FRENCH NOTE 56 TIME EXPRESSIONS 2

FRENCH NOTE 56 TIME EXPRESSIONS 2

Let us learn five more time expressions.

1. À l'instant -at this moment,just now

- Papa, quand tu étais au bureau, oncle Jean t'est appelé..

-Dad, when you were in office , uncle John called you.

- D'accord , je lui téléphonerai à l'instant .  

- Ok. I will telephone him just now.

2.À présent - presently , at the moment

- Qu'est-ce que tu fais maintenant , Joe ?

- What are you doing now , Joe ?

- À présent , je cherche un boulot.

-  At the moment , I am looking for a job.

3.Jusque-là - until then, that far

Elle était à Londres avant de s'installer à Paris. Jusque-là , elle gagnait assez de l'argent pour vivre sans souci.

She was in London before settling in Paris. Till then, she earned enough to live without worry.

4.tout à coup - suddenly

On s'amusait bien dans le club. Tout à coup, elle s'est évanouit .

We were enjoying in the club. All on a sudden, she fainted.

5. Tantôt  -  tout à l'heure, sometimes, this afternoon , afternoon. À bientôt 

Elle partira tantôt .

She will leave this afternoon .

Elle est arrivée tantôt .

She came this afternoon.

Tantôt , elle rit. Tantôt elle pleure. 

Sometimes , she laughs. Sometimes , she cries.

" tantôt " is an interesting adverb in French . Its use is more prevalent in Belgium and certain regions of France. Tant + tôt = tantôt 

This adverb has several meanings . But some of them are outdated. It means " afternoon" .

In relation to morning, it means afternoon and can be used with verb in future tense as given in the first example.

In relation to evening , it means afternoon and can be used with the verb in the past tense as in the second example.

This adverb can be used to denote successive change of state of somebody or something as given in the third example.

That is all for now.

Happy learning !

Sayee Jayaraman 

02/03/2015