Meeting the in laws again (Advanced): Family updates and events

💬 Te voilà + a noun means "so now you're a ...": Te voilà grand-mère "So you're a grandmother now".

🇫🇷 Tonton is the child's word for uncle, but adults use it jokingly to congratulate someone on their new status.

💬 French needs des where English says "any" or nothing at all: Tu as des enfants ? "Do you have children?".

💬 à + a verb after a noun means "to be done": des choses à faire "things to do", un livre à lire "a book to read".

💬 Tenez literally means "hold" and is what you say when handing something over. To someone you call tu it's Tiens.

💬 For getting an event ready, French uses les préparatifs, almost always in the plural.

💬 Ninety is built as four-twenties-ten: quatre-vingt-dix. Seventy works the same way, as sixty-ten: soixante-dix.

🇫🇷 Adults call their grandmother Mamie too, and partners often adopt it for the in-laws' grandmother. Calling her grand-mère to her face would sound stiff.

💬 French has no 's for ownership. It uses de instead: la maison de Paul "Paul's house".

💬 With a date, avancer means to move it earlier. To push it later you say reporter "to postpone".

💬 Justement doesn't mean "justly". It means "funny you mention it" and links to what was just said.

💬 On is the everyday spoken word for "we". a dû is "had to" and comes from devoir "must".

💬 French dates use a plain number with no "th", and months take no capital letter: le 3 mai "May 3rd".

🇫🇷 Big family parties are often held in a rented hall, typically the town's salle des fêtes "village hall". These get booked up months ahead.

💬 ne ... plus wraps the verb to mean "no longer" or "not anymore": Il ne fume plus "He doesn't smoke anymore".

🇫🇷 Mince is the polite stand-in for a much ruder word. It's fine in front of in-laws, while the stronger version wouldn't be.

💬 censés takes a plural -s because on here really means "we". The -s is silent.

💬 un mariage means the wedding day itself as well as the marriage, so context decides which.

💬 en stands in for "about it" and sits before the verb: J'en ai besoin "I need it".

💬 This is the tu form. To someone you call vous, say Ne vous inquiétez pas.

💬 ne ... que means "only", and que goes right before the thing being limited: Je n'ai que dix euros "I only have ten euros".

💬 le dimanche can mean a specific Sunday or every Sunday, depending on context. Context also decides whether it means "on the Sunday" or "on Sundays".

💬 gentil means kind or nice, not gentle.

💬 s'arranger means to sort things out or find a way. On s'arrangera is a handy reassurance whenever plans clash.

💬 compter usually means "to count", but compter pour + someone means "to matter to": Ça compte pour moi "It matters to me".

💬 Pour usually means "for", but after compter it gives "to": compter pour quelqu'un is to matter to someone.

💬 Compter normally means "to count", but compter pour means to matter to someone. Swap the person: Tu comptes beaucoup pour moi "You mean a lot to me".

💬 Lui here means "to her" and sits before the verb, not after it. It also covers "to him", so only context tells you which.

🇫🇷 A warm, natural thing to say when an in-law mentions a small gesture, like calling grandma or bringing a dessert. It shows you care without overdoing it.

💬 Dropping nous from the verb turns it into "let's": passons "let's go", mangeons "let's eat". Passer à table literally means "to move to the table".

🇫🇷 The host says this to signal the meal is starting. Guests wait for it rather than sitting down on their own.

💬 Attendre already means "to wait for", so there is no separate word for "for". Nous goes before the verb: Il nous attend.

💬 Bon at the start of a sentence isn't "good" here. It works like "right" or "okay" to move things along.

🇫🇷 This is the go-to warm yes when someone offers more food or invites you somewhere. It sounds friendly and polite, and it works with in-laws.

💬 Encore means "again" here, but it can also mean "more" or "still": encore un peu "a little more", il est encore là "he's still here".

💬 L' is la shortened before a vowel. It can't stand alone and is said as one word with the next: l'invitation.

🇫🇷 Thanking the hosts a second time as you leave is expected in France. Naming the host, here Monique, makes it feel personal.