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Transcript of french lecture notes.pdf
French For Beginners Lecture Notes – Grammar and Vocabulary
Julien Pierre 2014/2015 MPU3202
1
La table des matières Informations pratiques ......................................................................................................................................... 3
L’alphabet ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
Les accents ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
La prononciation ................................................................................................................................................... 5
Gender .................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Subject Pronouns .................................................................................................................................................. 5
Les articles ............................................................................................................................................................ 6
Simple expressions................................................................................................................................................ 7
Les salutations .................................................................................................................................................. 7
Hellos and goodbyes ..................................................................................................................................... 7
How are you? ................................................................................................................................................ 7
Miscellaneous ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Simple expressions................................................................................................................................................ 6
Se présenter – Introduce yourself .................................................................................................................... 6
Le nom, the name ......................................................................................................................................... 6
La nationalité, the nationality ....................................................................................................................... 6
Quel, Quelle, Quels ou Quelles? ........................................................................................................................ 7
Les nationalités: .................................................................................................................................................... 7
Les pays, the countries: ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Les nombres, the numbers .................................................................................................................................. 10
La date ................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Les jours de la semaine ................................................................................................................................... 11
Les mois de l’année ......................................................................................................................................... 11
L’heure ................................................................................................................................................................ 12
À, AU, À L’, À LA, AUX, EN, CHEZ ......................................................................................................................... 13
Masculin, Féminin et Pluriel ............................................................................................................................... 14
General rule: add -s in the spelling ............................................................................................................. 14
2
Words already ending in -s or -x ................................................................................................................. 14
DE – DU – DE LA – DE L’ – DES ............................................................................................................................ 16
La négation ......................................................................................................................................................... 16
Les verbes réguliers: -ER ..................................................................................................................................... 17
L’impératif ........................................................................................................................................................... 18
Forming the imperative .............................................................................................................................. 18
Negative imperatives .................................................................................................................................. 18
Simple expressions.............................................................................................................................................. 19
Se présenter (2) – Introduce yourself (2) ........................................................................................................ 19
L’âge ............................................................................................................................................................ 19
L’ anniversaire ............................................................................................................................................. 19
La date de naissance ................................................................................................................................... 19
Présenter quelqu’un – Introduce someone .................................................................................................... 19
Le nom ........................................................................................................................................................ 19
La nationalité .............................................................................................................................................. 19
L’âge ............................................................................................................................................................ 20
Le domicile, l’adresse .................................................................................................................................. 20
Les professions .................................................................................................................................................... 21
Les couleurs ........................................................................................................................................................ 22
Décrire quelqu’un: Le visage ............................................................................................................................... 23
Décrire quelqu’un : les adjectifs ......................................................................................................................... 24
Les adjectifs......................................................................................................................................................... 26
Feminine ..................................................................................................................................................... 26
Plural ........................................................................................................................................................... 26
Position of the adjective ............................................................................................................................. 26
La Famille ............................................................................................................................................................ 27
Additional vocabulary ................................................................................................................................. 27
Les adjectifs possessifs ........................................................................................................................................ 28
Essential French Verbs ........................................................................................................................................ 30
3
Informations pratiques Bonjour, je m’appelle Julien, je suis votre professeur de français.
In this coursework booklet, you’ll find all the necessary tools to improve your French, to learn your
vocabulary and grammar rules.
This set of notes is only one tool that you can use to learn French. In the different chapters of this booklet,
you’ll find QR codes, by snapping them with your smartphone/tablet or just by clicking on them, it will send
you to a YouTube playlist where you’ll find videos related to the current lesson.
You can also find more information on the following sites:
http://www.rfi.fr/ RFI stands for Radio France International. There you can listen to its live stream or
access French language resources. You can listen to the “Journal en français facile” (The news in
simple French) which is a 10 minutes daily news report. It is rewritten using simple words, you can
download it along with the script. It may help you with your listening skills.
http://www.tv5.org/ TV5MONDE is an international French TV channel. Its website also proposes
many French languages references.
http://www.youtube.com Simply silly, but why don’t you give a try?! Tons of videos are available
there, use the search box!
http://www.fb.com/mr.julien.pierre My Facebook page where I usually post references, notices and
fun facts.
@merciprofesseur My twitter handle.
http://www.julienpierre.com My website, grouping all information about French language at MMU
Anything that is not covered here? Give me a holler!
Email: [email protected]
Office: Room ER3043, FCM building (that’s on the second floor)
Phone: Out of service at the moment.
Pigeon-hole: by the LIFE admin office (third flood of FCM building)
Consultation hours: follow this Google Calendar link
4
L’alphabet French has the same 26-letter alphabet as English, although the importance of each letter
varies.
A ah
B bay
C say
D day
E euh
F eff
G jay
H ash
I ee
J gee
K car
L ell
M emm
N enn
O oh
P pay
Q koo
R air
S ess
T tay
U oo
V vay
W doobla vay
X eex
Y ee grek
Z zed
Les accents
French also has 5 different accents:
acute é
grave à, è, ù
circumflex â, ê, î
umlaut ä, ë, ï
cedilla ç
5
Letter/ Lettre Pronunciation/ Prononciation
Example/ Exemple
A [ah] Un arbre a tree
B [bay] Un bébé a baby
C [say] Un cadeau / une cerise a gift/ a cherry
D [day] Un docteur a doctor
E [er] Une fenêtre a window
F [eff] Une fleur a flower
G [jay] Un général/ un gâteau a general/ a cake
H [ash] Un hôpital an hospital
I [eeh] Une île an island
J [gee] Un jouet a toy
K [car] Un kangourou a kangaroo
L [ell] Un lapin a rabbit
M [emm] Une maison a house
N [enn] Une nuit a night
O [oh] Une oreille an ear
P [pay] Un professeur a teacher
Q [koo] Une quantité a quantity
R [air] Un résumé a summary
S [ess] Un sac a bag
T [tay] Une table a table
U [oo] Une usine a factory
V [vay] Une voiture a car
W [dooba vay] Un week-end a week-end
X [eex] Un xylophone a xylophone
Y [ee grek] Un yaourt a yoghourt
Z [zed] Un zoo a zoo
Gender French has two genders: all nouns are either masculine or feminine. There is no neutral nouns.
The gender of a noun can’t be guessed, you have to memorize the meaning of a noun with its
gender altogether. The best way is to use an indefinite article such as ‘un’ or ‘une’:
e.g. une maison = a house or un sac = a bag
Subject Pronouns Many of the Romance languages, including Spanish and Italian, are "pro-drop," meaning that
the subject pronoun can be dropped because the verb conjugation is different for each
grammatical person. In other words, if a Spanish speaker says "Voy al mercado," everyone
knows that s/he means "I am going to the store." In contrast, French is not a pro-drop language
- subject pronouns are always required for all verb forms except the imperative.
La prononciation
6
Les articles As you can see in the table from the previous page, each word is preceded by an article: “un” or “une”.
Now, both of these words have the same translation in English: ‘a’.
How can one word in English have two different translations to French?
In French, the article will be different for masculine and feminine noun: UN marks the masculine for the word that follows UNE marks the feminine for the word that follows
But both of them are translated by ‘a’ in English.
For example: a table is feminine in French and will always be: une table a restaurant is masculine in French and will always be: un restaurant
then the table becomes la table the restaurant becomes le restaurant
Now, coming to the plural of things. In French both the noun and the article have to carry the mark of the plural which is (most of the times) -S. When it comes to plural, the articles don’t take into account the gender anymore, as: the tables become les tables, and the restaurants become les restaurants As for the indefinite articles, they don’t have a plural in English, as you would say: a table becomes (in a plural form) tables. You can notice the absence of article for the plural. In French, we have an article for the indefinite plural: des.
So that, tables become des tables and restaurants become des restaurants
Singulier Pluriel
masculin féminin masculin ou féminin
Articles indéfinis un une des
Articles définis le la les
l’ (devant a, e, i, o, u, h)
Attention: when you use the singular definite article in front of a noun that begins with a vowel or the letter H, you have to remove the last vowel of that article:
Le oiseau l’oiseau (the bird) La amie l’amie (the female friend) Le hôpital l’hôpital (the hospital)
7
Simple expressions
Les salutations
Hellos and goodbyesBonjour Hello (good morning, good afternoon)
Bonsoir Good evening
Salut Hi, goodbye (informal)
Au revoir Goodbye
À demain See you tomorrow
À lundi See you Monday
À bientôt See you soon
À plus tard See you later
Bonne journée Have a good day
Bonne soirée Have a good evening
How are you? Comment allez-vous? (Formal)
Comment vas-tu? (informal)
Comment ça va?
Ça va?
Je vais bien. I am fine.
Je ne vais pas bien I am not fine.
Je suis fatigué. I am tired.
Ça va bien. It’s going ok.
Et toi? And you? (Informal)
Et vous? And you? (Formal)
Miscellaneous Bienvenu Welcome
Enchanté Nice to meet you (if the person talking is male)
Enchantée Nice to meet you (if the person talking is female)
S’il vous plait Please (formal) S’il te plait Please (informal)
Merci Thank you
Merci beaucoup Thanks a lot
De rien You’re welcome
Je vous en prie You’re welcome
Excusez-moi Excuse me
Je suis désolé(e) I am sorry
Je suis en retard I am late
Madame Madam
Mademoiselle Miss
Monsieur Sir
Oui Yes
Non No
Simple expressions
Se présenter – Introduce yourself In French, we have different ways of saying the same thing, so I am giving you different ways to
say the same thing.
Le nom, the name Comment tu t’appelles? How are you called? (informal)
Comment vous vous appelez? How are you called? (formal)
Quel est ton nom? What is your name? (informal)
Quel est votre nom? What is your name? (formal)
Je m’appelle… (+your name) I am called…
Mon nom est… My name is…
Je suis… I am…
La nationalité, the nationality Quelle est ta nationalité? What is your nationality? (informal)
Quelle est votre nationalité? What is your nationality? (formal)
Je suis… français(e). I am… French.
malaisien(ne). Malaysian
indonésien(ne). Indonesian
iranien(ne). Iranian
botswanais(e). Motswana/ Botswanan.
D’où viens-tu? Where do you come from? (informal)
D’où venez-vous? Where do you come from? (formal)
Je viens… de France. I come… from France.
de Malaisie. from Malaysia.
d’Indonésie. from Indonesia
d’Iran. from Iran.
du Botswana. from Botswana
7
L’adresse
Où habites-tu? Where do you live? (informal) Où habitez-vous? Where do you live? (formal) J’habite à Cyberjaya. I live in Cyberjaya. J’habite en Malaisie. I live in Malaysia. J’habite dans une maison. I live in a house. J’habite dans un appartement. I live in a flat. J’habite 25, rue de Lyon à Paris. I live at 25 Lyon’s street in Paris.
Quel, Quelle, Quels ou Quelles?
To ask "what is ...?" or "what are ...?" use quel, quelle, quels or quelles followed by the
appropriate conjugation of être:
Quel est ton nom ? Quelle est ta nationalité ?
‘nom’ is masculine and singular ‘nationalité’ is feminine and singular
Quels sont tes loisirs ? Quelles sont tes passions ?
‘loisirs’ is masculine and plural ‘passions’ is feminine and plural
Les nationalités:
In French, according to the person you are talking about, you have to adapt the words
you use.
If you are a man, and you are talking about yourself, you will use the masculine form of
the words; the same will happen if you are talking about another man.
If you are a woman, and you are talking about yourself, you need to use the feminine
form of the words; the same will happen if you are talking about another woman.
This work for a lot of situations, here we will just go through the nationalities.
You can also use: - Quelle est ton adresse? - Mon adresse est 25, rue de Lyon à Paris.
8
Name of the country
(in French)
Nationality
Masculine
Nationality Feminine Nationality
English
Most of the nationality will follow one of these patterns: -AIS -AISE
La France Français Française French
L’Angleterre (fem.) Anglais Anglaise English
Le Japon Japonais Japonaise Japanese
Le Soudan Soudanais Soudanaise Sudanese
Le Botswana Botswanais Botswanaise Botswanan
La Thaïlande Thaïlandais Thaïlandaise Thai
-IEN -ENNE
La Malaisie Malaisien Malaisienne Malaysian
L’Indonésie (fem.) Indonésien Indonésienne Indonesian
Le Brésil Brésilien Brésilienne Brazilian
Le Vietnam Vietnamien Vietnamienne Vietnamese
L’Inde (fem.) Indien Indienne Indian
Singapour Singapourien Singapourienne Singaporean
L’Australie (fem.) Australien Australienne Australian
(Cont’d)
9
Some nationalities will follow the normal transformation to feminine :
add an extra -E
La Chine Chinois Chinoise Chinese
L’Amérique (fem.) Américain Américaine American
La Jamaïque Jamaïcain Jamaïcaine Jamaican
Le Maroc Marocain Marocaine Moroccan
L’Allemagne (fem.) Allemand Allemande German
L’Espagne (fem.) Espagnol Espagnole Spanish
La Mongolie Mongol Mongole Mongolian
Le Nigéria Nigérian Nigériane Nigerian
Some nationalities will be the same for masculine and feminine
(when the masculine already ends with –E)
La Belgique Belge Belge Belgian
La Suisse Suisse Suisse Swiss
Les pays, the countries:
In the chart above, you also have the names of countries. Most of them are quite similar to the
English versions, but you have to be careful with the spelling.
You can notice that the countries also have genders : All countries ending with –E are feminine
(except 6 of them : le Mexique, le Cambodge, le Belize, le Mozambique, le Zaïre et le Zimbabwe).
All countries ending with a different letter than –E are masculine.
This will lead to some changes in the way you use the names of countries in sentences.
There will be two major moments when you need to take the gender into account:
1. You will say: J’habite en France. (La France being a feminine country)
And J’habite au Japon. (Le Japon being a masculine country)
2. You will say : Je viens de France.
And Je viens du Japon.
Attention: Singapour, Cuba or Taiwan are special cases in French: An island name will be considered as
a name of a town, therefore, you will use it the way you use the name of a town:
J’habite à Singapour. J’habite à Cuba J’habite à Taiwan
Je viens de Singapour. Je viens de Cuba Je viens de Taiwan
10
Les nombres, the numbers In French, most of the numbers will work on a regular basis.
Nevertheless, the numbers below 17 are irregular. You have to make sure you learn
them very carefully.
Now from 20 to 69, things are quite easy and regular…
Now when we come to 70 +, there are some changes to follow:
1 un 2 deux 3 trois 4 quatre 5 cinq 6 six 7 sept 8 huit 9 neuf 10 dix
11 onze 12 douze 13 treize 14 quatorze 15 quinze 16 seize 17 dix-sept 18 dix-huit 19 dix-neuf
20 vingt
21 vingt-et-un 22 vingt-deux 23 vingt-trois 24 vingt-quatre 25 vingt-cinq 26 vingt-six 27 vingt-sept 28 vingt-huit 29 vingt-neuf
30 trente
31 trente-et-un 32 trente-deux 33 trente-trois 34 trente-quatre 35 trente-cinq 36 trente-six 37 trente-sept 38 trente-huit 39 trente-neuf
40 quarante
50 cinquante 60 soixante
100 cent
1000 mille
70 soixante-dix
71 soixante-et-onze
72 soixante-douze
73 soixante-treize
74 soixante-quatorze
75 soixante-quinze
76 soixante-seize
77 soixante-dix-sept
78 soixante-dix-huit
79 soixante-dix-neuf
80 quatre-vingt 81 quatre-vingt-un
82 quatre-vingt-deux
83 quatre-vingt-trois
84 quatre-vingt-quatre
85 quatre-vingt-cinq
86 quatre-vingt-six
87 quatre-vingt-sept
88 quatre-vingt-huit
89 quatre-vingt-neuf
90 quatre-vingt-dix
91 quatre-vingt-onze
92 quatre-vingt-douze
93 quatre-vingt-treize
94 quatre-vingt-quatorze
95 quatre-vingt-quinze
96 quatre-vingt-seize
97 quatre-vingt-dix-sept
98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit
99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
Here are a few interesting questions that
will need numbers as answers:
- Quel est ton numéro de téléphone?
- Quel est ton numéro de passeport ?
- Combien ça coute ?
- Quelle est ta taille/ ta pointure ?
11
La date
Les jours de la semaine
Les mois de l’année JANVIER January
Un
e an
née
FÉVRIER February
MARS March
AVRIL April
MAI May
JUIN June
JUILLET July
AOÛT August
SEPTEMBRE September
OCTOBRE October
NOVEMBRE November
DÉCEMBRE December
LUNDI MARDI MERCREDI JEUDI VENDREDI SAMEDI DIMANCHE
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Une semaine
Un jour a day
Une semaine a week
Un mois a month
Un an a year
Le matin the morning
Le midi noon
L’après midi the afternoon
Le soir the evening
La nuit the night
Avant before
Après after
Hier yesterday
Aujourd’hui today
Demain tomorrow
Un rendez-vous an appointment
VOCABULAIRE
La fréquence: une (deux/ trois...) fois par jour (semaine/ mois/année...) one (two / three...) time per day (week / month/ year...) Tous les lundis every Monday Chaque lundi each Monday Du lundi au vendredi from Monday till Friday Le lundi on Mondays Lundi dernier last Monday La semaine dernière last week Lundi prochain next Monday La semaine prochaine next week
Questions:
- Quelle est la date aujourd’hui? - Quand vas-tu à la maison ? - Quel jour tu as rendez-vous avec le docteur ?
12
L’heure
Questions: - Quelle heure est-il? - À quelle heure tu as rendez-vous avec Joseph ? - À quelle heure tu vas à l’université ? - À quelle heure commence le film ?
Vocabulaire: Être en avance to be early Être à l’heure to be on time Être en retard to be late
You have 2 different ways to tell the time. 1. You can use a 12 hours clock – in which case you have to give the time with a specification such as am or pm. In
French, we do not use these, instead we use the moment of the day. For example, 7am will be 7 in the morning (du matin) and 7 pm will be 7 in the evening (du soir). When you use a 12 hours clock you can give the time using quarters and half. For example, 7.30pm could be “half past seven” or 7.45 pm could be “quarter to eight”.
2. You can use a 24 hours clock – which is an official one (train schedules, important appointments...) – in which case 7 pm will become 19.00. If you use a 24hrs clock, you will give the time with numbers only. For example 7.45 pm (quarter to eight) will become 19.45 (nineteen forty-five)
13
À, AU, À L’, À LA, AUX, EN, CHEZ
Aller – Rester - Être
À + nom de ville CHEZ + nom de personne
à Paris à Londres
chez Jacques chez le médecin
EN / AU / AUX + nom de pays AU / À LA / AUX + autres noms de lieux
en France (la France) au Portugal (le Portugal) aux États-Unis (les États-Unis)
au cinéma (le cinéma) à la piscine (la piscine) aux toilettes (les toilettes)
Let’s look at some examples that demonstrate this.
English French
I am going to the doctor Je vais chez le médecin
She is going to the clinic Elle va à la clinique
We are going to the swimming pool Nous allons à la piscine
They are coming to the games Ils viennent aux matchs
Also in French there is a useful word (chez) for when you are referring
to a seeing a specific person at a place.
For example: I am going to the dentist - Je vais chez le dentiste.
English French
I am going to my place Je vais chez moi
She is going to her house Elle va chez elle
We are coming from our place Nous venons de chez nous
They are coming from their place Ils viennent de chez eux
Personal pronouns after a
preposition
(avec, sans, pour, sur…)
Moi Me
Toi You
Lui Him
Elle Her
Nous Us
Vous You
Eux Them (m.)
Elles Them (f.)
14
Masculin, Féminin et Pluriel How to form the plural (of nouns and adjectives) in French
Plural forms are forms that refer to "more than one" of something. In English, nouns are usually
marked as being plural by adding -s or -es: one book, two books; this blue box, these blue boxes.
Notice that in English, adjectives like blue don't change between singular and plural. But in
French, adjectives are also marked as being singular or plural. There are a few other types of
words that mark a difference between singular and plural. For example, we changed this to
these. However, on this page, we will be concerned with the plural of nouns and adjectives.
The most common rule for forming the plural of nouns and adjectives in French is actually very
simple:
add a final -s in the spelling to mark a noun or adjective as plural
General rule: add -s in the spelling Usually, the plural form of nouns and adjectives is straightforward in French: you just need to remember to
add an -s to both the noun and any adjective(s) that might be alongside it. For example, recalling that les (as
opposed to le or la) is the French for "the" in the plural:
Singular Plural
un livre a book
des livres books
une photo a picture
des photos pictures
un joli livre a nice book
des jolis livres nice books
une jolie photo a nice picture
des jolies photos nice pictures
Words already ending in -s or -x In the examples above, we slipped in the word gros ("big", "bulky") which actually already ends in -s in the
singular. Where a noun or adjective ends in -s in the singular, no further -s is added in the plural. The same is
true of words ending in -x, for example:
le prix the price/prize
les prix the prices/prizes
la voix the voice
les voix the voices
DE – DU – DE LA – DE L’ – DES To show possession of a noun, use de + the definite article
DE +
LE LA L' LES
= DU = DE LA = DE L' = DES
C’est un livre. C’est le livre de Sylvie
C’est une rue. C’est la rue du cinéma Rex
– Le stylo de la secrétaire
– les cahiers de l’étudiant – la photo des enfants
La négation A negative sentence is not a sentence that says something bad!
Here is an example of the transformation to a negative sentence in English:
I am tall. I am not tall.
In French, the negative form works in two parts: Ne….. Pas
The rule is that you have to put Ne…Pas on each side of the verb.
So, of course the first thing that you need to do is to find the verb (the action word) in the sentence.
For example:
Je suis grande. Je ne suis pas grande.
Subj. Verb Adjective Subj. ne Verb pas Adjective
Now, if it was that simple, it wouldn’t be fun! Sometimes, you will have to be careful when building a negative sentence. Problems happen when you are using the verb “avoir”
J’ai une maison. Je n’ai pas de maison.
Tu as un chien. Tu n’as pas de chien.
Nous avons des voitures. Nous n’avons pas de voitures.
So you can notice here that the articles « un », « une » and « des » when put into a negative sentence are transformed into « de »
Attention!
Il y a Il n’y a pas (de)
17
Les verbes réguliers: -ER In French, the verbs are divided into three groups. The verbs from the first 2 groups are to be conjugated
in a regular way. The third group is filled with all the irregular verbs.
The verbs from the 1st group are the verbs with the infinitive ending
with: -ER.
A lot of verbs in French are from the first group: Danser (to dance), chanter (to sing), regarder (to look at), travailler (to work), voyager (to travel), manger (to eat), jouer (to play), aimer (to like), détester (to hate), appeler (to call), acheter (to buy), parler (to speak), habiter (to live)…
These verbs are composed of 2 parts: - First the beginning (or the stem), which is the part that will not change at the beginning of the word. - Second is the ending which will change according to which pronoun you are using.
For example: Jouer is composed of ‘jou’ as the beginning and ‘er’ as ending. If we conjugate the verb, ‘jou’ will not change, only the ending ‘er’ will, as you can see in the example.
Jouer – to play
Je joue Tu joues Il/elle/on joue Nous jouons Vous jouez Ils/elles jouent
As you can see, you just have to change the ending of the verb, according to the subject. You replace the infinitive ending -ER with the proper ending. Therefore, you mostly need to learn the endings that will be used for all those verbs, which are:
-E -ES -E -ONS -EZ -ENT
Be careful! In French, there is only one present tense. See note page 10
The infinitive of a verb is its base
In English, you can recognize the infinitive because it comes as the following form:
-to eat
-to work
-to dance
-to travel to is the mark of the infinitive. e.g.: To be is the infinitive, I am is its conjugation. In French, the mark of the infinitive is the ending of the verb:
-manger
-travailler
-danser
-voyager You can see that the ‘to’ part is not translated in French, but you can find its equivalent in the ending of the verb.
18
L’impératif
Forming the imperative
To form the imperative, drop the tu, vous or nous and keep the verb in the present tense:
Aller : Nous allons allons ! (let’s go !) Faire : vous faites faites ! (do !)
With -er verbs, take the final -s off the tu form of the verb: Regarder : tu regardes regarde! (look!)
Negative imperatives The imperative is often used in the negative. Just place the negative forms around the verb:
Ne regarde pas la télé! (Don't watch TV!) Ne mangez pas ça! (Don't eat that!) Ne viens plus chez moi! (Don't come to my place anymore!) N'allez plus au parc! (Don't go to the park anymore!)
If you want to suggest doing something, use the imperative form of nous:
Allons à la piscine! (Let's go to the swimming pool!)
Prenons un taxi! (Let's take a taxi!)
19
Simple expressions
Se présenter (2) – Introduce yourself (2)
L’âge Quel âge as-tu? How old are you? (informal)
Quel âge avez-vous? How old are you? (formal)
J’ai _____ ans. I am _____ years old
L’ anniversaire Quand est ton anniversaire? When is your birthday? (informal) Quand est votre anniversaire? When is your birthday? (formal)
Mon anniversaire est le 5 janvier. My birthday is the 5th of January.
La date de naissance Quand es-tu né? (masculine) When were you born? (If you ask a boy) Quand es-tu née? (feminine) When were you born? (If you ask a girl)
Je suis né le 5 janvier 1989. (masc.) I was born on the 5th of january. Je suis née le 5 janvier 1989. (fem.) I was born on the 5th of january.
Présenter quelqu’un – Introduce someone
Le nom Comment il s’appelle? Il s’appelle… Comment elle s’appelle? Elle s’appelle… (+Nom) Quel est son nom? Son nom est….
La nationalité Quelle est sa nationalité? Il est…/ Elle est… (+Nationalité)
D’où vient-il? Il vient de… (+Pays)
D’où vient-elle? Elle vient de…
Be careful! In French, you cannot use the verb être (to be) when giving your age. You must use avoir (to have).
You can also use another set of questions, such as: -Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire? -Quelle est ta date de naissance ?
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L’âge Quel est son âge? Il a …ans./ Elle a… ans.
Quand est son anniversaire? Son anniversaire est le…
Quand est-il né ? Il est né le… (+Date)
Quand est-elle née ? Elle est née le…
Le domicile, l’adresse Où habite-t-il? Il habite … Où habite-t-elle? Elle habite… Quelle est son adresse ? Son adresse est...
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Les professions Usually, when you are referring to a man you will use the masculine and the feminine when you refer to a woman. In French, the professions will usually have the 2 forms, masculine and feminine. So the spelling of the word will depend on who you are referring to. The basic transformation from masculine to feminine is to add -e at the end, but there will be some exceptions...
For example: Un avocat is a male lawyer.
Une avocate is a female lawyer.
Here are a few examples of other transformations into feminine:
Un étudiant une étudiante a student
Un employé une employée an employee
Un infirmier une infirmière a nurse
Un policier une policière a policeman / woman
Un serveur une serveuse a waiter/a waitress
Un coiffeur une coiffeuse a hairdresser
Un vendeur une vendeuse a salesman/saleswoman
Un acteur une actrice an actor/an actress
Un agriculteur une agricultrice a farmer
Un musicien une musicienne a musician
Un électricien une électricienne an electrician
Some are irregular ones:
Un chanteur une chanteuse a singer
Some don’t change whether they are used to refer to masculine or to feminine, because the masculine form already
ends with an –E:
Un comptable une comptable an accountant
Un journaliste une journaliste a journalist
Un dentiste une dentiste a dentist
Un pilote une pilote a pilot
And some exception words are only used in masculine (even if you are talking about a woman!):
Un professeur un médecin un écrivain
A teacher a doctor a writer
We also have some special ones:
Un homme d’affaire une femme d’affaire a businessman / woman
Un homme au foyer une femme au foyer a house husband(?) / wife
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Les couleurs In French, the colors, like any adjective, must match the gender of the object they are related to.
If the color refers to a masculine object, the color will also be masculine. If the color refers to a feminine
object, the color will have to take the feminine form. You will also have to match the number.
masc. sing fem. sing masc. plu. fem. plu
purple violet violette violets violettes
blue bleu bleue bleus bleues
green vert verte verts vertes
yellow jaune jaune jaunes jaunes
orange orange orange orange orange
red rouge rouge rouges rouges
black noir noire noirs noires
white blanc blanche blancs blanches
grey gris grise gris grises
brown marron marron marron marron
pink rose rose roses roses
In French, like most adjectives, the color will come after the object it refers to.
A white bag Un sac blanc The purple flower La fleur violette
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Décrire quelqu’un: Le visage When you want to describe someone, you would want to talk about the color of the eyes, of the hair, the size
of the nose maybe, or even if he or she has a big mouth! Here is some vocabulary to help you.
If you want to say that your friend has a black moustache, the color (here, black) will go afterthe object…
Example: He has a black moustache.
Il a une moustache noire.
The color will take the sign of the feminine, if it refers to a feminine object (Here, une moustache, une barbe,
une bouche) and the sign of the plural if it refers to a plural object (Here, les cheveux, les yeux, des lunettes).
Example: She has black eyes.
Elle a les yeux noirs.
For the hair, you will have extra colors: blond, brun, roux. These are used only when you refer to the hair. To
describe the hair, you can use: longs (long), courts (short), raides (straight), frisés (curly)...
Normally the adjectives come before the word they refer to, but for the hair it comes after.
Examples: She has long hair. Elle a les cheveux longs.
We have long black hair. Nous avons les cheveux longs et noirs
Avoir:
Les cheveux: courts/ longs
noirs / blonds/ marron/ roux
raides (straight) / frisés (curly)
Les yeux : noirs, marron, verts, bleus, gris…
Des lunettes, une moustache, une barbe….
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Décrire quelqu’un : les adjectifs
Masculine Feminine English agréable agréable Nice
amoureux amoureuse In love
amusant amusante Funny
bavard bavarde Talkative
beau belle Beautiful / handsome
blond blonde Blond-haired
brun brune Dark-haired
célèbre célèbre Famous
courageux courageuse Brave
dangereux dangereuse Dangerous
difficile difficile Difficult
élégant élégante Smart (well-dressed)
embêtant embêtante Annoying (for someone)
énervé énervée Irritated / angry
ennuyeux ennuyeuse Boring
étrange étrange Strange
facile facile Easy
gentil gentille Kind
grand grande (for someone) / big (for something)
gros grosse Fat
heureux heureuse Happy
honnête honnête Honest impatient impatiente Impatient
intelligent intelligente Clever
intéressant intéressante Interesting
jaloux jalouse Jealous
jeune jeune Young
joli jolie Cute
joyeux joyeuse Glad
laid laide Ugly
malheureux malheureuse Unhappy
marrant marrante Funny
mince mince Thin
paresseux paresseuse Lazy
patient patiente Patient
petit petite Small / short (height)
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peureux peureuse Fearful
poli polie Polite
roux rousse Red-haired
sérieux sérieuse Serious
simple simple Simple
sportif sportive Athletic
surpris surprise Surprised
sympathique sympathique Friendly
timide timide Shy
travailleur travailleuse Hard-working
triste triste Sad
vieux vieille Old
Remember: If you are talking about a man, you should use the masculine of the adjectives. If
you are talking about a woman, you should use the feminine.
Example: He is tall. Il est grand.
She is tall. Elle est grande.
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Les adjectifs
Feminine
The adjectives are the words that you use when you want to describe someone or something. For example
when you say:
“Jean has a big grey house.”
“big” is an adjective. “grey” is also an adjective. They both are used to describe the house, meaning that both
of them are in relation to the word “house”.
Now, as you know, in French all nouns, objects have a gender (masculine or feminine).
Here, a house, in French, is feminine: “une maison”. Well, the adjectives will have to follow the gender of
the object/ person they are describing. Therefore, here, “big” and “grey”, as they are referring to the
house, will have to be used in their feminine forms, which give us: “grande” and “grise” Another important point is, in French, the colors will always be placed after the noun they are describing.
Therefore, if we translate this sentence it will give us: “Jean a une grande maison grise.”
Plural
Now let’s take another example, if I say: “Jonathan and Daniel are tall.”
What is the adjective in this sentence? ... It is “tall”. And who is tall? In other words, to which words refers “tall” in that sentence? Well, “Jonathan and Daniel” are the ones who are “tall”, agreed? So, as we modify the adjective when it refers to a feminine noun, we will also modify it when it refers to a plural.
Therefore, here, we will have: “Jonathan et Daniel sont grands.”
Position of the adjective
Most of the time, any adjective in French will come after the noun it describes, but there is an exceptions.
Try to remember those exceptions using the following acronym: BAGS
Exemples : Pierre a une petite voiture bleue.
Katy est une jeune fille française.
J’ai une grande maison rouge à Melaka.
beauty beau, belle, joli(e)
age jeune, vieux, vieille
good/bad bon(ne), mauvais(e)
size grand(e), petit(e)
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La Famille English French English French
A father un père A mother une mère
A brother un frère A sister une sœur
A son un fils A daughter une fille
A husband un mari A wife une femme
A grandfather un grand-père A grandmother une grand-mère
A grandson un petit-fils A granddaughter une petite-fille
A cousin – male un cousin A cousin – female une cousine
An uncle un oncle An aunt une tante
A nephew un neveu A niece une nièce
Additional vocabulary
maman mum (mummy) papa dad (daddy) mamie / mémé granny papy / pépé granddad
une sœur aînée an older sister une sœur cadette a younger sister une sœur jumelle a twin sister des sœurs jumelles twin sisters
un frère aîné an older brother un frère cadet a younger brother un frère jumeau a twin brother des frères jumeaux twin brothers
une belle-sœur a sister-in-law un beau-frère a brother-in-law des beaux-parents parents-in-law une belle-mère a step-mother / a mother-in-law un beau-père a step-father / a father-in-law une demi-sœur a step-sister / a half-sister un demi-frère a step-brother / a half-brother l’amie de mon père my father’s girl friend l’ami de ma mère my mother’s boyfriend
marié(e) married Ils sont mariés. They are married. fiancé(e) engaged
célibataire single divorcé(e) divorced séparé(e) separated
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Les adjectifs possessifs Singular Plural
English Masculine Feminine Before vowel
my mon ma mon mes
your (tu form) ton ta ton tes
his, her, its son sa son ses
our notre notre notre nos
your (vous form) votre votre votre vos
their leur leur leur leurs
As you can see, all the men in the family vocabulary are masculine words (UN père, UN oncle...). It means that even if you are a woman, your father is still a man and therefore the word “père” will always remain a masculine word. That is to say that you will always have a masculine article preceding the word.
un père (a father) / mon père (my father) / ton père (your father) / son père (his/her father)
The same goes for the women in the family. The words will always be feminine (UNE mère, UNE sœur...). That is why these words will always be preceded by a feminine article.
une mère (a mother)/ ma mère (my mother) / ta mère (your mother) / sa mère (his/her mother)
As for plurals, you will also have to use a different possessive adjective
mon père, ma mère BUT mes parents
And this can be applied to any possession.
mon livre, ma maison, mes livres, mes maisons
If the possessive adjective is followed by a vowel, use the masculine form in any singular case.
mon ami, mon amie, mes amis, mes amies
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La maison
Vocabulaire l’appartement the apartment la maison the house l’entrée (fem.) the entrance (hall) le salon the living room la cuisine the kitchen le bureau the office / study la salle à manger the dining room la salle de bains the bathroom la salle de jeux the games room la chambre the bedroom les toilettes (fem.plur.) the toilet la douche the shower la cave the cellar le garage the garage le jardin the garden le balcon the balcony le couloir the corridor le grenier the attic
Nombres ordinaux Ordinal numbers are used to express rank or position - in other words, ordinal numbers are used for ordering, as opposed to cardinal numbers which are used for counting.
first premier première
1st 1er 1re
second deuxième 2nd 2e
third troisième 3rd 3e
fourth quatrième 4th 4e
fifth cinquième 5th 5e
sixth sixième 6th 6e
seventh septième 7th 7e
eighth huitième 8th 8e
ninth neuvième 9th 9e
tenth dixième 10th 10e
Tu habites où? - J’habite en ville I live in town - J’habite à la campagne I live in the countryside
To describe: chez at (someone’s place) il y a there is / there are il n’y a pas de there is not/ there are not Au sous-sol in the basement Au rez-de-chaussée on the ground floor Au premier étage on the first floor Au deuxième étage on the second floor
All ordinal numbers (except first) are created from their
corresponding cardinal number:
number drop the final e (if any) add -ième
six six sixième
onze onz onzième
vingt et un vingt et un vingt et unième
"First" is the only ordinal number that doesn't follow the above rule:
premier (masculine) and première (feminine). Note that twenty-first,
thirty-first, etc. do follow it.
Watch out for the spelling changes in cinquième and neuvième Ordinal numbers are not used to talk about dates in French,
except for premier
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Essential French Verbs
Here are a few very important verbs that you should know.
We have a few differences in French in using the verbs:
We have 2 you, tu is informal and singular, vous is formal and plural (formal and informal plural).
We have of 2 they, ils is used to refer to a masculine group or a mixed group.
elles is used to refer a female group.
The French verbs avoir (to have), être (to be), and faire (to do/make) are the most important French verbs. They are used in some of the ways that we use them in English as well as in many expressions. Conjugations for all three of these verbs are irregular.
Avoir - to have Être - to be Faire - to do, make
J'ai un livre. I have a book.
Je suis à Paris. I am in Paris.
Je fais mon lit. I'm making my bed.
Nous avons une voiture. We have a car.
Nous sommes très contents. We are very happy.
Nous faisons nos devoirs. We do our homework.
J’ai1 Tu as Il/Elle a Nous avons Vous avez Ils/Elles ont
Je suis Tu es Il/Elle est Nous sommes Vous êtes Ils/Elles sont
Je fais Tu fais Il/Elle fait Nous faisons Vous faites Ils/Elles font
In French, we only have one present tense; that is why “je fais” can be translated into either “I do” or “I am
doing”
ATTENTION: As French only have one present tense, you can’t say “Je suis fais mes devoirs” to say “I’m
doing my homework” but instead say “Je fais mes devoirs”. If you want to use a continuous present, use
the following structure:
ÊTRE + EN TRAIN DE + INFINITIVE
E.g. Je suis en train de faire mes devoirs
Elle est en train de faire ses devoirs
1 If a verb starts with a vowel or the letter H, then Je will be spelled as J’
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Aller - to go Habiter - to live
Je vais Tu vas Il/Elle va Nous allons Vous allez Ils/Elles vont
J’habite Tu habites Il/Elle habite Nous habitons Vous habitez Ils/Elles habitent
Vouloir – to want Pouvoir – to be able to
Je veux Tu veux Il/elle/on veut Nous voulons Vous voulez Ils/elles veulent
Je peux Tu peux Il/elle/on peut Nous pouvons Vous pouvez Ils/elles peuvent
Savoir et Connaitre
Savoir and connaître are used in different contexts or to describe different degrees of knowledge.
Savoir is used for facts, things known by heart, or abilities. When followed by an infinitive, savoir
indicates knowing how to do something. (Je sais jouer de la guitare.) Connaître is used for people and
places and represents a personal acquaintance or familiarity.
Savoir – to know Connaitre – to know
Je sais Tu sais Il/elle/on sait Nous savons Vous savez Ils/elles savent
Je connais Tu connais Il/elle/on connait Nous connaissons Vous connaissez Ils / elles connaissent
danser, parler français
je sais
comment il s’appelle
l’Italie
je connais Nicolas Legrand
un bon médecin