When you want to exit a building, look for a sign that says Sortie (Exit). Based on the past participle of the verb sortir (to go out), la sortie is a very versatile word that can be used in many different ways, both literally and figuratively.
As mentioned earlier, la sortie refers to “the exit” of a building. The studio in the video below has several sorties, which may explain André’s wife’s mysterious disappearance:
Ah ben... parce qu'il y a d'autres sorties...
Oh, well... because there are other exits...
Caption 24, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma femme est-elle réellement morte ? - Part 2
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Just as in English, you can combine sortie with faire (to make): faire sa sortie (to make one's exit), like singers and superstars do.
Voici comment toutes les grandes superstars font leur sortie.
Here's how all the big superstars make their exit.
Captions 64-65, Extr@ Ep. 5 - Une étoile est née - Part 3
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Speaking of singers, we also use the word sortie to talk about an album release:
Sortie de l'album le vingt-sept février deux mille douze
Album release February twenty-seventh, two thousand twelve
Caption 1, Boulbar New York, 6 heures du matin
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Sortie is also a verb form meaning "released." In this case, it's the feminine past participle of the verb sortir (to be released). Remember that sortir belongs to the small group of verbs that go with the auxiliary être and take agreement in the past tense. In the video below, sortie agrees with the feminine noun chanson (song):
Cette chanson est sortie en deux mille onze.
This song was released in two thousand eleven.
Caption 134, Français avec Nelly 12 Songs to Improve Your French - Part 1
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It’s not just songs or movies that can be released. People can too! In the example below, it’s a prisoner who is being freed.
Dès sa sortie de prison, Brice contacte Enzo.
As soon as he is released from prison, Brice contacts Enzo.
Caption 1, Le Jour où tout a basculé À la recherche de mon père - Part 9
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The recently released prisoner would no longer need permission for chaque sortie (each outing), unlike French residents during the early COVID pandemic:
Il faut signer une attestation, surtout attester de chaque sortie.
You have to sign a certificate, above all register every outing.
Captions 54-55, Lionel L La pandémie
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As for poor Barbara, she has to beg her mother for la permission de sortie:
Il fallait passer par d'interminables négociations pour obtenir la permission de sortie.
I had to go through endless negotiations to obtain permission to go out.
Captions 26-27, Mère & Fille La soirée
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Unlike Barbara, our former prisoner is free to enjoy être de sortie (being out and about), like the people in this Christine and the Queens song:
Nous et la "man", on est de sortie
We and the man, we are out and about
Caption 25, Christine and the Queens Christine
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Être de sortie can also just mean “to be out,” as opposed to being home:
J'aurais pu refuser et prétexter que j'étais de sortie
I could've refused on the pretext that I was out
Caption 72, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma mère fait tout pour briser mon couple - Part 5
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Interestingly, when sortie is preceded by the definite article la (the), as in à la sortie, the phrase usually signals the end of an activity:
À la sortie, cette idée semble avoir été abandonnée
In the end, they seem to have abandoned this idea
Caption 6, Le Journal Enseigner l'Holocauste en classe
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À la sortie de la séance, certains n'en reviennent toujours pas.
At the end of the showing, some still can't believe it.
Caption 27, Le Journal Les Ch'tis
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...et de me les communiquer à la sortie du conseil de classe.
...and communicate them to me at the end of the teachers' conference.
Captions 54-55, Mère & Fille Le coup de téléphone
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However, note the subtlety here. La sortie des classes doesn’t just mean the end of classes, but also when classes are dismissed:
Ça tombe juste pendant la sortie des classes.
That falls right when classes are dismissed.
Caption 23, Le Jour où tout a basculé Ma mère fait tout pour briser mon couple - Part 3
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And watch out: in a different context, une sortie de classe is a "field trip" or "school trip," like the one Barbara is going on:
Les sorties de classe, c'est l'occasion de découvrir des choses nouvelles
Class field trips are an opportunity to discover new things
Caption 1, Mère & Fille La sortie de classe
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Here are some other uses of the noun sortie. This one is straightforward: à la sortie du four means “out of the oven."
...pour que les manneles à la sortie du four, ils aient une belle croûte.
...so that the mannele out of the oven have a beautiful crust.
Caption 62, Alsace 20 Grain de Sel: le Lycée hôtelier Alexandre Dumas
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In the next example, however, the meaning is not so obvious. Remember earlier when we talked about la sortie d’un album? This time, la sortie sort of means the opposite: "the phaseout" or "the end of an era":
Tu crois que pour toi ça symbolise la sortie du nucléaire, là ?
Do you think this symbolizes the phaseout of nuclear energy for you?
Caption 75, Actus Quartier Manif anti-nucléaire à Bastille
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Another less common meaning of sortie is “output” in an industrial context, as in la sortie de l’électricité:
Dans les batteries, on a des contacteurs qui coupent la sortie de l'électricité
In the batteries, we have contactors that shut off the electricity output
Captions 64-65, Bateau sport 100% électrique Le Nautique 196 E
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And in a commercial context, we have l'entrée et sortie de marchandises:
...logiciels informatiques pour gérer tout ce qui est entrée et sortie de marchandises.
...computing software to manage everything that is about the entry and departure of goods.
Captions 33-34, GO! Formations Présentation du centre
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Indeed, sortie can mean “departure,” as in to leave a place or depart. In the video below, la sortie refers to the time the couple left the hotel:
Au moment de leur sortie, eh bien, cette carte avait disparu.
At the time of their departure, well, this card had gone missing.
Captions 88-89, Le Jour où tout a basculé À l'audience - Arnaque en couple ? - Part 6
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In some cases, sortie doesn’t just mean “departure,” but “quitting,” as in giving up:
C'est-à-dire les différentes épisodes de sortie, ensuite, les envies, et cetera, correspondent en tout point à ce que nous vivons avec...des patients qui fument...
That is, the different quitting episodes, then the cravings, et cetera, correspond point by point with what we experience with...patients who smoke...
Captions 157-160, Le Figaro Elle a banni le sucre pendant un an - Part 2
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So far, we’ve explored many ways of using the word sortie, and like Sacha in the video below, you may be wondering comment vous allez vous en sortir (how you’re going to manage):
Oh là là là là, comment vont-ils s'en sortir ?
Oh dear, how are they going to manage?
Caption 10, Extr@ Ep. 6 - Le jour du loto - Part 1
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Just keep in mind that the main meanings of sortie are “exit," "departure," and "outing." However, pay close attention to context to interpret the less common uses of sortie. And remember that Yabla videos are at your disposal pour vous aider à vous en sortir (to help you cope). Thanks for reading!
In this lesson, we're going to discuss a very common word that isn't very specific. It's un truc, an informal word for "thing" (une chose has the same meaning). You can use it when you're not quite sure what an object is called:
J'attends que le truc passe parce que ça fait un petit bruit...
I'm waiting for the thing to pass because it's making a little noise...
Caption 82, Lea - Cour Saint-Émilion
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Or when you're talking about something abstract:
On n'a plus de souvenirs. C'est ça, le truc aussi.
We don't have any more memories. That's the thing too.
Captions 25-26, Elisa et sa maman - La technologie
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When someone says "it's not my thing," they're saying they don't really like it (it's not their cup of tea) or they're not really good at it (it's not their forte). There's an exact cognate of this expression in French—ce n'est pas mon truc:
La baignade, c'est pas mon truc. -Oh, moi non plus!
Swimming isn't my thing. -Oh, me neither!
Caption 26, Il était une fois - Notre Terre - 25. Technologies - Part 5
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Un truc means "a thing," but it often translates as "something." It's a more informal way of saying quelque chose (something):
Tu sais j'vais te dire un truc. Tu sais c'que c'est qu'une utopie?
You know, I'll tell you something. Do you know what a utopia is?
Caption 70, Actus Quartier - Manif anti-nucléaire à Bastille
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Manon, à toi de commencer. Dis-moi un petit truc en français.
Manon, your turn to start. Tell me a little something in French.
Caption 3, Manon et Clémentine - Virelangues
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Sometimes, un truc (or des trucs) is just "stuff" in general:
Je sais pas encore mais en tout cas je sais que je veux créer un truc.
I don't know yet, but in any case I know that I want to create stuff.
Caption 58, Watt’s In - Louane : Avenir Interview Exclu
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But there is one instance in which truc does have a specific meaning. It's also the word for "trick," as in a magic trick or a clever way of doing something:
Moi, j'ai un truc miraculeux
Me, I have a miraculous trick
Caption 2, Le Mans TV - Benjamin Perrot: "La rébellion du combiné"
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You'll find a synonym for truc in the next caption:
Une astuce qui ne coûte rien
A trick that costs nothing
Caption 3, Le Mans TV - Benjamin Perrot: "La rébellion du combiné"
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Besides ce n'est pas mon truc, there are two expressions with truc with close English cognates. The first is avoir le truc:
Je n'ai pas le truc pour ça.
I don't have the knack for it.
Tu commences à avoir le truc.
You're getting the hang of it.
The second is chacun son truc (literally, "each his/her thing"), synonymous with chacun ses goûts (there's no accounting for taste; literally, "each his/her tastes"):
J'aime les chats. Tu aimes les chiens. Chacun son truc! / Chacun ses goûts!
I like cats. You like dogs. To each his own!
Vous commencez à avoir le truc pour "truc"! Stay tuned for our next lesson and tweet us @yabla or send your topic suggestions to newsletter@yabla.com.
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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A collective noun (nom collectif) is a singular noun that represents a group of objects or people. Some French examples include une série (a series), une poignée (a handful or fistful), un tas (a pile), une foule (a crowd), and, of course, un groupe (a group). Although collective nouns can stand alone in a sentence, they are often followed by a complement (a group of something). The tricky part about using collective nouns is determining whether the verb should agree with the collective noun (and be singular) or with its complement (and be plural).
The agreement all depends on which of the two (the collective or its individual parts) is being emphasized. To illustrate this, let’s take a look at two different ways of using the word poignée:
Une poignée d'humains s'est emparée
A handful of people has taken over
d'un pouvoir qui les dépasse eux-mêmes.
a power that's beyond their control.
Captions 93-94, Actus Quartier - Manif anti-nucléaire à Bastille
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Une poignée de nationalistes saluaient la naissance tant espérée.
A handful of nationalists were greeting the much hoped-for birth.
Caption 9, Le Journal - Un petit prince japonais
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In the first example, the singular verb agrees with the collective noun (poignée) because the group of people as a whole has taken over. In the second example, the plural verb agrees with the complement (nationalistes) because the emphasis is on the individual nationalists who are giving the greeting. So if you’re talking about what a group of things does as a single entity, you use a singular verb. But if you’re talking about what the things in the group do themselves, as individuals, you use a plural verb.
Sometimes, the word preceding the collective noun can indicate whether the verb is singular or plural. If the noun is preceded by a definite article (le, la) or a demonstrative (ce, cet, cette) or possessive (mon, ton, etc.) pronoun, the verb will often agree with the collective noun and be singular:
Cet ensemble d'obstacles sera difficile à surmonter.
This group of obstacles will be difficult to overcome.
If the noun is preceded by an indefinite article (un, une), the verb will often be plural and agree with the complement:
Un ensemble de personnes marchent dans la rue.
A group of people are walking in the street.
But many times, the decision to make the verb agree with the collective noun or its complement all boils down to personal preference or the speaker’s intention. This is true of number words like une douzaine (a dozen), une quinzaine (around fifteen), and une vingtaine (around twenty), which can take either a singular or a plural verb:
Une centaine d'exilés tibétains ont tenté
About a hundred Tibetan exiles have tried
d'occuper l'ambassade de Chine à New Delhi.
to occupy the Chinese embassy in New Delhi.
Caption 2, Le Journal - Manifestations au Tibet
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Une douzaine d'huîtres coûte dix euros.
A dozen oysters costs ten euros.
You can see our lesson on words like centaine and douzaine here.
There’s no room for personal preference when it comes to the words la plupart (most), la majorité (the majority), and une quantité (a lot). These always take a plural verb:
La plupart des gens à Miami parlent l'espagnol, pour vous dire.
Most people speak Spanish in Miami, you know.
Caption 22, Fred et Miami Catamarans - Fred et sa vie à Miami
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Notre équipe de traducteurs chez Yabla vous souhaite une multitude de succès! (Our translating team at Yabla wishes you a multitude of success!)
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