MT French Basic

7/28/2019 MT French Basic

1/37

MICHEL THOMAS FRENCH (BASIC) COURSE, 8 CDs

TRANSCRIPT

This is an approximate transcript of the course, since Michel often changed his mind in

the middle of a sentence to be translated, or adapted his sentences for the students. The

booklet that accompanied Michel's courses was wholly inadequate, so I have written thistranscript. I have found it useful, so maybe other people will, too.

Naturally, it would be foolish to try to learn the language using this transcript, withoutbuying the recordings.

Note that English is my native language, so I don't guarantee that there are no mistakes.

Tracks and track times in the recording are shown in brackets.

Version 2, Jan 15th 2006

Transcribed by JK

CD 1 (58.09)

(1) 4.49(2) 9.18

(-ible words stay the same in french)

possible possible(-able words stay the same in French)table table

comfortable confortable

possibletable

comfortableit is, that is c'est

life la vie

it is possible c'est possible

it is comfortable c'est confortablegood bon

it is good c'est bon

very trs

it is very good c'est trs bon

it is very comfortable c'est trs confortable

probable probable

acceptable acceptable

it is acceptable c'est acceptable

for me pour moi

it is for me c'est pour moifor you pour vous

it is for you c'est pour vous

it is very comfortable for me c'est trs confortable pour moi

it is


2/37

it is not ce n'est pas

not pas

it is not for me thank you ce n'est pas pour moi merci

thanks merci

it is

it is notit is not for me

not for me thanks pas pour moi merci

it is not very comfortable for me ce n'est pas trs confortable pour moi(3) 5.12

so-so comme ci, comme a

(literally like this, like that)

like that, that way comme a

it is like that c'est comme a

it is not like that ce n'est pas comme a

it is not possible for me that way ce n'est pas possible pour moi comme a

it is not possible for me like thatI'm sorryje regrette

I'm sorry, butje regrette, maisI'm sorry but it is not very comfortable for me that wayje regrette, mais ce n'est pas

trs confortable pour moi comme a

I'm sorry but it is not acceptable for me that wayje regrette, mais ce n'est pasacceptable pour moi comme a

it is very remarkable c'est trs remarquable

considerable considerable

(4) 8.41(-ent, -antwords stay the same in French)

different diffrent

important important

it is not very difficult that way ce n'est pas trs diffrent comme a

but it is very important for me mais c'est trs important pour moi

(the s oftrs leans into a following vowel, sounding like az, i.e. tre zimportant)evident vident

recent rcent

constant constant

(-ary words become -aire in French)necessary ncessaire

it is not necessary for me ce n'est pas ncessaire pour moi

contrary contraire

on the contrary au contraire

military militaire

vocabulary vocabulaireI would likeje voudrais

to speakparler

to speak French parler franais

I would like to speak Frenchje voudrais parler franais


3/37

with avec

with you avec vous

with me avec moi

I would like to speak French with youje voudrais parler franais avec vous

will you, will you please voulez-vous

will you speak French with me voulez-vous parler franais avec moito come venir

will you come with me voulez-vous venir avec moi

to eat mangerwill you eat voulez-vous manger

to come


will you come eat with me voulez-vous venir manger avec moi

(5) 4.55

to go aller

to come

to gowill you go eat with me voulez-vous aller manger avec moi

where owhere do you want to go o voulez-vous aller?

where do you want to go eat o voulez-vous aller manger?

tonight, this evening ce soirit is for tonight c'est pour ce soir

it is for me c'est pour moi

it is for tonight c'est pour ce soir

where do you want to go eat tonight o voulez-vous aller manger ce soir

to have dinnerdner

where do you want to have dinner tonight? o voulez-vous dner ce soir?

do you want to come have dinner with me tonight? voulez-vous venir diner avec moi ce

soir?

(6) 4.25

to know savoirI would like to knowje voudrais savoir

I would like to know whereje voudrais savoir o

I would like to know where it isje voudrais savoir ou c'est

how much combien

I would like to know how much it isje voudrais savoir combien c'est

something quelque chose

thing la chose

the same thing la mme chose

I would like to eat somethingje voudrais manger quelque chose

I would like to eat the same thingje voudrais manger la mme chosewill you

do you want

do you want to eat something? voulez-vous manger quelque chose?

do you want to eat the same thing? voulez-vous manger la mme chose?


4/37

the same thing for me please la mme chose pour moi s'il vous plat

please s'il vous plat

I would like the same thing for me pleaseje voudrais la mme chose pour moi s'il vous

plat

(7) 7.17

(-ence, -ance words stay the same in French)difference diffrence

preference prfrer

importance importanceinfluence influence

difference

the difference la diffrence

a difference une diffrence

the difference

a difference

what difference quelle diffrence

what, which quellethe preference

a preferencewhat preference

have you, do you have avez-vous

do you have a preference? avez-vous une prfrence?what preference do you have? quelle prfrence avez-vous?

for what restaurant do you have a preference tonight? pour quel restaurant avez-vous

une prfrence ce soir?

(-ion words stay the same in French)opinion opinion

condition condition

the conditiona condition

what condition

position positionthe position

a position

what position

reservation rservation

the reservation

a reservation

what reservationhave you, do you have

do you have a reservation for me for tonight? avez-vous une rservation pour moi pour

ce soir?(8) 9.02

what kind quelle sorte

ofde


5/37

what kind of reservation do you have for me for tonight? quelle sorte de rservation

avez-vous pour moi pour ce soir?

will youdo you want

what kind of reservation do you want for tonight? quelle sorte de rservation voulez-

vous pour ce soir?(the 1200 nouns which end-ion in French are identical in English, there are only three

exceptions)

translation traductionI would like a translationje voudrais une traduction

to do, to make faire

will you make a reservation for me? voulez-vous faire une rservation pour moi?

what kind of reservation to you want to make? quelle sorte de rservation voulez-vous

faire?

will you make a translation for me? voulez-vous faire une traduction pour moi?

explanation explication

to give donnerwill you give an explanation for me? voulez-vous donner une explication pour moi?

vacation les vacancesto spend (time) passer

to spend (money) dpenser

to spend the vacation passer les vacanceswhere do you want to spend the vacation? o voulez-vous passer les vacances?

the situation la situation

what impression do you have? quelle impression avez-vous?

what impression do you have of the situation? quelle impression avez-vous de la

situation?

(9) 4.30

(-ical words become -ique in French)political politique

economical conomique

philosophical philosophiqueastronomical astronomique

logical logique

practical pratique

it is not logical, but it is very practical that way ce n'est pas logique, mais c'est trs

pratique comme a

(French adjectives follow the noun)

the political situation la situation politique

the economical situation la situation conomique

and et

the political and economic situation la situation politique et conomiquein France, to France en France

I would like to go to Franceje voudrais aller en France

I would like to spend the vacation in Franceje voudrais passer les vacances en France

(end of recording)


6/37

CD 2 (61.27)

(1) 8.38

what impression do you have of the political and economical situation in France? quelle

impression avez-vous de la situation politique et conomique en France?

at the present time prsent

what kind of reservation do you have for me? quelle sorte de rservation avez-vouspour moi?

what kind of reservation do you want for tonight? quelle sorte de rservation voulez-

vous pour ce soir?(consonants at the end of the word are not sounded, unless they are followed by a silent

-e)

small petit

it is very small c'est trs petit

too, too much trop

it is too small c'est trop petit

late tard

it is very late c'est trs tardit is too late c'est trop tard

it is too much for me c'est trop pour moi(pronunciation ofpetite,grande)

he is big il est grand

she is big elle est grandeshe is little elle est petite

(pronunciation ofvit, vite)

fast vit

it is very fast c'est trs vit

it is too fast for me c'est trop vite pour moi

(2) 5.57

to speak(infinitive verbs end-re.g.parler)

you speakvous parlez

you speak too fast for me vous parlez trop vit pour moito go aller

you go, you are going vous allez

you are going too fast for me vous allez trop vite pour moi

it is very good c'est trs bon

so si

it is so good c'est si bon

ifsi

if it is so good si c'est si bon

I would like to know if it is so good je voudrais savoir si c'est si bon

why pourquoiI would like to know why it is so good je voudrais savoir pourquoi c'est si bon

to go

you are going

I would like to know where you are goingje voudrais savoir o vous allez


7/37

to have dinner

I would like to know where you are going to have dinner tonightje voudrais savoir ovous allez dner ce soir

(3) 10.00

port, harbourport

airport aroportdoorporte

(for consonance may be pronounced at the end of the word: c, r,f, l, the so-called

careful consonants. For example avec, sac, but not words ending-nc e.g. blanc)bag sac

white blanc

franc franc

white wine vin blanc

a glass un verre

a glass of white wine un verre de vin blanc

I would like a glass of white wine je voudrais un verre de vin blanc

bottle bouteilleI would like a bottleje voudrais une bouteille

I would like a bottle of white wineje voudrais une bouteille de vin blancwatereau

from de

I would like a glass of white wineje voudrais un verre de vin blancI would like a glass of waterje voudrais un verre d'eau

I would like a glass of mineral waterje voudrais un verre d'eau minrale

(words ending-el, -alare the same in French)

normal normal

normally normallement

general gnral

generally gnralement

animal animal

special spcial

it is very specialespecially for you spcialement pour vous

I would like a glass of mineral water

cup tasse

I would like a cup of coffeeje voudrais une tasse de caf

(4) 4.36

still, still more encore

a little un peu

I would like a littleje voudrais un peu

late

it is very late c'est trs tardit is too late c'est trop tard

later, more late plus tard

to come

will you come latervoulez-vous venir plus tard


8/37

a little un peu

a little laterun peu plus tard

will you come a little latervoulez-vous venir un peu plus tard

now maintenant

not now pas maintenant

possiblepossibly possiblement

not now, possibly a little laterpas maintenant, possiblement un peu plus tard

(5) 4.57I would like to eat somethingje voudrais manger quelque chose

("s" between two vowels has the sound of a "z")

something

the same thingI would like to eat the same thingje voudrais manger la mme chose

otherautre

the other thing l'autre chose

another thing une autre chosesomething else autre chose

I would like something elseje voudrais autre choseto see voir

goodbye au revoir

to seeI would like to see something elseje voudrais voir autre chose

do you have something else? avez-vous autre chose?

do you want something else? voulez-vous autre chose?

(6) 8.04to know savoir

to have avoir

to see voir

I would like to have something elseje voudrais avoir autre chose

I would like to knowje voudrais savoir

I would like a glass of white wineje voudrais un verre de vin blancI would like another glass of white wineje voudrais encore un verre de vin blanc

another please! (to waiter) encore

I would like another bottle of white wineje voudrais encore une bouteille de vin blanc

I would like a cup of coffeeje voudrais une tasse de caf

I would like another cup of coffee je voudrais encore une tasse de caf

I would like a glass of mineral waterje voudrais un verre d'eau minrale

I would like another glass of mineral waterje voudrais encore un verre d'eau minrale

(7) 4.34

(the final-ris pronounced, except in -ere.g.parler. 90% of French verbs end-er)

to gobeefbuf

(8) 8.39

(explanation of what noun, adjective and verb means. Infinitives end-er, -irand-re)

to leave partir


9/37

to sleep dormir

to know

to understand comprendre

to do, make

(when two or three verbs appear consecutively, all but the first are in infinite form)

will youto come

to eat

will you come eat with me voulez-vous venir manger avec moiI mustje dois

I must speak with youje dois parler avec vous

will you speak French with me voulez-vous parler franais avec moi

I must know where it isje dois savoir o c'est

I amje suis

tired fatigu

I am tired

I am very tired nowbusy occup

I am very busy now(9) 6.02

a little

I can je peuxI can a littleje peux un peu


not for me thank you pas pour moi merci

I canI cannotje ne peux pas

(French uses a negative signalne for any kind of negation, which is often dropped in the

spoken language, e.g "I cannot"je peux pas)I am

I am notje ne suis pas

I'm not tired nowje ne suis pas fatigu maintenantbut I'm very busy now maisje suis trs fatigu maintenant

I'm sorry, but

but I'm not very busy now maisje ne suis pas trs occup maintenant

(end of recording)


10/37

CD 3 (62.22)

(1) 4.41

to wait attendre

to leave

I am sorry but I cannot wait because I have to leave nowje regrette, mais je ne peux

pas attendre parce que je dois partir maintenantI'm sorryje suis dsole

I'm sorry, butje suis dsole, mais

I canI cannot

(2) 6.08

I'm sorry but I cannot come with you now because I am very busyje suis desole, maisje ne peux pas venir avec vous parce que je suis trs occup

I would like to speak with youje voudrais parler avec vous

I have to speak with you

you speakje voudrais encore une tasse de caf

(in a question, invert the subject and verb)do you speak? parlez-vous?

to speak French? parlez-vous franais?to go

you are going vous allez

are you going? allez-vous?where are you going? o allez-vous?

to have dinner

where are you going to have dinner tonight? o allez-vous dner ce soir?

(3) 3.48to leave

you are leaving vous partez

at what time? quelle heure?

at what time are you leaving? quelle heure partez-vous?

at what time do you leave?

to stay resteryou are staying vous restez

I am stayingje reste

he

he is staying il reste

she

she is staying elle reste

my friend mon ami

my friend is staying mon ami reste

everybody tout le monde

(4) 3.20I am staying

I am not staying

I don't stay


11/37

(there are three ways to express the present tense in English, which are all translated the

same way into French)

(5) 3.10I am busy

I am not busy now

I am tiredI am not tired

ready prt

I am ready (spoken by man)je suis prtI am ready (spoken by woman) je suis prte

he is il est

he is reading il est prt

she is reading elle est prte

to stay

(6) 6.44

I am staying

I'm readyI am eating

I am speakingdo you speak?

are you speaking?

to waityou wait vous attendez

wait a moment! attendez! attendez un moment!

you are waiting

you are not waiting vous n'attendez pas

you don't wait

why

why do you wait? pourquoi attendez-vous?

why are you waiting?

to leave

at what timeat what time do you leave? quelle heure partez-vous?

at what time are you leaving?

(7) 11.25

we, us nouswe are leaving nous partons

you are waiting

we are waitingyou speak

we speak

to start commenceryou are starting vous commencez

we are starting nous commencons

at what time are you starting? quelle heure commencez-vous?

at what time do you start?


12/37

tomorrow

at what time are we starting tomorrow? quelle heure commencons-nous demain?

I am readyI am starting

I am not starting

he is startingshe is starting

she is ready

she is startingshe is not starting

she doesn't start

it is

it is notit, this, that (at beginning of sentence) a

it starts a commence

it is ready c'est prt

it is starting a commenceit is possible

it is very importantit is very different

it is not necessary

it is startingit is not ready a n'est pas prt

it is not starting a ne commence pas

it doesn't start

I canhe can il peut

she can elle peut

it can start now a peut commencer maintenant

it must start now a doit commencer maintenant

(8) 5.54

(many French words can be guessed, such as "arrive"arriver)arrive arriver

at what time do you arrive tomorrow? quelle heure arrivez-vous demain?

at what time are you arriving? quelle heure arrivez-vous?

morning matin

tomorrow morning demain matin

morning (the whole morning) matine

to spend the whole morning passer la matine

to spend the whole evening passer la soire

good day bonjour

dayjourto spend the whole day passer la journe

in, to (a city)

at to (a country) en


13/37

at what time do we arrive in Paris tomorrow morning? quelle heure arrivons-nous

Paris demain matin?

I amI am arrivingj'arrive

I am busy

I am tiredI'm ready

I am eating

(9) 7.44he is ready

he is arriving

she is ready

she is arrivingsoon bientt

so long, until soon bientt

she is arriving soon elle arrive bientt

today aujourd'hui(au is short for le)

the restaurant le restaurantat the restaurant au restaurant

the office le bureau

I am at the officeje suis au bureaunot today pas aujourd'hui

to be tre

here ici

I would like to be hereje voudrais tre ici

I would like to be here with you je voudrais tre ici avec vous

at what time are you going to be here? quelle heure allez-vous tre ici?

I havej'ai

I have something for youj'ai quelque chose pour vous

I have a message for you j'ai un message pour vous

(10) 9.28he has il a

he has something for you il a quelque chose pour vous

I have

I don't haveje n'ai pas

he has

he doesn't have il n'a pas

I am hungryj'ai faim

I would like to eat something now because I'm hungryje voudrais manger quelque

chose parce que j'ai faim

I am goingje vaisI am going to stay hereje vais rester ici

I'm going to leave soon, I'm not going to stayje vais partir bientt, je ne vais pas rester

I'm going to eatje vais manger

I'm going to start soonje vais commencer bientt


14/37

I'm not going to leave today je ne vais pas partir aujord'hui

I am going

I'm not goinghe is going il va

I am going to start soonje vais commencer bientt

he is going to start soon il vous commencer bientthe is il est

there l

he is there il est lhe is not there il n'est pas l

(il n'est pas l also means "he is not in")

(end of recording)


15/37

CD 4 (55.39)

(1) 5.51

who qui

who is there? qui est l?

my friend is there mon ami est l

everybody is there tout le monde est lnobody personne

the person la personne

a person une personnenobody is there personne est l

(personne est l also means "nobody is in")

everybody is ready

she is readyhe is ready

I am going to be ready soonje vais tre prt bientt

he is going to be ready soon il va tre prt bientt

she is going to be ready soon elle va tre prte bienttwho is going to be there tonight qui va tre l ce soir

he is goingshe is going

everybody is going tout le monde va

nobody is going personne va(2) 3.31

all, everything tout

everything is going tout va

well bien

everything is going very well tout va trs bien

nothing rien

nothing is going rien va

nothing is going to be ready today rien va tre prt aujourd'hui

he is ready

nothing is ready rien est prtwho is ready? qui est prt?

she is ready

he is ready

who is readyeverybody is ready tout le monde est prt

nobody is ready personne est prt

everything is ready tout est prt

nothing is ready

(3) 7.10

is estis going va

I am

I am going

I'm ready


16/37

I am going to be ready soonje vais tre prt bientt

he is

she iseverybody is ready

everybody is going to be ready soon tout le monde tre prt bientt

he is goingshe is going

who is going

everybody is goingnobody is going

nothing is going

it is going a va

how commenthow's it going? comment a va?

it is going well a va bien

it's going very well a va trs bien

it's going very well the way it is a va trs bien comme ait is going to be ready soon a va tre prt bientt

I'm going to be ready soonje vais tre prt bienttto go

you go

we are going nous allonsI am going

he is going

she is going

who is goingit is going

it is not going a ne va pas

it is not going to be ready today a ne va pas tre prt aujourd'hui

but everything is going to be ready for you tomorrow mais tout va tre prt pour vous

demain

(4) 5.46he can

she can

who can

it canI would like

everybody is going to be here tout le monde va tre ici

everybody must leave soon tout le monde doit partir bientt

who speaks English here? qui parle anglais ici?

I understandje comprends

I don't understandje ne comprends pashe understands il comprends

nobody understands personne comprends

everybody understands very well tout le monde comprends trs bien

to leave


17/37

you are leaving

we are leaving

I am leavingje pars

(only -er verbs sound the stem in the 1st person singular e.g.j'arrive, compareje pars)

everybody is leaving tout le monde part

nobody is leaving personne partto wait

I am waiting j'attends

everybody is waiting tout le monde attendsnobody is waiting personne attends

(5) 4.28

to understand

to take prendreI am takingje prends

he is taking il prends

time temps

too much time trop de tempsit is taking too much time a prends trop de temps

it doesn't take too much time a prends pas trop de tempsit is not taking too much time

to sell vendre

I am sellingje vendshe is selling il vends

everybody can start now tout le monde peut commencer maintenant

everybody must start now tout le monde doit commencer maintenant

(there are only three verbs and French which do not conjugate in sound following thefirst person singular e.g.je dois, il doitetc)

I amje suis

he is il est

I havej'ai

he has il a

I'm goingje vaishe is going il va

(6) 3.59


will you come have dinner with me at the house tonight because I would like to speakwith you. It is very important voulez-vous venir dner avec moi la maison ce soir

parce que je voudrais parler avec vous. C'est trs important pour moi

and I would like to know et je voudrais savoir

at what time you're going to be here quelle heure vous allez tre ici

because I'm going to prepare the dinner for us parce que je vais prparer le dner pour

nous(many French verbs can be formed simply by adding-erto an English verb)

(7) 4.09

formation formation

to form former


18/37

to conform conformer

to confirm confirmer

will you confirm the reservation for me voulez-vous confirmer la rservation pour

moi?

to observe observer

to reserve reserverwill you reserve a table for two for dinner for tonight voulez-vous rserver une table

pour deux pour dner pour ce soir

to invite inviterto considerconsidrer

to accept accepter

will you accept the condition voulez-vous accepter la condition?

to preferprfrer

you prefervous prfrez

we prefernous prfrons

I preferje prfre

(8) 7.57I must speak with youje dois parler avec vous

he must be here soon il doit tre ici bienttshe must be ready now elle doit tre prte ici

he must be ready il doit tre prt

it must be ready a doit tre prt maintenantit can be ready a peut tre prt maintenant

maybe, perhaps peut-tre

(sopeut-tre literally means "can be")

perhaps it can be ready now peut-tre a peut tre prt maintenant

it must be ready now a doit tre prt maintenant

I mustje dois

(-s is the first person singular ending for-irand-re, and-t is the ending for 3rd personsingular)

to do, make

I am doingje faishe is doing il fait

it makes a big difference that way a fait une grande diffrence comme a

to say, tell dire

(9) 4.59I say, I tellje dis

he says il dit

to seeI see je vois

he sees il voit

to knowyou know vous savez

we know nous savons

we don't know nous ne savons pas

you don't know vous ne savez pas


19/37

do you know? savez-vous?

do you know where it is? savez-vous o c'est?

I knowje sais

I don't knowje ne sais pas

he knows il sait

I know where it isje sais o c'est(10) 7.49

nobody knows where it is personne sait o c'est

nobody knowseverybody knows where it is tout le monde sait o c'est

who knows? qui sait?

to have

to seeyou have

we have

you know vous savez

you have vous avezwe know nous savons

we don't know nous ne savons pasyou don't know vous ne savez pas

we have nous avons

we don't have nous n'avons pasyou have vous avez

you don't have vous n'avez pas

do you have? avez-vous?

do we have? avons-nous?

to have avoir

to have to devoir

you must vous devez

we must nous devons

we have to leave soon nous devons partir bientt

you have to come with me vous devez venir avec moi

(end of recording)


20/37

CD 5 (55.30)

(1) 5.12

you have to wait vous devez attendre

he has to wait il doit attendre

I have to waitje dois attendre

I'm going to wait hereje vais attendre icieverybody is going to wait tout le monde va attendre

nobody can wait personne peut attendre

can you? pouvez-vous?you can vous pouvez

I would like to know if you can come with me now je voudrais savoir si vous pouvez

venir avec moi maintenant

(2) 5.45can you wait here? pouvez-vous attendre ici?

we can nous pouvons

we cannot wait, we have to leave now nous ne pouvons pas attendre, nous devons

partir maintenantyou are going

we are goingI am going

he is going

she is goingeverybody is going

who is going

it is going

it is going very wellhow's it going? comment a va?

is it going to be ready soon? a vas tre prt bientt

to do, maketo do it le faire

I would like to do itje voudrais le faire

I must do itje dois le faireI am going to do itje vais le faire

I am not going to do itje ne vais pas le faire

we are going to do it nous allons le faire

we are not going to do it now nous n'allons pas le faire

you are going to do it vous allez le faire

you are not going to do it vous n'allez pas le faire

(3) 3.46when quand

when are you going to do it? quand allez-vous le faire?

I am going to do itje vais le faireI am not going to do itje ne vais pas le faire

he is going to do it il va le faire

he is not going to do it il ne vas pas le faire

because he cannot do it parce que il ne peut pas le faire


21/37

but he must do it mais il doit le faire

you have to do it vous devez le faire

we have to do it nous devons le faire

I cannot do it now je ne peut pas le faire maintenant

can you do it? pouvez-vous le faire?

we cannot do it nous ne pouvons pas le faire(4) 3.46

to see

I would like to do itje voudrais le faireto see

to do

to do it

to seeto see it

to see it, to see him le voir

I am going to see it tonightje vais le voir ce soir

I am going to see him tonightto understand

I cannot understand it je ne peux pas le comprendreI cannot understand him

(5) 7.31

to take prendreI am going to take itje vais le prendre

to know

I would like to know it je voudrais le savoir

I must know itje dois le savoir

to have

I would like to have itje voudrais l'avoir

I must have it todayje dois l'avoir aujourd'hui

when you want to have it? quand voulez-vous l'avoir?

to buy acheter

I would like to buy it because I must have itje voudrais l'acheter parce que je doisl'avoir

will you prepare it for me voulez-vous le prparer pour moi?

will you accept the condition voulez-vous accepter la condition?

thank you very much merci beaucoup

many, much, very much beaucoup

(you never say trs beaucoup in French)

thanks very muchI would like very much to accept the condition je voudrais beaucoup accepter la

condition

but I'm sorrybut I cannot accept it mais je ne peux pas l'accepter

because it is not acceptable for me that way parce que ce n'est pas acceptable pour moi

comme a

to see


22/37

I'm going to see it tonight je vais le voir ce soir

I'm going to see him tonight

(6) 4.48to see

to see it, see him

her lato see herla voir

I'm going to see her tonightje vais aller la voir ce soir

them lesto see them les voirs

to see

to see it

to see himto see her

to see them

to see you vous voir

I would like to see youje voudrais vous voirI'm going to see you tonightje vais vous voir ce soir

I hope j'espreto hope esprer

(in French, the conjunction "that" is compulsory)

that queI hope I'm going to see youj'espre que je vais vous voir

because I would like very much to see you parce que je voudrais beaucoup vous voir

to see

to see it, see himto see him

to see them

to see youto see us nous voir

to see me me voir

can you come see me? pouvez-vous venir me voir?(7) 5.05

to understand it le comprendre

to understand him

to understand herto understand them

to understand you

I cannot understand youje ne peux pas vous comprendre

to understand us

to understand me

can you understand me? pouvez-vous me comprendre?to say, tell

to tell it le dire

to tell you

to tell us


23/37

to tell me

I must tell youje dois vous dire

I am going to tell you laterje vais vous dire plus tard

to find trouver

we find nous trouvons

I findje trouvewould you tell me where it is because I cannot find it voulez-vous me dire o c'est

parce que je ne peux pas le trouver

(8) 4.39will you tell me voulez-vous me dire

can you tell me pouvez-vous me dire

expensive, dearcher

it is very expensive c'est trs cher

it is too expensive c'est trop cher

will you tell me how much it is because I would like to have it and I'm going to buy it if it

is not too expensive voulez-vous me dire combien c'est parce que je voudrais l'avoir

et je vais l'acheter, si ce n'est past trop cherI would like to buy itje voudrais l'acheter

I am going to buy itje vais l'acheterto call appeler

to phone tlphoner

will you call me latervoulez-vous m'appeler plus tard(9) 4.39

can you call me later? pouvez-vous m'appeler plus tard?

when can you call me? quand pouvez-vous m'appeler?

when are you going to call me? quand allez-vous m'appeler?

I am going to call you laterje vais vous appelez plus tard

will you call me later and can you tell me at what time it is going to be ready, because I

must have it today if it is possible voulez-vous m'appeler plus tard et pouvez-vous me

dire quelle heure a va tre prt, parce que je dois l'avoir aujourd'hui si c'est

possible

because I have to have it today parce que je dois l'avoir aujourd'huiI cannot understand himje ne peux pas le comprendre

to wait attendre

(attendre is used like "to await", not "to wait for somebody")

will you wait for me? voulez-vous m'attendre?

can you wait for me? pouvez-vous m'attendre?

I am going to wait for youje vais vous attendre

I am in a hurryje suis press

(10) 6.02

I'm sorry but I cannot wait for you because I am very much in a hurry and I have to leave

soonje regrette mais je ne peut pas vous attendre parce que je suis trs press et jedois partir bientt

I'm going to see him je vais le voir

(when him is used in the sense "to him", the French word is notle butlui)

to give


24/37

to carry, wearporter

to bring apporter

I'm going to bring you something je vais vous apporter quelque chose

the bookle livre

I am going to bring you the bookje vais vous apporter le livre

to send envoyerI'm going to send him the bookje vais lui envoyer le livre

I want to send it to himje vais le lui envoyer

(11) 4.17will you send it to him voulez-vous le lui envoyer

when can you send it to him? quand pouvez-vous le lui envoyer?

I'm going to see him tonight and I'm going to give him the bookje vais le voir ce soir, etje vais lui donner le livre

to herlui

I'm going to see her tonight and I'm going to give her the bookje vais la voir ce soir, etje vais lui donner le livre

to who, to whom qui?it is for me c'est pour moi

it is for youit is for us

it is for him c'est pour lui

it is for herc'est pour elle(note that afterpour, we say elle and notlui)

with him avec lui

with heravec elle

(end of recording)


25/37

CD 6 (58.49)

(1) 6.16

I am going to give itje vais le donner

I am going to give it to him je vais le donner lui

(that is much less ambiguous thanje vais le lui donner)

I'm going to give it to herje vais le donner elleI am going to bring him the bookje vais lui apporter le livre

I am going to bring her bookje vais lui apporter le livre

I'm going to bring the book to himje vais apporter le livre luiI'm going to bring the book to herje vais apporter le livre elle

to them leur

money, silverl'argent

I'm going to send them the money je vais leur envoyer l'argent

my fathermon pre

my motherma mre

with my fatheravec mon pre

with my motheravec me mremy parents mes parents

his fatherson prehis mothersa mre

his parents ses parents

her fatherson preher mothersa mre

her parents ses parents

theirleur

their fatherleur pre

their motherleur mre

their parents leur parents

(2) 3.56(leurmeans "them" and "to them")

I'm going to bring them their bookje vais leur apporter leur livre

will you tell him, will you say to him voulez-vous lui dire?will you tell him that I'm going to call him latervoulez-vous lui dire que je vais

l'appeler plus tard

to askdemander

will you ask him voulez-vous lui demander

will you ask him if he can wait for me voulez-vous lui demander s'il peut m'attendre

pour moi

(3) 4.53I don't have the time now je n'ai pas le temps maintenant

(French nouns can be masculine or feminine)

police la policearmy une arme

(a few rules about when to use le and when to use la, and how to avoid needing to stop to

think about which to use)

(-ion words are la, english words ending-ty end in French -tand are la)


26/37

liberty la libert

difficulty la difficult

facility la facilit

possibility la possibilit

opportunity l'opportunit

speciality la specialitwhat speciality do you have? quelle specialit avez-vous?

what is the speciality of the house? quelle est la specialit de la maison?

(4) 2.44quality la qualit

what quantity quelle quantit

society la societ

(verbs ending-ate in English end-erin French)to operate oprer

to moderate modrer

to accelerate acclrer

to facilitate faciliterto negotiate ngocier

to cooperate cooprer(verbs ending-fy in English end-fierin French)

to certify certifier

to modify modifierto justifyjustifier

(5) 6.21

a un, une

(in spoken French, le andla are contracted to l'and pulled into the preceding word, forexampleje n'ai pas le tempssoundsje n'ai parl' temps)

(words ending-me are le)

problem le problme

system le systme

it's not the problem ce n'est pas le problme

it's not a problem ce n'st pas un problmethere is, there are il y a

there is a problem here il y a un problme ici

something

someone quelqu'un

there is someone here who would like to speak with you il y a quelqu'un ici, qui

voudrait parler avec vous

is there someone? il y a quelqu'un ici?

is it that est-ce que

is there, are there est-ce que il y a

is there a message for me est-ce que il a une message pour moi?(plural definite article is les)

the books les livres

(6) 4.30

(for the plural indefinite article, use des)


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messages des messages

I'm going to buy some booksje vais acheter des livres

flowers les fleurs

I'm going to buy some flowersje vais acheter des fleurs

there is a message for you il ya a une message pour vous

there are messages for you il y a des messages pour vousare there any messages for me il y a des messages pour moi? est-ce qu'il y a des

messages pour moi?

is there someone here who speaks English? est-ce qu'il y a quelqu'un ici qui parleanglais?

(7) 6.13

there is nobody here who speaks English il n'y a personne ici qui parle anglais

not for me pas pour moi


no, not any pas de...

no coffee for me pas de caf pour moi

no problem pas de problmeno cream for me pas de crme pour moi

no sugar for me pas de sucre pour moinobody understands why personne comprends pourquoi

I don't understandje ne comprends pas

I understand itje le comprendsI don't understand itje ne le comprends pas

(8) 9.51

true vrai

it is true c'est vrai

it is not true ce n'est pas vrai, c'est pas vrai

is that so? c'est vrai?

truly vraiment

I don't understandje ne comprends pas

I don't understand itje ne le comprends pas

I don't understand himje ne le comprends pasI don't understand herje ne la comprends pas

I don't understand themje ne les comprends pas

I don't understand youje ne vous comprends pas

he doesn't understand you il ne vous comprends pas

he doesn't understand us il ne nous comprends pas

he doesn't understand me il ne me comprends pas

I understand you very wellje vous comprends trs bien

I don't understand you very wellje ne vous comprends pas trs bien

nothing

I don't understandI don't understand anythingje ne comprends rien

I don't see itje ne le vois pas

I don't see anythingje ne le vois rien

neverjamais


28/37

I never see itje ne le vois jamais

I never understand whyje ne comprends jamais pourquoi

I can never understandje ne peut jamais comprends

I cannot understand anythingje ne peut rien comprendre

I would like a glass of mineral waterje voudrais un verre d'eau minerale

I would like a cup of coffeeje voudrais une tasse de caf(9) 9.41

(when an adjective is followed by a full verb in English, in French you say adjective + de

+ verb)it is not possible to do it ce n'est pas possible de le faire

it is not necessary to do it now ce n'est pas necessaire de le faire

happy heureux, heureuse

I am happy je suis heureuxI am happy to do it for youje suis heureux de le faire pour vous

I am very happy to see youje suis trs heureux de vous voir

I am gladje suis content

I am very glad to see you je suis trs content de vous voir(also, in English a noun + infinitive becomes in French noun + de + infinitive)

next time la prochaine foisone time, once une fois

two times, twice deux fois

three timesthe first time la premire fois

the last time la dernire fois

once more encore une fois

I'm going to see it next time je vais le voir la prochaine fois

I see it for the first timeje le voir pour la premire fois

I would like to have the opportunity to see it next timeje voudrais avoir l'opportunitde le voir la prochaine fois

the opportunity to see it l'occasion de le voir

I don't always have the opportunity to see itje n'ai pas toujours l'occasion de le voir

I don't always have the time to do itje n'ai pas tourjours le temps de le faireit is always a pleasure to see it c'est toujour un plaisir de le voir

(10) 4.24

to take

I'm taking itje le prends

it is taking too much time that way a prends trop de temps comme a

it is making a big difference that way a fait une grande diffrence comme a

I enjoy, it makes me pleasure a me fait plaisir

I'm very pleased to see you a me fait plaisir de vous voir

it gives me great pleasure to see you a me fait grand plaisir de vous voir

(end of recording)


29/37

CD 7 (64.08)

(1) 5.34

I'm sorry but I don't have the time to do it now because I am very busyje regrette mais

je n'ai pas le temps de le faire maintenant parce que je suis trs occup

(de follows nouns and adjectives, but also some verbs of communication, e.g. demander,

decider, dire. If these are themselves are followed by another verb, separate them withde)

will you ask him to do it voulez-vous lui demander de le faire

will you tell him to wait for me voulez-vous lui dire de m'attendrewill you ask him to call me latervoulez-vous lui demander de m'appeler plus tard

(after any form of "have", a following verb is preceded by )

what, i.e. what is it that qu'est-ce que

what do you have? qu'est-ce que vous avez?

do you understand? comprenez-vous?, est-ce que vous comprenez

do you understand me? est-ce que vous me comprenez

(2) 5.27

what do you have to eat? qu'est-ce que vous avez mangeryou have to eat vous devez manger

to drinkboirewhat do you have to drink? qu'est-ce que vous avez boire?

(also used afteril y a)

what is there to drink? qu'est-ce qu'il y a boire?what is there to eat? qu'est-ce qu'il y a manger?

( also used after-chose)

I have something to tell youj'ai quelque chose vous dire

(de is used after an expression of quantity)how much time combien de temps

too much time trop de temps

(any form meaning "much" also means "many")many things trop de chose

much time beaucoup de temps

I don't have much timeje n'ai pas baucoup de tempsmany things beaucoup de chose

I'm going to buy many things je vais acheter beaucoup de choses

too much, too many trop

I don't have too much time je n'ai pas trop de temps

I am not going to buy too many thingsje ne vais pas acheter trop de choses

(if expressions of quantity are followed by a verb, use )

I have much to do!j'ai beaucoup trop faire!

"nothing doing!" "rien faire!"

(3) 3.57

(there are several words in French for what, i.e.)what difference, which difference quelle diffrence

what is the difference quelle est la diffrence

between entre

between us entre nous


30/37

between the two, between both entre les deux

what is the difference between the two? quelle est la diffrence entre les deux?

what speciality quelle specialit?

what is the speciality of the house? quelle est la specialit de la maison?

what address? quelle adresse?

yourvotrewhat is your address? quelle est votre adresse?

telephone numbernumro de tlphone

what is your telephone number? quelle est votre numro de tlphone?(in English you can combine nouns, e.g. "telephone number". In French these nouns are

separated by de)

what is your name? quel est votre nom?

(4) 5.07what difference quelle diffrence

what is the difference? quelle est la diffrence?

what (followed by a verb) que

what do you want? que voulez-vous?what do you want to eat? que voulez-vous manger?

what do you want to do now? que voulez-vous faire maintenant?what do you want to know? que voulez-vous savoir?

what do you want? que voulez-vous?

what do you prefer? que prfrez-vous?to thinkpenser

what do you think? que pensez-vous?

what do you have? que avez-vous?

(que andqu'est-ce que are interchangeable,in a question followed by a verb, but afterqu'est-ce que there is no inversion)

what do you want? qu'est-ce que vous voulez?

what do you know? qu'est-ce que vous savez?

what do you have for me? qu'est-ce que vous avez pour moi?

(5) 6.17

what do you want? qu'est-ce que vous voulez?what do you want to say? qu'est-ce que vous voulez dire?

what do you mean? qu'est-ce que vous voulez dire?

(what used in the middle of a sentence is ce que)

I don't know what I'm going to do todayje ne sais pas ce que je vais faire aujourd'hui

nobody knows what it is persone sait ce que c'est

who knows? qui sait?

I don't understand what you meanje ne comprendes pas ce que vous voulez dire

(6) 7.14

(there are only two French verbs which take -x in the first person singular)

I canje peuxhe can il peut

I wantje veux

he wants il veut

I want it


31/37

I don't want it

that's not what I want ce n'est pas ce que je veux

that's exactly what I want c'est exactement ce que je veux

but that's not what I mean mais ce n'est pas ce que je veux dire

I want to do itje veux le faire

I'm going to do itje vais le faireI'm going to do it because I want to see itje vais le faire parce que je veux le voir

that's not what I mean ce n'est pas ce que je veux dire

I don't understand what it meansje ne comprends pas ce que a veut direwhat does it mean? qu'est-ce que a veut dire?

(7) 4.53

to explain expliquer

will you explain to me what you mean voulez-vous m'expliquer ce que vous voulez

dire

(the French future tense formed with "going" is more common in French than in English )

I will do it tomorrow je vais le faire demain

some, a few quel quedayjour

in danshe will be here in a few days il va tre ici dans quel que jours

I will arrive tomorrow morningje vais arriver demain matin

we will arrive tomorrow morning nous allons arriver demain matin(the other future tense: in early French, there was a form "I to leave have" meaning "Iwill leave")

(8) 5.46

I will leave tomorrow je partirai demain

he will leave tomorrow il partira demain

you will leave tomorrow vous partirez demain

we will leave tomorrow nous partirons

to tell, say

I will say, I will tellje dirai

I will wait j'attendraiyou will wait vous attendrez

we will wait nous attendrons

he will wait il attendra

I will understandje comprendrai

I will not understand itje ne le comprendrai pas

I won't understand youje ne vous comprendrai pas

he won't understand me il ne me comprendra pas

he will tell you il vous dira

he won't tell me il ne me dira pas

I will ask you laterje vous demanderai plus tard(9) 7.02

it will start soon a commencera bientt

it is going to start soon a va commencer bientt

(there is a third future tense - use of the present tense to express the future)


32/37

it will start tomorrow a commence demain

weekla semaine

next weekla semaine prochaine

I'm going to see you next weekje vous voir la semaine prochaine, je vais vous voir la

semaineprochaine

to lift, lift up leverI'm lifting itje le leve

he is lifting it il le leve

she is lifting it elle le leveI am starting

he is starting

it is starting

one (pronoun) on

one is starting on commence

(on is often used to express "we")

are we starting now? on commence maintenant?

(10) 6.33we are very comfortable here on est trs confortable ici

we are going now on va maintenantwe are going to stay here on va rester ici

(on va as a question also means "shall we?")

shall we start? on va commencer?shall we leave? on va partir?

shall we stay? on va rester?

what shall we...? qu'est-ce qu'on va...?

what shall we do? qu'est-ce qu'on va faire?

what shall we eat? qu'est-ce qu'on va manger?

to order, command commander

what shall we order? qu'est-ce qu'on va commander?

what shall we drink? qu'est-ce qu'on va boire?

what shall we take? qu'est-ce qu'on va prendre?

(in English, we "have" food and drinks, in French we "take" food and drinks)I'm going to have a cup of coffee je vais prendre une tasse de caf

to have dinnerdner

to have lunch djeuner

lunch le djeuner

will you have lunch with me voulez-vous djeuner avec moi?

breakfast le petit djeuner

will you have breakfast with me tomorrow morning voulez-vous prendre le petit

djeuner avec moi demain matin

(11)

I will do it je vais le faire, je le fairai(in English, "will you", "will you please" is the only time that "will" does not mean future

tense)

will you please, would you please voulez-vous

will you come with me voulez-vous venir avec moi?


33/37

do you want to come with me? voulez-vous venir avec moi?

(end of recording)

CD 8 (62.06)

(1) 6.55I'm lifting itje le leve

I'm lifting myself up, i.e. I'm getting upje me leve

we are getting up nous nous levonsyou're getting up vous vous levez

(for "himself", "oneself", "itself" etc use se)

he is getting up il se leve

one is getting up on se leve

I'm going to get upje vais me lever

one is going to get up on va se lever

will you get up please? voulez-vous vous lever?

at what time are you going to get up tomorrow morning? quelle heure allez-vous vouslevez demain matin

to askI'm asking

I'm asking you

I am asking myself, I wonderje me demandeI will call you tomorrowje vous appelle demain

my name is, I call myselfje m'appelle

(2) 4.12

to call backrappeler

will you call back? voulez-vous rappeler?

I'm going to call you backje vais vous rappeler

will you ask him to call me backvoulez-vous lui dire demander de me rappeler

I will call you back laterje vous rappelle plus tard

I rememberje me rappelle

I don't rememberje ne me rappelle pasto hurry, "despatch oneself" se dpecher

I'm hurrying je me dpeche

I'm going to hurryje vais me dpecher

I must hurryje dois me dpecher

one is going to hurry on va se dpecher

we are going to hurry nous allons nous dpecher

you have to hurry vous devez vous dpecher

will you hurry please voulez-vous vous dpecher

(3) 4.30

in, to France en Francein, to England en Angleterre

in, to Italy en Italie

in, to Germany en Allemagne

in, to Switzerland en Suisse


34/37

we are going to Spain nous allons en Espagne

we are going to be in Spain nous allons tre en Espagne

in, to California en Californie

in, to Asia en Asie

in, to Africa en Afrique

in, to America en Amerique(most countries and continents use en, and these are mostly la countries that end in a

vowel. Countries ending with a consonant are le countries, and they use aufor "in, to")

in Japan au Japonin Switzerland

in Denmarkau Danemark

in Portugal au Portugal

in Brazil au Brsil

in Canada (exception) au Canada

(en is also used for languages)

in French en franais

one says on dithow does one say comment dit on

how does one say in French? comment dit on en franais?how do you say at? comment a se dit?

how is it spelled? comment a s'crit?

to write crireit is being written a s'crit

price, prize prix

what price quelle prix

what is the price? quelle est le prix?

it is how much? c'est combien

will you write it voulez-vous l'crire

will you write down the price voulez-vous crire le prix

(4) 6.40

in English en anglais

in Spanish en espagnol(en also used in the construction "while -ing"en -ant)

in passing, while passing en passant

while waiting en attendant

(enby itself means "of it", "from it". It replaces the two words de a "of it". en has thesame position as "it". It also means "some of it", "any of it", "some" implying "some of it"

or "any" implying "any of it")

I wantje veux

I want itje le veux

I want some of itj'en veux

I don't want any of itje n'en veux pasI'm going to buy someje vais en acheter

because I would like to have some parce que je voudrais en avoir

do you want to have some? voulez-vous en avoir?

do you have it? l'avez-vous?, est-ce que vous l'avez?


35/37

do you have some of it? en avez-vous?, est-ce que vous en avez?

do you want some of it? en voulez-vous?, est-ce que vous en voulez?

(5) 6.08enough assez

I have enoughj'ai assez

I have enough of itj'en ai assez(that also means "I'm fed up with it")

I'm really fed up with it!j'en ai marre

to need avoir besoin deI need this bookj'ai besoin de ce livre

I need to do itj'ai besoin de le faire

one must on doit, il faut

one must do it il faut le faire

what you want to do now? qu'est-ce que vous voulez maintenant?

if you want si vous voulez

(that also means "It's all right with me")

(vous verbs end-ez, with only three exceptions)you are vous tes

(6) 5.16where are you? o tes-vous?

are you busy? tes-vous occup?

free libreare you free? tes-vous libre?

where are you?

you are doing, making vous faites

what are you doing? qu'est-ce que vous faites?

you are saying, telling vous dites

what are you saying? qu'est-ce que vous dites?

what are you doing? qu'est-ce que vous faites?

I don't understand what you are saying je ne comprends pas ce que vous dites

to hurry

I am hurrying je me dpecheI am in a hurry je suis press

I am hurrying because I am in a hurry je me dpeche parce que je sais press

I'm going to hurryje vais me dpecher

I must hurryje dois me dpecher

will you hurry please voulez-vous vous dpechez

hurry yourself! dpechez-vous!

(7) 4.39to derange, botherdranger

it bothers me a me drange

it doesn't bother me a me drange pasit bothers you a vous drange

it bothers me

it bothers you? a vous drange

to smoke fumer


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(8) 3.17

will it bother you if I smoke? a vous drange si je fume?

information information

(information means "information" in the general sense. For specific information, such as

directions to somewhere, use renseignements)

to teach enseignerto inform renseigner

to inform oneself, get some information se renseigner

I'm going to find outje vais ne renseigner(9) 6.01

(now some more handle verbs)

I don't understand you je ne vous comprends pas

I cannot understand youje ne peut pas vous comprendre

I'm not doing it, i.e. I cannot do it nowje ne peut pas le faire maintenant

he isn't doing it il ne peut pas le faire

do you understand me? pouvez-vous me comprendre?

why don't you do it now? pourquoi ne pouvez-vous pas le faire maintenant?why don't you tell me? pourquoi ne me dites pas?, pourquoi ne pouvez-vous pas me

dire?(10) 6.10

why don't you come with me now? pourquoi ne pouvez-vous pas venir avec moi

maintenant?(another handle)

I have to leave nowje dois partir maintenant

we must leave now on doit partir maintenant

(another handle)do you want? voulez-vous?

why don't you do it, i.e. why don't you want to do it? pourquoi ne voulez-vous pas lefaire?

(you can also express the past tense using handles.In English, "can" in past tense is

"could". So for "I didn't understand you", you can say "I couldn't understand you")

I could je pouvaisI couldn't understand youje ne pouvais pas vous comprendre

he didn't wait for us il ne pouvait pas nous attendre

I had toje devais

he had to il devait

he had to leave il devait partir

he wanted to wait il voulait partir

I didn't want to buy it je ne voulais pas l'acheter

(11) 6.01

to know savoir

I knew je savaisI didn't know je ne savais pas

to have avoir

you have vous avez

I had j'avais


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I didn't have the time to do itje n'avais pas le temps de le faire

I wasj'tais

it was c'tait

it wasn't ce n'tait pas

it was not possible to do it that way ce n'tait pas possible le faire comme a

because I was very busy parce que j'tait trs occupyesterday evening hier soir

yesterday morning hier matin

yesterday afternoon hier aprs-midiI was there last night, but nobody was there j'tais l hier soir, mais personne tait l

I like, I love j'aime

I like to do it that way j'aime le faire comme a

(but there is a distinction between "I like you" and "I love you" !)I love youje vous aime

I like you je vous aime bien

I like you but I don't love youje vous aime bien mais je ne vous aime pas

I love to do it j'adore le faire(12) 2.17

(end of recording)

MT French Basic

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Transcript of MT French Basic