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Nora Lemtouni

 

Le mot juste

 

 

Manquer (À) – (to miss) follows the same pattern in French as in English if you want to say miss the train, for example. 

           

Ex.  J’ai manqué le bus.

 

• When saying that you miss someone or something, the structure of the sentence is different than in English.

 

Ex.Les Herschel manquent à Saba.

(Saba misses the Herschels.)

 

Ex.Mes parents me manquent.

(I miss my parents.)

 

 

Rendre –(to express the idea that something or something makes you feel a certain way) used instead of faire when describing emotions.

 

                        Ex. Cette nouvelle me rend triste.

                               (This news makes me sad.)

 

                        Ex. Son retour a rendu ses parents heureux.

                               (His return made his parents happy.)

 

 

Partir, Sortir, Quitter –these 3 verbs have generally the same meaning (to leave) but are used differently.

 

 

• Both sortir and partir are conjugated with être; when used with a location, the preposition de follows.

 

Ex. Nous sommes sortis.

       (We went out.)

 

Ex. Elle est partie.

       (She left.)

 

Ex. Elle sort de sa chambre.

       (She leaves her room.)

 

Ex. Ils sont partis du Maroc.

      (They left Morocco.)

 

• Quitter is conjugated with avoir. This verb must always be followed by a direct object (what or whom is being left MUST be stated).

 

Ex. Elle a quitté sa famille.

       (She left her family.)

 

Ex. Mes ancêtres ont quitté l’Angleterre il y a deux cents ans.

       (My ancestors left England two hundred years ago.)

 

 

 

NOTE: Quitter is a false cognate, it doesn’t mean to quit. Use the verbs cesser (de) or arrêter (de) to say that you have stopped or quit doing something.

 

                        Ex. J’ai arrête de fumer.

                             (I quit smoking.)