Laura's French Language Blog October 2007 Archive

What is Halloween? Where did it come from? Why and how is it celebrated in France? If you've ever puzzled over these questions, take a look at this article on ... Read More

The French verb croire literally means to believe, and is used in many idiomatic French expressions. Learn to make no mistake about it, take someone's word for it, and believe ... Read More

Learning French as an adult is not the same thing as learning it as a child. Adults tend to learn by comparing it to their native language and often want ... Read More

If you've been following the mistake of the week, there are 20 mistakes you should never make again. Take this quiz to see how well you've mastered these common French ... Read More

Listen to this beginning-level dialogue between a customer and storekeeper. You have the option to read the transcript and/or translation as you listen. More: French listening

Many people dream of living and possibly working in France, but not many succeed in actually doing it. Just what is it that makes it so difficult to live and ... Read More

Nouns are not always singular in both French and English. Here is a list of words that are singular, uncountable, or invariable in French but are plural or countable in ... Read More

Laisser is a regular -er verb that means "to leave." It is also found in numerous expressions and is commonly used as a semi-auxiliary as well as a pronominal verb ... Read More

Whether you've been faithfully reading the expression of the week, or just have a knack for them, see how well you do with this quiz on French expressions.

On is the indefinite French subject pronoun, used mainly in colloquial French. Read this lesson to learn how to use on and discover the grammatical debate surrounding it.

Do you love French and know that you'd like to find a job where you can use it, but find that you aren't quite sure what that job might be? ... Read More

These four verbs mean "to teach," but there are subtle differences in meaning and usage. Learn how to recognize and use these four verbs correctly.

What does the idiomatic French expression quand on parle du loup mean? Learn all about it here, and then share your thoughts.

French questions asked informally can sound a lot different from the grammatically correct questions that you learn to ask in French class. Read over this lesson to learn about how ... Read More

It's not too late to add a few new teaching tools to your arsenal. Here are some tips and ideas for French teachers. Teaching combined-level French classes Ideas to keep your sanity ... Read More

The French words bon and bien, mauvais and mal are often mixed up, because the two pairs have similar meanings: bon and bien are positive while mauvais and mal are ... Read More

What does the idiomatic French expression un ange passe mean? Learn all about it here, and then share your thoughts.

French verb conjugations can be divided into two categories: simple tenses, which have one part (je vais), and compound tenses, which have two (je suis allé). Compound tenses are obviously ... Read More

The rarest literary verb form - learn to recognize it and then you never have to think about it again. More: Literary Tenses

Learn French vocabulary related to media and communication, including television, radio, internet, and snail mail.

Manquer means to miss, but can cause confusion because it is sometimes used in an unusual construction. Does Tu me manques mean "I miss you" or "You miss me"? The ... Read More