Latest / The Learn French With Alexa Podcast / EP 7 | Quel est l’endroit que j’aime le plus au monde ? (What is my favourite place in the world?)

Transcript

EP 7 | Quel est l’endroit que j’aime le plus au monde ? (What is my favourite place in the world?) · The Learn French With Alexa Podcast

• 0:00
  Bonjour et bienvenue à notre podcast de Learn French with
• 0:04
  Alexa. Now, this is podcast number
• 0:06
  seven, so you know the drill. I'm going to read a short
• 0:10
  passage in French based on a fun fact about me, Alexa Polidoro.
• 0:15
  How exciting! Anyway, this text is of A1/A2
• 0:20
  level, which means that it's fairly easy/intermediate level.
• 0:27
  I'm going to focus on one grammar point, which is based on
• 0:32
  lesson 13 of my complete French course.
• 0:35
  As you know, Learn French with Alexa is known not only for the
• 0:40
  YouTube channel, but also for the complete French course that
• 0:44
  is available at learnfrenchwithalexa.com.
• 0:47
  Anyways, enough of my publicity. I'm trying to sell the course as
• 0:57
  well as teaching you, because we are a small team here at Learn
• 1:00
  French with Alexa. Anyway, we are going to look at
• 1:04
  the word "plus" pronounced P-L-U-S and P-L-U, but spelled
• 1:09
  exactly the same way. I'm going to read you a short
• 1:13
  passage, and this passage is titled 'Mon endroit préféré.'
• 1:18
  Do you know what an "endroit" is?
• 1:22
  Emphasize on the R sound: endroit.
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  Endroit préféré. There's a lot of R.
• 1:29
  Now, "endroit" is a place. So what is my favourite place?
• 1:33
  Now, this will be the question I will be asking you in a minute.
• 1:37
  I'm going to read the passage first, and you can maybe answer
• 1:42
  what is the favourite place, but why is it my favourite place?
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  So it's another fun fact about me.
• 1:50
  Anyways, here we go. Listen to the text carefully.
• 1:56
  Écoutez attentivement. L'endroit que je préfère le plus
• 2:03
  au monde, c'est la ville de Lyme Regis, qui est située sur la
• 2:08
  plus grande côte jurassique au sud-ouest de l'Angleterre.
• 2:14
  J'y passe beaucoup de temps, car je trouve ce lieu magnifique.
• 2:18
  En tout cas, c'est plus calme que Londres.
• 2:22
  En plus, comme vous le savez, la chasse aux fossiles est une de
• 2:27
  mes activités préférées, et on peut en trouver plein sur les
• 2:32
  plages si on sait où chercher. Okay, so this is the text.
• 2:38
  You've had one reading. How was that for you?
• 2:41
  Did you understand the text fully?
• 2:43
  Did you know what it's about? And can you answer this
• 2:48
  question: Quel est l'endroit que j'aime le plus au monde?
• 2:55
  Now, you will hear "le plus", and this is one of the focus of
• 2:58
  this text, which we will translate fully at the end of
• 3:02
  the third reading. Now, what is the place "que
• 3:10
  j'aime le plus au monde?" That I love "le plus".
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  Here we've got the superlative "le plus", the most.
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  The most in the world. Le plus au monde.
• 3:25
  Now, that's the question: Quel est l'endroit que j'aime le plus
• 3:29
  au monde? So this is very specific to me.
• 3:31
  It might not-- you might start thinking about your place that
• 3:36
  you love the most in the world, that makes you zen, which is
• 3:44
  mindful. What is that place?
• 3:46
  What is the place where you feel the safest?
• 3:49
  Now, you might be able to answer that, and it would be lovely if
• 3:52
  you could answer that in French for that matter.
• 3:55
  Now, let's listen to the text again.
• 3:59
  Listen really carefully. Quel est l'endroit que j'aime le
• 4:04
  plus au monde? L'endroit que je préfère le plus
• 4:10
  au monde, c'est la ville de Lyme Regis, qui est située sur la
• 4:14
  plus grande côte jurassique au sud-ouest de l'Angleterre.
• 4:20
  J'y passe beaucoup de temps, car je trouve ce lieu magnifique.
• 4:25
  En tout cas, c'est plus calme que Londres.
• 4:29
  En plus, comme vous le savez, la chasse aux fossiles est une de
• 4:35
  mes activités préférées, et on peut en trouver plein sur les
• 4:40
  plages si on sait où chercher. Okay.
• 4:45
  Now we've listened to it a second time.
• 4:49
  What is the answer to: Quel est l'endroit que moi, Alexa, j'aime
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  le plus au monde ? What answer would you put?
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  Well, if you heard the first sentence, L'endroit que je
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  préfère le plus au monde, c'est la ville de Lyme Regis.
• 5:09
  So that would be the answer. L'endroit que je préfère le plus
• 5:14
  au monde, c'est la ville de Lyme Regis.
• 5:19
  It's the town of Lyme Regis. This is my favorite place of all
• 5:25
  time. That's where I love to go.
• 5:28
  Now, have a look at "le plus". "Le plus au monde" mean the most
• 5:37
  in the world. So here we have what we call the
• 5:42
  superlative. So we've answered this question.
• 5:45
  You could say, L'endroit qu'Alexa aime le plus au monde,
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  c'est la ville de Lyme Regis. Now, in the first sentence, I
• 5:54
  say: qui est située sur la plus grande côte jurassique au
• 6:00
  sud-ouest de l'Angleterre. Now, qui est située means which
• 6:05
  is placed or situated on the most, or la plus grande, the
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  biggest, la plus grande, the biggest côte jurassique,
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  Jurassic Coast in the south of England.
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  So I want you to listen to that again.
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  The first part of the sentence says: je préfère le plus au
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  monde. I like the most in the world.
• 6:32
  However, we're using another superlative using "la", but with
• 6:40
  an adjective, the biggest. So here, la plus grande côte
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  jurassique. We don't say the -s at the end
• 6:51
  of "plus". And why is that?
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  It's because we have "grande", which follows "plus".
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  In that case, we do not pronounce the S sound.
• 7:04
  Now listen to that: L'endroit que je préfère le plus au monde.
• 7:09
  The place I prefer the most in the world.
• 7:13
  "Monde" is not an adjective here, so we are going to say "le
• 7:17
  plus" with a S sound. However, for "la plus grande
• 7:21
  côte jurassique au sud-ouest de l'Angleterre", we don't say the
• 7:26
  -s. Why is that?
• 7:28
  Because this superlative here has an adjective, "grande".
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  So that means the biggest, la plus grande côte jurassique.
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  Okay? La plus grande côte jurassique.
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  And you could equally say, le plus petit, the smallest.
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  You wouldn't say the -s in "le plus petit".
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  Okay? "Ou les plus petits", the
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  smallest, as in referring to a plural word.
• 7:56
  Okay? So we are establishing here that
• 8:01
  "le plus" and "la plus grande" are both superlative, but one
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  has a S sound, okay, when it's not followed by anything, When
• 8:12
  it's not followed by an adjective.
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  However it is pronounced "plu" when it is followed by an
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  adjective. And we are going to see that
• 8:21
  again twice in this text. So I could, before I read it
• 8:24
  again, I could ask you this question: Quel est l'endroit que
• 8:31
  vous aimez le plus au monde ? So now it's not about me, it's
• 8:34
  about you. Quel est l'endroit ?
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  What is the place? Quel est le lieu ?
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  So we have a synonym here instead of "endroit", you could
• 8:44
  say "lieu". Quel est le lieu que vous aimez
• 8:48
  le plus au monde ? So to answer this question, you
• 8:52
  could say, well, l'endroit ou le lieu que j'aime le plus au
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  monde, c'est... Could be anywhere.
• 9:00
  Anywhere that you feel the safest, that you love, that is
• 9:04
  the most magnificent for you. Okay?
• 9:07
  That would be interesting for you to tell me what it is.
• 9:09
  I'm very curious. Now, we've got this.
• 9:14
  Okay? Now let's listen to the text a
• 9:17
  third time. Listen very carefully, and this
• 9:20
  time try to pick on the other "plus" (with and without the s
• 9:27
  sound). Okay?
• 9:28
  We've got four in all in this text, and this is the focus,
• 9:31
  just like we have in lesson 13 of the complete French course.
• 9:35
  As a matter of fact, let's listen to our sponsor.
• 9:39
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• 9:41
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• 9:46
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• 9:48
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• 9:53
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  Use code ALEXAPOD for 15% off. Okay, as you have noticed that I
• 10:03
  am sponsoring my own podcast, but hey, any means is necessary,
• 10:07
  right? Okay.
• 10:09
  So, let's listen to the reading again and focus on the "plus"
• 10:15
  (with and without the S sound). Here we go.
• 10:18
  L'endroit que je préfère le plus au monde, c'est la ville de Lyme
• 10:22
  Regis qui est située sur la plus grande côte jurassique au
• 10:27
  sud-ouest de l'Angleterre. J'y passe beaucoup de temps car
• 10:31
  je trouve ce lieu magnifique. En tout cas, c'est plus calme
• 10:37
  que Londres. En plus, comme vous le savez, la
• 10:41
  chasse aux fossiles est une de mes activités préférées, et on
• 10:46
  peut en trouver plein sur les plages si on sait où chercher.
• 10:50
  Okay, so we've seen "le plus" as a superlative, "la plus grande",
• 10:55
  again, as A superlative with an adjective, and there is another
• 10:59
  one in the third sentence which says: En tout cas, c'est plus
• 11:04
  calme que Londres". Okay?
• 11:06
  So here we've got A comparative. Okay, so what's the difference
• 11:10
  between comparatives and superlatives?
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  Well, comparative is more than or less than, so you're
• 11:18
  comparing two things. For example, I am smaller than
• 11:25
  Ben. It's A fact.
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  Okay? Je suis plus petite que Ben.
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  I am smaller than. Okay, that's a comparative.
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  So we've got this comparative in the third sentence in this text.
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  En tout cas, c'est plus calme que Londres.
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  So in any case, in fact, it is quieter than London.
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  So how did I do that? Plus calme que.
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  I've put "plus" as the more, "calme" as the adjective quiet,
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  and "que" for than. Okay?
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  So Lyme Regis est plus calme que Londres.
• 12:05
  And here's your comparative. When it comes to superlative,
• 12:09
  then it's what I've said earlier: the most or the least.
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  Okay? La plus grande, the biggest.
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  Okay? So bear in mind that we don't
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  have -ER like in bigger. We don't have that.
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  So we will transform that into these two words, plus and then
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  que. Okay?
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  So plus calme que. We don't say plus because there
• 12:34
  is an adjective afterwards. Okay?
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  And then the superlative would be the biggest.
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  So how do we do the EST sound? We would say: la plus grande.
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  Okay? La plus grande.
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  Here, you are not comparing it to anything.
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  You're just saying it's the biggest, it's the most
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  beautiful. Okay?
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  La plus belle, the most beautiful.
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  Yeah. So that's the difference between
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  the two. But in English it's easy.
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  You add ER at the end of the adjective, bigger, or EST,
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  biggest, for example, and then that tells me straight away that
• 13:12
  we are talking about A comparative or superlative.
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  I know. Okay?
• 13:16
  In French, it's slightly more complicated.
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  You've got to use "plus", and you've got to use the article
• 13:23
  "le, la, les" if it's a superlative, and then for A
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  comparative, you've got to use "plus" and then the adjective
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  and "que", or "moins" and an adjective and "que".
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  I cover all of that in lesson 13 in my Complete French Course.
• 13:37
  Anyway, let's have a look at the text one last time.
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  It will become so much clearer now, I think.
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  Tell me in the comments if it's not.
• 13:47
  I don't know. Here we go.
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  L'endroit que je préfère le plus au monde.
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  So the place that I prefer the most in the world.
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  C'est la ville de Lyme Regis. It is the town of Lyme Regis.
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  qui est située. which is situated. sur la plus grande
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  côte jurassique. on the biggest coast or jurassic coast.
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  Au sud-ouest de l'Angleterre. In the southeast of England.
• 14:15
  J'y passe beaucoup de temps. Okay, I spend a lot of time
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  there, and the "there" here is in "y", as in the pronoun "y".
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  I have lots of lessons on "y" versus "en".
• 14:30
  Again, check my course for that. Now, j'y passe beaucoup de
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  temps, car. "Car" means because.
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  Je trouve ce lieu magnifique. I think this place is
• 14:40
  magnificent. Okay?
• 14:41
  Because c'est la plus belle. C'est le plus bel endroit de
• 14:45
  tous les temps. To me anyway.
• 14:48
  Of course, it wouldn't be to you.
• 14:51
  You've got something-- I'm very curious about what is your place
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  in the world that you value as the most mindful place and the
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  safest place that you have. What is it and why?
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  En tout cas, c'est plus calme que Londres.
• 15:10
  It is quieter than London for sure.
• 15:14
  Okay. Well, there's 9 million
• 15:17
  inhabitants difference, I think, between the two.
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  Now, en plus, moreover. Now here's another "plus".
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  When you're saying "en plus" here, you've got to have the S
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  sound: En plus. Okay?
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  Because there is no word afterwards.
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  So moreover, en plus. Comme vous le savez.
• 15:40
  As you know, because we saw that in podcast number one, I think.
• 15:44
  La chasse aux fossiles est une de mes activités préférées.
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  Okay. La chasse aux fossiles, fossil
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  hunting, is one of my preferred activities.
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  La chasse aux fossiles est une-- n'importe quoi.
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  Sorry about the liaison. La chasse aux fossiles est une
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  de mes activités préférées, et on peut en trouver plein sur les
• 16:10
  plages si on sait où chercher. And we can find them.
• 16:15
  "en" here is a pronoun. Okay?
• 16:19
  Replacing something just like "y" replace "there".
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  Okay? Now "en" is replacing fossils
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  here. So "on peut trouver des
• 16:31
  fossiles" instead of repeating "fossiles", we say "on peut en
• 16:36
  trouver". We can find some of them.
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  Plein sur les plages. A lot of them on the beach.
• 16:43
  Si on sait où chercher. If we know where to look for
• 16:48
  them. Okay?
• 16:49
  Where to look. Now, if we know where to look,
• 16:54
  but if we know what to look for as well, si on sait quoi
• 16:58
  chercher, I would add to this as well.
• 17:00
  When you fossil hunt, your eyes are set into a certain shape and
• 17:07
  colour of fossils, and sometimes you have specialists that would
• 17:11
  find just shark's teeth, and they will find lots of them.
• 17:14
  And other fossil hunters will not find them, though they're
• 17:18
  very good at fossil hunting. They will not find them because
• 17:21
  their eye and mind are not set to finding this particular type
• 17:25
  of fossils. And I see it with me.
• 17:28
  I'm interested in the big thing, the big stuff.
• 17:31
  So I tend to-- my brain omits the little things.
• 17:36
  I want big. I want dinosaur big.
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  Anyway, I've never found a dinosaur, FYI.
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  So I'm just waiting for that moment.
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  Might never happen. Fifty-five years of fossil
• 17:51
  hunting and have not found one big bone in my life.
• 17:55
  Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this podcast, and please leave a
• 18:02
  comment if you are on YouTube. And again, if you want to share
• 18:05
  "l'endroit que vous aimez le plus au monde", drop me a line.
• 18:10
  I'd love to have a discussion about that with you, because we
• 18:14
  all have different places. It could be a café somewhere in
• 18:20
  wherever, Paris or whatever. But why is it the place you love
• 18:24
  the most? This is the place you love the
• 18:27
  most in the world. I want to know.
• 18:29
  That's it for me. See you next time.
• 18:31
  Au revoir. À bientôt.
• 18:33
  Bisou, bisou.