need parenting phrases

How do I delete this? (I didn't mean to start a new one.)
I didn't understand that the "forum" I wanted to participate in was actually a "Topic" to which I should have replied (albeit with a different subject line).
Anyway, now that I've opened a new Topic, how do I get rid of it? (I only want parenting phrases in French, not all of the languages available in the "Other Languages" forum.)

Thanks,
Martine

Katherine-Martine: You're in the right place: the "Other Languages" forum is for languages other than English (and so French qualifies). And starting a new topic was the right idea.

Unfortunately, I can't help with the phrases. I learned French in a more academic context, so I'd have an easier time translating a diplomatic document than I'd have telling a French kid to tie his shoes.

Well, Katherine-Martine, you probably have to wait, until some native French (there has been a holiday weekend in Europe until today) or Canadians (if you can trust them ) come back here.

As Joe already said, the forum is okay (as well, as you posted this on the other thread).


And: welcome to A2K!

Get it on the BBC- Languages:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/

A la prochaine

McTag

Hurry up! : dépêche-toi!

Bring your [hat / gloves / coat / etc.] : apporte (ton chapeau, tes gants, ton manteau)!

Buckle your seatbelt : attache ta ceinture de sécurité!

Tie your shoes : fais tes lacets!

Pick up your [toys / books / clothes / etc.] : ramasse (tes jouets, tes livres, tes vêtements...)!

Make your bed : fais ton lit!

Go to sleep : va te coucher!


god, you're authoritarian:)

You can at "vite, vite" at the end of most sentences to sound even more authoritarian. :wink:

WooHoo --- thanks!
Merci ~beaucoups~ pour les reponses!
Oui, je suis authoritarien, mais ma fille, elle est aussi!
(Feel free to correct ~everything~ I just said.)

Here are some phrases I ~think~ I know --- would appreciate corrections:
Venez ici Come here
Venez avec moi Come with me
Prenez ma main Take my hand
Allons-y Let's go
Maintenant Now
J'attend I'm waiting ...
Un, deux, trois One, two, three :wink:

You guys are great --- I'm looking forward to getting to know you.

- M

Katherine-Martine: You're using the second-person formal, which is not the right approach when speaking to a child. Instead of "prenez" or "venez," you should say "prends" and "viens." Also, I'd stick with a simple "allons" for "let's go." And, as Walter pointed out, adding a "vite" or two might make things move faster.

And, "je suis autoritaire ...", better: "je gendarme ..."

(authortarien isn't a French vocabulary, I think :wink: )

What about other useful parenting phrases? How would the French say the following:

"Wait till your father gets home!"
"Why can't you be more like your brother?"
"Put that down! You don't know where that's been!"
"Crying? I'll give you something to cry about!"
"Don't make me come back there!"
"I'll turn this car right around!"
"Because I said so, that's why!"
"And if your friends jumped off a bridge would you do it too?"
"I don't know what you're doing in the bathroom all the time."
"When I was a kid, our parents never bailed us out of jail!"

Sorry, those are useful phrases for my parents.

Don't mind me: I'm just reminiscing.

Walter Hinteler wrote:

sorry, but no

I'd rather say: "Lace tes chaussures"

"Parce qui je suis la Mama!"
Yes, JoefromChicago, your phrases probably WOULD be more useful --- but I don't see anyone translating them! (Maybe I should ask for French phrases that are similarly "parental".)

possopo, I kinda liked "je gendarme ... " What's better?

Good news on the "teaching my children" front. Last night we were all in the kitchen and hubby asks, "Where's the remote?" I respond, "Je ne sais pas," and son Winston responds, "That means 'I don't know', Papa." Success!

More:
Ne touche pas! Don't touch (avoiding 2nd-person formal)
Ne le jete pas! Don't throw
Ecoute moi Listen to me
Attende moi Wait for me
J'arreterai cette voiture I'm gonna stop this car
Mange tes legumes Eat your vegetables (Yes, I really do have to say this, esp to the 4yo; the two 7yo's have finally gotten it)

Next, I'm going to request CHILDREN's phrases:
May I have some water?
May I have dessert?
May I stay up later?
What's for dinner?
How long until bedtime?
May I read 10 more minutes?

Thanks,
M

May I have some water? = Puis-je avoir un peu d'eau ?

May I have dessert? = Puis-je avoir un déssert ?

May I stay up later? = Puis-je rester debout plus tard ?

What's for dinner? = Qu'est-ce-qu'il y a à manger au diner ?

How long until bedtime? = Combien de temps j'ai encore avant d'aller au lit ?

May I read 10 more minutes? = Puis-je lire encore dix petites minutes ?

better than "je gendarme", no, because "gendarmer" doesn't exist but sounds funny;)

"je suis autoritaire", "je fais la police"...are correct

Great possopo!

You created a neologism.

I'm going to submit it right away to the french academy :wink:

BTW: Gendarme is a contraction, it comes from the expression "gens d'arme" which means "people carrying arms".

Balzac, for instance used it twice in 'Comédie Humaine': LE PERE GORIOT (III, privé), page: 55; page: 119

source: Recherche hypertextuelle dans la Comédie Humaine

And from the 'Hachette':

You're right Walter, the word exists but I never heard someone use it in a normal conversation at least in last 40 years...
Moreover, it seems that it's only used with the reflective form: "se gendarmer" meaning to "get angry" and not "to be authoritarian".

i don't know for you, guys, but in my area (paris), this verb is absolutely not used at all!!!

i never read it nor heard it and speaking like balzac wrote le père goriot is just like speaking english like chaucer was writing, it's non-sense!!!