We've progressed from salutations, counting to ten and the days of the week to place settings. In order to learn that the utensils are un couteau, une fourchette and une cuillère, never mind a plate, salt and pepper set, glass and serviette, M and I set up a permanent place setting on the diningroom table. Every time we pass by we reinforce the words in French.We're now better able to politely order our meal in a restaurant, name colours in French, as well as some of our body parts, and recite the months of the year. We can count to 69, follow rudimentary directions and talk about the weather.
This week we're hammering verbs into our heads and some prepositions. Or should I say, M is. His learning curve is not as steep as the first two weeks and he's starting to have some 'aha' moments. This evening, practising our new words, he clued-in how the French word 'sous' is used in English to refer to a sous-chef (the under-chef or trainee chef). And the French interrogative 'pourquoi' (why) was a snap for him as I have used it in our conversations for years. As with 'n'est-ce-pas' (isn't it).
The statements M practises the most are the ones he feels he will use the most often, "Repetez, s'il vous plaît. Parlez plus lentement, s'il vous plaît. Je ne comprends pas." (Please repeat. Please speak more slowly. I don't understand).
And he stoically perseveres.
