Alafluency

Trying to learn French with a view to fluency at some point! Love all languages but concentrating on French for now.

[pompadourpink]

Bonjour maman ! My french it's good enough yet to ask my question in it, so I'll try in English (neither is my first language). Do you know any podcasts in french, preferably for learners, that are fictional stories or fairytales? I listened to one that was for test prep (DELF etc) but it had al lot of political/ societal topics and I don't really care for that. I'm just trying to get my ears more used to french atm. I hope you can help me. Merci beaucoup 😊

Hello dear,

Here are a few things I found:

Podcast Je conte jusqu'à toi

Podcast Dior Tales (classic fairytales)

Radio plays (mostly fictional investigations)

Henri Dès raconte on Youtube

Hope this helps! x

[pompadourpink]

heyy i've been thinking of learning french. can you give me some tips on how to start learning french?

have a nice day ahead :) 💜

Hello,

The beginner's guide should be a big help!

A few extra tips:

Learn how to pronounce our R by gargling without water. Pawley fwançay like that is a dead giveaway and makes you harder to understand as many of our words have r-less siblings (ex: Jour - Day vs Joue - Cheek). Here's one of the paragraphs I have my students read: J’ai pris mon repas à l’ombre de trois grands arbres. A Rochefort, personne ne s’arrêtait pour dire bonjour. Il a trébuché sur une pierre marron et s’est fracturé le bras. Tu proposes à Pierre de prendre un verre après le travail.

If your native language is English, getting used to a romance language is going to be frustrating. Prefer working on things you know you'll enjoy, even if it seems watching Timothée Chalamet's interviews or reading the french FML website. Motivation will make you work 4h the first day and irritation stop you from even glancing at your notes for six months.

If you can afford me, your crops will be watered and your skin smoother. Don't fall into the "I'm not good enough yet" trap, if you were already bilingual you wouldn't need help.

Five minutes daily is better than five hours monthly. I would suggest keeping a diary (use Reverso, Deepl and Nouvelobs conjugation as much as you need).

Hope this helps! x

[pompadourpink]

All the tenses

Original sentence: She + to close + the door

Tenses:

Past:

Pluperfect (plus-que-parfait): Elle avait fermé la porte - She had closed the door [conj. Être/Avoir auxiliary in the imperfect + past participle]

Imperfect (imparfait): Elle fermait la porte - She closed the door [description, historical detail, habit in the past]

Perfect (passé composé): Elle a fermé la porte - She has closed the door [conj. Être/Avoir in the present + past participle]

Simple past (passé simple): Elle ferma la porte - She closed the door [literary]

Past conditional (conditionnel passé): Elle aurait fermé la porte - She would have closed the door [conj. Être/Avoir in the present conditional + past participle; expresses a regret or theory/fantasy]

Perfect past (passé antérieur): Elle eut fermé la porte - She had closed the door [conj. Être/Avoir in the simple past + past participle; rare, literary, expresses the anteriority of an action compared to the one that follows]

Recent past (passé récent): Elle vient de fermer la porte - She just closed the door [conj. venir de in the present + infinitive; about what just happened]*

Past imperative (impératif passé): Aie fermé la porte - Have the door closed (before...) [conj. Être/Avoir in the imperative present without the pronoun + past participle; only exists in 2nd person singular and 1st/2nd person plural, expresses the anteriority of an action (order, prohibition, recommendation, plea) compared to the one that follows]

Past infinitive (infinitif passé): Avoir fermé la porte est important - Having closed the door is important [present infinitive Être/Avoir + past participle; expresses the anteriority of an action accomplished before the one that follows]

(Past participle (participe passé) [used after an auxiliary in multiple compound tenses, usually to express a past action - see the posts for rules below])

*

Present:

Indicative present (présent de l'indicatif): Elle ferme la porte - She closes the door

Progressive present (présent progressif): Elle est en train de fermer la porte - She is closing the door [conj. Être in the present + en train de + infinitive; about what is in the process of happening]

Present conditional (conditionnel présent): Elle fermerait la porte - She would close the door [expresses politeness, a desire, suggestion, theory]*

Present imperative (impératif présent): Ferme la porte - Close the door [indicative present without the pronoun; only exists in 2nd person singular and 1st/2nd person plural, expresses an order, prohibition, recommendation, plea]

Present infinitive (infinitif présent): Fermer la porte - Close the door [non-conj. verb; used in lists, on signs, after certain prepositions/conjugated verbs, expresses a number of feelings - see the post below]

(Present participle: Elle ferme la porte menant aux chambres - She closes the door leading to the bedrooms [verb + -ant; used to add precisions and usually replaces qui + conj. verb in the present])

*

Future:

Near future (futur proche): Elle va fermer la porte - She is going to close the door [conj. Aller in the present + infinitive; about what is about to happen]

Simple future (futur simple): Elle fermera la porte - She will close the door

Perfect future (futur antérieur): Elle aura fermé la porte - She will have closed the door [conj. Aller in the future + infinitive; about what will have happened]

*NB: To use "If... (then)..." constructions, use imperfect for V.1 and present conditional for V.2 in the present (Si elle mangeait, elle n'aurait pas faim), or pluperfect for V1. and past conditional for V.2 in the past (Si elle avait mangé, elle n'aurait pas eu faim).

*

+ Moods:

Present gerund (gérondif présent): Elle ferme la porte en criant - She closes the door shouting [(conj. verb 1 +) en + verb 2 + -ant; used to describe two simultaneous actions - not to be used with a stative verb such as Être, Sembler, etc.]

Past gerund (gérondif passé): Ayant fermé la porte, elle fut enfermée dehors - Having closed the door, she was locked out [Être/Avoir + -ant + past participle; used to describe the anteriority of an action]

Present subjunctive (subjonctif présent): Il faut qu'elle ferme la porte - She has to close the door [triggered by certain constructions + que; about an uncertain action that hasn't happened atm, that only exists in someone's head.]

Past subjunctive (subjonctif passé): Il fallait qu'elle ait fermé la porte - She had to have closed the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + conj. Être/Avoir in the present subjunctive + past participle; about an uncertain situation that might have happened]

Imperfect subjunctive (subjonctif imparfait): Il fallait qu'elle fermât la porte - She had to close the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + conj. verb; RARE literary pres. sub., about an uncertain situation that hadn't happened atm]

Pluperfect subjunctive (subjonctif plus-que-parfait): Il fallait qu'elle eusse fermé la porte - She had to have closed the door [certain constructions + que + pronoun/noun + conj. Être/Avoir in the imperfect subjunctive + past participle; RARE literary past sub., about an uncertain situation that might have happened]

*

More tenses posts: the past participle, past tenses guide, simple VS compound tenses, irregular past participles, infinitive; the simple past, imperfect + perfect, indicative present, simple future, conditionals, imperative, gerund, subjunctives.

[pompadourpink]

How to pronounce Plus

Plus can have three possible pronunciations:

\ply\ "plu"

In "ne... plus" (Not anymore): Je ne t'aime plus - I don't love you anymore (unless there's a liaison)

In a superlative construction: Je suis la plus drôle - I am the funniest

In a comparative construction, before a consonant: Ton grand frère est plus grand que moi - Your older brother is taller than me

*

\plys\ "plusse"

When followed by De (More of): Il y a plus de chats que de chiens à Paris - There are more cats than dogs in Paris

When followed by Plus que (More than): Je dors plus que d'habitude en ce moment - I sleep more than usual these days

When it's the last word of the sentence: Allez, à plus! - Alright, see you later!

In certain expressions: Plus que, De plus, Sans plus, En plus...

In maths: Trois plus deux - Three plus two

*

\plyz\ "pluz"

When followed by a mute H: Je suis plus heureuse aujourd'hui - I am happier today

When there's a liaison (i.e. when followed by a vowel): Il est encore plus aimable que je ne pensais - He's even nicer than I thought

[pompadourpink]

French cities #1

La France métropolitaine:

La Corse (a small island):

Les DOM-TOM (islands far away):

Paris, la ville lumière (the light city)

Lille, la capitale des Flandres (where I’ve been for 7y! we’re very nice and have cheap beer but it rains a lot)

Strasbourg, la capitale de l’Europe (lovely, pretty christmas market, next to Germany = bilingual)

Nantes, la cité des ducs (the Dukes’ estate) (idk)

Toulouse, la ville rose (the pink city) (pretty gr8 m8)

Marseille, la cité phocéenne (where people have no chill and it’s about a million degrees in the summer)

Bordeaux, la belle endormie (wine/surf)

[pompadourpink]

French geography

Les régions:

Les départements:

Les fleuves:

Les massifs montagneux:

Les volcans:

[pompadourpink]

Connaître VS Savoir

Salut! Do you have any posts on connaitre vs savoir? It’s still something that confuses me haha

Connaître :

To know someone : Je connais Julien depuis dix ans

To master something : Je voudrais tout connaître

To be appreciated : Je suis connue pour mes talents de pianiste

To have intimate relationships (lit/rare) : Ils se sont connus jadis

To feel (physically/mentally) : Je ne connais pas la peur 

To practice, submit to something : Ma colère ne connaît pas de limites

To know oneself (reflexive) : Je me connais trop bien

Savoir :

To know : Je sais!

To have something memorized : Je sais bien ma leçon 

To master something : Je sais très bien danser

To be used to/good at doing something : Je sais convaincre les foules

To be able to : Je ne saurais vous le dire

To learn/be told about something : Je sais bien qu’il est parti 

[pompadourpink]

Christmas time

Christmas: noël (m), christmas eve: le réveilllon 

Merry christmas: joyeux noël

Santa: le père noël, the north pole: le pôle nord

Reindeer: un renne , elf: un elfe 

December: décembre, winter: l’hiver

Christmas break: les vacances d’hiver (f) 

Snow: la neige, snowball: une boule de neige

Snowman: un bonhomme de neige, a carrot: une carotte

A scarf: une écharpe, gloves: des gants (m)

Socks: des chaussettes (f), a beanie: un bonnet 

A (warm) coat: un (gros) manteau, sleigh: une luge 

To decorate: décorer, christmas tree: le sapin de noël

Pine needle: une aiguille de pin, under the tree: sous le sapin 

A garland: une guirlande, a bauble: une boule 

Wreath: une couronne, fairy lights: une guirlande électrique 

An advent calendar: un calendrier de l’avent

Mistletoe: le gui, a star: une étoile, an angel: un ange

A christmas hat: un bonnet de père noël

Christmas spirit: l’esprit de noël 

Church: l’église, midnight mass: la messe de minuit 

A nativity scene: une crèche, birth: la naissance 

Carols: les chants de noël

To sing: chanter, christmas market: le marché de noël 

Chimney: la cheminée 

Christmas stocking: une chaussette de noël 

A gift: un cadeau, a toy: un jouet

Nice: sage, naughty: pas sage, vilain-e

To wrap: emballer, wrapping paper: du papier cadeau, ribbon: un ruban, a card: une carte, a candle: une bougie 

A christmas movie: un film de noël, family: la famille 

To cook: cuisiner/faire la cuisine, to bake: faire de la pâtisserie 

The turkey: la dinde, cake: un gâteau, mulled win: le vin chaud, pie: une tarte (+ à la/au(x)), yule log: la bûche de noël, candy cane: un sucre d’orge, foie gras: le foie gras (d’oie/de canard)

Hot chocolate: un chocolat chaud 

The weather, colours, family.

[pompadourpink]

Did you know?

Hello kids and children,

Just wanted to say hi and give you some info!

Thanks to your support these past almost five years, this is now my job! For those who didn’t know, I offer French tutoring, via Skype (35 or 20€ an hour depending on your situation).

Can be weekly, or more, or less, or just once if you’ve been needing help about something in particular. I’m in CET/GTC+1.

The Youtube channel and blog are still pending (as it turns out, my camera got flooded during the Grand Christmas Disaster because I’m a little rat in a little flat who stores stuff under the couch).

Contact:

Email: frenchiere (at) pm (dot) me

Ask me anything

About lessons + reviews

Discord fam

Tumblr + IG

Google drive (ebooks + quizzes)

The beginner’s guide

Adulting

Love,

Vic

[pompadourpink]

Ways to say Annoy

Neutral:

Ennuyer

Énerver

Enquiquiner (kids)

Embêter (kids)

Agacer

Casser les pieds

Faire suer (retro)

Barber (retro)

 Rude:

Emmerder

Faire chier (making one shit)

Casser les couilles (breaking one’s balls)

Péter les couilles (busting one’s balls)

Chier dans les bottes (shitting in one’s boots)

[pompadourpink]

Four important verbs!

Venir de: Just (action) Je viens de manger - I just ate

Se mettre à: To start (action) Je me mets à manger - I'm starting to eat

Être en train de: To being in a process of (action) Je suis en train de manger - I am eating

Aller: To be about to start (action) Je vais manger - I'm going to eat

[pompadourpink]

“ti” \si\ words

Certain feminine French words contain a -ti- syllable that is pronounced \si. This happens when the letter T is preceded or followed by the vowel I.

Nouns ending in -tie:

Acrobatie \a.kʁɔ.ba.si\ 

Aristocratie: aristocracy

Bureaucratie: bureaucracy

Calvitie: baldness

Croatie: Croatia

Démocratie: democracy

Diplomatie: diplomacy

Facétie: factiousness

Idiotie: idiocy

Ineptie: ineptitude, nonsense

Inertie: inertia

Méritocratie: meritocracy

Minutie: meticulousness

Orthodontie: orthodontics

Péripétie: twist (event)

Prophétie: prophecy

Nouns containing -ti-:

Dictionnaire: dictionary

Initiale: initial

Nouns ending in -tion:

Action \ak.sjɔ̃\

Addition: addition, check (bill)

Ambition: ambition

Autorisation: authorization, permission

Collection: collection, series

Définition: definition, meaning

Direction: direction, management

Fonction: function, position, job

Indication: indication, instructions

Initiation: initiation, introduction

Pollution: pollution

Ponctuation: punctuation

Position: position

Proposition: offer, proposal (pol, not wed)

Punition: punishment

Respiration: breathing

Révolution: revolution

Situation: situation, job

Tradition: tradition

Adjectives:

Confidentiel-le: confidential

Égyptien-ne: Egyptian

Essentiel-le: essential

Impatient-e: impatient

Initié-e: initiated

Martien-ne: Martian

Patient-e: patient

Spatial-e: spatial

Exceptions:

Moitié: half, partie: part, pitié: pity, amitié: friendship, question: question, volontiers: gladly

[pompadourpink]

Pronouncing -E- as -A-

Certain words in French contain a letter E that is pronounced A due to latin roots; here are the most popular ones:

Nouns :

Femme (woman) \fam\

Moelle (marrow)

Poêle (pan)

Adverbs :

Apparemment (apparently) \a.pa.ʁa.mɑ̃\ 

Conséquemment (consequently)

Différemment (differently)

Évidemment (obviously)

Fréquemment (frequently)

Inconsciemment (unconsciously)

Innocemment (innocently)

Patiemment (patiently)

Précédemment (previously)

Récemment (recently)

Adjectives :

Solennel-le (solemn) \sɔ.la.nɛl\

[pompadourpink]

Diaeresis : common words

Un tréma is this sign ¨. you find it mainly over vowels e, i + u, over vowels u + y in last names/locations and over vowels a, o + u in borrowed words.

It has three functions : #1. It indicates the necessity of pronouncing separately two graphemes instead of treating them like a couple. #2. It makes a vowel mute. #3. It symbolizes an umlaut (germanic sign). 

Nouns : Noël (Christmas, m), ciguë (hemlock, f), canoë (canoe, m), oïl (former name of northern/central France, bits of Belgium + Switzerland), skaï (old pu leather from the 80s), raï (north african music), ouïe (hearing, f), caïd (mob boss, m), coït (coitus, rare), païen-ne (pagan), laiüs (long annoying speech, patter, m), aïeux (forefathers), aïeul-e (grandparent), caïman (cayman, m), bonsaï (bonsai, m), naïveté (naivety, f), laïcité (secularity, f), héroïne (female heroin of a novel, drug, f), glaïeul (gladiolus, m), faïence (earthenware, f), égoïsme (selfishness, m), héroïsme (heroism, m), ambiguïté (ambiguousness, f), coïncidence (coincidence, f), dadaïsme (dadaism, m), Aïd-El-Kebir (Eid al-Adha), paranoïa (paranoia, f), 

Adjectives : aiguë (high-pitched, sharp (pain), f), exiguë (cramped, tiny, f), ambiguë (ambiguous, f), contiguë (adjacent to, f), naïf/naïve (naive), laÏc/laïque (secular, religion-neutral), haï-e (hated), inouï-e (incredible, never heard of before), ovoïde (egg-shaped, ép), Hawaïen-ne (Hawaiian), égoïste (selfish, ép), stoïque (stoical, ép), héroïque (heroic, ép), hébraïque (hebraic, hebrew, ép), archaïque (archaic, ép), 

Verbs : ouïr (to hear, old/rare), haïr (to hate), laïciser (to secularize), 

Others : ô!, aïe (ouch!), taïaut (hunt vocabulary, fam means ‘go!’ or ‘run!’), par ouï-dire (by hearsay, invariable)

[pompadourpink]

Lieu VS endroit VS place

Un lieu:

About the way a place is used for 

About a event that is going to take place there

About a destination

Ex: Lieu du crime (crime scene), lieu de travail (workplace), lieu de vacances (holiday destination)

Un endroit:

About a piece of something bigger

About a piece of something specific

About the sides of a two-dimension object 

Ex: Endroit du monde (place on earth), endroit du corps (body location), remettre ses chaussettes à l’endroit (put one’s socks the right way out)

Une place:

About what can be occupied (by people or things)

About what should be done in the name of tradition, values or events

Ex: Place du marché (market square), ne pas être à sa place (to be out of place)

[pompadourpink]

One random expression

C’est la fin des haricots (”that’s the end of the beans”): we’re all gonna die

Can you please get me some chocolate while you’re in the kitchen?

Uhhh sorry we’re out

C’est la fin des haricots, I quit life, goodbye cruel world

[pompadourpink]

Genderfluid nouns

(Okay this is clickbait but there are words in French that don’t have the same definition depending on their gender)(here they are)

MOULE /mul/ :

une moule : a mussel (also, rare/teenish : p*ssy) 

un moule : a tin (ex : un moule à tarte)/a mould (baking), a cast (sculpture)

PARALLÈLE /paʁalɛl/ : 

une parallèle : a parallel (maths)

un parallèle : a comparison (ex : faire un parallèle entre x et y)

MANOEUVRE /manɔœːvʁ/ :

un-e manoeuvre : a labourer

une manoeuvre : manoeuvre/maneuver (when you try to park)

TOUR /tuːʁ/ :

une tour : a tower

un tour : a stroll/drive (ex : aller faire un tour en voiture), a magic trick (ex : un tour de magie), something’s circumference (ex : le tour de taille)

PHYSIQUE /fizik/ :

la physique : physics

le physique : the body/appearance (ex : il a un physique inhabituel)

MANCHE /mɑ̃ʃ/ :

la manche : the sleeve, the english channel, the round (game)

un manche : a handle (ex : un manche à balai), a violin neck

VOILE /vwal/ :

une voile : a sail (the fabric piece on a boat) + sailing (sports)

un voile : a veil (clothing, mystery)

MÉMOIRE /me.mwaʁ/ :

la mémoire : the memory (skill, computer ; ex : avoir bonne mémoire)

un mémoire : a memorandum, a 10+ p dissertation

POSTE /pɔst/ :

la poste : the poste office

un poste : a job, the police station

MODE /mɔd/ :

la mode : fashion (ex : les crop tops sont à la mode en ce moment)

le mode : the mood (linguistics, computer, music), instructions (ex : un mode d’emploi - direction leaflet, un mode d’affichage - display mode)

SOLDE /sɔld/ :

une solde : salary (rare)

un solde : balance (finances), sales (ex : ce sont les soldes)

CRÊPE /kʁɛp/ :

une crêpe : a crepe (thin pancake that you don’t eat the same way)

un crêpe : a crepe (fabric)

MORAL-E /mɔ.ʁal/  :

la morale : morality (literature), moral code (ethics)

le moral : general mood (how’s carl? since ellie died il n’a pas le moral)

LIVRE /livʁ/ :

une livre : a pound (weight, money ; ex : une livre de beurre)

un livre : a book

PENDULE /pɑ̃.dyl/ :

une pendule : a clock

un pendule : a pendulum

PAGE /paʒ/ :

une page : a page (book), a moment (ex : les plus belles pages de notre histoire ont eu lieu pendant ce voyage)

un page : a pageboy (history)

POÊLE /pwɑl/ :

une poêle : a frying pan

un poêle : a stove

SOMME /sɔm/  :

une somme : an amount, sum (finances, maths)

un somme : a nap (fam)

VASE /vaz/ :

la vase : sludge (the greeny/browny shit in swamps)(not Shrek, focus)

un vase : a vase (flowers)

MOUSSE /mus/ :

la mousse : moss (nature), lather (soap), mousse (food)

un mousse : a ship’s boy 

ESPACE /ɛs.pas/  :

une espace : a space between the words

un espace : a space between two things, space (science)

PAIR-E /pɛʁ/  :

une paire : a pair (ex : une paire de ciseaux)

un pair : a peer, even (eight is an even number)

MERCI /mɛʁ.si/ :

la merci : mercy (ex : il est à la merci des anglais)

merci : thank you (ex : mille mercis pour cette fabuleuse soirée)

CARPE /kaʁp/ :

une carpe : a carp (fish)

un carpe : a carpus (bones)

CRITIQUE /kɹɪ.ˈtik/ :

une critique : criticism, review

un-e critique : a critic (job)

FAUNE /fon/ :

la faune : fauna (animals)

un faune : a faun (mythology)

AIDE /ɛd/ :

l’aide : assistance (ex : au secours, à l’aide)

un-e aide : assistant

GARDE /ɡaʁd/ :

la garde : custody (ex : la garde des enfants), babysitting (ex : nous cherchons quelqu’un pour garder les enfants), watch (ex : i’ve got the next watch)

le garde : the guard, guardian, warden 

FINAL-E /fi.nal/ :

la finale : finale (sports, entertainment ; ex : la demi-finale de l’Eurovision)

le final : finale (music)

MORT /mɔʁ/ :

la mort : death

le/la mort-e : a dead person

MI-TEMPS /mi.tɑ̃/ :

la mi-temps : half time break (sports)

un mi-temps : a part-time job

OEUVRE /œvʁ/ :

une oeuvre : a work (literature), bonnes oeuvres (good deeds)

le gros oeuvre : the shell (construction)

ROSE /ʁoz/ :

une rose : a rose (flower)

le rose : a shade of pink (c’est un rose poudré)

GESTE /ʒɛst/ :

une geste : a medieval song of heroic deed (ex : la chanson de Roland)

un geste : a gesture (ex : un geste symbolique), a move (ex : brusque)

VAGUE /vaɡ/ :

une vague : a wave

le vague : the undefined (ex : il est resté très vague)