5.6 Putting Things Together (Part 1) Language Lesson

5.6 Putting Things Together (Part 1)
Language & Culture Lessons
This is what Rocket Languages does best. We’ve compiled everyday expressions into this lesson, so they’re conveniently
available all in one place. At first glance, you may not recognize « Hors de question » as “out of the question” or « sans
aucun doute » as “without a doubt” but it won’t take long before these types of common phrases will be second nature to
you.
Language Lesson
Putting Things Together
The focus of this Lesson is to bring together some of the most widely recognized essential words used in everyday
communication. These small words help us to express ourselves fluently.
In grammatical terms, these words are defined as conjunctions and prepositions. For the purposes of this learning
program, we are grouping many of these grammatical principles under one umbrella so that you can use them
practically.
You will find these connecting words to be as vital to conversation as practice is to pronunciation.
Using Connecting Words
The purpose of these short expressions is to connect words and meanings together in a sentence. Look at the
following examples which illustrate the type of context where connecting words belong. The words and expressions
explained in this Lesson do not follow particular principles – they need to be learned just as they are.
Je suis presque toujours en retard !
I am nearly always late!
L'air est pur après la pluie.
The air is pure after the rain.
Il arrivera bientôt.
He will be arriving soon.
Pendant que j'étais au restaurant, Marie est venue me
voir.
While I was at the restaurant, Mary came to see me.
Il y avait tellement de gens en ville.
There were such a lot of people in town.
Je serai là dès que possible.
I will be there as soon as possible.
Je suis presque
toujours en retard !
I am nearly always late!
Expressions Using Connecting Words
The following expressions are frequently used in conversation and require memorizing so that your own
conversation can be enriched.
D'après toi
According to you (casual)
Parmi la foule
Amongst the crowd
Dès que possible
As soon as possible
À la main
By hand
À part
Apart from
Depuis hier
Since yesterday
À temps
In time
Hors de question
Out of the question
Depuis longtemps
For a long time
Vers
Towards / Around
Sans doute
Probably
Sans aucun doute
Without a doubt
Comme d'habitude
As usual
À moins que
Unless
Ensuite
And then
Aucun problème
No problem
Si seulement
If only
Tout va bien !
All is well! Everything is going OK
C’est hors de question d’aller à la
plage par cette pluie !
À part le mauvais temps,
tout va bien !
Aucun
problème
It’s out of the question to go to the
beach in this rain!
Apart from the bad weather,
everything is fine!
No
problem
Culture
The Big Day
French weddings are a joyous occasion, filled with fun and family. Because of France's traditional catholic
background, weddings are often quite traditional.
Ceremonies have traditionally been held in a church, and officiated by a priest; but increasingly couples are opting to
be married by a registered marriage celebrant in the City Hall.
Pièce montée
One thing still remains the same though: the reception is always a great party! The reception will feature the usual
speeches, before the cutting of the pièce montée - a traditional wedding cake. A pièce montée is a crunchy taste
sensation, shaped like a pyramid and constructed of small round custard-filled pastries, held together with spun
sugar. The bride and groom will cut the cake together, serve all of the guests, and then feed themselves.
What's left of the wedding night is spent dancing and celebrating. French wedding guests have historically made a
habit of extending the celebrations for as long as possible. It's not uncommon for the party to rock on past 4:00am!
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