French For Football/Notes/Introductory Material

Material for New Lessons

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

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

Grammar: The French alphabet

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

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

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

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

	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?

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

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.

#	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

#	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

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

Vocabulary: Asking for the time

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

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

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

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

Formation

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

Tenses and Moods

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

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

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

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

Formation

	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

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

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

Expressing Agreement

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

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

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

Regular Formation

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

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

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

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

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

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

• assez - rather, enough
  • Il est assez intelligent. - He is rather intelligent.
• très - very
  • Il est très_zintelligent. - 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. Très_zin is pronounced trayzahn.

G: Regular -er Verbs

Formation

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.

jouer - to play

Grammar -er Verb Formation · Formation de verbes en -er
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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

G: Indirect Object Pronouns lui and leur

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

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

Vocabulary The House · La maison
General		Actions
la rue	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) 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

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

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

• 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.

Related Words

• défaire - to demolish
• malfaire - to do badly
• refaire - to remake

Expressions with Faire

• 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

• Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns

Meanings

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

Place in sentences

• 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

• 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

• 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

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

• 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

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 Indefinate Articles

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

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.

V: Weather - Le temps

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

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

Formation

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

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

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

• 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

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

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.

finir - to finish

Grammar -ir Verb Formation · Formation des verbes en -ir
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

Formation

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

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

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

• Il est mon_nami. - He is my friend.
• Il est ton_nami. - He is your friend.
• Il est son_nami. - He is his/her friend.

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

• Ils sont mes_zamis. - They are my friends.
• Ils sont nos_zamis. - 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 mon_namie. - She is my friend.

G: Regular -re Verbs

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

attendre – to wait

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

Vendre

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

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

G: Beau, Nouveau, and Vieux

Formation

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

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

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

Formation

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

Related Words

• prendre - to take
• apprendre - to learn
• comprendre - to comprehend/understand
• se méprendre - to be mistaken
• surprendre - to surprise

Idioms and Related Expressions

• 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