10 Things I’m Loving Now – chocolates in my bag

Two boys used to go to school together. One of them had a bad habit of stealing the chocolates from his friend’s bag. One day he felt guilty about what he was doing… So he wrote a letter as he didn’t have the courage to confess directly. “I have been stealing your chocolates… I’m sorry for that…’ The other friend smiled reading it, and sent a letter back: “Don’t worry. I know about it… That’s why I keep chocolates in the same place in my bag…’.   – from Paolo Coehlo’s blog

From life’s simple stuff to grandiose pleasures, bring it on!

 

1. Learning French

JUST CAME ACROSS. FrancoPhil, the 2011 French cultural season in the Philippines, is a play on the word “Francophile,” meaning a lover of French culture, and is a celebration of the ties that bind French and Filipino culture. Click on the image to learn more about this event.

Around two years ago, perhaps out of boredom, I decided to take French classes at Alliance Française de Manille, without any plan as to where and how I can apply what I’d learn. Little did I know that it is going to be a starting point to a rather bigger purpose.

I can’t take away the sly grin after reading my first blog post for the Apprendre la langue Française series. Goal A (write an essay in French) will always entail a battle between character accents and phonetic sounds. I was able to do Goal B (watch a full-length French film) and the film I watched, well, was to vivid for kids to enjoy. I’d just faint on the floor if I couldn’t keep up with Goal C (engage into long conversations in French).

When I am too lazy, I nonchalantly talk back, “Est-ce que vous parlez anglais, s’il vous (super) plâit?” English is still sticking out, apparently.

NEXT: Sipping English Breakfast of Tetley Tea

Apprendre la Langue Française (103e partie): la conjonction–que

Source: french.about.com

The French word que, which contracts to qu’ in front of a vowel or mute h, has numerous uses and meanings. This summary includes links to detailed information on each use of que.

Comparative and superlative adverb

Il est plus grand que moi. He is taller than I.

Conjunction

Je pense que tu as raison. I think that you’re right.

Conjunctive phrases

Je l’ai fait parce que j’avais faim.  I did it because I was hungry.

Exclamative adverb

Que tu es grand !  You’re so tall!

Indefinite relative pronoun

Ce que j’aime, c’est l’aventure.  What I love is adventure.

Indirect commands

Que le bonheur vous sourie.  May happiness smile upon you.

Interrogative phrase

Est-ce que tu es prêt ?  Are you ready?

Interrogative pronoun

Que veux-tu ?  What do you want?

Negative adverb

Je n’ai que 10 euros.  I only have ten euros.

Relative pronoun

J’ai perdu le livre que tu m’as acheté.  I lost the book that you bought me.

When the French word que is used as a conjunction, it is equivalent to “that”:

Je pense qu’il a raison.I think (that) he is right.

Nous espérons que tu seras là. We hope (that) you’ll be there.

C’est dommage qu’il ne soit pas prêt. It’s too bad (that) he’s not ready.

Note that “that” is optional in English, but que cannot be omitted.

With verbs of wanting followed by que, the French structure is the same as the above, but the English translation uses an infinitive:

Il veut qu’elle aide.  He wants her to help.

J’aimerais que tu sois là. I would like (for) you to be there.

Que can be used to repeat a previously-stated conjunction (like comme, quand, or si) or conjunctive phrase:

Comme tu es là et que ton frère ne l’est pas…Since you’re here and (since) your brother isn’t…

Je lui ai téléphoné quand j’étais rentré et que j’avais fait mes devoirs. I called him when I got home and (when) I’d done my homework.

Si j’ai de l’argent et que mes parents sont d’accord, j’irai en France l’année prochaine. If I have money and (if) my parents agree, I will go to France next year.

Pour que tu comprennes la situation et que tu sois à l’aise…So that you understand the situation and (so that) you feel comfortable…

Que can begin a clause and be followed by the subjunctive, with various meanings:

Que = whether

Tu le feras, que tu le veuilles ou non.You’ll do it whether you want to or not.

Que tu viennes ou que tu ne viennes pas, ça m’est égal. Whether you come or or not, I don’t care.

Que = so that

Fais tes devoirs, qu’on puisse sortir.Do your homework so that we can go out.

Téléphone-lui, qu’il sache où nous rejoindre. Call him, so that he knows where to meet us.

Que = when

Nous venions de manger qu’il a téléphoné.We had just eaten when he called.

Je travaillais depuis seulement une heure qu’il y a eu un exercice d’évacuation. I had been working for only an hour when there was a fire drill.

Que = third person order

Qu’il pleuve !Let / May it rain!

Qu’elle me laisse tranquille ! I wish she would leave me alone!

Que can be used to emphasize oui or non:

Que oui !

 

Yes indeed! Certainly! You bet!

Que non !  No way! Certainly not! Not at all!

Que can represent something that was just said:

Que tu crois !(informal) That’s what you think!

Que je le fais tout seul ? C’est absurde ! (You think) I should do it all alone? That’s absurd!

Que can be used instead of inversion with direct speech and certain adverbs:

« Donne-le-moi ! » qu’il me dit (me dit-il)

“Give it to me!” he said

Peut-être qu’il sera là (Peut-être sera-t-il là)

Perhaps he will be there

Apprendre la Langue Française (102e partie): le verbe–falloir (usage et conjugaison au présent)

Source: french.about.com 

Falloir is an irregular impersonal French verb that is better known in its conjugated form: il faut. Falloir means “to be necessary” or “to need.” It is impersonal, meaning that it has only one grammatical person: the third person singular. It may be followed by the subjunctive, an infinitive, or a noun:

Il faut partir.  It’s necessary to leave.
Il faut que nous partions.  We have to leave.
Il faut de l’argent pour faire ça.   It’s necessary to have / You need money to do that.

When falloir is followed by an infinitive or noun, it may be used with an indirect object pronoun to indicate who or what needs whatever comes next:

Il faut manger.   It’s necessary to eat.
Il nous faut manger.   We have to eat.
Il faut une voiture.   It’s necessary to have a car.
Il me faut une voiture.   I need a car.

Falloir is used in a number of expressions, including:

ce qu’il faut – what is needed
Il a bien fallu ! – I/We/They had to!
s’il le faut – if (it’s) necessary
Faudrait voir à voir (informal) – Come on! Come off it!
Il faut ce qu’il faut (informal) – You’ve got to do things right

The impersonal pronominal construction s’en falloir means to be missing or short of something, as in “this action did not occur because something was missing”:

Tu as raté son appel, il s’en est fallu de 10 minutes.    You missed his call by 10 minutes.
Je n’ai pas perdu, mais il s’en est fallu de peu.    I very nearly lost (I didn’t lose, but it was close).

Conjugations
Present tense   il faut
Imperfect   il fallait
Future   il faudra

Apprendre la Langue Française (100e partie): le verbe–devoir (usage et conjugaison au présent)

Source: french.about.com

Devoir is one of the most common French verbs. It is irregular in conjugation and has a number of different meanings related to concepts like obligation and probability.

1. Obligation and necessity

Dois-tu étudier ce soir ?
Do you have to study tonight?
Elles doivent manger.
They must / need to eat.

2. Probability and supposition

Il doit rentrer avant le dîner
He should / will probably be back before dinner
Nous devons gagner plus cette année
We should earn more this year.
Elle doit être à l’école
She must be at school

3. Expectation and intention

Je devais aller avec eux
I was supposed to go with them.
Il devait le faire, mais il a oublié
He was supposed to do it, but he forgot

4. Fatalism and inevitability

Il devait perdre un jour
He had to / was bound to lose one day
Elle ne devait pas l’entendre avant lundi
She wasn’t to hear it until Monday

Translating devoir
Devoir can be translated by should, must, ought to, have to, supposed to – the distinction between necessity and probability is not always clear:

Je dois faire la lessive
I should/must/have to do the laundry
Il doit arriver demain
He is supposed to / should / has to arrive tomorrow

To specify “must” rather than “should,” add a word like absolument or vraiment:

Je dois absolument partir
I really have to go
Nous devons vraiment te parler
We must speak to you

To specify “should” rather than “must,” use the conditional:

Tu devrais partir
You should leave.
Ils devraient lui parler
They should talk to him.

To say that something that “should have” happened, use the conditional perfect of devoir plus the infinitive:

Tu aurais dû manger
You should have eaten.
J’aurais dû étudier
I should have studied.

Devoir as a transitive verb
When used transitively (and thus not followed by a verb), devoir means “to owe”:

Combien est-ce qu’il te doit ?
How much does he owe you?
Pierre me doit 10 francs
Pierre owes me 10 francs

Conjugations
Present tense

je dois
tu dois
il doit
nous devons
vous devez
ils doivent

Apprendre la Langue Française (99e partie): les nombres ordinaux et les fractions

Source: french.about.com

Ordinal numbers are used to express rank or position – in other words, ordinal numbers are used for ordering, as opposed to cardinal numbers which are used for counting. French ordinal numbers are often taught at the same time as fractions because, beginning with “fifth,” French ordinal numbers and fractions are the same word.

Ordinal Numbers

first	premier première	1st	1er 1re
second	deuxième	2nd	2e
third	troisième	3rd	3e
fourth	quartrième	4th	4e
fifth	cinquième	5th	5e
sixth	sixième	6th	6e
seventh	septième	7th	7e
eighth	huitième	8th	8e
ninth	neuvième	9th	9e
tenth	dixième	10th	10e

Fractions

half	une moitiè
1/3	un tiers
1/4	un quart
1/5	un cinquième
1/6	un sixième
1/7	un septième
1/8	un huitième
1/9	un neuvième
1/10	un dixième
3/4	trois quarts
2/5	deux cinquièmes

All ordinal numbers (except first) and most fractions are created from their corresponding cardinal number:

cardinal number	drop the final e (if any)	add -ième
six	six	sixième
onze	onz	onzième
vingt et un	vingt et un	vingt et unième

Watch out for the spelling changes in cinquième and neuvième. Ordinal numbers are not used to talk about dates in French, except for premier.