French I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar

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1. BASIC PHRASES / LES EXPRESSIONS DE BASE

If you'd like to study these phrases (and their pronunciations) individually, please go to Basic French Phrases.

Bonjour /bu/ Hello / Good day / Good morning

Bonsoir /bswa/ Good evening

Bonne nuit /bn ni/ Good night (only said when

going to bed)

Salut /saly/

Hi / Bye

Au revoir /()vwa/ Goodbye

S'il vous plat / S'il te plat /sil vu pl/ Please (formal / informal)

Merci (beaucoup) /msi boku/ Thank you (very much)

De rien. /d j/ You're welcome.

Je vous en prie. /vu z pri/ You're welcome. (formal) / Go

ahead.

Bienvenu(e) /bjvny/ Welcome (also You're welcome in

Quebec)

Allons-y! /al zi/ Let's go!

A tout l'heure

/a tu ta l/ See you in a little while

A plus tard /a ply ta/ See you later

A bientt /a bjto/ See you soon

A demain /a dm/ See you tomorrow

Je suis dsol(e) /dezle/ I'm sorry

Pardon ! /pad/ Excuse me! (pushing through

a crowd) / Sorry! (stepped on

someone's foot)

Excusez-moi ! /ekskyze mwa/

Excuse me! (getting someone's

attention) / I'm sorry! (more

formal apology)

Comment allez-vous ? /km tale vu/ How are you? (formal)

Je vais bien / ve bj/ I'm fine.

Trs bien / mal / pas mal /t bj/ /mal/ /pa mal/ Very good / bad / not bad

a va ? /sa va/

How are you? (informal)

a va. /sa va/

I'm fine. (informal response to

a va ?)

Oui / non /wi/ /n/ Yes / no

Comment vous appelez-vous ?

/km vu zaple vu/ What's your name? (formal)

Tu t'appelles comment ? /ty tapl km/ What's your name? (informal)

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

Enchant(e) /te/ Nice to meet you.

Monsieur, Madame,

Mademoiselle /msj/ /madam/ /madwazl/ Mister, Misses, Miss

Mesdames et Messieurs /medam/ /mesj/

Ladies and gentlemen

Vous tes d'o ? / Vous venez d'o

? /vu zt du/ /vu vne du/ Where are you from? (formal)

Tu es d'o ? / Tu viens d'o

? /ty du/ /ty vj du/ Where are you from?

(informal)

Je suis de... / Je viens de... / si d/ / vj d/ I am from...

O habitez-vous ? /u abite vu/

Where do you live? (formal)

Tu habites o ? /ty abit u/

Where do you live? (informal)

J'habite ...

/abit a/ I live in...

Quel ge avez-vous ? /kl ave vu/ How old are you? (formal)

Tu as quel ge ? /ty kl / How old are you? (informal)

J'ai ____ ans. /e __ / I am ____ years old.

Parlez-vous franais ? / Tu parles

anglais ? /pale vu frs/ /ty pal gl/ Do you speak French? (formal) / Do

you speak English? (informal)

Je parle allemand. / pal alm/ I speak German.

Je ne parle pas espagnol. / n pal pa spal/ I don't speak Spanish.

Comprenez-vous? / Tu

comprends? /kpne vu/ /ty kp/ Do you understand? (formal /

informal)

Je comprends / kp/ I understand

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

Pouvez-vous m'aider ? / Tu peux

m'aider ? /puve vu mede/ /ty p mede/

Can you help me? (formal /

informal)

Bien sr. /bj sy/ Of course.

Comment ? /km/ What? Pardon?

Tenez / Tiens /tne/ /tj/ Hey / Here (formal / informal)

Je sais / s/ I know

Je ne sais pas /n s pa/ I don't know

O est ... / O sont ... ? /u / /u s/ Where is ... / Where are ... ?

Voici / Voil /vwasi/ /vwala/

Here is/are... / There it is.

Il y a ... / Il y avait...

/il i a/ /il i av/ There is / are... / There was /

were...

Comment dit-on ____

en franais ? /km di t __ fs/ How do you say ____ in French?

Qu'est-ce que c'est que a ? /ks k s k sa/ What is that?

Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? /ks kil i a/ What's the matter?

a ne fait rien. /sa n f j/ It doesn't matter.

Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? /ks ki s pas/ What's happening?

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

Je suis fatigu(e) / Je suis malade.

/ si fatie/ / si malad/ I'm tired / I'm sick.

J'ai faim / J'ai soif.

/e f/ /e swaf/ I'm hungry / I'm thirsty.

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)

Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne t'en

fais pas. /n vu ft pa/ /n t f pa/ Don't worry (formal / informal)

Ce n'est pas grave. /s n pa gav/ It's no problem. / It's alright.

J'ai oubli. /e ublije/ I forgot.

Je dois y aller. / dwa i ale/ I must go.

A vos souhaits ! / A tes souhaits ! /a vo sw/ /a te sw/ Bless you! (formal / informal)

Flicitations ! /felisitasj/ Congratulations!

Bonne chance ! /bn s/ Good luck!

C'est vous ! / C'est toi ! /s ta vu/ /s ta tw/ It's your turn! (formal / informal)

Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi ! /tze vu/ /t tw/ Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal /

informal)

Je vous aime / Je t'aime / vu zm/ / tm/ I love you (formal & plural /

informal)

Tu me manques. /ty m mk/ I miss you. (informal)

Quoi de neuf ? /kw d nf/ What's new?

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 nebefore 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

IPA Phonetic spelling

Sample words General spellings

[i] ee vie, midi, lit, riz i, y

[y] ee rounded

rue, jus, tissu, usine

u

[e] ay bl, nez, cahier, pied

, et, final er and ez

[] ay rounded jeu, yeux, queue, bleu

eu

[] eh lait, aile, balai, reine

e, , , ai, ei, ais

[] eh rounded

sur, uf, fleur, beurre

u, eu

[a] ah chat, ami, papa, salade

a, ,

[] ah longer bas, ne, grce, chteau

a,

[u] oo loup, cou, caillou, outil

ou

[o] oh eau, dos, escargot, htel

o,

[] aw sol, pomme, cloche, horloge

o

[] uh fentre, genou, cheval, cerise

e

[] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in English are marked in blue.

French semi-vowels

IPA Phonetic spelling

Sample words General spelling

[w] w fois, oui, Louis

oi, ou

[] ew-ee lui, suisse ui

[j] yuh oreille, Mireille

ill, y

French nasal vowels

I PA Phonetic spelling Sample words General spelling

[a] awn gant, banc, dent en, em, an, am, aon, aen

[] ahn pain, vin, linge in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um, en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, en

[] uhn brun, lundi, parfum un

[o] ohn rond, ongle, front 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 eenbefore 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

final x s six, dix, soixante (these 3 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 /a/

j /i/

s /s/

b /be/

k /ka/

t /te/

c /se/

l /l/

u /y/

d /de/

m /m/

v /ve/

e //

n /n/

w /dublve/

f /f/

o /o/

x /iks/

g //

p /pe/

y /igrk/

h /a/

q /ky/

z /zd/

i /i/

r //

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

Feminine

Before Vowel

Plural

le lit

/l li/ the bed

la pomme

/la pm/ the apple

l'oiseau

/lwazo/

the bird

les gants

/le / the gloves

Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some)

Masculine

Feminine

Plural

un lit

/ li/ a bed

une pomme

/ yn pm/ an apple

des gants

/de / some gloves

Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those)

Masc.

Masc, Before Vowel

Fem.

Plural

ce lit

/s li/ this/that bed

cet oiseau

/s twazo/ this/that bird

cette pomme

/st pm/ this/that apple

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 c'est /s/ There is/are il y a /il i a/

There is/are voil /vwala/ Here is/are voici /vwasi/

and et /e/ always toujours /tuu/

but mais /m/ often souvent /suv/

now maintenant /mtn/ sometimes quelquefois /klkfwa/

especially surtout /sytu/ usually d'habitude /dabityd/

except sauf /sof/ also, too aussi /osi/

of course bien sr /bj sy/ again encore /k/

so so comme

ci, comme a /km si, km sa/ late en retard /ta/

not bad pas mal /pa mal/ almost presque /psk/

book le livre /l liv/ friend (fem) une amie /y nami/

pencil le crayon /l kj/ friend (masc) un ami / nami/

pen le stylo /l stilo/ woman une femme /yn fam/

paper le papier /l papje/ man un homme / nm/

dog le chien /l j/ girl une fille /yn fij/

cat le chat /l a/ boy un garon / gas/

money l'argent (m) /la/ job / work le travail /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 // I nous /nu/ We

tu /ty/ You (informal) vous /vu/ You (formal and plural)

il

elle

on

/il/

/l/ //

He

She

One

ils

elles

/il/

/l/ They (masc.)

They (fem.)

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 je suis / si/ We are nous sommes /nu sm/

You are tu es /ty / You are vous tes /vu zt/

He is

She is

One is

il est

elle est

on est

/il / /l / / n/

They are

They are

ils sont

elles sont

/il s/ /l s/

Past tense of tre - to be

I was j'tais /et/ We were nous tions /nu zetj/

You were tu tais /tu et/ You were vous tiez /vu zetje/

He was

She was

One was

il tait

elle tait

on tait

/il et/ /l et/ / net/

They were

They were

ils taient

elles taient

/il zet/ /l zet/

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/ We will be nous serons /nu s/

You will be tu seras /ty sa/ You will be vous serez /vu se/

He will be il sera /il sa/ They will be ils seront /il s/

She will be

One will be

elle sera

on sera

/l sa/ / sa/

They will be elles seront /l s/

Present tense of avoir /avwa/ - to have

I have j'ai /e/ We have nous avons /nu zav/

You have tu as /ty / You have vous avez /vu zave/

He has

She has

One has

il a

elle a

on a

/il / /l / / n/

They have

They have

ils ont

elles ont

/il z/ /l z/

Past tense of avoir - to have

I had j'avais /av/ We had nous avions /nu zavj/

You had tu avais /ty av/ You had vous aviez /vu zavje/

He had

She had

One had

il avait

elle avait

on avait

/il av/ /l av/ / nav/

They had ils avaient

elles avaient

/il zav/ /l zav/

Future tense of avoir - to have

I will have j'aurai /oe/ We will have nous aurons /nu zo/

You will have tu auras /ty o/ You will have vous aurez /vu zoe/

He will have

She will have

One will have

il aura

elle aura

on aura

/il oa/ /l oa/ / noa/

They will have

They will have

ils auront

elles auront

/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/ to be hot tre de retour /t d tu/ to be back

avoir froid /avwa fwa/ to be cold tre en retard /t ta/ to be late

avoir peur /avwa p/ to be afraid tre en avance /t navs/ to be early

avoir raison /avwa z/ to be right tre d'accord /t dak/ to be in agreement

avoir tort /avwa t/ to be wrong tre sur le point

de

/t sy l pw d/

to be about to

avoir faim /avwa f/ to be hungry tre en train de /t t d/ to be in the act of

avoir soif /avwa swaf/ to be thirsty tre enrhume /t yme/ to have a cold

avoir sommeil /avwa smj/ to be sleepy nous + tre (un

jour) /t u/ to be (a day)

avoir honte /avwa t/ to be ashamed

avoir besoin de /avwa bzw d/

to need

avoir l'air de /avwa d/ to look like,

seem

avoir l'intention

de /avwa tsj/ to intend to

avoir envie de /avwa vi d/ to feel like

avoir de la

chance /avwa d la s/ to be lucky

J'ai froid. I'm cold.

Tu avais raison. You were right.

Il aura sommeil ce soir. He will be tired

tonight.

Elle a de la chance ! She's lucky!

Nous aurons faim plus tard. We will be

hungry later.

Vous aviez tort. You were wrong.

Ils ont chaud. They are hot.

Elles avaient peur hier. They were

afraid yesterday.

Je suis en retard! I'm late!

Tu tais en avance. You were early.

Elle sera d'accord. She will agree.

Nous sommes lundi. It is Monday.

Vous tiez enrhum. You had a cold.

Ils seront en train d'tudier. They will be (in the act

of) studying.

Elles taient sur le point de partir. They were about

to leave.

On est de retour. We/you/they/the people are back.

8. QUESTION WORDS / LES INTERROGATIFS

Who Qui /ki/

What Quoi /kwa/

Why Pourquoi /pukwa/

When Quand /k/

Where O /u/

How Comment /km/

How much / many Combien /kbj/

Which / what Quel(le) /kl/

9. CARDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES CARDINAUX

Zero Zro /zeo/

One Un //

Two Deux /d/

Three Trois /tw/

Four Quatre /kat/

Five Cinq /sk/

Six Six /sis/

Seven Sept /st/

Eight Huit /it/

Nine Neuf /nf/

Ten Dix /dis/

Eleven Onze /z/

Twelve Douze /duz/

Thirteen Treize /tz/

Fourteen Quatorze /katz/

Fifteen Quinze /kz/

Sixteen Seize /sz/

Seventeen Dix-sept /dist/

Eighteen Dix-huit /dizit/

Nineteen Dix-neuf /diznf/

Twenty Vingt /v/

Twenty-one Vingt et un /vt e /

Twenty-two Vingt-deux /v d/

Twenty-three Vingt-trois /v tw/

Thirty Trente /tt/

Thirty-one Trente et un /tt e //

Thirty-two Trente-deux /tt d/

Forty Quarante /kat/

Fifty Cinquante /skt/

Sixty Soixante /swast/

Seventy Soixante-dix /swastdis/

(Belgium & Switzerland) Septante /sptt/

Seventy-one Soixante et onze /swast e z/

Seventy-two Soixante-douze /swast duz/

Eighty Quatre-vingts /katv/

(Belgium & Switzerland) Octante /ktt/

Eighty-one Quatre-vingt-un /katv t/

Eighty-two Quatre-vingt-deux /katv d/

Ninety Quatre-vingt-dix /katv dis/

(Belgium & Switzerland) Nonante /nnt/

Ninety-one Quatre-vingt-onze /katv z/

Ninety-two Quatre-vingt-douze /katv duz/

One Hundred Cent /s/

One Hundred One Cent un /s t/

Two Hundred Deux cents /d s/

Two Hundred One Deux cent un /d s t/

Thousand Mille /mil/

Two Thousand Deux mille /d mil/

Million Un million /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 andnonante in place of the standard French words for 70 and 90 (though some parts of Switzerland use huitante for 80 andoctante 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, quatre-vingt-neuf, vingt-huit.

ORDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES ORDINAUX

first premier / premire

second deuxime / second

third troisime

fourth quatrime

fifth cinquime

sixth sixime

seventh septime

eighth huitime

ninth neuvime

tenth dixime

eleventh onzime

twelfth douzime

twentieth vingtime

twenty-first vingt et unime

thirtieth 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 (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

10. DAYS OF THE WEEK / LES JOURS DE LA SEMAINE

Monday lundi /ldi/

Tuesday mardi /madi/

Wednesday mercredi /mkdi/

Thursday jeudi /di/

Friday vendredi /vddi/

Saturday samedi /samdi/

Sunday dimanche /dim/

day le jour /l u/

week la semaine /la s()mn/

today aujourd'hui /oudi/

yesterday hier /j/

tomorrow demain /dm/

next prochain / prochaine /p/ /pn/

last dernier / dernire /dnje/ /dnj/

day before yesterday avant-hier /avtj/

day after tomorrow aprs-demain /apdm/

the following day le lendemain /l ldm/

the day before la veille /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 janvier /vje/

February fvrier /fevije/

March mars /mas/

April avril /avil/

May mai /m/

June juin //

July juillet /ij/

August aot /u(t)/

September septembre /sptb/

October octobre /ktb/

November novembre /nvb/

December dcembre /desb/

month le mois /l mwa/

year l'an / l'anne /l/ /lane/

decade la dcennie /deseni/

century le sicle /l sjkl/

millennium le millnaire /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 l't /lete/ in the summer en t / nete/

Fall l'automne /lotn/ in the fall en automne / notn/

Winter l'hiver /liv/ in the winter en hiver / niv/

Spring le printemps /l pt/ in the spring au printemps /o prt/

13. DIRECTIONS / LES DIRECTIONS

on the left gauche /a go/

on the right droite /a dwt/

straight ahead tout droit /tu dw/

North le nord /l n/ Northeast le nord-est /l n(d)st/

South le sud /l syd/ Northwest le nord-ouest /l n(d)wst/

East l'est /lst/ Southeast le sud-est /sydst/

West l'ouest /lwst/ Southwest le sud-ouest /sydwst/

14. COLORS & SHAPES / LES COULEURS & LES FORMES

Red rouge /u/ square le carr /kae/

Orange orange // circle le cercle /skl/

Yellow jaune /on/ triangle le triangle /tijgl/

Green vert / verte /v/ /vt/ rectangle le rectangle /ktgl/

Blue bleu / bleue /bl/ oval l'ovale /val/

Purple violet / violette /vjl/ /vjlt/ cube le cube /kyb/

White blanc / blanche /bl/ /bl/ sphere la sphre /sf/

Brown brun / brune

marron

/bo/ /byn/ /ma/

cylinder le cylindre /sild/

Black noir / noire /nwa/ cone le cne /kon/

Pink rose /oz/ octagon l'octogone /ktogn/

Gold dor / dore /de/ box la bote /bwat/

Silver argent /

argente /ate/ light clair / claire /kl/

Gray gris / grise /gi/ /giz/ dark 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? Quel temps fait-il ? /kl t f til/

It's nice Il fait bon /il f b/

bad Il fait mauvais /il f mve/

cool Il fait frais /il f f/

cold Il fait froid /il f fw/

warm, hot Il fait chaud /il f o/

cloudy Il fait nuageux /il f nya/

beautiful Il fait beau /il f bo/

mild Il fait doux /il f du/

stormy Il fait orageux /il f a/

sunny Il fait soleil /il f slj/

humid Il fait humide /il f ymid/

muggy Il fait lourd /il f lu/

windy Il fait du vent /il f dy v/

foggy Il fait du brouillard /il f dy buja/

snowing Il neige /il n/

raining Il pleut /il pl/

freezing Il gle /il l/

hailing Il grle /il gl/

It is ____ degrees. Il fait ____ degrs. /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? Quelle heure est-il ? /kl til/

It is... Il est... /il /

one o'clock une heure /yn /

two o'clock deux heures /d z/

noon midi /midi/

midnight minuit /mini/

a quarter after three trois heures et quart /tw z e ka/

one o'clock sharp une heure prcise /yn pesiz/

four o'clock sharp quatre heures prcises /kat pesiz/

twelve thirty midi (minuit) et demi /midi (mini) e dmi/

six thirty six heures et demie /si z e dmi/

a quarter to seven sept heures moins le quart /st mw l ka/

five twenty cinq heures vingt /sk v/

ten fifty onze heures moins dix /z mw dis/

in the morning/AM du matin /dy mat/

in the afternoon/PM de l'aprs-midi /d lapmidi/

in the evening/PM du soir /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 la famille /famij/

Relatives des parents /pa/

Parents les parents /pa/

Grandparents les grands-parents /gpa/

Mom la mre / maman /m/ /mm/

Stepmother/Mother-in-Law la belle-mre /blm/

Dad le pre / papa /p/ /papa/

Stepfather/Father-in-Law le beau-pre /bop/

Daughter la fille /fij/

Son le fils /fis/

Sister la sur /s/

Half/Step Sister la demi-sur /dmi s/

Sister-in-Law la belle-sur /bls/

Stepdaughter/Daughter-in-Law la belle-fille /bl fij/

Brother le frre /f/

Half/Step Brother le demi-frre /dmi f/

Brother-in-Law le beau-frre /bo f/

Stepson/Son-in-Law le beau-fils /bo fis/

Twins (m) les jumeaux /ymo/

Twins (f) les jumelles /yml/

Uncle l'oncle /kl/

Aunt la tante /tt/

Grandmother la grand-mre /gm/

Grandfather le grand-pre /gp/

Cousin (f) la cousine /kuzin/

Cousin (m) le cousin /kuz/

Wife la femme /fam/

Husband le mari /mai/

Woman la femme /fam/

Man l'homme /m/

Child (m) / (f) un enfant / une enfant /f/

Girl la fille /fij/

Boy le garon /gas/

Niece la nice /njs/

Nephew le neveu /n()v/

Grandchildren les petits-enfants /p()tizf/

Granddaughter la petite-fille /p()tit fij/

Grandson le petit-fils /p()tifis/

Godfather le parrain /pa/

Godmother la marraine /man/

Godson le filleul /fijl/

Goddaughter la filleule /fijl/

Distant Relatives des parents loigns /pa elwae/

Single clibataire /selibat/

Married mari(e) /maje/

Separated spar(e) /sepae/

Divorced divorc(e) /divse/

Widower veuf /vf/

Widow veuve /vv/

Dog le chien / la chienne (m) / (f) /j/ /jn/

Cat le chat / la chatte (m) / (f) /a/ /at/

Puppy le chiot /jo/

Kitten le chaton /at/

Pig le cochon /k/

Rooster le coq /kk/

Rabbit le lapin /lap/

Cow la vache /va/

Horse le cheval /()val/

Duck le canard /kana/

Goat la chvre /v/

Goose l'oie /wa/

Sheep le mouton /mut/

Lamb l'agneau /ao/

Donkey l'ne /n/

Mouse la souris /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-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

Slang words for people and pets:

The entire family

toute la smala /tut la smala/ Sister la frangine /fin/

Grandma mm / mamie /meme/ /mami/ Brother le frangin /f/

Grandpa pp / papi /pepe/ /papi/ Son le fiston /fist/

Children des gosses /gs/ Aunt tata / tatie /tata/ /tati/

Kid un gamin / une gamine

/gam/ /gamin/ Uncle tonton /tt/

Woman une nana /nana/ Dog le cabot / /kabo/

clbard /kleba/

Man un mec / type / gars /mk/ /tip/ /ga/

Cat le minou /minu/

Listen to the animaux : chien ou chat ? mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-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/ sais /s/ savons /sav/

connais /kn/ connaissez /knse/ sais /s/ savez /save/

connat /kn/ connaissent /kns/ sait /s/ savent /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: Sing. Plural

If a noun already ends in an -s, add nothing. bus(es) le bus les bus

If a noun ends in -eu or -eau, add an x. boat(s) le bateau les bateaux

If a masculine noun ends in -al or -ail, change it to -aux. horse(s) le cheval les chevaux

Some nouns ending in -ou add an -x instead of -s. knee(s) le genou 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. Fem. Plural

My mon /m/ ma /ma/ mes /m/

Your ton /t/ ta /ta/ tes /t/

His/Her/Its son /s/ sa /sa/ ses /s/

Our notre /nt/ notre /nt/ nos /no/

Your votre /vt/ votre /vt/ vos /vo/

Their leur /l/ leur /l/ 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.