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Did you know that adjectives can be even more complicated in French than nouns?
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Did you know that France observes L’armistice (Armistice Day) today, Tuesday, November 11? France celebrates the end of World War I on the same day that the U.S. honors Veterans Day. It’s a somber holiday with military parades, ceremonies, and reflection on those who have died in wars. Many tourists don’t realize that the Arc […]
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Did you know that when learning French, it is essential to learn the gender of a noun at the same time that you learn the noun? The gender of a French noun effects the entire sentence … what article to use, what adjective to use, and sometimes the conjugation of the verb … oh là […]
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Did you know that France will observe La Toussaint (All Saints Day) on Saturday, November 1? All Saints’ Day is a Catholic holiday to honor all of the saints in the canon. It’s a public holiday in France when many families gather to honor loved ones who have passed on. The most common ritual is […]
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Did you know that there are four types of verbs in French? 1) Direct Transitive Verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning: (such as, « Il mange une pomme ». – He eats an apple). 2) Indirect Transitive Verbs require an indirect object to complete their meaning: (such as, « Il parle à […]
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Did you know that not all languages have nouns and verbs as distinct categories. While many languages do have nouns and verbs, some languages do not have specific words for these grammatical categories. Additionally, some languages may have alternative systems of classification. That’s another reason why French was the best second language for me. With […]
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So there you have it! 300 words that you already knew are French cognates! Since July, we have looked at so many words that are English / French cognates that can be identified by their endings: -tion, -sion, al, -able, -ible, -ance, – ence, -ant, -ent, -ct. And then there are other French cognates that […]
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Did you know that many English words have a close French equivalent with circumflex? Just as a little reminder from my 05.20.2025 « Saviez-vous que … » post: in most situations, the accent circumflex (^) is indicating that the accented letter was followed by one or more letters in Latin that have now disappeared. Many […]
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Did you know that many words that end in -ly in English have an equivalent in French ending in -ment ? Some examples: (this is not a comprehensive list) -ly absolutely – absolument (adv) correctly – correctement (adv) directly – directement (adv) especially – spécialement (adv) evidently – évidemment (adv) exactly – exactement (adv) finally […]
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Did you know that many words that end in -ist in English have their equivalent as -iste in French: Some examples: (this is not a comprehensive list) -ist artist – artiste (nm / nf) cyclist – cycliste (nm / nf) dentist – dentiste (nm / nf) We will take a look at French cognates ending […]