Posts in March 2009

French Language - Voilà or Il y a

Posted by Chanda

Voilà is one of my favorite expressions in French.  It just seems so French and much more appealing than its English equivalents: ‘there is’ and ‘there are’.  However, you must be careful because Il y a has the same English translation so to speak, but the meaning or useage is different.  Voilà is used as if you are pointing to the object(s) you are talking about, whereas Il y a simply states the existence of the object(s) you are talking about.  One practical example that you can use in an email is: Voilà, ci-joint la liste. (You can replace the underlined part with anything you are attaching).  Here are some other examples to show the difference between the two expressions.

Il y a beaucoup de couples ici. (There are a lot of couples here.)
Regardez, voilà, Madame et Monsieur Dupont.  (Look, there’s Mrs. and Mr. Dupont.)

Il y a un magasin de chaussures par ici.  (There’s a shoe store nearby.)
Est-ce qu’il y a des grandes chaussures ?  (Are there large-size shoes?)
Voilà, la pointure que vous cherchez. (There’s the size you’re looking for.)

Il y a des marchés en France.  (There are markets in France.)
Voilà, le marché aux pouces de la Port de Vanves.   (There’s the Port de Vanves flea market.)

 

The French Love Facebook

Posted by Chanda

Yes, the Internet social network Facebook has become a craze all over the world.  But, the French absolutely LOVE it.  Back in October 2008, there were over 4.1 million active users.  It is so surprisingly popular that the company is planning to establish offices in Paris and the site was translated by users in just 24 hours as opposed to two weeks in Spain, for example.

One of my French friends sent me a video the other day of a French comedian, Jerôme Comandeur, making jokes about Facebook, its popularity and the French people.  It might be difficult for beginning students, but any input is good.  It’s quite hilarious.

So, if you have a Facebook account, think about joining a French group or using French applications or answering French quizzes or listening to French music or even just take a look at some of the French ads.  It is a very good way to learn more of the language. 

For example, you can answer questions about your friends in French and see what your friends think of you with Qui de mes amis…
You can create a poll with Créer un sondage…
You can find significant others for your friends with Docteur Love
Give your opinions on your friends and find out what they think of you with Que penses-tu de moi?
Send fairies to your friends to wish them well with Les Fées
and much more.

Rejoins-moi sur Facebook!

 

How to Make French Nouns Plural

Posted by Chanda

Making nouns plural in the French language can be a bit more complicated than English, but perhaps not.  Just like in English, you normally add an -s to the written form of the singular.  I say written form, because usually the pronunciation doesn’t change one bit when using a plural noun, except for the links from the article to the noun.  But, just as in English, there are exceptions, of course.

→ Nouns that end in -s, -z, -x do not change in the plural form.
un fils → des fils
un gaz → des gaz
une voix → des voix

→ Nouns that end in -eau, -au, -eu take on an -x in the plural.
un tableau → des tableaux
un tuyau 
→ des tuyaux
un jeu 
→ des jeux
Careful!!!  There are some exceptions to this rule.  un pneu → des pneus

→ There are seven nouns that end in -ou which take on an -x in the plural.
un bijou  → des bijoux
un caillou 
→ des cailloux
un chou 
→ des choux
un genou 
→des genoux
un hibou 
→des hiboux
un joujou 
→ des joujoux
un pou 
→ des poux

→ Some nouns that end in -ail or -al take on -aux in the plural.
un travail → des travaux
un corail 
→ des coraux
un émail 
→ des émaux
un vitrail 
→ des vitraux
un animal 
→ des animaux
un journal 
→ des journaux
un cheval 
→ des chevaux
un hôpital 
→ des hôpitaux

→ Others, however, follow the general add an -s rule.  For example:
un bal → des bals
un carnaval 
→ des carnavals
un festival 
→ des festivals

→ There are of course irregular plurals.
un œil → des yeux
un jeune homme 
→ des jeunes gens
un monsieur 
→ des messieurs
une madame 
→ des mesdames
une mademoiselle 
→ des mesdemoiselles
un ciel 
→ des cieux

→ Proper nouns do not change in the plural.  Only the article does:
les Goldman, les Roi, les Fabre.

→ However, an -s can be added to names of artists to when referring to their work.  For example: un Monet → deux Monets (in other words, two Monet paintings).

→ Some nouns are only used in the plural form.  Examples:
les environs, les gens, les mœurs, les vacances (holidays)

Finally, compound nouns have all sorts of different rules, so we’ll leave them for another article.
Till then, Bonne soirée (Have a good evening).

 

French Music - Hélène Ségara

Posted by Chanda

Hélène Ségara was born on February 26, 1971, on French soil to an Italian father and an Armenian mother.

Growing up on the French Riviera, Hélène suffered the divorce of her parents and her beloved grandfather’s death.  After winning a local music contest at age 11, she left her family and studies at the age of 14 to become a singer.  She performed in piano bars on the southern coast and at age 18, she gave birth to her first son.  Her first single, which was released in 1993, was not successful.  Three years later, she moved to Paris with her son and her career began to take off with her debut album Coeur de verre and her famous duet with Andrea Bocelli Vivo per lei.  She played Esmeralda in the Notre Dame de Paris musical alongside Garou, although she was not originally chosen for the role and only received it after the first choice withdrew.  In fact, she was not the female singer who recorded the Notre Dame album.  Fortunately, she recovered from a cyst found on her vocal chords by 2000 and was able to release a second album entitled Au nom d’une femme.  She became a French favorite on the music scene, winning several awards including a World Music Award for the best-selling French album.
In 2003, she released a third album Humaine and married her drummer, Mathieu Lecat, with whom she had two children.  Her album Quand l’éternité…hit the stores in 2006, but did not sell as well as the other three.  It is more rock than the other three and was largely written by Hélène.  The themes include absence, death and hope and are most likely a reflection of her trying life.  Over the years, Hélène has been active with several charities and has participated in various charity concerts.  Her album Mon pays, c’est la terre came out in 2008 and is a compilation of international remakes.
It is interesting to note that she released a Spanish-language album in 2002 entitled Hélène.
Although not very up-to-date, you can go to her official website where you can listen to clips of all of her albums.

 

French Names

Posted by Chanda

Tonight, I’m thinking about French names.  Why?  Well, one of my best childhood friends is pregnant.  She told me today.  And her name is Anne, which is apparently the French spelling for the standard English name ‘Ann’.  So, I was thinking that she could give her daughter or son a French name.  According to the United States Social Security Administration, Emma was the 3rd most popular girl name in 2007.  Well, that is a French name.  So, I began thinking…what are some other popular French names…Here’s a list of French names I like:

For girls:
Adèle
Adrienne
Alice
Amélie
Anaïs
Audrey
Aurélie
Aurore
Caroline
Catherine
Chantal
Charlotte
Christiane
Claire
Danielle
Élisabeth
Élodie
Émilie
Henriette
Isabelle
Jacqueline
Julie
Laetitia
Lucie
Madeleine
Marianne
Marie
Marine
Michèle
Monique
Nathalie
Noëlle
Océane
Pauline
Sophie
Stéphanie
Véronique
Virginie
Zoé 
For boys:
Alain
Alexandre
André
Antoine
Benjamin
Benoït
Christian
Christophe
Daniel
David
Dominique
Édouard
Emmanuel
Étienne
Franck
Frédéric
Gabriel
Guillaume
Hugues
Jacques
Jean
Jérôme
Joseph
Laurent
Louis
Luc
Lucas
Marc
Martin
Matthieu
Michel
Nicolas
Noël
Olivier
Philippe
Sébastien
Thibaut
Vincent
Xavier

Est-ce que vous avez un prénom français préféré?