10 Things: How To Photograph A Meteor Shower

The reality about spoken french

We don’t use the negation ne. We say Je sais pas (I don’t know) or On a pas à le faire (we don’t have to do it),

Speaking of which, we prefer using on rather than the pompous nous : On est arrivé-es (we’ve arrived), On y va? (shall we go)

Speaking of which, our questions are often affirmative sentences ending with a question mark (i.e. : a high-pitched tone) : Tu viens? (are you coming), T’en veux un-e? (do you want one).

Speaking of which, we chew words. When followed by words starting with a consonant, personal pronouns can lose their final letter : J’te l’dis! rather than Je te le dis (I’m telling you).

Speaking of which, we’re lazy : Je can be Che (chais pas), Il can be Y (r’garde, y’a un chat!) and grunt : many euh (uh), ah, bah (hum), ben (well), hein (tf?) and rhooo/rhaaa (ffs). We often start sentences with but : Mais tu saoules! (you’re annoying) to express displeasure.

Speaking of which, on top of dropping négations, we drop pronouns : You’re being a pain in my ass should be Tu me fais chier but can be Tu fais chier - maybe to make it universal or dramatic.

Speaking of which, we thrive on sarcasm and irony. To someone who’s babbling, we’ll answer It makes my leg look good.

Speaking of which, we repeat (personal) pronouns at the beginning or end of sentences. We’re likely to ask Qu’est-ce qu’il en dit, lui? and answer Moi, je veux bien (tonic pronouns, careful!).

Speaking of which, we like to use the conditional mode to indicate a wish or hypothesis : lots of Si j’avais su, j’aurais dit oui (had i known, i’d have said yes), J’aimerais bien pouvoir- (I wish I could-), etc.

Speaking of which, we add useless words : Bien (j’irais bien), Petit (un petit peu), Très (très vrai), Trop (je ne sais pas trop), ça (C’est quoi, ça?)…

Speaking of which, let’s stop before you all get disgusted and unfollow me. Remember this is spoken, private french and doesn’t apply to formal situations!

How did you get started? Did you have a teacher, did you self teach? And if so, what were the best resources you used to teach yourself? Is it hard finding books that help you learn?

I got started with French in high school, however I’ve learned the language mainly through teaching myself and tutors. I started teaching myself Chinese last year. Now I see a tutor once a week and continue to teach myself as well. Russian is kind of a hot mess atm so I’ll hold off on giving advice for that language haha!

In general I use a variety of books (textbooks and for fun books x x), YouTube (French | Chinese), tutors via italki or a language exchange partner via Tandem, Tumblr, Discord, etc. Here are also a few useful French and Chinese resources.

The most useful thing for me has always been a tutor or a language exchange partner, as it forces me to use the language and not just passively absorb information. That being said, any form of practising helps. There’s really no such thing as the best textbook or best method. Find a few resources that keep you interested and enjoy the ride :)

un chat / une chatte  a cat (m.) / (f.) un chaton   a kitten un matou   a tomcat un chat domestique   a house cat / a domestic cat un (chat) persan   a persian cat un (chat) siamois   a siamese cat un (chat) tigré   a tabby cat le pélage, le poil   fur les pattes (f.)   paws les griffes rétractiles   retractable claws la queue   tail une litière   a litter box une chatière   a cat flap / a cat door la nourriture pour chat    cat food ronronner   to purr miauler   to meow feuler   to yowl

Aspirated H- nouns

I have mentioned before that h- nouns, depending on if they come from the (most likely) Germanic or the Latin language, will be treated differently: a Frankish noun will not have a liaison (Un haricot, Les-/-haricots) but a Latin noun will have one (Un-(h)iver, Les-z-hommes). Think of them as the aspirated H- and the mute H-.

A few things to note:

Most of H- nouns are mute as French is a romance language, direct heir of Latin - the roman empire is known for philosophy, thinking, culture, politics. The Franks however led simpler lives and spent most of their time outside; when they invaded us, they left their mark in the vocabulary, especially in practical things: trees, foods, animals, weapons...

If you're unsure, try to think of the translation of a noun in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, or even Latin: if they're siblings, your noun is romance. Homme: hombre, uomo, etc.

If you don't know those languages, here's another test: try doing L' + noun and see if it could get mixed up with another word. Ex: La hache > L'hache > Lâche. This is especially true if the following vowel is -a- as it would be harder to pronounce.

If the word is borrowed to English (a Germanic heir), the H- is aspirated (Hamburger, Hockey, Hippie).

If an aspirated H- noun doesn't come from the Germanic language ("Vieux francique"), it might come from Old Norse (Houle), Arabic (Hasard), Latin (Harpe), or an onomatopeia (ex: An owl is Un hibou, which might just be a version of Hoo hoo, just like the Egyptians called cats "Mau").

A few common aspirated H- nouns:

Hache, f - ax

Haie, f - hedge, fence

Haine, f - hatred

Hâle, f - slight tan

Hameau, m - hamlet

Hanche, f - hip

Handicap, m - disability

Harcèlement, m - harassment

Haricot, m - bean

Harnais, m - harness

Hasard, m - chance, coincidence

Hâte, f - haste

Haut, m - top (Le haut du mur)

Hauteur, f - height (of objects)

Hérisson, m - hedgehog

Héros, m - hero

Heurtoir, m - door knocker

Hiérarchie, f - hierarchy

Hochement, m - nodding

Homard, m - lobster

Hongrie, f - Hungary

Honte, f - shame

Hors d'oeuvre, m - appetizer

Houle, f - swell (sea)

Hoquet, m - hiccups

Hors-la-loi - outlaw

Huis clos, m - closed session

Huitième - eighth

Hurlement, m - scream

Chrome extensions I actually use as a mentally ill university student

Making websites easier to digest:

Dark Reader - Changes any webpage to dark mode.

Mercury Reader - Simplifies the layout of any webpage to eliminate distractions and irritating formatting.

Podcastle AI - Turns any article into a podcast. This is a lifesaver for being able to process what I’m reading, to be honest.

Spelling/grammar:

LanguageTool - Spelling and grammar check for those of us who regularly type in more than one language.

Grammarly - Spelling and grammar check for those of us who only type in English. Can be used with LanguageTool installed, which is what I do.

Google Dictionary - Define any word on the webpage with a double-click.

Google Translate - Translate an entire webpage or even just a short segment.

Misc:

AdGuard Adblocker - After trying quite a few adblocker options, this is the one I find the best.

The Great Suspender - Automatically suspend inactive tabs to help with performance. <- as an edit, I don’t believe this is available anymore

Honey - Try coupon codes automatically to save money on online purchases.

Built-in Chrome tab grouping - Group your tabs to keep organized and minimize distracting clutter.

Cozy Vocab in French

Some cozy vocabulary in French… so you can have a cozy evening!

une couverture - a blanket

une bougie - a candle

une tasse de café -  a cup of coffee

un thé - a tea

un chocolat chaud - a hot cocoa

les biscuits - cookies

une guimauve - a marshmallow

une pâtisserie - a pastry une cheminée - a chimney

les chaussettes - socks

un oreiller - a pillow

un livre - a book

un pull-over - a sweater

un nounours - a teddy bear

prendre une douche chaude - to take a hot shower

how to get the most out of duolingo

duolingo is a great app/website that you can use to begin learning a foreign language, but unfortunately you most likely won’t be able to fully learn the language if you only use duolingo. so, here are some things that you can do to get the most out of duolingo and to learn your target better.

1. read the lessons - most of the languages (especially if you’re learning in english) have little lessons. however, these are only available on the website, so if you use the app, you might want to occasionally check in online and click on the little lightbulb to read the lessons. they usually aren’t super in-depth, but for beginners it is super helpful and not as heavy as a textbook grammar guide.

2. don’t work too fast and always revise - if you’re knocking out a bunch of lessons a day thinking you’ll learn faster, this could be true, but most likely it’s not. if you work at a steady pace and remember to do it once a day (preferably at the same time – they say this is better for memorization) you will learn it better. if you do one lesson or maybe two a day and you still have time for more, go ahead and revise a little. when i first started french, i did two lessons a day and then always revised to make sure i remembered everything.

3. study the vocabulary - not all of the courses have this, but on the online version some of the courses have a tab on the top that says “words” and this is a great place to find all the vocabulary that you’ve been learning in your courses. go through the list and find all the words you don’t know that well or at all and make some flashcards or a set on quizlet and study them. learn how to spell them, pronounce them, conjugate them, and use them within a sentence. if you do this, you’ll always have a solid base to fall back on. this goes for learning conjugations, as well.

4. start learning your native language in your target language - after you’ve finished all the courses in your target language, feel free to revise daily. you might want to, however, start learning your native language in your target language. this might not be an option for all the languages offered on duolingo. for me, i learned english in french. this was helpful for picking up more phrases and seeing more common ways that french people write. if you’re feeling particularly confident and know your stuff really well, try learning a new language in your target language. for example, i did the spanish course in french, which definitely helped with my french phrasing while translating. 

5. don’t stop after you finish your course - if you’ve done it right, finishing your course on duolingo will give you a really good start to the language you’re learning. after you’ve finished, keep revising, but also go ahead and start learning your target language in different ways. i made a whole in-depth post on how to learn a language online here. some ideas are reading children books, watching youtube videos and movies, and talking to natives all in your target language. never give up because it will be worth it. 

dessiner (to draw) present tense🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️

je dessine                      [i draw]

tu dessines                   [you draw]

il/elle/on dessine         [he/she/it/we draw]

nous dissinons             [we draw]

vous dessinez               [you draw]

ils/elles dessinent        [they draw]

♥French Vocabulary : flowers ♥

une fleur = a flower

un fleuriste = a florist

un pétale = a petal

une rose = a rose

un bleuet = a cornflower

un lys = a lily

une marguerite = a daisy

une tulipe = a tulip

une violette = a violet

un tournesol = a sunflower

un oeillet = a carnation

fleurir = to bloom

un jardin = a garden

une graine = a seed

creuser = to dig

arroser = to water

coloré = colourful

(by Francesco Hayez)

tips for college classes that nobody tells you

1. don’t load your hardest classes in one semester. find out which classes within your major are rumored to be tough and divide them out throughout your time in college.

2. don’t show up to class earlier than 10 mins early. the class before yours will likely still be in there finishing up, and you’ll either walk in in the middle of a lecture or have to stand outside for a long time. just get there 5-10 mins early and you’ll be fine!

3. create a group chat for all of your classes. find a few friends from class and make a group chat! this can be either on imessage, groupme, or whatever is most popular to use at your school. this can be your go-to place to ask questions about assignments, due dates, etc. before asking the professor!

4. as for class participation, quality>quantity. in most college classes (with the exception of huge lectures) participation accounts for a chunk of your grade, and some professors take that grade very seriously. however, this doesn’t mean you should raise your hand and talk whenever you find the opportunity- your professor (and your classmates, for that matter) will appreciate you much more if your comments and questions are less frequent and have more to add to the class. 

5. the readings listed under a date in a class are due for that class, they are not homework for the next class. this is one of the biggest issues college freshman have at the beginning of their first semester. unless the professor specifically says otherwise, if the syllabus is set up to list each class individually with the readings underneath/beside the class, they are due for that class, not the next one.

6. make yourself known to your professor! this is especially important for a large lecture, where they won’t get to know you otherwise. stop by their office hours or go up to them after class and introduce yourself- making a connection with your professor can open more doors than you may know!

7. rate my professor is not always accurate. professors can get better or worse, and different people have different experiences. though it’s a great tool and you can still use it to see what people think, if you’re stuck with a professor that is ranked low, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have a bad time in that class.

8. sometimes it’s okay to just skim your readings. you’ll find out soon enough if your professor basically goes over exactly what the reading says every class. if so, you only need to skim it over and take light notes. don’t spend hours closely reading a textbook that your professor is just going to go over word for word the next day (unless it helps you- if so, do it!)

9. the guy in class that answers every question isn’t smarter than you. that’s it.

10. if you come from a lower income area or a worse school district than your peers, you may be playing the “catch up game” for a while. it’s okay! i personally go to a college where most students here come from wealthy families across the world and were sent to the best high schools possible. if you, like me, come from a mediocre public school, you may feel like you’re a beat behind your peers when it comes to background knowledge. don’t give up. work hard, you’ll catch up with them soon. (also- they aren’t smarter than you just because they had better opportunities than you did growing up. at the end of the day, you ended up at the same college)