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RENCONTRES FRANCOPHONES
Counting from 0 to 69
STRUCTURES:
The imperative
Voilà/Il y a
Questions
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POUR COMMENCER
CONTEXTES: In this section you will learn how to greet people and say goodbye in informal and formal
situations.
SALUT, ÇA VA?
1.1 Avant de visionner. Complete the sentences to describe what you would say and do in the following
situations. What words would you use to greet or bid farewell to the other person? Would you and
the person shake hands or hug?
Speech Gesture
Emilie: Bonjour, je suis Emilie et Alexis: Salut, Emilie! Clémence: Je vous présente
j’attends des amis au café Emilie: Salut, Alexis. Sélim. Sélim, Alexis…et Emilie,
Sélim.
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1.3 Bonjour, tout le monde! You want to meet many of the students in the class. First, say hello to the
people seated on both sides of you. Then, mill around the class and say hello to as many of your
classmates as you can.
The following chart lists expressions used to say hello and goodbye. Expressions are listed as familier
(informal, to a friend) and formel (formal, to an older person). Informal greetings use tu whereas
formal ones use vous. More on this in Chapter 2.
Dire bonjour
Familier Formal
Salut! Bonjour, Monsieur.
Bonjour! Bonjour, Madame.
Bonjour tout le monde! (everyone) Bonjour, Mademoiselle.
Dire au revoir
Familier Formel
Allez, au revoir, Marc ! Au revoir, Monsieur (Madame, Mademoiselle).
Allez ! Au revoir, Madame, bonne journée !
A plus tard.
Allez, bye !
Ciao, Marie !
A bientôt, Marc !
A tout à l’heure, Marie ! (see you later)
VOCABULAIRE
S U P P L É ME N T A I R E 1.4 Formel ou familier? Are the following greetings and leave-takings formal or informal?
Saying hello 1. Au revoir, Monsieur Dupont. ___________ 4. Bonjour, tu vas bien? ___________
Bonsoir Good evening 2. Ciao, Yannick! ___________ 5. Bonjour, comment allez-vous? ___________
3. Salut, Jeanne. ___________ 6. Ça vas bien, et toi? ___________
Saying goodbye
A plus Later
A la prochaine Til next time 1.5 Echanges. Find out about the people around you. With a partner, greet each other,
Bonne journée Have a good ask how your classmate is, and then say goodbye. Then, move to another partner and
day greet and say goodbye in a different way.
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VOIX FRANCOPHONES AU PRÉSENT: Premières rencontres
Dahlil Taieb and Pierre Tayol, the hosts of the talk show Voix francophones au présent, and their guests
have gathered near the Radio Bleu studio.
1.6 Expressions utiles. Are the following expressions used to say hello or goodbye?
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POUR BIEN PRONONCER: THE FRENCH ALPHABET
Listen carefully to the pronunciation of the French alphabet.
A ah B bé C cé D dé E eu F effe G gé H ach
Ii J ji K kah L elle M emme N enne O oh P pé
Q kü R erre S esse T té Uü V vé W double vé X iks
Y i grec Z zed
Les accents. French uses five diacritical marks (accents), which are an integral part of a word.
´ accent aigu (occurs only on the letter e) Répétez encore une fois.
` accent grave A tout à l’heure.
^ accent circonflexe A bientôt!
ç cédille (occurs only on the letter c) Ça va bien, et toi?
¨ tréma Elle s’appelle Chloë.
Except for the cedilla on the capital c, accents are not typically used on capital letters. You won’t see
accents on most capital letters in this book, but memorize accents when learning to spell your
vocabulary words.
Chloë: Je m’appelle Chloë Bartolli.
Etudiant: Comment?
Chloë: Ça s’écrit C H L O E tréma B A R T O deux L I.
Etudiant: Merci, Chloë.
1. Hélène Haumain
2. Thérèse Gauthier
3. Jérôme Barthélémy
4. Saïd Boukrâ
LA POLITESSE
It is not unusual in the Francophone world to say Bonjour ! to the driver when you step into a bus.
Similarly, when entering a small shop, people often say Bonjour, Monsieur (Madame) to greet the
shopkeeper. For requests, one routinely hears s’il vous plaît. For instance, in a café, when ordering a
croissant, you would say Je voudrais un croissant, s’il vous plaît. It is also expected for you to thank the
waiter upon receiving your order: Merci or Merci, Monsieur (Madame).
Make sure to respect speaking registers. When speaking to a friend, a small child, or a family
member, you can stay on a first-name basis: Bonjour, Jean ! However, when addressing an older
person, a teacher, a neighbor, a shopkeeper or salesperson, or a person you don’t know, it is expected
that you use Monsieur or Madame. If you know the name of the person, use it when greeting them:
Bonjour, Madame Acker.
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1.10 Les salutations. Refer to Pour bien communiquer: Dire bonjour et au revoir. How would you greet
the following people?
1.11 Comparaisons. Compare greetings in France and the United States. Are formal greetings the same
or similar? Are informal greetings the same or similar? How do the greetings differ? How is the level of
politeness different?
Here are some of the most common classroom expressions with their English equivalents.
1.12 Comme dit le prof. Working with a partner or small group, you will take turns practicing giving
orders as the “professor” and receiving orders as the “student”. The “professor” gives several commands
(from the Le professeur dit section above). The “student” does what they are told to do. Then switch
roles.
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COMMENT DIRE? THE IMPERATIVE
To give commands or requests, use the imperative. Read the following dialogue and answer the
questions.
DE PLUS PRÈS: FERMEZ VOTRE LIVRE
Amy Guidry is an exchange student taking a French class for foreign students. She is sitting next to a fellow
classmate, Victor.
There are three forms of the imperative. All of them are used to give commands or to make requests.
2. IRREGULAR FORMS
Some verbs do not follow the pattern exactly and are considered irregular. Note the accent changes in
the first example.
Informal, to a friend or a child To at least one other person To someone you don’t know or
plus yourself (Let’s…) to more than one person
répète le mot répétons le mot répétez le mot
écris ton nom écrivons notre nom écrivez votre nom
va au tableau allons au tableau allez au tableau
prends un stylo (pen) prenons un stylo prenez un stylo
1.13 Quoi? Your professor has been a bit cranky today, and your classmate hasn’t been listening. Restate
what the teacher said to help your classmate, changing the information from the formal to the informal
form (and using the name of the student to whom you are speaking). Follow the model.
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1.14 Faire semblant (pretending). You are the teacher for this activity. Change the informal verbs in the
left column to give four formal instructions to your “student.” Switch roles halfway.
VOILÀ / IL Y A
Voilà and il y a have similar meanings but are used in different situations. Read the dialogue and then
answer the questions.
DE PLUS PRÈS: AU TABLEAU
1. VOILÀ
Voilà is used to point out something or someone. It can be used alone or with a noun or proper noun.
Il y a, on the other hand, is used to describe or to tell that something exists or to describe a situation.
1.15 Il y a… Point out the person and say something about the spelling of his or her name.
Modèle: Agnès Voilà Agnès. Il y a un E accent grave dans le mot Agnès.
1. Vanneste 4. Miwana
2. Chloë 5. Françoise
3. Zébina 6. Proulx
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1.16 Les personnages. Working in groups of three, one person selects one of the names below and
describes its special features. Another person guesses the name. The third person confirms by spelling it.
Rotate until three names have been spelled by each member of the group.
Les noms: Françoise Acker, Chloë Bartolli, Aminata Dembelé, Amy Guidry, Tinh Nguyen, Didier Neyraud,
Sébastien Proulx, Annick Vanneste, Noah Zébina
The verb être (to be) is used when talking about your city of origin. Read the dialogue, paying particular
attention to the forms of the verb in bold type. Then answer the questions.
Amy Guidry, an American exchange student, is introducing herself in her French class.
Amy: Bonjour, je m'appelle Amy Guidry. Je suis de Lafayette. Et je suis originaire de Paris.
Le professeur: Alors, vous êtes française.
Amy: Non, je suis américaine.
Le professeur: Mais vous êtes originaire de Paris.
Amy: Oh! Pardon! J'habite à° Lafayette en Louisiane, mais je suis originaire de Paris au Texas.
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j'habite à I live in
• The final consonant is silent in all forms. However, the -s of vous before êtes is pronounced with a
z sound: Vous-z-êtes de Papeete? And the -t of est and sont is pronounced before a word
beginning with a vowel or a vowel sound:
Il est-t-américain.
Ils sont-t-américains.
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2. THE USE OF THE VERB ÊTRE
• To say which town you are from, use être de followed by the name of the city of origin.
• In French, the name of a profession or nationality directly follows the verb être. Compare these
French and English sentences:
1.17 Je m'appelle Jean! It is now time for you to introduce yourself. Greet your classmates using an
expression for saying hello of your choice, then give your name and a bit of information about yourself.
1.19 Dire bonjour. Show off what you know in French. In groups of four, say hello to your classmates in
French, ask each person how she or he is, introduce yourself and the person next to you, and then say
good-bye. Your partners each answer appropriately. Then pretend you are meeting someone formally
and repeat the activity. Limit yourself to the structures and expressions that you have learned so far.
1.20 Expressions utiles. Here are some expressions that may be useful. Which ones do you recognize?
Which ones can you guess the meaning of?
C’EST MOI!
1.21 Les coordonnées. Use the information from the introductions to tell where each person is from and
to give an additional pièce of information.
1.22 Qui dit…? Listen to your teacher as they say information excerpted from the text. Who originally
said each sentence?
Modèle: (you hear) Je suis journaliste. Dahlila ou Aminata?
C’est Dahlila.
The following chart lists expressions used to ask and tell one’s name and where one is from. Note that
different expressions are used in formal and informal contexts.
Formal Informal
Nom: Comment vous appelez-vous ? Comment (est-ce que) tu t’appelles ?
Comment t’appelles-tu ?
Je m’appelle (+ nom).
Je suis (+ nom).
Je suis célibataire/(marié(e). [single/married]
Domicile: Où habitez-vous ? Où (est-ce que) tu habites ?
Où habites-tu ?
J’habite à Paris (à Madison, à Tokyo)
Ville natale: D’où êtes-vous? Tu es d’où ?
D’où venez-vous ? Tu viens d’où ?
1.23 Je me présente. You probably don't know everyone in your French class yet. Sit next to a person
you don't know. Ask and answer each other’s questions about your name, where you live currently, and
your city/town of origin.
LA FORMALITE ET LA LANGUE
There are several indicators of formality in French speech. When speaking informally, the pronoun tu is
used, whereas in formal situations vous is the proper choice. Another indicator of formality is the use
of inversion when asking questions. In informal conversational situations, questions are typically
formed either by raising the voice at the end of a statement or by using est-ce que: Où est-ce que tu
habites? In more formal situations, the subject pronoun and the verb are often inverted: Où habitez-
vous?
When dealing with strangers or when speaking to people behind counters in shops, at the post
office, or at the train station, it is customary to make requests politely and formally: S’il vous plaît,
pouvez-vous… or Excusez-moi, pouvez-vous…
The notion of formality varies from country to country. It is always important to be polite and
courteous toward merchants and people you meet on the street. However, it is also true that in Africa
people are less formal than in France.
1.24 Comparaisons. Compare the level of formality in France and the United States. What would you say
to a merchant in a store in the United States? Would you be as polite or as formal as in France? How
might different registers of language lead to misunderstandings?
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POUR BIEN COMMUNIQUER: COMPTER DE 0 À 69
0 zéro
1 un 6 six 11 onze 16 seize
2 deux 7 sept 12 douze 17 dix-sept
3 trois 8 huit 13 treize 18 dix-huit
4 quatre 9 neuf 14 quatorze 19 dix-neuf
5 cinq 10 dix 15 quinze 20 vingt
1.25 Des chiffres. Say each person’s age in a complete sentence using the information below.
Modèle: Tiana / 17
Tiana a dix-sept ans.
1.26 Qui est-ce? Your teacher will hand you a piece of paper with your “identity” (the name of a
participant from the radio show). Working in groups of four, assume the identity of the person on the
paper and introduce yourself without revealing your name. The other members of the group will guess
your identity.
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POUR BIEN COMMUNIQUER: LES JOURS DE LA SEMAINE,
LES MOIS DE L’ANNÉE
The days of the week and the months of the year are not capitalized in French.
Les mois de l’année (the months of the year):
Les mois d’été (the months of summer) juillet août septembre
Les mois d’automne (fall) octobre novembre décembre
Les mois d’hiver (winter) janvier février mars
Les mois du printemps (spring) avril mai juin
The word printemps begins with a consonant and uses du whereas été, automne, and hiver begin with
a vowel sound and use d’.
1.27 Quelques fêtes. Give the dates for the following special days.
Modèle: Noël V O C A B U L A I R E S U P P L É ME N T A I R E
C’est le 25 décembre.
aujourd'hui today
1. la fête nationale américaine (l’indépendance américaine) hier yesterday
2. votre anniversaire (your birthday) demain tomorrow
3. la fête nationale française (l’indépendance française) prochain(e) next
4. le jour de Saint Valentin mon/ton anniversaire my/your birthday
5. demain (tomorrow) une fête a holiday
6. aujourd’hui (today)
1.28 Le bon compte. Take the quiz about days, months, and seasons in French. Then ask questions for
your partner to answer, using the structure of the model.
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COMMENT DIRE? QUESTIONS
Yes/no and information questions are essential to any conversation. You have already learned several
examples of these questions in French. Read the following dialogue and answer the questions.
It is the first day of the Voix francophones au présent program and the guests are finding out about each
other.
1. In which question is the speaker trying to verify a guess? How is this question formed?
2. In what three ways can a statement be transformed into a question?
1. INTONATION QUESTIONS
The simplest way to form a yes/no question is to raise your voice at the end of a statement.
ä
Il est de Montréal. Il est de Montréal?
Another way to form a yes/no question is to add the phrase Est-ce que to the beginning of a statement.
This phrase has no real meaning; it simply indicates that what follows is a question. Notice that est-ce que
becomes est-ce qu' before a noun or pronoun beginning with a vowel or a vowel sound.
3. VERIFICATION QUESTIONS
A verification question anticipates a yes answer. To verify that something is true, you can raise your voice
and add n’est-ce pas? to the end of the statement.
ä
Tu habites à Montréal. Tu habites à Montréal, n’est-ce pas?
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1.29 Poser des questions. Working with a partner, use the photographs to confirm information about
the participants in Voix francophones au présent. Ask each question in three different ways, one using
intonation, one using est-ce que, and one verifying the information with n’est-ce pas? Ask three sets of
questions, then switch roles with your partner.
1.30 Quelques questions. Ask your partner questions to fill in the blanks in the chart below. Switch roles
halfway.
Modèle: E1: Est-ce que Chloë a 23 ans?
E2: Non.
E1: Est-ce qu'elle a 19 ans?
E2: Oui, elle a 19 ans.
E1: Est-ce qu'elle est étudiante?
E2: Oui…
Dahlila Taieb 35
Aminata Dembélé
graphiste (graphic
Sébastien Proulx
designer)
Tinh Nguyen Hanoi
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C’EST / IL (ELLE) EST
When you want to point someone out and tell who they are, use c’est… When you wish to say what they
do, use il (elle) est… When you wish to say what city they are from, use il (elle) est de… Read the dialogue
and then answer the questions.
1. What do Noah and Sébastien do? Where are Chloë and Aminata from?
2. What part of speech follows the expression c’est? What comes after il (elle) est?
To point someone out, use c’est followed by the proper name. The expression is used both for men and
women.
To identify someone’s origin, profession, marital status, or religion, use il (elle) est followed by the
occupation, marital status, or religion, or by de and the name of the town.
Note that to refer to some occupations and religions in the feminine, you must add a final -e to the noun.
Doing so creates a change in pronunciation, because the -e requires you to pronounce the preceding
consonant.
Il est étudiant. Elle est étudiante.
Il est protestant. Elle est protestante.
But Il est graphiste. Elle est graphiste.
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1.31 Descriptions de personnages. Use the table in 1.30 Quelques questions to describe each character.
Modèle:
Chloë Bartolli 19 célibataire Paris étudiante
C’est Chloë. Elle a 19 ans. Elle est célibataire. Elle est de Paris. Elle est étudiante.
1.32 Description de camarades. Working in groups of three, write your name, age, marital status, origin,
and profession to describe yourself, as in the chart in 1-31, Descriptions de personnages. Then exchange
your information with a partner so they can introduce you in complete sentences.
Modèle: You write, for example: Marissa, 22, célibataire, Denver, étudiante
E1: C’est Marissa. Elle a 22 ans. Elle est célibataire. Elle est de Denver. Elle est étudiante.
In the dialogue, two friends express different preferences. Read the dialogue, paying particular attention
to the verbs. Then answer the questions.
Pierre is still figuring out who’s who. He is speaking with Dahlila, his co-host.
Pierre: Bon, alors je récapitule: le jeune homme, c’est Sébastien Proulx. Il est étudiant. Il est de
Québec.
Dahlila: Oui, c’est bien Sébastien Proulx, mais il n’est pas étudiant. Il est graphiste. Il n’est pas de
Québec, il est de Montréal.
Pierre: Je note bien. Avec Sébastien, c’est Aminata Dembelé, elle est de Dakar. Elle a 20 ans.
Dahlila: Aminata est de Dakar, c’est vrai. Mais elle n’a pas 20 ans. Elle a 25 ans.
Pierre: Oh! là là! Je me trompe encore°!
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Je me trompe encore I’m wrong again
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1. NEGATION
To make a negative statement in French, place ne before the verb and pas after it. Note that ne becomes
n’ before a vowel or vowel sound.
In conversational French, especially in informal situations, the ne (n’) is dropped most of the time. The
pas is retained, however. Informally, one would hear the following:
1.33 Je me trompe encore. Pierre still doesn’t have the correct information. Help him out by correcting
him: Negate what he says, and then give the correct information.
1.35 On se présente. Listen to your instructor as they read an introduction. Use the following list to
check off the information that is provided in the introduction. Then review the expressions in Pour bien
communiquer: Dire son nom et d'où on vient and work with a partner to select, modify, and correct the
expressions to fit your own introductions. Each student will present his or her paragraph to the class.
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