French language Q&A Forum

Hi,

I was wondering what the word neologism means. You said the French Academy considers La professeure a neologism. What would neologism mean for that?

thanks

nicole

Just commenting again :

I wasn’t phased by the speed of this dictation per say, but I missed out on a couple of words due to the liaison in spoken French and not fully understanding what was being said. If i’d thought more about the English translation i’d have got one of them. I think it’s beneficial to hear the language spoken at normal speed by a native speaker, it sharpens the ear.

A light bulb went off for me after reading Sandra’s post below.

If I may add my two cents worth to expand on what she said…..

When I looked back over my incorrect answers, I had been choosing responses containing ‘devoir’ without an infinitive following, so in reality those sentences had an entirely different meaning.

Devoir + noun (no verb) = to owe 

Je dois de l’argent – I owe some money

Il me doit dix euros – He owes me 10 euros

So only the first two out of the three following test examples can be correct or mean "to need": 

•Marie doit ACHETER un nouveau sac à main = correct (devoir + infinitive)

Marie needs to buy a new handbag

•Elle doit RENTRER de bonne heure = correct (devoir + infinitive)

She needs to go home early

Vous devez un nouveau vélo = incorrect (no infinitive after devez)

I owe a new bike??

Am I on the right track here?