French For Beginners

Grammar and Vocabulary

Julius Attipoe 2018/2019 MPU3202FCLC

 La table des matières
Informations pratiques...................................................................................................................................... 3

L’alphabet.......................................................................................................................................................... 4

Les accents........................................................................................................................................................ 4

La prononciation................................................................................................................................................ 5

Gender.............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Subject Pronouns............................................................................................................................................... 5

Les articles......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Simple expressions............................................................................................................................................ 7

Les salutations............................................................................................................................................... 7

Hellos and goodbyes.................................................................................................................................. 7

How are you?............................................................................................................................................. 7

Miscellaneous............................................................................................................................................ 7

Simple expressions............................................................................................................................................ 6

Se présenter – Introduce yourself................................................................................................................. 6

Le nom, the name...................................................................................................................................... 6

La nationalité, the nationality.................................................................................................................... 6

Quel, Quelle, Quels ou Quelles?..................................................................................................................... 7

Les nationalités:................................................................................................................................................. 7

Les pays, the countries:.................................................................................................................................. 9

Les nombres, the numbers............................................................................................................................... 10

La date............................................................................................................................................................. 11

Les jours de la semaine................................................................................................................................ 11

Les mois de l’année..................................................................................................................................... 11

L’heure............................................................................................................................................................ 12

À, AU, À L’, À LA, AUX, EN, CHEZ...................................................................................................................... 13

Masculin, Féminin et Pluriel............................................................................................................................. 14

General rule: add -s in the spelling........................................................................................................... 14

1
 Words already ending in -s or -x.............................................................................................................. 14

DE – DU – DE LA – DE L’ – DES.......................................................................................................................... 16

La négation...................................................................................................................................................... 16

Les verbes réguliers: -ER.................................................................................................................................. 17

L’impératif....................................................................................................................................................... 18

Forming the imperative........................................................................................................................... 18

Negative imperatives............................................................................................................................... 18

Simple expressions.......................................................................................................................................... 19

Se présenter (2) – Introduce yourself (2)..................................................................................................... 19

L’âge........................................................................................................................................................ 19

L’ anniversaire.......................................................................................................................................... 19
La date de naissance................................................................................................................................ 19

Présenter quelqu’un – Introduce someone................................................................................................. 19

Le nom..................................................................................................................................................... 19

La nationalité........................................................................................................................................... 19

L’âge........................................................................................................................................................ 20

Le domicile, l’adresse............................................................................................................................... 20

Les professions................................................................................................................................................ 21

Les couleurs..................................................................................................................................................... 22

Décrire quelqu’un: Le visage............................................................................................................................ 23

Décrire quelqu’un : les adjectifs....................................................................................................................... 24

Les adjectifs..................................................................................................................................................... 26

Feminine.................................................................................................................................................. 26

Plural........................................................................................................................................................ 26

Position of the adjective.......................................................................................................................... 26

La Famille......................................................................................................................................................... 27

Additional vocabulary.............................................................................................................................. 27

Les adjectifs possessifs..................................................................................................................................... 28

Essential French Verbs..................................................................................................................................... 30

2
 alphabet
French has the same 26-letter alphabet as English, although the importance of each letter
varies.

A B C D
ah bay say day
E F G H
euh eff jay ash
I J K L
ee gee car ell
M N O P
emm enn oh pay
Q R S T
koo air ess tay
U V W X
oo vay doobla vay eex
Y Z
ee grek zed

Les accents

French also has 5 different accents:

acute é

grave à,è,ù

circumflex â,ê,î

umlaut ä,ë,ï

cedilla ç

4
 La prononciation
Letter/ Lettre Pronunciation/ Example/ Exemple
Prononciation
A [ah] Un arbre a tree
B [bay] Un bébé a baby
C [say] Un cadeau / une cerise a gift/ a cherry
D [day] Un docteur a doctor
E [er] Une fenêtre a window
F [eff] Une fleur a flower
G [jay] Un général/ un gâteau a general/ a cake
H [ash] Un hôpital an hospital
I [eeh] Une île an island
J [gee] Un jouet a toy
K [car] Un kangourou a kangaroo
L [ell] Un lapin a rabbit
M [emm] Une maison a house
N [enn] Une nuit a night
O [oh] Une oreille an ear
P [pay] Un professeur a teacher
Q [koo] Une quantité a quantity
R [air] Un résumé a summary
S [ess] Un sac a bag
T [tay] Une table a table
U [oo] Une usine a factory
V [vay] Une voiture a car
W [dooba vay] Un week-end a week-end
X [eex] Un xylophone a xylophone
Y [ee grek] Un yaourt a yoghourt
Z [zed] Un zoo a zoo

Gender
French has two genders: all nouns are either masculine or feminine. There is no neutral nouns.
The gender of a noun can’t be guessed, you have to memorize the meaning of a noun with its
gender altogether. The best way is to use an indefinite article such as ‘un’ or ‘une’:
e.g. une maison = a house or un sac = a bag

Subject Pronouns
Many of the Romance languages, including Spanish and Italian, are "pro-drop," meaning that
the subject pronoun can be dropped because the verb conjugation is different for each
grammatical person. In other words, if a Spanish speaker says "Voy al mercado," everyone
knows that s/he means "I am going to the store." In contrast, French is not a pro-drop language
- subject pronouns are always required for all verb forms except the imperative.

5
 Les articles
As you can see in the table from the previous page, each word is preceded by an article: “un” or “une”.
Now, both of these words have the same translation in English: ‘a’.
How can one word in English have two different translations to French?

In French, the article will be different for masculine and feminine noun:
UN marks the masculine for the word that follows
UNE marks the feminine for the word that follows
But both of them are translated by ‘a’ in English.

For example: a table is feminine in French and will always be: une table
a restaurant is masculine in French and will always be: un restaurant

then the table becomes la table

the restaurant becomes le restaurant

Now, coming to the plural of things. In French both the noun and the article have to carry the
mark of the plural which is (most of the times) -S.
When it comes to plural, the articles don’t take into account the gender anymore, as:
the tables become les tables, and
the restaurants become les restaurants

As for the indefinite articles, they don’t have a plural in English, as you would say: a table
becomes (in a plural form) tables. You can notice the absence of article for the plural. In French,
we have an article for the indefinite plural: des.

So that, tables become des tables

and restaurants become des restaurants

Singulier Pluriel
masculin féminin masculin ou féminin
Articles indéfinis un une des
Articles définis le la
les
l’ (devant a, e, i, o, u, h)

Attention: when you use the singular definite article in front of a noun that begins with a vowel
or the letter H, you have to remove the last vowel of that article:
Le oiseau  l’oiseau (the bird)
La amie  l’amie (the female friend)
Le hôpital  l’hôpital (the hospital)

6
 Simple expressions
Les salutations
Hellos and goodbyes
Bonjour Hello (good morning, good afternoon) À lundi See you Monday
Bonsoir Good evening À bientôt See you soon
Salut Hi, goodbye (informal) À plus tard See you later
Bonne journée Have a good day
Au revoir Goodbye Bonne soirée Have a good evening
À demainSee you tomorrow

How are you?

Comment allez-vous? (Formal) Je vais bien. I am fine.
Comment vas-tu? (informal) Je ne vais pas bien I am not fine.
Comment ça va? Je suis fatigué. I am tired.
Ça va? Ça va bien. It’s going ok.
Et toi? And you? (Informal)
Et vous? And you? (Formal)

Miscellaneous
Bienvenu Welcome
Enchanté Nice to meet you (if the person talking is male)
Enchantée Nice to meet you (if the person talking is female)

S’il vous plait Please (formal) S’il te plait Please (informal)

Je suis en retard I am late

Merci Thank you
Merci beaucoup Thanks a lot Madame Madam
De rien You’re welcome Mademoiselle Miss
Je vous en prie You’re welcome Monsieur Sir

Excusez-moi Excuse me Oui Yes

Je suis désolé(e) I am sorry Non No

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 Simple expressions
Se présenter – Introduce yourself
In French, we have different ways of saying the same thing, so I am giving you different ways to
say the same thing.

Le nom, the name

Comment tu t’appelles? How are you called? (informal)
Comment vous vous appelez? How are you called? (formal)

Quel est ton nom? What is your name? (informal)

Quel est votre nom? What is your name? (formal)

Je m’appelle… (+your name) I am called…

Mon nom est… My name is…
Je suis… I am…

La nationalité, the nationality

Quelle est ta nationalité? What is your nationality? (informal)
Quelle est votre nationalité? What is your nationality? (formal)

Je suis… français(e). I am… French.

malaisien(ne). Malaysian
indonésien(ne). Indonesian
iranien(ne). Iranian
botswanais(e). Motswana/ Botswanan.

D’où viens-tu? Where do you come from? (informal)

D’où venez-vous? Where do you come from? (formal)

Je viens… de France. I come… from France.

de Malaisie. from Malaysia.
d’Indonésie. from Indonesia
d’Iran. from Iran.
du Botswana. from Botswana
L’adresse
Où habites-tu? Where do you live? (informal)
Où habitez-vous? Where do you live? (formal)

J’habite à Cyberjaya. I live in Cyberjaya.

J’habite en Malaisie. I live in Malaysia.
J’habite dans une maison. I live in a house.
J’habite dans un appartement. I live in a flat.
J’habite 25, rue de Lyon à Paris. I live at 25 Lyon’s street in Paris.
You can also use:
- Quelle est ton adresse?
- Mon adresse est 25, rue de Lyon à Paris.

Quel, Quelle, Quels ou Quelles?

To ask "what is ...?" or "what are ...?" use quel, quelle, quels or quelles followed by the
appropriate conjugation of être:
Quel est ton nom ? Quelle est ta nationalité ?
‘nom’ is masculine and singular ‘nationalité’ is feminine and singular

Quels sont tes loisirs ? Quelles sont tes passions ?

‘loisirs’ is masculine and plural ‘passions’ is feminine and plural

Les nationalités:
In French, according to the person you are talking about, you have to adapt the
words you use.

If you are a man, and you are talking about yourself, you will use the masculine form
of the words; the same will happen if you are talking about another man.
If you are a woman, and you are talking about yourself, you need to use the feminine
form of the words; the same will happen if you are talking about another woman. This
work for a lot of situations, here we will just go through the nationalities.

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Name of the country Nationality Nationality Feminine Nationality
(in French) Masculine English

Most of the nationality will follow one of these patterns: -AIS -AISE
La France Français Française French
L’Angleterre (fem.) Anglais Anglaise English
Le Japon Japonais Japonaise Japanese
Le Soudan Soudanais Soudanaise Sudanese
Le Botswana Botswanais Botswanaise Botswanan
La Thaïlande Thaïlandais Thaïlandaise Thai

-IEN -ENNE
La Malaisie Malaisien Malaisienne Malaysian
L’Indonésie (fem.) Indonésien Indonésienne Indonesian
Le Brésil Brésilien Brésilienne Brazilian
Le Vietnam Vietnamien Vietnamienne Vietnamese
L’Inde (fem.) Indien Indienne Indian
Singapour Singapourien Singapourienne Singaporean
L’Australie (fem.) Australien Australienne Australian

(Cont’d)

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 Some nationalities will follow the normal transformation to feminine :
add an extra -E
La Chine Chinois Chinoise Chinese
L’Amérique (fem.) Américain Américaine American
La Jamaïque Jamaïcain Jamaïcaine Jamaican
Le Maroc Marocain Marocaine Moroccan
L’Allemagne (fem.) Allemand Allemande German
L’Espagne (fem.) Espagnol Espagnole Spanish
La Mongolie Mongol Mongole Mongolian
Le Nigéria Nigérian Nigériane Nigerian
Some nationalities will be the same for masculine and feminine
(when the masculine already ends with –E)
La Belgique Belge Belge Belgian
La Suisse Suisse Suisse Swiss

Les pays, the countries:

In the chart above, you also have the names of countries. Most of them are quite similar to the
English versions, but you have to be careful with the spelling.

You can notice that the countries also have genders : All countries ending with –E are feminine
(except 6 of them : le Mexique, le Cambodge, le Belize, le Mozambique, le Zaïre et le Zimbabwe).
All countries ending with a different letter than –E are masculine.

This will lead to some changes in the way you use the names of countries in sentences.
There will be two major moments when you need to take the gender into account:

1. You will say: J’habite en France. (La France being a feminine country)
And J’habite au Japon. (Le Japon being a masculine country)

2. You will say : Je viens de France.

And Je viens du Japon.
Attention: Singapour, Cuba or Taiwan are special cases in French: An island name will be considered as
a name of a town, therefore, you will use it the way you use the name of a town:

J’habite à Singapour. J’habite à Cuba J’habite à Taiwan

Je viens de Je viens de Je viens de Taiwan
Singapour. Cuba

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 Les nombres, the numbers
In French, most of the numbers will work on a regular basis.

Nevertheless, the numbers below 17 are irregular. You have to make sure you learn
them very carefully.

1 un 11 onze
2 deux 12 douze
3 trois 13 treize Here are a few interesting questions that
4 quatre 14 quatorze will need numbers as answers:
5 cinq 15 quinze
6 six 16 seize - Quel est ton numéro de téléphone?
7 sept 17 dix-sept - Quel est ton numéro de passeport ?
8 huit 18 dix-huit
9 neuf 19 dix-neuf - Combien ça coute ?
10 dix 20 vingt - Quelle est ta taille/ ta pointure ?

Now from 20 to 69, things are quite easy and regular…

21 vingt-et-un 31 trente-et-un
22 vingt-deux 32 trente-deux
23 vingt-trois 33 trente-trois 50 cinquante
24 vingt-quatre 34 trente-quatre 60 soixante
25 vingt-cinq 35 trente-cinq
26 vingt-six 36 trente-six
27 vingt-sept 37 trente-sept
28 vingt-huit 38 trente-huit
100 cent
29 vingt-neuf 39 trente-neuf
30 trente 40 quarante 1000 mille

Now when we come to 70 +, there are some changes to follow:

70 soixante-dix 80 quatre-vingt 81 90 quatre-vingt-dix

71 soixante-et-onze quatre-vingt-un 82 91 quatre-vingt-onze
72 soixante-douze quatre-vingt-deux 83 92 quatre-vingt-douze
73 soixante-treize quatre-vingt-trois 84 93 quatre-vingt-treize
74 soixante-quatorze quatre-vingt-quatre 85 94 quatre-vingt-quatorze
75 soixante-quinze quatre-vingt-cinq 86 95 quatre-vingt-quinze
76 soixante-seize quatre-vingt-six 96 quatre-vingt-seize
77 soixante-dix-sept 87 quatre-vingt-sept 97 quatre-vingt-dix-sept
78 soixante-dix-huit 88 quatre-vingt-huit 98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit
79 soixante-dix-neuf 89 quatre-vingt-neuf 99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

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 La date
Les jours de la semaine
LUNDI MARDI MERCREDI JEUDI VENDREDI SAMEDI DIMANCHE
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Une semaine

Les mois de l’année

JANVIER January
Questions:
FÉVRIER February
MARS March - Quelle est la date aujourd’hui?
AVRIL April - Quand vas-tu à la maison ?
- Quel jour tu as rendez-vous avec le docteur ?
année

MAI May
JUIN June
JUILLET July
Une

AOÛT August
SEPTEMBRE September
OCTOBRE October VOCABULAIRE
NOVEMBRE November
DÉCEMBRE December
Un jour a day
Une semaine a week
Un mois a month
La fréquence:
Un an a year
une (deux/ trois...) fois par jour (semaine/ mois/année...)
Le matin the morning
one (two / three...) time per day (week / month/ year...)
Le midi noon
Tous les lundis every Monday L’après midi the afternoon
Chaque lundi each Monday Le soir the evening
La nuit the night
Du lundi au vendredi from Monday till Friday Avant before
Le lundi on Mondays Après after
Lundi dernier last Monday Hier yesterday
La semaine dernière last week Aujourd’hui today
Demain tomorrow
Lundi prochain next Monday
Un rendez-vous an appointment
La semaine prochaine next week

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 L’heur Questions:

e - Quelle heure est-il?

- À quelle heure tu as rendez-vous avec Joseph ?
- À quelle heure tu vas à l’université ?
- À quelle heure commence le film ?

Vocabulaire:
Être en avance to be early
Être à l’heure to be on time
Être en retard to be late

You have 2 different ways to tell the time.

You can use a 12 hours clock – in which case you have to give the time with a specification such as am or pm. In
French, we do not use these, instead we use the moment of the day.
For example, 7am will be 7 in the morning (du matin) and 7 pm will be 7 in the evening (du soir).
When you use a 12 hours clock you can give the time using quarters and half.
For example, 7.30pm could be “half past seven” or 7.45 pm could be “quarter to eight”.

You can use a 24 hours clock – which is an official one (train schedules, important appointments...) – in which
case 7 pm will become 19.00. If you use a 24hrs clock, you will give the time with numbers only.
For example 7.45 pm (quarter to eight) will become 19.45 (nineteen forty-five)

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 À, AU, À L’, À LA, AUX, EN, CHEZ
Aller – Rester - Être

À + nom de ville CHEZ + nom de personne

à Paris chez Jacques

à Londres chez le médecin

EN / AU / AUX + nom de pays AU / À LA / AUX + autres noms

de lieux
en France (la France) au cinéma (le cinéma)
au Portugal (le Portugal) à la piscine (la piscine)
aux États-Unis (les États-Unis) aux toilettes (les toilettes)

Let’s look at some examples that demonstrate this.

English French Personal pronouns after a

I am going to the doctor Je vais chez le médecin
preposition
She is going to the clinic Elle va à la clinique
We are going to the swimming pool Nous allons à la piscine (avec, sans, pour, sur…)
They are coming to the games Ils viennent aux matchs
Moi Me
Toi You
Also in French there is a useful word (chez) for when you are referring Lui Him
to a seeing a specific person at a place.
Elle Her
For example: I am going to the dentist - Je vais chez le dentiste.
Nous Us
English French Vous You
I am going to my place Je vais chez moi Eux Them (m.)
She is going to her house Elle va chez elle Elles Them (f.)
We are coming from our place Nous venons de chez nous
They are coming from their place Ils viennent de chez eux

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 Masculin, Féminin et Pluriel
How to form the plural (of nouns and adjectives) in French

Plural forms are forms that refer to "more than one" of something. In English, nouns are usually
marked as being plural by adding -s or -es: one book, two books; this blue box, these blue boxes.
Notice that in English, adjectives like blue don't change between singular and plural. But in French,
adjectives are also marked as being singular or plural. There are a few other types of words that
mark a difference between singular and plural. For example, we changed this to these. However, on
this page, we will be concerned with the plural of nouns and adjectives.

The most common rule for forming the plural of nouns and adjectives in French is actually
very simple:

 add a final -s in the spelling to mark a noun or adjective as plural

General rule: add -s in the spelling

Usually, the plural form of nouns and adjectives is straightforward in French: you just need to remember to
add an -s to both the noun and any adjective(s) that might be alongside it. For example, recalling that les
(as opposed to le or la) is the French for "the" in the plural:

Singular Plural
un livre des livres
a book books
une photo des photos
a picture pictures
un joli livre des jolis livres
a nice book nice books
une jolie photo des jolies photos
a nice picture nice pictures

Words already ending in -s or -x

In the examples above, we slipped in the word gros ("big", "bulky") which actually already ends in -s in the
singular. Where a noun or adjective ends in -s in the singular, no further -s is added in the plural. The same is
true of words ending in -x, for example:

le prix the price/prize la voix the voice

les prix the prices/prizes les voix the voices

14
 DE–DU–DELA–DEL’–DES
To show possession of a noun, use de + the definite article

LE = DU
LA = DE LA
DE + L' = DE L'
LES = DES

C’est un livre. C’est le livre de Sylvie

C’est une rue. C’est la rue du cinéma Rex

– Le stylo de la secrétaire
– les cahiers de l’étudiant
– la photo des enfants

La négation
A negative sentence is not a sentence that says something bad!
Here is an example of the transformation to a negative sentence in English:

I am tall. I am not tall.
In French, the negative form works in two parts: Ne….. Pas
The rule is that you have to put Ne…Pas on each side of the verb.
So, of course the first thing that you need to do is to find the verb (the action word) in the sentence.

For example:
Je suis  Je ne suis pas grande.
grande.
ne pas
Subj. Verb Adjectiv Subj. Ver Adjective
e b
Now, if it was that simple, it wouldn’t be fun! Sometimes, you will have to be careful when
building a negative sentence. Problems happen when you are using the verb “avoir”

J’ai une maison. Je n’ai pas de maison.
Tu as un chien. 
Tun’aspas dechien.

Nous avons des voitures. Nous n’avons pas de voitures.
So you can notice here that the articles « un », « une » and « des » when put into a negative sentence are
transformed into « de »
Attention!

Il y a Il n’y a pas (de)
 Les verbes réguliers: -ER
In French, the verbs are divided into three groups. The verbs from the first 2 groups are to be conjugated
in a regular way. The third group is filled with all the irregular verbs.
The verbs from the 1st group are the verbs with the infinitive ending
The infinitive of a verb is its base
with: -ER.
In English, you can recognize the
A lot of verbs in French are from the first group: infinitive because it comes as the
Danser (to dance), chanter (to sing), regarder (to look at), travailler following form:
(to work), voyager (to travel), manger (to eat), jouer (to play), aimer
-to eat
(to like), détester (to hate), appeler (to call), acheter (to buy), parler
-to work
(to speak), habiter (to live)…
-to dance
These verbs are composed of 2 parts: -to travel
- First the beginning (or the stem), which is the part that will not to is the mark of the infinitive.
change at the beginning of the word.
- Second is the ending which will change according to which e.g.: To be is the infinitive, I am is
pronoun you are using. its conjugation.
For example: Jouer is composed of ‘jou’ as the beginning and ‘er’
In French, the mark of the
as ending.
infinitive is the ending of the verb:
If we conjugate the verb, ‘jou’ will not change, only the ending ‘er’
-manger
will, as you can see in the example.
-travailler
-danser
Jouer – to play
-voyager

Je joue You can see that the ‘to’ part is

Tu joues not translated in French, but you
Il/elle/on joue can find its equivalent in the
Nous jouons ending of the verb.
Vous jouez
Ils/elles jouent

As you can see, you just have to change the ending of the verb, according to the subject. You
replace the infinitive ending -ER with the proper ending. Therefore, you mostly need to learn
the endings that will be used for all those verbs, which are:

-E -ES -E -ONS -EZ -ENT

Be careful! In French, there is only one present tense. See note page 10
17
 L’impératif
Forming the imperative
To form the imperative, drop the tu, vous or nous and keep the verb in the present tense:

Aller : Nous allons allons ! (let’s go !)

Faire : vous faites faites ! (do !)
With -er verbs, take the final -s off the tu form of the verb:

Regarder : tu regardes regarde! (look!)

Negative imperatives
The imperative is often used in the negative. Just place the negative forms around the verb:

Ne regarde pas la télé! (Don't watch TV!)

Ne mangez pas ça! (Don't eat that!)
Ne viens plus chez moi! (Don't come to my place anymore!)
N'allez plus au parc! (Don't go to the park anymore!)

If you want to suggest doing something, use the imperative form of nous:
Allons à la piscine! (Let's go to the swimming pool!)
Prenons un taxi! (Let's take a taxi!)

18
 Simple expressions
Se présenter (2) – Introduce yourself (2)
L’âge
Quel âge as-tu?
Quel âge avez-vous?
J’ai _____ ans.
L’ anniversaire
Quand est ton anniversaire?
Quand est votre anniversaire?
Mon anniversaire est le 5 janvier.
La date de naissance
Quand es-tu né? (masculine)
Quand es-tu née? (feminine)
Je suis né le 5 janvier 1989. (masc.)
Je suis née le 5 janvier 1989. (fem.)
Présenter quelqu’un – Introduce someone
Le nom
Comment il s’appelle?
Comment elle s’appelle?
Quel est son nom?
La nationalité
Quelle est sa nationalité?
D’où vient-il?
D’où vient-elle?
Be careful!
How old are you? (informal) In French, you cannot
How old are you? (formal) use the verb être (to
be) when giving your
age. You must use avoir
I am _____ years old (to have).
When is your birthday? (informal)
When is your birthday? (formal)
th
My birthday is the 5 of January.
When were you born? (If you ask a boy)
When were you born? (If you ask a girl)
th
I was born on the 5 of january.
th
I was born on the 5 of january.
You can also use another set of questions, such as:
-Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire?
-Quelle est ta date de naissance ?
Il s’appelle…
Elle s’appelle… (+Nom)
Son nom est….
Il est…/ Elle est… (+Nationalité)
Il vient de… (+Pays)
Elle vient de…
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L’âge
Quel est son âge?
Quand est son anniversaire?
Quand est-il né ?
Quand est-elle née ?
Le domicile, l’adresse
Où habite-t-il?
Où habite-t-elle?
Quelle est son adresse ?
Il a …ans./ Elle a… ans.
Son anniversaire est le…
Il est né le… (+Date)
Elle est née le…
Il habite …
Elle habite…
Son adresse est...
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 Les professions
Usually, when you are referring to a man you will use the masculine and the feminine when you refer to a woman.
In French, the professions will usually have the 2 forms, masculine and feminine. So the spelling of the word will
depend on who you are referring to.
The basic transformation from masculine to feminine is to add -e at the end, but there will be some exceptions...

For example: Un avocat is a male lawyer.

Une avocate is a female lawyer.

Here are a few examples of other transformations into feminine:

Un étudiant une étudiante a student
Un employé une employée an employee

Un infirmier une infirmière a nurse

Un policier une policière a policeman / woman

Un serveur une serveuse a waiter/a waitress

Un coiffeur une coiffeuse a hairdresser
Un vendeur une vendeuse a salesman/saleswoman

Un acteur une actrice an actor/an actress

Un agriculteur une agricultrice a farmer

Un musicien une musicienne a musician

Un électricien une électricienne an electrician

Some are irregular ones:

Un chanteur une chanteuse a singer

Some don’t change whether they are used to refer to masculine or to feminine, because the masculine form already
ends with an –E:
Un comptable une comptable an accountant
Un journaliste une journaliste a journalist
Un dentiste une dentiste a dentist
Un pilote une pilote a pilot

And some exception words are only used in masculine (even if you are talking about a woman!):
Un professeur un médecin un écrivain
A teacher a doctor a writer

We also have some special ones:

Un homme d’affaire une femme d’affaire a businessman / woman
Un homme au foyer une femme au foyer a house husband(?) / wife

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 Les couleurs
In French, the colors, like any adjective, must match the gender of the object they are related to.
If the color refers to a masculine object, the color will also be masculine. If the color refers to a feminine
object, the color will have to take the feminine form. You will also have to match the number.

masc. sing fem. sing masc. plu. fem. plu

purple violet violette violets violettes

blue bleu bleue bleus bleues
green vert verte verts vertes
yellow jaune jaune jaunes jaunes
orange orange orange orange orange
red rouge rouge rouges rouges
black noir noire noirs noires
white blanc blanche blancs blanches
grey gris grise gris grises
brown marron marron marron marron
pink rose rose roses roses

In French, like most adjectives, the color will come after the object it refers to.

A white bag  Un sac blanc

The purple flower  La fleur violette

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 Décrire quelqu’un: Le visage
When you want to describe someone, you would want to talk about the color of the eyes, of the hair, the
size of the nose maybe, or even if he or she has a big mouth! Here is some vocabulary to help you.

If you want to say that your friend has a black moustache, the color (here, black) will go afterthe object…

Example: He has a black moustache.

Il a une moustache noire.
The color will take the sign of the feminine, if it refers to a feminine object (Here, une moustache, une barbe,
une bouche) and the sign of the plural if it refers to a plural object (Here, les cheveux, les yeux, des lunettes).

Example: She has black eyes.

Elle a les yeux noirs.

For the hair, you will have extra colors: blond, brun, roux. These are used only when you refer to the hair. To
describe the hair, you can use: longs (long), courts (short), raides (straight), frisés (curly)... Normally the
adjectives come before the word they refer to, but for the hair it comes after.
Examples: She has long hair. Elle a les cheveux longs.
We have long black hair. Nous avons les cheveux longs et noirs

Avoir:
Les cheveux: courts/ longs
noirs / blonds/ marron/ roux
raides (straight) / frisés (curly)

Les yeux : noirs, marron, verts, bleus, gris…

Des lunettes, une moustache, une barbe….

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 Décrire quelqu’un : les adjectifs
Masculine Feminine English
agréable agréable Nice
amoureux amoureuse In love
amusant amusante Funny
bavard bavarde Talkative
beau belle Beautiful / handsome
blond blonde Blond-haired
brun brune Dark-haired
célèbre célèbre Famous
courageux courageuse Brave
dangereux dangereuse Dangerous
difficile difficile Difficult
élégant élégante Smart (well-dressed)
embêtant embêtante Annoying (for someone)
énervé énervée Irritated / angry
ennuyeux ennuyeuse Boring
étrange étrange Strange
facile facile Easy
gentil gentille Kind
grand grande (for someone) / big (for something)
gros grosse Fat
heureux heureuse Happy
honnête honnête Honest
impatient impatiente Impatient
intelligent intelligente Clever
intéressant intéressante Interesting
jaloux jalouse Jealous
jeune jeune Young
joli jolie Cute
joyeux joyeuse Glad
laid laide Ugly
malheureux malheureuse Unhappy
marrant marrante Funny
mince mince Thin
paresseux paresseuse Lazy
patient patiente Patient
petit petite Small / short (height)

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 peureux peureuse Fearful
poli polie Polite
roux rousse Red-haired
sérieux sérieuse Serious
simple simple Simple
sportif sportive Athletic
surpris surprise Surprised
sympathique sympathique Friendly
timide timide Shy
travailleur travailleuse Hard-working
triste triste Sad
vieux vieille Old

Remember: If you are talking about a man, you should use the masculine of the adjectives.
If you are talking about a woman, you should use the feminine.

Example: He is tall.  Il est grand.

She is tall.  Elle est grande.

25
 Les adjectifs
Feminine
The adjectives are the words that you use when you want to describe someone or something. For example
when you say:
“Jean has a big grey house.”

“big” is an adjective. “grey” is also an adjective. They both are used to describe the house, meaning that both
of them are in relation to the word “house”.

Now, as you know, in French all nouns, objects have a gender (masculine or feminine).

Here, a house, in French, is feminine: “une maison”. Well, the adjectives will have to follow the gender of
the object/ person they are describing. Therefore, here, “big” and “grey”, as they are referring to the
house, will have to be used in their feminine forms, which give us: “grande” and “grise”
Another important point is, in French, the colors will always be placed after the noun they are describing.
Therefore, if we translate this sentence it will give us:
“Jean a une grande maison grise.”

Plural
Now let’s take another example, if I say:
“Jonathan and Daniel are tall.”

What is the adjective in this sentence? ... It is “tall”. And who is tall? In other words, to which words refers
“tall” in that sentence? Well, “Jonathan and Daniel” are the ones who are “tall”, agreed? So, as we modify
the adjective when it refers to a feminine noun, we will also modify it when it refers to a plural.
Therefore, here, we will have:
“Jonathan et Daniel sont grands.”

Position of the adjective

Most of the time, any adjective in French will come after the noun it describes, but there is an exceptions.
Try to remember those exceptions using the following acronym: BAGS

beauty beau, belle, joli(e) Exemples : Pierre a une petite voiture bleue.
age jeune, vieux, vieille Katy est une jeune fille française.
J’ai une grande maison rouge à Melaka.
good/bad bon(ne), mauvais(e)

size grand(e), petit(e)

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 La Famille
English French English French
A father un père A mother une mère
A brother un frère A sister une sœur
A son un fils A daughter une fille
A husband un mari A wife une femme
A grandfather un grand-père A grandmother une grand-mère
A grandson un petit-fils A granddaughter une petite-fille
A cousin – male un cousin A cousin – female une cousine
An uncle un oncle An aunt une tante
A nephew un neveu A niece une nièce

Additional vocabulary
maman mum (mummy)
papa dad (daddy)
mamie / mémé granny
papy / pépé granddad

une sœur aînée an older sister un frère aîné an older brother

une sœur cadette a younger sister un frère cadet a younger brother
une sœur jumelle a twin sister un frère jumeau a twin brother
des sœurs jumelles twin sisters des frères jumeaux twin brothers

une belle-sœur a sister-in-law

un beau-frère a brother-in-law
des beaux-parents parents-in-law
une belle-mère a step-mother / a mother-in-law
un beau-père a step-father / a father-in-law
une demi-sœur a step-sister / a half-sister
un demi-frère a step-brother / a half-brother
l’amie de mon père my father’s girl friend
l’ami de ma mère my mother’s boyfriend

marié(e) married célibataire single

Ils sont mariés. They are married. divorcé(e) divorced
fiancé(e) engaged séparé(e) separated

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 Les adjectifs possessifs
Singular Plural
English Masculine Feminine Before vowel
my mon ma mon mes
your (tu form) ton ta ton tes
his, her, its son sa son ses
our notre notre notre nos
your (vous form) votre votre votre vos
their leur leur leur leurs

As you can see, all the men in the family vocabulary are masculine words (UN père, UN oncle...). It
means that even if you are a woman, your father is still a man and therefore the word “père” will always
remain a masculine word. That is to say that you will always have a masculine article preceding the
word.
un père (a father) / mon père (my father) / ton père (your father) / son père (his/her father)

The same goes for the women in the family. The words will always be feminine (UNE mère, UNE
sœur...). That is why these words will always be preceded by a feminine article.
une mère (a mother)/ ma mère (my mother) / ta mère (your mother) / sa mère (his/her mother)

As for plurals, you will also have to use a different possessive adjective
mon père, ma mère BUT mes parents
And this can be applied to any possession.
mon livre, ma maison, mes livres, mes maisons
If the possessive adjective is followed by a vowel, use the masculine form in any singular case.
mon ami, mon amie, mes amis, mes amies

28
 La maison
Vocabulaire
l’appartement the apartment
Tu habites où?
la maison the house
l’entrée (fem.) the entrance (hall)
- J’habite en ville I live in town
le salon the living room
- J’habite à la campagne I live in the countryside
la cuisine the kitchen
le bureau the office / study
la salle à manger the dining room To describe:
la salle de bains the bathroom chez at (someone’s place)
la salle de jeux the games room il y a there is / there are
la chambre the bedroom il n’y a pas de there is not/ there are not
les toilettes (fem.plur.) the toilet Au sous-sol in the basement
la douche the shower Au rez-de-chaussée on the ground floor
la cave the cellar Au premier étage on the first floor
le garage the garage Au deuxième étage on the second floor
le jardin the garden
le balcon the balcony
le couloir the corridor
le grenier the attic

Nombres ordinaux
Ordinal numbers are used to express rank or position - in other words, ordinal numbers are used for
ordering, as opposed to cardinal numbers which are used for counting.

premier 1er
first 1st All ordinal numbers (except first) are created from
première 1re
their corresponding cardinal number:
second deuxième 2nd 2e
number drop the final e (if any) add -ième
third troisième 3rd 3e
six six sixième
fourth quatrième 4th 4e
fifth cinquième 5th 5e onze onz onzième

sixth sixième 6th 6e vingt et un vingt et un vingt et unième

seventh septième 7th 7e
"First" is the only ordinal number that doesn't follow the above rule:
eighth huitième 8th 8e premier (masculine) and première (feminine). Note that twenty-
ninth neuvième 9th 9e first, thirty-first, etc. do follow it.

tenth dixième 10th 10e Watch out for the spelling changes in cinquième and neuvième

Ordinal numbers are not used to talk about dates in French,
except for premier

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 Essential French Verbs

Here are a few very important verbs that you should know.
We have a few differences in French in using the verbs:
We have 2 you, tu is informal and singular, vous is formal and plural (formal and informal plural).
We have of 2 they, ils is used to refer to a masculine group or a mixed group.
elles is used to refer a female group.

The French verbs avoir (to have), être (to be), and faire (to do/make) are the most important
French verbs. They are used in some of the ways that we use them in English as well as in
many expressions. Conjugations for all three of these verbs are irregular.

Avoir - to have Être - to be Faire - to do, make

J'ai un livre. Je suis à Paris. Je fais mon lit.
I have a book. I am in Paris. I'm making my bed.
Nous avons une voiture. Nous sommes très contents. Nous faisons nos devoirs.
We have a car. We are very happy. We do our homework.
1
J’ai Je suis Je fais
Tu as Tu es Tu fais
Il/Elle a Il/Elle est Il/Elle fait
Nous avons Nous sommes Nous faisons
Vous avez Vous êtes Vous faites
Ils/Elles ont Ils/Elles sont Ils/Elles font

In French, we only have one present tense; that is why “je fais” can be translated into either “I do” or “I
am doing”

ATTENTION: As French only have one present tense, you can’t say “Je suis fais mes devoirs” to say “I’m
doing my homework” but instead say “Je fais mes devoirs”. If you want to use a continuous present,
use the following structure:
ÊTRE + EN TRAIN DE + INFINITIVE
E.g. Je suis en train de faire mes devoirs
Elle est en train de faire ses devoirs

1 If a verb starts with a vowel or the letter H, then Je will be spelled as J’

30
 Aller - to go Habiter - to live
Je vais J’habite
Tu vas Tu habites
Il/Elle va Il/Elle habite
Nous allons Nous habitons
Vous allez Vous habitez
Ils/Elles vont Ils/Elles habitent

Vouloir – to want Pouvoir – to be able to

Je veux Je peux
Tu veux Tu peux
Il/elle/on veut Il/elle/on peut
Nous voulons Nous pouvons
Vous voulez Vous pouvez
Ils/elles veulent Ils/elles peuvent

Savoir et Connaitre

Savoir and connaître are used in different contexts or to describe different degrees of knowledge.
Savoir is used for facts, things known by heart, or abilities. When followed by an infinitive, savoir
indicates knowing how to do something. (Je sais jouer de la guitare.) Connaître is used for people and
places and represents a personal acquaintance or familiarity.

Savoir – to know Connaitre – to know

Je sais Je connais
Tu sais Tu connais
Il/elle/on sait Il/elle/on connait
Nous savons Nous connaissons
Vous savez Vous connaissez
Ils/elles savent Ils / elles connaissent

danser, parler français l’Italie

je sais je connais Nicolas Legrand
comment il s’appelle un bon médecin

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