This is what your online French classes should teach you
So, are you wondering how should a French teacher help you when you take online French classes?
You’re in luck!
Jim asked me a question today by email, which I’ll share with you.
Read the article to find out how I answer to my students in my online French programs, and listen to the podcast to get a short resource for your daily practice!
Photo credit: Flickr
How online French classes should be conducted
Today, one of my clients sent me this question by email. We talk every week by Skype, after he prepares 4 lessons between our sessions – and today he had a question while going through one of the lessons:
“My biggest problem with this lesson was having forgotten that some verbs can be reflexive or not reflexive, and that the auxiliary for passé composé could be different, and about the agreement when the auxiliary is être.”
This was my answer to him
“In English, the reflexive subtext is the default.
When I say “I washed”, it’s clear that I washed myself. If we want to specify that we washed something/someone else, we have to add the object direct: “I washed my dog”.
In French, we have to be specific in both situations, and the default is the active mode “J’ai lavé” would indicate that we washed something/someone else. We still have to be specific: “J’ai lavé mon chien / je l’ai lavé” or “Je me suis lavé”.
All reflexive verbs conjugate with être and their past participle agrees with the subject. “Je me suis lavée”, if I would talk about myself.
If it helps, think about the reflexive mode as a verb that has as the subject and the object direct the same person: I washed (who?) myself – subject and object direct are both “I/me”.
Also, if it helps, think about the past participle as if it was an adjective (La fenêtre s’est fermée à cause du vent – la fenêtre est fermée).
I hope that this clarifies a bit the reflexive mode, and please do send me notes as you go through the module.”
That’s how we are working inside of the J’Ouellette® Intensif program. Check it out – you’ll love it! 🙂
Did you find something you resonate with? I’d love to hear from you!
Bonne chance ! : )
Got a minute?
Let’s practice together with today’s episode from the Daily Minute with J’Ouellette® podcast:
CLICK HERE for more articles on this topic »
Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French and BREAK your language barrier!
Let me guess.
Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?
Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.
…and now, please SHARE this article with your friends. They’ll love you for it! : )
À la prochaine,
Llyane
Photo credit: Tatyana Markovtsev, A.G. photographe
