Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Eric: I'm Eric.
Yasmine: And I'm Yasmine!
Eric: Expressions Starting With A Reflexive Verb. In this lesson, you'll learn Expressions Starting With A Reflexive Verb.
Eric: Remember to conjugate the verbs according to the subject you are describing.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
Eric: The expressions you will be learning in this lesson are:
Yasmine: se casser
Yasmine: se mettre sur son trente-et-un
Yasmine: se tourner les pouces
Yasmine: se planter
Eric: Yasmine, what's our first expression?
Yasmine: se casser
Eric: literally meaning "break oneself." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "to get out of here."
Yasmine: [SLOW] se casser [NORMAL] se casser
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: se casser
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you are about to leave or get out of your current location. It is quite a strong word, so it’s better to use it only with people you are close with.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Après le dîner je me casse, je ne reste pas pour le film. [SLOW] Après le dîner je me casse, je ne reste pas pour le film.
Eric: "After dinner I am out of here, I am not staying for the movie."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Après le dîner je me casse, je ne reste pas pour le film.
Eric: Okay, what's the next expression?
Yasmine: se mettre sur son trente-et-un
Eric: literally meaning "to put oneself on their thirty-one." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "to dress to the nines."
Yasmine: [SLOW] se mettre sur son trente-et-un [NORMAL] se mettre sur son trente-et-un
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: se mettre sur son trente-et-un
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you talk about dressing up really nicely. This is a very nice compliment to make to anybody.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Tout le monde s'est mis sur son trente-et-un pour le mariage. [SLOW] Tout le monde s'est mis sur son trente-et-un pour le mariage.
Eric: "Everyone dressed up for the wedding."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Tout le monde s'est mis sur son trente-et-un pour le mariage.
Eric: Okay, what's our next expression?
Yasmine: se tourner les pouces
Eric: literally meaning "to turn one's thumbs" But when it's used as a slang expression it means "twiddle one's thumbs."
Yasmine: [SLOW] se tourner les pouces [NORMAL] se tourner les pouces
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: se tourner les pouces
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you have nothing to do while waiting for something to happen, just staying put doing nothing.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Arrête de te tourner les pouces et viens m'aider! [SLOW] Arrête de te tourner les pouces et viens m'aider!
Eric: "Stop twiddling your thumbs and come help me!"
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Arrête de te tourner les pouces et viens m'aider!
Eric: Okay, what's the last expression?
Yasmine: se planter
Eric: literally meaning "plant oneself." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "get something wrong."
Yasmine: [SLOW] se planter [NORMAL] se planter
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Yasmine: se planter
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you talk about getting something wrong, or making a mistake. Be careful not to mix it up with
Yasmine: planter
Eric: by itself, which means "to plant".
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Il s'est planté de direction du train et est arrivé avec une demi-heure de retard. [SLOW] Il s'est planté de direction du train et est arrivé avec une demi-heure de retard.
Eric: "He got the train direction wrong and arrived half an hour late."
Yasmine: [NORMAL] Il s'est planté de direction du train et est arrivé avec une demi-heure de retard.
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 wear classy clothes.
Yasmine: se mettre sur son trente-et-un
Eric: "to dress to the nines"
Eric: You leave somewhere, you don’t want to stay there.
Yasmine: se casser
Eric: "to get out of here"
Eric: You want to meet your friends at exit C but accidentally go to exit A.
Yasmine: se planter
Eric: "get something wrong"
Eric: Your friends are doing all the work while you just watch without helping.
Yasmine: se tourner les pouces
Eric: "twiddle one's thumbs"

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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