Learn a bit about the French subjunctive with the SVDP School article on the topic. The subjunctive is common in French and in Spanish, but you can get away without using it because people will know what you mean. Remember a main goal of language learning is to communicate, so don’t worry too much if you make mistakes.
Archive for December, 2007
Subjunctive Tense in French
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007Learning a Language and building up vocab
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007Once you start learning a language you will soon realise that it is a big task. There is just so much to learn and absorb.
And there is so much choice in terms of what course to take, or what learning strategy to implement. There are literally thousands of courses out there. One thing to remember is that you need to pick a course or courses that suit your own learning style, pace, method and personality.
…and while it is a long, hard slog remember that learning a language is like eating an elephant – it can only be done one bite at a time, chunk by chunk. Chew it, digest it etc, and slowly your knowledge will build and build over time.
But you must put in the hours. The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) says that to get to what they call Level 1 which is basic pleasantries and basic conversation requires about 240 hours of study!
To get to a level of operational proficiency you need about 750 hours of study!
So get going!
Don’t Pull any Punches in French
Thursday, December 6th, 2007The saying in French for ‘don’t pull any punches’, or to ‘not mince words’, or to ‘take the gloves off’ is:
ne pas prendre de gants…
… which literally means to ‘not put on the gloves’. That is to punch someone without gloves on and anyone who understands boxing will know that this means a greater likelihood of substantial damage to the recipient.
Here it is in a French sentence:
Valérie n’a pas pris de gants pour lui dire ce qu’elle pensait.
Valerie did not pull any punches when she told him what she thought.
Valerie did not mince words when she told him what she was thinking.
Learning idioms and proverbs and sayings is a great way of improving your French.