In our previous lesson, we learned that rester is a false cognate meaning "to stay/to remain." In this lesson, we will continue to explore the various uses of rester and focus on the impersonal verb il reste (there remains). We will also look at the meaning of le reste (the rest) as a noun.
The phrase il reste is a bit tricky as it does not necessarily mean "he/it stays." Indeed, the construction il reste is what we call an impersonal verb, as the subject of the sentence (il) doesn’t stand for anything or anyone in particular. Hence the translation of il reste is open to interpretation and will vary. The impersonal pronoun il can be equivalent to "there" in English. In the example below, the construction il reste + noun means "there’s also" in the context of the video:
Et ensuite il reste un dessert en supplément à deux euros soixante
And afterward there's also a dessert for an additional two euros sixty
Caption 10, Alsace 20 - Grain de Sel: Au Caveau de l'étable à Niederbronn-les-Bains
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In another example, we have the expression ce qu’il en reste, which simply means "what’s left of it." Il is omitted in the translation as it only has a grammatical function in French and is therefore not needed in English:
Ce qu'il en reste.
What remains of it.
Caption 14, Arles - Un Petit Tour d'Arles
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Il reste (there remains) often comes in a negative form, such as il ne reste que... This is a very useful expression to convey that "only x remains":
Maintenant il ne reste que le cadre.
Now only the frame remains.
Another variation of il ne reste que is il ne reste plus que, which means "there remains only":
Du fait de nombreuses fusions,
Because of many mergers,
il ne reste plus qu'une société anonyme de cartes de crédit
there remains only one limited liability credit card company
Caption 15, Patricia - Pas de crédit dans le monde des clones
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Il ne reste plus que can also translate as "all that’s left":
Aujourd'hui, derrière, malheureusement,
Today, behind it, unfortunately,
il ne reste plus qu'un parking.
all that's left is a parking lot.
Caption 25, Voyage en France - Fontainebleau
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And there is yet another way to interpret il ne reste plus que. It can also mean "there is only x left":
Il ne reste plus que cette porte
There is only this door left
Caption 22, Voyage en France - Fontainebleau
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We also have the negative expression il ne reste plus rien, which means "there’s nothing left":
Donne-moi tout, même quand il [ne] reste plus rien
Give it all to me, even when there's nothing left
Caption 1, Corneille - Comme un fils
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What’s more, you can even throw a personal pronoun such as me in the mix. In the example below, we have il ne me reste plus qu’à, which is a complex turn of phrase best translated as "all that remains for me":
Il [ne] me reste plus qu'à vous souhaiter un très bon appétit
All that remains for me to do is wish you a very good appetite
Caption 114, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard - Part 3
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Indeed, French speakers often insert a personal pronoun in between il reste, as in il nous reste (we still have). The personal pronoun nous becomes the subject pronoun "we":
Il nous reste encore quelques minutes de cuisson pour le homard.
We still have a few minutes of cooking time left for the lobster.
Caption 15, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard - Part 2
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In another video, il ne nous reste plus que translates as "we only have x remaining":
Et là, il [ne] nous reste plus que deux colonnes de marbre
And here we only have two marble columns remaining
Caption 16, Arles - Un Petit Tour d'Arles
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The expression il ne vous reste plus grand-chose (you don’t have much left) works in a similar way. Once again, the personal pronoun (vous) becomes the subject in English:
Et ça a bien marché puisqu'il [ne] vous reste plus grand-chose.
And business has been good since you don't have that much left.
Caption 52, Arles - Le marché d'Arles
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There are many other ways of using il reste, which you can explore here. All this may seem a bit complicated, but fortunately, when reste is used as a noun, it's much simpler! Le reste is a direct cognate that simply means "the rest":
Tout le reste du temps, je dors là où je suis assise
The rest of the time, I sleep right where I'm sitting
Caption 15, Le Journal - Les navigateurs du Vendée Globe
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However, the plural les restes takes on a new meaning. Now we're talking about "leftovers" or "leftover food":
Bon, souvent parce qu'il y a des restes,
Well, often because there are leftovers,
donc il faut éliminer les restes.
so it's necessary to eliminate the leftovers.
Caption 9, TV Vendée - Fêtes de fin d’année : manger léger et équilibré
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Finally, to be clear, "to rest" in English is NOT rester but se reposer or reposer:
Tu peux admirer le paysage et te reposer.
You can admire the scenery and rest.
Caption 45, Le saviez-vous? - Comment voyager?
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Maintenant, on va la laisser reposer
Now we are going to let it rest
Caption 32, Alsace 20 - Grain de Sel: le Lycée hôtelier Alexandre Dumas
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Now that you have worked so hard, il ne vous reste plus qu’à vous reposer (there is nothing left for you to do but rest)!
While discussing pigeons in Paris with his friend Lea, Lionel brings up an amusing French idiom referencing those ubiquitous city birds:
Alors se faire pigeonner en français,
So "se faire pigeonner" [to be taken for a ride] in French
c'est vraiment se faire arnaquer,
is really to get ripped off,
se faire avoir par une personne
to be had by a person
qui vous a soutiré de l'argent.
who has extracted money from you.
Captions 54-58, Lea & Lionel L - Le parc de Bercy
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Se faire pigeonner literally means "to be taken for a pigeon." In English too, "a pigeon" can refer to someone who's gullible or easily swindled. Pigeons get a bad rap in both languages!
Let's take a look at some more animal expressions and idioms used in Yabla videos. Here's another bird-related one:
Oui. J'avoue être un peu poule mouillée.
Yes. I admit to being a bit of a wet hen [a wimp].
Caption 23, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Notre appartement est hanté
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Calling someone poule mouillée is equivalent to calling them "chicken." A slightly less pejorative poultry-inspired moniker is un canard:
Qu'ils me disent que je m'affiche,
That they'll say that I am showing off,
qu'ils me traitent de canard
that they'll call me a duck [a slave to love]
Captions 6-7, Grand Corps Malade - Comme une évidence
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Un canard is a person who's so lovestruck they'll do whatever their partner desires. Believe it or not, it's also a slang term for "newspaper." There's even a famous French newspaper called Le Canard enchaîné (The Chained Duck), which Lionel discusses in a few other videos.
Don't confuse canard with cafard, the word for "cockroach." When used metaphorically, cafard means "depression" or "the blues":
Mon cafard me lâche moins souvent qu'autrefois...
My blues don't let me go as much as before...
Caption 8, Debout Sur Le Zinc - Les mots d'amour
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The expression avoir le cafard means "to be depressed," or literally, "to have the cockroach." And there's the adjective cafardeux/cafardeuse, which can mean either "depressing" or "depressed." Encountering a cockroach in your home can certainly be depressing, to say the least!
Though dogs are as beloved in France as they are in other countries, the word chien (dog) typically means "bad" or "nasty" when used as an adjective:
Fais demain quand le présent est chien
Make tomorrow when the present is bad
Caption 3, Corneille - Comme un fils
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You'll find chien in a couple of idioms involving bad weather, such as un temps de chien (nasty weather) and un coup de chien (a storm):
On va avoir un coup de chien, regarde!
We're going to have a dog's blow [stormy weather], look!
Caption 55, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 10. Amerigo Vespucci
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You can also say un temps de cochon (pig weather) instead of un temps de chien:
Et aujourd'hui on a pas un temps de cochon par contre.
And today we don't have pig weather [rotten weather] however.
Caption 22, Lionel - La Cathédrale de Toul
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In American English, "pigs" is a slang term for "cops." But the French call them vaches (cows):
Mort aux vaches, mort aux cons!
Death to the cows ["pigs," i.e., cops], death to the jerks!
Caption 5, Patrice Maktav - La Rue
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Finally, they don't celebrate April Fools' Day in France, but rather "April Fish":
En tout cas j'espère que ce n'est pas un poisson d'avril.
In any event, I hope that it's not an April fish [April fool].
Caption 21, Lionel - à Lindre-Basse
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You can find out more about the poisson d'avril tradition here. And be sure to check out Manon and Clémentine's video Mots et animaux to learn some more expressions featuring cats, dogs, and wolves.
As we mentioned in our last lesson, a direct object is a noun that receives the action of a verb (such as "the ball" in "I throw the ball"). On the other hand, an indirect object indicates to whom or for whom the action is done (such as "my friend" in "I throw the ball to my friend"). Just as direct object pronouns replace direct objects (e.g. "I throw it to my friend"), indirect object pronouns replace indirect objects ("I throw the ball to him/her"). There are six indirect object pronouns in French:
me (to me) nous (to us)
te (to you) vous (to you)
lui (to him/her) leur (to them)
In French, an indirect object pronoun usually replaces "à (to) + a person." Unlike direct object pronouns, which can refer to either people or things, indirect object pronouns only refer to people.
Je jette le ballon à mon amie. / Je lui jette le ballon.
I throw the ball to my friend. / I throw her the ball [or "I throw the ball to her"].
The following example contains a mixture of direct and indirect pronouns. How did the speaker know when to use which?
Il m'a dit: "Je le garde". Ben, je lui ai dit:
He told me, "I'm keeping it." Well, I told him,
"Écoutez, expliquez aux quatre cents personnes..."
"Listen, explain to the four hundred people..."
Caption 24, Actu Vingtième - Vendanges parisiennes
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It all depends on whether the verb in question would normally be followed by the preposition à. Garder isn't followed by à: you would say garder quelque chose (to keep something), but never garder à quelque chose. If you watch the video, you'll know from context that the speaker is referring to le fromage (cheese). So instead of saying je garde le fromage, he uses the direct object pronoun le (je le garde). On the other hand, you would say dire à quelqu'un (to tell someone), but never dire quelqu'un. Because of that à, the speaker knows to use the indirect objects me and lui.
Here are some other examples of indirect object pronouns in action:
Si la nuit me parle
If the night speaks to me
De souvenirs passés
About past memories
Captions 3-4, Boulbar - New York, 6 heures du matin
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Mais je te donne plus que des mots
But I give you more than words
Caption 12, Corneille - Comme un fils
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Et là, je leur ai envoyé une petite nouvelle...
And here, I sent them a little short story...
Caption 86, Claudine Thibout Pivert - 2ème Salon du livre et des vieux papiers Mazamet
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We know these are indirect object pronouns because they all replace "à + person" in the verbal expressions parler à quelqu'un (to speak to someone), donner à quelqu'un (to give to someone), and envoyer à quelqu'un (to send to someone).
As you learned in our last lesson, when a direct object pronoun is followed by a verb in the past tense (passé composé), the past participle needs to agree in number and gender with the direct object pronoun. On the other hand, you don't have to worry about agreement in the passé composé with indirect object pronouns. That's why you have je leur ai envoyé in the example above and not je leur ai envoyés or je leur ai envoyées.
Feel free to tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com. Thanks for reading!
Avoir is the general French verb for "to have," but if you’re talking about something that you physically have, tenir might be the better verb to use. The simplest meaning of tenir is "to hold." This is the way the singer Corneille uses it in one of our most popular music videos, Comme un fils (Like a Son):
Tiens ma tête quand elle fait plus de sens.
Hold my head when it no longer makes sense.
Caption 28, Corneille - Comme un fils
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When it’s not referring to something that you’re holding in your hand, tenir can also be used for something that you keep, maintain, or manage, such as a restaurant:
Aller chez Gilles Spannagel qui tient Le Cruchon,
To go visit Gilles Spannagel who owns Le Cruchon [The Little Jug],
qui est le petit restaurant...
which is the little restaurant...
Caption 23, Strasbourg - Les passants
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Or it can refer to something that is attached to something else, like needles on a Christmas tree:
Des épines qui tiennent plus longtemps...
Needles that stay on longer...
Caption 7, TV Tours - Une seconde vie pour vos sapins de Noël?
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Tenir also applies to situations in which you are compelled to do something, in the expressions tenir à and être tenu(e) de:
Je tiens à préciser que la Bretagne a son charme aussi.
I have to mention that Brittany has its charms too.
Caption 13, Fanny et Corrine - Leurs origines
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Mais ils sont tenus d'avoir... un certificat de capacité.
But they are required to have... a certificate of competency.
Caption 48, TV Sud - Fête de la Tortue 2012
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Tenir à can also mean "to be fond of," "to be attached to," or "to care about":
Elle tient à son emploi.
She is fond of her job.
And when you make tenir reflexive (se tenir), it means "to stand," "remain," or "behave." Can you imagine walking into someone’s house and seeing a llama standing in the living room?
C'est bien un lama qui se tient fièrement en plein milieu d'un salon.
That's really a llama proudly standing in the middle of a living room.
Caption 2, Angers 7 - Un lama en plein appartement
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Tiens-toi tranquille, hein sinon!
Hold still, OK, or else!
Caption 5, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 10. Amerigo Vespucci
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Les enfants se tiennent bien.
The children are behaving themselves.
You can also use tiens, the singular imperative form of tenir, for the interjection "look" (or more literally, "behold"):
Tiens, ça doit être bon, ça!
Look, this should be good!
Caption 24, Il était une fois: les Explorateurs - 10. Amerigo Vespucci
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The verb détenir is related to tenir and is often translated the same way, though it has the specific connotation of "to possess" or even "detain":
...qui autorise des gens à détenir des animaux, des tortues chez eux.
...which allows some people to keep animals, turtles, at home.
Caption 47, TV Sud - Fête de la Tortue 2012
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Crois-moi, tu détiens là, la base de toute connaissance.
Believe me, you hold there the basis of all knowledge.
Caption 13, Il était une fois: l’Homme - 6. Le siècle de Périclès
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Even if you don’t hold the basis of all knowledge, with this lesson you should hold everything you need to make good use of the verb tenir. You can check out the WordReference page on the verb for even more uses. So soyez sûr de retenir le verbe tenir (be sure to hold onto the verb tenir)!
You can tell from his soulful singing that Corneille is a sweet and sensitive man—but there is one thing we just can’t take for granted: knowing how to express that we are taking something for granted! First, take a look at what Corneille croons:
Et si je prends pour acquis mes chances /
And if I take my luck for granted /
Fais-moi peur que plus jamais j'y pense
Scare me so that I don't think of it ever again
Captions 26-27, Corneille - Comme un fils
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Corneille says that he doesn’t want to take his chances (his luck) for granted. The infinitive of this verb phrase is prendre pour acquis. As you may have guessed, it literally translates as “to take for acquired,” but what it really means is “to take for granted.” This phrase is popular in French Canada, where Corneille eventually settled after having to leave Rwanda.
Now, if you are a real stickler for grammar, you are probably thinking that, because chances is feminine in gender and plural in number, Corneille should have made the adjective agree, using acquises instead of the masculine and singular acquis. However, in actual practice, French Canadians often don't make the acquis in prendre pour acquis agree with the noun to which it refers, though some make the argument that they should.
Tenir pour acquis is the more traditional way to express the same sentiment, and is considered more "correct" (if not more popular). In France, both prendre pour acquis and tenir pour acquis are understood, but sound a bit formal and old-fashioned. The French prefer the phrase considérer comme acquis for use in common, everyday speech.
Ne considère pas mon amour comme acquis, ou tu risquerais de me voir partir
Don't take my love for granted, or one day you may find me gone.
So far we have been talking about “to take for granted” in the sense of under-appreciating your blessings. That’s all well and good, but what if you want to talk about “taking something for granted” in its alternate sense, that of “taking something as a given,” or “taking something as self-evident”? Similar to English, prendre pour acquis serves double duty, and can be used to express this meaning of “to take for granted” as well. Once again, this usage is more commonly heard in Canada, while a contemporary French person is more likely to just say that he or she is “sure” of the thing.
J’ai pris pour acquis que le facteur viendrait tous les jours, mais je me suis trompé. [Canada]
J’étais sûr que le facteur viendrait tous les jours, mais je me suis trompé. [France]
I took for granted that the mailman would come daily, but I was wrong.
Nous prenons pour acquis que le prix de l’essence va augmenter. [Canada]
Nous sommes sûrs que le prix de l’essence va augmenter. [France]
We take for granted that the price of gas will go up.
Allant de soi (literally, “going from itself”) means being “obvious” or “a given.” When we place considérer comme before it, we get considérer comme allant de soi, which literally means “to consider as obvious” or “to consider as a given." This can often be best translated as “to take as self-evident” and is frequently used in scholarly writing.
La plupart des gens acceptent comme allant de soi que chaque ville-région n’ait qu’un seul gouvernement municipal.
Most people seem to regard it as self-evident that every city-region needs a single municipal government.
[from “Globalization Does Not Need Amalgamation” in Policy Options (Nov. 1999), a bilingual Canadian journal of public policy]
A related phrase that means “it's a given” is ça va de soi (literally, "it goes from itself"). This phrase, which is widely used in both France and Canada, is usually translated using the common English phrase “it goes without saying.” There is a more “proper” and formal version, cela va de soi, which is more often used in writing and less in casual conversation.
Sommes-nous heureux avec les résultats de l’élection? Ça va de soi! [Casual]
Sommes-nous heureux avec les résultats de l’élection? Cela va de soi! [Formal]
Are we happy with the election results? It goes without saying!
It is not at all unusual to hear a sentence begin with Ça va de soi que… as we see in the example below, but once again, we find there is a more formal version. Il va de soi que… is considered more “proper” and is therefore the construction you are more likely to see in written texts.
Ça va de soi que les Américains fondent beaucoup d’espoir sur leur nouveau président. [Less formal]
Il va de soi que les Américains fondent beaucoup d’espoir sur leur nouveau président. [More formal]
It goes without saying that Americans are hopeful about their new president.
There are many other ways and variations of expressing both meanings of “to take for granted” in French. If you’d like to learn a few more, read this interesting discussion.
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