ONLINE FRENCH LANGUAGE LESSONS
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septembre 2009
What's the difference between "je me suis assis" and "j'étais assis" ?
This has tripped up nearly all of my students over the years. Here's the key for choosing the correct expression :
Use the passé composé of the verb "s'asseoir" if you're talking about changing the position of your body, that is, connecting your posterior to a chair, a couch, the floor, the ground, etc. The correct word order is :
subject + reflexive pronoun + auxiliary verb "être" + past participle "assis"
je me suis assis, je me suis assise = I sat down = "j'ai pris place" (I took a seat)
tu t'es assis, tu t'es assise
il s'est assis, elle s'est assise, on s'est assis(s, es)
nous nous sommes assis, nous nous sommes assises
vous vous êtes assis, vous vous êtes assise, vous vous êtes assises
ils se sont assis
elles se sont assises
Use a form of the verb "être" plus the past participle "assis" used as an adjective to describe the physical position of a person or object (as opposed to a change in position). It's a question of focus: are you talking about the act of sitting down or the reality of being in a seated position?
Examples:
I'm sitting down (in a seated position). = Je suis assis(e).
I was sitting in the back of the room so didn't hear the speech very well. = J'étais assis au fond de la salle, alors je n'ai pas bien entendu le discours.
I sat down to read the paper. = Je me suis assis(e) pour lire le journal.
I was sitting down when I heard the news. = J'étais assis(e) quand j'ai eu la nouvelle.
Questions ? mailto:jlbaker@orange.fr
avril 2009
Basic verb negation in French: To negate a verb in French, you generally place "ne" before the verb and a second negative element after it. There are exceptions, but this is the basic structure.
Be careful! The "ne" is frequently left out in everyday spoken French, so listen for the second negative element. Otherwise you'll understand exactly the opposite of what's actually been said!!!!!
These are your basic negations (many more exist, however):
ne...pas = not
ne...jamais = never
ne...plus = no more, no longer
ne...rien = nothing
ne...personne = nobody, no one
Practice these present tense examples out loud, with and without the "ne":
1. Je ne sais pas. / Je sais pas. = I don't know.
2. Le train n'est jamais à l'heure. / Le train est jamais à l'heure. = The train is never on time.
3. Vous ne fumez plus? / Vous fumez plus? = You don't smoke anymore?
In the passé composé, the "ne" is placed before the auxiliary verb. The second element is generally placed directly after the auxiliary, with the exception of "personne."
Practice these passé composé examples out loud, with and without the "ne."
1. Je n'ai rien mangé ce matin. / J'ai rien mangé ce matin. = I didn't eat anything this morning.
2. Le film ne m'a pas plu. / Le film m'a pas plu. = I didn't like the movie.
Attention: "personne" se place après le participe passé !
3. On n'a vu personne à la plage. / On a vu personne à la plage. = We didn't see anyone at the beach.
The word order changes if you use "personne" or "rien" as the subject of the verb. In that case, "personne" and "rien" comes first, directly followed by the "ne."
Personne n'est arrivé à l'heure. / Personne est arrivé à l'heure. = No one arrived on time.
Rien ne s'est passé. / Rien s'est passé. = Nothing happened.
You can use "rien" and "personne" to respond simply to a question:
What did you buy? -Nothing. = Qu-est-ce que vous avez acheté -Rien!
Who told you that? -Nobody. = Qui t'a dit cela? -Personne!
mars 2009
penser que / penser à / pense de
So what's the difference?
1. penser que : Use penser que when you're stating "I think that..." You'll be using a second conjugated verb. Examples: Je pense qu'il fera beau demain. / Pensez-vous que les Français parlent bien anglais ? / Ici dans mon petit village, on pense que la plupart des Américains sont incapables de trouver la France sur une carte ! Personnellement, je pense (et j'espère !!!) que les Français se trompent à ce sujet !
2. penser à : Use penser à if you want to say "I'm thinking about something or someone." The preposition à is followed by a noun. Examples: Je pense à ma petite-fille, qui est adorable ! / Penses-tu souvent à tes vacances en France ? / Tu ne penses pas assez à l'avenir !
3. pense de : Use penser de to ask someone's opionion about something or someone. The preposition de is followed by a noun. The pronoun en is frequently used in this type of question. Examples: Que pensez-vous du nouveau gouvernement américain ? (Qu'en pensez-vous?) / Je sais que tu viens de lire le nouveau livre de Susie Morgenstern ; qu'en penses-tu (que penses-tu de ce livre) ?
La réponse à cette sorte de question est : Je pense que... : Je pense que c'est un excellent livre.
janvier 2009
pendant / depuis
A sticking point for many Anglophones, possibly because pendant and depuis can sometimes both be translated by "for" in English... The difference between the two words, however, is easy to clear up.
Take this sentence as an example : "Je fais du sport pendant 30 minutes chaque après-midi." = I work out for 30 minutes each afternoon.
"Pendant" is used to express a fixed duration of time. The event talked about (working out) lasts 30 minutes, then it's over. Sure, it will take place again the following day since it's something that happens on a regular schedule, but that's not the point. The point is that it ends after 30 minutes. Use "pendant" in such cases.
"Depuis," however, is used to talk about an event that is on-going. It hasn't ended yet. It begins in the past, but continues in the present. English uses "for" or "since" to talk about such events. Example: "Je fais du sport chaque après-midi depuis 5 ans." = I've been working out each afternoon for 5 years. This means that you started this habit 5 years ago. You still do it. The emphasis is on that point: that you still work out. Notice the French use of the present tense: the action is on-going, in the present. Not so in English, so watch out.
The emphasis with "pendant" is the amount of time you spend working out each day.
You can put the two ideas together in one sentence: "Depuis 5 ans, je fais du sport pendant 30 minutes chaque après-midi." Note that you can omit "pendant" in this type of sentence, just like we often omit "during" or "for" in English: "For the past 5 years, I've been working out (for) 30 minutes each afternoon."
To practice, translate the following sentences, using "pendant" or "depuis" as indicated. Then study the emphasis in each sentence. Email me if you have questions (click on "Contact" to the right).
1. I've been studying French for 6 months. (depuis)
2. I study French (for) 20 minutes each morning. (pendant)
3. I've been waiting for you for an hour! (depuis)
4. I waited for you for an hour! / I waited an hour for you! (pendant)
5. I watched TV for an hour last night. (pendant)
6. I've been watching TV for an hour. (depuis)
novembre
2008
avoir
/ être
Anglophones sometimes confuse these two verbs in certain situations. There are a couple of primary reasons for this confusion. One is that the pronunciation of some of the forms are similar to the Anglophone ear. The other is that avoir (to have) is used in many French idioms where to be is used in English.
Let’s look first at the present tense conjugation of the two verbs. The forms in yellow are those that sometimes cause pronunciation problems.
AVOIR
j’ai
tu
as as and a are pronounced
« ah »
il
a
elle
a
on
a
nous
avons
vous
avez
ils
ont The s is
pronounced as z : EEL –
Zonh (nasalized ; the n and
t are not pronounced.
elles
ont ELL – Zonh (nasalized)
To correctly produce the nasal sound, try to say Zon without letting your tongue touch anywhere in your mouth. When we pronounce n in English, our tongue touches the roof of our mouth. When you nasalize a sound in French, the tongue doesn’t touch. There’s an easy trick for mastering the correct pronunciation of ils ont / elles ont : say « zone » in English, but without letting your tongue touch anywhere in your mouth. And there you have it !
Let’s move on to être. Study the
following present tense conjugation. Potential pronunciation areas areas are in yellow.
ETRE
je
suis
tu
es es and est are pronounced “eh,” as in bed, without the b or
the d
il
est
elle
est
on
est
nous
sommes
vous
êtes
ils
sont The s is
pronounced s, not z : EEL Sonh
elles
sont ELL Sonh
Same nasal as for avoir : say the English word dome. Take off the d, then without letting your tongue touch anywhere in you mouth, say –ome. And that takes care of your pronunciation confusions for avoir and être...
On to the next potential point of confusion : French idiomatic expressions using avoir where English uses to be. Of course you’re confused. Try thinking of things differently. Instead of thinking I am thirsty, put a different spin on the concept: I have thirst. They both amount to the same thing. Once you get over that hurdle, it’s just a vocabulary question.
Here are some high-frequency idioms using avoir. The English equivalents use to be.
avoir
soif ou faim
= to be thirsty or hungry / to have thirst or hunger
avoir
chaud ou froid
= to be hot or cold / to have cold or
hotness
avoir
X ans = to be X years old / to have X
number of years in age
avoir
sommeil = to be sleepy / to have
sleepiness
Therefore :
She’s sleepy. = Elle a sommeil.
He’s hungry. = Il a faim.
C’est l’été, on est à la plage et on porte des bottes. On a chaud. =
It's summertime, we're at the beach and are wearing boots. We're hot.
C’est
l’hiver, il neige et elles n’ont pas de pull-overs. Elles ont froid. =
It's winter, it's snowing and they don't have sweaters. They're cold.
Any questions? mailto:jlbaker@orange.fr
----------------------------------------------------
octobre 2008
il y a / c’est - il est - elle est
Anglophones sometimes confuse these expressions.
Firstly, let’s tackle il y a. It’s an impersonal idiomatic expression. The il is a neutral “it,” like in the English “it’s cold today”.
Il y a is used when you want to point out the existence of something. It means there is or there are and uses only the singular form of the verb avoir (= to have). English uses the singular or the plural of to be, depending on what you’re talking about. Il y ont is never correct.
Il y a une mouche dans ma soupe.= There’s a fly in my soup.
Et il y a des moustiques dans mon vin ! = And there are mosquitoes in my wine ! [This restaurant is not likely to be listed by Michelin.]
Use c’est to identify something or someone. That’s what the difference between il y a and c’est boils down to: existence over identification: “There’s something in my soup – it’s a fly!” = Il y a quelque chose dans ma soupe – c’est une mouche !
C’est means “s/he is” or “it is.” The “s/he” or “it” has normally already been referred to in the conversation. It can be a person or a thing. The plural form is ce sont (“they are”).
In general, if you can ask the question Qu’est-ce que c’est?, use c’est un / c’est une / c’est le / c’est la
/ c’est des / ce sont des X. Il y a does not work. It would be like saying: “What’s that?” – “There’s a bat.” …doesn’t
make sense. You’d respond: “That’s a bat.” = C’est un chauve-souris.
What about when to use il est / elle est instead of c’est? If
you can ask the questions Où
est-il?, Où est-elle?, Comment est-il?, Comment est-elle?, you
use il est or elle est to respond:
Je ne trouve pas
mon porte-feuille (où est-il ?) – Il est sur la commode.
Fais-moi un
portrait de ton frère (comment est-il ?) – Il est grand, il est sympa et
il est très généreux.
C’est is often used
with an article or possessive adjective + a noun (C’est un
chauve-souris.), but is also frequently
followed by an adjective, like in the examples above for il est /
elle est. In fact, c’est is more commonly used with adjectives in everyday
spoken French than il est / elle est.
For instance, you can say Il
n’est pas intelligent de boire avant de prendre le volant. However, c’est is more commonly used: Ce n’est pas intelligent… In truth,
what most French people say is: C’est pas intelligent…
More examples:
Vous vous
trompez! C’est evident ! (Il est évident.)
Elle est
amusante, cette histoire.
C’est amusant,
cette histoire. [Note :
the adjective is masculine after c’est because it agrees with ce, not with histoire.]
J’aime faire du
yoga. C’est reposant.
Practice suggestions for il y a and c’est
1. Choose an interesting photo in a magazine, then compose
two statements, referring to the same thing and using each expression once. For
instance:
Il y a une photo d’un village à la page seize. C’est un village
français.
Il y a des vignes à la page trente-cinq. Ce sont des vignes près de
Narbonne.
2. Open your refrigerator and select 5 things inside. Talk
about each item, using first il y a to
say what’s in your fridge, then c’est to identify the item. For instance:
Il y a une bouteille de vin dans mon frigo. C’est un Sauvignon blanc.
Il y a aussi des pommes dans mon frigo. Ce sont des MacIntosh.
When you've finished the exercise, pour yourself a glass of wine.
Practice suggestion for il est / elle est / c’est
Think of different activities available where you live. Name
the activity, then describe it with an adjective. For instance:
Faire du
ski en hiver : C’est formidable. / Il est formidable.
Prendre un apéritif
avec ses collègues après le travail : C’est agréable. / Il est agréable.
La danse écossaise :
Elle est amusante.
/ C’est amusant.
À vous de
trouver des exemples !
Any questions? mailto:jlbaker@orange.fr
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