In French, there are expressions that include time but do not always relate to it. Here are 6 expressions involving hours and time. Passer un mauvais quart d’heure. (Literally: to go through a bad quarter-hour) To go through a difficult time > Un cowboy passe un mauvais quart d’heure lors d’un rodé A cowboy goes […]
Want to learn French while listening to great music? There are plenty of tips, but we will stick to 5 artists. Stromae. Formidable—who doesn’t know this song? “Formidable, formidable. Tu étais formidable, j’étais fort minable.” Last year, Stromae released the powerful track L’enfer. Zaz. The singer Zaz has been making a name for herself for […]
Completely, all, whole, everyone… The word ‘tout’ is used in many different situations. Or ‘toute’, ‘tous’, ‘toutes’. Sometimes you hear the ‘t’ or the ‘s’ at the end, but usually you do not. How does it work exactly? It is time for the rules! Tout, tous, toute, toutes. These are the forms of tout: masculine […]
When looking up “least” in a French dictionary, the first result is often “moins.” However, this is not always the correct translation. Here are four examples where a word other than “moins” is used in French. That is the least of my worries. C’est le cadet de mes soucis. (Literally: that is the youngest child […]
French features a significant number of fixed combinations when it comes to prepositions. We are here to help you get started. You are likely already aware that verbs can have fixed prepositions. After all, we have them in Dutch as well. They also occur in French. Below, we have listed a few (though the list […]
Would you like to enjoy some reading during the summer holidays? Here are 3 recommendations for books that you can also try reading in French. En attendant Bojangles – Olivier Bourdeaut A story about an extraordinary family. A father with a great imagination, a mother who is somewhat eccentric, and a child growing up in […]
We have mentioned it in a previous newsletter: the French love to debate. How do you express your opinion (avis)? There are plenty of options! À mon avis… (in my opinion…) Je crois que… (I believe that…) Je trouve que… (I think that…) Je considère que… (I consider that…) J’estime que… (I am of the […]
Do you wish to express negation in French? The structure of ‘la négation’ always involves two parts. This is essential when you need to state that you are not guilty: Madame la juge, je ne suis pas coupable. The most common form is ‘ne’ … ‘pas’. The finite verb (the conjugated verb) follows ‘ne’ directly, […]
Did you know that France has no less than 430,000 km of rivers (not counting overseas territories)? In French, there are as many as 10 different words related to rivers. It is time to get to know them! 1. Le fleuveA river that always flows into the sea. France has 7 major ‘fleuves’: the Adour, […]
Looking for untouched nature? In France, you can choose from 8 national parks on the mainland and 3 overseas. Not every patch of greenery can be called a national park. There are various regulations involved to protect nature. Fortunately, visitors remain welcome in the parks. 1. Port-Cros (Var)The island of Port-Cros is located near Toulon. […]
