A park for dogs to run around in (and their owners to cruise each other) in Montréal
We’ve seen the expression avoir la chienne before, but let’s review it. I was reminded of this expression while reading a text written by Véronique Grenier on Urbania called “Rides de char.”
J’ai la chienne!
Chienne is the feminine form of chien. When you’ve got the chienne, you’re terrified or frightened.
J’ai la chienne.
I’m terrified.
J’ai la chienne de faire ça.
I’m terrified of doing that.
J’avais la chienne.
I was terrified.
J’ai eu la chienne de ma vie!
I got the fright of my life!
While on the topic of having the chienne, now’s a good time to look at the difference between j’avais peur and j’ai eu peur.
J’ai eu peur is used to describe getting scared at a specific moment. J’avais peur is used to describe being scared over time.
J’avais peur.
I was scared.
(all morning, this afternoon, while watching a movie…)
J’ai eu peur.
I got scared.
(when I saw him, when that happened…)
The same distinction exists for avoir faim.
J’avais faim.
I was hungry.
(this morning, all night, during class…)
J’ai eu faim.
I got hungry.
(when I saw the cake, when I smelled the pizza…)
Going back to the original expression in this post, j’avais la chienne is used to talk about being terrified over time. In the example j’ai eu la chienne de ma vie, the speaker got the fright of his or her life at a specific moment when something happened.
