french canadian peanut butter commercial

By • June 21, 2020

This is a 1980s French-Canadian commercial for Kraft peanut butter. The commercial is done in a literary way and makes great usage of the liason, passé simple and imparfait.

text and translation

  • Tout le monde savait qu’il y avait un secret à l’interieur de chaque pot de beurre d’arachide Kraft.
    Everybody knew there was a secret inside of every jar of Kraft peanut butter.
  • Tout le monde sauf Lisan. Mais un soir elle fut emportée par le goût incomparable.
    Everybody except Lisian. But one evening she was carried away but the incomparable taste.
  • La saveur unique du beurre d’arachide Kraft.
    The unique taste of Kraft peanut butter.
  • Depuis ce jour tout le monde sait qu’il y a un secret à l’intérieur de chaque pot de beurre d’arachide Kraft.
    Since that that day everybody knows that there’s a secret inside each jar of Kraft peanut butter.

vocabulary and grammar of interest

  • le monde savait qu’il y avait – Everybody knew that there was – This is a great usage of the imperfect or “used to” tense. Here you can compare the imparfait to the passé comosé. On the last line of the commercial the imparfait becomes the present tense: Tout le monde sait qu’il y a.
  • arachide (f.n.) there are two ways to say peanut in French: l’arachide (f) and cacahuète (f), which is also spelled cacahouète (f).
  • pot (m) – translates to jar. Another word for jar is bocal (m).
  • elle fut emportée – fut is passé simple of être in the passe comose: Elle a été carried away. Here’s an entire lesson explaining the passé simple, the literary past tense.
  • Last note on the liason: This commercial has some nice usages of the liason: Il y avait_un secret. Nice linking of the -t on avait and the un. Mais_un soir – linkiing of the -s on mais an un. Finally Elle fut_emportée – Nice linking of the -t and emportée.

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David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.