Continuing from where we were last ...
She: "Que tu veux faire maintenant? What do you want to do now?" (Kuh tu vuh fair maN-tuh-nuN)
You: "D'abord, je veux boire quelque chose. J'ai soif. First, I would like to drink something. I am thirsty." (Daa-borr, juh vuh bwar kel-kuh shoes. Jay swaf.)
She: "Il y a un café là-bas. Allons-y.” There is a café over there. Let's go there." (Ill ee aa aN cafey luh-baa. Aallon-zee)
***
Important points:
1. Veux is a verb form of voulour, meaning ‘to want’.
2. The second verb in a sentence always takes the infinite form (the form it appears in the dictionary) – which is rather convenient. Hence, je veux boire (I want to drink). ‘I drink’ will translate to je bois.
3. In French, you are never hungry or thirsty. You always have hunger (J’ai faim) and thirst (J’ai soif). Note that J’ai => Je + ai. French has many such contractions. That's what makes the language flow so freely. The 'e' of the last word always disappears when followed by a word starting with a vowel.
ai is a verb form of avoir, meaning ‘to have’.
4. The tiny letter ‘y’ is perhaps one of the most used word in French. It mean ‘there’.
5. You will find the phrase ‘il y a’ very frequently used. Its literal translation is ‘he there has’, but it is always taken to mean ‘there is’ or ‘there are’.
6. Un stands for ‘a’, so does une. Un is used in front of masculine nouns, une in front of feminine: une maison (a house). There is no rhyme or reason why a word is masculine and another feminine.
7. Did you notice how the 's' of allons went and got attached to 'y'? This is another of that smooth-flowing language trick used by the French.
She: "Que tu veux faire maintenant? What do you want to do now?" (Kuh tu vuh fair maN-tuh-nuN)
You: "D'abord, je veux boire quelque chose. J'ai soif. First, I would like to drink something. I am thirsty." (Daa-borr, juh vuh bwar kel-kuh shoes. Jay swaf.)
She: "Il y a un café là-bas. Allons-y.” There is a café over there. Let's go there." (Ill ee aa aN cafey luh-baa. Aallon-zee)
***
Important points:
1. Veux is a verb form of voulour, meaning ‘to want’.
2. The second verb in a sentence always takes the infinite form (the form it appears in the dictionary) – which is rather convenient. Hence, je veux boire (I want to drink). ‘I drink’ will translate to je bois.
3. In French, you are never hungry or thirsty. You always have hunger (J’ai faim) and thirst (J’ai soif). Note that J’ai => Je + ai. French has many such contractions. That's what makes the language flow so freely. The 'e' of the last word always disappears when followed by a word starting with a vowel.
ai is a verb form of avoir, meaning ‘to have’.
4. The tiny letter ‘y’ is perhaps one of the most used word in French. It mean ‘there’.
5. You will find the phrase ‘il y a’ very frequently used. Its literal translation is ‘he there has’, but it is always taken to mean ‘there is’ or ‘there are’.
6. Un stands for ‘a’, so does une. Un is used in front of masculine nouns, une in front of feminine: une maison (a house). There is no rhyme or reason why a word is masculine and another feminine.
7. Did you notice how the 's' of allons went and got attached to 'y'? This is another of that smooth-flowing language trick used by the French.
French language is noted for precision, clarity and elegance. It is very useful as a second and first language.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteYour post is so good, I am very thankfull to you for giving me amazing information.
Monsieur, le mot est vouloir. Il n'est pas voulour:-)
ReplyDeleteWe had a wonderful French teacher in college who would make us translate and decipher French proverbs. It was a hugely exciting way of learning because decoding and interpreting a proverb is a challenge in itself...especially in a not so familiar language. When we did manage to decode, it felt like we had solved a Maths problem. I remember 'vouloir c'est pouvoir' was one of the easiest to traslate and interpret during early learning days. Actually, on second thoughts, I don't know if it helped us learn but it did help us test our vocabulary and interpretation skills. It was great fun!
Oui! C'est vrai. Vouloir! Pas voulour.
ReplyDeleteThe 'e' of the last word always disappears when followed by a word starting with a vowel. -> That's not a rule for every words, only for the pronons and the articles, not for other words.
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled upon your blog ! I absolutely love it ! so beautifully written. Will there be a new entry anytime soon ?
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