Thanks for the correction sir...im still a beginner afterall..

etrange:


Hi Favor!

A few corrections if you don't mind.

1. Ils meurent ici

2. Toi et moi, on fait bouillir de l'igname

OR

2. Toi et moi, nous faisons bouillir de l'igname

3. Je suis plus grande que toi

4. J'ai soixante millions dans mon sac

5. Je parle espagnol et chinois

6. Je ne t'envoie pas

But is it that compulsory to place the subject before the verb?

etrange:


Hi Favor!

A few corrections if you don't mind.

1. Ils meurent ici

2. Toi et moi, on fait bouillir de l'igname

OR

2. Toi et moi, nous faisons bouillir de l'igname

3. Je suis plus grande que toi

4. J'ai soixante millions dans mon sac

5. Je parle espagnol et chinois

6. Je ne t'envoie pas

Favorolasupo:
But is it that compulsory to place the subject before the verb?

I assume you're referring to number 3 where I added "je". That's the ideal construct if you want to write correct French. In spoken French, you'd hear " J'suis " (pronounced "shui" ) but it's always written as "Je suis".

Regarding your question, it is not compulsory to place the subject before the verb (we place the verb before the subject in interrogative sentences, remember?). The important thing to that the verb is associated with a subject regardless of where it's placed. The imperative mode is, of course, an exception.

Favorolasupo:
Be calming down sir

coucou ma amie! bon apres midi

What is coucou?bon apres midi..comment ca va?j'ai ta manques!

Ogamysamo:

coucou ma amie!
bon apres midi

Can u pls enlighten us on reflexive pronouns in French sir?

etrange:


I assume you're referring to number 3 where I added "je". That's the ideal construct if you want to write correct French. In spoken French, you'd hear " J'suis " (pronounced "shui" ) but it's always written as "Je suis".

Regarding your question, it is not compulsory to place the subject before the verb (we place the verb before the subject in interrogative sentences, remember?). The important thing to that the verb is associated with a subject regardless of where it's placed. The imperative mode is, of course, an exception.

Favorolasupo:
Can u pls enlighten us on reflexive pronouns in French sir?

OK, I'll try to give a some explanation. Then you can ask questions if you need further clarifications.

Reflexive pronouns are pronouns used to indicate that the subject of a verb is performing the verb action on itself (prenominal verbs). In other words, the subject and the object are the same. The French reflexive pronouns are me, te, se, nous, vous, and se (they change to thier stressed forms when used in the imperative mode). They always agree with the subject they refer to. Think of them as myself, yourself, himself/herself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.

The verb laver means "to wash" and, as a transitive verb, it normally takes a direct object which indicates what is being washed. For example, in the sentence "Je lave ma voiture", the object is "ma voiture". However, in the case where the person washing is washing himself (e.g bathing or washing a part of his body), the prenominal form of the verb is used (that is "se laver" ) and that is where the reflexive pronouns are employed.

Example:
Je me lave les main (I'm washing my hands)

In the example above, I am both the subject and the direct object of the verb laver. In other words, I'm the one washing and I'm also the one being washed!

_{Note: They're also used in passive impersonal constructions (e.g. ca se voit) but that's a bit to advanced for you, I suppose.}

Ogamysamo:

coucou ma amie!
bon apres midi

The correct possessive adjective to use here is "mon" simply because the noun begins with a vowel sound (even though it's a feminine noun).

Again, in France and Québec, we don't use "bon après-midi" as a form of greeting when we meet someone. We rather use it when parting ways after spending some time together. It's like the English expression "enjoy the rest of your day". We also use "bonne journee" in this sense depending on the time of the day.

For example, I might enter your office and say "bonjour !" and when I'm about to leave after our discussion, I'd say "bon apres-midi !" or "bon journee !" meaning "have a great afternoon!" or "enjoy the rest of your day!"

Ok u gave an example which is je me lave les main=im washing my hands..isn't it meant to be "me lave les main"since lave already means "i wash" and me means "myself" so its supposed to be "me lave les main"...
And are there no continuous tenses in French?

etrange:


OK, I'll try to give a some explanation. Then you can ask questions if you need further clarifications.

Reflexive pronouns are pronouns used to indicate that the subject of a verb is performing the verb action on itself (prenominal verbs). In other words, the subject and the object are the same. The French reflexive pronouns are me, te, se, nous, vous, and se (they change to thier stressed forms when used in the imperative mode). They always agree with the subject they refer to. Think of them as myself, yourself, himself/herself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.

The verb laver means "to wash" and, as a transitive verb, it normally takes a direct object which indicates what is being washed. For example, in the sentence "Je lave ma voiture", the object is "ma voiture". However, in the case where the person washing is washing himself (e.g bathing or washing a part of his body), the prenominal form of the verb is used (that is "se laver" ) and that is where the reflexive pronouns are employed.

Example:
Je me lave les main (I'm washing my hands)

In the example above, I am both the subject and the direct object of the verb laver. In other words, I'm the one washing and I'm also the one being washed!

_{Note: They're also used in passive impersonal constructions (e.g. ca se voit) but that's a bit to advanced for you, I suppose.}

Favorolasupo:
What is coucou?bon apres midi..comment ca va?j'ai ta manques!

coucou also means hello. ca va bien merci,

You Don Advance O! i actually don't know what the last phrase means o...
all this days i've being trying to catch you active but to no avail. hope all is well?

Oh..i wasn't active because u haven't been active also (pls start being active oo coz i really wanna learn French)..so anytime i come online this place usually feels like desert..BTW the last phrase means "i have missed you"..i haven't advanced oo coz i only knw few phrases..

Ogamysamo:
coucou also means hello. ca va bien merci,

You Don Advance O! i actually don't know what the last phrase means o...
all this days i've being trying to catch you active but to no avail. hope all is well?

Ok..but what does "bonsoir"mean?

etrange:


The correct possessive adjective to use here is "mon" simply because the noun begins with a vowel sound (even though it's a feminine noun).

Again, in France and Québec, we don't use "bon après-midi" as a form of greeting when we meet someone. We rather used it when parting ways after spending some time together. It's like the English expression "enjoy the rest of your day". We also use "bonne journee" in this sense depending on the time of the day.

For example, I might enter your office and say "bonjour !" and when I'm about to leave after our discussion, I'd say "bon apres-midi !" or "bon journee !" meaning "have a great afternoon!" or "enjoy the rest of your day!"

etrange:


The correct possessive adjective to use here is "mon" simply because the noun begins with a vowel sound (even though it's a feminine noun).

Again, in France and Québec, we don't use "bon après-midi" as a form of greeting when we meet someone. We rather used it when parting ways after spending some time together. It's like the English expression "enjoy the rest of your day". We also use "bonne journee" in this sense depending on the time of the day.

For example, I might enter your office and say "bonjour !" and when I'm about to leave after our discussion, I'd say "bon apres-midi !" or "bon journee !" meaning "have a great afternoon!" or "enjoy the rest of your day!"

merci monsieur, j'apprecie

Favorolasupo:
Ok..but what does "bonsoir"mean?

good evening.

Okay..merci!

Ogamysamo:
good evening.

Favorolasupo:
Oh..i wasn't active because u haven't been active also (pls start being active oo coz i really wanna learn French)..so anytime i come online this place usually feels like desert..BTW the last phrase means "i have missed you" ..i haven't advanced oo coz i only knw few phrases..

I Missed You Too O!
one of the basic reason i hadn't been active is because of work and coming online to discover you're not active always make it worse cause i'll kia kia log out cos apart from coming to upgrade my french, nairaland this days seems like extra stress

Yes oo me too..instead of me to log out..i will start making useless comments on the news section to wave off boredom..

Ogamysamo:

I Missed You Too O!
one of the basic reason i hadn't been active is because of work and coming online to discover you're not active always make it worse cause i'll kia kia log out cos apart from coming to upgrade my french, nairaland this days seems like extra stress

Favorolasupo:
Ok u gave an example which is je me lave les main=im washing my hands..isn't it meant to be "me lave les main"since lave already means "i wash" and me means "myself" so its supposed to be "me lave les main"...
And are there no continuous tenses in French?

"Lave" does not mean "I wash". It simply means "wash". It is from the verb "laver" which means "to wash". In the example I gave (je me lave les mains), "je" is the subject and that means "I". So if you remove it, the sentence becomes meaningless. Here is the conjugation (indicative present tense):

Je lave (I wash/I am washing)
Tu laves (you wash/you are washing)
Il lave (he washes/he is washing)
Elle lave (she washes/she is washing)
Nous lavons (we wash/we are washing)
Vous lavez (you wash/you are washing)
Ils lavent (they wash/they are washing)
Elles lavent (they wash/they are washing)

When used reflexively, you have:

Je me lave (I wash myself/I am washing myself)
Tu te laves (you wash yourself/you are washing yourself)
Il se lave (he washes himself/he is washing himself)
Elle se lave (she washes herself/she is washing herself)
Nous nous lavons (we wash ourselves/we are washing ourselves)
Vous vous lavez (you wash yourselves/you are washing yourselves)
Ils se lavent (they wash themselves/they are washing themselves)
Elles se lavent (they wash themselves/they are washing themselves)

From the above, you can get the answer to your second question, there's no continuous present. However, there's a construct you can use if you really want to emphasize on the fact that the action is presently taking place. The construct is "etre en train de". Let's leave it for now to avoid confusion.

Okayy..now i understand..im gonna practice this..then come up with another question if i get confused..merci monsieur!

etrange:


"Lave" does not mean "I wash". It simply means "wash". It is from the verb "laver" which means "to wash". In the example I gave (je me lave les mains), "je" is the subject and that means "I". So if you remove it, the sentence becomes meaningless. Here is the conjugation (indicative present tense):

Je lave (I wash/I am washing)
Tu laves (you wash/you are washing)
Il lave (he washes/he is washing)
Elle lave (she washes/she is washing)
Nous lavons (we wash/we are washing)
Vous lavez (you wash/you are washing)
Ils lavent (they wash/they are washing)
Elles lavent (they wash/they are washing)

When used reflexively, you have:

Je me lave (I wash myself/I am washing myself)
Tu te laves (you wash yourself/you are washing yourself)
Il se lave (he washes himself/he is washing himself)
Elle se lave (she washes herself/she is washing herself)
Nous nous lavons (we wash ourselves/we are washing ourselves)
Vous vous lavez (you wash yourselves/you are washing yourselves)
Ils se lavent (they wash themselves/they are washing themselves)
Elles se lavent (they wash themselves/they are washing themselves)

From the above, you can get the answer to your second question, there's no continuous present. However, there's a construct you can use if you really want to emphasize on the fact that the action is presently taking place. The construct is "etre en train de". Let's leave it for now to avoid confusion.

Favorolasupo:
What is coucou?bon apres midi..comment ca va?j'ai ta manques!

This is a tough one.

I know you wanted to say "I missed you". That's why you said "Je t'ai manque". However, in French, the meaning of that expression is reversed.

Je t'ai manque => You missed me
Tu m'as manque => I missed you.

I know it's a tricky one.

Ogamysamo:
merci monsieur, j'apprecie

De rien !

Favorolasupo:
Okayy..now i understand..im gonna practice this..then come up with another question if i get confused..merci monsieur!

Bon courage !

Yeah..its really tough..i wrote it just how it made sense to me..merci pour la correction(pls correct me)

etrange:


This is a tough one.

I know you wanted to say "I missed you". That's why you said "Je t'ai manque". However, in French, the meaning of that expression is reversed.

Je t'ai manque => You missed me
Tu m'as manque => I missed you.

I know it's a tricky one.

etrange:


De rien !

its a blessing having you join our conversation sir, we are grateful, i pray we achieve our goal. and with you i know it'll be easier so may you always be available whenever we need you

What does it mean?

etrange:

Bon courage !

Favorolasupo:
Yeah..its really tough..i wrote it just how it made sense to me..merci pour la correction(pls correct me)

you're doing better than me o. hoping to catch up soon.

Lol..see the way u dey hype me..

Ogamysamo:
you're doing better than me o. hoping to catch up soon.

Favorolasupo:
Lol..see the way u dey hype me..

you know the truth-but won't admit it.

Favorolasupo:
What does it mean?

Pidgin => well done o
English => more power to your elbow
Igbo => Jisie ike
Yoruba => eku ise
Hausa =>

Wow..so you are a polyglot?

etrange:

Pidgin => well done o English => more power to your elbow Igbo => Jisie ike Yoruba => eku ise Hausa =>

Favorolasupo:
Yeah..its really tough..i wrote it just how it made sense to me..merci pour la correction(pls correct me)

Nothing to correct. Lol

Ogamysamo:

its a blessing having you join our conversation sir, we are grateful, i pray we achieve our goal. and with you i know it'll be easier so may you always be available whenever we need you

You're doing great!