Because I haven’t done a French post in a while, I’ve put together a list of basic rules and grammar terminology for everyone studying French, whether you’re completely new to the language or want to recap! Some of the rules and terminology explained here can also be applied to other languages
Terminology
Subject - the person or thing performing the action being described
Verb Conjugation - when the verb changes grammatically to agree with the subject (see above)
Articles - context for a noun (example: ‘the’ or ‘a’)
Definite Articles - used only with specific nouns
Indefinite Articles - used only with unspecified, countable nouns
Partitive Articles - used only for a quantity of something uncountable
Elison - the removal of a vowel sound in order to avoid consecutive vowel sounds
Contraction (not the child birth kind) - when one word is made from combining two words
aspirate - consonant
non-aspirate - vowel
‘etre on train de’ - to be in the process of. Sometimes used in place of a specialized continuous verb if appropriate, because French doesn't have those. An idiomatic phase.
Idiomatic phase - language where the meaning is different from the meaning of the words in the expression
conjunction - when two or more phases, clauses or words are joined together
preposition - shows the relationship between the noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence
aimer - to love when referring to people or pets, but only to like if referring to anything else
aimer bien - always to like
adorer - always to love, but definitely more sexy. Not for pets, or your mum.
Rules
French has two genders: masculine and feminine
articles (see above) must agree with their gender and number
a word can elide (see above) if it is followed by a vowel. Examples: je, me, te, se, ce, ne, de and que
the letter H is always silent
When H starts a word however, it can be treated as an aspirate or non-aspirate (see above)
plural nouns and adjectives often (but not always) end in ‘s’, which is usually silent
‘Tu’ (see below in personal subject pronouns) is for friends, peers, relatives and people familiar to you
‘Vous’ (see below, personal subject pronouns) is for people you’ve just met, formal relationships and plurals. Its kind of the default, as it is the more respectful form.
pronouns, articles and adjectives must agree with their nouns in gender and number!!!!
there are two present tenses: simple and continuous
French does not have specialized continuous verb tenses (see above)
Examples (feel free to save and use!)
Personal Subject Pronouns
Subject Verb Agreement
Articles
Plurals
And Lastly!
Thank you so much for checking out this post, I really hope you find it useful. Please let me know if you need any help understanding any of this or would like anything clarified further! I also want to add a small disclaimer: the cheat sheets and header (including the artwork) is all my own.
Hey, Chicks. This is something of a tutorial on how to read (in the least patronizing way possible) or at least some tips on how to read critically when you’ve got lots to read and read properly without loads of time!
Put aside time for reading
Please don’t underestimate the time you need to read! Setting aside reading hours per week will really help you from falling behind
Tip: time yourself reading one page of your current text and times it by the number of pages assigned to work out how fast you can read it. It might seem a chore but it’ll help you allocate your time better
Turn off the outside world
Turn off your phone, twitter, facebook, email and the internet. Yeah, you read that right. This will help you to stay focused and get through your material faster
Tip: See if you can turn off all notifications and check email and messages only twice a day. Be sure to let people know when you will and won't be available! Doing this will really free up your time and even make you make you feel more positive about your work!
Move your reading location
Switch up your reading locations a bit! Getting out of your room especially will help you feel more focused because we associate our bedroom with relaxation
Tip: Try out cafes, trains, buses, parks, other workstations and your nearest library
Use a reading stand
Now I wouldn’t suggest this if all your books are fairly manageable in terms of size and weight but if you have texts that are difficult to manipulate (like me) then consider getting one. They’re very useful for keeping hardbacks open when you’re trying to make notes
reading stands come in every shape and size but here's one I really like
Check online before you buy!
A lot of texts you may have been assigned will be available for free online in ebook format. It may be the case that you prefer reading from hardcopy and I really appreciate that. However, do still check because a) it’ll save you from carrying loads of heavy books everywhere and b) It will occasionally save you loads of money
IMPORTANT: Pls don’t steal or visit dodgy sights just to get texts. Writers are hard working people who love it when you actually buy their work. Check to see if texts still have Copyright!
Read effectively
There is loads to say on this but just to keep it brief: not all texts need to be read in the same way. Some texts you can read partially, others quickly and some deeply. However, always do two things; work out at what level you need to know the material (ask your tutors) and define your aims and priorities before you start
example: ‘Before I read this article on the use of American Icons in 19th century lit I’m going to a) email my tutor to ask how relevant it is to our next class and b) recognise that I’m reading this because I want to know more about how this particular author uses American Icons, and therefore I’m going to focus on those parts of the article relating to the author only’
Tip: Skim reading is not cheating! I promise!! Also, its an acquired skill so don’t worry if you can’t do it right away. Don’t be scared to request more time to read course material if you need to, just do it in good time.
That's it for now! I really hope this is helpful if reading effectively is something you’ve been struggling with or want to start doing. Love from Niamh xo
Hey chicks, here's another totally not patronizing tutorial on how to read, leading on from a point I made in a previous tutorial. I realize how easy it is when reading to not get the most out of what you’re taking in, so I’ve thrown together some advice on how to read effectively and the different ways you can read!
Work out what level you need to know the text
Chance are you will not need to know all of your required reading in the same depth. Accordingly, your required reading does not all need to be read in the same way for you to get the most out of it
Some texts you will need to follow closely and others partially! If you’re not sure on the relevance of a text, make sure to ask your tutors.
In order to read effectively, always start out knowing what your priorities are and what questions you want to answer
Intensive reading
This kind of reading is particularly suited to texts that will draw heavily from or will write about in detail. Read slowly and respond to what you read my making notes or annotations, or both!
I wouldn’t recommend highlighting although this can be a part of intensive reading as well.
Skim reading
Here you read through a text quickly and lightly to get a grip on whether or not it's actually relevant to your studies. Don’t worry if you can’t skim read right away! Its an acquired skill and incredibly useful. I used to think when I skim read chapters for my English lit classes that I was kinda cheating... I promise you it's not.
Look at back covers, abstracts, indexes and contents pages.To get a good idea of the text contents read the first and last chapters or first and last sentences of a paragraph
once you’ve gone through and marked which areas of the text will be most useful to you, go back and read those sections carefully.
Targeted reading
You’ll find your reading will become a lot more efficient if before you start you have an idea of why you’re reading it and what the text is broadly going to be about. Knowing this allows you to decide what level of attention you need to pay to what your reading and how much you want to meditate on it.
Sound a little confusing? Don’t worry, just read the background texts. Background reading is important because it allows you to situate what you read in what you already know. If you’re stuck for background reading try blurbs, chapter heading and reviews from reputable sources. Texts often have bibliographies as well that are worth looking into
As you read keep in mind what you’re reading what your purpose is, and what you aim to get from your text. This helps to prioritize the more useful parts of what you’re reading.
All this might seem overwhelming at first if you’re not used to it, but I swear, make a few simple changes to the way you read will work wonders on your comprehension. That's it for now, always shoot me an ask if you’d like me to explain something further. Love, Niamh x
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