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Grammar · À and de

The preposition à can indicate a destination, a location, a characteristic, measurement, a point in time, and purpose.

When le follows à, the à and le combine into au. Similarly, à and les combine into aux.

The preposition de can indicate an origin, contents, possession, cause, and manner.

When le follows de, the de and le combine into du. Similarly, de and les combine into des.

Vocabulary · Leisure activities · Les loisirs

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le cinéma	/si.ne.ma/	cinema
la musique	/myzik/	music
le spectacle	/spɛk.takl/	show
le théâtre	/te.atʁ/	the theater
la danse	/dɑ̃s/	dance
le sport	/spɔʁ/	sport

Grammar · -tir verbs

The following verbs are all conjugated irregularly, in the same way.

To leave · Partir

partir  /paʁ.tiʁ/ (pahr-teer)	to leave
je pars /paʁ/ (pahr)	I leave
tu pars /paʁ/ (pahr)	you leave
il part  /paʁ/ (pahr)	he leaves
nous partons /paʁ.tɔ̃/ (pahr-toh(n))	we leave
vous partez /paʁ.te/ (pahr-tay)	you leave
ils partent /paʁt/ (pahrt)	they leave
parti(e)(s)  /paʁ.ti/ (pahr-tee)	left

The verbs repartir /ʁǝ.paʁ.tiʁ/ (ruh-pahr-teer, meaning to leave for where one came from or to restart is conjugated in the same way as partir.
Répartir /ʁe.paʁ.tiʁ/ (ray-pahr-teer), meaning to distribute or to forward, is conjugated in the regular second group pattern (see the conjugation table).

To go out · Sortir

sortir  /sɔʁ.tiʁ/ (sohr-teer)	to go out
je sors /sɔʁ/ (sohr)	I go out
tu sors /sɔʁ/ (sohr)	you go out
il sort  /sɔʁ/ (sohr)	he goes out
nous sortons /sɔʁ.tɔ̃/ (sohr-toh(n))	we go out
vous sortez /sɔʁ.te/ (sohr-tay)	you go out
ils sortent /sɔʁt/ (sohrt)	they go out
sorti(e)(s)  /sɔʁ.ti/ (sohr-tee)	gone out

The verb ressortir /ʁǝ.sɔʁ.tiʁ/ (ruh-sohr-teer, meaning to go or come back out, to take back out, to emerge from, or to stand out, is conjugated in the same way as sortir.

Related expressions

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à partir de	/a paʁ.tiʁ də/	starting at, from […] onward supposing (that)		À partir du règne de Louis le Gros, les communes ont commencé à être affranchies de la féodalité. À partir du troisième acte, l’intérêt de cette pièce va en s’affaiblissant.	Starting with the reign of Louis the Fat, communes began to be incorporated into the feudal system. Starting in the third act, interest in this play starts to weaken.
la sortie	/sɔʁ.ti/	exit, end, final part of

Supplementary vocabulary · All verbs

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repentir	/ʁə.pɑ̃.tiʁ/	to repent	repen-
-men-
mentir	/mɑ̃.tiʁ/	to lie	men-
démentir	/demɑ̃tiʁ/	to contradict, to deny, to belie	démen-
-par-
partir	/paʁ.tiʁ/	to leave	par-
repartir	/ʁǝ.paʁ.tiʁ/	to leave for where one came from, to restart	repar-
répartir	/ʁe.paʁ.tiʁ/	to distribute, to forward	répar-
-sen-
sentir	/sɑ̃.tiʁ/	to feel, to taste, to smell	sen-
consentir	/kɔ̃.sɑ̃.tiʁ/	to consent	consen-
pressentir	/pʁɛ.sɑ̃.tiʁ/	to foresee	pressen-
ressentir	/ʁəsɑ̃tiʁ/	to feel	ressen-
-sor-
sortir	/sɔʁ.tiʁ/	to go out, to take out	sor-
ressortir	/ʁǝ.sɔʁ.tiʁ/	to go or come back out, to take back out	ressor-

Supplementary examples

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Il en ressort que […]		It follows from this that […]
C'est une image qui ressort.		It's an image that stands out.

Vocabulary · Movies · Les films

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le film	/film/	movie
les sous-titres	/su.titr/	subtitles
l'acteur (m) l'actrice (f)	/ak.tœʁ/ /ak.tʁis/	actor actress
louer	/lwe/	to rent
la vidéo le DVD	/vi.deo/	video DVD
The movie theater
le cinéma	/si.ne.ma/	the (movie) theater
la salle du cinéma		theater showing room	lit: room of the theater
la séance	/se.ɑ̃s/	showing
le guichet	/giʃɛ/	ticket window
la place le fauteuil	/plas/ /fotœj/	seat/place to sit chair1
coûter	/ku.te/	to cost
jouer	/ʒwe/	to play
Film genres
le documentaire		documentary
le film d’aventures		adventure movie
le film d’horreur		horror film
le film de science-fiction		sci-fi film

• ¹Un fauteuil is the physical chair that one sits on. One would normally use "une place" whenever "a seat" is used in English.
  • Prenez place ! - Take a seat! (very common expression. No article before place, you should not say Prenez la place)

Grammar · -enir verbs

-enir verbs are irregularly conjugated (they are not treated as regular -ir verbs).

To come · Venir

The most common -enir verb is venir, meaning to come.

When venir is used with the preposition de, it means to come from or to be from:

Ces pommes viennent de l'Espagne. (These apples come from Spain.)

When venir de is used with a verb, it states that you have recently accomplished an action.

Je viens de me réveiller. (I have just got up.)

Formation

In the present indicative, venir (and all other -enir verbs) is conjugated as follows:

venir  /vǝ.niʁ/ (vuh-neer)	to come
je viens /vjɛ̃/ (vyuha(n))	I come
tu viens /vjɛ̃/ (vyuha(n))	you come
il vient /vjɛ̃/ (vyuha(n))	he comes
nous venons /vǝ.nɔ̃/ (vuh-noh(n))	we come
vous venez /vǝ.ne/ (vuh-nay)	you come
ils viennent /vjɛn/ (vyuhehn)	they come
venu(e)(s) /vǝ.ny/ (vuh-new)	come

Supplementary vocabulary · All -enir verbs

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venir	/vǝ.niʁ/	to come
revenir	/ʁǝ.vniʁ/	to come back, to return
devenir	/dǝv.niʁ/	to become
redevenir	/ʁǝ.dǝ.vniʁ/	to become again
appartenir (à)	/apaʁtəniʁ/	to belong to, to concern
contenir	/kɔ̃.tniʁ/	to contain, to hold
détenir	/det(ə)niʁ/	to keep, to detain
retenir	/ʀətəniʀ/	to hold back, to retain, to uphold
se souvenir	/sə su.vniʁ/	to remember
soutenir	/sut.niʁ/	to support
soutenir que		to maintain that
tenir	/tǝniʀ/	to hold

Supplementary examples

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Je viens de finir mes devoirs.		I have just finished my homework.

Supplementary grammar · -é…er verbs

-é…er verbs are regular -er verbs, but are also stem changing.

Formation

suggérer  /syɡ.ʒe.ʁe/ (sewg-zhay-ray)	to suggest
je suggère /syɡ.ʒɛʁ/ (sewg-zhehr)	I suggest
tu suggères /syɡ.ʒɛʁ/ (sewg-zhehr)	you suggest
il suggère /syɡ.ʒɛʁ/ (sewg-zhehr)	he suggests
nous suggérons /syɡ.ʒe.ʁɔ̃/ (sewg-zhay-roh(n))	we suggest
vous suggérez /syɡ.ʒe.ʁe/ (sewg-zhay-ray)	you suggest
ils suggèrent /syɡ.ʒɛʁ/ (sewg-zhehr)	they suggest
suggéré /syɡ.ʒe.ʁe/ (sewg-zhay-ray)	suggested

Other -é…er verbs

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accélérer	/ak.se.le.ʁe/	to accelerate
céder	/se.de/	to yield
célébrer	[se.le.bʁe]	to celebrate
espérer	/ɛspeʁe/	to hope
préférer	/pʁe.fe.ʁe/	to prefer
sécher	/se.ʃe/	to dry

Examples

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Elles suggèrent une démonstration de maquillage.		They suggest a cosmetic makeover.
Son attitude suggère une dépression nerveuse imminente.		His attitude suggests an imminent nervous breakdown.

Supplementary word details · La sortie

La Sortie or Sortie is generally used for fire exit signage in buildings to direct people in the building to the nearest exit. 

In this case, La Sortie would imply The Way Out(side) to those reading it.

Exercises

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