French Note 11
FALSE FRIENDS---FAUX AMIS
Today I am giving you a note on " false friends " . What is it all about ?
Many words of French bear a striking resemblance to certain words of English . But these friends who reassemble are not used in the same sense in both the languages. Therefore , they are not really friends. You have to be very careful in using such words. I am giving you an old fashioned proverb,
"What is sauce for goose , is not sauce for gander"
Actuel - This is a French word.
Actual - This is an English word.
Do these words reassemble ? No doubt , excepting for the fourth letter , the words are one and the same.
The meaning of the French word is current , topical . It is an adjective . Study the following sentences.
François Hollande est le président actuel de la France.
François Hollande is the current president of France .
Hope you got it.
On the other hand , the English word means real or true or factual.
What I told you is an actual event . Don't think it is a figment of my imagination .
Ce que je vous ai dit, c'est un événement réel . N'en pensez pas que ce sois le fruit de mon imagination .
For current events in French TVs and Radio , they use the word, " actualité "
Actuellement is the adverb. It means " at present " or presently . Never use it to mean actually.
Actuellement , le parti Congress a moins de cinquante sièges dans le parlement .
At present, Congress party has less than fifty seats in the parliament .
Next French word is " adéquat " . The English word will be , " adequate "
The meaning of the French word is appropriate . It is an adjective .
Sa réponse aux questions de son patron est adéquat .
His reply to his boss' s questions is appropriate .
Quand j'essaie de le provoquer, sa réaction est merveilleusement adéquate .
When I try to provoke him, his reaction is surprisingly appropriate .
Remember , never use degrees of comparison for " adéquat ".
Something is appropriate or not. No question of more appropriate or less appropriate .
The English word " adequate "means sufficient .
He has adequate means for decent living.
Il a de quoi vivre bien.
Il a assez de moyens pour vivre bien.
The next French word will be " assister" and the corresponding English word , " to assist "
When you use the verb " assister" without any preposition , it is a direct transitive verb.
The structure of the verb will be
Assister qqn dans qqc= helping someone in something
J' assiste mon frère dans son projet.
I help my brother in his project .
Assister is also used as an indirect transitive verb used with preposition .
Assister à qc= to be present at something, to watch something , to be a witness to something, to take part in something
Est- ce que vous aller assister au mariage de Nicolas ?
Are you going to attend the marriage of Nicolas?
Je n'aime jamais assister à un match de cricket.
I never like to watch a cricket
Hier , j'ai assisté à un accident horrible près de mon bureau.
Yesterday , I was witness to a horrible accident near my office.
As far as the English word is concerned, it is used in the same way the French word is used transitively without preposition . In the sense of helping
I assisted my professor in editing an article for the college magazine .
I shall post several notes on this topic. Kindly tell me if you find this helpful.
Bonne journée !
Sayee Jayaraman
18/01/2015
FALSE FRIENDS---FAUX AMIS
Today I am giving you a note on " false friends " . What is it all about ?
Many words of French bear a striking resemblance to certain words of English . But these friends who reassemble are not used in the same sense in both the languages. Therefore , they are not really friends. You have to be very careful in using such words. I am giving you an old fashioned proverb,
"What is sauce for goose , is not sauce for gander"
Actuel - This is a French word.
Actual - This is an English word.
Do these words reassemble ? No doubt , excepting for the fourth letter , the words are one and the same.
The meaning of the French word is current , topical . It is an adjective . Study the following sentences.
François Hollande est le président actuel de la France.
François Hollande is the current president of France .
Hope you got it.
On the other hand , the English word means real or true or factual.
What I told you is an actual event . Don't think it is a figment of my imagination .
Ce que je vous ai dit, c'est un événement réel . N'en pensez pas que ce sois le fruit de mon imagination .
For current events in French TVs and Radio , they use the word, " actualité "
Actuellement is the adverb. It means " at present " or presently . Never use it to mean actually.
Actuellement , le parti Congress a moins de cinquante sièges dans le parlement .
At present, Congress party has less than fifty seats in the parliament .
Next French word is " adéquat " . The English word will be , " adequate "
The meaning of the French word is appropriate . It is an adjective .
Sa réponse aux questions de son patron est adéquat .
His reply to his boss' s questions is appropriate .
Quand j'essaie de le provoquer, sa réaction est merveilleusement adéquate .
When I try to provoke him, his reaction is surprisingly appropriate .
Remember , never use degrees of comparison for " adéquat ".
Something is appropriate or not. No question of more appropriate or less appropriate .
The English word " adequate "means sufficient .
He has adequate means for decent living.
Il a de quoi vivre bien.
Il a assez de moyens pour vivre bien.
The next French word will be " assister" and the corresponding English word , " to assist "
When you use the verb " assister" without any preposition , it is a direct transitive verb.
The structure of the verb will be
Assister qqn dans qqc= helping someone in something
J' assiste mon frère dans son projet.
I help my brother in his project .
Assister is also used as an indirect transitive verb used with preposition .
Assister à qc= to be present at something, to watch something , to be a witness to something, to take part in something
Est- ce que vous aller assister au mariage de Nicolas ?
Are you going to attend the marriage of Nicolas?
Je n'aime jamais assister à un match de cricket.
I never like to watch a cricket
Hier , j'ai assisté à un accident horrible près de mon bureau.
Yesterday , I was witness to a horrible accident near my office.
As far as the English word is concerned, it is used in the same way the French word is used transitively without preposition . In the sense of helping
I assisted my professor in editing an article for the college magazine .
I shall post several notes on this topic. Kindly tell me if you find this helpful.
Bonne journée !
Sayee Jayaraman
18/01/2015
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