LaDameDragon.com » french grammar

L’ordre des pronoms personnels objets!…

Lyne Des Roberts — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:06:27 +0000

March has been pure madness around here… with the end of fiscal in the PSC, there was an orgy of SLE testing… it should calm down in April though… Of course, it kept me busier than ever!…

In the news department, Boris passed the required levels(CBC) of the job position he has applied for… he even surpassed them in two tests: ECC!

Congratulations Boris!

The order of the pronouns in French… do you know it or do you sometimes struggle with it?… I found an interesting test on pronouns following an imperative… I took it and I got a perfect mark… can you do it, avoiding the traps?… Give it a try!

My Aussie friend sent me an interesting picture…

Apparently, it is the first time he came across a sign in almost perfect English! Be the judge!…

If you want to play my game, click here!

Have fun!

Photo credit by Philip Lean, Canberra, Australia

Which of the two sentences is correct?… À moins que…

Lyne Des Roberts — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:21:22 +0000

I would like to write a post at least once a week yet I cannot find the time!… Between training, answering requests for information, helping new trainees to set up for online sessions, book keeping and doing administrative work… well… there is no time left for taking care of my blog…

But, when I get great news, I have to share it with my readers… Morris, who was probably the most nervous student I ever had, went for his oral interaction test last Wednesday… he was convinced he would not get his B at his second attempt… I knew he could get it because only his stress was playing against him! Friday he wrote me saying that he had obtained his B!… What a happy camper!

Congratulations Morris!

Since I do not have much time to write tonight, instead of writing a substantial post, I found a test for you to give a try… There are two sentences and you must choose the one that you think is correct or… you may decide that both are equal… I got 50/50 only because I thought the incorrect sentences were a bit too obvious. Maybe you will disagree with me… let me know!

Two Gold Medals in two days for Canada: Alexandre Bilodeau in freestyle skiing and Maëlle Ricker in snowboarding cross event!…

GO CANADA, GO!!!

When not watching the Vancouver 2010 games, click here to play my game!

Have fun!

Photo credit: http://www.webweaver.nu/clipart/canada-day.shtml

La chasse aux anglicismes!

Lyne Des Roberts — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:03:22 +0000

Once again, I was too busy to write a line on my blog… January brought a flood of new requests for training! It seems there are no more breaks in the PSC SLE testing… in other words, it is the peak season all year around!

And now, I have more and more requests for preparing people to their oral interaction test in English. Therefore, the trainer/coach who was working for me occasionally is now busier than ever taking on the students who need help with their English.

In the news department, three of my students took their oral interaction tests early last week. Two of them got their results: Mia and Tamara…

Mia, who was almost in tears the day before her exam due to her anxiety and fear of failing her C, wrote me an email early Friday morning… she got an E… What an achievement!

Congratulations Mia!

As for Tamara (who was also very nervous the day before her test), she obtained the B she needs to comply with the requirements of her job position… Now she wants to move on with her training so that soon she can target a C!

Congratulations Tamara!

Since I have little time to write a post, I decided to give you my first quizz of 2010… Of course, I chose my favourite topic: les anglicismes!… In this test, you will have to find the sentence in which the word is used incorrectly (with its meaning in English). I gave it a try myself and I got 50/50… yet I had to ponder upon a couple of them before making my final choice… Let me know how it went for you!

Weather is weird… it’s March in January here… very mild temperature and rain…

I always whine about bad French… but bad English also exists!

While trying to figure that one out, click here to play my game…

Have fun!…

Photo credit by Philip Lean, Canberra, Australia

Last Updates… and Last Quizz in 2009!

Lyne Des Roberts — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:00:56 +0000

This will be my last post this year… I will be leaving on vacation this coming Saturday and, since I have lots to do, I do not think I will have time left to dedicate to my blog…

In the news department, I got a phone call from Corey in Montreal… after more than six weeks of painful waiting, he finally got his reading comprehension and written expression test results in the mail this morning and he made it!… He got a strong C in reading (and if he had had the time to complete the 65 questions, I am convinced he would have obtained an E) and he got his B in writing, missing the C by only one answer (that killed him actually!)… He wrote an email to his contact at the CRA to let him know that he had met the language requirements of the position he applied for and that he was expecting to be invited to take the oral interaction test some time in January!… Sometimes, these people need to be reminded of some basic stuff!

Congratulations Corey!

And I heard from Mikaela who finally took her oral interaction exam last week… Great news!… She got the C she needed to maintain her job position!…

Congratulations Mikaela!

Last Friday, «les Irréductibles du Club français» gathered at Leonardo’s Ristorante for a nice dinner before the Holidays… Everyone had a good time and, amazingly, there was not a single word of English spoken that evening!… Seema drastically improved her oral expression skills lately and even Corey’s French seemed to flow better than usual… and, of course, Alice was «aux anges»!… I was indeed impressed… and very proud of them!

Speaking of Alice... as usual, she did not want to be on any pics... yet she complied!

Mark, on the other hand, has no problems... he loves to appear on photos... I am not sure about Corey and myself though!

Mark and Seema are always smiling!

La Bande des Joyeux Lurons!...

On that note, I found quite an interesting quizz for you to play before 2009 ends… Questions are not targeting any specific grammar rules in French… I took it and I got 50/50!… Give it a try and let me know how you did!

Click here to play!…

And… I want to take this opportunity to wish you all

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND AN AMAZING 2010!

L’Imparfait… It can be tricky sometimes!

Lyne Des Roberts — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:11:21 +0000

Déjà décembre!… Time flies!… I did not visit my blog in two weeks due to work, semi-convalescence and good company. In the news department, Maria got the results of her oral interaction test last Thursday and she received her B… Ironically, in the meantime, she got a bilingual position at the U of O and she will start next Monday. In the PSC, anyone with a BBB language profile would not even be considered for bilingual positions because no one dares to check if the person can communicate or not in the second language… As I always said, bilinguism in the PSC is merely political… not many people do actually work in French. If ever Maria gets the position she applied for in the government, she will probably never use her second language… yet she will when she will have to deal with francophone students at the University of Ottawa!

Congratulations Maria!

Annie went for her oral interaction interview yesterday… she contacted me and said that everything went fine… she should hear about her results before the end of this week. I am convinced that she managed to get her C… As for Mikaela, her Monday oral exam has been canceled… and she was not given any other date… The same thing happened to Dan who, by the way, will be tested today… These past weeks, many tests were canceled and of course candidates who are ready are always disappointed… who would not be?

Today I found a quizz on verbs… although conjugating in the «imparfait» sounds quite easy, there are a few traps regarding some verbs… It will be interesting to see whether you can spot them right away or not… I gave it a try and I got 50/50… Yet the teacher has to be perfect right? Especially with verb conjugation, otherwise it would be a disaster for her students!

L’hiver est à nos portes… when I left Montreal on Monday, it was snowing… but, in Ottawa, we have not seen the white stuff yet!

Sometimes I see strange things… for instance, this building where is located the Embassy of a Mediterranean country… which, to me, has a strong Tyrol flavour…

Whenever you are ready, click here to play the game!…

Enjoy!