MICHEL THOMAS FRENCH (ADVANCED) COURSE, 4 CDs TRANSCRIPT This is an approximate transcript of the course, since Michel often

changed his mind in the middle of a sentence to be translated, or adapted his sentences for the students. The booklet that accompanied Michel's courses was wholly inadequate, so I have written this transcript. I have found it useful, so maybe other people will, too. Naturally, it would be foolish to try to learn the language using this transcript, without buying the recordings. Note that English is my native language, so I don't guarantee that there are no mistakes. Tracks and track times in the recording are shown in brackets. Version 2, Jan 15th 2006 Transcribed by JK CD 1 (75.26) (1) 3.46 I want it now je le veut maintenant I don't want them je ne les veux pas do you want it? le voulez-vous?, est-ce que vous le voulez? why do you want it now? pourquoi le voulez-vous maintenant? why don't you want it now? pourquoi ne le voulez-vous pas maintenant? (2) 2.52 I don't know where it is je ne sais pas o c'est I don't know what it is je ne sais pas ce que c'est to explain xpliquer can you explain to me what it is? pouvez-vous m'xpliquer ce que c'est? what do you want? qu'est-ce que vous voulez? what do you want to do? qu'est-ce que vous voulez faire? what do you want to say? qu'est-ce que vous voulez dire? what do you mean? qu'est-ce que vous voulez dire? I don't understand what you mean je ne comprends pas ce que vous voulez dire can explain to me what you mean? pouvez-vous m'xpliquer ce que vous voulez dire? that's not what I mean ce n'est pas ce que je veux dire what do you mean? qu'est-ce que vous-voulez dire? it means a veut dire what does it mean? qu'est-ce que a veut dire? I don't understand what it means je ne comprends pas ce que a veut dire I want I'm going I want it I don't want it I want some, I want some of it j'en veux I don't want any je n'en veux pas that's not what I mean ce n'est pas ce que je veux dire I don't know what it means je ne suis pas ce que a veut dire

(3) 4.00 there are many people here il y a beaucoup de monde ici (monde is used in a general sense for "a lot of people") everybody knows where it is tout le monde sait o c'est nobody knows where it is, nobody can find it personne sait o c'est, personne peut le trouver but everybody wants to see it mais tout le monde veut le voir I have it I don't have it I want it I don't want it I want them I don't want them I don't want anything je ne veux rien I don't want it I don't want any of it je n'en veux pas I don't want it I don't want them I don't want any je n'en veux pas (4) 2.03 I don't understand it je ne le comprends pas I don't understand anything je ne comprends rien never I never understand what he wants je ne comprends jamais ce que il veut I never know je ne sais jamais I know I don't know I don't know anything I never know ("not...any more" is ne...plus) I don't know any more je ne sais plus I don't understand him any more je ne le comprends plus (5) 4.45 I'm going to see it je vais le voir to it, there y I'm going there j'y vais I would like to go there je voudrais y aller but I cannot go there now mais je n'y peut pas y aller maintenant because I'm busy parce que je suis occup I'm very busy now je suis trs occup maintenant I would like to go there je voudrais y aller with you with him with her with them avec eux I'm going to see him tonight and I'm going to give him his book je vais le voir ce soir et je vais lui donner son livre I'm going to see her tonight and I'm going to give her her book je vais la voir ce soir et

je vais lui donner son livre I'm going to tell him je vais lui dire I'm going to tell her je vais lui dire Will you tell him voulez-vous lui dire? can you tell her? pouvez-vous lui dire? to them leur will you tell them voulez-vous leur dire Will you give them the book voulez-vous leur donner le livre (6) 0.52 the book le livre the pound la livre (7) 2.51 to them leur their leur to bring apporter Will you bring them their book voulez-vous leur apporter leur livre I'm going to send him the money je vais lui envoyer l'argent I'm going to send her the money je vais lui envoyer l'argent I'm going to send them money je vais leur envoyer l'argent I'm going to send the money to him je vais envoyer l'argent lui I'm going to send the money to her je vais envoyer l'argent elle I'm going to send the money to them je vais envoyer l'argent eux (8) 6.20 I'm going to send it to him je vais le lui envoyer I'm going to send it to her je vais le lui envoyer (if you have two pronouns that both begin with l- then le, la always comes before lui, leur. Any pronouns that don't begin l- come first, such as vous le "it - to you" I'm going to send it to you je vais vous l'envoyer I'm going to send it to him je vais le lui envoyer I'm going to send them to her je vais les lui envoyer I'm going to send them to her je vais les envoyer elle I'm going to send them to Paris je vais les envoyer Paris I'm going to write a letter to them je vais leur crire une lettre I'm going to send themo her I'm going to send them to him I'm going to send them to them will you send it to me voulez-vous me l'envoyer, voulez-vous l'envoyer moi I cannot tell it to you now because I don't know it je ne peux pas vous le dire maintenant parce que je ne le sais pas (9) 3.38 (verbs are in four groups, ending -er, -ir, -re, -oir) the power le pouvoir the duty le devoir that is your duty c'est votre devoir homework les devoirs (eighty percent of verbs end -er. Verbs can be thought of as belonging to two groups: -er verbs and non -er verbs) (10) 3.48

(we'll talk now about -er verbs) to speak (we can think of conjugated verbs belonging to two boxes, a long and short box. The long box consists of "we" and "you") you speak vous parlez we speak nous parlons (all others are in the short box. Cut off the -r from the infinitive. They all sound the same, and the final consonant is sounded e.g. je parle, il parle) I speak je parle I am ready je suis prt I am eating je mange I don't speak je ne parle pas to stay we are staying nous restons you are staying vous restez how long are you staying? combien de temps restez-vous? how long are we staying? combien de temps restons-nous? (11) 1.19 (for the imperative, just drop vous) stay! restez!, restez ici! don't stay! ne restez pas! we are staying (for let's imperative, just drop nous) let's stay! restons! let's stay here! restons ici! let's speak French! parlons franais! speak French with me! parlez franais! don't speak English now! ne parlez pas anglais maintenant (12) 4.01 I'm staying I'm not staying everybody is staying tout le monde reste nobody is staying personne reste my friend is staying mon ami reste it is ready c'est prt it is staying a reste it is not staying a ne reste pas he is staying il reste they are staying ils restent (-ent is silent as the verb ending for "they") it is special c'est spcial specially spcialement normal normally possible possibly certain certain certain certainment

(for -ent and -ant words, you must contract) evident vident evidently videmment constant constant constantly constamment (13) 6.57 to begin we are starting let's start! at what time are we starting? at what time are you starting? start now! don't start now! Start a little later! ne commencez pas maintenant! Commencez un peu plus tard! I don't understand I don't understand anything I don't understand any more je ne comprends plus it is ready it is starting now everybody is starting my friend is starting my friends mes ami my friends are starting mes ami commencent my friends are arriving tonight mes ami arrivent ce soir to leave we are leaving let's leave! at what time are you leaving? at what time are we leaving? don't leave to prepare prparer he is preparing it il le prpare they are preparing it ils les prparent he is not accepting it il ne l'accepte pas he doesn't accept the condition il n'accepte pas la condition everybody is ready everybody is starting my friends are starting mes amis commencent my friends are arriving mes amis arrivent my friends are leaving mes amis partent they are leaving ils partent to sell vendre they are selling it ils le vendent to wait attendre they are waiting ils attendent they are waiting for me ils m'attendent my friends are waiting for me mes amis m'attendent wait! Wait a moment! attendez! attendez un moment!

let's wait here! attendons ici! don't wait! n'attendez pas! they are waiting for you ils vous attendent (14) 3.50 (For non -er verbs: don't sound the final consonant of the infinitive stem in the short box, except for "they" forms) I am waiting j'attends he is waiting il attend they are waiting ils attendent everybody is leaving tout le monde part I'm leaving je pars they are leaving ils partent to sleep I'm sleeping je dors he is sleeping il dort everybody is sleeping tout le monde dort my friends are sleeping mes amis dorment she is sleeping elle dort to serve servir he is serving the dinner il sert le dner they are serving the dinner at seven o'clock ils servent le dner sept heures one is serving the dinner at seven o'clock on sert le dner sept heures (15) 2.16 dinner is being served at seven o'clock on sert le dner sept heures we are very comfortable here on est trs confortable ici, nous sommes trs confortable ici we are leaving soon on part bientt, nous partons bientt we are going to leave soon on va partir bientt, nous allons partir bientt (16) 1.11 we are going to start soon on va commencer bientt, nous allons commencer bientt, on commence bientt, nous commencons bientt we can start now on peut commencer maintenant; nous pouvons commencer maintenant we must start on doit commencer; nous devons commencer (17) 1.31 to feel sentir I feel it je le sens they feel it ils le sentent he feels it il le sent (to make a distinction in French between "I feel something" and "I feel fine", "I don't feel well" use "I myself feel") I feel fine je me sens bien I don't feel fine je ne me sens pas bien (18) 3.29 better mieux I feel better je me sens mieux (note comparitive and superlative: good-better-best is bon-meilleur-le meilleur but wellbetter-best is bien-mieux-le mieux)

this wine is better than the other ce vin et meilleur que l'autre it is the best wine of the house c'est le meilleur vin de la maison I feel fine je me sens bien I feel better je me sens mieux maintenant I feel much better now je me sens beaucoup mieux maintenant (sentir bon means "to smell", not "to feel good") it smells good a sent bon (19) 1.38 I'm sleeping je dors he is sleeping il dort one is sleeping on dort they are sleeping ils dorment (for -er verbs, you drop the -r from the infinitive in the short box to leave -e, or -ent for "they". For non -er verbs, the short box is je --s, il --t, ils --ent) to do I'm doing je fais I'm not doing it je ne le fais pas he is doing it il le fait one is doing it on le fait one is not doing it that way on ne le fait pas comme a (that also means "it is not being done that way") (20) 1.25 it is making a big difference that way a fait une grande diffrence comme a (english nouns ending -ence are the same in French, and are la) it doesn't make much difference a ne fait pas beaucoup de diffrence how much time combien de temps I don't have much time je n'ai pas beaucoup de temps (21) 2.20 it is too late c'est trop tard you're going too fast vous allez trop vite it is too much c'est trop to work travailler he is working too much il travaille trop to take prendre it is taking too much time a prend trop de temps it is taking too much time like that a prend beaucoup trop te temps comme a it is much too much c'est beaucoup trop it is much too much for me c'est baucoup trop pour moi it is taking much too much time that way (22) 1.40 I'm taking it je le prends he is taking il le prend (it is not spelled prendt because -t is not added to a "d" or "t") he doesn't understand me il ne me comprend pas everybody is waiting for me tout le monde m'attend my friends are waiting for me mes amis m'attendent (23) 1.55 (for -ir verbs, in the short box, you drop the consonant that you don't sound. The endings

are still -s and -t, though) I am sleeping je dors everybody is sleeping tout le monde dort my friends are sleeping mes amis dorment I feel it je le sens dinner is being served on sert le dner (24) 1.32 to put I'm putting it on the table je le mets sur la table he is putting it on the table il le met sur la table where are you putting it? o le mettez-vous? put the book on the table please mettez le livre sur la table, s'il vous plat don't put it here! ne le mettez pas ici! (25) 2.27 to start start now! don't start! let's start! let's not start! let's wait! let's not wait! let's put the book on the table mettons le livre sur la table on the floor par terre let's not put it on the floor ne le mettons pas par terre don't put it on the floor! ne le mettez pas par terre! (in a positive command, the pronoun goes after the verb) put it here! mettez-le ici! (end of recording)

CD 2 (76.07) (1) 3.47 don't put it there ne le mettez pas l I am putting it here je le mets ici we are putting it here nous le mettons ici don't put it here ne le mettez pas ici put it here mettez-le ici don't put it there ne le mettez pas l put them on the table mettez-les sur la table don't put them on the floor ne les mettez pas par terre I'm calling you je vous appelle you are being called on vous appelles call me later! appelez-moi plus tard! don't call me today, call me tomorrow ne m'appeler pas aujourd'hui appelez-moi demain wait for me! attendez-moi! (an alternative to this imperative is a polite form using voulez-vous) Will you wait for me voulez-vous m'attendre? wait for me! don't wait for me ne m'attendez pas (2) 1.39 you have to wait for me vous devez m'attendre one has to wait for me on doit m'attendre wait for me don't wait for me (3) 3.14 I will do it je le ferai I have he has they have ils ont to leave I will leave je partirai he will leave il partira they will leave ils partiront we will leave nous partirons you will leave vous partirez (4) 3.56 (there are a few exceptions in the future tense, but they concern stems and not endings. For example -oir verbs contract) to be able pouvoir I will be able je pourrai to have to devoir I will have to je devrai we will have to leave soon nous devrons partir bientt; on devra partir bientt I will have it je l'aurai we will have it nous l'aurons I will know je saurai I will tell you later je vais dirai plus tard

I will write to you je vous crirai I will do it je le ferai he won't do it il ne le fera pas he won't tell you why he won't do it il ne vous dira pas pourquoi il ne le fera pas (5) 0.55 to put I will put it here je le mettrais ici (all English composite verbs ending -mit come from the French mettre) to commit commettre to omit omettre to permit permettre to submit soumettre to promise promettre I promise je promets I promise you je vous promets (6) 1.03 I will put it here je le mettrai ici I will take it je le prendrai I won't understand him je ne le comprendrai pas he will sell it il le vendra he's selling it il le vend they're selling it ils le vendent (7) 2.47 to come I am coming je viens they are coming ils viennent they are coming from Vienna ils viennent de Viennes it is coming a vient it is going to come a va venir I will come je viendrai we will come nous viendrons to come back revenir I will come back je reviendrai they will come back soon ils reviendrent bientt we will come back soon nous reviendrons bientt we are going to come back soon nous allons revenir bientt (8) 3.03 to be tre I will be je serai he will be il sera they will be ils serent we will be nous serons you will be vous serez (the French verb aller is irregular because it comes from three separate Latin verbs) I'm going he is going they are going ils vent they're going to be here soon ils vent tre ici bientt

they will be here tonight ils vent tre ici ce soir; ils serent ici ce soir (9) 2.31 it won't be possible to do it that way ce ne sera pas possible de le faire comme a it won't be necessary to do it today ce ne sera pas ncessaire de le faire aujourd'hui it will take too much time that way a prendra trop de temps comme a it will take too much time a prendra trop de temps it's a pleasure to see you a me fait plaisir de vous voir I enjoy very much seeing you a me fait grand plaisir de vous voir I will enjoy seeing you a me fera plaisir de vous voir (this means "I'm looking forward to seeing you") (10) 2.07 I'm going he's going they're going we are going you're going they're going to come with us ils vent venir avec nous I will go j'irai he will go il ira we will go nous irons they will go ils irent you will go vous irez I will go there j'y irais we will go there tonight nous y irons ce soir (11) 2.06 (there are three ways in French to express the future tense) I will call you tomorrow je vous appellerai demain; je vais vous appeller demain; je vous appele demain I will call you next week je vous appele la semaine prochaine (12) 2.46 (in the long box, there is a single exception for nous and three exceptions for vous) we are nous sommes you are vous tes you are doing, you are making vous faites you are saying, you are telling vous dites what are you doing? qu'est-ce que vous faites? what are you saying? qu'est-ce que vous dites? I don't understand what you're saying je ne comprends pas ce que vous dites tell me! dites-moi! don't tell me, I don't want to know it ne me dites pas, je ne veux pas le savoir don't tell it to me ne me le dites pas don't tell it to him ne le lui dites pas don't tell it to her ne le lui dites pas (13) 2.03 (the key to the short box is the sound of the 1st person je) nobody knows where it is personne sait o c'est everybody wants to see it tout le monde veut le voir nobody can find it personne peut le trouver

everything must be ready today tout doit tre prt aujourd'hui (whereas the key to the long box is the infinitive of the verb) nobody knows we know nous savons (14) 2.50 (prendre, comprendre, apprendre, rependre all lose -d- in nous, vous, ils) we understand nous comprenons you understand vous comprenez do you understand? comprenez-vous? do you understand it? le comprenez-vous? do you understand me? me comprenez-vous? we are taking it nous le prenons why don't you take it? parce que ne le prenez-vous pas? they take ils prennent they don't understand it ils ne le comprennent pas (15) 1.59 (there are three irregular verbs in French) I have j'ai he has il a they have ils ont I go je vais he's going il va they're going ils vent we have nous avons you have vous avez we are going nous allons you are going vous allez I am je suis he is il est they are ils sont we are nous sommes you are vous tes where are they? o sont-ils? they are not there ils ne sont pas l (l also means "to be in, to be home") they are not in ils ne sont pas l he's not in il n'est pas l (16) 1.04 (faire is also irregular in the "they" form) they are ils sont they have ils ont they are going ils vont they are doing, making ils font they are doing it ils le font they are not doing it ils ne le font pas they are not in ils ne sont pas l (17) 4.03 (for the past tense, use avoir. So, "I bought it" becomes "I have bought it")

(-er verbs now end , both sound the same) I spoke j'ai parl he spoke il a parl did you speak? avez-vous parl? we didn't speak with him nous n'avons pan parl avec lui when did you speak with him? quand avez-vous parl avec lui? did you buy something? avez-vous achet quelque chose? what did you buy? qu'est-ce que vous avez achet? he prepared a dinner il a prepar un dner the film has started le film a commenc (18) 2.31 already dj still, still more encore I would like another cup of coffee je voudrais encore une tasse de caf a little more encore un peu not yet pas encore we haven't started yet nous n'avons pas encore commenc the film has started le film a commenc the film has started already le film a commenc dj ago il y a ten minutes ago il y a dix minutes two days ago il y a deux jours (19) 6.32 I have it I don't have it I have them I don't have them I have some, I have some of it j'en ai I don't have any je n'en ai pas (in the past tense, all the pronouns come before the verb) I bought it je l'ai achet I didn't buy it je ne l'ai pas achet I bought them je les ai achet I didn't buy them je ne les ai pas achet I bought some for you j'en ai achet pour vous I didn't buy any today because I didn't find any je n'en ai pas achet parce que je n'en ai pas trouv how many did you buy of them? combien en avez-vous achet? where did you buy them? o les avez-vous achet? to forget oublier I forgot where I bought them j'ai oubli o je les ai achet at what time did you call? quelle heure avez-vous appel? at what time did you call me? quelle heure m'avez-vous appel? she called me this morning elle m'a appel ce matin why did you call me? pourquoi m'avez-vous appel? why didn't you call me? pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas appel? I called them je les ai appel I called him je l'ai appel

I called her je l'ai appel I called you je vous ai appel I didn't call you je ne vais ai pas appel to ask I asked you je vous ai demand I didn't ask you je ne vous ai pas demand why did you ask me? pourquoi m'avez-vous demand? why didn't you ask me? pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas demand? (20) 3.14 (-re verbs take -u in past tense) I sold it je l'ai vendu why did you sell it? pourquoi l'avez-vous vendu? why didn't you sell them? pourquoi ne les avez-vous pas vendu? he sold them il les a vendu we sold some nous en avons vendu I waited j'ai attendu I waited for you je vous ai attendu you didn't wait for me vous ne m'avez pas attendu why didn't you wait for me? pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas attendu? (-ir verbs take -i in the past tense) we finished nous avons fini at what time did you finish? quelle heure avez-vous fini? he slept il a dormi we slept well nous avons bien dormi bad, badly mal he slept very badly il a mal dormi (21) 1.49 (instead of avoir, you can use a construction involving tre) he prepared the dinner il a prepar le dner dinner is prepared le dner est prepar he sold it il l'a vendu everything is sold tout est vendu nothing is sold yet rien est vendu encore one served the dinner on a servi le dner dinner is served le dner est servi (22) 3.24 (a few verbs are a regular in the past tense.For example comprendre etc becomes compris etc) understood compris service included service compris service is included le service est compris service is not included le service n'est pas compris did you understand? avez-vous compris? did you understand it? est-ce que vous l'avez compris? did you understand me? m'avez-vous compris? why did you not understand me? pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas compris? I understood you je vous ai compris I understood you well je vous ai bien compris

I understood you very well je vous ai trs bien compris (prendre becomes pris) I took them je les ai pris I took some of it j'en ai pris why did you take them? pourquoi les avez-vous pris? why didn't you take them? pourquoi ne les avez-vous pas pris? (apprendre becomes appris) I learned j'ai appris I learned something today j'ai appris quelque chose aujourd'hui (j'ai appris also means "I found out") (23) 2.48 (mettre becomes mis) where did you put it? o l'avez-vous mis? where did you put them? o les avez-vous mis? I forgot where I put them j'ai oubli o je les ai mis to admit admettre to omit omettre to permit permettre to promise promettre (promettre becomes promis) I promise you je vous ai promis I did not promise you je ne vous ai pas promis you promised me vous m'avez promis I promised him je lui ai promis it is promised c'est promis (24) 5.18 (three more: faire becomes fait, dire becomes dit, crire becomes crit) he is doing it il le fait he did it il l'a fait (English -ct verbs come from French) the fact le fait the object l'objet the subject le sujet he is doing it il le fait he did it il l'a fait it is done c'est fait I didn't do it je ne l'ai pas fait why did you do it? pourquoi l'avez-vous fait? why didn't you do it? pourquoi ne l'avez-vous pas fait? he did it il l'a fait it is done c'est fait he didn't do it il ne l'a pas fait he told me il m'a dit I told you je vais ai dit I didn't tell you je ne vous ai pas dit you told me vous m'avez dit why didn't you tell me? pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas dit? I wrote to you je vous ai crit

why didn't you write to me? pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas crit? why didn't you call me? pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas appel? it is written c'est crit one told me on m'a dit (in English, this would be "I was told") I called you this morning je vous ai appel ce matin why didn't you buy them? pourquoi ne les avez-vous pas achet? (25) 4.05 I was j'tais I had j'avais I was very busy j'tais trs occup he was here to il tait ici they were ils taient who was there? qui tait l? nobody was there personne tait l I was there j'tais l I was very busy j'tais trs occup it was ready c'tait prt I was there but it wasn't ready yet j'tais l mais ce n'tait pas prt encore last night hier soir who was there with you last night? qui tait l avec vous hier soir? yes I was there but nobody was there oui j'tais l mais personne tait l we were nous tions you were vous tiez (26) 1.23 (whenever you have -ais in the short box, the full set of endings are always -ais -ait -aient (short) -ions -iez (long) ) I had j'avais he had il avait they had ils avaient we had nous avions you had vous aviez we had a plane nous avions un avion (27) 0.42 everything is sold tout est vendu everything was sold tout tait vendu everything will be sold tout sera vendu ( because after any form of avoir or tre, you always dive i.e. use - -i -u! ) (28) 1.19 I would like je voudrais he would like il voudrait they would like ils voudraient everybody would like to see it tout le monde voudrait le voir my friends would like to go there mes amis voudraient y aller we would like nous voudrions you would like vous voudriez (29) 1.09 (-rais, -rait, -raient, -rions, -riez express "would" and can be used with any verb)

(end of recording)

CD 3 (74.12) (1) 3.11 ("will" and "would" use the same contractions, i.e. "I will have" j'aurai "I would have" j'aurais) I will have j'aurai he will have il aura they will have ils aurent we will have nous aurons you will have vous aurez I would have j'aurais he would have il aurait they would have ils auraient we would have nous aurions you would have vous auriez I would have it je l'aurais we would have it nous l'aurions we would have them nous les aurions we would have brought them nous les aurions acheter I was j'tais he was il tait he had il avait he would have il aurait he will have il aura (2) 2.48 (-oir verbs in the past tense end -u e.g. voir becomes vu) I saw it je l'ai vu if I had seen it si je l'avais vu if I had seen it I would have bought it si je l'avais vu, je l'aurais achet (savoir becomes su) if I had known it si je l'avais su I would have told you je vous aurais dit if I had known it, I would have told you si je l'avais su, je vous aurais dit if you had told me, I would have seen it and I would have bought it si vous m'aviez dit, je l'aurais vu et je l'aurais achet m'aviez (3) 3.19 he wouldn't wait il n'attendrais pas you wouldn't wait vous n'attendrions pas we wouldn't wait nous n'attendrions pas (so "would" is -rais etc, and "would have" is therefore aurais etc) he would sell it il le vendrait he would have sold it il l'aurait vendu I did it je l'ai fait I didn't do it je ne l'ai pas fait why did you do it? pourquoi l'avez-vous fait? why didn't you do it? pourquoi ne l'avez-vous pas fait? I told you je vous ai dit I didn't tell you je ne vous ai pas dit you didn't tell me vous ne m'avez pas dit

why didn't you tell me? pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas dit? (4) 2.07 was tait tions tiez had avait avions aviez would have aurais aurions auriez I was busy j'tais occup he was not here il n'tait pas ici who was there last night? qui tait l hier soir? nobody was there personne tait l I was there with my friend but you were not there j'tais l avec mon ami mais vous n'tiez pas l I was very busy and I didn't have the time to do it j'tait trs occup et je n'avais pas le temps de le faire (5) 1.58 (avoir becomes eu, savoir becomes su, pouvoir becomes pu, devoir becomes du, voir becomes vu) did you see? avez-vous vu? did you see it? l'avez-vous vu? where did you see me? o m'avez-vous vu? I was there last night but I didn't see you j'tais l hier soir mais je ne vous ai pas vu where were you? o tiez-vous? I didn't see you je ne vous ai pas vu (6)1.48 (the three steps on the diving board are: at the top "would have" aurais (conditional), in the middle "had" avais (perfect past tense) and at the bottom "have" ai (past tense) ) I had j'avais I would have j'aurais I saw it je l'ai vu had avais aviez avions would have aurais auriez aurions I saw it je l'ai vu if I had seen it si je l'avais vu I would have seen it je l'aurais vu and I would have told you why I didn't buy it at je vous aurais dit pourquoi je ne l'ai pas achet (7) 1.31 he told me that you wouldn't do it il m'a dit que vous ne le feriez pas I had j'avais if you had told it to me, I would have known it si vous me l'aviez dit, je l'aurais su (8) 5.55 (with a handful of French verbs, you don't dive from the low diving board. e.g. "I was" is not "I have been" but j'tais) we were nous tions you were vous tiez I had j'avais I would have j'aurais if I had had si j'avais eu I was j'tais

been t summer t summer fashion mode d't summer dress mode d't I had been j'avais t if I had been there, I would have seen it si j'avais t l, je l'aurais vu you would have seen it if you had been there last night vous l'auriez vu si vous aviez t l hier soir (of course, you don't "dive" after a handle verb) you can vous pouvez I could je pouvais they could ils pouvaient nobody could wait personne pouvait attendre we could nous pouvions you could vous pouviez was tait tiez tions had avait aviez azions could pouvait pouviez pouvions (9) 1.30 had to (i.e. must) devais devions deviez he had to wait il devait attendre one had to wait on devait attendre we had to wait nous devions attendre I wanted je voulais (10) 4.33 he had to wait il devait attendre (don't confuse "had" and "had to") you have to wait vous devez attendre (and, "you have to wait" = "you must wait", but "you don't have to wait" is not "you mustn't wait" but "you don't need to wait") to need avoir besoin you don't have to wait vous n'avez pas besoin d'attendre you don't have to give it to him vous n'avez pas besoin de le lui donner you don't have to need to give it to me vous n'avez pas besoin de me le donner (11) 1.39 ("Will" usually expresses the future, but not always) Will you tell me? voulez-vous me dire? when will you tell me? quand me dirais-vous? (12) 2.53 was had could pouvais pouviez pouvions had to devais deviez devions wanted voulais vouliez voulions I didn't want to do it je ne voulais pas le faire he didn't want to tell me il ne voulais pas me dire I knew je savais I didn't know je ne savais pas

nobody knew where it was, nobody could find it personne savais o c'tait personne pouvait le trouver was had could wanted had to knew (these are the few cases where you don't dive) (13) 2.24 (that applies to the simple past. For "had" of course you must dive) I knew where it was je savais o c'tait if I had known where it was I would have told it to you si j'avais su o c'tait, je vous l'aurais dit I wanted to buy it je voulais l'acheter (vouloir becomes voulu) if I had wanted to have it, I would have bought it si j'avais voulu l'avoir, je l'aurais achet (14) 3.49 (there is one more handle: aller. In the past, use ais) I was going j'allais I was going to do it j'allais le faire I wasn't going to tell you je n'allais pas vous dire I didn't know you were going to come today je ne savais pas que vous alliez venir aujourd'hui you didn't tell me that you were going to be here this afternoon vous ne m'avez pas dit que vous alliez tre ici cet aprs-midi we were going to leave today nous allions partir aujourd'hui (15) 1.58 if you had called me this morning and if you had told me that you were going to arrive today, I would have waited for you and we would have had dinner si vous m'aviez appel ce matin et si vous m'aviez dit que vous alliez arriver aujourd'hui, je vous aurais attendu et nous aurions din (16) 3.08 I am going to do it je vais le faire I was going to do it j'allais le faire we are going to do it nous allons le faire we were going to do it nous allions le faire you are going to do it vous allez le faire you were going to do it vous alliez le faire he is going to do it il va le faire he wasn't going to do it il n'allais pas le faire we are going to leave nous allons partir we were going to leave nous allions partir you didn't tell me that you were going to arrive today vous ne m'avez pas dit que vous alliez arriver aujourd'hui (17) 5.00 (so the w-ing tenses "I was (go)ing, they were (go)ing - can be used with any verb. In

French, the -ing verb is an -ais, -ait verb) I am staying je reste I was staying je restais we were staying here nous restions ici he is waiting for me il m'attend he was waiting for me il m'attendait we were waiting for you nous vous attendions we are waiting for you nous vous attendons he is leaving il part he was leaving il partait we were leaving nous partions (the w-ing tense is used more in French than in English. The w-in tense expresses a straight line in the past, e.g. "I was doing it" je le faisais) I was doing it je le faisais I was telling it je le disais to read lire I was reading je lisais to write crire I was writing j'crivais I was doing it je le faisais (in French, this straight line could also be a broken line, meaning in English "I used to do it" or "I did it repeatedly (every day, very often) ) I used to do it je le faisais I did it (continuous line) je l'ai fait I did it every day (broken line) je le faisais tous les jours I did it often (broken line) je le faisais trs souvent he prepared it this morning il l'a prepar ce matin he prepared it (every day), he used to prepare it il le preparais (18) 3.03 (-er verbs can usually be guessed from the English equivalent. -ir verbs are a closed book - no new verbs will ever be added, the same for -oir verbs) (19) 2.49 (-ir verbs have two branches. The one we have been using is finished - no new verbs will be added. The other branch is "living", implying going, becoming, growing, getting - i.e. movement. e.g. finir "to go to the end" or "to finish". These are conjugated differently from other -ir verbs - you just drop the -r from the infinitive) I finish je finis he is finishing il finit (-ss- is used in all the plurals) we finish nous finissons you finish vous finissez they finish ils finissent (20) 2.26 (will now give some French -ir verbs. Try to work out what they mean) to grow (grow big) grandir the child is growing l'enfant grandit the children are growing les enfants grandissent to blush, turn red rougir

you are blushing! vous rougissez! to turn pale plir you are going pale vous plissez to grow old vieillir he is growing old il vieillit they are growing old ils vieillissent to grow young again, rejuvenate rajeunir (21) 2.12 to land atterir we are landing in a few minutes nous atterissons dans quelque minutes to land on the water (seaplane) amerrir to land on the moon alunir (in French you don't literally say "land on the water" or "land on the moon" since it is not logically possible) (22) 4.32 (now talking about a family of verbs ending -vrir e.g. ouvrir or -frir e.g. offrir. They behave as -er verbs, except the past participle. e.g. ouvert means "open" and "opened") I opened it je l'ai ouvert it is open, it is opened c'est ouvert (also couvert "covered", dcouvert "discovered", offert "offered") I offered it to you je vous l'ai offert I offered it je l'ai offert I offered it to him je le lui ai offert (23) 3.29 (use of tu - it is in the short box and follows the sound of "I", except for three verbs where it follows the sound of "he") you have tu as you are going tu va you are tu es (tu as an object is te) what are you saying? qu'est-ce que tu dis? I am telling you je te dis (24) 3.07 I'm doing it je le fais I don't do it je le fais pas (for "I have been doing it for/since", use present tense plus depuis "since") he has been working here for a long time il travaille ici depuis longtemps dj (25) 2.08 if you had been here last night he would have seen it and you would have bought it si vous aviez t ici hier soir, vous l'auriez va et vous l'auriez achet everything his sold tout est vendu everything was sold tout tait vendu everything will be sold tout sera vendu everything would be sold tout serais vendu everything would have been sold tout aurait t vendu (26) 1.25 (will now give three master keys to unlock the door to 19 tenses. Key #1: -ing. I am waiting, I have been waiting, I was waiting, I will be waiting (I will wait), I would be

waiting (I would wait) ) (end of recording)

CD 4 (76.28) (1) 6.36 (note that in English, you can use -ing by itself or after a preposition, without expressing a tense, e.g. "he left without saying a word, seeing is believing voir c'est croire, understanding everything is forgiving everything tout comprendre c'est tout pardonner, leaving is dying a little partir c'est mourir un peu) (2) 5.53 (Key #2: -r- will or would have) (Key #3: two diving towers, to have and to be, after which there is no place else but to dive) (these are the nineteen cases) he is selling the house il vend la maison he was selling the house il vendait la maison he sold the house il a vendu la maison he has been selling the house for a long time il vend la maison depuis longtemps the house is sold la maison est vendu the house was sold la maison tait vendu the house has been sold la maison a te vendu he will sell the house il vendra la maison he is going to sell the house il vais vendre la maison the house will be sold la maison sera vendu the house is going to be sold la maison va tre vendu he would sell the house il vendrait la maison the house would be sold la maison serait vendu if I had sold the house si j'avais vendu la maison if the house had been sold si la maison avait t vendu he would have sold the house il aurait vendu la maison the house would have been sold la maison aurait t vendu he will have sold the house il aura vendu la maison the house will have been sold la maison aura t vendu (3) 1.29 we would be very busy noun serions trs occup he would be ready nous serions prts we would have been ready nous aurions t prts (4) 4.34 (for some French verbs, you dive from the tre tower, not the avoir tower. For verbs of coming and going, use tre) I went to see it je suis all le voir we went nous sommes all he went il est all they went ils sont all you went vous tes all where did you go? o tes-vous all? I didn't go je ne suis pas all he came with us il est venu avec nous he came back il est revenu we came back nous sommes revenu at what time did you come back? quelle heure tes-vous revenu?

they came back ils sont revenu he didn't come back yet il n'est pas encore revenu (5) 6.43 (actually, there is a going group and a coming group. The going group is aller "to go", sortir "to go out", partir "to leave") we went out last night nous sommes sorti hier soir where did you go? o tes-vous all? he left a few minutes ago il est parti il ya a quelque minutes (the going group is venir, revenir, retourner, arriver) we arrived nous sommes arriv at what time did you arrive? quelle heure tes-vous arriv? he didn't arrive yet il n'est pas encore arriv (there's a third group which includes going and coming, e.g. entrer) he came in il est entr (and also rentrer to re-enter (i.e. the home) ) at what time did you come home last night? quelle heure tes-vous rentr hier soir? he didn't come home yet il n'est pas encore rentr (also monter to go up, come up) I went up je suis mont we went up nous sommes mont they came up ils sont mont (also descendre to go down, come down) I went down je suis descendu he came down il est descendu (and one more which is neither coming nor going, rester to stay) I stayed je suis rest how long did you stay? combien de temps tes-vous rest? we didn't stay long, we left right after dinner nous ne sommes pas rest longtemps, nous sommes parti toute suite aprs le dner and we went to the cinema et nous sommes rentr trs tard (6) 1.38 (monter expresses any motion up: bringing up, carrying up etc. In any sense except "going up", "coming up", monter uses avoir. This also applies to descendre) the bellboy went up and he brought up my suitcase le garon est mont est il a mont ma valise he came down il est descendu and he brought down my suitcase et il a descendu ma valise (7) 6.14 to lift up lever I'm lifting it up je le lve I'm getting up je me lve we are getting up nous nous levons you're getting up vous vous levez he is getting up il se lve they are getting up ils se lvent she is getting up elle se lve everybody is getting up tout le monde se lve nobody is getting up personne se lve

it is getting up a se lve you are getting up tu te lves heavy lourd I cannot lift it up because it's too heavy je ne peux pas le lever parce que c'est trop lourd Will you lift it up please? voulez-vous le lever s'il vous plat? can you lift it up? pouvez-vous le lever? lift it up! levez-le! don't lift it up, it is very heavy ne le levez pas, c'est trs lourd I'm getting up je me lve get up please! levez-vous! don't get up ne vous levez pas I'm going to get up soon je vais me lever bientt we are going to get up soon nous allons nous lever bientt one is going to get up on va se lever (8) 2.12 to hurry se dpcher I'm hurrying je me dpche to be in a hurry tre press I'm in a hurry je suis press I'm hurrying because I am in a hurry je me dpche parce que je suis press we are hurrying because we are in a hurry nous nous dpchons parce que nous sommes press hurry up because we are in a hurry dpchez-vous parce que on est press (9) 4.02 to ask I'm asking you je vous demande I was asking you je vous demandais I asked you je vous ai demand to call to call back rappeler Will you call me back voulez-vous me rappeler I call you back later je vous rappelle plus tard I call you back tomorrow je vous rappelle demain I'm going to call you back je vais vous rappeler I will call you back je vous rappelerais to remember se rappeler I don't remember je ne me rappelle pas to ask I'm asking you je vous demande I ask myself, I wonder je me demande I was wondering why je me demandais pourquoi I asked you je vous ai demand (10) 3.53 (reflexive verbs always dive from the tre tower) I lifted it up je l'ai lever I got up je me suis lev (this applies even when you make a non-reflexive verb reflexive)

to tell I say to myself je me dis I told you je vous ai dis I said to myself that it cannot be done that way je me suis dit que a ne peut pas faire comme a I'm hurrying je me dpche I was hurrying je me dpchais I hurried je me suis dpch we hurried nous nous sommes dpch I wondered why je me suis demand pourquoi (11) 3.42 (the subjunctive tense isn't used as much in English as much as in French, e.g. you must be here. It is absolutely necessary that you be here. The subjunctive expresses doubt or uncertainty. It is always used after certain expressions implying doubt e.g. c'est ncessaire que, il faut que) (12) 3.12 I must ask you il faut que je vous demande (all -er verbs are the same as the present in the short box. In the long box, they end -ions -iez) you must say il faut que vous restiez we must leave now il faut que nous partions mantenant you must start now il faut que vous commenciez maintenant we must stay here il faut que nous restions ici he must stay il faut que je reste (13) 4.57 I'm speaking je parle I'm leaving je part (so in the short box, -er verbs sound the final consonant and non -er verbs don't. In subjunctive, all verbs sound the final consonant in the short box, following the form of "they") it is necessary that I leave il faut que je parte I must wait il faut que j'attende I must finish il faut que je finisse we must finish il faut que nous finissions you must finish il faut que vous finissiez it is necessary that you put it on the table here il faut que vous le mettiez sur la table ici he must put it here il faut qu'il le mette ici I must tell you il faut que je vous dise I must read it il faut que je le lise I must write to you il faut que je vous crive you must write to me il faut que vous m'criviez (14) 4.28 (in English, whenever you say "I want you to" or "do you want me to", in French you say "I want that you..." followed by the subjunctive) I want you to stay here with me je veux que vous restiez ici avec moi what do you want me to tell you? qu'est-ce que vous voulez que je vous dise? I would like you to tell me je voudrais que vous me disiez I want you to read it je veux que vous le lisiez

I want you to write to me je veux que vous m'criviez they come ils viennent do you want me to come with you? est-ce que vous voulez que je vienne avec vous? at what time do you want me to leave? quelle heure voulez-vous que je porte? where do you want me to put it? o voulez-vous que je le mette? they take ils prennent do you want me to take it? voulez-vous que je le prenne? (15) 8.22 (there are four one-syllable exceptions, where "they" is not the key to the subjunctive) I am je suis that I be que je sois that we be que nous soyons at what time do you want me to be here tonight? quelle heure voulez-vous que je sois ici ce soir? I would like you to be ready je voudrais que vous soyez prt I have j'ai that I have que j'aie that we have que j'ayons to be sois soyez soyons to have aie ayez ayons I go je vais that I go j'aille do you want me to go there with you? voulez-vous que j'y aille avec vous at what time do you want me to go there? quelle heure voulez-vous que j'y aille that we go nous allions that you go nous alliez I would like you to go there with me je voudrais que vous y alliez avec moi to be to have to go aille allions alliez that I do je fasse that we do nous fassions what do you want me to do? que'st-ce que vous voulez que je fasse? what do you want me to tell you? qu'est-ce que vous voulez que je vous dise? why don't you want me to do it? pourquoi ne voulez-vous pas que je le fasse? what do you want me to tell him? qu'est-ce que vous voulez que je lui dise? I don't want you to do it je ne veux pas que vous le fassiez why don't you want me to do it? (16) 2.59 (two more exceptions: savoir becomes sache, sachions, sachiez) I must know it il faut que je le sache we must know it il faut que nous le sachions I would like you to know it je voudrais que vous le sachiez (the other is pouvoir which becomes puisse. This comes from the old form puis, only used now in the question puis-je? "can I, may I?") it's important that he may see it c'est important qu'il puisse le voir (17) 2.22 (past subjunctive is very easy - just use avant que..., or:)

before I leave avant que je parte I left je suis parti before I left avant que je sais parti before we start avant que nous commencions before we started avant que nous ayons commenc (18) 3.12 (end of recording)