The word force is self-explanatory. It means “force” or “strength." However, what makes the cognate force interesting is that it has other meanings besides “strength." Indeed, there are a variety of idiomatic expressions such as à force (over time), en force (in force), de force (by force), among others. 

Before we start focusing on the idiomatic expressions mentioned above, let’s look at force as a cognate. In the video below, Caroline notes that it takes a certain amount of force to play badminton:

Voilà. Y a beaucoup de... y a... de la force en fait.

There you are. There's a lot of... there's... force, in fact.

Caption 17, Caroline - et le badminton

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“Force” being synonymous with “strength," it makes sense that la force also translates as “strength." For example, eating your vegetables, especially carrots, will give you plenty of force:

Cela donne beaucoup de force. Surtout les carottes, là.

It gives you a lot of strength. Especially the carrots here.

Caption 40, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois

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Avoir de la force not only means “to have strength,” but also “to be strong”:

Il a beaucoup de force dans les bras.

He has very strong arms (literally, he has a lot of strength in the arms).

The word force loses its original meaning when combined with other nouns, as in un tour de force (an amazing feat, or, as we also say in English, a tour de force). In the video below, a fashion genius a réussi un tour de force (managed an amazing feat) by “turning a leather goods brand into a fashion brand to be reckoned with":

Le petit prodige du groupe LVMH, qui a réussi un tour de force

The little prodigy of the LVMH group, who managed an amazing feat

Caption 17, Le Journal - Défilé de mode

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While the gifted can réussir un tour de force, others, like the singer IAM, make un retour en force (a comeback, literally "a return in force"). Notice the switch to the preposition en here: 

Avec ce disque, IAM fait un retour en force.

With this album, IAM makes ​​a comeback.

Caption 9, LCM - IAM fait son retour en force!

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By itself, en force means “in force” or “in large numbers”:

Seuls nos guerriers, et en force, peuvent y aller.

Only our warriors, and in numbers, can go there.

Caption 26, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 15. Bruce et les sources du Nil

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En force (in force/in large numbers) should not be confused with de force (by force). Again, pay attention to prepositions:

Alors ils m'ont embarqué au poste, de force.

So they took me to the police station, by force.

Caption 72, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai piégé mon fan

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You can also combine force with other prepositions. The construction à force de + verb means "by doing/by dint of," implying some repetitive action. In other words, by continuing to be/do something, consequences will follow—some good, some bad, and some hilarious. In the video below, à force de maltraiter (by mistreating) the door a few too many times, Barbara and Isabelle caused their apartment number six to turn into a number nine, leading to all sorts of trouble:

Effectivement, à force de maltraiter cette pauvre porte d'entrée,

Indeed, by mistreating that poor entrance door,

la vis qui tenait le numéro a fini par tomber.

the screw that was holding up the number ended up falling off.

Captions 74-75, Mère & Fille - C'est le bouquet

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On the other hand, you can expect a better outcome à force d’être sage (by being good). In his song "Petit Pays," rapper Gaël Faye describes the consequences of being trop sage:

À force d'être trop sage je me suis pendu avec mon auréole

By being too good I hanged myself with my halo

Caption 57, Gaël Faye - Petit Pays

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The phrase c’est à force de can mean “it’s due to/it’s from" doing something. Magali tells Sébastien that his stomach pains are a result of his constantly pressuring her to leave her husband:

Mais ça, c'est à force de me presser.

But that's from pressuring me.

Caption 26, Le Jour où tout a basculé - J'ai fait souffrir l'amant de ma femme

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The expression à force can also stand on its own to mean “over time":

À force, Cynthia s'est mise à gruger mécaniquement sur les devis.

Over time, Cynthia started fudging the estimates automatically.

Caption 49, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Mon patron m'oblige à mentir aux clients

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Or “after a while”:

Non, du tout. C'est un petit peu fatigant à force,

No, not at all. It's a bit tiring after a while,

mais ils sont géniaux, donc, euh... -Ah bon.

but they're great, so, uh... -Ah, good.

Caption 76, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois

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Finally, force is also a present-tense form of the verb forcer (to force/to force oneself):

Je me force un peu des fois

I force myself a bit sometimes

Caption 46, Giulia - Sa marque de bijoux 'Desidero'

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There are more ways to use force as well. You can find some of them here.

And don't forget: à force de regarder (by watching) many Yabla videos, you will be able to improve your skills in French à force (over time). Thank you for reading this lesson!

You may have heard the word "coup" in English before, in phrases like "a major coup" (a successful, unexpected action), "a coup d’état" (a sudden overthrow of a government), or even "a coup de grâce" (a deathblow). In French, un coup means "a blow," "stroke," or "shot," and the construction "un coup de + noun" can give rise to a wide variety of expressions. Un coup d’état, for example, is literally "a blow of the state," and un coup de grâce is "a stroke of grace." 

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Two very common expressions with coup are un coup de poing (a punch or "strike of the fist") and un coup de pied (a kick or "strike of the foot"). But coup doesn’t always have to refer to violence! In general, "un coup de + noun" can just refer to something that happens very quickly. It’s often used in sports lingo, as Caroline uses it in her how-to video on the basics of badminton: 

C'est un petit coup comme ça, un petit coup de raquette.

It's a little shot like this, a little stroke with the racket.

Caption 33, Caroline - et le badminton

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And in French soccer terminology, you have un coup d’envoi, a "sending shot" (better known as a "kickoff"):

Une demi-heure avant le coup d'envoi.

Half an hour before kickoff.

Caption 29, Le Journal - Le football

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Have you ever been spooked by a "clap of thunder"? That’s un coup de tonnerre in French, and as the band Château Flight points out, it can be a beautiful thing:

Ainsi qu'un coup d'tonnerre

As well as a thunderbolt

Dont la beauté sidère

Whose beauty astonishes

Captions 10-11, Château Flight featuring Bertrand Burgalat - Les antipodes

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And let's not forget the counterpart of un coup de tonnerre, un coup de foudre (a lightning strike), which can also mean "love at first sight." 

In contrast with the violent coup de poing and coup de pied, there is the much more benevolent coup de pouce or "stroke of the thumb." This is the phrase for a "helping hand" or a "push in the right direction," and it’s also the name of a French organization that held a contest to benefit abandoned pets:

Un concours organisé par l'Association Coup de Pouce.

A competition organized by the "Coup de Pouce" [Push in the Right Direction] Association.

Caption 15, Grand Lille TV - Des photos contre l'abandon des animaux

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Besides the construction "coup de + noun," two other expressions with coup are quite common: tout d’un coup (all of a sudden) and du coup (as a result):

Jai des images dans la tête et puis tout d'un coup ça devient réalité.

I have images in my head and then all of a sudden that becomes reality.

Caption 26, Melissa Mars - Ses propos

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Donc du coup on devient très créatif.

So as a result you become very creative.

Caption 16, Les Nubians - Les origines et les influences

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The list of coup expressions could fill a book, but here are some more interesting ones:

un coup d’essai – a trial run

un coup d’œil – a glance

un coup de chapeau – a pat on the back ("hat’s off")

un coup de chance – a stroke of luck

un coup de fil – a phone call

un coup de soleil – a sunburn

un coup de vent – a gust of wind

un coup de théâtre – a turn of events

un coup de cœur – a favorite, an infatuation 

un coup fourré – a dirty trick

boire un coup – to have a drink 

faire d'une pierre deux coups – to kill two birds with one stone 

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We hope you’re not experiencing un coup de barre (a sudden fatigue) and that you will be able to tenir le coup (cope) with learning so much about this little word! If you do need to unwind, why not watch a movie? We here at Yabla recommend one of the defining films of the French New Wave movement, François Truffaut's Les quatre cents coups (The Four Hundred Blows; the phrase faire les quatre cents coups means "to live a wild life").