FrenchPod101.com Blog

Phrase One: Ça va? Ça va. ('How are you? I'm fine.') After greeting and saying hello to someone, you will need to ask how she or he is. It's a matter of politeness. The Question and Statement With ça and va: While in France you'll often hear these two sounds , which are part of the phrase Ça va ?, meaning "How are you?" Be aware though, these two tiny words can be either a question or a statement. To differentiate between the two, you need to listen to the speaker's intonation. When the intonation rises, it will be a question: Ça va ? ('How are you?') When the intonation is slightly falling or constant, it will be a statement: ça va ('I'm fine'). Phrase Two: S'il vous plaît. ('Please') This phrase is a must for anyone... Show more

You are learning French, but aside from grammar and vocabulary, you feel challenged by the pronunciation. what is the key to making all those uniquely French sounds? There are different categories of French sounds, and these the most unique ones to the language, and therefore, challenging. They are the following: Voyelles orales ("oral vowels") Voyelles antérieures ("front vowels") You produce them by placing your tongue to the front of your mouth, as in the English word "feet" and "stylo" (pen) in French. Voyelles centrales ("central vowels")place the tongue in the middle of your mouth, as in "pure" and "lune"(moon) in French. Voyelles postérieures ("back vowels") place your tongue in the back of your... Show more

Moms, Dads and Grads 15% Off Basic & Premium Subscriptions Coupon Code: MAY2JUNE | Redeem Now! May 2010 In this month's newsletter: 1. 5 New Innovative Language Sites are coming! What new languages will we be adding to the 101.com family?Click here to find out... 2. The Stars Collide in Cannes! The Cannes Film Festival has kicked off! Click here to read on...  3. BONUS French Audio Lesson!  We're back with another free audio lesson just for you! Click here to download and listen... Welcome to the FrenchPod101.com newsletter. We've been really busy gearing up for summer and Innovative Language Learning has a lot of news to share! Stay posted throughout the summer! These periodic newsletters will deliver to you... Show more

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 youknow 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. Here is a basic chart... Show more

You have been studying French for quite some time now...and you are doing such a fabulous job! However, if you are seated at the fancy French restaurant you have always wanted to try, and the waiter hands you a menu - completely in French - it could be quite confusing! The French alphabet is pretty peculiar and a bit different from the English writing system. It includes some unfamiliar markings you may not recognize: 1) Diacritics, or accent marks that help denote the characteric French pronunciation and intonation of words. They include: The acute accent (l'accent aigu)             ‹´› The grave accent (l'accent grave)          ‹`› The cedilla (la cédille)                               ‹¸› The circumflex... Show more

It is widely known that France has a beautiful culture and language, but did youknow the historical reason why French is a 'romance Language' is a result of wars and invasion? French language primarily descends from Latin, the language of the ancient Romans, and thus belongs to the 'romance' Language group. The Romans were a strong empire that once invaded the actual French territory, which was known as La Gaule; where numerous tribes speaking le Gaulois (Gaulish) composed of Celtic dialects inhabited La Gaule. Some traces of Gaulish influence are still present in the French spoken today; for example, these traces include the Gauls' ancient and unique way of counting people by twenty. (in modern French, we still have... Show more

1. 101 Million Downloads Reached!  On April 12th, FrenchPod101.com and Innovative Language Learning reached 101 million lesson downloads! Thanks to all the listeners for supporting us! The winners from our 101 Million Download contest have been picked and posted. Click here to see if you're a winner! 2. Did you get fooled? Pranks, jokes and lies oh my! - did you dodge them all on April Fool's Day? Click here to read more about this wacky holiday... 3. BONUS French Audio Lesson!  We're back with another free audio lesson just for you! We're going green with this month's theme. Click here to download and listen... Welcome to the FrenchPod101.com newsletter. Spring is here and the warm weather has been inspiring us... Show more

A BIG Thank you to all our listeners. 101 Lifetime Premium Subscriptions winners have been selected. Did you win? If you entered to win on our site, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, please check the winners lists here. Second Prize - EVERYONE GETS a second prize - Double Your Subscription for ONLY 101 pennies! This is a Very limited offer though. Please click here to see if it is still available for you.

Every month, we are giving away great FrenchPod101.com prizes to 4 lucky listeners. Sign up to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or FrenchPod101.com to be eligible to win. Increase your chances of winning by following us on all four sites! Here are March’s winners: Facebook: Carlos Macias Youtube: alice_lapinette Twitter: gonzelius FrenchPod101: gssq See your name here? Email us at contactus@FrenchPod101.com to claim your prize. Check back next month for April`s winners!

In this month's newsletter: 1. Knocking on 101 MILLION! FrenchPod101.com and our sister sites at Innovative Language Learning are fast approaching a big milestone - 101 MILLION lesson downloads! You could win a Premium LIFETIME Subscription! Best of all, you're already entered to win! Click here to find out more... 2. We're 2 Years Old! This month, FrenchPod101.com celebrated our 2 year anniversary and we have a present for you...Receive 20% OFF a Premium Subscription to FrenchPod101.com. Click here to to get the coupon code... 3. Best Lessons and Blog Entries for March! Find out what’s popular this month! The blog has great content for you to see. Welcome to the FrenchPod101.com newsletter. Spring is coming and we... Show more