French animal noises

Savez-vous que*….

Animal noises around the world are not the same? This is just the cutest little video which will have you rethinking the validity of our ‘oink oinks’ and ‘cock-a-doodle-dos’.

See if you’re able to match up the French noises for the various animals below. The first person to contact us with a perfect score will win a Petit Guide de Pronunciation*. Bon courage*!

Cock-a-doodle-do • quack quack • oink oink • coo coo • ribbit ribbit • cheep cheep

PS If you’re having difficulty even working out the English, the video is where it’s at!

Lingua Franca Petit Guide de Prononciation

*Did you know that | *Little Pronunciation Guide | *Good luck!

La Petite Histoire | Beginner Revision | Épisode 1

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 1 (of 6) of the Beginner Revision level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Quelle expérience! Aujourd'hui j'ai eu mon premier cours avec Roger, qui est mon tuteur d'anglais. Nous sommes allés au café à la fac, nous avons commandé des cafés et nous avons commencé à travailler. Je dois améliorer mon anglais et c'est Roger qui a répondu à la petite annonce que j'ai mis dans le Département d'Anglais il y a deux semaines.

J'ai besoin d'aide avec la grammaire anglaise, qui est très compliquée et pas très logique. Il y a beaucoup, beaucoup d'exceptions et la prononciation est difficile aussi. J'ai demandé à Roger de faire une révision des participes passés, mais il a insisté que nous commençons du début. Il a raison, je suppose. C’est important de réviser les bases.

Donc, nous nous sommes présentés en anglais. J’étais très nerveuse mais il a dit que je parle très bien et que mon accent était ‘mignon’. Il est français, mais il a passé beaucoup de temps en Angleterre, donc il parle très bien et il a beaucoup de confiance quand il parle anglais, ça c’est sûr. Puis, il a posé beaucoup de questions, comme ‘What is your name?’, “How old are you?’, “Are you married?’ et toutes les autres questions classiques. Après ça, il a décidé de faire une dictée, donc il a dit quelques phrases en anglais et j’ai dû les écrire dans mon cahier. Il a raconté une petite histoire à propos de moi et ma vie et il a même ajouté deux ou trois nouvelles phrases. Il est très créatif et un peu coquin. Une des phrases était “She has eyes the colour of crème caramel”. J’ai dit que la crème caramel est jaune et il a rougi et j’ai rigolé. Nous avons passé un bon moment ensemble. J’aime mes leçons d’anglais avec Roger.

What an experience! Today I had my first lesson with Roger, who is my English tutor. We went to the café at uni, we ordered coffees and we started to work. I have to improve my English and it’s Roger who responded to the notice I put up in the English Department two weeks ago.

I need help with English grammar, which is very complicated and not very logical. There are many, many exceptions and the pronunciation is difficult as well. I asked Roger to do a revision of the past participles, but he insisted that we start at the start. He’s right, I suppose. It’s important to revise the basics.

So, we introduced ourselves in English. I was very nervous but he said that I speak very well and that my accent was ‘cute’. He is French, but he has spent lots of time in England, so he speaks very well and he has a lots of confidence when he speaks English, that’s for sure. Then, he asked lots of questions like ‘What is your name?’, “How old are you?’, “Are you married?’ and all the other classic questions.

After that, he decided to do a dictation, so he said a few sentences and I had to write them in my workbook. He told a little story about me and my life and he even added two or three new sentences. He is very creative and a little bit naughty. One of the sentences was “She has eyes the colour of crème caramel”. I said that crème caramel is yellow and he blushed and I laughed. It was fun. I like my English lessons with Roger.

---

Presque amis*

You may have heard of faux amis* in French. These are words that look so similar to English words that they lull you into a false sense of security, having you believe you understand them without even opening your dictionary app. In the past, we’ve told you about blessé (not blessed but hurt), le bras (not a bra but the arm) and les préservatifs (not preservatives but condoms).

But there’s another group of words that may cause you even more trouble because they’re just a bit off. It’s difficult to explain and probably easier to just experience for yourself, so here is a little list for you right below.

*Almost friends

Tirer la Tronche

Je tire la tronche.

Recently, while (re)watching Episode 1 of The Parisian Agency, I was reminded of a great little phrase I’d heard the first time around. Tirer la tronche means to be unhappy, to pout or to brood. If you’ve seen the series, Valentin says it to his mère* just after he gets off the phone with Lisa, the lingerie designer, having just broken the news that someone else has put an offer in on the property she’d had her eye on.

“Elle tire la tronche*,” he says.

Even without understanding exactly what he says, you can tell from their short conversation and Valentin’s body language that his client is not happy. This is yet another benefit of watching series in French - you’ll pick up so much from the many visual and auditory clues on offer. Tirer la tronche is just one of the new expressions I learned from this series and there are dozens more to be had. Croisons les doigts* for a second series!

*mother | *She’s pouting | *Let’s cross our fingers

Dénouement

This word is the possibly the embodiment of my love of the French language.

We use the word ‘denouement’ (without the acute accent) in English to describe the final resolution of a plot in a film or novel. The very best books and films have denouements that leave us gasping, surprised by a turn of events we fail to see coming.

To get to the beating heart of this word, we need to first remove both the prefix (dé-) and the suffix (-ment), which leaves us with noue. Nouer is the French verb ‘to knot’ which comes from the Latin verb nōdāre (also ‘to knot’). Incidentally, a very closely-related Latin verb is nectere which means ‘to tie’ or ‘to bind’. For those of you who have done the passé composé, the past participle of this verb is nexus, which we use in English and which is also where we gets words like ‘connection’ and ‘annex’. But I digress…

Back to noeur (to knot) and the prefix and suffix I dispensed with earlier. Dé- is the equivalent of ‘un’ in English. That is, is gives us the opposite sense of the word. Think of ‘stable’ and ‘unstable’, for example. It works the same in French. A verb you very likely know, faire (to do or to make) has its opposite in the verb défaire which means ‘to undo’.

[ Side note: the French often talk about hair being défaits: think of that tousled, disheveled look typical of Brigitte Bardot in her heyday. ]

UN NŒUD PAPILLON

LES CONNECTIONS

LES CHEVEUX DÉFAITS

Many of you will have seen the suffix -ment in your travels. Words like lentement, vraiment and exactement come to mind. They’re all adverbs as you may know (‘slowly’, ‘truly’ and ‘exactly’) so the -ment ending represents the equivalent of the English suffix ‘-ly’.

When it’s used to form nouns from verbs, though, it indicates a resulting action or state. For example, the verb bâtir is to build, and a bâtiment is the resulting action or state of the act of building.

Now we know that dénouer is ‘to unknot’, if you think about the final sequence of a film or books, it is like the author is unknotting the conflict they’ve created. And that’s where we get dénouement from. C’est dingue, non*?

So there we are, a full breakdown of a word you’ve possibly never heard before. If you’ve got a passion for words and their origins, I hope it was enough to titiller la curiosité*.

By the way, here are another couple of things I stumbled across when looking into dénouement.

You may already know that a nœud papillon (or nœud pap’ for short) is a bow tie, since it is a knot that resembles a butterfly (papillon).

But did you know that un nœud is also a slang term for a penis? And that tête de nœud is what you call someone you think is a bit of a d***head? Vulgar, oui,* but drôle*, tout à fait*.

Lastly, neuneu (variously spelled neu-neu, nœud-nœud) refers to someone who is a bit simple, sappy or just a bit of an idiot and apparently comes from tête de nœud as discussed above.

LE DÉNOUEMENT

*It’s crazy, isn’t it? | *to pique your curiosity | *yes | *funny | *absolutely

La Petite Histoire | Beginner 3 | Épisode 6

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 6 (of 6) of the Beginner 3 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Je suis entrée dans le café à la fac. J’étais un peux nerveuse, je dois admettre. Avant de quitter la maison, mon mari a dit, pour la dixième fois, que c’était stupide d’aller rencontrer Roger, l’homme qui a répondu à la petite annonce. Et pour la dixième fois, j’ai dit à Jean-Louis que j’étais sérieuse: j’ai besoin de l’aide avec mon anglais. Ce n’est pas une blague!

“Comment je vais trouver ce Roger?” je me suis demandée.

Deux secondes plus tard, j’ai entendu:

”Hello! Leïla. Over here!”

À une table pour deux, j’ai vu un homme: grand, brun et très beau, je dois dire.

“Hello, are you Roger?” j’ai demandé.

”Yes, I am”, il a répondu avec un grand sourire. J’ai remarqué ses yeux bleus et ses dents parfaites. Il était très bronzé et il avait l’air sportif.

J’ai commencé à parler en français parce que c’était trop difficile de trouver mes mots en anglais devant cet homme.

”Mais vous ne voulez pas de l’aide avec votre anglais?” Roger a demandé.

“Oui, bien sûr”, j’ai dit “mais je suis trop nerveuse de parler devant vous”. J’ai rougi.

Roger a souri de nouveau et il a dit “Mais, Nicole, ça va. Nous pouvons prendre notre temps. C’est normal d’être nerveux, mais ne vous inquiétez pas, nous allons pouvoir travailler ensemble. Je suis confiant. Voulez-vous un café?”

J’ai dit “avec plaisir”, il est parti pour prendre des cafés, et j’ai essayé de respirer normalement. “Oh là, là!” je me suis dit.

I entered the café at uni. I was a bit nervous, I must admit. Before leaving the house, my husband said, for the tenth time, that is was stupid to go and meet Roger, the man who responded to my ad. And for the tenth time, I said to Jean-Louis that I was serious: I need help with my English. It’s not a joke.

”How am I going to find this Roger?” I wondered.

Two seconds later, I heard:

”Hello! Leïla. Over here!”

At a table for two, I saw a man: tall, with brown hair and very handsome, I must say.

“Hello, are you Roger?” I asked.

”Yes, I am”, he responded with a big smile. I noticed his blue eyes and his perfect teeth. He was very brown and seemed sporty.

I started to speak in French because it was too difficult to find my words in English in front of this man.

”But don’t you want some help with your English?” Roger asked.

”Yes, of course” I said, “but I’m too nervous to speak in front of you.” I blushed.

Roger smiled again and he said “But Nicole, it’s okay. We can take our time. It’s normal to be nervous, but don’t worry, we are going to be able to work together. I am confident. Do you want a coffee?”

I said '“with pleasure”, he left to get the coffees, and I tried to breathe normally. “Oh, dear!”, I thought.

---

La Petite Histoire | Beginner 3 | Épisode 5

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 5 (of 6) of the Beginner 3 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Quand je suis rentrée de la fac hier soir, mon mari n’était pas content. Il était dans la cuisine, fatigué après une longue journée à l’hôtel.

“Un homme a appelé pour toi, Leïla”, il a dit.

“Ah, bon?”, j’ai répondu. “Qu’est-ce qu’il a dit?”

“Il veut t’aider avec ton anglais”, a dit Jean-Louis.

“Ah, super! Tu as son numéro?”, j’ai demandé.

“Leïla, il est français. Il ne peut pas t’aider avec ton anglais.”

“Ah, bon? Mais peut-être qu’il a passé beaucoup de temps en Angleterre ou il a de la famille anglaise.”

“Je ne pense pas, Leïla.” Mon mari est difficile parfois.

“Je vais appeler pour voir”, j’ai dit. “J’ai besoin d’aide. J’ai un examen le mois prochain et j’ai peur.”

Jean-Louis est sorti de la cuisine. Deux minutes plus tard, il est retourné et il a dit, “J’ai faim, Leïla. Qu’est-ce que tu vas préparer pour le dîner? J’ai travaillé dur aujourd’hui. Je suis fatigué, j’ai faim et je veux me coucher.”

Moi aussi, j’ai pensé, mais je n’ai rien dit. J’ai ouvert le frigo, j’ai pris des œufs, du fromage, du lait et des lardons et j’ai commencé à préparer le dîner pour notre famille.

---

When I cam home from uni last night, my husband was not happy. He was in the kitchen, tired after a long day at the hotel.

“A man called for you, Leïla”, he said.

“Oh, really?”, I replied. “What did he say?”

“He wants to help you with your English”, said Jean-Louis.

“Oh, great! Do you have his number?”, I asked.

“Leïla, he is French. He cannot help you with your English.”

“Oh, really? But maybe he has spent lots of time in England or he has English family.”

“I don’t think so, Leïla.” My husband can be difficult sometimes.

“I am going to call to see”, I said. “I need help. I have an exam next month and I’m scared.”

Jean-Louis left the kitchen. Two minutes later, he returned and said, “I’m hungry, Leïla. What are you going to make for dinner? I worked a hard today. I’m tired, I’m hungry and I want to go to bed.”

Me too, I thought, but I didn’t say anything. I opened the fridge, I took some eggs, cheese, milk and bacon and I started to prepare the dinner for our family.

Mika: Elle me dit

Here at Lingua Franca, our students have a variety of learning styles. We try to cater to all styles as much as we possibly can, but there is no replacement for the ideas our students bring to us about their preferred ways of learning.

Recently, one of our students, Nora, was telling her class that she’d found a song that helped her learn the placement of direct and indirect object pronouns. This is an intermediate-level subject, so for you débutants* out there just know that these pronouns are a future pleasure (!) laying in wait for you.

Before I get to Nora’s song, though, which involves a double object pronoun nightmare…pardon* “challenge”, here’s a song that shows the placement of a single object pronoun, in this case, the indirect pronoun me, meaning ‘to me’.



The song is called Elle me dit and translates as ‘She says to me’. Literally, it’s ‘She to me says’, as object pronouns are placed between the subject (elle) and the verb (dit) as you’ll hear over and over in this song.

By the way, for les curieux*, here’s a link to the lyrics in both French and English.

Also, look out for a star turn by celebrated French actress Fanny Ardant, who appeared in a blog post last month and whom many of you will know from 2019’s Belle Époque*.

Now here’s Nora’s chanson préférée*, which contains not one, but two, object pronouns. Called Je te le donne, it translates as ‘I give it to you’, or literally ‘I to you it give’. Clair*?

Though the placement and order of double object pronouns can be very complicated, this song gives you an idea of a rule that works for the most part (if you’ve been learning French for even the briefest times, you’ll know it’s not afraid of an exception, like all languages). That rule is this:

Indirect before direct and placed between the subject pronoun and the verb.



PS For those of you who are très, très enthousiastes*, here is the exception:

If both of your object pronouns refer to third person objects, the order is reversed. That is, direct before indirect. For example: Je le lui dis. I say it to him/her. Or literally, I it to him/her say.

*beginners | *sorry | *curious people | *Beautiful Era | *favourite song | *Clear? | *very, very keen

Expressions françaises

Some French expressions can be translated directly into English and retain their exact meaning. For example, the saying “better late than never” is mieux vaut tard que jamais in French.

Others, however, are more difficult to reconcile with their French counterparts, and therefore much more fun, too.

Allons-y*! See if you’re able to make le lien* between the following French and English sayings.

*Let’s go! | *the link

MAI : La Petite Histoire | Beginner 3 | Épisode 4

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 4 (of 6) of the Beginner 3 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Aujourd’hui je suis allée à la fac pour mettre une petite annonce sur le panneau d’affichage dans le café près du Département d’Anglais. J’ai écrit:

Bonjour, j’ai besoin d’aide! Je cherche un tuteur/une tutrice d’anglais. Je suis francophone mais je suis étudiante en littérature anglaise et je veux parler (et écrire) mieux.
Deux heures par semaine, ici à la fac. Préférence pour un(e) anglophone natif/native. 20F/heure. Contactez-moi au 01 33 57 98 22. Merci.

J’attends avec impatience les réponses. Je dois améliorer mon anglais. Mon professeur, Simon, est très gentil avec moi. Après notre classe hier après-midi, il a demandé que je reste deux minutes. Il a dit qu’il a réfléchi après notre conversation dans le café, et il a offert de m’aider avec mon anglais. Il comprend que je n’ai pas beaucoup de temps avec toutes mes responsabilités. Il a dit que c’est dommage parce que je suis très douée en anglais et que je fais des petites erreurs qui sont simples à corriger. Simon a dit qu’il a beaucoup de temps libre parce que sa famille habite en Angleterre. J’ai dit non mais j’étais tentée, je dois dire.

---

*Today I went to uni to put an ad on the noticeboard in the café near the English Department. I wrote:

Hello, I need some help! I am looking for an English tutor. I am a French speaker but I am a student of English literature and I want to speak (and write) better. Two hours per week, here at the uni. Preference for a native English speaker. 20 francs/hour. Contact me on 01 33 57 98. Thank you.

I’m impatiently waiting for replies. I have to improve my French. My professor, Simon, is very kind to me. After our class yesterday afternoon, he asked that I stay back for two minutes. He said that he reflected after our conversation in the café, and he offered to help me with my English. He understands that I don’t have much time with all my responsibilities. He said it’s a shame because I am very gifted and that I make simple errors that are simple to correct. Simon said that he has a lot of free time because his family lives in England. I said no but I was tempted, I must say.

A real name changer

You may know that Snow White is called Blanche Neige in French, but could you name her sept petits amis*?

As a reminder, in English they are: Grumpy, Dopey, Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy and Sleepy.

Can you match the images to the French versions of their names? Bon courage*!

*seven little friends | Good luck

La Petite Histoire | Beginner 3 | Épisode 3

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 3 (of 6) of the Beginner 3 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Je suis très contente aujourd’hui. Ce matin je suis allée voir mon professeur d’anglais, Simon. J’ai demandé des conseils parce que j’ai reçu une mauvaise note pour mon essai cette semaine et j’étais vraiment déçue.

Simon a préparé un café pour nous, et puis on a parlé un petit peu de nos vies. Simon est anglais, de Londres, mais il habite à Paris depuis quelques mois. Ses enfants habitent en Angleterre avec leur mère, j’imagine. J’ai parlé de ma situation et Simon était très gentil avec moi. Il comprend que je n’ai pas beaucoup de temps mais que j’adore mes études et que je veux avoir de bonnes notes. Il a dit que mon anglais était super, mais que je fais de petites erreurs, qui est normal. Il a proposé que je trouve un tuteur et je pense que c’est une excellente idée.

---

I am very happy today. This morning, I went to see my English professor, Simon. I asked for some advice because I received a bad mark for my essay this week and I was really disappointed.

Simon made a coffee for us, and then we spoke a bit about our lives. Simon is English, from London, but he’s been living in Paris for a few months. His children live in England with their mother, I suppose. I spoke about my situation and Simon was very kind to me. He understands that I don’t have a lot of time but that I love my studies and that I want to have good marks. He said that my English was great, but that I make little errors, which is normal. He suggested that I find a tutor and I think that’s an excellent idea.

What is a cognate?

A cognate is a word that comes from the same origin as a word from a different language. Below, three of our favourites.

MIRAGE

Both French and English use the word ‘mirage’ to describe the bending of light which produces an optical illusion, but do you know where the word originally comes from? It’s most likely via the Latin word ‘mirare’ (to admire/gaze) which is where we get the word ‘mirror’. In French we have the reflexive verb ‘se mirer’ which means ‘to gaze at oneself/to be reflected’, hence mirage. There is, though, a chance it comes from the Latin word ‘mirus’ (wonderful) which is where we get the word miracle. Cool, non*?

HORS D’ŒUVRE

Un œuvre in French is ‘a work’, so to say 'a work of art' we say un œuvre d’art. Even in English we can use the word ‘œuvre’ to describe the body of work of an artist. As we know, the French take la cuisine* very, very seriously and if you’ve ever had a sublime French meal you’d probably be happy to consider the chef un or une artiste*. So, since hors means ‘outside of’, it makes sense that both languages call a small savoury dish, typically served as an appetizer, un hors d’œuvre, since it arrives at your table outside the main œuvre d’art which is of course le plat principal*.

POT POURRI

If you’re a person of un certain âge* you’ll remember the pot pourri craze that swept the nation in the eighties. No domestic surface was safe from the little terracotta pots of dried petals we used to add a touch of country style to our homes.

I wonder if we would have been quite so keen had we known the verb pourrir at the time which means ‘to rot’. Yes, that’s right, pot pourri translates to rotten pot which somewhat takes away the appeal, non*?

*Cool, isn’t it? | *cooking | *an artist | *the main course | *a certain age | *doesn’t it?

Tips for learning a language

Finalement*! An article on language that tells the truth.

There’s a whole swathe of companies in the language learning cadre* who claim you can learn a language ‘easily!’, ‘in five minutes a day!’ or in ‘only three months!” (and yes, they usually are followed by des points d’exclamation* to drive home the idea that it’s ‘easy!’ to learn a language and that you’re a bit of a fool if you find it harder than that).

Learning a language is an undertaking and depending on what you want to achieve, it can take a few hours (phrases for an upcoming trip) or a whole lifetime (if you love French, this is a thrilling idea, not a depressing one).

C’est un long article*, but if you have the time, I recommend you read the whole article because it’s quite inspiring. Most of our keenest students already complement their learning with other methods such as apps, language exchanges and TV shows. This article has a host of great ideas for embedding more French in your life, and that is always a great thing.

*Finally! | *arena | *exclamation marks | *It’s a long article

La Petite Histoire | Beginner 3 | Épisode 2

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 2 (of 6) of the Beginner 3 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Aujourd’hui était un peu difficile. Cet après-midi à l’université, notre professeur, Simon, a rendu nos essais et j’ai reçu une mauvaise note! J’étais déçue car j’ai fait beaucoup de travail et j’étais contente de mes efforts. C’est difficile quand on est plus âgé que les autres étudiants. J’ai mes responsabilités: j’ai un mari qui travaille beaucoup, trois petits enfants, je dois cuisiner, faire le ménage et faire mes devoirs, aussi.

Quand je suis rentrée, mon mari, Jean-Louis, a vu ma tête et il a demandé s’il y avait un problème. J’ai parlé avec lui et il a dit que peut-être ce n’est pas le bon moment pour moi de faire mes études. Est-ce qu’il a raison? Je ne sais pas mais je sais que ce soir je suis un peu triste. J’adore faire mes études, j’adore lire et apprendre l’anglais et il y a des gens très intéressants dans mes classes. Je vais aller parler à mon professeur, Simon, demain. J’ai besoin des conseils.

---

Today was a bit difficult. This afternoon at university, our professor, Simon, gave back our essays and I received a bad mark! I was disappointed because I did a lot of work and I was happy with my efforts. It’s hard when you’re older than the other students. I have my responsibilities: I have a husband who works a lot, three little children, I have to cook, do the housework and do my homework, as well.

When I went back home, my husband, Jean-Louis, saw my face and he asked if there was a problem. I spoke to him and he said that maybe it’s not the right time for me to do my studies. Is he right? I don’t know but I do know that tonight I am a bit sad. I love doing my studies, I love to read and learn English and there are very interesting people in my classes. I am going to go and speak to my professor, Simon, tomorrow. I need some advice.

Funny expressions with avoir

If you’ve studied French for a while, you’ll know that the verb avoir* ranks just behind être* as the language’s most useful verb.

When we’re just starting out, we tend to use avoir to talk about our friends, family and age.

J’ai deux sœurs et un frère.
I have two sisters and a brother.

Je n’ai pas d’enfants
I don’t have any children

J’ai 34 ans.
I am 34 years of age.

So as you can see, though avoir is worth its weight in gold, its application can sometimes seem a little…banal*. With that in mind, we’ve rustled up the following expressions, all of which contain avoir, as well as just a touch more personnalité*. 

*to have | *to be | *pedestrian | *personality

La Petite Histoire

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, another instalment of this new series, Chapter 1 (of 6) of the Beginner 3 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Il est maintenant 17h45, je suis chez moi avec mes filles et mon mari va bientôt arriver, j’espère. Je veux parler de ma journée à l’université avec lui.
Je suis retournée à l'université il y a quelques* mois et j'adore l'expérience. Bien sûr, c'est difficile avec des enfants, un mari et des devoirs, mais la langue et la littérature anglaise sont vraiment une passion pour moi. En plus, j'aime être avec des gens qui partagent* mes intérêts.
Mon professeur de littérature est anglais. Il s’appelle Simon et j’adore écouter quand il parle anglais. Son accent est (naturellement) parfait et quand il lit les poèmes* de Wordsworth, par exemple, c’est un rêve* pour moi.
Je suis un peu plus âgée que mes collègues parce que je suis restée à la maison avec nos trois enfants et par conséquent*, je suis un peu plus sérieuse comme étudiante.

---

It is now 5:45pm, I am at home with my girls and my husband is going to arrive soon, I hope. I want to talk about my day at university with him.
I went back to university a few months ago and I am loving the experience. Of course, it's difficult with children, a husband and homework, but the English language and literature is really a passion for me. Also, I like to be with people who share my interests.
My literature professor is English. His name is Simon and I love listening when he speaks English. His accent is (naturally) perfect and when he reads Wordsworth's poems, for example, it's a dream for me.
I am a bit older than my colleagues because I stayed at home with our three children and as a consequence I am a bit more serious as a student.

*some | *share | *poems | *dream | *as a consequence

Funny reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs are rarely fun, but we find using them through colloquialisms makes them a little more intéressants*.

So, what do pelles*, sucettes* and encre* have in common? Not a lot on the face of it, but they do all make an appearance in these strangely funny phrases.

If you can’t remember what reflexive verbs are (or haven’t learned about them yet), they are verbs where the subject and the object are the same, so the action is ‘reflected’. That is, the person doing the action also receives the action.

For example :

Je me lave.

“I wash myself” is reflexive as I’m doing and receiving the washing.

Je lave la voiture.

“I wash the car” isn’t reflexive as I’m doing the washing but not receiving it.

*interesting | *shovels | *lollipops | *ink

Quick fix

We all have things in French we’re not totally clear about and if you’re anything like me, they can sometimes remain unclear for months if not years, as there always seems to be something more pressing to learn.

That’s why it’s sometimes a good idea to do a quick sweep through the most commonly asked questions, to clear them up in one fell swoop. You may already know some and not others, or perhaps the whole list will be a total revelation to you. In any case, we hope you find it utile*.

A very small caveat: since it’s a quick fix, we’ve given preliminary explanations only. As you well know, French is replete with exceptions, so for more detailed information, come along to a lesson, or consult your favourite French grammar site (we recommend Lawless French).

Écouter means ‘to listen (to)’ whereas entendre means ‘to hear’. To me, entendre looks a bit like ‘enter’ so I imagine the sound actually entering my ear canals.

J’écoute la chanson sur Spotify - I am listening to the song on Spotify
J’entends les voisins qui font la fête - I hear the neighbours who are having a party

Parler means both ‘to speak’ and ‘to talk’.

Elle parle russe - She speaks Russian
Elle parle à son copain au téléphone - She talks to her boyfriend on the phone.

Dire means both ‘to say’ and ‘to tell’.

Vincent dit qu’il est de Lille - Vincent says he’s from Lille
Je lui dis la vérité - I tell him/her the truth

Voir is ‘to see’ whereas regarder means ‘to watch’ or ‘to look’

On ne va pas voir Mathieu demain - We’re not going to see Mathieu tomorrow
Elles regardent le film ensemble - They’re watching the film together
Je veux regarder la carte d’abord - I want to look at the menu first

This is a tricky one, since both verbs mean ‘to know’. There are a couple of different ways to approach the difference between the two verbs, but as a quick fix, this is a very solid start:

Savoir is used with verbs
Connaître is used for nouns (I like to translate it as ‘to be familiar with’ rather than ‘to know’)

Martin sait nager - Martin knows how to swim.
Tu connais un peu Paris? - Do you know Paris a little (are you familiar with Paris a little?)

Thinking of se promener as the equivalent of ‘to go for a stroll’ and marcher as more ‘to walk with a purpose’ should help make the right choice.

Je me promène dans le parc en face de chez moi - I go for a walk/stroll in the park opposite my house
Je marche lentement - I walk slowly

La Petite Histoire

If you've ever done a group lesson here at Lingua Franca, you've probably come into contact with La Petite Histoire*. A tale with the very humblest of beginnings, it winds up becoming a rollicking schlockbuster as you move up the levels and your French improves enough to handle the outrageous (some would say impossible) turns of events of the six young friends.

La Petite Histoire is currently only available to our students, however La Préquelle is for everyone’s enjoyment. Below, the fifth instalment of this new series, which is written to a Beginner 2 level.

*The Little Story | *The Prequel

Depuis septembre, une journée typique pour moi est très longue. Je suis maintenant responsable d'un hôtel dans le premier arrondissement et je travaille très dur*.
En général, je me lève tôt (avant 07h00) et je prends le petit-déjeuner avec ma femme et mes petite filles, Anouk, Céline et Vivienne. Après, je me douche, je m'habille et je pars pour aller au travail. J'ai des réunions avec l'équipe* entre* les services et après je dîne dans le restaurant de l'hôtel. Après, je parle avec les réceptionnistes et nous regardons les réservations ensemble.
À 21h00, je me dépêche pour rentrer à la maison et voir ma femme avant de me coucher à 23h30.

*hard | *team | *between

Je suis mère, femme et étudiante donc une journée pour moi est très chargée. Je dois être très organisée parce que mon mari travaille beaucoup et il ne peut pas aider* beaucoup avec la maison et nos petites*.
Je me lève d'habitude à 05h00 quand ma petite fille se réveille. Je prépare son petit-déjeuner et puis je prépare le petit-déjeuner pour mon mari et moi. Parfois*, je ne peux pas prendre le petit-déjeuner avec Jean-Louis parce que les enfants veulent leur maman* et mon café est toujours froid!
Le lundi, mardi et vendredi je dépose* les enfants chez ma belle-sœur et je vais à l'université. C'est comme des vacances pour moi - toute la journée pour apprendre, lire et parler avec mes nouveaux amis.
Le soir, je fais le ménage, je m'occupe* des enfants et j'attends mon mari, qui* est souvent en retard. Je me sens un peu seule parfois. C'est pour ça que j'adore aller à l'université.

*to help | *our little one | *sometimes | *mum | *drop off | to take care of | *who

Une journée typique pour ma femme et moi commence à 08h00. Nous nous réveillons, ma femme se lève, elle prépare un café pour moi et elle retourne à la cuisine pour préparer notre petit-déjeuner. Je lis le journal et je bois mon café et puis je me lève aussi pour commencer ma journée.
Le lundi, mardi et vendredi, ma belle-sœur, Leïla, arrive chez nous avec sa petite fille, Anouk. Leïla étudie l'anglais à la Sorbonne (elle est très intelligente et déterminée) et Yasmine adore les enfants alors elle s'occupe d'Anouk pour Leïla. Ma femme va avoir un bébé aussi bientôt, mais elle est très généreuse et parfois trop gentille, à mon avis*.

*in my opinion

Je suis professeur d'anglais à l'Université de la Sorbonne. Je travaille du lundi au vendredi le week-end, j'aime aller au marché le samedi matin pour faire les courses pour la semaine. J'habite seule, mais j'aime cuisiner*, alors je prends le temps de bien choisir les fromages, de la charcuterie, du pain et des fruits et légumes.

Le samedi après-midi, j'écris toujours une lettre à mes enfants qui habitent en Angleterre, et puis je travaille. J'aime lire les rédactions* des étudiants en paix*, sans interruption. La qualité des rédactions est très bonne. Les étudiants plus âgés* sont les plus forts* en général. J'ai environ* 200 étudiants mais je ne les connais pas encore. J'ai hâte d'apprendre à les connaître*.

*to cook | *essays | *in peace | *older | *the strongest | *about | *to get to know them

Ma journée commence à 09h30. Je me lève, je prépare un café et je retourne au lit. J'étudie à l'Université de la Sorbonne cette année et j'ai des classes le mardi, mercredi et vendredi. Ma première classe est à 13h00 (je ne suis pas stupide) donc je passe le matin tranquillement* à la maison. Je téléphone à ma copine (elle habite en Angleterre en ce moment) et je lis mon texte*. C'est vraiment difficile. Nous étudions les poètes romantiques ce trimestre donc nous lisons Blake, Wordsworth et Keats.

Je vais devoir trouver un tuteur* je pense parce que je ne comprends rien! Ma copine essaie* de m'aider* mais elle est frustrée parfois et moi j'ai honte de mon anglais donc je vais mettre une annonce à l'université demain.

En plus*, c'est difficile de se concentrer en classe parce qu'il y a beaucoup de jolies femmes qui étudient avec moi. J'aime beaucoup ma copine, mais elle est loin*...

*peacefully | *textbook | *tutor | *tries | *help me | *Besides | *far away

Je suis très contente avec ma décision d'étudier à l'université cette année. Comme vous savez, j'ai un problème de visa et donc je cherche un mari pour pouvoir rester ici en France.

À l'université il y a beaucoup d'hommes intéressants et par intéressant je veux dire* beaux, intelligents et (très important) français. Je préfère être avec un homme de mon âge mais franchement, ce sont les professeurs qui sont les plus stables.

Je me dépêche le matin pour arriver au cafétéria tôt parce que beaucoup de professeurs viennent à 09h00 pour prendre un café avant le travail. Je prends une table avec des chaises supplémentaires, comme ça mon futur mari va avoir une excuse de me parler.

C'est simplement une question de patience - je vais rencontrer quelqu'un* bientôt, je suis sûre.

*I mean | *someone | *sure

---

JEAN-LOUIS
Since September, a typical day for me is very long. I am now the manager of a hotel in the first arrondissement and I work very hard.
I get up early (before 7am) and I have breakfast with my wife and my little daughters, Anouk, Céline and Vivienne. After, I have a shower and get dressed and I leave to go to work. I have meetings with the team between the services and afterwards, I have dinner in the hotel restaurant. After that, I talk to the receptionists and we look at the bookings together.
At 9pm, I hurry to go home and see my wife before going to bed at 11:30pm.

LEÏLA
I am a mother, wife and student so a day for me is very busy. I have to be very organised because my husband works a lot and he can't help a lot with the house and our little ones.
I usually get up at 5am when my daughter wakes up. I prepare her breakfast and then I prepare breakfast for my husband and me. Sometimes, I can't have breakfast with Jean-Louis because our children want their mum and my coffee is always cold!
On Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays I drop the children off at my sister-in-law's place and I go to university. It's like holidays for me - all day to learn, read and talk with my new friends.
At night, I do the housework, I take care of the children and I wait for my husband, who is often late. I feel a little lonely at times. That's why I love going to university.

HERVÉ
A typical day for my wife and me starts at 8am. We wake up, my wife gets up, she makes a coffee for me and she returns to the kitchen to prepare our breakfast. I read the newspaper and drink my coffee and then I get up as well to start my day.
On Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, my sister-in-law, Leïla, arrives at our place with her little daughter, Anouk. Leïla is studying English at the Sorbonne (she is very intelligent and determined) and Yasmine adores children so she looks after Anouk for Leïla. My wife is going to have a baby too, soon, but she is very generous and sometimes too kind, in my opinion.

SIMON
I am an English professor at the Sorbonne University. I work from Monday to Friday and on the weekend, I like to go to the market to do the grocery shopping for the week. I live alone, but I like to cook, so I take the time to choose the cheeses, cold meats, bread and fruit and vegetables well.
On Saturday afternoons, I always write to my children who live in England, and then I work. I like to read the students' essays in peace, without interruption. The quality of the essays is very good. The older students are the strongest in general. I have about 200 students but I don't know them yet. I am keen to get to know them.

ROGER
My day starts at 9:30am. I get up, I make a coffee and I go back to bed. I am studying at the Sorbonne University this year and I have classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. My first class is at 1:00pm (I'm not stupid) so I spend the morning peacefully at home. I phone my girlfriend (she's living in England at the moment) and I read my textbook. It's really hard. We're studying the romantic poets this semester so we're reading Blake, Wordsworth and Keats.
I am going to have to find a tutor I think because I don't understand anything! My girlfriend tries to help me but she's frustrated sometimes and I'm ashamed of my English so I am going to put a notice up at the university tomorrow.
Besides, it's hard to concentrate in class because there are lots of pretty women who study with me. I like my girlfriend a lot, but she is far away...

NOËLLE
I am very happy with my decision to study at the university this year. As you know, I have a visa problem and so I'm looking for a husband to be able to stay here in France. At the university there are lots of interesting men and by interesting I mean handsome, intelligent and (very important) French. I prefer to be with a man of my age but frankly it's the professors who are the most stable.

I hurry in the morning to get to the cafeteria early because lots of the professors come at 9:00am to have a coffee before work. I take a table with extra chairs, that way my future husband has an excuse to talk to me. It's simply a question of patience - I am going to meet someone soon, I'm sure.