Learning French language

Thread: Learning French language

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  1. Samaretz said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by Emiliiiie View Post
    Means "Gros bisous"
    Emilie, merci beaucoup :-)
     
  2. nobulxx said:

    Default il y a dix ans + passe simple?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lyssa View Post
    Allright^^ But it can be easier with passé simple because you don't have to choose between "être" and "avoir" lol
    Lyssa, you are right. But passe simple is used only for the past separated (or divorced, as someone expressed) from the speaker's present, as I understand.
    That's why you don't use it with 1st or 2nd person subjects, isn't it? I doubt you use it with 1st or 2nd pesron singular subjects. And here I have a question:
    do you use 'il y a dix ans', 'voice trois ans', or 'ca fais cinq ans' in the sentence in passe simple?
    I cannot find good books explaining about it in Japan.
     
  3. Lyssa's Avatar

    Lyssa said:

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    Well, I'm not sure to understand your point, but you sure can use passé simple with 1st or 2nd person subjects!
    Actually, it's difficult to explain when to use passé simple or passé composé, as I do it without thinking about it xD
    With "il y a dix ans", I'd use imparfait => Il y a dix ans j'étais....
    With "voici trois ans" it depends on what you want to say after, but I'd use present tense => "Voici trois ans que j'attends" (meaning you have been waiting for 3 years now)
    With "ça fait cinq ans" it's the same as with "voici trois ans", both imply something that begun in the past ans lasts until today, so you have to use the present tense

    Now for passé simple, it's mostly used in books, for the narration of essential events or when there is a dialogue, like : Mr D. dit "...."; puis Mme F. répondit "...." [ dire has the same ending for present tense or passé simple so maybe one doesn't notice ]

    I hope this is clear
     
  4. Erito said:

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    Hi everyone, currently I'm interested in learning french since well it's a beautiful language and it's very useful in the professional life.

    What I want is some recommendations from you guys of how to learn in the autodidact way (the same way I learn english) so if you could recommend me some online courses or textbooks I would really appreciate it
    Thou art I and I am thou
     
  5. hob's Avatar

    hob said:

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    Hi
    Try this website : http://www.francaisfacile.com/
    You have exercices, games, lessons etc ... very good website
    You can also practice exchange with french people. And it's free
     
  6. Second life said:

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    Here are some more sites for French learners:

    About.com -> french.about.com/
    (free lessons in newsletters, grammar, quizzes....)

    Learn French -> learn-french-grammar

    BBC -> bbc.co.uk/languages/french

    Almost all online dictionaries are excellent places for learning:
    The Free Dictionary -> fr.thefreedictionary.com

    and of course WordReferene -> wordreference.com
    (their Verb conjugation is a great learning tool!)

    Hope these help
     
  7. pinky_girl's Avatar

    pinky_girl said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by Second life View Post
    Here are some more sites for French learners:

    About.com -> french.about.com/
    (free lessons in newsletters, grammar, quizzes....)

    Learn French -> learn-french-grammar

    BBC -> bbc.co.uk/languages/french

    Almost all online dictionaries are excellent places for learning:
    The Free Dictionary -> fr.thefreedictionary.com

    and of course WordReferene -> wordreference.com
    (their Verb conjugation is a great learning tool!)

    Hope these help
    merci beaucoup
     
  8. Second life said:

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    While trying to give an answer to Pinky_girl in French, I googled something about French grammar and I found another site for learning French - in French. I guess it's then for advance learners. So, I'll add this link too.

    Québec

    and

    reverso
    Last edited by Second life; 02-02-2012 at 10:34 PM.
     
  9. pinky_girl's Avatar

    pinky_girl said:

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    merci encore!!
     
  10. Enoo's Avatar

    Enoo said:

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    The use of subjunctive mood

    This is a small explanation on the use of the subjunctive mood in French. Maybe it looks heavy or boring but the purpose is to help you whenever you wonder about the second dilemma of all time (after « to be or not to be »): « subjunctive or not subjunctive » . (There is no doubt that if William Shakespeare had been French he would have written a whole tragedy about it!)


    Mainly, I see 3 cases in which you should use the subjunctive mood:


    1) Subjunctive is used to express a planning or an hypothetical action, a doubt, a feeling, a wish, a desire, an order, an expectation, for you can't be sure whether it will (or has) occur(ed) or not.

    It's always used after
    avoir peur (to fear), douter (to doubt), aimer (to like), vouloir/avoir envie (to want), préférer (to prefer), souhaiter (to wish), attendre (to expect), demander (to ask), falloir (to need/must), refuser (to refuse)... followed by « que/qu' ».

    Example:
    Elle est à l'heure. She is right on time. (present indicative of être)
    J'aime qu'elle soit à l'heure. I like her being on time. (present subjunctive of être)


    2) Some verbs at the negative form are frequently followed with a subjunctive: penser (to think), croire (to believe), supposer (to assume), comprendre (to understand), expliquer (to explain)... followed by « que/qu' ». It's optional but very frequent.

    Example:
    Je crois qu'il est malade. I think he's sick. (croire at the positive form - present indicative of être)
    Je ne crois pas qu'il est malade. I don't think he's sick. (croire at the negative form - present indicative of être)
    ou bien
    Je ne crois pas qu'il soit malade (more frequent). (croire at the negative form - present subjunctive of être)

    3) Some conjunctions are necessarily followed by subjunctive:

    afin que (so as to), pour que (in order to), sans que (without + subordinate clause), avant que (before + sub), jusqu’à ce que (until), à moins que (unless), de peur/crainte que (for fear that/fearing that), bien que (although/even though)...

    Example:
    Je vous l'expliquerai jusqu'à ce que vous compreniez (present subjunctive of comprendre). I'll explain it to you until you understand. (Put that way, it sounds a little sadistic.. )
    Last edited by Enoo; 11-25-2012 at 04:08 AM.
     
  11. pinky_girl's Avatar

    pinky_girl said:

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    Bonjour mes amis, I translated a song from Persian to French but I don't know whether my translation is correct or not? and doest it make sense at all?? I would be glad if you check out this translation and correct my grammatical errors....

    Une femme (une chanson pour la mère):

    Vous allumez le soleil tous les jours


    Vous allez dans la peau de la lune chaque nuit


    Tenez mes mains, fermement, pour que je ne tombe pas


    Le sol tremble quand vous marchez


    Mon cœur se réchauffe avec votre sourire


    Dans les jours que le monde est froid


    Je vous sens, je le comprends:

    Une femme peut être un homme parfois


    Je n'ai pas peur de vieillir


    Je n'ai pas peur) de la vie qui va sans arrêt)


    Toutes les heaures abandonneront


    À côté de vous le temps passe à la renverse


    Une photo d'un monde forme dans vos yeux


    Dans les beaux yeaux vitreux


    Faites attention! ne fermez pas vos paupières


    Je vais d'être distrait par un clin d'oeil
     
  12. Enoo's Avatar

    Enoo said:

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    Whoa your French is very good! And grammatically it's almost perfect.

    For the sense the changes that I propose shouldn't change too much the sense compared to the original Persian song.


    Une femme (une chanson pour la mère):(une chanson pour une mère)
    just not to mix up with la mer = the sea.

    Vous allumez le soleil tous les jours

    Vous allez dans la peau de la lune chaque nuit
    Vous vous glissez dans la peau
    se glisser = to slip into

    Tenez mes mains, fermement, pour que je ne tombe pas

    Le sol tremble quand vous marchez
    Le sol vibre/frémit quand vous marchez
    Here the verb « trembler » gives it a physical sense, like an Earth quake, or something heavy falling on the ground. If more delicately or more figuratively you can use « vibrer » (to quiver) or « frémir » (to shiver).

    Mon cœur se réchauffe avec votre sourire

    Dans les jours que le monde est froid
    ⌀ Les jours le monde est froid
    As « le monde est froid » is an adverbial phrase of time, you need to use the relative pronoun .

    Je vous sens, je le comprends:

    Une femme peut être un homme parfois

    Je n'ai pas peur de vieillir

    Je n'ai pas peur) de la vie qui va sans arrêt)
    la vie qui va sans s'arrêter
    (more elegant in this case). Sans arrêt is sth repetitive, sans s'arrêter is about sth continuous.

    Toutes les heaures abandonneront
    heures. But abandonner = to give up sth or to abandon sb. What do you want to say?

    À côté de vous le temps passe à la renverseÀ vos côtés le temps s'écoule à l'envers/s'écoule en sens contraire
    À côté de vous is more used to situate someone in a specific place (to someone's left or right hand). If you mean near to someone, whether it's in the place or in the time, you can say « à vos côtés » or « auprès de vous ». But it's a very small detail

    Une photo d'un monde forme dans vos yeuxLa photo d'un monde

    Dans les beaux yeaux vitreux
    yeux

    Faites attention! ne fermez pas vos paupières

    Je vais d'être distrait par un clin d'oeil
    Je vais être distrait par un clin d'oeil
    aller + verb = to be going to + verb

    I hope it'll help, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
    Last edited by Enoo; 11-30-2012 at 05:50 PM.
     
  13. pinky_girl's Avatar

    pinky_girl said:

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    Woooooooooooooooooooow that was so quick and so helpful.....I feel that with the corrections you did, the translation looks more elegant than before...Merci mille fois...and on the other hand I learned some good points I didn't know
    But about this sentence "Toutes les heaures abandonneront ", If I want to clarify it, I wanted to say that " the hours surrender or give in ( even in the Persian lyric I don't know what the poet meant by saying this sentence but i guess he meant ' the hours give up passing/moving or something like that)

    I have another question too if it's ok : if I want to add "de" in this sentence "Faites attention! ne fermez pas vos paupières" it would be like :
    Faites attention de ne fermer? or fermez? pas vos paupiere.......
    thank you again dear Enoo
     
  14. Enoo's Avatar

    Enoo said:

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    You're welcome dear Pinky Girl! I'm very glad to help you!! And of course you can ask any question you have.

    Oh okay I see what you mean: in French you could say:
    - Les heures cessent de tourner
    - Les heures cessent leur cours
    - Le cours des heures cesse
    - Les heures s'arrêtent...
    I let you pick up the one you prefer

    Quote Originally Posted by pinky_girl View Post
    I have another question too if it's ok : if I want to add "de" in this sentence "Faites attention! ne fermez pas vos paupières" it would be like :
    Faites attention de ne fermer? or fermez? pas vos paupiere.......
    In this case ne and pas come one after the other:
    Faites attention, ne fermez pas vos paupières → Faites attention de ne pas fermer vos paupières. (infinitive )

    Another example:
    Je vous en prie, ne partez pas (Please, don't go) → Je vous prie de ne pas partir.

    And I forgot this little thing:
    La photo d'un monde forme dans vos yeux → La photo d'un monde se forme dans vos yeux
    The pronominal form (se) replace a passive form because "the picture of a world" isn't the subject of this sentence, but the object (it is formed in her eyes).

    I hope my explanations are clear.
    Last edited by Enoo; 12-01-2012 at 02:05 PM.
     
  15. pinky_girl's Avatar

    pinky_girl said:

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    Oh that was absolutely clear dear friend...thank you so very much...
    I'll be right back with more questions soon
     
  16. WannaBFluent's Avatar

    WannaBFluent said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by pinky_girl View Post
    But about this sentence "Toutes les heaures abandonneront ", If I want to clarify it, I wanted to say that " the hours surrender or give in ( even in the Persian lyric I don't know what the poet meant by saying this sentence but i guess he meant ' the hours give up passing/moving or something like that)
    Quote Originally Posted by Enoo
    Oh okay I see what you mean: in French you could say:
    - Les heures cessent de tourner
    - Les heures cessent leur cours
    - Le cours des heures cesse
    - Les heures s'arrêtent...
    it would be "more French" if you substitute "heures" by "temps" (hours by time), because a well known French expression is :
    "Le temps s'arrête." and it means what you wanted it to mean.

    Moreover, you can't really say "Les heures cessent de tourner" in French. People would understand but it sounds weird. but you can say :
    "Les aiguilles cessent de tourner." (aiguilles means clock hands)

    hope this help. and I'm not claiming Enoo was wrong, there is no offense, his french is very good, I'm sure you're a native French right?
    I just wanted to clarify this.
    العربية (arabic) // বাংলা (bengali) // हिन्दी (hindi) // kurmancî (kurdish) // فارسی (farsi)
    ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (punjabi) // soomaali (somali) // தமிழ் (tamil) // türkçe (turkish) // اُردو (urdu)
     
  17. pinky_girl's Avatar

    pinky_girl said:

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    Merci pour votre aide both of you are amaziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing....thanks again
     
  18. Enoo's Avatar

    Enoo said:

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    Quote Originally Posted by pinky_girl View Post
    Merci pour votre aide both of you are amaziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing....thanks again
    It's a pleasure to help you, my dear! Anytime!

    Quote Originally Posted by WannaBFluent View Post
    hope this help. and I'm not claiming Enoo was wrong, there is no offense, his french is very good, I'm sure you're a native French right?
    I just wanted to clarify this.
    It's okay, two opinions are always better than one and what you've said is perfectly accurate. But I must admit it is the first time I get compliments on my French! Because I'm a native French indeed.
     
  19. WannaBFluent's Avatar

    WannaBFluent said:

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    oh, you're English isn't bad as well. better than mine for sure!
    i'm currently learning turkish and arabic, and i'd like to speak fluently a lot of languages in the future (i hope) like romanian, russian, german, swahili, somaali, urdu, tamil, hindi, etc etc. i'm really interested in all languages, it's like a hobbit i don't know lol. but you feel so great when you can speak with someone in his native language.. amazing feeling, right?
    العربية (arabic) // বাংলা (bengali) // हिन्दी (hindi) // kurmancî (kurdish) // فارسی (farsi)
    ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (punjabi) // soomaali (somali) // தமிழ் (tamil) // türkçe (turkish) // اُردو (urdu)
     
  20. VivaPalestina's Avatar

    VivaPalestina said:

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    How about we strike a deal wannaBfluent - teach me french and I'll teach you arabic. I cant say I'm with you on all those languages but turkish is definitely in my to do list too.

    Lool Enoo I think you should pass yourself as a foreigner and have everyone else awwing at your cute French