Le mot du jour

Un annuire
Definition: phone book, directory; link directory

Il faut chercher un resto dans les pages jaunes de l'annuaire, ou en ligne.
- You need to look for a restaurant in the Yellow Pages directory, or online.
Quel est le meilleur annuaire ?
- What's the best link directory (the best website that organizes internet links)?


Pronunciation: [ah nwehr]

Terima kasih kepada saudara Faisal Tehrani yang sudi gambarnya diatangkap walaupun sibuk melayan peminat. Gambar ni ditangkap pada hari Jumaat di gerai Al-Ameen, Pesta Buku Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur 2009.
Hari berikutnya saudara Faisal dah bertongkat kenapa ya.

Inilah masjid yang sering saya kunjungi sebelum subuh untuk menunaikan solat. Perjalanan yang jauh membuatkan saya keletihan.Walau masih gelap dan teraba dalam sulit saya jejakkkan kaki ke dalam. Pintu tempat solat masih berkunci.Saya hanya beristirehat di tempat wudu' sambil menunggu siak membuka pintu.

Gambar ini di ambil seberang jalan semasa saya menunggu kawan untuk ke tempat kerja pada pukul 7 pagi.

Dua hari aku di sana, tak berteman tiada yang dikenali. Dari bawah naik ke atas berulang kali, cari buku yang berkenan di hati. Ada terasa di hati ini nak milik semua buku yang diminati tapi tak terdaya kerana aku insan biasa tak punya kuasa(kereta tak de lagi pi dengan bas je). Dari tempat kerja hari Khamis aku terus ke bandar untuk ke KL malam itu. Walau letih dan penat belum serah ku gagahkan jua kaki melangkah menuju destinasi yang saban tahun kukunjung.Pesta Buku Antarabangsa setiap tahun masuk dalam agendaku walau masih ada kerja lain yang patut kusudah namun kutangguhkan dulu untuk ke lain hari.Bertemu dengan penulis sensasi masa kini (dan kontroversi) dapatkan bukunya untuk ditandatangani tanda kenangan kita pernah bertemu di situ untuk kesekian kalinya pada tahun ini. Berbaju Melayu pada hari Jumaat tapi kenapa pilih warna biru(kalau nak ikut terapi warna Jumaat sepatutnya hijau)walau begitu manis dipandang macam hulubalang Melayu.

Novel terdahulu yang belum diautograf minta diautografkan walau dah lama tersimpan kat dalam peti. Sejujur hati memang tak sangka esoknya ku ke gerai itu lagi untuk beli cenderahati buat teman serumah. Kali ini saudara bertongkat, jalannya sedikit kepayahan namun demi peminat yang akan datang saudara gagahkan juga kaki menapak ke gerai Al-Ameen Serve. Dan saudara nampaknya makin kurus dari tahun lepas. Kenapa agaknya? Adakah kerana makan hati atau menanggung derita penyakit. Kalau benar jangan dirahsia suara hati nanti saya turut susah hati. Harap jangan ambil hati. Semalam saya dah terpaksa pulang ke tempat kerja walaupun ingin sekali hadir dalam Dialog Pena pada hari ini.Seikhlas hati saya peminat saudara sejak lama dulu. Kebanyakkan novel saudara saya miliki dan membacanya. Walau masa kurang mengizinkan saya membaca karya saudara(Sasatul Ibad) cuti nanti akan saya suguhkan jua masa yang ada untuk membacanya. Jaga diri agar sihat lain masa dan tempat mungkin kita dapat bertemu lagi.

We are like flowers. Once we bloomed everyone noticed and admired it. But after that we will be ignored for ever and fall to the ground. So change ourselves and don't be like a flower.

Mat du jour

le battement
Definition: banging, beat, beating, flapping; interval, break

Le battement de cette porte me rend fou !
- The banging of that door is driving me crazy!

J'entends le battement de ton cœur
- I can hear your heart beating

Elle pense que son battement de cils peut me convaincre
- She thinks fluttering her eyelashes will convince me

Related: battre - to beat

Pronunciation: [baht ma(n)]

French Adverbs - Les Adverbes

Explain the types and placement of French adverbs in depth. If this seems too complicated, see the simplified explanation in my introduction to adverbs.
There are many different types of French adverbs:
adverbs of frequency
adverbs of manner (includes French adverb formation)
adverbs of place
adverbs of quantity
adverbs of time
comparative/superlative adverbs
exclamative adverbs
indefinite adverbs
interrogative adverbs
negative adverbs
The placement of French adverbs depends to some extent upon the type of adverb and the word that it is modifying.
I.
Short adverbs that modify a verb usually follow the conjugated verb. (Remember that in compound tenses, the auxiliary verb is the conjugated verb, so the adverb follows that.)
Nous mangeons bien.Nous avons bien mangé.Nous allons bien manger.
We eat well.We ate well.We will eat well.
Il fait souvent la cuisine.Il a souvent fait la cuisine.Il doit souvent faire la cuisine.
He often cooks.He often cooked.He often has to cook.

II.
Adverbs of frequency are usually placed after the verb.Exception: parfois is normally placed at the beginning of the sentence.
Je fais toujours mes devoirs.
I always do my homework.
Parfois, Luc ne fait pas ses devoirs.
Sometimes Luc doesn't do his homework.

III.
Adverbs of time which refer to specific days can be placed at the beginning or end of the sentence.
Aujourd'hui, je vais acheter une voiture.
Today, I'm going to buy a car.
Elles arriveront demain.
They'll arrive tomorrow.

IV.
Long adverbs are usually placed at the beginning or end of the sentence.
Généralement, nous mangeons avant 17h00.
Normally, we eat before 5pm.
Je ne l'ai pas trouvé, malheureusement.
I didn't find it, unfortunately.
However, if the long adverb specifically modifies the verb, it is placed after the conjugated verb.
Il a immédiatement quitté Paris.
He left Paris immediately.

V.
Adverbs of place are usually found after the direct object.
Il a mis ton sac à dos là-bas.
He put your backpack over there.
J'ai trouvé le livre ici.
I found the book here.

VI.
Adverbs which modify adjectives or other adverbs are placed in front of the word they modify.
Je suis très heureuse.
I'm very happy.
Chantal fait assez souvent ses devoirs.
Chantal does her homework fairly often.

VII.
In negative constructions, adverbs which would normally follow the verb are placed after pas.
Je mange bien ==> Je ne mange pas bien.
I eat well ==> I don't eat well.
Tu travailles trop ==> Tu ne travailles pas trop.
You work too much ==> You don't work too much.

It's been a busy month for me, now I'm still at a short course at Permai Inn for three days. Lots of new friend I've met along the courses.
Hopefuly we can meet at other time. To the twins Ita and Ina also Kak Midah good luck in your work see u all sooner when there is the meeting. Do contact me if there a time.

VACATAIRE

Definition: stand-in, temporary replacement, part-time teacher
Je dois trouver un vacataire pour novembre, quand je serai en vacances
- I have to find a stand-in for November, when I'll be on vacation.
Il est vacataire à l'université
- He's a part-time (contract) teacher at the university.
Related: la vacation - vacation
Pronunciation: [va ka tehr]

PRESSENTIR

Definition: to sense, have a premonition; to approach, sound out, consider as a prospect
Il a pressenti quelque chose avant son accident
- He had a premonition about something before his accident.
Qui allez-vous pressentir pour ce project ?
- Who are you going to approach about this project?
Expression: laisser pressentir
- to give/leave a hint, allow something to suggest
Rien ne laissait pressentir sa faillite
- There was nothing to suggest he would go bankrupt.
Related: le pressentiment
c- foreboding, presentiment, premonition, feeling c
Pronunciation: [pray sa(n) teer]

Planer

Definition:
to glide, hang (over), remain; (informal) to be high (on drugs), to have one's head in the clouds

C'est étonnant de voir les oiseaux planer dans le ciel
- It's amazing to see birds gliding in the sky

Un sens de danger planait sur la ville
- A sense of danger hung over the town

Arrête de planer !
- Get your head out of the clouds!
Pronunciation: [pla nay]

The English present participle is very simple: it is the -ing form of a verb. The formation of the French present participle is also simple. For regular and all but three irregular verbs, the French present participle is formed by dropping -ons from the nous form of the present tense and adding -ant.
verb
parler
finir
rendre
voir
nous form
parlons
finissons
rendons
voyons
present participle
parlant
finissant
rendant
voyant
The three exceptions are
verb
avoir
être
savoir
present participle
ayant
étant
sachant*
*Savoir has different forms for the present participle used as a verb and as a noun or adjective; see present participle spelling changes
Pronominal verbs keep the reflexive pronoun in front of the present participle.
se laver
se lavant
me coiffer
me coiffant
The French present participle can be used as a(n)
adjective or noun
verb or gerund
Present participle spelling changes

Mistakes will always be made in French, and now you can learn from them.
Wrong: Je suis lisant
Right: Je lis, Je suis en train de lire
Explanation: The present participle is far less common in French than in English.
In English, it's the verb form used for the progressive tenses, such as "I am reading" and "He was working."
French does not use the present participle in this way - in fact, French does not even have any progressive tenses.
The English present progressive is equivalent to the simple present in French, je lis, and the past progressive is equivalent to the imperfect, il travaillait.
If you want to stress the ongoing nature of the activity, you can use the expression être en train de (literally, "to be in the process of"): Je suis en train de lire, Il était en train de travailler

WELCOME RAMADHAN WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU EVERY YEAR.
ONCE A YEAR WE PLEASE WITH YOU.
YOU ARE THE HEART OF OUR YEAR.
HAPPY RAMADHAN ALMUBARAK TO ALL MUSLIMS.

An auxiliary verb is a conjugated verb used in front of another verb in compound tenses in order to indicate the mood and tense of the verb.
In French, the auxiliary verb is either avoir or être.
All French verbs are classified by which auxiliary verb they take, and they use the same auxiliary verb in all compound tenses.
Most French verbs use avoir.
The following is a list of verbs (and their derivatives) that require être (I did not provide meanings for the derivatives):
aller - to go
arriver - to arrivedescendre (redescendre) - to descend / go downstairsentrer (rentrer) - to entermonter (remonter) - to climb
mourir - to die
naître (renaître) - to be born
partir (repartir) - to leave
passer - to pass, spend timerester - to stayretourner - to return
sortir (ressortir) - to go outtomber (retomber) - to fall
venir (devenir, parvenir, revenir) - to come
These are all verbs of a certain kind of movement. You do get used to these verbs over time and one day you'll just know whether to use être or avoir without even having to think about it. In the meantime, though, you might find it useful to use a mnemonic device.
Notes1. All pronominal verbs use être as the auxiliary verb as well:
se baigner - to bathe
s'habiller - to get dressed
s'imaginer - to imaginese
laver - to wash
se lever - to get up
se moquer - to make fun of
se préparer - to prepare oneself
se promener - to go for a walk
se raser - to shave
se reposer - to rest etc.
2. For all verbs conjugated with être in all of the compound tenses, the past participle has to agree with the subject in gender and number (learn more):
Il est allé - Elle est allée - Ils sont allés - Elles sont allées
3. Verbs are conjugated with être only when they are intransitive.
When the above verbs are used transitively, avoir is used as the auxiliary verb.
Je suis sorti - I went out.
J'ai sorti la voiture - I took the car out.
Il est descendu - He went downstairs.
Il a descendu la valise - He took the suitcase down.

French has two verbs which can be translated by the English verb to know: savoir and connaître. This might seem confusing to English speakers, but in fact there are distinct differences in meaning and usage for the two verbs.
Meaning
Savoir means to know
a fact
by heart
how to do something
Connaître means
to know (someone)
to be familiar with (someone or something)
In the passé composé
Savoir means to learn or find out.
Connaître means to meet someone for the first time.
Ils ont su que j'ai gagné.
They found out that I won.
Elle a connu Luc à Rome.
She met Luc in Rome.

Grammar
Savoir is often followed by an infinitive or a subordinate clause.
Connaître is always followed by a direct object.
Je sais où il est.
I know where he is.
Je connais bien ton père.
I know your father well.
Il sait le poème (par coeur).
He knows the poem (by heart).
Je connais son poème.
I am familiar with his poem.
Nous savons nager.
We know how to swim.
Nous connaissons Paris.
We know/are familiar with Paris.

Conjugations
Savoir and connaître are both irregular verbs.
Savoir conjugations
Connaître conjugations

Ignorer is a related verb which means not to know in the sense of to be unaware of. Depending on the context, it can replace either ne pas savoir or ne pas connaître.
J'ignore quand il arrivera.
I don't know when he is arriving.
Il ignore Ionesco.
He's not aware of (doesn't know about) Ionesco.

Passé composé - French Compound Past Tense
Le passé composé is the most common French past tense, often used in conjunction with the imparfait. The passé composé is used to express:

I. An action or state of being completed in the past
As-tu étudié ce weekend ?
Did you study this weekend?
Ils ont déjà mangé.
They have already eaten.

II. An action repeated a specific number of times in the past
Hier, j'ai mangé cinq fois.
I ate five times yesterday.
Nous avons visité Paris plusieurs fois.
We've visited Paris several times.

III. A series of actions completed in the past
Samedi, il a vu sa mère, a parlé au médicin et a trouvé un chat.
Saturday he saw his mother, talked to the doctor, and found a cat.
The passé composé has three English equivalents:
I danced
I have danced
}
J'ai dansé
I did dance

The passé composé is a compound verb. It is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb (either avoir or être) plus the past participle of the main verb. Note that when the auxiliary verb is être, the past participle must agree with the subject, and when it's avoir, it may have to agree with its direct object (learn more).
AIMER
j'
ai aimé

nous
avons aimé
tu
as aimé
vous
avez aimé
ilelle
a aimé
ilselles
ont aimé

DEVENIR (être verb)
je
suis devenu(e)

nous
sommes devenu(e)s
tu
es devenu(e)
vous
êtes devenu(e)(s)
il
est devenu
ils
sont devenus
elle
est devenue
elles
sont devenues

SE LAVER (pronominal verb)
je
me suis lavé(e)
nous
nous sommes lavé(e)s
tu
t'es lavé(e)
vous
vous êtes lavé(e)(s)
il
s'est lavé
ils
se sont lavés
elle
s'est lavée
elles
se sont lavées

"A clever person solves a problem.
A wise person avoids it."
Albert Einstein