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  #161  
Old Posted Sep 17, 2012, 10:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Acajack View Post
Exactly! You are really good.

Just for fun, there is also the very colloquial (Canada only) "enwaye donc", which is a corruption of "envoie donc" which literally means "please send it along".

But in common speech it means "go for it!" or "come on, pleeease" depending on the context and tone.
A question re "c'est l'enfer". Does it mean something is really good, or really bad? Or can it be either depending on context?
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  #162  
Old Posted Sep 17, 2012, 11:38 PM
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Can be both, depending of the context.

You could say : C'est l'enfer comment cette ville est belle ! ( It's incredible how beautifull is that city ) ... aswell as : C'est l'enfer comme il faut chaud aujourd'hui ( it's incredible how hot it is today )
(I used the word incredible here, but it could be another one )

I was confused in english about the expression ''Screwed up''. I first thought it was something good ! ... But a friend told me that it is not ! ... I was surprised. Then I know now, that I could say : I screwed up my exam , wich is supposed to mean that I failed ! lol very odd.
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  #163  
Old Posted Sep 17, 2012, 11:52 PM
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Originally Posted by FrAnKs View Post
Can be both, depending of the context.

You could say : C'est l'enfer comment cette ville est belle ! ( It's incredible how beautifull is that city ) ... aswell as : C'est l'enfer comme il faut chaud aujourd'hui ( it's incredible how hot it is today )
(I used the word incredible here, but it could be another one )

I was confused in english about the expression ''Screwed up''. I first thought it was something good ! ... But a friend told me that it is not ! ... I was surprised. Then I know now, that I could say : I screwed up my exam , wich is supposed to mean that I failed ! lol very odd.
You remind me of a friend of mine from Montreal who moved to Toronto many years ago. As part of his move he hung a plant from the ceiling of his new apartment using a hook. When a woman in his office asked him what he did on the weekend, he told her that he "screwed a hooker on the ceiling!" He said her face told him that he had got it wrong, but one of the men in the office had to explain it to him later!

Last edited by kwoldtimer; Sep 18, 2012 at 1:53 AM.
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  #164  
Old Posted Sep 17, 2012, 11:57 PM
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Ahaha very nice story , thanks

By the way, what is the most common expression in english as opposite of Screwed up ?
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  #165  
Old Posted Sep 26, 2012, 6:21 PM
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One of my friends (she's visiting QC with work) is finally getting it:

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  #166  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2012, 1:27 AM
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I accidentally castrated Franks on FB.
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  #167  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2012, 1:30 AM
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Desole, mon ami.

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  #168  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2012, 1:42 AM
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I accidentally castrated Franks on FB.


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  #169  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2012, 2:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kwoldtimer View Post
A question re "c'est l'enfer". Does it mean something is really good, or really bad? Or can it be either depending on context?
It's usually used for bad things, though. You'd normally say that only if you think saying "it's hell!" (meaning it's crazy in a bad way) would apply... not only is it the literal meaning, it's also used the same way.

I'd say also there's a direct similarity to the English constructions "____ as hell" or "____ like hell" (almost always negative, unless I'm mistaken).

IOW, if you hear someone saying "c'était l'enfer, xyz etc." chances are that'd translate to "it was xyz like hell".


If something's really good, there are plenty of ways to express that ("c'est fou", "c'est incroyable", etc.) without referring to hell.
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  #170  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2012, 2:33 AM
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BTW,
1) interesting thread!
2) can't believe I've managed to miss it up to now
3) will be checking it regularly from now on
4) always glad to help!
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  #171  
Old Posted Nov 29, 2012, 2:56 AM
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Pour moi aussi c'est un réel plaisir d'aider nos ami anglophones ... sauf si ils ont des questions... We're still waiting
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  #172  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 6:23 PM
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Time to bring this thread back to life. I'm been grooving to this tune lately: "Je Ne Vois Que Vous."

Video Link


I've got a question about the use of "vous": why? Why not "tu"? Does it mean or suggest that the "vous" is a somewhat unobtainable person not directly known to the singer(s)? If this song were about a girlfriend, wouldn't "tu" be more appropriate? What's the significance of using "vous" here, if any?

Separate question: Last night I drove into Toronto to buy a (completely fantastic!) keyboard tray. On my way out I stopped at a burrito place and struck up a conversation with the nice young woman behind the counter. She was from Colombia. We spoke Spanish. I made a deadpan joke about being Mexican, to which she asked, in astonishment: "Eres Mexicano?"

She used the "tu" form. I've noticed that younger Spanish speakers the world over seem to use "tu" to strangers in informal settings these days. What about in French?

Last edited by rousseau; Jan 14, 2013 at 8:03 PM. Reason: Grammar
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  #173  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 7:32 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rousseau View Post
She used the "tu" form. I've noticed that younger Spanish speakers the world over seem to use "tu" to strangers in informal settings these days. What about in French?
Something similar is happening in French. "Tu" is now used instead of "vous" in informal settings as well as instead of "on", while "on" is replacing "nous".
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  #174  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 8:16 PM
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So essentially, my very spotty Anglophone French is soon to look like old fashioned very spotty Anglophone French?

Great. Not only will I be terrible at a language, I'll be terrible - while sounding like an old man.
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  #175  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 8:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rousseau View Post
Time to bring this thread back to life. I'm been grooving to this tune lately: "Je Ne Vois Que Vous."

Video Link


I've got a question about the use of "vous": why? Why not "tu"? Does it mean or suggest that the "vous" is a somewhat unobtainable person not directly known to the singer(s)? If this song were about a girlfriend, wouldn't "tu" be more appropriate? What's the significance of using "vous" here, if any?

Separate question: Last night I drove into Toronto to buy a (completely fantastic!) keyboard tray. On my way out I stopped at a burrito place and struck up a conversation with the nice young woman behind the counter. She was from Colombia. We spoke Spanish. I made a deadpan joke about being Mexican, to which she asked, in astonishment: "Eres Mexicano?"

She used the "tu" form. I've noticed that younger Spanish speakers the world over seem to use "tu" to strangers in informal settings these days. What about in French?
Your observation about the use of "tu" in Spanish (in Latin America at least) if very true. "Usted" has all but disappeared among friends and colleagues who would never have used it, say twenty or thirty years ago. The "tu" form is also used almost exclusively in print advertising - friends in Central America tell me they find it very normal as it makes the pitch seem more "intimate".
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  #176  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 8:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kwoldtimer View Post
Your observation about the use of "tu" in Spanish (in Latin America at least) if very true. "Usted" has all but disappeared among friends and colleagues who would never have used it, say twenty or thirty years ago. The "tu" form is also used almost exclusively in print advertising - friends in Central America tell me they find it very normal as it makes the pitch seem more "intimate".
I like to use "vos" which is primarily used in Argentina. For two reasons - Argentina is the Spanish-speaking country I am most familiar with and I know lots of people from there, plus it is close to the French "vous".
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  #177  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 8:53 PM
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The funny thing is that it appears that English and French have moved in opposite directions, although the transitions happened at different times.

I could be wrong, but I think English once distinguished between second person singular and plural with "thee"/"thou" and "you". The "you" form was considered more formal (same as "tu", "vous" -- in fact maybe that relationship was imported from French) and eventually replaced thee and thou.
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  #178  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 8:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freeweed View Post
So essentially, my very spotty Anglophone French is soon to look like old fashioned very spotty Anglophone French?

Great. Not only will I be terrible at a language, I'll be terrible - while sounding like an old man.
You probably should still use "vous" when speaking to adult strangers. The rule is not so hard and fast in Quebec as it is in France, but in either place if you speak to someone you don't know and say "tu" a lot of people would consider that to be bad manners.

Also, vous is making a comeback with kids in Quebec schools. In the 70s, there was this hippie egalitarian kick and kids were encouraged to call their teachers by their first names and use "tu". Now the pendulum is swinging back, and "vous" is back in vogue, and so is Monsieur and Madame, either with the last name or sometimes with the first name (Madame Julie).
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  #179  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 9:21 PM
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Hm. So not only will I have to continue to remember whether or not a chair has a Y chromosome, I have to determine the appropriate level of respect and intimacy of our relationship when addressing someone.

No wonder English speakers come off as a bit stupid. Other than the 8,000 exceptions in every sentence, we have it so easy.
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  #180  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2013, 9:35 PM
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Originally Posted by freeweed View Post
Hm. So not only will I have to continue to remember whether or not a chair has a Y chromosome, I have to determine the appropriate level of respect and intimacy of our relationship when addressing someone.

No wonder English speakers come off as a bit stupid. Other than the 8,000 exceptions in every sentence, we have it so easy.
Ha ha ha! I would say if you received any formal instruction in French at all you would have been taught to address strangers with "vous".
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