Let's talk about…everything! Or, the word tout in French. Did you know that tout can change spelling and pronunciation? And are you aware that this versatile word can function as an adjective, an adverb, a pronoun, and a noun? In this lesson, we'll focus on tout (all) as an adjective in the constructions tout + noun versus tout + determiner + noun.
Tout as a quantifier is usually equivalent to “all,” expressing totality, as in tout le temps (all the time). The construction is usually as follows: tout + determiner + a noun (a determiner is a short word preceding a noun, such as “the” in English). Tout (all) then functions as an adjective since it is attached to a noun, and it will therefore agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. So, tout has four different endings: tout, toute, toutes, tous. When tout agrees with a masculine singular noun, you're in luck: no change is required! In the example below, tout agrees with the noun votre argent (your money):
Vous donnez tout votre argent à Gérard.
You're giving all your money to Gérard.
Caption 69, Le Jour où tout a basculé Mes parents se préparent à la fin du monde - Part 7
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When tout modifies a masculine plural noun, just drop the -t ending and replace it with an -s (tous), as in tous les petits commerces (all the little shops). Note that tout and tous sound the same, as the final -t and -s are both silent:
Ce qui est intéressant aussi dans la rue, c'est que tous les petits commerces sont des artisans français.
What's also interesting on the street is that all the little shops are French craftworkers.
Captions 32-34, Adrien Rue des Martyrs
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When tout modifies a feminine noun, add an -e for agreement. Note that this time, however, you do pronounce the second t! Listen for the t sound in toute la journée (all day) in the following video. Also note that we don’t say “all the day” in English, but we do in French!
Il a plu toute la journée.
It rained all day.
Caption 22, Ahlam et Timothé Des conversations basiques
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When tout agrees with a feminine plural noun, add -es to the end: toutes. As in the previous example, you will pronounce the second t, but not the final s. In other words, toute (feminine singular) and toutes (feminine plural) sound the same. In the example below, toutes agrees with the feminine plural noun les heures (hours). In this case, though, toutes les heures translates as “every hour,” not “all hours”:
Depuis que le nouveau curé a remis ses cloches à sonner toutes les heures
Since the new priest reset his bells to ring every hour
Caption 62, Actu Vingtième Le vide-grenier
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So far, so good, but watch what happens when we decide to omit the les. Just as in English, the meaning changes. In the clause below, the bell doesn’t necessarily ring on the hour, but “at all hours":
Depuis que le nouveau curé a remis ses cloches à sonner à toute heure
Since the new priest reset his bells to ring at all hours
In other words, when tout is used in the sense of “any” or “whichever," you drop the determiner and get the construction tout + noun. The person in the video below expects to be exposed à tout moment (at any moment):
Mais elle reste obnubilée par son larcin de la veille et s'attend à tout moment à être démasquée.
But she remains obsessed with her petty theft of the day before and expects at any moment to be unmasked.
Captions 47-49, Le Jour où tout a basculé J'ai volé pour nourrir mon fils - Part 3
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There is one more thing to consider. Even in the absence of determiners, agreement rules still apply! In the example below, we have three different spellings: agreements with a masculine plural noun (tous biens), a masculine singular noun (tout don), and a feminine singular noun (toute personne). Also note how the translation of tout varies according to the noun that follows it:
Tous biens... tout don est bienvenu, ainsi que toute personne.
All goods... every donation is welcome, as well as every person.
Caption 43, Actus Quartier Repair Café
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The use of tout can also imply diversity and inclusiveness, as in de toute religion (from all religions):
Y a de toute religion, y a des musulmans, y a de tout de chez nous.
There're people from all religions, there are Muslims, there's a bit of everything in our club.
Caption 14, Actu Vingtième Le vide-grenier
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Speaking of “all kinds," we have the expression toutes sortes (all kinds/all sorts):
Toutes sortes de décors... et une belle vaisselle.
All kinds of decorations... and beautiful dishes.
Caption 10, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: le Lycée hôtelier Alexandre Dumas
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The construction tout + noun can also imply “any” possibility of something. In the video below, the pastry chef talks about being proactive by polishing the cutlery to avoid any potential marks:
Il faudra bien penser à les nettoyer, les polir correctement, pour éviter toute trace, parce que c'est plus joli, c'est plus sympa.
You really have to think about cleaning them, polishing them correctly, to avoid any marks, because it's prettier, it's nicer.
Captions 15-16, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: le Lycée hôtelier Alexandre Dumas
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If the speaker had found des traces (some marks) on the cutlery, he would have had the staff remove toutes les traces (all the marks) and say something like this:
Nettoyez toutes les traces afin qu’il n’en reste plus.
Clean all the marks so there are none left.
In conclusion, a few reminders. Include a determiner to convey quantity, entirety, or diversity, as in tout le (all the) and tous les (every). But drop the determiner when tout is used in the sense of “any," “whichever,” or “all kinds." Whether you use the construction tout + determiner + noun or tout + noun, agreement rules apply in both cases. And don't forget: toutes les vidéos sur Yabla (all the Yabla videos) are available to help you. And since tout is such a common word, you'll find it in just about any video (toute vidéo). We will continue to explore tout in another lesson. Merci pour tout! (Thanks for everything!)
Let’s talk garbage! While it’s not something on everyone’s mind around the dinner table, it bears thinking about. France’s environmental concerns are real, and responsible citizens are looking for ways to safely and responsibly dispose of their garbage and unwanted goods. So, let’s embark on this dirty subject and look at some interesting vocabulary surrounding garbage and its disposal.
Let’s start with les ordures (garbage/trash/rubbish) and les détritus (scraps). In the video below, the speaker explains that seagulls are avid consumers of both:
Bah, c'est des oiseaux basiques qui volent au-dessus de l'eau et qui souvent uivent ne serait-ce que les détritus et les ordures.
Anyway, they're just regular birds that fly above the water and that often go after anything, even if it's just scraps and garbage.
Captions 24-25, Jean-Marc La plage - Part 1
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Détritus can sometimes mean “litter,” as there is no specific term for that type of waste:
On peut voir sur cette plage qui est très propre, elle est équipée comme il faut pour tout ce qui est détritus.
We can see on this beach, which is very clean, it's set up the way it should be for everything concerning litter.
Captions 26-27, Jean-Marc La plage - Part 2
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Though it mainly refers to garbage, ordure can also be used as an insult:
T'es vraiment la dernière des ordures.
You're really the worst scumbag ever.
Caption 59, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 3
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The best way to deal with détritus and (non-human) ordures is to dispose of it in poubelles (garbage cans):
On a des belles poubelles qui sont vertes, une très bonne initiative d'ailleurs.
We have some nice green garbage cans, a very good initiative by the way.
Caption 28, Jean-Marc La plage - Part 2
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The contents of the poubelles will end up in a déchetterie/déchèterie (waste collection center):
On dispose des objets dans une déchetterie.
Items are disposed of in a waste collection center.
Responsible citizens showing genuine concern for the planet may wonder what to do with their organic waste, such as old Christmas trees, which les ordures ménagères (household waste collection) won’t accept:
Nombreux sont ceux qui ne savent jamais quoi faire de leur sapin après Noël puisque les ordures ménagères n'en veulent pas toujours.
There are many who never know what to do with their fir trees after Christmas since household waste collections don't always want them.
Captions 14-15, TV Tours Une seconde vie pour vos sapins de Noël?
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Unfortunately, many Christmas trees end up being dumped illegally in des décharges sauvages (illegal dumps):
Un petit peu partout, euh... des décharges un petit peu sauvages.
A little bit all over, uh... dumping that is somewhat uncontrolled.
Caption 18, TV Tours Une seconde vie pour vos sapins de Noël?
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In Brittany, some people turn their déchets (waste) into “gold” by starting une filière de compostage (a composting stream):
Certaines tentent même de valoriser ces déchets dans une filière de compostage.
Some are even trying to capitalize on this waste in a composting stream.
Caption 33, Le Journal Marée verte en Bretagne
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In addition, French people are becoming more and more creative at finding ingenious solutions to reduce mounting waste by setting up des ressourceries (upcycling centers):
Aujourd'hui, c'est l'inauguration de la ressourcerie du vingtième arrondissement
Today is the inauguration of the upcycling center of the twentieth arrondissement
Captions 2-3, Actu Vingtième Le bleu dans les yeux, recyclerie de Belleville
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Others try to extend the life of their devices by repairing them:
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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Repairing objects instead of les jeter (throwing them away) prevents faire du gâchis (creating waste):
C'est important d'essayer de conserver les objets le plus longtemps possible au lieu de faire du gâchis.
It's important to try to keep objects for as long as possible instead of creating waste.
Captions 6-7, Actus Quartier Repair Café
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C'est d'inciter les gens à dépanner eux-mêmes, à chercher avant de jeter.
It's to incite people to fix things themselves, to try before throwing away.
Captions 47-48, Actus Quartier Repair Café
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Not only is it best to avoid throwing away manufactured goods, it’s also important to avoid gaspillage (squandering/wasting) natural resources such as water:
On va construire et opérer des usines de nourriture partout à travers le monde, et cela sans utiliser aucun produit de pesticide et aucun gaspillage d'eau.
We're going to build and operate food factories all over the world, and this without using any pesticide product or any wasting of water.
Captions 20-21, Agriculture verticale TerraSphere
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And what should we do with les eaux usées (waste water)? Clean it of course!
Mais on peut lui demander des tas d'autres choses, comme nettoyer les eaux usées, manger les déchets.
But we can request loads of other things from it, such as cleaning waste water, eating waste.
Captions 20-22, Il était une fois: Notre Terre 25. Technologies - Part 7
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So il n’y a pas de temps à perdre (there is no time to waste)! Now that you have expanded your vocabulary surrounding waste—déchets, gaspillage, ordures, eaux usées, gâchis—and are more aware of solutions such as déchetteries, ressourceries, and compostage, you will be better equipped to follow our Yabla videos on the subject, and maybe…help save the planet.
Pouvoir is an elementary French verb meaning "to be able to." It's an irregular verb, which means it's not conjugated like most other verbs ending in -ir. In this lesson, we'll be focusing on the first-person present indicative form of pouvoir, which has two variants: je peux and je puis (I can). How do we know which one to use?
Je peux is by far the more common of the two:
Qu'est-ce que je peux faire différemment?
What can I do differently?
Caption 21, Actus Quartier - Manif anti-nucléaire à Bastille
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Puis is actually an archaic conjugation of pouvoir that nowadays is only used in specific, mostly formal contexts. One of them is inversion, when the pronoun and verb switch places:
Que puis-je faire? Puis-je voir ces hommes?
What can I do? May I see these men?
Caption 8, Il était une fois... L’Espace - 3. La planète verte - Part 6
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You would never say que peux-je faire or peux-je voir ces hommes. If you're inverting the first-person present indicative form of pouvoir, you need to use puis. But you could easily rephrase these questions with peux using the constructions est-ce que or qu'est-ce que:
Qu'est-ce que je peux faire? Est-ce que je peux voir ces hommes?
You're more likely to hear qu'est-ce que je peux or est-ce que je peux than puis-je in everyday speech. Je puis isn't used very often, though it can be found in a few set formal expressions, usually beginning with si:
Si je puis me permettre, essayez ces lunettes
If I may, try these glasses...
Caption 19, Cap 24 - Paris : Alessandro fait les Puces! - Part 2
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C'est un petit peu notre... notre crédo si je puis dire.
It's a little bit like our... our credo, if I may say so.
Caption 18, Télé Lyon Métropole - L'opéra Carmen dans un... boulodrome!
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As a less formal alternative to puis-je (and slightly more formal than je peux), use the conditional form je pourrais:
Alors je pourrais essayer la nuit, Monsieur Watt?
Then I could try at night, Mister Watt?
Caption 2, Il était une fois - Les découvreurs - 13. Stephenson - Part 3
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And don't forget that puis is also an adverb meaning "then":
Puis y en a qui donnent beaucoup moins.
Then there are some who give a lot less.
Caption 42, Actus Quartier - Repair Café
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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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