Top Intermediate French Mistakes

Top Intermediate French Mistakes After learning French for a while, whether in a class or on your own, youve probably found that there are some things you just cant figure out how to say, or that people are always correcting you on. These may be issues that you havent been taught yet  or concepts that youve studied but just dont get. As an intermediate French speaker, there is still plenty of time to fix these mistakes before they fossilize in your mind. Here are ten of the most common intermediate-level French mistakes with links to lessons. French Mistake 1: Y and En Y and en are known as adverbial pronouns - they replace the preposition or de plus a noun, respectively. They consistently cause problems for intermediate French speakers, though Im not sure whether this is because they are not adequately taught in French classes, or simply because they are difficult to master. Regardless of the reason for the difficulties, the fact is that both y and en are extremely important in French, so be sure to study this lesson. French Mistake 2: Manquer The French verb manquer (to miss) is a tough one because the word order is the opposite of what you probably expect. For example, I miss you translates not as je te manque but rather tu me manques (literally, you are missing to me.) Once you understand the proper French word order, youll never miss this one again. French Mistake 3: Le Passà © French past tenses are definitely tricky. The passà © composà © vs imparfait issue is a constant struggle until students truly understand each of these tenses and the differences between them. Theres also the matter of the passà © simple, which needs to be understood but not used. Get past this confusion with these lessons. French Mistake 4: Agreement Agreement of adjectives and à ªtre verbs may seem pointless and aggravating, but its part of the French language and needs to be learned. There are several kinds of agreement; the ones intermediate students really need to watch out for are agreement of adjectives with the nouns they modify, and agreement of the past participle of à ªtre verbs with their subjects in the passà © composà © and other compound tenses. French Mistake 5: Faux Amis There are thousands of French words that look a lot like English words, and while many of them are true cognates (i.e., mean the same thing in both languages), a lot of them are false cognates. If you look at the word actuellement and think Aha! Thats the French translation of actually, youre going to make a mistake because it actually means currently. Actuellement and hundreds of other faux amis are explained on my site, so take the time to learn the most common ones and thus avoid common pitfalls. French Mistake 6: Relative Pronouns The French relative pronouns are  qui,  que,  lequel,  dont, and  oà ¹, and depending on context can mean  who,  whom,  that,  which,  whose,  where, or  when. They are difficult for various reasons, including not having standard English equivalents and being required in French but often optional in English. The  pronoun  dont  in particular  causes major problems for French students, so be sure to learn about French relative pronouns. French Mistake 7: Temporal Prepositions Temporal prepositions introduce an amount of time, and the French ones are often confused. There is a correct time to use each of the prepositions  ,  en,  dans,  depuis,  pendant  and  pour, so take the time to learn the difference. French Mistake 8: Depuis and Il y a Depuis  and  il y a  are both used to describe  time  in the past, but  depuis  means since or for while  il y a  means ago. If you had studied this lesson one year ago (il y a un an), you would have already known how to use these expressions correctly for a year (depuis  un an). Its not too late -   allez-y! French Mistake 9: Ce  Homme French adjectives usually have to agree with the nouns they modify in gender and number, but there are several that have a special form used when they precede a word that begins with a vowel or mute H. For example, to say this man, you might be tempted to say  ce  homme  because  ce  is the masculine demonstrative article. But because French likes to maintain euphony,  ce  changes to  cet  in front of a vowel or mute H:  cet  homme. French Mistake 10: Pronominal Verbs and Reflexive Pronouns Pronominal verbs (including reflexive verbs) cause lots of problems, especially when they are used in the infinitive. You probably know that Im getting up is  je  me là ¨ve, but what about I have to get up or Im going to get up? Should you say  je  dois/vais  me  lever  or  je  dois/vais  se  lever? Look at this lesson for the answer to that question as well as all kinds of other good info about pronominal verbs. High-Intermediate Mistakes High-intermediate means your French is pretty good - you excel in everyday situations, and can even hold your own in long discussions, but there are still some issues that you cant seem to get the hang of, or that you simply dont remember five minutes after looking them up. Reading several explanations of the same issue can help cement understanding of these sticky issues, so here are ten of the most common high-intermediate French mistakes with links to my lessons - maybe this time it will finally make sense. High Intermediate Mistake 1: Se and Soi Se  and  soi  are two of the most commonly misused French pronouns.  Se  is a reflexive pronoun while  soi  is a stressed pronoun, but they are very often mixed up with  le  and  lui, respectively. These lessons will help you understand the difference in order to avoid any confusion.High Intermediate Mistake 2: Encore vs Toujours Because  encore  and  toujours  can both mean yet and still (though they both have several other meanings as well), they are very often confused with one another. Learn how and when to use each of them. High Intermediate Mistake 3: What Trying to figure out how to say what in French can be tricky - should it be  que  or  quoi, or what about  quel? All of these terms have specific uses in French, so the only way to know which one to use when is to understand exactly what each one means. High Intermediate Mistake 4: Ce que, ce qui, ce dont, ce quoi Indefinite relative pronouns link relative clauses to  a main  clause when there is no specific antecedent... huh? In other words, when you have a sentence like this is what I want or thats what he told me, the what that links the two clauses has an unknown (indefinite) meaning. French indefinite relative pronouns often - though not always translate as what, so take a look at this lesson for detailed explanations and examples. High Intermediate Mistake 5: Si Clauses Si clauses, also known as conditionals or conditional sentences, have an if clause and a then (result) clause, such as If I have time, (then) I will help you. There are three types of si clauses, and each requires a certain sequence of verb tenses in French, which can cause confusion. The rules, however, are quite simple once you take the time to learn them. High Intermediate Mistake 6: Final Letters French pronunciation is tricky when it comes to final letters. Many words end in silent consonants, but some of those normally silent consonants are pronounced when followed by a word that begins with a vowel or mute H. This is often difficult for French learners, but with study and practice you really can master it, and these lessons are the place to start. High Intermediate Mistake 7: Subjunctive A high-intermediate French speaker is certainly aware of the subjunctive and knows to use it after things like  il  faut  que  and  je  veux  que, but there are probably still some expressions or verbs that youre not sure about. Do you use the subjunctive after  espà ©rer, and what about  il est possible/probable? Take a look at these pages for help with all of your subjunctive questions. High Intermediate Mistake 8: Negation   Obviously, a high-intermediate speaker knows how to use  ne...  pas  and many other negative forms, but there might be a few issues you still find tricky, like  ne  pas  in front of an infinitive,  ne  without  pas, and  pas  without  ne. Whatever your question about negation, youll find answers in these lessons. High Intermediate Mistake 9: Two or More Verbs There are several different types of French verb constructions with two or more verbs: compound moods/tenses (e.g.,  jai  mangà ©), dual verbs (je  veux  manger),  modals  (je  dois  manger), passive voice (il est mangà ©), and the causative construction (je  fais  manger). Many of these do not translate literally from English and thus can be difficult for French students. Your best bet is to review the lesson on each structure to make sure you understand, and then practice whenever you can to remember it. High Intermediate Mistake 10: Word Order Last but not least, word order can be a problem, especially when dealing with negation, various pronouns, and more than one verb all in the same sentence. This is another area where practice makes perfect - review the lessons and then put them to work. Position of object pronouns  Position of adverbs

CASE - 1 Routine and Goodwill Emails Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CASE - 1 Routine and Goodwill Emails - Essay Example It has come to our attention that most of us get distracted from the constant internet activities such as relentless email alerts, mail overloads and constant messages. Most of these actions divert attention of staff from the authentic work schedule to other minimal yet unproductive outcomes. Clearly, these disruptions not only allure you from your work, but more so impinge on your length of concentration, thereby causing unnecessary duress. In addition, such interruptions without a doubt infuriate and thus affect innovation and pleasure that you would otherwise derive from your work. This in turn negatively reflects in your yield. This predicament is taking a toll on most companies and we would like to curb its effects before we face extinction. We will therefore adopt an interruption management policy. Firstly, you are asked to configure your email applications. Adoption of systems such as outlook help sort out the mails. You can also study those who send you mails and know their t raits so as to make better judgment. Moreover, turn off any possible avenues for sound or visual alerts whenever in the office. Additionally, we have come up with specific times for checking and responding to necessary emails. This will be done after every two hours at least. However, the imperative mails must be responded to right away. In addition to this, there is need for face to face communications whenever one needs the output of a colleague within the organization. It helps you unwind and improves concentration. Additionally, through this, you will build a good rapport with your colleagues and save time as well. You can also do phone calls instead of writing emails. Furthermore, avoid as much as you can, replying to all, any message that comes in. This is because; it would interrupt those who are not directly concerned with the message in question. Restrain yourself too from replying virtually any email. Furthermore, you are to employ the automated messages system to shift at tention of your distracters. Also, renew your contacts automatically. The management would therefore like to get acknowledgement for the receipt of this document by you through email. We highly value you and anticipate a smooth transition. In case of any comments on the new policy, contact the human resource manager. Kind regards, Operations Manager Investigations by an Information Technology research company named Basex (2009) shows that basically any human being who uses the internet misses approximately two hours of their work time daily, to distractions caused by junk emails. Bigger companies lose as much as one billion dollars annually due to less productivity from members of staff instigated by overwork from emails (Ross, 2009). According to Rescue Time, a time management company (2010), an individual employee exploits instantaneous messaging seventy seven times on average every day. Definitely, it is clear that this eats into the company’s time (Jones, 2011). This is b ecause, once the effortful control of the brain is distorted, one would voluntarily desire to check the new messages as they come in. This is according to Porter (2010), who attributes this to the rise of technology obsession. The art of thinking requires concentration. Therefore, according to researchers at the University of Michigan (2010), multitasking can never be adopted for simply any activity. Reason being, 40% of the productivity would be negatively affected. It takes approximately fifteen minutes to recover from a

Management Accounting- A case study in balanced scorecard Essay

Management Accounting- A case study in balanced scorecard - Essay Example The balanced scorecard revolves around this strategy. In relation to growing the revenues, the shift of emphasis on traditional ticketing distribution will enable the company to cut on various items on its administrative overhead. This entails a shift in market strategy, mainly by re-positioning the Yunnan Lucky Air brand to becoming an on-line travel leader through its e-commerce business model. These changes are reflected on the perceptions as objectives about the brand and the website on the customers perspective, and would later transform into expectations of customers. In order to meet these expectations, various internal processes in line with the adoption of the e-commerce business model in terms of sales and distribution should be addressed. Lastly, learning and growth objectives are related to the changes in the companys HR policies because of the new organisational structure. Fulfiling these objectives tell about how the strategies will be carried out as soon as changes are enacted. The balanced scorecard has been widely accepted by the business community since its introduction by Norton and Kaplan in 1992 (Kaplan & Norton 1993). This paper aims to explore the benefits as well as the limitations of the framework in order to recommend the adoption of it to the business practices of the Chinese airline company, Yunnan Lucky Air. One major benefit of the balanced scorecard is that the framework provides a multidimensional assessment of the issues in line with a companys vision and strategy using the four perspectives (Dror 2008). In the case of Yunnan Lucky Air, for instance, setting an expansion strategy can be off-the-target if the objectives in line with the strategy are not coordinated by these four objectives. If the company chooses to expand with only regard to the customers and not its shareholders, an expansion strategy of continuing the low-cost positioning

Homeostatic Balances Essay Example for Free

Homeostatic Balances Essay

Governmental Regulation of Privacy Essay -- Expository Essays Research

Governmental Regulation of Privacy Many laws have been enacted by the government to regulate privacy. One piece of data that is used to uniquely identify people is the Social Security Number. Surveillance in the United States began mostly with the Social Security Act of 1935 when Social Security was used to track people's earnings and to pay retirement benefits. The government was the only group able to access the information. However, today the Social Security card can get someone credit cards and driver licenses enough for someone to steal an identity. The Privacy Act of 1974 created a law to help protect citizens from the government abusing its privileges. The Privacy Act requires State and Local authorities to tell the individual three things when requesting the Social Security Number. One is if the disclosure is mandatory or voluntary. Two: what is the status or other authority the Social Security Number is solicited, like what other government agencies it is being provided to? Lastly, what uses will be made of the number by the agencies? ( http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/privac...

Ernest Hemingway ` A Farewell to Arms`

With its relatively simple plot, sparse language, and seemingly traditional background of love and war, Earnest Hemingway's third novel, â€Å"A Farewell to Arms† stands as one of the most highly regarded novels of the twentieth century.Beneath the traditional surface of the novel revolutionary narrative techniques and penetrating appraisals of political and social themes interact to produce, perhaps, the most richest and profound work of Hemingway's career.The themes and   emotions of â€Å"A farewell to Arms† are stated indirectly, through an unreliable narrator, but beneath the familiar-seeming surface of the story, like an iceberg, â€Å"which  Ã‚   Hemingway often took to be the apt image of his art.† (Bloom 10)One important technique Hemingway uses in â€Å"A Farewell to Arms† is to tell the story from a 1st person narrative point of view. This allows for the inclusion of ambiguity and unreliability in the story, so that the reader can never be e xactly certain (as one can in omniscient narration) of the nature and specificity or meaning of the events that are being recounted.The first step toward this ambiguous and unreliable narrative is to create a character with an outward traditional â€Å"face:† that of a soldier; but with a non-traditional inner-self: â€Å"the book is cast in the form which Hemingway has apparently delimited for himself in the novel-diary form.It is written in the first person, in that bare and unliterary style[†¦] in that tone which suggests a roughly educated but sensitive poet who is prouder of his muscles than of his vocabulary.† (Meyers 121)The poetic narrator caught in a war that he is only ambivalently engaged in at an emotional level, and then caught up in a whirlwind love-affair that he may or may not be faking,generates an enormous degree of novelty in Hemingway's characterization. The fact that the narrator spends a great deal of his time contradicting himself or acting in direct opposition to his expressed beliefs endows â€Å"A Farewell to Arms† not only with verisimilitude, but also with a multi-layered theme, one which must be searched for by the reader as he or she follows along with Fredrick Henry's own quest.Henry says he is in love with Catherine, but then immediately remarks: â€Å"I knew I did not love Catherine Barkley nor had any idea of loving her. This was a game, like bridge, in which you said things instead of playing cards. Like bridge you had to pretend you were playing for money or playing for some stakes.† (Hem 30-31)This dynamic use of theme marks one of several innovative narrative techniques at work in the novel. By subsuming even his character to the (hidden) theme of the novel, Hemingway allowed for an intense degree of reader-identification and thematic resonance. The theme of the novel is probably most directly and explicitely stated by Frederick Henry's observation that:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"If people bring so much co urage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them.The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   you too but there will be no special hurry.† (Hem) This theme, one of bitterness, regret, and mortality — where heroism and courage are met only by death is decidedly not a traditional theme for war novels or love stories. By digging deeply beyond the surface layers of the novel, an astute reader will find that the aforementioned traditional themes of the heroic soldier and the happy lovers gives way to a more probing, penetrating — and accurate — view of love and war, at least in light of Hemingway's personal beliefs and experiences.Beneath the romantic surface is a brutal truth of death and regret and waste and sadness: â€Å"For a war novel, however, A Farewell to Arms ends rather surprisingly, with the strangled and stillborn death Of Frederic's and Catherine's infant, and Catherine's subsequent death by hemorrhaging.† (Pozorski)In fact, this theme is foreshadowed and hinted at throughout the course of the novel by way of   Henry's unreliable narration and also by way of the use of symbols and wordplay through the novel's rising action. Key to Hemingway's themes being â€Å"masked† or mirrored is his use of wordplay and puns.The title of course operates as a â€Å"pun † of sorts: â€Å"A Farewell to Arms involves a play on words relating both to Frederic Henry's desertion from the Italian army and to his later leave-taking of Catherine Barkley after her death in Switzerland.† (Harrington 59)However, there are other instances of puns and wordplay which specifically point out to the astute reader that Henry's surface level narration cloaks the deeper more desolate themes recounted above.â€Å"One highly revealing play on words in A Farewell to Arms involves Frederic's returning to the front before his knee is completely healed. He has only â€Å"partial articulation† in the wounded leg (96), a pun that captures his reticence and failings as narrator†¦ Similarly, while making their diagnosis, the doctors in Milan â€Å"[t]est [Frederic's] articulation† (96), which matches the reader's task in working through this intricate text.† (Harrington 59)

Tell the Women That We Are Going - 1258 Words

Analysis of Tell the women that we are going The narrator in tell the women that we are going is a third person omniscient narrator with Bills point of view ½. I can sees that it is a third person narrator form Bills point of view on page 222 line 28 Bill was thinking how Jerry was getting to be deep, the way he stared all the time and hardly did any talking at all. Here I get a clear example of that the point of view is from Bills perspective. That will say that we know all about what Bill is thinking, felling, his background, see and do. All of this is shown in the shot story, a example is on page 221 first line to line 6 same page, another example is on page 226 line 36 and the following two sentences. Where I get to know what†¦show more content†¦With example the girls. In the opening is there a presentation of the two main character and their friendship. To capture the interest of the reader the author have made a special friendship. The special about this opening is that you do not get presented for the main problem, but only the two main character and their friendship. Not all the main themes are presented in the opening, only a few of the themes are presented. The short story end opened, because you do not get to know what they with the two dead girls and how their trip end. The end is unexpected, because he kills the two girls, without given a specific reason. Because the ending is unexpected you, as reader, get surprised, confused, you sit back with the felling of what did just happened. All the event in the short story happens in chronological order. There is no flash forward or flash backs, which confirm that the short story is chronological build up. All the events happens very suddenly there are no hint that lead up to any of the events. The point of no return is on page 222 line 35, where they talk about taking a little ride in a car. 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