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Uh oh! Baby Boy is on Tumblr! I’m John Mulaney and this is my first post. I am silly but also a guys’ guy. This is my best photo.

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ugh i mean i'm just streesed the anxiety medication i'm on is so good and i would not be able to function rn if i wasn't on it but still? Anxiety makes everything so hard. I want to not fail precalc!! Please!!!! but idk how that is going to happen. I would have to raise my grade by 3 or 4 lettwrs in order to get it where i want it to be. grades are too real for their own good. I'm just gonna smoke it out once i get home

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and i wasnt even running fast the whole reason was because of this dumbass brain that i have fuck anxiety fuck anxiety fuck anxiety its noteven like there were thoughts going through my mind i just knew what was happening the moment i started and fucj anxiety i do every.single.thing. right to keep it in check i do everything i can do i meditate i sleep i journal i RUN! i run and while i was running today i couldn’t stop it and people were cheering me on and i knew that there were 3 2 1 laps until i would start crying and hyperventilating and everyone’s eyes were on me becausw i was running so slow and now i’m crying crying the loud ugly tears that i cry when i’m anxious and whimpering because i’m having an anxiety attack and it’s running! i was running and that usually makes me feel so so so much better and i was running today and waiting to cry

anxiety attacks without crying are so weird. i was in too much pain really to register any of the normal anxiety attack stuff hell that clouded my thoughts too but i KNEW that was coming and that the moment i finished i’d have to dash off to the side and breath until i couldn’t anymore and breath and cry. i don’t even think of crying in public places as a bad thing anymore. i’m my anxiety. But crying in places where there are people to impress and people to meet, i just. i hate that i’m tied to my anxiety and i hate that it’s just who i am because i work so hard for this to not be me. i have support and i havw myself and i love myself but my anxiety hurts and having to be hidden hurts and people trying to help HURTS and writing this hurts too but there isn’t much else to do.

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Words to replace said, except this actually helps

I got pretty fed up with looking for words to replace said because they weren’t sorted in a way I could easily use/find them for the right time. So I did some myself.

IN RESPONSE TO Acknowledged Answered Protested

INPUT/JOIN CONVERSATION/ASK Added Implored Inquired Insisted Proposed Queried Questioned Recommended Testified

GUILTY/RELUCTANCE/SORRY Admitted Apologized Conceded Confessed Professed

FOR SOMEONE ELSE Advised Criticized Suggested

JUST CHECKING Affirmed Agreed Alleged Confirmed

LOUD Announced Chanted Crowed

LEWD/CUTE/SECRET SPY FEEL Appealed Disclosed Moaned

ANGRY FUCK OFF MATE WANNA FIGHT Argued Barked Challenged Cursed Fumed Growled Hissed Roared Swore

SMARTASS Articulated Asserted Assured Avowed Claimed Commanded Cross-examined Demanded Digressed Directed Foretold Instructed Interrupted Predicted Proclaimed Quoted Theorized

ASSHOLE Bellowed Boasted Bragged

NERVOUS TRAINWRECK Babbled Bawled Mumbled Sputtered Stammered Stuttered

SUAVE MOTHERFUCKER Bargained Divulged Disclosed Exhorted

FIRST OFF Began

LASTLY Concluded Concurred

WEAK PUSY Begged Blurted Complained Cried Faltered Fretted

HAPPY/LOL Cajoled Exclaimed Gushed Jested Joked Laughed

WEIRDLY HAPPY/EXCITED Extolled Jabbered Raved

BRUH, CHILL Cautioned Warned

ACTUALLY, YOU’RE WRONG Chided Contended Corrected Countered Debated Elaborated Objected Ranted Retorted

CHILL SAVAGE Commented Continued Observed Surmised

LISTEN BUDDY Enunciated Explained Elaborated Hinted Implied Lectured Reiterated Recited Reminded Stressed

BRUH I NEED U AND U NEED ME Confided Offered Urged

FINE Consented Decided

TOO EMO FULL OF EMOTIONS Croaked Lamented Pledged Sobbed Sympathized Wailed Whimpered

JUST SAYING Declared Decreed Mentioned Noted Pointed out Postulated Speculated Stated Told Vouched

WASN’T ME Denied Lied

EVIL SMARTASS Dictated Equivocated Ordered Reprimanded Threatened

BORED Droned Sighed

SHHHH IT’S QUIET TIME Echoed Mumbled Murmured Muttered Uttered Whispered

DRAMA QUEEN Exaggerated Panted Pleaded Prayed Preached

OH SHIT Gasped Marveled Screamed Screeched Shouted Shrieked Yelped Yelled

ANNOYED Grumbled Grunted Jeered Quipped Scolded Snapped Snarled Sneered

ANNOYING Nagged

I DON’T REALLY CARE BUT WHATEVER Guessed Ventured

I’M DRUNK OR JUST BEING WEIRDLY EXPRESSIVE FOR A POINT/SARCASM Hooted Howled Yowled

I WONDER Pondered Voiced Wondered

OH, YEAH, WHOOPS Recalled Recited Remembered

SURPRISE BITCH Revealed

IT SEEMS FAKE BUT OKAY/HA ACTUALLY FUNNY BUT I DON’T WANT TO LAUGH OUT LOUD Scoffed Snickered Snorted

BITCHY Tattled Taunted Teased

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I’M CONFUSED in French

Saying that you are confused in French (from an anglophone’s perspective) is surprisingly difficult. So here is a little list so we can stop being confused about how to say that we���re confused.

Je ne sais plus où j’en suis - I’m confused - in the sense that you don’t know where you are in something (figurative)

Je suis perdu(e) - I’m confused (lost) 

J’ai du mal �� suivre - I’m confused - I’m having trouble following

Ça m’embrouille - I’m confused - lit. this confuses me

Je n’y comprends rien (or: j’y comprends rien - to be more colloquial) - I’m confused - I don’t get it

If any French speakers have any suggestions or questions PLEASE send me a message so that I can either improve or correct my post:)

- Lucy

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10 small tips to improve your productivity

Who can resist reading another little post full of tips to help you get more work done? Here is a few things that I find useful when trying to get myself motivated.

Clear desk, clear mind - I like to organise things before I start working. If things are messy, I get a little preoccupied and procrastinate even more. My suggestion is clear your desk, sort everything you’ll need to study and get on!

The two minute rule - If a task that needs to be done takes less than two minutes, just do it. My dad has often suggested that this is a great way to sort out your priorities and so far it has worked for me. Things like check my emails, cross off events from my planner, file something away don’t take long but get you in the mood for productivity. As they say “object in motion, stay in motion”.

Break your time up - Schedule your study time and any breaks you need to take. This helps structure your day and acts as a motivation to get things done. Especially if you can reward yourself at the end!

Leave your phone alone - Like most people I use my phone constantly but when I’m trying to work, it is best to leave it alone. Out of sight, out of mind. Try leaving it on silent and behind you so you aren’t tempted to pick it up after every beep. Use your break times to check it.

Find your top three to five priorities - Seeing a long list of things to do is usually, for some people, kind of counterproductive. Figure out the main things that need to be done and work on those. If you’re able to complete those main things, you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished the days necessities and may even want to complete some more.

Try using a mindmap instead of a to do list - Apparently using a mindmap layout instead of a traditional list can help boost productivity. It is a little more funky way to see all your outstanding tasks and might not look as overwhelming as a super long list.

Wear headphones - You don’t have to always listen to things but it can help block out any noise that can distract you. If you’re someone that likes some music, try songs with little or no words. This is a great playlist by Spotify.

Don’t multitask - As much as you think you can do it, trying to multitask usually ends up in a confused mess and takes twice the time. Stick to one task at a time. If you think of something you need to do, write it down and do it later.

Change things up - Doing the same things in the same place can get boring. Make the effort every now and then to change where you’re studying or how you’re studying. This can include moving your studying from the desk to the kitchen table for a change of scenery, or making flash cards instead of annotating your notes. Studying with a family member or friends is a fun way to get some work done!

Be positive - Most people have times when they just don’t want to study or anything, it is natural. However it is not worth sitting staring at your books in an unmotivated mood just waiting to feel inspired. If you’re not feeling it, do something else for a while. Come back to it a bit later and have another go. Usually walking away and coming back is all you need to feel more productive.

I hope these few tips are useful! These are the kind of things that work for me, so give them a shot and let me know if they help. Best of luck with your studies x

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if you have chapped lips - make a homemade lipscrub (1teaspoon honey, 1teaspoon olive oil, 2teaspoons white sugar, few drops of lemon juice - thank u to whoever sent in this remedy!) and scrub it all over ur lips. wipe it off w a wet cotton ball and then massage some lip butter or olive oil into ur lips before u go to bed as a deep treatment. lip butter and oils are way more nourishing than lipbalm and ur lips should soon be 100 !

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FOR ALL MY FELLOW BROKE COLLEGE STUDENTS HERES A LIST OF A BUNCH OF PLACES YOU CAN FIND FREE PDF VERSIONS OF YOUR TEXTBOOKS.... IF YOU NEED ANY HELP FINDING A BOOK JUST SEND ME A MESSAGE AND I'LL DO MY BEST TO HELP

http://www.textbooknova.com/

http://www.freebookspot.es/

http://www.free-ebooks.net/

http://www.getfreeebooks.com/

http://textbookrevolution.org/index.php/Main_Page

http://en.bookfi.org/

http://www.epubbud.com

http://www.reddit.com/r/eebooks+mathbooks+csbooks+physicsbooks+econbooks/new/?sort=new

http://mobibookz.co

http://www.gutenberg.org

http://manybooks.net

http://people.math.gatech.edu/~cain/textbooks/onlinebooks.html

http://openlibrary.org

http://ebookee.org

http://oerconsortium.org/discipline-specific/

http://bookboon.com/en/textbooks-ebooks

http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/Top_100

www.readanybook.com/

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IF A CREEP WANTS YOUR NUMBER

A series of fake numbers to leave behind.

1-888-447-5594 - Easter egg number for finishing God of War, contains a dramatic speech. Personal favorite.

605-475-6968 - Rejection hotline, politely explains that whoever gave you this number turned ya down, buddy

888-276-6760 - The 24-hour Klu Klux Klanline where you can get a FREE INFORMATION BOOKLET!!!!1!

866-740-4531 - Only responds with “I am Groot”

206-569-5829 - Seattle radio station “Loser Line”. If they leave a weird voicemail, it could get broadcast over the airwaves.

Stay safe, people.

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some feelings in french

j’en ai marre - I’m fed up

j’ai le cafard - I’m depressed (literally: I have the cockroach)

affreux/affreuse - awful

je n’ai pas le moral - I feel down.

j’ai le moral à zéro - I feel really down

je suis en pleine forme - I feel really well

je me sens mal dans ma peau - I feel down (I don’t feel good in my skin)

il/elle est de bonne humeur - he/she is in a good mood

il/elle est de mauvaise humeur - he/she is in a bad mood

ça ne va pas du tout - things are not going well

j’en ai ras le bol - I’ve had enough

je suis déprimé(e) - I’m depressed

il/elle est triste - he/she’s sad

je croque la vie à pleines dents- life’s great

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Advice for Writing Papers

The first lesson I learned in my college English class was how to eliminate crutch verbs or to-be verbs. 

What are crutch verbs? Be, Am, Is, Are, Was, Were, Been, Being, Have, Has, Had, Make, Making, Made, Take, Taking, Took, Takes, Give, Giving, Gave, Given, Show, Showed, Showing, Shown, Feel, Felt, Feeling, Get, Got, Getting, Gotten, Use, Using, Used, Seeming, Seem, Seemed, Put, Putting, State, Stated, Stating 

When revising our papers, we would circle all of the crutch verbs. Our goal was to cut them down by at least half for the final draft. This helped my writing immensely. I highly recommend you try this technique for your future papers :) 

What’s wrong with to-be verbs? 

- They claim an absolute truth and exclude other views.

- They are general and lack specificity. 

- Vague - Instead of saying “She is great.” You could clarify why she’s great. 

How to get rid of to-be verbs:

- Substitute the verb for something else. Instead of saying “The ice cream is good.” say “The ice cream tastes good.” 

- Rearrange - try starting the sentence differently to eliminate the verb. 

- Combine sentences 

I would also recommend looking out for this/that/it/things/stuff.

Good luck with your papers! :D  

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guide to the perfect day

i always see ’ guides to the perfect morning ‘ or ‘ guides to the perfect night ‘ but never one where it encompasses the whole day and thus i decided to make one !!

note : 

i use the term ‘perfect’ very loosely and what you find a perfect day may not be the same as me but i hope you enjoy this post nonetheless :  )

also, this is more for the weekends and holidays as i didn’t include a school time period hehe

MORNING :

wake up by 0730 am 

our bodies are programmed to rise with the sun and thus this is an ideal waking up time 

besides, waking up earlier means that you have more time in the day to do the things that you want

try not to linger too much and just turn off your alarm and jump straight out of your bed

do try to make your bed as as the saying goes : messy bed, messy head

get ready between 0730 am to 0845 am

try to have a morning routine as having a routine at the start of the day will help set the tone for the rest of your day 

if you want an extra jolt of energy, try showering with cooler water

also try to go out for a run or walk ( just try to be active right in the morning )

have your breakfast between 0845 am to 0930 am

don’t skip breakfast !! it is the most important meal of the day and it gives you the boost of energy that you need to jump-start your day

try to opt for healthier and more nutritious options such as oats or cereal

work between 0930 am to 1230 pm

get into the habit of doing productive things in the morning this is as our bodies are at it’s peak performance and concentration 

during this time, i like to do the heavier tasks such as writing essays 

it is important to take short but frequent breaks !! ( try the pomodoro method )

AFTERNOON :

lunch break 1230 pm to 0200 pm

try consuming healthier food as it has been proven that our bodies are naturally inclined to be tired after lunch time thus try to avoid sweet or starchy food as they would make you even more lethargic

take this time to relax, maybe call up a friend to have lunch and do some catching up

start your day over 0200 pm to 0215 pm

as inspired by this post, re-evaluate your day at 2 pm

use this time to go through what you need to accomplish, what have you done and what you need to do

do your digital work 0215 pm - 0415 pm

as previously established, our bodies tend to be more sluggish after lunch, so i like to schedule my less taxing tasks here

take this time to go through your emails and start with your digital work ( i.e writing blog posts / coding / designing with photoshop etc )

i use cold turkey so that i can be the most productive and wouldn’t waste this time on instagram or tumblr

nap 0415 pm - 0445 pm

a nap in the middle of the day has been shown to be beneficial to our bodies

however, the length of it is very important. keep it to 20 - 30 mins as this will allow for energy boost while preventing the feeling of grogginess when you wake up

finish up any incomplete tasks 0445 pm - 0700 pm

it is nearing the end of the day so it’s time to wrap up any unfinished tasks

NIGHT :

dinner time 0700 pm to 0815 pm

try to eat a smaller portion of food as it’s the end of the day, your metabolism rate will slow down and you wouldn’t want to go to bed feeling bloated right? 

freshen up 0815 pm - 0900 pm 

after a long day of work, it is important to wash up and freshen up 

if there’s time, do take the time to pamper yourself a little ( maybe do a hair mask or face mask or both!! )

rest and relax 0900 pm - 1000 pm

take this time to completely relax

watch your favourite shows or youtubers 

no digital devices hour 0900 pm - 1000 pm

it has been shown that the blue light emitted from our screens can prevent the production of melatonin, which is a hormone that is responsible for making us feel sleepy

thus an hour before bed time, try avoiding any digital devices

instead, spend the time planning your outfits for the next day, packing your bag, meal prep or even just reading a book

lights out 1100 pm

to ensure that you have an adequate amount of sleep, try to go to sleep lastest by 11pm 

you can use a sleep tracker to tracker your sleep 

personally, i use the sleep cycle app which not only tracks my sleep but also has an alarm that wakes me up when i’m in my lightest phase of sleep

TADAH! that’s a perfect from day to night schedule that i would ideally follow

here’s a mini summary of how much time is spent doing what :

sleep : 8.5 hrs 

doing work : 7 hrs 15 mins ( 2 hrs of digital work + 5 hrs 15 mins of work )

resting : 1.5 hrs

get ready / freshening up : 2 hrs ( 1 hr 15 mins in the morning + 45 mins at night ) 

eating : 3.5 hrs ( 45 mins breakfast + 1.5 hr lunch + 1 hr 15 mins dinner )

other : 1 hr 15 mins ( 1 hr no digital time + 15 mins re-evaluating your day )

wooh ! i hope you enjoyed reading this post hehe 

- jayce

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7 Study Moods

So you wanna study, but somehow the mood just isn’t right. Maybe try these? Pick your favorite, or do one each day of the week!

The Classy: Green tea, classical string quartets, reading articles in a park.

Great for when you need to read 120 pages of something. It’s way nicer to read when you’re in a nice place!

The Hipster: Coffee, jazz, writing summaries of the material in a coffee shop.

You’ll look very cosmopolitan, with all your notes in front of you. Make sure your summaries are coherent though, and you’re not too busy looking great to study well.

The Grad Student: Wine/sparkling cider, Adele, writing papers, curled up in blankets in bed.

Papers are easiest for me to write when I’m comfortable. If I feel a little fancy at the same time, so much the better.

The Focuser: Cold water, nature sounds, taking practice tests in a sunlight place.

The best way to study for a test is to take a test. The best way to kill test-anxiety is to take a practice test and feel calm while you do it. This is a great way to feel calm and prepared when you do a practice test, and that leads to a better actual test.

The Party-er: Energy drink, dubstep, drilling flashcards on the floor.

Flashcards for me are a speed thing. If I’m drilling them, my goal is to know those definitions as fast as possible. Caffeine and fast music raise my heart rate, and sitting on the floor gives me room to spread out the cards however I need to.

The Morning Person: Orange juice, early American hymns, transcribing notes at your desk.

Not necessarily done during the morning! Orange juice helps keep you alert without making you open to distraction, and old American hymns just make me feel happy, so putting them together helps make transcribing a better time.

The Finals Prepper: Black tea, folk music, interleaving any/all of the above, at the library.

This can be done whenever, and is especially useful for just keeping yourself up to speed.

Don’t worry about doing any of these exactly, these are just moods! Mix and match parts of them, make your own, whatever. I’d recommend choosing one or two moods that work really well for you and then doing them consistently, just to really get in the habit.

Good luck!

Seven more study moods

(s)EVEN MORE STUDY MOODS

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bonjour! since i started teaching myself french a few months ago, i thought it would be a good idea to immerse myself by listening to some french music. a lot of french music, actually. here are some of my favorites! (requested by @athenastudying)

cœur de pirate 

my absolute favorite french artist at the moment! her songs are more on the melancholy side, but they have a lovely vintage vibe. also her music videos are v creative so definitely check those out as well! faves: crier tout bas, adieu, ensemble

indila

i’m not usually crazy about indie pop in english but I love indila’s music in french! her songs have a good beat and i often find myself belting out her songs during my solo dance parties. oops. faves: dernière danse, tourner dans le vide, sos

stromae

stromae’s music is actually one of the things that inspired me to start learning french!! his music is a blend of hip hop and electronic, which isn’t usually my thing, but i absolutely adore his music. faves: papaoutai, tous les memes, alors on danse

mika

his songs are super catchy and upbeat! i listened to “boum boum boum” for the first time (w the music video) when i knew about four words of french and ended up thinking it was about guns? (spoiler alert: it’s about sex), but i still love it. p sure these are his only two songs in french but i have played them on repeat more times than i care to admit. faves: elle me dit, boum boum boum

fréro delavega

i only discovered their music recently (Fréro Delavega is a two-man duo), and it took me about 0.3 seconds to fall in love with their songs. their songs have a lot of great harmony, and they’re lighthearted and fun to listen to. faves: mon petit pays, ton visage 

joyce jonathan

another recent find! i like to play her music on my phone when i walk to school in the mornings because it’s p relaxing. faves: je ne sais pas, ça ira

édith piaf

i practically grew up on edith piaf, even before i started learning french properly. her music is wonderful and definitely classic. faves: la vie en rose, a l'enseigne de la fille sans coeur,  non, je ne regrette rien

+more

i love these songs, but i have yet to listen to more music from these artists! they’re still fantastic

badaboum / buridane  coups et blessures / bb brunes  l’air de rien / margaux avril  les jours electriques / jenifer  on trace ma route / christophe maé  on ira / zaz  on ne vit qu'une fois /  sidoine  sur ma route / black m  tombé sous le charme / christophe mae

au revoir + shoutout @ciralism​ for recommending coeur de pirate to me in the first place!! xx

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MUSIC RESOURCES GALORE

So I get a TON of requests for stuff like ear training apps and sheet music sites and music history help. So here is a GREAT BIG LIST of resources for the average music major to use as they need! I tried to find free stuff when I could - some of the apps might cost a couple dollars, but that’s all. Everything has been recommended by one of you, or vetted by me! This is cross-posted to my Resources page, too!

First seen on HowToMusicMajor.com

Composition

MUSESCORE

Noteflight

Finale free trial

Recording

Reaper DAW free download

Audacity free download

Sheet music

IMSLP - general music archive

CPDL - vocal/choral music archive

Academic help

Oxford Music Online/Grove Music encyclopedia - your university might give you access to this

Musictheory.net

Teoria.com

Hooktheory.com

Music Theory Made Stupidly Easy

Earmaster.com

Music History overview

Another Overview

Apps

Tuners

PanoTuner (Android version)

Tonal Energy Tuner

Clear Tune (Android version)

Ear Training/Theory

Clapping Music for iOS

Perfect Ear 2 for Android

Tenuto for iOS

iReal Pro

Music Theory Helper for Android

SoundPrism for iOS

Score Master (Lite) for Android

Sheet Music Master for iOS

Metronomes

ProMetronome (Android version)

Etc.

Ultimate Guitar

Voice Recorder for Android (iOS comes with one)

Blogs

Tumblr

Dailypracticetips

Musictheorydiscussions

Sonateharder

Wecappiam

Soyouwanttobeamusicmajor

Other

Majoringinmusic.com

Learn an instrument

Piano

Practisingthepiano.com

Josh Wright Piano TV (on YouTube)

InstantPianoGenuis

Saxophone

CdotSik

Johnny Fiera

Flute

Mr. Selfridge

LearnFluteOnline.com

Flutetunes.com

Piccolo

Nancy Elizabeth

Oboe

Michele Fiala E-Oboe Lessons

InstrumentManiac

Clarinet

Mr. Selfridge

How to clean it!

Bassoon

Gustavo Núñez

Terry Ewell

Horn

Barry Tuckwell

ExpertVillage

Trumpet

eTrumpet Lessons

How To Play Trumpet

Trombone

Mr. Glynn

Chris Bill

Violin

MakeLoveWithMusic

Online Piano and Violin Tutor

Viola

The String Club

Cindy Orcutt

Cello

Queixoso

Sarah Joy

Bass

Discover Double Bass

Andrew Anderson

Drum kit

Drumeo

Vic Firth

Timpani

Vic Firth

Snare

Huestis Music

Guitar

YGS Guitar Lessons

Guitarlessons.com

Guitar.about.com

Bass guitar

TalkingBass

MusicCollegeTV

I hope some of these can come in handy for you!

Thanks to the following for submitting something for this list!

@mem1846, @obsessivetenor84, @akaristudies, @rhysman4000, @howdoijennifer, @singingsimblr, @akajonesinvestigations, @perc-lobo, @1playthetuba, @mastersanddreamers, @tangerineing, @thepolyglotmusician, @akaristudies, @littlebanddirector, @hollaatmahler, @thehumblebard

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Naughty French Part 1

Va te faire foutre/enculer- get fucked/go fuck yourself Se foutre de - to take the piss out of/to not give a fuck Je m'en fous - I don’t give a fuck Je n'en ai rien à foutre - I don’t give two shits/a fuck about that Je t'emmerde - screw you J'en sais foutre rien - I know fuck/bugger all (about it) Foirer (qch) - to mess/screw something up e.g. J'ai vraiment foiré sur ce coup-là Le foutre - cum/jizz Foutre dans la merde - to stuff/fuck up Foutre la merde - to shit stir Foutre la trouille à quelqu'un - to scare the shit out of someone Foutre les boules à quelqu'un - to piss somebody off Merder - to cock up/go to shit Nique ta mère - motherfucker/go fuck yourself

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Sentence Starters - French

To introduce a point:

Tout le monde s’accorde à penser que… - Everyone agrees that…

Nous vivons dans un monde où… - We live in a world in which…

Il est bien connu que… - It is a well-known fact that….

Pour commencer - To begin with

To develop an argument:

Il me semble que… - In my view….

Selon moi/D’après moi/Pour moi/À mon avis - In my opinion…

Je ne peux pas m’empêcher de penser… - I can’t help thinking…

Je suis d’avis que… - I am of the opinion that…

J’estime que… - I estimate that…

Je trouve que… - I find that…

Personnellement - Personally

En premier lieu - In the first place

Tout d’abord - Firstly/To start

Pour commencer, examinons… Firstly, let us examine…

Plusieurs arguments viennent renforcer cette idée - There are several arguments in support of this idea

Il y a plusieurs raisons pour lesquelles… - There are several reasons why…

De plus - Besides…

En outre… - Furthermore…

À cet égard il faut noter… - In this respect, it is worth noting…

De même… - Likewise…

D’ailleurs… - Moreover…

Quant au/à la - As for the….

Qui plus est… - What’s more/Moreover

Prenons le cas de… - Let’s take the case of….

… est un exemple frappant… - … is a striking example of this

… illustre bien… - …is a good illustration of…

Il est certain que… - It is certain that…

Il faut bien reconnaître que… - One must recognise that…

Il est évident que… - Evidently…

Il n’y a aucun doute que… - There is no doubt about it…

Il faut bien admettre que… - It has to be admitted that…

Il est probable que…. - It is likely that…

Je crains fort que… - I very much fear that…

Il n’est guère probable que… - It is hardly likely that…

Il faut examiner le revers de la médaille - You have to look at the other side of the argument

Il vaut mieux + [infinitive] - It is better to…

Si j’ose le dire… - If I may venture to suggest…

Ayant pesé le pour et le contre… - Having weighed up the pros and cons…

Il n’est pas impossible que + [subjunctive] - It is not impossible that…

Il se pourrait très bien que + [subjunctive] - It is quite possible that…

Il n’est pas sûr/il n’est pas certain que + [subjunctive] - We don’t know for sure that…

Je doute que + [subjunctive] - I doubt that…

Rien d’étonnant que + [subjunctive] - It’s not surprising that…

To summarise:

Pour conclure… - To conclude…

Tout bien considéré… - All things considered…

En fin de compte… - At the end of the day…

En somme… - In short….

En guise de conclusion - In conclusion…