NOTE:  BE SURE TO SKIP A SPACE BETWEEN  THE SUBJECT PRONOUNS /POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES / DEFINITE ARTICLES  AND THE WORD.  EXAMPLE-  MA MAISON- MY  HOUSE -YOU WOULD SKIP A SPACE BEFORE WRITING MAISON.

Next lesson we will cover adjectives. Happy study everyone!

CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO:  A0000022

The verb être is a very important verb in the French language.  It is used in daily conversations.

ÊTRE-TOBE

Je suis
Tu es
Il est
Elle est
Nous Sommes
Vous êtes
Ils sont
Elles sont

In many of my previous post I used the verb être to describe and say thing about others.  Notice when saying something about yourself you also use the être.  Here are some examples

Je suis Haïtienne- I am Haïtien
Je suis petite-  I am short
Je suis mince-  I am thin or skinny

Here is where learning when to use the subject pronouns comes in handy.  In my previous posts we covered in details when to use the subject pronouns, now we are ready to study verbs.

Make no mistake; you MUST UNDERSTAND how to use verbs before you can master a new language.

I used the subject pronoun JE to say something about myself
The subject TU is used when someone is talking directly to you
Tu es Haïtienne? – Are you Haitian?

The subject IL is used when speaking about a male
IL est Haïtien ? – Is he Haitian?

The subject Elle is used when speaking about a girl
Elle est Haïtienne? – Is she Haitian?

Please take the time to review this information.  My next post I will cover the plural forms of être.

 CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO:  A0000019

Ils and elles are the plural forms of il/elle.  When speaking about more than one you use these plural forms.   ILS- Used when speaking about  a mixed group of boys and girls.

EXAMPLES:  Marie et Paul sont  américains- Ils sont américain- They are Americans(Marie and Paul)

Halle Berry et Morgan Freeman sont acteurs américains- Ils ont acteurs américains. They are Americans
actors.(Halle Berry and Morgan Freeman are American actors)

ELLES-Used when speaking about a group of girls only.

EXAMPLES: Halle Berry et Julia Roberts sont actrices américaines-Elles sont actrices américaines(They are American actresses)

Jennifer Aniston et  Sharon Stone sont blondes- Elles sont blondes( They are blonds)

Learning when to use these pronouns will enable you to speak about people correctly.  It can be very embarrassing to use he when you  mean she and vice versa. 

Happy Study!

Today we will discuss using the third person singular pronouns  IL/ELLE

These two pronouns are used when speaking or saying something about a person, place or thing.

IL-Used for masculine person , place or thing:  Il est grand- He is tall, 

ELLE- Used for feminine  person , place or thing:  Elle est blonde et petite- She is blond and thin.

Remember you always use the third person singular form to say something about a person or thing.

Let’s practice the folowing sentences:

(Halle Berry) Elle est jolie et brune-   She is pretty and is a brunette.

(Britney Spears)  Elle est chanteuse et blonde- She is a singer and blond.

(Angelina Jolie)  Elle est actrice et grande-  She is an actress and tall.

(Whoopi Goldberg)  Elle est noire- She is black.

(Tyler Perry) Il est  grand et beau- He is tall and handsome.

(Brad Pitt) I l est blond- He is blond.

(Denzel Washington)  Il est acteur- He is an actor.

(Chris Rock)  Il est comedien- He is a comedian.

TIP OF THE DAY:  AS YOU LISTEN TO THE AUDIO RECORDING VISUALIZE WHAT EACH SENTENCE MEANS AND REPRESENTS.  HAPPY STUDY!

EXAMPLES:  1.JE parle  chinois. I speak Chinese.  2. Je travaille. I am working. 3.Je danse- I am dancing. 4. Je mange la pizza. I am eating the pizza. 5. Je bois le coca cola- I am drinking the coke.

The pronoun NOUS is used when the speaker includes herself/himself in the conversation- Always  1st person plural

1.Nous parlons chinois- We speak Chinese. 2.Nous travaillons- We are working 3.Nous dansons- We are dancing. 4.Nous mangeons la pizza-We are eating the pizza. 5. Nous buvons le coca cola- We are drinking the coke.

These two pronouns are very important to know and undertand  because they are used in daily conversation.  CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO AN AUDIO ON HOW TO PRONOUNCE THE ABOVE SENTENCES:  A0000015

TIP OF THE DAY:  Make flashcards of the above sentences/ either draw or print out pictures from the internet that represent each sentence.  As you listen to the audio  take the time to look over the flashcards, this will help you learn the material a lot faster.  This is a proven method  I have used in my classroom for the past 25 years.

The Formal form is used to speak to someone  you do not call by first name.

Answering

• Je vais bien (I am fine)
•  Bien, merci (Fine, thanks)
• Bien, et vous? (Fine, and you?)
• Je vais bien merci, et vous? (I am fine thank you, and you?).

Once a student feels comfortable he or she can thus begin to open up so he or she can start the process of acquiring the skills necessary to learn how to speak the language. Since language is a set of skills to be acquired; the student must be given ample opportunities to practice over and over again. That is why chain drills are very important. Before long, the student will develop a huge sense of accomplishment, and with that comes the building up of his/her self-esteem.

I have had students who flatly refused to participate in the chain drill activities. They reasoned that they do not want to make a fool of themselves. Consequently, the students in question failed the class and ended up dropping it at the end of first semester. What I learned from these situations is that students with low self-esteem are too afraid to make mistakes; they are usually very shy and keep to themselves.

Early on in my teaching career, I was able to achieve great successes with the students who were risk takers; most of these students had very high self-esteem. They had achieved a high degree o f success in other areas, so it was easy for them to apply that in my class too. High self-esteem and desire to learn goes hand in hand, you can’t have one without the other. Both are essential for acquiring the skills necessary to learn a new language.

I have been able to achieve great success with my students by providing them with meaningful experiences through active speaking. This is done through chain drills one of the most useful ways to teach new learners how to communicate effectively. The goal is to give the student ample opportunities to engage in conversation that he or she can relate to. Every topic being covered can easily be adopted in a meaningful way. Here are some examples:

GREETINGS-

Teacher is not dominating the procedure, students are required to answer a question, and then that student turns to his or her neighbor and asks the same question. Je m’appelle Nicole. Et toi, comment t’appelles tu?-My name is Nicole. And you, what is your name? This continues until everyone has had a turn. This exercise may seem very childish and simplistic, but is very effective because the student is exchanging personal information.

FOOD ITEMS:

Everyone loves to eat; the same kind of drill can be used to foster oral proficiency. Students can thus bring in pictures of their favorite foods.

Lastly, the language experience should model real life experience as much as possible. After all, we all learned our native tongue quite naturally by learning how to speak first.

elle descend                                elles descendent

USAGE:
Je descends de l’ascenseur.  I am coming down the elevator.

Maman descend l’escalier.  Mom is coming down the stairs.

Please spend some time reviewing the third conjugations.

Happy study!

Sample conjugations- Parler, Chante, Travailler

                                                                       Ils/Elles Parlent

                                                                       Vous Chantez
                                                                       Ils/Elles Chantent

Underline the subject in each sentence. Then write the subject pronoun that could replace each subject.

1. Jean est mon ami.

2. Annick parle Français et Anglais.

3. Monsieur Carter est professeur.

4. Charlotte habite à Londres.

5. Madame et monsieur Lambert sont Espagnoles

6. Nicholas adore le tennis.

7. Patrick a deux ans.

8. Jean-Paul est américain.

9. Michèle aime des frittes.

10. Marie et Colette sont timides.

11. Papa et moi parlons bien français.

Next post, I will go over the correct answers.

Bon week-end!

In English Subject pronouns   refer to a specific person or people and act as subjects of a sentence or clause. In English subject pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Pronouns can be used to avoid repeating the subject once it has been made clear.

Dan lives in a house. He is from Denver.

Nicole and Rachelle met Tom and they really liked him.

The beauty of learning a foreign language it helps you understand your own language better. It is impossible to learn subject pronouns in French if you do not know what they are in your own language.

In French The subject pronouns are je or j’(I), tu (you), il (he), elle (she), on (one), nous (we), vous (you), ils (they), elles (they).

T o say you, use tu to talk to a friend, a family member, or someone your age. Use vous to talk to more than one person or to an adult who is not a family member.

To say they, use elles when you are talking about two or more females. Use ils when talking about a group of males or a mixed group of males and females.

The pronoun on has no direct equivalent in English. It can mean one, we, or people in general.

I suggest you spend some time reviewing the French pronouns. Next lesson  I will cover how to use the subject pronouns.
 Happy Study

You- Vous-  This is the formal form used when you are speaking to someone you do not know well or when you are speaking to more than one person .
Que voulez vous – what would you like?

Ils- They -  Used to talk about a group of boys and girls
Elles- They- Used to talk about girls only.
Ils sont blonds- They are blond.(mixed group)
Elles sont blondes- The girls are blond.

Study the plural forms of the subject pronouns.  Next lesson I will cover how to substitute them with nouns.

I-Je- you do the speaking when using  the pronoun I.  For example:  I am American,  I am a woman
French translation- Je suis américaine, Je suis une femme.

You-Tu- Someone is saying something to you or asking you a question.  For example: Are you American?
French translation-  Tu es américaine?

He/She/it-Elle/Il- Person being spoken about .  For example:   She  is pretty. He is handsome
French translation- Elle est belle.  Il est beau.
Take  the time to study these pronouns and be sure to learn when to use them.
Next lesson we will cover the plural forms of the pronouns.   Happy study

Learn some French from Eddie Izzard… while laughing at stand up

Some Bill Bailey for a laugh… Not really TOO helpful in learning the language

Some great French Films I really like and would recommend if you’re interested… Amelie, Love Me if You Dare, have you seen any great ones?

Telling Stat: Shawn Thornton spent more time in the penalty box (5 minutes) than on the ice (4:52). Also, the back of his head is now three inches closer to his face.

The Bruins salvaged a point from a game where I honestly gave up watching seriously after the first period.  The B’s probably deserve a lot of credit for battling back from a 3-0 1st period deficit, and I’d be a jerk to say I’d rather take zero points over…GET BACK IN NET, THOMAS, YOU FUCKER!…woah, sorry.  Weird flashback.  Anyways, the Bruins’ll take the charity point, as well as the knowledge that the Habs don’t completely own us, mind, body, and Phil Kessel’s cancerous testicle.

That Krejci goal was a thing of beauty, man does that…GODDAMNIT THOMAS!…sorry, anyway, that David Krejci has a lot of hockey sense, he’s always in the right place.  He just has to let his body catch up with his mind, and he will be a top-line center in the next few years.  Mark Stuart also plays a solid game, and he looked good tonight in limited time.

Big thanks go out to my buddies at Four Habs Fans for hosting my unfunny ass during their open thread.  Thanks for not switching to French during the open thread and leaving me out of la boucle.  I had a good time.

But Claude, my coach, under no circumstance, ever again, are you…GETBACKINTHENETGETBACKINTHENET…sorry, Coach Julien, don’t ever put Michael Ryder on the ice as one of your first three shootout players.  He’s only got a 10% success rate, and although it would have meant a lot to him to shove it to everyone booing him, I think everyone reading this post knew that he wasn’t scoring right there.  Weak shootout efforts all around.  I would put Kessel second or third, to give him a look at how Price reacts, rather than sending him out first.  But hindsight is always 20/20.

The Bruins next play in Ottawa on Saturday, but I don’t think they need to make many adjustments following tonight’s loss.  Other than the last 3 minutes of the 1st period, they did okay.  That Senators team is a much weaker squad than the Canadiens, or even last year’s Senators, so things are looking up as the team rolls into the home opener against the Penguins on Monday.

-Gabe

"Un autre but a été marqué! Nous aurons besoin de vin supplémentaire pour noyer nos douleurs ce soir." - Montreal Canadiens fans.

It’s only the third game of the season, but we got a pretty big one coming up here.  Tonight marks the first Northeast Division matchup for the Bruins, and it’s against the toughest opposition the Bruins will face within the division, the Montreal Canadiens.  The Canadiens are a dangerous team, and the Bruins need to avoid getting swept by them during the regular season, like they did last year.  In this post, I could list points to look for, and matchups to watch, but (and I’m proud to say this) I ain’t no Brian Engblom.  You want a breakdown of this clash between Northeast Division titans, the first meeting since the Canadiens eliminated the Bruins in Round 1 of last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs?  Read a newspaper.

Here’s everything else you need to know to root for the Bruins and against the Canadiens.  Y’know, because you are totally capable of influencing the outcome of the game.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please direct your attention to: The Jumbotron’s Guide To Rattling Les Habitants (and their fans).

French Phrasebook:

Many Canadiens supporters speak and understand the French language.  This becomes evident during bathroom breaks, when people in red jerseys begin pattering back and forth.  They’re laughing at us, I just know it.  Well, now you can chirp right back at them with this handy phrase guide!

Je déteste votre équipe! – I dislike your team!

Une défaite est inévitable pour l’équipe de Montréal. – A loss is inevitable for the team from Montreal.

Les Habitants se recroquevillent à la vue de leurs propres corps nus! – The Canadiens cower at the sight of their own naked bodies!

Le prix est erroné, putain! – The Price is wrong, whore!

Le numéro quatre-vingt-quatre, s’assurent que vous ne pissez pas votre pantalon quand le rassemblement de Bruins vous dans les coins. - Number eighty-four, make sure you do not piss your pants when the Bruins meet you in the corners.

Canadiens Chants:

The Montreal Canadiens fans like to cheer their team on.  They have two go-to chants which they will break out on a near constant basis.  Luckily, Bruins fans (and others, probably) have developed two “clever” counter-chants, that take the words and tune of the chants and turn them upside down!  Observe:

The Canadiens like to chant “Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé.  Olé, Olé.” And repeat, ad nauseam.  The Bruins fans have come up with the alternate, “You’re gay, you’re gay, you’re gay, you’re gay.  You’re gay, you’re gay.”  This does not work as well as one would think, since many Canadiens fans are, in fact, homosexual, and (rightfully) feel no shame regarding that fact.  What began as a put-down, instead turns into a rousing celebration of Josh Gorges and the French Canadian lifestyle.

The other Montreal chant is “Go Habs Go!” which we Bruin fans have sublimated into “Blow Habs Blow!”  This is redundant, however, as the Canadiens feature Alex Kovalev, and it is not the years 2000-01 or 2007-08.

Food:

Poutine is a culinary delight for those willing to sample its treasure trove of flavor and texture.  Rich, thinly-cut french-fried potatoes, arranged in a basket, and covered with delicious gravy and lovingly topped with cheese curd, poutine is truly a feast fit for a king.  When watching the Bruins face the Canadiens, make sure you are within the eyeline of a Canadiens fan.  Order french fries and then slather them in ketchup.  Use mayonnaise, mustard, whatever!  As long as it’s not gravy and cheese curd, the Canadiens will slowly drive themselves crazy watching you eat incomplete poutine.  Savor every unfinished morsel and pretend to like it.  You can always enjoy a scrumptious bowl of poutine as soon as the Canadiens have left Boston.

Canadiens Players:

If I got carried away, I could write a Blades Protocols on each and every Canadien, but I’ll control myself and tell you about certain members of le bleu, blanc, et rouge.

Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn: Known as Big and Little Tits, respectively, these Russian brothers are actually pretty good.  Better than most people in the league are willing to give them credit for.  Unfortunately, Big Tits has a huge, fucking target planted on his head because of all the (perceived) dirty hits he was dishing out in preseason.  The Bruins don’t like the Kostitsyns, and neither should you.

Carey Price: The eye-candy of the team, Price is being heralded as the next big thing in Montreal goaltending; but as Bruins fans know, he ran out of steam in last year’s playoffs.  Not only did the emperor have no clothes, but he also had 30 lbs. of baby fat.  All of that is gone now, (be still, ladies) but he still has to prove that he has the endurance to last a full season as the #1 netminder in Montreal.  However, at the start of the season, he’s looking like one of the league’s best, and he’s going to want to prove that the Bruins don’t own him, mind, body, and baby fat.  If the team doesn’t rattle him early, they’re fucked.

Jaroslav Halak: Halak is the backup goaltender, and he would be starting on a number of teams this year, were he playing somewhere else.  He’s good, real good, and even if the Bruins happen to catch the Canadiens on a night where Price is resting, they’ll still face a battle trying to score goals.

Thomas Plekanec: It’s not pronounced “pleh-KAN-ekh.”  That’s stupid.

Former Canadiens Players:

Michael Ryder: My favorite Bruin played for the Canadiens last season.  Normally this would mean he has inside info on Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau’s system and could prove invaluable in breaking the team down.  However, Carbonneau didn’t like Michael Ryder for some odd reason, and kept him out of the loop.  It’s okay, as Ryder wasn’t really listening anyway.  Look for him to try to put up a couple of points out of sheer anger tonight.

I could go on and on about how important this game is for the Bruins tonight, and how they need to establish some sense of competitiveness, not only with Montreal, but with the rest of the Northeast division, but it’s only game 3 out of 82, and the Bruins are in the middle of an exhausting road trip that won’t see them back in town until next Monday.  If the Bruins lose tonight, or even if they get absolutely humiliated, it’s not the end of the world.  Just sit back, enjoy the game, and watch the animosity between these two teams continue to boil over.

-Gabe