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Grammar · -ger verbs

-ger verbs are regular -er verbs that are also stem changing. The most common -ger verb is manger.

For manger and all other regular -ger verbs, the stem change is the addition of an e after the g. This only applies in the nous form. In this case, the change is made to preserve the soft g pronunciation rather than the hard g that would be present if the e were not included.

Formation

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to eat
manger ( /mɑ̃ʒe/, [mɑ̃ː.ˈʒe](mah(n)zhay))
je	mange	/mɑ̃ʒ/ (mah(n)zh)	I	eat	nous	mangeons	/mɑ̃.ʒɔ̃/ (mah(n)zhoh(n))	we	eat
tu	manges	/mɑ̃ʒ/ (mah(n)zh)	you	eat	vous	mangez	/mɑ̃.ʒe/ (mah(n)zhay)	you	eat
il	mange	/mɑ̃ʒ/ (mah(n)zh)	he	eats	ils	mangent	/mɑ̃ʒ/ (mah(n)zh)	they	eat
elle	mange		she	eats	elles	mangent
on	mange		one	eats
past participle: mangé ( /mɑ̃.ʒe/ (mah(n)zhay))

Other -ger verbs

(upload audio)
changer	/ʃɑ̃.ʒe/ (shah(n)-zhay)	to change
exiger	/ɛɡ.zi.ʒe/ (ehg-zee-zhay)	to require
nager	/na.ʒe/ (nah-zhay)	to swim
soulager	/sulaʒe/ (soolahzhay)	to relieve
voyager	/vwa.ja.ʒe/ (vwah-yuhah-zhay)	to travel

Examples

(upload audio)
Nous mangeons dans une heure.		We eat in an hour.
C’est le soir qui soulage les esprits.		It’s the evening which soothes the spirits.

Vocabulary · Common foods

(upload audio)
la banane	/ba.nan/	banana
la pomme	/pɔm/	apple		Je vais m'étendre dans la prairie, sous un pommier aux pommes vertes et dures.	I'll lie down in the meadow, under a tree with green and hard apples.
la viande	/vjɑ̃d/	meat
le poulet	/pu.lɛ/	chicken		Je vais faire du poulet rôti.	I'm going to make roasted chicken.
le bœuf	/bœf/	beef
le poisson (frais, salé, mariné, sec, frit, grillé)	/pwa.sɔ̃/	(fresh, salted, pickled, dried, fried, grilled) fish
le bonbon		candy		Je vous ai apporté des bonbons.	I brought you some candy.

Grammar · To drink · Boire

The verb boire, meaning to drink, is irregularly conjugated (it is not a regular -re verb).

Formation

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to drink
boire ( /bwaʁ/ (bwahr))
je	bois	/bwɑ/ (bwah)	I	drink	nous	buvons	/by.vɔ̃/ (bew-voh(n))	we	drink
tu	bois	/bwɑ/ (bwah)	you	drink	vous	buvez	/by.ve/ (bew-vay)	you	drink
il	boit	/bwɑ/ (bwah)	he	drinks	ils	boivent	/bwav/ (bwahv)	they	drink
elle	boit		she	drinks	elles	boivent
on	boit		one	drinks
past participle: bu ( /by/ (bu) (bew))

Vocabulary · Drinks · Les boissons

(upload audio)
la bière	/bjɛr/	beer
le café	/ka.fe/	coffee		Je vais boire une tasse de café.	I'll drink a cup of coffee.
le chocolat (chaud)	/ʃɔ.kɔ.la/	hot chocolate		Quand j’ai froid, je bois un chocolat chaud.	When I'm cold, I drink a hot chocolate.
le coca	/kɔ.ka/	Coke, soda		Nous avons bu un coca dans ce bar après le travail.	We drank a Coke in the bar after work.
la limonade	/li.mɔ.nad/	lemonade, lemon soda		La limonade est rafraîchissante en été.	Lemonade is refreshing in the summer.
l'eau (f)	/o/	water		Je vais boire un verre d’eau fraîche.	I'm going to drink a cool glass of water.
le jus (d'orange, de pomme, de raisin, de tomate)	/ʒy/	(orange, apple, grape, tomato) juice		Garçon, deux jus de pomme, s’il vous plaît !	Waiter, two apple juice, please!
le thé (vert, noir, rouge)	/te/	(green, black, red) tea		Mon frère n'aime pas le thé noir. Il boit toujours du thé vert.	My brother does not like black tea. He always drinks green tea.
le vin (blanc, rosé, rouge)	/vɛ̃/	(white, rosé, red) wine		As-tu bu ? J'ai bu deux verres de vin.	Have you been drinking? I have drunk two glasses of wine.

Grammar · The partitive article

The partitive article de indicates, among other things, the word some. As learned earlier, de and le contract (combine) into du, as de and les contract into des. Also, instead of du or de la, de l' is used in front of vowels.

When speaking about food, the partitive article is used at some times while the definite article (le, la, les) is used at other times, and the indefinite article (un, une) in yet another set of situations. In general de refers to a part of food (a piece of pie) whereas the definite article (le) refers to a food in general (I like pie (in general)). The indefinite article refers to an entire unit of a food (I would like a (whole) pie).

When speaking about preferences, use the definite article:

J'aime la glace.		I like ice cream.
Nous préférons le steak.		We prefer steak.
Vous aimez les frites.		You like French fries.

When speaking about eating or drinking an item, there are specific situations for the use of each article.

Definite article (specific/whole items)
J'ai mangé la tarte.		I ate the (whole) pie.
Indefinite article (known quantity)
J'ai mangé une tarte.		I ate a pie.
Partitive article (unknown quantity)
J'ai mangé de la tarte.		I ate some pie.

In the negative construction, certain rules apply. Un or une changes to de in a negative construction, meaning, in this context, any. Similarly, du, de la, or des change to de in negative constructions.

Nous avons mangé une tarte.		We ate a pie.
Nous n'avons pas mangé de tarte.		We did not eat a pie. We did not eat any pie.
Nous avons mangé de la tarte.		We ate some pie.
Nous n'avons pas mangé de tarte.		We did not eat some pie. We did not eat any pie.

Grammar · Some of it · En

To say some of it without specifying the exact object, the pronoun en can be used. Additionally, en can mean of it when it is not specified. For instance, instead of saying J'ai besoin d'argent, if the idea of money has already been raised, it can be stated as J'en ai besoin. This is because en replaces du, de la or des when the noun is not specifically mentioned in the sentence.

Like with me, te and other pronouns, en (meaning some) comes before the verb.

Tu joues du piano? Non, je n'en joue pas.		Do you play piano? No, I don't play it.
Vous prenez du poisson? Oui, j'en prends.		Are you having fish? Yes, I'm having some.
Vous avez commandé de l'eau? Oui, nous en avons commandé.		Did you order some water? Yes, we ordered some.

Grammar · To put · Mettre

Formation

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to put
mettre ( /mɛtʁ/ (mehtr))
je	mets	/mɛ/ (meh)	I	put	nous	mettons	/mɛ.tɔ̃/ (meh-toh(n))	we	put
tu	mets	/mɛ/ (meh)	you	put	vous	mettez	/mɛ.te/ (meh-tay)	you	put
il	met	/mɛ/ (meh)	he	puts	ils	mettent	/mɛt/ (meht)	they	put
elle	met		she	puts	elles	mettent
on	met		one	puts
past participle: mis ( /mi/ (mee))

Supplementary vocabulary · Derived words

(upload audio)
admettre	/admɛtʁ/	to admit, to accept		On va admettre Georges dans la compagnie.	We'll admit George in the company.
commettre	/kɔ.mɛtʁ/	to commit, to entrust		Il a commis un crime.	He committed a crime.
compromettre	/kɔ̃.pʁɔ.mɛtʁ/	to compromise, to jeopardize		Il n'a pas compromis sa dignité.	He did not compromise his dignity.
démettre	/de.mɛtʁ/	to dismiss, to discharge		Il a été démis de ses fonctions de préfet.	He was dismissed from his position as prefect.
se démettre		to resign		Il s’est démis de sa charge.	He resigned from his office.
émettre	/e.mɛtʁ/	to emit, to express, to issue		Le gouvernement émit du papier-monnaie.	The government issued paper money.
omettre	/ɔ.mɛtʁ/	to omit		Il a omis une formalité nécessaire.	He omitted a necessary formality.
permettre	/pɛʁ.mɛtʁ/	to allow		Vous me permettrez de le faire?	Will you allow me to do that?
promettre	/pʁɔ.mɛtʁ/	to promise, to be promising, to be hopeful
réadmettre	/ʁeadmɛtʁ/	to readmit
remettre	/ʁə.mɛtʁ/	to put back, to replace
soumettre	/su.mɛtʁ/	to submit		Je soumets cette proposition à votre agrément.	I submit this proposal for your approval.
transmettre	/tʁɑ̃s.mɛtʁ/	to transmit		Le télégraphe a transmis cette dépêche.	The telegraph sent this dispatch.

Supplementary vocabulary · Related expressions

(upload audio)
mettre à jour	/mɛ.tʁ‿a ʒuʁ/	to update
mettre au jour		to bring to light, to uncover		Les autorités policières ont mis au jour des opérations illégales. Les archéologues travaillent à mettre au jour les vestiges d'un oppidum.	The police have uncovered illegal operations. Archaeologists work to uncover the remains of an oppidum.
mettre au monde	/mɛt.ʁ‿o mɔ̃d/	to give birth
mettre à profit	/mɛt.ʁ‿a pʁɔ.fi/	to benefit, to gain		C’est un homme qui met tout à profit.	This is a man who benefits from everything.
mettre de côté	/mɛtʁ də ko.te/	to put aside, to save (money, etc.)		C'est un homme d'une grande économie et qui met tous les ans quelque chose de côté.	This is a man of great economy who saves something every year.
mettre en cause		to suspect; to accuse, blame
mettre en marche	/mɛ.tʁ‿ɑ̃ maʁʃ/	to start
mettre en œuvre	/mɛ.tʁ‿ɑ̃.n‿œvʁ/	to implement, to carry out		On mets du bois en œuvre.	We put wood to work.
mettre en place		to put in place, to set up
mettre en route	/mɛ.tʁ‿ɑ̃ ʁut/	to start
mettre fin (à)		to put an end (to)		Il a mis fin au contrat.	He terminated the contract.
mettre l'accent sur		to highlight
mettre la main à la pâte		to pitch in
mettre le couvert		to set the table
remettre en route	/ʁǝ.mɛ.tʁ‿ɑ̃ rut/	to resume
se mettre à		to start (to do something), to take up		Elles s'est mis à sortir les weekends.	The girls started going out on weekends.
se mettre à table	/sə mɛ.tʁ‿a tabl/	to sit down to eat
se mettre d'accord	/sə mɛtʁ d‿a.kɔʁ/	to settle on, to agree

Supplementary examples

(upload audio)
C’est un fait que je n’admets pas.		It's a fact that I do not accept.
Je vous en ai commis le soin.		I entrusted the care of it to you.
J’ai commis cela à vos soins.		I committed that to your care.
Cette compagnie de chemin de fer a émis un grand nombre d’obligations.		This railway company has issued a large number of bonds.
C’est un homme qui promet toujours et qui ne tient rien.		This is a man who always promises and does nothing.

Supplementary vocabulary · Fruits and vegetables

(upload audio)
les fruits (fruits)
la banane	/ba.nan/	banana
la cerise	/s(ə)ʁiz/	cherry
le citron	/sit.ʁɔ̃/	lemon
la fraise	/fʁɛz/	strawberry
l'orange (f)	/ɔ.ʁɑ̃ʒ/	orange		Il a pressé l’orange afin d’en extraire du jus.	He squeezed the orange to extract juice from it.
la pomme	/pɔm/	apple
le raisin	/ʁɛ.zɛ̃/	grape		Quentin cueille des raisins.	Quentin's picking the grapes.
le pamplemousse	/pɑ̃pləmus/	grapefruit
les légumes (vegetables)
la carotte	/ka.ʁɔt/	carrot
les épinards (m)	/epinaʁ/	spinach
l'oignon (m)	/ɔɲɔ̃/, /waɲɔ̃/	onion
les petits pois (m)	/pə.ti pwa/	peas
la pomme de terre	/pɔm də tɛʁ/	potato		Faites cuire des pommes de terre à l'eau salée.	Cook potatoes in salted water.
la tomate	/tɔ.mat/	tomato
les asperges (f)	/as.pɛʁʒ/	asparagus		Je vais semer des asperges.	I'm going to plant asparagus.
les haricots (m)	/a.ʁi.ko/	beans

Supplementary vocabulary · Meat and seafood

(upload audio)
la viande (meat)
l'agneau (m)	/a.ɲo/	lamb
la dinde	/dɛ̃d/	turkey
le jambon	/ʒɑ̃.bɔ̃/	ham
le porc	/pɔʁ/	pork
le poulet	/pu.lɛ/	chicken
le bœuf	/bœf/	beef
la saucisse	/so.sis/	sausage
les fruits de mer (m) (shellfish, seafood)
la coquille Saint-Jacques	/kɔ.kij sɛ̃ jak/	scallop
le crabe	/kʁab/	crab
le poisson (fish)
les anchois (m)	/ɑ̃.ʃwa/	anchovies
le saumon	/somõ/	salmon
l'anguille (f)	/ɑ̃.ɡij/	eel

Supplementary vocabulary · Dessert · Le dessert

(upload audio)
le bonbon	/bɔ̃.bɔ̃/	candy		Je vous ai apporté des bonbons.	I brought you some candy.
le chocolat	/ʃɔ.kɔ.la/	chocolate
le gâteau (au chocolat, au fromage, de pommes de terre)	/ɡa.tɔ/	cake
la glace (à la vanille, au citron, au chocolat)	/ɡlas/	(vanilla, orange, chocolate) ice cream		La glace est un met très apprécié en été.	Ice cream is a dish popular in summer.
la mousse	/mus/	mousse		J’adore les mousses au chocolat avec des biscuits.	I love chocolate mousse with crackers.
la tarte (aux cerises, aux abricots, aux pommes, aux fraises)	/taʁt/	(cherry, apricot, apple, strawberry) pie		Noémie apprécie la tarte aux myrtilles et la tarte aux pommes.	Noémie likes blueberry pie and apple pie.

Supplementary vocabulary · Other foods

(upload audio)
le croissant	/kʁwasɑ̃/	crescent roll
les frites (f)	/fʁit/	French fries
la crêpe	/kʁɛp/	pancake
la mayonnaise	/ma.jɔ.nɛz/	mayonnaise
la moutarde	/mu.taʁd/	mustard
le pain	/pɛ̃/	bread
la pâtisserie	/pɑ.ti.sʁi/	pastry		Regardez les belles pâtisseries dans la vitrine.	Look at the beautiful pastries in the window.
le poivre	/pwavʁ/	pepper
le riz	/ʁi/	rice		Adèle cultive du riz.	Adele grows rice.
le sel	/sɛl/	salt
le sucre	/sykʁ/	sugar
la confiture	/kɔ̃.fi.tyʁ/	jam
les produits laitiers (dairy products)
le beurre	/bœʁ/	butter
le fromage	/fʁɔ.maʒ/	cheese
le lait	/lɛ/	milk
le yaourt	/ja.uʁt/	yogurt

Exercises

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