The French Journey

Hi Luke,

Can I just check some French with you?

ne t’en fais pas – Does it mean “don’t worry”?

I noticed the similarity to: ça (ne) fait rien – it doesn’t matter, in the use of the verb faire

All the best,
James Continue Reading

Something I’ve noticed throughout my language learning journey has been that there is a general difference in how clearly I understand speakers of foreign languages, be it in French, Swedish or even English.

When straining to listen to pick up every word a foreign language speaker is saying, so as not to misunderstand, I can’t help but notice that it is much easier to clearly hear a female voice than it is a male one. In addition, I’ve also found that the older a male voice gets, the harder it becomes to understand. Continue Reading

This French blague is awful, but fortunately even the worst joke can help you to remember a word or two.

- Chef, chef ! Il y a eu un vol cette nuit au supermarché ! On a volé 2000 cartouches de cigarettes et 1500 laitues !
- Bien, et vous avez des soupçons ?
- Ben ouais, on recherche un lapin qui tousse ! Continue Reading

Hi TFJ,

I heard the expression “a tout a fait” but I’m not sure what it means in context?  I thought “a tout” was used in the context of see you later short for a ”a tout alor”?

How is “a tout a fait” used? If you don’t mind doing a bit of free translation for me that is ^_^

All the best,

James

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James,

Great question. It’s never “a tout a fait”, it’s “tout à fait”, which means “absolutely, indeed, exactly”, or literally “all is fact”, with “fait” meaning “fact” in this instance, as in “fait accompli”. Example: “Tu es anglais ?”, “Oui, tout à fait.”