French Word of the Day

a stick (of bread)

Une ficelle est comme une baguette, mais plus maigre.
A ficelle is like a baguette (traditional French loaf), but thinner.

VOICI UNE FICELLE
See what a ficelle looks like on Wikipedia. Literally, ficelle means string.

TODAY
Our word is one of the many breads of France — les pains de France. Bread plays such an important role in French cuisine and indeed the life of the French that it’s essential to learn to ask for the loaf you want.

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others like it here.

an armchair, seat

Ne restez pas dans votre fauteuil aujourd’hui!
Don’t stay in your seat today!

TODAY
Our word is among the many pieces of furniture, les meubles.

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others like it here.

to go for a walk

Je me suis promené à travers la ville.
I took a walk through the city.

NOTE
As you can see, se promener is a reflexive verb. In a way, it is as if to say you are walking yourself. You also can use promener as a non-reflexive verb to express the act of walking something else — your dog, for instance. You could say: Je promène le chien. (I’m walking the dog.)

ALSO
To express the action of walking when there is no object, use the verb marcher (to walk). For example: Il a marché toute la journée. (He walked all day.)

TODAY
Our word is inspired by activities we can do à pied (on foot).

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others like it with this quiz.

a cold

J’ai le rhume.
I have a cold.

TODAY
Our vocabulary topic is the common cold.

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and others like it here.

a sandcastle

Les enfants bâtissent des châteaux de sable à la plage.
Children build sandcastles at the beach.

GRAMMAIRE
Nouns like chateau that end in -eau form their plurals by adding an x.

TODAY
Our word is inspired by the seaside.

QUIZ LINK
Test yourself on today’s word and more like it here.

a half-liter of wine

Pourriez-vous apporter un demi de vin blanc?
Could you bring a half liter of white wine?

TRAVEL TIP
Today’s word illustrates a common and less expensive way to order wine when traveling in France. Your demi will most often arrive in une carafe or un pichet (a pitcher) and will likely be the house wine.

TODAY
Our word is inspired by the wine vineyards, or les vignobles, of France.

an extra driver

Combien coûte-t-il pour ajouter un conducteur supplémentaire?
How much does it cost to add an extra driver?

TODAY
We always enjoy covering vocabulary topics about travel, because they contain essential words and phrases for French language learners who want to visit a French-speaking country. Today, we’re looking at a useful French word for a conversation about renting a car.

to hurt

Ça m’a fait mal.
That hurt me.

there

1. With future and conditional tenses of aller (to go)
Avoid using the pronoun y with the future and conditional tenses of the verb aller, to go. It’s perfectly acceptable to use y with the near-future tense of aller (je vais y aller) — but not the future tense (j’irai) or the conditional tense (j’irais). The French do not say j’y irai. Instead, they would say j’irai or j’irai là-bas. Consider the following:

• Je vais y aller. J’irai. J’irais.
  I am going to go there. I will go (there). I would go (there).

2. With people
In the example below, note the correct way to replace a prepositional phrase that includes a person. In general, y is not used to replace people.

• Je pense à Paul. Je pense à lui.
  I’m thinking of Paul. I’m thinking of him.
• Marc pense à Marie. Il pense à elle.
  Marc is thinking of Marie. He is thinking of her.
• Jean pense à Marc et Marie. Il pense à eux.
  Jean is thinking of Marc and Marie. He is thinking of them.

3. Y can be used to replace things
Remember that, even though y is generally not used to replace people, above, it is the right choice to replace things in sentences constructed the same way.

• Je pense à mes devoirs. J’y pense.
  I’m thinking about my homework. I’m thinking about it.

TODAY
We’re focusing on the adverbial pronoun y.