Learn how to talk about discontinued activities
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam: And today I’m joined here by? |
| Céline: Céline, bonjour. |
| Sam: Bonjour. And? |
| Alex: Et Alexandre. Bonjour Céline, bonjour Sam! |
| Céline: With us, you’ll learn how to speak French like a native. |
| Sam: Fantastic. |
| Céline: Fabuleux. |
| Sam: Fabulous, of course. |
| Céline: What’s today’s lesson about? |
| Sam: This lesson is a follow up to the last lesson. We’re still doing negations, but we’re adding more things this time. |
| Céline: D’accord. So this conversation takes place at home? |
| Sam: Yes, and it’s between Nicolas and his friend’s mother. |
| Céline: Alex, are you sleeping? |
| Alex: No. |
| Céline: Good. Okay, so let’s listen to the conversation. |
| Sam: So, let’s listen to today’s conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Alex: Je ne bois plus. |
| Céline: Pourquoi? |
| Alex: Je ne mange plus. |
| Céline: Pourquoi? |
| Alex: Berk ça pue! |
| Sam: Now, one more time, slowly. |
| Alex: Je ne bois plus. |
| Céline: Pourquoi? |
| Alex: Je ne mange plus. |
| Céline: Pourquoi? |
| Alex: Berk ça pue! |
| Sam: Now, with the English. |
| Alex: Je ne bois plus. |
| Sam: “I don’t drink anymore.” |
| Céline: Pourquoi? |
| Sam: “Why?” |
| Alex: Je ne mange plus. |
| Sam: “I don’t eat anymore.” |
| Céline: Pourquoi? |
| Sam: “Why?” |
| Alex: Berk ça pue! |
| Sam: “Yuck, it stinks.” |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sam: So guys, what’s the relationship between kids and parents in France? Can you talk about anything with your parents or any topics taboo or off limits? |
| Alex: Personally, I came from a quite strict family, so there’s some things that I wouldn’t talk with my parents, for example. |
| Sam: Like what? |
| Céline: Like sex, maybe? |
| Alex: Well, this kind of things. |
| Céline: It depends on the family, but now, in France you can talk with your parents easily about everything. |
| Sam: Oh really? |
| Céline: Yes, I think so. It’s better to talk to your parents than with friends. I mean - |
| Sam: Yeah, why not? You should better talk to your parents about almost anything, right? |
| Céline: I think so, too. |
| Sam: Now let’s take a look at the vocabulary and phrases from this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: The first item is? |
| Céline: Boire. |
| Sam: “To drink”. |
| Céline: Boire. Boire. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Alex: Pourquoi? |
| Sam: “Why?” |
| Alex: Pourquoi? Pourquoi? |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Manger. |
| Sam: “To eat”. |
| Céline: Manger. Manger. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Alex: Puer. |
| Sam: “To stink”. |
| Alex: Puer. Puer. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Ne plus. |
| Sam: “Not anymore”. |
| Céline: Ne plus. Ne plus. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Alex: Ca pue. |
| Sam: “It stinks”. |
| Alex: Ca pue. Ca pue. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sam: Now, let’s have a closer look at these lovely items from today’s lesson. The first one is? |
| Céline: Je ne bois plus, from Nicolas. He seems quite a daring and shameless kid, right? |
| Sam: Remind me. What does it mean? |
| Céline: It means “I don’t drink anymore.” |
| Alex: Well, I usually say this when I have a hangover. |
| Céline: Je ne bois plus. |
| Alex: Exactly. |
| Sam: So, the verb “to drink” is? |
| Alex: Boire. It’s a verb from the third group. Boire includes all beverages. |
| Céline: Boissons, “beverages”. Not to be confused with “poisson” meaning “fish”. Boissons: “beverages”, poisson: “fish”. |
| Sam: What about “poison”? |
| Céline: “Poison” is “poison”. |
| Sam: Oh, maybe we shouldn’t drink that. |
| Céline: No, I think so. |
| Alex: Okay, okay guys. The next is : “pourquoi”? |
| Sam: “Why?” |
| Céline: In the dialogue, Nicolas doesn’t answer but - Okay, if you have to answer to the question “why”, you usually say : parce que. |
| Sam: “Because”, but that’s not really an answer. |
| Céline: But then you have to ask something. Okay, let’s see an example. |
| Alex: Par exemple: Pourquoi tu ne bois plus Céline? |
| Sam: “Why don’t you drink anymore, Céline?” |
| Céline: Parce que je n’ai plus soif. |
| Sam: “Because I’m not thirsty anymore.” That sounds logical to me. |
| Céline: After “to drink”, “boire”, we had “to eat”: “manger”. In the dialogue it’s: Je ne mange plus. |
| Sam: “I don’t eat anymore.” |
| Alex: And no, it’s not the French man called Sylvain on a hunger strike saying it. Right? |
| Céline: Yeah, I think you’re right. So, an example? With “manger”, “to eat”? |
| Alex: Pourquoi tu ne manges plus Céline? Tu n’as plus faim? |
| Sam: “Why don’t you eat anymore, Céline? You are no longer hungry?” |
| Céline: Parce que je suis au régime. |
| Sam: “Because I’m on a diet.” |
| Alex: Quoi? Tu es au régime? |
| Céline: C’est une blague. It’s a joke. |
| Sam: I hope so. Well, what’s the following phrase in this dialogue? |
| Alex: Well, the following phrase is “ça pue” meaning “It stinks.” Finally, Nicolas is telling why he’s not eating or drinking anymore. |
| Sam: I heard the subway stinks in Paris. Is that true? |
| Alex: Well, yes, especially in summer when everybody’s sweating. Some subway lines are old and the ventilation is not as efficient as it should be. |
| Céline: What are you talking about? N’importe quoi! Nonsense. Why don’t you also say that the French people are dirty and they don’t know about deodorant? Another butt cliché of France, we are not in Louis 14th times when nobody took a shower and used only perfume. French people are not like that anymore. |
| Alex: Okay, I know that. But, “ça pue” is familiar, so be careful when you use it. And for formal occasions, please use “ça sent mauvais”. |
| Sam: “It smells bad.” |
| Céline: Or you can say – I think its better: Ca ne sent pas bon. |
| Sam: “It doesn’t smell good.” But you always smell good Céline. Do French people often use perfume like in Louis Quatorze times? |
| Céline: Yes a lot, every day. And we have different perfumes, depending on the mood, the weather, the season or where are you going. |
| Alex: So, what kind of perfume are you wearing today, Céline? |
| Céline: Poison. |
| Alex: But it means “poison”, right? |
| Sam: Well actually I think it’s a cheaper perfume from - No, I’m joking. |
| Céline: Non, non... Hypnotic poison, Christian Dior. |
| Alex: How about you, Sam? |
| Sam: I have on Fendi. |
| Alex: Fendi? |
| Sam: Yes. |
| Céline: Oh, Sam, I want to ask you something. When you are with French team, you use French perfume not Italian. |
| Sam: But what about the Axe spray? |
| Céline: I said perfume, I didn’t say spray. |
| Sam: Okay, well, it’s a little bit expensive so I have to save up for it. |
| Céline: Okay, I’ll buy you one for your birthday. |
| Sam: Okay, thanks. So, besides talking about smell and sense and odor, what’s next? |
| Alex: Oh, the fact that I’m sleepy and I want to be a millionaire and I don’t want to work anymore. |
| Céline: Nice, moi aussi, me too. And that brings us back to our dialogue, with our first phrase: Je ne bois plus. |
| Sam: “I don’t drink anymore.” |
| Alex: “Not” and “anymore” is our grammar point today. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Céline: So, to use the negative “not anymore” in French, we use “ne” for “not” and “plus” for “anymore.” |
| Sam: Oh, and again the sandwich. “Ne” plus conjugated verb plus “plus”. Can you give us some examples, Alex? |
| Alex: Bien sûr! Je ne mange plus de viande. |
| Sam: “I don’t eat meat anymore.” |
| Céline: Je ne regarde plus la télé. |
| Sam: “I don’t watch TV anymore.” And what about that the verbs starts with a vowel? |
| Alex: In that case you may use “n” apostrophe, plus verb plus “plus”. |
| Céline: As in : Je n’aime plus Alex. |
| Sam: “I don’t love Alex anymore.” |
| Alex: Ah bon? I didn’t know you loved me before. |
| Céline: Yes, I did. |
| Sam: So, the main difference between “ne pas” from the previous lesson and ne plus” is that something that you used to do that you don’t do anymore, right? |
| Céline: Right, Sam. Let’s hear an example. Je n’ai pas d’argent. |
| Sam: “I don’t have any money.” |
| Céline: Je n’ai plus d’argent. |
| Sam: “I don’t have money anymore.” It’s quite easy. Do we have other negation adverbs like “ne pas” and “ne plus”? |
| Alex: Yes, adverbs, adjectives, but we will learn them progressively. If you can use “ne pas” and “ne plus” it’s a big step ahead. |
| Céline: Oui Alex. Another thing about “ne plus”, you don’t pronounce the “s” at the end of “plus” only when it’s used as “anymore”. When you pronounce the “s” as in “plus” it means “in addition”. “Plus”, in English. |
| Sam: Ah. So don’t pronounce the “s” in when it’s used as a negation. Great, thanks a lot. |
Outro |
| Sam: And that brings us to the end of today’s lesson. |
| Alex: Au revoir à tous! |
| Sam: Until the next time, bye-bye. |
| Céline: Au revoir! |
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