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Word not in dictionary
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Frank on
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Hello,
Une façon is a way (to accomplish something) or a mean.
This word is often used in the expression "de toutes façons", which means anyway.
Here are some other examples:
Sa façon de parler est agréable.
or: La façon dont il parle est agréable.
La façon dont on prépare la pâte à pizza dépend des régions.
or: La façon de préparer la pâte à pizza dépend des régions.
Sa façon de gagner des muscles est en faisant du sport tous les jours.
or: La façon dont il gagne des muscles est en faisant du sport tous les jours.
("La façon dont" is a common one, you will hear it, but the first way should be preferred. Sounds more natural.)
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Permalink Reply by Neil Coffey on
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Just to elaborate on Frank's last point: dont (which generally stands for duquel, de laquelle, de quoi etc), is a slightly formal word (though common in semi-formal writing). In these cases it's fairly easy to change the sentence round to avoid it, so it's worth doing in everyday speech.
On the other hand, if the subject can't be made into a simple pronoun, and/or if the verb isn't a simple tense, then possibly using dont/de laquelle isn't such a bad option. For example:
La façon de laquelle/dont mon frère nous a aidé...
would become:
La façon de mon frère de nous avoir aidé...
And in this case, I'm assuming, Frank, that you'd agree that this second version is not quite so natural?
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And in this case, I'm assuming, Frank, that you'd agree that this second version is not quite so natural?
Right.
Thanks for pointing this out, Neil.
In everyday speech, we just tend to work around "dont" whenever possible, though, even in such a case. Instinctively, I'd say
"Mon frère nous a aidé d'une façon (insert any adjective here)".
instead of keeping "façon" as the subject of the sentence. Probably just because the grammar is easier this way.
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By the way, if by "the dictionary", you're referring to this site's French dictionary, then the word is in, but I note that you need to remove the cedilla (in practice, practically everybody actually looks up words without accents/cedillas). I'll have a look at that when I get chance.
If you're using some other dictionary, I'm sure the word façon must be in if you look hard enough-- it's hard to imagine a general French dictionary of any practical use that doesn't include the word...
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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on -
In English we say, for example, Frank speaks English beautifully.
We could even say Frank speaks excellent English.
Sa façon de parler est agréable.
1.Her parlance is excellent.
2.His parlance is excellent.
My question is on the correct translation.
I don't know whether the original French sentence is for a man or woman.
Is 'sa façon' means a woman?
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Permalink Reply by Pamela Kingfisher on
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Facon is feminine, une facon. Sorry my Mac keyboard is English so my c lacks the cedilla.
Parlance is not a word one hears too often in English. It's a bit old fashioned.
1.Her parlance is excellent.
2.His parlance is excellent.
It sounds more natural to say:
1. Her manner of speaking is excellent. (But even this sounds odd since there's no context.)
2. His speech is excellent. (Meaning he speaks clearly and effectively.)
3. His English is excellent. ( This is the simplest way to say it, depending on the context.)
I don's wish to mince words however there are quite a few ELL's ( english language learner's here ) and I want to give examples of more commonly used words for their benefit.
Crack, if you don't mind my asking, what is your first language? Your english is quite good, however I can tell it's not your first language.
Pam
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Permalink Reply by Edgar Colín on
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No, I was using the cedille, maybe that was the problem. Thanks for clarifying.
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Permalink Reply by Edgar Colín on
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Thanks everyone for your so useful replies.
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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on
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Pamilla
I wholeheartedly agree with you to say the word 'parlance' is not very common.
I would agree to say the context is necessary here.
He/she speaks English beautifully is an acceptable translation when you don't know the context.
Sa façon de parler est agréable.
[ The above means her manner of speaking …]
If it is a man I think the following is the correct sentence.
Son façon de parler est agréable. [ Please correct me.]
…..............................................................................................................................................................................................
I reckon you are a native English speaker.
You wrote the following:
I don's wish to mince words however there are quite a few ELL's ( english language learner's here ) and I want to give examples of more commonly used words for their benefit.
I don's wish to mince words however there are quite a few ELL's ( English language learner's here ) and I want to give examples of more commonly used words for their benefit. [ Correct]
Your english is quite good, however I can tell it's not your first language.
Your English is quite good, however I can tell it's not your first language. [Correct]
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Permalink Reply by Marc Vonhalmen on
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"Sa façon de parler est agréable.
[ The above means her manner of speaking …]
If it is a man I think the following is the correct sentence.
Son façon de parler est agréable. [ Please correct me.]"
In English, "her", "his", "their" and "its" agree with the subject of the sentence. If the subject is male, then it's "his". But that's not how it works in French. In French,the gender of "son", "sa" or "ses" agrees with the noun it's in front of. So, here the noun is "façon", which is a female noun, that's why the sentence remains the same, even if the subject is a man:
Sa façon de parler est agréable.
Another example:
(The word "ballon" is male, so it will always be "son", or "their" if the subject is plural, but the gender (male or female) of the subject doesn't matter)
Le garçon joue avec son ballon.
La fille joue avec son ballon.
Le garçon joue avec ses ballons.
La fille joue avec ses ballons.
Les enfants jouent avec leur ballon. (they only have one ball)
Les enfants jouent avec leurs ballons. (each one of them has a ball)
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Permalink Reply by Crack1 on
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Thanks Marc for the wonderful reply.
You gave me more information than I needed.
That is why I say it is a wonderful reply.
So irrespective of the gender we use 'sa' in such sentences.
This is tantamount to the words 'mon amie' and 'mon ami'
In French it has to be 'mon'.
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Permalink Reply by Marc Vonhalmen on
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Indeed, when the noun is female and starts with a vowel (like "amie"), "ma" becomes "mon", "ta" becomes "ton", etc.
C'était son idée.
Je dois réparer mon armoire.
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