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Grammar · À and de

The preposition à can indicate a destination, a location, a characteristic, measurement, a point in time, and purpose.

When le follows à, the à and le combine into au. Similarly, à and les combine into aux.

The preposition de can indicate an origin, contents, possession, cause, and manner.

When le follows de, the de and le combine into du. Similarly, de and les combine into des.

Vocabulary · Leisure activities · Les loisirs

(upload audio)
le cinéma	/si.ne.ma/	cinema
la musique	/myzik/	music
le spectacle	/spɛk.takl/	show
le théâtre	/te.atʁ/	the theater
la danse	/dɑ̃s/	dance
le sport	/spɔʁ/	sport

Grammar · -tir verbs

The following verbs are all conjugated irregularly, in the same way.

To leave · Partir

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to leave
partir ( /paʁ.tiʁ/ (pahr-teer))
je	pars	/paʁ/ (pahr)	I	leave	nous	partons	/paʁ.tɔ̃/ (pahr-toh(n))	we	leave
tu	pars	/paʁ/ (pahr)	you	leave	vous	partez	/paʁ.te/ (pahr-tay)	you	leave
il	part	/paʁ/ (pahr)	he	leaves	ils	partent	/paʁt/ (pahrt)	they	leave
elle	part		she	leaves	elles	partent
on	part		one	leaves
past participle: parti(e)(s) ( /paʁ.ti/ (pahr-tee))

The verbs repartir (/ʁǝ.paʁ.tiʁ/ (ruh-pahr-teer), meaning to leave for where one came from or to restart is conjugated in the same way as partir.
Répartir ( /ʁe.paʁ.tiʁ/ (ray-pahr-teer)), meaning to distribute or to forward, is conjugated in the regular second group pattern (see the conjugation table).

To go out · Sortir

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to go out, to take out
sortir ( /sɔʁ.tiʁ/ (sohr-teer))
je	sors	/sɔʁ/ (sohr)	I	go out	nous	sortons	/sɔʁ.tɔ̃/ (sohr-toh(n))	we	go out
tu	sors	/sɔʁ/ (sohr)	you	go out	vous	sortez	/sɔʁ.te/ (sohr-tay)	you	go out
il	sort	/sɔʁ/ (sohr)	he	goes out	ils	sortent	/sɔʁt/ (sohrt)	they	go out
elle	sort		she	goes out	elles	sortent
on	sort		one	goes out
past participle: sorti(e)(s) ( /sɔʁ.ti/ (sohr-tee))

The verb ressortir (/ʁǝ.sɔʁ.tiʁ/ (ruh-sohr-teer), meaning to go or come back out, to take back out, to emerge from, or to stand out, is conjugated in the same way as sortir.

Related expressions

(upload audio)
à partir de	/a paʁ.tiʁ də/	starting at, from […] onward supposing (that)		À partir du règne de Louis le Gros, les communes ont commencé à être affranchies de la féodalité. À partir du troisième acte, l’intérêt de cette pièce va en s’affaiblissant.	Starting with the reign of Louis the Fat, communes began to be incorporated into the feudal system. Starting in the third act, interest in this play starts to weaken.
la sortie	/sɔʁ.ti/	exit, end, final part of

Supplementary vocabulary · All verbs

(upload audio)
repentir	/ʁə.pɑ̃.tiʁ/	to repent	repen-
-men-
mentir	/mɑ̃.tiʁ/	to lie	men-
démentir	/demɑ̃tiʁ/	to contradict, to deny, to belie	démen-
-par-
partir	/paʁ.tiʁ/	to leave	par-
repartir	/ʁǝ.paʁ.tiʁ/	to leave for where one came from, to restart	repar-
répartir	/ʁe.paʁ.tiʁ/	to distribute, to forward	répar-
-sen-
sentir	/sɑ̃.tiʁ/	to feel, to taste, to smell	sen-
consentir	/kɔ̃.sɑ̃.tiʁ/	to consent	consen-
pressentir	/pʁɛ.sɑ̃.tiʁ/	to foresee	pressen-
ressentir	/ʁəsɑ̃tiʁ/	to feel	ressen-
-sor-
sortir	/sɔʁ.tiʁ/	to go out, to take out	sor-
ressortir	/ʁǝ.sɔʁ.tiʁ/	to go or come back out, to take back out	ressor-

Supplementary examples

(upload audio)
Il en ressort que […]		It follows from this that […]
C'est une image qui ressort.		It's an image that stands out.

Vocabulary · Movies · Les films

(upload audio)
le film	/film/	movie
les sous-titres	/su.titr/	subtitles
l'acteur (m) l'actrice (f)	/ak.tœʁ/  /ak.tʁis/	actor actress
louer	/lwe/	to rent
la vidéo le DVD	/vi.deo/	video DVD
The movie theater
le cinéma	/si.ne.ma/	the (movie) theater
la salle du cinéma		theater showing room	lit: room of the theater
la séance	/se.ɑ̃s/	showing
le guichet	/giʃɛ/	ticket window
la place le fauteuil	/plas/  /fotœj/	seat/place to sit chair1
coûter	/ku.te/	to cost
jouer	/ʒwe/	to play
Film genres
le documentaire		documentary
le film d’aventures		adventure movie
le film d’horreur		horror film
le film de science-fiction		sci-fi film

• ¹Un fauteuil is the physical chair that one sits on. One would normally use "une place" whenever "a seat" is used in English.
  • Prenez place ! - Take a seat! (very common expression. No article before place, you should not say Prenez la place)

Grammar · -enir verbs

-enir verbs are irregularly conjugated (they are not treated as regular -ir verbs).

To come · Venir

The most common -enir verb is venir, meaning to come.

When venir is used with the preposition de, it means to come from or to be from:

Ces pommes viennent de l'Espagne. (These apples come from Spain.)

When venir de is used with a verb, it states that you have recently accomplished an action.

Je viens de me réveiller. (I have just got up.)

Formation

In the present indicative, venir (and all other -enir verbs) is conjugated as follows:

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to come
venir ( /vǝ.niʁ/ (vuh-neer))
je	viens	/vjɛ̃/ (vyuha(n))	I	come	nous	venons	/vǝ.nɔ̃/ (vuh-noh(n))	we	come
tu	viens	/vjɛ̃/ (vyuha(n))	you	come	vous	venez	/vǝ.ne/ (vuh-nay)	you	come
il	vient	/vjɛ̃/ (vyuha(n))	he	comes	ils	viennent	/vjɛn/ (vyuhehn)	they	come
elle	vient		she	comes	elles	viennent
on	vient		one	comes
past participle: venu(e)(s) ( /vǝ.ny/ (vuh-new))

Supplementary vocabulary · All -enir verbs

(upload audio)
venir	/vǝ.niʁ/	to come
revenir	/ʁǝ.vniʁ/	to come back, to return
devenir	/dǝv.niʁ/	to become
redevenir	/ʁǝ.dǝ.vniʁ/	to become again
appartenir (à)	/apaʁtəniʁ/	to belong to, to concern
contenir	/kɔ̃.tniʁ/	to contain, to hold
détenir	/det(ə)niʁ/	to keep, to detain
retenir	/ʀətəniʀ/	to hold back, to retain, to uphold
se souvenir	/sə su.vniʁ/	to remember
soutenir	/sut.niʁ/, /su.tə.niʁ/	to support
soutenir que		to maintain that
tenir	/tǝniʀ/	to hold

Supplementary examples

(upload audio)
Je viens de finir mes devoirs.		I have just finished my homework.

Supplementary grammar · -é…er verbs

-é…er verbs are regular -er verbs, but are also stem changing.

Formation

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to suggest
suggérer ( /syɡ.ʒe.ʁe/ (sewg-zhay-ray))
je	suggère	/syɡ.ʒɛʁ/ (sewg-zhehr)	I	suggest	nous	suggérons	/syɡ.ʒe.ʁɔ̃/ (sewg-zhay-roh(n))	we	suggest
tu	suggères	/syɡ.ʒɛʁ/ (sewg-zhehr)	you	suggest	vous	suggérez	/syɡ.ʒe.ʁe/ (sewg-zhay-ray)	you	suggest
il	suggère	/syɡ.ʒɛʁ/ (sewg-zhehr)	he	suggests	ils	suggèrent	/syɡ.ʒɛʁ/ (sewg-zhehr)	they	suggest
elle	suggère		she	suggests	elles	suggèrent
on	suggère		one	suggests
past participle: suggéré ( /syɡ.ʒe.ʁe/ (sewg-zhay-ray))

Other -é…er verbs

(upload audio)
accélérer	/ak.se.le.ʁe/	to accelerate
céder	/se.de/	to yield
célébrer	[se.le.bʁe]	to celebrate
espérer	/ɛspeʁe/	to hope
préférer	/pʁe.fe.ʁe/	to prefer
sécher	/se.ʃe/	to dry

Examples

(upload audio)
Elles suggèrent une démonstration de maquillage.		They suggest a cosmetic makeover.
Son attitude suggère une dépression nerveuse imminente.		His attitude suggests an imminent nervous breakdown.

Exercises

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