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Grammar · Object pronouns

Direct objects

While the subject of a sentence initiates an action (the verb), the direct object is the one that is affected by the action. A direct object pronoun is used to refer to the direct object of a previous sentence:

Pierre voit le cambrioleur.		Pierre sees the burglar.
Pierre le voit.		Pierre sees him.

The following table shows the various types of direct object pronouns:

French	me, m'	te, t'	le, l'	la, l'	nous	vous	les
English	me1	you1	him, it	her, it	us1	you1	them

Notes:

• ¹ me, te, nous, and vous are also used as indirect objects to mean to me, to you, to us, and to you respectively.
• The pronoun form with an apostrophe is used before a vowel.
• The direct object pronoun for nous and vous is the same as the subject.
• When the direct object comes before a verb in a perfect tense, a tense that uses a past participle, the direct object must agree in gender and plurality with the past participle. For example, in the phrase Je les ai eus, or I had them, the past participle would be spelled eus if the direct object, les, was referring to a masculine object, and eues if les is referring to a feminine object.

Indirect objects

An indirect object is an object that would be asked for with To whom...? or From whom...?. It is called indirect because it occurs usually together with a direct object which is affected directly by the action:

Il donne du pain à Pierre.		He gives some bread to Pierre.
Il lui donne du pain.		He gives bread to him.

The following table shows the various types of indirect object pronouns:

French	me, m'	te, t'	lui	nous	vous	leur
English	to me1	to you1	to him, to her	to us1	to you1	to them

Notes:

• ¹ me, te, nous, and vous are also used as direct objects to mean me, you, us, and you respectively.
• The pronoun form with an apostrophe is used before a vowel.
• The indirect object pronoun for nous and vous is the same as the subject.
• The indirect object pronouns do not agree with the past participle like the direct object pronouns do. When me, te, nous, and vous are used in a perfect tense, the writer must decide whether they are used as direct or indirect object pronouns. This is done by looking at the verb and seeing what type of action is being performed.

The bread is given by the man (direct). Pierre gets the given bread (indirect).

Dialogue · At the bakery · À la boulangerie

(upload audio)
Bernard (le boulanger)	Bonjour madame.
	Hello miss.
Camille (la cliente)	Bonjour monsieur.
	Hello sir.
Bernard (le boulanger)	Que voulez-vous ? or Que désirez-vous ?
	What would you like?
Camille (la cliente)	Je voudrais acheter une baguette, s'il vous plaît.
	I would like to buy a baguette, please.
Bernard (le boulanger)	C'est tout ? or Est-ce que tout ?
	(Is) that all?
Camille (la cliente)	Non, je voudrais deux croissants aussi.
	No, I would like two croissants also.
Bernard (le boulanger)	Très bien - ça fait deux euros, s'il vous plaît.
	Very well - that makes two euros, please.
Camille (la cliente)	Merci beaucoup.
	Thanks a lot.

Vocabulary

Que voulez-vous ?, Que désirez-vous ?		What would you like?
Je voudrais…		I would like…
C'est tout ? or Est-ce que tout ?		(Is) that all?
Ça fait deux euros.		That will be two euros.
acheter		to buy

Vocabulary · Going shopping

(upload audio)
faire des courses faire du shopping		to go shopping
faire le marché		to go grocery shopping
faire du lèche-vitrine		to go window shopping
porter		to wear, to carry
demander	/dǝ.mɑ̃.de/	to ask (for)
demander le prix		to ask for the price
payer	/pe.je/	to pay
vendre	/vɑ̃dʁ(ə)/	to sell
acheter	/aʃte/ (ahsh-tay)	to buy
acheté	/aʃəte/ (ah-shuh-tay)	have bought
Buying goods
le(la) vendeur(euse)		salesperson
(plus/moins) cher(ère)	/ʃɛʁ/	(more/less) expensive
la vitrine	/vit.ʁin/	display window
le prix	/pʁi/	price
la caisse	/kɛs/	cash register checkout counter
coûter	/ku.te/	to cost
C’est combien ? Combien ça coûte ?		How much is it?	lit: It's how much? lit:How much it/that costs?
Combien coûte [nom] ?		How much does [noun] cost?	lit: How much costs [noun]?

Grammar · -e…er verbs

-e…er are regular -er verbs, but also are stem changing. The stem change applies to all forms except nous and vous. The stem change involves adding a grave accent ( ` ) over the e in the stem.

Formation

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to buy
acheter ( /aʃte/ ahsh-tay)
j'	achète	(ah-sheht)	I	buy	nous	achetons	(ahsh-toh(n))	we	buy
tu	achètes	(ah-sheht)	you	buy	vous	achetez	/aʃte/ (ahsh-tay)	you	buy
il	achète	(ah-sheht)	he	buys	ils	achètent	(ah-sheht)	they	buy
elle	achète		she	buys	elles	achètent
on	achète		one	buys
past participle: acheté ( /aʃəte/ ah-shuh-tay)

Supplementary vocabulary · Other -e…er verbs

(upload audio)
peser	/pǝ.ze/	to weigh		Je pèse 80 kilos.	I weigh 80 kilos.
mener		to lead, to take charge		Le bus va nous mener au château.	The bus will lead us to the castle.
emmener	/ɑ̃məne/	to take off, take away or out
amener		to bring (a person)		Elle m'a amené en voiture à la gare.	She gave me a lift to the station.
ramener	/ʁamne/	to take back, bring back, restore
lever		to raise, to lift
soulever	/sul(ə)ve/	to raise

Supplementary examples

(upload audio)
Il faut peser les abricots.		You must weigh the apricots.
Louis va mener ce cours.		Louis will lead this lesson.
L'équipe bleue mène 2 à 0.		The blue team is leading 2-0.

Dialogue · At the market · Au marché

(upload audio)
Marie (la cliente)	Bonjour monsieur.
	Hello sir.
Clément (le marchand)	Bonjour madame.
	Hello miss.
Marie (la cliente)	Qu'est-ce que vous avez à vendre ?
	What do you have to sell?
Clément (le marchand)	J'ai un grand choix de fruits et légumes.
	I have a large range of fruits and vegetables.
Marie (la cliente)	Très bien. Est-ce que vous avez des cerises ?
	Very well. Do you have cherries?
Clément (le marchand)	Oui… elles coûtent deux euros le kilo.
	Yes… they cost two euros per kilo.
Marie (la cliente)	Bon, je voudrais trois kilos, s'il vous plaît.
	Good, I would like three kilos, please.
Clément (le marchand)	Très bien, madame. Alors, pour trois kilos il faut payer six euros, s'il vous plaît.
	Very well, miss. Then, for three kilos you need to pay six euros, please.

Vocabulary

Qu'est-ce que vous avez... ?		What do you have?
Un grand choix		A large range
Des cerises		Some cherries
Elles coûtent deux euros le kilo		They (feminine) cost two euros per kilo
Il faut		It is necesary to, one must, you need to
vendre	/vɑ̃dʁ(ə)/	to sell
payer	/pe.je/	to pay

Vocabulary · Stores · Les magasins

(upload audio)
le magasin	/ma.ɡa.zɛ̃/	shop, store
le centre commercial		mall, shopping centre
le grand magasin		department store
le rayon	/ʁɛ.jɔ̃/	department
la boutique	/butik/	small store
la pharmacie	/faʁ.ma.si/	pharmacy, chemist
le marché	/maʁ.ʃe/	outdoor market
Foods stores
le supermarché		supermarket
l'hypermarché (m)		hypermarket, big supermarket
la boucherie		butcher shop 1
la boulangerie le dépôt de pain	/bu.lɑ̃ʒ.ʁi/	bakery a place that sells bread 2
la charcuterie	/ʃaʁkytəˈʁi/	delicatessen3
la crémerie		dairy store
la pâtisserie		pastry shop, pâtisserie
la poissonnerie	/pwa.sɔn.ʁi/	seafood store, fishmonger
l'épicerie (f)		grocery4

1. French butchers do not sell pork, pork products, nor horsemeat. For these products, go to a charcuterie. However, a lot of boucheries are also charcuteries, and are called boucherie-charcuterie
2. In France, bakeries only sell fresh bread; e.g. the bread is baked on site. Places where they sell bread that is not fresh are called dépôt de pain.
3. 'Charcuteries' sell things besides pork products, including pâté, salami, cold meats, salads, quiches and pizzas.
4. An alternative to an 'épicerie' is an alimentation générale (a general foodstore).

Grammar · -yer verbs

-yer verbs are irregular -er verbs. When y is part of the last syllable, it changes to i in order to keep the ay sound. In the present indicative of -yer verbs, this affects all forms except nous and vous. Some -yer verbs, such as payer, may optionally retain the y.

Formation

In the present indicative, payer (to pay) is conjugated as follows:

Present indicative verb (upload audio) to pay
payer ( /pe.je/)
je	paie (ou paye)		I	pay	nous	payons		we	pay
tu	paies (ou payes)		you	pay	vous	payez		you	pay
il	paie (ou paye)		he	pays	ils	paient (ou payent)		they	pay
elle	paie (ou paye)		she	pays	elles	paient (ou payent)
on	paie (ou paye)		one	pays
past participle: payé

Supplementary vocabulary · Other -yer verbs

(upload audio)
appuyer	/a.pɥi.je/	to press, to push, to rest (on)
employer		to employ
ennuyer		to bore
essayer de	/e.se.je/	to try		J'ai essayé d'apprendre les mots.	I tried to learn the words.
essuyer	[esɥi'je]	to wipe
nettoyer	/ne.twa.je/	to clean
noyer		to drown, to water down		J'ai noyé mon chien dans le fleuve.	I drowned my dog in the river.
tutoyer	/ty.twa.je/	to address using tu

Supplementary examples

(upload audio)
Il va me payer 3 euros.		He is going to pay me 3 euros.
Payez la cassière.		Pay the cashier.
J'ai payé une amende.		I paid a fine.
Il faut noyer le vin avec de l'eau.		You must water down the wine.

Grammar · Irregular past participles

Many of the verbs you have learned so far have irregular past participles.

• avoir: eu (had · /y/)
• croire: cru (believed ·  /kʁy/)
• être: été (been ·  /e.te/)
• faire: fait (done ·  fɛ/)
• prendre: pris (taken ·  /pʁi/)
• voir: vu (seen · /vy/)

Examples

(upload audio)
J’ai vu ce film.		I’ve seen this film.
Il a été blessé dans l'accident.		He was injured in the accident.
Elle a fait du shopping ce matin.		She went shopping this morning.
Ils ont pris une photo de la maison.		They have taken a photo of the house.

Supplementary vocabulary · Clothing · Les vêtements

(upload audio)
les vêtements habillés (dress clothes)
la chemise	/ʃǝ.miz/	button down shirt
la cravate	/kʁa.vat/	tie
le pantalon	/pɑ̃.ta.lɔ̃/	pants
le costume le complet	/kɔ̃.plɛ/	suit
le manteau	/mɑ̃to/	coat
le tailleur	/ta.jœʁ/	woman's suit
la robe	/ʁɔb/	dress
le chemisier		blouse
la jupe	/ʒyp/	skirt
les vêtements sport (casual clothes)
la casquette	/kas.kɛt/	cap
le tee-shirt		t-shirt
le pull(-over)	/pyl/	a pullover, a sweater		Il fait froid; je vais mettre mon pull.	It's cold; I'm going to wear my sweater.
le sweat-shirt		sweatshirt
le blouson		jacket
le jean		jeans
les chaussettes les bas les bas-culottes les bas-culottes diaphanes	/ʃɔ.sɛt/  /bɑ/	socks stockings pantyhose sheer pantyhose
les chaussures
les chaussures	/ʃɔ.syʁ/	shoes
la paire de chaussures		pair of shoes
les baskets	/bas.kɛt/	basketball shoes, trainers
les sandales	/sɑ̃dal/	sandals

Exercises

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