Here’s an unexpected side effect of doing the prepositions lesson in SuperMemo: I’ve been able to catch certain examples where the written sentence presented to me is NOT the same as the spoken sentence that the speakers in the lesson deliver. I’ve caught at least three examples like this–one of which actually affects the preposition I’m being asked to fill in! Which is NOT helpful when I’m struggling with telling the difference between “de” and “à”, I can tell you!

Here’s an example where I’m seeing this happen.

Sa mère est très têtue, alors je doute de savoir la convaincre. This is the sentence I see as the written example. The speaker saying the sentence, though, does not say savoir! She says pouvoir, which I’m pretty sure is the actual intended sentence.

And here’s a sentence I’d like to someday be able to say about myself–well, after swapping in the correct pronouns:

Cet écrivain est devenu si populaire qu’il peut maintenant vivre de sa plume.

And I like this one just because whose wife wouldn’t like a black jaguar? (And sure, the example’s probably talking about the car, but I’m pretty sure my femme would prefer an actual jaguar. ;D )

Je pense acheter une jaguar noire pour ma femme.

I like this one just because it pings in my brain off the Le Vent du Nord song “Les larmes aux yeux”:

Pendant la cérémonie de mariage, les larmes me venaient aux yeux.

So, fun! I’m getting better at listening comprehension though as well as general reading. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t keep up with an actual full-speed French conversation yet… but I’m pretty happy with the bump up in my comprehension. We’ll see how things proceed!