Did you know that there are beaucoup (many) ways of saying "many" in French? In fact, French offers an abundance of terms to suit various styles, from common, conversational, colloquial to more formal and literary. In this lesson we will explore alternatives to the ubiquitous beaucoup.
But first, let's take a quick look at beaucoup (many, a lot). In Yabla videos, you will often come across the construction beaucoup de (a lot of/a great deal of). Here is one example:
Ben, on te souhaite, ben, beaucoup de réussite
Well, we wish you, well, a great deal of success
Caption 106, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano Médaillon de Homard - Part 3
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As an adverb, beaucoup can also stand on its own. You are probably familiar with the polite expression merci beaucoup (thank you very much):
Ben merci beaucoup, hein. C'était un plaisir.
Well thank you very much, you know. It's been a pleasure.
Caption 108, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano Médaillon de Homard - Part 3
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A close cousin to beaucoup de is plein de (plenty of), which is slightly more casual. In this cheerful video, the weather forecaster wishes her viewers a Happy Halloween, which, of course, involves eating plein, plein de bonbons:
Alors je vous souhaite une super fête et mangez plein, plein, plein de bonbons. Tchao-tchao.
So I wish you a great holiday and eat lots and lots and lots of candies. Ciao-ciao.
Caption 18, Alsace 20 Météo des Maquilleurs
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Slightly more colloquial than plein de (plenty of) is un tas de or des tas de, literally "a load of" or "heaps of." Take a look at the two examples below:
Mais on peut lui demander des tas d'autres choses
But we can request loads of other things from it
Caption 20, Il était une fois: Notre Terre 25. Technologies - Part 7
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Si vous êtes végétarienne, y a des tas d'autres choses
If you're vegetarian, there're heaps of other things
Caption 28, Mon Lieu Préféré Rue des Rosiers - Part 2
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Un tas de can also be translated as “plenty of”:
Ah, c'est bien simple. Il peut y avoir des tas de raisons
Ah, it's quite simple. There could be plenty of reasons for that
Caption 39, Il était une fois: la vie 6. Les petites plaquettes - Part 1
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There's also the expression pas mal de (a great deal of), which we've explored before. In the video below, the person interviewed has pas mal de problèmes de santé (quite a few health problems):
J'ai un pacemaker et pas mal de choses.
I have a pacemaker and quite a few things.
Caption 20, Actu Vingtième Le Repas des anciens
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Moving up a rung on the formality ladder, we have the idiomatic expression bien d’autres (many others), which has a more neutral tone (note that bien in this case no longer means “well," but “many”):
...telle cette espèce de saladier que vous voyez là à l'image, et bien d'autres.
...such as this sort of salad bowl that you see here in the picture, and many others.
Caption 13, David La calebasse
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Similarly, énormément de (an emormous amount of) followed by a noun is used to emphasize quantity:
énormément de musique
an enormous amount of music
Caption 32, Alex Terrier Le musicien et son jazz
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Depending on context, it's sometimes better to translate énormément de as “(so) many” or “a great deal of”:
Donc ce sera une ligne très intéressante parce qu'il y a énormément de personnes qui vont travailler en dehors de Paris
So it will be a very interesting line because there are so many people who go to work outside of Paris
Captions 46-48, Adrien Le métro parisien
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Vous allez découvrir d'autres petits secrets de cette rue parce qu'il y en a énormément.
You're going to discover other little secrets of this street because there are a great deal of them.
Captions 63-64, Adrien Rue des Martyrs
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On a more formal register, you may come across the adjective maint, which is etymologically related to the English "many." Interestingly, maint does not need to be followed by de (of), unlike other adverbs of quantity. Maintes (the feminine plural of maint) is often combined with fois to form the expression maintes fois (many times):
Elles ont d'ailleurs été maintes fois représentées par des célèbres peintres
Incidentally, they've been depicted many times by famous painters
Caption 10, Voyage en France La Normandie: Honfleur
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There is also a more obscure equivalent to maint: the archaic adjective moult, dating back to the 16th century. It's no longer in use, but it might be a good word to know if you want to impress your professors with your knowledge! To quote French writer Gustave Flaubert, you could derive moult satisfaction (much satisfaction) from their reaction:
J'embrasserai ta vieille trombine avec moult satisfaction.
I will kiss your old face with much satisfaction.
While people seldom use the word moult other than for effect, young people especially might like to use a little slang and say pas des masses (not many/not much). Interestingly, the expression is always in the negative form:
Il n’y en a pas des masses.
There are not many.
As you can see, there are beaucoup de façons (many ways) to say beaucoup, and if you wish to know even more, see this Larousse entry. You now have plenty to choose from, as there are different options for all contexts, from casual settings to more formal ones. Just be aware of the tone you wish to use. Save des tas de for friends, and moult for literary buffs.
Wishing you beaucoup de satisfaction in your French learning, and merci beaucoup or moult remerciements (many thanks) for reading!
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)!
Partir normally means “to leave,” as in nous sommes partis (we left). However, c’est parti is an idiomatic expression that has little to do with its literal meaning, "it left." So, without further ado, let’s explore the various shades of meaning of this very popular catchphrase. C’est parti! (Here we go!)
When it’s clear from the context that we’re talking in the past tense, c’est parti has a fairly straightforward meaning: “it started." In the video below, the speaker discusses how the Belleville upcycling center began:
Et puis voilà. C'est comme ça que c'est parti.
And there you are. That's how it started.
Caption 117, Actu Vingtième Le bleu dans les yeux, recyclerie de Belleville
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So far so good. However, c’est parti doesn't always refer to something in the past, despite its verb being in the past tense. In fact, c’est parti usually describes an event that hasn’t happened yet. It tells us that something is about to start. Moreover, c’est parti is often accompanied with an exclamation mark to reflect the enthusiasm of the person starting an activity:
Et nous, on goûte. Allez, c'est parti! Fourchettes! Bon appétit!
And we're going to taste it. OK, here we go! Forks out! Bon appétit!
Caption 116, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano Médaillon de Homard - Part 3
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You can even add a little color to the expression by saying, Cest parti, mon kiki! Kiki is a colloquial term for "throat," but it only appears here for the rhyme:
C’est parti, mon kiki!
Let’s get cracking!
In any case, c’est parti used on its own is something people say when they want to get started, like Amal setting off on a bike ride in the following video:
Voilà! C'est parti.
There! Let's go.
Caption 46, Amal Vélib
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Later in the same video, you will find another variation in the English translation of c’est parti:
Voilà. C'est bon. Le vélo... Et c'est parti!
There. It's good. The bike... And off you go!
Caption 50, Amal Vélib
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Similarly, c’est parti can also mean “we’re off”:
C'est parti, on y va.
And we're off, here we go.
Caption 44, Delphine et Automne Le gâteau au yaourt - Part 2
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Saying c’est parti is a perfect way to announce the start of a race. It's equivalent to on y va (let’s go/here we go):
Bon ben c'est parti. -Top chrono, c'est parti.
Good, well, here we go. -Starting now, here we go.
Caption 37, Joanna La course à pied: Conseils
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Another variation of c’est parti is c’est parti pour (for) in combination with a time period, to indicate duration:
C'est donc parti pour trois jours de concert. Au programme, musique classique et jazz
So it's off for a three-day concert. On the program: classical music and jazz
Caption 2, Grand Lille TV Un piano dans le métro!
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C’est parti pour can also introduce what’s coming, as in “it’s time for” something:
Huit heures, le suspense prend fin. C'est parti pour quatre heures de réflexion.
Eight o'clock, the suspense is over. Time for four hours of recollection.
Caption 4, Le Journal Le bac
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You can also use c’est parti pour to discuss what you might expect. In the video below, Sophie and Patrice speculate about the weather. Sophie thinks “they are in for" some rain:
Ah mais là, on est parti pour une semaine, hein?
Ah but here, we'll be in it for a week, huh?
Caption 9, Sophie et Patrice La pluie
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Here Sophie replaces c'est with on est. Note, however, that on est parti is usually not an idiomatic expression, but retains its literal meaning (we left):
On est parti de Rome...
We left Rome...
Caption 48, Lionel et Automne Lionel retourne à l'école
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In addition to the phrase c’est parti pour, you can qualify c’est parti with an adverb like bien (well) or mal (badly) to indicate whether things are going to turn out well or badly. So, the expression t’es bien parti means “you’re off to a good start/on the right track”:
Je pense que t'es bien parti.
I think that you're on the right track.
Caption 109, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano Médaillon de Homard - Part 3
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And of course, c’est mal parti means the opposite, “to be off to a bad start," like Amal's awful singing:
C'est très mal parti quand tu... -J'ai fait cinq ans de conservatoire.
It's off to a very bad start when you... -I did five years of conservatory.
Caption 52, Amal et Caroline Je n'aime pas quand tu chantes
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Note that Caroline could have put it another way and said:
T’es très mal partie.
You’re off to a very bad start.
Finally, you can add the suffix re- and say c’est reparti (here we go again) to indicate repetition, which can be meant as a good thing or a bad thing. In the video below, Nico expresses his frustration with Sam and says:
C'est reparti!
Here we go again!
Caption 19, Extr@ Ep. 4 - Sam trouve du travail - Part 7
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And Barbara is also frustrated with her mother, who does the same annoying thing over and over:
Et voilà, c'était reparti pour l'interrogatoire de police.
And then she went off again with the police interrogation.
Captions 39-40, Mère & Fille La soirée
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As you can see, there are many ways of interpreting c’est parti. In general, it's an idiomatic expression that marks the beginning of an action. With a little practice, you'll be able get a sense of its nuances in context. Keep watching Yabla videos, dear readers, and vous serez bien partis (you’ll be off to a great start)! Thank you for reading!
In the latest segment of Le Jour où tout a basculé, Frédéric and Anne-Sophie meet Laetitia at a café to deliver some shocking news: their daughters were switched at birth. Upon hearing this, Laetitia is in a state of total disbelief. She says to the couple:
Mais qu'est-ce que c'est que cette histoire?
But what is this all about?
Caption 38, Le Jour où tout a basculé - Nos bébés ont été échangés...
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Histoire is related to two English words, "history" and "story," and can mean either one depending on context:
Ici, donc une ville riche en culture et riche en histoire...
So here a town rich in culture and rich in history...
Caption 8, Lionel - à Wissembourg
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C'est vraiment une histoire d'amour,
It's really a love story,
c'est parti d'une histoire d'amour.
it started out as a love story.
Caption 4, Annie Chartrand - Sa musique
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But in informal expressions like qu'est-ce que c'est que cette histoire, the word means something more along the lines of "business" or "matter." It often has this meaning in the construction histoire de + noun:
Ici tout est histoire de récup' [récupération],
Here it's all a matter [or question] of recycling,
de quoi créer un beau Noël.
enough to create a beautiful Christmas.
Caption 58, Alsace 20 - Alsace: les plus belles déco de Noël!
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When histoire de follows an infinitive, it means "in order to," "just to," or "so as to":
Bats le beurre de citron, histoire de bien mélanger le tout.
Whisk the lemon butter, it's a matter of mixing it all well.
Caption 47, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard
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Two other, less familiar ways of saying "in order to" are pour + infinitive and afin de + infinitive.
Be careful with the expression raconter des histoires. It can either mean "to tell stories" or "to tell lies":
La mère raconte des histoires aux enfants chaque soir.
The mother tells stories to the children every night.
Arrête de me raconter des histoires!
Stop telling me lies!
That's the story with histoire! If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at newsletter@yabla.com or tweet us @yabla.
Ailleurs is an adverb with a few different meanings. By itself, ailleurs means “elsewhere,” in both a literal and figurative sense:
On te souhaite, ben, beaucoup de réussite,
We wish you, well, a great deal of success,
si tu vas en Australie ou ailleurs.
whether you go to Australia, or elsewhere.
Captions 106-107, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard
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Désolé, je n’ai pas entendu la question. J’avais la tête ailleurs.
Sorry, I didn’t hear the question. My mind was elsewhere.
You can also find ailleurs in the more absolute phrases nulle part ailleurs (nowhere else) and partout ailleurs (everywhere else):
...et des poissons qu'on ne trouve nulle part ailleurs.
...and fish that one cannot find anywhere else.
Caption 15, Le Journal - L'île de Pâques
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La situation s’améliore partout ailleurs.
The situation is improving everywhere else.
Ailleurs can also be found in two common phrases that are used to add extra information to a topic. The first of these is par ailleurs (otherwise, additionally):
La préfecture du Rhône a par ailleurs mis en place un centre d'appel.
Additionally, the Rhône Prefecture has set up a call center.
Caption 33, Le Journal - La grippe aviaire
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The second phrase, d’ailleurs, has a wide range of meanings:
C'est un très bon vin et
It's a very good wine and
d'ailleurs je vous conseille de le boire.
I recommend that you drink it, for that matter.
Caption 4, Actu Vingtième - Vendanges parisiennes
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C'est d'ailleurs lui qui préface le livre.
He's the one who prefaces the book, by the way.
Caption 10, Alsace 20 - 100 recettes pour 100 vins
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Un très beau lieu d'ailleurs.
A very beautiful place, incidentally.
Caption 66, LCM - Concert: La Folia à l'abbaye Saint-Victor
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Both d’ailleurs and par ailleurs can be placed pretty much anywhere in a sentence. For instance, we could easily move the phrases from the middle of the sentence to the beginning in the examples above:
Par ailleurs, la préfecture du Rhône a mis en place un centre d’appel
D’ailleurs, c’est lui qui préface le livre.
An easy way to learn the difference between these very similar phrases is to learn synonyms for them. Par ailleurs is generally synonymous with d’autre part and d’un autre côté (otherwise, on the other hand), while d’ailleurs is synonymous with du reste (furthermore), en outre (besides), and de plus (moreover). In other words, while d’ailleurs tends to be used to confirm what was previously said, par ailleurs is more often used to contradict it or provide an alternative.
That pretty much covers all the uses of this word, but if you’re interested in looking ailleurs for some more translations and example sentences, this Larousse entry is a handy summary of everything we mentioned above.
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