52 Vous me manquez

Possessive pronouns

• La mienne est l’émission d’humour “Puissance faible”. Mine is the comedy show “Low Power”.
• Et la tienne, Mathilde ? La vôtre, Léon et Adèle ? And yours, Mathilde? yours, Léon and Adèle?

la mienne and la tienne are part of a broader set of French possessive pronouns that express ownership and must agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

ni l’un ni l’autre

The French expression “ni l’un ni l’autre” is a commonly used phrase that translates to “neither one nor the other” in English. This expression is used to negate or exclude both options in a given context.

Usage and Meaning

• Translation: “Neither one nor the other” or simply “neither”
• Function: It’s used to indicate that neither of two options or possibilities is applicable or chosen

Grammatical Structure

“Ni l’un ni l’autre” is a pronominal phrase that can function as the subject of a sentence. When used with a verb, there are specific rules for agreement:

1. Verb before the phrase: When the verb precedes “ni l’un ni l’autre,” it’s always in the plural form:

   • Elles n’ont voulu venir ni l’une ni l’autre. (Neither of them wanted to come.)

2. Verb after the phrase: When the verb follows “ni l’un ni l’autre,” it can be either singular or plural:

   • Ni l’un ni l’autre n’ont/n’a accepté l’invitation. (Neither of them accepted the invitation.)

Examples in Context

1. Quel parfum tu veux? Fraise ou vanille? - Ni l’un ni l’autre. (What flavor do you want? Strawberry or vanilla? - Neither.)

2. Mes filles sont bonnes en maths, mais ni l’une ni l’autre ne sont bonnes en français. (My daughters are good at math, but neither of them is good at French.)

3. Ils ont fait le test, mais ni l’un ni l’autre n’est le père. (They took the test, but neither one is the father.)

Gender Agreement

The expression changes slightly based on gender:

• Masculine: “ni l’un ni l’autre”
• Feminine: “ni l’une ni l’autre”

se souvenir (de)

“Se souvenir de” is a French reflexive verb that means “to remember” or “to recall” in English. This verb is commonly used in French and has some specific grammatical rules and usage patterns.

Meaning and Usage

• Translation: To remember, to recall, to reminisce about
• Usage: Used to express the act of remembering something or someone

Grammatical Structure

“Se souvenir” is a pronominal verb, which means it’s always used with a reflexive pronoun. It’s followed by “de” (or “d’” before a vowel), which is required before the thing or person being remembered.

Conjugation

Here’s the conjugation of “se souvenir” in the present tense:

• Je me souviens
• Tu te souviens
• Il/Elle/On se souvient
• Nous nous souvenons
• Vous vous souvenez
• Ils/Elles se souviennent

Note that in compound tenses, “se souvenir” uses “être” as its auxiliary verb:

• J’ai me suis souvenu(e)
• Tu t’es souvenu(e)
• Il/Elle s’est souvenu(e)
• etc.

Examples in Context

1. Je me souviens de mon premier jour d’école. (I remember my first day of school.)

2. Te souviens-tu de son nom ? (Do you remember his/her name?)

3. Nous nous souvenons de nos vacances en France. (We remember our vacation in France.)

4. Elle s’est souvenue du rendez-vous à la dernière minute. (She remembered the appointment at the last minute.)

Important Notes

1. The preposition “de” always follows “se souvenir,” even when asking questions:

   • De quoi te souviens-tu ? (What do you remember?)

2. When using “se souvenir” with a verb, the following verb must be in the infinitive form:

   • Je me souviens d’avoir vu ce film. (I remember seeing this movie.)

3. “Se souvenir” can also be used with “que” to introduce a clause:

   • Je me souviens que nous étions heureux. (I remember that we were happy.)

se rappeler vs. rappeler

“Se rappeler” and “rappeler” are two related French verbs that are often confused due to their similar meanings but different grammatical structures.

1. Se rappeler (reflexive verb)

Meaning: To remember, to recall

Usage:

• It’s a pronominal verb, always used with a reflexive pronoun.
• Unlike “se souvenir de,” it doesn’t require “de” before a noun or pronoun.

Conjugation (present tense):

• Je me rappelle
• Tu te rappelles
• Il/Elle/On se rappelle
• Nous nous rappelons
• Vous vous rappelez
• Ils/Elles se rappellent

Examples:

1. Je me rappelle mon enfance. (I remember my childhood.)
2. Te rappelles-tu ce jour-là ? (Do you remember that day?)

2. Rappeler (regular verb)

Meanings:

1. To remind
2. To call back, to call again

Usage:

• As a regular -er verb, it follows standard conjugation patterns.
• When meaning “to remind,” it’s often used with an indirect object pronoun.

Conjugation (present tense):

• Je rappelle
• Tu rappelles
• Il/Elle/On rappelle
• Nous rappelons
• Vous rappelez
• Ils/Elles rappellent

Examples:

1. Je te rappelle qu’il faut partir à 8h. (I remind you that we need to leave at 8.)
2. Je vais le rappeler plus tard. (I’m going to call him back later.)

Key Differences and Notes:

1. Structure with nouns:

   • Je me rappelle mon anniversaire. (Se rappeler)
   • Je me souviens de mon anniversaire. (Se souvenir de)

2. With verbs in infinitive:

   • Je me rappelle avoir vu ce film. (Se rappeler)
   • Je me souviens d’avoir vu ce film. (Se souvenir de)

3. “Rappeler” as “to remind”:

   • Cela me rappelle mes vacances. (This reminds me of my vacation.)

4. In the imperative:

   • Rappelle-toi ce moment ! (Remember this moment!)

5. “Se rappeler de” is sometimes used, especially in spoken French, but it’s considered less correct by purists.

Agreement of past participles with pronominal verbs

In French, the agreement of past participles with pronominal verbs can be a bit tricky. Here’s a concise explanation:

General Rule

For pronominal verbs, the past participle generally agrees with the direct object if it precedes the verb. If there’s no preceding direct object, the past participle doesn’t agree.

Common Scenarios

1. Reflexive Verbs (e.g., se laver):

   • Agree with the subject if the reflexive pronoun is a direct object.

2. Reciprocal Verbs (e.g., se parler):

   • Agree with the subject if the reflexive pronoun is a direct object.
   • No agreement if the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object.

3. Idiomatic Pronominal Verbs (e.g., s’en aller):

   • No agreement typically.

Examples

Special Cases

• Passive Constructions: If a passive construction is used, agreement rules can change.
• Impersonal Constructions: Sometimes used without agreement.

Il y a and Past Tenses

When using “il y a” to refer to past events, the choice of tense in the main clause depends on whether the action or state is completed or ongoing in the past.

1. With Passé Composé

Use the passé composé for completed actions in the past.

2. With Imparfait

Use the imparfait for ongoing or habitual actions in the past.

3. With Plus-que-parfait

Use the plus-que-parfait for actions that occurred before the time indicated by “il y a”.

Important Notes

1. “Il y a” itself doesn’t change; it remains in the present tense.
2. The tense of the main verb changes based on the context and the nature of the action.
3. The position of “il y a” can vary in the sentence.

Additional Examples

Mixing Tenses

Sometimes, you might use different tenses in the same sentence:

• Il y a un an, je travaillais encore là-bas quand j’ai reçu cette offre. (A year ago, I was still working there when I received this offer.)

In this example, “travaillais” is in imparfait (ongoing action) and “ai reçu” is in passé composé (completed action).

Vocabulaire