Saturday 20 February 2010

We also celebrate Valentine's day in France: La St Valentin

French people like sending their Valentine messages via the national press: one of our French tutors has looked at
some of these messages with her students in one of the French lessons as well as some of the more famous quotes on love. Here are a couple:
"Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît pas." Pascal
"La courbe de tes yeux fait le tour de mon cœur." Paul Eluard

For a lot of students who learn French, verbs and tenses are difficult, for French people too, here is what Jean Cocteau wrote about the verb aimer:
"Le verbe aimer est difficile à conjuguer: son passé n'est pas simple, son présent n'est qu'indicatif et son futur est toujours conditionnel."

Ask your French teacher to explain these quotes to you if you are not sure.

Monday 8 February 2010

A French tutor of Alliance Française in Bath explains an old French tradition

Here is a little poem for Candlemas, la Chandeleur. In the old days in France, women lit candles, des chandelles so the word Chandeleur , to protect the house from fire and lightning.
Do you know that in France we eat pancakes, des crêpes on that day? And you must toss them in the air!

Le Perce-Neige
Violette de la Chandeleur,
Perce, perce, perce-neige,
Annonces-tu la Chandeleur,
Le soleil et son cortège
De chansons, de fruits, de fleurs ?
Perce, perce, perce-neige
À la Chandeleur.

Robert Desnos

http://bath.afbristol.org.uk/courses/