en français, s'il vous plaît

a side blog to help me with my french

[dansnosreves]

i think it’s important to note that americans get a lot of criticism for only knowing english, but i would say that learning a second language in the united states is a privilege. unless you have the opportunity to live in an area with a lot of speakers of a language besides english, it is hard to get practice. you have to have time to put into learning a second language if you’re not learning it in an environment where people are speaking the language. you have to probably buy a textbook, maybe a tutor, maybe a college course. the internet has surely made this easier, but i still think that americans usually have to go through a lot of hoops to learn a language because most of us are not presented with an opportunity to practice a language in our daily lives. if you’re lucky and have the money, you can visit the country where they speak the language natively or stay there for a while, but not many people have this opportunity.

[mangoeater1000-deactivated20201]

please support this interracial french gay couple and their 20 kids

[captain-acab]

“le couple homosexuel interracial français milieu a vingt enfants” en fait c’est une erreur statistique. georgs d'enfants, qui habite dans une cave et adopte dix mille enfants chaque jour, est une donnée aberrante et il faudrait pas l’avoir compté

[anarqueer]

I don’t even speak French and I know what that paragraph says

[cavarage]

10 books for beginners in French

[hannahbeelanguages]

Printemps - Vocabulaire français

Pieds nus - Barefoot Venteux - Breezy Lumineux - Bright Joyeux - Cheerful Ravissant - Delightful Floral - Floral Florissant - Flourishing Parfumé - Fragrant Frais - Fresh Doux - Gentle Herbeux - Grassy Inspirant - Inspiring Charmant - Lovely Luxuriante - Lush Magnifique - Magnificent Pastel - Pastel Tranquille - Peaceful Pluvieux - Rainy Rafraîchissant - Refreshing Ensoleillé - Sunny Vibrant - Vibrant Pâques - Easter La brise - Breeze Le lapin - Bunny La chenille - Caterpillar La jonquille - Daffodil La marguerite - Daisy Le champ - Field La fleur - Flower L'harmonie - Harmony La joie - Joy La coccinelle - Ladybug La prairie - Meadow Le nid - Nest La goutte de pluie - Raindrop Le rouge-gorge - Robin La tulipe - Tulip Gazouiller - to Chirp S’épanouir - to Flourish S’ébattre - to Frolic Renouveler - to Renew

[agetwellcard]

coming soon: the duolingo owl will break into your home at night and beat the shit out of you if you don’t know the word for potato in french

[inkecl]

saw this on twitter, thought it might be helpful!

source: alisonykim

[dansnosreves]

I finished the Spanish tree in French, and this is what I learned

(originally posted on Duolingo)

Hey everyone,

So, today I finished the Spanish tree in French. Duolingo prides itself on how a person can learn a language in fifteen minutes a day, so I was intrigued to see just what would happen if I only did (roughly) fifteen minutes a day of Spanish practice. I also wanted to keep up with my French practice (which I've been learning for about three years now and have finished the French tree for), so I decided to learn Spanish in French.

Now, firstly, I just want to say that I am aware that it is kind of crazy to think that you can really learn a language with only fifteen minutes a day, but I was curious to see just how much I could learn. It felt like it took me forever to finish the French tree, as I meticulously went through the lessons, revised every day, and even made flash cards. At the same time, I also watched as much media as I could in French, and I studied grammar books. For the Spanish tree, however, I did none of this. I did my one lesson a day (sometimes more if I had time--but rarely) mostly because I am a student that works and puts most of my language learning concentration to my French classes at school. I can't say just how long it took me to finish the tree because I stopped and started a few times, but it's been a while.

Today, I finished it, however, and was kind of disappointed with just how little I felt I had learned. Maybe it was because I had learned in French, which is obviously very similar to Spanish, and making guesses was much easier in French than it would've been in English. I can read very simple Spanish (i.e. children's books) fairly decently, but cracking open that translated copy of Harry Potter is still out of the question.

Did I learn a lot of vocabulary? Yes. Did I retain a lot of vocabulary? Not really. However, did I retain many of the grammar rules? Yes. Again, was that because of my French studies? Maybe. I do have to say, though, that this tree has helped me quite a bit with my French. Just the ways that things are translated, extra vocabulary that I might not have known/learned in the original French tree, and the structure of phrasing were very useful in my French studies.

All in all, I feel like I have a really good jumping off point for Spanish, and intend to only enrich my studies by finishing the Spanish tree in English (since it is much more extensive than the French Spanish tree) and starting to read more to learn vocabulary.

Maybe, just maybe, I will do the French tree in Spanish. What do you think?

Beth

[dansnosreves]

how to get the most out of duolingo

duolingo is a great app/website that you can use to begin learning a foreign language, but unfortunately you most likely won’t be able to fully learn the language if you only use duolingo. so, here are some things that you can do to get the most out of duolingo and to learn your target better.

1. read the lessons - most of the languages (especially if you’re learning in english) have little lessons. however, these are only available on the website, so if you use the app, you might want to occasionally check in online and click on the little lightbulb to read the lessons. they usually aren’t super in-depth, but for beginners it is super helpful and not as heavy as a textbook grammar guide.

2. don’t work too fast and always revise - if you’re knocking out a bunch of lessons a day thinking you’ll learn faster, this could be true, but most likely it’s not. if you work at a steady pace and remember to do it once a day (preferably at the same time -- they say this is better for memorization) you will learn it better. if you do one lesson or maybe two a day and you still have time for more, go ahead and revise a little. when i first started french, i did two lessons a day and then always revised to make sure i remembered everything.

3. study the vocabulary - not all of the courses have this, but on the online version some of the courses have a tab on the top that says “words” and this is a great place to find all the vocabulary that you’ve been learning in your courses. go through the list and find all the words you don’t know that well or at all and make some flashcards or a set on quizlet and study them. learn how to spell them, pronounce them, conjugate them, and use them within a sentence. if you do this, you’ll always have a solid base to fall back on. this goes for learning conjugations, as well.

4. start learning your native language in your target language - after you’ve finished all the courses in your target language, feel free to revise daily. you might want to, however, start learning your native language in your target language. this might not be an option for all the languages offered on duolingo. for me, i learned english in french. this was helpful for picking up more phrases and seeing more common ways that french people write. if you’re feeling particularly confident and know your stuff really well, try learning a new language in your target language. for example, i did the spanish course in french, which definitely helped with my french phrasing while translating. 

5. don’t stop after you finish your course - if you’ve done it right, finishing your course on duolingo will give you a really good start to the language you’re learning. after you’ve finished, keep revising, but also go ahead and start learning your target language in different ways. i made a whole in-depth post on how to learn a language online here. some ideas are reading children books, watching youtube videos and movies, and talking to natives all in your target language. never give up because it will be worth it. 

[thelangblrnet]

Subjunctive is a mood typically used to express wishes, desires, emotions, opinions, doubts, and necessities.

To form the present subjunctive, take the present indicative 3rd person plural form (ils/elles) of most verbs, remove the ending -ent, and add the following endings:

-e -es -e -ions -iez -ent

Verbs which take on irregular formations include avoir, être, faire, aller, savoir, pouvoir, and vouloir

The present subjunctive is used with expressions which could fall into 5 general categories:

1. NECESSITY

il faut que // it is necessary to

il est important que // it is important that

il est nécessaire que // it is essential that

il est temps que // it is time that

il est urgent que // it is urgent that

il est exigé que // it is required that

ex: Il est essentiel que je finisse mes devoirs. // It is essential that I finish my homework.

2. DESIRE

aimer (mieux) que // to prefer that

défendre que // to forbid that

demander que // to ask that

exiger que // to demand/require that

ordonner que // to order that

permettre que // to permit that

préférer que // to prefer that

souhaiter que // to wish/hope that

vouloir que // to want/wish that

ex: Mes parents défendent que je sorte pendant la semaine. // My parents forbid that I go out during the week.

3. DOUBT

il est douteux que // it is doubtful that

il est (im)possible que // it is (im)possible that

il est improbable que // it is improbable that

il n’est pas certain/sûr que // it is not sure that

il n’est pas clair que // it is not clear that

il n’est pas vrai que // it is not true that

il se peut que // it is possible that

il semble que // it seems that

douter que // to doubt that

ex: Il se peut que ces touristes ne parlent pas français. // It is possible that these tourists do not speak french.

4. EMOTION

il est bon que // it is good that

il est dommage que // it is a pity that

il est triste que // it is sad that

il est surprenant que // it is surprising that

il est regrettable que // it is regrettable that

il est étonnant que // it is astonishing that

il est bizarre que // it is odd that

il est curieux que // it is curious that

il est (mal)heureux que // it is (un)fortunate that

il est honteux que // it is a shame that

il est (in)utile que // it is useless/useful that

il est incroyable que // it is incredible that

ex: Il est très utile que nous apprenions le français. // It is very useful that we learn french.

5. OPINION

il est normal que // it is normal that

il est logique que // it is logical that

il est naturel que // it is natural that

il est (in)juste que // it is (un)just that

il est rare que // it is rare that

il est préférable que // it is preferable that

il est convenable que // it is fitting/proper that

il vaut mieux que // it is better that

ex: Il vaut mieux que tu ne viennes pas avec eux. // It is better that you do not go with them.

[dansnosreves]

to meet

faire la connaissance (de) - to meet, make the acquaintance (of)

(se) connaître - to meet, get acquainted with; to know

(se) recontrer - to meet (by chance); to run into

(se) retrouver - to meet (by prior arrangement)

(se) revoir - to meet; to see again

[senchais]

fr | shopping

quizlet link

【 actions 】

acheter en vrac | to buy in bulk

aligner | to line up

être fauché(e) | to be broke / penniless

faire du shopping | to shop

faire les courses | to go shopping

payer en espèces | to pay in cash

rembourser | to refund

voler | to steal

voler à l’étalage | to shoplift

【 deals 】

l’affaire (f) | bargain

en promotion | on offer

en solde | on sale

en vente | for sale

le prix soldé (m) | sale price

la remise (f) | discount

【 on doors 】

fermé | closed

ouvert | open

poussez | push

tirez | pull

【 extra 】

l’argent (m) | money

l’article (m) | item

la caisse (f) | checkout, cash register

la carte de crédit (f) | credit card

le centre commercial (m) | shopping centre

le chariot (m) | shopping trolley / shopping cart

le/la commerçant(e) | shopkeeper

le distributeur (m) | ATM

l’entreprise (m) | business

la fraude (f) | fraud

le/la gérant(e) | manager

le libre-service (m) | self-service

la monnaie (f) | change (coins)

le panier (m) | shopping basket

la porte automatique (f) | automatic door

le porte-monnaie (m) | coin purse

le portefeuille (m) | wallet

le reçu (m) | receipt (also le ticket de caisse)

la salle d’essayage (f) | fitting room

la taxe de vente (f) | sales tax

la transaction (f) | transaction

le vendeur / la vendeuse | sales assistant

le vigile (m) | security guard

[awesomefrench]

List of verlan words in French

Personnes :

femme → meuf

mec → keum

frère → reuf

sœur → reus

mère → reum

père → reup

moi → wam ou oim 

toi → wat ou oit 

pute → teupu ou tepu

pétasse → tasspé ou taspé

parents → rempa ou rempss (notez la prononciation du s)

flic → keuf 

arabe → beur → reubeu ou rebeu 

juif → feuj

noir → renoi 

français → céfran

bombe → beubon ou bebon

black → keubla ou kebla

Adjectifs :

méchant → chanmé

gentil → tigen

énervé → vénèr

louche → chelou 

pourri → ripou (voir le film Les Ripoux)

lourd → relou 

bizarre → zarbi ou zarb

fou → ouf 

dingue → gueudin ou guedin (comme dans c'est un truc de guedin !)

comme ça → kom ass ou ça com ou ass com

moche → cheum

chaud → auch

cher → reuch

branché → chébran

bête → teubé ou tebé 

défoncé → fonsdé

louche (bizarre) → cheulou ou chelou

méchant (super) → chan-mé, chanmé

sec → keuss ou keus ou keussé

grave → veugra ou vegra

Verbes et formes verbales :

choper (“se faire choper”) → pécho 

mater → téma

vas-y → zyva ou ziva (article existant)

mate ! (au sens de “regarde !”) → téma

flasher → chéfla

je ne sais pas → Ché ap

carotter (flouer) → rot-ca

Noms :

métro → tromé ou trom

fête → teuf 

cigarette → garetci, abrégé en garo

disque → skeud

photo → tofo ou tof

joint → oinj

chien → ienche ou iench

musique → zicmu, abrégé en zic

rap → peura

cité → téci

gramme → meug

herbe → beuh ou beu 

barette → retba

pétard → tarpé

shit → teuch

pied → ièp, iep, yèp ou yep

bite → teub (article existant)

sein → eins (prononcez in-sse)

Check the source for more

[dansnosreves]

how to learn french (a step by step guide)

so, the title is maybe a little misleading since i’m not fluent in french or anything, but i’ve been studying it for a year and i’ve made a bunch of progress. there are a ton of ways to learn a language but i’m going to put the way i’ve been doing it. i’ve seen a lot of masterposts with lots of resources and i want to make my own with the things that i liked and thought worked well. also, this could be good for someone who has never taken a french class, like me. this is going to be long, so i’m going to put it under a read more.

Afficher davantage

[dansnosreves]

how to get better at french

it’s been a while since i made this post, which is basically a how to on learning french (or any language really) on your own. since making this post, i’ve taken a year of french in college (my first time ever formally learning french in a classroom) and have progressed quite a bit. despite this, i feel like much of the progress i’ve made since is mostly from the work i’ve done outside of school. so here are some more things that i’ve been doing to progress my french learning: 

read, read, read: no seriously, continue reading. this is obviously the easiest thing to do, especially as someone learning outside of a classroom. find a book you love in your native language, figure out the french title, then look for a translated version and read it. this is super helpful when getting into more advanced reading because you already know what happens. don’t get caught up with every single word you don’t know, though. context clues are your friend. i do suggest though, having a french dictionary installed on your phone and still looking up some words. if they seem important or you keep seeing them often, write it down and practice flashcards with it later. not sure where to start? try harry potter. 

watch stuff: youtube has been amazing for me. a lot of people cite youtube as one of the best places to learn a language, and it’s true. you don’t need to be watching how to speak french 101 videos or anything, just find stuff you like, but in french. you might not understand everything at first, and it might be frustrating but try not using subtitles, and even better try subtitles in french if possible. if you can’t find anything, you can just look at the popular in france section. i also like damon and jo videos since they’re typically easier to understand since they’re americans (but try not to rely so heavily on americans/non-native speakers). besides youtube, you can always watch your favorite movies dubbed in french. try googling “[movie title in french] en streaming”. i also just watched the french version of the popular teen show skam and thought it was super helpful to pick up on slang. i watched it with the french subtitles and then paused and wrote down thing i heard/read a lot to work on them later. 

talk to natives: i know it’s super hard and can be stressful but talk to natives!! if you have anxiety (like me) an app like hello talk is perfect. i’ve been using it for a couple months again and i forgot how great it is. basically you can friend people who are learning the language you are a native speaker of and then help each other out. this has helped me a lot with becoming more confident in small talk and making mistakes when talking. you can correct the other person so you can learn what you’re doing wrong and correct your mistakes. 

[futurefrenchprof]

Seasonal Vocab

6/5/2018

Summer is rapidly approaching so a seasonal vocab list is only appropriate. Enjoy !

Printemps (m.) - spring

Bottes en caoutchouc (f.pl.) - rain boots

Éclore (for flowers) - to bloom

Fleur (f.) - flower

Goutte de pluie (f.) - raindrop

Imperméable (m.) - raincoat

Orage (m.) - storm

Parapluie (m.) - umbrella 

Pluie (f.) - rain

Tornade (f.) - tornado

Été (m.) - summer

Chaud - warm/hot (ex. Il fait chaud - it’s hot out, j’ai chaud - I’m hot)

Coup de soleil - sunburn

En vacances - on vacation (ex. Pendant l’été, je suis toujours en vacances - In summer, I’m always on vacation)

Lumière de soleil (f.) - sunlight

Lunettes de soleil (f.pl.) - sunglasses

Maillot/maillot de bain (m.) - bathing suit

Mer (f.) - sea

Sécheresse (f.) - drought

Short (m.) - shorts

Soleil (m.) - sun

T-shirt (m.) - t-shirt

Automne (m.) - fall/autumn

Citrouille (f.)/potiron (m.) - pumpkin

Changement de couleur des feuilles (m.) - changing of colors of the leaves

Chute des feuilles (f). - falling of the leaves

Feu de joie (m.) - bonfire

Feuille (f.) - leaf

Frais - chilly/fresh (ex. il fait frais - it’s chilly out)

Pull (m.) - sweater

Rentrée (f.) - back to school/start of the school year

Rhume (m.) - cold (sickness, ex. j’ai attrapé un rhume - I caught a cold)

Hiver (m.) - winter

Bataille de neige (f.) - snowball fight

Bonhomme de neige (m.) - snowman

Bottes de neige (f.pl.)/après-ski (m.) - snowboots

Flocon de neige (m.) - snowflake

Froid - cold (ex. Il fait froid - it’s cold out, j’ai froid - I’m cold)

Glace (f.) - ice

Manteau (m.) - coat

Neige (f.) - snow

Tempête de neige (f.)/blizzard (m.) - blizzard

Bonne journée !

[pompadourpink]

Mum!!! Please help!!! Do you have any pointers on the 'Tout/tous/toutes/toute" situation because this child is confused thank you!!!

wipe your tears, child, mum to the rescue!

TOUT / TOUTE / TOUS / TOUTES

basics : tout + singular masculine, toute + singular feminine, tous + plural masculine, toutes + plural feminine.

- determiner + noun (tout, toute, tous, toutes) : refers to a noun and agrees with it in gender and number. ex : tout le monde est dehors (everybody’s outside), toutes les femmes sont parfaites (all women are perfect).

- pronoun + verb (tout, tous, toutes) : means all of it/them, replaces a plural group - if singular is invariable in gender, if plural depends on the gender of its antecedent. tout est beau ici (everything is pretty here) ; je suis d’accord avec tout ce que tu as dit (i agree with everything you said) ; j’ai proposé aux filles d’aller au cinéma, elles ont toutes dit oui (i suggested to the girls that we go to the cinema, they all said yes).

- adverb + qualifying adjective (tout, toute, toutes) : means completely. ex : il est tout content (he’s all happy). n.b. : the adverb toute is invariable if the adjective starts with a vowel (elles sont tout émues) + variable if it starts with a consonant or an aspirated h (elles sont toutes heureuses à l’idée de les revoir) and the masculine adverb tout is invariable regardless of letters.

don’t mix up pronouns and adverbs :

- tes enfants sont tout bronzés : your children are completely tanned

- tes enfants sont tous bronzés : all of your children are tanned

[dansnosreves]

Thanks for all the resources!

no problem! hopefully they’re helping out :)