Chenan Africa Official Blog

Vocabulaire Pour La Noel Et Le Nouvel An

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 13:42:19 GMT

Festivités en Anglais : 15 Expressions pour Noël et le Nouvel An - Présentées par Chenan Africa

La période des fêtes de fin d'année est riche en vocabulaire festif. Chez Chenan Africa, nous croyons que s'immerger dans la langue à travers ses traditions est une façon joyeuse d'apprendre. Aujourd'hui, nous explorons 15 expressions anglaises emblématiques de Noël et du Nouvel An, chacune accompagnée de son équivalent français.

1. Christmas Eve / Réveillon de Noël

La soirée avant Noël, moment de célébration familiale.

Exemple : Children await Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.

Les enfants attendent le Père Noël lors du réveillon de Noël .

2. Santa Claus / Père Noël

Le personnage légendaire qui apporte des cadeaux aux enfants.

Exemple : Santa Claus is known for his red suit and white beard.

Le Père Noël est connu pour son costume rouge et sa barbe blanche.

3. Christmas Tree/ Sapin de Noël

Un arbre décoré, symbole central de Noël.

Exemple : We decorated the Christmas tree with lights and ornaments.

Nous avons décoré le sapin de Noël avec des lumières et des ornements.

4. Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noël

Un souhait traditionnel de bonheur pour Noël.

Exemple : Merry Christmas to all our students at Chenan Africa!

Joyeux Noël à tous nos étudiants de Chenan Africa !

NB: La reponse a Merry Christmas est: Many Happy Returns. Ou Vous pouvez simplement dire Merry Christmas to you ....

5. Gift Exchange / Échange de Cadeaux

La tradition d'offrir et de recevoir des cadeaux.

Exemple : Our family enjoys a gift exchange on Christmas morning.

Notre famille effectue l'échange de cadeaux le matin de Noël.

6. New Year's Eve / Saint-Sylvestre (31 Decembre)

La dernière soirée de l'année, précédant le Nouvel An.

Exemple : We celebrate New Year's Eve with a big party.

Nous célébrons la Saint-Sylvestre avec une grande fête.

7. Happy New Year" / "Bonne Année

Les vœux échangés à minuit pour marquer le début de la nouvelle année.

Exemple : Happy New Year ! May it be filled with learning and growth at Chenan Africa.

Bonne Année ! Qu'elle soit remplie d'apprentissage et de développement chez Chenan Africa.

8. (Champagne) Toast" / "Toast (au Champagne)

Lever de verre traditionnel pour célébrer le Nouvel An.

Exemple : At midnight, we raised our glasses for a champagne toast .

À minuit, nous avons levé nos verres pour un toast au champagne.

9. Fireworks Display / Feu d'Artifice

Un spectacle pyrotechnique pour accueillir le Nouvel An.

Exemple : The fireworks display at New Year's was spectacular.

Le feu d'artifice du Nouvel An était spectaculaire.

10. Resolution / Résolution

Une promesse personnelle pour l'année à venir.

Exemple : My resolution is to master English with Chenan Africa.

Ma résolution est de maîtriser l'anglais avec Chenan Africa.

Chez Chenan Africa, nous vous accompagnons dans votre parcours d'apprentissage de l'anglais, vous aidant à découvrir non seulement une langue, mais aussi les cultures qui l'animent.

VERBES IRREGULIERS: UNE METHODE TRES SIMPLE POUR LES MAITRISER

chenanlimited@gmail.com (Chenan Africa) — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 19:20:00 GMT

Comment Apprendre Les Verbes Irreguliers De Maniere Tres Facile ?

NB: Tout d'abord veuillez nous excuser pour l'absence des accents. Nous utilisons un clavier anglais et il nous est tres difficile d'ecrire avec les accents.

Apprendre les verbes irreguliers peut paraitre comme un cauchemar pour la majorite des francophones qui apprennent l'anglais. En effet, dans la plupart des livres, ils viennent sous forme de tableau de 3 colones (Verbe - Preterit (Passe Simple) - Participe Passe). Cette methode est tres difficile pour 4 raisons:

Il y a un manque d'image.
Il y a un manque d'explication.
Il y a une absence de prononciation.
Les verbes ne sont pas categorises.

L'absence d'image ne favorise pas du tout un apprentissage rapide et durable. Un apprenant qui se retrouve confronte a un verbe qu'il ne comprend pas, sera oblige de recourir a une traduction; et on le sait tous, la traduction ralenti considerablement l'apprentissage de l'anglais.

L'absence de prononciation emmenera l'apprenant a mal prononcer les verbes et naturellement, il/elle sera incompris(e).

Le fait de ne pas categoriser les verbes rend les choses encore plus complexes !

Alors CHENAN vous a apporte une solution GRATUITE et tres pratique ! Nous avons pour vous, un document visuel, avec la correcte prononciation et surtout nous avons categorise les verbes comme suit:

Groupe 1: L’infinitif = Preterit = Participle passé.

Ex: To cost – Cost - Cost

Group 2: Preterit = Participe passé mais les deux sont differents de l’infinitif.

Ex: To build / Built / Built

Group 3: L’infinitif le preterit et le participle passé sont tous 3 differents

Ex: To Swim / Swam / Swum
Nous avons fait la liste des verbes les plus frequents par categorie !
Telechargez les ici GRATUITEMENT en cliquant sur le groupe:

GROUP 1
GROUP 2

GROUP 3.

J'espere que cela vous aidera a mieux maitriser les verbes irreguliers en anglais !
CHENAN FOREVER !

PREPOSITION OF TIME

chenanlimited@gmail.com (Chenan Africa) — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 08:36:08 GMT

PREPOSITION OF TIME

Prepositions need to be learnt in context with the other words that they’re used with. Trying to understand why we say “in the car” and “on the bus” will only end in tears and frustrations!

By learning the phrase “in the car” together, all together, will make it easier to remember it and also to get it right every time.

AT

Use “at” for very specific times. Clock times for example.

The train arrives at 3:30.
The game will start at 5:30.
I’ll be there at noon or at dawn

All of these words refer to specific time but we can also use “at” with other specific times of the day, like:

Kofi doesn’t like eating at night.
I’m going shopping at lunchtime
Let’s talk about the weeding at dinner tonight.

NB: We also say AT the moment, AT night.

IN

This preposition of time is used to discuss months, seasons, years, centuries, general times of day, and longer periods of time such as “in the past.”

I was born in 1943
He’ll visit my brother in October.
He grew up in Cotonou

NB: We say In the morning , in the afternoon , in the evening BUT at night .

We can also use “in” to explain when something will happen in the future.

I’ll be done in five minutes.
He’s gone away but he’ll be back in a week
You can move out in twenty days.

ON

In English we can use this preposition for specific descriptions of time. Most commonly with days of the week and parts of the week.

We are having an exam on Monday morning.
My birthday is on the 11th of December
We're coming to your house on Christmas day.

NB: When you’re talking about festivals and about special periods of time, you can use “ at ”.

Are you going home at Christmas?

So that’s talking about the time around Christmas NOT Christmas day.

If you’re referring to the specific day, you need to use “on”.

On Christmas Day.
On New Year’s Eve.
What are you doing on New Year’s Day?
What are you doing at New Year’s?

When you use at New Year's, you're referring to the period of time around the New Year holiday.

On the weekend: is more common in American English
At the weekend: is more common in British English.

BY

You can use “by” with the end time of an activity. It means no later than. So when you use "by" with a specific time, it can mean on or before that time.

You have to submit your homework by Wednesday. This example means that you can submit your homework on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Not later than that.

RECAP:

“At” is generally used in reference to specific times on the clock or points of time in the day.
“In” generally refers to longer periods of time.
“On” is used with dates and named days.
“By” is used with times and named days of the week, but specifically, telling us an end time.

PREPOSITION OF MOVEMENT

chenanlimited@gmail.com (Chenan Africa) — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 08:01:41 GMT

Preposition of Movement

Prepositions of movement show movement from one place to another place . These prepositions always describe movement and we usually use them with verbs of motion .

The most common preposition of movement is the preposition to , which describes movement in the direction of something, for example:

How do you go to school?
He drove From Nigeria to Ghana.
Nobody came to the party

Prepositions of Movement list

Here is a list of the most common prepositions of movement, with example sentences for each one:

across : movement from one side to the other side of something

It took us three days to drive across the desert.
The dog ran across the road and nearly got hit by a car.

around : movement passing something in a curved route, not going through it

A big dog was sleeping on the floor so she had to walk around it.
They walked around the town for an hour.

away from : indicating the point where a movement begins

The mouse ran away from the cat and escaped.

down : movement from a higher point to a lower point of something

They ran down the hill to the stream below.
He climbed down the ladder to the bottom of the well.

from : indicating the point where a movement begins

We flew from Bangkok to London.
The police took my driving licence from me.

into : movement to an enclosed space; movement resulting in physical contact

He got into the car and closed the door.
The car crashed into the wall.

off : movement away from (and often down from) something

Please take your papers off my desk.
The wineglass fell off the table and shattered on the floor.

on to , onto : movement to the top surface of something

They went up on to the stage.
Move the kettle onto the counter.

out of : indicating the enclosed space where a movement begins

Take your hands out of your pockets and help me!
He went out of the room to smoke a cigarette.

over : movement above and across the top or top surface of something

We are flying over the mountains.
The cat jumped over the wall.

past : movement from one side to the other side of something

We could see children in the playground as we drove past the school.
We gave the marathoners water as they ran past us.

to : movement in the direction of something

Could you give this to Kob please?
Does this train go to London?

through | thru (AmE): movement in one side and out of the other side of something

The train goes through a tunnel under the hill.
Hey! You just went thru a red light!

towards | toward (mostly AmE): movement in the direction of something

The night sky got brighter as they drove toward the city.
At last she could recognize the person coming towards her.

under : movement directly below something

The mouse ran under the chair.
Submarines can travel under water.

up : movement from a lower point to a higher point of something

Jack and Jill ran up the hill.
The boat takes two hours going up the river and one hour coming down.

Some idiomatic expressions about WORK.

chenanlimited@gmail.com (Chenan Africa) — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Idiomatic expressions are a type of informal English that have a meaning different from the meaning of the words in the expression. They are frequently used by native English speakers and by using it, you'll sound like one.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
This is a proverb which means that it is not good to work all the time and that people may get bored if they don't get some time off from work.
Example 1: At Chenan Languages Centre, every Friday afternoon we have fun activities such as Karaoke because all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Example 2: I think you need to go out and have some fun. You know all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Back to the salt mines.
If you go back to the salt mines, it means you have to return back to the workplace.
Example 1: The weekend is over. It's time to go back to the salt mines.
Example 2: Tomorrow's Monday and I'm going back to the salt mines.
To burn candles at both ends.
If you burn candles at both ends, you work very hard, day and night.
Example 1: Steve Jobs had to burn candles at both ends to give Apple its status.
Example 2: She has been burning candles at both ends to finish a book about the history of Ghana.
A woman's work is never done.
The proverb "a woman's work is never done" means that a woman often works longer hours than a man because the housework and raising children are jobs that never end.
To get the sack or To get/be sacked or to get/be fired
It means to be dismissed from employment.
Example 1: Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli is likely to get sacked after the World Cup.
Example 2: She was always late at work so she got fired this morning.
Example 3: Nana was fired because he couldn't meet his deadline.
To work like a charm
It means to work very well, to be completely successful or effective
Example 1: The new marketing strategy worked like a charm!
Example 2: I've installed a new game on my computer and it works like a charm!
To break your back
If you break your back to do something, it means you're working very hard to do it.
Example 1: I'm going to break my back for this exam.
Example 2: If you want to be successful in life, you need to break your back.
A cold piece of work
When someone is a cold piece of work, it means that the person is difficult to deal with.
Example 1: Did you see how she treats her husband? She is a cold piece of work.
Example 2: This child is such a cold piece of work: He doesn't respect his parents at all.
Example 3: Everyone was happy when she left because she was such a cold piece of work.
Dirty work or to do the dirty work
This refers to unpleasant or dishonest work that's given to someone else to undertake.
Example 1: Peter always has to do the dirty work.
Example 2: She thinks there's some dirty work going on in her company.
Hustle and bustle
The phrase hustle and bustle refers to a busy activity usually in a noisy surrounding.
Example 1: There's less hustle and bustle in Koforidua than in Accra.
Example 2: He doesn't like the hustle and bustle of the big cities.

A Guide to Asking Questions in English

chenanlimited@gmail.com (Chenan Africa) — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 15:52:46 GMT

Questions are sentences that ask for information. In today's lesson, we’ll look at three types of questions:
1- “Yes/no” questions
2 “WH-” questions
3 “Tag” questions.
For each type, we’ll see many example questions in different tenses. But before that, let us understand two critical terms: Auxiliary verbs and main verb . In order to ask questions in English, one must be familiar and understand these two terms.

Auxiliary: Auxiliary verbs are verbs that are used together with a main verb. Auxiliary verbs are usually some form of words like:

Be
Have
Do

but also modal verbs such as:

Can
Will
Should
Could
Would etc.

Example, in the sentence “Sylvestre doesn’t eat chicken” the word “ doesn’t ” is the auxiliary "To Do" in the negative form and the word “eat” is the main verb.

Main verb: The main verb is the “action” word in a sentence. For example, in the sentence “Sylvestre eats a salad,” the word “eats” is the main verb.

IMPORTANT: In English, when we want to ask a question, there are three cases:

Case 1: There is an auxiliary or modal verb in the sentence as the main verb.
In this context, we simply invert the subject with the auxiliary or modal verb.
Example: You can play football >>>> Can you play football ? (Can = Modal verb)
Cecilia is from Cote d'Ivoire >>>>>>> Is Cecilia from Cote d'Ivoire ? (Is = Tobe = auxiliary verb)

Case 2: There is no auxiliary or modal verb in the sentence.
Here, we'll have to bring the auxiliary To do to form the question.
Example: The examples for this case are well detailed below.

Case 3: To do or To have as main verb.
Although they're both auxiliary, we don't just invert the subject with the verb. We still have to bring the auxiliary To do.
Example: Barbara came home late >>>>>> Did Barbara come home late ?
They have my pen >>>> Do they have my pen ?

Now, with this in mind, let's look at three different types of questions in English:

1- Yes or No Questions.

This type of question is usually the easiest to ask and answer in English. They’re called “yes/no questions” because the answer to these questions is generally “yes” or “no.”

How to form "yes or no" questions.

The basic structure for yes/no questions is as follow:

Auxiliary verb or Modal verb + Subject + Main Verb + Object (or other information) + Question mark (?).

Examples of "Yes / No" questions

Present simple examples

The present simple tense is used to talk about things that are always true, or things that generally or frequently happen. Here are some question examples:

Do you like fruit?
Yes I do / No I don't .
Does your sister come from Benin?
Yes she does / No she doesn't .
Can your friend play football ?
Yes I can / No I can't

Careful: Exception! If the main verb of the sentence is some form of “to be,” it goes in the auxiliary position.

Here are a few examples:

Are you ready?
Yes I am / No I'm not.

Is your mom home?
Yes she is / No she isn't

Do you observe a pattern here ? In English, when answering "Yes or No" questions, we use the same verb that was used to ask the question. So, If the question is with "Can" the answer will be "Yes I can" or "no I can't". If the question is with Do, the answer will be "Yes I do" " No I don't".

Let's look at more examples with different tenses.

Present continuous examples

This is also called “present progressive.” We use this tense, when we want to indicate that something is happening right now, or when we want to talk about a near future or something that has been planned.
It is formed as follow: To be in the present simple + subject + Verb + ING.
Example:

Are you watching the news right now?
Yes I am / No, I'm not.

Is your teacher wearing a tie?
Yes he is / No he isn't

Are your parents planning a vacation?
Yes they are / No they aren't

Present perfect examples

The present perfect tense is used to talk about things that started in the past, but are still true or relevant now. Questions in the present perfect are formed as follow: Have/has + subject + past participle.
Example:

Have you eaten my cake ?
Yes I have / No I haven't.

Has your dad your results ?
Yes he has / No he hasn't .

Have you ever been to Cotonou ?
Yes I have / No I haven't.

Present perfect continuous examples

Perfect tenses can also be made continuous. You can do that if you want to talk about something that started in the past, but you want to emphasize that it’s still actively happening now.
Questions in the present perfect continuous are formed as follow: Have/has + subject + been + Verb + ING.
For example:

Have you been studying at this university for a long time?
Yes I have / No I haven't

Has your dog been feeling sick the whole day?
Yes it has / No it hasn't

Have your parents been living here since they were children?
Yes They have / No they haven't

Past simple examples

Use the past simple tense when you want to talk about actions that were completed in the past. To do that, put the auxiliary in the past form (usually “did”) + subject + infinitive without to.

Did you say my name?
Yes I did / No I didn't

Did the boss leave the meeting?
Yes he did / No he didn't

Did your parents drink all the wine?
Yes they did / No they didn't.

Careful: Exception! This is similar to the exception for the simple present. If the main verb of the sentence is some form of “to be,” then put the simple past form of “to be” in the auxiliary position. Again, a second verb isn’t necessary. For example:

Were you ready?
Yes, I was / No, I wasn't

Was Jeremy at the group dinner last Thursday?
Yes, he was / No, he wasn't

Were your brothers all sports fans when they were young?
Yes they were / No, they weren't

Past continuous examples

Use the past continuous when you want to talk about completed past actions that continued for a period of time. To do this, use a past form of the verb “to be” for the auxiliary and the “-ing” form for the main verb.

Were you talking to me?
Yes I was / No I wasn ' t

Was Theresa working yesterday at 4:00 p.m.?
Yes she was / No she wasn't

Was I wearing this shirt the last time you saw me?
Yes you were / No you weren't

Past perfect examples

This tense is less common, but it’s still useful. It uses the auxiliary “had” plus the past participle of the verb. You can use the past perfect to show one event happened before another in the past. The earlier events use the past perfect and the more recent events use the past simple. For example:

Had you been to Canada before you moved there?
Yes he had / No he hadn't

Had your mother played any other sports before she joined the softball team?
Yes she had / No she hadn't

Had Harry Potter used any magic before he went to Hogwarts?
Yes he had / No he hadn't

Future simple examples

The most common type of future yes/no questions are ones that use the future simple tense.

You can use the future simple tense to ask about short actions in the future. These questions are actually very easy to make. Start the sentence with “will” as the auxiliary and use a simple (infinitive) verb for the main verb.

Will you call me tomorrow?
Yes I will / No I won't

Will your parents travel to Abidjan ?
Yes they will / No they won't

Will that dog try to bite me?
Yes it will / No it won't.

2- "WH" Questions

Most question words actually do start with “wh-,” with the exception of “how.” Here’s a quick review of the question words you should know and when to use them.

What: Use “what” if you want information about an object or thing.

Which: This is very similar to “what,” but generally use “which” if there are specific or limited options to choose from.

When: Use “when” if you want information about a time or date.

Where: Use “where” if you want information about a place or location.

Who: Use “who” if you want information about a person.

Why: Use “why” if you want information about a reason or explanation for something.

Some “wh-” question words start with “how”:

How: Use “how” if you want information about the way or technique to do something.

How much: Use “how much” if you want information about quantities of nouns that aren’t countable (like sugar, water, money, etc.).

How many: Use “how many” if you want information about quantities of things are countable (like people, bottles of water, dollars, etc.).

How often: Use “how often” if you want information about the frequency of an event.

Other uses for “how”: You can also use “how” plus an adjective (a descriptive word) if you want information about the degree or amount of an adjective. Examples can include “how tall,” “how beautiful,” “how young,” “how old” and many others.

Important note about question phrases:

Some question “words” are actually phrases with multiple words. For example, I can start a question with “Where,” but I can also add a phrase, such as “Where in Germany.” There are many, many possibilities here, such as “How many times this month,” “When in March,” etc.

So you can have a question phrase with more than one word. But it will normally still go in the same position at the start of the sentence.

How to form “wh-” questions

If you understand how to form yes/no questions, then it’s very easy to form “wh-” questions. Generally, just add a question word/phrase to the beginning of a yes/no question.

The structure of a “wh- question” is usually as follow:

[“Wh-” Question Word/Phrase] + [Auxiliary Verb] + [Subject] + [Main Verb] + [Object or Other Information] + ?

Examples of “wh-” questions

We’ll look at these examples in the same order as in the first section, with some similar topics. I won’t include explanations about when and how to use each of the tenses unless there are differences between yes/no questions and “wh-” questions.

Present simple examples

Why do you like English?
Which days do you have access to a car?
Where does your sister live?
What is your full name ?
How often do you eat attieke ?
Where do you come from ?

NB: For some questions that start with “Who,” we don’t always know who the subject is. Because of that, we normally change the structure a bit. For example:

Object Question: Who does your mom love?

Here “your mom” is the subject. So after “who,” we include the auxiliary, then the subject, and then the verb. The question is asking about the object (the person your mom loves), so it’s called an object question.

Subject Question: Who loves banku with tilapia ?

In this case, there's no subject in the question. “Who” is asking about the identity of the subject and “ Banku with tilapia ” is actually the object of this sentence. So I can eliminate the auxiliary and the subject.

3- Tag questions

Normally you use tag questions to confirm information that you think is correct. They come at the end of a statement.

Native English speakers use them all the time.

When should you use tag questions?

If you want to know basic information, you can ask a yes/no question:

Do you speak French? Yes I do / No I don't.

But if you think something is true, but you're not 100% certain, you can ask a tag question:

You speak French, don’t you?

Notice that the structure is very different from the other two types of questions.

How do I form tag questions?

Basically there are two parts: (1) the statement and (2) the tag.
Example: You can drive (statement) can't you ? (Tag)

If the statement is positive, the tag is negative:

You’ve seen the new “Star Wars” movie, haven’t you?

And if the statement is negative, the tag is positive.

You haven’t seen the new Black Panther movie yet, have you?

The statements and tags should be in the same tense. Both of these examples are in the present perfect.

You also need to decide what tag to use. If you have a statement that uses an auxiliary (usually forms of “do,” “have,” “be” and modal verbs like “can,” “might,” “will,” etc.), then use the opposite auxiliary in the tag.

Here are a few examples:

That building was built last year, wasn’t it?

She wasn't in school yesterday, was she?

You will go to Cotonou, won’t you?

It has taken a long time to plan the business, hasn’t it?

It’s cold today, isn’t it?

I f there is no auxiliary in the statement, you should use the form of the verb “to do” that matches the tense in the statement in the tag. For example:

You like her, don’t you?

His father works with the president, doesn’t he?

You went to Nigeria last year, didn’t you?

We haven’t eaten yet, have we?

Again, remember that tag questions use question marks (“?”), but they’re not actually asking questions. They’re just trying to get confirmation or make conversation .