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French Online Courses

Do you really want to learn a New Language Online at home ?

by Amelie Hurford
December 14, 2020

Learning a foreign language opens us up to new experiences, work opportunities, and allows us to meet people we may never have otherwise.

 

Learning a new language can help tremendously with your career prospects, your college education and experiences, travel, and personal enjoyment of the arts and culture.

Everyone should learn a new language, especially French, as this is a most popular language across the world. English may be spoken all over the world, but that doesn’t  mean it’s the most popular language or that you’re not missing out if you choose to associate exclusively with English speakers.

Online learning is the most wonderful technique to learn new language without the Classroom, lectures or professors, at luxury of your home. The 1st and the most important question is “Why leaning Online”.

Reasons to learn new language Online

If the learning a language were easy and fast then we would all be multilingual. The truth is that learning a language and speaking it well takes time, dedication and determination. Face-to-face tuition and language immersion are generally regarded as the best ways to learn a language.

  1. Flexible Location & Timing: Online courses, classes and apps allow you to study when you want and where you want. Essentially they give you the opportunity to take responsibility for your own education, in any setting, at any time of the day (or night). So, you now have more control over the learning process.
  1. Online Resources available: There are endless resourceson the internet, so it’s a pretty deep resource to tap into,  as per your own comfortability and time zone.
  1. Personalized Classes: Private Online classroom options give you a chance to get more personalised communication, learning practise and consolidate what you have learnt in the classroom. In this way, you can save some money, compared to enrolling in a local university, institution or college
  2. Affordable Cost: Not only do online classes never ever close, and not only are they served for affordable prices on a silver platter, but some of them have been structured so that it feels like you’re just watching TV or playing video games. Studies have shown that multimedia enhances memory and learning. So not only are you having fun, you’re also learning more effectively.

Online Language learning rules

 

  1. Consistency in learning: If you wish to know the secrets of the learning new language online, one of your major takeaways will be the steadiness. Putting constant efforts in one direction to learn new language online, will not only helps you archive the success within no time but also helps to reach towards the goal, in a super easier way.
  2. Appropriate Timing: Time management is most critical for Online Learning or distance learning. Online courses give students the flexibility to take their class anytime, anywhere. The trick, students say, is staying on top of them. Doing so requires discipline and commitment, these traits any successful student should possess no matter what path they’re taking to complete their online learning. Always be smart with your timing to be chosen to start your online learning classes.
  3. Google Use for right choice & Decision making: Before joining any organization for learning new language, it’s always a very good idea to do research about the institution you are going to join for the classes. Read the reviews about the study material to be provided during the online classes and access how engaging it is. Always recommended to have a look at all the available option and then take the best decision to join the best one.
  4. Friends & business Group for communication: Learning in a group beats learning alone anytime. Learn a language together as a community or with friends is the best thumb rule to learn new language in a faster way. Start communicating on Skype with the people having the same goals as you, love the same target language you do and make the same grammar mistakes you make.

 How to get started learning Online

Like learning any language, all that’s required is a little time, motivation and an effective method. If you want to get started learning French language, I would highly recommend French Lessons Australia French Lessons Australia offers fun, engaging French language lessons for everyone’s need. 

French Online courses covered from beginner, intermediate and advanced conversation classes to Business French for adults, travellers & corporate sector.

frenchlessonsaustralia.com.au  |  0415 799 620  | info@frenchlessons-australia.com.au

Wish you the best of luck in your language learning journey!

How to learn French by using effective learning tools?
French Vocabulary, Learning New Language

How to learn French by using effective learning tools?

by Amelie Hurford
September 15, 2020

There are many learning tools available online and are very effective for learning French.

If you want to learn French then you will have to undergo a proper language training & learning tools & module because learning a foreign language like French it is not

If you want to learn French then you will have to undergo a proper language training module because learning a foreign language like French it is not easy task, and it becomes more challenging to learn without proper lessons like, vocabulary, writing, reading, grammar and comprehension skills.

Now French is one of the most promising and demanding foreign languages and if you learn it completely then you are in for a variety of career opportunities. Apart from that, learning French is also effective for businessmen because they can easily handle and communicate with their foreign clients through their native language and it can be a great outcome for their business exposition and expansion.

 

What are the French learning tools?

There are different kinds of French learning tools available online and most of them are free. Some of them are given below:

  • Busuu: If you want to learn French in your android mobile then you can easily use this French learning tool. The best part about this tool is that it uses android and also the website applications. You can derive the most important things like the meanings and utterances, accents and also the ways of everyday conversations when you start using this tool.
  • FrenchPod: This is also a technically-advanced French learning tool that can facilitate your learning of this foreign language. It is a combination of Podcast and free website that makes your whole learning process full of fun and interesting. You learn many new facets of French conversation on each new day that you try to use this FrenchPod.

 

The BBC materials in French

In order to get both the basic and the advanced learning materials in French, you can switch on to the BBC course modules for French. The short phrases, axioms, French proverbs, grammatical arrangement and vocabulary are very well-explained by the BBC learning methods. In fact, if you opt for the French lessons Sydney, you will have an access to an array of great materials for learning French with the most error-free pronunciation.

 

What are the other French language tools that you can avail from us?

 At French Lessons Australia, we try to make you more conversant with the wide variety of resources that we have:

  • Video tutorials
  • French books and audio book recordings in French
  • We also try to guide you by making you read French newspapers and French dictionaries
  • French Radio online is a great learning tool that comes handy when you want to learn French
  • Pronunciation charts, grammar tables, and written tests are some of the other devices that act not just as learning tools but that also make you learn many new words and sentences in French

Apart from all these, you can also take the help of the internet, and the Collins Pocket Guide to learning French. Or else, you can just contact Amelie for learning French lessons Australia. You can reach her on  info@frenchlessons-australia.com.au or  0415 799 620.

French Online Courses

How can Learning French at French lessons Benefits Your Career

by Amelie Hurford
March 3, 2020

More than 220 million individuals on the planet communicate in French, regardless of whether as their first or second language and this is the second most generally learned language and the 6th most broadly communicated in language. There are numerous examinations on how learning a subsequent language can profit you just as French lessons Brisbane, beginning from further building up your range of abilities in this way expanding your vocation openings and right to harvesting psychological favorable circumstances like being more astute, better performing various tasks, memory improvement, changes in one’s observation and basic leadership process. Communicating in an unknown dialect can lead the best approach to extraordinary encounters in your work, instruction, and travel.

Boost Your Vocation Alternatives

Whatever your calling and occupation, learning French will assist you with addressing customers, sellers, and workers in various countries. In any case, if you are dealing with worldwide business or legislative issues, French is exceptionally useful — affiliations like NATO, the United Nations, and even the International Olympic Committee are altogether utilizing French as an official course.

Improve Your Travel Experiences

Indeed, even essential information on French can make voyaging simpler and increasingly pleasant, enabling you to speak with individuals at lodgings, eateries, and travel frameworks.

A Gateway to Culture

Appreciation of French techniques for design, culinary articulations, theater, movement, visual articulations, and innovation is gradually opening up. Moreover, you will have the alternative to scrutinize model works of composing by authors, for instance, Victor Hugo, Anatole, France, Molière, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and others all in their novel dialect.

Increment Your Education Opportunities

On the off chance that you arrive at a sufficiently high level in French, you might have the option to select at a top college in a French-talking nation. This not just allows you to pick up your alumni or postgraduate qualification, concentrating abroad empowers you to encounter an alternate lifestyle and improve your insight into the French language.

Utilize French As a Starting Point for Other Languages

On the off chance that you might want to become familiar with a few dialects, French is a decent spot to start. For English speakers, French is sensibly simple to get, allowing you to quickly reach an essential level of conversation, which can improve your certainty of handling additional dialect testing.

Advantages Of Learning French For Your Future

In this day and age, communicating in one unknown dialect isn’t sufficient. Understudies that finished a French drenching program abroad have better their odds of getting a new line of work, regardless of whether abroad or at home.

French as an unknown dialect is the second most of the time showed language on the planet after English. French and English are the main two worldwide dialects.

Have this as a primary concern when you pursue your first French exercise for learners or while doing your French language exercises.

For what reason is it advantageous to gain proficiency with a subsequent language

Past the scholarly advantages, information on an unknown dialect, for example, French encourages travel, upgrades vocation openings, and empowers one to study various people groups and societies.

Conclusion

As should be obvious, learning French has numerous advantages. Regardless of whether you need to extend your insight with a couple of French exercises, to additionally propel your capability and improve your profession chances with genuine discussions, be a superior multitasker or basically make your movements agreeable and lovely there are numerous incredible French inundations programs for everybody in Paris, Bordeaux, Montpellier, and Cote d’Azur coastline.

French Online Courses

Why Audio Lessons are Important in Studying French

by Amelie Hurford
March 3, 2020

In the wake of going through months taking in French from the typical books you at last travel to France, and there a shock! The French individuals you are conversing with can’t get you. Your French sentences are right, your French articulation appears to be correct… what’s going on? So many organizations are working to provide peoples better opportunities to learn French well just as learn French Brisbane.

The Disparity between English Spoken and French Spoken

The issue with taking in French from books is that communicated in French – French everyone utilizes each day altogether different from the “scholastic French” you’ll find in books.

Not exclusively does the articulation change however the contacts are unique, the glidings are significantly more present and a portion of the French pronouns or articles appear to vanish out and out

Your French language aptitudes could be book great, you will make some hard memories in the city, conversing with flawlessly “ordinary” French individuals.

studying french

Watch out: when I state “the road”, I’m not discussing slang French or “gangsta” French… Just the advanced French language everyone utilizes these days – well, perhaps not 70 years of age government officials on TV, yet the remainder of us in ordinary circumstances.

if your objective in learning French is simply to peruse and examine French Literature or breeze through-composed assessments, at that point taking in French from books will be adequate.

Most grown-ups, be that as it may, learn French to have the option to travel in Francophone nations and have the option to cooperate with individuals. For this situation, you have to become familiar with the present French and, particularly, hear “genuine” communicated in French elocution.

The Benefits of Learning Today’s French Through Audio

An ideal case of the contrast between communicated in French today and in books is the expression: “Il n’y a pas de quoi”.

The normal French individual will articulate it: “ya cushion koa”. As you talk, the seven syllables that you learned on paper become four! No big surprise you start questioning your French language aptitude.

This is the reason you have to hear, not simply perusing, all that you are examining is vital to bring your French articulation and listening aptitudes adequate with local “road” French.

Besides, tuning in to French sound exercises should be possible anyplace, in your vehicle, on the treadmill, while planting…

Finding the Right Audio Tool

There is a great deal of sound material out there, and it is significant you invest energy choosing the one that is directly for you.

This is particularly significant in case you are a child or middleman since the sound material with which you work should be difficult, but achievable, and give you a sense of accomplishment.

It is significant as you are building your insight into the language that you likewise manufacture your self-assurance in it. I worked an entire article about discovering your French level and right book recording to consider, I recommend you read it.

I am predisposed to my very own material that I structured explicitly for that reason. Look at my reachable French book recordings and simple French books.

Conclusion

Learning French can be exceptionally fulfilling and an incredible aptitude in your arms stockpile however you need to ensure that the French you learn can be utilized on your next outing to Paris, else, you will get debilitated rapidly with your French language tries.

French Grammar, French Online Courses

What is the French Imperative mood used for?

by Amelie Hurford
July 25, 2018

You already know how to describe something and how to ask for things. The indicative mood has no secret for you anymore (well not too many at least 😉 ).

So, you have now decided to take your learning of French a bit further and to study the imperative mood? That’s great! You’ll soon be fluent, I’m sure!

In this blog, I will make sure you understand absolutely everything you need to know about the imperative mood.

L’impératif in French. It’s actually a pretty easy(ish) tense so don’t start pulling your hair out for nothing!

I want to be as clear as possible, so here is how my blog will be divided.

First, I will tell you what the imperative mood is used for.

Then, I will get into the heart of the matter and I will tell you a bit more about how to conjugate verbs depending on their ending (you know, the -ER, the -IR and -RE endings).

Finally, I will highlight the main points of affirmative and negative uses of the imperative and speak about pronominal verbs.

And because, at French Lessons Australia, we always want the best for our students and for our readers, you will find some exercises and their correction at the end of this blog!

Does this sound good to you? Perfect! Let’s start!

 

1) What is the imperative mood used for?

First, let’s use the correct vocabulary. The imperative is not a tense. It is a mood. The imperative mood contains two tenses: present and past (le présent de l’impératif and le passé de l’impératif).

Note though that le passé de l’impératif is very obsolete and not used anymore. Hurray! We’re down to one tense to learn!

So, what is that mood and what do we use it for?

The imperative is usually used to give an order or an advice in a personal way as you speak directly to the person/persons.

Here are some examples:

Mange des légumes verts. Tu te sentiras mieux. → Eat some green vegs. You will feel better.

Révisons bien pour notre contrôle. → Let’s revise well for our test.

Finissez vos assiettes! → Finish your plates!

As you will more than likely have already noticed, the sentences above are all affirmative.

However, of course, the imperative mood can be used in the negative form too. That is the case when you want to forbid someone to do something.

You know that moment when you look at your child with big rounded eyes but that he/she is still about to do that one thing he/she is not allowed to do so you have to issue commands and use the imperative mood: n’écris pas sur le mur! (don’t write on the wall!). Surely this doesn’t just happen to me… Does it?

Well, just like you would do in the indicative mood, you have to put the ne in front of the conjugated verb and the chosen adverb (pas, jamais, plus…) after the verb.

Ne réponds jamais insolemment! → Never answer back insolently!

Ne mangez pas tout le chocolat! → Do not eat all the chocolate!

Ne nous énervons pas! → Let’s not get angry!

Now, let’s see if you’re paying attention. What do you notice in all the examples I have chosen? Tick-tock, tick-tock, time is up! So?…

Yes, you’ve got it in one! There are only three grammatical persons used in the imperative mood (tu, nous and vous) but the subject pronoun is not used.

OK, and what’s more? I give you a clue: use your knowledge of the indicative mood.

So?…

Yep, you’re right again! You’re pretty good at French, aren’t you?! Most of the conjugations are the same as the indicative present (le présent de l’indicatif). Didn’t I tell you it would be easy to learn? Easy peasy!

Now, let’s get onto the second part of the blog: the conjugations of the verbs depending on their endings.

 

2) Imperative mood conjugations

a) -ER verbs (les verbes du premier groupe)

Before I develop this part, let me warn you: I will test you a bit further down so pay attention, my friend!

 

 

If we do a quick recap: we said the present of the imperative mood is similar to the present of the indicative except that we don’t use the subject pronouns.

Now comes the time when I am going to test your knowledge (I did warn you, remember?).

So, what do you have to add at the end of a verb conjugated in the indicative present at the second person of the singular (tu)?

Exactly. An s.

What difference do you notice in the present of the imperative?

Again, you’re right! There is no s. This is a particularity of the -ER verbs conjugated in the imperative mood.

It is also the case with other ending verbs that are conjugated like -ER verbs (ending in -es with tu).

For example, the verb couvrir (to cover).

 

b) -IR and -RE verbs (les verbes du deuxième et troisième groupes)

Once again, you will have to make use of your knowledge of the indicative mood. Indeed, verbs which are irregular in this mood are, for most of them, irregular in the imperative mood too.

The main difference with -ER verbs is that -IR and -RE verbs take an -s at the second person of the singular (tu).

Here are some examples.

Franchir To jump over, to overcome

(tu) Franchis Jump over / overcome

(nous) Franchissons Let’s jump over / let’s overcome

(vous) Franchissez Jump over / overcome

Atteindre To reach

(tu) Atteins Reach

(nous) Atteignons Let’s reach

(vous) Atteignez Reach

Faire To do, to make

(tu) Fais Do / make

(nous) Faisons Let’s do / let’s make

(vous) Faites Do / make

c) Exceptions

Do you know the very famous French saying “c’est l’exception qui confirme la règle” (it is the exception that confirms the rule)?

In other words, yes, like in most French grammar rules, there are some exceptions. Four to be precise.

Considering how easy, compared to some other French conjugations, the present of the imperative is, I supposed we can let the French of this time and simply learn these four exceptions.

They don’t follow the pattern of the present of the indicative at all.

Here they are in alphabetical order.

 

3) Affirmative and negative uses of the imperative mood

a) Negative form

Like I mentioned previously, the negative form doesn’t differ in the imperative mood. Just like you would in the indicative mood, you will have to put the negative structure around the conjugated verb. Thus, you will first write ne then your chosen imperative verb followed by any negative adverb (pas, jamais, plus…).

Have a look at the following table to understand exactly what I mean.

See, it’s rather easy, isn’t it?

Things get a bit trickier when it comes to affirmative commands. Let me tell you why.

b) Affirmative form

Like I have just said, affirmative commands are a bit more difficult. We could say that they are a bit more challenging. It doesn’t sound as bad!

Why? For various reasons. Four to be exact. Two are to do with word order and two with pronouns.

The pronoun comes after the verb and is linked to it with a hyphen.

Excusez-nous (excuse us)

Bois-le (drink it)

Please, note that, in the case of object pronouns, they are after the verb in the affirmative form but before the verb in the negative form.

For example:

Parle-moi → Speak to me

Ne me parle pas → Don’t speak to me

Sometimes you will find both direct and indirect object pronouns.

When that is the case, remember that the direct object pronoun always comes before the indirect object pronoun.

For example:

Donnez-le moi! → Give it to me!

Parle-lui-en! → Speak to him about it!

You’ll find that some French people might try to correct you if you get that order wrong. For instance, if you say donne moi le instead of donne-le-moi, they could ask you: donne toi quoi ? (give you what?).

* In the imperative mood and when using the affirmative form, the pronouns me and te change to moi and toi. These are stressed pronouns.

For example,

Réveille-toi! → Wake up!

Taisons-nous → Let’s be quiet!

Please note that if the pronoun is followed by y or en you will have to contract it. It is to do a liaison and therefore ease the pronunciation.

For example,

Va-t-en! → Go away! / Leave!

Have you forgotten what the French stressed pronouns are? Not a problem. Here’s a little reminder.

 

* I spoke about liaison and easier pronunciation just above. Well, this last point is also linked to this. Indeed, if you are using the second person of the singular form (tu) and either the pronoun y or the pronoun en, you will have to keep the s (despite using an -ER verb)

For example,

Manges-en! → Eat some!

c) Pronominal verbs

In the affirmative form, pronominal verbs are used with tonic personal pronouns placed after the verb. In the negative form, atonic personal pronouns are positioned before the verb.

So, that’s it, you’ve got it all. A full lesson to be unbeatable when it comes to the imperative mood!

Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, eh! Let’s see if you have understood everything perfectly well. Have a look at the exercises below, give it your best shot and then (and only then) check your answers! Good luck!

1) Put the following sentences in the present of the imperative.

Then translate your sentences.

For example,

Il ne faut pas courir autour de la piscine → (Vous) → Ne courez pas autour de la piscine → Don’t run around the swimming pool.

Now, it’s your turn!

a) Il est interdit de fumer dans les lieux publics → (Tu)

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

b) Nous devons réviser pour notre contrôle → (Nous)

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

c) Il faut prévenir si vous êtes absents → (Vous)

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

d) Il ne faut pas crier dans les couloirs → (Tu)

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

e) Il faut envoyer notre lettre avant la fin du mois → (Nous)

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

f) Il est obligatoire d’amener sa pièce d’identité. → (Vous)

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

→ _____________________________________________________________________________

2) Choose the correct answer.

a) Vas chercher ton frère.

Va chercher ton frère.

b) Manges ton entrée.

Mange ton entrée.

c) Soyez sages.

Soyiez sages.

d) Faisez vos devoirs.

Faites vos devoirs.

e) Aies du courage.

Aie du courage.

f) Veuilliez nous excuser

Veuillez nous excuser.

Correction

1) Put the following sentences in the present of the imperative. Then translate your sentences.

a) Il est interdit de fumer dans les lieux publics → (Tu)

→ Ne fume pas dans les lieux publics.

→ Don’t smoke in public places.

b) Nous devons réviser pour notre contrôle → (Nous)

→ Révisons pour notre contrôle.

→ Let’s revise for our test.

c) Il faut prévenir si vous êtes absents → (Vous)

→ Prévenez si vous êtes absents.

→ Let people know if you are absent.

d) Il ne faut pas crier dans les couloirs → (Tu)

→ Ne crie pas dans les couloirs.

→ Don’t scream in the corridors.

e) Il faut envoyer notre lettre avant la fin du mois → (Nous)

→ Envoyons pas notre lettre avant la fin du mois.

→ Let’s send our letter before the end of the month.

f) Il est obligatoire d’amener sa pièce d’identité. → (Vous)

→ Amenez votre pièce d’identité.

→ Bring your ID.

2) Choose the correct answer.

a) Vas chercher ton frère.

Va chercher ton frère.

b) Manges ton entrée.

Mange ton entrée.

c) Soyez sages.

Soyiez sages.

d) Faisez vos devoirs.

Faites vos devoirs.

e) Aies du courage.

Aie du courage.

f) Veuilliez nous excuser

Veuillez nous excuser.

Conclusion
Please do share your story in the comment section on your experience with grammar.

Side Note: Want a light introduction to French Courses Online? Check Out Our French Courses Online for grammar

French Grammar

How to Use the Pronoun EN and Y in French?

by Amelie Hurford
July 10, 2018

What are the two French adverbial pronouns?

If you’re reading this article, you probably have been browsing the Internet looking to resolve a French grammatical mystery (well not a mystery for long!):

How do we use the French pronouns en and y? What do they replace? In other words, what are these tiny words that seem so important in French?

Don’t worry, it is absolutely normal you’re asking yourself all this and I am here to help you find the answers you need!

French grammar can sometimes (often?) seem pretty tough to grasp but with a bit of help and some assiduous work, you’ll see that it’s actually not that difficult and that, in fact, it’s rather logical and enjoyable to learn! Yes, trust me, it is!

I hope that this is what you will think after having read my article anyway!

In this blog, I will highlight the various uses of two French pronouns, en and y.

You must have seen or heard them many times but they might give you some hard time when it comes to using them yourself in a sentence.

1) What is a pronoun?

Before we get into the heart of the matter, let’s start from the beginning and check your knowledge of French grammar.

What actually is a pronoun?  As the word indicates it, a pronoun replaces the noun.

It helps to avoid repetitions and, therefore, makes your speech a lot smoother.

There are many different types of pronouns in French. We can classify them into two main categories: personal pronouns and impersonal pronouns.

A) Personal pronouns

Why personal? Simply because they refer to a person and, therefore, agree in number and gender with the grammatical person they represent.

In French, you will find five different types of personal pronouns:

→ subject (je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles)

→ reflexive (me, te, se, nous, vous, se)

→ stressed (moi, toi, lui, elle, soi, nous, vous, eux, elles) → direct object (me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les)

→ indirect object (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur)

As interesting as these can be, they are not the topic of this article so I won’t tell you much more about French personal pronouns.

This could always be the subject of another blog if you want me to teach you a bit more about them! Let me know in your comments.

B) Impersonal pronouns

This time around you might wonder why they are called impersonal. Well, like I mentioned it a bit further up, French grammar (and grammar in general) is very logical.

Personal pronouns change depending on the grammatical person they represent. Therefore, impersonal pronouns do not change according to a grammatical person.

Watch out though, this does not mean they never change to agree with the noun they replace.

There are more French impersonal pronouns than personal pronouns.

Well, in fact, there are double more as there are ten different types.

→ subject (ce, il)

→ indefinite (plusieurs, quiconque, tout…)

→ demonstrative (celui, celle, ceux, celles)

→ indefinite demontrative (ce, ceci, cela, ça)

→ possessive (le mien, la mienne, les miens, les miennes, le tien, la tienne, les tiens, les tiennes, le sien, la sienne, les siens, les siennes, le nôtre, la nôtre, les nôtres, le vôtre, la vôtre, les vôtres, le leur, la leur, les leurs)

→ relative (qui, que, quoi, dont, où, lequel…)

→ indefinite relative (ce qui, ce que, ce dont…)

→ negative (ne…jamais, ne…rien, …)

→ interrogative (qui, que, lequel…)

→ adverbial (y, en)

I could tell you many things about all these impersonal pronouns but, in this lesson, we will concentrate on the last category: the adverbial pronouns.

2) Adverbial pronouns

How can two so tiny words be so important than a full blog is written just for them?

Well, that is because, as small as they are, they are very often used in French and if you don’t use them correctly you can either change the sense of a sentence or your sentence may not make sense at all!
So let’s focus and become unbeatable when it comes to en and y!

A) En
En is usually translated by “of it” or “about it”.

A1) A pronoun which replaces a noun introduced by de

The French adverbial pronoun en is used with verbs that take de such as avoir besoin de, avoir

envie de, parler de, s’occuper de, revenir de …

For example:

• Avez-vous besoin de ce livre ? → En avez-vous besoin?Do you need this book? Do you need it?

In this example, what does en replace? Yes, you’re right. Here, en replaces ce livre.

• Parle-lui de ton expérience → Parle-lui-en.Tell him about your experience → Tell him about it.

In this example, what does en replace?
Again, you’ve got it right! Yes, here, en replaces ton expérience.

When you speak about a person, you have to use the tonic or stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui, elle, soi, nous, vous, eux, elles). Don’t use en in that case.

For example:

• Tu parles de ta voisine? Oui, je parle d’elle.
Are you speaking about your neighbour? Yes, I am (speaking about her).

In this example, ta voisine is a person so you have to use a tonic pronoun.

• Tu parles de ton travail? Oui, j’en parle.
Are you speaking about your work? Yes, I am (speaking about it).
Here, we don’t speak about someone but about something so you have to use the adverbial pronounen.

I hear what you’re saying: “Why do French people make things so difficult for us to learn?!”.
Well, just take it as a little challenge and realistically it’s not a very complicated rule to remember, is it?

En can also replace a place if that place is introduced by a verb + de

For example:

• Je reviens de la bibliothèque → J’en reviens.
I am coming back from the library → I am coming back from it.

As you more than likely have understood it, in this example, en replaces la bibliothèque.

A2) A pronoun which replaces a noun introduced by a partitive article or an indefinite article.

En is used instead of a partitive article + a noun or an indefinite article + a noun.

Let me give you a few examples.

  • –  Je vais faire un gâteau mais je ne suis pas certaine d’avoir tous les ingrédients nécessaires. A-t-on du beurre?
  • –  Non, il n’y en a plus.
  • –  Et du sucre?
  • –  Oui, il en reste.
  • –  Et des oeufs? Il m’en faut trois.
  • –  On en a quatre.
  • –  I will bake a cake but I am not sure we have all the required ingredients. Do we have some butter?
  • –  No, there isn’t any left
  • –  What about sugar?
  • –  Yes, there is some.
  • –  And eggs? I need three.
  • –  We have four.So, what do the various en replace in this little dialogue? Let’s go through it together.

– Non, il n’y en a plus.
Here en replaces le beurre (butter).

– Oui, il en reste.
Here en replaces le sucre (sugar).

– Il m’en faut trois.
Here en replaces les oeufs (eggs).

– On en a quatre.
Again, here en replaces les oeufs (eggs).

This last sentence “On en a quatre” highlights an important rule.
In French, when en replaces the noun after a number, that number as to be put at the end of the sentence.

Have a look at the following example.

J’ai trois oeufs → J’ en ai number noun en replaces “oeufs”

I have three eggs → I have three of them.

trois. number

B) Y
As an English-speaker, you probably got told that y translates to “there” which is true but rather reductive. Indeed, y has a few more uses. I will bring them out.

B1) A pronoun which replaces the name of a place (à + name of the place)
This is probably the case you encoutered the most or, at least, the case you most got told about. When y replaces the name of a place, it is translated by “there”.

Let’s see it in the following text.

– Pars-tu souvent en vacances?
– Oui, je vais souvent à Paris.
– Tu y vas quand?
– J’y vais à Noël car c’est magnifique! Et toi, où pars-tu en vacances? – Moi, je vais parfois à Londres. J’y vais pendant les vacances d’été. – Avec qui y vas-tu?

– J’y vais avec mon conjoint et nos enfants.

  • –  Do you often go on holiday?
  • –  Yes, I often go to Paris.
  • –  When do you go there?
  • –  I go there at Christmas because it’s amazing! What about you, where do you go on holiday?
  • –  Me, I sometimes go to London. I go there during the summer holidays.
  • –  Who do you go there with?
  • –  I go there with my husband and our chilren.
  • As you can see in this text, y is used to answer the question “where” (où). Therefore, this adverbial pronoun replaces “to Paris” and “to London” (à Paris and à Londres).
    However, note that it doesn’t just replace the name of a country.

    It can be used for any type of places.

    For example:

• Tu vas au centre aéré mercredi → Tu y vas mercredi.
You are going to summer camps on Wednesday → You go there on Wednesday.

• Avec qui allez-vous aux Galeries Lafayette? → Nous y allons avec Charlotte.Who do you go to the Galeries Lafayette with? → We are going with Charlotte.

B2) A pronoun which replaces a noun introduced by à

The French adverbial pronoun y is used with verbs that take à such as penser à, s’intéresser à, réfléchir à, croire à, jouer à…
In this case, you can translate it by “it”.

For example:

• Veux-tu jouer à la marelle? → Veux-tu y jouer?
Do you want to play hopscotch? → Do you want to play it?

• S’intéresse t-il au rugby? → S’y intéresse t-il?Is he interested in rugby? → Is he interested in it?

• Elle pense beaucoup à son voyage. → Elle y pense beaucoup.She thinks a lot about her trip. → She thinks about it a lot.

What do you notice in all these examples? I’ll give you a clue: inanimate objects, places, ideas… So? Yes, that’s it!!! Y replaces something but never someone. It replaces inanimate objects, places, ideas but never a person.
You’re getting pretty good at French! I’m impressed!

C) The position of adverbial pronouns in a sentence C1) With simple tenses

When used with simple tenses (le présent, le passé simple, l’imparfait, le futur), both adverbial pronouns, en and y, have to be put in between the subject and the verb.

For example:
– Tu vas chez ta grand-mère ce soir? (Are you going to your nan’s tonight?)- Oui, j’y vais.(Yes, I am)

In “Oui, j’y vais”, j’ is the subject and vais is the conjugated verb. Therefore, you have to write y in between them both.

  • –  As-tu du chocolat? (Have you got some chocolate?)
  • –  Non, je n’en ai pas. (No, I haven’t got any).In “Non, je n’en ai pas”, je is the subject and ai is the conjugated verb. Therefore, you have to writeen in between them both.
    As you will have already noticed, the negative (highlighted in blue) surrounds the pronoun and the verb.C2) With composed tensesWhen used with composed tenses (le passé composé, le plus-que-parfait…), both adverbial pronouns, en and y, have to be put in between the subject and the auxiliary avoir or être.For example:
  • –  As-tu mangé des légumes verts à midi? (Have you eaten some green vegs at lunchtime?)
  • –  Oui, j’en ai mangé. (Yes, I have eaten some).
  • –  Avez-vous réfléchi à votre projet? (Have you thought about your project?)
  • –  Non, nous n’y avons pas réflechi. (No, we have not thought about it).With composed tenses, the first part of the negative (ne) has to be put before the adverbial pronoun and the second part of the negative (pas in this example) has to be after the auxiliary.We’re coming to the end of this blog.
  • Before we check your new knowledge, let me give you some great news!
    You can practice everything you have learnt above and learn much more thanks to our conversational classes!

At French Lessons Australia, you will get the opportunity to take part in our fun and interactive classes.

We have everything you need to improve your French and to boost your confidence.

So what are you waiting for?! Check our website for more information!https://frenchlessonsaustralia.com.au/french-lessons-adults-2/

D) Your turn!

Let’s check if you have completely understood the whole lesson thanks to the following exercises!

I have created a couple of exercises especially for you so you can practice what you have just learnt as remember “practice makes perfect”!
You will find the correction just underneath the exercises but do not cheat! Only check your answers once you have given it your best shot!

Bonne chance! (Good luck!).

1) Choose the correct answer

  • As-tu pensé à prévenir ta professeur de ton absence?→ Oui, j’y ai pensé.
    → Oui, j’ai pensé à elle.
  • As-tu acheté du pain? → Oui, j’ai en acheté. → Oui, j’en ai acheté.
  • Combien y a-t-il de personnes? → Il y en a cinq.
    → Il en y a cinq.
  • Allez-vous souvent à Marseille? → Non, on n’y va jamais.
    → Non, on ne va y jamais.

2) What do the pronouns en and y replace in the following sentences?

  • Je vais à Nîmes ce soir. J’y vais en train.→ à Nîmes → en train
  • J’aimerais tellement devenir actrice à Hollywood! J’en rêve depuis toujours. → à Hollywood
    → devenir actrice
  • – N’oublie pas de téléphoner à ta soeur! – Oui, j’y penserai. → de téléphoner à ta soeur
    → à ta soeur
  • – Veux-tu une mousse au chocolat en dessert? – Non merci, je n’en veux pas. → une mousse au chocolat
    → en dessertCorrection

2) Choose the correct answer

  • As-tu pensé à prévenir ta professeur de ton absence? → Oui, j’y ai pensé.
    → Oui, j’ai pensé à elle.
  • As-tu acheté du pain? → Oui, j’ai en acheté. → Oui, j’en ai acheté.
  • Combien y a-t-il de personnes? → Il y en a cinq.
    → Il en y a cinq.
  • Allez-vous souvent à Marseille? → Non, on n’y va jamais.
    → Non, on ne va y jamais.

2) What do the pronouns en and y replace in the following sentences?

  • Je vais à Nîmes ce soir. J’y vais en train.→ à Nîmes→ en train
  • J’aimerais tellement devenir actrice à Hollywood! J’en rêve depuis toujours. → à Hollywood
    → devenir actrice
  • – N’oublie pas de téléphoner à ta soeur! – Oui, j’y penserai. → de téléphoner à ta soeur
    → à ta soeur
  • – Veux-tu une mousse au chocolat en dessert? – Non merci, je n’en veux pas. → une mousse au chocolat
    → en dessert
French Accents
French Grammar

French Accents – Here is what you need to know (Free Exercises Inside)

by Amelie Hurford
April 30, 2018

French Accents

What are these strange little things on top of some French letters?

What do they do to words?

And (more importantly) can they be forgotten about, you know just to make our learner’s life a tad easier?

Well, my dear, let’s just say accents are a singularity of the French language (even though, let’s not forget you can find accents in other languages such as Spanish).

After all, we all know how much French people really like being unique. And rightly so!

In this blog, I will tell you everything you need to know about French accents.

To help you with pronunciation and get you to practice it, I will also add some audios.

And finally, to make sure you master French accents perfectly well, you will find, at the end of this blog, some exercises and their correction so you can evaluate your understanding of this grammar point.

Does this sound good to you?

Yes !!

Great, so now, let’s get started 🙂

 

Lets Dive Into French Accents Pronunciation Guide

1) What is the point in having accents and where do they come from?

I know that studying French accents can be a bit of a pain and that, just like most learners do, you wish you could simply forget about them completely but, let me tell you, that would be such a shame.

Why?

Well, simply because accents are actually very important in French (even though some people would disagree with that but I’ll tell you more about this point later).

  • Accents, also known as diacritical marks, totally change the pronunciation but also the sense of a word and omitting them could lead to some rather embarrassing situations!
  • Imagine writing “mais oui, je suis sur Brigitte” (yes, I am on top of Brigitte) instead of “mais oui, je suis sûr Brigitte!” (yes, I am sure Brigitte). ..
  • They can also replace a letter that used to be written in the old version of French words but that has disappeared in modern French.
  • The most common example of this language evolution is the letter “s”.

Let’s take the word “hôpital” for example. It used to be “hospital”. As you can see, we dropped the “s”  and replaced it with a circumflex accent (l’accent circonflexe).

However, the letter “s” is still present in other words that contain the same root as “hôpital” like in “hospitalier”. Because the “s”  is written, you don’t need the circumflex accent.

  • French accents are also used to distinguish some homophones. There are plenty but just to name a few, here are some homophones you could come across:

ou (or) / où (where)

il a (verb to have → he has) / à (to)

des (some) / dès (dice)

  • Finally, French accents are used to make a difference between some verbal forms. Thus, you could find “il donna” (donner – to give – conjugated in the passé simple tense) and “qu’il donnât” (donner – to give – conjugated in the subjonctif imparfait tense).Well, let me reassure you on one thing: no one ever uses the  subjonctif imparfait (never ever).
  • It’s totally old-fashioned and really not used in today’s French (phew).And, the  passé simple  is mainly (if not all the time) used in written French not spoken French.
  • In other words, don’t worry yourself too much about this use of French accents!

Okay, so now that you know, why there are some accents in French, let’s learn a bit more about them!

 

2) Different types of French accents and diacritical marks

We count only five accents in French so I’m sure you will master them all in no time!

You will find them on four of the vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and on one consonant (c).

 

  1. a) What are they called?

Next to their written name, you can click on the audio to hear how to pronounce these words.

L’accent aigu (the acute accent)

L’accent grave (the grave accent)

L’accent circonflexe (the circumflex accent)

Le tréma (the diaeresis)

La cédille (the cedilla)

 

  1. b) L’accent aigu (the acute accent)
  • Usually, l’accent aigu (the acute accent) only occurs on “e”. It is pronounced [e] like in

Café [kafe]

Musée [myze]

Poésie [poezi]

There are a few rules you should know when it comes to the accent aigu.

  • You will have to write an “e” with an acute accent when this vowel is the first letter of a word.

For example

Un éléphant (an elephant)

Un électricien (an electrician)

Un éditeur (a publisher)

And, because we know how much the French love exceptions, there is an exception to this rules!

You don’t use an acute accent on the letter « e » when it is the first letter of the word if that word takes -ère and -es.  In that case, you will need the grave accent or no accent at all.

Have a look at the following examples. It will probably make more sense!

Une ère (an era)

Un escargot (a snail)

  • There is an acute accent on the « e » when it is the last vowel of the word or when a word finished by a silent « e ».

La liberté (freedom)

Un lycée (high school)

  • You will always see an acute accent on the ending of the past participle of an -er verb.

Chanté (sung)

Donné (given)

  • To spice things up a little bit, you can sometimes hear the sound made by an accent aigu on a « e » (the [e] sound) but it’s not actually written… Here are a couple of examples :

Pedigree (pedigree)

Revolver (revolver)

  • There never is an acute accent on an « e » when there is either an « x » or a double consonant before.

Un accent circonflexe ( circumflex accent)

Une étiquette (a tag)

 

  1. c) L’accent grave (the grave accent)

This accent is found on «a », « e », and « u ». When it is placed on top of either an « a » or an « u », it doesn’t modify the pronounciation of the word.

It is just used to distinguish one word from another.

Just like the acute accent, the grave accent obeys to some rules.

  • You have to write a grave accent at the end of a word when this word finishes with a “s” despite being in the singular form.

Abcès (abscess)

Accès (access, entrance)

Après (after)

Auprès (close to)

Congrès (congress)

Décès (death)

Excès (excess)

Exprès (on purpose)

Près (close)

Procès (trial)

Progrès (progress)

Succès (success)

Très (very)

  • Here’s a rule not many people know about (even French people only tend to do it naturally without thinking about it):

You have to write a grave accent on the “e” if it is before a group of consonants and that the second consonant of that group is either an “l” or an “r”.

Lièvre (hare)

Fièvre (high temperature)

  • Homophones with -à

You have to write a grave accent on top of the « a » in the adverb of place « là » (there) to distinguish it from the definite article « la » (the).

The grave accent is also used to differenciate the verbe -avoir (to have) as in  il a from the preposition “à”.

  • Homophones with -ù

The only time you will find the letter “u” with a grave accent is in the relative or interrogative pronoun où. It is to distinguish it from the coordinating conjunction ou.

Blanc ou noir (white or black)

Où habites-tu? (where do you live?)

 

  1. d) L’accent circonflexe (the circumflex accent)

This accent is found on all the vowels except “y”.

  • As with the grave accent, it is sometimes used to avoid confusion between similar looking words.

This is, for example, the case with the following words.

Sur (on) / sûr (sure)

Hâler (to weather) / haler (to haul)

Une boîte (a box) / il boite (he limps)

Une châsse (a shrine) / la chasse (hunting)

  • It is usually put on top of an « o » in possessive pronouns like in: le nôtre (ours), le vôtre (yours), les nôtres (ours), les vôtres (yours).
  • You will also find it on top of the « i » in verbs ending in – aître and in -oître. It also needs to be used when you conjugate the verb plaire and that the « i » is followed by a « t ».

Il connaît (he knows)

Il paraît (it seems)

Il croît (he grows)

C’est un homme qui plaît aux femmes (he’s the kind of man most women like).

  • Finally, the circumflex accent is also used in words that used to take an « s »in old French.

We can mention the following examples :

Âne (donkey)

Château (castle)

Fenêtre (window)

Hôpital (hospital)

Fête (party)

Don’t forget that sometimes the « s » appears in words that contain the same root such s :

Hôpital → hospitalier

Fête → festif

 

  1. e) Le tréma (the diaeresis)

A  diaeresis over the vowels « e » and « i » indicates that the preceding vowel is pronounced separately.

Canoë  (canoeing)

Égoïste (selfish)

 

  1. f) La cédille (the cedilla)

The cedilla is put under the letter “c” in front of the vowels -a, -o, and -u to change its sound. A”c” with a cedilla loses its hard k sound and get a soft one. It is pronounced like the sound “ss”.

I would strongly advise you to pay particular attention to the word leçon which means lesson. Well, that is if you pronounce the cedilla correctly (with a soft sound).

If unfortunately, you forget and pronounce it with a k  sound (lecon), you will actually say le con which is rather pejorative as it means the moron…

Here are some examples of words with a cedilla.

Français (French)

Soupçon (suspicion)

Have you enjoyed reading this blog? If so, why don’t you have a look on our website.

We have so many more useful and interesting articles for you to learn French from!

And that’s not all, we offer fantastic conversation courses. Have a look at all our services

 

Now it is Practice time!

Lets dive into exercise on French Accents

Try to do our exercises and then check your answers.

Good luck!

1) Write the following words correctly?

Un eleve : ____________________________________________________

Une chaine: ____________________________________________________

Un batiment: ____________________________________________________

Un cote: ____________________________________________________

Une brulure: ____________________________________________________

Une ile: ____________________________________________________

Un gateau: ____________________________________________________

Une fenetre: ____________________________________________________

Un chateau:____________________________________________________

Une buche:____________________________________________________

Une fete: ____________________________________________________

Une ecoliere: ____________________________________________________

 

2) Choose the correct accents for some of the words in the following sentences:

Le bucheron se promene dans la foret.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

L’eleve entete refuse de faire cet exercice.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

L’ecoliere prefere flaner dans la foret avec son frere.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

3) Choose the correct spelling.

Ma mere / mére / mère est partie en voyage (my mum has gone on holidays).

L’éléphant / èlèphant /élèphant vit en Afrique (the elephant lives in Africa).

Je suis entiêrement / entièrement / entiérement d’accord avec toi! (I totally agree with you).

Il a eu une tèrrible / térrible / terrible peur! (He got very scared).

À la fin du match, il y avait ègalitè / égalitè / égalité. (At the end of the match, they drew).

Ce procês / procés / procès a fait la une des journaux. (This trial was on every newspaper’s front page).

Son texte contient beaucoup de rèpétitions / répétitions / rêpétitions. (Her text contains a lot of repetitions).

Le mystère / mystêre / mystére reste en entier. (It still is a mystery).

 

Correction

1) Write the following words correctly?

Un élève, une chaîne, un bâtiment, un côté, une brûlure, une île, un gâteau, une fenêtre, un château, une bûche, une fête, une écolière.

2) Choose the correct accents for some of the words in the following sentences:

Le bûcheron se promène dans la foret.

L’élève entêté refuse de faire cet exercice.

L’écolière préfère flâner dans la forêt avec son frère.

 

3) Choose the correct spelling.

Ma mere / mére / mère est partie en voyage (my mum has gone on holidays).

L’éléphant / èlèphant /élèphant vit en Afrique (the elephant lives in Africa).

Je suis entiêrement / entièrement / entiérement d’accord avec toi! (I totally agree with you).

Il a eu une tèrrible / térrible / terrible peur! (He got very scared).

À la fin du match, il y avait ègalitè / égalitè / égalité. (At the end of the match, they drew).

Ce procês / procés / procès a fait la une des journaux. (This trial was on every newspaper’s front page).

Son texte contient beaucoup de rèpétitions / répétitions / rêpétitions. (Her text contains a lot of repetitions).

Le mystère / mystêre / mystére reste en entier. (It still is a mystery).

 

Here’s The Next Step…

Have you understood everything about French Accents?

let me know by leaving a comment below right now.

Side Note: Want a light introduction to French Courses Online? Check Out Our French Courses Online for Beginners

Grammer
French Grammar

Here is what you need to know about plus que parfait in French

by Amelie Hurford
April 4, 2018

Are you an intermediate to advanced learner?

In that case, you will soon start to learn about the pluperfect, le plus que parfait in French.

I personally find the French conjugation slightly (quite a lot, let’s face it) more difficult than the English one. Luckily though, the French and the English pluperfect are rather similar.

Are you not too sure of what the plus que parfait exactly is nor when this tense should be used?

Not a problem, you have come to the right page as I will refresh your memory thanks to a quick brush-up on the notion.

Perfect?

I’d say it’s even pluperfect!

Ok, my joke was a bit of a fail.

Never mind.

On a more serious note, I think that after my little lesson on the plus que parfait, all your questions will be answered to.

If unfortunately, that is not the case, I will recommend you some very interesting and easy to understand websites to learn the plus que parfait tense in French.

Let’s start!

 

 

 

What exactly is the pluperfect tense?

Here’s a quick reminder of what this tense is in … English!

It has different names (it adds a bit of spice, don’t you think?).

It can either be called the pluperfect, the past perfect, the past perfective or even the past in the past. As you would have understood, it is a tense that belongs to the past.

It basically entitles you to express an action in the past that has been completed before another action in the past.

Does it make sense?

Let me give you an example to illustrate what I’m saying.

We had already started eating when he arrived.

 

How do you form the pluperfect in English?

As you will have noticed in my example just above, the pluperfect is formed with the auxiliary had and the past participle of the verb (started in our example).

The pluperfect in hypothetical clauses

This tense can also be used when you want to express a hypothetical action that would have taken place in the past.

For example: If you had woken up earlier, you wouldn’t have missed the bus.

In this type of sentences, many English speakers would say: If you would have woken up earlier instead of using the pluperfect. It’s a common use but it’s grammatically incorrect.

 

What about the French version of the pluperfect: the plus que parfait?

Getting its name from the Latin plus quam perfectum (more than perfect in English), the French plus que parfait is sort of used like its English version. Indeed, it is also used when you want to speak about an action in the past that happened before another one also in the past.

Nous avions déjà commencé à manger quand il est arrivé → We had already started to eat when he arrived.

Just like in English, the plus que parfait is used in French when expressing hypothetical situations.

Si j’avais su qu’il aimait le café, je lui aurais acheté une cafetière → If I had known he liked coffee, I would have bought him a coffee machine.

 

How do you form the plus-que-parfait in French?

If you want to learn about the French pluperfect, I assume that you already know quite a bit about compound tenses such as the passé composé (the perfect tense).

You must, for example, know that a compound tense is formed with an auxiliary verb (also known as a helping verb) followed by the past participle of the verb (the one giving meaning to your sentence). In French, the auxiliary verbs are être and avoir.

To form the plus que parfait, you have to conjugate one of the auxiliary in the imperfect form (à l’imparfait) and add the past participle of the verb.

Imperfect of avoir or être + past participle of the verb

To make it a bit more interesting (challenging? Difficult?), don’t forget that, in French, there are agreements to make. Here’s the rule:

→ If the auxiliary verb être is used, the past participle needs to agree with the subject.

→ If the auxiliary verb is avoir, the past participle has to agree with its direct object.

 

When should you use the auxiliary verb avoir and when should you use être?

Just like when forming the passé composé, avoir is the most commonly used auxiliary verb. However, several intransitive verbs (verbs that don’t need an object to complete them such as dormir, to sleep in English, for example) take the auxiliary être. Among these verbs, you have naître, mourir, monter, venir, revenir, aller, arriver, rentrer, tomber, sortir, descendre, partir, rester and passer.

Be careful though as some verbs can be intransitive as well as transitive (in that case they would require an object). The same rule applies: when they are intransitive, they take être and when they are transitive they take avoir.

3 Here’s an example to make things a little bit clearer.

Enzo était sorti (Enzo had gone out) → here sortir is an intransitive verb → auxiliary être

Enzo n’avait pas sorti son cahier (Enzo hadn’t get his book out) → here sortir is a transitive verb → auxiliary avoir.

Quick reminder on how to conjugate both auxiliaries avoir and être in the imperfect (form needed to form the plus que parfait, remember?)

 

 

Avoir                                        Être

J’avais                                      J’étais

Tu avais                                   Tu étais

Il/elle/on avait                       Il/elle/on était

Nous avions                            Nous étions

Vous aviez                               Vous étiez

Ils/elles avaient                     Ils/elles étaient

 

 

I think you now have all the keys you need to be able to form and use the plus que parfait perfectly. However, if you are still unsure, here are some good websites.

https://www.talkinfrench.com/french-pluperfect/

https://francais.lingolia.com/en/grammar/tenses/le-plus-que-parfait

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/tap9.html

reflexive verbs in french
Learn French

Reflexive Verbs in French – Learn Everything You Need To Know

by Amelie Hurford
March 29, 2018

If you’re serious about learning French, you NEED to learn Reflexive verbs

Why?

Reflexive verbs, also known as pronominal verbs or “se” verbs, and called “les verbes pronominaux” in French, are verbs that need a reflexive pronoun.

They usually are confusing for students.

But don’t worry if you feel lost

In today’s article you’re going to learn everything you need to know about Reflexive verbs in French.

Let’s do this.

  1. Specific grammatical terms

Before we start, let’s be clear on a couple of specific grammatical terms:

subject pronouns and reflexive pronouns.

Do these two different types of pronouns ring a bell? You probably studied them at some point but it might be all a bit blurry now… Well, it won’t be for long! Here’s a quick reminder.

 

A) Subject pronouns

A subject pronoun determinates either someone or something that is doing an action (the action being illustrated by the verb).

For example, in the sentence “J’apprends le français” (I learn French), J’ (je) is the subject pronoun.

Subject pronouns can either be feminine or masculine, and singular or plural to agree with the noun they replace.

For example: “le garçon est mignon” (the boy is cute) can be replaced by “il est mignon” (he is cute).

 

The French subject pronouns are:

Singular Plural
1st person Je → I Nous → We
2nd person Tu → You Vous → You
3rd person Il → He, it

Elle → She, it

On → One, we, they

 Ils, elles → they

 

B) Reflexive pronouns

Reflexive pronouns indicate that the subject is doing the action to itself.

For example, in the sentence, “Je me regarde” (I look at myself), me is the reflexive pronoun.

Reflexive pronouns are used with pronominal verbs, agree with the subject in number and gender and may be direct or indirect objects.

The French reflexive pronouns are:

Singular Plural
1st person Me, m’ → myself Nous → Ourselves
2nd person Tu, t’ → Yourself Vous → Yourselves
3rd person Se, s’ → himself, herself, itself Se, s’ → themselves

So, you are now clear about the fact that a conjugated verb needs a subject pronoun and that a pronominal verb is a bit more greedy as it takes a subject pronoun as well a reflexive pronoun.

 

  1. Pronominal verbs 

        A) Why are there some « se »verbs?

Unlike in English where the person who receives the action (if it’s the same as the person who does the action/the subject pronoun) is often implicitly understood, in French, you must use a pronominal verb.

Look at the following example :

Je me lève → I get up (meaning I get myself up).

If you don’t use the pronominal verb se lever but its non-pronominal version lever, you totally change the meaning of your sentence !

Je lève → I raise

 

B) Three main types of reflexive verbs

There are three main types of pronominal verbs.

I have listed a fair amount of the main ones on my « French reflexive verbs lists and exercises » PDF. Have a look!

 

a) Reflexive verbs

To make things easier, we can say that reflexive verbs either :

  • Reflect the action back onto the subject ( e.g. Je m’habille → I dress myself / I am getting dressed).
  • Have the meaning of « each other » (e.g. Ils s’embrassent → They kiss each other).
  • Often have to do with one ‘s relationship, body, or clothes.

Regarding that last point : when a reflexive verb refers to a part of the body, some grammar rules differ from English to French.

In English, you would use a possessive adjective to say that the part of the body mentioned belongs to the subject (the owner of that body part).

I brush my teeth → Whose teeth am I brushing ? Mine (the ones belonging to I).

My is the possessive adjective.

In French, things are slightly different. Indeed, you don’t use a possessive adjective to refer to the owner but a pronominal verb (well a reflexive pronoun and a definite article to be more precise).

Je me brosse les dents.

Me is the reflexive pronoun and les is the definite article.

 

b) Reciprocal verbs

Reciprocal verbs being a type of pronominal verbs, they have the same characteristics as reflexive verbs.

However, they have a distinctive feature: the reflexive pronoun indicates that the action of the verb happens between two or more subjects which have an impact on each other.

For example :

Ils s’aiment → they love each other.

Vous vous battez → you fight with one another. 

 

c) Idiomatic pronominal verbs

This last type of pronominal verbs uses a reflexive pronoun to change the meaning of the non-pronominal verb. Other than that, the reflexive pronoun serves no purpose.

For example :

Elles s’entendent bien → they get along.

Elles entendent bien → they hear well.

Now It’s Your Turn

French reflexive verbs are usually a bit tricky to get. I hope this blog has helped you understand better.

Try to do some of the exercises I have created on this topic !

Remember, good practice makes perfect !

Let me know by leaving a comment below.


top 25 french blogs
Learn French

25 Awesome French blogs every French Learner Should Read

by Amelie Hurford
March 15, 2018

This article features the top 25 French blogs that every French learner from beginners to advanced level should read.

The Internet!

Such a wonderful and useful tool. Can you imagine living without it?

No?

Me neither!

You can find more or less absolutely everything when you browse the web! From videos to music, from learning about gardening to learning a new language.

In other words, basically, everything. Okay, that’s fab but the only downside from it all is that you can get lost very easily in the huge amount of websites. Discovering the rare gem isn’t always easy.

Well, congratulations you have actually just found THE blog which lists the top 25 French blogs to follow!

If you got on my page, you are very likely to have been looking for the best podcasts, websites, and resources to learn French Online. Look no further! I have searched the web to find the best learning sites to learn French.

These are inspirational and incredibly useful French blogs to increase your learning of French whether you have just started your learning journey or already are an advanced learner. I have listed great blogs hosted by the best bloggers out there!

Whether you are a French student looking to improve his/her level of French, a teacher looking for fantastic resources or simply just curious to see what some people passionately create to help others,  these blogs will inspire you!

So here’s my list of 25 best French Blogs in no particular order

  1. Talk in French

talkinfrench

Talk in French is a great blog hosted by Frederic Bibard. He creates fun and easy French lessons for learners of all levels. Not only will you learn the French language itself, you will also learn about the wonderful French culture. Frederic usually adds about 2 posts per month.

Have a look at this great website https://www.talkinfrench.com/

You can also follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

  1. FluentU French

fluentu

Another gem right here just for you!

On this blog, you will have the wonderful (and ever so precious) opportunity to learn French through authentic resources. You will have plenty to choose from! Indeed, it gathers music videos, movie trailers, news, and inspiring talks. The possibilities are endless!

I love the fact that you can learn French in an engaging and immersive way. That really is their secret weapon!

Here is the website link https://www.fluentu.com/french/

Give them a like on Facebook and/or follow them on Twitter!

  1. Learn French

learnfrench reddit
In this reddit , you will be able to learn the language of love thanks to many different articles on many various topics. You can also become the teacher and post your own lessons! And remember, you can learn so much when teaching others!

Click on the following link if you like the concept of this blog!

https://www.reddit.com/r/learnfrench/

  1. Français Authentique

Français Authentique

 

In his blog, Johan, your host, will help you speak French. This blog is mainly aimed at learners who already understand French but struggle with its speaking part. And we all know that speaking is the hardest part of learning a language (with writing probably) . First, you understand, then you start speaking. Well, Johan has many tricks up his sleeve to help you on your online French learning journey!

Here is the direct link to his blog https://www.francaisauthentique.com/blog/

You can also follow him on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter!

  1. French Today

French Today Blog

 

French Today’s blog features 500+ exclusive articles. Mainly aimed at adults, the articles (published weekly) cover French vocabulary, grammar, verb conjugations, culture, easy bilingual stories and more. French Today features both traditional and modern French, and prepares you for real interactions with modern French people.

Register and download their free 2.5 hour audiobook and receive weekly tips and exclusive lessons here: https://www.frenchtoday.com/register.

The French Today audiobook method actually gets 4.91 out of 5 on 496 reviews from verified customers! They have free Android, IOS and Desktop apps to learn French in your pyjamas or on the go.

Have a look for yourself https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog

You will also find them on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest!

  1. Transparent French Language Blog

Transparent Language

Here is another very busy French blog as their hosts add about three posts per week!

Based in the USA, this blog is great for absolutely everyone. Indeed, if you are a French student, you will find whatever you’re looking for thanks to their scientifically proven methodology, their wide variety of high-quality learning material and their use of real-life French spoken by native French speakers.

If you are a teacher, you will get the opportunity to join the thousands of K-12 educators, schools, and universities! Not bad, is it?

Check their blog out on https://www.transparent.com/ or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

  1. Fluent French Now

fluentfrenchnow

Created by Stanley Aléong, this blog is aimed at all levels. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced learner, you will find exactly what you are looking for. There are many authentic resources on which Stanley comments. You will also find transcriptions and translations to download.

This blog is pretty well organized as the articles are classed in three main parts: “how to articles”, “methods and strategies for learning French”, and “learning from the common mistakes in spoken French”.

You won’t find many illustrations as most posts are mainly text-based but, realistically, the quality of the articles will make you forget about that!

Here’s the website’s link http://www.fluentfrenchnow.com/

  1. Learn French with daily podcasts

Daily French Pod

First of all, do you know what a podcast is? Basically, it is a digital audio or video file which a user can download and listen to. The great thing about podcasts is that you can download them and listen to them wherever and whenever you want! And what is even better is that you will be able to download podcasts for free on this blog and you can get a PDF transcript too!

Don’t waste any more time. Go and download some French podcasts on http://www.dailyfrenchpod.com/

  1. FrenchConnect – Speaking a language is about connection, not perfection

French Connect

Based in India, this blog is hosted by Swati Rastogi who is a French teacher. She won’t only teach you French though but also many different aspects of the French culture. She writes about four posts per week to teach you French through videos, images, and audios that will stimulate your imagination and bring out the creativity in you!

Here is the direct link to her website https://swatifrenchconnect.wordpress.com/

  1. French Together Blog

frenchtogether

This blog is hosted by Benjamin Houy, a language learning expert and a French native speaker (which always is a bonus). He will teach you “the 20% of French you need to understand 80% of conversations”. You’ll learn French you won’t find in textbooks!

Follow this link https://frenchtogether.com/blog/ or find him on Facebook and Twitter!

  1. French Crazy

frenchcrazy

As his host says it perfectly well, French crazy is “a site designed for French teachers, French learners, and French culture enthusiasts”!

You will have the choice between plenty and more articles to learn French grammar, vocabulary but you will also get to know some very interesting facts about the French culture. I personally love the bit about French music!

To explore this great blog, simply click on the following link https://frenchcrazy.com/ or go on Facebook !

  1. Love Learning Languages

The host, Jennifer, who taught French for 15 years at university, is now located in Béziers, in the South of France. She offers immersion courses but also online ones!

You can learn French for free on her YouTube channel or on a Facebook page! Her website is very well made.

  1. Lawless French

Lawless French

Another blog bursting with great resources. Created by Laura K. Lawless. This blog will help you learn about essential French grammar and vocabulary. Laura also writes weekly posts about French expressions and idioms which can be very useful! Not only this though, she will also help you improve your pronunciation and listening and reading comprehension.

Check it out here https://www.lawlessfrench.com/

  1. French Video Audio Lessons

French Video Audio Lessons

The name of this blog could not be any clearer! It’s all written on the tin! Its host, who posts new lessons and articles about once a week, will help you learn French thanks to videos and audios. Bonus: you can also download French PDF lessons!

Have a look, you won’t be disappointed! http://youlearnfrench.blogspot.fr/

  1. Oui, c’est ça

ouicestcadotcom

Packed with fantastic resources, this blog has been created by a French teacher who owns a Master’s degree in French literature and a bachelor’s in French language. She has taught French in many countries across the globe. Saying this lady knows what she is talking about is, therefore, an understatement, don’t you think?

She uses her great teaching skills to transmit her knowledge thanks to very interesting resources written in English. You’ll learn about the French culture, language, French songs, news and so on.

Check it for yourself https://ouicestcadotcom.wordpress.com/learning-french/

  1. The French Blog

The French Blog

This is an excellent blog! I like the fact that you will find fantastic content. This blog, hosted by William Alexander, author and IT director, bursts with great articles and videos! Articles are on a lot of different topics such as everyday life in France, cooking, news…

You don’t want to miss his “Wordsmith Wednesday” and “French Food Fight Friday”.

Have a look at his website to find out more www.thefrenchblog.com.

  1. Oh, la, la, I speak French!

ohlalaispeakfrench

You will find a wide variety of material to learn French and have fun at the same time! French resources include written posts, exercise sheets, as well as many funny videos! You’ll be able to work on your speaking, listening, and writing skills and will laugh. A lot!

Here is the website link https://www.ohlalaispeakfrench.com/

  1. Tex’s French Grammar – la grammaire de l’absurde

laits.utexas

After having read the name of this blog, you probably already have an idea of what most articles are about. Yes, you’ve got it: this blog deals mainly with French grammar. It was originally built for the University of Texas students as a French grammar guide but quickly got the approval of many more students and started to be used by any learner of French!

If you are the organized type, then you will love this blog. Indeed, every specific grammar item is categorized and everything is very clearly explained and defined!

Not only this though, you will also be able to follow the love story of Tex and Tammy, two star-struck armadillos.

With this blog, you are sure to learn many things and to have a lot of fun!

Like them on Facebook or have a look at their website http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/index.html

  1. The Linguist on Language

The Linguist

The host of this blog, Steve Kaufmann, who has a channel on YouTube, is rather extremely impressive. He learnt French at school but was far from being fluent at the end of his studies.

He, therefore, decided to find a way to learn languages outside of textbooks and created, with his son Mark, an online language learning system and Web 2.0 community, whose members from all over the world help each other learn up to 21 languages.

Today, Steve knows 16 languages and can speak more or less fluently 12 of them!

What’s his secret?

Has he got a magic wand?

No…

Just a passion for languages and a very effective way to learn them. His method is mainly based on communication. He teaches you French from what you actually are interested in!

I won’t reveal too much though. Go and discover him on his website https://blog.thelinguist.com/ or read his book The Way of The Linguist: A Language Learning Odyssey.

  1. The Heart of an Artichoke

The Heart of an Artichoke

 

Aimed for English and French speakers, this blog will teach French and the French culture in a light-hearted way and with a lot of humor! You will also learn about literature which is rather unusual in blogs like this.

The authors of The Heart of an Artichoke, Claire Lerognon, and Linda Phillips Ashour have a fabulous experience when it comes to languages and more specifically French.

I let you find out more on their website http://theheartofanartichoke.com/blog/#.WpxfG3ciGM8

  1. Au son du FLE

Au son du FLE

Just in case you don’t know what the acronym FLE stands for, here is its full meaning: Français Langue Etrangère. In other words, French as a foreign language.

This blog’s host, Michel Billières, is a teacher at the University of Toulouse, France. In his blog, Michel pays a particular attention to French phonetics and how to master it.He uses a method called la méthode verbo-tonale d’intégration phonétique (MVT). What does it consist of, you may ask? Well, it basically helps French learners to understand corrective procedures to help them with their pronunciation.

If you and French pronunciation aren’t best friends, then you should definitely visit this blog! https://www.verbotonale-phonetique.com/

  1. Le français entre quat’z’yeux.

lefrancaisentrequatzyeux

 

In this blog, Federica, an Italian lady who studied French, will not only teach French vocabulary, grammar rules or even idiomatic expressions, she will also give you the opportunity to have fun while learning.

In her blog, she regularly recommends TV programmes, books, videos and (which is extremely important!) she gives you their transcriptions and/or subtitles.

Basically, you will get all the tools you will need to understand everything you will read and watch! That way, you will learn French and enhance your French cultural knowledge in a great way.

Check it for yourself https://lefrancaisentrequatzyeux.blogspot.fr/ and like her on Facebook.

  1. ProfMichelle

ProfMichelle

This blog is more specifically aimed at French teachers but not only. As a learner of French, you will find very useful resources.

In 2009, Michelle, the host, went on a professionnal development course to learn how to use computers and other technological resources in her classroom. From that day, she has totally changed her teaching methods. On her blog, she shares all the resources she creates.

They are mainly made for beginners and teenagers (A1/A2 level).

Here’s the link http://www.profmichelle.com/

  1. Chez JérômeChez Jérôme

 

This blog is rather similar to the one above in its concept (educational blog) except it is aimed at intermediate to advanced learners.

Jérôme, the host, first created this blog for his Italian learners of French. Thanks to his blog, he establishes a real link between the French teachers’ community.

You will find articles about the news, history, exam preparations…

He also shares loads of good links, websites, and resources to improve your level of French but also to discover, listen to an read about anything to do with French learning.

Let’s see what you think on http://chezjerome.over-blog.com/

  1. Les Z’experts FLE

leszexpertsfle

Last but not least, another fantastic blog to find great resources to learn French. In this blog, you should find about one new free post per week! Fab, isn’t it?

It’s aimed at all learner’s levels. It is packed with very interesting articles about conjugation, grammar, learning games, vocabulary, posters… This website was so successful that it has expanded. There is now the Zexpertistan. On that site, you can share your own resources and even find jobs!

I give you both links

https://leszexpertsfle.com/

https://leszexpertsfle.com/espace-auteur-invite/

Now I want to hear it from you:

So here you have it, a very comprehensive list of the top 25 best French language blogs!

Let me know by leaving a comment below right now on which of these French Blogs helped you in your online French learning journey!

 

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