Nuances • E + constanant + E = è + cons. + e (add grave accent to first E). • J'habite dans une maison/un appartement (dans = equivalent of English "in" for describing where you live) • ton/mon/son etc amie always because with the "A" at the beginning of the noun sounds nice with mon instead of ma if the amie is feminine. • Difference between nouvelle and nouveau: both mean new: Nouveau Masculine Un nouveau crayon Nouvelle Feminine Une nouvelle television.
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Nuances
• E + constanant + E = è + cons. + e (add grave accent to first E).
• J'habite dans une maison/un appartement (dans = equivalent of English "in" for describing where you live)
• ton/mon/son etc amie always because with the "A" at the beginning of the noun sounds nice with mon instead of ma if the amie is feminine.
• Difference between nouvelle and nouveau: both mean new:
Nouveau Masculine Un nouveau crayon
Nouvelle Feminine Une nouvelle television.
FRENCH PRONUNCIATION
Among the nuances, there are:
• accents;
• liaisons;
• silent letters not pronounced at the end of words (e.g. petit – the ‘t’ is not pronounced);
• careful consonants (c, r, f, l – which are sounded when they are at the end of a word, e.g. avec); and
• changes in spelling and pronunciation for words referring to the feminine and masculine (e.g. “I am English” translates “je suis anglais“(male) BUT “je suis anglaise” (female).
PRONOUNCING THE FRENCH ALPHABET
How to ask/be asked for the spelling
How do you spell it? = “Comment ça s’écrit?“
Pronouncing the alphabet
• The letters to pay attention to are E, I, U, G, J, H, R and Y.
• Pronunciation guidelines are in the lighter letters underneath.
A ah
E euh
I e
O oh
U ueh
B bey
C cey
D dey
F eff
G jay
H hash
J jee (j is soft)
K kar
L el
M em
N en
P pey
Q cou (hard c)
R air
S es
T tay
V vey (vélo)
W doubla vey
X eeks
Y ee-grek
Z zet
^ accent circumflex
é accent aigu/acute
è accent grave
Things to watch out for
• Watch out for G and J, the sounds of which are reversed in French.
• I struggle with E and U (pron: euh and ueh respectively). E comes more from a huh (high in the throat) noise while U comes more from a ooh (deep in the throat) sound. If in doubt spend some time with the audio buttons on the BBC’s website.
• Remember: in French ‘I’ is pronounced like the English ‘E’.
• To say a double letter, e.g. ‘double t’ you say “double tay” (or you could say “deux tay”)
Pronouncing E & U
As in
• rue (street) – pron: "wrew"
• roue (wheel/red hair) – pron: "row"
USING ACCENTS IN FRENCH
There are four French accents for vowels and one accent for a consonant.
Why does this matter?
• It is essential to put accents in their proper places – an incorrect or missing accent is a spelling mistake just as an incorrect or missing letter would be.
• The only exception to this is capital letters, which are often left unaccented.
Accent aigu (acute accent) – ´
• can only be on an E.
Accent grave (grave accent) – `
• Used on A, E, or U.
• On the A and U, it usually distinguishes between words would otherwise be homographs; e.g., ou (or) vs où (where).
Accent circonflexe (circumflex) – ˆ
• Can be on an A, E, I, O, or U.
• The circumflex usually indicates that an S used to follow that vowel, e.g., forêt (forest).
• It also serves to distinguish between homographs; e.g., du (contraction of de + le) vs dû (past participle of devoir).
Accent tréma (dieresis or umlaut) – ¨
• can be on an E, I, or U.
• It is used when two vowels are next to each other and both must be pronounced, e.g., naïve, Saül.
Cédille (cedilla) – ¸
• Only used for letter C.
• Changes a hard C sound (like K) into a soft C sound (like S), e.g., garçon.
• Is never placed in front of E or I, because C always sounds like an S in front of these vowels.
NUMBERS
0 zéro 1 un 2 deux 3 trois 4 quatre 5 cinq 6 six 7 sept 8 huit 9 neuf 10 dix
11 onze 12 douze 13 treize 14 quatorze 15 quinze 16 seize 17 dix-sept 18 dix-huit 19 dix-neuf
20 vingt 21 vingt et un (note the et for 21, 31, 41, 51 & 61) 22 vingt-deux 23 vingt-trois
30 trente 31 trente et un 32 trente-deux
40 quarante 41 quarante et un
50 cinquante 51 cinquante et un
60 soixante 61 soixante et un 62 soixante-deux 63 soixante-trois 64 soixante-quatre 65 soixante-cinq 66 soixante-six 67 soixante-sept 68 soixante-huit 69 soixante-neuf
Time for something new: 70
• 70 is “sixty-ten”.
• 71 is soixante et onze (sixty and eleven) etc up to 79.
70 soixante-dix 71 soixante et onze 72 soixante-douze 73 soixante-treize 74 soixante-quatorze 75 soixante-quinze 76 soixante-seize 77 soixante-dix-sept 78 soixante-dix-huit 79 soixante-dix-neuf
• In some French-speaking areas, e.g. Belgium and Switzerland, 70 is septante.
Something different again: 80
• 80 is quatre-vingts (four twenties).
• 81 is quatre-vingt-un (four-twenty-one) – NO ET for 81, unlike all 21, 31, 41, 51 and 61.
• In Switzerland 80 is huitante.
80 quatre-vingts 81 quatre-vingt-un 82 quatre-vingt-deux 83 quatre-vingt-trois 84 quatre-vingt-quatre 85 quatre-vingt-cinq 86 quatre-vingt-six 87 quatre-vingt-sept 88 quatre-vingt-huit 89 quatre-vingt-neuf
Nineties
• you continue using quatre-vingt + ten
• 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (four-twenty-ten)
• 91 is quatre-vingt-onze (four-twenty-eleven) etc.
• In Switzerland and Belgium 90 is nonante.
90 quatre-vingt-dix 91 quatre-vingt-onze 92 quatre-vingt-douze 93 quatre-vingt-treize 94 quatre-vingt-quatorze 95 quatre-vingt-quinze 96 quatre-vingt-seize 97 quatre-vingt-dix-sept 98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit 99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
100-199
• Same construction as English: hundred(s) + other numbers.
• When cent is at the end of the number, it takes an s, but when it’s followed by another number, the s is dropped.
100 cent 101 cent un 125 cent vingt-cinq
200 deux cents 201 deux cent un 243 deux cent quarante-trois
1,000+
Similar to English, but:
• Separated by a full stop/space, not a comma, e.g. 1.000 or 1 000
• Mille never takes an s
1,000 un mille
1,000,000 un million 2,000,000 deux millions 3,800,107 trois millions huit cent mille cent sept – 3.800.107 or 3 800 107
a billion un milliard
TU/VOUS – REFERRING TO ‘YOU’ THE SECOND PERSON IN FRENCH
In English, we use “you” regardless of whether it’s you “one person singular” or you “a group of people”.
In French there are two words:
Tu
• ‘you’, singular, informal (friends, family, peers, children, pets)
Vous
• ‘you’ singular formal (superiors, elders, strangers, to show respect)
• ‘you’ plural
If in doubt:
• use “vous”. The French are much more formal than the English re. spoken language and offence can be caused by using tu.
• Wait until the other person uses “tu”, unless they are your superior when you should still use vous.
You can try asking: “On/Nous peut se tutoyer?” (Can we use tu?)
tutoyer to use tu
vouvoyer to use vous
ARTICLES: THE, A, AN, & SOME IN FRENCH
All nouns have a gender: masculine or feminine.
• When learning a noun, learn the gender with it.
• There are few rules to determine which gender a noun takes.
• words ending in –e and –ion are more likely to be feminine.
• to make a word plural add ‘s’, like in English, e.g. les livres (the books).
• treat words beginning with ‘h’ as though they began with the second letter, usually a vowel. Some ‘h’ words do however being with le or la.
The
Masc. singular LE le passeport (passport)
Fem. singular LA la leçon (lesson)
Before a vowel or h (generally) L’ l’imprimante (printer)
Plural (f & m) LES les passeports or les leçons
A/An
Masc. singular UN le passeport (passport)
Fem. singular UNE la leçon (lesson)
Some/any
Masc. singular DU le passeport (passport)
Fem. singular DE LA la leçon (lesson)
Before a vowel or h (generally) DE L’
Plural (m & f) DES des leçons
Note the conjugations
DE LE = DU (of the)
DE LES – DES (of the)
C A R E F U L CONSONANTS: PRONUNCIATION
Something to emphasise when it comes to pronunciation.
Generally, the last letter of a word isn’t pronounced.
E.g. petits pois (small peas): sounds like “peti poi”
HOWEVER
The last letter is pronounced
WHEN
(1) An adjective becomes feminine
E.g. petite fille (little girl)
Here, petite sounds like the English pronunciation of “petite”.
(2) The word ends in the letter C, R, F or L
E.g. avec (with), oeuf (egg)
NB – with oeufs (eggs) the f/s is not pronounced.
We call them “careful consonants” because they are found in the word careful and it’s a handy way to remember them!
TELLING THE TIME IN FRENCH: QUELLE HEURE EST-IL?
Quelle heure est-il? : What time is it
If you’re going to travel in France, it can be very helpful to understand how to tell the time.
What time is it? Quelle heure est-il ?
It’s one o’clock Il est une heure 1h00
It’s two o’clock Il est deux heures 2h00
It’s 3:30 Il est trois heures et demie Il est trois heures trente
3h30
It’s 4:15 Il est quatre heures et quart Il est quatre heures quinze
4h15
It’s 4:45 Il est cinq heures moins le quart Il est cinq heures moins quinze Il est quatre heures quarante-cinq
4h45
It’s 5:10 Il est cinq heures dix 5h10
It’s 6:50 Il est sept heures moins dix Il est six heures cinquante
6h50
It’s 7 am Il est sept heures du matin 7h00
It’s 3 pm Il est trois heures de l’après-midi Il est quinze heures
15h00
It’s 6 pm Il est six heures du soir Il est dix-huit heures
18h00
It’s noon Il est midi 12h00
It’s midnight Il est minuit 0h00
Rules
• Note that for quarter past you simple say ‘et quart‘ (lit. ‘and quarter’) but for quarter-to you say ‘moin le quart‘ (lit. ‘minus the quarter), i.e. the/le is only used for quarter-to (but must be used).
• French has two ways for saying ‘time‘: l’heure (literally ‘the hour) and ‘temps‘ (time in the sense of ‘I spent time‘). For telling the time ‘l’heure‘ is used. ‘The’ is written as ‘l’ because in French an ‘h’ is ignored and the rules for how to write ‘the’ apply as though the second letter of the word was the first.
• ‘O’clock’ (heure – literally ‘hour’) is always said, except with midnight (minuit) and midday (midi).
• the hour and minute are separated by ‘h’ (for heure) where in English one would use a colon :. E.g. 15h00 instead of 15:00.
• French doesn’t have words for “am” and “pm”
What to say instead of am and pm
• du matin: used for am (literally, ‘of the morning‘)
• de l’après-midi: used noon – approx 6pm (literally, ‘of the afternoon‘, .e.g. ‘trois heures de l’après-midi‘)
• du soir: used from 6pm – midnight
OR, just use the 24 hour clock. In the train station, the 24 hour clock will be used.
DAYS OF THE WEEK IN FRENCH
It is useful to know days of the week in French, especially for making hotel, travel and restaurant reservations.
Note: unlike English, the day starts with lower case unless at the beginning of a sentence.
lundi Monday
mardi Tuesday
mercredi Wednesday
jeudi Thursday
vendredi Friday
samedi Saturday
dimanche Sunday
Saying the date
• The 'th', 'st' and 'nd' e.g. for 20th in English isn't used.
• The French simply write, e.g. lundi, 16 dicembre 2011
And if you want to describe your habits
tous les lundis every Monday
tous les mardis every Tuesday
tous les mercredis every Wednesday
tous les jeudis every Thursday
tous les vendredis every Friday
tous les samedis every Saturday
tous les dimanches every Sunday
And if you do something ‘every’ week
le lundi on Mondays
le mardi on Tuesdays
le mercredi on Wednesdays
le jeudi on Thursdays
le vendredi on Fridays
le samedi on Saturdays
le dimanche on Sundays
HELLOS AND GOODBYES
The first thing I need to learn is how to say hello and goodbye.
Hellos…
Morning, early afternoon Bonjour Hello
Late afternoon, evening Bonsoir Good evening
To a good friend Salut Hi
For the first introduction Bonjour Hello
More formally Enchanté(e) Pleased to meet you (extra ‘e’ for females)
On the phone Allô Hello
Goodbyes…
At any time Au revoir Goodbye
To a good friend Salut! Ciao! Bye
To someone going to bed Bonne nuit Good night
‘Have a good day’ Bonne journée
‘Have a good evening’ Bonne soirée
INTRODUCTIONS
Je me présente Let me introduce myself
Questions
Informal/General Formal/plural English
Comment t’appelles-tu ? Comment t’appellez-vous Comment vous appelez-vous? Comment allez-vous?
What is your name?
Quelle est votre nom? What is your name?
Quel âge aves-tu? Quel âge avez-vouz? Vous avez qual âge? (liaison)
How old are you?
Quelle est ta profession? Quelle est votre profession? Quel est votre métier
What is your job?
Qu’est-ce que vous faites comme métier?
What do you do as a job?
Comment vas-tu? Comment allez-vous? How are you?
Comment ça va? How does it go/are you?
Quelle est ta nationalité? Quelle est votre nationalité? What is your nationality?
Quelle est ton numéro de portable?
What is your mobile number?
Tu veux...? Do you want...?
Tu veux prendre un pot avec moi ce soir?
Do you want to have a drink with me this evening?
Avez-vous des enfants? Do you have any children?
Où habitez-vous? Where do you live?
Parlez vous français? Do you speak French?
Où travielle vous Where do you work?
Quel est votre mètier/profession? What is your job?
Pour quoi voulez-vous apprendre/parler français?
Why do you want to learn/speak French?
Answer
French English Notes
Je m’appelle… I am called… Literally “I call myself”
J’ai 40 ans… I am 40 years old
Je suis I am
Je suis journaliste I am a journalist I am BUT no THE – Some job titles change for female & male speakers
Je vais (bien) I'm (well) Aller (to go) is used for queries of health/happiness in the sense of 'it goes well'.
C'est le
Et vous? / Et toi?*1 And you?
Elle/Il s'appelle... She/he is called Referring to single person
Elles/Ils s'appellent... They are called
1 Difference between "et toi?" and "et tu...?": both mean "and you...?" but toi is slightly more
formal. Tu is also always followed by a verb. No verb after 'you', use toi.
Presentations
Informal/Gen Formal/plural English
Je te présente… Je vous présente.. I’d like to introduce…
Voici… This is…
Il/Elle s’appelle… His/Her name is…
Enchanté/Enchantée. Pleased to meet you (v.formal)
Key vocab
mon prénom my first name un nom de famille surname (NB: surnom = nickname)
Introductions
How to say:
• Your name
• Introduce someone else (translated as "I present…")
• Say 'pleased to meet you' (just one word)
• Say your age and ask someone else's age (translated as I have tay
• Say where you live and where you were born (and ask someone else)
• Say what job you do.
There are differences in literal translation and sentence constructions between English and French.
English French Difference in sentence construction
Formal How are you? Comment allez-vous Lit. "how does it go"?
Vous allez bien?
Informal Comment vas-tu?
Ça va?
I'm fine thanks Je vais bien Lit. "it goes well"
Very well thanks Très bien, merci.
And you?
Formal Et vous?
Informal Et toi?
I would like to introduce (you to a friend)
Je vous présente une amie.
Pleased to meet you Enchantée
Giving & asking names:
Formal What's your name Comment vous appelez-vous?
Informal Comment t’appelles-tu?
My name is… Je m’appelle …
Where do you live and come from?
Formal Where do you live? Où habitez-vous?
Informal
I live in Paris J’habite à Paris
Towns are preceded with 'a', regions by 'en' or 'dans le' and countries by 'en', 'au', 'aux' depending on gender/plurality of country
Formal Where are you from?
Vous êtes d’où?
… I’m from Je suis de …
Formal Are you French? Vous êtes français/française?
Informal
I am French Je suis français(e) Extra e to make the word feminine
I am English Je suis anglaise Note no capital letter for nationality, unlike in English
Originally [nationality]
, d’origine ….
Some French history & geographic lessons:
• The extreme North-West, Brittany, la Bretagne, where life is governed by the Atlantic.
• The South with the wild and rocky Mediterranean coast. La Méditerranée, the sunniest part of France.
• Le Mont-Blanc in the French Alps, the highest mountain in Europe.
• The heart of the country, le Massif Central, with its dead volcanoes. And the French city par excellence,
• Paris, la capitale de la France.
• � In Marseille many people come from North Africa, the former colonies of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Some colonies, such as the French West Indies, are now part of France, like the islands of la Martinique and la Guadeloupe.
WHERE DO YOU LIVE
Formal (vous) Informal (tu) English
où êtes-vous né€ Where were you born?
Je suis née (a) (town) I was born in + town/city
Où habites-tu? Où habitez vous? Where do you live?
Où Where
Je suis né(e) (en) (dicembre) I was born in December
Je suis né(e) (a) (town) I was born in + town/city
J'habite à/en/aux... I live... (note: liaision J+H)
OCCUPATIONS
au chômage unemployed
artiste artist
secrétaire secretary
directeur director
journaliste journalist
médecin doctor
pharmacien pharmacist
pilot pilot
retraitè retired
femme au foyer housewife
architect architect
plombier plumber
DIRECTIONS
Explanations
French of the Pronunciation English
en face de la/du (pron fas) Opposite
à côté du/de la Next to
au coin de (pron: qwan) On the corner
au bout de (la rue)/du At the end of
entre Between
Du and de la
• If the noun is feminine the "(of) the" becomes "de la".
• If the noun is masculine the "(of) the" becomes "du".
Examples
• Le café est à côté du parc
• Le parc est a côté du cinema
• La post est en face du cinema
• Le cinema est en face de la post
• Le musée est en face du café
Questions
Où e…? Where is?
C'est où ? Where is it?
ou se trouve... / ou est... ? where is the...?
Il y a ... ? Is there/are there ...?
là-bas over there est loin ? Is it far?
Pour la/il... For the…?
Instructions
Il faut que.. (+subjonctif) You have to ...
Il y a ... There is ...
Prenez…. Take (formal)
Comment? Pardon
De rien Not at all
Merci de me dépanner Thank you for helping me out
c'est... / il est... It is
pas loin d'ici not far from here
près d'ici near here
tourner... turn...
à gauche to/on the left
à droite to/on the right
tout droit straight forward/ahead
traverser le pont cross the bridge
passer sur un pont
sous le pont under the bridge
s'arrêter à Stop at the
jusqu'à Until the…
sur le coin (pron. qwa) On the corner…
à droite to on the right
à gauche to on the left
en face opposite
a cote de next to
devant in front of
derrière in back of, behind
en haut up
en bas down
decendez go down/get off
pres (de) near (to)
loin (de) far (from)
au nord to the north
au sud to the south
à l'est to the east
à l'ouest to the west
ensuite (ADV) then
prendre la deuxième à gauche take the second left
Vous allez jusqu'à la place Go as far as the square.
sortie (N, f) exit
continuer to continue
Nous ne sommes pas dans la bonne direction
We're going in the wrong direction.
Allez en direction de Lille. Go in the direction of Lille.
Indiquer to indicate
Est-ce que la banque est loin d'ici? Is there a bank near here
Par ici, s'il vous plaît. From here, please
pour (PREP) for
renseignement (N, m) information
demander un renseignement à qn to ask for information
Puis-je vous demander un renseignement?
Can you give me some information?
Je vous en prie. You're welcome.
Bonne route! Have a nice trip!
Excusez-moi Excuse me
le musée the museum
C'est où ? Where is it?
tout droit straight ahead
Tournez... Turn...
à droite to/on the right
à gauche to/on the left
par là that way
Comment ? Pardon?
De rien Not at all
RENSEIGNEMENTS
A Bonjour Monsieur.
B Bonjour Madame. Pour la gare, s'il vous plaît?
A Vous êtes en voiture?
B No, à pied.
A Allor.... vous tournez à gauche e puis vous aller tout droit jusqu'à la station s’appelle Pierre Bouche. Ensuite, vous prenez la première rue a droite, aller tout driot et traverser la place et le pont. Vous continuez jusqu'à la deuxième rue à droite et la gare est sur le coin.
B La direction pour la gare est indiquée?
A No, mais si est nécessaire, demander à quelqu'un.
B Merci bien pour les renseignements.
A De rien, Monsieur. Bonne journeé!
PLACES AROUND TOWN (DIRECTIONS)
• Il y a (beaucoup de) = there is (a lot of)...
• Il n y a pas... + de (instead of un/e) = there isn't...
Le musée museum
La pâtissiere cake shop
La post post office
Le café cafe
Le cinema cinema
Le parc park
Le monument monument
Un hôpital hospital
La banque bank
La bibliothèque library
Le magasin shop
La boulangerie bakery
Le charcuterie butchers
Le supermarche supermarket
Le restaurant restaurant
Un hôtel hotel
Le collège/lycée high school
Le cathéderal cathedral
La gare railway station
Le metro underground station
deux cabines telephones
La école school
La piscine swimming pool
Un aeroport airport
La police The police
a fontaine the fountain
les monuments monuments
la place the square
la banque bank
le w.c. bathroom
l'église (f) church
l'épicerie (f) grocery store
l'hôpital (m) hospital
l'hotel hotel
le musee museum
le bureau de change money exchange
le cinema movie theater
le parc park
le commissariat police station
la poste post office
le restaurant restaurant
l'ecole (f) school
le theatre theatre
feux (N, m) traffic lights
gare (N, f) train station
banque (N, f) bank
port (N, m) harbor
rouler (V 1) to drive
carrefour (N, m) crossroads
station-service (N, f) service station
THE FAMILY/LA FAMILLE
Questions
Combien de personne avez-vous dans votra famille? How many people are in your family?
Family members
la mère the mother
le père the father
le fils the son
la fille the daughter pron: flye
le mari the husband
la femme the wife
le bébé the baby
la niéce the niece pron: knee-es
le neveu the nephew
la tante the aunt
le oncle the uncle
les jumelle twins (female)
la grand-mère the grandmother
le grand=père the grandfather
les parents the parents
la soeur the sister
le frère the brother
mon amie girl/boyfriend always 'mon', 'son' etc because it sounds nicer
le beau-père the father in law
la belle mère the mother in law
le/la cousine the cousin
le petit-fils grandson
la petite-fille granddaughter
les petites enfants grandchildren
Marital status
célibataire single Note: doesn't have same connotation as in English
financé(e) finance(e)
marié(e) married
sépare(e) separated
divorcé(e) divorce
Add the extra E for feminine.
Some useful sentences
Etes-vous, vous-êtes marie? And you, are you married?
Avez-vois des enfants? Do you have children?
Il(s)/Elle(s) s'appelle(nt)... He/She/They are called...
Comment s'appellent-t ils? What are they called?
CONSTRUCTING THE NEGATIVE IN FRENCH
Pas = Not
Jemais = Never
Rien = Nothing
RULES
NE + AVOIR + PAS
NE _+ AVOIR + JEMAIS
Explanation
• J'ai = I have
• Je n'ai pas = I do not have
• Je n'ai jemais = I have never
• Il y a (beaucoup de) = there is (a lot of)...
• Il n y a pas... + de (instead of un/e) = there isn't...
Saying some/'a' in the negative
• un/une/du (de+il), de la, des ARE ALL DE IN THE NEGATIVE
• but le/la remains le and le in the negative
Examples
Tu as.. une voiture No, je n'ai pas.. de voiture
unes maison house de maison
un vélo bike de vélo
un livre book de livre
un chat cat de chat
une pomme apple de pomme
des fromages some cheese de fromages
le livre book le livre
la fleur flower la fleur
FOOD & DRINK
Vocab
Qu'est-ce que vous desirez?
What would you like?
Qu'est-ce que vous prenez?
What would you like?
quelque chose? something
Entrée Starter
Plat principal Main course
Dessert Pudding
plate flat (i.e. not fizzy)
gazeus fizzy (liquid)
Dans le classe....
Faites des groupes de trois Work in groups of three
Comment ça se prononce? How is it pronounced?
Vous pouvez épeler? How do you spell it?
Comment ça s'écrit? How do you write it?
Vous pouvez repeater s'il vous plaît? Can you repeat that please?
Travaillez avec votre voisin Work with your neighbour
Ouvrez votre livre page 16 Open your book at page 16
Comment on dit en français…? How does one say … in French?
C'est clair? Is it clear?
Qu'est-ce que ça veut dire…? How do you say…?
Excusez-moi, j'ai une question! Excuse me, I have a question!
Je ne comprends pas I don't understand
Prepositions
I work at à/à la/au (à+le) specific place, e.g à la bibliothèque
I work for pour e.g. Walt Disney, un jour
I work in… chez well-known company/to show association, e.g. John Lewis, restaurant
I work as… comme e.g. comme infirmière
I live/J'habite à Londres town/city/village/specific place
I live/J'habite dans "within" for e.g. regions
Note: always say 'chez moi' and not 'ma maison'.
The world of work
Given the English obsession with asking this question almost immediately upon meeting someone, it's useful to know vocabulary about this subject matter.
Où travaille-tu?/travailles-vous? Where do you work
Que fais-tu? What do you do
Hours of work
Notes
1. 'de' means from so can you used to describe the hour one works from or, e.g. from
Quells jours est-ce que vous travaillez? What hours do you work?
Je commence à I start at
Je finis à I finish at
Je travaille de (8) heures à (17) heures I work from (8)am until (5)pm
Je travaille de (7) heures jusqu'à (17) heures I work from 7am 'till 5pm
He travaille (7) heures per jour/semaine I work (7) hours per day/week
Je ne travailles pas I don't work
Je travailles en lundi I work on Mondays
Quels jours est-ce que vous travaillez? Which days do you work?
Quels sont vos horaires de travail? What are your hours of work?
Je travaille du lundi jusq au vendredi I work from Monday to Friday
Je vais au travail au/en… I go to work (+ mode of transport)
What is your occupation?
Note: there is no 'a' or 'an' in the sentence describing one's occupation when speaking in French. One just says "je suis + occupation", i.e. "I am + occupation".
Formal Quel est votre travail? What is your job?
Informal
Je suis professeur I’m a teacher
Frequencies
Une, due fois par…
Quotidien Daily
Hebdomadire Weekly
Mensuel Monthly
Timestriel Quarterly
Semestriel Half-yearly
Annuel Annually
Do you like it?
ça = cela (it = la/le)
ça te/vous plaît? This/To you/To please = Is it pleasing to you?
Do you like it?
Ce n'est pas No, it's not
Oui, c'est intéressant mais difficile
Yes, it is interesting but difficult etc
Oui, ça me plaît Lit. yes, it pleases me Yes, I like it
ça lui plaît? Does he like it?
S'il te/vous plaît Lit. if it pleases you Please
Pour moi-même For myself
Hobbies and passtimes
Asking questions about spare time
Tu vais/Vous allez souvent + activity Do you often…
Answering questions about spare time:
J'y vais / fait I go/do it…
de temps en temp from time to time
X fois par mois/an X times a month/year
quelque fois sometimes
parfois sometimes
jamais never
très peu hardly ever/very little
Presque nearly
Activites
aller à la piscine go to the swimming baths
faire les courses go shopping
faire la cuisine cook
aller au restaurant go to restaurants
Daily routine
e fais le repassage
le lit
le jardinage
le ménage
la vaisselle
la lessive
la cuisine
les courses
souvent
de temps en temps
une fois par semaine deux fois par semaine
tous les jours
tous les weekends
toutes les semaines
Je passe l’aspirateur
Je promène le chien
Je fais du baby-sitting
Je donne un coup de main
Je mets la table
Je débarrasse la table
Je range ma chambre
Je nettoie
Je lave la voiture
Je lave les fenêtres
Je donne à manger aux animaux
Je ne fais rien du tout
Les tâches ménagères = The house chores
Le quotidien – quest-ce que je fait
Une femme de ménge cleaner
le ménage cleaning
nettoyer to clean
avoir besoin to need
tâches ménagères house chores
quelle….détestez-vous faires what….do you hate to do?
ne bous dérangent pas don't bother you
doit-on partager one must share?
faire le vaisselle wash up
faire le repassage iron
faire la lessive do the washing
faire les vitres clean the windows
passer l'aspirateur vacuum
faire les lits make the beds
passer le balai sweep up
passer le serpillière mop up
faire le ménage do the housework
Ma routine - Qu’est-ce que tu fais une journée typique ?
D'habitude…
DU MATIN
• je me réveille à huit heures (wake up)
• je me lève (get up – je me suis lève = I got up)
• je bois un thé
• je prends mon petit-déjeuner
• je me douche
• je me lave
• je me brosse les dents
• Je m'habille
• je quitte la maison/chez moi
• je vais au travaille/collège
• je prends le bus
• Je sors à neuf heures
• J’arrive au collège
DU MIDI
• je prends mon déjeuner
• je regarde mes emails
• je achète des chose du supermarket
• je me détendre
DU SOIR
• prends mon dîner
• fait le ménage – par exemple faire la lessive;
• regarde de la télé
• je fais mes devoirs
• étudie par mes courses de Français e piano
• je mets/j’ai mis mon pyjama
• Je me couche à 22 heures
House & Home
Types of houses
la maison the house
le appartement flat
un chateaux castle
un immeuble block/skyscraper
une gite
une villa
un chalet
un HLM council flat
une caravane
une bateaux
un péniche barge
une tour tower
un palais palace
un pharc lighthouse
une grange barn
une tente tent
une farme farm
proprieter owner
locutar lodge
Rooms and aspects of a house
la pièce room
la jardin the garden
le fleur the flower
l'étage the floor
la porte the door
l'escalier the stairs
le chamber room/bedroom
le salon sitting room
le salle de bain bathroom
le bureau office/study
la WC toilet
le garage garage
la cuisine kitchen
une salle à manger dining room
le grenier attic
Adjectives
Position of adjectives
An important difference between English and French is the position of adjectives.
In English, adjectives go before the noun:
• the tall man
• the red bike
In French, almost all adjectives go after the noun:
• le vin rouge - the red wine
• la fille optimiste - the optimistic girl
BUT these adjectives go before the noun in French:
adjective translation
beau / belle handsome / beautiful
bon(ne) good
excellent(e) excellent
gentil(le) kind/nice
grand(e) big
gros(se) fat
jeune young
joli(e) nice
long(ue) long
mauvais(e) bad
même same
meilleur(e) better
nouveau/nouvel /nouvelle new
petit(e) small
vieux / vieil / vieille old
• une grande maison - a big house
• un meilleur élève - a better pupil
• le même livre - the same book
Some adjectives change their meaning depending on their position.
ancien means former or old:
• un ancien eleve = a former pupil
• un vase ancien = an ancient vase
cher means dear or expensive -
• mon cher ami = my dear friend
• un repas cher = an expensive meal
propre means own or clean
• sa propre maison = his own house
• sa maison propre = his clean house
Agreement
In English, the spelling of adjectives doesn't change:
• Singular: the little table
• Plural: The little tables
However, in French, adjectives do change: -e, -s or -es can be added to the adjective to make it agree with the noun it describes:
• Singular: la petite table
• Plural: les petites tables
The spelling of adjectives changes depending on the word or thing it describes. It changes according to gender - whether the noun is masculine or feminine - and according to number - whether the noun is singular or plural.
When you check up an adjective in the dictionary the word is always the masculine singular form, which is the basic spelling. If you want to describe feminine or plural words you will have to add an ending. We usually say the adjective has to "agree" with the word it describes.
The adjective agrees with what you're describing. Here are the endings you add to the adjectives:
• Usually you add nothing when the noun is masculine singular: o grand -> grand - mon frère est grand.
• Usually you add an e if the noun is feminine singular: o grand -> grande - ma soeur est grande.
• Usually you add an s if the noun is masculine and plural: o grand -> grands - mes frères sont grands.
• Usually you add an es if the noun is feminine and plural: o grand -> grandes - mes soeurs sont grandes.
Notice sometimes when you change the spelling of an adjective you also change the pronunciation. For example, the d is effectively silent in grand, (grand rhymes with wrong), but it is pronounced clearly in grande (grande rhymes with wronged).
The changes to the ends of adjectives can be summed up in the following table which you should try to learn:
Masculine singular
Masculine plural
Feminine singular
Feminine plural
Add the following to the adjective
- -s -e -es
Examples:
Masculine singularMasculine plural Feminine singularFeminine plural
joli (nice) joli jolis jolie jolies
laid (ugly) laid laids laide laides
Note: if the adjective already has an -e on the end, don't add an extra one (for feminine singular and plural). e.g. -
Masculine singular Masculine plural Feminine singular Feminine plural
timidele garcon timide les garcons timidesla fille timide les filles timides
Similarly with mince, drole, aimable, rouge etc.
There are some exceptions to this which are worth learning. It's not as complicated as it seems.
Irregular adjectives
The following nine tables sum up the main exceptions. Note that these adjectives are only irregular in the feminine form.
1. If the masculine form ends in é (e-acute), add another -e for the feminine form:
Masculine singular Masculine pluralFeminine singularFeminine plural
fatigué (tired)fatigué fatigués fatiguée fatiguées
2. If the masculine form ends in -el or -il double the l and add -e for the feminine form:
Masculine singular Masculine pluralFeminine singularFeminine plural
gentil (kind) gentil gentils gentille gentilles naturel (natural)naturel naturels naturelle naturelles
3. If the masculine form ends in -f, change it to -v and add -e for the feminine form:
Masculine singular Masculine pluralFeminine singular Feminine plural
actif (active) actif actifs active actives neuf (brand new)neuf neufs neuve neuves
4. If the masculine form ends in -en or -on, double the n and add an -e for the feminine form:
Masculine singularMasculine pluralFeminine singularFeminine plural
Italien (Italian) Italien Italiens Italienne Italiennes bon (good) bon bons bonne bonnes
5: If the masculine form ends in -x, change it to -se or -sse for the feminine form:
Masculine singularMasculine pluralFeminine singular Feminine plural
delicieux (delicious) delicieux delicieux delicieuse delicieuses heureux (happy) heureux heureux heureuse heureuses faux (false) faux faux fausse fausses
6. If the masculine form ends in -er, change it to -ère for the feminine form:
Masculine singularMasculine plural Feminine singularFeminine plural
cher (dear) cher chers chère chères dernier (last)dernier derniers dernière dernières
7. If the masculine form ends in -c, there are several different endings for the feminine form. You have to try to learn these:
Masculine singular Masculine pluralFeminine singular Feminine plural
blanc (white)blanc blancs blanche blanches sec (dry) sec secs sèche sèches
8. If the masculine form ends in -s, double the s and add an -e for the feminine form. Note that you don't add an extra s for the masculine plural.
Masculine singular Masculine pluralFeminine singularFeminine plural
bas (low) bas bas basse basses gros (big)gros gros grosse grosses
9. If the masculine form ends in -et, add a grave to the e before the "t" and add -e for the femininine form.
Masculine singular Masculine pluralFeminine singularFeminine plural
discret (discreet)discret discrets discrète discrètes secret (secret) secret secrets secrète secrètes
Irregular adjectives with their own rules.
The following are a bit tricky as they do not follow the common patterns.
Masculine singular Masculine pluralFeminine singularFeminine plural
bref (brief) bref brefs brève brèves doux (sweet) doux doux douce douces favori (favourite)favori favoris favorite favorites frais (fresh) frais frais fraîche fraîches long (long) long longs longue longues
Finally, these three adjectives have their own pattern and go before the noun (see the list of adjectives which fall into this category given to you earlier in the revision bite). Notice that you add an -x to the masculine plural (unless there is one already).
Masculine singular Masculine pluralFeminine singularFeminine plural
beau (beautiful)beau beaux belle belles vieux (old) vieux vieux vieille vieilles nouveau (new) nouveau nouveaux nouvelle nouvelles
Note also the forms of these three adjectives bel, nouvel and vieil, which are only ever used before masculine singular words beginning with a vowel or silent h:
• un bel homme - a handsome man
• un nouvel ami - a new friend
• un vieil arbre - an old tree
• Exceptions: There are a few adjectives like marron (brown) and super (super) which never change -
• Elle a les yeux marron - she has brown eyes.
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