Lesson

62
Plus Publications
Bramley
Douglas Road
Cork
Ireland
(t) 353-(0)21-4847444
(f) 353-(0)21-4847675
(e) editor@learnfrenchbypodcast.com
(i) www.learnfrenchbypodcast.com
LEARN
FRENCH
BY PODCAST
AUDIO PODCASTS
FOR LEARNERS
OF FRENCH
AS A FOREIGN
LANGUAGE
Do you know
anybody who can
help me create a
website?
Plus Publications, 2007. All rights reserved.
Lesson 62 : Monday, May 21st, 2007
Level : intermediate. Do you know anybody who can help me
create a website ?
sy connatre en : [to be knowledgeable about / conversant with]
se dbrouiller : [to get by]
donner un coup de main ( quelquun) : [to give (somebody) a helping hand]
se porter comme un charme : [to work like a charm]
chercher quelquun pour [+ infnitive] : [to look for someone [to do, etc]]
Comment a ?! : [How do you mean?!]
fler (quelque chose quelquun) : [to give something to someone]
D
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Where you see
this symbol
its your turn
to repeat what
youve heard.
Then well
repeat once
more.
Hello, and welcome back to LFBP. My name is Hugh Nagle and
with me is Amlie Verdier. Bonjour Amlie.
Bonjour!
In this lesson, were trying to fnd someone who will help us
with computer work to build a website, in particular. Lets
start with a role-play.
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
informatique?
Bah, moi. Je me dbrouille plutt bien avec mon
ordinateur. Pourquoi, tu as un problme avec le tien ?
Tu veux un coup de main ? Cest quoi qui ne va pas ?
Lcran ? Le clavier ? La souris ? Tu ne peux pas lire
certains fchiers ? Ou alors, cest ton lecteur DVD !
Non,non,riendetouta!Monordinateurseporte
commeuncharme!Merci.Jecherchequelquunpour
crerunsiteInternet.
Un site Internet ? Pourquoi te compliquer la vie ? Tu nas
qu te crer un blog ! Cest gratuit et cest beaucoup
plus simple quun site ! Tout est expliqu en long, en
large et en travers, et si tu as un problme, il y a toujours
quelquun pour taider sur les forums !
Jeneconnaispastroplesblogsetjepensequeane
faitpasassezprofessionnel!
Comment a pas assez professionnel ? Jen ai trois
moi-mme ! Un sur ma vie, un sur le parapente et
un sur Marc Lvy, mon auteur prfr. En plus, cest
extrmement scuris : tu peux contrler laccs
tes pages Web, supprimer des messages indsirables,
bloquer laccs certaines personnes. Cest fantastique !
Non,anemintressepas.Entoutcas,mercipourton
aide.Jevaisallervoirunprofessionnel.
Pf ! Tu vas payer une fortune pour pas grand-chose !
Attends, je vais te fler ladresse dun ami. Dis-lui que
tu viens de ma part. Il cre des sites pour occuper son
temps libre. Je suis sr quil taidera !
Merci,cestsympadetapart!
-ADSBO
6OPSEJOBUFVSQPSUBCMF
-FDMBWJFS
-BTPVSJT
Note
Tu connais quelquun qui sy connat en
[= Do you know someone whos knowledgeable about /
conversant with ]
Note the two occurrences of the verb connatre. Note, also,
the accent circonfexe before the letter t. Consider some
additional examples with connatre :
Tout le monde connat cette histoire.
[= Everybody knows that story.]
un sujet que je connais bien.
[= a subject I know well.]
Examples with sy connatre :
Elle sy connat en bricolage. [= She knows about D.I.Y.]
Paul sy connat en vins. [= Paul knows about wines.]
Note
Tu veux un coup de main ?
[= Do you want a hand ?]
Jai besoin dun coup de main demain.
[= I need a hand tomorrow.]
Tu peux leur donner un coup de main cet aprs-midi?
[= Can you give them a hand this afternoon ?]
Note
Je cherche quelquun pour crer
[= Im looking for someone to create ]
We can replace the infnitive to create a range of possibilities :
Ils cherchent quelquun pour leur expliquer
[= Theyre looking for someone to explain to them ]
Note
Pourquoi te compliquer la vie ?
[= Why complicate your life ? ]
Remember the 3rd person, too :
On ne veut pas se compliquer la vie avec tout a.
[= One doesnt wish to complicate ones life with all that.]
Note
Tu nas qu te crer
[= You only have to make yourself (a blog) ]
Remember this expression, constructed with avoir. Consider some
further examples :
Tu es fatigu ? Tu nas qu te reposer davantage.
[= Youre tired ? You only have to rest more.]
Cest facile, il na qu dposer la lettre au bureau, je me
charge du reste.
[= Its easy, he only has to drop the letter at the ofce, Ill look
after the rest.]
Plus Publications, 2007. All rights reserved.
D
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Lesson 62 : Monday, May 21st, 2007
Level : intermediate. Do you know anybody who can help me
create a website ?
sy connatre en : [to be knowledgeable about / conversant with]
se dbrouiller : [to get by]
donner un coup de main ( quelquun) : [to give (somebody) a helping hand]
se porter comme un charme : [to work like a charm]
chercher quelquun pour [+ infnitive] : [to look for someone [to do, etc]]
Comment a ?! : [How do you mean?!]
fler (quelque chose quelquun) : [to give something to someone]
Where you see
this symbol
its your turn
to repeat what
youve heard.
Then well
repeat once
more.
One more time, lets listen to the dialogue.
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
informatique?
Bah, moi. Je me dbrouille plutt bien avec mon
ordinateur. Pourquoi, tu as un problme avec le
tien ? Tu veux un coup de main ? Cest quoi qui ne
va pas ? Lcran ? Le clavier ? La souris ? Tu ne peux
pas lire certains fchiers ? Ou alors, cest ton lecteur
DVD !
Non,non,riendetouta!Monordinateurseporte
commeuncharme!Merci.Jecherchequelquun
pourcrerunsiteInternet.
Un site Internet ? Pourquoi te compliquer la vie ?
Tu nas qu te crer un blog ! Cest gratuit et cest
beaucoup plus simple quun site ! Tout est expliqu
en long, en large et en travers, et si tu as un
problme, il y a toujours quelquun pour taider sur
les forums !
Jeneconnaispastroplesblogsetjepensequea
nefaitpasassezprofessionnel!
Comment a pas assez professionnel ? Jen ai trois
moi-mme ! Un sur ma vie, un sur le parapente
et un sur Marc Lvy, mon auteur prfr. En plus,
cest extrmement scuris : tu peux contrler
laccs tes pages Web, supprimer des messages
indsirables, bloquer laccs certaines personnes.
Cest fantastique !
Non,anemintressepas.Entoutcas,mercipour
tonaide.Jevaisallervoirunprofessionnel.
Pf ! Tu vas payer une fortune pour pas grand-
chose ! Attends, je vais te fler ladresse dun ami.
Dis-lui que tu viens de ma part. Il cre des sites
pour occuper son temps libre. Je suis sr quil
taidera !
Merci,cestsympadetapart!
Note
Cest beaucoup plus simple quun site !
[= Its a lot simpler than a site !]
Note how the comparative works in French. We
wrap plus que around the adjective :
Claire est plus intelligent que Sarah.
[= Claire is more intelligent than Sarah.]
Il court plus vite que Daniel.
[= He runs faster than Daniel.]
Rien nest plus difcile que
[= Nothing is more difcult than ]
Note
Tout est expliqu en long, en large et en
travers
This idiomatic expression means that everything is
explained thoroughly or that :
Everything is explained inside out and
upside down.
Note
a ne fait pas assez professionnel
[ It/That doesnt appear (to be) very
professional ]
Note the use of the verb faire in this situation to
convey that blogs dont appear or come across as
being very professional.
Note
Jen ai trois
[= I have three (of them)]
The pronoun en, in this case, refers to blogs.
Note
Tu peux contrler supprimer
bloquer
[= You can control delete block (access) ]
Note the infnitives in succession after the initial
Tu peux.
Note
a ne mintresse pas.
[= That doesnt interest me.] This is the regular
er verb, intresser ( quelquun).
Consider some other formulae :
La seule chose qui lintresse, cest
[= The one thing that interests him / her
is ]
La partie du texte qui les intresse peut
tre imprime partir de notre site
internet
[= The part of the text which interests them
can be printed from our website ]
sy connatre en
se dbrouiller
Plus Publications, 2007. All rights reserved.
Lesson 62 : Monday, May 21st, 2007
Level : intermediate. Do you know anybody who can help me
create a website ?
sy connatre en : [to be knowledgeable about / conversant with]
se dbrouiller : [to get by]
donner un coup de main ( quelquun) : [to give (somebody) a helping hand]
se porter comme un charme : [to work like a charm]
chercher quelquun pour [+ infnitive] : [to look for someone [to do, etc]]
Comment a ?! : [How do you mean?!]
fler (quelque chose quelquun) : [to give something to someone]
D
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g
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Where you see
this symbol
its your turn
to repeat what
youve heard.
Then well
repeat once
more.
Generally speaking, if were asking someone if he knows
anyone with computer skills, or electrical knowledge, or
whatever type of skill, well ask
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnat
en?
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnat
en?
In the current context, to be more specifc, well ask :
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
informatique?
qui sy connat en informatique that is, someone
who is knowledgeable about information technology.
Once again, the question is :
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
informatique?
Lets take another example : Do you know someone who
knows about air conditioning ?
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
climatisation?
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
climatisation?
Or, someone who knows about electricity ? That
would be
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
lectricit?
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
lectricit?
So, lets remember the expression sy connatre en.
Lets remember, too, that well need to say
Jemyconnaisen
if were talking about our own expertise.
Jean said she can get by with her own computer. The
verb to get by is
sedbrouiller
Lets listen to the key expression from the text :
Jemedbrouillepluttbienavecmonordinateur.
Jemedbrouillepluttbienavecmonordinateur.
In relation to a friend who always manages to get by, we
would say, for example
Pierrearrivetoujourssedbrouiller.
Pierrearrivetoujourssedbrouiller.
Note
Est-ce que tu connais ?
[= Do you know ?]
Remember the important and very common
interrogative form, Est-ce que ? :
Est-ce | quil vient ce soir ?
| que tu connais Philippe ?
| quil y a des toilettes proximit du parc ?
Note
en lectricit
Listen carefully ! The two s with acute accents
sound like the ay in the English word today.
Note
Je me dbrouille bien
[= I get by well ]
The verb se dbrouiller is a regular 1st Group verb
ending in er:
se dbrouiller to get by
je me dbrouille
tu te dbrouilles
il / elle / on se dbrouille
nous nous dbrouillons
vous vous dbrouillez
ils / elles se dbrouillent
past participle : dbrouill
[e.g. ils se sont dbrouills bien Paris.]
Note
Pierre arrive toujours se dbrouiller.
[= Pierre always manages to get by.]
The verb arriver can certainly mean to arrive. In
this case, however, it means to manage (to do
something).
donner un
coup de main
( quelquun)
se porter
comme un
charme
Plus Publications, 2007. All rights reserved.
D
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Lesson 62 : Monday, May 21st, 2007
Level : intermediate. Do you know anybody who can help me
create a website ?
sy connatre en : [to be knowledgeable about / conversant with]
se dbrouiller : [to get by]
donner un coup de main ( quelquun) : [to give (somebody) a helping hand]
se porter comme un charme : [to work like a charm]
chercher quelquun pour [+ infnitive] : [to look for someone [to do, etc]]
Comment a ?! : [How do you mean?!]
fler (quelque chose quelquun) : [to give something to someone]
Where you see
this symbol
its your turn
to repeat what
youve heard.
Then well
repeat once
more.
How about another example : we get by with our small
budget. That would be
Nousnousdbrouillonspluttbienavecnotrepetit
budget!
Nousnousdbrouillonspluttbienavecnotrepetit
budget!
Jean wondered if Caroline needed a hand. Specifcally, he
said :
Tuveuxuncoupdemain?
Tuveuxuncoupdemain?
If, for example, we were moving apartment, we could ask
a friend :
Tupeuxmedonneruncoupdemaindmnager?
Tupeuxmedonneruncoupdemaindmnager?
Lets take another example : They gave me a hand to lift
the fridge
Ilsmontdonnuncoupdemainpoursouleverle
frigo.
Ilsmontdonnuncoupdemainpoursouleverle
frigo.
Or, She gave me a hand to set the table.
Ellemadonnuncoupdemainpourmettrele
couvert.
Ellemadonnuncoupdemainpourmettrele
couvert.
In fact, there was no problem with Carolines computer
she needed a hand with a website. On the other hand,
her computer was working like a charm. She said
Monordinateurseportecommeuncharme!
se porte comme that is is behaving like. Once
again, lets hear that expression
Monordinateurseportecommeuncharme!
Monordinateurseportecommeuncharme!
Amlie, if you borrow a car from Xavier, you might say
Tavoiture,elleseportecommeuncharme,elle
ronronne
Tavoiture,elleseportecommeuncharme,elle
ronronne
Note
un coup de main
[= [fguratively] a (helping) hand]
Listen carefully ! The p is silent.
un coup often refers to some kind of strike, or blow.
un coup dEtat is an overthrow of, or strike against,
the State.
un coup de poing literally a strike of the fst
is a punch.
Note
un coup de main dmnager.
[= a hand to move out (of an apartment, etc)]
Note that :
un mnage = a household
dmnager = to move out
emmnager = to move in
un mnage trois an expression used in English
and which literally means a household of three
refers to a (sexual) relationship involving
three people.
Note
||. m' eat aeaae aa ceaj ae m+|a .
I|e +.e me + |+aa .
|emem|er t|+t t|e e|ject jreaeaa jreceae.
t|e .er|. |a t||. c+.e, we |+.e t|e QBTTDPNQPT
cemjr|.ea el +a\|||+r .er| BWPJS( POU) +aa
j+.t j+rt|c|j|e el t|e .er| EPOOFS( EPOO).
Note
pour mettre le couvert.
[= to set the table.]
chercher
quelquun pour
[+ infnitive]
Comment
a ?!
Plus Publications, 2007. All rights reserved.
Lesson 62 : Monday, May 21st, 2007
Level : intermediate. Do you know anybody who can help me
create a website ?
sy connatre en : [to be knowledgeable about / conversant with]
se dbrouiller : [to get by]
donner un coup de main ( quelquun) : [to give (somebody) a helping hand]
se porter comme un charme : [to work like a charm]
chercher quelquun pour [+ infnitive] : [to look for someone [to do, etc]]
Comment a ?! : [How do you mean?!]
fler (quelque chose quelquun) : [to give something to someone]
D
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Where you see
this symbol
its your turn
to repeat what
youve heard.
Then well
repeat once
more.
To come back to our dialogue, Caroline said Im looking
for someone to create a website. Lets hear that
JecherchequelquunpourcrerunsiteInternet.
So, we must remember the expression Je cherche
quelquun pour Lets take another example : Im
looking for someone to mind my son on Saturday.
Jecherchequelquunpourgardermonflssamedi.
Jecherchequelquunpourgardermonflssamedi.
How about Hes looking for someone motivated to
replace his secretary.
Ilcherchequelquundemotivpourremplacersa
secrtaire.
Ilcherchequelquundemotivpourremplacersa
secrtaire.
Caroline said she didnt know too much about blogs. His
expression was
Jeneconnaispastroplesblogs.
Jeneconnaispastroplesblogs.
We can apply this expression to many things : how about
I dont know too much about Russia
JeneconnaispastroplaRussie.Jenysuisjamais
alle.
JeneconnaispastroplaRussie.
Or, I dont know this guy too well. I met him just once
Jeneconnaispastropcetype.Jelaivujusteune
fois.
Jeneconnaispastropcetype.Jelaivujusteune
fois.
When Caroline suggested blogs werent very professional,
Jean didnt agree at all. He said : How do you mean not
very professional ? For how do you mean ?, we say
Commenta?
Commenta?
and then we add :
pasassezprofessionel!
pasassezprofessionel!
How about How do you mean Im too old for the job ?!
Commenta,jesuistropvieillepourceposte?!
Commenta,jesuistropvieillepourceposte?!
An angry father might say to his student son who says he
wants to drop out of college :
Commenta,tuveuxarrtertestudes?!
Commenta,tuveuxarrtertestudes?!
Note
mon fls.
[= my son.]
Listen carefully ! Despite the spelling of this
noun, there is no l sound.
Note
samedi.
[= on Saturday.]
Listen carefully ! In casual, spoken French,
we almost invariably hear :
samdi.
Note
quelquun de motiv.
[= someone motivated.]
The French formula requires de. Consider
another example :
Il apparat comme quelquun
de rfchi, dintelligent, de
pragmatique
[= He appears to be (someone who is)
thoughtful, intelligent, pragmatic ]
Note
Je ny suis jamais alle.
[= I have never gone there.
(To Russia, that is.)]
Note
Je lai vu juste une fois.
[= I have seen him just once.
Note that, in the case of direct object
pronouns which precede the auxiliary
verb avoir, there is agreement of the past
participle. If we were talking about having
seen a girl just once, we would have :
Je lai vue
[= I have seen her ]
fler [quelque
chose
quelquun]
Plus Publications, 2007. All rights reserved.
D
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Lesson 62 : Monday, May 21st, 2007
Level : intermediate. Do you know anybody who can help me
create a website ?
sy connatre en : [to be knowledgeable about / conversant with]
se dbrouiller : [to get by]
donner un coup de main ( quelquun) : [to give (somebody) a helping hand]
se porter comme un charme : [to work like a charm]
chercher quelquun pour [+ infnitive] : [to look for someone [to do, etc]]
Comment a ?! : [How do you mean?!]
fler (quelque chose quelquun) : [to give something to someone]
Where you see
this symbol
its your turn
to repeat what
youve heard.
Then well
repeat once
more.
Despite Jeans enthusiasm for blogs, Caroline wasnt
convinced. Consequently, Jean said : Im going to give
you a friends address. He said
Jevaisteflerladressedunami.
fler thats a colloquial verb for to give. Lets take
another example : She gave me her phone number at the
end of the evening.
Ellemaflsonnumrodetlphonelafndela
soire.
Ellemaflsonnumrodetlphonelafndela
soire.
Or, As theyre not there this weekend, they gave me the
keys of their appartment
Commeilsnesontpaslceweek-end,ilsmontfl
lesclefsdeleurappart.
Commeilsnesontpaslceweek-end,ilsmontfl
lesclefsdeleurappart.
Amlie, weve studied some of the key phrases. Lets listen
again and see if we can understand the exchange more
easily. To our listeners, dont forget that there is an even
more detailed analysis of the vocabulary and expressions
in the accompanying Lesson Guide, available from www.
learnfrenchbypodcast.com. Heres that dialogue a fnal
time
Est-cequetuconnaisquelquunquisyconnaten
informatique?
Bah, moi. Je me dbrouille plutt bien avec mon
ordinateur. Pourquoi, tu as un problme avec le
tien ? Tu veux un coup de main ? Cest quoi qui ne
va pas ? Lcran ? Le clavier ? La souris ? Tu ne peux
pas lire certains fchiers ? Ou alors, cest ton lecteur
DVD !
Non,non,riendetouta!Monordinateurseporte
commeuncharme!Merci.Jecherchequelquun
pourcrerunsiteInternet.
Un site Internet ? Pourquoi te compliquer la vie ?
Tu nas qu te crer un blog ! Cest gratuit et cest
beaucoup plus simple quun site ! Tout est expliqu
en long, en large et en travers, et si tu as un
problme, il y a toujours quelquun pour taider sur
les forums !
Jeneconnaispastroplesblogsetjepensequea
nefaitpasassezprofessionnel!
Comment a pas assez professionnel ? Jen ai trois
moi-mme ! Un sur ma vie, un sur le parapente
et un sur Marc Lvy, mon auteur prfr. En plus,
cest extrmement scuris : tu peux contrler
laccs tes pages Web, supprimer des messages
indsirables, bloquer laccs certaines personnes.
Cest fantastique !
Note
les clefs.
[= the keys.]
Well also fnd :
les cls
Both nouns are feminine and are pronounced
the same.
Note
leur appart.
[= their apartment.]
leur appart is a colloquial abbreviation of
leur appartement.
Note that the French noun has two ps.
Plus Publications, 2007. All rights reserved.
D
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If you understood our lesson, then you should be able to translate
1. Doyouknowanyonewhoknowsaboutarchitecture?
2. Heknowsaboutmedicine.
3. CanshegivethemahandonSundaymorning?
4. Idontwanttocomplicatemylifewithallthat!
5. Youonlyhavetofndsomeonewhoknowsaboutgardening.
6. Itsalotmoredifcultthanthat!
7. Shehasfourofthem.
8. Thatdoesntinterestusatall.
9. Theygetbyfneinthecountry.
10. Imlookingforsomeonetogiveahandintheofce.
See how you have fared in the exercise above by clicking on the graphic.
(Note that we wait a few days after a lesson has been released before posting
the answers to exercises on our website.)
N
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i
t

s

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o
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n

Vocab extra !
accs (m) ...............access
adresse (f ) .............address
aide (m) .................help
aider ......................to help
aller .......................to go
alors .......................so, then
ami (m) ..................friend
assez ......................enough
attendre .................to wait
auteur (m) .............author
avec .......................with
beaucoup ...............a lot
bloquer ..................to block
bricolage (m) .........do-it-yourself
ce, cette .................this
charme (m) ............charm
clavier (m) .............keyboard
comme ..................like
compliquer ............to complicate
connatre ...............to know
contrler ................to control
coup (m) ................strike, blow
crer ......................to create
dbrouiller, se ........to get by
cran (m) ...............screen
tat (m) .................state
expliquer ...............to explain
extrmement .........extremely
fchier (m) ..............fle
fler ........................to give
frigo (m) ................fridge
grand-chose, pas ~ nothing
much
gratuit ...................free
histoire (f )..............story
indsirable .............undesirable
informatique (f ) .....computing
large, en ~ .............across
lecteur (m) .............player
libre .......................free
main, (f ) ................hand
moi-mme .............myself
occuper ..................to take up
ordinateur (m) .......computer
parapente (m) .......hang-gliding
parc (m) .................park
part, de ma part .....from me, on
my behalf
payer......................to pay
plus, en ~ ..............furthermore
pltot .....................rather
poing (m)...............fst
porter, se ~ ............to work, to
behave
pourquoi ................why
prfr ...................preferred,
favourite
proximit, ~ de ...near
quoi .......................what
reposer, se ..............to rest
rien ........................nothing
ronronner ..............to purr
scuris ..................secure
soir (m) ..................evening
soulever .................to lift
souris (f ) ................mouse
sujet (m) ................subject
supprimer ..............to delete, to
suppress
sr .........................sure
sympa ....................kind, friendly
temps (m) ..............time
tien, le ~ (m) .........yours
travers, en ~ ..........across
type (m) .................guy, bloke
vie (f ) .....................life
voir ........................to see
Non,anemintressepas.Entoutcas,mercipour
tonaide.Jevaisallervoirunprofessionnel.
Pf ! Tu vas payer une fortune pour pas grand-
chose ! Attends, je vais te fler ladresse dun ami.
Dis-lui que tu viens de ma part. Il cre des sites
pour occuper son temps libre. Je suis sr quil
taidera !
Merci,cestsympadetapart!
Amlie, thats it for this lesson. Until next time
Alaprochaine.
Lesson 62 : Monday, May 21st, 2007
Level : intermediate. Do you know anybody
who can help me create a website ?
sy connatre en : [to be knowledgeable about / conversant with]
se dbrouiller : [to get by]
donner un coup de main ( quelquun) : [to give (somebody) a helping hand]
se porter comme un charme : [to work like a charm]
chercher quelquun pour [+ infnitive] : [to look for someone [to do, etc]]
Comment a ?! : [How do you mean?!]
fler (quelque chose quelquun) : [to give something to someone]
Note
quil taidera.
[= that he will help
you.]
Heres an example of the
Future Tense of aider.
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