Many of my blogs are written in response to mistakes made by my students of English, and this one is no exception. Sometimes I make a note of these mistakes, correct my student at the time and then that’s the end of the issue. However, sometimes when I hear the same error being made by multiple students, I realise that it is not simply a case of a ‘slip of the tongue’ (French – lapsus) but a fundamental misunderstanding of differences which exist between French and English. These can be due to ‘false friends’ where the same or similar words or expressions exist in the different languages but which have different meanings; or they can be caused by ‘phrasal verbs’ in English which can have very different meanings with just a small change in preposition. A common example of this is ‘to look for’, ‘to look after’ and ‘to look at’. We native English speakers find the differences in meaning of these verbs very easy to explain, but for learners of English, they choosing the correct ones be a real challenge.
Another example of a change in preposition giving a different meaning is in the case of ‘to hear of’ and ‘to hear about’. This can be particularly problematic because in other languages the translation for ‘of’ and ‘about’ is in fact the same (French – de). So, how does a student know which preposition to use in which situation? That is to say, when do you know when to say that you’ve heard of something or heard about something?
Something which already exists or some new information?
Consider this question in French;
‘’Avez-vous entendu parler de la Ligue des champions ?’’
What is the correct English translation here? Well, that depends on the meaning of the question and if the questioner is asking if the respondent is ‘already familiar’ with the Champions’ League, or if there is some ‘new information’ to discuss in relation to it. The truth is that in the French wording it could mean either, and in French there is no need to differentiate. However, in English the distinction is important because if the question is put incorrectly, there could be misunderstanding. So, in English, if we want to know if someone is ‘already familiar’ with something which already exists, we use the phrasal verb to ‘hear of’.
To ‘hear of’
- Person 1. ‘’Have you heard of the Champions League?’’ (meaning – Are you familiar with it? It has existed for a long time but perhaps you haven’t discovered it yet).
- Person 2. ‘’Yes, of course I have, it’s a European football competition; we watch it on TV every four years.
Or alternatively;
- Person 2. ‘No, what is it?’’
If we want to know if someone has learnt some new information about something which has happened recently, we use the phrasal verb to ‘hear about’.
To ‘hear about’
- Person 1. ‘’Have you heard about the Champions League?‘’ (meaning –Something has recently happened concerning it. Do you know what has happened? I do, and want to know if you know too).
- Person 2. ‘’Yes, it’s been cancelled – that’s bad news!’’
Or alternatively;
- Person 2. ‘’No, what’s happened?’’
So, be careful when translating ‘’Avez-vous entendu parler de…’’ into English, and think first about if the subject you are discussing is something which already exists, whether that be a thing, a person, a place, etc. (hear of), or if it’s something which is new information in relation to something, someone, somewhere, etc. (hear about).
If you have enjoyed reading this blog, please ‘like’ it and share it with your friends and colleagues, and if you know anyone who might be interested in my online one-to-one lessons, please do ask them to contact me to discuss how I can help them to excel in English.
Recent Comments