Introduction to French Your complete guide to a BASIC understanding of the French language before moving on to the essentials of Beginning French
Part 1 of the French Essentials Series
How to Use this Guide
How This Guide Works
As the introduction, this guide gives you 10 very basic and general lessons touching upon important key concepts that you need to master before moving on to a higher level. It is important that you spend a considerable amount of time on the lessons. You can’t conquer French in a day, so take a few days per lesson! There are two quizzes - one after the first five lessons, and one after the last five lessons. There are also two tests: one covering vocabulary and verbs, and the other focusing on translation, an often sticky grammar point for many students but one that is very valuable. Each lesson gives an overview of the major elements, gives examples, and lots of room for you to practice. In order to learn a language, you must not only read and speak the language, you must write it. So please don’t ignore the exercises as they will only enhance your learning experience. We expose you to lots and lots of vocabulary but certainly dont’t expect you to remember it all. The quizzes/tests only cover words that are pointed out in bold (minus the pronunciation page). Any extra vocabulary given in the exercises are repeated to help you learn, but are not necessarily to be tested on. Don’t stress over this. French is supposed to be fun! Its a flirtatious and romantic language that might at times seem superfluous or unnecessary, but can be very impressive at cocktail parties. So have fun, don’t stress and bonne chance!
Bonjour!
Learning French can be daunting and often terrifying to many people. But just like with learning any new subject or skill, it takes a little bit of time, a little bit of patience and a whole helluva lot of attitude. You have to have a can-do, realistic and positive attitude to take on a language, and people, like the French. After this guide you will be no means a master, but it should give you a basic understanding of the principles of the language so that you may continue your learning of the “language of love”, or at least figure out when a cab driver is ripping you off.
Getting the Basics French is not easy, but its certainly not as hard as Greek or Latin those people practically conjugated nouns. Here are a few things to remember and think about when trying to speak and learn French: - Though many things do translate literally, do not try translating directly from English to French or vice versa. Words and phrases do not always translate literally, only concepts. When we have you do translation exercises, you cannot expect to complete them word for word, but idea for idea. You must learn to think in French instead of English. - Though memorizing will take you far, it is not enough to win the race; you have to actually understand when and why to use certain words, verbs, expressions. In this intro guide, we do not get into as much detail about the whys as we would in our beginner’s guide to French. But we do try to explain a little. - Conjugating is extremely important! You might not think so because in English our verb conjugations go by unnoticed, but in other languages they are pertinent to communicating ideas. Alors, faites attention! - When learning vocabulary, remember to learn the article with the noun; it identifies the noun’s gender. Many nouns sound the same in pronunciation, but have completely different meanings based on their gender. - When it comes to pronouncing French, don’t be worried about how you sound. Just speak from the back of your throat and nose (as crazy as that seems) and gargle when you say “r”. Don’t worry if your accent isn’t perfect; they speak English with a French accent all the time.
Stressing
Pronunciation
One of the greatest difficulties in learning the French language is the new and often difficult pronunciation. Once one learns how to properly pronounce words, reading and understanding the language becomes much easier. One thing that American speakers need to be careful of is stressing. English words normally have one syllable within a word stressed more strongly than the others. Paris
adult
continue
Stressing French words in this way is a dead-give away that you are an English speaker. Try to give all syllables equal stress in French words, with a slight emphasis on the last syllable. Paris
adulte
je continue
Vowels For the most part, vowels are short sounds. A (ah), E (euh), I (ee), O (oh), U (oo). But sometimes, the vowels have accents, and you must know the difference in accent pronunciation as there can be a big difference in what you say. Here are a few of the most commonly seen accented vowels. The accents make a distinct difference to the way you pronounce ‘-e’. e is usually a very ‘slight’ sound, like the vowel in the English word ‘the’: le de ce geste é is closest to the English vowel in ‘day’, but shortened slightly: téléphoner répéter épicerie café è on the other hand is more like the vowel in the English word ‘bed’: crème
problème
près
très
The two vowel sounds in tu and vous need to be carefully distinguished in French. ou is a bit like the English vowel in ‘you’ but said in the back of your mouth. u is a tighter more ‘closed’ sound and is pronounced at the front of the mouth. la rue la vue
la roue vous
le pull tu
la poule tout
The Alphabet A ah B bay C say D day E euh F eff G zhay H osh I ee J zhee K keuh L elle M emme N enne O oh P pay Q kue R air S ess T tay U oo V vay W doobluh - vay X eex Y ee-grek Z zed Don’t Forget! “h” is never pronounced and “r” is pronounced in your throat!
Stumbling Along The best way to learn to speak French is to SPEAK French! You must practice saying the words and familiarizing yourself with the seemingly strange letter combinations. That way French conversation will start to make more sense. You probably won’t be able to understand conversational French for a while, so to help you here are some good phrases (with pronunciation guides) to throw in: Vous parlez anglais?/Tu parles anglais? Do you speak English? Voo parlay ahnglay?/Too parl ahnglay?
Comment? What? Cohmohn. Pardon? Pardon? Par-dohn
Merci. Thank you. Mair-see
Pas de chose. It was nothing/ you’re welcome. Pah-deuh-shoze
Je parle (un peu de) français. I speak (a little) French.
Zhuh parl (uhn puh deuh) frahnsay.
Que veut-dire ________? What does _____ mean? Kuh veuh-deer ____?
Saying Hi
Common Phrases/Words Bonjour! Good day!/Hello! Bohn-zhoor! Salut, ça va?
Hi, how are you?
sah-loo, sa-va?
Comment t’appelles-tu?
What is your name?
Je m’appelle...
My name is...
Enchanté/e.
Nice to meet you.
Je suis américain/ne.
I am American.
Cohmohn ta-pell-too?
Zhuh ma-pell...
ohn-shon-tay
Zhuh sweez amerikenh/amerikenn
Tu parles français?
Do you speak french?
Too parl frahnsay?
Quoi de neuf? What’s up? Kwah deuh neuf?
Pas grande chose. Pah grohnd shoze.
À bientôt
Ah bee-en-toe
Nothing’s new.
See you soon
Comment dit-on ______ en français? How do you say ______ in French?
Bonsoir Good evening
Répétez, s’il vous plaît. Repeat, please.
Bonne nuit
Cohmon dee-tohn ______ ohn frahnsay? Reypeytay, see voo play.
Plus lentement. More slowly. Ploo lohn-tuh-mohn
Encore fois. One more time. Ohn-kore fwa
Je ne comprends pas. I don’t understand. Zhuh nuh cohnm-prohn pah. Je ne sais pas. I don’t know. Zhuh nuh say pah.
J’ai une question. I have a question. Zhay uhn kes-tee-ohn.
Bohn-swahr
Good night.
Bun noo-wee
Monsieur Sir Muh-syur
Madame Ma’am
Responding to... “Ça va?” Ça va. Fine. Ça va bien. I’m doing well. Ça va mal. Not well. Pas mal. Not bad. Comme ci, comme ça. Okay, so-so.
Mah-dahm
Mademoiselle Mad-mwa-zell
Miss
We will give you phoenetic spelling to help with the sounds but only on this page! Make sure you understand the pronunciation guide before moving on.
Familiar vs. Formal French French is a very polite language. They never want to offend anyone, which is why there are six different registers (or levels of formality) within the French language. A casual learner should familiarize him/ herself with certain aspects of what is called Normal French, which is a sort of mélange of Formal and Familiar French. It’s less rigorous than Formal French and more formal than familiar French.
Tu vs. Vous
In French, there are two different ways to address a person, or to say “you”. Tu, which is informal, and Vous, which is formal. Vous is used to refer to people you do not know well, whom you’ve just met, or who are in superior a to yourself. Tu can be used amongst friends and colleagues. Vous implies a sort of respect and should be used when traveling, especially in Paris. Vous can also refer to a group of people as in “you all”.
Practice Fill in the blanks in the following conversation. Its ok if yuu don’t undersand it all .Just try to figure it out by context. And don’t forget to read it outloud! Bonjour Marc! Salut Michel, (1)________________? Ça va bien. (2)______ de neuf? Mon amie est ici. Enchanté. (3)________ t’appelles-tu? Je (4) ____________ Sophie. Je (5)_____ américaine. Oui? Tu (6)_______ français? Oui, je parle (7)_____________. Bon. Alors, Marc, j’ai un rendez-vous avec Sylvie. Au revoir. À (8)_______, Michel. Bonne (9)______. Answer the following questions: 1. Comment t’appelles-tu? _____________________________________ 2. Es-tu américain/e ou français/e? ______________________________ 3. Comment ça va? _______________________________________ 4. Quoi de neuf? ________________________________________ Would you use tu or vous in the following situations: Your mother ________ Your boss ________
Your son ________
The grocer ________ The maître d’ ________ Your wife ________
The French “Politesse” The French have a bad reputation for being rude but their concept of rudeness is different from the American concept. In France, you do not have to tip your waiter, but if you enter a store or a restaurant without saying “Bonjour”, you can be they might spit in your drink! So, to have a pleasant stay in Paris, it is recommended that you practice “politesse”, or politeness: When entering a grocery store, bar or café, say “Bonjour” or “Bonsoir” (depending on the time of day). When leaving a store or bar or any establishment where you might pass by a person, say “Bonne Journée”. This means “have a nice day” and is a considered a normal and nice thing to do in almost any situation. (Bonne Soirée means “have a nice evening”). Thank everyone. The French think Americans are ungrateful so surprise them by being very thankful! When you bump into someone or need to ask someone a question, say “Excusez-moi” or “Pardon”. Adding “please” to any request will make your personal interactions go much smoother. Bonjour Bonsoir
Good day Good evening
Bonne Journée Bonne Soirée Merci Merci Bien
Have a nice day! Have a nice evening! Thanks Thank you very much.
Excusez-moi Pardon S’il te plait S’il vous plait
Excuse me Pardon Please Please
Useful Vocabulary
Nouns
If you really want to be able to speak French, you have to learn lots and lots of new words! Here are a handful of useful words (and oui, these will be on the test!)
l’avion airplane le billet ticket le clé key la chambre room la cuisine kitchen la douche shower l’eau water la fille girl le garçon boy l’histoire story/history la salle de bains bathroom le lait milk le livre book la maison house le métro subway la montre watch l’ordinateur computer le portable cell phone la rue street la sortie exit la télé TV la ville city le vin wine la voiture car la vue view
Just a Reminder... A double “L” makes a “y” sound. “Billet” is pronounced “bee-yay”
Un, une, des
(indefinite articles)
The singular indefinite articles in French correspond to a, an or one in English. The plural corresponds to some. There are three forms of the French indefinite article: un (masculine), une (feminine), and des (plural). un homme
une maison
des voitures
Some nouns, generally those describing people, can be multiple genders, depending on the person you are speaking about. un adulte
une adulte
des adultes
un ami
une amie
des amis
(adult) (friend/s)
Most plural nouns end in -s, just like in English. (Note that the pural indefinite article is the same for masculine and feminine nouns.)
Le, la, les, l’
(definite articles)
The French definite artciles corresponds to the. There are four forms: le (masculine), la (feminine), l’ (before vowel or h), les (plural). Which definite article to use depends on three things: the noun’s gender, number and first letter. The definite articles indicates a specific noun. le garçon
la fille
l’histoire
les filles
le métro
la chambre
l’hôtel
les clés
le livre
la rue
l’animal
les toilets
When do you use “le” and when do you use “un”? The use of indefinite and definite articles is practically the same in English: J’adore les chiens. J’ai un chien. C’est le dix septembre La France est belle. Il préfère le bleu. Je voudrais un chat. Il achète une voiture.
I love dogs. I have a dog. Its the 10th of September. France is beautiful. He prefers blue. I would like a cat. He’s buying a car.
Cognates
C’est = It is C’est is a very versatile and useful expression. It can be it is (it’s), it can sometimes mean this is, and it can be used to ask the question is it . . . ? C’est quoi, ça? C’est un cadeau.
What is that, there? It’s a present.
Le croissant, c’est bon? Is the croissant good? C’est délicieux! It’s delicious! C’est combien le CD? C’est 10 euros.
This CD costs how much? It is 10 euros.
Practice Without looking, try giving the correct definite article for the following words: 1. ____ famille 2. ____ radio 3. ____ vin 4. ____ garçon
5. ____ chambre 6. ____ animals 7. ____ eau 8. ____ musique
9. ____ cuisine 10. ___ douche 11. ___ voitures 12. ___ ordinateur
Without looking, try translating these words into French using the correct articles: 1. house ____________ 2. water _____________ 3. cell phone _________ 4. room _____________ 5. boys ______________ 6. milk ______________
7. family _____________ 8. table ______________ 9. girls _______________ 10. street _____________ 11. animal ____________ 12. keys ______________
Rearrange the words to form sentences/questions: 1. livre un c’est bon _________________________________________________. 2. combien le c’est cadeau __________________________________________________? 3. euros dix c’est livre le __________________________________________________.
There are many words that are the same or sound very similar - in French and in English. Here are some useful ones:
le bar bar la bière beer le café café or coffee le cinéma movies/cinema l’hôtel hotel la famille family la musique music la radio radio le restaurant restaurant la table table le taxi taxi le thé tea la toilette toilet le train train
Les Faux Amis Many words look like English words but do NOT mean the same thing:
l’avertissement warning la publicité advertisement la chair une chaise
flesh chair
la chance une possibilité
luck chance
le coin une pièce de monnaie
corner coin
la monnaie coins l’argent money la librarie la bibliothèque
bookstore library
Just a Reminder...
Do not pronounce the “E” at the end of words that don’t have accents . This isn’t Spanish!
-er Verbs
Common -er Verbs
Here is a list of commonly used -er verbs that you should learn. Once you’ve got these down, learning new ones will be a breeze since all regular -er verbs conjugate the same way: arriver chercher danser demander détester donner écouter étudier oublier payer penser préparer quitter regarder rêver trouver visiter voyager
to arrive to search to dance to ask (for) to hate to give to listen to to study to forget to pay for to think to prepare to leave/to quit to watch to dream to find to visit to travel
Examples aimer (to like, to love) J’aime mon père. I love my father. Nous aimons le prof. We love the professor. chanter (to sing) Il chante bien. He sings well. Elles ne chantent pas bien. They do not sing well.
jouer (to play) Est-ce que tu joue le foot? Do you play soccer? Nous jouons les jeux vidéos. We play video games.
Conjugating
80% of French verbs are regular -er verbs, meaning that in their infinitive form they all end in -er, (the -er is pronounced like ‘ay’) and when conjugated all follow the same pattern. (Note that the “er” indicates “to”, for example “parler” is the same as “to speak”.) Verbs have six conjugations: I, you, he/she/one, we, you all, and they. Below are the present tense conjugations. The present tense in French is similar to that in English. For example, saying “Je parle...” in French can mean “I speak...” or “I am speaking...”, both being in the present tense. All regular -er verbs conjugate in the following way (learn this well!): drop the -er and add the appropriate ending to the stem. parler (to speak) travailler (to work) je parle nous parlons je travaille nous travaillons tu parles vous parlez tu travailles vous travaillez il/elle parle ils/elles parlent il/elle travaille ils/elles travaillent All regular -er verbs are conjugated according to this pattern, except for one small irregularity in verbs that end in -ger and -cer:
Manger (to eat) je mange tu manges il/elle manges nous mangeons vous mangez ils mangent A g (or a c) followed by an o would make a hard g so an e has to be added to keep the g and c soft.
Learning the endings of the verbs is very important. Though all of the conjugations (excluding the nous and vous forms) sound the same in pronunciation, in writing the spelling matters. Take a look at the examples on the left side of the page.
Sub + verb + infinitive If you want to say that you like to do something, or you want to do something, then you must use two verbs: the first verb must be conjugated while the second verb remains in in its infinitive form.
J’aime danser. Tu aimes préparer le diner. Il aime regarder la télé. Nous aimons travailler beaucoup. Vous détestez cuisiner. Ils détestent payer les factures.
I like to dance. You like to prepare dinner. He likes to watch TV. We like to work a lot. You (all) hate to cook. They hate to pay the bills
Practice
Present Tense Uses
Conjugate the following verbs: 1. I am searching 2. She dances 3. We are preparing 4. They listen 5. I’m watching 6. You’re speaking 7. I love to ski. 8. He loves to travel. 9. They love to sing. 10. I like to work.
_____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________ _____________________________
Fill in the blanks of the following sentences using the correct form of the needed verb. Refer to the English translations for help. 1. J’ ____________ mon ordinateur. (I love my computer.) 2. Ma soeur ___________ bien. (My sister sings well.) 3. Je ne ____________ pas bien. (I don’t sing well.) 4. Nous ____________ nôtre prof. (We hate our teacher.) 5. Elle ____________ ce garçon-la. (She likes that boy.) 6. Ma famille et moi, nous ______________Paris. (My family and I are visiting Paris.) 7. Nous ____________ le foot ce soir. (We are playing soccer tonight.) 8. Est-ce que vous _____________ le télé ce soir? (Are you all watching TV tonight?) 9. Je ____________ mon frère de l’eau. (I’m giving my brother some water.) 10. Est-ce que tu _____________ que je suis jolie? (Do you think that I am pretty?)
Translate the following sentences into French using your new vocabulary (and correct verb forms!) 1. I am leaving tonight. _________________________________________________________ 2. My family hates computers. _________________________________________________________ 3. She is paying for the book. _________________________________________________________ 4. You all are listening to the radio.
____________________________________________________ 5. I like to play video games.
____________________________________________________
Just like in English, the present tense can be used in many different ways. It can express an event happening in the near future. I am working tomorrow. Je travaille demain.. He’s arriving this morning. Il arrive ce matin. We’re watching Survivor tonight. Nous regardons Survivor ce soir. The film starts in five minutes. Le film commence dans cinq minutes. It can be used to show that an action began in the past and is continuing in the present: We’ve been living here for two years. Nous habitons ici depuis deux ans. I’ve been studying French for 12 years. J’étudie le français depuis douze ans. He’s been looking for his keys for an hour. Il cherche ses clés depuis une heure. We’ve been in Paris for a week. On est à Paris depuis une semaine.
Just a Reminder...
In English, we often say “I am speaking” or “I am studying” or “I am watching TV”. In French, the “am” is implied in the present tense !
Common Verbs
Idiomatic Expressions
Idioms are everyday phrases that cannot be translated literally into another language. Here are some French idioms that you will need to know (remember to conjugate the infinitve verb!): avoir ___ ans
to be ___ years old
avoir besoin de...
to need...
avoir chaud
to be hot
avoir faim
to be hungry
avoir froid
to be cold
avoir l’air + adj
to look _______
avoir peur de
to be afraid of
avoir soif
to be thirsty
faire attention
to pay attention
faire des projets
to make plans
faire la cuisine
to cook
faire la queue
to stand in line
faire une promenade to take a walk faire un voyage
to take a trip
Just a Reminder... When you see an “s” or a “t” at the end of a word, don’t pronounce it unless you need to make a lliason! Je fais la cuisine. (NO liaison!) Je fais une sandwich. (Liaison!)
Etre, Avoir, Aller and Faire
These are all irregular in conjugation and must be memorized. Below are the present tense conjugations. You can translate them yourself - “je suis” means “I am”, so “vous êtes” means “you all are”. “Il fait” means “he makes” so “nous faisons” means we make . . .
être
to be
je suis tu es il/elle est
nous sommes vous êtes ils/elles sont
aller
to go
je vais tu vas il/elle va
nous allons vous allez ils/elles vont
avoir
to have
j’ai tu as il/elle a
nous avons vous avez ils/elles ont
faire
to do/make
je fais tu fais il/elle fait
nous faisons vous faites ils/elles font
Remember: to really learn these verbs, try making flash cards or practice conjugating them in the shower, in the car, washing dishes, etc...
Puis-je avoir . . . ? When you want to ask for something politely, you can say “May I have . . . ?“ with “puis-je avoir . . . ?” Puis-je avoir un plan de la ville? (May I have a city map?) Puis-je avoir deux billets pour l’opèra? (May I have two tickets for the opera?)
Useful CoversationalPhrases Je m’appelle . . . My name is . . . Comment vous vous appellez? What is your name? Vous venez d’où? Where are you from? Je viens de . . . I come from . . . Tourner to turn Continuer to continue à gauche / à droit to the left / to the right tout droit straight Pour mon travail, je fais . . . For work, I do . . . Pour le plaisir, je fais . . . For fun, I do . . .
Practice Fill in the blanks with the proper conjugated verb, referring to the chart above or the list on the left if needed. Be careful, a few of them are tricky! 1. Ils _______ au cinèma ce soir. (They are going to the movies tonight) 2. Je ______ une sandwich pour ma mère. (I’m making a sandwhich for my mom) 3. Est-ce que tu ______ un stylo? (Do you have a pen?) 4. C’est Marc, il ______ mon petit-ami. (That’s Marc, he is my boyfriend.) 5. Nous _________ inquiets parce que nous _______ des examens demain. (We are worried because we have exams tomorrow.) 6. Ils _______ une belle voiture. (They have a nice car.) 7. Est-ce que vous _________ prêts pour l’examen? (Are you all ready for the test)?) 8. Elle veut _________ au cinèma ce soir. (She wants to go to the movies tonight.) 9. J’____ chaud. (I’m hot). Est-ce que vous _____ chaud, aussi? (Are you all hot too?) 10. Elle _______ une promenade avec lui! (She is walking with him!) 11. Je _____ un voyage avec ma famille. (I’m taking (making) a trip with my family!) 12. Est-ce que tu _______ la cuisine ce soir? (Are you cooking tonight?)
Translate the following sentences into English: 1. Ils vont manger au restaurant ce soir. ________________________________________________________ 2. Mon mari a un stylo. ________________________________________________________ 3. Je suis inquiet parce que j’ai un examen demain. ________________________________________________________
Translate the following sentences into French: 1. My husband is thirsty and hungry. ________________________________________________________ 2. I am 30 years old and my name is Alice. ________________________________________________________ 3. I’m from Tennessee and I like to cook. _________________________________________________________
Don’t forget to the take the 1-5 quiz!
aller + infinitive to express the near future
Je vais chanter pour toi. I’m going to sing for you. Tu vas payer le billet. You are going to pay for the ticket. Elle va faire une promenade. She’s going to go for a walk. Nous allons manger avec nos amis. We are going to eat with our friends. Vous allez faire attention! You are going to pay attention! Ils vont arriver en retard. They are going to arrive late.
nous vs. on Both ‘nous’ and ‘on’ can be used to mean ‘we’. For beginners, sometimes it’s easier to use ‘on’ since the conjugation of the verb is a little more obvious. Using ‘on’ for ‘we’ is never incorrect but merely a more casual way of speaking/writing. Feel free to use either, but remember that once you’ve used ‘on’ or ‘nous’ in a sentence, to continue using it as they are not interchangeable. On va au ciné ce soir. Nous allons au ciné ce soir. We are going to the movies tonight. On a très faim! Nous avon très faim! We are very hungry. On va faire la queue pour la musée. Nous allons faire la queue pour la musée. We’re going to stand in line for the museum.
Time and Numbers Numbers
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
zéro (zehro) un (unh) deux (deuh) trois (twah) quartre (katr) cinq (sank) six (seess) sept (set) huit (weet) neuf (neuff) dix (deess) onze (ohnz) douze (dooz) treize (trehz) quatorze (kah-torz) quinze (kahnz) seize (sez) dix-sept (dees-set) dix-huit (deesweet) dix-neuf (dees-neuf ) vingt (venh)
For numbers in the 20s, just add to the vingt. For example: 21 25 29
vingt-et-un vingt-cinq vingt-neuf
Did You Know...?
In France they frequently use the 24-hour clock? Airline schedules, train times, store closings, movie times, etc are usually listed in this format: 12h30 17h45 9h25 23h30
Expressing Time
Time is indicated by a number follwed by heure(s) and the number of minutes. 1:10
une heure dix 3:05 trois heures cinq
(Note: do not pronounce the “s” at the end of “heures”) For time past the half-hour, the number of minutes is subtracted from the next hour. So instead of saying “It’s 5:35” you would say “It’s 6 minus 25”. 5:45
six heures moins vingt-cinq
10:40 onze heures moins vingt
The quarter and half-hours have special forms: 4:15 quartre heures et quart 2:30 deux heures et demi 9:45 diz heures moins le quart 12:00 midi (noon) 12:00 minuit (midnight) (Note: “quart” is pronounced like “cahr”)
AM and PM are expressed as du matin (in the morning), de l’aprèsmidi (in the afternoon) and du soir (in the evening). To ask the time: To respond:
Quelle heure est-il ? What time is it? Il est....heure(s) It is...o’clock
Example
Quelle heure est-il? Il est trois heures. Trois heures? Oui, trois heures. Oh là là! J’ai un rendez-vous avec David dans vingt minutes! Au revoir, Jean-Paul. Au-revoir Stephanie. A bientôt.
What time is it? It’s three o’clock. Three o’clock?! Yes, three o’clock. Oh my! I have a date with David in 20 minutes! Bye Jean-Paul! Bye Stephanie! See ya later!
Practice
Write out the times below in French. 2:30 _________________________________________________ 12:10 (pm) ____________________________________________ 8:45 _________________________________________________ 9:50 _________________________________________________ 17h30 _______________________________________________ 20h45________________________________________________
Useful Words and Phrases le jour day la journée day (duration)* le soir night la soirée night (duration)* le matin morning la matinée morning (duration)* l’après-midi afternoon l’an (m) year l’année (f ) year (duration)* le mois month la semaine week la date date l’heure (f ) hour/time le printemps spring l’été (m) summer l’automne (f ) fall l’hiver (m) winter aujourd’hui today demain tomorrow hier yesterday tous les jours every day dérnier(e) last (last month, last week, etc) * An, jour, matin, and soir indicate a simple division of time whereas année, journée, matinée and soirée indicate an emphasis on the actual length of time. For example: Je suis en France depuis deux jours. I’ve been in France for two days. Je vais étudier toute la journée. I will study all day long. C’était un bon an. It was a good year. Bonne année! Happy New Year!
Practice Translate into English. Je vais faire une promenade demain matin. ______________________________________________________. Le film commence à huit heures et demi. ______________________________________________________. Mon anniverssaire est dans le printemps. ______________________________________________________.
Days of the Week lundi mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi samedi dimanche
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Months janvier fevrier mars avril maï juin juillet août septembre octobre novembre décembre
January February March April May June July August September Octobre November December
Note: In French, days of the week and months are not capatalized unless beginning the sentence.
Did You Know...? When referring to periods of a week or two weeks in French, the expressions most often used are huit jours and quinze jours.
Quelle est la date audjourd’hui? ______________________________________________________.
Il va partir dans huit jours. He’s going to leave in a week.
J’aime regarder Friends tous les jours à 22h45 ______________________________________________________.
Je suis ici depuis quinze jours. I’ve been here two weeks.
Adjectives
Complicated
Many adjective change forms completely while some just add a letter or two for the feminine. These are necessary to memorize once you find the pattern. Listed below are several adjectives in both their masculine and femine forms. You need to understand how and when an adjective will change. Learn these well! Irregular Adjectives: Masculine Feminine English actif active sporty beau/bel belle beautiful bon bonne good cher chère expensive complet complète complete dernier dernière last ennuyeux ennuyeuse annoying fou/fol folle crazy gentil gentille nice/gentil gros grosse fat heureux heureuse happy neuf neuve brand new nouveau nouvelle new secret secrète secret trompeur trompeuse wrong vieux/vieil vieille old Regular Adjectives (only an “e” or no change”): amusant amusante funny difficile difficile hard facile facile easy intelligent intelligente smart jeune jeune young mauvais mauvaise bad intéressant intéressante interesting propre propre clean sale sale dirty triste triste sad
Remember...
Feminine adjectives have an “e” at the end; this means you have to pronounce the consonant that precedes the “e” whereas in the masculine adjectives, these consonants are silent.
Rules
Adjectives, or words that modify nouns, can describe a multitude of traits including shape, color, size, quality, etc. French adjectives are very different from the English adjectives. They must agree in gender and number with the noun that they modify. For example: le joli chat the pretty cat
la jolie maison the pretty house
The majority of adjectives come after the noun they modify. le stylo vert the green pen
la voiture verte the green car
l’homme intelligent la soeur amusante the smart man the funny sister
les quatre gros chiens the four fat dogs Note: If an adjective ends in an “e”, there is no difference between masculine and feminine forms. If the adjective ends in an “s”, there is no difference between the masculine and plural masculine forms.
How do you know which come before the noun and which come after the noun? BANGS: Beauty, Age, Number, Goodness, Size. If the adjective falls into one of the BAGS categories, it comes before the noun. le bel homme the handsome man (Beauty) la jeune fille the young girl (Age) les trois bananes the three bananas (Number) les gentils gens the nice people (Goodness) les petites pommes the little apples (Size)
About You!
Now that you’ve learned so many adjectives and verbs, you are able to talk about yourself! Just remember that adjectives must agree - if you are male, then your adjectives must be masculine and if you are female, your adjectives must be feminine. Try out some of these phrases! J’habite à... I live in J’habite à New York. Je viens de... I’m from Je viens de Nashville. Je veux... I want Je veux un chat Je préfère... I prefer Je préfère le lait. J’aime... I love J’aime le vin! Want to say you like or want to do something? Add the infinitive of what you like or want to do after “J’aime...” or “Je veux”, respectively. J’aime voyager. J’aime manger le pizza. I like to travel. I like to eat pizza.
J’aime regarder la télé. I like to watch TV.
Je veux être mince. Je veux aller au cinéma. I want to be thin. I want to go to the movies.
Je veux visiter la France. I want to visit France.
Practice
Translate the following into French. Remember placement and agreement! 1. the big room ________________________________________ 2. the dirty girl ________________________________________ 3. the nice family ______________________________________ 4. the funny man ______________________________________ 5. the new computer ___________________________________ 6. the happy boys ______________________________________ 7. the difficult test _____________________________________ 8. the interesting story __________________________________ 9. the crazy toilet ______________________________________ 10. the brand new car ___________________________________ 11. the easy tests _______________________________________ 12. the bad apple ______________________________________ 13. the sporty, pretty woman _____________________________ 14. the six little bananas _________________________________ 15. the three last computers ______________________________ Translate the following into English. 1. Il est un garçon intelligent. ____________________________ ____________________________________________________ 2. J’ai deux nouvelles radios. ______________________________ ____________________________________________________ 3. Elle est belle. _______________________________________ 4. Les nouvelles voitures sont chères. _______________________ ____________________________________________________ 5. Ma soeur est heureuse. ________________________________ ____________________________________________________ 6. J’ai besoin d’un nouveau livre. __________________________ ____________________________________________________ 7. Mon mari est très gentil, actif et beau. ____________________ ____________________________________________________ 8. J’ai un gros chat orange. _______________________________ ____________________________________________________
Les couleurs rouge red orange orange jaune yellow vert(e) green bleu(e) blue violet(te) purple rose pink marron(e) brown noir(e) black blanc(he) white gris(e) grey
Adjective Enhancers plus more moins less très very tout(e) totally, completely, all complètement completely bien rather, quite pas not tellement so exactement exactly
Bon vs. Bien Both bon and bien can be adjectives, adverbs or nouns. Bon can mean “good” or “nice”. Bien can mean “well” or “good”. Il a bon coeur. Très bien! J’ai une bonne soirée. Ça sent bon! Je vais bien, merci.
He has a good heart. Very good! I’m having a good night.
La radio marche bien. Il est bon étudiant. Ça serait bien!
The radio is working well. He’s a good student. That would be great!
That smells good! I’m well, thanks.
Mauvais and Mal work the same way as Bon and Bien. Mauvais means “bad” and Mal means “wrong” or “badly”!