French Question Words: Est-ce que=Do or Is it that. Est-ce que vous parlez francais? Do you speak French?

or Is it that you speak French? Est-ce que vous habitez a Toronto? Do you live in Toronto? Que or Quoi=What Quest-ce que cest? = What is it? Quest-ce que tu fais? = What are you doing? Quest-ce que tu dis? = What are you saying? Quand = When Quand est-ce que tu viens? = When will you come? Ou = Where Ou est-ce quil est? = Where is he? Ou est-ce quelle est? = Where is she? Pourquoi = Why Pourquoi est-ce que tu manges ca? Why are you eating this? Qui = Who Qui est-ce qui a ecrit ca? = Who wrote this? Qui cest? Who is it? Combien = How much or how many Combien est-ce que tu viex? = How much do you want? Comment = How Comment est-ce que tu fais ca? = How are you doing that? Quel/quelle = Which or what + noun Quel gateau? Which cake? Quelle pomme? Which apple? Quelle heure est-ile? What time is it? Quel est = What is? Who is? Which is? Quelle est la question? = What is the question? Quel/Qui est cet ecrivain? What/who is the writer?

Useful Questions in French

By Dodi-Katrin Schmidt, Michelle M. Williams, and Dominique Wenzel Part of the French For Dummies Cheat Sheet If youre in a French speaking country and youre hungry, lost, trying to buy something, or just need to know the time, these French phrases will help, so practice their pronunciation:

Do you speak English? Parlez-vous anglais? (pahr-lay-voo ang-lay) How are you? Comment a va? (kohmahN-sah vah)

Can you help me please? Pouvez-vous maider sil vous plat? (poo-vay voo may-day seelvoo-pleh?)

Whats your name? Comment vous appellez-vous? (koh-mahN voo sah-pleh-ay voo) What time is it? Quelle heure est-il? (kel ur ay teel) Whats the weather like? Quel temps fait-it? (kel tahmp fay teel) How much (does this cost)? Combien coute? (kohN-byaN coot) Where is . . . ? O est . . . ? (Eu eh) Where is the bathroom? O sont les toilettes? (oo sohn leh twah-leht) When? Quand? (kahN) Why? Pourquoi? (poor-kwa)

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Question words
In order to start a conversation in any language, you have to use some key question words. Here are the basic French ones: Qui? (kee) (Who?) Qu'est-ce que? (kes-kuh) (What?) O? (oo) (Where?) Quand? (kahN) (When?) Pourquoi? (poor-kwa) (Why?) Comment? (ko-mahN) (How?) Combien? (kohN-byaN) (How much?) Quel/Quelle? (m. and f.) (kehl) (Which?)

Asking key questions

Here are a few examples of how to use these French question words in simple sentences you can also use some of them on their own occasionally just like in English. Qui est-ce? (kee ehs) (Who is it?) Qu'est-ce que tu fais? (kehs-kuh tew feh) (What are you doing?) [informal]

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/making-small-talk-infrench.html#ixzz1RvdYzjTL

Formal French Greeting: Bienvenu! = Welcome! Bonjour! = Hello! (Formal greeting) Je mappelle ________. = I call myself ________. My name is ________. Et-vous? = And you? Comment vous appelez-vous? = What is your name? Je mappelle ________. = I call myself ________. My name is ________. Enchante! = Enchanted to meet you! Nice to meet you! Comment allez-vous? = How are you doing (going)? Je vais bien. Merci. = I am doing (going) well. Thank-you. Et-vous? = And you? Je vais tres bien. Merci.= I am doing (going) very well. Thank-you. Au revoir! = Good-bye! (Formal farewell)

Bienvenue! Welcome! Bonjour! Hello! Salut! Hi! Je mappelle Pierre. My name is Pierre. appeler to call Jappelle I call Je mappelle I call myself Je mappelle My name is Je mappelle Pierre. My name is Pierre. Enchant! Nice to meet you! Comment allez-vous? How are you?

aller to go Je vais bien. I am doing (going) well. Vous allez bien. You are doing well. Comment allez-vous? How are you? Je vais bien. Merci. I am doing well.Thank you. Et vous? And you? Je vais trs bien. I am doing very well. Trs bien. Merci. Very well. Thank you. A bientt! See you soon! Au revoir! Goodbye! Adieu! Goodbye!

Informal French Greeting:

Salut! = Hi! (Casual greeting) Je mappelle ________. = I call myself ________. My name is ________. Et-toi? = And you? Comment tappelles-tu? = Whats your name? Je mappelle ________. = I call myself ________. My name is ________. Comment vas-tu? = How are you doing (going)? Je vais bien. = I am doing (going) well. Et-toi? = And you? Je vais tres bien. Merci. = I am doing (going) very well. Thank-you. Bon! = Good! A bientot! = See you soon! (Casual farewell) A bientot! = See you soon! (Casual farewell) _______________________________________________________________________________________ Salut! = Hi! (Casual greeting) Comment ca va? = How is it going? Comme-ci, comme-ca. = So, so. Et-toi? = And you? Ca va bien. = Its going well. Bon! = Good! A plus tard! = See you later! (Casual farewell) A plus tard! = See you later! (Casual farewell)

FORMAL

CASUAL

Bonjour! Hello! Comment allez-vous? How are you? Je vais bien. Et vous? I am doing well. And you? Ca va bien. Merci. I am doing well. Thank you. Comment vous appelez-vous? What is your name? Je mappelle Jean. My name is Jean. Au revoir! Goodbye! A bientt! See you soon!

Salut! Hi! Comment vas-tu? How are you? Trs bien! Et toi? Very well! And you? Ca va. I am doing well. Im alright. Comment tappelles-tu? Whats your name? Je mappelle Jean. My name is Jean. Salut! Bye! A plus! See you!

French Greetings and Good-Byes

By Zoe Erotopoulos, PhD

3 of 10 in Series: The Essentials of French Words and Phrases for Traveling

Knowing some common French greetings and good-byes will be indispensable when traveling in French-speaking countries. Saying hello and good-bye in French will quickly become second nature because you'll use them day in and day out with everyone you come across. In most French-speaking countries it's considered good manners to greet everyone. So, whether you're speaking to a clerk, a waiter, or just bumping into someone on the street, take the time to say a polite bonjour before you proceed. This also means that when step on the bus or train you should say a quick bonjour to anyone within hearing distance. The most common ways to greet someone in French are:

Salut. (Hello; Hi. [Informal]) Bonjour. (Hello; Good morning.) Bonsoir. (Good evening.)

You might think that you can use good afternoon (bon aprs-midi) as a greeting the way you can in the United States, but in most French-speaking countries, bon aprs-midi should only be used to as a form of goodbye.

Greeting with a cheek kiss

Cheek kissing is another common type of greeting in most French-speaking countries. However, the rules for cheek kisses can be complicated matter. The rules change depending on the country you're in and even the region of the country. For example, in Belgium, it's customary to greet everyone in your generation or younger with one kiss, but anyone that's a generation or more older than you should be given three kiss (right cheek-left-then right again). In Paris, most people stick to a four-kiss rule, but in most of the rest of France, two kisses is the norm. If you think that's confusing, you're right. The good news is that when you meet someone for the first time, you can usually just shake hands. Then just watch how other people interact. Because it's such a common practice, you should quickly be able to determine what the standard is where you're staying.

How are you? How's it going?

Asking how someone is doing is a common greeting in the U.S. How many times a day do we hear or say these brief greetings at the beginning of our conversations? So many times, in fact, that half the time, we don't even pay attention. These pleasantries are common in French-speaking countries as well.

The most common ways to ask how someone is doing are:

Comment a va? (Hows it going?) Comment vas-tu? (How are you? [Informal]) Comment allez-vous? (How are you? [Formal]) a va? (Hows it going? [Informal])

As you'd expect, when someone asks you how you're doing, there are many possible responses.

a va bien. Its going well.) Tout va bien. (Everything is going well.) Je vais bien, merci. (Im fine, thank you.) Je vais trs bien. (Im very well.) Je ne vais pas trs bien. (Im not doing very well.) Je vais comme-ci, comme-a. (Im so-so.)

Once you've said that you're fine, or good, or so-so, it is customary to ask how the other person is doing. You can do this easily by saying Et toi? (And you? [informal]) or Et vous? (And you? [formal]).

Saying good-bye
As many ways as there are to greet someone, you'll find plenty of ways say goodbye, as well.

Au revoir. (Good-bye.) Salut. (Good-bye. [Informal]) bientt. (See you soon.) tout de suite. (See you in a minute.) plus tard. (See you later.) la prochaine. (Until next time.) demain. (See you tomorrow.) la semaine prochaine. (See you next week.) lundi. (See you on Monday.) Bonne journe! (Have a good day!) Bonne chance! (Good luck!)

Bonne nuit. (Good night. Used only when someone is going to sleep or retiring for the evening.)

Aside from a few exceptions, final consonants arent pronounced in French. Pronounce a final consonant only if its followed by a vowel.

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/french-greetings-andgoodbyes.html#ixzz1RveKIC1d

The French Days of the Week and Months of the Year Instructions: o Use the chart to help you with your pronunciation of each word. o When spelling the days of the week and the months of the year notice that you begin each word with a lower-case letter not a capital letter. Days (Les Jours) Months (Les Mois) Monday: lundi (luhn-dee) January: janvier (jahN-vee-ay) Tuesday: mardi (mahr-dee) February: fvrier (feh-vree-ay) Wednesday: mercredi (mehr-cre-dee) March: mars (mahrs) Thursday: jeudi (joo-dee) April: avril (ay-vreel) Friday: vendredi (vahN-dre-dee) May: mai (may) Saturday: samedi (sahm-dee) June: juin (joon) Sunday: dimanche (dee-mahNsh) July: juillet (joo-ee-yay) August: aote (ah-oot) September: septembre (sep-tahm-bruh) October: octobre (ok-toh-bruh) November: novembre (no-vahm-bruh) December: dcembre (day-sem-bruh)

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-french-calendar.html#ixzz1RvTbKslW

How to Say Dates and Times in French

By Zoe Erotopoulos, PhD When making plans, appointments, and travel arrangements in French-speaking countries, you need to be able to state dates and other calendar terms in French. Knowing how to say and understand dates, the days of the week, and the months of the year can help you to avoid confusion.

Days of the week and months

The days of the week (les jours de la semaine) arent capitalized in French. lundi (luhn-DEE) (Monday) mardi (mahr-DEE) (Tuesday) mercredi (mehr-kruh-DEE) (Wednesday) jeudi (juh-DEE) (Thursday) vendredi (vahn-druh-DEE) (Friday) samedi (sahm-DEE) (Saturday) dimanche (dee-MAHNSH) (Sunday) Like the days of the week, the months of the year (les mois de l'anne) arent capitalized in French. janvier (zhahng-VYAY) (January) fvrier (fay-VRYAY) (February) mars (mahrs) (March) avril (ah-VREEL) (April) mai (meh) (May) juin (zhwang) (June) juillet (zhwee-YAY) (July) aot (oot) (August) septembre (set-TAHMBR) (September) octobre (ock-TOHBR) (October) novembre (noh-VAHMBR) (November) dcembre (day-SAHMBR) (December) When youre writing a date in French, you put the numbers in a different order than you would if you were writing it in English. Start with the day, then write the month, and then the year. For example, to express September 27, 2006, you would write 27/9/06 instead of 9/27/06.

Telling time
The time of day can be described in general terms or specific times. You can use the follow words to describe the general time of day. le matin (morning) laprs-midi (afternoon) le soir (evening) la nuit (night) le jour (day) midi (noon) minuit (midnight) aujourdhui (today) hier (yesterday) demain (tomorrow) When you want to know a specific time of day, you can ask Quelle heure est-il ? (What time is it?). Although we usually leave off the oclock when we say a specific time, you must always include the heure (hour/time) when expressing a specific time in French. The only real exception to this is midi (noon) or minuit (midnight). When expressing time between the hours, use the following terms to break things down. lheure (hour/time/clock/watch) minute (minute) seconde (second) et demie (half past) et quart (quarter past) moins le quart (quarter till) moins dix (10 till [literally: minus 10 minutes]) The French generally express time using a 24-hour clock. So, 4 p.m. would be seize heures (16 hours). However, you can use du matin (in the morning) and du soir (in the evening) if you want to express time using the standard 12-hour clock. You can use the following phrases as a guide when talking about time in French.

Avez-vous une minute? (Do you have a minute?) Avez-vous lheure? (Do you have the time?) Quelle heure est-il? (What time is it?) Il est tard. (Its late.) Il est tt. (Its early.) Il est huit heures du matin. (Its 8 in the morning.) Il est midi. (Its noon.)

Il est cinq heures de laprs-midi. (Its 5 in the afternoon.) Il est sept heures du soir. (Its 7 in the evening.) Il est sept heures et quart. (Its a quarter past 7.) Il est sept heures et demie. (Its 7:30.) Il est huit heures moins le quart. (Its a quarter to 8.)

Read more: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-say-dates-and-times-infrench.html#ixzz1RvbSLB5j

How to Count in French

By Zoe Erotopoulos, PhD When it comes to numbers and counting, the French follow most of the same patterns that the English do (at least from 0 to 20). After that there are a few differences, but dont worry learning numbers and counting in French isnt complicated. Its really just a question of memorizing. 1 to 20 un 1 deux 2 trois 3 quatre 4 cinq 5 six 6 sept 7 huit 8 neuf 9 dix 10 onze 11 douze 12 treize 13 quatorze 14 quinze 15 seize 16 dix-sept 17 dix-huit 18 dix-neuf 19 vingt 20 When the French count on their fingers, they always start with the thumb. Youre thinking big deal, right? Well, it can be if you use your fingers to order something. For example, if you hold up your index and middle finger to order 2 beers, the waiter will bring you three because they assume you started counting on the thumb (even if you kept your thumb tucked in). With numbers 21 to 69, you combine the tens with the words for numbers 1 to 9. 21 to 69 vingt et un 21 vingt-deux 22 trente 30 trente et un 31 trente-deux 32 quarante 40 quarante et un 41 quarante-deux 42 cinquante 50 cinquante et un 51

cinquante-deux 52 soixante 60 soixante et un 61 soixante -deux 62 So far so good, right? Well, heres where things get interesting. In most French-speaking countries, there is no word for 70, 80, and 90. Instead, for the numbers 70 to 79, combine the tens with the tens. Although these rules hold true for most French-speaking places, there are a few that do have unique words for the numbers 70 (septante) and 90 (nonante), such as Belgium and Switzerland. 70 to 79 soixante-dix 70 soixante et onze 71 soixante-douze 72 With the numbers 80 to 89, combine the number 4, the number 20, and the ones. For example, in French 80 is four 20s, 81 is four 20s plus 1, and so forth. (Unlike most French-speaking countries, Switzerland actually has a word for the number 80. Its huitante.) 80 to 89 quatre-vingts 80 quatre-vingt-un 81 quatre-vingt-deux 82 For numbers 90 to 99, combine the number 4, the number 20, and the tens. For example, 90 is four 20s plus 10, 91 is four 20s plus 11, and so forth. (The plus isnt included in the expression.) 90 to 99 quatre-vingt-dix 90 quatre-vingt-onze 91 quatre-vingt-douze 92 When talking about larger numbers in French, just follow the same formula. For numbers above 100, say the hundreds digit first, then the ones and then the tens. For example, 151 would be cent cinquante un (a hundred, fifty, one). 100 and Higher cent 100 cent un 101 cent deux 102 cent cinquante 150 deux cents 200 cinq cents 500 mille 1,000 Note that an s is added to the end of the word cent, whenever it is followed by another number.

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Articles: Articles are small words that you use only with nouns. They indicate the number and the gender of a noun. Definite Articles: In English, the definite article that is used to identify a specific noun is the. In French, the definite article used to indicate singular nouns depends on whether the noun is masculine or feminine. The definite article used to indicate a singular noun is (le) masculine (la) feminine.

However, the definite article used to indicate plural nouns is the same no mater what the gender. The definite article used to indicate plural nouns is Exception to the Rule: If the singular noun begins with a vowel (i.e., A,E,I,O,U) or a muted (H), the definite article (le) masculine or (la) feminine contracts to (l). For example, (lami) which means the friend, or (lhomme) which means the man. (les) masculine (les) feminine.

Indefinite Articles:

In English, the indefinite articles that are used to identify an unspecific noun are a and an. In French, the indefinite article used to indicate singular nouns depends on whether the noun is masculine or feminine. The indefinite article used to indicate a singular noun is (un) masculine (une) feminine.

However, the indefinite article used to indicate plural nouns is the same no mater what the gender. The indefinite article used to indicate plural nouns is (des) masculine (des) feminine.

Now, when you make a sentence with an indefinite article negative, (des) changes to (de), meaning not any. For example, Jai des questions, which means I have some questions, can change to the following Je nai pas de questions, which means I dont have any questions.

Gender of Nouns & Articles

In French, every noun has a gender. Its either masculin (male) or fminin (female). You can tell the gender of a noun by the article that comes before it. The definite article in English for the word the will be le (m) or la (f) in French. Examples: le soleil (m) the sun le camion (m) the truck le sac (m) the bag le moteur (m) the engine la nuit (f) the night la voiture (f) the car la terre (f) the earth la journe (f) the day / daytime la lune (f) the moon la chaussure (f) the shoe

The indefinite article in English for the word a will be un (m) or une (f) in French. Examples: un citron (m) a lemon un poisson (m) a fish une banane (f) a banana une tasse (f) a cup

How do I know the gender of a French noun? I learn the noun with its article.

For people, the grammatical gender is the same as the gender of the person. Examples: un homme a man un garon a boy une femme a woman une fille a girl

For animals, it depends. Some animals have a general gender by which we refer to them. For example we always say: un zbre (m) a zebra une girafe (f) a giraffe

If we want to be specific about the gender of the animal, we will add mle or femelle to the noun. Examples: un mle a male une girafe mle une femelle a female une girafe femelle

a male giraffe

a female giraffe

Other animals have a different or modified noun for the female. Examples: un lion a lion un chat a cat un chien a dog un mouton a sheep un cochon a pig une lionne (f) a female lion une chatte (f) a female cat une chienne (f) a female dog une brebis (f) a sheep une truie (f) a female pig