Sfgraveston

I wonder if anyone can help. SWe are trying to sell a house in the Aude depertement for about €110,000. A number of people have visited the house, liked it and were seriously considering putting in an offer. However, what has prevented them from doing so was the untidiness around the house caused by our neighbour. In the past we have been very kind to him and his family and have done him some big favours. I have written to him asking if in this case he could help us out by having a big tidy up to help us sell the house. I am not convinced that he will cooperate either at all, sufficiently or for long enough. What I am think is of offering him 5% of the sale receipts if he does his bit to make the house more saleable. This would then be an incentive especially as he is almost bankrupt. What are your thoughts? Stuart

My wife is a very, very keen quilter and goes on day courses to a woman near Villfranche de Lauragais (near Toulouse) when we are in France. I see you are in SW France - whereabouts? We are in the Ariège. Stuart

Try Marie-Paul Armand. I especially enjoyed L'enfance perdue. Stuart

Is it possible for a non-resident of France to invest in a Livret A Account? Thanks Stuart

This may seem like a dumb question - but does the BBC iPlayer work in France so that you can see BBC programmes over the internet? Thanks Stuart

What problems have you had with FT and the neuf box? Stuart

We are currently having a house renovated in a town and would like to have a phone line with internet access. What would you recommend? Which package? Should we also go for a package which includes television as well? If yes then which supplier? What pitfalls are there? How would you suggest we proceed? Many thanks Stuart

We have used these sonic devises in our house but have not been impressed by their eficacity. We also use traps and poison on a multi-front attack. However I'd say the mice are still winning. Stuart

Also compounds formed from the être verbs. Stuart

And saxifrage!! Stuart

I think that the behaviour of the party people was outrageous. Yes they should enjoy themselves but with due consideration and care for others. I have never understood why a party needs very loud voice - and I thought this even when I was a partying student.

Go to www.letour.fr/2006/TDF/LIVE/us/1200/horaire.html

As a matter of interest how do the French go about dealing with the teaching of the events of 1940. Our French neighbours are very reluctant to talk about it and invariably change the subject when these events are mentioned. Stuart

Etang is the name for a tarn (small mountain lake) Stuart

We have a house in the eastern part of the Aude near the Ariege and I enjoy walking and climbing in the hills and mountains. I'm looking for fellow mountaineering enthusiasts to go walking with. Any takers opr suggestions? Stuart

We've a house in the eastern side of the Aude and I enjoy walking and climbing in the Pyrenees and the foothills. I'm looking for people to walk with  - any takers or suggestions. Stuart

Lat summer I had a fantastic day walking in the Pyrenees and saw 3 marmottes, 5 isards, and enormous vulture and a bear. Later in the day I met a sheperdess who said she'd seen a bear in the same spot 2 weeks previously. It was just below the Etang de Laurenti near Querigut and Mijanes - I was on my way to climbing the Roc Blanc. Magnificent countryside and the best day of my life in the mountains.   Stuart

[quote user="beryl"]I  would be be happy to master the present indicative, imperfect indicative, passé simple, future and conditional as that will fit every situation I can think of! [/quote] You need the subjunctive for the following (as very basic everyday examples) Je pense que nous allions à Paris la semaine prochaine. Il faut que vous mangiez des légumes. C'est la dame la plus stupide que j'aie jamais rencontrée Quel que soit le prix, je l'acheterai. There are many more quite everyday instances where the subjuntive is needed. The trick is to learn a few instances where the subjunctive is needed - use them and then gradually build on them. For example start with "il faut que....." Do not expect to get it right all the time as you will almost certainly be understood - however do have the ambition to master the subjunctive. As has been remarked - forget the passé simple. It is very rarely used in speech apart from the expression " ce fut". We all have areas of a foreign language that we struggle with - mine is the difference betwee "il est" and "c'est". Stuart

The subjnuctive also exists in the  Pluperfect form although only used in literrature. I do not think it is snobby to use the subjuctive and to restrict oneself to the present is absurd.  To claim that the French will be stunned if you use anything but the present is, in my experience, absolutely wrong. We should all be trying to raise the level of our language as high as possible and being satisfied with only one tense is a disappointing lack of linguistic ambition. Stuart

Dear Senior Member (what on earth is a Senior Member - how does one get promoted to this elevated position?) Pointless it is not. Clearly it has interested and inspired you sufficiently to go and look at my previous posts. I made a valid point about a piece of EXCEPTIONALLY poor English. Shouldn't we all be aiming to write as well as possible even if we do make mistakes (in my case an inappropriate use of 'their' - a point of which I was not aware)? Are you suggesting that we should only criticize (or would you prefer criticise) if we have attained grammatical perfection? In which case criticism in any sphere would cease. No, I am not bored as you ask. Stuart

Cher Guillaume le Conquerant Where is my error? I am always willing to learn, so please enlighten me. Stuart

I had always thought that those employed by magazines would be well trained to write accurate English. So how about this example? ?What's your Motivations Why the question mark at the start? Why does 'motivations' need a capital letter - it is not a proper noun? I don't need to tell you the other glaring error. And where is this hideous example of the mutilation of our language to be found? The answer is the home page of this website. Someone needs to get their act together. Stuart

I had always thought that those employed by magazines would be well trained to write accurate English. So how about this example? ?What's your Motivations Why the question mark at the start? Why does 'motivations' need a capital letter - it is not a proper noun? I don't need to tell you the other glaring error. And where is this hideous example of the mutilation of our language to be found? The answer is the home page of this website. Someone needs to get their act together. Stuart

L'Etang de Laurenti in the Pyrenees (Ariege) - saw 3 marmottes, 5 isards, an enormous vulture and a BEAR near there this year. One of the most beautiful places on earth. If someone can tell me how to include a picture in a message then I'll repost with a photo. Stuart

practiSe - a verb practiCe - a noun Therefore think the title of this thread should be French Practice. I know you'll all appreciate this correction because this corner of the site deals with language and getting the detail correct. Stuart