First published in 2007 by The Publishing Cupboard 20 St Vincent Crescent Glasgow G3 8LQ www.publishingcupboard.co.uk Feel free to suggest any subjects you think would benefit from the Nod Off approach.
compiled by Caroline Smart designed by Fi Steel produced by Peter Rinne presented by Bénédicte Paviot ©The Publishing Cupboard 2007 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 All rights reserved. A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN ����������������� 978-0-9553294-0-1 Printed in Italy by Amadeus SpA
Contents
Track
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
What is the Nod Off approach? Relaxation Speaking & writing French Nouns & gender Determiners Numbers & ordinals Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Pronouns ĂŠtre (to be) Avoir (to have) Regular verbs Irregular verbs Negatives Questions Learning tips
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What’s the approach?
Some people get tense just thinking about learning – even when it’s something they actually want to learn. Perhaps it’s reawakening bad memories. Unfortunately this tension can act as a barrier to learning. Research has shown that being relaxed is the ideal state for our brains to absorb and understand information and Nod Off uses relaxation techniques to put you into the right frame of mind. There’s no pressure to keep up with what is said on the CD, so don’t worry if your mind wanders or if you nod off. Your brain is still listening and taking in the information. Have you ever gone to bed unable to work out the answer to a crossword clue, only to find that you wake up knowing the answer? While you have been asleep your brain has been beavering away. The only bit of ‘homework’ is for you to think up a personal statement. One that focuses on the goal you want to achieve. Rather than, ‘this time I will learn French’, which just reminds your brain of past failures, choose something like ‘I can speak French’. This plants a positive message in your subconscious. For it to work, your mind needs to be calm and quiet. The message grows stronger the more you repeat it.
Sleep bubbles contain a short nugget of information or advice that give a clearer understanding of the language.
And why nod off?
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So that you don’t have to rely solely on the CD, we have distilled all the information into this booklet. The subject is presented in a logical and confidence–building order. Rather than shy away from grammatical terms, it explains them. We focus on small words – the real key to any language. We also try to help you see connections between English and French. By listening to the CD and referring to the booklet, you will get a good basic understanding of French. At the back of the booklet we give tips on learning a language plus useful websites and other resources for you to move on to a higher level. You can also visit www.publishingcupboard.co.uk where there are further tips, resources and links.
Before you nod off, make a positive statement such as ‘I can speak French’ or ‘I understand how French works’.
Warning!
Only listen to the relaxation track when lying down or in a comfortable chair. Skip it if you are are driving a car and go straight to track 3.
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Relaxation
Lying down Lie on your back – preferably without a pillow. Check that your body is in a straight line from the crown of your head to the point between your heels. Let both feet roll outwards, then your knees, then your thighs. Feel your hips relaxed and open. Have your palms turned upwards, with hands slightly away from your hips – this allows your shoulders to open and relax. The back of your neck should be long – tuck your chin in slightly and this will lengthen it. Sitting Make sure you are sitting in a comfortable seat - one you can relax back in. Have both feet flat on the floor. If your feet don’t reach the ground place a stool or a couple of thick books beneath them. Your feet and knees should be a few inches apart, thighs parallel to the ground. If possible, have your lower back supported with a cushion and sit back. Don’t try to keep your spine too straight. Shoulders should be wide and relaxed. The backs of your hands should be cupped gently on your lap. Check that the back of your neck is long – tuck your chin in slightly to lengthen it.
The quickest way to quieten a busy mind is to focus on your breathing.
Relaxation
2
Face Your face should feel soft and relaxed. Your jaw muscles should be relaxed. Check for any tension inside your mouth. Your tongue should be soft and relaxed. Check for any tension in your eyes – eyelids should be gently shut, with eyes beneath them soft and smiling. Breathing Breathe in and out through the nose. Keep your focus on your breathing. Become aware of the movement of your chest and belly as your breath fills the lungs. First the chest rises, then the rib cage expands and finally the belly is pushed out. As you exhale, become aware of the reverse order of movement. As the bottom of the lungs empty, the belly falls. Then the rib cage contracts and the chest falls. Feel the slow strong rhythm as breath and movement work together. Awareness Try not to let any ‘outside’ thoughts disturb or distract you. Just focus on your breathing. If you find thoughts intruding, just observe them, don’t get involved in them. Watch them come and watch them go. Nodding Off Don’t worry if your mind wanders or if you fall asleep, your brain is still listening.
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Speaking & Noticing which part of the mouth you use helps to get the right sounds.
French sounds Consonants are letters that aren’t vowels. Using lips most: b f m p v Tip of tongue pressed against back of top teeth: d t The letter j sounds like zhuh Flatten tongue against roof of mouth: -gn- (gagner, oignon) Tongue against sides of top teeth: -ie- (papier, février) For French r, relax the back of your mouth and say rrrr French vowel sounds Vowels are a e i o u front of mouth
mid-mouth
ee (visite) ��� ah (pas, gaz) ay (les, café) euh (peur, heure) eh (billet) uh (le, me, se) a (mal, tabac) oo (une, du)
back of mouth
oo (vous, nous) oh (trop, haut, au) o (col, soleil)
Nasal vowels Pronounced through the nose, these occur where a vowel is followed by a single m or n (in the same syllable). In the word enfant, en- is the first syllable, -fant is the second. an—en, temps, enfant on—non, mon, garçon en—pain, vin, rien un—un, parfum
writing French
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Liaison Final consonants are often not pronounced: trois, monsieur, billet. But if the next word begins with a vowel, then the final consonant is sometimes pronounced - but tacked on to the next word. This is known as liaison: trois filets (trwah fee-leh) but trois enfants (trwa zonfon) Mute or aspirate h The letter h is always silent, but it can be mute or aspirate. A mute h acts like a vowel, so you get liaison: les hôtels (lay zohtel), les hommes (lay zomm), les heures (lay zuhr) There is no liaison with aspirate h: le huit mai (luh wee may), le hamburger (luh amboorger) le homard (luh omar), la hache (la ash) Word endings affected by liaison -d is pronounced -t: quand est-ce que? (koñ tess-kuh?) -f is pronounced -v: neuf ans (nuh voñ) -s,-x pronounced -z: dans une (doñ zoon), dix ans (dee zan) Contraction This is where a short word combines with the following one and the dropped vowel is replaced by an apostrophe (like ‘it is’ can be ‘it’s’). Unlike English, you must always show contraction in French. It occurs with: le (l’arbre), la (l’idée) and de (d’eau, d’habitude) je and ce: j’aime, c’est toi me, te, se, le and la: elle s’appelle, il m’a parlé, je t’adore ne: n’est-ce pas? que (but never qui): qu’est-ce que?, le chat qu’on a vu words such as aujourd’hui, quelqu’un
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Speaking &
There’s no avoiding accents in French. Rather than wish they didn’t exist, or just guessing which to use, find out what they do. Acute accent Goes up to the right����������������������� – found �������������������� on the letter e. It gives a short, sharp ‘acute’ effect: porté, manqué, passé, février Grave accent Goes down to the right. It gives a more open sound to the letter e. Words ending e-consonant-e gain a grave accent on the first e: père, mère, j’achète Also occurs in words ending -es, such as: après, très, près A grave accent on a or u is to distinguish words spelled the same but with different meanings: à (to, at)—a (has), où (where)—ou (or), là (there)—la (the) Circumflex This usually indicates that a letter has been dropped from the original form of the word (see English in brackets): château (castle), intérêt (interest), pâtes (pasta). Also used to distinguish dû (owed) from du (of the, some).
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writing French
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Cedilla Squiggle under c tells you to pronounce it like s: leçon, ça, façade, reçu
Diaeresis Two dots over i or e – indicate ������������������ that the i or e should be pronounced separately from the vowel next to it: naïve, Noël, Citroën, Gaëlle
grave
acute
diaeresis
cedilla circumflex
Accent Man 11
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Nouns & gender
Nouns are the names we give to things: Tom, Louise, man, woman, cat, dog, day, night, noun, verb. All French nouns have a gender (masculine or feminine), not just people and animals. You find a house, maison, is feminine and a garden, jardin, is masculine. This can cause mild panic for English-speakers. Fortunately, the French word for ‘the’ (le or la) can tell you whether a noun is masculine or feminine. Le is for masculine nouns and la is for feminine nouns. masculine
le le le le le le
feminine
père (father) frère (brother) jour (day) train (train) jardin (garden) magasin (shop)
la la la la la la
mère (mother) sœur (sister) nuit (night) voiture (car) maison (house) boulangerie (baker’s)
It is best to learn nouns with le and la so that, as well as learning the word, you also learn its gender.
Gender plays a big part in French. Once you have established that something is feminine (the house, yourself, the person you are talking to), you have to reflect this in any words connected to it.
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Nouns & gender
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Endings can give some clue as to gender. But take care, there are always exceptions.
-age le fromage, le courage, le voyage -eau le cadeau, le bateau, le château -et le billet, le guichet, le sachet -ment le croisement, le mouvement, le vêtement
-ié la moitié, la pitié, l’amitié -ée la journée, la soirée, l’année -ion la consultation, la destination, la télévision -ice, la police, l’actrice, la directrice -esse la vitesse, la caresse, la sagesse
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