zmanthegoat415

[dreamy ibex]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

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Make it descriptive, including relevant context, but also to the point. This way you improve your chances of getting a more relevant and specific answer.

[supple aspen]

hello

[ember bear]

Not that simple, unfortunately. Learning a language is something that takes many years and a lot of dedication. We can help you on this server, but you need to do the legwork.

[supple aspen]

ok

we

[clever kiln]

Yeah took me like 11 years lol

And I’m still not that good

[supple aspen]

😮

i learnt like 5 words in a day 🙂

[clever kiln]

👌

Progress

That’s like 1825 words a year

[supple aspen]

😮

sigma

i know how to say some sentences like

je j'aime tu jouer le sport

i like to play sport

[south adder]

in french playing sports tends to be expressed as doing sports

[supple aspen]

oh ok

[south adder]

do you mind if i break down this sentence further to give some tips ?

[supple aspen]

sure

[south adder]

okay so

je = i
j'aime = i like
tu = you
jouer = to play
le sport = the sport

je j'aime is redundant - the j' in j'aime is from the je pronoun already, so j'aime already expresses i like

tu is unnecessary here

to play, or to do, or these expressed in the infinitive form of the verb, like the jouer you have here. going back to j'aime, aime is the corresponding form for first person singular (je), while the infinitive is aimer. to do (or make) in french is faire

if you're not specifying which sport(s), you can express generally that you like sports in the sentence -
j'aime faire du sport

[supple aspen]

oh ok

[south adder]

if you're saying you like to do something - i like to swim, i like to read, i like to eat - then you'd follow the j'aime with the infinitive form of the verb

j'aime

• nager (to swim)
• lire (to read)
• manger (to eat)

[supple aspen]

so i would say j'aime jouer le basketball?

[supple aspen]

oh ok

ohhh so if you were saying

j'aime lire

that means i like to read?

[south adder]

yes !

[supple aspen]

oh ok

[supple aspen]

am i also able to say est- ce que = do?

or does it have a different meaning

[south adder]

for a specific thing you like to play it would be jouer à/au/aux (depending on if the thing is feminine/masculine/plural)

basketball is masculine in french, so it would be j'aime jouer au basket-ball [note : a more informal/common way to call basketball is basket]

[supple aspen]

oh ok

is there different meanings if i do not put it in masculine or feminine?

[south adder]

est-ce que is rather is in english, an interrogative in order to form questions

j'aime jouer au basket
→ est-ce que tu aimes jouer au basket ?

[supple aspen]

oh ok

the aimes would be = like to

[south adder]

not necessarily different meanings, but nouns have a grammatical gender attached/in-built

as you learn vocabulary it's a good idea to learn with an article (le/la [the, masculine/feminine] or un/une [a, masculine/feminine] for example) so that you can remember the grammatical gender of the word

again, it doesn't necessarily affect meaning, but id say it could affect comprehension

[supple aspen]

oh ok

how would you say for today i will have bacon and eggs for breakfast?

[south adder]

aimes is the form of aimer conjugated in the tu form

infinitive = aimer
j'aime (i like)
tu aimes (you [singular] like)
il/elle/on aime (he/she/we[informal] like)
nous aimons (we like)
vous aimez (you[plural] like)
ils/elles aiment (they[masculine group, or mixed group] / they [feminine-exclusive group] like)

[supple aspen]

oh ok

so if i would use for example

je aimes that would be i like still?

[south adder]

aujourd'hui, je mangerai/prendrai du bacon et des œufs au petit-déjeuner

[supple aspen]

but j'aime would mean i like to?

[south adder]

no, aimes is the tu form

[supple aspen]

oh

[supple aspen]

what is a tu form?

[south adder]

verb conjugated to express you something

tu aimes = you like
tu manges = you eat
tu regardes = you look

[supple aspen]

OH OK

[south adder]

every verb, depending on who is doing it, will conjugate

[supple aspen]

oh

[south adder]

well.

[south adder]

slight over-simplification

in order to express an idea such as i like/you like, the like verb (aimer) will be conjugated

the following verb, the thing that is being liked, will be in the infinitive form

[supple aspen]

what is the verb aimer have to do with i like/ you like though?

[south adder]

some grammatical constructions will trigger an infinitive verb, or will require the verb to be conjugated in a different tense or mood

[south adder]

the verb aimer means to like

aimer (to like) becomes j'aime if you are saying : i like

aimer becomes tu aimes if you are expressing the sentiment : you like

[supple aspen]

oh ok

merci sir

i am exhasuted

[south adder]

de rien 🫡

hehehe it's a lot to take in i imagine

[supple aspen]

fr

[south adder]

find your own pace, and figure out which medium works best for you (textbooks vs a personal tutor for example)

[supple aspen]

ok

[south adder]

and dont burn yourself out :') language learning is a wonderful process

[wide sigil]

Basalt explaining: 👆
Me: 🤭

[supple aspen]

https://tenor.com/view/pout-christian-bale-american-psycho-kissy-face-nod-gif-4860124

[south adder]

its good training for my professorial career, & ive already been a french tutor for a couple of years