Laura's French Language Blog August 2006 Archive

The French verb raconter, to tell, is used in a number of idiomatic expressions. Learn how to talk about telling lies, telling one's life story, talking on and on, and ... Read More

The imperative is a French mood which is used to give an order, express a desire, offer advice, recommend something, and make a polite request. Learn the conjugations and ... Read More

La Légion d'honneur is a prestigious French order that decorates both soldiers and civilians for outstanding achievements. Learn about the history and evolution of the Legion of Honor in this ... Read More

Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) are words which indicate a specific noun. In French, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify (ce, cet, cette, ... Read More

Learn French vocabulary related to astronomy to talk about planets, stars, and other celestial objects.

The conditional is a verb mood used for events that are not guaranteed to occur; often they are dependent on certain conditions. The French conditional is usually translated by "would" ... Read More

I am not a native Francophone - I had to learn French just like you, by taking classes, studying, making endless vocabulary lists, practicing... and it took a long time! ... Read More

Reading the menu in a French restaurant can be a little tricky, and not just due to language difficulties. There may be important differences between restaurants in France and in ... Read More

Meilleur and mieux can be confusing to French students. Meilleur is the comparative and superlative form of bon (good), while mieux is the comparative and superlative form of bien (well). ... Read More

If you've ever watched French movies or television, or chatted with native speakers, you have almost certainly heard pas (or another negative adverb) without ne, as this is a typical ... Read More

What is grammatical number? When does it matter? Learn about French number and plurals with these lessons.

The passé simple is the literary equivalent of the passé composé, used only in formal writing and speech. Although you will probably never need to actually use the passé simple, ... Read More

French audio magazines are excellent learning tools, providing authentic French listening practice on a variety of topics. Of the five French audio magazines that I am familiar with, two are ... Read More

Whether you're teaching math operations in French class, planning to study math in a French school, or just interested in knowing French vocabulary from a new domain, this list of ... Read More

Les Galeries Lafayette is one of the most famous department stores in France. Learn about the history of the store and the people behind it in this listening comprehension exercise ... Read More

English speakers sometimes find it difficult to translate "new" into French, due to confusion over the French words nouveau and neuf. In fact, the French adjectives have distinctly different meanings; ... Read More

In French, capitalization is sometimes variable. Direction words, nationalities, titles, and proper nouns may or may not be capitalized depending on how they are used.