Transcript

Hello everyone. Today, in this new French lesson, we're going to talk about a very small word, the word "bref".

I've lost my keys. Anyway, if there's one thing that pisses me off even more than losing my keys, it's guys giving me rotten advice. Did you look in your other pocket?

This word "brief" can be used in many different contexts, and that's what we're going to look at together today.

As usual, I'm going to give you some context for the different uses of the word "brief".

I know that it's often the little words that slip in everywhere that are the hardest for you to understand and use. Let's start right away with the first use of that adverb "bref."

It's used to cut short a conversation, a thought or a line of reasoning that's being expounded. It's often used in this context. I'm going to give you some context. You'll understand better. I'm hesitating between a long dress and a short dress for tonight. The short dress will be easier to dance in, but I find long dresses more elegant. In short, I'm a bit confused.

So you see, we say "brief", to cut our reasoning a little short. I've been running all day and I haven't even had time to eat this lunch, so let's order a pizza?

We use it to say we're moving on. For example, if all day I've been trying to do things on my computer, but I've never succeeded, I can say "well, I ended up calling my company's technician".

We also use bref, as a synonym for "in a nutshell".

Let's say "in a nutshell". In short, in a nutshell. I could explain the story of Romeo and Juliet to you for 30 minutes, but in a nutshell, it's the story of two lovers whose families were enemies and therefore couldn't be together. In short, it's the story of a pair of lovers.

What is it? Vanessa and Christophe have split up. Yes, but it's a really long story. Can you tell it to me in a nutshell? You can also use the word "brief" as an adjective.

So here, it's no longer an adverb, it's an adjective and used as a synonym for short, concise. For a brief moment I thought you'd cut your hair, but it was just tied back.

A brief moment is a short moment. I could also say, "Tell me a brief story about your vacation, in one or two sentences.

Of course, this adjective can also be used for people. It will be brief in the masculine, but brève in the feminine. It's an expression that means to be concise.

Managing to tell or do something in a fairly short space of time. I'm not going to give you a long speech to tell you how I feel. I'll keep it short, I love you.

Or if you're a girl like me, I'll make it short, I love you.

That's it for today. I hope you've enjoyed this video on this tiny little word and that you've understood how you can use it, sometimes as an adverb, sometimes as an adjective.

If you liked this video, don't forget to support my work by putting a "j'aime" and I'll see you soon for another French video.