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autre, autres / d'autre, d'autres
autre / d'autres (adjectif et pronom) = other / others
Exemples
Si tu n'aimes pas ce DVD, choisis un autre DVD. = If you don't like this DVD, choose another.
Si tu n’as pas envie de regarder un film, fais quelque chose d'autre. = If you don't want to watch a movie, do something else.
Quelques Américains boivent du café après leur dîner, d'autres prennent une tisane. = Some Americans drink coffee after dinner ; others have herbal tea.
La plupart du temps, on utilise "d' avec autres " : Certains DVD sont disponibles en plusieurs langues, d'autres seulement en anglais. = Some DVDs are available in several languages; others only in English.
ou
Certains DVD sont dispo en plusieurs langues, d'autres DVD, seulement en anglais. = Some DVDs are available in several languages; other DVDs, in English only.
EXPRESSION AVEC "AUTRE" :
autre chose = something else
autre part = somewhere else, elsewhere
Qui d'autre? = Who else?
Quoi d'autre? = What else?
Quelqu'un d'autre = someone else
Personne d'autre = no one else
rien d'autre = nothing else
comme un(e) autre = ordinary, good enough
d'un jour à l'autre = from one day to the next
entre autres = among other things
d'une part … d'autre part … = on the one hand..., on the other...
IMPERSONAL VERBS
Certain verbs are used only with the subject pronoun il, in impersonal expressions. One of the most common contexts for this is the weather. Verbs like pleuvoir, neiger, venter, etc. are used solely in the impersonal.
Il pleut sur la ville.
Il tombe quelques gouttes de pluie. Il fait un temps de canard.
Il a neigé hier, et il a venté.
Numerous verbs are used both in the personal and impersonal:
Son ami lui manqué. (personal verb: He/She misses his/her friend.)
Il me manque une chaussette . (impersonal verb: I’m short one sock.)
The verb avoir is used in the impersonal expression il y a:
Il n’y a pas de raison de se fâcher. (= There’s no reason to get mad.)
Other verbs such as être, devenir, paraître, rester and sembler frequently appear in impersonal expressions:
Il est possible que le boucher passe cet après-midi.
Il paraît que le boucher passera plus tard.
An impersonal verb is always in the third personal singular: Il tombait quelques gouttes de pluie. In reality, several drops of rain fell, but grammatically, the subject of the verb is il and therefore the verb is conjugated in the singular.
S'ASSEOIR / ETRE ASSIS(E) : what's the difference? 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, couch, the floor, ground, etc. The correct word order is:
subject + reflexive pronoun + auxiliary verb "être" + past participle "assis"
je me suis assis(e) = I sat down
tu t'es assis(e)
il s'est assis, elle s'est assise, on s'est assis(s, es)
nous nous sommes assis(es)
vous vous êtes assis(e,es)
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.
BASIC VERB NEGATION: 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. Attention! 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):
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!
PENSER QUE / PENSER A / PENSER DE : 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.
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)
AVOIR / ETRE
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. 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.
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.
IL Y A / C'EST / IL EST, ELLE EST
Anglophones sometimes confuse these expressions. Il y a is 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! (not a restaurant listed in 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 36. 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.
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