Monthly Archives: August 2011

My grandfather is ‘mon grand-père’ and my grandmother is ‘ma grand-mère’ but my granddaughter is ‘ma petite-fille’ and my grandson is ‘mon petit-fils’

Avant, devant : before, in front of/arrière, derrière : backwards, behind I used to confuse these words. Reading one day: ‘elle a jeté ses cheveux en arrière’ I (wrongly) thought: well, derrière is backwards so arrière must be forwards. She threw her … Continue reading →

Sully-Prudhomme: “Les yeux”: verses 2 and 3: Les nuits plus douces que les jours,/Ont enchanté des yeux sans nombre;/Les étoiles brillent toujours,/Et les yeux se sont remplis d’ombre: Nights more balmy than days,/Have delighted countless eyes;/The stars shine on,/And the … Continue reading →

Two words and a phrase I learnt today: Une atèle: a spider monkey/un atoca: a cranberry/une haie d’aubépines: a hawthorn hedge.

Although ‘personne’ means nobody, ‘une personne’ is actually ‘a person’ – don’t blame me! I’m just interpreting the facts. So if somebody is introducing a man they will refer to them, as they would to a woman as well, as ‘cette … Continue reading →

Did you know that ‘une arrière-pensée’ is not an afterthought but an ulterior motive/reservation?

I haven’t forgotten about Sully-Prudhomme (you’ll be relieved to hear) but I love this powerful quotation from Montherlant, without actually agreeing with the sentiment he expresses: ‘Ce sont les mots  qu’ils non pas dits qui font les morts si lourds dans … Continue reading →

Commiserations to all those caught up in, or scared by, the riots. Although there is no excuse for looting or, much more importantly, burning people out of their homes and businesses, I got to pondering on what has created this appalling … Continue reading →

Not to be confused with Pierre-Joseph Prudhon: ‘La propriété, c’est le vol !’: ‘Property is theft’. Sully-Prudhomme wrote, among other poems, ‘Les Yeux’. To save my fingers and your patience, I shall give you this poem one verse (of five) … Continue reading →

I was felled for most of last week with a vile cold, otherwise known as ‘une crève’. As the word ‘crever’ means ‘to die’ I can only assume that this is an attempt at humour on the part of the … Continue reading →