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How to Use The French Verb “Prendre”

The verb “prendre” is used a lot in the French language. Do you know how to use it? What about the verb prendre conjugation? Here are some explanations: The verb ‘prendre’ is used the same way as the English verb ‘to take’ but is also used as the verb ‘to have’ in English when speaking about drinks or food. We don’t say: “I’ll have a coffee” but we say I take a coffee....Read More

How to Express Your Opinion in French

In France, there are not many subjects that are considered taboo, and the French will frequently speak their mind without holding back. At a dinner party in France, you might be asked to share your opinion on your political beliefs, relationships, spiritual tendencies, the environment, immigration, etc. In discussions, there is one topic that many avoid which is people’s finances or...Read More

French Grammar – L’incroyable verbe “passer”

If you spend a day listening to French people speaking to one other, you will hear the verb passer over and over. It is an extremely rich verb and probably one of the most important ones to master since it is used in so many everyday life contexts. Passer also has the particularity to take either the auxiliary avoir or être in the passé composé depending on its meaning.  1. Passer du...Read More

Meet Steven, A Devoted French Student

This story is derived from the chapters of our e-book titled “Learn French? Of Course You Can”. For the all the stories visit our online store to download our ebook. FOR ME, THE PROCESS OF LEARNING has centered on repetition and exposure to the language. I try to space out my lessons so that they are every other day, or every third day, on the days I...Read More

More or no more? – How to Use Plus in French

Plus de pain ? Plus de fromage ? Plus de gateau ?…” We have witnessed on several occasions our foreign guests get a little confused when, invited to a dinner by a French family, they are asked such questions.  “More bread or no more bread?  More cheese or no more cheese?  More cake or no more cake?…  What was the question, exactly?”     Very few short French...Read More

Expressing Quantities in French

  If you try to translate all the sentences below in French, you might get a bit muddled. Expressing quantity in French is tricky. The French have a specific list of words to communicate either vague or specific quantities. ‒I would like some water please! ‒Right away! Do you wish a bottle or a glass of water? And more wine? ‒No, no more wine, just a few glasses of water for everyone!...Read More

An vs année, jour vs journée, etc. How to Know Which One to Use?

Who has not been confused over the difference between jour vs journée, soir vs soirée and an vs année? The reasons for using one or the other can be complicated, therefore, I would like to give an easy and straight forward explanation. The idea is to avoid thinking too much about it when speaking to a French person. In a nutshell, you should use the shorter version: jour, soir and an...Read More