Laura's French Language Blog December 2006 Archive

French learners often have trouble deciding how to translate "what" into French. Should it be que or quoi, or maybe that pesky quel? Understanding the difference between these terms is ... Read More

Affirmative indefinite adjectives are used to modify nouns in a unspecific sense. Certain adjectives will help some people talk about several new things.

Vocabulary is one of the keys to language. When people talk about fluency, they usually include some reference to the minimum number of words that one must know. I must ... Read More

An apheresis, or aphaeresis, is a word which is shortened by dropping one or more syllables at the beginning of the word, and sometimes adding an extra sound at the ... Read More

The French verb donner literally means to give, and is also used in nearly a hundred idiomatic expressions. Learn how to talk about the TV being on full-blast, making someone ... Read More

There are two groups of French -ER verbs that have spelling changes in certain conjugations due to the hard/soft vowel phenomenon. I call these spelling-change verbs, and you can learn ... Read More

Être is one of the most common French verbs. It is irregular in conjugation and literally means "to be." Être is also used in some idiomatic expressions and as an ... Read More

Indefinite French pronouns, such as certain, chacun, quelqu'un, on, and tout, are unspecific and are used in place of nouns. They can be the subject of a sentence, the object ... Read More

The French word le temps literally means "time" or "weather," and is used in many idiomatic French expressions. Find out how to say in the meantime, in due time, to ... Read More

This is an interesting article about the importance of saying hello in French: ParisLink - The Most Important Word in the French Language Related lessons: French greetings | Most common French words

Il y a - there is or there are - is one of the most important expressions in the French language. Learn about the meanings, uses, negation, and interrogative powers ... Read More

The Story of French is a definitive analysis of French as it is spoken around the world. An in-depth, compelling, and above all affectionate look at the language of love, ... Read More

The letters AI in French can be pronounced in one of three ways: like the E in "bed," more or less like the A in "gave," and like the A ... Read More

Listening exercises to help you learn about and understand different French accents.