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Grammar review · At · À
editThe preposition à /a/ means at or in:
- Nous sommes à la maison.We are at home.
- Il est à l'hôtel.He is at the hotel.
The contraction au /o/ is used in place of à le (singular):
- Je suis au bar.I am at (in) the bar.
Likewise, the contraction aux /o/ is used in place of à les (plural).
Dialogue · Is it going to rain?
editMireille: Il fait beau temps !It is fine weather !
Monique: Il va pleuvoir aujourd'hui ?Is it going to rain today?
- Monique could also use the question form instead of the intonation given above:
- Est-ce qu'il va pleuvoir aujourd'hui ? (Pronounced eh-skeel)
- or
- Va-t-il pleuvoir aujourd'hui ?
Mireille: Non, il ne va pas pleuvoir, il fera soleil.No, not raining, it will be sunny.
Monique: Très bien ! Allons au parc !Very well! let's go to the park.
Marcelle: Apporte un parapluie, au cas où il pleuvrait.Bring an umbrella in case it rains.
Similar to English, pleuvoir is an impersonal verb: it has only a third-person singular conjugation:
- il pleut (present)
- il va pleuvoir or il pleuvra (future)
- il pleuvrait (conditional).
Grammar · Negation · Négation
editIn order to say that one did not do something, the ne … pas construction must be used. The ne is placed before the verb, while the pas is placed after.
Formation and rules
editSimple negation is done by wrapping ne … pas around the verb:
- Je ne porte pas mon manteau.I am not wearing my coat.
In a past tense, ne … pas surrounds the auxiliary verb, not the participle:
- Je n'ai pas porté mon manteau.I did not wear my coat.
When an infinitive and conjugated verb are together, ne … pas usually surrounds the conjugated verb:
- Je ne veux pas porter mes gants.I do not want to wear my gloves.
Ne pas can also precede the infinitive for a different meaning:
- Je veux ne pas porter mes gants.I want not to wear my gloves.
Ne precedes any pronoun relating to the verb it affects:
- Je ne les porte pas.I am not wearing them.
In spoken French, the ne can be omitted, leaving simply pas after the verb in context:
- Je sais pas qui vous êtes.I do not know who you are.
Examples
editIl est avocat. Il n'est pas avocat. |
He is [a] lawyer. He is not [a] lawyer. | ||||
Nous faisons nos devoirs. Nous ne faisons pas nos devoirs. |
We are doing our homework. We are not doing our homework. | ||||
Je joue du piano. Je ne joue pas du piano. |
I play the piano. I do not play the piano. | ||||
Vous vendez votre voiture. Vous ne vendez pas votre voiture. |
You sell your car. You do not sell your car. |
Negation of indefinite articles
editThe indefinite articles un, une, and des change to de (or d’) when negating a sentence.
J'ai un parapluie. Je n'ai pas de parapluie. |
I have an umbrella. I don't have an umbrella. | ||||
J'ai des bottes en caoutchouc. Je n'ai pas de bottes en caoutchouc. |
I have some wellington boots. I don't have any wellington boots. |
Examples
editIl est belge. Il n'est pas belge. |
He is Belgian. He is not Belgian. | ||||
Nous lisons un livre. Nous ne lisons pas de livre. |
We read a book. We do not read a book. | ||||
Je mange une cerise. Je ne mange pas de cerise. |
I eat a cherry. I do not eat a cherry. |
Vocabulary · Common weather
editQuel temps fait-il ? | How's the weather? | ||||
le soleil | /lə sɔ.lɛj/ (help·info) | sun | |||
le ciel | /lə sjɛl/ (help·info) | sky | |||
Ébloui par le soleil | /e.blu.i paʁ lə sɔ.lɛj/ (help·info) | Dazzled by the sun (example: coming into the sun from indoors) | |||
Warm weather | |||||
Il fait beau. | It's fine/nice. | ||||
Il fait chaud. | It's warm/hot. | ||||
Le ciel est dégagé. Le ciel se dégage. |
The sky is clear. The sky is clearing up. | ||||
Le soleil brille | The sun is shining | ||||
Cloudy weather | |||||
le nuage Il y a des nuages |
/nɥaʒ/ (help·info) | cloud It's cloudy | |||
nuageux(-euse) | /nɥa.ʒø/ (help·info) | cloudy | |||
l'éclaircie (f) | sunny spell (in clouds) | ||||
Cold and windy weather | |||||
Il fait froid | (eel feh fwah) | It is cool/cold | |||
Il fait trop froid | (eel feh troh fwah) | It is too cold | |||
le vent Il y a du vent Le vent souffle. |
[[:Media:Fr-vent.ogg|]] (help·info) | wind It's windy. The wind blows | |||
la rafale | /ʁafal/ (help·info) | gust of wind |
Note that le temps means both the weather and the time.
Grammar · To go · Aller
editThe verb aller is translated to to go. It is irregularly conjugated (it does not count as a regular -er verb).
Formation
editaller /a.le/ (ah-lay) | to read |
---|---|
je vais /vɛ/ (vay) | I go |
tu vas /va/ (vah) | you go |
il va /va/ (vah) | he goes |
nous allons /a.lɔ̃/ (ah-loh(n)) | we go |
vous allez /a.le/ (ah-lay) | you go |
ils vont /vɔ̃/ (voh(n)) | they go |
allé /a.le/ | gone |
Usage
editThere is no present progressive tense in French, so aller in the present indicative is used to express both I go and I am going:
- Où est-ce que tu vas?Where are you going?
Aller must be used with a place and cannot stand alone.
In addition to meaning at or in, the preposition à /a/ means to when used with aller :
- Je vais à Paris.I am going to Paris.
- Je vais au bureau.I am going to the office.
- Tu vas à l'école ?You're going to school?
Near future · Futur proche
editAn infinitive preceded by aller is used to say that something is going to happen in the near future:
- Il va pleuvoir demain.It's going to rain tomorrow.
- Il va faire froid.It's going to be cold.
- Je vais aller au magasin.I will go to the store.
Recall that the negative goes around the conjugated verb.
- Il ne va pas pleuvoir demain.It's not going to rain tomorrow.
Supplementary grammar · There · y
editIn place of a preposition and place, the pronoun y /i/, meaning there, can be used; y comes before the verb:
- J'y vais.I'm going there.
- Nous allons au Mexique. Nous y allons.We are going to Mexico. We are going there.
Remember that aller must be used with a place (there or a name) when indicating that you are going somewhere, even if a place wouldn't normally be given in English.
The negative form of aller with the y pronoun has both the verb and pronoun enclosed between ne and pas:
- Il n'y va pas.He's not going there.
Supplementary vocabulary · Expressions
editAllons-y | (ahlon-zee) | Let's go | |||
Ça va ? Comment allez-vous ? |
(sah vah) (koh-mah(n) tahlay-voo) |
How are you? | |||
Allez ! | Come on! | encouragement | |||
vas-y allez-y |
go ahead; go on | ||||
On y va ! | Let's get going! | ||||
On y va ? | Should we go? |
Vocabulary · Rain and snow · La pluie et la neige
editRainy weather | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
la brume | /bʀym/ (help·info) | fog, haze, mist | |||
le brouillard | /bʀujaʀ/ (help·info) | fog | |||
la bruine | /bʁɥin/ (help·info) | drizzle | |||
une goutte de pluie | a drop of rain | ||||
la pluie La pluie tombe. |
rain The rain falls. | ||||
Il pleut. Il a plu. Il va pleuvoir. |
It's raining. It rained. It's going to rain. | ||||
pluvieux(-euse) Le temps est pluvieux. |
rainy It's raining. | ||||
l'averse (f) | /a.vɛʁs/ (help·info) | shower | |||
Snowy weather | |||||
la neige Il neige. |
/nɛʒ/ (help·info) | snow It's snowing. | |||
la grêle Il tombe de la grêle. |
/gʀɛl/ (help·info) | hail It's hailing. | |||
Extreme weather | |||||
un orage orageux(-euse) Il y a un orage! |
/ɔʁaʒ/ (help·info) | a storm stormy There's a storm! | |||
l'éclair (m) la foudre |
/e.klɛʁ/ (help·info) /fudʁ/ (help·info) |
flash (of lightning) lightning | |||
la tempête | Fr-tempête.ogg (help·info) | storm, tempest | |||
le tonnerre | Fr-tonnerre.ogg (help·info) | thunder |
Dialogue
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Exercises
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French : Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts