How good is Sigourney Weaver's French in Dix Pour Cent (Call My Agent)? French Coach reacts.

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Dix Pour Cent Season 1 Episode 1 reaction video:
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0:00 Introduction
1:14 D'abord, Gender Mistake, Liaison.
2:30 French R, Grammar Misake, use of En.
4:19 Donner sur
5:38 Faites-moi monter... (Le causatif) / Lupin clip
6:32 Arriver doesn't mean what you think
7:30 Me changer
8:23 How to say "gold" as an adjective
9:01 Ça se voit pas ? Expression, Good and bad French R
10:22 Doesn't apologise for her French
11:28 Avoir de la gueule expression.
12:20 À cause de v Grâce à, Être dingue de
14:12 Millions de, chiant v chien.
16:30 Pronunciation mistake: premier.
17:18 Faire changer (Le causatif)
18:00 Devoir connaître
19:13 My score for Sigourney Weaver's French. What's yours?
20:40 Free guide to confidence (also linked below)
#ProgresPasPerfection #FrenchInPlainSight

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

What score do you give Sigourney out of 20 after watching the video? Oh and check out my other celebrity French "décorticages" here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIWchYKId5qVodk

[@oceanocean626]

Is it an expression to tell “dingue de toi”?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

No it's "dingue de" + any noun.

[@maecr2848]

Well it’s acting, not like an interview. Hard do say. I find that if she could practice and make so many mistakes she didn’t have good coaches

[@olawaridel7210]

on est sure que ses faults son voulus, donc 20/20 :-)

[@littlecee]

Sigourney played in french movies in the past. She was invited in a french television program and she spoke French very well. The show was long. She has an accent and sometimes searches for her words. She said recently that she lost her French a bit because she didn't speak it often. I love this girl...💕💞💖💖💖

[@fangirll3967]

I read an article that Sigourney Weaver is actually so fluent in French, she was able to improvise in French during the filming of Dix Pour Cent!

[@indieke]

I met Sigourney Weaver, 40 years. She speaks very wel French? I met her in Club Med in Africa, and was flattered that I thought she was.... Sigourney Weaver! She kept speaking French to me all evening and convinced me she was NOT the famous actress. Until I saw pictures of the festival of Cannes a few weeks later, with the same guy, she was with at Club Med!

[@sehnbadt]

Something interesting here, when she said "c'est chien" For a French Canadian this expression would have been correct, in Quebec French we say "c'est chien" instead of "c'est chiant." For example we would say "tu as été chien avec moi" instead of "tu as été chiant avec moi"

[@foreverlearningfrench]

J’apprends toujours beaucoup de tes vidéos Alex ! Merci.

[@juliendemaret]

16:37 je pensais qu'avec l'âge, ma passion pour ce métier va diminuer. Concordance des temps, ce n'est pas "va" mais "allait", il me semble. Super travail.

[@MissBerlinerin]

I remember seing her on French TV 20+ years ago to promote the Alien movie and she did most of the interview in French. She was not fluent but still good. I was impressed. I am French but I am very aware that this is a difficult language for foreigners to learn

[@manoul71]

salut , je suis français mais je regarde tes videos pour améliorer mon anglais en fait ^^^super boulot!

[@87wallyfunk]

i'm french! i can say that her french is so perfect!! sigourney was amazing in each scene!!

[@oneeyejack2]

I'm French and I noticed a common thing that immediately tells a foreign accent.. it's kind of subtle.. when english people try to speak casual french, they naturally try to use word reduction, as in "j'étais pas" (instead of "je n'étais pas venu" that would be the grammatically correct form)... and that's good.. but then she says "ve - nu".. instead of "v'nu" ... indenpendantly both are correct, but mixing two levels of reduction seems very unnatural.. the natural form would be "ça fait longtemps qu'j'étais pas v'nu".. if you skip a reduction, it sound like you're doing half of what reductions allows.. even "ça fait longtemps que " with a audible "e" sounds weird to me.

[@Libegfrat1]

Je donne des cours de français à des américains et je trouve ton contenu très intéressant. On sent que tu as la flamme pour la langue et pour l'enseignement. Respect !

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci beaucoup. Oui j'ai tout à fait la flamme. J'adore. Tu es très gentil·le. Bonne journée.

[@recremselrachnala]

Well done for an excellent analysis of the French used by Sigourney Weaver. We know it's a TV programme and probably scripted, but it was obviously crafted by someone with an intimate knowledge of both English and French. But that's not the point because your breakdown of the dialogue is really helpful for us when we are speaking French ourselves. Strangely, your video almost exactly mirrors the conversations I have on Skype with my French friends. We converse in a mixture of both languages, almost unconsciously slipping from one to the other. If we get stuck, I put on my retired EFL teacher's hat and start analysing the grammar or tenses. I'm fortunate to be able to speak to a French lady who teaches English, so the grammar comes back in return. From your previous videos I've been able to extract some really useful phrases to make my French sound a bit more realistic - du coup, en fin, ah bon, je m'éclat - which is a long way from the grammar books I used when I was at school (when God was a boy) I watch Dix per Cent and get about 75% of it, but I do find they speak incredibly fast. Once my ear tunes in to the conversations, I now find comprehension a lot easier because of the markers you have given us in your videos. Looking forward to the next one, regards, Charles.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thank you Charles. I believe that it's a beautiful thing to have bilingual friendships that almost unconsciously move between the languages when something can be expressed in one than the other. We should celebrate it more in the community rather than put so much emphasis on the need to only speak French. See you in the next one!

[@aleanbh3808]

Same with me, have improved my French watching this, and tested my verlan knowledge watching it and engrenages. I knew meuf of course, but learned les keufs for example!

[@gayefosh4530]

Can't give a score because she's learnt her lines etc. However if she's a non French speaker, even with a coach, sounded pretty good to me. Really useful lesson Alex. Makes learning fun to do something like this. Thank you.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Ah si tu peux donner un score. Hehe. I see your point but if we based it on purely what she said...? De toutes façons, merci pour tes mots sympas Gaye. Bonus vidéo of Lupin part 2 comes out later!

[@madjidchouarbi3921]

I'm french and I've watch a load of interviews of sigourney Weaver on french tv. I can say she can speak a pretty decent french.

[@joelhenry9184]

So many useful phrases in this movie I need to watch

[@nadiabryntseva8466]

Merci beaucoup pour ce vidéo !

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Avec plaisir Nadia! *cette vidéo

[@deborahrose8621]

I'm going to give Sigourney 18 out of 20 for speaking French but mostly for ACTING and not her own knowledge and I'll tell you why This is a script and therefore she wouldn't have written the script but had it written for her which would account for the speaking like a native And one reason why I think Sigourney was just really well rehearsed and I believe she would have had a language coach to help her deliver the words is because there was a television show with some cast of CMA and they had her on Zoom and she couldn't handle responding in French! She froze and it was obvious she was struggling in following the conversation and she made her responses almost all English So 18 out 20 for pulling it off as well as she did is a real compliment!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I wasn't aware of that! But I like how you scored her based solely on this performance Deborah. Do you have a link to that video?

[@deborahrose8621]

@@FrenchinPlainSight I'm sure she had a translation device in her ear because she paused ~ I listen and repeat and can do well but it a difference between night and day to have a convo which I hope to do BTW I'm listening to it while I type this and they are talking about the "chien" vs "chiant" joke kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eVm5-QeJWdars It looks like the show is C à Vous I think I made a mistake about show having the Cast ! I must have binged watched that day and got mixed up but this is definitely the show I am referencing

[@KathysFlog]

Salut, Oui, j'habite en France. I am watching this one now. This is completely my learning style. What a shame I didn't find you before my entretien for naturalisation! I am about to share this to the Applying for French Nationality group on Facebook. I am sure your teaching style will be helpful for those still going through the daunting process. Merci merci! en continue.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Ahhh, fingers crossed for your naturalisation! I hope to get that ball rolling at some point. Thanks so much for sharing. It really helps me since most places don't allow self-promotion. I'd love my stuff to reach more expats. You might find this video (en français) resonates too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpqvfoChfKl6hJY

[@KathysFlog]

@@FrenchinPlainSight naturalised last August! Tout est fait . Will check out the video.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@KathysFlog Ah félicitations. How long was the wait from initial application to getting it done?

[@KathysFlog]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Dossier submitted Oct 2017. June 2019 for interview. June 2019 to August 2020 for result. Prefectures have different timelines. I am Niort 79, yours Montpellier I believe is slow. Worth joining the group and checking yourself.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@KathysFlog Yes it's slow here but 3 years is what I'm hearing lately. Congrats! No more prefecture visits for you! Thank you for sharing the video. I have received several new visitors since you did. Some have even written to me. Feel free to do it as often as you feel inspired too :)

[@ritikaubale8099]

Great content !!!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thank you!

[@JosyPoetry]

Great video and very interesting to watch from the opposite point of view as well since, as a native French speaker, you tend not to notice what parts of the language are difficult for those who have to learn it later in life. Just a side note: actually, ''ça fait longtemps que je n'étais pas venue'' is not a mistake. She couldn't use ''que je ne suis pas venue'' because she is there as she is speaking. It *had* been a long time since she last came *before coming this one time*.

[@SexyAlien2]

''que je ne suis pas venue'' is the passé composé, not the present. The present would be "que je viens".

[@hiddentreasure1]

She should have said "Ça faisait longtemps que j'étais pas venue".

[@JosyPoetry]

@@hiddentreasure1 Yes, in relaxed spoken French, it's not shocking to drop the negation mark 'ne', but it isn't wrong or strange to keep it. So both "...que j'étais pas..." et "...que je n'étais pas..." would work here.

[@hiddentreasure1]

@@JosyPoetry Yes but it should be "Ça faisait..." not "ça fait..." because of concordance des temps.

[@PatrickCazaux]

En effet, elle aurait dû dire : ça faisait longtemps que je n’étais pas venue à Paris (oui, le n’ est légitime ici, même si on peut l’oublier ailleurs, un Français qui ne l’utiliserait pas ici donnerait un sentiment de vulgarité, ne me demandez pas pourquoi c’est comme ça). Par contre, il y a une autre erreur de concordance des temps qui n’a pas été relevée ni par Alex ni dans les commentaires que j’ai lus : « je pensais qu’avec le temps ma passion pour ce métier va diminuer ». Non, c’est « allait diminuer » qu’il faut dire. Cette tournure réclame l’imparfait, pas le présent (qui est en fait un futur, dans ce cas : va diminuer = diminuera = is going to reduce)

[@anitawaters4745]

@Deborah rose and @timothy Robson make valid points! I never actually considered the fact that they were scripted, very well rehearsed and all be it with a vocal coach by their side!! I’ve unfairly compared myself to these celebrities that speak French well so in saying that, what’s to rate!! 🤷🏻‍♀️ I just need to work harder!

[@fluxoluke]

Dear FIPS, I just discovered your KZbin Channel. It took me back to 1994, when I lived in Paris for three months and studied French at Alliance Francaise for two. Back then I felt very comfortable speaking French after a couple of months of my arrival. Anyway, thanks for your commentary. I have to say that your score for Ms. Weaver's French is amusingly low. But it confirmed what I realized after living in Paris for three months: The French and the Americans are much more similar than either party would ever admit. Americans can be major A-holes regarding foreigner's accents and minor mistakes. So can the French. But I must say that I thank Malcolm McLaren for his Album "Paris". I still remember the lyrics to "Paris, Paris", which is sung/ recited by Catherine Deneuve. Your video inspired me to stumble ahead and practice my French. Merci. I would give Ms. Weaver a score of 19/20 because one of her mistakes is, in fact, the writer's mistake. Therefore I see no reason to take points from her. But, then again, I am just a Brazilian guy who teaches (American) English and loves the fact that the United States has no "Academia Brasileira de Letras", where "intellectuals" often impose norms in a truly ridiculous way. BTW, I strongly support the idea that Brazilian Portuguese should be considered a different language than Portuguese from Portugal. Sorry for the long commentary, but I got really excited after watching your video. Merci. A bientot.

[@mybestideas1]

I guess this depends where you live. In urban areas more people are exposed to accents so there is no nit-picking on it (other then when you hear Indians with heavy accent telling you that they have no accent and that this is the way true english must sound), but no, as an immigrant in a big city in Canada I found that my European accent was welcomed. Recently I've moved to another Canadian province that is bilingual and speaks truly bizarre French that even they are embarrassed about (Acadian french), but they insist that you speak with their accent and their weird grammar or worse yet Franglish - Chiac version. I shudder at all of it. Also, while still in the city, it is much smaller than Toronto (9 million vs 150,000) there is lots of put down toward immigrants and migrants, and even people from France were put down. If I didn't love french language so much, I would start to hate it with this attitudes mostly from the francophones. They will not let you get a bilingual job if you do not speak 'their accent'. There is no gray area, you must be at 100% Acadian french.

[@KanakaKane808]

If this were an interview in French, assessing her level of fluency would be fair but this is a script. Fun anyway!

[@davidthomson802]

whoah, that's good to know about arrive. Been using that wrong.

[@2eleven48]

A performance in a film is very different to an interview. I'd like to have seen Weaver in the latter.

[@calliopelove]

i like your channel, thank you!

[@philippenachtergal6077]

13:17 Using an expression with a negative connotation for something positive shows a certain level of confidence. It's indeed slightly teasing and perfectly ok here.

[@caroleanderson4020]

My french grammar is atrocious! But I have flow and a great accent. I nailed the french r in my youth. I've been living in southern France for about a decade now. The folks think I'm European until I tell them I'm from San Diego! Nice channel ya got here. I can improve my grammar Chez Vous!

[@Serendip98]

Interesting. I was in love with Sigourney when she was younger! (and me too ; and don't tell me about Julia Roberts!) Here she speaks like a rich American tourist who learned her French text by heart, it doesn't sound very natural (a foreigner would hardly use such expressions). "Se changer" means 'to change one's clothes'. "On ne va pas du tout ensemble"' is incorrect, it should be "ça ne va pas du tout ensemble". "Du doré" doesn't mean absolutely "made of gold", it rather refers to the golden color, it might be any junk looking like gold, if we mean that it's real gold, we would say "en or" (une bague en or # une bague dorée). Anyway, it's Siggy, so everything is forgiven.

[@timothyrobson3325]

Even if her French were perfect she would still have to play the rôle in accordance with the script and the instructions of the director. If an interview in French exists then the judgment on her French should be made on that.

[@deborahrose8621]

Exactly! I gave a link to an interview that was done in French (not one on one) ~ she was zoomed in to a French TV show C à Vous

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

That's a good point Timothy! I suppose that her pronunciation can be pretty accurately rated though, despite it being scripted. What do you think?

[@deborahrose8621]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Je suis d'accord

[@timothyrobson3325]

@@FrenchinPlainSight She is a top actress and has been working with voice coaches throughout her career. My point was that even if she is capable of speaking “francais soutenu”, the rôle called for her to play a famous American actress (herself) with an accent. I have no idea how she speaks French. I do know that professionals like her have the ability to take on pronunciation and accents and to deliver convincing performances.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Pretty impressive then!

[@isabelleduguay4588]

Bonjour, ici au Québec : c'est chien! est une expression très utilisée. Par exemple : finalement le garagiste m'a chargé 200$ de plus... Ha c'est chien! (Ça veux dire un coup bas)

[@edwardb7811]

This series helps my French.

[@segments2156]

You can say "je vais changer", it's just that it doesn't mean the same thing, it does not involve clothes, it just means that you will work on yourself so you can be different (better or worse). For exemple, an unfaithfull or a violent husband may say to his wife, when she's trying to leave him "ne me quitte pas, je vais changer" (but they rarely change)

[@weetuscren]

I worked on a French web-series called Frennemis Jurés and had to speak almost solely in French… and it wasn’t easy. It equated to around 120 pages of dialogue. I’m saying this because I realize how much work it is. I’m between B1 & B2 level-wise in my actual French speaking, and my character was around B2-C1 except for weird mistakes that were more intentional on his part. I would guess she is operating with about a B1 level of French at most. And though she probably worked with a coach early on, she didn’t ever get to the point of sounding conversational. For me, learning lines in French was about as difficult as learning the weirder passages in Shakespeare (like the second half of Macbeth’s “Is this a dagger” soliloquy). The lines would have all been written in French by the same writers that write the show, and the concept of improv in TV is damn-near non-existant because of the time constraints of actual filming… but Americans who can speak French at a C1-C2 level is very rare, and a celebrity who can do it is rarer still. She’s an amazing actress… but I’d say it was good, not great. I’d say she’s not nearly as fluent as Bradley Cooper… but when he said he learned French at university… he’s gotta be full of crap, because unless that university was in France, he’s had a lot of private tutoring.

[@elizabeth5985]

that made me laugh "....he's full of crap..." I have an AA degree in French from an American junior college (a BA in writing from an American university) and I am an excellent student. I got to the Sorbonne for my summer school program in 2013 and tested at B1, after no sleep for two nights and having a panic attack because I wanted to go home. So I was more likely B2 and in fact later chatted in French with the B2 students with no problem, but that was fine because the classes were easier and I could try to enjoy my time in Paris (I lived alone in an apartment, took the metro, went grocery shopping, lived like a native and all I did was try to get a ticket home). I tell you ALL of that boring stuff to tell you why I laughed: French is SO HARD for an American to learn and to speak naturally that I agree with you that Bradley Cooper is full of crap. Also, I speak French better than Sigourney (by that I mean more smoothly and with a better accent) but that may have been intentional: the director and writers may have intended for Sigourney to not sound that great to add to the story line of the boorish American celebrity coming in and pushing her weight around while mangling the language a bit in the process. Thank you for this video by the way!

[@nissaquill]

He studied abroad in Lyon

[@weetuscren]

@@nissaquill Ahhh! Yes… that explains it!

[@jeremiepicart6863]

You are good in french bro.... Thank you

[@soljin1010]

A very nice vidéo by a black belt French speaker ! Just to jump in a little, I think S. Weaver should have said: "ça faisait trop longtemps que je n'étais pas venue". "ça fait trop longtemps que je ne suis pas venue" would have sounded weird in this context, as she kinda makes a review of the situation. She should have used "imparfait" + "plus-que-parfait" for a correct concordance des temps. That said, I wasn't shocked at all when I heard Sigourney the first time. I didn't notice. Regarding "la chambre qui donne sur la place de la concorde", a French speaker will understand any English speaker if he/she asks for a "chambre avec vue sur la place de la concorde". That's perfectly French as well, but "qui donne" is more elaborate and fits more with the personality "bourgeoise" of the character played by Sigourney. Without seeing your own score, I would have given a 15/20.

[@maudcicciarello03]

Bonjour ! - Mrs Weaver is Canadian - so personnally from a French Canadian point of view : she is VERY GOOD, and it is closer to French Canadian (Quebec) . :)

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thanks for the info!

[@davidthomson802]

we used to have donner sur's equivalent in English. An apartment would "give onto" a garden or something. Archaic now.

[@philippenachtergal6077]

5:25 "Avec vue sur" is also very common in French. But not "avec vue de". "vue de" is used for "vue de derrière" (view from the back) etc... but "view on" is "vue sur".

[@fabricehaubois2442]

14, very good… fluent, peppered and infused with American intonations/rhythms.. lovely indeed.. doubt her unscripted French in that good in real life, but this episode was fun

[@gcondado]

Donner sur is not only french, you can find it in Spanish like "dar a/sobre" and it's got the same meaning

[@omarbernal2408]

This woman keeps aging like fine wine

[@benoit.gerin-lajoie]

Bonjour ! "Ça fait longtemps que j'étais pas venue" est parfaitement correct ! "qui quitte tout par amôr pour une jeune prof...", elle a un peut de difficulté à prononcer ses "ou" dans "amour" et semble dire "une prof" au lieu de "un prof". "... ça avait de la gueule" pourrait se traduire en anglais par "it has (had ?) character", "strong character" even. En fait, "c'est chien" se dit aussi. "c'est chiant" means "it's utmostly annoying/bothersome" and "c'est chien" means "it's treacherous|unfortunate|deceitful" À part ça, Kudo mon ami Alex ! J'adore tes analyses et ton français ! BTW : j'ai hâte de te voir corriger mes amis anglais sur la prononciation de "déjà vu" et "attaché caisse" ; )

[@quatermano42]

“Que je N’étais…”

[@benoit.gerin-lajoie]

@@quatermano42En français international... OUI ! parfaitement raison ! Mais en langage courant (régionalisme), ce que j'ai écrit se dit TOUS les jours, au Québec du moins (et en France aussi je prétends)...

[@GuillaumeTANNEUX]

Your French is better than mine ! I'm a French... teacher. (_ _)

[@philippenachtergal6077]

7:30 While there is some flexibility in French between the é and è sound based on regional accents etc. Here she says "changè" instead of "changé" which no French accent (I know off) would.

[@VK-sp4gv]

Hi Alex, is it possible that "faites-moi monter" means have someone put together the equipment, in this context? They would bring the tapis roulant packed in a box, then assemble it in her suite.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hey. Yes sure. Faites-moi + any infinitive = have someone + do... Sounds right to me, grammatically at least.

[@sidstar1001]

Thx merci! três bon.

[@dcle944]

This is a TV show, right? Someone wrote the lines for her.

[@stephanevilboux1706]

Bonjour. J'adore aussi cette expression. Un équivalent est : Ça a du panache. Cela se dit aussi pour quelque chose de très beau, que cela est réellement bien structuré et approche de la perfection. Arsen Lupin a de la gueule. "Messieurs les Anglais, tirez les premiers". Le dire puis le faire. Ça, ça a de l'a gueule ! Cordialement.

[@amirmoezi8316]

c'est superb

[@ianscott1745]

Donner sur, is intersting because to give onto (a very literal translation) is perfectly good English, even if a bit indirect for many current day native speakers of English. Give me donner sur any day!

[@joelaffolter2392]

Sigourney Weaver is an amazing Artist,Great movies great Actress, and very sensible, J'aime Sigourney Weaver particulièrement dans la série des Aliens.😀😀

[@CobinRain]

How many videos have you seen criticising, unpacking the English of French actors? Or Spanish ones? Exactly, None, right?

[@mybestideas1]

It is hard to measure 'the score' when she is speaking the lines that are written, pre-thought and practiced. We actually don't know her level of french. We can only speak of the character she's playing in the movie. Also generally, I would advise anyone not to use any slang if you have an accent as it comes across poorly. So to the role she plays I would give 16/20 for vocabulary but about 5/20 for the accent. It would be interesting to know how is her french when she needs to think on her feet.

[@jeanjacques9980]

Surely to assess language level, the actress should be in a live setting such as a TV or radio interview. Essentially this is pronunciation exercise and there would be language coach on hand during filming and obviously pre-filming preparation/rehearsal. Is Ms Weaver a fluent French speaker in reality? Many actors learn lines in a foreign language phonetically not understanding a word, that’s part of their gift and “ear.”

[@Shalashaskaism]

Exept there is a clear difference between pronoucing lines learnt phonetically and learning something you know how to pronouce. Ms Weaver clearly knows French, that much is obvious for any native French speaker ; I can tell you it would be very rare to achieve her level of French by only practicing the phonetic of her lines.

[@weetuscren]

Understanding what you’re saying helps the pronunciation, rhythm and emotion of what you’re saying. But I would bet money she had a coach during her memorization and prep… and then on set, she was surrounded by native speakers… and Parisians are notorious for telling you how to pronounce things. As being someone who has acted in French (quite a bit) I would say my French is okay at best, but I felt her pronunciation was on the rough side.

[@jeanjacques9980]

@@weetuscren Subsequently a video in this series showed the actress speaking French in a TV interview, the French certainly did not match the spoken french in 10%. Proving my point that the production team offered her every possible aid and voice coach to achieve a good level of French for the programme. John Cleese had excellent Russian in a Fish Called Wanda but he’s not a Russian speaker, his degree from Cambridge was in Law.

[@jeanjacques9980]

@@Shalashaskaism I’m not an expert in the film industry therefore I stand to be corrected but it’s common for actors to learn lines phonetically and be extremely convincing, that’s their gift and talent, frequently they have a “good ear,” and are musical, singing and/or an instrumentalist. My point was proven in the video released later in the series of the actress being interviewed live in French TV, if I were her I’d stick to English and not pretend. Helen Mirren in contrast was rather good, did she have a French husband along the way? Only two ways to learn french have a french lover or live there, you could have both!

[@KathysFlog]

Thanks

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thank YOU!

[@verenamerlingen4992]

I really like your videos. Only sometimes, the explanations can get a bit repetitive (for example the "Je vais me changer"-part). But anyway - your videos are helpful in understanding spoken French!

[@ledganache]

2:30 She says : _"ça fait longtemps que j'étais pas venue."_ Is exctly what a native french speaker would say : with grammar error. But the correct version would be : "ça fait longtemps que je *n'*étais pas venue." Because there is a negation, you need "ne ... pas" (here : "n'... pas). Native french speaker often forget the first part *ne/n'* , for ease. "ça fait longtemps que je ne *suis* pas venue" is incorrect, because of conjugation "Plus que parfait" it's : ""ça fait longtemps que je *n'étais* pas venue." To say it "Passé simple" the sentence would be different: "Je *suis* venue il y a longtemps." This sentence does not make sense if it were turned to the negative, this is why the conjugation is different.

[@DAB-2023]

"Donner sur" is very similar in meaning to English "to give onto". I don't see it as needing to be explained at all, for example ... "The soldier bolted the door which gave onto the platform and sat down opposite me.", "The row houses on Stowcastle curve into neo-Georgian Flintcomb Square, which gives onto narrow, winding Pitcote Lane.", "A parlor opens off the entry hall through double doors, continuing on to French doors giving onto a screened porch overlooking the swimming pool."

[@joshadams8761]

I have been a native English speaker since the 1970s and have never heard “give onto”.

[@davidthomson802]

fait-moi. I guess we have that in English with "do me a solid, bro." I'll check out your other vid.

[@cyruschang1904]

12:44 "Grâce à qqn" actually means "C'est grâce à qqn" (it is (due to) someone's favor or grace (to me)", not "Merci à qqn" ((my) thanks to someone). The à in grâce à means "belonging to", grâce à toi means due to your favor/grace to me. The à in merci à means "to", my thanks to you. You cannot say "C'est merci à toi" nor "It is thanks to you", but you can say "c'est grâce à toi" and "it is because of you".

[@SexyAlien2]

En anglais, "grâce à" se traduit par "thanks to". Exemple : "Thanks to my travels, I have made many friends from around the world". Le sens est alors complètement différent de "merci à toi". Aussi, on peut tout à fait dire "It's thanks to you" en anglais.

[@cyruschang1904]

@@SexyAlien2 No. We say " Thanks to you ", we don't add " It's " before " Thanks to you ".

[@lospazio]

He says "I love her French, it's honestly a very good level. It's not just that she speaks fluidly, she's using real French expressions". But what she's saying is scripted. She's not speaking spontaneously. It is not "her" French.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I talk about this in another video. At the time I was simply reviewing "her" French from the episode.

[@jean-mariecalvat9402]

18/20 !

[@ritikaubale8099]

I am struggle with french grammer ...it's literally going out of my mind , any suggestions how can I improve it ?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hi. What is your main struggle with grammar?

[@ritikaubale8099]

Verbs and how to present them in past present future ....and also planning to give A1 exam in December ....😬

[@nadineleboeuf3046]

I love Montpellier!

[@kylek2623]

Can you react to Timothee's French in an interview in 2017 and the recent interview.. .

[@christineyee2117]

J'aime ces decortitages! Je lui donnerais 17/20.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Peut-être qu'un jour elle verra tous ces commentaires :p

[@deborahrose8621]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Ou peut-être que Camille les lui enverra

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@deborahrose8621 Le personnage Camille? !

[@deborahrose8621]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Non! L'actrice qui s'appelle Camille Cottin

[@martinf.2395]

Bien qu'elle s'exprime clairement, j'ai quand même cette impression qu'elle force un style de language courant. Par exemple en supprimant volontairement le "ne" de la négation. Ex. Ça se voit pas. Le "pas" nous oblige à utiliser la négation "ne" en amont. ça ne se voit pas. Et je me demande dans quelles proportions un français du coin ne dirait pas plutôt : "ça n'se voit pas"? Plutôt que "ça s' voit pas"...

[@mackjay1777]

I agree 16/20 is about right. Quite impressive. I don't think knew she speaks French. Perhaps you can do a video on Helena Bonham Carter or John Malkovich?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Oh. Great suggestions! I'm thinking of doing Novak Djokovic next!

[@kkandsims4612]

Hbc is so great in oceans 8 she legit die AHS French with the Irish accent I was like da fuck she’s English with an English accent but putting in an Irish accent

[@EDuran-bk6jr]

« Que j’étais pas venue » looking at it from a spanish speaking perspective; it sounds right to me. Mais what do I know, maybe I’m wrong. Anyways great vid. (:

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I mean, it's not terrible! A native could slip up and do this sort of thing. Just, grammatically speaking, it's incorrect :)

[@EDuran-bk6jr]

@@FrenchinPlainSight So, I asked my French friend and she said that if something isn’t right in the phrase it’s “Trop”. But « que je n’étais pas venue » is correct. 🤔

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@EDuran-bk6jr did you tell her the whole phrase, with ça fait ? If it were ça faisait, then her second part would be correct. Ça fait longtemps que je suis pas venue. Ça faisait longtemps que j'étais pas venue

[@EDuran-bk6jr]

But even natives make mistakes. They just know the language. So I’m gonna do some research. Thank you for your time! (:

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@EDuran-bk6jr yes this is where the definition of "mistake" becomes a grey area for me. If enough natives make a grammatical mistake that it becomes more common than the rule, then is it really still a mistake? I don't think this one fits into that category however.

[@hori166]

There's another mistake in vocabulary. "Goût" means "taste" not "flavor", e.g. "un goût salé". The proper term is "parfum" or "flavor", e.g. "parfum vanille". "Je veux" is a little strong for a request and either "Je voudrais" or "J'aimerais" would be better, the latter being preferable. Maybe Sigourney is supposed to be playing a pushy celebrity, but I don't think a Duchesse or Marquise would be so direct...

[@Plusgrandir11]

Sigourney is Perfect ❤️

[@alrichmond4341]

Don't forget, she was filmed acting in character. So, we cannot know ANYTHING about how the real Sigourney speaks french from watching her performance of a visiting american. After all, if you had to speak "english" whilst pretending to be an american visiting europe, then all the classic tropes would be in your performance. (oh, and it's "fluent" not "fluid", svp). ;-). Was still a valid parse though, so bravo.

[@bugey8226]

Sympa et intéressantes tes vidéos, mais si tu pouvais parler un petit peu plus lentement en anglais, ce serait pas mal pour ceux qui n’ont pas un super niveau. De temps en temps, le naturel revient au galop et tu t’emballes . Ta bonne humeur fait plaisir.

[@alexandrecorelli7179]

Hi, guy ! As a French, I'll give a 30/20 to my beloved Sigourney to speak French with such an adorable accent. Although your video is very useful for english speakers, let me correct a few points: At 2:47 "Ca fait longtemps que j'étais pas venue". As she pointed the location earlier before (I love Paris), she should have said "Ca fait longtemps que je n'y étais pas venue" The "y" meaning the location she was talking about. At 11:30: The expression "Avoir de la gueule". "La gueule" is the word meant to qualify faces of animals, such as the dog. So, "avoir de la gueule" means you bear something wild in your appearance, In french culture, you may name Lino Ventura, Jean Gabin, and so on. Thanks for your great job !

[@ernarc23]

"Ça fait trop longtemps que je ne suis pas venu..."

[@VIKTOR-pp8pu]

She's Beautiful 🌿🌿🌿

[@davidthomson802]

I"m gonna change: in English, this allows for endless comic possibilities.

[@louisfrancisco2171]

You didn't speak of a little grammar error when she says "je pensais que ... ma passion pour ce métier va diminuer". It should be "allait diminuer". I think it's the same in English. "I thought it would..." not "I thought it's going to..."

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I can't comment on everything unfortunately.

[@louisfrancisco2171]

@@FrenchinPlainSight It was not a complaint. Sorry if it looked like it.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

@@louisfrancisco2171 thanks for helping us all :)

[@tarafahomsy]

She dealt with the Aliens 3 times.. nothing is difficile for Ripley - or for Chuck Norris for that matter....

[@christinemuschiato5895]

i think she is telling her lines , is she a known french speaker?

[@davidthomson802]

Yeah even to me, an anglophone, that "Je rentre" sounded suddenly very English, against an otherwise excellent background of what sounds like pretty good French.

[@mikeq5807]

I think she did quite well. I would give her between 16 and 18 on 20. Her phonetics are her weak link, but that will improve on its own.

[@dominiquecapelle4888]

Donner sur : donner à voir …un espace vert ;-)

[@la.nomade.videos]

17/20, elle est sympa et élégante mais quand-même je compare tout le monde à Catherine Deneuve...

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Une comparaison dont toute actrice fan du cinéma francophone serait fière, j'en suis sûr !

[@richardvivier8386]

Ça fait longtemps que je n'étais pas venu est correct, comme ds le sous titre. Dire ca fait longtemps que je suis pas venu ça se dit parfois mais c est moins correct grammaticalement

[@lauder1048]

D'abord, j'ai unE rendez-vous très important...mind you , it would be accurate to say UN rendez-vous. ''Tout d'abord'' would be much more formal than ''D'abord'' Thank you for sharing your analysis. 🙏

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci beaucoup Lau ! Un rendez-vous is masculine so une wouldn't be correct. What do you mean by your comment? :)

[@FromAgen]

Two options: "ça fait trop longtemps que je n'étais pas venue" or "ça fait trop longtemps que je ne suis pas venue."

[@joelaffolter2392]

Quelquefois cela sonne comme cela: 'YA TROP LONTAN QUE CHUIS PA VNU!...OU : 'YA TROP LONTAN QUE JéTAIS PA VNU! (FONETIC FRENCH) Sorry 🤗🤗

[@Islandgirl4ever2]

Just a quick note, I heard her say, 'T'en veux un..?"

[@esprit-critique]

« Faites MOI monter » is debatable. The pronoun « MOI » is generally not used between « faites » and the infinitive because it sounds a bit pretentious. The French would rather say « faites monter mes valises » ou « faites sortir ce monsieur » ou « faites apporter mes bagages »….but « MOI » is ok after a noun like « faites moi un café ou un massage ».

[@andyaerials]

Not too diminish her French skills😄

[@iAPX432]

"Ça fait longtemps que j'étais pas venu" is absolutely correct, it's spoken French and everyone will understood the meaning implying that she came many times in the past and didn't recently. "j'étais pas" instead "je n'étais pas" or more pedant "je n'étais" mark popular French. It's very sad you didn't understood "elle arrive?", that is a mark of impatience if not annoyance! I think you could benefits by taking French lessons, and moreover talk with natives of different socio-cultural backgrounds. PS: sorry for my English, as it is my third language.

[@ichraumauf5532]

This video should not have automatic subtitles. Please correct them to proper English / French if you‘ve got the time. It would help your non English followers and the hard of hearing, too. Thank you for your interesting videos.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thanks. I have started to do them more regularly but at the time of that video I wasn't. I'll try and get to it soon.

[@jeremiepicart6863]

La liaison se fait entre la dernière lettre d'un mot suivit d'un autre mot commençant par une voyelle !

[@vindhyas9534]

Ce n' est pas sa faute qu'elle malprononce ses phrases. Qqn les a écrites. Donc, c'est le/la scénariste qui est coupable😀

[@evandom4013]

You realize that those were the lines she was supposed to say, right? It’s in the script; it’s her lines that she had to memorize, it’s not like she is saying whatever she wants. Not a good example of a non-French native speaking French.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I later did a video discussing that actually. But, I still think reviewing the French used was worthwhile.

[@nicolasjan1584]

"du coup" c'est une expression de pequeno ! Donc à pas utiliser dans tous les milleux.

[@juliette7504]

Pourquoi une expression de péquenot c'est très utilisé dans le langage courant un peu partout non ? Effectivement pas pour écrire dans un langage soutenu par exemple mais au même titre que le passé composé est préféré au passé simple dans la langue parlée

[@nicolasjan1584]

@@juliette7504 c'est une expérience personnelle. J'ai pas d'argument. Je trouve ça laid.

[@juliette7504]

@@nicolasjan1584 Ah d'accord je peux le comprendre ! En ce qui me concerne c'est avec ”un espèce de” et ”donne-moi [z]en" (avec la liaison qui n'existe pas) que j'ai du mal entre autres choses haha

[@nicolasjan1584]

@@juliette7504 j'avais le projet de faire la liste quand j'avais de l'espoir.

[@JohnKaman]

Don’t you think her lines were scripted?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Of course they were scripted for her. At the time I wasn't sure how gramatically competent she was without having lines, but now I am sure that since reviewing this other video, she was relying heavily on her acting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYfZg2uZmbpgm68

[@anthonyrobertson2011]

She probably had a speech coach also, to help her practice for it. Music majors who had singing as their instrument of choice in college had to do art songs in several different language for recitals and such. Voice teachers used the international phonetic Alphebet with them to help them learn how to say (sing) words in languages they don't speak. I assumed Weaver did the same type of approach.

[@lecormier100]

I gave her an 18.

[@henrikcavallin9692]

In this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4eVm5-QeJWdag you can see her level when she is not scripted. I would say A2 . But you must give her credit for making an effort 😊

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Says Video Unavailable now :(