sh…ch…tch…
Here, for once, the French makes it simpler There is no “tch” pronunciation in French unless there is a “t” before the “ch”, that has then to be pronounced. Chocolat is pronounced sho-co-la like in shingle or sharp. Tchad (the African country) is pronounced t-sha-d...
Take “it” easy !
"It” doesn't exist in French... So take “it” easy... Genders in English is easier than in French and a lot more logical. He/she applies for people and it for things and animals (except exceptions 😉 ) In French there is no “it”... nothing is “neutral” I guess it's...
Understand to remember… makes sense ?
To learn, you need to understand - at a minimum ! And to remember as well ! At least it's my way of learning/remembering. If you don't have a clue of the why/when/where/how... it's difficult to fix it in your memory centers because you can't make links. Imagine you...
Fruit and Veggies Expressions in French
This is when foreign languages are fun and full of surprises ! Today, I picked 3 fun expressions in this category : 1) “Tomber dans les pommes” meaning “to faint.” Literally, though, it's “to fall in the apples.” 2) “Raconter des salades” meaning to tell lies, with...
They deserve a dunce cap !!!
I've visited a number of Facebook pages, more or less titled “Learn French,” and... OMG ! It's a shame that they even exist... but everything and anything proliferates here on Facebook... Beware, it's full of mistakes, misspellings, mistranslations,... you name it,...
Prendre la porte… don’t do it for real, just leave 😉
This is a French expression which means to leave... but it's a one way business ! You are asked to “prendre la porte” which would translate into “take the door” when you are - firmly - asked to leave the room. You could also decide to “prendre la porte” when it is not...
To be doing… être en train de…
You could say “I eat” but you'd rather say “I'm eating” if you're asked what are you doing right now ? In French, we would say “Je mange” but we don't have the straight equivalent for “I'm eating” which implies an action being done at that moment. The French would say...
The charms of expressions in foreign languages
Apart from the regular - utilitarian - aspect of languages... there are very charming aspects... and you find them in expressions. It's another reason why I do love languages. The drawback is that, most of the time, they are plain and simple untranslatable from one...
Week-end or week-endS ?
They say the week starts on Sunday, right ? I personally have a hard time with that... and the guys who invented the word “week-end” as well. Because Saturday and Sunday are the two endS of... two different weeks, no ? So we should call it “the week-endS”, right ? In...