Être, avoir, faire et aller (to be, to have, to do/make, to go)

7/3/13
This morning the Metro is very crowded and I have to stand - I obviously picked the wrong train and should have waited a couple of minutes for the next one! When I exit Grands Boulevards station and go up the steps to Boulevard Poissonnière it's raining lightly and I'm thankful for the pretty polkadot umbrella I bought 2 days ago :-)
Today at school we review what we've learned so far and then present our homework - last night we had to think about a celebrity and write "une devinette" (literal translation "riddle") for the rest of the class to guess this morning.  It's a good way to practise composing phrases and sentences, and getting the grammar and pronunciation correct.
Then we're on to our next verb - ALLER - "to go". We conjugate away until morning break and then Stephanie asks us to complete some phrases orally with the correct verb - it's more challenging not being able to write it down first, but such a good way to learn!
Today Stephanie has conducted about 75% of the lesson in French, and it takes an incredible amount of concentration for me to listen and work out what she's saying, but she speaks slowly and is very encouraging.
I chat to the other women in my class, neither of whom has English as a first language. So not only are they trying to understand the instructions en français, but even when an explanation is given it's not in their native language! I think it must be extremely hard for them, but they're young and very neuroplastic ;-)
The second half of the lesson is spent learning some of the regular verbs - les verbes réguliers - and the conjugation pattern which applies to them all. I like the idea of patterns, it makes things a little easier - just a little ;-) There are so many exceptions in this language though, I find myself asking lots of questions every day and especially "why? " - that won't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well ;-) - and "Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire?" (What does it mean?) Stephanie is exceedingly patient!
By the end of the lesson I'm definitely starting to feel the information overload and I'm looking forward to having a couple of days over the weekend to revise, practise, consolidate and hopefully try out what I've learned so far.
On my way home I make a point of reading signs and posters and it's definitely easier than last week! Stephanie has stressed over and over how important it is to get the pronunciation correct from the start and also that the verbs we've learned so far are foundational to getting a good grasp on the language. She exhorts us to practise, practise, practise!
I head to the supermarket on the way home and, as usual, enjoy the process of reading the labels and working out whether what I'm reading is what I think I need - this too is getting easier :-) Then it's home for a welcome Skype with "mon mari beau" - how did anybody ever stay in touch before Skype??? I pour myself a little glass of cheap French wine (I do have homework to do after all) from La Vieille Ferme in the Rhône Valley - I can't actually tell what it is but it tastes good and can be bought by the 187ml bottle in the supermarket :-) - then set about making a delicious risotto and reciting my verbs as I stir - je suis, tu es, il est, elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes................