Jottings

présent simple

I have "discovered" that the French présent simple can be translated by loads of different tenses in English. 1) present simple J'habite en France....

 8 avril 2010
 …

Flaw, defect, default, fault

What do these words have in common? Well, they can all be translated by "défaut" in French. flaw = a mistake/fault in something, that makes is...

 31 mars 2010
 …

Horoscope

Occasionally the horoscope is mentioned during the lessons, and I always get stuck when I have to name the astrological signs in English (mind...

 23 mars 2010
 …

WordReference.com

My favourite language website is www.wordreference.com . This website provides an online dictionary, and also language forums. On these forums...

 14 mars 2010
 …

Ski holiday

For those lucky enough to have gone skiing these last few weeks, here is some useful vocabulary: ski resort = station de ski slope = piste ski...

 28 février 2010
 …

verbs followed by "ing" or "to + infinitive".

Verbs followed by "ing": (example: I suggest going to the cinema tonight.) to finish to delay to give up to postpone to fancy to imagine to carry...

 17 février 2010
 …

verb + "-ing" or + "to infinitive"

This is always a tricky subject. Yesterday evening we had to"decide" if it was "I like going" or "I like to go". Now in fact, this is one of...

 17 février 2010
 …

you (thou)

Pe rsonally I really like the fact that in English there is no difference between "tu" and "vous". Here in France it's always complicated to...

 3 février 2010
 …

the Cotswolds

Sometimes students ask me where to go for a holiday in England. Well, my favourite region is the Cotswolds. You will find beautiful villages,...

 28 janvier 2010
 …

make or do?

The French verb "faire" can be translated by "to make" or "to do"! And it is not easy to know which one to choose! 1) to do (when you talk about...

 28 janvier 2010
 …

personal / personnel

The French adjective "personnel" can be translated by "personal" and "personnel". personal: (Fr: personnel /individuel /particulier...) the personal...

 28 janvier 2010
 …

un stage

The word "stage" is often used in France, and there is no exact translation for this word in English. You can identify two meanings: 1) un stage...

 20 janvier 2010
 …

Pronunciation of "i"

It's not easy to find a rule that will help English language learners to know how to pronounce the letter "i". We will talk here about the letter...

 16 janvier 2010
 …

Zéro

Now it would have been easy if in English you could just translate it by zero. Well, you can, but not always. 1) You say "zero": for the number:...

 6 janvier 2010
 …

Pronunciation of "gh"

The "gh" at the end of a word is rarely pronounced, in fact they are silent letters. Some examples of words where you don't pronounce them :...

 4 janvier 2010
 …

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>