French does not have the handy “apostrophe s” that English uses so freely to indicate possession. Whereas we might say in English, “This is Paul’s bicycle,” the French equivalent, “C’est la bicyclette de Paul,” translates as, “This is the bicycle of Paul.” This sounds awkward in English, but is perfectly acceptable in French. As you … Read more
s’il vous plaît (SEEL voo PLAY = please) To say “please” in French, we use the phrase s’il vous plaît. This polite expression literally means, “if it pleases you.” Perhaps you have received an invitation that contains the initials R.S.V.P. This is short for the French phrase répondez s’il vous plaît, which means “please respond.” … Read more
One of the key differences between English and French is that French nouns have gender. Gender exists in many languages such as Spanish, Italian, German and some of the oldest documented languages that we are still familiar with today, Latin and Classical Greek. Whenever you learn a new noun in French you must be sure … Read more
Did you know that the French civil engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who designed and built the famous Eiffel Tower in Paris, also designed the complicated framework that supports the Statue of Liberty in New York City in the United States of America? The statue was a gift to the American people from the people of … Read more
LA TOUR EIFFEL (pronounced la TOOR ay-FELL) The French word TOUR means tower. A great landmark, and one of the world’s most famous towers, is the Eiffel Tower in the city of Paris, France. The 300 metre (984 ft) high tower was designed and built by the French civil engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel for the … Read more
Jules Verne was a writer ahead of his time. In 1865, over one hundred years before the first man landed on the moon, Jules Verne imagined such a trip in his novel De la Terre à la Lune, From the Earth to the Moon. Here are five examples of similarities between Verne’s novel and the … Read more
Just for fun, watch one of these film adaptations of Around the World in Eighty Days by French author Jules Verne. 1956 with David Niven, Cantinflas and Shirley MacLaine (Oscar for best film) 1989with Pierce Brosnan, Eric Idle and Peter Ustinov 2004with Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan and Cécile de France Test your knowledge with the … Read more
In 1872, French author Jules Verne (1828-1905) wrote a fantastic novel that described the adventures of Phileas Fogg, a man who bet his colleagues that he could successfully travel all the way around the world in just eighty days. In the days before airplanes this would be a pretty remarkable, if not impossible feat. The … Read more
How can one travel? To show a means of transportation in French, it is important to choose the correct preposition. Ask yourself, “In or on?” If it’s “in,” use en. If it’s “on” use à. Par exemple: by car (in a car) = en voiture by bicycle (on a bicycle) = à bicyclette entrain, bateau, … Read more
How do you get there from here? Use one of these ways of travelling: train = trainbateau = boatautocar = coach busavion = airplanevoiture = carhélicoptère = helicopterautomobile = carautobus = busdos d’éléphant = the back of an elephantvélo = bikebicyclette = bicyclepied = on footmotocyclette = motorcyclemotoneige = snowmobilecheval = horse Test yourself and … Read more