FAUX PAS IN A SENTENCE DRIVER
FAUX PAS IN A SENTENCE FULL

When I tried to explain to the waitress that I was hot вЂ“ Je suis chaud вЂ“ she looked outraged and marched off, refusing to take my order. In France, I popped into a restaurant to cool down as it was boiling hot and I had just been on a bike ride and was sweating like mad.

FAUX PAS IN A SENTENCE DRIVER

But we arrived in time and I wanted to compliment the driver on his ability to drive under these conditions, so I said Vous chauffez trГЁs bien! The driver smiled at me very curiously and afterwards my friends explained that I had told the driver that вЂhe heated up very well!вЂ™Д®ditorвЂ™s note: To compliment someone on their driving say вЂVous conduisez trГЁs bienвЂ™, while le chauffeur is the French word for вЂdriverвЂ™.

FAUX PAS IN A SENTENCE FULL

We had little time left before departure and the road was full of snow and very slippery, so I was very worried about whether we could make it. My pride turned to blushes when I was told that I said weвЂ™d never been inserted!Д®ditorвЂ™s note: вЂNon, on ne sвЂ™est jamais rencontrГ©sвЂ™, вЂNon, nous ne nous sommes jamais rencontrГ©sвЂ™ or вЂNon, nous nвЂ™avons jamais fait connaissanceвЂ™ would have been the less embarrassing way to explain that you had never met before!ДЄfter two weeks of skiing in France, we took a cab to the station to catch our train. When asked whether weвЂ™d met before, I answered: Non, on nвЂ™est jamais introduit. Remembering the verb introduire, I later found the opportunity to use it to impress a handsome guy who was a friend of a friend. I noticed in the phone box that I was instructed, introduisez votre carte, insert your card. Whilst living in France for a year, I was keen to try out any new words I came across. I have difficulty enough trying to get my tongue round French words but I was determined to say merci beaucoup (thank you very much)вЂ¦ only to find out weeks later that with my slight mispronunciation I was saying beau cul, nice bottom! I then realised that I should have said matelas for вЂmattressвЂ™ and not matelot which means вЂsailorвЂ™. Some of them burst out laughing and some just stared at me. I nodded and added with a wide grin that the mattress is very firm. One morning my French friends asked me if I had had a good nightвЂ™s sleep. She should have said: JвЂ™ai arrosГ© la dinde toute la journГ©e.ДЈ) In bed with a firm sailor: Matelas/Matelot To which her mother-in-law replied with a very straight face: вЂreally, I hope the bird was still aliveвЂ™. When asked by her French-speaking mother-in-law how she managed to get the turkey so brown and well cooked all over she proudly responded JвЂ™ai baisГ© la dinde toute la journГ©e, wanting to say вЂI basted the turkey all dayвЂ™. My sister had baked the largest Christmas turkey weвЂ™d had in several years.

In contemporary French, baiser no longer means вЂto kissвЂ™, but has become a very vulgar word for вЂto make loveвЂ™ вЂ“ if you know what I mean!Д®ditorвЂ™s note: Faire une bise Г quelquвЂ™un is the correct phrase to use for вЂto give someone a kissвЂ™ or play it safe by using the verb embrasser вЂto kissвЂ™. Upon arriving in France, where I now live, I used to tell people that in my home country, people donвЂ™t baise each other as much as French people do. To say вЂIвЂ™m finishedвЂ™, the proper phrase was simply: вЂJвЂ™ai finiвЂ™. The waiter laughed, and made clear to me, by crossing his hands across his chest and bowing his head, that what I had just said was: вЂIвЂ™m going to dieвЂ™ or вЂIвЂ™m finishedвЂ™ (professionally). When the waiter approached and asked if I needed anything else, I replied (in my best high school French): Non, merci.

Faux pas in a sentence