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Colloquial, Idiomatic, and Other Useful Expressions by Bruce Sallee and David Hebert

Idiomatic and colloquial language expresses things in a way that is unique to that language. Idiomatic expressions usually follow a certain pattern of construction, and are very much a part of the grammar of each language. Colloquial expressions are generally not part of the formal language. They often bend the rules of grammar a little bit, or use words in unusual ways, but are so widely recognized within the spoken language that it's acceptable to use them in everyday speech. In English, an example of a colloquial expression is: “To get the skinny (on something),” which means to get the inside information.

Here are a few idiomatic and colloquial expressions in French that you might hear.

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<tgroup cols="2"> <colspec colname="col1" colnum="1" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <colspec colname="col2" colnum="2" colwidth="50%" colsep="0" rowsep="0" align="left"/> <tbody> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>J'ai pas compris</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>“I didn't get that.”</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>J'en ai marre</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>“I've had it!”</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td><p><emphasis>Ce n'est pas la peine</emphasis>.</p></td> <td><p>“Don't worry about it.”</p></td> </tr> </tbody> </tgroup> </table> <p>Note that although the expression “<emphasis>J'ai pas compris</emphasis>” is in the negative, it has omitted the <emphasis>ne</emphasis> that we talked about earlier. This is a common omission in spoken, more casual French.</p> <!--/gc--> <div id="pagination"><ul><li class="prev"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/using-everyday-expressions/useful-expressions-to-get-by-in-france.htm" title="Useful Expressions to Get By in France">Useful Expressions to Get By in France</a></li><li class="next"><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/using-everyday-expressions/salutations-and-other-expressions.htm" title="Salutations and Other Expressions">Salutations and Other Expressions</a> </li></ul></div></div> <div id="coda"> <div id="rel"><div class="n5">Related Articles</div><ul> <li><a href="http://www.netplaces.com/french/using-everyday-expressions/colloquial-idiomatic-and-other-useful-expressions.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> Colloquial, Idiomatic, and Other Useful Expressions - French </a></li> <li><a href="http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/mentgramterm.htm" zT="18/1YL/Zn"> mental grammar - definition and examples of mental or competence gramm... </a></li> 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