This week, Boney French creator Roger, shares with us his experiences as a new holiday home owner in the South of France, back in the 1970’s. The local interest an ex-pat brings about, as well as the cultural differences; rarely
Funny Situations When Conversing in French
As a native English speaker learning French, you can often find yourself in funny situations when you are talking to a French person. It’s not always you who causes the shared laughter: I was once asked by a dear friend,
French words and phrases which have no equivalent in your own language
One of the pleasures of learning French, or indeed any foreign language, is to come across words and phrases which have no equivalent in your own mother tongue. These usually have to be translated by sentences to explain their meaning:
Learning French – Keep at it!
Sooner or later the person learning a foreign language, in this case learning French – is overtaken by the disquieting feeling that he will never completely master his studies. Whatever stage you are at, however long you have been trying,
Memory – One Potential Barrier when Learning French
Perhaps the hardest aspect of learning French, or indeed any foreign language, especially for those of a certain age, is simply the matter of memory. Words, phrases, points of grammar, all are perfectly used during the lesson but somehow, like
Learning French – Voila or il y a?
When learning French, there is often a little confusion when translating ‘There is/are’. To be sure, you know that both ‘voilà’ and ‘il y a’ are both candidates for the job – but which one to use? It will help
Dealing with French adjectives
The problems English speakers have when dealing with adjectives (describing words) in French (and most other foreign languages) stem from the concept of adjectives having to change to ‘agree’ with what they are describing. There is also the question of
The French always seem to be inherently more polite than we are
The French always seem to be inherently more polite than we are – although to read some comments about them, you may find this hard to believe. There’s usually a certain reservation when they first meet you but, with your
Gender revisited
For a native English speaker learning French, one of the sharpest thorns in the flesh (after the wretched verbs, of course) is the question of gender – is a noun masculine or feminine. Many’s the time my students, making
Saying ‘yes’ in French
Saying ‘yes’ in French is not always as straightforward as you might think. The usual word for ‘affirmation and assent’ (as my old grammar book has it) is, of course ‘oui’. You can spice it up a bit by saying