Showing posts with label Basics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Basics. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Mot du Jour: tête (head)


Image Source

Pocket Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press:
tête /tɛt/ feminine noun
  1. head;
    en pleine ~ (right) in the head;
    ~ baissée [rush] headlong;
    la ~ en bas [hang] upside down;
    se laver la ~ to wash one's hair;
    au-dessus de nos ~s overhead;
    être tombé sur la ~ figurative (familiar) to have gone off one's rocker (colloquial);
    ma ~ est mise à prix there's a price on my head;
    vouloir la ~ de qn to want sb's head;
    to be after sb's head;
    risquer sa ~ to risk one's neck (colloquial);
    des ~s vont tomber figurative heads will roll;
  1. face;
    une bonne/sale ~ a nice/nasty face;
    tu en fais une ~! what a face!;
    quelle ~ va-t-il faire? how's he going to react?;
    il (me) fait la ~ he's sulking;
    il a une ~ à tricher he looks like a cheat;
    tu as une ~ à faire peur, aujourd'hui! you look dreadful today!;
  1. de ~ [quote, recite] from memory;
    [calculate] in one's head;
    tu n'as pas de ~! you have a mind like a sieve!;
    avoir qch en ~ to have sth in mind;
    où avais-je la ~? whatever was I thinking of?;
    ça (ne) va pas, la ~? (familiar) are you out of your mind or what?;
    mets-lui ça dans la ~ drum it into him/her;
    passer par la ~ de qn [idea] to cross sb's mind;
    monter la ~ à Pierre contre Paul to turn Pierre against Paul;
    j'ai la ~ qui tourne my head's spinning;
    monter à la ~ de qn [alcohol, success] to go to sb's head;
    il a encore toute sa ~ (à lui) he's still got all his faculties;
    n'en faire qu'à sa ~ to go one's own way;
    tenir ~ à qn to stand up to sb;
  1. (person) avoir ses ~s to have one's favourites (BrE);
    un dîner en ~ à ~ an intimate dinner for two;
    par ~ gen a head, each;
    (in statistics) per capita;
  1. (measurement) head;
    avoir une ~ d'avance sur qn to be a short length in front of sb;
  1. il a été nommé à la ~ du groupe he was appointed head of the group;
    prendre la ~ des opérations to take charge of operations;
    être à la ~ d'une immense fortune to be the possessor of a huge fortune;
  1. top;
    être en ~ (of list, category) to be at the top;
    (in election, race, survey) to be in the lead;
    en ~ de phrase at the beginning of a sentence;
  1. (of train) front;
    (of convoy) head;
    (of tree, mast) top;
    (of screw, nail) head;
    en ~ de file first in line;
  1. Sport (in football) faire une ~ to head the ball;
  1. Mil (of missile) warhead;
  1. ~ de lecture (in tape recorder, video recorder) head.
COMPOUNDS:
~ en l'air scatterbrain;
~ brûlée daredevil;
~ à claques (familiar) pain (colloquial);
~ de linotte = See Also~ en l'air;
~ de mort skull;
death's head;
skull and crossbones;
~ de mule (familiar) mule;
être une vraie ~ de mule (familiar) to be as stubborn as a mule;
~ de Turc (familiar) whipping boy.
IDIOMS:
j'en mettrais ma ~ à couper I'd swear to it;
en avoir par-dessus la ~ (familiar) to be fed up to the back teeth (colloquial);
ça me prend la ~ (familiar) it's a real drag (colloquial).

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Mot du Jour: Oeil (Eye)



Image Source

Pocket Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press:

œil, pl yeux /œj/ , /jø/ masculine noun eye;
ouvrir l'~ to keep one's eyes open;
fermer les yeux sur qch to turn a blind eye to sth;
acheter qch les yeux fermés to buy sth with complete confidence;
avoir l'~ à tout to be vigilant;
jeter un ~ à or sur qch to have a quick look at sth;
aux yeux de tous openly;
jeter un coup d'~ à qch to glance at sth;
avoir le coup d'~ to have a good eye;
regarder qch d'un ~ neuf to see sth in a new light;
voir qch d'un mauvais ~ to take a dim view of sth;
à mes yeux in my opinion.

COMPOUNDS:
~ de verre glass eye.

IDIOMS:
mon ~! (familiar) my eye! (colloquial), my foot! (colloquial);
à l'~ (familiar) for nothing, for free (colloquial);
faire les gros yeux à qn to glare at sb;
dévorer qn/qch des yeux to gaze longingly at sb/sth;
faire les yeux doux à qn to make eyes at sb;
tourner de l'~ (familiar) to faint;
cela me sort par les yeux (familiar) I've had it up to here (colloquial);
avoir bon pied bon ~ to be as fit as a fiddle;
sauter aux yeux to be obvious.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Mot du Jour: Toilette (Toilet)

Image Source

Pocket Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press:
toilette /twalɛt/
  1. feminine noun
    1. faire sa ~ [person] to have a wash;
      [animal] to wash itself;
      faire la ~ d'un mort to lay out a corpse;
    1. outfit;
      en grande ~ all dressed up.
  1. toilettes noun, feminine plural toilet GB, bathroom US.


toilette: WordReference French-English Dictionary © 2009
toilette (faire sa toilette)ntoilette
toilette (habits)ntoilette
toilette
nfbed bath
toilette
nftoilet
toilette
nfjohn (toilette)
toilette
nflavatory (toilet)
toilette
nfbasin (lavatory)
toilette
nfcrapper (toilet)
toilette (équipement de plomberie)nfstool (plumbing fixture)
toilette (habillements)nfarray (outfit)
Compound Forms/Formes composées
armoire de toilettenfbathroom cabinet
cabinet de toilettenmbathroom (toilet)
eau de toilette
toilet water
eau de toilette
eau de toilette
faire un brin de toilettevfreshen up
gant (de toilette)nmwashcloth
gant de toilettenmfacecloth
nécessaire de toilette
toilet set
papier toilette
toilet tissue
serviette de toilettenfhand towel
siège de toilette pour enfantnmpotty-chair
table de toilettenfdressing table
table de toilettenfbasin
toilette (à l'éponge)nfsponge bath


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Mot du jour: La main (Hand)

Image Source
Pocket Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press:
main /mɛ̃/ feminine noun
  1. hand;
    se donner or se tenir la ~ to hold hands;
    saluer qn de la ~ to wave at sb;
    haut les ~s! hands up!;
    demander la ~ de qn to ask for sb's hand in marriage;
    avoir qch bien en ~(s) to hold sth firmly;
    figurative to have sth well in hand;
    si tu lèves la ~ sur elle if you lay a finger on her;
    à la ~ [sew] by hand;
    [adjust] manually;
    fait ~ handmade;
    vol à ~ armée armed robbery;
    donner un coup de ~ à qn to give sb a hand;
  1. une ~ secourable a helping hand;
    une ~ criminelle someone with criminal intentions;
  1. avoir qch sous la ~ to have sth to hand;
    cela m'est tombé sous la ~ I just happened to come across it;
    mettre la ~ sur qch to get one's hands on sth;
    je n'arrive pas à mettre la ~ dessus I can't lay my hands on it;
    je l'ai eu entre les ~s mais I did have it but;
    être entre les ~s de qn [power] to be in sb's hands;
    prendre qn/qch en ~s to take sb/sth in hand;
    à ne pas mettre entre toutes les ~s [book] not for general reading;
    tomber entre les ~s de qn to fall into sb's hands;
    les ~s vides empty-handed;
    je le lui ai remis en ~s propres I gave it to him/her in person;
    de la ~ à la ~ [sell] privately;
    [be paid] cash (in hand);
  1. écrit de la ~ du président written by the president himself;
    de ma plus belle ~ in my best handwriting;
  1. avoir le coup de ~ to have the knack;
    se faire la ~ to practise (BrE);
  1. (in cards) hand;
    deal;
  1. à ~ droite/gauche on the right/left.
COMPOUNDS:
~ courante handrail.
IDIOMS:
j'en mettrais ma ~ au feu or à couper I'd swear to it;
d'une ~ de fer with an iron rod;
il n'y est pas allé de ~ morte! (familiar) he didn't pull his punches!;
avoir la ~ leste to be always ready with a slap;
faire ~ basse sur to help oneself to [goods];
to take over [market, country];
en venir aux ~s to come to blows;
avoir la ~ heureuse to be lucky.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Le Verbe Boire: To Drink

Le Verbe Boire has an irregular conjugation. Here is the conjugation in present tense:

Je bois

Tu bois

Il/Elle boit

Nous buvons

Vous buvez

Ils/ Elles boivent

So when you want to say you are drinking something, you form the sentence by using the personal pronoun + conjugated form of the verb + partitif + the drink you are drinking

Example:

Je bois du thé ( I drink tea)

I'll be posting a more detailed lesson soon.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Faire: To do or make

Here is the conjugation for the verb Faire.


Indicative Present of faire:

Je

fais

Tu

fais

Il/Elle

fait

Nous

faisons

Vous

faites

Ils/Elles

font

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Imperfect Past Tense- L'imparfait

The French imperfect (imparfait) is a descriptive past tense which indicates an ongoing state of being or a repeated or incomplete action. The beginning and end of the state of being or action are not indicated, and the imparfait is very often translated in English as "was" or "was ___-ing."

It is formed by adding the following endings to the root of the verb

  • 1st person singular : -ais
  • 2nd person singular : -ais
  • 3rd person singular : -ait
  • 1st person plural : -ions
  • 2nd person plural : -iez
  • 3rd person plural : -aient
Example:

Parler- To talk/speak
  • je parlais
  • tu parlais
  • il/elle parlait
  • nous parlions
  • vous parliez
  • ils/elles parlaient
However for some verbs the endings could be different.

Example:


finir (to finish)

  • je finissais
  • tu finissais
  • il/elle finissait
  • nous finissions
  • vous finissiez
  • ils/elles finissaient
boire (to drink)

  • je buvais
  • tu buvais
  • il/elle buvait
  • nous buvions
  • vous buviez
  • ils/elles buvaient
être (to be)

  • j'étais
  • tu étais
  • il/elle était
  • nous étions
  • vous étiez
  • ils/elles étaient
avoir (to have)

  • j'avais
  • tu avais
  • il/elle avait
  • nous avions
  • vous aviez
  • ils/elles avaient

The imperfect can indicate any of the following:

I.

Habitual actions or states of being

Quand j'étais petit, j'avais beaucoup des jeux

When I was young,I had a lot of toys.



II.

Physical and emotional descriptions: time, weather, age, feelings

Il était midi et il faisait beau.

It was noon and the weather was nice.



III.

Actions or states of an unspecified duration

Je faisais la queue parce que j'avais besoin de billets.

I stood in line because I needed tickets.



IV.

Background information in conjunction with the passé composé

J'étais au lycée quand j'ai pris une examen .

I was at at school, when I took the exam.



V.

Wishes or suggestions

Ah ! Si j'étais riche !

Oh, if only I were rich!



VI.

Conditions in si clauses

Si j'avais de l'argent, j'irais avec toi.

If I had some money, I would go with you.



VII.

The expressions être en train de and venir de in the past.

J'étais en train de faire la vaisselle.

I was (in the process of) doing the dishes.





Source

Monday, September 29, 2008

Le Passé Composé

Le Passé Composé or the Compound Past Tense is formed by using the present tense of avoir plus the participe passé or past participle of a verb.

Examples of uses of Le Passé Composé:

J'ai mangé un pain: I have eaten bread. Used for an action or state of being completed in the past

Tu as visité ta mère plusieurs fois : You have visited your mother several times. Used for an action repeated a specific number of times in the past

Il a étudié bien, a pris un examen et a reussi : He has studied well, took an exam and passed. Used for a series of actions completed in the past

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Le Participe Passé: Past Participle

The past participle of regular verbs is formed by dropping the infinitive ending of a verb and adding é, i, or u to -er, -ir, and -re verbs, respectively:


-ER verbs


-IR verbs


-RE verbs

Verb

parler


réussir


vendre

Remove

-er


-ir


-re

Stem

parl-


réuss-


vend-

Add

é


i


u

Result

parlé


réussi


vendu


Irregular verbs usually have irregular past participles:

acquérir

acquis


apprendre

appris

atteindre

atteint


avoir

eu

boire

bu


comprendre

compris

conduire

conduit


connaître

connu

construire

construit


courir

couru

couvrir

couvert


craindre

craint

croire

cru


décevoir

déçu

découvrir

découvert


devoir

dire

dit


écrire

écrit

être

été


faire

fait

instruire

instruit


joindre

joint

lire

lu


mettre

mis

mourir

mort


offrir

offert

ouvrir

ouvert


naître

paraître

paru


peindre

peint

pouvoir

pu


prendre

pris

produire

produit


recevoir

reçu

savoir

su


souffrir

souffert

suivre

suivi


tenir

tenu

venir

venu


vivre

vécu

voir

vu


vouloir

voulu

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Conjugation of Irregular Verbs Present Tense: Avoir, Aller and Être

Some verbs in French are Irregular therefore they have different conjugations. Examples of them are Avoir (to have, Aller (to go) and Être (to be).

The conjugation of the following verbs in Present tense are as follows:

Avoir: To Have

Je

ai

Tu

as

Il/Elle

a

Nous

avons

Vous

avez

Ils/Elles

ont


Aller: To Go

Je

vais

Tu

vas

Il/Elle

va

Nous

allons

Vous

allez

Ils/Elles

vont


Être: To Be (for uses of être click here)

Je

suis

Tu

es

Il/Elle

est

Nous

sommes

Vous

êtes

Ils/Elles

sont













Sunday, September 7, 2008

Conjugations of Regular RE Verbs- Present Tense

Conjugation is very important when it comes to the French language. Every verb is conjugated depending on the subject, its gender and number. So here are a few basics when it comes to conjugating in the present tense.

RE- Ending Verbs

Example: Attendre- To wait



Je

attends

Tu

attends

Il/Elle

attend

Nous

attendons

Vous

attendez

Ils/Elles

attendent


Here are other regular verbs ending in RE

défendre to defend
descendre to descend
entendre to hear
perdre to lose
prétendre to claim
rendre to give back, to return something
répondre to answer
vendre to sell


Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Conjugations of Regular IR Verbs- Present Tense

Conjugation is very important when it comes to the French language. Every verb is conjugated depending on the subject, its gender and number. So here are a few basics when it comes to conjugating in the present tense.

IR- Ending Verbs

Example: Agir- To act

Je

agis*

Tu

agis

Il/Elle

agit

Nous

agissons

Vous

agissez

Ils/Elles

agissent


*It should be J'agis because if the verb begins with a vowel Je becomes J'

Here are other regular verbs ending in IR

abolir to abolish
avertir to warn
bâtir to build
bénir to bless
choisir to choose
établir to establish
étourdir to stun, deafen, make dizzy
finir to finish
grossir to get fat
guérir to cure, heal, recover
maigrir to lose weight, get thin
nourrir to feed, nourish
obéir to obey
punir to punish
réfléchir to reflect, think
remplir to fill
réussir to succeed
rougir to blush, turn red
vieillir to grow old




Conjugations of Regular ER Verbs- Present Tense

Conjugation is very important when it comes to the French language. Every verb is conjugated depending on the subject, its gender and number. So here are a few basics when it comes to conjugating in the present tense.

ER- Ending Verbs

Example: Manger- To eat

Je

mange

Tu

manges

Il/Elle

mange

Nous

mangeons

Vous

mangez

Ils/Elles

mangent


Here are other regular verbs ending in ER

aimer to like or to love
arriver to arrive or to happen
chanter to sing
chercher to look for
danser to dance
demander to ask for
détester to hate
donner to give
écouter to listen to
étudier to study
jouer to play
manger to eat
nager to swim
parler to talk or to speak
penser to think
regarder to watch or to look at
rêver to dream
skier to ski
travailler to work
trouver to find
visiter to visit (a place)





Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Le verb "être" = The verb "to be"

The verb être is a very important and basic verb in French. It is similar to the English verb "be". This verb is used same as the "be" verb in English.

Examples

I am a Doctor : Je suis medecin.
You are beautiful : Tu es belle

Of course as any other French Verb, it is also conjugated and the conjugation for the present tense is as follows.

Infinitive present: être

Participle Present: étant

Indicative Present of être:

Je

suis

Tu

es

Il/Elle

est

Nous

sommes

Vous

êtes

Ils/Elles

sont



More conjugations and more verbs on the nest entries.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Basic French Words

Basic French Words

Monsieur/M (Mr. or Sir)

Mademoiselle/Mlle. (Ms.)

Madame/Mme. (Mrs.)

Messieurs/Messrs. (Mrs or Sirs)

Mesdemoiselles/ Mlles. (Ladies)

Mesdames/Mmes (Ladies)

Merci Beaucoup (Thank you very much)

De rien (It’s nothing)

Je vous en prie (You’re welcome)

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