• Home
  • OffQc
  • About
  • Start
  • Off-quoi?
  • Listen to Québécois French

OffQc | Québécois French Guide

For lovers of French + diehard fans of all things québécois!

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« AS-TU versus T’AS-TU in spoken Québécois French (#895)
You’re no fun, t’es plate! (#897) »

Thé mon amour… spoken contraction of TU in French (#896)

12 February 2015 by OffQc

Saw this in a tea shop window in Montréal:

thé mon amour

A friend from Central America took a beginner’s French course. In class, they learned that tu es means “you are,” but they never got around to learning that tu es contracts to t’es in spoken language.

This really baffles me. T’es isn’t an obscure contraction. T’es is a high frequency usage that should be introduced right from the beginning.

T’es sounds like té (or like the French word thé in the window).

thé mon amour
tea my love

t’es mon amour
you’re my love

Oh, it’s a Valentine’s Day tea pun!
N’est-ce pas romanteaque? N’est-ce pas — oh, fine, I’ll stop.

A few essential spoken contractions to know using tu:

t’es for tu es
t’as for tu as
t’étais for tu étais
t’avais for tu avais
t’en for tu en

In short, tu loses its u before a vowel.

Don’t be afraid to try using these contractions yourself in conversations. They’re so frequently used that nobody’s going to even notice.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Posted in Entries #851-900 | Tagged contraction, français québécois, Québécois French, t'as, t'es, thé, wordplay | 2 Comments

2 Responses

  1. on 12 February 2015 at 15:09 TEC4

    LOL! Bonne journée de Saint-Valentin! (et j’aime tellement les jeux de mots).


    • on 15 February 2015 at 21:13 OffQc

      Merci! Moi aussi, j’aime les jeux de mots.



Comments are closed.

  • Books

    The OffQc bookshop is always open. See all titles here.

    Contracted French Put an end to not understanding spoken French by learning the most important contractions used in speech

    C’est what? Overview of common features of spoken Québécois French; pave the way for further independent study

    1000 Learn or review a large amount of everyday words and expressions used in Québécois French in condensed form

  • Follow OffQc by email. It's free. Enter your email address in the box below.

    Join 1,545 other followers

  • Read a random entry
    OffQc bookshop
    OffQc on Twitter
    OffQc on Pinterest
    • Listen to Québécois French: Almost 100 videos + transcripts
  • Number

    • Entries #1151-1200
    • Entries #1101-1150
    • Entries #1051-1100
    • Entries #1001-1050
    • Entries #951-1000
    • Entries #901-950
    • Entries #851-900
    • Entries #801-850
    • Entries #751-800
    • Entries #701-750
    • Entries #651-700
    • Entries #601-650
    • Entries #551-600
    • Entries #501-550
    • Entries #451-500
    • Entries #401-450
    • Entries #351-400
    • Entries #301-350
    • Entries #251-300
    • Entries #201-250
    • Entries #151-200
    • Entries #101-150
    • Entries #51-100
    • Entries #1-50
  • Month

    • June 2017
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×