Saturday, February 18, 2006

I like you a lot, but...

Note on adverbs: I've been taking a French class at Alliance Francaise in Berkeley and our teacher showed us an interesting point on using adverbs with the verb "aimer." If you say "Je t'aime," it's simple: you love her/him. But if you say "Je t'aime bien" you've altered it to "I like you." And if you say "Je t'aime beaucoup," well, the relationship's over and your lover might as well pack her/his bags: it carries the sense of "I like you a lot, but..." The more adverbs you throw on love the weaker it gets. No wonder poets hate adverbs.

4 comments:

Beverly said...

I neglected to put a title on this post. Maybe it should be "I really, really like you, but..."

Beverly said...

And I meant "weaker." Was I in a hurry or what?

Unknown said...

Beverly, I can edit those things for you.

Yeah, Je t'aime bien means, I sorta like you.

What made you decide to take French classes?

d-

Beverly said...

I don't know. I took a lot of French in college, could read it fine but could never speak well. I thought it would be fun to work at conversation and it is. I'm surprised how much I remember. Now I have to go to Paris soon.