French · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 8 of 12
Idioms and everyday speech
Expressions et langue de tous les jours
Understand and use common French idioms, fillers like du coup, en fait and bref, and the short forms of relaxed speech: t'as, c'est pas.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Understand and use common idioms
- Use fillers and discourse markers: du coup, en fait, bref
- Recognise the short forms of spoken French
- Know when to use full forms instead
Listen
In a café in Marseille, Nina tells her friend Samir about her evening and her boss. Samir has some news of his own. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Samir
Salut, Nina ! T'as une petite mine. Ça va ?
Hi, Nina! You look a bit tired. Are you OK?
Nina
Bof… Tu te souviens de Julien, le garçon du club de sport ? Eh ben, il m'a posé un lapin hier soir.
Not really… Remember Julien, the guy from the sports club? Well, he stood me up last night.
Samir
Non ! Il t'a même pas prévenue ?
No way! He didn't even let you know?
Nina
Même pas. J'ai attendu une heure devant le cinéma comme une idiote. Du coup, j'ai vu le film toute seule.
Not even that. I waited an hour outside the cinema like an idiot. So I watched the film on my own.
Samir
Laisse tomber, il en vaut pas la peine. Et au travail, ça va mieux ?
Forget him, he's not worth it. And is work any better?
Nina
Ne m'en parle pas. Mon chef m'a encore mis des bâtons dans les roues pour mes vacances. J'en ai vraiment assez.
Don't get me started. My boss has been making things difficult about my holiday again. I've really had enough.
Samir
Il faut que tu mettes les points sur les i avec lui, sinon ça va continuer.
You need to make things clear with him, otherwise it'll carry on.
Nina
Je sais, mais j'ose pas. En fait, j'ai peur de mettre les pieds dans le plat.
I know, but I don't dare. Actually, I'm afraid of being too blunt.
Samir
T'inquiète, c'est pas la mer à boire. Tu lui expliques calmement, et voilà.
Don't worry, it's not that hard. You explain it to him calmly, and that's it.
Nina
T'as raison. Bref, je lui parle demain. Et toi, quoi de neuf ?
You're right. Anyway, I'll talk to him tomorrow. What about you, what's new?
Samir
Ben… J'ai eu une promotion. Mais je voulais pas t'en parler, avec tout ce qui t'arrive…
Well… I got a promotion. But I didn't want to mention it, with everything you're going through…
Nina
Mais si, c'est génial ! Allez, ce soir, c'est toi qui paies l'apéro. Ça va me remonter le moral.
Of course you should, that's great! Right, tonight you're buying the drinks. That'll cheer me up.
Understand
Idioms
Idioms are fixed phrases: you can't change their words or translate them word for word. Learn each one as a whole, with the situation it belongs to. The literal meaning often helps you remember it.
| Idiom | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| to have a small face | to look tired or unwell | |
| to put down a rabbit for someone | to stand someone up | |
| to put sticks in the wheels | to put obstacles in someone's way | |
| to dot the i's | to make things clear, to spell it out | |
| to put your feet in the dish | to raise an awkward subject bluntly | |
| it isn't the sea to drink | it isn't that hard | |
| to raise someone's morale | to cheer someone up |
Fillers and discourse markers
Spoken French is full of small words that give you time to think or show how ideas connect. (so, as a result) is everywhere in everyday speech. means “actually, in fact”. (anyway, in short) brings a story to an end. and (well) start an answer.
shows you're not enthusiastic. at the end of a sentence means something like “you know”: (come on, right) pushes someone to act. Use these words in conversation, not in formal writing.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| So I watched the film on my own. | |
| Actually, I'm scared. | |
| Anyway, I'll talk to him tomorrow. | |
| Well, he didn't come. | |
| … | Not really… / Meh… |
Spoken French: what gets dropped
In relaxed speech, the of the negative usually disappears: , , . often becomes t' before a vowel: (), (). sounds like , and becomes .
You'll hear these forms all the time, and you can use them with friends. In writing and in formal situations, always use the full forms.
| Full form | Spoken form |
|---|---|
More in the grammar: Negation: ne… pas and friends
New words
- avoir une petite mineto look tired, to look unwell · : the look on someone's face
- poser un lapin à quelqu'unto stand someone up
- laisser tomberto drop (it), to forget (it) · : forget it
- en valoir la peineto be worth it · : he's not worth it
- ne m'en parle pasdon't get me started, don't talk to me about it
- le chef / la cheffeboss · also chef (in a kitchen)
- mettre des bâtons dans les rouesto put obstacles in someone's way
- en avoir assezto have had enough · ; more familiar:
- mettre les points sur les ito make things clear
- oserto dare
- quoi de neuf ?what's new?
- génial / génialegreat, brilliant
- l'apérodrinks and nibbles before dinner · masculine; short for
- remonter le moral à quelqu'unto cheer someone up
Practise
1.Your friend didn't turn up to your date and didn't call. What did he do?
2.Complete the idiom: “It's not that hard.”
It's not that hard.
3.Write in full, as you would in writing.
You're right.
4.What does mean in ?
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.That'll cheer me up.
6.Match the French with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
T'inquiète, c'est pas la mer à boire.
Don't worry, it's not that hard.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.