Step 1 : Introduction to the question "7. What is happening in this standard French textbook scenario?: "Oh zut alors! J'ai oublie mon portefeuille. Pourrais-tu me pr�ter dix francs ? Oh merci. Oh la la ! tu es sympa !" "
...1. Oh darn it ! I forgot my wallet ! Could you loan me ten francs? Oh thank you! Oh dear! You are so nice! 2. Oh darn it! I forgot my leaf blower! Could you loan me one? Oh thanks so much! Now I can make lots of noise for an hour blowing your leaves around in swirls! 3. Oh darn it! I forgot my stock portfolio! Could you frankly loan me ten thousand Euros? Oh thank you kind sir! Oh wow! You are so nice! 4. Oh too bad! I forgot my license, wallet, coin purse and telephone! Could you loan me ten thousand Euros, a Swiss passport, a cell phone and an Alfa Romeo please? Oh thanks! Wow! You are so genteel! This is a tribute to every beginning French textbook that invariably gives this scenario. Plus, if the book is old, they have francs, which mean that the student is going to sound silly as the franc went out in 2000. Then, most French students would not use such delicate terms as zut! Nor would they have their conversations spiced with such delicate exclamations as the textbooks would have them think. And honestly, who would fall for the old, left my wallet or I'm out of money bit? Hope you've enjoyed this latest in the series of Absurd French.
