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!

In the Yabla video Sophie et Patrice - On m'a volé mon téléphone, Sophie had her phone stolen and shares her frustration with Patrice, who offers a few suggestions to solve her problem. In their conversation, you will learn plenty of phone-related vocabulary. Throughout the video, Sophie and Patrice use the generic term un téléphone, but they could have used the term un portable (a cell/mobile phone) instead:

Personne. -Personne. Sauf une fois, il s'est fait voler son... portable...

Nobody. -Nobody. Except once, he had his... cell phone stolen...

Caption 77, Actus Quartier Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 1

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Sophie and Patrice also didn’t use the English loanword un smartphone, which you might also hear:

Des témoignages que les visiteurs pourront bientôt découvrir sur leur smartphone

Accounts that visitors will soon be able to discover on their smartphone

Caption 13, Télévision Bretagne Ouest Concarneau: Un tournage sur la vie maritime

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Patrice simply uses the French cognate téléphone when he advises Sophie to faire bloquer son téléphone (have her phone blocked):

Tu as appelé pour faire bloquer le téléphone?

Did you call to have the phone blocked?

Caption 11, Sophie et Patrice On m'a volé mon téléphone

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It might preserve her privacy, since her whole répertoire (address book) was on her phone, as well as all her contacts:

Moi, j'ai... j'ai tout mon répertoire... Tu te rends compte? J'ai tous mes contacts.

I have... I have my whole address book... You realize? I have all my contacts.

Captions 6-7, Sophie et Patrice On m'a volé mon téléphone

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Losing her phone also means that Sophie can no longer access her agenda électronique (electronic calendar):

Mon agenda, il était dans... C'était mon agenda électronique dans mon téléphone.

My calendar was in... It was my electronic calendar in my phone.

Caption 52, Sophie et Patrice On m'a volé mon téléphone

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Unfortunately, she never thought to do une sauvegarde (a backup):

Pourquoi j'ai pas fait la sauvegarde?

Why didn't I do a backup?

Caption 78, Sophie et Patrice On m'a volé mon téléphone

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Still searching for a solution, Patrice asks Sophie if she has une puce (a chip) or une carte SIM (a SIM card) on another appareil (device): 

C'est la seule puce que tu as, euh... T'as pas un autre appareil avec la même carte SIM?

Is that the only chip that you have, uh... You don't have another device with the same SIM card?

Captions 58, 61, Sophie et Patrice On m'a volé mon téléphone

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You might be interested to know that in other situations, une puce is something entirely different. It’s actually "a flea"! In any case, Sophie has neither une puce nor une carte SIM on another appareil. She's going to have to call son opérateur (her provider):

Je vais appeler l'opérateur...

I'm going to call the provider...

Caption 84, Sophie et Patrice On m'a volé mon téléphone

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Sadly, it looks like Sophie and Patrice have run out of solutions. It might be time for her to start shopping for un nouveau portable (a new cellphone)—perhaps un smartphone compatible avec la 5G (a 5G smartphone)! 

Un machin doesn't mean "a machine" (that's une machine). In fact, it doesn't mean anything specific at all. It's a filler word, used when you're speaking generally or when you can't think of the proper word for something. It's an informal alternative to une chose (a thing), roughly equivalent to "thingy" or "thingamajig," or when plural, "stuff":

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

C'est-à-dire... de la confiture et des machins comme ça.

That is to say... jam and stuff like that.

Caption 10, Sophie et Patrice - Le petit-déjeuner

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D'abord, je mets un peu d'acétone

First, I apply a little bit of acetone

parce que souvent y a des étiquettes, des machins avec de la colle.

because often there are labels, stuff with glue. 

Captions 58-59, Sophie et Patrice - Les lampes de Sophie

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C'est quoi ce machin-là?

What is that thing?

Je savais que ça n'allait pas être le single, le machin...

I knew that it was not going to be the single, the whatever...

Caption 110, Watt’s In - Maître Gims : J'me Tire Interview Exclu

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Un truc is another informal way of saying une chose. It's basically synonymous with un machin:

Mais y a un truc aussi qui se faisait avant,

But there was another thing that was done before,

c'est que la police, ils intervenaient au collège...

it's that the police went in to the middle school...

Captions 16-17, Banlieues françaises - jeunes et policiers, l'impossible réconciliation?

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Et on va aller acheter des trucs.

And we're gonna buy some stuff.

Caption 59, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois

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But unlike un machin, un truc can also mean "a trick":

Tout ça, c'est des trucs pour nous faire travailler encore plus!

All these are tricks to make us work even more!

Caption 42, Il était une fois: Notre Terre - 25. Technologies

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And there are a couple of idioms with truc that can't be replaced with machin: 

Je n'aime pas faire la fête. Ce n'est pas mon truc.

I don't like partying. It's not my thing.

Chacun son truc!

To each his own!

Likewise, there's one idiom that only uses machin:

Et quand je dis un grand ancien,

And when I say a great elder,

ça veut pas dire un vieux machin, pas du tout.

that doesn't mean an old so-and-so, not at all.

Captions 55-57, Uderzo et Goscinny - 1968

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Un vieux machin is a grumpy old man, an old fogey. 

You can even use machin and truc as proper nouns when you don't know or can't remember someone's name. In this case they're capitalized:

Demande à Machin* de t'aider.

Demande à Truc de t'aider.

Ask what's-his-name to help you.

*As a proper noun, Machin becomes Machine in the feminine (Demande à Machine de t'aider/Ask what's-her-name to help you). Truc doesn't change.

There's also another expression you can use when you don't know someone's name: Monsieur Untel/Madame Unetelle: 

Demande à Monsieur Untel/Madame Unetelle de t'aider.

Ask Mr./Ms. so-and-so to help you.

So when you don't know the name of something or someone, or you're just talking about "stuff" in general, machin and truc are the words to use. 

You may know that all French nouns are either masculine or feminine, but did you know that some nouns can be both? A word like après-midi (afternoon), for example, can be either masculine or feminine depending on the speaker's preference:

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Vous deux, là, qu'est-ce que vous allez faire de beau cet après-midi?

You two, here, what are you going to do that's exciting this afternoon?

Caption 57, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois - Part 1

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On passe une super après-midi.

You spend a great afternoon.

Caption 90, LCM - Rétine argentique, le paradis des photographes

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Un après-midi (masculine) and une après-midi (feminine) both mean "an afternoon." But usually, when a word's gender changes, its meaning changes too. Take the word mode, for example. La mode (feminine) means "fashion," but le mode (masculine) means "mode" or "(grammatical) mood":

Le milieu de la mode est aussi touché hein, forcément.

The world of fashion is also affected, you know, necessarily.

Caption 36, Cap 24 Paris - Alessandro fait les Puces! - Part 1

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Le temps présent fait partie du mode indicatif.

The present tense is part of the indicative mood.

Caption 10, Le saviez-vous? - Le mode indicatif, c'est quoi?

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Like mode, a lot of dual-gender words end in -e. Another common one is poste. When masculine, it means "post" as in "position" or "job" (among other things), and when feminine, it means "post" as in "post office" or "mail":

J'ai trouvé mon premier poste de libraire

I found my first bookseller position

Caption 3, Gaëlle - Librairie "Livres in Room"

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Si je venais à gagner, vous m'enverrez mon chèque par la poste.

If I were to win, you'll send me my check in the mail.

Caption 27, Patricia - Pas de crédit dans le monde des clones - Part 2

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You'll most often find the word livre in its masculine form, meaning "book." When feminine, it means "pound," as in the unit of weight and currency:

L'extérieur d'un livre s'appelle la couverture.

The outside of a book is called the cover.

Caption 4, Manon et Clémentine - Vocabulaire du livre

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Une livre équivaut à environ quatre cent cinquante-quatre grammes. 
One pound is equal to around four hundred fifty-four grams. 

Voile has related meanings in both its masculine and feminine forms. Both refer to things made of fabric—a veil (un voile) and a sail (une voile): 

Un niqab, c'est donc un voile intégral qui ne laisse, euh, voir que les yeux.

So a niqab is a full-length veil that only, uh, shows the eyes.

Caption 10, Cap Caen Normandie TV - Danse - Héla Fattoumi se dévoile

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Il a une seule voile.

It has a single sail.

Caption 11, Fred et Miami Catamarans - Les Bateaux

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This video takes you on a tour (un tour) of Paris, making a requisite stop at the Eiffel Tower (la Tour Eiffel):

La Tour Eiffel, qui est le symbole de la France.

The Eiffel Tower, which is the symbol of France.

Caption 20, Paris Tour - Visite guidée de Paris

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Gender can be tricky in French, doubly so when you're dealing with words that can be both masculine and feminine. Remembering them is just a matter of practice. You can find a comprehensive list of dual-gender words on this page.

The phrase pas mal literally means "not bad," and like its English counterpart, it's often used to express an assessment of something: 

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La nourriture à ce restaurant n'est pas mal.
The food at that restaurant isn't bad. 

C'est pas mal déjà!

That's not bad at all! [or: That's pretty good!]

Caption 21, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois

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But just as often, pas mal is used not as a qualitative assessment, but a quantitative one. Take a look at this example from our video on Paris's Rue des Martyrs:

Y a pas mal de bars dans la rue.

There are quite a few bars on the street.

Caption 42, Adrien - Rue des Martyrs

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Adrien isn't saying that the bars on the street "aren't bad." If he were, he might have said something like, Les bars dans la rue ne sont pas mal. Instead, he uses pas mal to indicate that there are "quite a few" bars on the street. When followed by de (of) plus a noun, pas mal can mean anything along the lines of "quite a few," "quite a bit," or "quite a lot":

C'est quelque chose qui est très important

This is something that has been very important

pour nous depuis pas mal de temps.

to us for quite a bit of time.

Caption 18, Alsace 20 - Grain de Sel: le titre de Maître Restaurateur, c'est quoi?

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When pas mal comes before an adjective, it means "a lot" or "pretty":

Ben c'est sûr que... c'est pas mal plus naturel.

Well, for sure... that's a lot more natural.

Caption 46, Bateau sport 100% électrique - Le Nautique 196 E

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Ce livre est pas mal intéressant.
This book is pretty interesting.

And when referring to a verb, it means "really" or, again, "quite a bit/a lot":

J'essaie de rechercher pas mal le son.

I'm trying to really research the sound [or: I'm trying to research the sound quite a bit].

Caption 12, Phil Cambron - Ses révélations

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Here's an example sentence that contains both senses of pas mal:

Pas mal de nuages mais quand même des éclaircies,

Quite a few clouds but still some sunny spells,

et au niveau des températures, c'est pas mal non plus.

and as far as temperatures go, that's not bad either.

Captions 9-10, Alsace 20 - Météo des Maquilleurs

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But be careful: just because you see the words pas and mal next to each other doesn't necessarily mean you're dealing with the expression pas mal. Namely, when a verb phrase with mal (such as faire mal [to hurt] or le prendre mal [to take it the wrong way]) is negated, the pas mal portion doesn't mean "not bad" or "quite a bit"—it's just part of the negation:

Ça fait pas mal? -Non, non.

It doesn't hurt? -No, no.

Caption 16, Cap 24 - Rasage et Epilation du Visage : Alessandro Di Sarno teste!

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Ne le prends pas mal. 
Don't take it the wrong way. 

Thanks for reading! Tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.

If you're a Yabla subscriber, you may have noticed that we translate every word in the video captions, even if it's a repeated word or a filler word such as euh... (uh...). This allows you to really hear everything the speaker is saying and gives you a better understanding of everyday French speech patterns. In this lesson, we'll review some of the most common filler words and interjections that pop up in Yabla French videos. 

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While euh (uh) is pretty straightforward, hein is a filler word whose translation really depends on context. In general, it's used as an interrogative to mean anything from "right," to "isn't it," to "you know": 

Donc, euh... c'est le même système, hein, pour les légumes,

So, uh... it's the same method, right, for the vegetables,

euh... comme pour les homards.

uh... as for the lobsters.

Caption 54, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard - Part 2

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Il bouillonne bien, hein?

It's bubbling nicely, isn't it?

Caption 77, 4 Mains pour 1 Piano - Médaillon de Homard - Part 1

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Enfin, j'ai déjà trois filles, hein!

After all, I already have three daughters, you know!

Caption 42, Actu Vingtième - Vendanges parisiennes

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If you didn't quite catch something someone said, you can simply say, Hein? (Huh?) But like its English counterpart, this usage of hein is very informal. A more polite way of expressing the same sentiment is, Pouvez-vous répéter, s'il vous plaît? (Can you repeat that, please?)

The word quoi usually means "what," but as a filler word it has the same meaning as hein:

Ouais, euh... ça serait vraiment le...

Yeah, uh... that'd really be the...

le rêve ultime, quoi, pour le fan...

the ultimate dream, you know, for a fan...

Caption 9, Alsace 20 - Rammstein à Strasbourg

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Also like hein, quoi can stand alone to express incomprehension: Quoi? (What?) It's a little less informal than hein in this context.

Là ("here," "there," or "now") can also mean "you know," but it's often used as an informal way of adding emphasis: 

Parce qu'en fait hier, on allait... avec... avec,

Because actually, yesterday, we were going... with... with,

euh... avec des grands, là...

uh... with some older kids, you know...

Caption 80, Actus Quartier - Fête de quartier Python-Duvernois

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Là tu exagères! 

You're really exaggerating [going too far]!

Ben or eh ben (well) is another common filler word. It's a shortened form of bien, the standard word for "well": 

Les températures, eh ben, cela va être relativement facile,

The temperature, well, that's going to be relatively easy,

quatre degrés partout...

four degrees everywhere...

Caption 6, Alsace 20 - Météo des Maquilleurs

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You'll also find it in the expression, Ben oui! (But of course!)

Our final example contains two common interjections: 

Oh la la! Oh mais dis donc, non mais... oh, qu'est-ce qui se passe?

Oh my! Oh but you don't say, no but... oh, what's going on?

Caption 24, Il était une fois... l’Homme - 6. Le siècle de Périclès

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The first has been adapted into English as "ooh la la!" But while "ooh la la" is a comical way of expressing attraction or excitement, oh la la (often shortened to oh la) is a more neutral expression of surprise (more like "oh my" in English). 

The second interjection, dis donc, literally means "say then," but is better translated by the phrase "you don't say" or a number of others. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

In short, if you ever find yourself at a loss for words in French, a filler word or an interjection is a good way to plug the gap!

Well, it's official. French Prime Minister François Fillon has declared that the title mademoiselle (Miss) will no longer be included on any government forms or documents. The decision comes after months of campaigning by two French feminist groups, Osez le féminisme! (Dare To Be Feminist!) and Les Chiennes de garde (The Watchdogs), who argue that the term places an unfair emphasis on a woman's marital status. Mademoiselle literally means "my young lady" (ma + demoiselle), just as madame comes from "my lady" and monsieur "my lord." Monsieur has long been used to identify both single and married men, as the archaic male equivalent of mademoiselle, mon damoiseau, never became an honorific title. Now madame will be used for all women, whether single or married, and is thus best translated as "Ms." instead of "Mrs."