The French verb “marcher” has a variety of meanings, including “to walk,” “to function,” “to work,” “to tread,” “to go,” “to go for it,” and even “to fall for it.” To walk To tread To go To work, to function To go for it To fall for it Expressions
Colours in French are adjectives. They are placed after the noun they describe. So a blue sky is “un ciel bleu.” They must also agree in number and gender with the noun they describe. So “purple flowers” would be “des fleurs violettes.” Colour Masculine Feminine black noir noire white blanc blanche red rouge rouge blue…
The French verbs “alentir” and “ralentir” are related to the adjective “lent,” which means “slow.” The two verbs both mean “to slow down.” “Alentir” is only used in literature (or in Québec) these days, while “ralentir” is in common usage. Meanings and Usage: Conjugation in the Present Tense: Conjugation in the Passé Composé: Etymology: Both…
The French phrase “le long de” means “along” in English. It is a preposition. However, there are other ways of translating “along,” depending on the exact meaning of the English term. Related words Etymology “Le long de” comes from the French word “long,” which in turn comes from the Latin word “longus,” meaning “far, extended, remote, distant,…
The French verb “tirer” means “to draw” or “to pull,” but it has many additional meanings. It is a widely used verb, as well as being the basis of other related verbs such as attirer, étirer, retirer and soutirer. Multiple Meanings of “Tirer”: Etymology The verb “tirer” comes from the Latin verb “tirare,” which means…
The French word “après” can function either as a preposition or as an adverb. It means “after” or “afterwards.” It is used before a noun, such as “après la pluie” (after the rain), or “après la guerre” (after the war). When it is used before a phrase containing a verb, the word “que” is added…
Almost everyone knows that the French word “merci” means “thank you.” But how do you express the idea of mercy or compassion in French, rather than thanking someone? “Merci” is a feminine noun. “La merci” means “the mercy.” It refers to mercy in the sense of power, not in the sense of compassion. “Pitié” is…
The French expression “chanter comme une seringue” translates literally as “to sing like a syringe.” What it really means is “to sing off key,” or “to sing very badly.” The origin of this saying remains a mystery. What is known is that the saying dates from the beginning of the 19th century, ie the early 1800s….
The French word “derrière” can function either as a preposition, as an adverb or as a noun. Depending on which one of these three parts of speech it is being used as, it can mean “behind,” “after,” “shortly after,” “afterwards,” “bottom,” or “back.” It is the opposite of “devant,” discussed in this blog post. Preposition…
The French word “devant” can be used as a preposition, as an adverb, or as a noun. Preposition As a preposition, “devant” means “in front of,” “ahead of” or “before.” Adverb As an adverb, “devant” means “in front,” “at the front,” or “ahead.” Noun As a masculine noun, “le devant” means “the front.”