For a full run-through of the song's vocabulary, I've set up a lesson on memrise:
you can get a basic account for free, and more lessons will be going up in the future!
For those of you not interested in having your language tools dictated to you, there are a few useful phrases and grammar points below. If there are any other points you'd like clarification on, please do leave a comment!
For those of you not interested in having your language tools dictated to you, there are a few useful phrases and grammar points below. If there are any other points you'd like clarification on, please do leave a comment!
VOCABULARY
elle dit = she says
elle me dit = she says to me
elle me dit = she says to me
être fier = to be proud
danse! = dance! (singular, imperative)
c'est quoi ton problème = what is your problem?
c'est ta vie = it's your life
fais ce que tu veux! = do what you want! (singular, imperative)
nul = rubbish
pourquoi? = why?
ça (ne) va pas bien = I'm/it's not well
j'aime = I like
un truc = a thing
GRAMMAR
ADJECTIVES:
Adjective Placement
“une
chanson contente ...
une
chanson déprimante”
Unlike in English, French
adjectives usually follow the noun they describe.
There are instances where
adjectives precede nouns, and there are rules for these, but they are
extremely loose and exceptions are numerous.
Happily, though, the
placement of the adjective depends on the adjective itself, so if you
see an adjective following a noun, it is an adjective that will
always follow its noun. The same applies for noun-preceeding
adjectives.
So
content and
déprimant are
two to add to your “noun-following adjectives” list
Adjective Agreement
“une
chanson contente ...
une
chanson déprimante”
French nouns have
genders, and French grammar is often called upon to represent this –
so adjectives have to agree in gender with their noun.
The same applies for
plural nouns.
In most cases this just
means adding an ending to the default form (the singular, masculine
form) of the adjective.
For feminine nouns, add
an “e”
For plural nouns, add an
“s”
For feminine plural
nouns, add both (“es”)
The “une”
before “chanson” indicates that this is a feminine noun, so we
add an “e” in this instance to our adjectives: contente,
déprimante
More
agreement – "tout"
"une
chanson que tout le monde aime".
This
segment follows on nicely from adjective agreement.
The
word “tout”, meaning all/everything, also needs to convey gender
and number.
In
the given example “tout le monde”, we are talking, figuratively,
about everyone in
the world.
The
“le” in “le monde” shows us that this is a masculine,
singular noun, so we use the “tout”
form.
Here
are the other forms:
tout
– masculine singular
tous
– masculine plural
toute
– feminine singular
toutes
– feminine plural
