Showing posts with label gâteau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gâteau. Show all posts

Friday, May 1, 2020

Learn French 24: ManteauX

Learning a new language is like wearing a coat. It makes you feel different.You bring out a new person from the inside.



I picked the word des manteaux here as it is one of the words that stayed with me from my school days. I liked the way the word sounded. 
Also it is an important concept that is considered as basic French.
The real word in un manteau, the plural is des manteaux. It means a coat. 
The speciality of this word is that the plural form takes an x instead of the regular x.





Similar words are:
  1. gâteau                cake
  2. bateau                boat
  3. chapeau             hat
  4. oiseau                bird
  5. couteau              knife
  6. rideau                curtain
  7. château              castle
  8. tableau               board
  9. drapeau              flag
  10. portemanteau     travelling case/pouch

All these words take an x in the plural form.


Culture tip:

The Flag of France is a tricolour flag featuring three vertical bands coloured blue (hoist side), white and red. Blue and red are the traditional colours of Paris, used on the city's coats of arms. The three colours have different symbolisms. The French government websites states that the white field was the colour of the King, while blue and red were the colours of Paris. The three colours are ocassionally taken to represnt the three elements of the revolutionary motto, Liberté (Freedom: Blue), égalité  (equality: white) Fraternité  (brotherhood: red).





Wednesday, April 8, 2020

French Class 7: Gâteau

Bonjour! Learning a new language is like having dessert after a meal. It completes the meal. So let's go ahead. Bon appétit.



Gâteau  is cake.

Un gâteau is a cake
le gâteau is the cake.

A touch of grammar with the vaocbulary adds value to the word.


The sentences with gâteau contain a phrase, je voudrais discussed earlier:

Je voudrais un gâteau.
I would like a cake.

Je voudrais un gâteau au chocolat.
I would like a chocolate cake.

Je voudrais un gâteau aux fraises.
I would like a strawberry cake.


Conversation:
Marc: Bonjour Annie
Annie: Bonjour Marc.
Serveur: Vous choisissez? ( Have you chosen?/decided)
Marc: Je voudrais un café. Et vous Annie?
Annie: Je voudrais un gâteau au chocolate.
Serveur: D'accord Madame et Monsieur.
...
Serveur: Voilà votre café et votre gâteau au chocolat.
Marc et Annie: Merci. (Thank you)
Serveur: Bon appétit.

Now you can order coffee or cake at a café in France.
Type out your favourite cake in the comments. 

Culture tip:
Why Cake at Birthdays?
Well, Cakes represent our best culinary offering honouring our most loved people. In "olden times" when refined sugar, spices , nuts and dried fruit were expensive, it was a honour to be honoured with cake. Today cake isn't expensive and we have a variety to choose from. But the message remains constant. 
Cake says "you are important and we love you"