I had a call with a friend from France! It’s funny it took us so long to try it for once and only after I found out I don’t need to take any exams anymore. Truly, I can have fun without the weight of responsibility.
I could explain some basic things and understand some basic things. As always, the core problem is lack of listening experience and modern vocabulary. Sure, I learn a lot of words in the book I am reading, but it’s about 200 years old, the fact I have to keep in mind as I continue my journey.
We had talked about food, and I wrote down a list of words to remember:
- alerter - to alert
- cesser - to cease
- parfait - the word he said I should use as a reaction and in response that I am OK with something (I tried to say c’est beau instead)
- la tranche - a slice
- le porc - pork
- le bœuf - beef
- soigner - to care
- j m’en fiche / ça m’est égal - i don’t care
- prêt - ready
- le réfrigérateur - a fridge (LOL)
S’enfermer chaque soir dans un sale appartement public, pour y taper sur des tables de marbre de petits os de mouton marqués de points noirs, lui semblait un acte précieux de sa liberté, qui le rehaussait d’estime vis-à-vis de lui-même. (To shut himself up every evening in the dirty public room, to push about on marble tables the small sheep bones with black dots, seemed to him a fine proof of his freedom, which raised him in his own esteem.)
Os is literally bones. Very glad about the fact it’s invariable. - je suis maigre, des os sans chair. (I am skinny, bones without flesh)
Sembler is “to seem”, which, now I understand, I could have guessed from the stem. - le compromis semble un rêve.
Rehausser is “to raise up, to emphasize”. It’s a good build-up on top of haut from previous notes. - je dois rehausser la importance de qqc (I have to emphasize the importance of smth)
il posait la main sur le bouton de la porte… (he put his hand on the door-handle…)
I just note it will probobaly come handy to use le bouton for buttons, knobs and switches. Apparently it’s used in modern context as well. - Découvrez comment concevoir des boutons dans l’interface utilisateur qui sont clairs, cohérents et accessibles. (Learn how to design buttons in the user interface that are clear, consistent, and accessible.)
beaucoup de choses comprimées en lui, se dilatèrent (many things hidden within him came out)
Comprimer / Dilater - Comress / Enlarge is a nice pair to note.
Grâce à ces travaux préparatoires, il échoua complètement à son examen d’officier de santé (Thanks to these preparatory works, he completely failed in his health officer examination.)
Travaux is a good reminder how plurals form. I almost didn’t recognize it from le travail.
To fail - échouer. I already know réussir - to succeed. So it makes a good pair!
rejetant l’échec sur l’injustice des examinateurs (blaming the failure on the injustice of the examiners)
So, there are jeter for “to throw” and rejeter for “to reject”, and there is a phrase “rejeter la faute sur” for “put the blame on”. Very useful.
Il fut reçu avec une assez bonne note. (It was received with a fairly good grade.)
Assez is “quite” or “enough”, also may be very useful.
Also reçu - from recevoir. A reminder to always practice and double-check conjugation.
Où irait-il exercer son art ? ( Where would he go to practice his art? )
Irait - conditional from aller (to go), with inversion of il. Awesome.
Mais ce n’était pas tout que d’avoir élevé son fils, de lui avoir fait apprendre la médecine et découvert Tostes pour l’exercer : il lui fallait une femme. (But it wasn’t enough just to have raised his son, to have had him study medicine, and to have found Tostes for him to practice there: he needed a wife.)
This whole consturction took me a really long time to process. And I definitely am not plannning to incorporate it: it is enough to remember suffire. - Il ne suffit pas de croire, il faut avoir la foi. (It’s not enough just to believe, you need faith.)
Quoiqu’elle fût laide (Although she was ugly)
Laid for ugly is useful, am taking it.
certes madame Dubuc ne manquait pas de partis à choisir. (certainly Madame Dubuc had no shortage of parties to choose from.)
Quoiqu’il .. certes combination is quite cool, I wonder if it’s still usable.
les évincer tous (oust them all)
The only reason I am memorizing évincer is because I didn’t know the English translation as well, which is interesting enough to me on its own.
elle déjoua .. les intrigues (she thwarted the intrigues)
dejouer / jouer, - thwart / play
Charles avait entrevu dans le mariage l’avènement d’une condition meilleure (Charles had foreseen in marriage the advent of a better condition)
Entrevu = entre+vu, where vu = voir. I should have a better eye for such composed words.
il devait devant le monde dire ceci, ne pas dire cela (he had to say this and not say that in company)
ceci / cela - this / that, awesome, another pair!
devant, I wonder what’s the difference from en face de that I noted a couple of days ago. So, I guess, devant is a positional relation in general, and en face is more specific, implying face-to-face, direct opposition.
harceler par son ordre les clients (harass customers by her order)
Harceler - to harass.
épiait ses démarches (watched his movements)
épier - to spy, marcher - to walk, to move
And this marks the end of Chapter I!