Learn how to discuss your physical attributes and personality traits
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam: And I’m joined here today by? |
| Céline: Céline. |
| Sam: Welcome back! |
| Céline: Welcome back, Sam. |
| Sam: Are you ready for another great lesson? |
| Céline: I’m always ready. |
| Sam: That’s great. So, what’s the focus of today’s lesson? |
| Céline: The focus of this lesson is to talk about yourself, your physical appearance and personality. |
| Sam: And where does this conversation takes place? |
| Céline: At FrenchPod101.com’s office. |
| Sam: And the conversation is between? |
| Céline: Alex et moi, myself. |
| Sam: Great! You guys are friends, so I think you’ll be using casual French, right? |
| Céline: Yes. |
| Sam: So, let’s starts, okay? |
| Céline: Yes, let’s go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Woman: Je suis canon! |
| Céline: Tu es canon? Pfff, et moi je suis belle! |
| Woman: Je suis sympa! |
| Céline: Tu es sympa? Pfff, moi je suis amusante! |
| Woman: Je suis intelligent! |
| Céline: Tu es intelligent? Et moi, je suis maligne! |
| Sam: Now, one more time, slowly. |
| Woman: Je suis canon! |
| Céline: Tu es canon? Pfff, et moi je suis belle! |
| Woman: Je suis sympa! |
| Céline: Tu es sympa? Pfff, moi je suis amusante! |
| Woman: Je suis intelligent! |
| Céline: Tu es intelligent? Et moi, je suis maligne! |
| Sam: Now, one more time, with the English. |
| Male: “I am handsome.” |
| Céline: Tu es canon? Pfff, et moi je suis belle! |
| Male: “You’re handsome? Pf, and me, I am beautiful.” |
| Male: “I am nice.” |
| Male: “You’re nice? Me? I’m fun.” |
| Male: “I am smart.” |
| Male: “You’re smart? And me, I am clever.” |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sam: So, Céline, what are the main characteristics of the French? |
| Céline: Okay, I’m going to try to be objective. I think we are romantic, but a bit snobbish sometimes. And we are also “bons vivants”. |
| Sam: So you like to live life to the fullest, you like to enjoy the best of everything. |
| Céline: Exactement. Like food, love, friends. |
| Sam: Etcetera. |
| Céline: Etcetera. |
| Sam: Sounds great. |
| Céline: So, in France we say “bon vivant”. |
| Sam: “You like to live it up” or “Live life to the fullest” I think it’s the English translation. |
| Céline: Oui. How about snobbish? Do you think we’re snobbish, Sam? |
| Sam: Case by case. Some people are, some people aren’t. |
| Céline: Yeah, yeah that’s true. We are really proud of ourselves. Sometimes too much, I agree. |
| Sam: Why? So do you think that some people are kind of full of themselves? |
| Céline: Oh yes, definitively! But the worst thing is that they don’t know that they are like that. But, when you just look at them, you can feel it. |
| Sam: Oh really? |
| Céline: In France we say: Il y a nous et les petits oiseaux. |
| Sam: What does that mean? |
| Céline: Means that “There are the French and the birds”. |
| Sam: Who are the birds? |
| Céline: Angels? |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: Okay. Now, let’s take a look at the vocabulary and phrases from this lesson. The first item is? |
| Céline: Etre! Je suis. |
| Sam: “I am.” |
| Céline: Je suis. Je suis. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Tu es. |
| Sam: “You are.” - singular form or casual form. |
| Céline: Tu es. Tu es. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Beau. |
| Sam: “Handsome, beautiful” - masculine form. |
| Céline: Beau. Beau. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Belle. |
| Sam: “Beautiful, pretty” - feminine form. |
| Céline: Belle. Belle. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Sympa. |
| Sam: “Kind” - informal. |
| Céline: Sympa. Sympa. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Canon. |
| Sam: “Gorgeous”. |
| Céline: Canon. Canon. |
| Sam: Next. |
| Céline: Maligne. |
| Sam: “Sly” or “clever”. |
| Céline: Maligne. Maligne. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sam: Okay, now let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of these items from this lesson. |
| Céline: Oui! The first item is: Je suis. |
| Sam: “I am.” We’ve seen this one quite a bit in our previous lessons. So, what’s new about this item? |
| Céline: Well, today we’re talking about how handsome Alex thinks he is. He says “je suis beau”, and modest. “Beau” is an adjective meaning “handsome” or “beautiful”, for the feminine it’s “je suis belle”. |
| Sam: “I’m pretty.” and modest, too? |
| Céline: Oui! |
| Sam: So you can use “beau” and “belle” for persons or things, right? |
| Céline: Oui Sam. For example: Ma voisine est belle. |
| Sam: “My female neighbor is pretty.” |
| Céline: La vie est belle. |
| Sam: “Life is beautiful.” What a positive attitude! |
| Céline: Oui Sam. Today only positive adjectives, like “sympa”. |
| Sam: “Nice, friendly”. |
| Céline: Sam, tu es sympa. |
| Sam: “I’m nice”? Thanks! Tu es sympa aussi! You’re nice, too. |
| Céline: So, as you said “sympa” is the same word for feminine and masculine. “Sympa” is the abbreviation of the word “sympathique”. “Sympa” is more casual. |
| Sam: Okay. Are there other words like “sympa”? |
| Céline: Oui. Agréable. C’est un homme agréable. |
| Sam: “He’s a nice man.” |
| Céline: “Gentil” or “gentille”. For example: Je suis gentille. |
| Sam: “You’re kind”? Ah, great! |
| Céline: Oui. Je suis gentille et je suis intelligente. |
| Sam: “Kind and clever.” |
| Céline: Yes. But, you already knew that. Then, we have another word is “maligne”. So, be careful because the real word is not “maline”, but “maligne” but we always pronounce “maline” we don’t pronounce the “g”. Technically, we should pronounce it. |
| Sam: Oh, really? |
| Céline: Yes, some people write “maline” but it’s not correct. “Maligne” with a “g” is the good one. “Maligne” means “clever” and “genius”. It also has a bad meaning as in “une tumeur maligne”. |
| Sam: “A malignant tumor”. You mean cancerous. |
| Céline: Yes. As well “le malin” in French refers to the Devil. We also have an expression in French, for example: Alex n’arrête pas de faire le malin. |
| Sam: “Alex can’t stop being the wise guy.” |
| Céline: Yes. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sam: Great! Let’s look at today’s grammar point. |
| Céline: Which is quite easy today. We’re going to talk about ourselves. Tell how we are in French using the verb “être”, “to be”, so it’s very easy. All you need to know is the conjugation of the verb “être” and some vocab. |
| Sam: And don’t we also need to know we’re talking about a male or a female? |
| Céline: Of course. |
| Sam: So, let’s start. And remember, let’s be objective. So Céline, let’s describe each other. Why don’t you describe me first? |
| Céline: That’s a good idea but before I start, if you describe somebody else, you have to say: “Tu es”. |
| Sam: Oh, okay. “You are.” |
| Céline: “You are”, of course. |
| Sam: Okay. |
| Céline: Okay, so. Sam, tu es sympa. |
| Sam: “I’m nice.” |
| Céline: Tu es beau. |
| Sam: “I’m handsome.” |
| Céline: Tu es musclé. |
| Sam: “I’m muscular.” |
| Céline: Tu es intelligent. |
| Sam: “I’m intelligent.” |
| Céline: Tu es Américain. |
| Sam: “I’m American.” And which one of those is the best quality? The last one? |
| Céline: Of course, yes! |
| Sam: My turn. |
| Céline: Oui. Be nice to me. |
| Sam: I’ll try. Tu es intelligente. |
| Céline: “I’m smart”? |
| Sam: Yes. Tu es sympa. |
| Céline: “I’m nice.” I’m very nice. Je suis très sympa. |
| Sam: Yes, at least sometimes... Tu es mignonne. |
| Céline: “I’m cute”? Oh c’est gentil. It’s nice. |
| Sam: And: Tu es Française. |
| Céline: “I’m French.” |
| Sam: Yes, bien sûr. |
| Céline: Okay. I won’t ask this question because of course being French includes everything you said before. |
| Sam: Tout à fait. Of course. |
| Céline: Exactement. So, if you talk about yourself you just say “je suis” and then you add the adjective. If you’re talking to somebody else, you say “tu es” and the adjective. |
| Sam: Okay, yeah. |
| Céline: Yes. So, all you have to know is the gender and the word. |
| Sam: It’s an easy form to describe someone. |
| Céline: It’s really easy. |
Outro |
| Sam: So, that’s the end of today’s lesson. Until the next time! |
| Céline: A bientôt! |
| Sam: Bye-bye! |
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