French Language Features
Lessons and Articles - 2001
12/28/01 - Special Uses of the
Subjunctive
Although the French subjunctive is most often used in subordinate
clauses, it
can also be used in main or independent clauses, with or without que. Take a
look at these special uses of the subjunctive mood.
12/25/01 - Free
Screensavers
My Christmas present to you! Choose from three French-themed screensavers.
12/18/01 - Acronymes et sigles français - French Acronyms and
Abbreviations
VTT, TGV, DEUG... Feel like you're lost in alphabet soup? Acronyms abound in the French language, especially in newspapers,
on the news, and in political discussions. You might not be able to learn every
French acronym and abbreviation, but you can get a good head start by memorizing this list of the most common
ones.
12/14/01 - Top French
Calendars and Date Books
The end of the year is nigh - time to start thinking about a new calendar or date book. To help you out with this difficult decision, here are my favorite "keepers of the date" in and about French and France. :-)
12/11/01 - Expressions with Dire
The French verb dire literally means "to say" or "to tell" and is also used in a number of idiomatic expressions. Learn
how to talk about telling someone off, putting words in someone's mouth, and much more with this list of expressions.
12/07/01 - Spanish is Easier than
French... Not!
There is a common myth among English speakers that Spanish is much easier to learn than French. When asked for
more information, perpetrators of this urban legend invariably mention how difficult
French pronunciation and spelling are, in comparison to Spanish. While there is
some truth to this, there are also things in Spanish that are more difficult
than French. This article is a detailed comparison of the two languages so that
you can decide for yourself if one of them is more difficult.
11/30/01 - Devoir vs Falloir
The French verbs devoir and falloir are used to express obligation and
necessity in different ways. Each verb has another meaning when
followed by a noun.
11/23/01 - French Language Holiday Gift Guide
Yes, it's that time of year again - time to start shopping for the perfect gifts for parents, kids, siblings,
aunts & uncles, cousins,
grandparents... the list goes on and on, and I haven't even gotten to the hierarchy of
friends yet! But before you decide to spend the next two months living in a cave, take a look at this Holiday Gift
Guide I've just put together. It includes suggested French gifts for kids; beginning, intermediate, and advanced
students; translators; and teachers.
11/20/01 - Ponctuation -
French Punctuation
Although French and English use nearly all of the same punctuation marks,
some of their uses in the two languages are considerably different. Rather than
an explanation of the rules of French and English punctuation, this lesson is a simple
summary of how French punctuation differs from English.
11/16/01 - Grammar Books
There are hundreds of French grammar books - how can you know which is the best? That's where I come in - here are my favorite grammar books: the ones I use every day as well as those I've grown beyond, but keep because they once helped me so much.
There is a separate list of verb books.
11/13/01 - Expressions with Voir
The French verb voir literally means "to see," and is also used in a number of idiomatic expressions. Learn how to talk about seeing stars, not seeing a thing, and much more with this list of expressions.
11/09/01 - Before You Buy a French Dictionary
Like all reference
materials, dictionaries can be pretty expensive. However, with any luck they'll last you for a few years, so
it's in your best interest to invest in something that's appropriate for your level
and needs. Here are some things to keep in mind when buying a French dictionary.
11/06/01 - Inversion - Uses
Inversion is the grammatical structure where the normal French word order subject
+ verb is inverted to verb +
subject and joined by a hyphen. You probably know that inversion is commonly
used in asking questions, but there are a number of other uses as well.
11/02/01 - Bilingual
Audio Book: Les Portes Tordues
A unique book aimed at upper beginning and
intermediate students: bilingual story, grammar review, and audio book all
rolled into one. The audio has only been recently been published,
so take a moment to read my updated review.
10/30/01 - De vs Du, De la, Des
The preposition de tends to be very difficult for French students, even at
advanced levels. Trying to figure out whether to use de, du, de la, or des can be a
real challenge! This lesson is a summary of when to use de and when to
use the indefinite article, partitive article, or de + definite article (which looks like the partitive -
but isn't. Ugh!)
10/26/01 - Top Non-Fiction about French and France
You've probably glanced through dozens of French travel guides
and grammar books, but what about the human side of learning French and visiting
France? There is some great non-fiction out there - humorous yet helpful, fun
but not frivolous. Here's a list of my favorite non-fiction books related to
French and France - enjoy!
10/23/01 - Symbols
A quick reference guide to the names of French symbols and
punctuation marks, including ! ? « » * & dozens more.
10/19/01 -
Champs-Élysées Audiomagazine
Champs-Élysées is an audiomagazine aimed at intermediate and advanced French
students, but is versatile enough to be used by independent students,
homeschoolers, teachers, travelers, or anyone else who is interested in
additional French listening practice. Click here to read my in-depth review of
this first-rate French learning tool.
10/12/01 - Expressions with
prendre
The French verb prendre has several different meanings, and is also used in a
number of idiomatic expressions which must be memorized.
10/09/01 - Soi
Soi is another oft-confused French pronoun. It is used only for unspecified
persons. Need more info? See the lesson!
10/05/01 - Causative - Faire + Infinitive
The causative construction faire + infinitive is used to describe when
someone/something has something done,
causes something to happen, or makes someone do something.
09/28/01 - Capitalization
French and English capitalization are quite a bit different. Many words that
must be capitalized in English cannot be in French, so read through this lesson
to make sure that you're not over-capitalizing your French. :-)
09/21/01 - Expressions with tenir
The verb tenir has several meanings on its own, and is also used in a number of
idiomatic expressions which must be memorized.
09/11/01 - Terrorisme en Amérique
Des articles en français sur le terrorisme de 11 septembre 2001.
09/07/01 - Se
Se is one of the most often misused French pronouns. It
can only be used in two kinds of constructions, so check out this lesson
to get "unconfused." :-)
08/31/01 - Verbes impersonnels - French
Impersonal Verbs
Impersonal verbs have only one conjugation: the third person singular
indefinite, or il. Some of these verbs also have
personal versions with different meanings, so it's important to learn to
recognize impersonal verbs.
08/24/01 - Article défini - French Definite
Article
The French definite article is used much more often than its English
counterpart. In addition to indicating a specific noun or talking about a noun in a generic sense,
there are
many other uses, which this lesson will discuss in detail.
08/17/01 - Expressions with
rendre
The verb rendre has many meanings on its own, and is also used in a number of
idiomatic expressions which must be memorized.
08/10/01 - Spelling Tricks
A table of common spelling equivalents between French and English that will
help your vocabulary to grow by leaps and bounds by teaching you to recognize
and spell French cognates.
08/03/01 - Impératif passé - Past Imperative
A rare French verb mood, used to give a command for something that must be done before a certain
time.
07/27/01 - What is fluency?
One of the questions that I get asked all the time is "How long will it take me to speak French fluently?"
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is difficult for several reasons. Read this article to learn the
"what, where, when, and why" of fluency.
07/20/01 - Verbs with
Prepositions
Many French verbs require a certain preposition in order for the meaning
of the verb to be complete, and unfortunately the
prepositions required for French verbs are often not the same as the ones
required by their English counterparts. In addition, some verbs that do
require a preposition in English don't take one in French, and vice versa. Learn
all about French verbs with prepositions and then take the test.
07/14/01 - Bastille Day!
Learn all about the French national holiday, and read/listen to la Marseillaise.
07/13/01 - Vocabulary with
Pronunciation
Learn hundreds of French words, broken into categories (parts of speech and slang
terms). Each entry
includes a definition, sample sentences to demonstrate usage, related words,
pronunciation guide, and sound file.
07/06/01 - Voix - French Voice
Voice is one of the five inflections involved in conjugating French verbs. It
indicates the
relationship between the subject and verb.
06/29/01 - Indefinite
Expressions - N'importe...
The indefinite expression n'importe can be followed by an interrogative in order to designate an unspecified person, thing, or
characteristic: n'importe qui, n'importe quel, n'importe où.... Learn these
expressions and more with this lesson.
06/22/01 - Ordre des mots - French Word Order
- Imperative
The word order of imperatives is a typical pitfall: the order changes
depending on whether the command is affirmative or negative. Get your commands
in order by studying this lesson.
06/15/01 - Mettre and
Mise - French Expressions
Idiomatic expressions must be memorized, since their meanings are often
impossible to decipher by translating the individual words. Learn dozens of
French expressions that contain mettre, se mettre, or mise.
06/08/01 - Accent
tonique - French Tonic Accent
In French,
each syllable of a word and each word is pronounced with the same emphasis, except for the
final syllable of each rhythmic group. In
order to emphasize a specific word in French, you can use the accent tonique.
06/01/01 - Accent
affectif - French Affective Accent
In English, speakers emphasize words simply by saying them louder, but this is not the
case in French. French speakers use the affective accent to provide emphasis, usually to express an emotion.
05/25/01 - Personal Correspondence
Writing letters in French can be somewhat tricky, because it requires special
formulas. This lesson on personal correpondence will help you find the correct
formulas when writing to
family, friends, or non-commercial acquaintances.
05/18/01 - French Gestures Part II
Learn 14 new French gestures, or review the ones from Part I.
05/11/01 - Lettres
muettes - Silent Letters in French
Part of the difficulty with French pronunciation is that French is not a phonetic
language - it has letters that can be
pronounced in different ways or sometimes not at all. This lesson will teach you
all about silent letters.
05/04/01 - Argot - French
Slang
Learn more than 70 words and expressions, ranging from informal to vulgar, with definitions, sample sentences, and sound
files.
04/27/01 - Number Expressions - Confusing Pairs
There are quite a few confusing pairs and difficult expressions related to
numbers in French: second/deuxième, en premier/au premier/de premier,
tiers/troisième....
04/20/01 - Contractions
Although contractions in English are optional, in French they are required,
so it is important to learn when and how to make contractions. Fortunately, the rules for French
contractions are quite simple.
04/13/01 - Mode - French Mood
Mood refers to the verb forms that express the attitude of the speaker toward the action/state of the verb - how
likely or factual the statement is. The French language has six moods - learn 'em all!
:-)
04/06/01 - Ordre des mots - French Word Order -
Inversion
The order of words in a French sentence can be very confusing, due to
dual-verb constructions, object
and adverbial pronouns, and negative structures. Inversion further complicate
matters, so check out this lesson to straighten out your questions.
03/30/01 - E muet
There are no stressed syllables in French; however, the unaccented E is sometimes "unstressed."
That is, it
disappears in spoken French. Learn how to recognize the E muet and when (not) to
pronounce it.
03/23/01 - Ordre des mots - French Word Order -
Dual-Verb Constructions
The order of words in a French sentence can be very confusing, due to
dual-verb constructions, object
and adverbial pronouns, and negative structures. Learn how to string them all
together
03/16/01 - Habiter vs Vivre
The French verbs habiter and vivre both mean to live, but are used in
different circumstances. You won't be able to live with yourself if you
don't learn how to use them both.
03/09/01 - Le Rythme - French
Rhythm
The musicality of the French language is due to its rhythm, particularly the
lack of stressed syllables. Learn about the prosody of French, how it differs
from English, and more about French pronunciation.
03/02/01 - Pronoms relatifs indéfinis
Indefinite relative pronouns (ce qui, ce que, ce dont, and quoi) link relative
clauses to main
clauses when there is no specific antecedent.
02/23/01 - Liaisons
A liaison is the phenomenon whereby a normally silent
consonant at the end of a
word is pronounced at the beginning of the word that follows it, and it is part of the reason that French pronunciation and aural comprehension are so
difficult. This lesson includes plenty of sound files to help you master French
liaisons.
02/16/01 - Encore vs Toujours
The French adverbs encore and toujours can be confusing, because they
each have several meanings that partially overlap. After studying this lesson,
you'll remember the differences toujours.
02/09/01 - French Gestures
You've probably seen the French performing some familiar gestures as well as a
few unfamiliar ones. It is as essential to understand this
French "sign language" as it is any vocabulary. This lesson has
definitions and instructions for 35 gestures, including a register rating and photos.
02/02/01 - Conjunctions
This week's lesson explains the different kinds of French conjunctions and how to use
them, plus has a list of the most common ones.
01/26/01 - Visit, To Visit, Visitor
All of this visiting vocabulary has several French equivalents. Une visite vs un
séjour; rendre visite vs visiter vs aller voir - these and more are thoroughly
explained and dissected in this week's lesson.
01/19/01 - Negation
A summary of all the different negative structures and their uses in French,
plus detailed explanations of each kind of negative structure, including brand new lessons on
the ne explétif, ne littéraire, and more.
01/12/01 - On
On is the indefinite French subject pronoun, used mainly in colloquial French.
Learn to use it here and discover the grammatical debate surrounding it.
01/05/01 - Literary Tenses
You've heard of them, maybe even learned to recognize some of them, but just
what are literary tenses? This lesson explores where they are used, why to avoid
them, and what is lost when you do.
