French I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar

Bonjour /bu/ Hello / Good day / Good morning Bonsoir /bswa/ Good evening Au revoir /()vwa/ Goodbye De rien. /d j/ You're welcome. 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.

Salut /saly/ Hi / Bye

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

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

Tu t'appelles comment ? /ty tapl km/ What's your name? (informal) Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle /msj/ /madam/ /madwazl/ Mister, Misses, Miss

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

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... J'habite ... /abit a/ I live in... J'ai ____ ans.

O habitez-vous ? /u abite vu/ Where do you live? (formal)

Tu habites o ? /ty abit u/ Where do you live? (informal)

Quel ge avez-vous ?

Tu as quel ge ?

/kl ave vu/ How old are you? (formal)

/ty kl / How old are you? (informal)

/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 Il y a ... / Il y avait... /il i a/ /il i av/ There is / are... / There was / were...

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

Voici / Voil /vwasi/ /vwala/ Here is/are... / There it is.

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. Je suis fatigu(e) / Je suis malade. / si fatie/ / si malad/ I'm tired / I'm sick.

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

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.

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

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

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

Flicitations ! /felisitasj/ Congratulations!

Bonne chance ! /bn s/ Good luck!

C'est vous ! / C'est toi ! /s ta vu/ /s ta tw/

Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi ! /tze vu/ /t tw/

Je vous aime / Je t'aime / vu zm/ / tm/

It's your turn! (formal / informal)

Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal / informal)

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 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 theInformal French tutorial 2. PRONUNCIATION / LA PRONONCIATION For a more indepth look at French pronunciation, try to theFrench Phonetics tutorial. French Vowels Phonetic Sample words spelling vie, midi, lit, ee riz ee rue, jus, tissu, rounded usine bl, nez, ay cahier, pied ay jeu, yeux, rounded queue, bleu lait, aile, balai, eh reine eh sur, uf, General spellings i, y u , et, final er and ez eu e, , , ai, ei, ais u, eu

IPA [i] [y] [e] [] [] []

[a] [] [u] [o]

[] []

rounded fleur, beurre chat, ami, ah papa, salade ah bas, ne, longer grce, chteau loup, cou, oo caillou, outil eau, dos, oh escargot, htel sol, pomme, aw cloche, horloge fentre, uh genou, cheval, cerise

a, , a, ou o,

[] 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 yuh lui, suisse ui oreille, Mireille ill, y

IPA [w] [] [j]

IPA [ ] ] ]

French nasal vowels Phonetic spelling Sample words General spelling awn ahn uhn gant, banc, dent pain, vin, linge brun, lundi, parfum en, em, an, am, aon, aen in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um, en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, en un

ohn

rond, ongle, front

on, om ] in modern French

] is being replaced with

In words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant. Otherwise, the in- prefix is pronounceeen 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 b c d e f g h i
/a/ /be/ /se/ /de/ // /f/ // /a/ /i/

j k l m n o p q r

/i/ /ka/ /l/ /m/ /n/ /o/ /pe/ /ky/ //

s t u v w x y z

/s/ /te/ /y/ /ve/ /dublve/ /iks/ /igrk/ /zd/

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 Feminine la pomme /la pm/ the apple Before Vowel l'oiseau /lwazo/ the bird Plural les gants /le / the gloves

Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some) Masculine un lit / a bed Feminine une pomme / yn pm/ an apple Plural des gants /de / some gloves

Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those) Masc. ce lit /s li/ this/that bed Masc, Before Vowel cet oiseau /s twazo/ this/that bird 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 litl is that bed. 5. USEFUL WORDS / LES MOTS UTILES
It's / That's There is/are and but now especially except of course c'est voil et mais maintenant surtout sauf bien sr /s/ /vwala/ /e/ /m/ /mtn/ /sytu/ /sof/ /bj sy/ There is/are Here is/are always often sometimes usually also, too again il y a voici toujours souvent quelquefois d'habitude aussi encore /il i a/ /vwasi/ /tuu/ /suv/ /klkfwa/ /dabityd/ /osi/ /k/

so so not bad book pencil pen paper dog cat money

comme ci, comme a pas mal le livre le crayon le stylo le papier le chien le chat l'argent (m)

/km si, km sa/ /pa mal/ /l liv/ /l kj/ /l stilo/ /l papje/ /l j/ /l a/ /la/

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

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

/ta/ /psk/ /y nami/ / /yn fam/ m/ /yn fij/ s/ /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 il elle on // /ty/ /il/ /l/ // I You (informal) He She One nous vous ils elles /nu/ /vu/ /il/ /l/ We You (formal and plural) 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 He is She is One is

tu es il est elle est on est

/ty / /il / / l / / n/

You are They are They are

vous tes ils sont elles sont

/vu zt/ /il s/ /l s/

Past tense of tre - to be I was You were He was She was One was j'tais tu tais il tait elle tait on tait /et/ /tu et/ /il et/ /l et/ / net/ We were You were They were They were nous tions vous tiez ils taient elles taient /nu zetj/ /vu zetje/ /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 You will be He will be She will be One will be je serai tu seras il sera elle sera on sera / se/ /ty sa/ /il sa/ /l sa/ / sa/ We will be You will be They will be They will be nous serons vous serez ils seront elles seront /nu s/ /vu se/ /il s/ /l s/

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/ We have You have nous avons vous avez /nu zav/ /vu zave/ /il z/ /l z/

They have They have

ils ont elles ont

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

They had

Future tense of avoir - to have I will have You will have He will have She will have One will have j'aurai tu auras il aura elle aura on aura /oe/ /ty o/ /il oa/ /l oa/ / noa/ We will have You will have They will have They will have nous aurons vous aurez ils auront elles auront /nu zo/ /vu zoe/ /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 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 avoir de la chance /avwa o/ /avwa fwa/ /avwa p/ /avwa z/ /avwa t/ /avwa f/ /avwa swaf/ /avwa smj/ /avwa t/ /avwa bzw d/ /avwa d/ /avwa tsj/ /avwa vi d/ /avwa d la s/ to be hot to be cold to be afraid to be right to be wrong to be hungry to be thirsty to be sleepy to be ashamed to need to look like, seem to intend to to feel like to be lucky 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. tre de retour tre en retard tre en avance tre d'accord tre sur le point de tre en train de tre enrhume nous + tre (un jour) /t d tu/ /t ta/ /t navs/ /t dak/ to be back to be late to be early to be in agreement

/t sy l pw d/ to be about to /t t d/ /t yme/ /t u/ to be in the act of to have a cold to be (a day)

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.

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 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

Zro Un Deux Trois Quatre Cinq Six Sept Huit Neuf Dix Onze 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

/zeo/ / /d/ /tw/ /kat/ /sk/ /sis/ /st/ / it/ /nf/ /dis/ /z/ /duz/ /tz/ /katz/ /kz/ /sz/ /dist/ /dizit/ /diznf/ /v/ /v /v d/ /v tw/ /tt/ /t /tt d/ /kat/ /skt/ /swast/ /swastdis/ /sptt/ /swast e z/ /swast duz/ /katv/ /ktt/ /katv / /

/katv d/ /katv dis/ /nnt/ /katv z/ /katv duz/ /s/ /s /

Two Hundred Two Hundred One Thousand Two Thousand Million Billion

Deux cents Deux cent un Mille Deux mille Un million Un milliard

/d s/ /d s /mil/ /d mil/ / / /

French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and Swiss French useseptante and nonante in place of the standard French words for 70 and 90 (though some parts of Switzerland usehuitante 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, quatre-vingt-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 (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

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

Monday 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 lundi 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 janvier fvrier mars avril mai juin juillet aot septembre octobre /vje/ /fevije/ /mas/ /avil/ /m/ // /ij/ /u(t)/ /sptb/ /ktb/

November December month year decade century millennium

novembre dcembre le mois l'an / l'anne la dcennie le sicle le millnaire

/nvb/ /desb/ /l mwa/ /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 gauche droite tout droit /a go/ /a dwt/ /tu dw/

North South East West

le nord le sud l'est l'ouest

/l n/ /l syd/ /lst/ /lwst/

Northeast Northwest Southeast Southwest

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

/l n(d)st/ /l n(d)wst/ /sydst/ /sydwst/

14. COLORS & SHAPES / LES COULEURS & LES FORMES

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Purple rouge orange jaune vert / verte bleu / bleue violet / violette /u/ // /on/ /v/ /vt/ /bl/ /vjl/ /vjlt/ square circle triangle rectangle oval cube le carr le cercle le triangle le rectangle l'ovale le cube /kae/ /skl/ /tijgl/ /ktgl/ /val/ /kyb/

White Brown Black Pink Gold Silver Gray

blanc / blanche brun / brune marron noir / noire rose dor / dore argent / argente gris / grise

/bl/ /bl/ /b / /byn/ /ma/ /nwa/ /oz/ /de/ /ate/ /gi/ /giz/

sphere cylinder cone octagon box light dark

la sphre le cylindre le cne l'octogone la bote clair / claire fonc / fonce

/sf/ /sild/ /kon/ /ktogn/ /bwat/ /kl/ /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 Mom Stepmother/Mother-in-Law Dad Stepfather/Father-in-Law Daughter Son la famille des parents les parents les grands-parents la mre / maman la belle-mre le pre / papa le beau-pre la fille le fils /famij/ /pa/ /pa/ /gpa/ Niece Nephew Grandchildren Granddaughter la nice le neveu les petits-enfants la petite-fille le petit-fils le parrain la marraine le filleul la filleule des parents loigns /njs/ /n()v/ /p()tizf/ /p()tit fij/ /p()tifis/ /pa/ /man/ /fijl/ /fijl/ /pa elwae/

/m/ /mm/ Grandson /blm/ /p/ /papa/ /bop/ /fij/ /fis/ Godfather Godmother Godson Goddaughter Distant Relatives

Sister Half/Step Sister Sister-in-Law Stepdaughter/Daughter-in-Law Brother Half/Step Brother Brother-in-Law Stepson/Son-in-Law Twins (m) Twins (f) Uncle Aunt Grandmother Grandfather Cousin (f) Cousin (m) Wife Husband Woman Man Child (m) / (f) Girl Boy

la sur la demi-sur la belle-sur la belle-fille le frre le demi-frre le beau-frre le beau-fils les jumeaux les jumelles l'oncle la tante la grand-mre le grand-pre la cousine le cousin la femme le mari la femme l'homme un enfant / une enfant la fille le garon

/s/ /dmi s/ /bls/ /bl fij/ /f/ /dmi f/ /bo f/ /bo fis/ /ymo/ /yml/ /kl/ /tt/ /gm/ /gp/ /kuzin/ /kuz/ /fam/ /mai/ /fam/ /m/ /f/ /fij/ /gas/

Single Married Separated Divorced Widower Widow

clibataire mari(e) spar(e) divorc(e) veuf veuve

/selibat/ /maje/ /sepae/ /divse/ /vf/ /vv/

Dog Cat Puppy Kitten Pig Rooster Rabbit Cow Horse Duck Goat Goose Sheep Lamb Donkey Mouse

le chien / la chienne (m) / (f) le chat / la chatte (m) / (f) le chiot le chaton le cochon le coq le lapin la vache le cheval le canard la chvre l'oie le mouton l'agneau l'ne la souris

/j/ /jn/ /a/ /at/ /jo/ /at/ /k/ /kk/ /lap/ /va/ /()val/ /kana/ /v/ /wa/ /mut/ /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-inthe-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. Slang words for people and pets: The entire family Grandma Grandpa Children Kid Woman /tut la smala/ /meme/ mm / mamie /mami/ /pepe/ pp / papi /papi/ des gosses /gs/ toute la smala un gamin / une /gam/ gamine /gamin/ une nana /nana/ Sister la frangine Brother le frangin Son Aunt le fiston tata / tatie /fin/ /f/ /fist/ /tata/ /tati/ /tt/ /kabo/

Uncle tonton Dog le cabot /

clbard Man un mec / type / /mk/ /tip/ gars /ga/ Cat le minou

/kleba/ /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/ connais connais connat /kn/ /kn/ /kn/ connaissons connaissez connaissent /kns/ /knse/ /kns/ sais sais sait /s/ /s/ /s/ savoir-to know facts /savwa/ savons savez savent /sav/ /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 sachenot 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. bus(es) Sing. le bus Plural les bus

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.

boat(s) horse(s) knee(s)

le bateau le cheval le genou

les bateaux 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.