2023-09-25 07:02:37
“Hello, my name is Bidule.” This phrase is the first that any student of French learns: what an irony, then, that so many native French speakers get tangled up with the verb “call”. “Call”, “call”, “I’m calling you”, “you’re calling me”… In dictations as well as on social networks, this poor verb is abused in every possible way. Let’s try to clarify this.
“Call” takes two “p”s in all its forms
First, let’s clarify one thing: conjugated or not, the verb call is always spelled with two “p” and the same goes for its cousin “recall”. To remember this, just tell yourself that appthe telephone necessarily takes place between two ppeople. Be careful, however: the verb “spell” only takes one “p”.
One or two “l”s? It depends
Where it gets tricky is with the “l”. For example, we write “call”, but “I call”. Why make it complicated when it can be simple ? Because it’s not that complicated.
When we pronounce “she”, as in “I call”, the verb is written like the pronoun “elle”, therefore with two “l”s (are you following?):
“I’m calling” “You will call”
When we pronounce “eul”, like a millstone, the verb is written… like “millstone”, therefore with only one “l” (are you still following?):
“We were calling” “He called”
Here’s a reminder that your French teachers will appreciate…
#Call #Call #write