Just as an engine helps a car move, mastering basic grammar helps you express yourself and communicate your ideas clearly. The more you know about the engine parts, the more you can improve your engine's capacity. Similarly, the more you know grammar, the better your French will be! French grammar has the reputation of being boring and complicated, but it's not so terrible. The main difficulties are the word genders and the conjugation system (shared by all Romance languages). It is just a matter of remembering some basic rules that will reduce your chances of making the most common French grammar mistakes. The most common one is gender. In French, all nouns have a gender, either masculine or feminine. A basic rule for nouns and... Show more

In this series of mini-lesson tweets on Twitter, we help you perfect your house-related vocabulary to become a master in knowing French homes. Here is the recap of this week’s phrases for your reference: If you are lucky and have a backyard, "un jardin", you can sunbathe in the summer. And if you don't have a backyard, you can still open "la fenêtre", "the window", for some fresh air. Take a look at your neighbor's life by getting up "le toit", 'the roof". What do you do with your "garage", "garage"? Park your car? Store your things? You are "casanier" (male) or "casanière" (female) if you are a homebody "Je suis casanière en hiver." In the winter I am being a homebody. Enjoy!

In this series of mini-lesson tweets on Twitter, we help you perfect your house-related vocabulary to become a master in knowing French homes. Here is the recap of this week’s phrases for your reference: Where you hang out with family and friends : "le salon", "the living-room". Where the magic happens (or not) : "la cuisine", "the kitchen". Where the magic also happens (or not) : "la chambre", "the bedroom". Have you ever waited for someone to get out of the bahtroom, "la salle de bain"? Usually in France the bathroom is separated from "les toilettes", "the restrooms". It's always nicer to work from home, in your  "bureau", "office". Hope you enjoyed!  

In this series of mini-lesson tweets on Twitter, we help you perfect your media-related vocabulary in order to beat French people at conversing about the news.  Here is the recap of this week’s phrases for your reference: When you don't want to stain your fingers with newspaper's ink: "Je lis l'actualité en ligne.", "I read the news online." An easy one: "un magazine" is "a magazine"...but it's always good to know. You probably know that French people hate to find a typo, "une coquille", in their newspaper. To talk about all newspapers in general: "la presse écrite". "La presse écrite attire moins de lecteurs." "Newspapers are attracting less readers." Do you follow the news, "l'actualité"? "L'actualité de la semaine est... Show more

It is always useful to know the slang for "money" in a foreign language, if only not to get ripped off and to understand when people talk about what is in your wallet...  So many different ways to say "money" in French! Those greedy French.  Before we get to those words I would like to mention a French argot specialist. His name is Michel Audiard and even if you probably never heard this name before, you need to know that he is one of France's pride. Michel Audiard (Born in 1920, died in 1985) was a famous screenwriter who is known for his acid, humorous, and "argotique" writing. And, if you happened to watch movies written by Michel Audiard, you surely came across  a multitude of French money-related slang. If you would like to... Show more

In this series of mini-lesson tweets on Twitter, we help you perfect your media-related vocabulary in order to beat French people at conversing about the news.  Here is the recap of this week’s phrases for your reference: If you're reading a trashy French magazine, then you're reading "un torchon", which is also the word for "a dish cloth".  You want to say you know what is going on throughout the world? Then say "Je suis au courant", "I am current with the news". When TV disappoints us, "Mon émission préférée ne passe plus.", "My favorite TV show is not on anymore." An easy one : "un site internet" is "a website"..."Ce site internet est incontournable.", "This website is a must see." Hey couch potatoes! A word for... Show more

Have you ever heard of the word l'argot? You might have heard of it as being the French slang. Well, it is true to some extent. But there is more to l'argot than just being slang.  Today we'll introduce you to one argot French word. But before we do, let's talk about what l'argot really is. The initial meaning appeared in the XVIIth century in France to generally designate professional thieves, beggars and  bohemians.  This group of people was literally called l'argot. The word evolved to later designate the language used by this group of people. Just like any social group, they would use a vocabulary that would only exist among themselves. Now, having their own language not only identified each other as a group, it also allowed... Show more

Here is a post for our advanced students. It is going to be in French only. If you feel like you need a translation, please leave a comment and we'll fix that! Voici un article pour nos étudiants avancés. Ou plutôt…voici un jeu pour nos nos étudiants avancés!   Vous avez déjà certainement entendu parler du Logo Rallye. Non? Là, vous vous dites: mais qu’est-ce qu’elle raconte? Le Logo Rallye est un jeu littéraire inventé par le mouvement de l’OuLiPo – Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle. Et là vous vous dites: L’Ouli-quoi?? Commençons donc par le commencement. En 1960, Raymond Queneau, poète et écrivain français, fonde avec François Le Lyonnais, un mathématicien, français lui aussi, l’Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle. Ce groupe... Show more

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from everyone here at FrenchPod101.com! We're grateful to have listeners just like you, and we're eagerly waiting for the upcoming year to learn French together! And when the New Year comes around, be sure to make a resolution to study French with FrenchPod101.com! Have a healthy and happy holiday season. From Celine, Sam, Angele and the whole FrenchPod101.com Team!