The French verb “rester” means “to stay” or “to remain” in English. But “rester” can be used with indirect object pronouns to mean “to have left.” This is an impersonal construction. In an impersonal construction, the “il” in “il me reste” means “it,” rather than “he.” The literal translation of “il me reste” is “it…
Sometimes you meet a friend, an acquaintance or a coworker by pure chance, rather than because you had arranged to meet them in advance. There are a few different ways to translate the English phrases “to bump into” or “to come across” in French. rencontrer The French verb “rencontrer” mainly means “to meet” or “to…
The French phrase “il faut” translates to “it is necessary.” It is an impersonal expression, meaning that the “il” does not translate as “he,” but rather as “it.” So it means “it is necessary,” not “he is necessary.” In fact, the French verb “falloir,” which is the infinitive that “il faut” comes from, can only…
The French verb “pousser” means “to push,” “to move,” “to push aside,” “to let out,” or “to grow,” among a variety of different meanings. The green sign in the photo means “Push to open.” To push: “Pousser” mainly means to push or shove. To grow: Expressions and Idiomatic Usage: Etymology: The French verb “pousser” traces…
The French verb “se passer” means “to happen” or “to take place.” Conjugation in the Present Tense: “Se passer” is a reflexive verb, used impersonally with “il,” “ça” or “ils.” It is not used with other subjects such as je, tu, elle, etc. Conjugation in the Passé Composé: “Se passer” is a reflexive verb, used…
What is “jambon cru” in French? What is “jambon cuit?” Both are types of meat made from the same cut of pork. But what is the difference? “Jambon cru” means “raw ham” or “uncooked ham.” Raw ham sounds dangerous to eat, but jambon cru is fine. It is a ham that has been cured over…
The French verb “charger” has a variety of different meanings. It can mean to load, to charge, to make responsible for, to bring evidence against, or to launch an attack. To load To charge To give someone the responsibility for To load (a weapon) To bring/give evidence against To launch an attack Etymology “Charger” comes…
The French verb “toucher” has a few different meanings. Not all of them are obvious. It can mean “to touch,” “to hit,” “to affect,” “to be next to,” “to get,” “to receive,” or “to win.” “Le toucher” is also a masculine noun meaning “the touch” or “the sense of touch.” to touch to hit to…
The French verbs “se rappeler” and “se souvenir” mean “to remember” or “to recall.” Learn the differences and similarities between the two verbs, as well as how to conjugate them, and their linguistic origins. Meaning and Usage: 1. “Se souvenir de”: 2. “Se rappeler”: Conjugation: Present Tense: Passé Composé: Etymology:
The French verb “écrire” means “to write.” Conjugation Homologues The French language has several verbs that share the same suffix “-crire,” making them homologues of “écrire.” These verbs are also irregular and conjugated similarly to “écrire.” They often revolve around the concept of writing or describing. Etymology The word “écrire” comes from the Latin word “scribere.”…