French I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar

Click on the play button to listen to the mp3s through Yahoo Media Player without having to download them. If you'd like to download the mp3s, use the DownThemAll add-on for Firefox to download all the mp3s at once instead of right-clicking on each link. Alternatively, you can download a Zip file of all of the mp3s for this page: French I Zip (20.95 MB) All flashcards and exercises will open in a new window. If you're interested in buying other materials to supplement your French studies, I've recommended some books from Amazon. Or if you'd like to take courses in France, try ESL Schools in Lyon. French Language Tutorial 2nd edition is now available! The updated edition of FLT is now available with more vocabulary, sample sentences, and cultural information. The PDF e-book is on sale at a special introductory price of $14.95 (PDF) or $29.95 (paperback) while the newly recorded mp3s are being edited and uploaded. Please visit the Store for more information and to order online. 1. BASIC PHRASES / LES EXPRESSIONS DE BASE Bonjour /bu/ Hello / Good day / Good morning Salut /saly/ Hi / Bye Merci (beaucoup) /msi boku/ Thank you (very much) Bienvenu(e) /bjvny/ Welcome (also You're welcome in Quebec) A plus tard /a ply ta/ See you later Je suis dsol(e) Bonsoir /bswa/ Good evening Au revoir /()vwa/ Goodbye De rien. /d j/ You're welcome. Allons-y! /al zi/ Let's go! A bientt /a bjto/ See you soon Pardon ! Bonne nuit /bn ni/ Good night (only said when going to bed) S'il vous plat / S'il te plat /sil vu pl/ Please (formal / informal) Je vous en prie. /vu z pri/ You're welcome. (formal) / Go ahead. A tout l'heure /a tu ta l/ See you in a little while A demain /a dm/ See you tomorrow Excusez-moi !

/dezle/ I'm sorry

/pad/ Excuse me! (pushing through a crowd) / Sorry! (stepped on someone's foot) Je vais bien / ve bj/ I'm fine. a va. /sa va/ I'm fine. (informal response to a va ?) Tu t'appelles comment ? /ty tapl km/ What's your name? (informal) Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle /msj/ /madam/ /madwazl/ Mister, Misses, Miss Tu es d'o ? / Tu viens d'o ? /ty du/ /ty vj du/ Where are you from? (informal) Tu habites o ? /ty abit u/ Where do you live? (informal) Tu as quel ge ? /ty kl / How old are you? (informal) Je parle allemand. / pal alm/

/ekskyze mwa/ Excuse me! (getting someone's attention) / I'm sorry! (more formal apology) Trs bien / mal / pas mal /t bj/ /mal/ /pa mal/ Very good / bad / not bad Oui / non /wi/ /n/ Yes / no

Comment allez-vous ? /km tale vu/ How are you? (formal) a va ? /sa va/ How are you? (informal) Comment vous appelezvous ? /km vu zaple vu/ What's your name? (formal) Enchant(e) /te/ Nice to meet you. Vous tes d'o ? / Vous venez d'o ? /vu zt du/ /vu vne du/ Where are you from? (formal) O habitez-vous ? /u abite vu/ Where do you live? (formal) Quel ge avez-vous ? /kl ave vu/ How old are you? (formal) Parlez-vous franais ? / Tu parles anglais ?

Je m'appelle... / mapl/ My name is...

Mesdames et Messieurs /medam/ /mesj/ Ladies and gentlemen Je suis de... / Je viens de... / si d/ / vj d/ I am from... J'habite ... /abit a/ I live in... J'ai ____ ans. /e __ / I am ____ years old. Je ne parle pas espagnol.

/pale vu frs/ /ty pal gl/ Do you speak French? (formal) / Do you speak English? (informal) Comprenez-vous? / Tu comprends? /kpne vu/ /ty kp/ Do you understand? (formal / informal) Pouvez-vous m'aider ? / Tu peux m'aider ? /puve vu mede/ /ty p mede/ Can you help me? (formal / informal) Tenez / Tiens /tne/ /tj/ Hey / Here (formal / informal) O est ... / O sont ... ? /u / /u s/ Where is ... / Where are ... ? Comment dit-on ____ en franais ? /km di t __ fs/ How do you say ____ in French? a ne fait rien. /sa n f j/ It doesn't matter. Je suis fatigu(e) / Je suis malade. / si fatie/ / si malad/ I'm tired / I'm sick.

I speak German.

/ n pal pa spal/ I don't speak Spanish.

Je comprends / kp/ I understand

Je ne comprends pas / n kp pa/ I don't understand

Bien sr. /bj sy/ Of course.

Comment ? /km/ What? Pardon?

Je sais / s/ I know Voici / Voil /vwasi/ /vwala/ Here is/are... / There it is. Qu'est-ce que c'est que a ? /ks k s k sa/ What is that? Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? /ks ki s pas/ What's happening? J'ai faim / J'ai soif. /e f/ /e swaf/ I'm hungry / I'm thirsty.

Je ne sais pas /n s pa/ I don't know Il y a ... / Il y avait... /il i a/ /il i av/ There is / are... / There was / were... Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? /ks kil i a/ What's the matter?

Je n'ai aucune ide. / ne okyn ide/ I have no idea.

J'ai chaud / J'ai froid. /e o/ /e fw/ I'm hot / I'm cold.

Je m'ennuie. / mni/ I'm bored.

a m'est gal. / Je m'en fiche. /sa m teal/ / m fi/ It's the same to me / I don't care. (informal) J'ai oubli. /e ublije/ I forgot.

Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne t'en fais pas. /n vu ft pa/ /n t f pa/ Don't worry (formal / informal) Je dois y aller. / dwa i ale/ I must go.

Ce n'est pas grave. /s n pa gav/ It's no problem. / It's alright. A vos souhaits ! / A tes souhaits ! /a vo sw/ /a te sw/ Bless you! (formal / informal) C'est vous ! / C'est toi ! /s ta vu/ /s ta tw/ It's your turn! (formal / informal) Tu me manques. /ty m mk/ I miss you. (informal)

Flicitations ! /felisitasj/ Congratulations!

Bonne chance ! /bn s/ Good luck!

Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi ! /tze vu/ /t tw/ Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal / informal) Quoi de neuf ? /kw d nf/ What's new?

Je vous aime / Je t'aime / vu zm/ / tm/ I love you (formal & plural / informal) Pas grand-chose. /pa g oz/ Not a whole lot.

Notice that French has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more than one meaning to "you" in French (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone you just met, do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example.) There is also a plural you, used when speaking to more than one person. Also notice that some words take an extra e, shown in parentheses. If the word refers to a woman or is spoken by a woman, then the e is added in spelling; but in most cases, it does not change the pronunciation. To make verbs negative, French adds ne before the verb and pas after it. However, the ne is frequently dropped in spoken French, although it must appear in written French. Don't forget to check out my video series on informal French expressions and slang vocabulary at the Informal French tutorial 2. PRONUNCIATION / LA PRONONCIATION For a more in-depth look at French pronunciation, try to the French Phonetics tutorial.

French Vowels Phonetic spelling [i] ee ee [y] rounded IPA General spellings vie, midi, lit, riz i, y rue, jus, tissu, u usine bl, nez, cahier, , et, final [e] ay pied er and ez ay jeu, yeux, [] eu rounded queue, bleu lait, aile, balai, e, , , ai, [] eh reine ei, ais eh sur, uf, [] u, eu rounded fleur, beurre chat, ami, [a] ah a, , papa, salade ah bas, ne, [] a, longer grce, chteau loup, cou, [u] oo ou caillou, outil eau, dos, [o] oh o, escargot, htel sol, pomme, [] aw o cloche, horloge fentre, genou, [] uh e cheval, cerise Sample words [] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in English are marked in blue. French semi-vowels Phonetic Sample General spelling words spelling fois, oui, w oi, ou Louis ew-ee lui, suisse ui oreille, yuh ill, y Mireille French nasal vowels General spelling

IPA [w] [] [j] Phonetic spelling [a] awn IPA

Sample words

gant, banc, dent en, em, an, am, aon, aen

[] ahn [] uhn [o] ohn

pain, vin, linge brun, lundi, parfum rond, ongle, front

in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um, en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, en un on, om

[] is being replaced with [] in modern French In words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant. Otherwise, the in- prefix is pronounce een before a vowel. French Consonants ex + vowel egz examen, exercice ex + consonant eks exceptionnel, expression ch (Latin origin) sh architecte, archives ch (Greek origin) k orchestre, archologie ti + vowel (except ) see dmocratie, nation c + e, i, y; or s cent, ceinture, maon c + a, o, u k caillou, car, cube g + e, i, y zh genou, gingembre g + a, o, u g gomme, ganglion th t maths, thme, thym j zh jambe, jus, jeune qu, final q k que, quoi, grecque h silent haricot, herbe, hasard vowel + s + vowel z rose, falaise, casino x + vowel z six ans, beaux arts six, dix, soixante (these 3 final x s only!) There are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the final consonant, unless that final consonant is C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r). Liaison: French slurs most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that is not pronounced and the next word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if it were one word. S and x are pronounced as z; d as t; and f as v in these liaisons. Liaison is always made in the following cases:

after a determiner: un ami, des amis before or after a pronoun: vous avez, je les ai after a preceding adjective: bon ami, petits enfants after one syllable prepositions: en avion, dans un livre

after some one-syllable adverbs (trs, plus, bien) after est

It is optional after pas, trop fort, and the forms of tre, but it is never made after et. Silent e: Sometimes the e is dropped in words and phrases, shortening the syllables and slurring more words.

rapid(e)ment, lent(e)ment, sauv(e)tage /apidm/ /tm/ /sovta/ sous l(e) bureau, chez l(e) docteur /sul byo/ /el dkto/ il y a d(e)... , pas d(e)... , plus d(e)... /yad/ /pad/ / plyd/ je n(e), de n(e) /n/ /dn/ j(e) te, c(e) que /t/ /sk/ (note the change of the pronunciation of the j as well)

Stress & Intonation: Stress on syllables is not as heavily pronounced as in English and it generally falls on the last syllable of the word. Intonation usually only rises for yes/no questions, and all other times, it goes down at the end of the sentence. 3. ALPHABET / L'ALPHABET

a c e f

/a/

j k l n o p q r

/i/ /ka/ /l/

s t v x y z

/s/ /te/

b /be/
/se/

u /y/
/ve/

d /de/
// /f/

m /m/
/n/ /o/ /pe/ /ky/ //

w /dublve/
/iks/ /igrk/ /zd/

g // h /a/ i
/i/

4. NOUNS, ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES / LES NOMS, LES ARTICLES & LES DEMONSTRATIFS All nouns in French have a gender, either masculine or feminine. For the most part, you must memorize the gender, but there are some endings of words that will help you decide which gender a noun is. Nouns ending in -age and -ment are usually masculine, as are nouns ending with a consonant. Nouns ending in -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -t, and -ette are usually feminine.

Articles and adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. And articles have to be expressed even though they aren't always in English; and you may have to repeat the article in some cases. Demonstratives are like strong definite articles. Definite Articles (The) Masculine le lit /l li/ the bed Masculine un lit / li/ a bed Feminine la pomme /la pm/ the apple Before Vowel l'oiseau /lwazo/ the bird Plural des gants /de / some gloves Plural les gants /le / the gloves

Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some) Feminine une pomme / yn pm/ an apple Masc, Before Vowel cet oiseau /s twazo/ this/that bird

Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those) Masc. ce lit /s li/ this/that bed Fem. cette pomme /st pm/ this/that apple Plural ces gants /se / these/those gloves

If you need to distinguish between this or that and these or those, you can add -ci to the end of the noun for this and these, and -l to the end of the noun for that and those. For example, ce lit-ci is this bed, while ce lit-l is that bed. 5. USEFUL WORDS / LES MOTS UTILES It's / That's There is/are and but now especially except of course so so c'est voil et mais maintenant surtout sauf bien sr comme ci, comme a /s/ /vwala/ /e/ /m/ /mtn/ /sytu/ /sof/ /bj sy/ /km si, km sa/ There is/are il y a Here is/are voici always often sometimes usually also, too again late toujours souvent quelquefois d'habitude aussi encore en retard /il i a/ /vwasi/ /tuu/ /suv/ /klkfwa/ /dabityd/ /osi/ /k/ /ta/

not bad book pencil pen paper dog cat money

pas mal le livre le crayon le stylo le papier le chien le chat l'argent (m)

/pa mal/ /l liv/ /l kj/ /l stilo/ /l papje/ /l j/ /l a/ /la/

almost friend (fem) friend (masc) woman man girl boy job / work

presque une amie un ami une femme un homme une fille un garon le travail

/psk/ /y nami/ / nami/ /yn fam/ / nm/ /yn fij/ / gas/ /l tavaj/

The expression il y a is reduced to y a in everyday speech. When il y a is followed by a number, it means ago. Il y a cinq minutes means five minutes ago. Some common slang words for money include: le fric, le pze, le pognon, des sous and for job/work: le boulot. 6. SUBJECT PRONOUNS / LES PRONOMS SUJETS Subject Pronouns je tu // I nous /nu/ We You (formal and plural) They (masc.) They (fem.)

/ty/ You (informal) vous /vu/ He She One ils /il/ elles /l/

il /il/ elle /l/ on //

Il and elle can also mean it when they replace a noun (il replaces masculine nouns, and elle replaces feminine nouns) instead of a person's name. Ils and elles can replace plural nouns as well in the same way. Notice there are two ways to say you. Tu is used when speaking to children, animals, or close friends and relatives. Vous is used when speaking to more than one person, or to someone you don't know or who is older. On can be translated into English as one, the people, we, they, or you. Tutoyer and vouvoyer are two verbs that have no direct translation into English. Tutoyer means to use tu or be informal with someone, while vouvoyer means to use vous or be formal with someone. 7. TO BE & TO HAVE / ETRE & AVOIR Present tense of tre /t/ - to be I am You are He is je suis tu es il est / si/ /ty / /il / We are You are They are nous sommes vous tes ils sont /nu sm/ /vu zt/ /il s/

She is One is

elle est on est

/l / / n/

They are

elles sont

/l s/

Past tense of tre - to be I was You were He was She was One was j'tais tu tais /et/ /tu et/ We were You were They were They were nous tions vous tiez ils taient elles taient /nu zetj/ /vu zetje/ /il zet/ /l zet/

/il et/ il tait elle tait /l et/ on tait / net/

Je and any verb form that starts with a vowel (or silent h) combine together for ease of pronunciation. Future Tense of tre - to be I will be je serai / se/ /ty sa/ /il sa/ /l sa/ / sa/ We will be You will be nous serons vous serez /nu s/ /vu se/

You will be tu seras He will be il sera She will be elle sera One will be on sera

They /il s/ will be ils seront They will elles seront /l s/ be We have You have They have They have nous avons vous avez ils ont elles ont /nu zav/ /vu zave/ /il z/ /l z/

Present tense of avoir /avwa/ - to have I have You have He has She has One has j'ai tu as il a elle a on a /e/ /ty / /il / /l / / n/

Past tense of avoir - to have I had You had He had She had One had I will have j'avais /av/ We had You had They had nous avions vous aviez ils avaient elles avaient /nu zavj/ /vu zavje/ /il zav/ /l zav/

tu avais /ty av/ /il av/ il avait elle avait /l av/ on avait / nav/ j'aurai /oe/ /ty o/

Future tense of avoir - to have We will have You will have nous aurons /nu zo/ vous aurez /vu zoe/ You will have tu auras

He will have il aura She will have elle aura One will have on aura

/il oa/ They will have ils auront /l oa/ They will have elles auront / noa/

/il zo/ /l zo/

In spoken French, the tu forms of verbs that begin with a vowel contract with the pronoun: tu es = t'es /t/, tu as = t'as /t/, etc. In addition, it is very common to use on (plus 3rd person singular conjugation) to mean we instead of nous. COMMON EXPRESSIONS WITH AVOIR AND ETRE Avoir and tre are used in many common and idiomatic expressions that should be memorized: avoir chaud /avwa o/ avoir froid avoir peur avoir raison avoir tort avoir faim avoir soif avoir sommeil avoir honte avoir besoin de avoir l'air de avoir l'intention de avoir envie de tre de retour tre en /avwa fwa/ to be cold retard tre en /avwa p/ to be afraid avance /avwa to be right tre d'accord z/ tre sur le /avwa t/ to be wrong point de tre en train /avwa f/ to be hungry de tre /avwa swaf/ to be thirsty enrhume /avwa nous + tre to be sleepy smj/ (un jour) to be /avwa t/ ashamed /avwa to need bzw d/ /avwa to look like, seem d/ to be hot /avwa tsj/ /avwa vi d/ to intend to to feel like /t d tu/ /t ta/ /t navs/ /t dak/ /t sy l pw d/ /t t d/ /t yme/ /t u/ to be back to be late to be early to be in agreement to be about to to be in the act of to have a cold to be (a day)

avoir de la /avwa d la to be lucky chance s/ J'ai froid. I'm cold. Tu avais raison. You were Je suis en retard! I'm late! right. Tu tais en avance. You were early. Il aura sommeil ce soir. He Elle sera d'accord. She will agree. will be tired tonight. Nous sommes lundi. It is Monday. Elle a de la chance ! She's Vous tiez enrhum. You had a cold. lucky! Ils seront en train d'tudier. They will Nous aurons faim plus tard. be (in the act of) studying. We will be hungry later. Elles taient sur le point de partir. Vous aviez tort. You were They were about to leave. wrong. On est de retour. We/you/they/the Ils ont chaud. They are hot. people are back. Elles avaient peur hier. They were afraid yesterday. 8. QUESTION WORDS / LES INTERROGATIFS Who What Why When Where How How much / many Which / what Qui Quoi Pourquoi Quand O Comment Combien Quel(le) /ki/ /kwa/ /pukwa/ /k/ /u/ /km/ /kbj/ /kl/

9. CARDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES CARDINAUX Zero One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Zro Un Deux Trois Quatre Cinq Six Sept Huit Neuf Dix Onze /zeo/ // /d/ /tw/ /kat/ /sk/ /sis/ /st/ /it/ /nf/ /dis/ /z/

Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-one Twenty-two Twenty-three Thirty Thirty-one Thirty-two Forty Fifty Sixty Seventy (Belgium & Switzerland) Seventy-one Seventy-two Eighty (Belgium & Switzerland) Eighty-one Eighty-two Ninety (Belgium & Switzerland) Ninety-one Ninety-two One Hundred One Hundred One Two Hundred Two Hundred One Thousand Two Thousand Million

Douze Treize Quatorze Quinze Seize Dix-sept Dix-huit Dix-neuf Vingt Vingt et un Vingt-deux Vingt-trois Trente Trente et un Trente-deux Quarante Cinquante Soixante Soixante-dix Septante Soixante et onze Soixante-douze Quatre-vingts Octante Quatre-vingt-un Quatre-vingt-deux Quatre-vingt-dix Nonante Quatre-vingt-onze Quatre-vingt-douze Cent Cent un Deux cents Deux cent un Mille Deux mille Un million

/duz/ /tz/ /katz/ /kz/ /sz/ /dist/ /dizit/ /diznf/ /v/ /vt e / /v d/ /v tw/ /tt/ /tt e // /tt d/ /kat/ /skt/ /swast/ /swastdis/ /sptt/ /swast e z/ /swast duz/ /katv/ /ktt/ /katv t/ /katv d/ /katv dis/ /nnt/ /katv z/ /katv duz/ /s/ /s t/ /d s/ /d s t/ /mil/ /d mil/ /o milj/

Billion

Un milliard

/o milja/

French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and Swiss French use septante and nonante in place of the standard French words for 70 and 90 (though some parts of Switzerland use huitante for 80 and octante is barely used anymore). Also, when the numbers 5, 6, 8, and 10 are used before a word beginning with a consonant, their final consonants are not pronounced. Phone numbers in France are ten digits, beginning with 01, 02, 03, 04, or 05 depending on the geographical region, or 06 and 07 for cell phones. They are written two digits at a time, and pronounced thus: 01 36 55 89 28 = zro un, trente-six, cinquante-cinq, quatrevingt-neuf, vingt-huit. ORDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES ORDINAUX first second third fourth fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth twentieth twenty-first thirtieth premier / premire deuxime / second troisime quatrime cinquime sixime septime huitime neuvime dixime onzime douzime vingtime vingt et unime trentime

The majority of numbers become ordinals by adding -ime. But if a number ends in an e, you must drop it before adding the -ime. After a q, you must add a u before the -ime. And an f becomes a v before the -ime. Listen to the la tlphone : un message mp3 and try the cloze (fillin-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. 10. DAYS OF THE WEEK / LES JOURS DE LA SEMAINE Monday lundi /ldi/

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday day week today yesterday tomorrow next last day before yesterday day after tomorrow the following day the day before

mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi samedi dimanche le jour la semaine aujourd'hui hier demain prochain / prochaine dernier / dernire avant-hier aprs-demain le lendemain la veille

/madi/ /mkdi/ /di/ /vddi/ /samdi/ /dim/ /l u/ /la s()mn/ /oudi/ /j/ /dm/ /p/ /pn/ /dnje/ /dnj/ /avtj/ /apdm/ /l ldm/ /la vj/

Articles are not used before days, except to express something that happens habitually on a certain day, such as le lundi = on Mondays. Days of the week are all masculine in gender and they are not capitalized in writing. Listen to the l'heure & la date : l'emploi du temps mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. 11. MONTHS OF THE YEAR / LES MOIS DE L'ANNEE January February March April May June July August September October November December month janvier fvrier mars avril mai juin juillet aot septembre octobre novembre dcembre le mois /vje/ /fevije/ /mas/ /avil/ /m/ // /ij/ /u(t)/ /sptb/ /ktb/ /nvb/ /desb/ /l mwa/

year decade century millennium

l'an / l'anne la dcennie le sicle le millnaire

/l/ /lane/ /deseni/ /l sjkl/ /milen/

To express in a certain month, such as in May, use en before the month as in "en mai." With dates, the ordinal numbers are not used, except for the first of the month: le premier mai but le deux juin. Also note that months are all masculine and not capitalized in French (same as days of the week). 12. SEASONS / LES SAISONS Summer Fall Winter Spring l't l'automne l'hiver le printemps /lete/ /lotn/ /liv/ /l pt/ in the summer in the fall in the winter in the spring en t en automne en hiver au printemps / nete/ / notn/ / niv/ /o prt/

13. DIRECTIONS / LES DIRECTIONS on the left on the right straight ahead North South East West le nord le sud l'est l'ouest /l n/ /l syd/ /lst/ /lwst/ gauche droite tout droit Northeast Northwest Southeast Southwest /a go/ /a dwt/ /tu dw/ /l n(d)st/ /l n(d)wst/ /sydst/ /sydwst/

le nord-est le nord-ouest le sud-est le sud-ouest

14. COLORS & SHAPES / LES COULEURS & LES FORMES Red Yellow Green Blue Purple White Brown Black rouge jaune vert / verte violet / violette blanc / blanche /u/ // /on/ /v/ /vt/ square circle triangle rectangle oval cube sphere cylinder cone le carr le cercle le triangle l'ovale le cube la sphre le cylindre le cne /kae/ /skl/ /tijgl/ /val/ /kyb/ /sf/ /sild/ /kon/

Orange orange

le rectangle /ktgl/

bleu / bleue /bl/ /vjl/ /vjlt/ /bl/ /bl/

brun / brune /bo/ /byn/ marron /ma/ noir / noire /nwa/

Pink Gold Silver Gray

rose argent / argente gris / grise

/oz/

octagon box light dark

l'octogone la bote

/ktogn/ /bwat/

dor / dore /de/ /ate/ /gi/ /giz/

clair / claire /kl/ fonc / fonce /fse/

Some adjectives of color do not change to agree with gender or number, such as adjectives that also exist as nouns: orange, marron, rose; and compound adjectives: bleu clair, noir fonc remain masculine even if they describe a feminine noun. Remember to place the color adjective after the noun. 15. WEATHER / LE TEMPS QU'IL FAIT What's the weather like? It's nice bad cool cold warm, hot cloudy beautiful mild stormy sunny humid muggy windy foggy snowing raining freezing hailing It is ____ degrees. Quel temps fait-il ? Il fait bon Il fait mauvais Il fait frais Il fait froid Il fait chaud Il fait nuageux Il fait beau Il fait doux Il fait orageux Il fait soleil Il fait humide Il fait lourd Il fait du vent Il fait du brouillard Il neige Il pleut Il gle Il grle Il fait ____ degrs. /kl t f til/ /il f b/ /il f mve/ /il f f/ /il f fw/ /il f o/ /il f nya/ /il f bo/ /il f du/ /il f a/ /il f slj/ /il f ymid/ /il f lu/ /il f dy v/ /il f dy buja/ /il n/ /il pl/ /il l/ /il gl/ /il f __ dge/

Il pleut des cordes /il pl de kod/ is a common expression meaning it's pouring. Il caille /il kaj/ or a caille /sa kaj/ is slang for it's freezing. And remember that France uses Celcius degrees. Listen to the le climat: le temps dans les Alpes mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. 16. TIME / LE TEMPS QUI PASSE

What time is it? It is... one o'clock two o'clock noon midnight a quarter after three one o'clock sharp four o'clock sharp twelve thirty six thirty a quarter to seven five twenty ten fifty in the morning/AM in the afternoon/PM in the evening/PM

Quelle heure est-il ? Il est... une heure deux heures midi minuit trois heures et quart une heure prcise quatre heures prcises midi (minuit) et demi six heures et demie sept heures moins le quart cinq heures vingt onze heures moins dix du matin de l'aprs-midi du soir

/kl til/ /il / /yn / /d z/ /midi/ /mini/ /tw z e ka/ /yn pesiz/ /kat pesiz/ /midi (mini) e dmi/ /si z e dmi/ /st mw l ka/ /sk v/ /z mw dis/ /dy mat/ /d lapmidi/ /dy swa/

Official French time is expressed as military time (24 hour clock.) You can only use regular numbers, and not demi, quart, etc. when reporting time with the 24 hour system. For example, if it is 18h30, you must say dix-huit heures trente. The word pile /pil/ is also a more informal way of saying prcise (exactly, sharp). Listen to the l'heure & la date : l'emploi du temps mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. 17. FAMILY & ANIMALS / LA FAMILLE & LES ANIMAUX Family Relatives Parents Grandparents la famille des parents les parents les grandsparents /famij/ /pa/ /pa/ Niece Nephew Grandchildren la nice le neveu /njs/ /n()v/

les petits/p()tizf/ enfants /p()tit fij/

/ la petiteGranddaughter gpa/ fille Grandson

Mom

/ la mre / m/ / maman mm/

le petit-fils /p()tifis/

Stepmother/Mother-inLaw Dad Stepfather/Father-inLaw Daughter Son Sister

la bellemre le pre / papa le beaupre la fille le fils

/blm/ /p/ /papa/ /bop/ /fij/ /fis/ /s/ /dmi s/

Godfather Godmother Godson Goddaughter Distant Relatives Single Married

le parrain /pa/ la marraine le filleul la filleule des parents loigns clibataire mari(e) /man/ /fijl/ /fijl/ /pa elwae/ /selibat/ /maje/

la sur la demiHalf/Step Sister sur la belleSister-in-Law sur Stepdaughter/Daughter- la bellein-Law fille Brother le frre le demiHalf/Step Brother frre le beauBrother-in-Law frre Stepson/Son-in-Law

/bls/ Separated /bl fij/ /f/ /dmi f/ /bo f/ Divorced Widower Widow

spar(e) /sepae/ divorc(e) /divse/ veuf veuve /vf/ /vv/

le beau/bo fis/ fils les /ymo/ jumeaux les jumelles l'oncle la tante la grandmre le grandpre la cousine le /yml/ /kl/ /tt/

Dog

Twins (m) Twins (f) Uncle Aunt Grandmother

Cat Puppy Kitten Pig

le chien / la /j/ /jn/ chienne (m) / (f) le chat / la /a/ /at/ chatte (m) / (f) le chiot /jo/

le chaton /at/ le cochon /k/ le coq /kk/

/gm/ Rooster

Grandfather Cousin (f) Cousin (m)

/gp/ Rabbit /kuzin/ /kuz/ Cow Horse

le lapin la vache le cheval

/lap/ /va/ /()val/

Wife Husband Woman Man Child (m) / (f) Girl Boy

cousin la femme le mari la femme l'homme un enfant / une enfant la fille le garon

/fam/ /mai/ /fam/ /m/ /f/ /fij/ /gas/

Duck Goat Goose Sheep Lamb Donkey Mouse

le canard /kana/ la chvre /v/ l'oie /wa/

le mouton /mut/ l'agneau l'ne la souris /ao/ /n/ /sui/

Le gendre /d/ is another word for son-in-law. Listen to the la famille : ma famille mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-theblank) exercise from French Listening Resources. Slang words for people and pets: The entire family Grandma Grandpa Children Kid Woman Man toute la smala mm / mamie pp / papi des gosses un gamin / une gamine une nana un mec / type / gars /tut la Sister la frangine smala/ /meme/ Brother le frangin /mami/ /pepe/ /papi/ Son le fiston /gs/ Aunt tata / tatie /gam/ Uncle tonton /gamin/ le cabot / /nana/ Dog clbard /mk/ /tip/ Cat le minou /ga/ /fin/ /f/ /fist/ /tata/ /tati/ /tt/ /kabo/ /kleba/ /minu/

Listen to the animaux : chien ou chat ? mp3 and try the cloze (fillin-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. 18. TO KNOW PEOPLE & PLACES / CONNAITRE & SAVOIR connatre-to know people /knt/ savoir-to know facts /savwa/

connais /kn/ connaissons /kns/ connais /kn/ connaissez /knse/ connat /kn/ connaissent /kns/

sais /s/ savons /sav/ sais /s/ savez sait /s/ savent /save/ /sav/

Connatre is used when you know (are familiar with) people, places, food, movies, books, etc. and savoir is used when you know facts. When savoir is followed by an infinitive it means to know how. There is another form of savoir commonly used in the expressions que je sache that I know (of) and pas que je sache not that I know (of). Je connais ton frre. I know your brother. Je sais que ton frre s'appelle Jean. I know that your brother is named John. Connaissez-vous Grenoble ? Do you know (Are you familiar with) Grenoble? / Have you ever been to Grenoble? Oui, nous connaissons Grenoble. Yes, we know (are familiar with) Grenoble. / Yes, we've been to Grenoble. Tu sais o Grenoble se trouve. You know where Grenoble is located. Ils savent nager. They know how to swim. Connatre can be translated several ways into English: Tu connais le film, Les Enfants ? Have you seen the film, Les Enfants? Tu connais Lyon ? Have you ever been to Lyon? Tu connais la tartiflette ? Have you ever eaten tartiflette? 19. FORMATION OF PLURAL NOUNS / LA FORMATION DES NOMS PLURIELS To make a noun plural, you usually add an -s (which is not pronounced). But there are some exceptions: If a noun already ends in an -s, add nothing. If a noun ends in -eu or -eau, add an x. If a masculine noun ends in -al or -ail, change it to -aux. Some nouns ending in -ou add an -x instead of -s. bus(es) boat(s) horse(s) knee(s) Sing. le bus Plural les bus

le bateau les bateaux le cheval le genou les chevaux les genoux

Exceptions: festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, dtail, chandail all add -s. There are only seven nouns ending in -ou that add -x instead of -s: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, pou, joujou, hibou. There are, of course, some irregular exceptions: un il (eye) - des yeux (eyes); le ciel (sky) - les cieux (skies); and un jeune homme (a young man) - des jeunes gens (young men).

Notice that the only time the pronunciation will change in the plural form is for masculine nouns that change -al or -ail to -aux and for the irregular forms. All other nouns are pronounced the same in the singular and the plural - it is only the article that changes pronunciation (le, la, l' to les). 20. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES / LES ADJECTIFS POSSESSIFS Masc. My Your His/Her/Its Our Your Their mon /m/ ton /t/ son /s/ notre /nt/ votre /vt/ leur /l/ Fem. ma /ma/ ta /ta/ sa /sa/ notre /nt/ votre /vt/ leur /l/ Plural mes /m/ tes /t/ ses /s/ nos /no/ vos /vo/ leurs /l/

Possessive pronouns go before the noun. When a feminine noun begins with a vowel, you must use the masculine form of the pronoun for ease of pronunciation. Ma amie is incorrect and must be mon amie, even though amie is feminine. Remember that adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number, not the possessor! Sa mre can mean his mother or her mother even though sa is the feminine form, because it agrees with mre and not the possessor (his or her). C'est ma mre et mon pre. This is my mother and my father. Ce sont vos petits-enfants ? These are your grandchildren? Mes parents sont divorcs. My parents are divorced. Sa grand-mre est veuve. His grandmother is a widow. Notre frre est mari, mais notre sur est clibataire. Our brother is married, but our sister is single. Ton oncle est architecte, n'est-ce pas ? Your uncle is an architect, isn't he? Leurs cousines sont nerlandaises. Their cousins are Dutch.