Lesson # 190 I Am Wearing

porter (pohr tay) -to wear (clothing), to carry, to bring


We will deal with the wearing of clothes in this lesson.


Je porte (zhuh pohrt) -I wear, I am wearing
tu portes (too pohrt) -you wear, you are wearing (when speaking to a friend or family member)
il porte (eel pohrt) -he wears, he is wearing
nous portons (noo pohr tohn) -we wear, we are wearing
vouz portez (voo pohr tay) -you wear, you are wearing (when speaking to someone you do not now well)
ils portent (eel pohrt) -they are wearing (when speaking of an all male or mixed male & female group)
elles portent (ell pohrt) -they are wearing (when speaking of an all female group)


Je porte une chemise brune (zhuh pohrt oon sheh meez broon) -I am wearing a brown shirt.
il porte un manteau noir (eel pohrt uhn mahn toh nwah) -He is wearing a black coat.
tu portes un chapeau bleu (too pohrt uhn shah poh bluh) -You are wearing a blue hat.

Children's Word of the Day - Birthday

Quick Phrase of the Day - When Are You Leaving?

Quand partez-vous? (kahn pahr tay voo) -When are you leaving?


Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.


Vocabulary word of the day:
doigt (dwaht) -finger


un doigt (uhn dwaht) -a finger
le doigt (leh dwaht) -the finger
mon doigt (mohn dwaht) -my finger
mes doigts (my fingers) -my fingers

Must See French Film - Ascenseur pour l'échafaud

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud is a 1958 French film directed by Louis Malle. It was released as Elevator to the Gallows in the USA and as Lift to the Scaffold in the UK. It stars Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as criminal lovers whose perfect crime begins to unravel when Ronet is trapped in an elevator. The film is often associated by critics with the film noir style.
The central characters, lovers Florence Carala and Julien Tavernier (Moreau and Ronet), plan the perfect crime — the murder of Florence's husband, Simon Carala. The murderer, Julien, an ex-Foreign Legion parachutist officer veteran of Indochina and Algeria, rappels up the office block on a rope to kill Carala in his office without being seen, but on going to his car, realizes he left the rope dangling outside the building. Leaving his expensive car unlocked and with the keys in the ignition, he returns to remove the evidence, but in doing so becomes trapped in the lift as the building closes down for the weekend.


A very Hitchcock type film. Great soundtrack by Miles Davis

Quick Phrase of the Day - Where Is My Shirt? It Is In The Closet

Où est ma chemise? Elle est dans le placard. (oo ay  mah sheh meez ell ay dahn leh plah kahr) -Where is my shirt. It is in the closet.


Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.


Vocabulary word of the day:
chemise (sheh meez) -shirt


une chemise (oon sheh meez) -a shirt
ma chemise (mah sheh meez) -my shirt
la chemise (lah sheh meez) -the shirt
les chemises (lay sheh meez) -the shirts

Quick Phrases of the Day - New

nouveau (noo voh) -new (for a male word) nouvelle ((noo vell) -new (for a female word)


J'ai une nouvelle voiture (zhay oon noo vell vwah churr) -I have a new car
J'ai un nouveau portable (zhay uhn noo voh pohr tah bluh) -I have a new laptop

Quick Phrases of the Day - Old

vieux (vee ew) -old (for a male word) vielle (vee ell) -old (for a female word)


Le livre, c'est un vieux (leh lee vruh seht uhn vee ew) the book is old
La bicyclette, c'est une vielle (lah bee see kleht) the bicycle is old.


L'homme est vieux (lohm ay vee ew) -the man is old
La femme est vielle (lah fehm ay vee ell) -the woman is old

Lesson # 188 Breathing Problems

J'ai un problème respiratoire (zhay uhn proh blehm rehs pee rah twah) -I am having trouble breathing. 
J'ai quelques difficultés à entendre (zhay kell kuh deefee kuhl tayz ah ahn tahn druh) -I am having some difficulty hearing 
Prenez une grande inspiration (preh nay oon grahnd ahn speer ay shee ohn) -take a deep breath 
Je ne prend pas une grande inspiration (zhuh neh prahn pahz oon grahnd ahn speer ay shee ohn) -I can not take a deep breath
Je ne prend pas une grande inspiration sans beaucoup tousser (zhuh neh prahn pahz oon grahnd ahn speer ay shee ohn sahn boh koo too say) -I can not take a deep breath with out coughing a lot.

Children's Word of the Day - Soap

Quick Phrase of the Day - I Am Preparing A Picnic For The Weekend

Je prépare un pique-nique pour le week-end
(zhuh pray pehr uhn peek neek pohr leh week ehn) -I am preparing a picnic for the weekend.


Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.


Vocabulary word of the day:
un coup de téléphone (uhn koo deh tay lay fohn) -a telephone call

The French Frankenstein

Renowned film writer Jean-Claude Carrière’s approach to continuing the adventures of Mary Shelley’s immortal Frankenstein Monster character was startingly different from both the Universal and Hammer versions.

In six novels written in 1957 and 1958 for "Angoisse", the horror imprint of French publisher, Fleuve Noir,Carrière followed the footsteps of the Monster, christened “Gouroull”, as he made his way back from Iceland, to Scotland, and then Germany and Switzerland, from the late 1800s to the 1920s.

Unlike its predecessors, Carrière’s Monster is a ruthless, demoniacal thing, the very incarnation of evil.  His yellow, unblinking eyes hide a cunning, inhuman intelligence.  The Monster barely speaks, but uses his razor-sharp teeth to slit his victims’ throats.  Carrière emphasizes the physical inhumanity of the creature: the Monster does not breathe, its skin is white as chalk but strangely impervious to flames, its strength and speed are prodigious, what runs in is veins is not blood, and it has no normal heartbeat; even its thought process is shown to be alien.

The plots have the Monster pursuing his own, evil agenda, generally unafraid of the weaker humanity, and woe to anyone standing in his way.  Even people who try to help or reason with him are just as likely to be killed by the inhuman fiend.  

In 1972, French comics publisher Aredit (which also published translations of DC and Marvel material, as well as "Atomos" and "Meteor") devoted seven issues of its digest-sized "Hallucinations" horror comic magazine to adapt Carrière's Frankenstein novels.  

Lesson # 187 "I Will Be Talking To..."

Je lui parlerai à 20 heures ce soir (zhuh loo ee pahr leh ray ah vahnt urr) - I will be speaking to him at 10 o'clock tonight.
Je leur parlerai plus tard (zhuh lurr pahr lurr ay ploo tahr) -I will be speaking to them later.
Je te parlerai encore demain (zhuh teh pahr lurr ay ahn kohr deh mahn) -I will speak to you again tomorrow.
Je vous parlerai plus tard après le déjeuner ( zhuh voo pahr lurr ay  ploo tahr ah pray leh day zhuh nay) -I will speak to you later after lunch -to a group of people 
Je te parlerai après demain (zhuh teh pahr lurr ay ah pray deh mahn) -I will talk to you the day after tomorrow) 

Children's Word of the Day - Window

Quick Phrase of the Day - The Package Is On The Table

Le paquet est sur la table (leh pah kat ay surr lah tah bluh) The package is on the table.


Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.


Vocabulary word of the day:
une boîte de nuit (oon bwaht deh noo ee) -a nightclub

Lesson # 186 Phrases with "Jusqu'a"

Jusqu'a can mean until, so far, till, up until now.


Some phrases with jusqu'a:


jusqu'a nouvel ordre (zhuhs kuh noo vehl ohr druh) until further notice
jusqu’a présent (zhuhs kuh pray zhahn) up until now
tu vas attendre jusqu'a quand? (too vahz ah tahn druh zhuhs kuh kahn) How long are you going to wait? (literally: You are going to wait until when?)
jusqu'a là, tout va bien (zhuhs kuh lah too vah bee ehn) -so far so good
jusqu'au bout (zhuhs kaw boo) to the end, until the end

Welcome!

Hi, just wanted to welcome any newcomers here. Hope you enjoy this site as much as I like creating it. It's just a simple, easy site to learn some French. You will not become fluent here. My goal here was to make a site where I would practice one easy lesson or phrase a day, and hopefully some of what I practice I would remember. It does work. I can safely say, I understand more French than I did 2 years ago when I started this site. If you really want to learn, use this site as an extra learning tool. But do as I do. Anytime you see something listed here, look up in the dictionaries, other sites, and other French books, to keep building on your knowledge.


As I have said, I am still not fluent in French (that may take my whole lifetime to achieve), but I feel I can stumble around France and be somewhat understood. That is the real goal here. To learn words and phrases needed so that if we were visiting France, we would not have to rely on finding someone who speaks English to get around.


One more note: I am not perfect. I tend to use sentences here that come from books and French forums. Neither are perfect. The things I have found in books are not always correct. Many thanks to people like Isabelle, Sylvie, Ori and many others who constantly help me with corrections. Always check back a day or 2 later to make sure I haven't changed any posts that might have been incorrect. Sometimes the corrections are even subtle ones, with my friends telling me of even better ways of saying a phrase.


So once again, have fun with this site, and have fun learning French!
ton ami, Roy

Children's Word of the Day - Neck

In the Pharmacy

Où sont les lames de rasoir? (ooh sohn lay lahm deh rah swa) Where are the razors? 

Où sont les lavons? (ooh sohn lay lah vohn) Where are the soaps? 

Où sont les mouchoirs en papier? (ooh sohn lay moo shwar ahn pah pee yay) Where are the tissues? 

Où est le dentifrice? (ooh ay leh dahn tee freece) Where is the toothpaste? 

Où est le déodorant? (ooh ay le day oh doh rahn) Where is the deoderant? 

Où sont les couches? (ooh sohn lay koosh) Where are the diapers?

Où sont les préservatifs? (ooh sohn lay pray serve ah teef) Where are the condoms?

Must See French Film -Les Visiteurs

Les Visiteurs ("The Visitors") is a cult French film directed by Jean-Marie Poiré and released in 1993. In this comedy, a 12th-century knight and his servant travel in time to the end of the 20th century and find themselves adrift in modern society.

Les Visiteurs was the Number 1 box office film in France in 1993. The publicity for the film used the tagline Ils ne sont pas nés d'hier ("They weren't born yesterday").

Reno and Clavier later reprised their roles in a sequel, and an American remake of the movie entitled Just Visiting.

If you rent this film, rent the French version, it is much better than the remake.

Children's Word of the Day - Table

Babar the Elephant

Babar the Elephant is a very popular French children's fictional character who first appeared in L'Histoire de Babar by Jean de Brunhoff in 1931, and enjoyed immediate success. English language versions, entitledThe Story of Babar, appeared in 1933 in Britain and the United States. The story is based on a tale that Brunhoff's wife, Cecile, had invented for their children. It tells of a young elephant called Babar who leaves the jungle, visits a big city, and returns to bring the benefits of civilization to his fellow elephants.

Jean de Brunhoff published 6 more stories before his premature death in 1937 at the age of 37. His sonLaurent de Brunhoff was also a talented writer and illustrator and he carried on the series from 1946 withBabar et Le Coquin d'Arthur and many more.

An animated TV series was produced by Nelvana Limited and Clifford Ross Company, and originally ran from January 3, 1989 to June 5, 1991. There were 78 episodes.

Story synopsis

After Babar witnesses the slaughter of his beloved mother, he flees from the jungle and finds his way toParis where he is befriended by the Old Lady. Babar eventually returns to the Elephant realm following the death of the previous King, who had eaten some poisonous mushrooms. Babar is crowned king, marries his 3rd cousin twice removed Celeste, and founds the city of Celesteville. Babar, who likes to wear a bright green suit, introduces a very French form of western civilization to the elephants, and causes them to dress in western attire.

Children's Phrase of the Day - I Wake Up At 7:00

Quick Phrase of the Day - Are You Interested In Modern Art?

Vous intéressez-vous à l’art moderne? (vooz ahn teh rehce ay vooz ah lahrt mah durn) -Are you interested in Modern Art?


Repeat this phrase all day long till you know it by heart.


Vocabulary word of the day:
une colle (oon kohl) -a glue

Children's Word of the Day - Gift

François Truffaut _French Director

François Truffaut  was one of the founders of the French New Wave in filmmaking, and remains an icon of theFrench film industry. In a film career lasting just over a quarter of a century, he was screenwriter,director, producer or actor in over twenty-five films.

The 400 Blows  is considered his best film, one of the top french films ever. It was released in 1959 to much critical and commercial acclaim. Truffaut received a Best Director award from the Cannes Film Festival, the same festival that had banned him only one year earlier. The film follows the character of Antoine Doinel through his perilous misadventures in school, an unhappy home life and later reform school. The film is highly autobiographical. Both Truffaut and Doinel were only children of loveless marriages; they both committed petty crimes of theft and truancy from the military. Truffaut cast Jean-Pierre Léaud as Antoine Doinel. Léaud was just an ordinary guy who auditioned for the role after seeing a flyer.

Ohter must see films of his are: Jule & Jim, Shoot The Piano Player, Day For Night, The Story Of Adele H, & The Last Metro

Lesson #185 -All Hands!

une main (oon mahn) -a hand
haut les mains! (hoh lay mahn) -hands up!
main dans la main (mahn dahn lah mahn) -hand in hand
aux mains de... (oh mahn deh) -at the hands of...
as-tu besoin d'un coup de main (ah too beh swahn  duhn koo deh mahn) -Do you need a hand with that?
J'ai les mains liées (zhay lay mahn lee ay) -My hands are tied.

Children's Word of the Day - Key

Children's Word of the Day - Clock