In Part 1, we discussed how textbook French, which is less flexible with grammar rules, is different from conversational French, which often takes shortcuts. For example, small words such as tu es (you are) are shortened to t’es (you’re), and some words, such as the ne in ne...pas, are dropped entirely. This lesson focuses on how some shortcuts can affect sentence meaning and clarity.
As we just mentioned, the ne in the negative construction ne...pas (not) usually disappears in conversational French. Like the two friends in the video below, most people typically drop ne, yet their message remains perfectly clear with pas:
En fait, je peux pas me réveiller si j'ai pas mon café.
In fact, I can't wake up if I don't have my coffee.
Captions 15-16, Sophie et Edmée Le petit-déjeuner
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Here is the textbook version with ne...pas:
En fait, je ne peux pas me réveiller si je n’ai pas mon café.
In fact, I cannot wake up if I do not have my coffee.
While dropping the ne in ne...pas rarely affects clarity, dropping the ne in ne...plus (no more/no longer) can sometimes cause confusion. Plus on its own might be misinterpreted as a positive statement to mean "more." In the example below, j’ai plus faim could be misconstrued as "I’m hungrier." Fortunately, we can tell from the context that the person doesn’t want any more food:
Tu veux quelque chose ? Un fruit ? Non ? D'accord. -Non, merci. J'ai plus faim.
Do you want anything? A fruit? No? OK. -No thanks. I'm full [I'm not hungry anymore].
Captions 16-17, Le Jour où tout a basculé Notre appartement est hanté - Part 5
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In any case, using the complete expression ne...plus (no more/no longer) would remove any doubt:
Tu veux quelque chose ? Un fruit ? Non ? D'accord. -Non, merci. Je n’ai plus faim.
Do you want anything? A fruit? No? OK. -No thanks. I am full.
But if you're still in doubt, the pronunciation of plus provides an additional clue. Not pronouncing the s at the end of plus implies the negative ne...plus (no more), as in j’ai plus de batterie (I have no more battery, I’m out of battery). Conversely, if the s were pronounced, it would indicate the opposite, "more battery," which would not make sense in this specific context:
Non non non. J'ai plus de batterie, j'ai plus de batterie !
No no no. I'm out of battery, I'm out of battery!
Caption 102, Mère & Fille Soirée interdite
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Again, the use of the full negative phrase ne...plus makes everything clear:
Non non non. Je n'ai plus de batterie, je n'ai plus de batterie !
No no no. I'm out of battery, I'm out of battery!
Here is another common phrase that tends to baffle learners of French when they hear it spoken: je sais pas, often pronounced very fast as one word, "chaipa." It’s roughly equivalent to "dunno" in English:
Je sais pas, ouais, t'as changé les rideaux du salon ?
I don't know, yeah, did you change the living room curtains?
Caption 5, Mère & Fille Le dentiste
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Another potentially confusing trend in spoken French is the use of the very versatile personal pronoun on (one). Traditionally used to mean "one" or “people” when making a general statement, its usage has expanded in informal contexts to replace just about anyone: nous (we), il/elle (he/she), ils/elles (they), and even je (I)! Essentially, it’s a favorite shortcut for natives who want to keep verb conjugations simple and take advantage of the fact that on remains in the third-person singular no matter who on is referring to. Typically, though, on is an alternative to the more formal nous (we):
T'imagines! -On serait capables.
Can you imagine! -We could do that.
Caption 69, Elisa et Mashal CV
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In the textbook version, the verb would change to the third-person plural nous:
T'imagines ! -Nous serions capables.
Can you imagine! -We could do that.
Here is another expression with on as an alternative to nous (we): the idiomatic expression on y va, which people use when they want to get going:
On y va !
Here we go!
Caption 12, Il était une fois: Les découvreurs 13. Stephenson - Part 5
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Interestingly, as an idiomatic expression, on y va has almost exclusively replaced its formal equivalent nous y allons, which tends to be used in a more literal sense:
Nous y allons !
We're going there!
In conclusion, the use of shortcuts in spoken French is very common and convenient, adding fluidity and simplicity to the language. On the flip side, straying too far from grammatical French can affect meaning and clarity, which can be especially challenging to French learners. But don't worry: tuning in to Yabla videos will greatly improve your comprehension of real-world French. Thank you for reading!
In a previous lesson, we discussed the words finalement and enfin, which both mean "finally" but have different connotations. Now we'll look at the related phrase à la fin, which can also mean "finally," but is more aptly translated as "in the end":
Comme une larme à la fin de l'histoire
Like a tear at the end of the story
Caption 29, 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille - Tomber dans ses yeux
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However, like enfin, which is often used as a filler word equivalent to "well," "I mean," "in any case," or "come on," à la fin also has a more colloquial meaning. It's used to express frustration, when you've had enough of something and want it to be done with, or when you're fed up with someone's behavior:
Tu deviens ridicule à la fin avec cette histoire.
You're becoming ridiculous with this story at this point.
Caption 11, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mon histoire d'amour est impossible - Part 5
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Mais qu'est-ce que t'as à la fin avec ce garçon?
But what is it with you and this boy, ultimately?
Caption 16, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mon histoire d'amour est impossible - Part 5
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Mais arrête à la fin!
But stop it already!
Caption 58, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté - Part 6
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In this sense, à la fin overlaps with enfin, which can also be used to express frustration:
Mais enfin, relève-toi!
Come on, stand up!
Caption 2, Il était une fois - les Explorateurs - 15. Bruce et les sources du Nil
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You can even use the two in the same sentence, when you're really frustrated:
Enfin de quoi vous parlez à la fin?
Well, what are you talking about now?
Caption 65, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté - Part 5
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Mais enfin, elle est dingue, cette histoire à la fin!
But come on, this story is crazy now!
Caption 43, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté - Part 7
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But that's not all! There's yet another word that's used informally for this purpose: encore (still, again). Patricia gives a succinct explanation of this in her video on encore and toujours:
Enfin le mot "encore" peut désigner l'impatience
Finally, the word "encore" can indicate impatience
ou le mécontentement par rapport à un événement
or dissatisfaction with regard to an event
qui se répète ou continue.
that repeats or continues.
Par exemple, la phrase: Quoi encore?
For example, the sentence: What now? [What is it now?]
Captions 17-21, Le saviez-vous? - Utilisation de "encore" et "toujours"
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Patricia also uses two phrases meaning "to be fed up with" or "to be sick/tired of" in this video—en avoir assez de and en avoir marre de:
Ah! Encore lui!
Ah! Him again!
C'est clair, ça veut dire que on en a assez de le voir.
It's clear, it means that we're tired of seeing him.
On en a marre de lui.
We're sick of him.
Captions 25-28, Le saviez-vous? - Utilisation de "encore" et "toujours"
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You now have all you need to vent your frustrations in French!
The adjectives sensé(e) and censé(e) are easy to confuse, since they have the same pronunciation and almost the same spelling (in other words, they're homophones). Sensé(e) is related to the English word "sense," and means "sensible," "reasonable," or "sane":
J'étais face à trois personnes que
I was facing three people whom
je considérais comme étant parfaitement sensées.
I considered to be perfectly sane.
Captions 80-81, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté
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Censé(e) might remind you of the words "census," "censor," or "censure," but it means something quite different. It's the word for "supposed," as in "supposed to do something." Just like "supposed to," it's nearly always preceded by the verb "to be" (être) and followed by an infinitive:
On est censé... faire réparer des objets qui ont quelques problèmes.
We're supposed to... bring items that have some problems for repair.
Caption 2, Actus Quartier - Repair Café
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On était censé n'avoir aucun souci,
They were supposed to have no concerns,
avoir des centrales complètement fiables.
to have totally reliable power plants.
Caption 25, Manif du Mois - Fukushima plus jamais ça
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Alors que la police, elle est censée être là pour nous protéger.
While the police are supposed to be there to protect us.
Caption 14, Banlieues françaises - jeunes et policiers, l'impossible réconciliation?
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You can always say supposé(e) instead of censé(e), which might be a little easier to remember:
...son fameux pont
...its famous bridge,
qui était supposé être un lieu où [on] profitait de beaux panoramas.
which was supposed to be a place where you enjoy beautiful panoramas.
Captions 26-27, De nouvelles découvertes avec Marion - Le parc des Buttes Chaumont
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Or you can use the verb devoir, especially in the past tense:
...bien qu'elle se demanda
...although she wondered
en quoi cela devait l'aider à se rendre au bal.
in what way that was supposed to help her get to the ball.
Captions 47-48, Contes de fées - Cendrillon
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Whichever version of "supposed to" you use is perfectly sensé!
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