French For Football/Notes/Introductory Material

Material for New Lessons

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This is NOT a lesson page - it contains NOTES for lesson material for the Introductory Modules. It is being produced by adapting the text from the Introductory and Level One sections of the French Wikibook. As the new material is generated, the corresponding old material is deleted.

Vocabulary: Numbers

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1 un 1st = 1er premier(ère)
2 deux 2nd = 2ième deuxième
3 trois 3rd = 3ième troisième
4 quatre 4th = 4ième quatrième
5 cinq 5th = 5ième cinquième
6 six 6th = 6ième sixième
7 sept 7th = 7ième septième
8 huit 8th = 8ième huitième
9 neuf 9th = 9ième neuvième
10 dix 10th = 10ième dixième
11 onze 11th = 11ième onzième
12 douze 12th = 12ième douzième
13 treize 13th = 13ième treizième
14 quatorze 14th = 14ième quatorzième
15 quinze 15th = 15ième quinzième
16 seize 16th = 16ième seizième
17 dix-sept 17th = 17ième dix-septième
18 dix-huit 18th = 18ième dix-huitième
19 dix-neuf 19th = 19ième dix-neuvième
20 vingt 20th = 20ième vingtième
un 1 une unité (a unity)
dix 10 une dizaine (one ten)
douze 12 une douzaine (one dozen)

Original Material from the French Wikibook

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Grammar: The French alphabet

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Characters Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm
Pronunciation ah bay say day euh eff jhay ash ee zhee kah el em
Characters Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Pronunciation enn oh pay ku air ess tay ue vay dubl-vay eeks ee-grehk zedh

In addition, French uses several accents which are worth understanding. These are: à, è, ù, (grave accents) and é (acute accent) which only applies to e. A circumflex applies to all vowels as well: â, ê, î, ô, û. And also a tréma (French for diaerasis) for vowels: ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ and combined letters: æ and œ

Vocabulary: Greetings

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Salut Hi./Bye. (informal)
Bonjour Hello (more formal than salut) (all day)
Bonsoir Hello (after 19h00)
Bonne soirée Good evening  
Bonne nuit Good night
Quoi de neuf ? What's up (about you)? (lit. what's new)  
Pas grand-chose. Not much. (lit. no big-thing)  

Vocabulary: Goodbyes

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Salut. Hi./Bye. (informal)
Au revoir. Good-bye. ohrvwahr (ev not pronounced)
À demain. See you tomorrow. ah duhman (Lit: To/Until Tomorrow)
Au revoir, à demain. Bye, see you tomorrow.  
À tout à l'heure. See you (later today)! ah tootah luhr
À la prochaine. See you (tomorrow)! ah lah proh shayn
À bientôt. See you soon. ah byantoe
Ciao Bye. chow (Italian)

Vocabulary: Courtesy

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Please S'il te plaît. (Lit: If it pleases you.)
S'il vous plaît. (formal).
Thanks (a lot) Merci (beaucoup).
You're welcome. De rien. (Lit: It's nothing.)
Pas de quoi. (Lit: Not of what.) (No problem.)
Je t'en prie. I pray you (informal)
Je vous en prie (formal)

Vocabulary: Titles

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French Abbr. Pronunciation English, Usage
Singular
Plural
Monsieur
Messieurs.
M. muhsyeu
mehsyeu
Mr., Sir.
Gentlemen.
Singular
Plural
Madame
Mesdames
Mme mahdamn
maydahm
Mrs., Ma'am.
Ladies
Singular
Plural
Mademoiselle
Mesdemoiselles
Mlle mahdmwahzell
mehdmwahzell
Miss, Young lady
Young ladies

Vocabulary: How are you?

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Comment allez-vous? (formal),
Comment vas-tu? (informal),
Comment ça va?/Ça va ? (informal)
How are you?
Ça va (très) bien I'm doing (very) well
(lit. It's going (very) well)
Oui, ça va. Yes, it goes.
Très bien, merci. Very well, thanks.
Pas mal. Not Bad
pas si bien/pas très bien not so well
(très) mal (very) bad
Comme ci, comme ça. So-So.
Désolé(e). I'm sorry.
Et toi?
Et vous?
And you? (informal)
And you? (formal)

Vocabulary: Cardinal numbers

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un 1 une unité (a unity)
deux 2
trois 3
quatre 4
cinq 5
six 6
sept 7
huit 8
neuf 9
dix 10 une dizaine (one ten)
onze 11
douze 12 une douzaine (one dozen)
treize 13
quatorze 14
quinze 15
seize 16
dix-sept 17
dix-huit 18
dix-neuf 19
vingt 20 une vingtaine (around twenty)
vingt et un 21
vingt [deux - neuf] 22-29
trente 30
trente et un 31
trente [deux - neuf] 32-39
quarante 40
cinquante 50
soixante 60
soixante-dix 70
soixante et onze 71
soixante-[douze - dix-neuf] 72-79
quatre-vingts 80
quatre-vingt-un 81
quatre-vingt-[deux - neuf] 82-89
quatre-vingt-dix 90
quatre-vingt-[onze - dix-neuf] 91-99
cent 100 une centaine (one hundred)
[deux - neuf] cents 200-900
deux cent un 201
neuf cent un 901
mille 1.000 un millier (one thousand)
(un) million 1.000.000
(un) milliard 1.000.000.000


Things of note about numbers:

  • For 70-79, it builds upon "soixante" but past that it builds upon a combination of terms for 80-99
  • Only the first (21,31,41,51,61 and 71, but not 81 nor 91) have "et un" without a hyphen; but past this it is simply both words consecutively (vingt-six, trente-trois, etc) with a hyphen in between.
  • For 100-199, it looks much like this list already save that "cent" is added before the rest of the number; this continues up to 1000 and onward.
  • Many speakers of French outside of France refer to the numbers 70 to 99 in the same pattern as the other numbers. For instance, in Switzerland and Belgium, seventy is "septante," 71 is "septante et un," 72 "septante deux," and so on. Ninety is "nonante". In Switzerland, Eighty is "huitante" or "octante".

Vocabulary: The days of the week.

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# French Pronunciation English Origin
1 lundi luhndee Monday Moon
2 mardi mahrdee Tuesday Mars
3 mercredi maircruhdee Wednesday Mercury
4 jeudi juhdee Thursday Jupiter
5 vendredi vahndruhdee Friday Venus
6 samedi sahmdee Saturday Saturn
7 dimanche deemahnsh Sunday Sun

Notes:

  • What day is it today? is equivalent to Quel jour sommes nous aujourd'hui?, Quel jour est on aujourd'hui? or On est quel jour aujourd'hui? (last one is less formal but more common)
  • Quel jour sommes nous aujourd'hui? can be answered with Aujourd'hui c'est..., C'est... or Nous sommes ... / On est...
  • Nous sommes... is not used with hier, aujourd’hui, or demain. C'était (past) or C'est (present/future) must be used accordingly.
  • The days of the week are not capitalized in French.
1a Aujourd'hui on est quel jour ? Today is what day? ojzoordwee on ay kell jzoor
1b Aujourd'hui on est [jour]. Today is [day].
2a Demain c'est quel jour ? Tomorrow is what day? Duhman on ay kell jzoor
2b Demain c'est [jour]. Tomorrow is [day].


avant-hier the day before yesterday
hier yesterday
aujourd'hui today
ce soir tonight
demain tomorrow
après-demain the day after tomorrow

Vocabulary: The months of the year

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# French Pronounced English
01 janvier jzahnvyay January
02 février fayvryay February
03 mars mahrse March
04 avril ahvrill April
05 mai maye May
06 juin jzwan June
07 juillet jzuyay July
08 août oot/oo August
09 septembre septahmbruh September
10 octobre oktuhbr October
11 novembre novahmbr November
12 décembre daysahmbr December
  • The months of the year are not capitalized in French.
  • For phrases relating to the months of the year, see the phrasebook
Quelle est la date
(d'aujourd'hui) ?
What is the date
(today)?
kell ay lah daht
C'est le [#] [month]. It's [month] [#]. say leuh...

Vocabulary: Seasons

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la saison season
au printemps Spring
l'été (m) Summer
l'automne (m) Autumn
l'hiver (m) Winter

Vocabulary: Asking for the time

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Asking for the time.
4a Quelle heure est-il ? What hour/time is it? kell er ayteel
4b Quelle heure il est ? kell er eel ay
5 Il est [nombre] heure(s). It is [number] hours. eelay [nombre] er

Vocabulary: Time

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In French, “il est” is used to express the time; though it would literally translate as “he is”, it is actually, in this case, equivalent to “it is” (impersonal "il"). Unlike in English, it is always important to use “heures” (“hours”) when referring to the time. In English, it is OK to say, “It’s nine,” but this wouldn’t make sense in French.

Quelle heure est-il ? What time is it?
Il est une heure. It is one o’clock.
Il est trois heures. It is three o’clock.
Il est dix heures. It is ten o’clock.
Il est midi. It is noon.
Il est minuit. It is midnight.
Il est quatre heures cinq. It is five past four.
Il est quatre heures et quart. It is a quarter past four.
Il est quatre heures moins le quart It is a quarter till 4.
Il est quatre heures quinze. It is four fifteen.
Il est quatre heures et demie. It is half past four.
Il est quatre heures trente. It is four thirty.
Il est cinq heures moins vingt. It is twenty to five.
Il est quatre heures quarante. It is four forty.

Vocabulary: Times of day

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le lever du jour daybreak
lit:the rise of the day
le lever du soleil sunrise
lit: the rise of the sun
le soleil levant rising sun.
le matin morning
...du matin A.M., lit: of the morning
hier matin yesterday morning
le midi noon, midday
l'après-midi (m) afternoon
le soir evening, in the evening
...du soir P.M. lit: of the evening
la nuit night
le coucher du soleil sunset

G: The verb avoir

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"Avoir" can be translated as "to have".

Formation

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avoir   /a.vwaʁ/ (ah-vwahr) to have
j'ai /e/ (ay) I have
tu as /a/ (ah) you have
il a /a/ (ah) he has
nous avons /a.vɔ̃/ (ah-voh(n)) we have
vous avez /a.ve/ (ah-vay) you have
ils ont /ɔ̃/ (oh(n)) they have
eu /y/ had

Examples

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J'ai deux stylos. I have two pens.
Tu as trois frères. You have three brothers.
Il a une idée. He has an idea.

Expressing Age

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Avoir is used to express age.

  • Tu as quel âge? - How old are you? [lit: You have what age?]
  • J'ai trente ans. - I'm thirty (years old). [lit: I have thirty years]

There is/are - Il y a

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The expression il y a means there is or there are.

  • Il y a un livre. - There is a book.
  • Il y a des livres. - There are books.

Vocabulary: The Family

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Immediate Family
ma famille my family
les parents parents
la mère mother
le père father
la femme wife
le mari husband
la soeur sister
le frère brother
l'enfant child (m or f)
les enfants children
la fille daughter
le fils son

Grammar: Direct Object Pronouns le, la, and les

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le, la, and les are called direct object pronouns, because they are pronouns that are, you guessed it, used as direct objects. A direct object is a noun that is acted upon by a verb.

  • Il lance la balle. - He throws the ball.

In the above sentence la balle is the direct object.

You have learned earlier that names and regular nouns can be replaced by the subject pronouns (je, tu...). Similary, direct objects, such as "la balle", can be replaced by pronouns.

  • le - replaces a masculine singular direct object
  • la - replaces a feminine singular direct object
  • l' - replaces le and la if they come before a vowel
  • les - replaces plural direct objects, both masculine and feminine

The direct object pronouns come before the verb they are linked to.

  • Il la lance. - He throws it.
  • Il les lance. - He throws them.

Le, la, and les can replace either people or inanimate objects.

D: Where are you from?

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Quentin Bonjour, Léon. Dis donc, Tu es d’où?
Léon Je suis de Paris, Quentin.
Quentin Alors, tu es français?
Léon Oui, exactement.
Quentin Et Marie, elle est d’où?
Léon Elle est de Marseille. Elle est française, aussi.
Quentin Merci, Léon. Au revoir.

Grammar: Subject pronouns

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French has six different types of pronouns: the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person singular and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person plural.

1st person singular je I
plural nous we
2nd person singular tu you
plural vous you
3rd person singular il, elle, on he, she, one
plural ils, elles they (masculine)
they (feminine)

When referring to more than one person in the 2nd person, “vous” must be used. When referring to a single person, “vous” or “tu” may be used depending on the situation; see notes in the introductory lessons.

The pronoun it does not exist in French. Il replaces all masculine nouns, even those that are not human. The same is true with elle and feminine nouns.

In addition to the nuances between vous and tu, as discussed earlier, French pronouns carry meanings that do not exist in English pronouns. The French third person "on" has several meanings, but most closely matches the now archaic English "one". While in English, "One must be very careful in French grammar" sounds old-fashioned, the French equivalent "On doit faire très attention à la grammaire française" is quite acceptable. Also, while the third person plural "they" has no gender in English, the French equivalents "ils" and "elles" do. However, when pronounced, they normally sound the same as "il" and "elle", so distinguishing the difference requires understanding of the various conjugations of the verbs following the pronoun. Also, if a group of people consists of both males and females, the male form is used, even with a majority of females — however, this sensibly yields to overwhelming majority: given a group of only one male to thousands of females, the female form would be used.

In everyday language, “on” is used, instead of “nous”, to express “we”; the verb is always used in the 3rd person singular. For example, to say "We (are) meeting at 7 o'clock", you could say either “On se rencontre au cinéma à sept heures.” (colloquial) or “Nous rencontrons au cinéma à sept heures.” (formal). For more, see the Wikipedia entry.

G: Introduction to Verbs

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A verb is a word that describes an action or mental or physical state.

Tenses and Moods

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French verbs can be formed in four moods, each of which express a unique feeling. Each mood has a varying number of tenses, which indicate the time when an action takes place. In the next section, we will look at the conjugations in the present tense of the indicative mood, more commonly called the present indicative. There is one conjugation for each of the six subject pronouns.

Infinitives

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The infinitive form is the basic form of a verb. It does not refer to a particular tense, person or subject. In this book, the infinitive form of the verb is used to identify it. In English, the infinitive form is to ___. In French, the infinitive is one word. For example, parler translates to to speak, finir translates to to finish, and aller translates to to go.

Conjugation

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French verbs conjugate, which means they take different shapes depending on the subject. English verbs only have one conjugation; that is the third person singular (I see, you see, he/she sees, we see, they see). The only exception is the verb "to be" (I am; (thou art); you are; he/she is; we are; they are;). Most French verbs will conjugate into many different forms. Most verbs are regular, which means that they conjugate in the same way. The most common verbs, however, are irregular.

G: Être - To Be

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Être translates as to be in English. It is an irregular verb, and is not conjugated like any other verb.

Formation

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Singular Plural
first person je suis jeuh swee I am nous sommes noo sum we are
second person tu es too ay you are vous êtes voozett you are
third person il est eel ay he is ils sont eelsohn they are
(masc. or mixed)
elle est ell ay she is
on est ohn ay one is elles sont ellsohn they are (fem.)

Examples

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Je suis avocat. I am (a) lawyer. jzeuh swee ah voh cah
Tu es à la banque. You are at the bank. too ay ah lah bahnk
Il est beau. He is handsome. eel ay boh

Try to learn all these conjugations. They will become very useful in forming tenses.

Idioms

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  • Ça y est! - I've done it! Finished!
  • J'y suis! - I get it!
  • Vous y êtes? - Are you ready?

Expressing Agreement

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Tu es d’accord ou pas?, Tu es d’accord? (lit: You are of agreement?), or simply D'accord? is used informally to ask whether someone agrees with you.

To respond positively, you say Oui, je suis d'accord. or simply D'accord. D'accord corresponds to the English okay.

Grammar: Cities and Nationalities

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To say what city you are from, you use the preposition de.

  • Il est de Paris.

When stating your nationality or job, it is not necessary to include the article. This is an exception to the normal rule.

  • Je suis Australien(ne). - I am [an] Australian.

There is both a masculine and feminine form of saying your nationality - for males and females respectively.

  • Il est Australien. - He is [an] Australian.
  • Elle est Australienne. - She is [an] Australian.

In the next lesson, you will learn how to say the nationality of more than one person.

Grammar: Adjectives - Les adjectifs

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Just like articles, French adjectives also have to match the nouns that they modify in gender and plurality.

Regular Formation

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Most adjective changes occur in the following manner:

  • Feminine: add an -e to the masculine form
    • un garçon intéressant --> une fille intéressante
    • un ami amusant --> une amie amusante
    • un camion lent --> une voiture lente
  • Plural: add an -s to the singular form
    • un garçon intéressant --> des garçons intéressants
    • une fille intéressante --> des filles intéressantes

Pronunciation

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Generally, the final consonant is pronounced only when it comes before an -e. Most adjectives, such as those above, are affected by this rule.

  • Masculine Pronunciation: intéressan, amusan, len
  • Feminine Pronunciation: intéressant, amusant, lent

With plural adjectives, the -s ending is not pronounced, so the adjective will sound exactly the same as the singular form.

Exceptions and Irregularities

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Adjectives that end in e in the masculine form do not change in gender. When an adjective, such as gros, ends in -s, it does not change in the masculine plural form. Sometimes the final consonant is doubled in the feminine form. See French/Grammar/Adjectives for more.

Vocabulary: Describing People

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Masculine Singular Feminine Singular Masculine Plural Feminine Plural
size and weight
Il est petit. Elle est petite. Ils sont petits. Elles sont petites.
Il est moyen. Elle est moyenne. Ils sont moyens. Elles sont moyennes.
Il est grand. Elle est grande. Ils sont grands. Elles sont grandes.
Il est gros. Elle est grosse. Ils sont gros. Elles sont grosses.
hair color
Il est blond. Elle est blonde. Ils sont blonds. Elles sont blondes.
Il est brun. Elle est brune. Ils sont bruns. Elles sont brunes.
attitude and personality
Il est intelligent. Elle est intelligente. Ils sont intelligents. Elles sont intelligentes.
Il est intéressant. Elle est intéressante. Ils sont intéressants. Elles sont intéressantes.
Il est amusant. Elle est amusante. Ils sont amusants. Elles sont amusantes.

Vocabulary: Common Adjectives

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Attitude and Personality Size and Weight
sympa(thique)(s) nice gros(se)(ses) fat
amusant(e)(s) funny petit(e)(s) small
intelligent(e)(s) intelligent moyen(ne)(s) average
intéressant(e)(s) interesting grand(e)(s) big
patient(e)(s) patient
sociable(s) sociable Actions
timide(s) timid bon(ne(s) good
dynamique(s) outgoing mauvais(e)(s) bad
gentil(le)(s) nice, gentle Difficulty
strict(e)(s) strict facile(s) easy
fort(e)(s) strong difficile(s) difficult

Vocaabulary: Colors

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Masculine Feminine English
blanc blanche white
gris grise gray
noir noire black
rouge rouge red
orange orange orange
jaune jaune yellow
vert verte green
bleu bleue blue
violet violette violet
marron marron brown (everything but hair)
brun brune brown (hair - dark haired)
rose rose pink
safran safranne saffron

Grammar: Adverbs Expressing Degree

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  • assez - rather, enough
    • Il est assez intelligent. - He is rather intelligent.
  • très - very
    • Il est trèszintelligent.[1] - He is very intelligent.
  • vraiment - truly, really
    • Il est vraiment intelligent. - He is really intelligent.

^ Often when a vowel sound comes after a consonant, the usually unpronounced s and z change to a sharp z sound and link to the next syllable. This process is called liaison. In this book, will will show that the sound is connected using z. Trèszin is pronounced trayzahn.

G: Regular -er Verbs

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Formation

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Most French verbs fall into the category of -er verbs. To conjugate, drop the -er to find the "stem" or "root". Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense.


Grammar
-er Verb Formation · Formation de verbes en -er
jouer - to play
pronoun ending verb
je -e joue
tu -es joues
il/elle -e joue
nous -ons jouons
vous -ez jouez
ils/elles -ent jouent

Elision and Liaison

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In all conjugations, je changes to j ' when followed by a vowel. Example: J'attends. Also, as a rule of thumb: h is considered a vowel; as in J'habite.... If a phrase is negative, ne changes to n'.

In all plural forms, the s at the end of each subject pronoun, normally unpronounced, becomes a z sound and the n of on becomes pronounced when followed by a vowel.

Common -er Verbs

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Grammar
Formation of Common -er Verbs · Formation des verbes communs en -er
Infinitive Stem Present Indicative Conjugation
First Person Second Person Third Person
parler parl Je parle Tu parles Il parle Singular
to speak Nous parlons Vous parlez Ils parlent Plural
habiter habit J'habite Tu habites Il habite Singular
to live Nous habitons Vous habitez Ils habitent Plural
écouter écout J'écoute Tu écoutes Il écoute Singular
to listen Nous écoutons Vous écoutez Ils écoutent Plural

S'amuser

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The verb s'amuser means to have fun in English. It is a type of pronominal verb (a verb that includes a pronoun as part of it) called a reflexive verb, which means that the action of the verb is reflected back onto the subject. Literally translated, the verb means To amuse oneself.

Formation
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Grammar
Formation of Common -er Verbs · Formation des verbes communs en -er
Infinitive Stem Present Indicative Conjugation
First Person Second Person Third Person
s'amuser amus Je m'amuse Tu t'amuses Il s'amuse Singular
to have fun Nous nous amusons Vous vous amusez Ils s'amusent Plural

Conjugated Verb + Infinitive

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Like in English, some verbs can be followed by infinitives. The most common -er verbs used in this manner are aimer and détester.

  • J'aime parler. - I like to speak.
  • Nous détestons travailler. - We hate working.

When negating a sentence, remember that the negative goes around the conjugated verb.

  • Je n'aime pas parler. - I don't like to speak.

D: Recreation

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Here is a short dialog about people planning/doing leisure activities. Besides the new vocabulary you should also have a look at how the verbs are conjugated depending on the subject of the sentence.

  • Jean-Paul : Qu'est-ce que vous faites ?
  • Marc et Paul : Nous jouons au tennis.
  • Marie : Je finis mes devoirs.
  • Michel : J'attends mon ami.
  • Pierre : Je vais au parc.
  • Christophe : Je viens du stade.

V: Recreation

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Qu'est-ce que vous faites? What are you doing?
jouer to play
finir[2] to finish
attendre[3] to wait (for)
aimer to like
détester to hate
rigoler to joke around[4]
(mon) ami(e)[5] (my) friend

^ Finir and attendre are not -er verbs. You will learn their conjugation in a later lesson.

^ Tu rigoles! means You’re joking! or You don’t mean it!

^ Mon is often substituted for ma when the following word begins with a vowel. Thus, mon amie is used instead of ma amie, while ma bonne amie would be okay.

V: Places

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le parc park
la piscine swimming pool
la plage beach
le restaurant restaurant
le stade stadium

G: Indirect Object Pronouns lui and leur

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Indirect objects are prepositional phrases with the object of the preposition, a direct object is a noun that receives the action of a verb.

  • Il jette la balle à Jacques. - He throws the ball to Jack.
  • Il jette la balle à Marie. - He throws the ball to Mary.
  • Il jette la balle à Jacques et Marie. - He throws the ball to Jack and Mary.

Lui and leur are indirect object pronouns. They replace nouns referring to people and mean to him/her and to them respectively.

  • lui - replaces a singular masculine or feminine indirect object referring to a human
  • leur - replaces a plural masculine or feminine indirect object referring to a human

An example follows:

  • Il lui jette la balle. - He throws the ball to him.
  • Il lui jette la balle. - He throws the ball to her.
  • Il leur jette la balle. - He throws the ball to them.

Whether lui means to him or to her is given by context.

In English, "He throws him the ball" is also said, and means the same thing.

When used with the direct object pronouns le, la, and les, lui and leur come after those pronouns.

  • Il la lui jette. - He throws it to him.

Note that while le, la, and les are used to replace people or inanimate objects, lui and leur are not used to replace innanimate objects and things.

Also note that unlike le and la, which are shortened to l' when followed by a vowel, lui is never shortened

V: Jouer

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The verb jouer is a regular -er verb meaning to play. It can be used to refer to both sports and instruments.

When referring to sports, use jouer à, but when referring to instruments, use jouer de...

As always, jouer must be conjugated rather than left in the infinitive.

Vocabulary
Play · Jouer
jouer à... jouer de...
au baseball baseball de la clarinette clarinet
au basket basketball du piano piano
au football soccer; football de la guitare guitar
au football américain American football du violon violin
au golf golf de la batterie drums
(singular
in French)
au tennis tennis
au volley volleyball

V: The House

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Vocabulary
The House · La maison
General Actions
la rue[6] street arriver (à la maison) to arrive (home)
la (belle) vue (beautiful) sight, view rentrer (à la maison) to go back home
(tout) près (de)
(pas) (tout) loin (de)
(very) close (to)
(not) (very) far (from)
quitter (la maison)[7]
quitter (une salle)
to leave (home)
to leave (a room)
chez [person] at the house of [person]
at [person]'s house
donner sur la rue
donner sur la cour
to overlook the street
to overlook the courtyard
Houses habiter to live (somewhere)
la maison
la maisonnette
le pavillon
house, home
small house
individual house
habiter en ville
habiter en banlieue
to live downtown
to live in the suburb
l’immeuble (m) (appartment) building Floors
l'appartement (m) flat/apartment l'étage (m) level
le studio studio le rez-de-chaussée lobby, ground floor
H.L.M.
(Habitations à
Loyer Modéré)
low income housing le premier étage
le deuxième étage
le troisième étage
second floor
third floor
fourth floor
Cities and Neigborhoods
le quartier neigborhood le centre ville downtown
l'arrondissement (m) district la ville city
la banlieue the suburb le village town
Rooms Parts of a Room
la pièce
la chambre
room le plafond ceiling
la salle de séjour family room le sol ground
la cave basement la fenêtre window
le grenier attic le toit roof
la cuisine kitchen Entering and Exiting
la salle à manger dining room le mur wall
la salle de bains bathroom l'escalier (m) stairs
la chambre à coucher bedroom monter à pied to walk up stairs
le garage Garage l'ascenseur (m) elevator/lift
les toilettes
(f) (no singular)
water-closet, restroom
(only toliet, no bath)
monter en ascenseur
prendre l'ascenseur
to go up by elevator
to take the elevator
le bureau office monter à pied to go up by foot
Outside a House la porte door
la voiture car l'entrée (f) entry(way)
la terrase patio Furniture
le balcon balcony le rideau curtain
le jardin garden la chaise chair
la fleur flower la table table
l'arbre (m) tree l'armoire (f) cupboard
la cour courtyard le lit bed
le (la) voisin(e) neigbor le tapis carpet
le fauteuil armchair

^ To express to live on ____ street, you say habiter rue ____

  • J'habite Rue Lecourbe. - I live on Lecourbe Street.
  • Il habite Rue de Rennes. - He lives on Rennes Street.

^ Quitter must be followed by a direct object, usually a room or building.. Partir is used in other phrases. You will learn how to conjugate these verbs in a future lesson.

G: Faire

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The verb faire is translated to to do or to make. It is irregularly conjugated (it does not count as a regular -re verb).

Formation

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faire   /fɛʁ/ (fehr) to do
je fais /fɛ/ (feh) I do
tu fais /fɛ/ (feh) you do
il fait   /fɛ/ (feh) he does
nous faisons /fɛ.zɔ̃/ (feh-zhoh(n)) we do
vous faites /fɛt/ (feht) you do
ils font /fɔ̃/ (foh(n)) they do
fait /ly/ done

Uses For Faire

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  • sports (in French you do sports rather than play them)
  • weather
  • tasks
  • le faire causatif
    • faire (conjugated) + infinitive - to have something done for oneself
    • Je fais réparer le fourneau. - I make/have the stove repaired.
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  • défaire - to demolish
  • malfaire - to do badly
  • refaire - to remake

Expressions with Faire

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  • faire attention - to pay attention
  • faire connaissance - to get acquainted
  • faire la morale - to scold
  • faire la queue - to wait in line
  • s'en faire - to worry

G: me, te, nous, and vous

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  • Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

Meanings

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  • me - me, to me
  • te - you, to you (singular, informal)
  • nous - us, to us
  • vous - you, to you (plural, formal)

Place in sentences

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  • These pronouns are placed before the verb that they modify
    • Je te vois. - I see you.
    • Je veux te voir. - I want to see you.
  • If a perfect tense is used, these pronouns go before the auxillary verb.
    • Je t'ai vu. - I saw you.

Direct Object Replacement

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  • Il me voit. - He sees me.
  • Il te voit. - He sees you.
  • Il nous voit. - He sees us.
  • Il vous voit. - He sees you.

Indirect Object Replacement

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  • Il m'appelle. - He calls to me.
  • Il te le jette. - He throws it to you.
  • Il nous le jette. - He throws it to us.
  • Il vous le jette. - He throws it to you.
^ à coté de - at the side of, next to ^ l'ordinateur (m) - computer ^ aimer regarder - to like to watch
^ y (ee) - there ^ manger - to eat

G: Standard Negation

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In 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

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  • Simple negation is done by wrapping ne...pas around the verb.
    • Je ne vole pas. - I do not steal.
  • In a perfect tense, ne...pas wraps around the auxillary verb, not the participle.
    • Je n'ai pas volé. - I have not stolen.
  • When an infinitive and conjugated verb are together, ne...pas usually wraps around the conjugated verb.
    • Je ne veux pas voler. - I do not want to steal.
  • ne pas can also go directly in front of the infinitive for a different meaning.
    • Je veux ne pas voler. - I want to not steal.
  • ne goes before any pronoun relating to the verb it affects.
    • Je ne le vole pas. - I am not stealing it.

Examples

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Grammar
Negation Formation Examples · Exemples de formation de négation
Il 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

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The indefinite articles un, une, and des change to de (or d’) when negating a sentence.

  • J'ai un livre. - I have a book.
  • Je n'ai pas de livre. - I don't have any book.
  • J'ai des livres. - I have some books.
  • Je n'ai pas de livres. - I don't have any books.

Examples

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Il 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.

G: Contractions

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V: Weather - Le temps[8]

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Vocabulary
Weather · Le temps
General Cloudy Weather
le soleil sun le nuage
Il y a des nuages.
.
cloud
It's cloudy.
lit: There are some clouds.
le ciel sky nuageux(-euse) cloudy
couvert(e)(s) overcast, lit: covered
Warm Weather l'éclaircie (f) clearing, break (in clouds)
Il fait beau It's nice. Cold and Windy Weather
Il fait chaud. It's warm. Il fait froid. It's cold.
Le ciel est dégagé.

Le ciel se dégage.
The sky is clear.
lit: The sky is freed.
The sky is clearing up.
le vent
Il fait du vent.
Le vent souffle.
wind
It's windy.
The wind blows.
Le soleil brille. The sun is shining. la rafale gust of wind
Rainy Weather Snowy Weather
la brume fog, haze, mist l'hiver (m) winter
le brouillard fog la neige
Il neige.
snow
It's snowing.
la bruine drizzle la grêle
Il tombe de la grêle.
.
hail
It's hailing.
lit: It falls of the hail.
une goutte de pluie a drop of rain Extreme weather
la pluie
La pluie tombe.
rain
The rain falls.
un orage
orageux(-euse)
Il y a un orage!
a storm
stormy
There's a storm!
Il pleut.
il a plu.
Il va pleuvoir.
It's raining.
It rained.
It's going to rain.
l'éclair (m)
la foudre
flash (of lightning)
lightning
pluvieux(-euse)
Le temps est pluvieux.
.
rainy
It's raining.
lit: The weather is rainy.
la tempête storm, tempest
de gros nuages noirs. large black clouds agité(e)(s) stormy, agitated
l'averse (f) downpour le tonnerre thunder

^ Le temps means both the weather and the time.

G: Aller

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The verb aller is translated to to go. It is irregularly conjugated (it does not count as a regular -er verb).

Formation

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In the present indicative, aller is conjugated as follows:

Verb
aller · to go
Singular Plural
first person je vais jeuh vay I go nouszallons nouzah lohn we go
second person tu vas too vah you go vouszallez vouzah lay you go
third person il va eel vah he goes ils vont eel vohn they go
(masc. or mized)
elle va ell vah she goes
on va ohn vah one goes elles vont ell vohn they go (fem.)

Usage

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There is no present progressive tense in French, so aller in the present indicative is used to express both I go and I am going.

Aller must be used with a place and cannot stand alone.

The preposition à, meaning in, at, or to, is used, followed by the place.

  • Tu vas a l'école? - You're going to school.

Remember that à le contracts to au and à les contracts to aux.

  • Je vais au stade. - I'm going to the stage.

Instead of a preposition and place, you can use the pronoun y, meaning there. Y comes before the verb. 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.

  • J'y vais. - I'm going there.
  • Tu y vas. - You're going there.
  • Nous y allons. - We're going there.

Futur Proche

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The structure aller + infinitive 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.

Remember that the negative goes around the conjugated verb.

  • Il ne va pas pleuvoir demain. - It's not going to rain tomorrow.

Idioms

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  • Allons-y - ahlonzee - Let's go! (impératif)
  • Ça va? - How are you? (lit: It goes?)
  • On y va! - Let's get going!
  • On y va? - Should we go?

Liaison

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Usually, whenever a vowel sound comes after ...ons or ...ez, the usually unpronounced s and z change to a sharp z sound and link to the next syllable. (This process is called liaison.) However, since allons and allez begins with vowels, nous allons is pronounced nyoozahloh and vous allez is pronounced voozahlay. In order to have a pleasing and clean sound, two liaisons should not go connsecultively. There is therefore no liaison in allons à when it comes right after nous and allez à when it comes after vous.

  • In the phrase Vous allez à l'école?, vous allez à is pronounced vouzahlay ah.
  • In the phrase vous et Marie allez à l'école?, allez à is pronounced ahlayzah.

G: Regular -ir Verbs

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The second category of regular French verbs is -ir verbs. To conjugate, drop the -ir to find the "stem" or "root". Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense.

Grammar
-ir Verb Formation · Formation des verbes en -ir
finir - to finish
pronoun ending verb
je -is finis
tu -is finis
il/elle -it finit
nous -issons finissons
vous -issez finissez
ils/elles -issent finissent

G: Possessive Adjectives

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Formation

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Grammar
Possessive Adjectives · Les adjectifs possessifs
First Person Second Person Third Person
Singular mon, ma, mes my ton, ta, tes your son, sa, ses his, her
Plural notre, notre, nos our votre, votre, vos your leur, leur, leurs their

Usage

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As you can probably tell from their name, possessive adjective are used to express possession of an object.

  • C'est mon livre. - It's my book.

In English the possessive adjective agrees with the subject (his sister, her brother). But in French, possessive adjectives act like all other adjectives: they must agree with the noun they modify.

Grammar
Possesive Adjective Usage · Utilisation des adjectifs possessifs
Masculine Noun
le livre
Feminine Noun
la voiture
le livre de Marc
the book of Marc
son livre
his book
la voiture de Marc
the car of Marc
sa voiture
his car
les livres de Marc
the books of Marc
ses livres
his books
les voitures de Marc
the cars of Marc
ses voitures
his cars
le livre de Marie
the book of Marie
son livre
her book
la voiture de Marie
the car of Marie
sa voiture
her car
les livres de Marie
the books of Marie
ses livres
her books
les voitures de Marie
the cars of Marie
ses voitures
her cars

Whether the third person singular possessive adjectives son, sa and ses are his or her is indicated by context.

  • Elle lit son livre. - She reads her book.

Liaison and Adjective Changes

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Liaison occurs when mon, ton, and son are followed by a vowel.

  • Il est monnami. - He is my friend.
  • Il est tonnami. - He is your friend.
  • Il est sonnami. - He is his/her friend.

Liaison also occurs with all plural forms, since they all end in s.

  • Ils sont meszamis. - They are my friends.
  • Ils sont noszamis. - They are our friends.

Mon, ton, and son are used before a feminine singular noun. Elision (to m', t', or s') does not occur.

  • Elle est monnamie. - She is my friend.

G: Regular -re Verbs

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The third category of regular verbs is made up of -re' verbs. To conjugate, drop the -re to find the "stem" or "root". Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense, as demonstrated below for the present tense.

Formation

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Grammar
-re Verb Formation · Formation des verbes en -re
attendre – to wait
pronoun ending verb
je (j') -s attends
tu -s attends
il/elle - attend
nous -ons attendons
vous -ez attendez
ils/elles -ent attendent

Vendre

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The verb vendre is a regular -re verb:

vendre   /vɑ̃dʁ/ (vahn(n)dr) to sell
je vends /vɑ̃/ (vahn) I sell
tu vends /vɑ̃/ (vahn) you sell
il vend   /vɑ̃/ (vahn) he sells
nous vendons   /vɑ̃.dɔ̃/ (vahn dohn) we sell
vous vendez   /vɑ̃.de/ (vahn day) you sell
ils vendent   /vɑ̃d/ (vahnde) they sell
vendu /vɑ̃.dy/ sold

Common -re Verbs

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Compared to -er verbs, -re verbs are not very common. You will however see the following verbs fairly often.

G: Beau, Nouveau, and Vieux

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Formation

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Grammar
The Adjectives Beautiful, New, and Old · Beau, Nouveau, and Vieux
Masc. Consonant Masc. Vowel Fem. Sing. (all)
Beau Singular un beau garçon un bel individu une belle fillette
Plural de beaux garçons de beauxzindividus de belles fillettes
Nouveau Singular un nouveau camion un nouvel ordre une nouvelle idée
Plural de nouveaux camions de nouveauxzordres de nouvelles idées
Vieux Singular un vieux camion un vieil ordre une vieille idée
Plural de vieux camions de vieuxzordres de vieilles idées

Sentences Placement

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As you have already learned, most adjectives come after the noun they modify in French.

  • un homme intelligent - an intelligent man
  • des hommes intelligents - intelligent men

However, some common French adjectives, including beau, nouveau, and vieux come before the noun.

  • une jolie voiture - a pretty car

Des is replaced with de when an adjective comes before the noun.

  • de jolies voitures - pretty cars

Note that in informal speech, des in very often used in place of de.

G: Prendre

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Prendre is not a regular -re verb, and is conjugated differently.

Formation

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prendre   /pʁɑ̃dʁ/ (prah(n)dr) to take
je prends /pʁɑ̃/ (prah(n)) I take
tu prends /pʁɑ̃/ (prah(n)) you take
il prend   /pʁɑ̃/ (prah(n)) he takes
nous prenons   /pʁə.nɔ̃/ (pruh-noh(n)) we take
vous prenez   /pʁǝ.ne/ (pruh-nay) you take
ils prennent   /pʁɛn/ (prehn) they take
pris /pʁi/ taken
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  • prendre - to take
  • apprendre - to learn
  • comprendre - to comprehend/understand
  • se méprendre - to be mistaken
  • surprendre - to surprise
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  • prendre - to take, to have something to eat
  • prendre conscience (de) - to become aware (of)
  • prendre la correspondance - to change trains
  • prendre une décision - to make a decision
  • prendre des kilos - to gain weight
  • prendre part (à) - to take part (in)
  • prendre la parole - to start talking
  • prendre le pas sur - to surpass
  • prendre le petit déjeuner - to eat breakfast
  • prendre rendez-vous - to make an appointment