French Your Way Podcast Archives - Page 3 of 21

FYW 181 : Listen to a real French lesson! (French session #2)

July 25, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Listen to a real French lesson that I recorded This is a new concept to give you the opportunity to have a casual French session on Skype with me, since I can’t commit to recurring lessons anymore. For you, it is a great opportunity to get my personal feedback on your French and ask me anything that you need help with. Students taking the lesson agree to be recorded (I make sure any personal detail is then edited out) and the result may become a podcast episode…like today! This way, my feedback is both personal and still helping as many of you as possible 😉 When you participate, you … Read More →

FYW 180 : Understanding the preposition DE (3/3): vebs using a preposition

July 18, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Is there a logic to know whether a French verb works with the preposition DE, the preposition A, another preposition…or no preposition at all? This is a major struggle from students of French. Here’s the answer, along with my tips about how to learn the structures. We’ll also talk about the form of the verbs after a preposition. All these aspects are essential to your French grammar skills, so make sure you listen to this episode carefully! I also encourage you to participate and reuse what you’ve learnt at the end of the episode. Previous episodes of the series: Episode 176: … Read More →

FYW 179 : French regions: new names, purpose, debates (and grammar!)

July 11, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

In 2016, the map of France changed and now has 13 administrative regions instead of the former 22. What are they now called (and how do you say the name of your region/state/province/county in French?) Also listen to episode 157: Rules around French country names: why do you say EN France, AU Japon, AU Mexique?": www.frenchyourway.com.au/podcast157 Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episodee En + fem: en Provence, en Dordogne, en Normandie, en Californie, en Cornouailles(Cornwall), en Nouvelle Galle du Sud Dans le + masc : dans le Sichuan, dans le Yunnan, … Read More →

FYW 178 : Understanding the preposition DE (2/3): “une tarte AUX pommes” vs “une salade DE carottes”

July 4, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

In the second part of this series to help you understand and use the French preposition DE correctly, we'll see how it is used when talking about food. I'll also explain why the preposition A is also used when describing dishes and how to choose between the two. If you wonder why we say: une sauce tomate / une tarte AUX pommes / une salade DE carottes / un sandwich AVEC DU fromage... ...the mystery will be solved in this episode! Also listen to: Episode 176: Understanding the preposition DE (1/3): back to the basics with brushing up the articles! … Read More →

FYW 177 : French homonyms (4): air, aire (and more!)

June 27, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

When two words have a different meaning even though they sound alike or have the same spelling, they are called homonyms. In today's episode, find out the different meanings of the words pronounced [ɛr] Also listen to: Episode 142: “French homonyms (1): vert, ver, vers, vair”: frenchyourway.com.au/podcast142 Episode 151: “French homonyms (2): mère et père” : frenchyourway.com.au/podcast151 Episode 161: "French homonyms (3): lait, laid, laie (and more)": frenchyourway.com.au/podcast161 Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode Air (nm) = air, … Read More →

FYW 176 : Understanding the preposition DE (1/3): back to the basics with brushing up the articles!

June 20, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Understanding the preposition DE (1/3): back to the basics with brushing up the articles! Lately I've received a lot of questions from listeners about the use of the preposition DE (and also the preposition A). These prepositions constitute such a challenge for many students that I decided to make a series of 3 episodes to explain these and help as many of you as possible. First, I want you to start on solid bases so I'll run you through the 3 different types of articles in French (definite, indefinite and partitive articles). We'll pay particular attention to the meaning of "des" and … Read More →

FYW 175 : Au fait, en fait, en effet (and other expressions) explained

June 13, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

Au fait, en fait, en effet (and other expressions) explained Do you know the difference between "au fait", "en fait", and "en effet" in French? Do you know how to use them in a sentence? AND do you know how to pronounce them? (some of these expressions have a sounded final [t] whereas one has a silent final [t]. This question comes from Marian, a listener of the podcast. Marian also asked me to shed light on " mettre à jour" vs "mettre au jour"...pun intended! 😉 Are there other similarly looking expressions that confuse you? Let me know, I'd gladly explain them to you and you may be … Read More →

FYW 174 : French verbs: agreement of the past participle with reflexive verbs (compound tenses, part 5)

June 6, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

In the last episode of this series, I'll clarify the rules of agreement of the past participle with reflexive verbs in French. This rule is a little bit more advanced and requires some notions of grammar: you need to know how reflexive verbs work (see the links below for brush-up) and what direct/indirect objects and pronouns are. Some native French people don’t make the proper agreement of the past participle with reflexive verbs because the rule can be tricky - I sometimes find myself hesitating a lot too! Let’s see if YOU can get it right after my easy tips 😉 FYW 106 : "Je me lave, vous … Read More →

FYW 173 : French bank holidays, cultural facts… and strikes!

May 30, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

How many of the 11 French bank holidays do you know? Which one is the only holiday when it is actually not allowed to work? (except of course, if you work at a hospital for instance). This episode will walk you through the French bank holidays and some of their origins and traditions. I’ll also tell you a few stories about France’s world-renowned passion for strikes! As you listen, pay attention to the structure used to say the date properly in French! You'll learn French vocabulary along the way too 😊 Vocabulary and Spelling of the French Words mentioned in this episode Un jour férié = a … Read More →

FYW 172 : Listen to a real French lesson! (French session #1)

May 23, 2018 by Jessica Leave a Comment

In this somewhat different episode you’ll get to hear a real French lesson that I recorded with Stephen, a student from Sydney! A few months ago, I introduced a new concept to give you the opportunity to have a casual French session on Skype with me, since I can’t commit to recurring lessons anymore. This is a great opportunity to get my personal feedback on your French and ask me anything that you need help with. Students taking the lesson agree to be recorded (I make sure any personal detail is then edited out) and the result may become a podcast episode…like today! This way, my … Read More →