The adjective malin appears in two recent videos on Yabla, and it has two very different meanings in each. In the last segment of Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté, we finally get to the bottom of the spooky occurrences in Harold and Claire's apartment, thanks to Harold's clever investigations:
Mais cette fois-ci, le couple s'est attaqué à un adversaire
But this time, the couple tackled an opponent
plus malin que les autres.
who was more clever than the others.
Caption 34, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté
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And in Lionel's visit to Toul Cathedral, we learn about the cathedral's gargoyles and what they represent:
Ici là-bas, on a une représentation,
Here, over there, we have a representation
du diable, du malin, d'un démon.
of the devil, of the evil one, of a demon.
Captions 27-28, Lionel - La Cathédrale de Toul
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While malin is most often used as an adjective meaning "smart," it can also have darker undertones, especially when used as a noun. In the second example, the tour guide uses it as a synonym for the devil, but un malin can also just refer to a trickster or a wily person. And don't forget that "smart" can have a negative connotation in English too:
Ça sera peut-être d'avoir l'air malin dans l'interview, hein.
It might be looking like a smart aleck in the interview, you know?
Caption 21, Micro-Trottoirs - Un rêve récurrent?
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Bien sûr. Et nous aussi on voudrait du sucre, gros malin!
Of course. And us too, we would like some sugar, wise guy!
Caption 14, Il était une fois... la vie - 14. La bouche et les dents
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Ne fais pas le malin avec moi.
Don't get smart with me.
Note that the feminine form of malin isn't maline, but maligne:
Et même, très maligne, ma petite Clémentine!
And even very clever, my little Clémentine!
Caption 51, Manon et Clémentine - Conjugaison du verbe être
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You'll also see this -in/-igne ending in the word bénin/bénigne (benign, minor), which is actually an antonym of malin/maligne: une tumeur maligne is a malignant tumor, and une tumeur bénigne is a benign tumor.
Manu le Malin is a famous French hardcore DJ. You can check out some interviews with him on Yabla.
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In our last lesson on the difference between the verbs habiter and vivre, we mentioned that habiteris often followed by a preposition such as à or dans, but it doesn't always require one. So if you live in Paris, you could either say j'habite à Paris (I live in Paris) or simply j'habite Paris (I live in Paris). But in this lesson, we'll focus on instances in which the choice of preposition is very important. Take a look at this example:
Je suis né à Paris en France
I was born in Paris, in France,
et j'ai commencé a faire du piano vers l'âge de huit ans.
and I started to play the piano at around eight years of age.
Caption 3, Alex Terrier - Le musicien et son jazz
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You'll notice that Alex uses two different prepositions here (à and en) that both translate as "in." So why does he say à Paris but en France? It all has to do with the types of places he's describing. When you're talking about being in a city, you use à:
Je suis né à Paris mais j'habite à Lyon.
I was born in Paris but I live in Lyon.
When you're talking about being in a feminine country (usually ending in e, such as la France), you use en (je suis né en France). But when you're talking about being in a masculine country, you use au, unless the name of the country begins with a vowel, in which case you use en:
Ma famille habite au Botswana et en Angola.
My family lives in Botswana and in Angola.
And for a plural country of either gender, you use aux:
Donc, treize, quatorze jours de vacances aux États-Unis.
So, thirteen, fourteen days of vacation in the United States.
Caption 5, Interviews à Central Park - Différences culturelles
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These prepositions are translated as "in" in the above examples, but they can all mean "to" as well:
Aujourd'hui nous sommes à Londres et demain nous irons à Dublin.
We're in London today and we're going to Dublin tomorrow.
When you're talking about coming from a place, the rules are a bit more straightforward. For cities, feminine countries, and masculine countries beginning with a vowel, you use de/d'. For masculine countries beginning with a consonant, you use du. And for plural countries, you use des:
Je viens (I come)... de New York (from New York).
d'Athènes (from Athens).
de Chine (from China).
d'Iran (from Iran).
du Canada (from Canada).
des Pays-Bas (from the Netherlands).
Knowing these prepositions will make it easier to describe where you're from, where you are, and where you're going in French!
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Habiter and vivre both mean "to live" in French, but they're used in slightly different contexts. Habiter is very similar in meaning to its English cognate, "to inhabit": it generally refers to where a person is living. While vivre can also have this meaning, it more often refers to a person's living conditions or general existence. Let's look at some examples to illustrate the difference between these two lively verbs.
It's very common to place a preposition such as à or dans after habiter to describe where you're living:
On habite à Still, on a eu une superbe opportunité.
We live in Still, we had a superb opportunity.
Caption 7, Alsace 20 - Grain de Sel: à l'Anatable à Dinsheim
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J'habite dans une maison bleue.
I live in a blue house.
But technically, habiter doesn't require a preposition at all. You could just as well say on habite Still (we live in Still) or j'habite une maison bleue (I live in a blue house). The choice is yours! Here's another example of habiter without a preposition:
De là à habiter ce bout du monde isolé...
From there to inhabiting this isolated end of the world...
Caption 3, Le Journal - L'île de Pâques
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Whereas habiter describes the specifics of a person's living situation, vivre is more about la vie en général (life in general). It describes how a person lives, or what their life is like:
Elle a permis à Michel, sinon de faire fortune,
It has allowed Michel, if not to become rich,
du moins de vivre bien, avec sa petite famille...
at least to live well with his small family...
Captions 17-19, Le Journal - L'île de Pâques
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...un petit village, qui vit son quotidien de manière tranquille.
...a small village, that lives its daily life in a quiet way.
Captions 5-6, Lionel et Chantal - à Frémestroff
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Vivre can also mean "to live through" or "to experience":
Moi je dirais que c'est magique et que ça se raconte pas,
I'd say that it's magical and that it can't be described,
qu'il faut le vivre.
that you have to experience it.
Caption 26, TV Vendée - "Nieul Village de Lumière"
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No matter where you're living or how you're living, we hope your French studies are going well!
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There are two ways of saying "finally" in French: finalement and enfin. Though they have the same translation and are often used interchangeably in casual speech, these two words aren't exactly synonymous. There's a subtle difference between them that's illustrated in these two examples:
Le grand jour est enfin arrivé.
The big day finally arrived.
Caption 28, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés... - Part 7
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Au début... j'étais braquée. J'avais pas envie.
In the beginning... I was dead against it. I didn't want to.
Puis finalement j'ai compris que c'était pour mon bien.
Then finally I understood that it was for my own good.
Captions 6-7, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés... - Part 8
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When you say that something has finally arrived, you're implying that you've been expecting it to arrive for a while. But if you finally understand that something is for your own good after being dead against it, you're implying that you didn't expect to have this reversal of opinion. This is the fundamental difference between enfin and finalement: while enfin describes a foreseeable outcome, finalement describes an unforeseeable one.
Let's look at another example. If you say to someone, je suis enchanté(e) de vous rencontrer enfin (I'm glad to finally meet you), you're saying that you've been wanting to meet them for a long time. But if you say, je suis enchanté(e) de vous rencontrer finalement, you're giving the impression that you didn't really want to meet the person at first, but now you're happy that you did. Which is to say that you shouldn't use finalement in this case, unless you want to hurt their feelings!
Finalement can also mean "in the end," which also has the sense of something not turning out as expected:
Alors demain, finalement, on ira pas au château.
So tomorrow, in the end, we won't go to the castle.
Caption 55, Le Mans TV - Mon Village - Malicorne
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Another way of translating that caption would be, "So tomorrow we won't go to the castle after all."
Enfin is used very often in informal speech as a sort of filler word that can mean anything from "well" to "I mean" to "in any case":
Il y en a eu tant que ça?
Have there been that many?
Oui, enfin, non, euh... quelques-uns, quoi.
Yes, well [or "I mean"], no, uh... a few, you know.
Captions 37-38, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté - Part 2
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...où nous sommes au métro Jaurès,
...where we are at the Jaurès subway stop,
enfin, où Paris-Plage
in any case, where "Paris-Plage" [Paris Beach]
a accès à l'eau.
has access to the water.
Captions 2-3, Lionel L - Paris-Plage
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Enfin can also come in handy when expressing impatience or frustration:
Mais enfin, relève-toi!
Come on, stand up!
Caption 2, Il était une fois - les Explorateurs - 15. Bruce et les sources du Nil
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Cette leçon est enfin terminée! (This lesson is finally over!) Tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.
In her latest video series, Patricia talks about the different ways of expressing possession in French. Though she mainly focuses on possessive adjectives (which correspond to "my," "your," "his/her," etc.) and possessive pronouns (which correspond to "mine," "yours," "his/hers," etc.), Patricia also uses another possessive construction throughout the videos. It's the expression à + stressed pronoun (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles), which can be used as an alternative to a possessive pronoun:
Si cette tasse est à moi... je dis: c'est la mienne.
If this cup is mine... I say: it's mine.
Captions 27-30, Le saviez-vous? - Les pronoms possessifs
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This expression usually follows the verb être, as in the example above, but you'll also find it in other contexts:
J'ai trouvé une robe à elle dans le grenier.
I found a dress of hers in the attic.
Unlike possessive adjectives and pronouns, which change depending on the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the possessed object, this construction corresponds to the gender and number of the possessor:
Et si je veux dire que cette chaussure est à lui...
And if I want to say that this shoe is his...
je vais dire: C'est sa chaussure.
I'm going to say: It's his shoe.
Captions 55-59, Le saviez-vous? - Les adjectifs possessifs
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Since chaussure is feminine and singular, the possessive adjective modifying it also needs to be feminine and singular (sa). But sa chaussure can either mean "his shoe" or "her shoe" depending on context. We know that Patricia means "his shoe" here because she says cette chaussure est à lui (this shoe is his). If she had said cette chaussure est à elle (this shoe is hers), then sa chaussure would mean "her shoe."
You'll often find this construction in combination with a possessive adjective. Let's say you're at a dog park and you're telling someone whose dog is whose. If you say c'est mon chien (that's my dog), they'll immediately know that the dog in question belongs to you. But if you say c'est son chien (that's his or her dog), they might not know who you're referring to. You can specify by saying:
C'est son chien à elle. / C'est son chien à lui.
That's her dog. / That's his dog.
The expression c'est à + stressed pronoun also has another meaning that has nothing to do with possession. It's the equivalent of the English expression "it's up to me, you, etc.":
C'est à toi de décider ce que tu veux faire.
It's up to you to decide what you want to do.
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The words quelconque (any) and quiconque (anyone) can come in handy when you're talking about something general or non-specific in French. Though they look quite similar, you can easily tell these words apart by focusing on what comes before -conque: qui (who) and quel (what, which). There are a few key differences between these words. While quelconque can refer to both people and things, quiconque only refers to people. And while quiconque functions as a relative or indefinite pronoun, quelconque functions as an adjective:
Elle fouille la maison
She rifles through the house
de fond en comble à la recherche d'un quelconque indice.
from top to bottom in search of any clue.
Caption 19, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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Mais la petite sirène était incapable de faire du mal à quiconque.
But the little mermaid was incapable of hurting anyone.
Caption 41, Contes de fées - La petite sirène
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Quelconque and quiconque are very similar to two other expressions we discussed in a previous lesson, n'importe quel and n'importe qui:
ls la postent dans n'importe quelle boîte aux lettres
They mail it in any mailbox,
en oubliant pas de mettre leur adresse retour...
not forgetting to put their return address...
Captions 12-13, LCM - "Cher Père Noël..."
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Et qui l'achète? -Ah, n'importe qui.
And who buys it? -Ah, anyone.
Captions 4-5, Le Journal - La bougie du sapeur
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Note that while the quel in n'importe quel changes depending on the gender and number of the noun it modifies (n'importe quelle, n'importe quels, n'importe quelles), the quel in quelconque never changes. However, since quelconque is an adjective, it takes an "s" when modifying a plural noun:
Si vous avez de quelconques questions, n'hésitez pas à nous contacter.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us.
Quiconque can mean "whoever" or "anyone who" in more formal contexts:
Quiconque arrive en retard ne sera pas autorisé à entrer dans le théâtre.
Anyone who arrives late will not be allowed to enter the theater.
And quelconque is sometimes used as a pejorative meaning "ordinary," "second-rate," or "mediocre":
Ce restaurant est très quelconque.
That restaurant is very mediocre.
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Daniel does a lot of walking in his Voyage en France series, showing us around some of France's most beautiful and historic cities and towns. He also uses several walking-related words during his tours:
Et d'emblée depuis cette promenade...
And right away from this walk...
Caption 5, Voyage en France - Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
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In English, "promenade" is a somewhat formal word for a boardwalk or a leisurely stroll. But une promenade is the standard French term for "a walk" or, when you're going somewhere in a vehicle, "a ride" or "drive":
Hier nous avons fait une promenade en voiture.
We went for a drive yesterday.
Its verb form, se promener, means "to take a walk":
Quand on se promène dans le vieux Conflans...
When we take a walk in Old Conflans...
Caption 22, Voyage en France - Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
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Daniel also frequently uses the word une balade (not to be confused with une ballade, "a ballad"), which has the same meaning as une promenade:
Pendant votre balade dans le vieux Conflans...
During your walk in Old Conflans...
Caption 28, Voyage en France - Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
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Just like une promenade, une balade also has a verb form, se balader:
A se balader avec lui dans les rues de Dakar,
Strolling along the streets of Dakar with him,
on mesure toute la dimension de l'artiste.
one gets a sense of the depths of the artist.
Captions 30-31, Le Journal - Youssou N'Dour
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C'est très, très agréable de se balader
It's very, very pleasant to go for a ride
avec ces bateaux sur la mer.
on those boats on the sea.
Captions 33-34, Jean-Marc - La plage
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As you may know, marcher is the basic French verb for "to walk." But it's also often used informally to mean "to work," "to function," or "to go well":
Non, c'est juste pour voir si tout marche bien.
No, it's just to see if everything is working well.
Caption 3, Il était une fois: Les découvreurs - 9. Galilée
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Elle est chez les seniors. Et ça marche bien.
She's with the seniors. And it's going well.
Caption 43, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois
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Just as you can say "that works" to mean "OK" or "sounds good to me," in French you can say ça marche:
Tu veux prendre un café aujourd'hui à quinze heures? -Ça marche!
Do you want to get coffee today at three p.m.? -That works!
Now that you know all the different ways of saying "walk" in French, why not go take one?
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In one of our newest videos, an interviewer asks people on the street to talk about their most beautiful dreams and most terrifying nightmares. One woman describes a particularly unsettling nightmare:
J'assiste à des accidents où y a des gens qui sont très blessés...
I witness accidents where there are people who are badly injured...
Captions 83-84, Micro-Trottoirs - Rêves et cauchemars
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She's not saying that she assists with these accidents (which would be even more unsettling!), but that she witnesses them. The phrase assister à doesn't mean "to assist," but rather "to witness" or "to attend":
Puisqu'un public assiste à une assemblée générale et à une réunion...
Because a crowd attends a general assembly and a meeting...
Caption 8, Lionel L - Nuit Debout - Journée internationale
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"To attend" looks a lot like the French verb attendre, but like "to assist" and assister à, these two words are faux amis (false friends)—attendre means "to wait," not "to attend."
But once you take away the à, assister has the same meaning as its English cognate:
Le sous-chef assiste le chef dans la cuisine.
The sous-chef assists the chef in the kitchen.
There are a number of other French verbs meaning "to assist," like aider (to help) and accompagner (to accompany):
J'ai aidé ma grand-mère à nettoyer la maison.
I helped my grandmother clean her house.
Qui connaissent les parents
Who know the parents
et accompagnent les enfants les plus en retard.
and assist the students who are the most behind.
Caption 29, Grand Corps Malade - Education nationale
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Our new videos this week feature a wealth of vocabulary related to the performing arts. In the first, our newest presenter Mathilde talks about the Comédie-Française, one of France's most iconic state theaters. Though the theater has the word comédie in its name (and was founded by one of France's greatest comic playwrights, Molière), it stages all kinds of theater pieces, both comic and tragic. In fact, the word comédie doesn't only mean "comedy." It can also mean "acting" in general. Likewise, un comédien/une comédienne is not merely "a comedian":
Donc la Comédie-Française aujourd'hui a environ
So the Comédie-Française today has around
soixante comédiens dans sa troupe,
sixty players in its troupe,
parmi les plus célèbres comédiens français.
among the most famous French actors.
Captions 40-41, Mathilde - La Comédie-Française
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You can also simply say un acteur/une actrice for "actor/actress." And if you want to specify that you're talking about a comic actor (i.e., a comedian), you can say un/une comique or un/une humoriste.
The phrase jouer la comédie means "to act" or "to be an actor." Sometimes it's just shortened to jouer (which also means "to play"):
Ils jouent aussi pour d'autres théâtres.
They also act for other theater companies.
Caption 43, Mathilde - La Comédie-Française
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Don't confuse that expression with faire de la comédie, which means "to make a fuss" or "a scene."
In this tragic tidbit about Molière's final performance, we find two interesting theater-related words:
Molière serait mort en scène
Molière supposedly died onstage
en interprétant le rôle mythique d'Argan
while interpreting the mythic role of Argan
dans une de ses plus célèbres pièces...
in one of his most famous plays...
Captions 36-38, Mathilde - La Comédie-Française
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While une scène can refer to a scene in a play, it also refers to the stage on which the play is performed. The word for "play," une pièce, is short for pièce de théâtre (theater piece).
Our second video takes us from the world of theater to the world of film. It documents a Chinese film festival in the town of Richelieu headed by one of France's most famous film directors, Claude Lelouch. The video contains not one but three different words for "director":
...et des metteurs en scène prestigieux d'ailleurs qui ont des prix...
...and eminent film directors, incidentally, who won prizes...
Caption 27, Festival du cinéma chinois - Coup d'envoi à Richelieu
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Et pour rendre hommage à ces femmes
And to pay homage to these women
si chères au cœur du cinéaste...
who are so dear to the filmmaker's heart...
Caption 40, Festival du cinéma chinois - Coup d'envoi à Richelieu
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...en présence du réalisateur et de son actrice Anouk Aimée.
...in the presence of the director and of its actress Anouk Aimée.
Caption 43, Festival du cinéma chinois - Coup d'envoi à Richelieu
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On the other hand, there's only one word for "screenwriter"—scénariste (from scénario, "screenplay" or "script"):
...mais surtout scénariste de bon nombre
...but more importantly screenwriter of a good number
de films signés Lelouch.
of films signed "Lelouch."
Caption 10, Festival du cinéma chinois - Coup d'envoi à Richelieu
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Did you know that, in French, "good" can also mean "right," and "bad" can also mean "wrong"? This might sound sort of philosophical, but it's really just an issue of translation. Bon/bonne and mauvais/mauvaise are two of the most basic adjectives in French. They usually mean "good" and "bad" respectively, but depending on context, they can also mean "right" and "wrong":
C'est la mauvaise réponse à la question.
That's the wrong answer to the question.
Vous pouvez aussi me donner deux numéros de compte.
You can also give me two account numbers.
Je vous dirai lequel est le bon.
I will tell you which is the right one.
Captions 20-21, Patricia - Pas de crédit dans le monde des clones
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When bon/bonne and mauvais/mauvaise mean "right" and "wrong," they're often preceded by a definite article (le, la, les). For example, take a look at the difference between the phrases un bon moment and au (à + le) bon moment:
Eh bien, j'espère que vous
Well, I hope you
avez passé un bon moment, ici, sur Arles...
had a good time here, in Arles...
Caption 21, Arles - Un Petit Tour d'Arles
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Tout cet art, c'est de faire en sorte de mettre dans l'eau
All this is an art to ensure that you put in the water
au bon moment, hein...
at the right time, you see...
Caption 8, Ostréiculture - Rencontre avec Gildas Mourier (Morbihan)
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Using these adjectives isn't the only way to describe correctness and incorrectness. You can also use the verbal phrases avoir raison (to be right, literally "to have reason") and avoir tort (to be wrong, literally "to have fault"):
Oui, tu as raison.
Yes, you're right.
Je ne suis pas trop dans mon assiette.
I'm not too much in my plate [I feel under the weather].
Caption 26, Manon et Clémentine - Expressions toutes faites
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J'ai peut-être eu tort de me fier à lui pour ce projet.
Maybe I was wrong to trust him with this project.
Caption 53, Il était une fois: Les Amériques - 9. Cortés et les Aztèques
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In a previous lesson, we mentioned one other way to say "to be wrong"—se tromper:
Donc, tu crois que Colomb se trompe!
So you think that Columbus is wrong!
Caption 6, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 10. Amerigo Vespucci
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In her new sci-fi series Pas de crédit dans le monde des clones, Patricia imagines a dystopian future in which all credit card companies have merged into one:
Du fait de nombreuses fusions,
Because of many mergers,
il ne reste plus qu'une société anonyme de cartes de crédit.
there remains only one limited liability credit card company.
Caption 15, Patricia - Pas de crédit dans le monde des clones
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Du fait de is one of several French expressions that mean "because" (you can learn more about these expressions in our past lesson on the topic). It's also one of many expressions featuring the word fait, which you might recognize as a conjugation of the verb faire (to make, to do). But fait is also a noun meaning "fact"—du fait de literally means "from the fact of." In this lesson, we'll review some other "fact"-based expressions in French.
Patricia uses a similar expression to du fait de earlier on in her video—de ce fait (therefore, literally "from this fact"):
De ce fait, toutes les procédures de paiement
Therefore, all payment procedures
sont réalisées sans argent physique.
are performed without physical money.
Caption 13, Patricia - Pas de crédit dans le monde des clones
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Now that you know that fait means "fact," you can probably guess what en fait means. Alessandro uses it when interviewing a flea market vendor:
Vous, c'est une véritable passion
For you, it's a true passion
que vous partagez tous les jours en fait.
that you share every day, in fact.
Caption 6, Cap 24 - Paris : Alessandro fait les Puces!
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The vendor responds in the next caption with another fait expression, tout à fait (exactly):
Oui, oui. Tout à fait.
Yes, yes. Exactly.
Caption 7, Cap 24 - Paris : Alessandro fait les Puces!
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Don't confuse en fait with au fait, which means "by the way" or "incidentally":
Ah, au fait, j'ai parlé à Vanessa de nos nouveaux voisins.
Oh, by the way, I spoke to Vanessa about our new neighbors.
Caption 22, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Espion dans l'immeuble - Part 8
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En fait and au fait are easily confused not only because they look similar, but also because the t is pronounced in both of them. In most other instances of the word fait, the t is silent.
If someone has done a good job on something, you can say, Bien fait! (Well done!) In this case fait isn't a noun but the past participle of the verb faire:
Oui, chef. Bien fait!
Yes, chief. Well done!
Caption 46, Il était une fois... L’Espace - 3. La planète verte
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As a noun, fait doesn't only mean "fact." It can also mean "event" or "occurrence" depending on the context:
Cette histoire est inspirée de faits réels.
This story is inspired by real events.
Caption 21, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Espion dans l'immeuble - Part 1
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This lesson is now a fait accompli (accomplished fact). Thanks for reading!
In the latest segment of Le Jour où tout a basculé, Frédéric and Anne-Sophie meet Laetitia at a café to deliver some shocking news: their daughters were switched at birth. Upon hearing this, Laetitia is in a state of total disbelief. She says to the couple:
Mais qu'est-ce que c'est que cette histoire?
But what is this all about?
Caption 38, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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Histoire is related to two English words, "history" and "story," and can mean either one depending on context:
Ici, donc une ville riche en culture et riche en histoire...
So here a town rich in culture and rich in history...
Caption 8, Lionel - à Wissembourg
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C'est vraiment une histoire d'amour,
It's really a love story,
c'est parti d'une histoire d'amour.
it started out as a love story.
Caption 4, Annie Chartrand - Sa musique
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But in informal expressions like qu'est-ce que c'est que cette histoire, the word means something more along the lines of "business" or "matter." It often has this meaning in the construction histoire de + noun:
Ici tout est histoire de récup' [récupération],
Here it's all a matter [or question] of recycling,
de quoi créer un beau Noël.
enough to create a beautiful Christmas.
Caption 58, Alsace 20 - Alsace: les plus belles déco de Noël!
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When histoire de follows an infinitive, it means "in order to," "just to," or "so as to":
Bats le beurre de citron, histoire de bien mélanger le tout.
Whisk the lemon butter, it's a matter of mixing it all well.
Caption 47, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard
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Two other, less familiar ways of saying "in order to" are pour + infinitive and afin de + infinitive.
Be careful with the expression raconter des histoires. It can either mean "to tell stories" or "to tell lies":
La mère raconte des histoires aux enfants chaque soir.
The mother tells stories to the children every night.
Arrête de me raconter des histoires!
Stop telling me lies!
That's the story with histoire! If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at newsletter@yabla.com or tweet us @yabla.
In her latest video, Patricia gives us an overview of French synonyms, or words with the same basic meaning but different nuances and intensities. To demonstrate, she illustrates some examples of synonyms for "happy" and "angry." She repeatedly uses the expression être fou/folle de (to be mad or wild with) to describe the more intense degrees of those emotions:
Elles sont folles de bonheur.
They are mad with happiness.
Caption 40, Le saviez-vous? - Les synonymes
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You can use this expression to heighten just about any word describing an emotion:
Ils sont extatiques, fous de joie, béats.
They are ecstatic, overjoyed, blissful.
Captions 37-39, Le saviez-vous? - Les synonymes
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Elles sont folles de colère, folles de rage, horripilées.
They are wild with anger, raging mad, incensed.
Captions 52-54, Le saviez-vous? - Les synonymes
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Or, you can use it with any other noun or pronoun to describe something or someone you're "crazy about":
Non, je ne suis pas fou. Je suis seulement fou de vous!
No, I am not crazy. I'm only crazy about you!
Caption 6, Charles-Baptiste - Interview
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...qui montre la vie trépidante des jeunes,
...that shows the hectic life of young people
fous de voitures dans les années soixante-dix.
who are crazy about cars in the seventies.
Caption 8, L'auteur - Bernard Colin
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If you haven't already, check out Patricia's other videos in the Le saviez-vous? series for more of her excellent insights into French language and culture.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at newsletter@yabla.com or tweet us @yabla.
Did you know that the French word for the back of a space is the same as the word for the bottom of a space? The word is le fond, and determining its meaning is a question of perspective:
Et l'on voit encore des vestiges, des traces de cette époque
And you can still see remains, traces from that time,
avec notamment dans le fond, une chapelle pour se recueillir...
with, in particular, in the back, a chapel for meditating...
Captions 36-37, Lionel - Verdun
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L'eau de l'étang était si profonde que
The pond water was so deep that
la princesse ne pouvait pas en voir le fond.
the princess could not see the bottom of it.
Caption 7, Contes de fées - Le roi grenouille
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We can tell what le fond means in each of these examples based on the type of space they're describing. The subject of the first example is the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Verdun. A chapel wouldn't be located on the bottom of a cathedral, but in the back. And in the second example, the princess is looking down into the pond, which means she's trying to see the bottom of it, not the back.
Whether it means "the back" or "the bottom," le fond refers to the depth of a space. But it can also refer to depth in a non-physical, metaphorical sense—even a spiritual one:
"Om", ça signifie le fond cosmique qui est...
"Om" signifies the cosmic depth that is...
le symbole de l'unité dans la diversité.
the symbol of unity in diversity.
Caption 37, Paix et partage - Journée Internationale du yoga
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Fond is used in quite a few expressions, such as dans le fond and au fond, both meaning "basically":
Dans le fond, c'est des grosses feuilles de betterave.
Basically, they're big beet leaves.
Caption 13, Farmer François - Le stand de légumes
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Parce que au fond, le fait de payer un stand,
Because basically, the act of paying for a booth,
ça sert aussi, euh, d'abord à se rencontrer...
that also helps, uh, first of all to meet each other...
Captions 65-66, Actu Vingtième - Le vide-grenier
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Don't confuse au fond with à fond, which means "totally":
Ah, que griller des feux. -Griller des verts, donc. -À fond.
Oh, just running lights. -Running green lights, then. -Totally.
Caption 49, Cap 24 - Les cyclistes parisiens sont-ils indisciplinés ?
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There's also de fond, an adjective phrase meaning "fundamental":
Mais pour une baisse en rayon,
But for a reduction on store shelves,
la prochaine étape devrait être une réforme de fond.
the next step should be a fundamental reform.
Caption 23, Le Journal - Contrôle des prix alimentaires
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If you'd like to explore the many expressions using this word de fond en comble (from top to bottom), we recommend this WordReference entry.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at newsletter@yabla.com or tweet us @yabla.
In part three of Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés, one of our new videos this week, Anne-Sophie and Frédéric receive some shocking paternity test results that throw a wrench into their already troubled marriage. Less scandalously, the video also features three common set phrases featuring the pronoun en. Though en usually replaces de + a noun, it doesn't really translate to anything in these three idioms. It's just along for the ride.
Anne-Sophie uses the first expression, ne pas en croire ses yeux (to not believe one's eyes), when describing her reaction to the unbelievable test results:
Je n'en croyais pas mes yeux.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Caption 5, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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Later, when she calls Frédéric to tell him the news, she says:
Rappelle-moi de toute urgence. Je t'en supplie!
Call me back urgently. I beg you!
Caption 12, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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Je t'en supplie (or je vous en supplie in formal speech) is an impassioned, urgent way of saying "please" (just like "I beg you" or "I implore you" in English). It's very similar to another en idiom, je t'en prie, which can mean the same thing:
Je t'en prie, arrête, arrête
I'm begging you, stop, stop
Caption 30, Indila - Love Story
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But unlike je t'en supplie, je t'en prie can also mean "you're welcome":
Oh, je t'en prie, y a pas de quoi, hein.
Oh, you're welcome. Don't mention it, OK?
The narrator uses the most idiomatic of these expressions when describing Frédéric's state of mind:
Il lui en veut toujours mais la donne va bientôt changer.
He is still mad at her, but the situation will soon change.
Caption 17, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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Vouloir means "to want," but en vouloir à means "to be mad at." The en makes quite a difference here! Note the indirect object pronoun lui in this example, which stands for à + elle, as we mentioned in a previous lesson.
When you make this expression reflexive (s'en vouloir), it doesn't mean "to be mad at oneself," but rather "to feel guilty":
Je m'en veux vraiment de ne pas t'avoir cru; je suis vraiment désolée.
I feel really guilty for not having believed you; I'm really sorry.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at newsletter@yabla.com or tweet us @yabla.
Être en train de is a handy French expression that describes an event in progress. It's always followed by an infinitive and is often translated as "to be in the process of" or "to be in the middle of":
Donc, je suis en deuxième année là;
So, I'm in my second year now;
je suis en train de... achever ma formation.
I'm in the process of... completing my training.
Caption 25, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard
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Là je suis en train de régler les meules pour que
Here I am in the middle of setting the millstones so that
le grain soit correctement écrasé.
the grain is crushed correctly.
Caption 4, Télé Lyon Métropole - Chaillé-les-Marais : Une biscuiterie 100 % familiale
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But just as often, être en train de can simply be translated with the present progressive tense ("to be doing," "to be making," etc.):
Donc, en ce moment, on est en train de faire des truffes cacao.
So, right now, we're making cocoa truffles.
Caption 7, Canadian Chocolate Seller - Chocolats
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In French, there is no difference between the present tense and the present progressive tense: on fait can mean both "we make" and "we are making." So the above example could also be written:
Donc, en ce moment, on fait des truffes cacao.
So, right now, we're making cocoa truffles.
Être en train de emphasizes the fact that the activity is currently in progress (further emphasized above by en ce moment). In fact, "currently" is another possible translation of être en train de:
...je suis en train de travailler avec celui qui a fait 'Pulp Fiction',
...I'm currently working with the person who made 'Pulp Fiction,'
Caption 9, Melissa Mars - From Paris with Love
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You can also use être en train de to describe a continuing event in the past. In this case, it's synonymous with the imperfect tense:
Quand j'ai fait cette photo, la baleine était en train de dormir.
When I took this picture, the whale was sleeping.
Caption 25, Le Journal - Sillonner & photographier les océans
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Quand j'ai fait cette photo, la baleine dormait.
When I took this picture, the whale was sleeping.
Here again, être en train de stresses the continuousness of the action: the whale was "in the process of" sleeping when the speaker took the picture.
Être en cours de has the same meaning and function as être en train de, except it's usually followed by a noun instead of an infinitive:
Un immense chantier est en cours d'achèvement.
A huge construction project is being completed.
Caption 25, Voyage dans Paris - Cour de l'Industrie
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A final note: Make sure not to confuse en train with entrain, a noun meaning "enthusiasm" or "liveliness." Nous espérons que vous êtes en train d'étudier le français avec entrain! (We hope you're in the process of studying French with enthusiasm!)
In the latest episode of "Le Jour où tout a basculé," Frédéric accuses his wife Anne-Sophie of cheating on him with her ex, but Anne-Sophie insists he's mistaken. Both of them use the verb tromper to state their cases:
Quatre ans plus tôt, Anne-Sophie m'avait trompé.
Four years earlier, Anne-Sophie had cheated on me.
C'était une histoire sans lendemain.
It was a short-lived affair.
Caption 46, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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Tu t'es toujours trompé avec lui.
You've always been mistaken about him.
Caption 10, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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While Frédéric uses tromper to mean "to cheat" or "deceive," Anne-Sophie uses the reflexive form of the verb, se tromper, which means "to be mistaken" (literally, "to deceive oneself"). Frédéric also uses se tromper later in the video:
Je m'étais pas trompé.
I was not wrong.
Ce fameux soir, c'est un mail de son ex sur lequel je suis tombé.
That famous evening, it was an email from her ex I came across.
Captions 49-50, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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You'll have to stay tuned to find out who's really being deceived here. There's a lot more at stake in this episode than potential infidelity!
Tromper isn't only reserved for marital dramas. It's the best verb to use whenever you've been duped, tricked, fooled, or misled (which hopefully isn't that often!):
Le marchand m'a trompé. Il m'a vendu une montre cassée.
The shopkeeper misled me. He sold me a broken watch.
Being mistaken is usually not as serious as being cheated, so you'll often see se tromper used in more mundane situations. You can add de + a noun after it to specify what the person is mistaken about:
Bonjour, pourrais-je parler à Christine?
Hello, may I speak to Christine?
-Désolé, vous vous êtes trompé de numéro.
-Sorry, you've got the wrong number.
Je pense que nous nous sommes trompés de bus.
I think we got on the wrong bus.
You may be familiar with a painting technique known as "trompe-l'œil" (literally, "tricks the eye"), which creates an illusion of three-dimensionality. Daniel shows us an interesting example of this technique in a church in Provins:
Observez quelques instants au cœur de l'église
Observe for a few moments in the heart of the church
cet effet de trompe-l'œil...
this trompe-l'œil effect...
Captions 35-36, Voyage en France - La ville de Provins
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We hope this lesson has helped you tromper l'ennui (stave off boredom)!
As we mentioned in our last lesson, a direct object is a noun that receives the action of a verb (such as "the ball" in "I throw the ball"). On the other hand, an indirect object indicates to whom or for whom the action is done (such as "my friend" in "I throw the ball to my friend"). Just as direct object pronouns replace direct objects (e.g. "I throw it to my friend"), indirect object pronouns replace indirect objects ("I throw the ball to him/her"). There are six indirect object pronouns in French:
me (to me) nous (to us)
te (to you) vous (to you)
lui (to him/her) leur (to them)
In French, an indirect object pronoun usually replaces "à (to) + a person." Unlike direct object pronouns, which can refer to either people or things, indirect object pronouns only refer to people.
Je jette le ballon à mon amie. / Je lui jette le ballon.
I throw the ball to my friend. / I throw her the ball [or "I throw the ball to her"].
The following example contains a mixture of direct and indirect pronouns. How did the speaker know when to use which?
Il m'a dit: "Je le garde". Ben, je lui ai dit:
He told me, "I'm keeping it." Well, I told him,
"Écoutez, expliquez aux quatre cents personnes..."
"Listen, explain to the four hundred people..."
Caption 24, Actu Vingtième - Vendanges parisiennes
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It all depends on whether the verb in question would normally be followed by the preposition à. Garder isn't followed by à: you would say garder quelque chose (to keep something), but never garder à quelque chose. If you watch the video, you'll know from context that the speaker is referring to le fromage (cheese). So instead of saying je garde le fromage, he uses the direct object pronoun le (je le garde). On the other hand, you would say dire à quelqu'un (to tell someone), but never dire quelqu'un. Because of that à, the speaker knows to use the indirect objects me and lui.
Here are some other examples of indirect object pronouns in action:
Si la nuit me parle
If the night speaks to me
De souvenirs passés
About past memories
Captions 3-4, Boulbar - New York, 6 heures du matin
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Mais je te donne plus que des mots
But I give you more than words
Caption 12, Corneille - Comme un fils
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Et là, je leur ai envoyé une petite nouvelle...
And here, I sent them a little short story...
Caption 86, Claudine Thibout Pivert - 2ème Salon du livre et des vieux papiers Mazamet
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We know these are indirect object pronouns because they all replace "à + person" in the verbal expressions parler à quelqu'un (to speak to someone), donner à quelqu'un (to give to someone), and envoyer à quelqu'un (to send to someone).
As you learned in our last lesson, when a direct object pronoun is followed by a verb in the past tense (passé composé), the past participle needs to agree in number and gender with the direct object pronoun. On the other hand, you don't have to worry about agreement in the passé composé with indirect object pronouns. That's why you have je leur ai envoyé in the example above and not je leur ai envoyés or je leur ai envoyées.
Feel free to tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com. Thanks for reading!
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