French's obsession with nouns

Personne ne veut se porter volontaire

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

The first level of speaking a language involves using the right words to convey the intended meaning.

• At this stage, one often engages in mental translation from English.

• The next level is reached when one begins to think in French.

• The final stage in this language acquisition process occurs when one comprehends the logic of French.

Let's explore the French language's focus on nouns + verb combinations.

Here are some expressions in English.

• Make a decision

• Take a shower

• Have a conversation

These combinations exist in French, and in fact, they may be more prevalent than in English.

The important thing to remember is that there are many cases where the English language uses only a verb, whereas the French language prefers a verb-noun combination.

Here are some examples

• Personne ne veut se porter volontaire

  Nobody wants to volunteer

• Ça n’a aucun rapport!

  It’s irrelevant!

• Être en état d’ébriété

  Being intoxicated

• Ma voiture est tombée en panne

  My car broke down

• Remettre en question un dogme

  To question a dogma 

• Faire preuve de courage

  Showing courage

• Faire face aux conséquence

  Facing the consequences

• Tout mettre en œuvre pour réaliser un projet

  Do everything possible to complete a project

• Lâcher prise

  Letting go

• Faire la cuisine

  To cook

• Prendre la parole

  Speaking up

As you can see in all of the examples, English uses only a verb, whether French combines a verb and a noun. Let’s break down an example.

I’m going to volunteer

                        VERB

Je vais me porter volontaire

            VERB NOUN

In fact, in this example, there is no verb in French for to volunteer – only the noun volontaire.

These constructions are very common in French, but in some cases, there are two ways to express the same idea.

• I will take over

  Je vais prendre le relais (ou : la relève)
  Je m’en occupe

• The police arrested the suspect

  La police a arrêté le suspect

  La police a mis le suspect en état d'arrestation

• I’m sleepy

  Je m’endors

  J’ai sommeil

Exercise

Translate the following examples into French, as best you can. Keep in mind that English uses only a verb, when in French there is a verb and a noun.

1. I visited my aunt.

2. He's missing (he’s reported missing).

3. You're wrong.

4. I trust him.

5. I'm worried about you.

6. I fainted.

7. No smoking.

Answers

1. J’ai rendu visite à ma tante.

2. Il est porté disparu.

3. Tu as tort.

4. Je lui fais confiance.

5. Je me fais du souci pour toi.

6. J’ai perdu connaissance.

7. Défense de fumer.