Having the wind in your sails
Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 10:20 am
Hello everyone and thank you for joining me for this new episode of the Authentic French podcast. And today, we are going to discover together a French idiomatic expression, which I find nice, "avoir le vent en poupe". I think it is a very beautiful expression and I hope you will like it.
Before explaining exactly what it is, I would like to talk to you very very briefly or at least ask you or suggest that you recommend going to see the first link in the description in which there is a description of the Authentic French Academy. So don't panic, I have nothing to sell since the Authentic French Academy is not currently welcoming anyone, registrations are closed. But you can always go see what it is about, see how we help our members on a daily basis by offering them exclusive content in the form of modules, videos, quizzes, SOS sheets, workshops with our tutors to answer all questions and of course Zoom meetings to come and speak orally.
All of this is described in the description... 'well it's described in the description, it's more of a repetition that I just did. In any case, it's presented in the description. You have the link in the description. And you can always read the content and join the waiting list if you want to join us. I think the next registrations will be on July 1st.
That being said, what does the expression "avoir le vent en poupe" mean? Well, the verb "avoir" which makes up this expression has several meanings. It is one of the most well-known and widespread verbs in the French language, but most of the time it means to possess, to have. To have is to own something.
Wind is the movement of air moving. When you're outside and it's blowing, well that's wind, that's air moving.In life, it is important to know how to say "no", whether in your mother tongue... or in French! In this grammar lesson , you will learn how to use the negative form in French . What are the different types of negation? What is the word order in a negative sentence? That's what we are going to discover today.
The negative form in French: the basic rules
No
To answer a question negatively , we use the adverb "no":
The simplest and most common way to express the negation of a situation or action is to say "ne…pas". As you can see, the negative form in French is made up of two parts: NE + PAS. "Ne" is placed before the verb and "pas" is placed after the verb:
I do n't eat tomatoes.
The “ne” becomes “n'” before a vowel or a silent h :
I don't like dancing* → I don't like dancing
Don't hesitate to ask me questions* → Don't hesitate to ask me questions
Is there a difference in pronunciation south africa whatsapp number data when speaking and writing? If I ask you the question, it is because the answer is probably yes! Indeed, when speaking , the French often omit the particle "ne" in an informal situation . For example, when they are among friends or relatives, they will say:
I don't know .
Could you help me?
Be careful, this is considered a grammatical error. That's why don't forget to put the "ne" in writing or in a formal context like a job interview.
Let's look at one last rule before moving on to other types of negation. In a negative sentence, the indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, de l', des) become DE , except with the verb être:
Before explaining exactly what it is, I would like to talk to you very very briefly or at least ask you or suggest that you recommend going to see the first link in the description in which there is a description of the Authentic French Academy. So don't panic, I have nothing to sell since the Authentic French Academy is not currently welcoming anyone, registrations are closed. But you can always go see what it is about, see how we help our members on a daily basis by offering them exclusive content in the form of modules, videos, quizzes, SOS sheets, workshops with our tutors to answer all questions and of course Zoom meetings to come and speak orally.
All of this is described in the description... 'well it's described in the description, it's more of a repetition that I just did. In any case, it's presented in the description. You have the link in the description. And you can always read the content and join the waiting list if you want to join us. I think the next registrations will be on July 1st.
That being said, what does the expression "avoir le vent en poupe" mean? Well, the verb "avoir" which makes up this expression has several meanings. It is one of the most well-known and widespread verbs in the French language, but most of the time it means to possess, to have. To have is to own something.
Wind is the movement of air moving. When you're outside and it's blowing, well that's wind, that's air moving.In life, it is important to know how to say "no", whether in your mother tongue... or in French! In this grammar lesson , you will learn how to use the negative form in French . What are the different types of negation? What is the word order in a negative sentence? That's what we are going to discover today.
The negative form in French: the basic rules
No
To answer a question negatively , we use the adverb "no":
The simplest and most common way to express the negation of a situation or action is to say "ne…pas". As you can see, the negative form in French is made up of two parts: NE + PAS. "Ne" is placed before the verb and "pas" is placed after the verb:
I do n't eat tomatoes.
The “ne” becomes “n'” before a vowel or a silent h :
I don't like dancing* → I don't like dancing
Don't hesitate to ask me questions* → Don't hesitate to ask me questions
Is there a difference in pronunciation south africa whatsapp number data when speaking and writing? If I ask you the question, it is because the answer is probably yes! Indeed, when speaking , the French often omit the particle "ne" in an informal situation . For example, when they are among friends or relatives, they will say:
I don't know .
Could you help me?
Be careful, this is considered a grammatical error. That's why don't forget to put the "ne" in writing or in a formal context like a job interview.
Let's look at one last rule before moving on to other types of negation. In a negative sentence, the indefinite articles (un, une, des) and partitive articles (du, de la, de l', des) become DE , except with the verb être: