Talking About Relationships — S'Entendre, Avoir

Why this matters

Knowing the words for family members is one thing — being able to talk about your relationships with them is another. "We get along well." "I trust him completely." "We don't see each other much." These relationship expressions are the heart of real French conversation, especially with friends.

🦝 Remy says: "When a French person asks how things are with your family or friends, they don't just want 'bien' — they want the story. Today you get the language for that story."

Key Relationship Verbs & Expressions

S'entendre (avec) — To get along (with)

This is a reflexive verb — the reflexive pronoun changes with the subject:

| Subject | Form | Example | |

|

|

| | je | je m'entends | Je m'entends bien avec ma sœur. = I get along well with my sister. | | tu | tu t'entends | Tu t'entends avec tes collègues ? = Do you get along with your colleagues? | | il/elle | il s'entend | Il s'entend bien avec tout le monde. = He gets along with everyone. | | nous | nous nous entendons | Nous nous entendons très bien. = We get along very well. | | vous | vous vous entendez | Vous vous entendez bien ? = Do you get along well? | | ils/elles | ils s'entendent | Ils ne s'entendent pas du tout. = They don't get along at all. |

Other Essential Relationship Expressions

| Expression | Example | Meaning | |

|

|

| | avoir confiance en | J'ai confiance en elle. | to trust someone | | faire confiance à | Je lui fais confiance. | to trust someone | | se disputer avec | Ils se disputent souvent. | to argue with | | se réconcilier avec | Nous nous sommes réconciliés. | to make up with | | rendre visite à | On lui rend visite dimanche. | to visit someone | | manquer à | Tu me manques. | to miss someone | | soutenir | Elle m'a soutenu. | to support | | compter sur | Je compte sur toi. | to count on |

"Tu me manques" — A Classic French Trap

In English: "I miss you." In French: Tu me manques. — literally "You are missing to me."

The subject of the French sentence is the person being missed, not the person doing the missing!

• Ma famille me manque. = I miss my family. (My family is missing to me.)
• Mes amis lui manquent. = He misses his friends.
• Est-ce que Paris te manque ? = Do you miss Paris?

🦝 Remy says: "Tu me manques is one of the most common points of confusion for French learners. The trick: think of it as 'you are missing FROM me.' You have a hole where the person should be. It's poetic, really."

📝 Exercise 1 — Fill in the blank

1. Je m'________ (entendre) bien avec mes parents.
2. Tu ________ (faire) confiance à ton patron ?
3. Ils ________ (se disputer) souvent.
4. Ma mère me ________ (manquer).
5. Nous ________ (compter) sur toi.

✅ Answers:

1. entends
2. fais
3. se disputent
4. manque
5. comptons

📝 Exercise 2 — Translate tricky sentences

1. I miss my grandmother. → ___
2. She trusts her best friend. → ___
3. They (m.) argue a lot but always make up. → ___
4. Can I count on you? → ___
5. We visit our parents every weekend. → ___

✅ Answers:

1. Ma grand-mère me manque.
2. Elle a confiance en sa meilleure amie.
3. Ils se disputent beaucoup mais se réconcilient toujours.
4. Je peux compter sur toi ?
5. Nous rendons visite à nos parents chaque week-end.

📝 Exercise 3 — Multiple choice

1. To say "I get along well with her," use: a) Je m'entends bien avec elle. b) Je m'entends bien d'elle. c) J'entends bien avec elle.

2. "I miss Paris" in French is: a) Je manque Paris. b) Paris me manque. c) Je manque à Paris.

3. "We support each other" is: a) Nous soutenons ensemble. b) Nous nous soutenons. c) On soutient les autres.

✅ Answers: 1-a, 2-b, 3-b

🎯 Today's challenge

Write a paragraph about an important relationship in your life (friend, family, colleague). Use at least three expressions from today: s'entendre, manquer, compter sur, faire confiance, se disputer...

⭐ Key takeaways

• S'entendre avec = to get along with. It's reflexive — don't forget the reflexive pronoun.
• Tu me manques = I miss you (literally "you are missing to me"). The subject is the missed person.
• Faire confiance à and avoir confiance en both mean to trust, but the preposition differs.