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CANARD 10 fun duck phrases Nov 21, 2023

You might well have learnt some great French, mastered the past, present and future, maybe more, but enjoying using idiomatic expressions always adds colour and interest to your conversations.

We do it in English, so why not in French? 

Ok - there are so many, but you don’t have to learn them a...

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METTRE the wonders of this silent star Nov 13, 2023

Do you avoid the irregular verb METTRE because it seems so complicated? 

Yet it’s extremely common in many situations.

So, to help you get to grips with it a bit more, I put together a whole bunch of examples for you to choose which one (or ones) you want to adopt in your daily life! 

In this ...

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Never say chercher (POUR) Nov 06, 2023

We’ve all said it: “Je cherche pour . . .” and one day someone decides to tell you that you’re repeating yourself! 

We’re all on our learning journey and we always need someone to help us progress with our language learning, our pronunciation and how to use our learning in spontaneous conversati...

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The weather in the past tense Oct 30, 2023

Starting up a conversation in French is much easier when you talk about . . . 

THE WEATHER 

FOOD

So in this week’s video, we look at the weather - but in the past tense! I would forgive you for thinking you start with “it was . . .” and therefore . . .”C’était . . .”

But we need to wean you o...

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Set the table with me (Listening practice) Oct 23, 2023

 

Listening skills are not the easiest of skills to master.  No sooner have you worked out what someone is saying then it’s too late to reply because the conversation has moved on. We all get that as learners of French, so you are most certainly not alone. 

So I thought I would help with a seri...

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How to choose your French teacher Oct 16, 2023

 I get asked all the time, “How do I choose the right French teacher who will help me achieve my French Speaking goals?”

So I made a video to help you make an informed choice. Discover: 

  •  The 5 key criteria you, as a student, should look out for when investing in teacher 
  •  Why it is importa...
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YES the subjunctive CAN be easy! Oct 09, 2023

I've had quite a few people lately who said they would love to know a little bit more about the subjunctive and most people think “ what???!!!”  and then go into a textbook and start looking.

It's totally confusing, you read too much and you think "oh no!" 

So let's give you a little chance to...

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Say you feel awful in French without sounding negative Oct 02, 2023

Have you ever been asked “Comment allez-vous ?” or “Comment ça va ?” and wanted to actually say “Errr I feel dreadful” and then want to launch into why?

Instead . . .you say “Not too bad, considering…” And we don’t actually say any more. We stop. 

We don’t often reveal how bad we feel because w...

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How to use très in French language Sep 25, 2023

 

Constantly sticking to easy vocabulary in French? Always using ‘très’? If it’s getting a bit repetitive. Let’s talk about adverbs.

In this mini-lesson, you’ll discover:

  • Adverbs: what are they?
  • Let’s look beyond ‘very, very’ in French
  • A couple of examples of where our English brai...
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French irregular verbs conditional tense Sep 18, 2023

Not sure how to handle irregular verbs in the conditional form in French? Let’s get a bit more technical than usual . . . with would/could/should in French.

You’d be forgiven for looking up these words in the dictionary and then still end up lost! They aren’t the easiest words to handle. 

Let m...

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How to do French negatives in compound tenses Sep 11, 2023

So you’ve learnt to use NE/PAS but then it starts floating all over the place once you start using the past tense! 

You’re not alone - you learn the rule that it goes after the verb, so that’s where you place it when you’re learning the present, and even past perfect  (as in “I have or had done”...

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Computer parts and troubleshooting in French Sep 04, 2023

 

 

So you’re probably getting pretty proficient at recognising how to manage your computer.  Well, at least on the surface of it. 

The screen freezes, the internet is slow, the colourwheel won’t stop turning . . . groan! 

But what if you’re in a French conversation class and something happen...

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