French For Beginners Lecture Notes – Grammar and Vocabulary

Julien Pierre 2014/2015 MPU3202

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La table des matières Informations pratiques ......................................................................................................................................... 3

L’alphabet ............................................................................................................................................................. 4

Les accents ............................................................................................................................................................ 4

La prononciation ................................................................................................................................................... 5

Gender .................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Subject Pronouns .................................................................................................................................................. 5

Les articles ............................................................................................................................................................ 6

Simple expressions................................................................................................................................................ 7

Les salutations .................................................................................................................................................. 7

Hellos and goodbyes ..................................................................................................................................... 7

How are you? ................................................................................................................................................ 7

Miscellaneous ............................................................................................................................................... 7

Simple expressions................................................................................................................................................ 6

Se présenter – Introduce yourself .................................................................................................................... 6

Le nom, the name ......................................................................................................................................... 6

La nationalité, the nationality ....................................................................................................................... 6

Quel, Quelle, Quels ou Quelles? ........................................................................................................................ 7

Les nationalités: .................................................................................................................................................... 7

Les pays, the countries: ..................................................................................................................................... 9

Les nombres, the numbers .................................................................................................................................. 10

La date ................................................................................................................................................................ 11

Les jours de la semaine ................................................................................................................................... 11

Les mois de l’année ......................................................................................................................................... 11

L’heure ................................................................................................................................................................ 12

À, AU, À L’, À LA, AUX, EN, CHEZ ......................................................................................................................... 13

Masculin, Féminin et Pluriel ............................................................................................................................... 14

General rule: add -s in the spelling ............................................................................................................. 14

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Words already ending in -s or -x ................................................................................................................. 14

DE – DU – DE LA – DE L’ – DES ............................................................................................................................ 16

La négation ......................................................................................................................................................... 16

Les verbes réguliers: -ER ..................................................................................................................................... 17

L’impératif ........................................................................................................................................................... 18

Forming the imperative .............................................................................................................................. 18

Negative imperatives .................................................................................................................................. 18

Simple expressions.............................................................................................................................................. 19

Se présenter (2) – Introduce yourself (2) ........................................................................................................ 19

L’âge ............................................................................................................................................................ 19

L’ anniversaire ............................................................................................................................................. 19

La date de naissance ................................................................................................................................... 19

Présenter quelqu’un – Introduce someone .................................................................................................... 19

Le nom ........................................................................................................................................................ 19

La nationalité .............................................................................................................................................. 19

L’âge ............................................................................................................................................................ 20

Le domicile, l’adresse .................................................................................................................................. 20

Les professions .................................................................................................................................................... 21

Les couleurs ........................................................................................................................................................ 22

Décrire quelqu’un: Le visage ............................................................................................................................... 23

Décrire quelqu’un : les adjectifs ......................................................................................................................... 24

Les adjectifs......................................................................................................................................................... 26

Feminine ..................................................................................................................................................... 26

Plural ........................................................................................................................................................... 26

Position of the adjective ............................................................................................................................. 26

La Famille ............................................................................................................................................................ 27

Additional vocabulary ................................................................................................................................. 27

Les adjectifs possessifs ........................................................................................................................................ 28

Essential French Verbs ........................................................................................................................................ 30

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Informations pratiques Bonjour, je m’appelle Julien, je suis votre professeur de français.

In this coursework booklet, you’ll find all the necessary tools to improve your French, to learn your

vocabulary and grammar rules.

This set of notes is only one tool that you can use to learn French. In the different chapters of this booklet,

you’ll find QR codes, by snapping them with your smartphone/tablet or just by clicking on them, it will send

you to a YouTube playlist where you’ll find videos related to the current lesson.

You can also find more information on the following sites:

http://www.rfi.fr/ RFI stands for Radio France International. There you can listen to its live stream or

access French language resources. You can listen to the “Journal en français facile” (The news in

simple French) which is a 10 minutes daily news report. It is rewritten using simple words, you can

download it along with the script. It may help you with your listening skills.

http://www.tv5.org/ TV5MONDE is an international French TV channel. Its website also proposes

many French languages references.

http://www.youtube.com Simply silly, but why don’t you give a try?! Tons of videos are available

there, use the search box!

http://www.fb.com/mr.julien.pierre My Facebook page where I usually post references, notices and

fun facts.

@merciprofesseur My twitter handle.

http://www.julienpierre.com My website, grouping all information about French language at MMU

Anything that is not covered here? Give me a holler!

Email: julienpierre@mmu.edu.my

Office: Room ER3043, FCM building (that’s on the second floor)

Phone: Out of service at the moment.

Pigeon-hole: by the LIFE admin office (third flood of FCM building)

Consultation hours: follow this Google Calendar link

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L’alphabet French has the same 26-letter alphabet as English, although the importance of each letter

varies.

A ah

B bay

C say

D day

E euh

F eff

G jay

H ash

I ee

J gee

K car

L ell

M emm

N enn

O oh

P pay

Q koo

R air

S ess

T tay

U oo

V vay

W doobla vay

X eex

Y ee grek

Z zed

Les accents

French also has 5 different accents:

acute é

grave à, è, ù

circumflex â, ê, î

umlaut ä, ë, ï

cedilla ç

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Letter/ Lettre Pronunciation/ Prononciation

Example/ Exemple

A [ah] Un arbre a tree

B [bay] Un bébé a baby

C [say] Un cadeau / une cerise a gift/ a cherry

D [day] Un docteur a doctor

E [er] Une fenêtre a window

F [eff] Une fleur a flower

G [jay] Un général/ un gâteau a general/ a cake

H [ash] Un hôpital an hospital

I [eeh] Une île an island

J [gee] Un jouet a toy

K [car] Un kangourou a kangaroo

L [ell] Un lapin a rabbit

M [emm] Une maison a house

N [enn] Une nuit a night

O [oh] Une oreille an ear

P [pay] Un professeur a teacher

Q [koo] Une quantité a quantity

R [air] Un résumé a summary

S [ess] Un sac a bag

T [tay] Une table a table

U [oo] Une usine a factory

V [vay] Une voiture a car

W [dooba vay] Un week-end a week-end

X [eex] Un xylophone a xylophone

Y [ee grek] Un yaourt a yoghourt

Z [zed] Un zoo a zoo

Gender French has two genders: all nouns are either masculine or feminine. There is no neutral nouns.

The gender of a noun can’t be guessed, you have to memorize the meaning of a noun with its

gender altogether. The best way is to use an indefinite article such as ‘un’ or ‘une’:

e.g. une maison = a house or un sac = a bag

Subject Pronouns Many of the Romance languages, including Spanish and Italian, are "pro-drop," meaning that

the subject pronoun can be dropped because the verb conjugation is different for each

grammatical person. In other words, if a Spanish speaker says "Voy al mercado," everyone

knows that s/he means "I am going to the store." In contrast, French is not a pro-drop language

- subject pronouns are always required for all verb forms except the imperative.

La prononciation

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Les articles As you can see in the table from the previous page, each word is preceded by an article: “un” or “une”.

Now, both of these words have the same translation in English: ‘a’.

How can one word in English have two different translations to French?

In French, the article will be different for masculine and feminine noun: UN marks the masculine for the word that follows UNE marks the feminine for the word that follows

But both of them are translated by ‘a’ in English.

For example: a table is feminine in French and will always be: une table a restaurant is masculine in French and will always be: un restaurant

then the table becomes la table the restaurant becomes le restaurant

Now, coming to the plural of things. In French both the noun and the article have to carry the mark of the plural which is (most of the times) -S. When it comes to plural, the articles don’t take into account the gender anymore, as: the tables become les tables, and the restaurants become les restaurants As for the indefinite articles, they don’t have a plural in English, as you would say: a table becomes (in a plural form) tables. You can notice the absence of article for the plural. In French, we have an article for the indefinite plural: des.

So that, tables become des tables and restaurants become des restaurants

Singulier Pluriel

masculin féminin masculin ou féminin

Articles indéfinis un une des

Articles définis le la les

l’ (devant a, e, i, o, u, h)

Attention: when you use the singular definite article in front of a noun that begins with a vowel or the letter H, you have to remove the last vowel of that article:

Le oiseau l’oiseau (the bird) La amie l’amie (the female friend) Le hôpital l’hôpital (the hospital)

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Simple expressions

Les salutations

Hellos and goodbyesBonjour Hello (good morning, good afternoon)

Bonsoir Good evening

Salut Hi, goodbye (informal)

Au revoir Goodbye

À demain See you tomorrow

À lundi See you Monday

À bientôt See you soon

À plus tard See you later

Bonne journée Have a good day

Bonne soirée Have a good evening

How are you? Comment allez-vous? (Formal)

Comment vas-tu? (informal)

Comment ça va?

Ça va?

Je vais bien. I am fine.

Je ne vais pas bien I am not fine.

Je suis fatigué. I am tired.

Ça va bien. It’s going ok.

Et toi? And you? (Informal)

Et vous? And you? (Formal)

Miscellaneous Bienvenu Welcome

Enchanté Nice to meet you (if the person talking is male)

Enchantée Nice to meet you (if the person talking is female)

S’il vous plait Please (formal) S’il te plait Please (informal)

Merci Thank you

Merci beaucoup Thanks a lot

De rien You’re welcome

Je vous en prie You’re welcome

Excusez-moi Excuse me

Je suis désolé(e) I am sorry

Je suis en retard I am late

Madame Madam

Mademoiselle Miss

Monsieur Sir

Oui Yes

Non No

Simple expressions

Se présenter – Introduce yourself In French, we have different ways of saying the same thing, so I am giving you different ways to

say the same thing.

Le nom, the name Comment tu t’appelles? How are you called? (informal)

Comment vous vous appelez? How are you called? (formal)

Quel est ton nom? What is your name? (informal)

Quel est votre nom? What is your name? (formal)

Je m’appelle… (+your name) I am called…

Mon nom est… My name is…

Je suis… I am…

La nationalité, the nationality Quelle est ta nationalité? What is your nationality? (informal)

Quelle est votre nationalité? What is your nationality? (formal)

Je suis… français(e). I am… French.

malaisien(ne). Malaysian

indonésien(ne). Indonesian

iranien(ne). Iranian

botswanais(e). Motswana/ Botswanan.

D’où viens-tu? Where do you come from? (informal)

D’où venez-vous? Where do you come from? (formal)

Je viens… de France. I come… from France.

de Malaisie. from Malaysia.

d’Indonésie. from Indonesia

d’Iran. from Iran.

du Botswana. from Botswana

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L’adresse

Où habites-tu? Where do you live? (informal) Où habitez-vous? Where do you live? (formal) J’habite à Cyberjaya. I live in Cyberjaya. J’habite en Malaisie. I live in Malaysia. J’habite dans une maison. I live in a house. J’habite dans un appartement. I live in a flat. J’habite 25, rue de Lyon à Paris. I live at 25 Lyon’s street in Paris.

Quel, Quelle, Quels ou Quelles?

To ask "what is ...?" or "what are ...?" use quel, quelle, quels or quelles followed by the

appropriate conjugation of être:

Quel est ton nom ? Quelle est ta nationalité ?

‘nom’ is masculine and singular ‘nationalité’ is feminine and singular

Quels sont tes loisirs ? Quelles sont tes passions ?

‘loisirs’ is masculine and plural ‘passions’ is feminine and plural

Les nationalités:

In French, according to the person you are talking about, you have to adapt the words

you use.

If you are a man, and you are talking about yourself, you will use the masculine form of

the words; the same will happen if you are talking about another man.

If you are a woman, and you are talking about yourself, you need to use the feminine

form of the words; the same will happen if you are talking about another woman.

This work for a lot of situations, here we will just go through the nationalities.

You can also use: - Quelle est ton adresse? - Mon adresse est 25, rue de Lyon à Paris.

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Name of the country

(in French)

Nationality

Masculine

Nationality Feminine Nationality

English

Most of the nationality will follow one of these patterns: -AIS -AISE

La France Français Française French

L’Angleterre (fem.) Anglais Anglaise English

Le Japon Japonais Japonaise Japanese

Le Soudan Soudanais Soudanaise Sudanese

Le Botswana Botswanais Botswanaise Botswanan

La Thaïlande Thaïlandais Thaïlandaise Thai

-IEN -ENNE

La Malaisie Malaisien Malaisienne Malaysian

L’Indonésie (fem.) Indonésien Indonésienne Indonesian

Le Brésil Brésilien Brésilienne Brazilian

Le Vietnam Vietnamien Vietnamienne Vietnamese

L’Inde (fem.) Indien Indienne Indian

Singapour Singapourien Singapourienne Singaporean

L’Australie (fem.) Australien Australienne Australian

(Cont’d)

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Some nationalities will follow the normal transformation to feminine :

add an extra -E

La Chine Chinois Chinoise Chinese

L’Amérique (fem.) Américain Américaine American

La Jamaïque Jamaïcain Jamaïcaine Jamaican

Le Maroc Marocain Marocaine Moroccan

L’Allemagne (fem.) Allemand Allemande German

L’Espagne (fem.) Espagnol Espagnole Spanish

La Mongolie Mongol Mongole Mongolian

Le Nigéria Nigérian Nigériane Nigerian

Some nationalities will be the same for masculine and feminine

(when the masculine already ends with –E)

La Belgique Belge Belge Belgian

La Suisse Suisse Suisse Swiss

Les pays, the countries:

In the chart above, you also have the names of countries. Most of them are quite similar to the

English versions, but you have to be careful with the spelling.

You can notice that the countries also have genders : All countries ending with –E are feminine

(except 6 of them : le Mexique, le Cambodge, le Belize, le Mozambique, le Zaïre et le Zimbabwe).

All countries ending with a different letter than –E are masculine.

This will lead to some changes in the way you use the names of countries in sentences.

There will be two major moments when you need to take the gender into account:

1. You will say: J’habite en France. (La France being a feminine country)

And J’habite au Japon. (Le Japon being a masculine country)

2. You will say : Je viens de France.

And Je viens du Japon.

Attention: Singapour, Cuba or Taiwan are special cases in French: An island name will be considered as

a name of a town, therefore, you will use it the way you use the name of a town:

J’habite à Singapour. J’habite à Cuba J’habite à Taiwan

Je viens de Singapour. Je viens de Cuba Je viens de Taiwan

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Les nombres, the numbers In French, most of the numbers will work on a regular basis.

Nevertheless, the numbers below 17 are irregular. You have to make sure you learn

them very carefully.

Now from 20 to 69, things are quite easy and regular…

Now when we come to 70 +, there are some changes to follow:

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 22 vingt-deux 23 vingt-trois 24 vingt-quatre 25 vingt-cinq 26 vingt-six 27 vingt-sept 28 vingt-huit 29 vingt-neuf

30 trente

31 trente-et-un 32 trente-deux 33 trente-trois 34 trente-quatre 35 trente-cinq 36 trente-six 37 trente-sept 38 trente-huit 39 trente-neuf

40 quarante

50 cinquante 60 soixante

100 cent

1000 mille

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

80 quatre-vingt 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

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

Here are a few interesting questions that

will need numbers as answers:

- Quel est ton numéro de téléphone?

- Quel est ton numéro de passeport ?

- Combien ça coute ?

- Quelle est ta taille/ ta pointure ?

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La date

Les jours de la semaine

Les mois de l’année JANVIER January

Un

e an

née

FÉVRIER February

MARS March

AVRIL April

MAI May

JUIN June

JUILLET July

AOÛT August

SEPTEMBRE September

OCTOBRE October

NOVEMBRE November

DÉCEMBRE December

LUNDI MARDI MERCREDI JEUDI VENDREDI SAMEDI DIMANCHE

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Une semaine

Un jour a day

Une semaine a week

Un mois a month

Un an a year

Le matin the morning

Le midi noon

L’après midi the afternoon

Le soir the evening

La nuit the night

Avant before

Après after

Hier yesterday

Aujourd’hui today

Demain tomorrow

Un rendez-vous an appointment

VOCABULAIRE

La fréquence: une (deux/ trois...) fois par jour (semaine/ mois/année...) one (two / three...) time per day (week / month/ year...) Tous les lundis every Monday Chaque lundi each Monday Du lundi au vendredi from Monday till Friday Le lundi on Mondays Lundi dernier last Monday La semaine dernière last week Lundi prochain next Monday La semaine prochaine next week

Questions:

- Quelle est la date aujourd’hui? - Quand vas-tu à la maison ? - Quel jour tu as rendez-vous avec le docteur ?

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L’heure

Questions: - Quelle heure est-il? - À quelle heure tu as rendez-vous avec Joseph ? - À quelle heure tu vas à l’université ? - À quelle heure commence le film ?

Vocabulaire: Être en avance to be early Être à l’heure to be on time Être en retard to be late

You have 2 different ways to tell the time. 1. You can use a 12 hours clock – in which case you have to give the time with a specification such as am or pm. In

French, we do not use these, instead we use the moment of the day. For example, 7am will be 7 in the morning (du matin) and 7 pm will be 7 in the evening (du soir). When you use a 12 hours clock you can give the time using quarters and half. For example, 7.30pm could be “half past seven” or 7.45 pm could be “quarter to eight”.

2. You can use a 24 hours clock – which is an official one (train schedules, important appointments...) – in which case 7 pm will become 19.00. If you use a 24hrs clock, you will give the time with numbers only. For example 7.45 pm (quarter to eight) will become 19.45 (nineteen forty-five)

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À, AU, À L’, À LA, AUX, EN, CHEZ

Aller – Rester - Être

À + nom de ville CHEZ + nom de personne

à Paris à Londres

chez Jacques chez le médecin

EN / AU / AUX + nom de pays AU / À LA / AUX + autres noms de lieux

en France (la France) au Portugal (le Portugal) aux États-Unis (les États-Unis)

au cinéma (le cinéma) à la piscine (la piscine) aux toilettes (les toilettes)

Let’s look at some examples that demonstrate this.

English French

I am going to the doctor Je vais chez le médecin

She is going to the clinic Elle va à la clinique

We are going to the swimming pool Nous allons à la piscine

They are coming to the games Ils viennent aux matchs

Also in French there is a useful word (chez) for when you are referring

to a seeing a specific person at a place.

For example: I am going to the dentist - Je vais chez le dentiste.

English French

I am going to my place Je vais chez moi

She is going to her house Elle va chez elle

We are coming from our place Nous venons de chez nous

They are coming from their place Ils viennent de chez eux

Personal pronouns after a

preposition

(avec, sans, pour, sur…)

Moi Me

Toi You

Lui Him

Elle Her

Nous Us

Vous You

Eux Them (m.)

Elles Them (f.)

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Masculin, Féminin et Pluriel How to form the plural (of nouns and adjectives) in French

Plural forms are forms that refer to "more than one" of something. In English, nouns are usually

marked as being plural by adding -s or -es: one book, two books; this blue box, these blue boxes.

Notice that in English, adjectives like blue don't change between singular and plural. But in

French, adjectives are also marked as being singular or plural. There are a few other types of

words that mark a difference between singular and plural. For example, we changed this to

these. However, on this page, we will be concerned with the plural of nouns and adjectives.

The most common rule for forming the plural of nouns and adjectives in French is actually very

simple:

add a final -s in the spelling to mark a noun or adjective as plural

General rule: add -s in the spelling Usually, the plural form of nouns and adjectives is straightforward in French: you just need to remember to

add an -s to both the noun and any adjective(s) that might be alongside it. For example, recalling that les (as

opposed to le or la) is the French for "the" in the plural:

Singular Plural

un livre a book

des livres books

une photo a picture

des photos pictures

un joli livre a nice book

des jolis livres nice books

une jolie photo a nice picture

des jolies photos nice pictures

Words already ending in -s or -x In the examples above, we slipped in the word gros ("big", "bulky") which actually already ends in -s in the

singular. Where a noun or adjective ends in -s in the singular, no further -s is added in the plural. The same is

true of words ending in -x, for example:

le prix the price/prize

les prix the prices/prizes

la voix the voice

les voix the voices

DE – DU – DE LA – DE L’ – DES To show possession of a noun, use de + the definite article

DE +

LE LA L' LES

= DU = DE LA = DE L' = DES

C’est un livre. C’est le livre de Sylvie

C’est une rue. C’est la rue du cinéma Rex

– Le stylo de la secrétaire

– les cahiers de l’étudiant – la photo des enfants

La négation A negative sentence is not a sentence that says something bad!

Here is an example of the transformation to a negative sentence in English:

I am tall. I am not tall.

In French, the negative form works in two parts: Ne….. Pas

The rule is that you have to put Ne…Pas on each side of the verb.

So, of course the first thing that you need to do is to find the verb (the action word) in the sentence.

For example:

Je suis grande. Je ne suis pas grande.

Subj. Verb Adjective Subj. ne Verb pas Adjective

Now, if it was that simple, it wouldn’t be fun! Sometimes, you will have to be careful when building a negative sentence. Problems happen when you are using the verb “avoir”

J’ai une maison. Je n’ai pas de maison.

Tu as un chien. Tu n’as pas de chien.

Nous avons des voitures. Nous n’avons pas de voitures.

So you can notice here that the articles « un », « une » and « des » when put into a negative sentence are transformed into « de »

Attention!

Il y a Il n’y a pas (de)

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Les verbes réguliers: -ER In French, the verbs are divided into three groups. The verbs from the first 2 groups are to be conjugated

in a regular way. The third group is filled with all the irregular verbs.

The verbs from the 1st group are the verbs with the infinitive ending

with: -ER.

A lot of verbs in French are from the first group: Danser (to dance), chanter (to sing), regarder (to look at), travailler (to work), voyager (to travel), manger (to eat), jouer (to play), aimer (to like), détester (to hate), appeler (to call), acheter (to buy), parler (to speak), habiter (to live)…

These verbs are composed of 2 parts: - First the beginning (or the stem), which is the part that will not change at the beginning of the word. - Second is the ending which will change according to which pronoun you are using.

For example: Jouer is composed of ‘jou’ as the beginning and ‘er’ as ending. If we conjugate the verb, ‘jou’ will not change, only the ending ‘er’ will, as you can see in the example.

Jouer – to play

Je joue Tu joues Il/elle/on joue Nous jouons Vous jouez Ils/elles jouent

As you can see, you just have to change the ending of the verb, according to the subject. You replace the infinitive ending -ER with the proper ending. Therefore, you mostly need to learn the endings that will be used for all those verbs, which are:

-E -ES -E -ONS -EZ -ENT

Be careful! In French, there is only one present tense. See note page 10

The infinitive of a verb is its base

In English, you can recognize the infinitive because it comes as the following form:

-to eat

-to work

-to dance

-to travel to is the mark of the infinitive. e.g.: To be is the infinitive, I am is its conjugation. In French, the mark of the infinitive is the ending of the verb:

-manger

-travailler

-danser

-voyager You can see that the ‘to’ part is not translated in French, but you can find its equivalent in the ending of the verb.

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L’impératif

Forming the imperative

To form the imperative, drop the tu, vous or nous and keep the verb in the present tense:

Aller : Nous allons allons ! (let’s go !) Faire : vous faites faites ! (do !)

With -er verbs, take the final -s off the tu form of the verb: Regarder : tu regardes regarde! (look!)

Negative imperatives The imperative is often used in the negative. Just place the negative forms around the verb:

Ne regarde pas la télé! (Don't watch TV!) Ne mangez pas ça! (Don't eat that!) Ne viens plus chez moi! (Don't come to my place anymore!) N'allez plus au parc! (Don't go to the park anymore!)

If you want to suggest doing something, use the imperative form of nous:

Allons à la piscine! (Let's go to the swimming pool!)

Prenons un taxi! (Let's take a taxi!)

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Simple expressions

Se présenter (2) – Introduce yourself (2)

L’âge Quel âge as-tu? How old are you? (informal)

Quel âge avez-vous? How old are you? (formal)

J’ai _____ ans. I am _____ years old

L’ anniversaire Quand est ton anniversaire? When is your birthday? (informal) Quand est votre anniversaire? When is your birthday? (formal)

Mon anniversaire est le 5 janvier. My birthday is the 5th of January.

La date de naissance Quand es-tu né? (masculine) When were you born? (If you ask a boy) Quand es-tu née? (feminine) When were you born? (If you ask a girl)

Je suis né le 5 janvier 1989. (masc.) I was born on the 5th of january. Je suis née le 5 janvier 1989. (fem.) I was born on the 5th of january.

Présenter quelqu’un – Introduce someone

Le nom Comment il s’appelle? Il s’appelle… Comment elle s’appelle? Elle s’appelle… (+Nom) Quel est son nom? Son nom est….

La nationalité Quelle est sa nationalité? Il est…/ Elle est… (+Nationalité)

D’où vient-il? Il vient de… (+Pays)

D’où vient-elle? Elle vient de…

Be careful! In French, you cannot use the verb être (to be) when giving your age. You must use avoir (to have).

You can also use another set of questions, such as: -Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire? -Quelle est ta date de naissance ?

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L’âge Quel est son âge? Il a …ans./ Elle a… ans.

Quand est son anniversaire? Son anniversaire est le…

Quand est-il né ? Il est né le… (+Date)

Quand est-elle née ? Elle est née le…

Le domicile, l’adresse Où habite-t-il? Il habite … Où habite-t-elle? Elle habite… Quelle est son adresse ? Son adresse est...

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Les professions Usually, when you are referring to a man you will use the masculine and the feminine when you refer to a woman. In French, the professions will usually have the 2 forms, masculine and feminine. So the spelling of the word will depend on who you are referring to. The basic transformation from masculine to feminine is to add -e at the end, but there will be some exceptions...

For example: Un avocat is a male lawyer.

Une avocate is a female lawyer.

Here are a few examples of other transformations into feminine:

Un étudiant une étudiante a student

Un employé une employée an employee

Un infirmier une infirmière a nurse

Un policier une policière a policeman / woman

Un serveur une serveuse a waiter/a waitress

Un coiffeur une coiffeuse a hairdresser

Un vendeur une vendeuse a salesman/saleswoman

Un acteur une actrice an actor/an actress

Un agriculteur une agricultrice a farmer

Un musicien une musicienne a musician

Un électricien une électricienne an electrician

Some are irregular ones:

Un chanteur une chanteuse a singer

Some don’t change whether they are used to refer to masculine or to feminine, because the masculine form already

ends with an –E:

Un comptable une comptable an accountant

Un journaliste une journaliste a journalist

Un dentiste une dentiste a dentist

Un pilote une pilote a pilot

And some exception words are only used in masculine (even if you are talking about a woman!):

Un professeur un médecin un écrivain

A teacher a doctor a writer

We also have some special ones:

Un homme d’affaire une femme d’affaire a businessman / woman

Un homme au foyer une femme au foyer a house husband(?) / wife

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Les couleurs In French, the colors, like any adjective, must match the gender of the object they are related to.

If the color refers to a masculine object, the color will also be masculine. If the color refers to a feminine

object, the color will have to take the feminine form. You will also have to match the number.

masc. sing fem. sing masc. plu. fem. plu

purple violet violette violets violettes

blue bleu bleue bleus bleues

green vert verte verts vertes

yellow jaune jaune jaunes jaunes

orange orange orange orange orange

red rouge rouge rouges rouges

black noir noire noirs noires

white blanc blanche blancs blanches

grey gris grise gris grises

brown marron marron marron marron

pink rose rose roses roses

In French, like most adjectives, the color will come after the object it refers to.

A white bag Un sac blanc The purple flower La fleur violette

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Décrire quelqu’un: Le visage When you want to describe someone, you would want to talk about the color of the eyes, of the hair, the size

of the nose maybe, or even if he or she has a big mouth! Here is some vocabulary to help you.

If you want to say that your friend has a black moustache, the color (here, black) will go afterthe object…

Example: He has a black moustache.

Il a une moustache noire.

The color will take the sign of the feminine, if it refers to a feminine object (Here, une moustache, une barbe,

une bouche) and the sign of the plural if it refers to a plural object (Here, les cheveux, les yeux, des lunettes).

Example: She has black eyes.

Elle a les yeux noirs.

For the hair, you will have extra colors: blond, brun, roux. These are used only when you refer to the hair. To

describe the hair, you can use: longs (long), courts (short), raides (straight), frisés (curly)...

Normally the adjectives come before the word they refer to, but for the hair it comes after.

Examples: She has long hair. Elle a les cheveux longs.

We have long black hair. Nous avons les cheveux longs et noirs

Avoir:

Les cheveux: courts/ longs

noirs / blonds/ marron/ roux

raides (straight) / frisés (curly)

Les yeux : noirs, marron, verts, bleus, gris…

Des lunettes, une moustache, une barbe….

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Décrire quelqu’un : les adjectifs

Masculine Feminine English agréable agréable Nice

amoureux amoureuse In love

amusant amusante Funny

bavard bavarde Talkative

beau belle Beautiful / handsome

blond blonde Blond-haired

brun brune Dark-haired

célèbre célèbre Famous

courageux courageuse Brave

dangereux dangereuse Dangerous

difficile difficile Difficult

élégant élégante Smart (well-dressed)

embêtant embêtante Annoying (for someone)

énervé énervée Irritated / angry

ennuyeux ennuyeuse Boring

étrange étrange Strange

facile facile Easy

gentil gentille Kind

grand grande (for someone) / big (for something)

gros grosse Fat

heureux heureuse Happy

honnête honnête Honest impatient impatiente Impatient

intelligent intelligente Clever

intéressant intéressante Interesting

jaloux jalouse Jealous

jeune jeune Young

joli jolie Cute

joyeux joyeuse Glad

laid laide Ugly

malheureux malheureuse Unhappy

marrant marrante Funny

mince mince Thin

paresseux paresseuse Lazy

patient patiente Patient

petit petite Small / short (height)

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peureux peureuse Fearful

poli polie Polite

roux rousse Red-haired

sérieux sérieuse Serious

simple simple Simple

sportif sportive Athletic

surpris surprise Surprised

sympathique sympathique Friendly

timide timide Shy

travailleur travailleuse Hard-working

triste triste Sad

vieux vieille Old

Remember: If you are talking about a man, you should use the masculine of the adjectives. If

you are talking about a woman, you should use the feminine.

Example: He is tall. Il est grand.

She is tall. Elle est grande.

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Les adjectifs

Feminine

The adjectives are the words that you use when you want to describe someone or something. For example

when you say:

“Jean has a big grey house.”

“big” is an adjective. “grey” is also an adjective. They both are used to describe the house, meaning that both

of them are in relation to the word “house”.

Now, as you know, in French all nouns, objects have a gender (masculine or feminine).

Here, a house, in French, is feminine: “une maison”. Well, the adjectives will have to follow the gender of

the object/ person they are describing. Therefore, here, “big” and “grey”, as they are referring to the

house, will have to be used in their feminine forms, which give us: “grande” and “grise” Another important point is, in French, the colors will always be placed after the noun they are describing.

Therefore, if we translate this sentence it will give us: “Jean a une grande maison grise.”

Plural

Now let’s take another example, if I say: “Jonathan and Daniel are tall.”

What is the adjective in this sentence? ... It is “tall”. And who is tall? In other words, to which words refers “tall” in that sentence? Well, “Jonathan and Daniel” are the ones who are “tall”, agreed? So, as we modify the adjective when it refers to a feminine noun, we will also modify it when it refers to a plural.

Therefore, here, we will have: “Jonathan et Daniel sont grands.”

Position of the adjective

Most of the time, any adjective in French will come after the noun it describes, but there is an exceptions.

Try to remember those exceptions using the following acronym: BAGS

Exemples : Pierre a une petite voiture bleue.

Katy est une jeune fille française.

J’ai une grande maison rouge à Melaka.

beauty beau, belle, joli(e)

age jeune, vieux, vieille

good/bad bon(ne), mauvais(e)

size grand(e), petit(e)

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La Famille English French English French

A father un père A mother une mère

A brother un frère A sister une sœur

A son un fils A daughter une fille

A husband un mari A wife une femme

A grandfather un grand-père A grandmother une grand-mère

A grandson un petit-fils A granddaughter une petite-fille

A cousin – male un cousin A cousin – female une cousine

An uncle un oncle An aunt une tante

A nephew un neveu A niece une nièce

Additional vocabulary

maman mum (mummy) papa dad (daddy) mamie / mémé granny papy / pépé granddad

une sœur aînée an older sister une sœur cadette a younger sister une sœur jumelle a twin sister des sœurs jumelles twin sisters

un frère aîné an older brother un frère cadet a younger brother un frère jumeau a twin brother des frères jumeaux twin brothers

une belle-sœur a sister-in-law un beau-frère a brother-in-law des beaux-parents parents-in-law une belle-mère a step-mother / a mother-in-law un beau-père a step-father / a father-in-law une demi-sœur a step-sister / a half-sister un demi-frère a step-brother / a half-brother l’amie de mon père my father’s girl friend l’ami de ma mère my mother’s boyfriend

marié(e) married Ils sont mariés. They are married. fiancé(e) engaged

célibataire single divorcé(e) divorced séparé(e) separated

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Les adjectifs possessifs Singular Plural

English Masculine Feminine Before vowel

my mon ma mon mes

your (tu form) ton ta ton tes

his, her, its son sa son ses

our notre notre notre nos

your (vous form) votre votre votre vos

their leur leur leur leurs

As you can see, all the men in the family vocabulary are masculine words (UN père, UN oncle...). It means that even if you are a woman, your father is still a man and therefore the word “père” will always remain a masculine word. That is to say that you will always have a masculine article preceding the word.

un père (a father) / mon père (my father) / ton père (your father) / son père (his/her father)

The same goes for the women in the family. The words will always be feminine (UNE mère, UNE sœur...). That is why these words will always be preceded by a feminine article.

une mère (a mother)/ ma mère (my mother) / ta mère (your mother) / sa mère (his/her mother)

As for plurals, you will also have to use a different possessive adjective

mon père, ma mère BUT mes parents

And this can be applied to any possession.

mon livre, ma maison, mes livres, mes maisons

If the possessive adjective is followed by a vowel, use the masculine form in any singular case.

mon ami, mon amie, mes amis, mes amies

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La maison

Vocabulaire l’appartement the apartment la maison the house l’entrée (fem.) the entrance (hall) le salon the living room la cuisine the kitchen le bureau the office / study la salle à manger the dining room la salle de bains the bathroom la salle de jeux the games room la chambre the bedroom les toilettes (fem.plur.) the toilet la douche the shower la cave the cellar le garage the garage le jardin the garden le balcon the balcony le couloir the corridor le grenier the attic

Nombres ordinaux Ordinal numbers are used to express rank or position - in other words, ordinal numbers are used for ordering, as opposed to cardinal numbers which are used for counting.

first premier première

1st 1er 1re

second deuxième 2nd 2e

third troisième 3rd 3e

fourth quatrième 4th 4e

fifth cinquième 5th 5e

sixth sixième 6th 6e

seventh septième 7th 7e

eighth huitième 8th 8e

ninth neuvième 9th 9e

tenth dixième 10th 10e

Tu habites où? - J’habite en ville I live in town - J’habite à la campagne I live in the countryside

To describe: chez at (someone’s place) il y a there is / there are il n’y a pas de there is not/ there are not Au sous-sol in the basement Au rez-de-chaussée on the ground floor Au premier étage on the first floor Au deuxième étage on the second floor

All ordinal numbers (except first) are created from their

corresponding cardinal number:

number drop the final e (if any) add -ième

six six sixième

onze onz onzième

vingt et un vingt et un vingt et unième

"First" is the only ordinal number that doesn't follow the above rule:

premier (masculine) and première (feminine). Note that twenty-first,

thirty-first, etc. do follow it.

Watch out for the spelling changes in cinquième and neuvième Ordinal numbers are not used to talk about dates in French,

except for premier

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Essential French Verbs

Here are a few very important verbs that you should know.

We have a few differences in French in using the verbs:

We have 2 you, tu is informal and singular, vous is formal and plural (formal and informal plural).

We have of 2 they, ils is used to refer to a masculine group or a mixed group.

elles is used to refer a female group.

The French verbs avoir (to have), être (to be), and faire (to do/make) are the most important French verbs. They are used in some of the ways that we use them in English as well as in many expressions. Conjugations for all three of these verbs are irregular.

Avoir - to have Être - to be Faire - to do, make

J'ai un livre. I have a book.

Je suis à Paris. I am in Paris.

Je fais mon lit. I'm making my bed.

Nous avons une voiture. We have a car.

Nous sommes très contents. We are very happy.

Nous faisons nos devoirs. We do our homework.

J’ai1 Tu as Il/Elle a Nous avons Vous avez Ils/Elles ont

Je suis Tu es Il/Elle est Nous sommes Vous êtes Ils/Elles sont

Je fais Tu fais Il/Elle fait Nous faisons Vous faites Ils/Elles font

In French, we only have one present tense; that is why “je fais” can be translated into either “I do” or “I am

doing”

ATTENTION: As French only have one present tense, you can’t say “Je suis fais mes devoirs” to say “I’m

doing my homework” but instead say “Je fais mes devoirs”. If you want to use a continuous present, use

the following structure:

ÊTRE + EN TRAIN DE + INFINITIVE

E.g. Je suis en train de faire mes devoirs

Elle est en train de faire ses devoirs

1 If a verb starts with a vowel or the letter H, then Je will be spelled as J’

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Aller - to go Habiter - to live

Je vais Tu vas Il/Elle va Nous allons Vous allez Ils/Elles vont

J’habite Tu habites Il/Elle habite Nous habitons Vous habitez Ils/Elles habitent

Vouloir – to want Pouvoir – to be able to

Je veux Tu veux Il/elle/on veut Nous voulons Vous voulez Ils/elles veulent

Je peux Tu peux Il/elle/on peut Nous pouvons Vous pouvez Ils/elles peuvent

Savoir et Connaitre

Savoir and connaître are used in different contexts or to describe different degrees of knowledge.

Savoir is used for facts, things known by heart, or abilities. When followed by an infinitive, savoir

indicates knowing how to do something. (Je sais jouer de la guitare.) Connaître is used for people and

places and represents a personal acquaintance or familiarity.

Savoir – to know Connaitre – to know

Je sais Tu sais Il/elle/on sait Nous savons Vous savez Ils/elles savent

Je connais Tu connais Il/elle/on connait Nous connaissons Vous connaissez Ils / elles connaissent

danser, parler français

je sais

comment il s’appelle

l’Italie

je connais Nicolas Legrand

un bon médecin