Posts under Vocabulary

French Vocabulary - The Months of the Year

Posted by Chanda
Nov
12
2009

Here’s a little chant/song called Janvier, Février to help you learn the months in French.  The lyrics were written by Anny Versini and Jean-Marc Versini, who also sang them on the children’s song album Les Comptines de la Marmotte - Vol. 2 Une Souris Rose.

Janvier, février,
Mars, avril,
Mai, juin,
Juillet, août,
Septembre, octobre
Novembre et décembre.

Douze mois dans l’année ce n’est vraiment pas assez
Pour pouvoir mieux s’amuser
Il faudrait en rajouter.

Janvier, février,
Mars, avril,
Mai, juin,
Juillet, août,
Septembre, octobre

Novembre et décembre.

Et c’est terminé
On a fini cette année
Il faut tout recommencer
Pour une nouvelle année.

You can listen to and legally purchase/download the album here.

 
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French Proverbs - Creole Language

Posted by Chanda
Nov
9
2009

La France d’outre-mer (French overseas territory) includes the DROM or les Départements d’outre-mer (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and La Reunion) which are subject to French law and therefore their citizens have the exact same rights as mainland France citizens; the COM or les Collectivités d’outre-mer (Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis Islands and Futuna Islands) which have certain autonomy and are a bit separate from the French state; the POM or les Pays d’outre-mer au sein de la République (French Polynesia and New Caledonia) which are regions that will quite possibly gain independence in the future; and the administrative districts known as TOM or les Territoires d’outre-mer (Amsterdam Island, Saint Paul Island, the Crozet Islands, Kerguelen islands and Adélie Land). It is worthy noting, however, that French soveriegnty is not recognized internationally in Adélie Land.

La Reunion is a small island of about 970 square miles and a population of approximately 827,000 that lies right in the middle of the Indian Ocean.  The people of La Reunion obviously speak French as that it is the national language, but the Creole language also exists.  Today, I’m going to give you 6 Creole proverbs from La Reunion and see if you can match them up with an English explanation.

1. Couler la peau la pas couler lo ker. A. When the boss isn’t happy, watch out.
2. Quand gros bèf y charge, sorte devant! B. To hear, but not want to show you heard.
3. Faire z’oreilles cochon. C. There’s no going back.
4. A pa sa ka travay plis ka manjé plis. D. You shouldn’t judge people by the color of their skin.
5. Dlo pa ka monté mòne. E. People always want more.
6. Ba yo pyé yo ka pran men. F. The richest are not necessarily the ones that work the most.
 
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French Vocabulary in Context IV Answers

Posted by Chanda
Oct
31
2009

Here are the answers to the vocabulary activity I posted a few days ago:

admonester : réprimander vivement (to admonish)

sermonner (to lecture)
gronder (to scold)
réprouver (to reprove)

Comment avez-vous fait?

 
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French Relationships

Posted by Chanda
Oct
27
2009

While the title of this French vocabulary article may seem a bit misleading, this exercise on family words may prove to be fun and helpful to your learning process.  Fill in the blanks with the appropriate French word, or even better yet, let us know what your answers are in a comment!

1. La mère de ma mère c’est ma _______________.

2. Les enfants de mon oncle ce sont mes ________.

3. La fille de ma mère c’est ma ________________.

4. Le frère de mon père c’est mon ______________.

5. Le père de mon père c’est mon ______________.

6. Le frère de mon oncle c’est mon _____________.

7. La sœur de ma mère c’est ma _______________.

8. La sœur de ma tante c’est ma _______________.

 
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French Games - Scattegories II

Posted by Chanda
Oct
21
2009

Some time ago, I began a French Scattegories game with this blog and it’s time for another round!!  So, put your French vocabulary to the test!

I’ll remind you of the rules:

Règles
Je vous donne dix catégories et une lettre.  Vous devez répondre avec un mot qui commence avec cette lettre.  Évidement, vous ne devez pas répondre le même que les autres et il faut être créatif.  Bonne chance!

Also, please remember that you can’t enter more than one word for each category.  Have fun!
Lettre: M

Catégories:
1. l’architecture
2. la nature
3. les voyages
4. les villes
5. la fête
6. le mariage
7. le sport
8. les nombres
9. les langues
10. la musique

I believe emmanuel was the winner of the last round.  Let’s see who wins this one…write a comment with your answers.

 
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