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French Language and Culture
French is a major language of international organizations such as the United Nations; and of countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has longstanding literary traditions and extensive musical applications. Typical contributions include questions about the language's geographic range; local dialects; and widespread use in business, dance and music, diplomacy, everyday life, modern writings, and scientific research.
5,277 Questions
What does meilleure mean in french?
"Meilleure" is the feminine of "Meilleur"
Meilleure que : Better than
La meilleure : The best
In French, numbers 71 to 80 are: 71 = soixante-et-onze, 72 = soixante-douze, 73 = soixante-treize, 74 = soixante-quatorze, 75 = soixante-quinze, 76 = soixante-seize, 77 = soixante-dix-sept, 78 = soixante-dix-huit, 79 = soixante-dix-neuf, 80 = quatre-vingts.
Is bicycle a feminine word in french?
Yes, "bicycle" is a masculine word in French, spelled as "le vélo".
Is it possible to learn French in a year?
Language acquisition varies greatly with exposure. A person working regularly to study the language, if alone in an all-French speaking environment, will certainly have a good level by the end of the year - provided he is not starting from scratch, but already has some basic knowledge. To be fair, I don't think this is possible for the average student, with an average motivation and workload. That said, a year of serious work will make you able to communicate in most circumstances, which is a pretty good result.
Most French verbs that end with "re" (like répondre, which means "to answer") are conjugated by replacing that "re" with the appropriate suffix according to the phrase's subject:
Je réponds
Tu réponds
Il/Elle/On répond
Nous répondons
Vous répondez
Ils/Elles répondent
Notice that you add nothing after the Il/Elle/On form of the verb.
The following are some other French "re" verbs that follow the same pattern:
- attendre - to wait for
- perdre - to lose
- tondre - to mow
- vendre - to sell
Use a French "re" verb in past tense by replacing the ending "re" with a "u."
For example, Il a répondu à sa lettre. - He answered his letter.
The most significant irregular "re" verb is être (to be). It's conjugation:
- Je suis
- Tu es
- Il/Elle/On est
- Nous sommes
- Vous êtes
- Ils/Elles sont
The reason this verb's important is because there are a few French verbs (such as aller) that are used in past tense with the helping verb être instead of with avoir.
For example:
Je suis allé au café. - I went to the café.
Elles sont allé au stade hier. - They went to the stadium yesterday.
The verb prendre (to take, to have food or drink) follows the same pattern for regular "re" verbs but with a few differences:
- Je prends
- Tu prends
- Il/Elle/On prend
- Nous prenons
- Vous prenez
- Ils/Elles prennent
The only conjugation difference: drop the "d" for the Nous, Vous, and Ils/Elles forms of this verb.
The past participle of prendre is pris:
Ils ont pris un taxi. - They took a taxi.
Mettre (to put on, to wear) also follows a similar pattern but with a few differences:
- Je mets
- Tu mets
- Il/Elle/On met
- Nous mettons
- Vous mettez
- Ils/Elles mettent
The only conjugation difference: also remove the "t" when you replace the "re" with the appropriate ending for the Je, Tu, and Il/Elle/On forms of this verb.
The past participle of mettre is mis:
Elle a mis une jupe. - She wore a skirt.
Faire (to do, to make) is a special "re" verb; it has its own distinctive pattern:
- Je fais
- Tu fais
- Il/Elle/On fait
- Nous faisons
- Vous faites
- Ils/Elles font
The past participle of faire is fait:
J'ai fait mes devoirs. - I did my homework.
Most French verbs that end in "ir" are conjugated by replacing the ending "r" with the appropriate ending according to the phrase's subject:
For example, conugate finir (to finish).
- Je finis
- Tu finis
- Il/Elle/On/Qui finit
- Nous finissons
- Vous finissez
- Ils/Elles finissent
The following are some French "ir" verbs that follow the same pattern:
- choisir - to choose
- detenir - to detain/hold
- dormir - to sleep
- grandir - to grow
- grossir - to gain weight, to grow
- maigrir - to lose weight, to shrink
- sortir - to take out, to go out
To use a French "ir" verb in past tense, simply remove the "r."
For example, J'ai fini mes devoirs. - I finished my homework.
However, the past tense of the irregular verb voir (to see) is vu.
For example, J'ai vu ma grand-mère. - I saw my grandma.
The most significant irregular "ir" verb is avoir (to have). It's conjugations:
- J'ai
- Tu as
- Il/Elle/On/Qui a
- Nous avons
- Vous avez
- Ils/Elles ont
The reason this verb is so important is because it's used as the helping verb of most phrases in past tense. A verb is written in past tense by putting its past participle form after the conjugated form of avoir (or être). For example:
J'ai fait mes devoirs. - I did my homework.
Nous avons mangé notre déjeuner. - We ate our lunch.
Elles ont étudié le matin. - They studied this morning.
The French verb vouloir (to want) has its own conjugation pattern:
- Je veux
- Tu veux
- Il/Elle/On/Qui veut
- Nous voulons
- Vous voulez
- Ils/Elles veulent
For example, Vous voulez mon crayon. - You want my crayon.
What is the past participle for mettre?
mis (masculine singular)
mis (masculine plural)
mise (feminine singular)
mises (feminine plural)
In French, "traffic" translates to "circulation" when referring to the flow of vehicles on roads, or "trafic" when used in the context of illegal activities or dealing goods.
Yes it is. There is a very famous French actress named Sophia Loren.
NO! it is not. Sophia Loren is Italian, not French.
What is the pronounciation of bonsoir?
bonsoir is pronounced something along the lines of 'boh-swahr'. An audio sample is in link.
What does the word velo mean in french?
"Vélo" is the shortened form of "vélocipède," which means bicycle in French. It is a common term used to refer to bicycles in everyday language.
What is the pronunciation of the French phrase 'Le sacre du printemps'?
"Luh sakr dyoo preh-taw" is the pronunciation of the French phrase Le sacre du printemps.
Specifically, the masculine singular definite article le is "the". The masculine noun sacre means "rite" in this context". The word dumeans "of the" from the combination of the preposition de("of") and le. The masculine noun printempstranslates as "spring".
The most famous use of the phrase is in the title of Russian composer Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky's (1882-1971) ballet and orchestral work.
What is Il n'y a pas assez de mots dans le dictionnaire pour vous décrire?
There are not enough words in the dictionary to describe you. It may be a compliment or an insult.
What words are masculine in French and what words are feminine in French?
In French, nouns are masculine or feminine as there is no "neutral" gender. The related adjectives take the gender of the noun. The first difficulty is to learn what gender is each noun. French children master all this in their early years, simply by listening and speaking. When they go through primary school they learn some grammar rules but they don't have to learn lists of words.
When you came across a word for the first time, look at the article. "Un" and "le" are masculine articles, hence the noun is a masculine one. "Une" or "la" are feminine articles, so the following noun is feminine. Ex: "Une hirondelle" (a swallow) is feminine, even though you could speak of a male bird.
Another hint may lie in the adjective. The feminine form of the adjective often has an additional (unvoiced) "e" at the end. Ex: une couleur féminine > the additional "e" tells you that the adjective is feminine, so "couleur" is also a feminine word. Un comportement féminin (a feminine behaviour): there is no additional "e", so féminin is a... masculine adjective (funny if yo think of it, but true).
These are general rules, and every rule will have its exception. For instance some nouns will be the same in either gender (a teacher will be un /or/ une professeur)
This can be unsettling for people learning French, but French speakers will undertand you all the same, and appreciate the effort.
How do you spell the french word that sounds like twal?
The French word that sounds like "twal" is spelled "touaille." It refers to a towel or cloth used for cleaning.
What is the French translation of the Italian name 'Mario'?
Marius is a French equivalent of the Italian name Mario.
Specifically, the name is a masculine proper noun. Its origin is unclear although linguists suggest Celtic, Etruscan or Latin etymologies. The pronunciation will be "mahr-yooss" in French and "MAH-ryoh" in Italian.
Does 1.4 milliard d'euros in French equal 140 millions d'euros?
No. Milliard is the French word for billion (1 000 000 000). 1.4 milliard is 1,400,000,000 or 1400 millions euros.
What is the french translation of the name Austin?
I'm pretty sure it's just Austin, XD I go to a French school and we just call people with the name Austin Austin
