French Word of the Day

on top of it (over there)

Tu as mis les livres sur l’étagère? Oui, là-dessus.
You put the books on the bookshelf? Yes, on top over there.

OPEN UP AND SAY LÀ!
One of the things you might notice when you visit a French-speaking country is that the word là — there — comes up a lot. Inevitably, there seems to be some pointing involved as someone describes to you where something is located. Moreover, là is often combined with other adverbs of place to emphasize the direction of something. Today, we’re looking at one example of this little word with a big place in day-to-day French language.

DISCOVER MORE EXPRESSIONS WITH LÀ

• In There
• Outside There
• Over There
• There
• Underneath There
• Up There

ARE YOU THERE YET?
Test your knowledge of expressions with là with our French Vocabulary Quiz.

a lead, as in an investigation or search

Il y avait des nouvelles pistes dans l’enquête.
There were new leads in the investigation.

a plume

Les vents ont poussé le panache de cendres du volcan islandais vers Europe.
The winds pushed the plume of ash from the Icelandic volcano toward Europe.

TODAY
Our word is inspired by a rather uncommon travel disruption.

WHEN YOUR TRAVEL PLANS HIT A SNAG
Find out if you know how to describe travel disruptions like a smoke plume in French with our French Travel Disruption Quiz.

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to be necessary

Il faut payer avant de quitter le magasin.
It’s necessary (you have to) pay before leaving the store.

TO SEE A CONJUGATION OF FALLOIR
We suggest conjugation-fr.com.
Note that falloir is only used in the the third person.

FALLOIR: Un Verbe Très Important
Falloir is one important French verb. The funny thing is, you’ll never see or hear falloir very much. What you will hear is its third person conjugation il faut followed by an infinitive. It’s used all the time.

Just how important is this phrase? Think about how many times, in English, you say I’ve got to… or she’s got to … or they’ve got to… . You would probably find it hard to get through the day without using this construction. In French, you can communicate the same idea with il faut.

Consider these common statements:

• I’ve got to go to the store: Il faut aller au magasin.
• You have to do your homework: Il faut faire tes devoirs.

While the translations above drop the pronouns in favor of simplicity over precision, it is also possible to express the subject pronouns if they’re really important — but you’ll need to know the subjunctive form of the verbs that follow. Let’s translate the same statements above, preserving the pronouns:

• I’ve got to go to the store: Il faut que j’aille au magasin.
• You have to do your homework: Il faut que tu fasses tes devoirs.

KNOW YOUR VERBS?
Take our Essential French Verbs Quiz to find out.

free shipping (literally, free delivery)

Il y a beaucoup de magasins en ligne qui vous offrent la livraison gratuite.
There are lot of online stores that offer free shipping.

RELATED PHRASES
livraison à domicile: home delivery
livraison spéciale: special delivery

DISCOVER MORE FRENCH WORDS ABOUT SHOPPING
Once you’ve mastered how to say free shipping in French, click the links below to discover their French equivalents.

• Cash Register
• Cheap
• Clothes Rack
• Delivery
• Free Delivery
• Gift-Wrapping
• Discounted
• Display Window, In the
• Dressing Room
• Online Shopping
• Salesman, Saleswoman
• Special Price, At a
• Tag, Label
• To Add to the Shopping Cart
• To Do Some Shopping
• Window Shopping

to walk

Nous avons marché tout autour du quartier.
We walked all around the neighborhood.

a profit

Après deux ans, Robert a fait son premier bénéfice.
After two years, Robert made his first profit.

TODAY
Small shop owners and entrepreneurs make up a significant part of businesses in France. Today’s word is about small business, or petit commerce.

MORE FRENCH BUSINESS VOCABULARY WORDS TO EXPLORE

• Advertisement
• (To Be) Falling
• Income
• Management
• To Launch (a product, program)
• To Soar (Prices)

REINFORCE TODAY’S WORD WITH OUR QUIZ
Take our French Small Business Vocabulary Quiz to see if you can recognize the word for profit in French and practice more business vocabulary words.

a boarding pass

Il vous faudra une carte d’embarquement pour embarquer dans l’avion.
You’ll need a boarding pass to board the aircraft.

TODAY
Our vocabulary topic is the airport.

FOLLOW THESE LINKS TO LEARN MORE FRENCH AIR TRAVEL VOCABULARY

• Boarding Pass
• Carry-On Baggage
• Check-In Counter
• Connecting Flight
• Customs
• Flight
• Stranded
• Ticket, Round-Trip
• To Board, To Get Off
• To Cancel
• To Collect, Get Back
• To Clear (Snow)
• To Ground (aircraft)
• To Pack a Suitcase
• To Pass Through Security
• To Take Off, To Land
• To Wait in Line

a smile

Mireille a fait un sourire à son père.
Mireille gave her father a smile.

TODAY
Our vocabulary topic is feeling and emotions. For more words in this category, click here.

HOW DO YOU FEEL IN FRENCH?
Take our French Feelings and Emotions Quiz and find out if you can say smile in French while you test your French emotional vocabulary.

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