Hello and welcome to English with Languissimo®, the podcast in English which will help you reach your goals so that you can lead a better life and career.
My name is Vanessa. I’m the founder and CEO of Languissimo®.
Today, I will cover the difference between “floor” and “ground”.
- “Floor” means “sol” or “plancher” in Quebec. It refers to a flat surface in a room and is often used in the expressions “on the floor” (par terre) or “on the dance floor” (sur la piste de danse).
- “Floor” also means “étage”. It is used with “on the” and an ordinal number. For example, my apartment is on the third (3rd) floor” (mon appartement est au troisième étage).
The last floor of a building is called the “top floor”.
In Northern America, the first floor refers to the ground floor which corresponds to the street level.
- “Floor” is also used in the expression “to give the floor to someone” (donner or laisser la parole à quelqu’un).
- “Ground” means “sol” or “terre”. It refers to firm or dry land and is often used in the expressions “on the ground” (par terre or au sol) or “in the ground” (dans la terre).
- “Ground” is used in common words such as “playground” (terrain de jeux), “background” (fond d’écran or antécédents), “groundhog” (marmotte), “underground” (souterrain or clandestin).
- “Ground” is the past tense and past participle of “to grind” (moudre or broyer).
- “Grounds” (in the plural) can mean “raisons” or “surface”. For example, “there are grounds for doing this” (il y a des raisons pour faire cela). “We covered lots of grounds” (on a couvert une grande surface).
“Coffee grounds” (in the plural) is “le marc de café” (singular).
Some Practice Questions
- If you live in an apartment, which floor is it situated?
- Do you use a background when you participate in a virtual meeting?
- Do you buy ground black pepper?
Ta da! That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Subscribe to English with Languissimo®, practice, take care and talk to you soon! Big hugs 😊