Tomber and Italki

It's been a few days since I posted anything on here and, to tell you the truth, I have no idea what I did since then. It's all a blur for me....oh well. Monday is here once again and I guess it's back to work on studying French.

Today I got an email from french.about.com on the many expressons of tomber. It's a lot....I mean a lot of uses for it. Maybe one day, I'll remember them all.

The verb tomber literally means to fall.

An example of that would be:

Goofy est toujour tomber. Goofy is always falling.
(Btw, that was a sentence of my own creation. Hopefully, it's grammatically correct...)

But tomber is not only used in that context. It can also be used in many, many ways.


Some meanings of tomber:

• to fall (over, down)
• to happen
• (familiar) to be/get busted/nicked
• (day) to end
• (fever) to drop
• (fabric) to hang
• (mustache) to droop
• (noise) to drop, fall away
• (number) to fall, drop
• (shoulders) to slope
• (wind) to die down, abate

Expressions of tomber:

tomber à/dans l'eau

to fall into the water

tomber amoureux de quelqu'un

to fall in love with someone

tomber bien bas (figurative)

to sink really low

tomber dans

to become, take to, lapse/fall into

tomber dans la marmite (familiar)

to fall under the spell, become passionate (about)

tomber dans le domaine public

to be in the public domain/out of copyright

tomber dans le panneau (informal)

to fall for it, be gullible

tomber dans le piège

to fall into a trap, be trapped

tomber dans les pommes (informal)

to faint, pass out

tomber dans l'excès inverse

to go to the opposite extreme

tomber de

to fall from/out of/off

tomber de la lune (figurative)

to have dropped in from another planet

tomber dessus

to happen/show up unexpectedly

tomber de (tout) son haut

to crash to the ground, fall headlong

tomber du ciel

to be a godsend, heaven-sent

tomber du haut

to fall from a height/(figurative) to come down with a bump

tomber d'un excés dans un autre

to go from one extreme to another

tomber juste

to be correct, to hit the nail on the head

tomber le même jour

to fall/occur on the same day

tomber par terre

to fall to the ground

tomber sur

to come around to, light upon; to run/bump into; to come across/upon

bien tomber

to occur at the right time; to be lucky

faire tomber

to knock down, over; to drop; to bring down

laisser tomber

to drop; to let down, abandon, leave in the lurch

mal tomber

to occur at the wrong time; to be unlucky

se laisser tomber dans un fauteuil

to drop into an armchair

ça tombe bien

that's fortunate/convenient

ça tombe à point/pic (informal)

that's perfect timing

ça ne pouvait pas mieux tomber

it couldn't come/happen at a better time

l'eau tombe en cascades

water is cascading down

et il a fallu que ça tombe sur moi! (ironic)

it (just) had to be me!

la foudre est tombée

lightening struck

il est tombé sur la tête (informal)

he's got a screw loose, he must have been dropped on his head as a child

il les tombe toutes

he's a real ladykiller

il m'est tombé sur le dos/paletot/râble (familiar)

he laid into me, went for me

il nous est tombé dessus

he showed up unexpectedly

il tombe de la neige

it's snowing

il tombe quelques gouttes

it's sprinkling/spiting (with rain)

laisse tomber! (informal)

forget it, let it go, never mind

la maladie, ça peut vous tomber dessus n'importe quand

you can fall ill any time

la nouvelle vient de tomber à l'instant

the news has just broken

la nuit tombe

night is falling/it's getting back

quand la solitude vous tombe dessus...

when you suddenly find yourself alone...

une quantité de problèmes leur est tombée dessus

they had a whole series of problems

qu'est-ce qu'il tombe! (informal)

it's pouring/coming down in buckets/ tipping it down!

un téléfax vient de tomber

a fax has just come through


...And you thought I was kidding, huh?

To also make up for not posting for a few days, I have some good news for those who are serious in not learning only French, but for any other language that they are currently learning.

I currently follow Benny the Irish Polyglot and he's always doing some crazy new challenge for him to either learn a new language or improve on one he knows. He's just amazing!!

Well, he currently talked about how he uses italki to practice conversing Arabic. I checked it out and basically it's a great way to get a partner and practice each other speaking the language you are currently learning. He talks more in dept on his page about it as he has been using it for almost a year and has actually met with the CEO of italki. 

Since I know English and Spanish, I can practice conversing Spanish and English with them and practice my French. 

I'm going to slowly try it out because I'm very paranoid over things like that, especially when I don't know the person at all. You have to be careful who you meet.

But if someone who is already familiar with italki, I would love to hear your input on it. 

Until next time...

Le Mot du Jour: GAB

Sorry that I'm posting today's mot du jour so late, but it's been a long day over here in the East Coast. It started snowing today and I wouldn't have minded that if it wasn't for the wind slapping my face constantly. It's seriously cold outside!

Le mot du Jour est GAB. It's an abbreviation for Guichet Automatique de Banque. It means ATM/cash dispenser.

The sample sentence french.about.com give is:

• Les GAB sont trés commode. ATM's are very convenient.

Le GAB is also related to the word un guichet which means store window, counter, box office. It is also related to the world un guichetier which means counter clerk. 

Can I just say that this word is going to be so useful when I go abroad?!

Le Mot du Jour: Parier

Today's word of the day is parier.

It means to bet/to wager

Here are the sample sentences french.about.com gave:

1. Je te parie qu'il sera en retard. I bet he'll be late. 
2. As-tu jamais parié sur un cheval? Have you ever bet on a horse? 
3. Elles sont fatiguées, je parie. I bet they're tired; They're tired, I'd wager.

On a side note, today I was talking to my friend who is learning Japanese and he has this app on his iPad called Skritter. It looked really cool because it gave him sentences in Japanese to read in Kanji and then he had to answer it in Kanji by writing the characters on the screen. You can create your dictionary as well because you can put in vocabulary words you don't know and do vocabulary drills.

He told me he was basically obsessed with it and that he studied at least an hour a day with it. It looked like it really worked too. This will be really great when I begin to learn Japanese next year. I want to apply for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (J.E.T.) program, but even if I don't get accepted into the program, I would still love to learn Japanese. It's such an intense and rewarding language.

For those who want to work in the business/economic industry, knowing some Japanese (even French) is very beneficial because they are one of the top countries in the business field (among other things).

I tried to find out if they had a French version. So far, no luck. I am in the search of trying to find an app equivalent to it for the iPod/iPhone since I don't have an iPad (although I really, really want one). 

Hopefully, I'll find something!

Until next time!

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!! YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

Mot du Jour

A few days ago, I stumbled upon a website that was willing to give me all the French practice in the world. Actually, Monsieur recommended it a few weeks ago, but I never really checked it out until now.

The website is called french.about.com and it has endless lists of resources. From proficiency tests to French slang vocabularies. You can even sign up for a newsletter where Laura K. Lawless (a writer for the page) gives you daily exercises to improve your French.

I, obviously, have signed up for it and I get the mot du jour (word of the day) link along with other tips and exercises.

My mot du jour is klaxonner and it means to honk/beep/toot one's horn

It also comes with sample sentences so you can see how it is used. I am going to write daily words here along with their sample sentences and at the end of the week a list of all the vocabulary words that I learned. Hopefully, that will help me remember the words. 

I think I am also going to buy a pocket notebook to put them in, just so I can look back on them whenever I want. It will be a great way to write sentences along with their definitions, so I don't forget how to use them.

Before I forget the sample sentences they gave me were:

1. Quand vous arriverez, ne klaxonnez pas; je préfère que vous sonniez à la porte. When you arrive, don't beep your horn; I'd prefer it if you rang the doorbell.
2. Pourquoi les gens doivent-ils klaxonner quand ils voient bien c'est impossible de bouger? Why do people have to honk when they can see that it's impossible to move?

Hopefully this will help me out. Enjoy your Monday!

Struggles: Study Abroad and Visa Problems

So I haven't said anything, but I have been approved to study abroad in France! Boo-yah!

I'm so excited. I have never left the country before. I didn't even have a passport until this week! But I am excited and nervous and anxious and I can't wait to actually get to Paris. I have been approved for the IES Abroad program and have been sending out required forms and papers to the headquarter.

Lately though, I have been stuck. I have to apply for a visa through CampusFrance and it is just plain confusing for me.

There's all these things that I have to do and the website is packed with information. Not to mention the fact that I have to, apparently, make an appointment with the closest French Embassy for me to get my visa and I'm still wondering how I'm going to do that since I have to go there in person....I think.

I have to send money and other forms to them and, to put it bluntly, I have no idea what the hell I am doing.

I think I just have to sit down and read everything before doing anything. I just want to get it done and not have to do anymore pre-departure requirements.

.....Ahh, wish me luck and hope that I don't drown.

Reflection Month: #1

It's been a while since I updated anything about my journey to learning French. Tests have been taken, compositions have been written, and articles have been read. Monsieur has definitely been keeping me on my toes and since today is November 1st, I thought it was about time I updated you on what I have been doing.

Here's a review of what I went through and their outcome for the past two months.

• Oral exam. We had our first oral exam three weeks ago and, I have to say, it wasn't too bad. Monsieur had us choose a poem and memorize it: Le Corbeau et Le Renard and La cigale et la fourmi. Both poems were fun to read, but I chose Le Corbeau et le Renard. I wanted to do both, but let's face it. Life as a college student, you sometimes don't have enough time to do all of the things you want to do in one weekend. Plus my body likes to decide to, on its own accord, to sleep as much as possible because it knows that we are not going to go to sleep during the week. But I did pretty good on my oral. That reminds me, I need to email my professor and ask him what my grade was....Hopefully it was an A....or at least a B+! 

• Composition. Monsieur gave us a prompt to write about the first time Obama ran for President. Needless to say, I got an A. You know, after I gave my first draft to Tutor. I need to buy a gift for him for the all the trouble he's going through reading my "Me Jane....you Tarzon" speech.

• Presentation. We are currently reading Le Dieu du Carnage and my partner and I had to speak about the pages we were assigned on, in French. The presentation wasn't too bad. I just wish I was able to articulate my answers better than: Elle était fâché avec lui (I wonder if that's even grammatically correct. We're currently reviewing personal pronouns and I still get confused). I kind of like this book, plus I always feel proud of myself when I understand what I'm reading.

• Written exam. I did good on my first exam, but I could have done better (got an 80%). The tense worksheet I created really helped. I talked about it in my previous post: Study Habits Improved: # 1. A tip for all you language learners, if you're doing drills on spelling, make sure that you spell it the first time. My mistake was spelling the word wrong the first time in my worksheet and then using that as a template to continue my drills. So when I got the exam, I spelled the words correctly from my worksheet, but because I never noticed that I spelled it wrong, Monsieur, of course, marked them wrong. I lost a lot of points because of that. Struggles, I tell you. My second exam, I did much better (I got an 88%). I studied with one of my classmates and that definitely helped. I think I need to review more on my own before just to make sure I don't forget any material to go over. 

As you can see, Monsieur has given a lot of assignments to enhance our French skills (bless that man).

Au revoir!

Study Habits Improved: # 1

It's been a while since I've been able to update this blog. With school starting and everything, I have just been trying to stay on top of things. And one of those things that has been taking up most of my time is my French class.

I can absolutely say that the summer has made me a bit rusty. I forgot many of the verbs and how to conjugate them. Monsieur was definitely not happy with my class. This was an intermediate class and every time we looked at him, I'm pretty sure we had blank faces....well, I had it. I'm sure you can understand his frustration with us.

With that being said, I had to sit myself down in my room and study. But I will be honest with you all, that did not happen until I had to study for my test. My first French test was today and from what I learned studying for this test is that you should definitely study something from your language everyday, especially if you want to get even remotely fluent.

Cramming is not a good way for you to become fluent. Sure, you may know the words for the test, but you may not be retaining them for future use. But in my cramming, I did have a stroke of genius. I created a worksheet for each tense.

Here is how it looks. I designed it through Microsoft Excel and printed out one sheet for each tense.

Here's how it looks filled out. This one is for the present tense. It definitely made it easier for me to see how one -er verb can be spelled from another -er verb, especially if that -er verb is irregular. Plus because all the verbs that I needed to study for were there, I didn't have to worry about forgetting one.

This really helped me in organizing the different tenses in my head. I think that is what my problem was last year, plus I wasn't really organized for that class; which I should have been. If I was, it could have saved me a lot of stress, especially since French was brand new to me at that time and the verbs just looked the same to me.

But the real verdict will be when I get my test back. 

If you decide to use this, let me know. It would love to see if this is actually ideal to study a language. I can improve my studying habits if I get feedback from you guys!

That is all for now. Until next time.

Say What Again?

Last Thursday marked the beginning of the semester at my school and, what do you know, my first class was Intermediate French. As soon as I stepped into the classroom and saw Monsieur (who I haven't had since first semester of last year), I knew this was going to be a class where I would be forced to speak in French.

I have to admit though, after a whole summer of not studying French (I should have, but didn't), I was proud to form together a coherent sentence in French to Monsieur. The last time I saw him, I didn't know squat (You hear that, Monsieur? I deserve a gold star!!).

It was a rough start, I have to say. Many of my classmates were intimidated and you could literally hear the lights buzzing above us because of how quiet it was. Monsieur had us also start reading a page from the new textbook and then asked us questions about what we read.

All that was going through my mind as he asked us questions in French was: Say what again?

Image received from google.com

It was a struggle. A long, painful struggle, but we survived. Monsieur isn't a bad guy. It's just that when he starts talking to us in French is when we want to run and hide. But if it's something I learned as I researched tips on how to make learning a language easier, is to at least try. Trying will result in mistakes, but that's how you will learn. It's like when you first learned to ride a bike. When the training wheels came off, I'm pretty sure you fell, ran into trees and possibly your friends, but you got better, didn't you?

Without trying, you won't get better. But don't worry, if you're still scared about doing this alone, don't be because I'm right there with you.

I'm pretty sure I'll be saying those three words again...and again...and again. Say what again? (Yeah, that).

Till next time...

Comment t'allez vous?

Well I have officially begun my blog to my journey to French fluency. This year is definitely going to be challenging. In one week, I will be heading back to school and one of the classes I will be taking this upcoming semester will be once again French. I have made it to the intermediate level, but the summer can make you forget the things you had memorized only three months ago (three months is a very long time). My French professor will be named Monsieur for the sake of me not getting in trouble in the future. You can never be too safe, I always say.

With that being said, Monsieur and I have one week until we meet face to face once again; and, from past experience, he will expect me of retaining at least common sense in certain things. We can only pray for that when the time comes.

Not to mention, Tutor better be prepared for the many questions and slight panic I will possibly develop as the semester goes by. Oh, he's going to love me since we're living in the same dorm.

Last year, I have learned a lot about learning a language. Always study something every night, stay super organized, and, for the love of god, DO NOT procrastinate. The last one was my biggest downfall. I would try to make over 100 flashcards the night before the test. By the time I was done making them, I just wanted to hop into bed and watch some TV. I would barely study ten of them before giving up and succumbing to sleep (maybe it was because I was studying on my bed...nah).

New goals are definitely in order. I have thought of how I plan to devote my time to learning the language this summer and plan to apply them as soon as the semester starts. I'll keep you updated and let you know how my first day of classes start with Monsieur.

Wish me luck!