French language Q&A Forum

Why is the letter "l" of the verb s'appeler doubled in all persons but the first and second plural?

I understand that in the expression "brand new" you use neuf rather than nouveau, but otherwise when would you use neuf rather than nouveau - or are they equivalent?

Hello, I am a total beginner at French, and I hope someone can please guide me. I am having trouble recognising the different tenses when reading a sentence in French. In English we would say : "He READS a book" as an answer to a question like "what does he do whilst taking the tube?". 

If the question was "what is he doing?", In English we would say "He is READING/ a/ this/that". How do I tell whether the person is DOING something or DOES something in French? Example : 

"Elle lit un livre" She reads a book. 

"Elle lit un livre" she's reading a book. 

Initially, I thought you'd have to read the rest of the sentence to work it out, but I can't imagine this is how it works all the time. In English there is a distinctive difference : "I go to the .../I AM going to the..."

"He has a.../He HAD a..."

"I watch .../ I AM watching". 

Have I missed something in the lessons? 

Apologies for the long winded question and capitalisation. I like to believe I am fluent in English (it's the only language I know) however I find articulating in my own language difficult at the best of times !! 

Thanks 

Merci pour cette histoire ! je l'adore. I enjoyed getting to know your cats, Jasper and Filou. As far as I am concerned, a house is not a home without at least one cat. (Our kitty is named "Louis" and we use the French pronunciation, "Louie".)

I really love the name, "Filou" and am just curious as to the meaning. 

Merci beacoup !

For "I won't write here all that I've done wrong", the answer uses the conditional "je n'écrirais pas ..." . Shouldn't we use the future tense in this sentence (i.e. "je n'écrirai pas ...")  ? Thanks.

Why can’t we say je  l’écoute sur Boucle instead of en boucle ? 

All the examples listed for when "non plus" is the appropriate response for sentences that include "ne ... pas." I am curious if you can use "non plus" if the negative adverb is other than "ne ... pas"? 

E.g., "Je ne vais jamais au cinéma." "Moi non plus"

Also, what if the statement is positive and you respond in negation? E.g., "J'aime la vanille" and I don't like vanilla. Do I say, "moi non plus," or is "moi non" the right response? 

Thanks!

Hello,

As I read this sentence over and over again I think their is a word missing at the end.

Les garçons ont passé leur examen et tous l'ont eu. Shouldn't the word passé be at the end of eu?

Thanks

Nicole