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Le saviez-vous?
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142 Videos

Patricia has a wealth of knowledge about French grammar, vocabulary, literature, culture, history, and more, which she shares with us in her series Le saviez-vous? (Did You Know?)

101 Episodes
Videos
Pages: 1 of 1 
─ Videos: 1-142 of 142 Totaling 8 hours 26 minutes

Le saviez-vous? - D'où vient le nom de la France?

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

This video is all about the people of France, from the ancient Franks and Gauls to the present-day population, which currently numbers over sixty-six million inhabitants.

Le saviez-vous? - Le romantisme français

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

It's been said that Paris is the most romantic city in the world. In this video, you will discover the origin of the word "romantic" and learn about the romanticism movement, which originated not from France as one might expect, but from England and Germany and later took hold in France.

Le saviez-vous? - La conjugaison au présent, au passé et au futur

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

This video will give you an introduction to one of the most important aspects of French grammar: conjugating verbs in the present, past, and future tenses. It's full of fun and practical examples that will help you master conjugation!

Le saviez-vous? - L'art culinaire français

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

This episode of "Le saviez-vous?" (Did You Know?) is about French gastronomy. You will learn a lot of useful vocabulary relating to food, and you can look forward to sampling delicious dishes.

Le saviez-vous? - Mener une vie de bâton de chaise

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

This video takes an in-depth look at the curious French idiom mener une vie de bâton de chaise (to lead a chair-pole life). Though the life of a chair pole might not seem very interesting, the history behind the idiom certainly is!

Le saviez-vous? - Histoire du drapeau français

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

In this video, you will learn the history of the French flag. Once it was completely white, the color of the French royalty, and now it's blue, white, and red. The French flag has recently been tainted with controversy by nationalist groups who have appropriated it as a symbol of their own causes.

Le saviez-vous? - Le carnaval en France

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

The Carnival of Nice is famous around the world for its colorful parade of floats covered in flowers. You can even participate in a "battle" of flowers that are grown in abundance in the region.

Le saviez-vous? - "On est pas sorti de l'auberge!"

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Where does the expression on n'est pas sorti de l'auberge (we aren't out of the inn) come from? Find out its meaning in this video.

Le saviez-vous? - La Marseillaise - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Patricia discusses the history of the the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise," explaining how the song traveled from the Rhine region to Marseille, where it earned its final name.
She even sings a few lines of the song for us!

Le saviez-vous? - La Marseillaise - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Part two of this video on "La Marseillaise" explains how it evolved from a song of war and freedom to its current status as the French national anthem. The fact remains that it still stirs up controversy for its violent content, which some find offensive.

Le saviez-vous? - La poésie française: Baudelaire - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia introduces one of France's most renowned poets, Charles Baudelaire. His major work, Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil), is still the most studied poetry collection in French schools and was as much a source of controversy as admiration in his day. Baudelaire's love affair with his muse, actress Jeanne Duval, was a main source of inspiration for Les Fleurs du Mal.

Le saviez-vous? - La poésie française: Baudelaire - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Adv-Intermediate Adv-Intermediate

France

Patricia brings to life Baudelaire's famous poem "L'horloge" (The Clock). The poet laments the passage of time and life's inevitable conclusion: death. Aside from the gloomy message, this poem is also an invitation to seize the day and enjoy all that life has to offer, including this poem!

Le saviez-vous? - Les homonymes

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

In this lesson, you will learn the difference between homonyms, homophones, and homographs illustrated with amusing examples. Challenge yourself by repeating the words that sound the same and see if you can spell them correctly. Good luck!

Le saviez-vous? - Les synonymes

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

In this video you will learn about synonyms, words that share the same general meaning but convey different degrees of intensity, illustrated by various examples of feelings. Armed with this new vocabulary, you should never be at a loss for words, whether you're overjoyed or wild with anger!

Le saviez-vous? - Les expressions à ne pas prendre au pied de la lettre - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Some expressions are not be taken literally, as they would not make a lot of sense. For example, vider son sac—literally, "to empty one's bag"—actually means something entirely different. Find out the real meaning of vider son sac and its origin in this video!

Le saviez-vous? - Les expressions à ne pas prendre au pied de la lettre - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

In the second installment on French expressions not to be taken literally, Patricia discusses the phrase se faire l'avocat du diable (to play devil's advocate).

Le saviez-vous? - Paris, capitale de France

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

In this episode you will learn how Paris officially became the capital in the sixth century under the reign of Clovis. Paris was not built in a day, and in many respects, Paris is still being built today as many significant events, past and present, are still defining the history of the city.

Le saviez-vous? - Nice pleure

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

A terrible tragedy struck Nice on what should have been a celebration of Bastille Day, France's national holiday. A driver crashed his truck into a crowd of people who came to watch the fireworks on the famous Promenade des Anglais. The city is in mourning, but the people of Nice are determined not to be defeated by this tragedy.

Le saviez-vous? - Nice rit

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

In the wake of the recent tragedy on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice remains a beautiful and diverse city. In this video, Patricia talks about what makes the city such a great place to live and visit.

Le saviez-vous? - Jean de La Fontaine - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Jean de La Fontaine's fables are all-time classics that have been in the French school curriculum for many years, at all levels. It's safe to say that every French person knows at least one of his fables.

Le saviez-vous? - Jean de La Fontaine - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

In this video you will hear a fable by Jean de La Fontaine, the most famous fable writer in French literature. "Le Chêne et le Roseau" (The Oak and the Reed) is a lesson in humility. The humble reed belies an inner strength that the oak does not possess. The oak's unbending nature proves to be its downfall.

Le saviez-vous? - Les adjectifs possessifs - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

In her introduction to possessive adjectives, Patricia will teach you how to say "my," "your," and "his/her" in French using some simple props.

Le saviez-vous? - Les adjectifs possessifs - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

In the second part of Patricia's video on possessive adjectives, you will learn the plural adjectives and what to do when a noun starts with a vowel.

Le saviez-vous? - Les adjectifs et les pronoms possessifs en exemple

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia demonstrates how to use possessive adjectives and pronouns... using bananas!

Le saviez-vous? - Les pronoms possessifs - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

In this video, Patricia introduces possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his/hers, etc.). Be sure to check out her previous videos on possessive adjectives to gain a better understanding.

Le saviez-vous? - Les pronoms possessifs - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Make this final lesson on possessive pronouns yours! Listen and watch carefully to master all the nuances in sounds and spelling.

Le saviez-vous? - Comment voyager?

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Do you know how to travel in France? If not, Patricia will give you some travel tips and vocabulary. Follow her all the way to Antibes!

Le saviez-vous? - Conversation entre étrangers

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video, Patricia plays two strangers in a dentist office waiting room. Her characters use the formal vous form for most of the video, but when they realize they aren't strangers after all, they switch to the informal tu.

Le saviez-vous? - Conversation entre amis

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video, you'll hear an informal conversation between two friends who share a strong resemblance....

Le saviez-vous? - La couleur blanche et ses expressions - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Patricia tells us a fun story peppered with expressions involving the word blanc/blanche (white). You might recognize some of them from English, such as hisser le drapeau blanc (to raise the white flag), but others are a bit more difficult to decipher.

Le saviez-vous? - La couleur blanche et ses expressions - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Patricia takes us on a "white journey in the French language" by explaining some common French expressions using the word blanc/blanche (white).

Le saviez-vous? - La couleur noire et ses expressions

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Patricia is in a dark mood.... Learn some expressions using the word noir (dark, black) and express your dark feelings in French!

Le saviez-vous? - Les verbes du 1er groupe

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

What are first-group verbs? In this video, Patricia will introduce you to the nearly 3000 verbs belonging to this category. Don't be daunted by that number—these verbs are the simplest to use!

Le saviez-vous? - Les verbes du 1er groupe les plus utilisés - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia goes over some of the most commonly used verbs of the first group (ending in -er). Once you learn them, try creating a story out of them!

Le saviez-vous? - Les verbes du 1er groupe les plus utilisés - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia introduces some more first-group verbs, which all end in -er, by creating little stories featuring them. Try creating some of your own!

Le saviez-vous? - Conjugaison des verbes du 1er groupe au présent

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Learn how to recognize first-group verbs (ending in "er") and learn their ending patterns so you can conjugate them.

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

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia introduces the indicative mood, which includes the most common tenses: past, present, and future.

Le saviez-vous? - Les 8 temps du mode de l'indicatif - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video, Patricia introduces the eight tenses of the indicative mood. She compares the four simple tenses of the indicative, which require only one verb, with the four compound tenses, which are made up of two verbs.

Le saviez-vous? - Les 8 temps du mode de l'indicatif - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video, Patricia introduces the four compound tenses of the indicative with a few examples.

Le saviez-vous? - Le mode du conditionnel

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains the conditional mood in the past and present tense.

Le saviez-vous? - Conjugaison des verbes du 1er groupe au passé composé de l’indicatif

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia demonstrates how to conjugate first-group verbs (ending in -er) in the passé composé of the indicative. She uses examples from daily life to illustrate her explanation.

Le saviez-vous? - Exception dans les verbes du 1er groupe au passé composé

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this lesson, Patricia discusses some exceptions to first-group verbs in the passé composé, those that require the auxiliary verb être (to be) instead of avoir (to have). Don't worry, Patricia will conjugate them for you and illustrate them with a few examples.

Le saviez-vous? - Conjugaison au futur simple de l’indicatif

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Let's talk about the future with Patricia. She will show you how to conjugate verbs in the simple future of the indicative.

Le saviez-vous? - Le mode subjonctif

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video, you will learn when to use the subjunctive mood in all kinds of everyday situations. Whenever you express a doubt, an uncertainty, or a wish, the subjunctive mood is usually required.

Le saviez-vous? - Les élections présidentielles - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia takes the opportunity to explain how the French presidential elections work. The vote happens in two stages. In the first round, voters choose from several candidates, and in the second round, they pick the president from the top two scoring candidates of the first round.

Le saviez-vous? - Les élections présidentielles - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In part two of this series, you will learn about the political climate during the 2017 French presidential elections. You will also learn the prerequisites for being able to vote in France.

Le saviez-vous? - Le vocabulaire de la tête

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia focuses on the thinking, listening, and seeing part of the body, the head. She'll teach you a lot of useful vocabulary for various parts of the head, as well as some fun expressions.

Le saviez-vous? - Le vocabulaire du corps

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

If you are interested in learning the names of parts of the body in French, this lesson is for you! You will also learn some interesting expressions like prendre son pied, which translates as "to hold one's foot," but actually means "to have a good time."

Le saviez-vous? - Louis Aragon

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

In this video, you will learn about the famous poet, novelist, and journalist Louis Aragon, who lived in the twentieth century. Many of his poems were set to music by famous French singers such as Georges Brassens, Léo Férré, and Jean Ferrat.

Le saviez-vous? - "Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux" de Louis Aragon

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Patricia recites Louis Aragon's heartbreaking poem "Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux" (There Is No Happy Love), which has been set to music by a number of famous singers. You can listen to Françoise Hardy's version here.

Le saviez-vous? - La Cigale et la fourmi - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Adv-Intermediate Adv-Intermediate

France

Patricia recites one of Jean de La Fontaine's most famous fables, "La Cigale et la Fourmi" (The Cicada and the Ant). After spending the entire summer singing instead of storing food, the cicada is starving come winter. She hopes her neighbor the ant can help her....

Le saviez-vous? - La Cigale et la fourmi - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Patricia sheds a new light on the renowned fable by Jean de La Fontaine, "The Cicada and the Ant." Maybe the cicada isn't such a bad character after all....

Le saviez-vous? - Les verbes du 2ème groupe

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video, you will learn to recognize the difference between first- and second-group verbs. First-group verbs end in -er in the infinitive and second-group verbs end in -ir. The verbs in each group have the same endings in each tense, which makes it a lot easier to learn how to conjugate them.

Le saviez-vous? - Conjugaison du verbe finir au présent

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video, you will learn how to conjugate the verb finir (to finish) in the present tense. This verb is used as a reference for all second-group verbs, which end in -ir.

Le saviez-vous? - Les verbes du 2ème groupe les plus utilisés

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains how to conjugate second-group verbs in the present indicative. Regular verbs ending in -ir all follow the same conjugation rules.

Le saviez-vous? - Conjugaison des verbes du 2ème groupe au passé simple

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia teaches us how to conjugate second-group (-ir) verbs in the passé simple, or historical past. Unlike the more common passé composé, this tense is mainly used in literary works and in historical accounts.

Le saviez-vous? - Conjugaison des verbes du 2ème groupe au futur simple

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia takes a glimpse into the future by showing you how to conjugate verbs of the second group (ending in -ir) in the future tense.

Le saviez-vous? - La négation - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia will teach you how to say "no" in French. It's not just a matter of saying non! Find out how to use ne pas (do not) in the right way.

Le saviez-vous? - La négation - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia demonstrates negation with compound tenses. Negation in French involves two words, ne and pas, which have to be placed in just the right order. Find out how it's done in this video!

Le saviez-vous? - La négation - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia continues her lesson on negation. In part three, you will learn where to place ne pas (not) in a sentence with a conjugated verb and a verb in the infinitive.

Le saviez-vous? - La négation - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

In the last episode of this series on negation in a sentence, you will learn how to use the adverb of negation ne pas (not) when it's followed by an infinitive and by an indefinite article.

Le saviez-vous? - "Non plus", forme négative de "aussi" - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains the use of aussi (also) and non plus (neither). Non plus is the negative form of aussi.

Le saviez-vous? - "Non plus", forme négative de "aussi" - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In the second part of this lesson on ne plus and aussi, you will learn another meaning of aussi. In addition to "also," it can mean "therefore" or "so."

Le saviez-vous? - "Ne pas encore", forme négative de "déjà"

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains the use of déjà and ne pas encore in French. Déjà means "yet" or "already," depending on context. In the negative, déjà becomes ne pas encore (not yet).

Le saviez-vous? - "Jamais", forme négative de "déjà"

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains the difference between ne pas encore (not yet) and jamais (never), the two negative forms of déjà (already, ever). Ne pas encore applies to actions that are limited in time, while jamais applies to actions that aren't.

Le saviez-vous? - "Ne plus", forme négative de "encore" et "toujours"

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video you will learn how to use the adverbs encore and toujours and how their meanings overlap. Encore and toujours can both mean "still," and share a common negative form: ne plus (no longer).

Le saviez-vous? - Utilisation de "encore" et "toujours" - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video, you will learn the various meanings of encore, which Patricia will illustrate with several examples.

Le saviez-vous? - Utilisation de "encore" et "toujours" - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia lists a few more usages of encore (still, again) and gives an overview of toujours (still, always). To learn more about these words, check out our written lesson on them.

Le saviez-vous? - La tradition de la galette des rois - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia discusses the galette des rois (kings' cake), a classic holiday delicacy associated with the festival of Epiphany. A small figurine is placed inside the cake, and whoever finds it in his or her slice is crowned "king" or "queen" for the day.

Le saviez-vous? - La tradition de la galette des rois - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains in detail the tradition of the galette des rois (kings' cake), which predates Christianity. The tradition is linked to a Roman pagan celebration called Saturnalia, during which a lucky slave was crowned "king" for the day.

Le saviez-vous? - L'élision - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia will show you how to create an "elision" in French, which is when you omit certain vowels and replace them with an apostrophe (similar to saying "it's" instead of "it is" in English).

Le saviez-vous? - L'élision - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In part two of her lesson on elisions, Patricia will help you navigate the rules of elisions with multiple examples. They're an essential part of French speech that will no longer be a mystery!

Le saviez-vous? - La liaison - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia will teach you how to form liaisons (not the dangerous kind!) in French. These occur when you connect the final consonant of one word with the beginning vowel or silent H of the next word and pronounce them as one. Listen closely to Patricia, who will demonstrate a range of examples.

Le saviez-vous? - La liaison - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

In part two of her lesson, Patricia will explain in-depth which words require a liaison. Some liaisons are compulsory while some are optional or omitted.

Le saviez-vous? - Les différentes négations - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In the first part of this series on negation, you will learn how to use the formula ne... ni... ni (neither... nor... nor) to construct a negative sentence in French.

Le saviez-vous? - Les différentes négations - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In the second part of this series on negation, you will learn the negative forms rien ne... (nothing), ne... aucun(e) (not any), and ne... nulle part (nowhere). We hope you will be feeling more positive about these negatives!

Le saviez-vous? - Les différentes négations - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In part three of this series on negation, Patricia demonstrates the use of adverbs of frequency in the affirmative and in the negative form. Some changes are required with some adverbs.

Le saviez-vous? - Les différentes négations - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia concludes her lesson on negation with a discussion of phrases using sans (without), double negation, and negation in the imperative mood.

Le saviez-vous? - Le E muet - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

E is a tricky vowel in French: sometimes it's pronounced, sometimes it's not. As Patricia explains, it's usually silent at the end of a word, and often silent in the middle of a word.

Le saviez-vous? - Le E muet - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Knowing when to pronounce and when not to pronounce the letter E is key to speaking French like a native. Among other places, E usually isn't pronounced when it's between two consonants (and doesn't have an accent mark).

Le saviez-vous? - La Maison de l'Olive à Nice - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Adv-Intermediate Adv-Intermediate

France

Learn all about olives with this olive merchant from Nice. This lovely store, "La Maison de l'Olive," has all kinds of olive delicacies from the region and across the Mediterranean basin. Did you know that the olive groves (oliveraies) in the Nice region were planted by the Greeks?

Le saviez-vous? - La Maison de l'Olive à Nice - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Adv-Intermediate Adv-Intermediate

France

What's the difference between tapenade and olive paste? What needs to be done to olives to make them consumable? Find out in this video!

Le saviez-vous? - La socca, spécialité niçoise

Difficulty: difficulty - Adv-Intermediate Adv-Intermediate

France

Socca is a simple dish that you can only find in Nice. A local family business has been serving this delicious, filling pastry made of garbanzo beans for generations. If you're passing through, don't forget to stop by and try it!

Le saviez-vous? - La prononciation des voyelles et groupes de voyelles - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

In this lesson, Patricia will show you how to pronounce the six French vowels and the vowel combinations ai, an, au, ain, and aim.

Le saviez-vous? - La prononciation des voyelles et groupes de voyelles - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

In this video, you will learn how to pronounce some vowel combinations with the letter E (ei, eu, eau) as well as the differences between é, è, and ê.

Le saviez-vous? - La prononciation des voyelles et groupes de voyelles - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia concludes her series on vowels and vowel groups with a discussion of the vowels O and U. She also mentions a French word that contains all five vowels, but none of them are individually pronounced. Can you guess what it is?

Le saviez-vous? - Le quartier du Vieux Nice

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Come visit the neighborhood of Vieux Nice (Old Nice), with its charming village atmosphere and interesting architecture. You will notice a definite Italian influence in this French city near the Italian border.

Le saviez-vous? - Henri Matisse et le Vieux Nice

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

The artist Henri Matisse lived in a beautiful building, the Palais Caïs de Pierlas, in the Old Nice neighborhood. He captured the neighborhood's colorful atmosphere in many of his paintings.

Le saviez-vous? - L'architecture du Vieux Nice

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Discover the unique street patterns of Old Nice, which benefit from the Mediterranean wind and provide an ingenious and efficient cooling system for the neighborhood.

Le saviez-vous? - L'habitation dans le Vieux Nice

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia points out some architectural peculiarities in Old Nice. For example, the windows are very narrow to keep the heat out in the summer. Some houses even have special shutters with a lower part that opens separately to let in cool air.

Le saviez-vous? - Nice et son héritage italien

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In this video on Nice, Patricia explains the history of the city, its Italian heritage, and its typically French atmosphere.

Le saviez-vous? - L'animation dans le Vieux Nice

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia talks about the bustling Cours Saleya in the Vieux Nice neighborhood. In the nineteenth century the Cours Saleya attracted intellectuals to its literary salons, as well as tourists from all over the world.

Le saviez-vous? - La Promenade des Anglais - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia is on the Promenade des Anglais, the most famous avenue in Nice. The avenue is very long and stretches from the port of Nice to its airport. You can even wheel your suitcase all the way to the airport and catch your plane.

Le saviez-vous? - La Promenade des Anglais - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

The Promenade des Anglais is Nice's most famous and beautiful avenue. Sadly, its reputation was tarnished by a 2016 tragedy that left 80 pedestrians dead. As a result, safety barriers have been installed to prevent this from happening again.

Le saviez-vous? - La Promenade des Anglais - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains how the famous Promenade des Anglais running along the seaside of Nice got its name. The Promenade has been hosting various cultural and sporting events such as motor races since the early 1900s.

Le saviez-vous? - L'hôtel Negresco - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

The Hotel Negresco is a landmark along the famous Promenade des Anglais in Nice. This five-star hotel is a combination of neoclassical and baroque styles. The current owner of the hotel actually lives in it year-round!

Le saviez-vous? - L'hôtel Negresco - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

For more than a century, the Hotel Negresco was a destination of choice for the wealthy and celebrities of all kinds, from Grace Kelly to Salvador Dali. It's the last family-owned luxury hotel in France.

Le saviez-vous? - Le casino ou la guerre

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Nice's Jetée-Promenade is the site of a former casino by that name. Built on pilings over the sea, the original building was once a thriving casino attracting many tourists, especially British tourists who flocked to the Riviera.

Le saviez-vous? - L'art contemporain à Nice

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France None

Bertrand Baraudou manages a contemporary art gallery located in the heart of Nice called Espace à Vendre (Space for Sale). Beautiful paintings are exhibited across three different locations.

Le saviez-vous? - Maude Maris et l'art contemporain

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France None

Maude Maris is a thirty-seven-year-old artist whose work could be described as hyperrealist. She combines photographic impressions with sculpture by layering colors and paint to create a three-dimensional effect.

Le saviez-vous? - Le duo d'artistes contemporains "We Are the Painters"

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France

We Are The Painters is a duo of artists, Nicolas Beaumelle and Aurélien Porte, who rework classical subjects such as landscapes and the Madonna in their experimental approach to painting. Their recent exhibit in Nice was spread over three locations.

Le saviez-vous? - Les expressions du poulailler

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Why do we get "hen flesh" (chair de poule) when it's "duck cold" (froid de canard)? Learn more about these and other poultry-related expressions in this video.

Le saviez-vous? - Le rouge et ses expressions - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

There are many expressions in French linked to the color red, several of which have direct equivalents in English. Discover a few of them with Patricia.

Le saviez-vous? - Le rouge et ses expressions - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Red alert! There are even more French expressions using the word rouge. Patricia explains several of them in this video.

Le saviez-vous? - Les anciennes lois insolites - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Patricia takes a close look at some old French laws that are still on the books but no longer enforced. For example, it's technically forbidden to name one's pig "Napoleon."

Le saviez-vous? - Les anciennes lois insolites - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Patricia has unearthed some very interesting, obscure French laws. For example: "Any woman wishing to dress like a man must request permission from the police department." Thankfully, no one obeys these antiquated laws!

Le saviez-vous? - Karine Rougier présente son art - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France

The Espace à Vendre (Space for Sale) gallery in Nice recently presented Karine Rougier's exhibition "Les sables mouvants" (Quicksand). Rougier is an artist who works with various media, including ancient engravings, postcards, and even rocks.

Le saviez-vous? - Karine Rougier présente son art - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France

Karine explains her creative process and her techniques. She works with wood, rocks, old postcards, stamps, and much else. The result is a mix of surreal creations that will intrigue the eye and puzzle the mind.

Le saviez-vous? - Karine Rougier présente son art - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France

Karine Rougier invited several artists to participate in her exhibition revolving around the poem "Heart Piece" by Heiner Müller. All the paintings and sculptures are linked together by a common theme, as she explains in this video.

Le saviez-vous? - Karine Rougier présente son art - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France

Karine Rougier describes the many influences she draws on in her art practice—sixteen millimeter films, poetry, Flemish painting, tribal masks, the ocean, and more.

Le saviez-vous? - Les expressions inspirées de la musique - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Tune in to Patricia's lesson on musical expressions and idioms in French. You'll hear plenty of interesting phrases that are worth noting.

Le saviez-vous? - Les expressions inspirées de la musique - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

En avant la musique! (Let's get on with it!) Patricia continues her lesson on various musical expressions used in everyday language.

Le saviez-vous? - Les expressions inspirées de la musique - Part 3

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia breaks down some more musical expressions, such as c'est la même musique, c'est du pipeau, violon d'Ingres, and si ça te chante.

Le saviez-vous? - Les expressions inspirées de la musique - Part 4

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

To conclude her series on musical expressions, Patricia will sing your praises for having learned and practiced everything she taught you.

Le saviez-vous? - Gérard raconte l'histoire d'Antibes

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Gérard will introduce you to Antibes, a beautiful city founded by the Phocaeans in the 400s BC. The Phocaeans were replaced by the Romans, who were replaced by the Christians. Nowadays Antibes has grown to become the third-largest city in the Alpes-Maritimes department.

Le saviez-vous? - Gérard raconte les Phocéens à Antibes

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Gérard tells us about the history of Antibes, which goes back to the Phocaeans. Those ancient people always consulted an oracle before undertaking a voyage into the unknown to conquer new territories.

Le saviez-vous? - Gérard raconte Antibes et ses environs

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Gérard will tell you about the history of Antibes, an ancient city with a fascinating past. One of the oldest cities in the region, it was built by the Phocaeans before Roman times.

Le saviez-vous? - Gérard raconte les événements fondateurs d'Antibes

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Gérard tells us about the history of Antibes, from the time of Julius Caesar to the construction of the city walls and the Fort Carré.

Le saviez-vous? - Gérard raconte le développement moderne d'Antibes

Difficulty: difficulty - Adv-Intermediate Adv-Intermediate

France

Gérard explains the development of Antibes culminating in the creation of Sophia Antipolis, a kind of science park that changed the face of the city and created a traffic nightmare.

Le saviez-vous? - Gérard raconte son endroit préféré à Antibes

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Gérard tells us about the city of Antibes where he was raised. He also sings a song about Jacques Audiberti, the renowned playwright, novelist, and poet, who was born in the city.

Le saviez-vous? - L'histoire de la dictée - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

It took two hundred years to standardize French spelling before it could be taught in schools using a method called la dictée (dictation), in which a student writes out the words he or she hears. As a matter of fact, this is the exact same principle behind Yabla's Scribe game!

Le saviez-vous? - L'histoire de la dictée - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains the importance of dictation exercises for learning French. Now an essential teaching tool in the classroom, dictation was originally a pastime for French nobility. The author Prosper Mérimée created a dictation exercise for Empress Eugénie that stumped even the brightest intellectuals. Think you can beat them? Try it yourself here.

Le saviez-vous? - Les bénéfices de la dictée

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explains the multiple benefits of dictation exercises. Having fallen out of favor in recent years, dictation is making a comeback after the French Ministry of Education realized that language skills were deteriorating. Why not take full advantage of Yabla's Scribe game to improve those skills?

Le saviez-vous? - La tradition de la Chandeleur - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia delves into the festival of la Chandeleur, or Candlemas, which takes place on the second of February. In France, la Chandeleur is traditionally celebrated by eating crêpes.

Le saviez-vous? - La tradition de la Chandeleur - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia continues her series on the feast of Candlemas, which in France is centered around the crêpe. Due to its round shape and golden color, the crêpe was a symbol of the sun in pagan times.

Le saviez-vous? - Comment faire des crêpes

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia shares her family recipe for crêpes. All you'll need is some flour, eggs, milk, orange blossom, salt, and butter to make this classic French staple. Happy cooking!

Le saviez-vous? - La tradition du poisson d'avril

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

The first of April is the day of hoaxes, pranks, and jokes. In France, the tradition is to hang paper fish on people's backs and shout, "Poisson d'avril!" (April Fish!).

Le saviez-vous? - D'où vient le poisson d'avril?

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia explores the origin of the poisson d'avril (April Fools') tradition. There are numerous theories about this, some of them contradictory.

Le saviez-vous? - Comment dire qu'on aime?

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Using her favorite fruits as examples, Patricia demonstrates some different ways of saying you "like" or "love" something in French.

Le saviez-vous? - Comment dire qu'on n'aime pas?

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia will teach you how to say that you don't like something in tactful ways and in more direct ways. There are many interesting expressions to convey dislike, even disgust, but you might want to save some of them for private conversations.

Le saviez-vous? - La poésie de Victor Hugo

Difficulty: difficulty - Intermediate Intermediate

France

Victor Hugo is best known for his novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables, but he also wrote numerous poems. In this video, Patricia reads an excerpt from his poem "À l'Arc de Triomphe," in which he pays tribute to the city of Paris.

Le saviez-vous? - Maxime Duveau expose à Nice

Difficulty: difficulty - Adv-Intermediate Adv-Intermediate

France

Maxime Duveau held a solo exhibition at the Espace à Vendre gallery in Nice. The show included large-scale drawings in charcoal based on photos that he took in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Le saviez-vous? - La pratique de dessin de Maxime Duveau

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France

Maxime Duveau explains his art at his solo exhibition, which is based on photographs he took in San Fransciso and Los Angeles. He uses an interesting charcoal drawing technique he calls "masking."

Le saviez-vous? - L'art figuratif de Lucien Murat

Difficulty: difficulty - Advanced Advanced

France

L'Espace à Vendre gallery had an exhibition of works by Lucien Murat, who juxtaposes a wide range of materials on top of salvaged tapestries.

Le saviez-vous? - Le Petit Chaperon rouge - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Enjoy the classic tale Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), as told by Patricia.

Le saviez-vous? - Le Petit Chaperon rouge - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

The original version of Le Petit Chaperon rouge, written by Charles Perrault, has a more gruesome ending than the one you might be familiar with. Patricia concludes the tale in this video.

Le saviez-vous? - La série "Il était une fois"

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia introduces the famous French animated series Il était une fois (Once Upon a Time), which follows a time-traveling family through the high points of human civilization and into the future. We have several episodes available on Yabla, which you can find here, and more coming soon!

Le saviez-vous? - "Barbara" de Jacques Prévert

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia recites a famous poem by Jacques Prévert called "Barbara." The poem is set in Brest, a town that was devastated by German bombs in the Second World War.

Le saviez-vous? - Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 1

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

Patricia explains the basic principles of French numbers and their usage, and shares a few grammatical points.

Le saviez-vous? - Les chiffres et les nombres - Part 2

Difficulty: difficulty - Newbie Newbie

France

In part two of her lesson on numbers, Patricia counts from 41 to 100 in French. Be prepared to do some arithmetic!

Le saviez-vous? - "À une passante" de Charles Baudelaire

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

Patricia reads "À une passante" (To a Passerby), a classic poem from Charles Baudelaire's collection Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil).

Le saviez-vous? - Le dernier duel à l'épée pour l'honneur en France

Difficulty: difficulty - Beginner Beginner

France

In centuries past, when a person's honor was offended, he would challenge the culprit to a duel. The last duel in France took place as recently as 1967, between two respected politicians!

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