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French has a T-V distinction in the second person singular. That is, it uses two different sets of pronouns: tu and vous and their various forms. The usage of tu and vous depends on the kind of relationship (formal or informal) that exists between the speaker and the person with whom they are speaking and the age differences between these subjects. [1]
French, like English, uses relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses. The relative pronoun used depends on its grammatical role (such as subject or direct object) within the relative clause, as well as on the gender and number of the antecedent and whether the antecedent represents a person.
French honorifics are based on the wide use of Madame for women and Monsieur for men. Social. Monsieur" (M.) for a man, The plural is Messieurs (MM. for short).
For some, the English you keeps everybody at a distance, although not to the same extent as V pronouns in other languages. [4] For others, you is a default neutral pronoun that fulfils the functions of both T and V without being the equivalent of either, [5] so an N-V-T framework is needed, where N indicates neutrality. [6]
Informed local people will still, most of the time, make a conscious effort to use vous and monsieur / madame when addressing Westerners in formal situations (unless, again, that Westerner talks Ivorian French rather than Standard French). Other groups of foreigners such as other Africans, Asians or Middle-Eastern people are less likely to ...
a close relationship or connection; an affair. The French meaning is broader; liaison also means "bond"' such as in une liaison chimique (a chemical bond) lingerie a type of female underwear. littérateur an intellectual (can be pejorative in French, meaning someone who writes a lot but does not have a particular skill). [35] louche
In certain cases in formal French, the word ne can be used without signifying negation; the ne in such instances is known as expletive ne (French: ne explétif): J'ai peur que cela ne se reproduise. — "I am afraid that it might happen again." Il est arrivé avant que nous n ' ayons commencé. — "He arrived before we started."
In French, tu was eventually considered either intimate or condescending (and to a stranger, potentially insulting), while the plural form vous was reserved and formal. [ citation needed ] General decline in Early Modern English