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A reviewed version of this page, approved on 30 August 2018, was based off this revision.

Level one lessons

French

Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts

By the end of this lesson, you should understand:

Aimez-vous ce film ? Oui, je l'aime.

Nous jouons aux cartes.

and possibly understand:

Je lui donne le livre.

Il adore jouer aux jeux vidéo.

Dialogue

Grammar · Regular -er verbs · Les verbes en -er

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.

jouer^{to play} /ʒwe/

Pronoun	Ending	Verb	Pronunciation
je	-e	joue	/ʒu/ (help·info)
tu	-es	joues	/ʒu/ (help·info)
il/elle	-e	joue	/ʒu/ (help·info)
nous	-ons	jouons	/ʒwɔ̃/ (help·info)
vous	-ez	jouez	/ʒu.e/ (help·info)
ils/elles	-ent	jouent	/ʒu/ (help·info)

Pronunciation, elision and liaison

The -e, -es, and -ent endings all have the same silent pronunciation. The -er and -ez endings are pronounced /e/ (help·info), and the -ons ending is pronounced /ɔ̃/ (help·info).

In all conjugations, je changes to j ' when followed by a vowel or silent h:

J'aime…^{I like…}

J'habite…^{I live…}

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.

Conjugation examples

(upload audio)
Infinitive	Stem	Present indicative conjugation
		First person		Second person		Third person
aimer	aim	J'	aime	Tu	aimes	Il	aime	Singular
aimer	aim	Nous	aimons	Vous	aimez	Ils	aiment	Plural
parler	parl	Je	parle	Tu	parles	Il	parle	Singular
parler	parl	Nous	parlons	Vous	parlez	Ils	parlent	Plural
habiter	habit	J'	habite	Tu	habites	Il	habite	Singular
habiter	habit	Nous	habitons	Vous	habitez	Ils	habitent	Plural
écouter	écout	J'	écoute	Tu	écoutes	Il	écoute	Singular
écouter	écout	Nous	écoutons	Vous	écoutez	Ils	écoutent	Plural

Supplementary vocabulary · Common -er verbs

(upload audio)
aimer	/ɛ.me/ (help·info)	to like	J’aime beaucoup ce tableau.	I love this painting.
arriver	/a.ʁi.ve/ (help·info)	to arrive, to happen
chercher	/ʃɛʁʃe/ (help·info)	to look for	Je cherche du boulot.	I'm looking for some work.
demander	/dǝ.mɑ̃.de/ (help·info)	to ask (for)
donner	/dɔ.ne/ (help·info)	to give
écouter	/ekute/ (help·info)	to listen to	J’écoute la radio.	I'm listening to the radio.
entrer	/ɑ̃t.ʁe/ (help·info)	to enter	Il entre dans la salle.	He's entering the room.
parler	/paʁle/ (help·info)	to speak, to talk	Zoé parle couramment le français.	Zoé speaks French fluently.
passer	/pa.se/ (help·info)	to pass, to spend (time)
porter	/pɔʁ.te/ (help·info)	to carry, to wear	Quentin porte un sac de blé.	Quentin is carrying a bag of wheat.
regarder	/ʁǝ.ɡaʁ.de/ (help·info)	to watch
sembler	/sɑ̃.ble/ (help·info)	to seem, to resemble
trouver	/tʁu.ve/ (help·info)	to find, to surprise

Vocabulary · Places

Vocabulary gallery

la bibliothèque (

/bi.bli.jɔ.tɛk/)

le parc (

/paʁk/)

la piscine (

/pi.sin/)

la plage (

/plaʒ/)

le restaurant (

/ʁɛs.to.ʁɑ̃/)

la salle de concert

le cinéma (

/si.ne.ma/)

le casino (/ka.zi.no/)

la salle de jeux (/sal.də.ʒø/)

le stade (

/stad/)

le théâtre (

/te.atʁ/)

(upload audio)
la bibliothèque	/bi.bli.jɔ.tɛk/ (help·info)	library	caution: a librairie is a bookshop	On est à la bibliothèque publique.	We are at the public library.
le parc	/paʁk/ (help·info)	park
la piscine	/pi.sin/ (help·info)	swimming pool
la plage	/plaʒ/ (help·info)	beach
le restaurant	/ʁɛs.to.ʁɑ̃/ (help·info)	restaurant		On dîne au restaurant français.	We are dining at the French restaurant.
la salle de concert		concert hall
le cinéma la salle de cinéma	/si.ne.ma/ (help·info)	cinema
le casino la maison de jeu	/ka.zi.no/ (help·info)	casino		Les jeux de casino sont des bons exemples de jeu de hasard.	Casino games are good examples of games of chance.
la salle de jeux	/sal.də.ʒø/ (help·info)	game room, playroom		Le casino a six salles de jeu.	The casino has six game rooms.
le stade	/stad/ (help·info)	stadium
le théâtre	/te.atʁ/ (help·info)	theater

Grammar · Direct object pronouns le, la, and les

The direct object pronoun le ( /lə/), meaning it or him, replaces masculine singular direct objects:

Je donne le livre au prof. (I'm giving the book to the teacher.)

Je le donne au prof. (I'm giving it to the teacher.)

La ( /la/), meaning it or her, replaces feminine singular direct objects:

Je donne la calculatrice au prof. (I'm giving the calculator to the teacher.)

Je la donne au prof. (I'm giving it to the teacher.)

Les ( /le/), meaning them, replaces plural direct objects:

Je donne les livres au prof. (I'm giving the books to the teacher.)

Je les donne au prof. (I'm giving them to the teacher.)

Le and la become l' before a vowel:

Aimez-vous le concert ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the concert? Yes, I like it.)

Le, la, and les can replace either people or things:

Aimez-vous le film ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the film? Yes, I like it.)

Aimez-vous l'acteur ? Oui, je l'aime. (Do you like the actor? Yes, I like him.)

Summary


masculine singular direct object	le	/lə/ (luh)	it, him
feminine singular direct object	la	/la/ (lah)	it, her
singular direct object, before a vowel	l'	/l/	it, him, her
plural direct object	les	/le/ (lay)	them

Examples

Vocabulary · Sports, games, and instruments

The verb jouer /ʒwe/ is a regular -er verb meaning to play. It can be used to refer to sports, games, and instruments.

When referring to sports or games, jouer à … is used; recall that au /o/ replaces à le, and aux /o/ replaces à les:

Je joue au baseball.^{I'm playing baseball.}

Nous jouons aux cartes.^{We are playing cards.}

When referring to instruments, jouer de … is used; recall that du /dy/ replaces de le, and des /dɛ/ replaces de les:

Je joue du piano.^{I'm playing the piano.}

Supplementary vocabulary · Sports

Vocabulary gallery

le baseball (/bɛz.bol/)

le basket (/bas.kɛt/)

le football (

/fut.bol/)

le football américain (/fut.bol a.me.ʁi.kɛ̃/)

le golf (/gɔlf/)

le tennis (

/te.nis/)

le volley (/vɔː.le/)

(upload audio)
le baseball	/bɛz.bol/ (help·info)	baseball
le basket	/bas.kɛt/ (help·info)	basketball
le football	/fut.bol/ (help·info)	football/soccer	Il est un bon joueur de football.	He is a good football player.
le football américain	/fut.bol a.me.ʁi.kɛ̃/ (help·info)	American football
le golf	/gɔlf/ (help·info)	golf
le tennis	/te.nis/ (help·info)	tennis
le volley	/vɔː.le/ (help·info)	volleyball

Supplementary vocabulary · Games · Les jeux

Vocabulary gallery

le jeu vidéo (/ʒø vi.deo/)

le jeu de société (/ʒø də sɔ.sje.te/)

les cartes (

/kaʁt/)

les dames (

[daːm])

les échecs (

/e.ʃɛk/)

les dés (

/de/)

(upload audio)
le jeu (les jeux)	/ʒø/ (help·info)	game	Nous avons plein de jeux pour les enfants.	We have many games for the children.
le jeu de hasard		game of chance	Poker est un jeu de hasard. Il joue aux jeux de hasard.	Poker is a game of chance. He plays games of chance.
le jeu vidéo	/ʒø vi.deo/ (help·info)	video game	Ce jeu vidéo est très difficile.	This video game is very difficult.
le jeu de société	/ʒø də sɔ.sje.te/ (help·info)	board game
le jeu de rôle		role-playing game
les cartes	/kaʁt/ (help·info)	cards
les dames	[daːm] (help·info)	checkers/draughts
les échecs	/e.ʃɛk/ (help·info)	chess	Le jeu d’échecs a des règles complexes.	The game of chess has complex rules.
les dés	/de/ (help·info)	dice

Supplementary vocabulary · Instruments

Vocabulary gallery

la clarinette (/kla.ʁi.nɛt/)

le piano (

/pja.nɔ/)

la guitare (

/ɡi.taʁ/)

le violon (

/vjɔ.lɔ̃/)

la batterie (

/batʀi/)

(upload audio)
la clarinette	/kla.ʁi.nɛt/ (help·info)	clarinet		Le son de cette clarinette est agréable.	The sound of this clarinet is nice.
le piano	/pja.nɔ/ (help·info)	piano		Elle joue du piano depuis l’âge de trois ans.	She plays the piano since the age of three.
la guitare	/ɡi.taʁ/ (help·info)	guitar
le violon	/vjɔ.lɔ̃/ (help·info)	violin		On danse au son du violon.	We are dancing to the sound of the violin.
la batterie	/batʀi/ (help·info)	drums	singular in French

Supplementary grammar · Indirect object pronouns lui and leur

The indirect object pronoun lui /lɥi/ means to him or to her:

Je lui donne le livre.^{I'm giving the book to him/her.}

Je lui donne un coup de main.^{I'm giving a hand to him/her.}

Likewise, the indirect object pronoun leur /lœʁ/ means to them:

Je leur donne le livre.^{I'm giving the book to them.}

Je leur donne un coup de main.^{I'm giving a hand to them.}

Lui replaces à [person]:

Je parle à Jean.^{I'm speaking to Jean.}

Je lui parle.^{I'm speaking to him.}

Likewise, leur replaces à [people]:

Je parle à Jean et Marie.^{I'm speaking to Jean and Marie.}

Je leur parle.^{I'm speaking to them.}

Lui and leur usually only refer to people; they will sometimes also be used in reference to things.

Examples

Supplementary grammar · Conjugated verb + infinitive

Like in English, some verbs can be followed by infinitives. Three -er verbs used in this manner are aimer, adorer, and détester:

Nous aimons jouer aux cartes.^{We like to play cards}

Je déteste jouer au golf.^{I hate playing golf.}

Il adore jouer aux jeux vidéo.^{He loves to play video games.}

Examples

Supplementary grammar · To have fun · S'amuser

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.