Welcome to the French Today Blog

On my first at my new school, not only did I meet my new teacher, Monique, and all my new friends but I also learned a poem.  I miss summer vacations but I'm so happy to be learning new things at school...

Normandy has miles and miles of apple and pear orchards. In the springtime, blossoms perfume the air and provide stunning views of the countryside. In the fall, the scent of ripe juicy fruits is undeniable.

Le Dixième Jour – Voyage de la Cabane de Moiry à Zinal

Nous nous sommes réveillés sous la neige. Il y avait de la neige partout dehors, c’était ravissant, mais comment allions-nous passer les grands rochers sous la neige ? Comme ça ne s’arrêtait pas, il a bien fallu que nous partions pour Zinal…

All these notions are quite difficult to understand in French because you cannot just translate from English. The choice of verb depends on the context: where you are at now, where you are going, for how long, and where home (or the place you are staying at) is. I often hear English speakers use "retourner" a lot, because it sounds so much like "to return". But most of the time, it is wrong. To return is more likely to be "revenir" or "rentrer". "Retourner" means to go back for a limited time (often because you forgot something there).

Unfortunately, this probably already happened to you: you're listening to some French, and then someone says something you don't understand, and your brain simply freezes. Full stop. And you miss the rest of the sentence.

It's rarely advise my students to modify their English sentence in some way before translating it into French. However, here is a trick I give my students for the use of the verb manquer  that I hope will help you.