Matin/Soir/Jour vs. Matinee/Soiree/Journee

[RobertX]

I've been immersing myself in learning French recently, and I have come to an impasse.

On the part where the e-book teaches about how to say matin or matinee, the explanation on whether to use either word becomes unclear.

Sure there were many examples shown, but there was no explanation on how to use either word.

I've given up trying to speak French a couple of times, but I don't want to do that any more; I want to get ahead.

If anyone is willing to help on the subject, please, I would like some help.

Ciao.

[Spud17]

Matin is a masculine word, matinee is feminine, and how you use them depends on how you consider time.

You would use matin when describing a short period of time: eg 'Robert X went to work on his bicycle this morning' [matin], and you would use matinee when describing a longer period, when the emphasis is on duration. eg 'Robert X is going to be taking his french exams all morning' [matinee]

See this link for a full explanation of the difference between the pair:

http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/...soiree.htm

This one gives examples of usage:

https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/gramm...s-duration

Hope this helps.

[RobertX]

Thank you, Spud, I'm impressed.

How'd you learn French?

Still not getting it, though. I'll read the links you sent me.

Thanks again.

EDIT: Perhaps you can help.

So, if "he's tired this evening" would be masculine, what would be feminine? "He's tired for a good part of this evening?"

[Spud17]

Mange tout Mr Crackerjack, mange tout. I learnt French from the British tv comedy series, Only Fools and Horses.

Soir and soiree are another pair of words in which time is considered. Soir, like matin, is a mere mention of the time/period of day, whereas soiree and matinee refer to longer periods, with the emphasis on duration.

Take a look at these examples -

soir (evening) as a short period:

le repas du soir (evening meal)
le soir descend / tombe (evening is closing in)

soiree (evening) as a longer period of time:

une soirée (party, evening performance)

So, if "he's tired this evening" would be masculine, what would be feminine? "He's tired for three hours this evening?"

No, and you're misunderstanding the difference. The first statement mentions evening as a mere point in the day, whereas if you said the second statement in French, you would still use the word soir instead of soiree, because you've now put the focus on 'three hours'. You could construct the second sentence differently and perhaps say someone spent the entire evening passed out from exhaustion, but I would concentrate for now on using as many examples as you can to get the hang of it. Look at the examples given above, and use those links to find other examples of the usage of those word pairs, and construct your own examples so that you fully comprehend the differences. It won't be long before you see sentences such as 'He got up that morning and banged his head' (or whatever), and will immediately know whether to use matin, or matinee.

[RobertX]

OK, I'll some more books to assist me.

Thanks.

[RobertX]

OK, what should I do?

Should I learn more vocabulary, or continue with the grammar as I am now?

[Spud17]

Without knowing your (French) reading age, your method/s of learning, how long you've been learning the language, and what you've learnt so far, I have no idea.

When I said I learnt French from the TV comedy series 'Only fools and horses,' I wasn't kidding. French isn't one of the languages that I speak. The main character in that show, Del Boy, can't speak French either, but can say various phrases, uses them incorrectly of course, and believes he is speaking the lingo.

You mentioned you are using ebooks to learn, plus you make no secret of the fact that you live in Canada and are thus surrounded by French speakers, so if you don't know what to do next, that tells me you're not following any specific instructions or methods of learning. If that's the case, I'd wager that you're finding it difficult to motivate yourself.

Put the books down and start living the language. One tip in increasing your vocabulary, particularly of everyday things - is to label everything in French around your home. Learn the French words for the sights around you - the train station, hardware store, bank, etc. You may already know the words in French for those places and things, but like I said, I have no idea what level you're at.

Converse with French speakers and put yourself in situations where you can only communicate in that language. Talk to as many French speakers as you possibly can, every single day, and if you don't know many, seek them out.

Consider total immersion therapy and go to France for a few weeks or months and force yourself to understand what everyone around you is saying, and force yourself to communicate with them in their language. Don't allow yourself to speak any other language other than French. How passionate and dedicated you are will dictate your rate of progress.

For your entertainment: some examples of Del Boy French:



La fleurr de bleughh

[RobertX]

I have had considerable learning in French from grades 1-8.

I can
- count
- sing the alphabet song
- recognise certain words

While I can do the above well, I still find it difficult to motivate myself. You see, I have been trying to pick this task up a thousand times, and through those thousand times, I have failed. I have sworn to succeed this time around.

D'accord, back to work.