evening
It's both the custom and good manners in France to address people you meet with a formal salutation.
Have you always wanted to learn French? Let me be your professeur. I hope to create a relaxed little French corner of the internet where beginners can pop in for quick, easy lessons. Whether you want to brush up on the French you learned years ago, or discover the language bit by bit for your own interest or travel, Learn French for Fun is for you. And if you're a French student, I take requests. E-mail me any time and I'll be happy to answer questions.
My native language is English, but I have been sharing my love of the French language with students ages 2-adult since 1988. I am a certified teacher with a BA in French Language and Literature. I enjoy travelling to the places where my heart resides--France and Quebec.
Sit back and settle in with a hot café et croissant, or perhaps un bon vin rouge. Let's Learn French for Fun!
