Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Eric: I'm Eric.
Yasmine: And I'm Yasmine!
Eric: Expressions Starting With The Verb Avoir. In this lesson, you'll learn Expressions Starting With The Verb Avoir. Remember to conjugate the verb avoir meaning “to have” according to the subject you are describing.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
Eric: The expressions you will be learning in this lesson are:
Yasmine: avoir la patate
Yasmine: avoir un coup de barre
Yasmine: avoir le coup de foudre
Yasmine: avoir un petit creux
Eric: Yasmine, what's our first expression?
Yasmine: avoir la patate
Eric: literally meaning "have the potato." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "be all fired up."
Yasmine: [SLOW] avoir la patate [NORMAL] avoir la patate
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: avoir la patate
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to talk about someone who is full of energy.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Il a la patate aujourd'hui. [SLOW] Il a la patate aujourd'hui.
Eric: "He is all fired up today."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Il a la patate aujourd'hui.
Eric: Okay, what's the next expression?
Yasmine: avoir un coup de barre
Eric: literally meaning "to have a knock of bar.." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "feel tired all of a sudden."
Yasmine: [SLOW] avoir un coup de barre [NORMAL] avoir un coup de barre
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: avoir un coup de barre
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you feel tired all of a sudden for no reason, like getting hit by a bar and being knocked-out.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Je ne sais pas pourquoi j'ai un gros coup de barre. [SLOW] Je ne sais pas pourquoi j'ai un gros coup de barre.
Eric: "I don't know why I feel extremely tired all of a sudden."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Je ne sais pas pourquoi j'ai un gros coup de barre.
Eric: Okay, what's our next expression?
Yasmine: avoir le coup de foudre
Eric: literally meaning "have the lightning strike." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "fall in love at first sight."
Yasmine: [SLOW] avoir le coup de foudre [NORMAL] avoir le coup de foudre
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: avoir le coup de foudre
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you talk about love at first sight. In France it is compared to a lightning strike knocking someone over. Be careful not to mix it up with
Yasmine: coup de foudre
Eric: on its own, which literally means "lightning strike" when there is a big storm.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Ils ont eu le coup de foudre. [SLOW] Ils ont eu le coup de foudre.
Eric: "They fell in love at first sight."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Ils ont eu le coup de foudre.
Eric: Okay, what's the last expression?
Yasmine: avoir un petit creux
Eric: literally meaning "to have a little hollow." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "feel peckish."
Yasmine: [SLOW] avoir un petit creux [NORMAL] avoir un petit creux
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: avoir un petit creux
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you start to get hungry, as if you had a hollow in your stomach.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Dis-moi quand tu commences à avoir un petit creux, que je commence à préparer le dîner. [SLOW] Dis-moi quand tu commences à avoir un petit creux, que je commence à préparer le dîner.
Eric: "Tell me when you are feeling peckish, so I can start making dinner."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Dis-moi quand tu commences à avoir un petit creux, que je commence à préparer le dîner.
QUIZ
Eric: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I will describe four situations, and you will choose the right expression to use in your reply. Are you ready?
Eric: You were feeling fine, but just had lunch, which made you suddenly sleepy.
Yasmine: avoir un coup de barre
Eric: "feel tired all of a sudden"
Eric: You feel very good, better than usual.
Yasmine: avoir la patate
Eric: "be all fired up"
Eric: You start to get hungry.
Yasmine: avoir un petit creux
Eric: "feel peckish"
Eric: You see someone for the first time and immediately fall in love with that person.
Yasmine: avoir le coup de foudre
Eric: "fall in love at first sight"

Outro

Eric: There you have it; you have mastered four French Slang Expressions! Thanks everyone, and see you next time!
Yasmine: Au revoir!

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