Vocabulary vs. Grammar: What's More Important

[RobertX]

All right, thanks to everyone who have spoken so far.

I will consider each post laid in here and take them to heart.

Until then.

[waregim]

Perhaps one suggestion would be to go to a french forum and compare google translations.

Now google sucks at translating, but by learning the basic vocabulary, you can see how they are bound together in grammar and get the gist of what they are saying.

I have been very slowly picking up on Russian this way, but there it is much more obfuscating, as th language seems to lead to turns of phrases simply not encountered in the west. Indeed on their forums they generally recommend people post in english and let *them* use google.

I had 2 years of French in HS, but never developed an 'ear' for it.
Are there any Quebecois who do not speak english? Or is it just stubborness.

[RobertX]

I'm going back to learning Mandarin Chinese; it's more straightforward.

Probably it's because I'm a Cantonese-speaking Chinese.