French language Q&A Forum

"Tandis que le 14 février s'approche à grands pas"

1.  What does "à grands pas" add here that is not covered by "s'approche"

2.  Why is the reflexive verb used?  Would not "approcher" cover the same semantic territory?  It doesn't approach itself.

Thanks

Il y a quelques jours j’ai écouté un podcast sur lequel la présentatrice a parlé de ‘faire les courses’. 

Elle a décrit un  panier avec deux petites roues qu’on utilise pour apporter les achats chez lui. (Surtout utilisés par les grand-mères!). Je pense elle a dit que ce panier s’appelle « un chariot », et the trolley on utilise au supermarché s’appelle « un caddie » C’est correcte ou pas?

This is an area that I have found to be a bit confusing for me: Why is it "une tarte aux pommes; une tarte aux peches" but "une tarte/sorbet au citron" etc...? 

It is "un cafe au lait" but is it "une glace au cafe" for a coffee ice cream, (one of my favorites) ?

I know that I , for one, would really appreciate a lesson on these terms. 

And, then there are all the food terms which use "de"; "du"; "de la" and "des" !

Help!  

Par exemple - pouquoi est-ce qu'on dit "un sandwich au jambon" mais "un verre de vin" ?

May I suggest a lesson which addresses adjectives for foods and "la cuisine" ? After all France is known for its excellent cuisine!

I think it would be very helpful !

Merci a tous !

Is "Nous nous sentons", in this situation, just a matter of emphasizing the point?

Cette argile is corrected to Cet argile yet argile is listed as feminine in the dictionary.

Are the terms "les lettres" and "la littérature" interchangeable?

When should subject names (les matières) be capitalised? 

In the audio for “Mais la ville essaie de prendre des initiatives écolos.” it sounds to me like a conjugated “prend” (i.e. silent “d”, so sounds like “pren”), instead of the infinitive “prendre”.

Is abricot not masculine? Why is it à l'abricot instead of au abricot? Thank you