French Word of the Day: PAMPLEMOUSSE

Today I’m starting a brand new kind of videos! Something I’ve never done before so, let me introduce you to the very first, Virginie’s French Word of the Day!

Et le mot du jour est… PAMPLEMOUSSE!

Why pamplemousse you may ask? Because, a few weeks ago, I asked on my French Truly Facebook page, what your favorite French words were. And for some reason, MANY of you said pamplemousse! That’s a grapefruit by the way.

Today’s video is a little longer because it’s the first one, but the format going forward will be:

First, the word, le mot.
Second, three sentences, trois phrases, to put the word in context.
Third, when applicable you’ll get a little bonus. Such as an idiom or a synonym.

Got it? Ok c’est parti:

1- Le mot
A grapefruit = Un pamplemousse

2- Les phrases
Hi, I’d like a grapefruit juice please.
Bonjour, je voudrais un jus de pamplemousse s’il vous plaît.

Grapefruit is a bitter fruit.
Le pamplemousse est un fruit amer.

We always like to add a few pieces of grapefruit in our salads.
Nous aimons toujours ajouter quelques morceaux de pamplemousse dans nos salades.

Et voilà! Now, not only you know le mot pamplemousse, but you also know how to use it in everyday conversations!

What about you? What’s your favorite French word that I can feature on future videos?

If you enjoy this blog post, please share it with your francophile friends!

And come join me on my website where you can sign up for your free 3 Step Mini Course to Help YOU Become a Little Bit French! and get french language courses.

What’s Your Favorite French Word?

I think it’s time to add a new playlist to my French Truly TV channel: “FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY”

The last one I added was “HOW TO” and a few days ago I had the idea to add “FRENCH WORD OF THE DAY”… only I’d like them to be funny!

And since I make these videos for YOU, the best thing to do is to ask YOU:

What’s your Favorite French Word?

So I started asking on Facebook 3 days ago and got loooots of interesting answers… some of them I would have never even thought of! Plus, and I was not expecting it, a winner slowly but surely came through: the word PAMPLEMOUSSE! It just kept coming back, do you love it too? Is there a Pamplemousses mania out there I was the only one not to be aware of?

You know how I keep telling you that there are so many ways you can learn French online? Well, I do my best to help & guide you on that route, while enhancing your French learning language ,french immersion course  experience! Hopefully this quiz will teach you French you don’t normally learn.

Before I give you the rest of the favourite words list from Facebook friends and followers, I must ask you: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FRENCH WORD? Just enter it (or them!) in the comment section below, merci!

Favorite French Words list:

1. Esperluette
2. Phoque
3. Parapluie
4. Crépuscule
5. Cacahuète
6. Caoutchouc
7. Mousse
8. Tournesol
9. Saperlipopette
10. Papillon
11. Champs Élysées
12. Chaussette
13. Gâteau
14. Bonjour
15. Coucou
16. Croquant
17. Bouge
18. Dégueulasse
19. Écureuil
20. Pneu
21. Bouleversé
22. Pétanque
23. Coccinelle
24. Quincaillerie
25. Pantoufle

That’s it for now so please add yours in the comment section below and pass this on to your friends so they can answer too! The more the merrier!

Now I have 4 questions for you!

1- What do you think of this list?

2- How many of these words did you already know?

3- Which words had you never heard before?

4- And most importantly: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FRENCH WORD?

Just enter it (or them!) in the comment section below, merci!

____________________________________________________________________

Which French Woman Are You?

 

I want to give you something complètement différent this week: I have invented (with the help of my mother!) this quiz for you! A quiz that will determine which French woman you are, out of 5 super famous and glamorous female French icons! And if you are a man who has not yet embraced his inner woman…  now is the time to do so!

You know how I keep telling you that there are so many ways you can learn French online? Well, I do my best to help & guide you on that route, while enhancing your French learning language ,french immersion course  experience! Hopefully this quiz will teach you French you don’t normally learn.

In case you don’t recognize them all, don’t scroll down yet! Take the quiz and all will be revealed to you at the end, along with your results!

And once again, if you’re a man, well, that’s ok! Do it anyway! When’s the last time someone asked you to discover your inner French woman?!

To make it both pleasant & useful, I wrote the quiz in French and then translated it in English so you can practice practice practice and learn! Consider this quiz an adventurous French language course! Write down your answers on a little piece of paper.

Quelle femme française êtes-vous? Which French woman are you?

Question 1

Qu’est-ce qui vous motive le plus?
(What motivates you the most?)
A- Créer (to create)
B- Penser (to think)
C- Interpréter (to perform)
D- Séduire (to seduce)
E- Être protégée (being protected)

Question 2

Vous faites la queue au supermarché. La personne derrière vous vous fait une remarque blessante:
(You’re waiting in line at the supermarket. The person behind you makes one hurtful comment about you)
A- Vous riez (you laugh)
B- Vous retenez vos larmes (you hold back your tears)
C- Vous argumentez (you argue)
D- Vous attaquez (you attack)
E- Vous ignorez (you ignore)

Question 3

Un projet qui vous tient à coeur tombe à l’eau:
(A project dear to your heart falls apart)
A- Vous demandez l’appui d’un personnage influent (you ask for support from an influential person)
B- Vous pleurez un bon coup et repartez aussitôt (you have a good cry and then you start again instantly)
C- Vous pensez que c’est votre faute parce que vous n’êtes pas assez bonne (you think it’s your fault because you’re not good enough)
D- Vous êtes très en colère (you are very angry)
E- “Ils n’ont rien compris, j’ai raison, je continue!” (“They don’t understand anything, I’m right, I”ll keep going!)

Question 4

Pour quelle cause vous engageriez-vous?
(For what cause would you commit yourself?)
A- L’émancipation des femmes (women empowerment)
B- La défense des animaux (animal protection)
C- La famille (family)
D- La liberté des peuples (human rights)
E- Le mariage pour tous (same sex marriage)

Question 5

L’idée d’afficher votre vie publiquement:
(The idea of displaying your life publicly)
A- Vous fait peur (scares you)
B- Vous excite (excites you)
C- Vous indigne (outrages you)
D- Vous dérange (disturbs you)
E- Vous sert (serves you)

Question 6

Comment passez-vous votre temps libre?
(How do you spend your free time?)
A- Dans les livres (in books)
B- Vous dessinez (you draw)
C- Avec votre famille (with your family)
D- Vous écoutez de la musique (you listen to music)
E- Avec vos animaux (with your animals)

Question 7

Votre valeur la plus chère:
(Your top value)
A- L’excellence (excellence)
B- L’audace (audacity)
C- La fidélité (fidelity)
D- La justice (justice)
E- La liberté (freedom)

Question 8

Quel événement important vous correspond le mieux?
(Which important event best corresponds to you?)
A- La libération sexuelle des femmes (women sexual freedom)
B- La révolution française (the French revolution)
C- Le droit de vote des femmes (women’s right to vote)
D- Le festival de Cannes (Cannes’ festival)
E- Woodstock

Question 9

Vous êtes invitée à un dîner chez des amis. Quel style vestimentaire choisissez-vous?
(You’re invited for dinner at some friends’ house. Which dress style do you choose?)
A- Jean moulant + tee-shirt large laissant apparaître une épaule (tight jeans + oversized tee-shirt revealing a bare shoulder)
B- Robe noire +manteau léopard (black dress + leopard coat)
C- Tailleur chic + collier de perles (chic suit + pearl necklace)
D- Bustier + pantalon taille haute (bustier + high-waisted pants)
E- Bijoux ethniques sur tenue sobre (ethnic jewelry on understated outfit)

Question 10

Quelle activité professionnelle vous semble la plus valorisante?
(Which professional activity seems like the most gratifying to you?)
A- Actrice (actress)
B- Chanteuse (singer)
C- Femme d’affaires (business woman)
D- Professeur (professor)
E- Top model (model)

Question 11

Quel est votre style de maquillage préféré?
(What is your favorite make-up style?)
A- Nature, presque rien (natural, almost nothing)
B- Un trait d’eye liner noir épais (thick black eye-liner)
C- Rouge à lèvres seulement (lipstick only)
D- Sophistiqué (sophisticated)
E- Ténébreux (dark & mysterious)

Question 12

La féminité pour vous c’est:
(For you, femininity is)
A- L’élégance (elegance)
B- La réussite (success)
C- Le combat (fight)
D- La douceur (gentleness)
E- La sensualité (sensuality)

La fin!

Isn’t that a fun, and therefore efficient, way to learn French online? A different kind of French language course, isn’t it? If you want to learn the French language & culture as much as possible, you must always be curious and remain open to any French language learning formats as they come in all shapes and sizes!

Calculez votre résultat

Ok so now it’s time to count your points! I’m sure you get this but just to make sure, if you’ve answered A to question 1 you get a @, if you’ve answered A to question 2 you get one #, if you’ve answered C to question 3 you get one +, and you just keep going until the end when you can count and compare all your symbols, each symbol corresponding to 1 woman!

And now, because I know you like to be challenged otherwise you wouldn’t be doing this quiz to learn French online, I will let you do a little homework. Yes homework really helps sinking in new information. So once you know which French woman you are, you can go read the result but it will be in French and you’ll have to figure out what it means in English! If you have a question, just leave it in the comment section. I warned you this was a French language course ha!

Majorité de @ Vous êtes Coco Chanel!

Femme fière, femme rebelle, même en cas de difficulté, votre combattivité vous permet de vous redresser toujours et vite. Certes, vous vous autorisez à baisser les bras mais vous rebondissez aussitôt. Un obstacle ne vous arrête pas, le travail ne vous fait pas peur: la réussite est votre chemin!
Ambitieuse, indépendante, et dotée d’une autoritaire naturelle, vous avez toutes les qualités pour être une grande femme d’affaires.
Cependant, n’oubliez pas d’exploiter votre côté créatif, il y a peut-être une grande artiste qui sommeille dans votre coeur.

Majorité de # Vous êtes Brigitte Bardot!

Libre, indépendante, et rebelle, vous n’avez pas peur d’affirmer vos idées originales. Vous ne craignez pas de prendre des risques. Quel que soit le prix à payer, vous foncez. De toutes façons la critique vous importe peu. L’opinion des autres ne changera pas vos convictions.
Si vous avez un petit côté sauvage, vous savez parfaitement bien l’équilibrer avec une sensualité et une coquetterie bouillonnantes.
Cependant, n’hésitez pas à partager votre générosité et à utiliser votre impétuosité au profit des plus vulnérables.

Majorité de + Vous êtes Charlotte Gainsbourg!

Vous êtes douce, tendre, souriante, naturelle, tout le monde vous adore. Femme enfant, vous aimez qu’on vous protège mais ne craignez rien, on adore vous protéger! Famille et amis sont toujours là pour vous.
Votre timidité et votre sensibilité à fleur de peau peuvent vous rendre vulnérable mais la vie vous a appris à transformer ce que vous pensiez être des défauts en atouts. Cette réalisation vous permet de réussir tout ce que vous entreprenez.
Vous n’osez pas toujours mais si quelqu’un qui compte énormément pour vous vous donne confiance, vous accomplissez de grandes choses.

Majorité de & Vous êtes Simone de Beauvoir!

Vous êtes femme et tenez à être reconnue en tant que telle. Vous réussissez et êtes parfaitement acceptée et reconnue dans les milieux dominés par les hommes.
Vous aimez autant apprendre que partager votre savoir. Vous êtes sûre de vous et défendez avec force vos idées, vous aimez convaincre, faire adhérer les autres à votre cause, vous seriez sans doute très à l’aise dans un métier lié à la connaissance ou à la politique.
Cela ne vous empêche pas, sans être superficielle , d’aimer séduire.

Majorité de % – Vous êtes Catherine Deneuve!

Vous pouvez vous montrer réservée voire secrète et même parfois distante. Que l’on ne s’y méprenne pas cette apparente distance cache une sensibilité bien réelle. Vous souhaitez de cette manière protéger votre famille et votre intimité.
Vous représentez l’idéal féminin: élégante, sophistiquée, femme fatale. À la fois traditionnelle et énigmatique, les créatifs voient en vous une muse. Décidée et audacieuse, vous savez vous entourer pour mener à bien vos projets.
Vous adorez mettre en valeur votre côté glamour et éprouveriez sans doute beaucoup de satisfaction dans des activités liées au spectacle. Si ce n’est pas déjà fait, lancez-vous!


————————————————————————————————

How to Conjugate Magic Verb FAIRE in French + Expressions

As part of my new shorter & simpler how to learn french online, I’ve decided to fully & clearly conjugate for you all the absolutely crucial basic French verbs, in the present tense, in 2 steps:

Step 1: just the verb, the whole verb conjugated with each subject.

Step 2: that same conjugated verb but this time in a sentence to give you context.

So far we’ve conjugated avoir, être, et aller, fell free to go back to these latest videos if you need  a little review, and this week we are going to conjugate another super important verb… FAIRE = TO DO / TO MAKE.

Why must you know FAIRE?

Think of how many times you use the verbs to do or to make in English!

Well, in French we say this even more! Why? Because we use faire in countless expressions and sayings, which in English are not translated by to do or to make.

I will share plenty of these expressions with you in french immersion course and french language learning .

Let’s conjugate faire in the present tense with every single subject pronoun, and then, I’ll put it in a short sentence USING these expressions so YOU can learn and use them. C’est parti!

Let’s conjugate FAIRE

To do / to make = Faire

That’s called the infinitive, l’infinitif, which means it is not conjugated. Now let’s conjugate it, in the present tense.

I do / I make = Je fais
I hike in the countryside with my dogs = Je fais de la randonnée avec mes chiens

So, to hike = faire de la randonnée

You do / you make = Tu fais (casual)
You always pack your bags at the last moment = Tu fais toujours tes valises au dernier moment

So, to pack one’s bags = faire ses valises

She does / she makes = Elle fait
Elle fait pipi avant de voyager car elle déteste les toilettes publiques  = She pees before traveling because she hates public bathrooms

So, to pee = faire pipi

He does / he makes = il fait
He’s sulking because she didn’t kiss him = Il fait la tête parce qu’elle ne l’a pas embrassé

So, to sulk = faire la tête

We do / we make = on fait
On is the singular subject pronoun for we. Is it strange to think of we as singular? Think of a unit, think of a couple. A couple is made up of 2 people so it’s plural yet you say “a couple IS” so it’s also singular. On is more used in spoken French, it’s the more casual way to say we.

We get into trouble every time our parents go out of town = On fait des bêtises chaque fois que nos parents s’absentent

So, to get into trouble = faire des bêtises

We do / we make = nous faisons
Nous is the plural subject pronoun for we. It’s less used in spoken French than on, which  we just saw, and it’s the more formal, the more proper way to say we.

*Just to be sure you understand, the above 2 sentences mean the exact same thing and that is “We are not going on vacation this year” The only difference is that “on” is more casual and “nous” is more “formal”

We get into trouble every time our parents go out of town = Nous faisons des bêtises chaque fois que nos parents s’absentent

Same sentence as the one above, same meaning, only this time, we, sound more formal.

On fait des bêtises chaque fois que nos parents s’absentent = Nous faisons des bêtises chaque fois que nos parents s’absentent

You do / you make = vous faites (formal or you all)
Why are you pretending to listen to me? = Pourquoi faites-vous semblant de m’écouter?

So, to pretend = faire semblant

They do / they make = Elles font (for an exclusively feminine group)
They ride their bikes every weekend = Elles font du vélo chaque week-end

So, to ride one’s bike = faire du vélo

They do / they make = Ils font (for a masculine or a mixed group)
They party all night long and I can’t sleep = Ils font la fête toute la nuit et je ne peux pas dormir

So, to party = faire la fête

Et voilà! So! What did I tell you? We use faire like in English when we want to express to do or to make but also for lots of expressions, which in English are not translated by to do or to make. That’s why it’s doubly important to know how to conjugate this verb without hesitation.You can easily do french language courses from our provided platform.

One more time!

FAIRE = TO DO, TO MAKE

je fais = I do / I make

tu fais = you do / you make (casual)

elle fait = she does / she makes

il fait = he does / he makes

on fait = we do / we make (singular + casual)

nous faisons = we do / we make (plural + formal)

vous faites = you do / you make (formal or you all)

elles font = they do / they make (feminine)

ils font = they do / they make (masculine or mixed)

——————————————————————————————

Today I’m going to help your French pronunciation. And because this new HOW TO series focuses on one thing per video, we’re going to concentrate on one letter only: the consonant R. I’m guessing it’s your favorite French letter, isn’t it? Many of you have asked for it so here it is.

I also need to tell you that if you like this video, I have recently launched my latest French Online Course to teach you How to Pronounce French consistently and confidently, step by step. In this course called Perfect Pronunciation, we cover every possible sound: vowels, consonants, nasals, digraphs, trigraphs, liaisons, apostrophes, end of words. Click here for more info and ways to join the course.

How to Pronounce the French ” R “

People get stuck on this letter. They either disregard it, often because they feel slightly embarrassed to try, or they over pronounce it because they try too hard. The French R is not the harsh sound that you think. You do not need to sound like you’re clearing your throat and about to spit on the sidewalk. Many years ago one of my students compared it to the English H. I had never thought it yet I instantly agreed with him! Clever student!

Let’s have a look with the color red. Do you know how to say red in French? Rouge. Listen to how I say it in the video above, does it sound more like an English H or like a throat cleaner???

Now let’s have a look at the technique

It’s done in the back of your mouth, at the beginning of your throat. Make the base of your tongue thicker, so that there isn’t too much space at the entrance of your throat.

Another tip to really feel where the R is happening, is to push your tongue against your lower teeth.

If you need extra help to definitely place your tongue down at the bottom of your mouth, you can also use a pen to push your tongue down. Ok so:

1- Extra thick base of the tongue
2- Tongue is stuck to the bottom of your mouth and
3- You can use a pen, to begin with, to really get a feel for it

I want you to notice how subtle it is and that’s it’s definitely closer to an English H than to the harsh R you may have been practicing so far. Same applies when the R is placed in the middle of a word.

Here are some more words for you to practice

delighted = ravi(e)

to be = être

restaurant (2 rs in there!) = restaurant

grands- parents = grandparents

Ok here’s the sentence are you ready?

I am delighted to be in a restaurant with my grandparents = Je suis ravie d’être au restaurant avec mes grand-parents

Good news, this is a video, you can go back, you can pause, you can play with all these words, as much as you want!

Relax

Now! Just relax. Even if it’s not perfect, people will understand you. Truly, they will. Chances are, the harder you try, the goofier it sounds. Plus you’ll be stopping half way through your sentence, repeating your word many times, and it’s when you do that that people don’t understand you and also can get impatient. Just say your sentence in one go it will sound a lot clearer than if you stop at every word, I promise!

Ready to take your French to the next level?

RECEIVE VIRGINIE’S FREE COURSE to Help You Become a little bit French in 3 Steps.

Learn French Online with Virginie via the French Truly Online School

Learn French in France with Virginie via the Full French Immersion Courses in France & in the US + soon coming to the UK 

Watch Testimonials from Virginie’s Happy Students!

Learn French online with Virginie

I launched French Truly’s online school in August 2018 and so far it’s a huge success! You can join whenever, either by buying the French online course(s) of your choice or by becoming a monthly member giving you access to my French Truly Online School from $10 / month. See more details about the membership at the bottom of this page 

Each French online course is packed with video & audio files along with written material, to make it as fun, easy, and user friendly as possible for you! Come and learn French online with me!