History about the French negative form ne+pas, point, goutte,,,

Have you ever wondered why French people use two words for the negative form? For instance, they say: "Je ne mange pas", Je ne veux pas", elle n'est pas contente",...

In the middle-age, only "ne" was used to express a negative sentence. Gradually, other words like "pas" / "point" were added and those words expressed a small quantity, a small thing, a small area,...

Examples: je ne marche pas (I am not doing a step) , je ne vois point (I can't even see a dot), je ne bois goutte (I don't drink a drop), je ne mange mie (I don't eat a crumb).

 Those little words lost their meaning and became a negative word associated to "ne".

It is the reason why we say today: Je ne veux pas partir, je ne veux point aller en ville, je ne vois goutte, ...

TRANSLATION OF SAYINGS AND PROVERBS

Each language reflects a different way of thinking and a different perception of the world. The sayings and proverbs are a good example of how differently people can think. Here are some examples of sayings in English and in French:

- Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide. / Once bitten, twice shy.
- On n'apprend pas à un vieux singe à faire des grimaces. / Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs.
- C'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron. / Practice makes perfect.
- Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué. / Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.
- La curiosité est un vilain défaut. / Curiosity killed the cat.

A literal translation will usually be a big mistake to avoid. Learn to think in the target language!

London International wine Fair - 22nd May 2012

I went to the London International Wine Fair at ExCel with one of my customers from France to be his interpreter and translator for the day. Beforehand, I had to contact potential customers or suppliers to make arrangements to meet at the Wine Fair.

Please visit these websites for more information about it:

http://www.londonwinefair.com/content

www.eurosud.co.uk

My new personal website - www.isabellewebb.co.uk

Today I launched my new personal website to present my services as a freelance French translator, French proofreader and the one-to-one or online French lessons that I provide.

The website is www.isabellewebb.co.uk.

For more information about my English to French translation services, French proofreading services or French lessons, please contact me.

Do you want or need to learn French? Try online French lessons

Online tutoring is a great way for you to learn French, in the most convenient place and at the most convenient time for you!

Each Online French Tutoring lesson is conducted over the internet via Skype using a webcam (preferred - to allow you to interact with more ease) or just an audio connection. 

For this you will need to have a Skype account (which is FREE), a computer with the Skype software loaded, a webcam (optional), and a microphone (most laptops have them built in!).

I am in the United Kingdom in a town called Hartlepool but you can be anywhere in the world with online French lessons. If you live in or near Hartlepool I also provide one-to-one lessons.

For the prices of the lessons, please visit my online French lessons page.