French/Print version
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[edit]
French
[edit] Main Contents
[edit] LESSONS
[edit] Contents
- Introductory Lessons
- Level One Lessons
- Level Two Lessons
- Level Three Lessons
- GNU Free Documentation License
[edit] Information
[edit] Lessons Information
- Updating:
- If a lesson is added or the name of an existing lesson is changed, please update:
- It is not necessary to update these versions if the sections within these main lesson pages are altered.
|
Information • Introductory • Level One • Level Two • Level Three • Level Four • Q&A • Planning |
[edit] INTRODUCTORY
[edit] Introductory Lessons Contents
- Lesson 0.01 - Introduction
- Lesson 0.02 - Learning French
- Lesson 0.03 - The Alphabet
- Lesson 0.04 - Accents
- Lesson 0.05 - Greetings
- Lesson 0.06 - Formal Speech
- Lesson 0.07 - How are you?
- Lesson 0.08 - Numbers
- Lesson 0.09 - The Date
- Lesson 0.10 - Telling Time
- Lesson 0 Review
- Lesson 0 Test
[edit] Information
[edit] Bonjour! - Introductory French
| 01 | Leçon 01 : Introduction | History of the French Language Extent of the French Language |
| Lesson 01 : Introduction | ||
| 02 | Leçon 02 : Apprendre le français | Reasons To Learn French, Book Organization Advice on Studying French |
| Lesson 02 : Learning French | ||
| 03 | Leçon 03 : L'alphabet | Letters Punctuation |
| Lesson 03 : The Alphabet | ||
| 04 | Leçon 04 : Les accents | Acute Accent, Grave Accent Tonic Accent, Stress |
| Lesson 04 : Accent Marks | ||
| 05 | Leçon 05 : Les salutations | Greetings Good-byes, Names |
| Lesson 05 : Greetings | ||
| 06 | Leçon 06 : Le discours formel | Vous vs. tu, Courtesy Titles, Asking For One's Name |
| Lesson 06 : Formal Speech | ||
| 07 | Leçon 07 : Ça va? | Asking How One Is Doing |
| Lesson 07 : How are you? | ||
| 08 | Leçon 08 : Les nombres | Cardinal Numbers Ordinal Numbers |
| Lesson 08 : Numbers | ||
| 09 | Leçon 09 : Les dates | Numbers 01-31, Seasons Days of the week, Months of the Year |
| Lesson 09 : Dates | ||
| 10 | Leçon 10 : L'heure | Numbers 30-60, Times of Day Asking for the time |
| Lesson 10 : Telling Time | ||
| Rv | Revue | Introductory review Revue de l'introduction |
| Review | ||
| Ex | L'examen | Chapter test Chapitre l'examen |
| Test |
[edit] Lesson 0.01 - Introduction
[edit] Introduction
- See also: w:French language
French is a Romance language descended from Latin which developed as a result of Celtic and Frankish influences in Gaul (now France). Being a Romance language, it is closely related to Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Romanian, as well as many other languages. There are over 87 million native French speakers and an additional 68 million non-native speakers in the world.
[edit] History
- Further information: w:History of the French language
During the Roman occupation of Gaul, the Latin language was imposed on the natives. This Latin language eventually developed into what is known as Vulgar Latin, which was still very similar to Latin. Over the centuries, due to Celtic and Germanic influences (particularly the Franks), la langue d'oïl was developed. A dialect of la langue d'oïl known as le francien was the language of the court, and thus became the official language of what was to become the Kingdom of France, and later the Nation-State of France.
From medieval times until the 19th century, French was the dominant language of diplomacy, culture, administration, trade and royal courts across Europe. Due to these factors, French was the lingua franca of this time period.
French has influenced many languages world wide, including English. It is through French (or more precisely Norman, a dialect of la langue d'oïl) that English gets about one third of its vocabulary.
[edit] Extent of the Language
- Main article: w:La Francophonie
- Main article: w:French colonial empires
In modern times, French is still a significant diplomatic language: it is an official language of the United Nations, the Olympic Games, and the European Union. It is also the official language of 29 countries and is spoken in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Haiti, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, the Congo, Algeria, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Gabon, the Seychelles, Burundi, Chad, Rwanda, Djibouti, Cameroon, Mauritius, and Canada (mostly in the province of Québec, where it is the primary language, but it is also used in other parts of the country. All consumer product packages in Canada are required by law to have both English and French labels).
Allons-y! Bonne chance!
[edit] Lesson 0.02 - Learning French
[edit] Reasons to learn French
As mentioned earlier, French is a major diplomatic language. You are bound to find speakers almost anywhere in the world. In addition to these societal reasons, there are hundreds of famous French novels and nonfiction works in a wide variety of subjects. Because much can be lost in translation, the best way to read these works is in the original language.
[edit] Advice on studying French
- Main article: How to learn a language
French tends to have a reputation among English speakers as hard to learn. While it is true that it poses certain difficulties to native English-speakers, it may be noted that English is also considered 'difficult' to learn, and yet we learned it without the benefit of already knowing a language. In fact, the French language can be learned in only 10 months, if only for the specific purpose of passing a standardized test, such as the Test d'Evaluation de Français. According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, in order to reach the level of 'Independent User' (after completing Level B2), you must complete 400 hours of effective learning (so if you study 4 hours a week, every single week of the year, you would need two years to achieve it). Any way you look at it, learning any new language requires a long-term commitment. Remember, that like any skill, it requires a certain amount of effort. And it is likely that if you do not practice your French regularly, you will begin to forget it. Try to make French practice a part of your routine; even if it's not daily, at least make it regular.
Also remember that you are learning a new skill. Try to master the simple stuff before moving on to the more complex concepts. We all have to add and subtract before we can do calculus. French is a complete language. While this course can teach you to read and write in French, these are only half of the skills that make up fluency. A written document cannot teach much about listening to and speaking French. You must train all of these skills, and they will reinforce one another. For listening and speaking, find a native speaker to help you.
The very best way to learn French is to visit France or another French-speaking country. This allows you to start with a clean slate, as babies do. However, since most of us are unwilling to take that step, the next best option is immersion. If you are serious about learning French, a period of immersion (during which you live in a Francophone culture) is a good idea once you have some basic familiarity with the language. If you can't travel to a French-speaking country, then try listening to French-language programs on the radio, TV, or the Internet. Rent or buy French-language movies (many American and U.K. movies have a French language option). Pay attention to pronunciation. Grab a French speaker you meet and talk to him or her in French. Listen, speak, and practice. Read French newspapers and magazines. Google's news page, which links to French-language news stories, is an excellent source that will enrich your vocabulary.
[edit] Book organization
This book is divided into one set of preliminary lessons, the page you are reading now, and four increasingly complex lesson levels. The introductory lessons will teach you pronunciation and phrases. In the first level, you will learn basic grammar, including pronouns, the present indicative, most common present tense, and several irregularly-conjugated verbs. In the second level, the passé composé, the most common past tense, is given, along with many other irregular verbs. In the third level, you will learn several more tenses and complex grammar rules. The fourth level (still in development), will be conducted in French and will focus on French literature and prose writing. For more on course structure, and information on how you can help improve this book, see the lessons planning page.
[edit] Lesson 0.03 - The Alphabet
[edit] Introduction
| French Grammar • Print version • |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characters | Aa | Bb | Cc | Dd | Ee | Ff | Gg | Hh | Ii | ||||
| Pronunciation | ah | bay | say | day | euh | eff | jhay | ash | ee | ||||
| Characters | Jj | Kk | Ll | Mm | Nn | Oo | Pp | Rr | |||||
| Pronunciation | ghee | kah | el | emm | enn | oh | pay | ku | air | ||||
| Characters | Ss | Tt | Uu | Vv | Ww | Xx | Yy | Zz | |||||
| Pronunciation | ess | tay | oo | vay | dubla-vay | eeks | ee-grehk | zed | |||||
In addition, French uses several accents which are worth understanding. These are: à, è, ù, (grave accents) and é (acute accent). A circumflex applies to all vowels: â, ê, î, ô, û. A tréma (French for dieresis) is also applied: ë, ï, ü, ÿ. Two combined letters are used: æ and œ, and a cedilla is used on the c to make it sound like an English s: ç. More information on accents will be found in the next section.
[edit] Letters and examples
| French Grammar • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| letter | pronunciation | name in French (in IPA transcription) |
| Aa | like a in father | /a/ |
| Bb | like b in may"be | /be/ |
| Cc | before e and i: like c in center before a, o, or u: like c in cat |
/se/ |
| Dd | like d in dog | /de/ |
| Ee | approx. like u in burp** | /ə/ |
| Ff | like f in fog | /ɛf/ |
| Gg | before e and i: like s in measure before a, o, or u: like g in get |
/ʒe/ |
| Hh | aspirated h: see note below* non-aspirated h: not pronounced*** |
/aʃ/ |
| Ii | like ea in team | /i/ |
| Jj | like s in measure | /ʒi/ |
| Kk | like k in kite | /ka/ |
| Ll | like l in lemon | /ɛl/ |
| Mm | like m in minute | /ɛm/ |
| Nn | like n in note | /ɛn/ |
| Oo | closed: approx. like u in nut open: like o in nose |
/o/ |
| Pp | like p in pen* | /pe/ |
| like k in kite | /ky/ see 'u' for details |
|
| Rr | force air through the back of your throat near the position of gargling, but sounding soft |
/ɛʀ/ |
| Ss | like s in sister at beginning of word or with two s's or like z in amazing if only one s |
/ɛs/ |
| Tt | like t in top | /te/ |
| Uu | Say the English letter e, but make your lips say "oo". |
/y/ |
| Vv | like v in violin | /ve/ |
| Ww | Depending on the derivation of the word, like v as in violin, or w in water |
/dubləve/ |
| Xx | either /ks/ in socks, or /gz/ in exit |
/iks/ |
| Yy | like ea in leak | /igrək/ |
| Zz | like z in zebra | /zɛd/ |
[edit] Final consonants
In French, certain consonants are silent when they are the final letter of a word. The letters p (as in 'coup'), s (as in 'héros'), t (as in 'chat'), d (as in 'marchand), and x (as in 'paresseux'), are generally not pronounced at the end of a word. They are pronounced if there is an e letter after ('coupe', 'chatte', 'marchande', etc.)
[edit] b and p
Unlike English, when you pronounce the letters 'b' and 'p' in French, little to no air should come out of your mouth. In terms of phonetics, the difference in the French 'b' and 'p' and their English counterparts is one of aspiration. (This is not the same as the similarly-named concept of 'h' aspiré discussed below). Fortunately, in English both aspirated and unaspirated variants (allophones) exist, but only in specific environments. If you're a native speaker, say the word 'pit' and then the word 'spit' out loud. Did you notice the extra puff of air in the first word that doesn't come with the second? The 'p' in 'pit' is aspirated [pʰ]; the 'p' in 'spit' is not (like the 'p' in any position in French).
[edit] Exercise
- Get a loose piece of printer paper or notebook paper.
- Hold the piece of paper about one inch (or a couple of centimeters) in front of your face.
- Say the words baby, and puppy like you normally would in English. Notice how the paper moved when you said the 'b' and the 'p' respectively.
- Now, without making the piece of paper move, say the words belle (the feminine form of beautiful in French, pronounced like the English 'bell.'), and papa (the French equivalent of "Dad").
- If the paper moved, your pronunciation is slightly off. Concentrate, and try it again.
- If the paper didn't move, congratulations! You pronounced the words correctly!
[edit] Aspirated vs. non-aspirated h
In French, the letter h can be aspirated (h aspiré), or not aspirated (h non aspiré), depending on which language the word was borrowed from. What do these terms mean?
- Ex.: the word héros, (hero) has an aspirated h, because when the definite article le is placed before it, the result is le héros, and both words must be pronounced separately. However, the feminine form of héros, héroïne is a non-aspirated h. Therefore, when you put the definite article in front of it, it becomes l'héroïne, and is pronounced as one word.
Remember that in French, an h is NEVER pronounced, whether it is aspirated or not aspirated!
The only way to tell if the h at the beginning of a word is aspirated is to look it up in the dictionary. Some dictionaries will place an asterisk (*) in front of the entry word in the French-English H section if the h is aspirated. Other dictionaries will include it in the pronunciation guide after the key word by placing a (') before the pronunciation. In short, the words must be memorized.
Here is a table of some basic h words that are aspirated and not aspirated:
| aspirated | non-aspirated |
|---|---|
| héros, hero (le héros) | héroïne, heroine (l'héroïne) |
| haïr, to hate (je hais or j'haïs...) | habiter, to live (j'habite...) |
| huit, eight (le huit novembre) | harmonie, harmony (l'harmonie) |
[edit] Exercise
- Grab a French-English dictionary and find at least ten aspirated h words, and ten non-aspirated h words
- On a piece of paper, write down the words you find in two columns
- Look at it every day and memorize the columns
[edit] Punctuation
From Wiktionary:
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| & | esperluette, et commercial | , | virgule | { } | accolades | ~ | tilde | ||||||
| ' | apostrophe | = | égal | % | pourcent | @ | arobase, a commercial, arobe | ||||||
| * | astérisque | $ | dollar | . | point | ||||||||
| « » | guillemets | ! | point d'exclamation | + | plus | ||||||||
| \ | barre oblique inverse | > | supérieur à | # | dièse | ||||||||
| [ ] | crochets | < | inférieur à | ? | point d'interrogation | ||||||||
| : | deux points | - | moins, tiret, trait d'union | _ | soulignement | ||||||||
| ; | point virgule | ( ) | parenthèses | / | barre oblique | ||||||||
The punctuation symbols in French operates very similarly to English with the same meaning. The only punctuation symbol not present in French would be the quotation marks; these are replaced by the guillemets shown in the table above.
The two stroke punctuation marks (such as ;, :, ?, !) may require a non-breaking space before or after the mark in question. For purposes of this textbook, this style will be used to maintain consistency with other projects on WikiMedia - however, the location and context at which you will use French may have different spacing rules. The following resources are an example of available materials for further reading:
- Lexique des règles typographiques en usage à l'Imprimerie nationale, ISBN 9782743304829, Imprimerie nationale
- Wikipédia:Conventions typographiques
- French Style Guide, Nova Scotia Department of Education (for Canadian French)
Qu'est-ce que c'est? (What is it?) Respond with C'est ____ (It is ____)
- ;
- *
- !
- @
- #
- .
- C'est point virgule.
- C'est asterisque.
- C'est point d'exclamation.
- C'est arobase.
- C'est dièse.
- C'est point.
[edit] Lesson 0.04 - Accents
[edit] Introduction
There are five different kinds of accent marks used in written French; However, they often do not imply stress; Stress in French, although comparatively weaker than other Romance languages, always falls on the last syllable. They are:
| accent | letters used |
examples |
|---|---|---|
| acute accent (accent aigu) |
é only | éléphant: elephant |
| grave accent (accent grave) |
è, à, ù | fièvre: fever, là: there où: where |
| circumflex (accent circonflexe) |
â, ê, î, ô, û |
gâteau: cake, être: to be, île: island, chômage: unemployment, dû: past participle of devoir |
| diaeresis (tréma) |
ë, ï, ü, ÿ** | Noël: Christmas, maïs: corn, aigüe: acute(fem)* |
| cedilla (cédille) |
ç only | français: French |
- *Note: As of the spelling reform of 1990, the diaresis indicating gu is not a digraph on words finishing in guë is now placed on the u in standard (AKA "académie française" French) : aigüe and not aiguë, cigüe and not ciguë, ambigüe and not ambiguë (acute(fem), conium, ambiguous). Since this reform is relatively recent and mostly unknown to laypeople, the two spellings can be used interchangeably.
- **Note: The letter ÿ is only used in very rare words, mostly old town names like L'Haÿ-Les-Roses, a Paris surburb. This letter is pronounced like ï.
[edit] Acute accent - Accent aigu
The acute accent (French, accent aigu) is the most common accent used in written French. It is only used with the letter e and is always pronounced /e/.
One use of the accent aigu is to form the past participle of regular -er verbs.
| infinitive | past participle |
|---|---|
| aimer, to love | aimé, loved |
| regarder, to watch | regardé, watched |
Another thing to note is if you are unsure of how to translate certain words into English from French, and the word begins with é, replace that with the letter s and you will occasionally get the English word, or an approximation thereof:
- étable --> stable (for horses)
- école --> scole --> school
- il étudie --> il studie --> he studies
- And to combine what you already know about the accent aigu, here is one last example:
- étranglé (from étrangler) --> stranglé --> strangled
NB: This will not work with every word that begins with é.
[edit] Grave accent - Accent grave
[edit] à and ù
In the case of the letters à and ù, the grave accent (Fr. accent grave), is used to graphically distinguish one word from another.
| without accent grave | with accent grave |
|---|---|
| a (3rd pers. sing of avoir, to have) | à (preposition, to, at, etc.) |
| la (definite article for feminine nouns) | là (there) |
| ou (conjunction, or) | où (where) |
[edit] è
Unlike à and ù, è is not used to distinguish words from one another. The è is used for pronunciation. In careful speech, an unaccented e is pronounced like the article a in english (a schwa), and in rapid speech is sometimes not pronounced at all. The è is pronounced like the letter e in pet.
[edit] Cedilla - Cédille
The cedilla is used only with the letter "c", and is said to make the "c" soft, making it equivalent to the English and French S.
- le garçon --> (boy)
[edit] French Accents on computers
While French keyboards are available, some French students may need to enter accented characters on an English keyboard. There are two methods of doing so - some modern word processing software allow entering accents using a key combination, while other applications may require using an Alt code.
In supporing word processing software, you can initiate an accent by entering an appropriate key combination.
| accent | key combination |
|---|---|
| acute accent (accent aigu) |
CTRL-' |
| grave accent (accent grave) |
CTRL-` |
| circumflex (accent circonflexe) |
CTRL-SHIFT-6 |
| diaeresis (tréma) |
CTRL-; |
| cedilla (cédille) |
CTRL-, |
On applications that do not support the key combinations, the alternate method available to students is to hold down the ALT key, and enter the code number on the keypad. In some applications, you may also need to have the numlock turned on to avoid undesirable effects.
| Character | code | Character | code |
|---|---|---|---|
| à | 133 | À | 0192 |
| â | 131 | Â | 0194 |
| ä | 132 | Ä | 142 |
| æ {ae} | 145 | Æ {ae} | 146 |
| œ {oe} | 0156 | Œ {oe} | 0140 |
| ç | 135 | Ç | 128 |
| é | 130 | É | 144 |
| ê | 136 | Ê | 0202 |
| è | 138 | È | 0200 |
| ë | 137 | Ë | 0203 |
| î | 140 | Î | 0206 |
| ï | 139 | Ï | 0207 |
| ô | 147 | Ô | 0212 |
| ù | 151 | Ù | 0217 |
| û | 150 | Û | 0219 |
| ü | 129 | Ü | 154 or 0220 |
| « | 174 | » | 175 |
[edit] Lesson 0.05 - Greetings
[edit] D: Greetings
| French Dialogue • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Jacques et Marie | |
| Jacques | Bonsoir, Marie. |
| Marie | Euh ? Tu t'appelles comment ? |
| Jacques | Moi[1], je m'appelle Jacques. |
| Marie | Ah, oui. Quoi de neuf, Jacques ? |
| Jacques | Pas grand-chose. Alors[2], au revoir, à demain, Marie. |
| Marie | À la prochaine, Jacques. |
| Olivier et Luc | |
| Olivier | Salut. |
| Luc | Bonjour. |
| Olivier | Tu t'appelles comment ? |
| Luc | Luc. Et toi ?[3] |
| Olivier | Je suis Olivier. |
| Luc | Ah, oui. Alors, à bientôt, Olivier. |
| Olivier | Salut, Luc ! |
| ^ me |
^ so, then |
^ And you ? (informal) |
[edit] V: Greetings
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Salut | Hi./Bye. | (informal) | |
| Bonjour | Hello | (more formal than salut) (all day) | |
| Bonsoir | Hello | (after 19h00) | |
| Bonne soirée | Good evening | ||
| Bonne nuit | Good night | bun nwee | |
| Quoi de neuf ? | What's up (about you)? (lit. what's new) | ||
| Pas grand-chose. | Not much. (lit. no big-thing) | ||
[edit] Formal Lesson - Greetings
When talking to one's peers or to children, Salut is used as a greeting. Its English equivalents would be hi and hey. Bonjour, literally meaning good day, should be used for anyone else. Bonsoir is used to say Good evening. Bonne nuit is used to say Good night before going to bed.
[edit] V: Good-bye
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| Salut. | Hi./Bye. | (informal) |
| Au revoir. | Good-bye. | ohrvwahr (ev not pronounced) |
| À demain. | See you tomorrow. | ah duhman (Lit: To/Until Tomorrow) |
| Au revoir, à demain. | Bye, see you tomorrow. | |
| À tout à l'heure. | See you (later today)! | ah tootah luhr |
| À la prochaine. | See you (tomorrow)! | ah lah proh shayn |
| À bientôt. | See you soon. | ah byantoe |
| Ciao | Bye. | chow (Italian) |
[edit] Formal lesson - Good-byes
In addition to being used as an informal greeting, Salut also means bye. Again, it should only be used among friends. Another informal greeting is ciao, an Italian word commonly used in France. Au revoir is the only formal way to say Good-bye. If you will be meeting someone again soon, use À bientôt or À tout à l'heure. À demain is used if you will be seeing the person the following day.
[edit] V: Names
Tu t'appelles comment ? is used to informally ask someone for his or her name. It is normal to just reply by stating your name, however you may also respond Je m'appelle [name] (I am called...). In the next lesson, you will learn more formal ways of asking someone for their name.
[edit] Lesson 0.06 - Formal Speech
[edit] D: A formal conversation
| French Dialogue • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Two people—Monsieur Bernard and Monsieur Lambert—are meeting for the first time: | |
| Monsieur Bernard | Bonjour. Comment vous appelez-vous ? |
| Monsieur Lambert | Je m'appelle Jean-Paul Lambert. Et vous ? |
| Monsieur Bernard | Moi, je[4] suis Marc Bernard. Enchanté. |
| Monsieur Lambert | Enchanté[5]. |
^ I (I is not capitalized in French (unless, of course, beginning a sentence))
^ Nice to meet you (lit. enchanted)
[edit] G: Vous vs. tu
This is an important difference between French and English. English no longer distinguishes between the singular and the plural, formal version of "you", although "thou" used to be the informal singular version in the days of Shakespeare.
In French, it is important to know when to use "vous" and when to use "tu".
"Vous" is the plural form of "you". This is somewhat equivalent to "you all", "you guys", "all of you", except that it does not carry any familiarity when used with the plural. You'd use it to address your friends as well as when talking to the whole government at a press conference.
"Vous" is also used to refer to single individuals to show respect, to be polite or to be neutral. It is used when talking to someone who is important, someone who is older than you are, or someone with whom you are unfamiliar. This is known as Vouvoiement. Note the conversation between M. Bernard and M. Lambert above as an example of this use.
Conversely, "tu" is the singular and informal form of "vous" (you) in French. It is commonly used when referring to a friend or a family member, and is also used between children or when addressing a child. If it is used when speaking to a stranger, it signals disrespect. This is known as Tutoiement. As a rule of thumb, use "tu" only when you would call that person by his first name, otherwise use "vous". French people will make it known when they would like you to refer to them by "tu". The use of "vous" is less common in Quebequois than in French from France.
[edit] V: Courtesy
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Please | S'il te plaît. | (Lit: If it pleases you.) | ||
| S'il vous plaît. | (formal). | |||
| Thanks (a lot) | Merci (beaucoup). | |||
| You're welcome. | De rien. | (Lit: It's nothing.) | ||
| Pas de quoi. | (Lit: Not of what.) (No problem.) | |||
| Je t'en prie. | I pray you (informal) | |||
| Je vous en prie | (formal) | |||
[edit] V: Titles
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French | Abbr. | Pronunciation | English, Usage | |
| Singular Plural |
Monsieur Messieurs. |
M. | muhsyeu mehsyeu |
Mr., Sir. Gentlemen. |
| Singular Plural |
Madame Mesdames |
Mme | mahdamn maydahm |
Mrs., Ma'am. Ladies |
| Singular Plural |
Mademoiselle Mesdemoiselles |
Mlle | mahdmwahzell mehdmwahzell |
Miss, Young lady Young ladies |
[edit] Formal lesson - Titles
The titles monsieur, madame, and mademoiselle are almost always used alone, without the last name of the person. When beginning to speak to a professor, employer, or generally someone older than you, it is polite to say monsieur, madame, or mademoiselle.
[edit] V: Asking for one's name
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? Quel est votre nom ? |
How do you call yourself? (formal) What is your name? |
| Tu t'appelles comment ? | What is your name? (informal) (lit: How do you call yourself?) |
| Je m'appelle... | My name is... (lit. I call myself...) |
[edit] Lesson 0.07 - How are you?
[edit] D: A simple conversation
Two good friends—Marie and Jean—are meeting:
- Marie: Salut Jean. Ça va ?
- Jean: Ça va bien, merci. Et toi, ça va ?
- Marie: Pas mal.
- Jean: Quoi de neuf ?
- Marie: Pas grand-chose.
- Marie: Au revoir Jean.
- Jean: Au revoir, à demain.
[edit] V: How are you?
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Comment allez-vous ? (formal), Comment vas-tu ? (informal), Comment ça va ? / Ça va ? (informal) |
How are you? |
| Ça va (très) bien | I'm doing (very) well (lit. It's going (very) well) |
| Oui, ça va. | Yes, it goes. |
| Très bien, merci. | Very well, thanks. |
| Pas mal. | Not Bad |
| pas si bien/pas très bien | not so well |
| (très) mal | (very) bad |
| Comme ci, comme ça. | So-So. |
| Désolé(e). | Sorry. |
| Et toi ? Et vous ? |
And you? (informal) And you? (formal) |
[edit] E: Basic phrases - Dialogue
| French Exercise • Print version • |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise Put the following conversation in order: |
||||
| First | Second | Third | Fourth | |
| 1. Michel | Je ne vais pas très bien. | Bonjour, Jacques | Au revoir | Comment ça va? |
| 2. Jacques | Désolé. | Ça va très bien! Et vous? Allez-vous bien? |
À demain. | Salut, Michel! |
| Solution: | ||||
| First | Second | Third | Fourth | |
| 1. Michel | Bonjour, Jacques. | Comment ça va? | Je ne vais pas très bien. | Au revoir. |
| 2. Jacques | Salut, Michel! | Ça va très bien! Et vous? Allez-vous bien? |
Désolé. | À demain. |
[edit] Formal lesson - Asking how one is doing
Ça va? is used to ask someone how they are doing. The phrase literally means It goes?, referring to the body and life. A more formal way to say this is Comment allez-vous?. You can respond by using ça va as a statement; Ça va. roughly means I'm fine. The adverb bien is used to say well, and is often said both alone and as Ça va bien. Bien is preceded by certain adverbs to specify the degree to which you are well. Common phrases are assez bien, meaning rather well, très bien, meaning very well, and vraiment bien, meaning really well. The adverb mal is used to say badly. Pas is commonly added to mal to form Pas mal., meaning Not bad. Comme ci, comme ça., literally translating to Like this, like that., is used to say So, so. To be polite, add merci, meaning thank you to responses to questions.
[edit] Lesson 0.08 - Numbers
[edit] V: Cardinal numbers
- Main article: French/Appendices/Dates, time, and numbers#Les numéros
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| un | 1 | une unité (a unity) |
| deux | 2 | |
| trois | 3 | |
| quatre | 4 | |
| cinq | 5 | |
| six | 6 | |
| sept | 7 | |
| huit | 8 | |
| neuf | 9 | |
| dix | 10 | une dizaine (one ten) |
| onze | 11 | |
| douze | 12 | une douzaine (one dozen) |
| treize | 13 | |
| quatorze | 14 | |
| quinze | 15 | |
| seize | 16 | |
| dix-sept | 17 | |
| dix-huit | 18 | |
| dix-neuf | 19 | |
| vingt | 20 | une vingtaine (around twenty) |
| vingt et un | 21 | |
| vingt [deux - neuf] | 22-29 | |
| trente | 30 | |
| trente et un | 31 | |
| trente [deux - neuf] | 32-39 | |
| quarante | 40 | |
| cinquante | 50 | |
| soixante | 60 | |
| soixante-dix | 70 | |
| soixante et onze | 71 | |
| soixante-[douze - dix-neuf] | 72-79 | |
| quatre-vingts | 80 | |
| quatre-vingt-un | 81 | |
| quatre-vingt-[deux - neuf] | 82-89 | |
| quatre-vingt-dix | 90 | |
| quatre-vingt-[onze - dix-neuf] | 91-99 | |
| cent | 100 | une centaine (one hundred) |
| [deux - neuf] cents | 200-900 | |
| deux cent un | 201 | |
| neuf cent un | 901 | |
| mille | 1.000 | un millier (one thousand) |
| (un) million | 1.000.000 | |
| (un) milliard | 1.000.000.000 | |
Things of note about numbers:
- For 70-79, it builds upon "soixante" but past that it builds upon a combination of terms for 80-99
- Only the first (21,31,41,51 and 61, but not 71 nor 81 nor 91) have "et un" without a hyphen; but past this it is simply both words consecutively (vingt-six, trente-trois, etc) with a hyphen in between.
- For 100-199, it looks much like this list already save that "cent" is added before the rest of the number; this continues up to 1000 and onward.
- Many speakers of French outside of France refer to the numbers 70 to 99 in the same pattern as the other numbers. For instance, in Switzerland and Belgium, seventy is "septante," 71 is "septante et un," 72 "septante deux," and so on. Ninety is "nonante". In Switzerland, Eighty is "huitante" or "octante".
[edit] V: Mathematics
In french, the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are as follows: Calculez:
a) un plus (plus) un = (égal) deux (the final 's' must be prononced)
b) dix moins (moén) sept = trois
c) quatre fois (foá) trois = douze
d) vingt divisé par (divisê par) dix = deux
Note: You may sometimes use "un plus un font deux".
[edit] Exercises
- huit plus cinq égal : (treize)
- cinq et un égal : (six)
- neuf plus huit égal (dix-sept)
- trente-deux plus quarante-neuf égal (quatre-vingt-un)
- soixante plus vingt égal (quatre-vingts)
- cinquante-trois plus douze égal (soixante-cinq)
- dix-neuf plus cinquante égal (soixante-neuf)
- quarante-sept plus vingt-sept égal (soixante-quatorze)
- Soixante-trois plus trente-deux égal (quatre-vingt-quinze)
- soixante plus trente-deux égal (quatre-vingt-douze)
[edit] D: In school
Toto est un personnage imaginaire qui est un cancre à l'école. Il y a beaucoup d'histoires drôles sur Toto, un jour je vous en raconterai une!
Toto is an imaginary person that is a dunce at school. There are a lot of funny stories about Toto, one day I will tell you one of them!
- L'instituteur : Bonjour, les enfants! Aujourd'hui c'est mardi, nous allons réviser la table d'addition. Combien font huit plus six ?
- Toto : Treize, monsieur !
- L'instituteur : Non Toto tu t'es trompé! Huit plus six égal quatorze. Et combien font cinq plus neuf ?
- Clément : Quatorze !
- L'instituteur : Très bien Clément.
[edit] Lesson 0.09 - The Date
[edit] V: The days of the week.
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | French | Pronunciation | English | Origin |
| 1 | lundi | luhndee | Monday | Moon |
| 2 | mardi | mahrdee | Tuesday | Mars |
| 3 | mercredi | maircruhdee | Wednesday | Mercury |
| 4 | jeudi | juhdee | Thursday | Jupiter |
| 5 | vendredi | vahndruhdee | Friday | Venus |
| 6 | samedi | sahmdee | Saturday | Saturn |
| 7 | dimanche | deemahnsh | Sunday | Dies Domini |
Notes:
- What day is it today? is equivalent to Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui?, Quel jour est-on aujourd'hui? or On est quel jour aujourd'hui? (last one is less formal but more common)
- Quel jour sommes-nous aujourd'hui? can be answered with Aujourd'hui c'est..., C'est... or Nous sommes ... / On est...
- Nous sommes... is not used with hier, aujourd’hui, or demain. C'était (past) or C'est (present/future) must be used accordingly.
- The days of the week are not capitalized in French.
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | Aujourd'hui on est quel jour ? | Today is what day? | ojzoordwee on ay kell jzoor |
| 1b | Aujourd'hui on est [jour]. | Today is [day]. | |
| 2a | Demain c'est quel jour ? | Tomorrow is what day? | Duhman on ay kell jzoor |
| 2b | Demain c'est [jour]. | Tomorrow is [day]. | |
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| avant-hier | the day before yesterday |
| hier | yesterday |
| aujourd'hui | today |
| ce soir | tonight |
| demain | tomorrow |
| après-demain | the day after tomorrow |
[edit] V: The months of the year
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| # | French | Pronounced | English |
| 01 | janvier | jzahnvyay | January |
| 02 | février | fayvryay | February |
| 03 | mars | mahrse | March |
| 04 | avril | ahvrill | April |
| 05 | mai | maye | May |
| 06 | juin | jzwan | June |
| 07 | juillet | jzuyay | July |
| 08 | août | oot/oo | August |
| 09 | septembre | septahmbruh | September |
| 10 | octobre | oktuhbr | October |
| 11 | novembre | novahmbr | November |
| 12 | décembre | daysahmbr | December |
- The months of the year are not capitalized in French.
- For phrases relating to the months of the year, see the phrasebook
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| Quelle est la date (d'aujourd'hui) ? |
What is the date (today)? |
kell ay lah daht |
| C'est le [#] [month]. | It's [month] [#]. | say leuh... |
[edit] V: Seasons
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| la saison | season |
| le printemps | Spring |
| l'été (m) | Summer |
| l'automne (m) | Autumn |
| l'hiver (m) | Winter |
[edit] Lesson 0.10 - Telling Time
[edit] V: Asking for the time
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Asking for the time. | |||
| 4a | Quelle heure est-il ? | What hour/time is it? | kell er ayteel |
| 4b | Quelle heure il est ? | kell er eel ay | |
| 5 | Il est [nombre] heure(s). | It is [number] hours. | eelay [nombre] er |
[edit] V: Time
In French, “il est” is used to express the time; though it would literally translate as “he is”, it is actually, in this case, equivalent to “it is” (impersonal "il"). Unlike in English, it is always important to use “heures” (“hours”) when referring to the time. In English, it is OK to say, “It’s nine,” but this wouldn’t make sense in French.
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Quelle heure est-il ? | What time is it? |
| Il est une heure. | It is one o’clock. |
| Il est trois heures. | It is three o’clock. |
| Il est dix heures. | It is ten o’clock. |
| Il est midi. | It is noon. |
| Il est minuit. | It is midnight. |
| Il est quatre heures cinq. | It is five past four. |
| Il est quatre heures et quart. | It is a quarter past four. |
| Il est quatre heures moins le quart | It is a quarter till 4. |
| Il est quatre heures quinze. | It is four fifteen. |
| Il est quatre heures et demie. | It is half past four. |
| Il est quatre heures trente. | It is four thirty. |
| Il est cinq heures moins vingt. | It is twenty to five. |
| Il est quatre heures quarante. | It is four forty. |
[edit] V: Times of day
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| le lever du jour | daybreak lit:the rise of the day |
| le lever du soleil | sunrise lit: the rise of the sun |
| le soleil levant | rising sun. |
| le matin | morning |
| ...du matin | A.M., lit: of the morning |
| hier matin | yesterday morning |
| le midi | noon, midday |
| l'après-midi (m) | afternoon |
| le soir | evening, in the evening |
| ...du soir | P.M. lit: of the evening |
| la nuit | night |
| le coucher du soleil | sunset |
[edit] D: The Principal
| French Dialogue • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Daniel | (frappe à la porte : toc toc toc) (knocks on the door: knock knock knock) |
| Le directeur | Entrez ! Enter! |
| Daniel | Bonjour, monsieur le directeur. Est-ce que vous allez bien ? Hello, Mr. Director. Are you well? |
| Le directeur | Je vais bien merci. Et vous, comment allez-vous ? I am well, thank you. And you, how are you? |
| Daniel | Je vais bien. Je veux vous demander s'il est possible d'organiser une fête pour mon anniversaire. Je l'organiserais le 3 mars vers 14 h. I'm well. I want to ask you if it is possible to organize a party for my birthday. I would organize it the third of March around 02:00 PM. |
| Le directeur | Et vous voulez l'organiser où ? And you want to organize it where? |
| Daniel | Dans la grande salle de réunion au deuxième étage. On en aurait besoin jusqu'à 16 h, le temps de tout nettoyer. In the large conference room on the second floor. We would need it until 04:00 PM, the time of cleaning everything. |
| Le directeur | Entendu! J' espère que je serais invité ? Agreed! I hope that I would be invited? |
| Daniel | Bien sûr ! Merci Beaucoup ! Of course! Thanks a lot! |
| Le directeur | Au revoir ! Good-bye! |
| Daniel | Au revoir et encore merci ! Good-bye and thanks again. |
[edit] Lesson 0 - Review
[edit] G: The French alphabet
| French Grammar • Print version • |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characters | Aa | Bb | Cc | Dd | Ee | Ff | Gg | Hh | Ii | Jj | Kk | Ll | Mm | |||||||||||||
| Pronunciation | ah | bay | say | day | euh | eff | jhay | ash | ee | zhee | kah | el | em | |||||||||||||
| Characters | Nn | Oo | Pp | Rr | Ss | Tt | Uu | Vv | Ww | Xx | Yy | Zz | ||||||||||||||
| Pronunciation | enn | oh | pay | ku | air | ess | tay | ue | vay | dubl-vay | eeks | ee-grehk | zedh | |||||||||||||
In addition, French uses several accents which are worth understanding. These are: à, è, ù, (grave accents) and é (acute accent). A circumflex applies to all vowels: â, ê, î, ô, û. A tréma (French for dieresis) is also applied: ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ. Two combined letters are used: æ and œ, and a cedilla is used on the c to make it sound like an English s: ç.
[edit] V: Basic phrases
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| bonjour, salut | hello (formal), hi (informal) |
| Comment allez-vous ? (formal), Comment vas-tu ? (informal), Comment ça va ? / Ça va ? (informal) |
How are you? |
| ça va (très) bien | I'm doing (very) well (lit. It's going (very) well) |
| merci | thank you |
| et toi ? et vous ? | and you? (informal) and you? (formal) |
| pas mal | not bad |
| bien | well |
| pas si bien/pas très bien | not so well |
| comme ci, comme ça | so-so |
| Désolé(e) | I'm sorry. |
| quoi de neuf ? | what's up (about you)? (lit. what's new) |
| pas grand-chose | not much (lit. no big-thing) |
| au revoir | bye (lit. with reseeing, akin to German auf Wiedersehen) |
| à demain | see you tomorrow (lit. at tomorrow) |
| Au revoir, à demain. | Bye, see you tomorrow |
[edit] V: Numbers
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| un | 1 | une unité (a unity) |
| deux | 2 | |
| trois | 3 | |
| quatre | 4 | |
| cinq | 5 | |
| six | 6 | |
| sept | 7 | |
| huit | 8 | |
| neuf | 9 | |
| dix | 10 | une dizaine (one ten) |
| onze | 11 | |
| douze | 12 | une douzaine (one dozen) |
| treize | 13 | |
| quatorze | 14 | |
| quinze | 15 | |
| seize | 16 | |
| dix-sept | 17 | |
| dix-huit | 18 | |
| dix-neuf | 19 | |
| vingt | 20 | |
| vingt et un | 21 | |
| vingt [deux - neuf] | 22-29 | |
| trente | 30 | |
| trente et un | 31 | |
| trente [deux - neuf] | 32-39 | |
| quarante | 40 | |
| cinquante | 50 | |
| soixante | 60 | |
| soixante-dix | 70 | |
| soixante et onze | 71 | |
| soixante-[douze - dix-neuf] | 72-79 | |
| quatre-vingts | 80 | |
| quatre-vingt-un | 81 | |
| quatre-vingt-[deux - neuf] | 82-89 | |
| quatre-vingt-dix | 90 | |
| quatre-vingt-[onze - dix-neuf] | 91-99 | |
| cent | 100 | une centaine (one hundred) |
| [deux - neuf] cents | 200-900 | |
| deux cent un | 201 | |
| neuf cent un | 901 | |
| mille | 1.000 | un millier (one thousand) |
| (un) million | 1.000.000 | |
| (un) milliard | 1.000.000.000 | |
| (un) billion | 1.000.000.000.000 | |
Things of note about numbers:
- For 70-79, it builds upon "soixante" but past that it builds upon a combination of terms for 80-99
- Only the first (21,31,41,51,61 and 71, but not 81 nor 91) have "et un" without a hyphen; but past this it is simply both words consecutively (vingt-six, trente-trois, etc) with a hyphen in between.
- For 100-199, it looks much like this list already save that "cent" is added before the rest of the number; this continues up to 1000 and onward.
[edit] V: Asking for the day/date/time
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Asking for the day. | |||
| 1a | Quel jour c'est Aujourd'hui ? | What day is today ? | kell jzoor say ojzoordwee |
| 1b | c'est [jour]. | Today is [day]. | |
| 2a | Quel jour c'est demain ? | What day is tomorrow ? | kell jzoor say duhman |
| 2b | Demain c'est [jour]. | Tomorrow is [day]. | |
| Asking for the date. | |||
| 3a | Quelle est la date (aujourd'hui) ? |
What is the date (today) ? |
kell ay lah daht |
| 3b | C'est le [#] [month]. | It's [month] [#]. | |
| Asking for the time. | |||
| 4a | Quelle heure est-il ? | What hour/time is it ? | kell er ayteel |
| 4b | Il est quelle heure ? | eel ay kell er | |
| 5 | Il est [nombre] heure(s). | It is [number] hours. | eelay [nombre] er |
[edit] V: Time
In French, “il est” is used to express the time; though it would literally translate as “he is”, it is actually, in this case, equivalent to “it is” (unpersonal "il"). Unlike in English, it is always important to use “heures” (“hours”) when referring to the time. In English, it is OK to say, “It’s nine,” but this wouldn’t make sense in French. The French time system traditionally uses a 24 hour scale. Shorthand for writing times in French follows the format "17h30", which would represent 5:30PM in English.
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Quelle heure est-il ? | What time is it? |
| Il est une heure. | It is one o’clock. |
| Il est trois heures. | It is three o’clock. |
| Il est dix heures. | It is ten o’clock. |
| Il est midi. | It is noon. |
| Il est minuit. | It is midnight. |
| Il est quatre heures cinq. | It is five past four. |
| Il est quatre heures et quart. | It is a quarter past four. |
| Il est quatre heures quinze. | It is four fifteen. |
| Il est quatre heures et demie. | It is half past four. |
| Il est dix-neuf heures moins le quart. | It is a quarter to seven, or six forty-five. |
| Il est quatre heures trente. | It is four thirty. |
| Il est cinq heures moins vingt. | It is twenty to five. |
| Il est quatre heures quarante. | It is four forty. |
[edit] V: The days of the week.
Les jours de la semaine [lay jzoor duh lah suhmen]
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | French | Pronunciation | English | Origin |
| 1 | lundi | luhndee | Monday | Moon |
| 2 | mardi | mahrdee | Tuesday | Mars |
| 3 | mercredi | maircruhdee | Wednesday | Mercury |
| 4 | jeudi | juhdee | Thursday | Jupiter |
| 5 | vendredi | vahndruhdee | Friday | Venus |
| 6 | samedi | sahmdee | Saturday | Saturn |
| 7 | dimanche | deemahnsh | Sunday | Sun |
- The days of the week are not capitalized in French.
- For phrases relating to the day of the week, see the phrasebook.
Notes:
- What day is it today? is equivalent to Quel jour sommes-nous ?.
- Quel jour sommes-nous ? can be answered with Nous sommes..., C'est... or On est... (last two are less formal).
- Nous sommes... is not used with hier, aujourd’hui, or demain. C'était (past) or C'est (present/future) must be used accordingly.
[edit] V: The months of the year
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| # | French | Pron. | English |
| 01 | janvier | jzahnveeyay | January |
| 02 | février | fayvreeyay | February |
| 03 | mars | mahrse | March |
| 04 | avril | ahvrill | April |
| 05 | mai | maye | May |
| 06 | juin | jzwan | June |
| 07 | juillet | jzooeeyay | July |
| 08 | août | oot/oo | August |
| 09 | septembre | septahmbruh | September |
| 10 | octobre | oktuhbruh | October |
| 11 | novembre | novahmbruh | November |
| 12 | decembre | daysahmbruh | December |
[edit] V: Relative date and time
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Times of Day | |
| le lever du jour | daybreak lit:the rise of the day |
| le lever du soleil | sunrise lit: the rise of the sun |
| le soleil levant | rising sun. |
| le matin | morning |
| ...du matin | A.M., lit: of the mornng |
| hier matin | yesterday morning |
| le midi | noon, midday |
| l'après-midi (m) | afternoon |
| le soir | evening, in the evening |
| ...du soir | P.M. lit: of the evening |
| le coucher du soleil | sunset |
| la nuit | night |
| Relative Days | |
| avant-hier | the day before yesterday |
| hier | yesterday |
| aujord'hui | today |
| ce soir | tonight |
| demain | tomorrow |
| après-demain | the day after tomorrow |
[edit] V: Seasons
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| la saison | season |
| le printemps | Spring |
| l'été (m) | Summer |
| l'automne (m) | Autumn |
| l'hiver (m) | Winter |
[edit] D: A conversation between friends
| French Dialogue • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Daniel | Bonjour Hervé. Comment vas-tu ? Hello, Hervé. How are you? [lit: How go you?] |
| Hervé | Je vais bien, merci. Et toi ça va ? I'm good,1 thank you. And you, it goes (fine)? |
| Daniel | Ça va bien. Est-ce que2 tu viens à mon anniversaire ? J'organise une petite fête. It goes well. You're coming to my party? I'm organizing a little party. |
| Hervé | C'est quand ? When is it? [lit: It is when?] |
| Daniel | Le 3 mars à 20h. March 3rd at 08:00 PM. |
| Hervé | Le 3 mars, entendu. Tu fais ça chez toi3 ? March 3rd, agreed. You're having it at your place? |
| Daniel | Oui c'est chez moi. J'ai invité une vingtaine d'amis. On va danser toute la nuit. Yes, it's at my place. I have invited (a set of) twenty friends. We4 are going to dance all night. |
| Hervé | C'est très gentil de m'inviter, merci. A bientôt. It's very nice to invite me, thank you. So long. |
| Daniel | A demain, bonne journée. Until tomorrow, good day. |
1 Bien is an adverb meaning well. Its adjective equivalent is bon(ne), which means good. Since je vais, meaning I go, uses an action verb, the adverb bien is used. In English, I'm good, which uses the linking verb am, is followed by an adjective rather than an adverb.
2 Est-ce que... literally means Is is that... and is often used to start questions. This is used in a similar manner to do in English. Instead of You want it?, one can say Do you want it? Est-ce que... has no real meaning, other than signifying that a question follows.
3 chez... is a preposition meaning at the house of.... Chez moi is used to say at my place. Chez [name] is used to say at [name's] place.
4 on can mean we or one.
[edit] Lesson 0 - Test
The following test will confirm your progress in the French introduction. Try to answer the questions to the best of your ability without turning to the previous chapters or consulting the test answers.
[edit] Grammar
[edit] Verb forms
Name the verb forms for the subject and infinitive specified. (1 point each)
[edit] Translating
[edit] English to French
Translate the following phrases and sentences into French. (2 points each)
- What day is today?
- How are you?
- What is your name?
[edit] French to English
Translate this dialogue between Henri and Jacques into English. Each phrase is worth 1 points. (11 points total)
- Bonjour! Quel est ton nom?
- Je m'appelle Jacques. Comment vous-appelez vous?
- Je m'appelle Henri. Comment ça va?
- Pas mal. Et toi, comment ça va?
- Trés bien, merci. À demain Jacques!
- À demain Henri.
[edit] Reading comprehension
[edit] Fill in the blank
Fill in the blanks in these conversations. Note: Every blank is one word. (1 point each)
[edit] Vocabulary
[edit] Matching
Match the French words with their English definitions. (1 point each)
[edit] LEVEL ONE
[edit] Level One Lessons Contents
- Lesson 1.01 - Basic Grammar
- Lesson 1.02 - To Be
- Lesson 1.03 - Description
- Lesson 1.04 - Family
- Lesson 1.05 - Recreation
- Lesson 1.06 - The House
- Lesson 1.07 - Weather
- Lesson 1.08 - Travel
- Lesson 1.09 - Art
- Lesson 1.10 - Science
[edit] Information
If you haven't done so already, spend a few minutes to first read the course's introductory lessons. Once that's done, you're ready to begin your very first traditional French lesson! After you have completed this level, you can move on to the next level. Finally, go to the lessons planning page if you would like to help improve this course.
[edit] Allons! - Basic French
| 01 | Leçon 01 : Grammaire de base | G: Gender, Articles, Subject Pronouns V: People |
| Lesson 01 : Basic Grammar | ||
| 02 | Leçon 02 : Être | G: Conjugation, Être V: |
| Lesson 02 : To be | ||
| 03 | Leçon 03 : La description | G: Conjugation, Être, Adjectives V: Colors, Numbers |
| Lesson 03 : Description | ||
| 04 | Leçon 04 : La famille | G: Avoir, le, la, and les V: Family |
| Lesson 04 : Family | ||
| 05 | Leçon 05 : Récréation | G: -er Verbs, lui and leur V: Games, Sports, Places, Playing |
| Lesson 05 : Recreation | ||
| 06 | Leçon 06 : La maison | G: Faire, me, te, nous, and vous V: Household, Housework, Furniture |
| Lesson 06 : The House | ||
| 07 | Leçon 07 : Le temps | G: Negation, Contractions, Aller V: Weather |
| Lesson 07 : Weather | ||
| 08 | Leçon 08 : Les voyages | G: -ir Verbs, Possessive Adjectives V: Hotels, Directions |
| Lesson 08 : Travel | ||
| 09 | Leçon 09 : L'art | G: -re Verbs, Beau, Nouveau, and Vieux V: Museums, Music, Plays |
| Lesson 09 : Art | ||
| 10 | Leçon 10 : La science | G: Prendre V: Elements, Astronomy |
| Lesson 10 : Science | ||
| Ex | L'examen | Chapter test Chapitre l'examen |
| Test |
[edit] Lesson 1.01 - Basic Grammar
[edit] G: Gender of nouns
In French, all nouns have a grammatical gender; that is, they are either masculin (m) or feminin (f).
Most nouns that express people or animals have both a masculine and a feminine form. For example, the two words for "the actor" in French are l'acteur (m) and l'actrice (f). The two words for "the cat" are le chat (m) and la chatte (f).
However, there are some nouns that talk about people or animals whose gender are fixed, regardless of the actual gender of the person or animal. For example, la personne (f) (the person) is always feminine, even when it's talking about your uncle! Le professeur (m) (the professor) is always masculine, even when it's talking about your female professor/teacher!
The nouns that express things without an obvious gender (e.g., objects and abstract concepts) have only one form. This form can be masculine or feminine. For example, la voiture (the car) can only be feminine; le stylo (the pen) can only be masculine.
Unfortunately, there are many exceptions in French which can only be learned. There are even words that are spelled the same, but have a different meaning when masculine or feminine; for example, le livre (m) means the book, but la livre (f) means the pound! Some words that appear to be masculine (like le photo, which is actually short for la photographie) are in fact feminine, and vice versa. Then there are some that just don't make sense; la foi is feminine and means a belief, whereas le foie means liver. To help overcome this hurdle which many beginners find very difficult, be sure to learn the genders along with the words. When you think of a noun in French, think of the noun with its article (le or la). While this may seem difficult now, it is absolutely essential in la langue française (the French language), as you will see later on!
Here is a chart which depicts some tendencies of French nouns. Eventually, you will be able to guess the gender of a noun based on tricks like this:
| French Grammar • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Common Endings Used With Masculine Nouns: |
||
| le cheval[6] | the horse | -age | le fromage the cheese |
| le chien | the dog | -r | le professeur[7] the teacher |
| le livre | the book | -t | le chat the cat |
| le bruit | the noise | -isme | le capitalisme capitalism |
| Feminine | Common Endings Used With Feminine Nouns: |
||
| la colombe | the dove | -ie | la boulangerie the bakery |
| la chemise | the shirt | -ion | la nation the nation |
| la maison | the house | -ite/-ité | la fraternité brotherhood |
| la liberté | liberty | -nce | la balance the scales |
| -nne -mme -lle |
la fille the girl |
||
| l’indienne the Indian |
|||
^ Professeur can be shortened to prof (in a familiar context). While the long form, professeur, is always masculine, even when referring to female teachers, prof can be either masculine or feminine. (le prof - the (male) teacher) (la prof - the (female) teacher)
'^ In this book, the definite article will come before a noun in vocabulary charts. If the definite article is l due to elision, (m) will follow a noun to denote a masculine gender and (f) will follow a noun to denote a feminine gender.
[edit] G: Definite and indefinite articles
[edit] The definite article
In English, the definite article is always “the”.
Unlike English, the definite article is used to talk about something in a general sense, a general statement or feeling about an idea or thing.
In French, the definite article is changed depending on the noun's:
- Gender
- Plurality
- First letter of the word
There are three definite articles and an abbreviation. "Le" is used for masculine nouns, "La" is used for feminine nouns, "Les" is used for plural nouns (both masculine or feminine), and "L' " is used when the noun begins with a vowel or silent "h" (both masculine or feminine). It is similar to English, where "a" changes to "an" before a vowel.
| French Grammar • Print version • |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | feminine | la | la fille | the daughter |
| masculine | le | le fils[8] | the son | |
| singular, starting with a vowel sound | l’ | l’enfant | the child | |
| plural | les | les filles | the daughters | |
| les fils | the sons | |||
| les enfants | the children | |||
[edit] Plurality, pronunciation, and exceptions
The plural of most nouns is formed by adding an -s. However, the -s ending is not pronounced. It is the article that tells the listener whether the noun is singular or plural.
^ Fils: Most singular nouns do not end in -s. The -s is added for the plural form of the noun. Fils is one exception. Whenever the singular form of a noun ends in -s, there is no change in the plural form.
| le fils the son |
les fils the sons |
un fils a son |
des fils (some) sons |
| le cours the course |
les cours the courses |
un cours a course |
des cours (some) courses |
Secondly, the final consonant is almost always not pronounced unless followed by an -e (or another vowel). Fils (pronounced feece) is also an exception to this rule.
[edit] Elision
Elision refers to the suppression of a final unstressed vowel immediately before another word beginning with a vowel. The definite articles le and la are shortened to l’ when they come before a noun that begins with a vowel or silent h. When pronounced, the vowel sound is dropped.
- (le) ami - l'ami - lahmee - the (male) friend
- (la) amie - l'amie - lahmee the (female) friend
- (le) élève - l'élève - lay lev - the student
- (la) heure - l'heure - leur - the hour/the time
Elision does not occur on an aspired h:
- (le) héros - le héros - a legendary hero
In addition to the definite article, elision will also occur with other words, such as que, je, le, ce, ne, and de. The details on these words will be covered in later sections of the book.
[edit] The indefinite article
In English, the indefinite articles are "a" and "an". "Some" is used as a plural article in English.
Again, indefinite articles in French take different forms depending on gender and plurality. The articles "Un" and "une" literally mean "one" in French.
| French Grammar • Print version • |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | feminine | une | oon | une fille | a daughter |
| masculine | un | uh | un fils | a son | |
| plural | des | day | des filles | some daughters | |
| des fils1 | some sons | ||||
1"des fils" does mean "some sons" but is an homograph: it can also mean "some threads" (when pronounced like "fill")
[edit] Liaison
Remember that the last consonant of a word is typically not pronounced unless followed by a vowel. When a word ending in a consonant is followed by a word beginning with a vowel sound (or silent h), the consonant often becomes pronounced. This is a process called liaison. When a vowel goes directly after un, the normally unpronounced n sound becomes pronounced.
- (un) ami - unnami (uhnahmee) - a (male) friend
- (un) élève - unnélève (uhnay lev) - a student
Compare the pronunciation to words without liaison:
- un garçon (uh gehrsoh)
Une is unaffected by liaison.
Liaison also occurs with les and des.
- (les) amis - leszamis (layzahmee) - (some) (male) friends
- (des) amis - deszamis (dayzahmee) - (some) (male) friends
- (des) amies - deszamies (dayzahmee) - (some) (female) friends
In this book, you will see liaison denoted with n or z between two words.
As with elision, an aspired h isn't liaised.
- (les) hangars - les hangars
[edit] "Some"
Note that des, like les, is used in French before plural nouns when no article is used in English. For example, you are looking at photographs in an album. The English statement "I am looking at photographs." cannot be translated to French as "Je regarde photographies" because an article is required to tell which photographs are being looked at. If it is a set of specific pictures, the French statement should be "Je regarde les photographies." ("I am looking at the photographs.") . On the other hand, if the person is just randomly browsing the album, the French translation is "Je regarde des photographies." ("I am looking at some photographs.")
[edit] V: People
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| la personne | person | pehr son |
| Gender and Age | ||
| l'homme (m) | man | ohm |
| la femme | woman | fehm |
| le garçon | boy | gehrsoh |
| la fille | girl | fee |
| la fillette | little girl | fee yet |
| Friends | ||
| l'ami (m) le copain |
male friend | ahmee co pahn |
| l'amie (f) la copine |
female friend | ahmee co peen |
[edit] V: Expressions
[edit] Qu’est-ce que c’est?
To say What is it? or What is that? in French, Qu’est-ce que c’est? (pronounced kehss keuh say) is used.
- Qu’est-ce que c’est ? - What is it?
Literally, Qu’est-ce que c’est? translates to What is it that it is? You will be using Qu'est-ce que...? often to say What...? at the beginning of sentences.
To respond to this question, you say C’est un(e) [nom]., meaning It is a [noun].
- C'est un livre. - It's a book.
- C'est un chien. - It's a dog.
Remember that the indefinite article (un or une) must agree with the noun it modifies.
- C'est une chemise. - It's a shirt.
[edit] Il y a and voici/voilà
Il y a (pronounced eel ee ah) is used to say there is or there are. Il y a expresses the existence of the noun it introduces.
- Il y a une pomme. - There is an apple.
The phrase is used for both singular and plural nouns. Unlike in English (is => are), il y a does not change form.
- Il y a des pommes. - There are (some) apples.
The -s at the end of the most pluralised nouns tells you that the phrase is there are instead of there is. In spoken French, when both the singular and plural forms almost always sound the same, the article (and perhaps other adjectives modifying the noun) is used to distinguish between singular and plural versions.
You will soon learn that a is the present third person singular form of avoir, the verb meaing to have, and that y is a pronoun meaning there. The phrase il y a, then, literally translates to he has there. You will see this phrase used in all French tenses. It is important to remember that verb stays as a form of have and not be.
Like in English, il y a... is not often used to point out an object. To point out an object to the listener, use voici ("over here is/are" or "right here is/are") and voilà ("over there is/are").
[edit] Lesson 1.02 - To Be
[edit] D: Where are you from?
| French Dialogue • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| Quentin | Bonjour, Léon. Dis donc, tu es d’où? |
| Léon | Je suis de Paris, Quentin. |
| Quentin | Alors, tu es français? |
| Léon | Oui, exactement. |
| Quentin | Et Marie, elle est d’où? |
| Léon | Elle est de Marseille. Elle est française, aussi. |
| Quentin | Merci, Léon. Au revoir. |
[edit] G: Subject pronouns
French has six different types of pronouns: the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person singular and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person plural.
| French Grammar • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | singular | je | I |
| plural | nous | we | |
| 2nd person | singular | tu | you |
| plural | vous | you | |
| 3rd person | singular | il, elle, on | he, she, one |
| plural | ils, elles | they (masculine) they (feminine) |
|
When referring to more than one person in the 2nd person, “vous” must be used. When referring to a single person, “vous” or “tu” may be used depending on the situation; see notes in the introductory lessons.
The pronoun it does not exist in French. Il replaces all masculine nouns, even those that are not human. The same is true with elle and feminine nouns.
In addition to the nuances between vous and tu, as discussed earlier, French pronouns carry meanings that do not exist in English pronouns. The French third person "on" has several meanings, but most closely matches the now archaic English "one". While in English, "One must be very careful in French grammar" sounds old-fashioned, the French equivalent "On doit faire très attention à la grammaire française" is quite acceptable. Also, while the third person plural "they" has no gender in English, the French equivalents "ils" and "elles" do. However, when pronounced, they normally sound the same as "il" and "elle", so distinguishing the difference requires understanding of the various conjugations of the verbs following the pronoun. Also, if a group of people consists of both males and females, the male form is used, even with a majority of females — however, this sensibly yields to overwhelming majority: given a group of only one male to thousands of females, the female form would be used.
In everyday language, “on” is used, instead of “nous”, to express “we”; the verb is always used in the 3rd person singular. For example, to say "We (are) meeting at 7 o'clock", you could say either “On se rencontre au cinéma à sept heures.” (colloquial) or “Nous nous rencontrons au cinéma à sept heures.” (formal) (there are two words "nous"). For more, see the Wikipedia entry.
[edit] G: Introduction to Verbs
A verb is a word that describes an action or mental or physical state.
[edit] Tenses and Moods
French verbs can be formed in four moods, each of which express a unique feeling. Each mood has a varying number of tenses, which indicate the time when an action takes place. The conjugations in the present tense of the indicative mood, the present indicative, is discussed in the next section. There is one conjugation for each of the six subject pronouns.
[edit] Infinitives
The infinitive form is the basic form of a verb. It does not refer to a particular tense, person or subject. In this book, the infinitive form of the verb is used to identify it. In English, the infinitive form is to ___. In French, the infinitive is one word. For example, parler translates to to speak, finir translates to to finish, and aller translates to to go.
[edit] Conjugation
French verbs conjugate, which means they take different shapes depending on the subject. English verbs only have one conjugation; that is the third person singular (I see, you see, he/she sees, we see, they see). The only exception is the verb "to be" (I am; (thou art); you are; he/she is; we are; they are;). Most French verbs will conjugate into many different forms. Most verbs are regular, which means that they conjugate in the same way. The most common verbs, however, are irregular.
[edit] G: Être - To Be
Être translates as to be in English. As in most languages, it is an irregular verb, and is not conjugated like any other verb.
[edit] Formation
| French Verb • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je suis | jeuh swee | I am | nous sommes | noo sum | we are |
| second person | tu es | too ay | you are | vous êtes | voozett | you are |
| third person | il est | eel ay | he is | ils sont | eelsohn | they are (masc. or mixed) |
| elle est | ell ay | she is | ||||
| on est | ohn ay | one is | elles sont | ellsohn | they are (fem.) | |
[edit] Examples
| French Grammar • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| Je suis avocat. | I am (a) lawyer. | jzeuh sweez ah voh cah |
| Tu es à la banque. | You are at the bank. | too ay ah lah bahnk |
| Il est beau. | He is handsome. | eel ay boh |
Try to learn all these conjugations. They will become very useful in forming tenses.
[edit] Idioms
- Ça y est! - I've done it! Finished!
- J'y suis! - I get it!
- Vous y êtes? - Are you ready?
[edit] Expressing Agreement
Tu es d’accord ou pas?, Tu es d’accord? (lit: You are of agreement?), or simply D'accord? is used informally to ask whether someone agrees with you.
To respond positively, you say Oui, je suis d'accord. or simply D'accord. D'accord corresponds to the English okay.
[edit] G: Cities and Nationalities
To say what city you are from, you use the preposition de.
- Il est de Paris.
When stating your nationality or job, it is not necessary to include the article. This is an exception to the normal rule.
- Je suis Australien(ne). - I am [an] Australian.
There is both a masculine and feminine form of saying your nationality - for males and females respectively.
- Il est Australien. - He is [an] Australian.
- Elle est Australienne. - She is [an] Australian.
In the next lesson, you will learn how to say the nationality of more than one person.
[edit] Lesson 1.03 - Description
[edit] G: Adjectives - Les adjectifs
- Main article: French/Grammar/Adjectives
Just like articles, French adjectives also have to match the nouns that they modify in gender and plurality.
[edit] Regular Formation
Most adjective changes occur in the following manner:
- Feminine: add an -e to the masculine form
- un garçon intéressant --> une fille intéressante
- un ami amusant --> une amie amusante
- un camion lent --> une voiture lente
- Plural: add an -s to the singular form
- un garçon intéressant --> des garçons intéressants
- une fille intéressante --> des filles intéressantes
[edit] Pronunciation
Generally, the final consonant is pronounced only when it comes before an -e. Most adjectives, such as those above, are affected by this rule.
- Masculine Pronunciation: intéressan, amusan, len
- Feminine Pronunciation: intéressant, amusant, lent
With plural adjectives, the -s ending is not pronounced, so the adjective will sound exactly the same as the singular form.
[edit] Exceptions and Irregularities
Adjectives that end in e in the masculine form do not change in gender. When an adjective, such as gros, ends in -s, it does not change in the masculine plural form. Sometimes the final consonant is doubled in the feminine form. See French/Grammar/Adjectives for more.
[edit] V: Describing People
| French Grammar • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine Singular | Feminine Singular | Masculine Plural | Feminine Plural |
| size and weight | |||
| Il est petit. | Elle est petite. | Ils sont petits. | Elles sont petites. |
| Il est moyen. | Elle est moyenne. | Ils sont moyens. | Elles sont moyennes. |
| Il est grand. | Elle est grande. | Ils sont grands. | Elles sont grandes. |
| Il est gros. | Elle est grosse. | Ils sont gros. | Elles sont grosses. |
| hair color | |||
| Il est blond. | Elle est blonde. | Ils sont blonds. | Elles sont blondes. |
| Il est brun. | Elle est brune. | Ils sont bruns. | Elles sont brunes. |
| attitude and personality | |||
| Il est intelligent. | Elle est intelligente. | Ils sont intelligents. | Elles sont intelligentes. |
| Il est intéressant. | Elle est intéressante. | Ils sont intéressants. | Elles sont intéressantes. |
| Il est amusant. | Elle est amusante. | Ils sont amusants. | Elles sont amusantes. |
[edit] V: Common Adjectives
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Attitude and Personality | Size and Weight | ||
| sympa(thique)(s) | nice | gros(se)(ses) | fat |
| amusant(e)(s) | funny | petit(e)(s) | small |
| intelligent(e)(s) | intelligent | moyen(ne)(s) | average |
| intéressant(e)(s) | interesting | grand(e)(s) | tall,big |
| patient(e)(s) | patient | ||
| sociable(s) | sociable | Actions | |
| timide(s) | timid | bon(ne)(s) | good |
| dynamique(s) | outgoing | mauvais(e)(s) | bad |
| gentil(le)(s) | nice, gentle | Difficulty | |
| strict(e)(s) | strict | facile(s) | easy |
| fort(e)(s) | strong | difficile(s) | difficult |
[edit] V: Colors
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
| blanc | blanche | white |
| gris | grise | gray |
| noir | noire | black |
| rouge | rouge | red |
| orange | orange | orange |
| jaune | jaune | yellow |
| vert | verte | green |
| bleu | bleue | blue |
| violet | violette | violet |
| marron | marron | brown (everything but hair) |
| brun | brune | brown (hair - dark haired) |
| rose | rose | pink |
| safran | safranne | saffron |
[edit] G: Adverbs Expressing Degree
- assez - rather, enough
- Il est assez intelligent. - He is rather intelligent.
- très - very
- Il est trèszintelligent.[9] - He is very intelligent.
- vraiment - truly, really
- Il est vraiment intelligent. - He is really intelligent.
^ In this book, liaison is shown that the sound is connected using z or some letter. See also French/Lessons/Basic_grammar#Liaison.
[edit] Lesson 1.04 - Family
[edit] G: The verb avoir
"Avoir" can be translated as "to have".
[edit] Formation
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | j'ai | jay | I have | nouszavons | noozahvohn | we have |
| second person | tu as | too ah | you have | vouszavez | voozahvay | you have |
| third person | il a | eel ah | he has | ilszont | eelzohnt | they have (masc. or mixed) |
| elle a | ell ah | she has | ||||
| onna | ohnah | one has | elleszont | ellzohnt | they have (fem.) | |
[edit] Examples
| J'ai deux stylos. | I have two pens. |
| Tu as trois frères. | You have three brothers. |
| Il a une idée. | He has an idea. |
[edit] Expressing Age
Avoir is used to express age.
- Tu as quel âge? - How old are you? [lit: You have what age?]
- J'ai trente ans. - I'm thirty (years old). [lit: I have thirty years]
[edit] There is/are - Il y a
The expression il y a means there is or there are.
- Il y a un livre. - There is a book.
- Il y a des livres. - There are books.
[edit] V: The Family
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Immediate Family | Extended Family | ||
| ma famille | my family | ma famille éloignée | my extended family |
| les parents | parents | les grand-parents | grandparents |
| la mère | mother | la grand-mère | grandmother |
| le père | father | le grand-père | grandfather |
| la femme | wife | les petits-enfants | grandchildren |
| le mari | husband | le petit-fils | grandson |
| la soeur | sister | la petite-fille | granddaughter |
| le frère | brother | l'oncle, tonton | uncle |
| l'enfant | child (m or f) | la tante, tati | aunt |
| les enfants | children | le neveu | nephew |
| la fille | daughter | la nièce | niece |
| le fils | son | le/la cousin(e) | cousin (m or f) |
| Step Family | |||
| la belle-mère | stepmother | la demi-soeur | half sister |
| le beau-père | stepfather | le demi-frère | half brother |
To speak about more complex family relations, such as "my grandmother's cousin", you must use the de mon/ma/mes form - "le cousin de ma grandmère".
[edit] G: Direct Object Pronouns le, la, and les
le, la, and les are called direct object pronouns, because they are pronouns that are, you guessed it, used as direct objects. A direct object is a noun that is acted upon by a verb.
- Il lance la balle. - He throws the ball.
In the above sentence la balle is the direct object.
You have learned earlier that names and regular nouns can be replaced by the subject or nominative pronouns "I, you, he..." (je, tu, il...). Similary, direct objects, such as "la balle", can be replaced by pronouns. These are a different set of pronouns (accusative). As in English, you would say "She gave him," and not "Her gave he." He/she are subjects used in the nominative case, while him/her are direct objects used in the accusative case.
- le - replaces a masculine singular direct object
- la - replaces a feminine singular direct object
- l' - replaces le and la if they come before a vowel
- les - replaces plural direct objects, both masculine and feminine
The direct object pronouns come before the verb they are linked to.
- Il la lance. - He throws it.
- Il les lance. - He throws them.
Le, la, and les can replace either people or inanimate objects.
[edit] Lesson 1.05 - Recreation
[edit] G: Regular -er Verbs
[edit] Formation
Most French verbs fall into the category of -er verbs. To conjugate, drop the -er to find the "stem" or "root". Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense.
| French Grammar • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|
| pronoun | ending | verb |
| je | -e | joue |
| tu | -es | joues |
| il/elle | -e | joue |
| nous | -ons | jouons |
| vous | -ez | jouez |
| ils/elles | -ent | jouent |
[edit] Elision and Liaison
In all conjugations, je changes to j ' when followed by a vowel or silent h. Example: J'attends, J'habite.... If a phrase is negative, ne changes to n'.
In all plural forms, the s at the end of each subject pronoun, normally unpronounced, becomes a z sound and the n of on becomes pronounced when followed by a vowel.
[edit] Common -er Verbs
| French Grammar • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | Stem | Present Indicative Conjugation | |||||
| First Person | Second Person | Third Person | |||||
| parler | parl | Je parle | Tu parles | Il parle | Singular | ||
| to speak | Nous parlons | Vous parlez | Ils parlent | Plural | |||
| habiter | habit | J'habite | Tu habites | Il habite | Singular | ||
| to live | Nous habitons | Vous habitez | Ils habitent | Plural | |||
| écouter | écout | J'écoute | Tu écoutes | Il écoute | Singular | ||
| to listen | Nous écoutons | Vous écoutez | Ils écoutent | Plural | |||
[edit] S'amuser
- Main article: French/Grammar/Verbs/Pronominal
The verb s'amuser means to have fun in English. It is a type of pronominal verb (a verb that includes a pronoun as part of it) called a reflexive verb, which means that the action of the verb is reflected back onto the subject. Literally translated, the verb means To amuse oneself.
[edit] Formation
| French Grammar • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | Stem | Present Indicative Conjugation | |||||
| First Person | Second Person | Third Person | |||||
| s'amuser | amus | Je m'amuse | Tu t'amuses | Il s'amuse | Singular | ||
| to have fun | Nous nous amusons | Vous vous amusez | Ils s'amusent | Plural | |||
[edit] Conjugated Verb + Infinitive
Like in English, some verbs can be followed by infinitives. The most common -er verbs used in this manner are aimer and détester.
- J'aime parler. - I like to talk.
- Nous détestons travailler. - We hate working.
When negating a sentence, remember that the negative goes around the conjugated verb.
- Je n'aime pas parler. - I don't like to speak.
[edit] D: Recreation
Here is a short dialog about people planning/doing leisure activities. Besides the new vocabulary you should also have a look at how the verbs are conjugated depending on the subject of the sentence.
- Jean-Paul : Qu'est-ce que vous faites ?
- Marc et Paul : Nous jouons au tennis.
- Marie : Je finis mes devoirs.
- Michel : J'attends mon ami.
- Pierre : Je vais au parc.
- Christophe : Je viens du stade.
[edit] V: Recreation
| Qu'est-ce que vous faites? | What are you doing? |
| jouer | to play |
| finir[10] | to finish |
| attendre[11] | to wait (for) |
| aimer | to like |
| détester | to hate |
| rigoler | to joke around[12] |
| (mon) ami(e)[13] | (my) friend |
^ Finir and attendre are not -er verbs. You will learn their conjugation in a later lesson.
^ Tu rigoles! means You’re joking! or You don’t mean it!
^ Mon is often substituted for ma when the following word begins with a vowel. Thus, mon amie is used instead of ma amie, while ma bonne amie would be okay.
[edit] V: Places
| la bibliothèque | library1 |
| le parc | park |
| la piscine | swimming pool |
| la plage | beach |
| le restaurant | restaurant |
| salle de concert | concert hall |
| le stade | stadium |
| le théâtre | theater |
1Caution: a librairie is a bookshop.
[edit] G: Indirect Object Pronouns lui and leur
Indirect objects are prepositional phrases with the object of the preposition, a direct object is a noun that receives the action of a verb.
- Il jette la balle à Jacques. - He throws the ball to Jack.
- Il jette la balle à Marie. - He throws the ball to Mary.
- Il jette la balle à Jacques et Marie. - He throws the ball to Jack and Mary.
Lui and leur are indirect object pronouns. They replace nouns referring to people and mean to him/her and to them respectively.
- lui - replaces a singular masculine or feminine indirect object referring to a human
- leur - replaces a plural masculine or feminine indirect object referring to a human
An example follows:
- Il lui jette la balle. - He throws the ball to him.
- Il lui jette la balle. - He throws the ball to her.
- Il leur jette la balle. - He throws the ball to them.
Whether lui means to him or to her is given by context.
In English, "He throws him the ball" is also said, and means the same thing.
When used with the direct object pronouns le, la, and les, lui and leur come after those pronouns.
- Il la lui jette. - He throws it to him.
Note that while le, la, and les are used to replace people or inanimate objects, lui and leur are not used to replace innanimate objects and things.
Also note that unlike le and la, which are shortened to l' when followed by a vowel, lui is never shortened
[edit] V: Jouer
The verb jouer is a regular -er verb meaning to play. It can be used to refer to both sports and instruments.
When referring to sports, use jouer à, but when referring to instruments, use jouer de...
As always, jouer must be conjugated rather than left in the infinitive.
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|
| jouer à... | jouer de... | ||
| au baseball | baseball | de la clarinette | clarinet |
| au basket | basketball | du piano | piano |
| au football | soccer; football | de la guitare | guitar |
| au football américain | American football | du violon | violin |
| au golf | golf | de la batterie | drums (singular in French) |
| au tennis | tennis | ||
| au volley | volleyball | ||
| aux cartes | cards | ||
| aux dames | checkers/ draughts | ||
| aux échecs | chess | ||
[edit] Lesson 1.06 - The House
[edit] V: The House
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|
| General | Actions | ||
| la rue[14] | street | arriver (à la maison) | to arrive (home) |
| la (belle) vue | (beautiful) sight, view | rentrer (à la maison) | to go back home |
| (tout) près (de) (pas) (tout) loin (de) |
(very) close (to) (not) (very) far (from) |
quitter (la maison)[15] quitter (une salle) |
to leave (home) to leave (a room) |
| chez [person] | at the house of [person] at [person]'s house |
donner sur la rue donner sur la cour |
to overlook the street to overlook the courtyard |
| Houses | habiter | to live (somewhere) | |
| la maison la maisonnette le pavillon |
house, home small house individual house |
habiter en ville habiter en banlieue |
to live downtown to live in the suburb |
| l'immeuble (m) | (apartment) building | Floors | |
| l'appartement (m) | flat/apartment | l'étage (m) | level |
| le studio | studio | le rez-de-chaussée | lobby, ground floor |
| H.L.M. (Habitations à Loyer Modéré) |
low income housing | le premier étage le deuxième étage le troisième étage |
second floor third floor fourth floor |
| Cities and Neigbhorhoods | |||
| le quartier | neighborhood | le centre ville | downtown |
| l'arrondissement (m) | district | la ville | city |
| la banlieue | the suburb | le village | town |
| Rooms | Parts of a Room | ||
| la pièce la chambre |
room | le plafond | ceiling |
| la salle de séjour | family room | le sol | ground |
| la cave | basement | la fenêtre | window |
| le grenier | attic | le mur | wall |
| la cuisine | kitchen | le toit | roof |
| la salle à manger | dining room | Entering and Exiting | |
| la salle de bains | bathroom | l'escalier (m) | stairs |
| la chambre à coucher | bedroom | monter à pied | to walk up stairs |
| le garage | Garage | l'ascenseur (m) | elevator/lift |
| les toilettes (f) (no singular) |
water-closet, restroom (only toliet, no bath) |
monter en ascenseur prendre l'ascenseur |
to go up by elevator to take the elevator |
| le bureau | office | monter à pied | to go up by foot |
| Outside a House | la porte | door | |
| la voiture | car | l'entrée (f) | entry(way) |
| la terrasse | patio | Furniture | |
| le balcon | balcony | le rideau | curtain |
| le jardin | garden | la chaise | chair |
| la fleur | flower | la table | table |
| l'arbre (m) | tree | l'armoire (f) | cupboard |
| la cour | courtyard | le lit | bed |
| le (la) voisin(e) | neighbor | le tapis | carpet |
| le fauteuil | armchair | ||
^ To express to live on ____ street, you say habiter rue ____
- J'habite Rue Lecourbe. - I live on Lecourbe Street.
- Il habite Rue de Rennes. - He lives on Rennes Street.
^ Quitter must be followed by a direct object, usually a room or building.. Partir is used in other phrases. You will learn how to conjugate these verbs in a future lesson.
[edit] G: Faire
The verb faire is translated to to do or to make. It is irregularly conjugated (it does not count as a regular -re verb).
[edit] Formation
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je fais | jeuh fay | I do | nous faisons | noo fezohn | we do |
| second person | tu fais | too fay | you do | vous faites | voo feht | you do |
| third person | il fait | eel fay | he does | ils font | eel fohnt | they do (masc. or mixed) |
| elle fait | ell fay | she does | ||||
| on fait | oh fay | one does | elles font | ell fohnt | they do (fem.) | |
[edit] Uses For Faire
- sports (in French you do sports rather than play them)
- weather
- tasks
- le faire causatif
- faire (conjugated) + infinitive - to have something done for oneself
- Je fais réparer le fourneau. - I make/have the stove repaired.
[edit] Related Words
- défaire - to demolish
- malfaire - to do badly
- refaire - to remake
[edit] Expressions with Faire
- faire attention - to pay attention
- faire connaissance - to get acquainted
- faire la morale - to scold
- faire la queue - to wait in line
- s'en faire - to worry
[edit] V: Housework
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
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|---|---|
| faire la cuisine | to do the cooking |
| faire la lessive/le linge | to do the laundry |
| faire le jardin | to do the gardening |
| faire le lit | to make the bed |
| faire le ménage | to do the housework |
| faire la vaisselle | to do the dishes |
| faire les carreaux | to do the windows |
| faire les courses | to do the shopping/errands |
| faire le repassage | to do the ironing |
[edit] G: me, te, nous, and vous
- Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns
[edit] Meanings
- me - me, to me
- te - you, to you (singular, informal)
- nous - us, to us
- vous - you, to you (plural, formal)
[edit] Place in sentences
- These pronouns are placed before the verb that they modify
- Je te vois. - I see you.
- Je veux te voir. - I want to see you.
- If a perfect tense is used, these pronouns go before the auxillary verb.
- Je t'ai vu. - I saw you.
[edit] Direct Object Replacement
- Il me voit. - He sees me.
- Il te voit. - He sees you.
- Il nous voit. - He sees us.
- Il vous voit. - He sees you.
[edit] Indirect Object Replacement
- Il me l'appelle. - He calls to me.
- Il te le jette. - He throws it to you.
- Il nous le jette. - He throws it to us.
- Il vous le jette. - He throws it to you.
[edit] Exercises
Try to describe your house or bedrooom using the vocabulary. Don't forget prepositions.
You may also wish to talk about what housework you do.
[edit] Chez moi
J'habite une villa à Mornant, à coté de[16] Lyon en France. Ma maison a deux chambres : la première pour moi et ma femme avec un grand lit. La deuxième est plus petite : c'est la chambre de mon fils. Nous avons aussi un bureau avec trois ordinateurs[17] : un par personne ! La salle de séjour est très grande et à coté, il y a un petit salon. Nous aimons regarder[18] la télévision allongés dans le fauteuil. La cuisine est toute petite et nous y[19] mangeons[20] le soir. Il y a une petite table et quatre chaises. La maison est de plein pied et ne comporte pas d'étage. Le jardin est assez grand et nous y faisons pousser des fleurs.
| ^ à coté de - at the side of, next to | ^ l'ordinateur (m) - computer | ^ aimer regarder - to like to watch |
| ^ y (ee) - there | ^ manger - to eat |
[edit] Lesson 1.07 - Weather
[edit] G: Standard Negation
In order to say that one did not do something, the ne ... pas construction must be used. The ne is placed before the verb, while the pas is placed after.
[edit] Formation and Rules
- Simple negation is done by wrapping ne...pas around the verb.
- Je ne vole pas. - I do not steal.
- In a perfect tense, ne...pas wraps around the auxillary verb, not the participle.
- Je n'ai pas volé. - I have not stolen.
- When an infinitive and conjugated verb are together, ne...pas usually wraps around the conjugated verb.
- Je ne veux pas voler. - I do not want to steal.
- ne pas can also go directly in front of the infinitive for a different meaning.
- Je veux ne pas voler. - I want not to steal.
- ne goes before any pronoun relating to the verb it affects.
- Je ne le vole pas. - I am not stealing it.
[edit] Examples
| French Grammar • Print version • |
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|---|---|
| Il est avocat. Il n'est pas avocat. |
He is [a] lawyer. He is not [a] lawyer. |
| Nous faisons nos devoirs. Nous ne faisons pas nos devoirs. |
We are doing our homework. We are not doing our homework. |
| Je joue du piano. Je ne joue pas du piano. |
I play the piano. I do not play the piano. |
| Vous vendez votre voiture. Vous ne vendez pas votre voiture. |
You sell your car. You do not sell your car. |
[edit] Negation of Indefinite Articles
The indefinite articles un, une, and des change to de (or d’) when negating a sentence.
- J'ai un livre. - I have a book.
- Je n'ai pas de livre. - I don't have any book.
- J'ai des livres. - I have some books.
- Je n'ai pas de livres. - I don't have any books.
[edit] Examples
| Il est belge.. Il n'est pas belge. |
He is Belgian. He is not Belgian. |
| Nous lisons un livre. Nous ne lisons pas de livre. |
We read a book. We do not read a book. |
| Je mange une cerise. Je ne mange pas de cerise. |
I eat a cherry. I do not eat a cherry. |
[edit] G: Contractions
Contractions have been discussed previously in the form of elision. They are a combination of two or more consecutive words that have been integrated into the language, for example, aujourd'hui.
A common contraction occurrs with the words à (at) and de (from), when combined with the definite pronouns le and les. The definate pronoun la remains in full form.
- à + le = au
- à + les = aux
- de + le = du
- de + les = des
The contractions do not occurr with the la, or with any contracted pronoun:
- à + la = à la
- à + l' = à l'
- de + la = de la
- de + l' = d'
[edit] V: Weather - Le temps
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|
| General | Cloudy Weather | ||
| le soleil | sun | le nuage Il y a des nuages. |
cloud It's cloudy. lit: There are some clouds. |
| le ciel | sky | nuageux(-euse) | cloudy |
| couvert(e)(s) | overcast, lit: covered | ||
| Warm Weather | l'éclaircie (f) | clearing, break (in clouds) | |
| Il fait beau | It's nice. | Cold and Windy Weather | |
| Il fait chaud. | It's warm. | Il fait froid. | It's cold. |
| Le ciel est dégagé. Le ciel se dégage. |
The sky is clear. lit: The sky is freed. The sky is clearing up. |
le vent Il fait du vent. Le vent souffle. |
wind It's windy. The wind blows. |
| Le soleil brille. | The sun is shining. | la rafale | gust of wind |
| Rainy Weather | Snowy Weather | ||
| la brume | fog, haze, mist | l'hiver (m) | winter |
| le brouillard | fog | la neige Il neige. |
snow It's snowing. |
| la bruine | drizzle | la grêle Il tombe de la grêle. |
hail It's hailing. lit: It falls of the hail. |
| une goutte de pluie | a drop of rain | Extreme weather | |
| la pluie La pluie tombe. |
rain The rain falls. |
un orage orageux(-euse) Il y a un orage! |
a storm stormy There's a storm! |
| Il pleut. il a plu. Il va pleuvoir. |
It's raining. It rained. It's going to rain. |
l'éclair (m) la foudre |
flash (of lightning) lightning |
| pluvieux(-euse) Le temps est pluvieux. |
rainy It's raining. lit: The weather is rainy. |
la tempête | storm, tempest |
| de gros nuages noirs. | large black clouds | agité(e)(s) | stormy, agitated |
| l'averse (f) | downpour | le tonnerre | thunder |
^ Le temps means both the weather and the time.
[edit] G: Aller
The verb aller is translated to to go. It is irregularly conjugated (it does not count as a regular -er verb).
[edit] Formation
In the present indicative, aller is conjugated as follows:
| French Verb • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je vais | jeuh vay | I go | nouszallons | nouzah lohn | we go |
| second person | tu vas | too vah | you go | vouszallez | vouzah lay | you go |
| third person | il va | eel vah | he goes | ils vont | eel vohn | they go (masc. or mized) |
| elle va | ell vah | she goes | ||||
| on va | ohn vah | one goes | elles vont | ell vohn | they go (fem.) | |
[edit] Usage
There is no present progressive tense in French, so aller in the present indicative is used to express both I go and I am going.
Aller must be used with a place and cannot stand alone.
The preposition à, meaning in, at, or to, is used, followed by the place.
- Tu vas a l'école? - You're going to school.
Remember that à le contracts to au and à les contracts to aux.
- Je vais au stade. - I'm going to the stadium.
Instead of a preposition and place, you can use the pronoun y, meaning there. Y comes before the verb. Remember that aller must be used with a place (there or a name) when indicating that you are going somewhere, even if a place wouldn't normally be given in English.
- J'y vais. - I'm going there.
- Tu y vas. - You're going there.
- Nous y allons. - We're going there.
The negative form of aller with the y pronoun has both the verb and pronoun enclosed between ne and pas.
- Il n'y va pas. - He's not going there.
[edit] Futur Proche
The structure aller + infinitive is used to say that something is going to happen in the near future.
- Il va pleuvoir demain. - It's going to rain tomorrow.
- Il va faire froid. - It's going to be cold.
Remember that the negative goes around the conjugated verb.
- Il ne va pas pleuvoir demain. - It's not going to rain tomorrow.
[edit] Idioms
- Allons-y - ahlonzee - Let's go! (impératif)
- Ça va? - How are you? (lit: It goes?)
- On y va! - Let's get going!
- On y va? - Should we go?
[edit] Liaison
Usually, whenever a vowel sound comes after ...ons or ...ez, the usually unpronounced s and z change to a sharp z sound and link to the next syllable. (This process is called liaison.) However, since allons and allez begins with vowels, nous allons is pronounced nyoozahloh and vous allez is pronounced voozahlay. In order to have a pleasing and clean sound, two liaisons should not go consecutively. There is therefore no liaison in allons à when it comes right after nous and allez à when it comes after vous.
- In the phrase Vous allez à l'école?, vous allez à is pronounced vouzahlay ah.
- In the phrase vous et Marie allez à l'école?", allez à is pronounced ahlayzah.
[edit] Lesson 1.08 - Travel
[edit] G: Regular -ir Verbs
The second category of regular French verbs is -ir verbs. To conjugate, drop the -ir to find the "stem" or "root". Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense.
| French Grammar • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|
| pronoun | ending | verb |
| je | -is | finis |
| tu | -is | finis |
| il/elle | -it | finit |
| nous | -issons | finissons |
| vous | -issez | finissez |
| ils/elles | -issent | finissent |
[edit] G: Possessive Adjectives
[edit] Formation
| French Grammar • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Person | Second Person | Third Person | ||||
| Singular | mon, ma, mes | my | ton, ta, tes | your | son, sa, ses | his, her |
| Plural | notre, notre, nos | our | votre, votre, vos | your | leur, leur, leurs | their |
[edit] Usage
As you can probably tell from their name, possessive adjective are used to express possession of an object.
- C'est mon livre. - It's my book.
In English the possessive adjective agrees with the subject (his sister, her brother). But in French, possessive adjectives act like all other adjectives: they must agree with the noun they modify.
| French Grammar • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine Noun le livre |
Feminine Noun la voiture |
||
| le livre de Marc the book of Marc |
son livre his book |
la voiture de Marc the car of Marc |
sa voiture his car |
| les livres de Marc the books of Marc |
ses livres his books |
les voitures de Marc the cars of Marc |
ses voitures his cars |
| le livre de Marie the book of Marie |
son livre her book |
la voiture de Marie the car of Marie |
sa voiture her car |
| les livres de Marie the books of Marie |
ses livres her books |
les voitures de Marie the cars of Marie |
ses voitures her cars |
Whether the third person singular possessive adjectives son, sa and ses are his or her is indicated by context.
- Elle lit son livre. - She reads her book.
[edit] Liaison and Adjective Changes
Liaison occurs when mon, ton, and son are followed by a vowel.
- Il est monnami. - He is my friend.
- Il est tonnami. - He is your friend.
- Il est sonnami. - He is his/her friend.
Liaison also occurs with all plural forms, since they all end in s.
- Ils sont meszamis. - They are my friends.
- Ils sont noszamis. - They are our friends.
Mon, ton, and son are used before a feminine singular noun that starts with a vowel or silent h. Elision (to m', t', or s') does not occur.
- Elle est monnamie. - She is my friend.
[edit] V: Travel
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|
| General | Vehicles | ||
| l'aéroport (m) | Airport | l'auto (f) | car |
| le billet | ticket (for train, airplane) | l'avion (m) | Airplane |
| la poste | post office | l'autobus (m) | bus |
| la station | station | le bateau | Boat |
| le métro | subway, underground | le train | train |
| les bagages | baggage | le taxi | taxi |
| le ticket | ticket (for bus, métro) | la voiture | car |
| la valise | suitcase | ||
[edit] Lesson 1.09 - Art
[edit] G: Regular -re Verbs
The third category of regular verbs is made up of -re' verbs. To conjugate, drop the -re to find the "stem" or "root". Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense, as demonstrated below for the present tense.
[edit] Formation
| French Grammar • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| pronoun | ending | verb |
| je (j') | -s | attends |
| tu | -s | attends |
| il/elle | - | attend |
| nous | -ons | attendons |
| vous | -ez | attendez |
| ils/elles | -ent | attendent |
[edit] Vendre
The verb vendre is a regular -re verb:
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je vends | jeuh vahn | I sell | nous vendons | noo vahn dohn | we sell |
| second person | tu vends | too vahn | you sell | vous vendez | voo vahn day' | you sell |
| third person | il vend | eel vahn | he sells | ils vendent | eel vahnde | they sell (masc. or mixed) |
| elle vend | ell vahn | she sells | ||||
| on vend | oh vahn | one sells | elles vendent | ell vahnde | they sell (fem.) | |
[edit] Common -re Verbs
Compared to -er verbs, -re verbs are not very common. You will however see the following verbs fairly often:
- prendre - to get, to take
- Irregular conjugation: je prends, tu prends, il/elle/on prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils/elles prennent
- mettre - to put, to place
- Irregular conjugation: je mets, tu mets, il/elle/on met, nous mettons, vous mettez, ils/elles mettent
- connaître - to know (Note: "savoir" may also mean to know)
- Irregular conjugation: je connais, tu connais, il/elle/on connaît, nous connaissons, vous connaissez, ils/elles connaissent
[edit] V: Music
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| écouter de la musique | to listen to music |
| des paroles | lyrics (la parole = word) |
| Composing | |
| le musicien | musician |
| le compositeur | composer |
| l’auteur (des paroles) | (lyrics) writer |
| Instruments | |
| l'instrument (m) | instrument |
| la clarinette | clarinet |
| le violon | violin |
| la harpe | harp |
| la guitare | guitar |
| le piano | piano |
[edit] V: French Museums
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| la portraitiste | portraitist |
[edit] G: Beau, Nouveau, and Vieux
[edit] Formation
| French Grammar • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masc. Consonant | Masc. Vowel | Fem. Sing. (all) | ||
| Beau | Singular | un beau garçon | un bel individu | une belle fillette |
| Plural | de beaux garçons | de beauxzindividus | de belles fillettes | |
| Nouveau | Singular | un nouveau camion | un nouvel ordre | une nouvelle idée |
| Plural | de nouveaux camions | de nouveauxzordres | de nouvelles idées | |
| Vieux | Singular | un vieux camion | un vieil ordre | une vieille idée |
| Plural | de vieux camions | de vieuxzordres | de vieilles idées | |
[edit] Sentences Placement
As you have already learned, most adjectives come after the noun they modify in French.
- un homme intelligent - an intelligent man
- des hommes intelligents - intelligent men
However, some common French adjectives, including beau, nouveau, and vieux come before the noun.
- une jolie voiture - a pretty car
Des is replaced with de when an adjective comes before the noun.
- de jolies voitures - pretty cars
Note that in informal speech, des is very often used in place of de.
[edit] V: Plays
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| At the Theater | Play Genres | ||
| le théâtre | theater | le ballet | ballet |
| la pièce (de théâtre) | (theatrical) play lit: (theatrical) piece |
la comédie | comedy |
| l'acte (f) la scène l'entracte (m) |
act scene intermission |
la comédie musicale | musical comedy |
| chanter le (la) chanteur (-euse) |
to sing singer |
le drame | drama |
| danser le (la) danseur (-euse) |
to dance dancer |
la tragédie | tragedy |
[edit] V: French Artists and Entertainers
- Charles Aznavour
- Gilbert Becaud
- Jacques Brel
- Robert Charlebois
- Joe Dassin
- Raymond Devos
- Celine Dion
- Garou
- Juliette Greco
- Edith Piaf
[edit] Lesson 1.10 - Science
[edit] G: Prendre
Prendre is an irregular -re verb, and is conjugated differently.
[edit] Formation
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je prends | jeuh prahn | I take | nous prenons | noo prenn ohn | we take |
| second person | tu prends | too prahn | you take | vous prenez | voo prennay | you take |
| third person | il prend | eel prahnn | he takes | ils prennent | eel prehn | they take (masc. or mixed) |
| elle prend | ell prahnn | she takes | ||||
| on prend | oh prahnn | one takes | elles prennent | ell prehn | they take (fem.) | |
[edit] Related Words
- prendre - to take
- apprendre - to learn
- comprendre - to comprehend/understand
- se méprendre - to be mistaken
- surprendre - to surprise
[edit] Idioms and Related Expressions
- prendre - to take, to have something to eat
- prendre conscience (de) - to become aware (of)
- prendre la correspondance - to change trains
- prendre une décision - to make a decision
- prendre des kilos - to gain weight
- prendre part (à) - to take part (in)
- prendre la parole - to start talking
- prendre le pas sur - to surpass
- prendre le petit déjeuner - to eat breakfast
- prendre rendez-vous - to make an appointment
- prendre le métro - to get the subway
- prendre un café - to have a coffee
[edit] V: The Sciences - Les Sciences
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|
| General | Biology - La biologie | ||
| le savant scientist |
une personne qui expérimente a person who experiments |
la bio(logie) biology |
l’étude des organismes vivants the study of living organisms |
| observer analyser |
to observe to analyse |
la botanique botany |
l’étude des plantes the study of plants |
| Physics - La physique | l’anatomie (f) anatomy |
l’étude du corps humain the study of the human body |
|
| la physique physics |
l’étude de la matière et de l’énergie the study of matter and energy |
la zoologie zoology |
l’étude des animaux the study of animals |
| le physicien | physicist | le biologiste | biologist |
| Chemistry - La chimie | la cellule | a cell | |
| la chimie chemistry |
l’étude des éléments the study of elements |
des microbes des bactéries des virus |
germs bacteria virus |
| le chimiste | chemist | le microscope | microscope |
[edit] V: Elements - Les éléments
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| l'argent (m) | silver | Also: money |
| l'azote (m) | nitrogen | |
| le chrome | chromium | /krom/ |
| le cuivre | copper | Also a conjugation of cuivrer |
| le fer | iron | |
| l'hydrogène (m) | hydrogen | Also a conjugation of hydrogéner. |
| le manganèse | manganese | |
| l'or (m) | gold | Also a conjunction meaning yet, however. |
| l'oxygène (m) | oxygen | |
| le soufre | sulphur | /sufr/ (audio) |
| le xénon | xenon | |
| le zinc | zinc | /zɛ̃ɡ/, /zE~g/ Also: (informal) counter Also: (in a bar, café, etc), bar |
For a complete listing of the elements, see Tableau périodique des éléments.
[edit] V: Astronomy
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|
|---|---|
| The Planets | |
| Mercure | Mercury |
| Vénus | Venus |
| La (planete) terre | Earth |
| Mars | Mars |
| Jupiter | Jupiter |
| Saturne | Saturn |
| Uranus | Uranus |
| Neptune | Neptune |
| Pluton | Pluto |
| Other Obejcts | |
| Le soleil | sun |
| La lune | moon |
[edit] LEVEL TWO
[edit] Level Two Lessons Contents
- Lesson 2.01 - School
- Lesson 2.02 - Culture
- Lesson 2.03 - Shopping
- Lesson 2.04 - Going Out
- Lesson 2.05 - Transportation
- Lesson 2.06 - Everyday Life
- Lesson 2.07 - Rural Life
- Lesson 2.08 - Food and Drink
- Lesson 2.09 - Dining
- Lesson 2.10 - Communication
[edit] Information
Now that you know how to compose French sentences in the present indicative, you can continue on to Wikibook's second French course. Inside, you will learn the passé composé, the most common French past tense, and review the grammar you have already learned. The grammar now becomes a lot more advanced, and each lesson now gives much more information. After you have completed this level, you can move on to the next level. Also remember to go to the lessons planning page if you would like to help improve this course.
[edit] Toujours Là? - Slightly More Advanced French
| 01 | Leçon 01 : L'école | G: Passé Composé of Regular Verbs, Lire, Écrire V: School, School Subjects |
| Lesson 01 : School | ||
| 02 | Leçon 02 : La culture | G: Regular Verbs Review, Croire & Voir V: Life, Religions, Holidays, Celebrations (Birthdays, Christmas, Bastille Day) |
| Lesson 02 : Culture | ||
| 03 | Leçon 03 : Faire des courses | G: exer Verbs (Acheter), -yer Verbs (Payer), Object Pronoun Review, Irregular Past Participles (so far) V: Shopping, Clothing, Shoes |
| Lesson 03 : Shopping | ||
| 04 | Leçon 04 : Sortir | G: Sortir & Partir, -enir Verbs (Venir), -éxer Verbs V: Leisure Activities, Directions, How to Get to Places, Places to go, Movies |
| Lesson 04 : Going Out | ||
| 05 | Leçon 05 : Le transport | G: -uire Verbs (Conduire), -rir Verbs (Ouvrir), Y, Passé Composé with Être V: Local Travelling, Methods of transportation |
| Lesson 05 : Transportation | ||
| 06 | Leçon 06 : Le quotidien | G: Devoir, Falloir, Reflexive Verbs V: Employment, Waking up, Preparing for work, Driving to Work, Sleep |
| Lesson 06 : Everyday Life | ||
| 07 | Leçon 07 : La vie rurale | G: Suivre, Vivre, Naître, Passé Composé with Reflexive Verbs V: Pets, Farm Animals |
| Lesson 07 : Rural Life | ||
| 08 | Leçon 08 : La nourriture | G: Manger, Boire, Partitive Article, En, Mettre V: Meat, Dairy Products, Drinks, Desserts |
| Lesson 08 : Food and Drink | ||
| 09 | Leçon 09 : Dîner | G: -cer Verbs, Servir, Vouloir & Pouvoir V: Meals, Silverware, Dining at a Restaurant |
| Lesson 09 : Dining | ||
| 10 | Leçon 10 : La communication | G: Dire, -aître Verbs, Connaître & Savoir, Envoyer, Recevoir V: Mail, Calling Others, Computers |
| Lesson 10 : Communication |
[edit] Lesson 2.01 - School
[edit] G: Introduction to Perfect Tenses
The next section is optional. You will eventually learn everything that is covered in it, but if you would like a preview, read it, and if not, continue on to the school section.
- Main article: French/Grammar/Tenses/Composed
- The perfect tenses are also called the compound or composed tenses.
- The perfect tenses are all composed of a conjugated auxiliary verb and a fixed past participle.
Auxiliary Verb Formation
- The auxiliary verb is always either avoir or être.
- The tense of the verb depends upon the tense that avoir or être is conjugated in.
- When the auxiliary verb is conjugated in the passé composé, for example, the auxiliary verb is conjugated in the present indicative.
- J'ai fini. - I have finished.
- When the auxiliary verb is conjugated in the passé composé, for example, the auxiliary verb is conjugated in the present indicative.
Past Participle Formation
- -er verbs - replace -er with é
- -ir verbs - replace -ir with i
- -re verbs - replace -re with u
- irregular verbs - must be memorized
Past Participle Agreement
- The past participle must agree with the direct object of a clause in gender and plurality if the direct object goes before the verb.
- the direct object is masculine singular - no change
- J'ai fini le jeu. - I have finished the game.
- Je l'ai fini. - I have finished it.
- the direct object is feminine singular - add an e to the past participle
- J'ai fini la tâche. - I have finished the task.
- Je l'ai finie. - I have finished it.
- the direct object is masculine plural - add an s to the past participle.
- J'ai fini les jeux. - I have finished the games.
- Je les ai finis. - I have finished them.
- the direct object is feminine plural - add an es to the past participle.
- J'ai fini les tâches. - I have finished the tasks.
- Je les ai finies. - I have finished them.
- the direct object is masculine singular - no change
- The past participle must agree with the subject of a clause in gender and plurality if it is conjugated with the auxiliary être.
- the subject is masculine singular - no change
- Il est arrivé. - He has arrived.
- the subject is feminine singular - add an e to the past participle
- Elle est arrivée. - She has arrived.
- the subject is masculine plural - add an s to the past participle.
- Ils sont arrivés. - They have arrived.
- the subject is feminine plural - add an es to the past participle.
- Elles sont arrivées. - They have arrived.
- the subject is masculine singular - no change
Avoir ou Être?
- In most circumstances, the auxiliary verb is avoir.
- However, under certain situations, the auxiliary verb is être.
- This occurs when:
- The verb is one of 16 special verbs that take être.
- Note that when a direct object is used with these verbs, the auxiliary verb becomes avoir.
- The verb is reflexive.
- That is, the subject of the verb is also its object.
- The verb is one of 16 special verbs that take être.
List of Tenses
There are seven perfect tenses in French. These are:
- Le passé composé (The Present Perfect)
- Le plus-que-parfait de l'indicatif (The Pluperfect of the Indicative)
- Le plus-que-parfait du subjonctif (The Pluperfect Subjunctive)
- Le passé antérieur (The Past Anterior)
- Le futur antérieur (The Future Anterior)
- Le conditionnel passé (The Past Conditional)
- Le passé du subjonctif (The Past Subjunctive)
Don't worry if you don't completely understand the perfect tenses. Each tense and lists of irregular verb conjugations will be given later in this course. In the next lesson, the passé composé is introduced.
[edit] G: Introduction to Moods and Tenses
Like the above section, this is also optional. You will eventually learn everything in here.
[edit] V: School
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | Classes / Grades[22] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| le professeur[23] | teacher | 12th Grade | Classe Terminale | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| la bourse | scholarship | 11th Grade | 1ère (la première classe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| le diplôme (professionnel) | diploma | 10th Grade | 2ème (la deuxième classe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| le bac(calauréat) | high school exit exam | 9th Grade | 3ème (la troisième classe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| la bibliothèque | library | 8th Grade | 4ème (la quatrième classe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| les notes | grades (as on a test) | 7th Grade | 5ème (la cinquième classe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| les cours | classes or courses | 6th Grade | 6ème (la sixième classe) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| la classe | grade (e.g. 6th Grade) | 5th Grade | CM2 (CM = cours moyen) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| en cours de [...] | in [...] class | 4th Grade | CM1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pendant les cours - During Classes | 3rd Grade | CE2 (CE=cours élémentaire) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| le tableau | chalkboard | 2nd Grade | CE1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| la craie | chalk | 1st Grade | CP1 (CP = cours préparatoire) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| le pupitre | desk | Verbs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| l'examen (m) | test | passer un examen |
to take a test | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| les devoirs | homework | étudier | to study | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| la classe | class | écrire[24] | to write | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| la cantine déjeuner |
cafeteria to (eat) lunch |
lever (la main)[25] | to raise (your hand) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| la récré(ation) la cour |
recess courtyard |
poser (une question) |
to ask (a question) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Schools and Students | parler | to speak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| l'école (f) | school | écouter | to listen (to)[26] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| l'étudiant l'étudiante |
student (m) student (f) |
entendre | to hear (of)[27] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| le collège (classes 6-4) |
jr. high school (grades 6-9) |
regarder | to watch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| le collégien | jr. high school student | déjeuner | to (have) lunch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| le lycée (classes 3-terminale) |
high school (grades 10-12) |
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| le lycéen | high school student | Describing Teachers and Students | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| l'université (f) la fac(ulté) |
university | intelligent(e) | intelligent | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| nul(le) | not good, not bright | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| l'enseignement supérieur | higher education graduate school |
strict(e) | strict | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Des fournitures scolaires - School Supllies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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^ The word professeur is considered masculine at all times, even if the teacher is female. The only case when "professeur" can be preceded by feminine determinant is either when contracting it in colloquial language "la prof", or when adding a few words before : "madame/mademoiselle la/le professeur".
^ The way that grades are numbered in France is opposite the way they are in the US. Whereas American grade numbers go up as you approach your senior year, they descend in France.
^ Écrire is an irregular verb. You will learn to conjugate it in the next section.
^ In French, you do not "own" body parts. While in English, you would say my hand or your hand, the definite article is almost always used in French.
- la main - my hand
- la jambe - my leg
- le bras - my arm
For example, you would say Je me suis cassé la main (I have broken my hand) and never Je me suis cassé ma main. But you must say "Ma main est cassée" (My hand is broken) and not "La main est cassée" (lit. The hand is broken) if you speak about your own hand.
^ To and of are built into the verbs écouter and entendre respectively. It is not necessary to add a preposition to the verb. Other verbs, such as répondre {à), meaning to respond (to), are almost always followed by a preposition.
- Celui qui enseigne, c'est le ___.
- Le prof écrit sur le tableau avec une ____.
- Un étudiant écrit sur une feuille de ____ avec un crayon ou un _____.
- On lit un ___.
- Quand on finit le collège, on va au ____.
- On pose une _____.
- On lève la _____.
- Quand on a faim, on déjeune à la _____.
- Celui qui enseigne, c'est le prof(esseur).
- Le prof écrit sur le tableau avec une craie
- Un étudiant écrit sur une feuille de papier avec un crayon ou un stylo.
- On lit un livre ou bouquin
- Quand on finit le collège, on va au lycée
- On pose une question.
- On lève la main.
- Quand on a faim, on déjeune à la cantine.
[edit] G: Écrire & Lire
Écrire is an irregular french verb, meaning to write. It varies from other '-re' verbs in the plural conjugation, by adding a 'v'.
| French Verb • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle: écrit | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | j' écris | jay cree | I write | nous écrivons | noozay creevohn | we write |
| second person | tu écris | tue aycree | you write | vous écrivez | voozay creevay | you write |
| third person | il écrit | eel aycree | he writes | ils écrivent | eel zaycreeve | they write (masc. or mixed) |
| elle écrit | ell aycree | she writes | ||||
| on écrit | ohn aycree | one writes | elles écrivent | ell zaycreeve | they write (fem.) | |
Lire is an irregular french verb, meaning to read. It's plural conjugation adds an additional 's'.
| French Verb • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle: lu | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je lis | jeuh lee | I read | nous lisons | noo leezonn | we read |
| second person | tu lis | tue lee | you read | vous lisez | voo leezay | you read |
| third person | il lit | eel lee | he reads | ils lisent | eel leez | they read (masc. or mixed) |
| elle lit | ell lee | she reads | ||||
| on lit | ohn lee | one reads | elles lisent | ell leez | they read (fem.) | |
[edit] V: School Subjects
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| les langues | languages | les mathématiques les maths |
mathematics |
| l'anglais | English | l'algèbre (f) | algebra |
| le français | French | le calcul | calculus |
| l'espagnol | Spanish | la géométrie | geometry |
| l'allemand | German | les sciences sociales |
social sciences |
| le russe | Russian | l'économie | economics |
| l'italien | Italian | la géo(graphie) | geography |
| l'histoire (f) | history | ||
| les sciences naturelles |
natural sciences |
d'autres matières |
other subjects |
| la biologie la bio |
biology | le dessin | drawing |
| la chimie | chemistry | l'informatique (f) | computer science |
| la technologie | engineering | la littérature | literature |
| la physique | physics | la musique | music |
[edit] G: Passé Composé with Regular Verbs
- Main article: French/Grammar/Tenses/Present perfect
The passé composé is a perfect tense, and is therefore composed of an auxiliary verb and a past participle. With most verbs, that auxiliary verb is avoir.
[edit] Meaning
In English, verbs conjugated in the passé composé literally mean have/has ____ed. While there is a simple past tense in French, it is almost only used in formal writing, so verbs conjugated in the passé composé can also be used to mean the English simple tense.
- For example, the passé composé form of parler (to speak), [avoir] parlé, literally mean has/have spoken, but also means spoke.
[edit] Basic Formation
To conjugate a verb in the passé composé, the helping verb, usually avoir, is conjugated in the present indicative and the past participle is then added.
[edit] Auxiliary Verb - Avoir
Conjugate avoir in the present indicative.
| j'ai | I have | nous avons | we have |
| tu as | you have | vous avez | you have |
| il a | he has | ils ont | they have |
[edit] Past Participle
- -er verbs - replace -er with é
- -ir verbs - replace -ir with i
- -re verbs - replace -re with u
- irregular verbs - varies, must be memorized.
| Formation of the Past Participle | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Verb Group | Infinitive | Stem | Past Participle |
| -er verbs | jouer | jou | joué |
| -ir verbs | finir | fin | fini |
| -re verbs | répondre | répond | répondu |
[edit] Avoir + Past Participle
| J'ai joué. | I have played | Nous avons joué. | We have played. |
| Tu as joué. | You have played. | Vous avez joué. | You have played. |
| Il a joué. | He has played. | Ils ont joué. | They have played. |
Translate the following sentences into French. The infinitive of the verb is in parentheses.
- I have listened. (écouter)
- Jacques has waited. (attendre)
- We finished. (finir)
- J'ai écouté.
- Jacques a attendu.
- Nous avons fini.
Change the following from the present indicative to the passé composé.
- Je regarde.
- Vous jouez.
- Elles finissent.
- J'ai regardé.
- Vous avez joué.
- Elles ont fini.
[edit] Lesson 2.02 - Culture
This lesson is on the culture of France. The culture of France is diverse, reflecting regional differences as well as the influence of recent immigration. Also, try and reflect on how your culture is similar and different to French culture.
[edit] G: General Verbs Review
Most verbs in French are regular -er verbs. Others are regular -ir or -re verbs or are simply irregular.
[edit] Formation
| French Grammar • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -er Verbs | -ir Verbs | -re Verbs | ||||
| Stem: |
|
|
|
|||
| Subject | Ending | Example | Ending | Verb | Ending | Example |
| Je | -e | parle | -is | finis | -s | vends |
| Tu | -es | parles | -is | finis | -s | vends |
| Il | -e | parle | -it | finit | - | vend |
| Nous | -ons | parlons | -issons | finissons | -ons | vendons |
| Vous | -ez | parlez | -issez | finissez | -ez | vendez |
| Ils | -e | parlent | -issent | finissent | -ent | vendent |
[edit] Irregular Verbs Ending in -er
[edit] Common -ir Verbs
- Finir
[edit] Irregular Verbs Ending in -ir
acquérir | avoir | s'asseoir | devoir | dormir | falloir | ouvrir | partir | pleuvoir | pouvoir | recevoir | savoir | servir | venir | voir | vouloir
[edit] Common -re Verbs
- attendre - to wait (for)
- répondre - to answer
[edit] Irregular Verbs Ending in -re
boire | conduire | connaître | croire | dire | écrire | être | faire | lire | mettre | prendre | rire | suivre | vivre
[edit] G: Croire & Voir
Croire is an irregularly conjugated -re verb.
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je crois | jeuh crah | I believe | nous croyons | noo croy oh | we believe |
| second person | tu crois | too crah | you believe | vous croyez | voo croy ay | you believe |
| third person | il croit | eel crah | he believes | ils croient | eel crah | they believe (masc. or mixed) |
| elle croit | ell crah | she believes | ||||
| on croit | oh crah | one believes | elles croient | ell crah | they believe (fem.) | |
Voir is an irregularly conjugated -re verb.
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je vois | jeuh vwah | I see | nous voyons | noo vwahyoh | we see |
| second person | tu vois | too vwah | you see | vous voyez | voo vwah ay | you see |
| third person | il voit | eel vwah | he sees | ils voient | eel vwah | they see (masc. or mixed) |
| elle voit | ell vwah | she sees | ||||
| on voit | oh vwah | one sees | elles voient | ell vwah | they see (fem.) | |
[edit] V: Religion
| la religion | religion |
| le Christianisme | Christianity |
| l'Islam | Islam |
| le Judaïsme | Judaism |
| le Chrétien/la Chrétienne | Christian |
| le Musulman/la Musulmane | Muslim |
| le Juif/la Juive | Jew |
| l'athée (m.) | atheist |
| Le Père noël | Santa Claus |
| le 14 juillet | Bastille Day |
[edit] V: Birthday
| Birthdays | |
|---|---|
| l'anniversaire (m) | birthday |
| Tu as quel âge? | How old are you? |
| J'ai ____ ans. | I am ____ years old. [lit: I have ___ years.] |
| le gâteau | cake |
| le cadeau | gift |
| la bougie | candle |
| la fête | party |
| inviter | to invite |
| donner une fête | to throw a party |
[edit] V: Marriage
| Marriage | |
|---|---|
| Le mari | Husband |
| La femme | Wife |
[edit] V: Holidays
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | le Nouvel An | 1 janvier |
| Labor Day | La Fête du Travail | |
| Memorial Day ; Armistice Day | jour de l'Armistice | |
| Independance Day | la Fête Nationale | 4 juillet |
| Christmas Eve | le Réveillon | 24 décembre |
| Christmas ; Yule | Noël | 25 décembre |
[edit] V: Bastille Day and Parades
[edit] V: Islamic Holidays
[edit] Lesson 2.03 - Shopping
[edit] V: Shopping
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| To Go Shopping | Buying Goods | ||
| faire des courses faire du shopping |
to go shopping | le(la) vendeur(euse) le(la) cassier(-ière) |
salesperson cashier |
| faire le marché | to go grocery shopping | (plus/moins) cher(ère) | (more/less) expensive |
| faire du lèche-vitrine | to go window shopping | la vitrine | display window |
| porter | to wear, to carry | en solde | on sale |
| demander | to ask (for) | le prix | price |
| demander le prix - to ask for the price | |||
| payer payer à la caisse |
to pay to pay at the counter |
la caisse | cash register checkout counter |
| vendre | to sell | coûter | to cost |
| acheter | to buy | C’est combien? Ça coûte combien? |
How much is it? [lit: It's how much?] [lit:It costs how much?] |
| Combien coûte [nom]? | How much does [noun] cost? [lit: How much costs [noun]?] |
||
| General Goods Stores | Foods Stores | ||
| le magasin | shop; store | le supermarché | supermarket |
| le centre commercial | mall; shopping centre | l'hypermarché (m) | hypermarket; big supermarket |
| le grand magasin | department store | la boucherie | butcher shop 1 |
| le rayon | department | la boulangerie | bakery 2 |
| la boutique | small store | le dépôt de pain | a place that sells bread 2 |
| la pharmacie | pharmacy; chemist | la charcuterie | delicatessen 3 |
| le marché | outdoor market | la crémerie | dairy store |
| la pâtisserie | pastry shop; pâtisserie | ||
| la poissonnerie | seafood store; fishmonger | ||
| l'épicerie (f) | grocery 4 | ||
- 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
- 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.
- 'Charcuteries' sell things besides pork products, including pâté, salami, cold meats, salads, quiches and pizzas.
- An alternative to an 'épicerie' is an alimentation générale (a general foodstore).
[edit] G: Object Pronouns Review
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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).
[edit] G: -exer Verbs
-exer 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.
[edit] Formation
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | j'achète | jzah shet | I buy | nouszachetons | noozashtoh | we buy |
| second person | tu achètes | too ahshet | you buy | vouszachetez | voozahshtay | you buy |
| third person | il achète | eel ahshet | he buys | ilszachètent | eelzahshet | they buy (masc. or mixed) |
| elle achète | ell ahshet | she buys | ||||
| onnachète | ohnahshet | one buys | elleszachètent | ellzahshet | they buy (fem.) | |
[edit] Other -exer Verbs
- peser - to weigh
- mener - to carry out
- emmener - to take along
- amener - to bring
- surmener - to overwork
- lever - to raise
- soulever - to raise
[edit] V: Clothing
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| les vêtements habillés - dress clothes | les vêtements sport - casual clothes | les chaussures - shoes | |||
| la chemise | button down shirt | la casquette | cap | les chaussures | shoes |
| la cravate | tie | le tee-shirt | t-shirt | la paire de chaussures | pair of shoes |
| le pantalon | pants | le polo | polo shirt | les baskets | basketball shoes trainers |
| le complet le costume |
suit | le pull(over) | a sweater | les tennis | tennis shoes |
| le manteau | coat | le sweat-shirt | sweatshirt | les sandales | sandals |
| le tailleur | women's suit | le blouson la veste |
jacket | ||
| la robe | dress | le jean | jeans | ||
| le chemisier | blouse | les chaussettes / les bas | socks | ||
| la jupe | skirt | ||||
[edit] G: -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.
[edit] Payer
The verb payer translates to to pay.
[edit] Formation
In the present indicative, payer (and all other -yer verbs) is conjuagted as follows:
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je paie | jeuh pay | I pay | nous payons | noo pay oh | we pay |
| second person | tu paies | too pay | you pay | vous payez | voo pay yay | you pay |
| third person | il paie | eel pay | he pays | ils paient ou payent |
eel | they pay (masc. or mixed) |
| elle paie | ell pay | she pays | ||||
| on paie | oh pay | one pays | elles paient ou payent |
ell | they pay (fem.) | |
[edit] Other -yer Verbs
- appuyer - to support
- employer - to employ
- essayer - to try
- essuyer - to wipe
- nettoyer - to clean
- tutoyer - to address as tu, to call someone informally
[edit] G: Irregular Past Participles
Many of the verbs you have learned so far have irregular past participles.
- avoir - eu
- croire - cru
- être - été
- faire - fait
- voir - vu
[edit] V: Practise Conversations
Let's practise some of these words and verbs in some everyday shopping talk:
1. À la boulangerie (At the bakery)
Bernard (le boulanger) : Bonjour madame
Camille (la cliente) : Bonjour monsieur
Bernard : Que voulez-vous ?
Camille : Je voudrais acheter une baguette, s'il vous plaît
Bernard : Ce sera tout ?
Camille : Non, je voudrais deux croissants aussi
Bernard : Très bien - ça fait deux euros, s'il vous plaît
Camille : Merci beaucoup
Useful vocabulary:
"Que voulez-vous ?" or "Que désirez-vous ?" - What would you like?
"Je voudrais..." - I would like...
"Ce sera tout ?" - Is that all?
"Ça fait deux euros" - That will be two euros
acheter (to buy).
2. Au marché (At the market)
Marie (la marchande) : Bonjour monsieur
Clément (le client) : Bonjour madame
Clément : Qu'est-ce que vous avez à vendre ?
Marie : J'ai un grand choix de fruits et légumes
Clément : Très bien. Est-ce que vous avez des cerises ?
Marie : Oui... elles coûtent deux euros le kilo
Clément : Bon, je voudrais trois kilos, s'il vous plaît
Marie : Très bien, monsieur. Alors, pour trois kilos il faut payer six euros, s'il vous plaît.
Useful 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" - One must/You need to
vendre (to sell) and payer (to pay).
[edit] Lesson 2.04 - Going Out
[edit] G: À and De
The preposition à can indicate a destination, a location, a characteristic, measurement, a point in time, purpose, and several other things which will be covered later.
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, manner, and several other things which will be covered later.
When le follows de, the de and le combine into du. Similarly, de and les combine into des.
[edit] V: Leisure Activites
Les loisirs refers to leisure activities.
| le cinéma | cinema |
| la musique | music |
| le baladeur | walkman |
| une sortie | going out |
| un spectacle | a show |
| le théâtre | the theater |
| le repos | rest |
| le vacancier | a vacationer |
| la danse | dance |
| allumer/éteindre | to turn on/turn off |
| la télévision | television |
| le(la) téléspectateur(trice) | television viewer |
| le sport | sport |
[edit] G: Partir & Sortir
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je pars | jeuh pahr | I leave | nous partons | noo partoh | we leave |
| second person | tu pars | too pahr | you leave | vous partez | voo pahrtay | you leave |
| third person | il part | eel pahr | he leaves | ils partent | eel part | they leave (masc. or mixed) |
| elle part | ell pahr | she leaves | ||||
| on part | oh pahr | one leaves | elles partent | ell part | they leave (fem.) | |
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je sors | jeuh sore | I go out | nous sortons | noo sortoh | we go out |
| second person | tu sors | too sore | you go out | vous sortez | voo sortay | you go out |
| third person | il sort | eel sore | he goes out | ils sortent | eel sort | they go out (masc. or mixed) |
| elle sort | ell sore | she goes out | ||||
| on sort | oh sore | one goes out | elles sortent | ell sort | they go out (fem.) | |
Some other verbs use sortir and partir as stems.
- repartir - to set out again
- répartir - to distribute
[edit] V: Movies
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| General | |||
| le film (domestique) (en vidéo) le film (étranger) (en DVD) |
(domestic) movie (on video) (foreign) movie (on DVD) |
V.O. (Version originale) les sous-titres |
unaltered sub-titles |
| l'acteur (m) l'actrice (f) |
actor actress |
la vidéo le DVD |
video DVD |
| louer | to rent | ||
| The Movie Theater | Film Genres | ||
| le cinéma | the (movie) theater | le dessin animé | cartoon |
| la salle du cinéma | theater showing room lit: room of the the theater |
le documentaire | documentary |
| la séance | showing | le film d’amour | love story |
| le guichet | ticket window | le film d’aventures | adventure movie |
| la place le fauteuil |
seat/place to sit chair1 |
le film d’horreur | horror film |
| coûter | to cost | le film policier | police film |
| jouer | to play | 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)
Les films sont fascinants! Allez-vous au cinéma? Pourquoi? Vous aimez les films? Pour demander quels films jouent au cinéma, on dit Qu’est-ce qui joue au cinéma? . On achète les places au guichet, où l'employé(e) les vend. On entre dans la salle du cinéma pour regarder un film. Quel est votre genre de film préféré? Louez-vous des vidéos? des DVDs?.
[edit] G: -enir verbs
- -enir verbs are irregularly conjugated (they do not count as regular -ir verbs).
[edit] Venir
- The most common -enir verb is venir.
- The verb venir is translated to to come.
- When it means to come from, venir is used with the preposition de.
- Nous venons du stade.
- You can also use venir with a verb to state that you have recently accomplished an action. **Je viens de finir mes devoirs (I've just finished my homework).
[edit] Formation
In the present indicative, venir (and all other -enir verbs) are conjuagted as follows:
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je viens | jeuh vee ehn | I come | nous venons | noo venn oh | we come |
| second person | tu viens | too vee ehn | you come | vous venez | voo vennay | you come |
| third person | il vient | eel vee ehn | he comes | ils viennent | eel vee ehn | they come (masc. or mixed) |
| elle vient | ell vee ehn | she comes | ||||
| on vient | oh vee ehn | one comes | elles viennent | ell vee ehn | they come (fem.) | |
[edit] Other -enir Verbs
- revenir - to come back, to return
- devenir - to become
- appartenir - to belong
- contenir - to contain
- détenir - to keep, to detain
- retenir - to retain
- se souvenir - to remember
- soutenir - to support
- tenir - to hold
[edit] -éxer Verbs
-éxer verbs are regular -er verbs, but are also stem changing.
[edit] Formation
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je suggère | jeuh soo zjair | I suggest | nous suggérons | noo soo zjairoh | we suggest |
| second person | tu suggères | too soo zjair | you suggest | vous suggérez | voo soo zjairay | you suggest |
| third person | il suggère | eel soo zjair | he suggests | ils suggèrent | eel soo zjair | they suggest (masc. or mixed) |
| elle suggère | ell soo zjair | she suggests | ||||
| on suggère | oh soo zjair | one suggests | elles suggèrent | ell soo zjair | they suggest (fem.) | |
[edit] Other -éxer Verbs
- accélérer - to accelerate
- célébrer - to celebrate
- espérer - to hope
- oblitérer - to obliterate
- préférer - to prefer
- sécher - to dry
[edit] Directions
Sometimes when you go out, you may get lost, or come across someone who is lost. This should help you ask for and give directions.
- Pardonnez-moi/Excusez-moi, mademoiselle/madame/monsieur. - Excuse me, Miss/Mrs/Mr.
- Je suis perdu. - I am lost.
- Je cherche... - I'm looking for...
- La poste - the post office
- La gare - the train station
- Le supermarché - the supermarket
- Le stade - the football stadium
- Le camping - the camping grounds
- La plage - the beach
- Le parc - the park
- Vous prenez... - You take...
- la première rue - the first street
- à gauche - to the left
- à droite - to the right
- tout droit - straight ahead
- Merci beaucoup! - Thanks so much!
- De rien. - It was nothing/No worries.
[edit] Lesson 2.05 - Transportation
[edit] G: -uire Verbs
-uire verbs are conjugated irregularly.
[edit] Formation
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je conduis | jeuh cohndwee | I drive | nous conduisons | noo cohndweezoh | we drive |
| second person | tu conduis | too cohndwee | you drive | vous conduisez | voo cohndweezay | you drive |
| third person | il conduit | eel cohndwee | he drives | ils conduisent | eel cohndweez | they drive (masc. or mixed) |
| elle conduit | ell cohndwee | she drives | ||||
| on conduit | oh cohndwee | one drives | elles conduisent | ell cohndweez | they drive (fem.) | |
[edit] Other -uire Verbs
- produire - to produce
- traduire - to translate
- reduire - to reduce
[edit] V: Driving
| ouvrir | to open |
| fermer | to close |
[edit] G: -rir Verbs
These verbs are conjugated irregularly, and normally follow the -er conjugation scheme. A common -rir verb is ouvrir.
[edit] Formation
- j'ouvre
- tu ouvres
- il ouvre
- nous ouvrons
- vous ouvrez
- ils ouvrent
- past participle: ouvert
[edit] Other Standard -rir verbs
In past participle form, -ir is replaced with -ert for these verbs.
- couvrir - to cover
- découvrir - to discover
- offrir - to offer
- souffrir - to suffer
[edit] -rir Verb Exceptions
[edit] Courir - To Run
- je cours
- tu cours
- il court
- nous courons
- vous courez
- ils courent
- past participle: couru
[edit] Mourir - To Die
- je meurs
- tu meurs
- il meurt
- nous mourons
- vous mourez
- ils meurent
- past participle: mort(e)(s)1
1Mourir is the only -ir verb that takes être as its helping verb in perfect tenses (and therefore agrees with the subject as a past participle in a perfect tense).
[edit] Acquérir - To Acquire
- j'acquiers
- tu acquiers
- il acquiert
- nous acquérons
- vous acquérez
- ils acquièrent
- past participle: acquis
[edit] V: Traffic Signs and Laws
[edit] G: Passé Composé with Être
Most verbs form the passé composé with avoir, however there are a small number of verbs that are always conjugated with être. In a general case, these verbs indicate a change in state or position.
[edit] List of Verbs
| French Grammar • Print version • |
||
|---|---|---|
| Verb | Example | |
| aller | Je suis allé au cinéma. | I went to the cinema. |
| venir | Je suis venu en France. | I came to France. |
| arriver | Le train est arrivé. | The train has arrived. |
| partir | Elle est partie travailler. | She left to go to work. |
| rester | Je suis resté à la maison. | I stayed home. |
| retourner | Il est retourné au restaurant. | He returned to the restaurant. |
| tomber | Je suis tombé dans la piscine. | I fell into the pool. |
| naître | Je suis né en octobre. | I was born in october. |
| mourir | Il est mort en 1917. | He died in 1917. |
| passer | Il est passé devant la maison. | It happened in front of the house. |
| monter | Je suis monté au sommet. | I climbed to the top. |
| descendre | Il est descendu du train. | He got out of the train. |
| sortir | Je suis sorti avec mes amies. | I went out with my friends. |
| entrer | Je suis entré dans ma chambre. | I entered my room. |
| rentrer | Il est rentré tôt de l'école. | He came back early from school. |
| The verbs that take être can be easily remebered by the acronym MRS. DR VANDERTRAMP: | ||||||||||
| M | R | S | D | R | ||||||
| monté | resté | sorti | devenu | revenu | ||||||
| V | A | N | D | E | R | T | R | A | M | P |
| venu | arrivé | né | descendu | entré | rentré | tombé | retourné | allé | mort | parti |
Moreover, all the pronominal verbs (with se), like se cacher (to hide oneself) or se demander (to wonder), are ALWAYS conjugated with être.
[edit] Direct Objects
One must know that these verbs take their conjugated avoir when they are immediately followed by a direct object
- For Example:
- Je suis descendu with the direct object "mes bagages"
- becomes:
- J'ai descendu mes bagages.
- Je suis descendu with the direct object "mes bagages"
- Another example:
- Je suis monté with the direct object "mes bagages"
- becomes:
- J'ai monté mes bagages.
- Je suis monté with the direct object "mes bagages"
- Yet another example but with ils instead of Je:
- Ils sont sortis with direct object "leur passeport"
- becomes:
- Ils ont sorti leur passeport.
- Ils sont sortis with direct object "leur passeport"
[edit] Subject-Past Participle Agreement
When conjugating with être, the past participles of the above verbs must agree with the the subject of a sentence in gender and plurality. Note that there is no agreement if these verbs are conjugated with avoir.
- If the subject is masculine singular, there is no change in the past participle.
- If the subject is feminine singular, an -e is added to the past participle.
- If the subject is masculine plural, an -s is added to the past participle.
- If the subject is feminine plural, an -es is added to the past participle.
| J suis allé(e). | Nous sommes allé(e)s. |
| Tu es allé(e). | Vous êtes allé(e)(s). |
| Il est allé. | Ils sont allés. |
| Elle est allée. | Elles sont allées. |
[edit] V: Trains and Stations
| Taking the Train | |
|---|---|
[edit] G: The Pronoun Y
[edit] Indirect Object Pronoun - to it, to them
The French pronoun y is used to replace an object of a prepositional phrase introduced by à.
- Je réponds aux (à les) questions. - J'y réponds.
- I respond to the questions. - I respond to them.
Note that lui and leur, and not y, are used when the object refers to a person or persons.
[edit] Replacement of Places - there
The French pronoun y replaces a prepositional phrase referring to a place that begins with any preposition except de (for which en is used).
- Les hommes vont en France. - Les hommes y vont.
- The men go to France - The men go there.
Note that en, and not y is used when the preposition of the object is de.
[edit] Idioms
- Ça y est! - It's Done!
- J'y suis! - I get it!
[edit] V: Taking a Taxi
| Taking a Taxi | |
|---|---|
[edit] Lesson 2.06 - Everyday Life
[edit] G: Dormir
Dormir, to sleep, is an irregular French verb.
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | je dors | jeuh door | I sleep | nous dormons | noo doormoh | we sleep |
| second person | tu dors | too door | you sleep | vous dormez | voo doormay | you sleep |
| third person | il dort | eel door | he sleeps | ils dorment | eel dorm | they sleep (masc. or mixed) |
| elle dort | ell door | she sleeps | ||||
| on dort | oh door | one sleeps | elles dorment | ell dorm | they sleep (fem.) | |
[edit] V: Waking up and Getting Yourself Ready
- se lever: to get up
- se laver: to wash (oneself)
- se raser : to shave
- se doucher: to shower
- se baigner: to bathe (oneself)
- se brosser les cheveux/les dents: to brush one's hair/teeth
- se peigner les cheveux: to comb one's hair
- s'habiller: to dress (oneself)
If the subject is performing the action on him or herself, the verbs are reflexive. However, if the subject were to act on someone else, the verb is no longer reflexive; instead the reflexive pronoun becomes a direct object.
- Je m'habille: I get (myself) dressed.
- Je t'habille: I get you dressed.
In the passé composé, the participle must agree in gender and number with the subject.
- Pierre s'est habillé.
- Alice s'est habillée.
- Georges et Martin se sont habillés.
- Lisette et Rose se sont habillées.
- Marc et Claire se sont habillés.
- Je m'appelle Lucie, et je me suis levée à six heures.
- Jean et Paul, vous vous êtes levés assez tard.
[edit] G: Pronominal Verbs
Pronominal verbs are verbs that, put simply, include pronouns. These pronouns are me, te, se, nous, and vous and are used as either direct objects or indirect objects, depending on the verb that they modify. There are three types of pronominal verbs: reflexive verbs, reciprocal verbs, and naturally pronominal verbs.
[edit] Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive verbs reflect the action on the subject.
- Je me lave. - I wash myself.
- Nous nous lavons. - We wash ourselves.
- Ils se lavent. - They wash themselves.
Reflexive verbs can also be used as infinitives.
- Je vais me laver. - I'm going to wash myself.
- Je ne vais pas me laver. - I'm not going to wash myself.
[edit] Reciprocal Verbs
With reciprocal verbs, people perform actions to each other.
- Nous nous aimons. - We like each other.
[edit] Naturally Pronominal Verbs
Some verbs are pronominal without performing a reflexive or reciprocal action. Tu te souviens? - You remember?
[edit] V: Going to Work
[edit] V: At Work
travailler: to work
travailler pour: to work for (somebody)
[edit] G: Devoir
| French Verb • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle: dû | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je dois | jeuh dwah | I have to | nous devons | noo dehvohn | we have to |
| second person | tu dois | too dwah | you have to | vous devez | voo dehvay | you have to |
| third person | il doit | eel dwah | he has to | ils doivent | eel dwahve | they have to (masc. or mixed) |
| elle doit | ell dwah | she has to | ||||
| on doit | ohn dwah | one has to | elles doivent | ell dwahve | they have to (fem.) | |
[edit] G: Falloir
- falloir - to be necessary
- il faut - it is necessary
- il a fallu - it was necessary (passé composé)
- il fallait - it was necessary (imparfait)
- il faudra - it will be necessary
- il faudrait - it would be necessary
The verb falloir differs from similar verbs such as avoir besoin de [faire quelque chose] (to need [to do something]) and devoir (must, duty, owe). Falloir is always used with the impersonal il only in the 3rd person singular, whereas devoir can be used with all subject pronouns in all tenses.
Falloir expresses general necessities, such as "To live, one must eat" or "To speak French well, one must conjugate verbs correctly."
Devoir expresses more personally what someone must do; "I want to pass my French test, so I must study verb conjugations."
Avoir besoin de [faire quelque chose] expresses need; "I need to study for my test, it's tomorrow" - "J'ai besoin d'etudier pour mon examen, il est demain."
[edit] Lesson 2.07 - Rural Life
[edit] G: Suivre
| French Verb • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle: suivi | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je suis | jeuh swee | I follow | nous suivons | noo sweevohn | we follow |
| second person | tu suis | too swee | you follow | vous suivez | voo sweevay | you follow |
| third person | il suit | eel swee | he follows | ils suivent | eel sweeve | they follow (masc. or mized) |
| elle suit | ell swee | she follows | ||||
| on suit | ohn swee | one follows | elles suivent | ell sweeve | they follow (fem.) | |
[edit] G: Vivre
| French Verb • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle: vécu [vaycoo] | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je vis | jeuh vee | I live | nous vivons | noo veevohn | we live |
| second person | tu vis | too vee | you live | vous vivez | voo veevay | you live |
| third person | il vit | eel vee | he lives | ils vivent | eel veeve | they live (masc. or mized) |
| elle vit | ell vee | she lives | ||||
| on vit | ohn vee | one lives | elles vivent | ell veeve | they live (fem.) | |
[edit] G: Naître
| French Verb • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle: né(e)(s)1 | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je nais | jeuh nay | I am born | nous naissons | noo nehssohn | we are born |
| second person | tu nais | too nay | you are born | vous naissez | voo nehssay | you are born |
| third person | il naît | eel nay | he is born | ils naissent | eel nesse | they are born (masc. or mized) |
| elle naît | ell nay | she is born | ||||
| on naît | ohn nay | one is born | elles naissent | ell nesse | they are born (fem.) | |
1 Naître is the only -aître verb that takes être as its helping verb (and therefore agrees with the subject as a past participle in perfect tenses).
[edit] G: Reflexive Verbs with Perfect Tenses
When proniminal verbs are conjugated in perfect tenses, être is used as the auxiliary verb.
[edit] Reflexive Verbs
In perfect tenses, the past participles agree with the direct object pronoun, but not the indirect object pronoun, in gender and plurality. Therefore it would only agree when the reflexive pronoun is the direct object. Also remember that the past participle does not agree with the direct object if it goes after the verb.
- Elle s'est lavée. - She washed herself.
- Nous nous sommes lavé(e)s. - We washed ourselves.
- Elle s'est lavé les mains. - She washed her hands.
- Nous nous sommes lavé les mains. - We washed our hands.
[edit] Reciprocal Verbs
- Like reflexive verbs, the past participle of reciprocal verbs agrees in number and gender with the direct object if it goes before the verb. It therefore agrees with all reciprocal pronouns that function as direct objects.
- Nous nous sommes aimé(e)s. - We liked each other.
The reciprocal pronoun can also function as an indirect object without a direct object pronoun.
- Nous nous sommes parlé. - We spoke to each other.
- Elles se sont téléphoné. - They called one another.
- Vous vous êtes écrit souvent? - You wrote to each other often?
[edit] Naturally Pronominal Verbs
- In perfect tenses, these verbs agree with the direct object if it goes before the verb. Otherwise, the past participle agrees with the subject.
- Elle s'est souvenue. - She remembered.
- Le chien se couche. - The dog lies down.
Note that assis(e)(es), the past participle of s'asseoir (to sit), does not change in the masculine plural form.
[edit] Lesson 2.08 - Food and Drink
[edit] G: -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 adding 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.
[edit] Formation
| French Verb • Print version • |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle - mangé | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je mange | jeuh mahnge | I eat | nous mangeons | noo vmahnge ohn | we eat |
| second person | tu manges | too mahnge | you eat | vous mangez | voo mahngay | we eat |
| third person | il mange | eel mahnge | he eats | ils mangent | eel mahnge | they eat (masc. or mized) |
| elle mange | ell mahnge | she eats | ||||
| on mange | ohn mahnge | one eats | elles mangent | ell mahnge | they eat (fem.) | |
[edit] Other -ger Verbs
- changer - to change
- exiger - to require
- nager - to swim
- soulager - to relieve
- voyager - to travel
[edit] V: Food
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| les fruits - fruits | les légumes - vegetables | ||
| la banane | banana | la carotte | carrot |
| la cerise | cherry | les épinards (m pl) | spinach |
| le citron | lemon | l'oignon (m) | onion |
| la fraise | strawberry | les petits pois (m pl) | peas |
| l'orange (f) | orange | la pomme de terre | potato |
| la pomme | apple | la tomate | tomato |
| le raisin | grape | les asperges (f pl) | asparagus |
| le pamplemousse | grapefruit | les haricots (m pl) | beans |
| la viande - meat | les fruits de mer (m pl) - shellfish, seafood | ||
| l'agneau (m) | lamb | La coquille Saint-Jacques (f) | scallop |
| la dinde | turkey | le crabe | crab |
| le jambon | ham | ||
| le porc | pork | le poisson - fish | |
| le poulet | chicken | les anchois (m pl) | anchovies |
| le boeuf | beef | le saumon | salmon |
| la saucisse | sausage | l'anguille (f) | eel |
| les produits laitiers - dairy products | Other Foods | ||
| le beurre | butter | le croissant | crescent roll |
| le fromage | cheese | les frites (f pl) | "French fries" |
| le lait | milk | la crêpe | crepe |
| le yaourt/le yoghurt | yogurt | la mayonnaise | mayonnaise |
| le dessert - dessert | la moutarde | mustard | |
| le bonbon | candy | le pain | bread |
| le chocolat | chocolate | le beurre | butter |
| le gâteau | cake | la tartine de pain beurré | slice of buttered bread |
| la glace | ice cream | le poivre | pepper |
| la mousse | mousse | le riz | rice |
| la tarte (aux pommes) | (apple) pie | le sel | salt |
| la glace (au chocolat) | (chocolate) ice cream | le sucre | sugar |
| la glace (à la vanille) | (vanilla) ice cream | la confiture | jam |
[edit] G: Boire
The verb boire is translated to to drink. It is irregularly conjugated (it does not count as a regular -re verb) as follows:
| French Verb • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle - bu | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je bois | jeuh bwah | I drink | nous buvons | noo boovohn | we drink |
| second person | tu bois | too bwah | you drink | vous buvez | voo boovay | you drink |
| third person | il boit | eel bwah | he drinks | ils boivent | eel bwahve | they drink (masc. or mized) |
| elle boit | ell bwah | she drinks | ||||
| on boit | ohn bwah | one drinks | elles boivent | ell bwahve | they drink (fem.) | |
[edit] V: Drinks
| la bière | beer |
| le café | coffee |
| le chocolat chaud | hot chocolate |
| le coca | soda |
| la limonade | lemon soda |
| le citron pressé | lemonade |
| l'eau (f) | water |
| le jus | juice |
| le jus d'orange | orange juice |
| le jus de pomme | apple juice |
| le jus de raisin | grape juice |
| le jus de tomate | tomato juice |
| le thé | tea |
| le vin | wine |
[edit] G: 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.
| Def. art. | specific/whole items |
|---|---|
| J'ai mangé la tarte. | I ate the (whole) pie. |
| Ind. art. | known quantity |
| J'ai mangé une tarte. | I ate a pie. |
| Part. art. | unknown quantity |
| J'ai mangé de la tarte. | I ate some pie. |
In the negative construction, certain rules apply. As one has learned in a previous lesson, un or une changes to de (meaning, in this context, any) in a negative construction. 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. |
Note : Now you should understand better how that "Quoi de neuf?"(what's new?) encountered in the very first lesson was constructed... "Quoi de plus beau?!" (what is there prettier?)
[edit] G: 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 there the noun is not specifically mentioned in that 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. |
For more detailed information, see French Pronouns
[edit] G: Mettre
[edit] Formation
| French Verb • Print version • |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| past participle - mis | ||||||
| Singular | Plural | |||||
| first person | je mets | jeuh may | I put | nous mettons | noo mettohn | we put |
| second person | tu mets | too may | you put | vous mettez | voo mettay | you put |
| third person | il met | eel may | he puts | ils mettent | eel met | they put (masc. or mized) |
| elle met | ell may | she puts | ||||
| on met | ohn may | one puts | elles mettent | ell met | they put (fem.) | |
[edit] Related Words
- mettre - to put on, to turn on, to place
- permettre - to allow
- remettre - to put back
- remettre en place - to set back into place
- soumettre - to submit
- se remettre - to recover from an illness
- se remettre en route - to get back on the road
[edit] Idioms and Related Expressions
- mettre au jour - to bring to light
- mettre de l'argent de coté - to put money aside
- mettre fin à - to put an end to
- mettre la main à la pâte - to pitch in
- mettre le contact - to start the car
- mettre le couvert - to set the table
- se mettre à table - to sit down to eat
- se mettre d'accord - to agree
- se mettre en forme - to get in shape
[edit] Lesson 2.09 - Dining
[edit] V: General Dining
| French Vocabulary • Print version • |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Places | Actions and Feelings | ||
| la cuisine | kitchen | avoir faim | to be hungry |
| la salle à manger | dining room | avoir soif | to be thirsty |
| le restaurant | restaurant | manger | to eat |
| Meals | boire | to drink | |
| le repas | the meal | prendre | to take |
| le petit-déjeuner | breakfast | vouloir | to want |
| le déjeuner | lunch | mettre le couvert | to set the table |
| le dîner | dinner | préparer un repas | to prepare a meal |
| le goûter | snack | ||
| Food Stores | Quantity | ||
| la boucherie | butcher shop 1 | le gramme | gram |
| la boulangerie | bakery 2 | le kilo(gramme) | kilogran |
| le dépôt de pain | a place that sells bread 2 | le litre | liter |
| la charcuterie | delicatessen 3 | la bouteille | bottle 5 |
| l'épicerie (f) | grocery 4 | la boîte | can |
| la crémerie | dairy store | la livre | pack, pound 6 |
| la poissonnerie | seafood store | le paquet | packet |
| le marché | outdoor market | ||