Hi! I'm trying to describe people's skin tone in French and keep finding different answers.

How would you naturally say "she has olive skin" and "she has dark skin"?

And does "peau mate" / "teint mat" fit either of those? I've seen it used for both, so I can't tell whether it just means olive/tanned or can also mean properly dark skin.

Thanks!

Bonjour Tout le Monde!
I am just entering into the present subjunctive tense in French in my class at Alliance Française. I seem to be continually confusing the tenses and having issues remembering how the tenses are formed and remembering them for activities and speaking, etc. Does anyone have a good way of memorization or a method that worked for them to get these tenses down in your brain? Maybe I need to go back and rememorize some of the earlier tenses, like the imparfait and others first? Merci beaucoup!

TLDR: Thanks for any contributors I hope I didn’t make this more complicated than it needs to be I just am curious how to utilize this highly recommended book (Grammaire progressive du francais niveau débutant) when it’s all in French.

I’m sure this question gets asked 1000 times a year but after looking through many years old reddit posts there seems to be no clear answer, so rather than ask what grammar book I should use as a beginner looking to learn French, I’ve narrowed it down to a particular book that I keep seeing recommended.

For context, from seeing other posts going “why read a language u want to learn to speak?” This wouldn’t be the only way I’m keeping in mind/will utilize things like children’s shows and podcasts I’ve seen recommended that give you conversational listening practice but being a native English speaker and intermediate Spanish speaker I too understand the importance of basic grammar for reading signs and literature and being able to construct your own sentences logically with that foundational knowledge behind it.

All that being said i keep seeing “Grammaire progressive du francais niveau débutant” recommended.

Now here’s the thing:

It’s all in French.

So if people seem to be recommending this frequently. How are u recommending it be used? Like looking through the first pages I get how you can begin to infer the grammar based on the practices it has you do but if you don’t know the words in the first place I feel like you’re not imprinting the right pattern recognition in your brain.

Is it best to just funnel each new word I find in this through translate and then move forward slowly but steadily?

Also what about pronunciation? French is interesting because compared to Spanish it has a lot of “silent” vowels and consonant. Like “A” in Spanish is “Un” and is pronounced “oon” but in French it’s spelled same way but seems to be pronounced more like “uh” leaving the N sound out it seems. I think pronunciation is important from the start otherwise you’ll sound like a person trying to speak French rather than a person who’s fluent in it so how would anyone recommend pronunciation of the words and such that one comes across in this book? Just put it through translate and hear how it’s supposed to be said?

Is “se” pronounced the exact same as the “sou” in souci? Or is it different?

Does the “a” in French words always have to be pronounced like the “a” in “mall/call/tall” in English? Or can it also be pronounced like the “a” sound in “come/from, ummm” in English. Obviously those technically aren’t “a” sounds but hopefully you understand what I’m saying.

First of all, sorry for writing in English. My French still isn't great.

I have been studying for DELF B1 lately, and I have found out that there are 2 different exam formats.

Here are two examples:

First model: https://www.france-education-international.fr/document/delf-b1-tp-candidat-coll-exemple1

Second model: https://www.france-education-international.fr/document/delf-b1-tp-candidat-coll-exemple2

Is it possible to know which format I'll be taking when I register for the exam? Is one of the two formats used more frequently than the other?

Thank you so much in advance!

Thank you so much in advance.

Bonjour à tous,

Perhaps a strange question. At my day job, I use french to help new to the country and who have been here for a while to know what and how to do things in a banking or simple financial fashion: how your checking account works, what a statement is. How a credit score works, what can harm your credit, and etc. I am not the only person at my workplace that speaks french. At my office along we have myself and another who speaks french, I am self taught she is from a country that spoke it primarily, and we have 3 Spanish speakers.

My workplace encourages volunteering and we are in a hub with many french speaking immigrants. My office is able to help those french speakers, but some of the surrounding services aren't able to. There is a volunteer medical health clinic that also serves these french speakers of the community; however, they lack translators. I have been working with this volunteer organization to see about having me and my colleague volunteer (we have other offices that also have french speakers), but while I am fluent in simple finance terms, I am not to sure about health related topics.

My primary focus is aiding my community, but would anyone have any recommendations for french health terms? On my call with the volunteer coordinator they mentioned some of the most common things off the top of their head being Diabetes, OB/GYN, and high blood pressure.

Hi friends, I’m planning to buy a book called “practice makes perfect: complete French all in one by Annie Heminway”.

When I checked the amazon Canada website, there were two editions. Fifth edition is $27 but third edition is $52. I’m wondering what is the difference why there is this much price gap between the editions. Generally the newer editions should cost more right? Can you suggest? Thanks.

Yeah so as the title says im wondering how much time is needed to be able to sound like an native, and is it late to start learning french at 19. Is it impossible or can it be done in like 5 years or so? Any advice or myb some hopeful message to see if i have any chance to do it?

Hey, hat vielleicht jemand auch angefangen Französisch zu lernen und benutzt das Buch Chapeau A1 vom Hueber Verlag? Wie funktioniert die interaktive Version?

Hello I don't understand why I'm pronouncing french incorrectly...well I know why because I'm reading it like a native English speaker. Can someone give me a quick rundown on the rules of Reading French correct. I am new to learning French.

Thank you

I was wondering if there was a French equivalent to the American slang word for a stolen car, "striker"? A general google search has come up kinda short for any slang terms that aren't just Anglicisms, so does any such word actually exist in French slang?

Im a student (b2 ish level) living in france and have an internship interview in a few days at a small company. It’s a zoom interview and im a bit nervous because ive never interviewed in french before, im more worried about the social etiquette rather than the content, and not sticking out like a sore thumb or being awkward haha. I’ve mainly just prepared a few answers for potential questions based on the company and what they do, but I want to know if there are general expressions or phrases that native speakers might use, such as to begin and end the interview and if there are any anglicisms to avoid that might make me seem like I don’t speak french at all (for example sometimes i say things that seem overly translated from english even though its not my first language either and makes people think my level is lower than it is). In such short notice i wont have a ton of time to prepare but mainly just want to note down some general tips. Can anyone suggest some good phrases to learn or how to prepare to sound more natural and fluent for a job interview ?

Is there a big difference between the way “en” and “un” are pronounced in French? I’m mostly struggling with saying “un” correctly cause it sounds so awkward to say.

Titre

As we all know, reading and listening questions are still 100 percent repeated from past questions or mock 40 sets available everywhere online. Is TCF canada and TEF canada organisation that much lazy and slow they are still using same 40 sets in real exam? Why are they still not as vast as IELTS or other exams?

Students can either memorise or practice just these 40 mock tests and get easily c2 in both reading and listening while their listening and reading isn't even b1 level. And when they get A2 or b1 in speaking and writing (which is their real level) they start emailing centers that they are dissatisfied with results or putting blame on centers.

For both TEF canada and TCF canada it is happening. Same old questions since many years from 40 mock tests

Think about it, All sentences in French would be translatable word by word if what I stated above held true. The gendered nouns and adjectives feel unique but they don't really render the language too different from English. Word compoundings are much rarer in French, but English could be made to work without them just like in French. Subjunctives are another distinctive element in French, but English also uses subjunctive in certain cases, it just doesn't have specific verb conjugations for them.

What do you think?

Pendant que je lisais un livre (Inch'Allah dimanche de Yamina Benguigui), j'ai remarqué que l'un des personnages utilise 'on' pour parler directement au personnage principal. On peut faire ça en français ? Il y a une nuance entre "on" et "vous"/"tu" dans ces contextes ?

Par exemple;

Qu'est-ce que vous allez acheter aujourd'hui ? -> Qu'est-ce qu'on va acheter aujourd'hui ?

Hey folks, just got my DELF B1 result last Monday and I scored an 80.5/100 with bare minimum preparation imo. Do you think that I can give DELF B2 in Mid December and score a minimum of 75/100? If so, can you please give me some solid tips to prepare for this exam by myself.

My struggle areas are spontaneous speaking (even coming up with ideas is hard for me) and I also find it hard to understand native french speakers when they’re speaking fast.

Any advice is appreciated :)

C'est facile à comprendre. Les Français sont tellement polis qu'ils s'attendent également que les autres le soient également. Si l'on est poli à leur égard, les Français le seront également à son égard.

N'oubliez pas de dire bonjour, merci, au revoir, s'il vous plaît, etc.. Bien que ce soient des mots trop simples, ils servent de base aux interactions en français.

Je lisais le poème Le Départ de Max Jacob, mais j’ai un doute sur le sens du mot "planches", employé dans le premier vers de la cinquième strophe : "Adieu vergers, les caveaux et les planches". Sauriez-vous si ce mot désigne ici des planches de bois ou des planches de culture ? Je n'ai pu en trouver aucune trace sur Internet. Merci d'avance pour m'éclairer.

Hello I have been trying to figure this out. What is imperfect and perfect? im stuck on it for days now. also why does "Je voulais dire..." use imperfect?

Hi! I’m working on a drinking card game for couples. It’s called “Cheers, Babe!” in Germany and the UK, but I’d love some input from native French speakers on a French name.

I’m looking for something short, playful and a little flirty, without being too cheesy. These are the options:

• Tchin-tchin, ma biche !
• Santé, chéri(e) !
• Tchin, mon amour !
• Tchin-tchin, bébé !
• Santé, mon amour !

Which would you choose? Do any sound awkward, old-fashioned or too literally translated from English?

Would keeping “Cheers, Babe!” work in France too, or would a French name feel more appealing?

Other suggestions are welcome. Thanks!