A little bit French

GemeniguyThu, 17 Feb 2011 13:05:02 -0600
Bonjour, Je m'appelle Rick. Je viens des New York. When I meet a French-speaking person, after an appropriate introduction of course I wish to tell them right off that I only know a limited amount of French. Is the correct way to say this as follows?: "Je parle juste un petit peu francais." Any information will be appreciated. Merci
Pascal PFri, 18 Feb 2011 02:58:23 -0600
Je ne parle qu'un peu de français. or Je ne parle pas beacoup de français.

I think these are right. Someone please correct me If I'm wrong. I haven't spoken French in ages
GemeniguyFri, 18 Feb 2011 12:23:16 -0600
Bonjour, Pascal P. Merci.

Can you tell me if I am translating this right?: "Je ne parle qu'un peu de français" means in anglais "I don't speak but a little of French" Can you tell me if I am translating this right?: "Je ne parle pas beacoup de français" means in anglais "I don't speak much French" Merci in advance for any help you can provide.
コッドTue, 01 Mar 2011 18:44:06 -0600
Yes, you translated them correctly. But at the first one, you translated it word by word which sounds odd in English. You could consider it as: I speak only a little French.
Anyway, for a native French it would sound normal so be free to use it like that even though for me, the first sentence would sound little more polite
GemeniguyWed, 02 Mar 2011 00:01:26 -0600
Bonsoir, ?. Comment vous appelez-vous?

I intentionally translate French word by word into English. It's easier for me to remember the French words that way. For example, I don't think of "Est-ce que vous me comprenez" in English as "Do you understand me?". I think of it in English as "Do you me understand?" Same thing for other French phrases.

Merci.
Pascal PWed, 02 Mar 2011 02:28:58 -0600
Yes, I find translating literally helps to remember.

Something that might interest you,

Est-ce que? literally means Is it that?

so for example:

Est-ce que tu parles le français? means Is it that you speak French?

When you invert the verb and subject, eg. Parlez-vous le français?

You are literally saying "Speak-you French?" This is similar to old English word order. For example, in Shakespeare, with questions, the subject and verb are often inverted/

For example: "Hath not a Jew eyes?" (The Merchant of Venice--definitely worth reading or viewing at a theatre)
GemeniguyWed, 02 Mar 2011 23:52:18 -0600
Bonsoir, Pascal P

Thanks for the information.

Merci
khiro Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:05:24 -0500
bonsoir tou lmonde
Sami ZakiSun, 20 Mar 2011 12:50:35 -0500
Est-ce que tu parles l'anglais? Je peux parler l'anglais couramment.
How can I say ( I can speak it..)
Merci
janey cThu, 07 Apr 2011 00:38:27 -0500
right now it is all greek to me bonne soire tous les jeunes qui veut apprendre un autre langue
Sami ZakiThu, 05 May 2011 13:40:29 -0500
How can we say??
Don't give up
Thank you
Pascal PThu, 05 May 2011 15:57:07 -0500
@Sami Zaki

"I can speak it (the language)" is "Je peux la parler".

The direct object pronoun "la" is placed before the infinitive since one is present, otherwise it just precedes the conjugated verb.

"Don't give up":

More idiomatically, we say "Ne laisse jamais tomber" literally "Don't let (the matter) drop"

But a more direct translation would be "N'abandonnez jamais" (Never give up)

Sami ZakiThu, 05 May 2011 20:14:20 -0500
Thanks a lot for your help.
see you later
Marie-Claire RivièreMon, 30 Jan 2012 15:00:51 -0600
Bonjour à tous!

Comme d'habitude Pascal, vous nous donnez toujours des bonnes explications!

Pascal is doing a great job everyone and learn from his comment and suggestions!

When we want to say "don't give up!" we usually say "tiens bon!" or "tiens fort!"

Je vous souhaite bon chance pour vos études! - Good luck for your studies!

- Marie-Claire
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