 Return to the FRENCH Archive | Forward to the Current FRENCH Forum |
| Mery | Friday 15th of April 2005 10:38:25 PM |
| Beginners - Hi everyone,
Some French learners told me they can't take part in the different activities of the French and France forum because they know absolutely nothing about French. I decided to create a new thread for them where they'll be able to post all their questions. I agree to correct some basic sentences if needed, but I won't translate words. Please use an online French - English dictionary if you need Phrases. Here's an email sent to me by Rahul. I'll answer his questions here. Never be afraid of posting in this thread :) [quote]salut mery, comment-allez vous. je vais bien. cest interessant in francais. Where will we use finite and definite articles. and what is the use of de article. I want a translation for how,what,where,which and when.[/quote] [b]Definite and indefinite articles[/b] = please read this thread: http://www.phrasebase.c../../forum/read.php?TID=4729 A very complete explanation has been posted by AaRon. If you want exercises, click on this link: http://www.phrasebase.c../../forum/read.php?TID=4643 [b]how[/b] = comment = e.g. = comment vas-tu? (how are you?) [b]what[/b] = different Phrases (quoi, quel, quelle, qu', que etc.) = e.g. = que fais-tu? (what are you doing?), qu'aimes-tu manger? (what do you like eating?) etc. [b]where[/b] = où = e.g. = où habites-tu? (where do you live?) [b]which[/b] = quel / quelle = quel livre as-tu acheté? = which book did you buy? (quelle is used with feminine words) [b]when[/b] = quand = e.g. = quand partons-nous? (when are we leaving?) [quote]then what is feminine and masculine? what i think is feminine for female using words and maculine for male using words right?[/quote] => in French nouns are either feminine or masculine e.g. = le chien (the dog) = masculine word / la voiture (the car) = feminine word Each time you learn a new word, you have to learn its gender. Sometimes when women are speaking they have to agree some words. e.g. = je suis intelligent (I am intelligent) = said by a man BUT je suis intelligent[b]e[/b] is said by a woman Usually you just have to add an 'e' to the adjective or the present participle. Of course there are exceptions: e.g. = je suis gentil (I am kind) said by a man, but je suis gentil[b]le[/b] said by a woman Examples with present participles: je suis allé à Paris (I went to Paris), but a woman would say je suis allé[b]e[/b] à Paris. If a man is talking about a woman, he'd say elle est allée à Paris (she went to Paris) I hope it can answer your questions Rahul! :) Á bientôt! (see you soon) | |
| addanu | Friday 15th of April 2005 10:49:25 PM |
| i want to learn frech from begin - hi mery , i want to learn french so can u suggest me , wut should i do for begin learn this language | |
| Mery | Friday 15th of April 2005 11:11:53 PM |
| - Salut addanu,
I don't really know where you should start. It depends on what you want to learn. Do you only want to learn basic expressions or all the grammar etc.? Don't hesitate to tell me what you need and I'll post explanations here. Would you like to learn how to introduce yourself? *-) Just ask... :) Different lessons have already been posted in this forum, but also in the France forum http://www.phrasebase.c../../forum/board.php?FID=194 I really advise you to take the time to read the different posts and ask your questions here. Au revoir! (goodbye) | |
| sharonlynn | Saturday 16th of April 2005 02:35:00 AM |
| - Salut Mery...about french ..I understand almost everything when I read .. a few things when I heard....maybe cause it´s similar to portuguese..I can talk some expressions as well ..greetings and things like that..so to me it´s really good the lessons u post on gmail ..I´m a manager of a shop so I would like to know expressions like:
Can i help you? Be confortable Which color do you prefer? These things come from .... We are open since...o´clock until... you can pay by credit card What´s your size? Free size only .. Sorry we don´t have it anymore How much?and(how can i answer it?) Sorry Mery :)I think it´s enough for now .... Thanks for your help merci beaucoup Sharon | |
| Caramelicious | Saturday 16th of April 2005 03:13:06 AM |
| - Sharonlynn, I can answer some of your questions:
Somethings you might hear a shop owner say: Quel est ta couleur preferée? - What is your favorite color? Combien coûte ... - How much costs ... ? - You can say - ça coûte... - It costs... Vous désirez - May I help you? Quel est le prix? - What is the price? L'argent = Money Un billet = Bill, Paper Money Une Pièce - Coin Nous sommes ici de.... à.... - We are here from ... to ... Nous sommes ouverts de... á ... - We are open from... to ... Some verbs: - Chercher - To look for - Coûter - To Cost - Penser - To Think - Penser que - To Think (that) - Trouver - To find; To think of These are just some that I looked up. I would probably wait till Mery responds just to make sure. I found these in a book. I don't know if French becomes "outdated" like english does, so I hope all if not most of these are correct | |
| Mery | Saturday 16th of April 2005 03:40:02 AM |
| - Salut!
Don't worry :), it doesn't bother me to answer your questions. You can post here each time you want to know something. [i]My Phrases[/i] [b]can I help you?[/b] = puis-je vous aider? / est-ce que je peux vous aider? [b]be comfortable[/b] = être à l'aise are you comfortable? = êtes-vous à l'aise? [b]which color do you prefer?[/b] = quelle couleur préférez-vous? [b]these things come from...[/b] = ces choses viennent de / du / d' e.g. = du Brésil (from Brazil), de Belgique (from Belgium), d'Italie (from Italy) (d' because Italy begins with a vowel) [b]We are open since...o´clock until...[/b] = nous sommes ouverts de .... à .... [b]you can pay by credit card[/b] = vous pouvez payer par carte de crédit [b]what's your size?[/b] = quelle est votre taille? / quelle taille faites-vous? [b]free size only[/b] = I don't really understand what you mean, one-size ? If so, the translation is taille unique [b]sorry we don't have it anymore[/b] = désolée, nous n'en avons plus [b]how much?[/b] = combien how much does it cost? = combien ça coûte? how much is it? = c'est combien? I'll add an audio file in a few hours ;) À bientôt! PS: the audio file: http://duckie.free.fr/audio1.wav :) | |
| Caramelicious | Saturday 16th of April 2005 04:00:59 AM |
| - When I got into Classroom rooms everyone seems to say this: Mou@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I have no idea what this means lol, but it seems to be everyones favorite thing to say. I hope it isn't a bad word or anything, what does it mean though? | |
| Mery | Saturday 16th of April 2005 04:11:40 AM |
| - No, I don't think it's a bad word. I guess it refers to the sound of kissing, also written muah! or mwa! I'm not sure... I never use Mou@@@@@@@, very weird! | |
| rahulchan | Monday 18th of April 2005 12:09:24 PM |
| hi - salut mery,
thank you mery, for ur answer. i understand what is feminine and masculine. now onwards i will use a dictionary for Phrases. regards rahul | |
| Mery | Tuesday 19th of April 2005 12:00:30 AM |
| - Salut Rahul!
De rien (you're welcome) :D If you have any other question in the future, feel free to post them here. A good translator: http://babel.altavista.com | |
| sharonlynn | Tuesday 19th of April 2005 04:06:29 AM |
| - MERI AND CARAMEL ..
MERCI BEAUCOUP :) I´LL STUDY THESE THEN I´LL POST SOME MORE QUESTIONS I´D LIKE TO KNOW... À BIENTôt!! | |
| rahulchan | Tuesday 19th of April 2005 01:10:06 PM |
| Bonjour chaque(hello all), - hi everyone,
I request all of you, what it is this is the beginners forum. so every one should send a message french and as well as in english, like, Bonjour(hello). because, somebody send a message in french, in that case beginners cannot get and read a correct message. I think this is very useful for beginners correct? regards rahul | |
| Mery | Wednesday 20th of April 2005 08:06:58 PM |
| - [color=blue]Sharonlynn[/color]: de rien (you're welcome)
[color=blue]Rahul[/color]: very good comment, since now on we'll add the English Phrases in parenthesis when we write something in French :) Merci! (thank you) | |
| mattie | Sunday 24th of April 2005 05:03:11 AM |
| - Could someone please tell me the difference between 'Je ne connais pas' and 'je ne sais pas' ?
Thank you | |
| Doroti | Sunday 24th of April 2005 06:08:07 AM |
| - 'Je ne sais pas' means "I don't know/ I can't"
'Je ne connais pas' meand "I don't know" in different way - like "I don't know from experience/ I'm not familiar with this" or something like this... for exaple, you can say "Je ne connais pas", when somebody asks you if you know that country where he/she comes from and you don't know. If I'm wrong, please correct me, Mery ;) | |
| EmDee1B86 | Wednesday 04th of May 2005 09:07:31 AM |
| - What is the difference between devant, avant and auparavant?
How is the word "dès" used in French? | |
| dhairyasheel | Thursday 05th of May 2005 12:58:19 PM |
| French learner - Hi mary,
I want to start learning french. I have emailed you once. Let me know how to get started. Dhairyasheel | |
| giana | Friday 06th of May 2005 12:42:27 PM |
| - hi everyone..
I am trying to read some french words from the cd cover my French friend gave me.. i may have memorized it, yet i dunno how to pronounce them still..lol may somebody pls help me where can i get any audio that can guide me? thanks so much | |
| Ulven | Friday 06th of May 2005 08:02:38 PM |
| - [quote][i]Originally posted by mattie[/i]
Could someone please tell me the difference between 'Je ne connais pas' and 'je ne sais pas' ? Thank you[/quote] [b]connaitre[/b] is used for nouns/objects (and people). Do you know [u]him[/u]? Do you know [u]this place[/u]? I don't know [u]these people[/u]. [b]savoir[/b] is used for verbs/actions and with question words (what/when/where etc.). Do you know [u]what he is like[/u]? Do you know [u]where[/u] this place [u]is[/u]? We don't know [u]how to do[/u] this. I know [u]what[/u] this [u]is[/u]. Do you know [u]who[/u]? I don't know [u]about[/u] that? I don't know [u]about[/u] these people. | |
| snotra | Tuesday 10th of May 2005 09:37:02 PM |
| - oh thats a gret loss for me mary :(
ok can u give a quck formula or idea about how to chang from active to passive and vice versa? plz suggest some exersizes too........ i also want to know abt how to increase vocab with dictionary? merci beaucoup!!! | |
| soccerlover | Wednesday 18th of May 2005 02:45:55 AM |
| i know some french - i took 4 years of french at school, how hard is it to remember most of it, i learn a lot but i forgot a lot too, and my pronounsiation its not so welmming, well should i spend a summer in france to get most of it or because i really need the practice | |
| mattie | Thursday 19th of May 2005 12:28:23 PM |
| - I am having trouble with the 'Perfect tense.' Could someone please explain it. It is really important. :)
Meric. :p | |
| Daan | Friday 20th of May 2005 10:21:41 PM |
| - I assume you mean the passé composé?
Ok, here we go...please ask if you should have any further questions - I know my explanations aren't the best in the world ;) In French, the passé composé is formed by the personal pronoun + the conjugation of to be (être) or to have (avoir) + the past participle of the verb. Some examples: J'ai écoute. (I have listened). Je is the personal pronoun (I). ai is a conjugated verb (avoir, to have) écoute is the past participle of écouter. Il a téléphone. (He has telephoned) Il is the personal pronoun a is the conjugated verb (avoir again) téléphone is the past participle of téléphoner. The passé composé of the following verbs is formed with être: aller - to go arriver - to arrive descendre (redescendre) - to descend / go downstairs entrer (rentrer) - to enter monter (remonter) - to climb mourir - to die naître (renaître) - to be born partir (repartir) - to leave passer - to pass, spend time rester - to stay retourner - to return sortir (ressortir) - to go out tomber (retomber) - to fall venir (devenir, parvenir, revenir) - to come Verbs are conjugated with être only when they are intransitive. When the above verbs are used transitively, avoir is used as the auxiliary verb. Je me suis rasé. (I have shaved myself.) Note that this passé composé is not formed with avoir but with être! This is because "se raser" (to shave) is a pronominal verb, and you have to use être to form their passé composé. The passé composé of avoir and être is formed using avoir: J'ai été (I have been) J'ai eu (I have had) The past participle does not change when avoir is used to form a passé composé. However, if you use être, there is a minor rule you have to abide by: the past participle has to agree with the subject in gender and number. For example: Il est allé (male, singular = no changes) Elle est allée (female, singular = add an e) Ils sont allés (male, plural = add an s) Elles sont allées (female, plural = add es) The plusqueparfait (I had eaten, etc) is easy to form if you know these rules: just replace the form of avoir/être with their conjugation in the imparfait. Il était allé (He had gone). Please ask when you should have any further questions! :) | |
| Caramelicious | Wednesday 01st of June 2005 10:13:05 PM |
| - Sometimes when I an reading I see, je me suis? I don't quite understand this, but I believe it means I am myself or something close? | |
| Axystos | Thursday 02nd of June 2005 12:02:58 AM |
| - [quote][i]Originally posted by Caramelicious[/i]
Sometimes when I an reading I see, je me suis? I don't quite understand this, but I believe it means I am myself or something close?[/quote] Well, it depends on context, of course, but usually I see "je me suis" in combinations like "je me suis [french reflexive verb in participe passé]." So the translation would depend on what that verb is. | |
| slobo | Friday 03rd of June 2005 12:41:20 AM |
| - bonjour,
je suis essayer pour apprendre francais, je suis ne bien pas. Pardon pour mon tres mauvais francais However there is something I dont understand. Comment tu t'appelle - means what is your name? But doesnt How means Comment and What is que Thanks Slobo | |
| Caramelicious | Friday 03rd of June 2005 04:42:19 AM |
| - Comment tu t'appelle translates to what is your name, but word from word it means "How do you call yourself".
I beliebe que can mean something different in a different context or is means more than one thing. A mistake I used to make was with "penser" Je pense I would say a lot of the time when I really needed to say je pense que, I believe it translates in this context to "that", I think "that" ... You have some things that look a little funny about, I would try to correct you but I might be wrong also. :D | |
| slobo | Saturday 04th of June 2005 04:48:43 AM |
| - (Please correct me on my poor french)
Corriger moi sur mon mauvais francais. Merci Caramelicious, C'est bien savoir. Comment temps/anees avez-vous travaille sur francais? (If it is so bad, how long have you studied french for!) | |
| Caramelicious | Saturday 04th of June 2005 05:24:52 AM |
| - I will try hehe
Corriger moi sur mon mauvais francais. (Please correct me on my poor french) I would change this to... S'il te plaît [color=red]corrige[/color]-moi sur mon mauvais français. or Peux-tu corriger mon français, s'il te plaît? [color=red]Red = Imperative[/color] Comment temps/anees avez-vous travaille sur francais? (If it is so bad, how long have you studied french for!) I would say... Si c'est mauvais, comment longtemps tu a étudié le français? or Comment longtemps tu a étudié le français ? | |
| Mery | Saturday 04th of June 2005 08:00:09 PM |
| - NON NON NON :| AHhhaHHHAhhahhhha ;)
Corrige mon mauvais français s'il te plaît (I don't think a native speaker would say 'mauvais français'...) PAS corrige-moi sur mon mauvais français. It doesn't mean anything Peux-tu corriger mon français, stp is ok [color=red]Combien longtemps is wrong!!![/color] [b]How long = depuis combien de temps[/b] Depuis combien de temps étudies-tu le français :) | |
| slobo | Saturday 04th of June 2005 11:59:41 PM |
| - Merci beacoup Mery!
Je ne sais pas ou vais avec mon francais. J'ai pense c'etait plus facille language du apprendre! Au revior | |
| Mery | Sunday 05th of June 2005 02:17:49 AM |
| - Salut Slobo!
You are very welcome :) Never hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the French language. First, I'd like to correct a mistake you made in your signature: j'essaye d'apprendre le français ;) Also... Merci bea[b]u[/b]coup Hmm I don't really understand your first sentence (je ne sais pas où je vais avec mon français... hmm sounds weird) J'ai pensé que c'était la langue la plus facile à apprendre Are you serious??? :p It's one of the most difficult languages to learn! Au rev[b]oi[/b]r A très bientôt! :) | |
| slobo | Sunday 05th of June 2005 06:33:37 PM |
| - Merci beaucoup pour les votres mots et aide.
When I say: Je ne sais pas où je vais avec mon français I meant to say I dont know where to go with my french (in terms on learning more) When I say: J'ai pensé que c'était la langue la plus facile à apprendre I thought it would be the easiest language, but now I have found out it is very hard! Au revoir! | |
| Mery | Sunday 05th of June 2005 11:45:47 PM |
| - Salut Slobo,
De rien! :) Correction: merci beaucoup pour VOS mots et VOTRE aide. => [b]vos[/b] is used with plural nouns and [b]votre[/b] with singular nouns Slobo, tu viens de quel pays? On peut savoir? :p | |
| slobo | Monday 06th of June 2005 12:10:17 AM |
| - Qui, tu peut savoir. J'habite en Angeleterre, dans le centre de Londres. Mais, J'etait au habites en France en temps bien.
Et toi, habites-tu ou en France? | |
| Mery | Monday 06th of June 2005 12:43:01 AM |
| - WOW :D J'adore Londres. Il y a une semaine, j'étais encore là-bas. J'ai passé cinq jours (du 25 au 30 mai) près de Royal Oak avec un ami canadien de Phrasebase. C'était génial. Dans un an, je vais peut-être aller étudier à Londres.
Au fait, je n'habite pas en France. Je suis belge. Je viens du sud de la Belgique. Tu connais la Belgique? | |
| slobo | Monday 06th of June 2005 01:09:14 AM |
| - Salut!
Je n'ai pas viste Belgique, mais j'ecouté c'est tres beau. J'espoir t'aimé votre vacances ici, il y a beacoup du faire. | |
| Mery | Monday 06th of June 2005 08:40:45 PM |
| - Quelques petites erreurs...
Je n'ai pas visité LA Belgique mais j'ai entendu dire que c'est très beau. => no comma before mais => I heard ... : j'ai entendu dire écouter = to listen (e.g. = j'ai écouté de la musique = I listened to music) J'espère que tu as aimé tes vacances ici. Il y a bea[b]u[/b]coup [b]à[/b] faire. Espoir = hope (noun) Votre = formal form or when you talk about more than 1 person Tes = informal form ([b]ton[/b] is used with masculine words, [b]ta[/b] with feminine words and [b]tes[/b] with plural nouns) Pour répondre à ta question, oui j'ai adoré passer quelques jours à Londres :D J'aimerais tant habiter là-bas. C'est magnifique et je trouve que dans l'ensemble les gens sont gentils. Pourquoi veux-tu apprendre le polonais? | |
| mula | Monday 06th of June 2005 11:36:37 PM |
| - Mery, à propos de la ponctuation, est-ce qu'elle est très importante en langue française?
Par exemple, j'étudie l'anglais depuis 11 ans mais même maintenant je mets toutes les virgules et tous les traits d'union n'importe comment et ça ne change pas de sens, donc je suppose que la ponctuation en anglais, c'est peu importante. Mais en lituanien la ponctuation correcte est essentielle parce que souvent des sens peuvent différer d'après l'endroit où l'on met la virgule. | |
| Axystos | Monday 06th of June 2005 11:48:49 PM |
| - Il me toujours semble que la ponctuation soit importante dans tous les langues, sauf l'anglais. :) | |
| snotra | Tuesday 07th of June 2005 09:28:49 PM |
| - i m bck :) merci beoucoup :) pour votre opinion madame.......
but plz help me with that actif et passif :) | |
| Mery | Wednesday 08th of June 2005 11:42:14 PM |
| - Je vais commencer par répondre à la question de mula. Désolée pour le retard. Vous commencez à me connaitre, je prends toujours mon temps pour répondre :p
Je ne pense pas que la ponctuation soit extrêmement importante en français. Le fait de mal placer les virgules etc ne changerait pas le sens de tes phrases. Je ne crois pas. Par exemple, je corrige toujours les gens qui placent des virgules avant 'mais' ou 'et' alors qu'il n'en faut pas. Cette erreur est loin d'être grave. Ce qu'il ne faut surtout pas oublier, ce sont les virgules après les compléments que l'on trouve en début de phrase. Exemple: hier[b],[/b] je suis allée à Paris Il faut bien se rendre compte que c'est indispensable en français, donc il ne faut pas penser que son emploi est facultatif étant donné que le sens de la phrase n'est pas changé si on ne le mentionne pas. [color=red]SNOTRA[/color] ENFIN! You are back! Sorry if I sometimes take too much time to reply to your questions. You probably first asked it when I was on vacation. I don't really know how to explain l'actif et le passif. Hmm does anyone know how to explain this? I don't think le passif is used a lot in French. Exemple: Jean mange une pomme (actif) Une pomme est mangée par Jean (passif), it's correct, but it sounds really weird. Maybe you could give me more details about what you exactly want to know. Au revoir! | |
| Caramelicious | Tuesday 14th of June 2005 06:02:11 AM |
| - How do you know when to use the Subjunctive? I think I know, but I can't really put my finger on it... | |
| Mery | Tuesday 14th of June 2005 07:14:52 AM |
| - I'll write a lesson about the subjunctive tomorrow. I promise I'm going to do it this time lol :p | |
| Caramelicious | Tuesday 14th of June 2005 07:17:24 AM |
| - C'est bien, no rush. :D I am happy that you recieved my letter < ----- Subjunctive Tense in French hehehehehe :D | |
| Mery | Tuesday 14th of June 2005 07:24:21 AM |
| - Ouiiiiiiiiii exactement :p
Je suis content que tu AIES reçu ma lettre. Très bien! :) | |
| snotra | Tuesday 14th of June 2005 11:17:06 AM |
| - i m bck.....:( but my vocab is sooooooo poor that any one will not give me 1 euro for my vocab :D
Mery : i want to increase my vocab......in atleats 2 months i want to have 1000 words under my toung.can u help me with that ? i tried to read sm french news-papers but those r too heavy for me.......plz suggest me smthing lite in french and belgic literature.......so that i could b fluent with oral french ( hopefully) Abt active and passif , i know thats wired but , in exams they always ask wired things :D;) i just want to know : 1.how does the order of word changes. 2.how does the tences changes in active passive? i hope u got more clues abt what i want merci beoucoup :) Sno. P.S : i m going to b most regualr here after monsieur Cramilios and vous Madame , so b ready to answer most silly and wired questions lol :D;). | |
| Caramelicious | Tuesday 14th of June 2005 12:06:24 PM |
| - There is a nice vocabulary section at:
[url]www.realfrench.net[/url] go to the games section, don't chose a game but instead scroll to the bottom of the screen. There you will see "Choose a vocabulary list" or something like that. It will ask you what level of vocabulary I suggest you use all of them, then it willt ake you to a page asking you what vocabulary you would like to learn, there are many choices. If you are looking to basics, they are at the bottom of the screen (I am learning the verbs on there), it will say "Print this vocabulary list" it doesn't actually print it, well it doesn't for me, it just takes you to the page where the words are located. | |
| Caramelicious | Wednesday 15th of June 2005 04:59:47 AM |
| - Mery is there a verb that means "To be caged" like "The bird is caged" | |
| Mery | Wednesday 15th of June 2005 05:30:59 AM |
| - Coucou!
to be caged = être en cage | |
| Mery | Thursday 16th of June 2005 08:48:01 PM |
| - Salut Snotra,
1. I can advise you a good website which can help you to learn new vocab: http://www.languageguide.org/eng/ 2. Try to read children stories. It shouldn't be too difficult to find some on the internet. Just type histoires pour enfants or contes pour enfants on Google and see what you get. 3. The actif and passif are more or less the same as in English. Jean mange une pomme (John eats an apple) Une pomme est mangée par Jean (an apple is eaten by John) If you know le passif and l'actif in English, you know how to build it in French. :) | |
| snotra | Thursday 16th of June 2005 09:22:42 PM |
| - merci madame........
new question : is thr any formal differance btwn normal french and busineess french ? what? | |
| Caramelicious | Tuesday 28th of June 2005 11:00:50 PM |
| - Do people really even use the passif in everyday speach in French? ... I think it is the passif, this one lol:
Une pomme est mangée par Jean | |
| Caramelicious | Wednesday 29th of June 2005 10:35:08 PM |
| - Is there supposed to be a large difference in the prononciation of the "il" form of a regular verb and the "ils" form? | |
| Tier | Saturday 02nd of July 2005 04:36:32 AM |
| - A response to smotra.
There is no difference in French between casual and business language. Just when U speak "business like" U try to be more precise in the words U use and U speak to say something :) like in every country I guess. One special thing is the use of the "vous de deference". A very complicated thing the use of "vous" instead of "tu" in French. "Vous" is used when you speak with a superior in hierachy. U can use "tu" instead, but only if the superior have suggest U can employ it. Otherwise he will use "vous" and you respond with "vous", in no ways with "tu"... Using "tu" to a superior when he use "vous" is not far from an insult... :( Tier | |
| Tier | Saturday 02nd of July 2005 04:52:19 AM |
| - [quote][i]Originally posted by Caramelicious[/i]
Is there supposed to be a large difference in the prononciation of the "il" form of a regular verb and the "ils" form? [/quote] There is no difference between "il" and "ils" or between the feminine form "elle" and "elles". The pronunciation is exactly the same. Except... (exception is the rule in French...:( Except when a voyel is just after. Example : Il part or Ils partent : no differences for IL/ILS but for : Il arrive or Ils arrivent : you have to make a "liaison" with the "a" and pronounce "il z'arrivent" like a "Z". That the only difference that occur to me right now. You make the "liaison" with the voyels "a, e, i, o, u" and with the voyels preceded by a "H"... with an exception (of course). You have tomake the "liaison" when the "H" is "normal" like in "hôpital" but not with an "H" "aspiré" (take a breath?) like in "haricot". So U prononce "les z'hôpitaux" and "les haricots". Good luck... Tier | |
| Tier | Saturday 02nd of July 2005 05:02:26 AM |
| - [quote][i]Originally posted by Caramelicious[/i]
Do people really even use the passif in everyday speach in French? ... I think it is the passif, this one lol: Une pomme est mangée par Jean [/quote] It's a difficult response caramelicious. In fact we will never say "une pomme est mangée par Jean" mais "jean mange une pomme". Because "est mangée" is a short action who take time, who started in the past but is not finished yet. For this kind of actions, we use the "present time". But we will use the "passé time" for the same kind of action, but for a longer action, not a short one. For example we will said "la chambre est louée par Jean and in no way "Jean loue la chambre". Gramatically it's exactly the same sense, but in French it sound badly and uncomon. Good luck... Tier | |
| Caramelicious | Monday 04th of July 2005 10:54:47 AM |
| - A few questions:
1. c'est ce qu'il a de moins cher - Je ne comprends pas le mot "cher" dans le phrase? J'ai pensé que "cher" est "dear". Est-ce qu'il quelque chose autre dans le phrase ici? I hope that I worded that last sentence correct, I am just now getting use to "est-ce" and things that resemble that formation. 2. What is the difference between, une route, une autoroute, un boulevard, un rue, etc. Je ne comprends pas. Merci beaucoup ! | |
| Tier | Tuesday 05th of July 2005 04:48:04 AM |
| - [quote][i]Originally posted by Caramelicious[/i]
A few questions: 1. c'est ce qu'il a de moins cher 2. What is the difference between, une route, une autoroute, un boulevard, un rue, etc. Merci beaucoup ! [/quote] Cher = expensive (a 2nd signification) Route is a road in open land Autoroute is a highway Rue is a road in a town Boulevard is a big road in a town (like an avenue) We have a lot of names for streets : chaussée (same as rue), chemin (petite rue), ruelle (petite rue), impasse (rue qui s'arrête en cul-de-sac : elle ne donne sur aucune autre rue), passage (petite rue entre 2 rues), etc Good luck Tier | |
| Caramelicious | Thursday 07th of July 2005 02:08:08 AM |
| Se ... - Verbs with "se" in front of them, I don't understand these. Do they represent actions or something and when I conjugation them do I conjugate the "se" part also or leave it alone....
- S'attacher a - Se taire - Se mettre a - S'en faire - Se faire mal Things like above, I believe that these are verbs... but they confuse me... Can someone give me a little information about them? :D | |
| Tier | Thursday 07th of July 2005 04:53:27 AM |
| - [quote][i]Originally posted by Caramelicious[/i]
Verbs with "se" in front of them, I don't understand these. Do they represent actions or something and when I conjugation them do I conjugate the "se" part also or leave it alone.... - S'attacher a - Se taire - Se mettre a - S'en faire - Se faire mal Things like above, I believe that these are verbs... but they confuse me... Can someone give me a little information about them? :D[/quote] Lo Caramelicious :) Very hard question and I'm affraid that my answer could be a little confuse (and not verry accurate). These are pronominals verbs. U have to conjugate them to have a proper use of the verb. Singular 1st person : me (m') 2nd person : te (t') 3rd person : se (s') Plural 1st person : nous 2nd person : vous 3rd person : se (s') The "me", "te" and "se" become m', t' and s'when they are used before a word beginning by a vowel or a mute h (s'attacher or s'habiller). We use pronominal forms when the subject does something to itself (reflexivity). Example : Je me fais mal = I hurt myself (pronominal form with reflexivity) Je fais mal à ma soeur = I hurt my sister (normal form) A lot of reflexive verbs exist in the two forms : pronominal or simple (ex : se faire / faire) Some verbs are ONLY reflexive. Ex : se souvenir (to remember). This is the basics. But you will found a lot more examples and other situations when pronominal forms are used here : http://www.languageguide.org/francais/grammar/reflect/ Enjoy and good luck (grammar always make me headaches... :( Tier | |
| Tier | Thursday 07th of July 2005 04:55:05 AM |
| - [quote][i]Originally posted by Tier[/i]
[quote][i]Originally posted by Caramelicious[/i] Verbs with "se" in front of them, I don't understand these. Do they represent actions or something and when I conjugation them do I conjugate the "se" part also or leave it alone.... - S'attacher a - Se taire - Se mettre a - S'en faire - Se faire mal Things like above, I believe that these are verbs... but they confuse me... Can someone give me a little information about them? :D[/quote] Lo Caramelicious :) Very hard question and I'm affraid that my answer could be a little confuse (and not very accurate). These are pronominals verbs. U have to conjugate them to have a proper use of the verb. Singular 1st person : me (m') 2nd person : te (t') 3rd person : se (s') Plural 1st person : nous 2nd person : vous 3rd person : se (s') The "me", "te" and "se" become m', t' and s'when they are used before a word beginning by a vowel or a mute h (s'attacher or s'habiller). We use pronominal forms when the subject does something to itself (reflexivity). Example : Je me fais mal = I hurt myself (pronominal form with reflexivity) Je fais mal à ma soeur = I hurt my sister (normal form) A lot of reflexive verbs exist in the two forms : pronominal or simple (ex : se faire / faire) Some verbs are ONLY reflexive. Ex : se souvenir (to remember). This is the basics. But you will found a lot more examples and other situations when pronominal forms are used here : http://www.languageguide.org/francais/grammar/reflect/ Enjoy and good luck (grammar always make me headaches... :( Tier[/quote] | |
