Basics French

French I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar at ielanguages.
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For fastest downloading, as well as the DownThemAll add-on. This will allow you to download all of the mp3s on
this page at once and increase the download speed up to 400%. Recordings of mp3s were done by a native
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[ French I Zip file of mp3s - 20.95 MB ]
1. Some Basic Phrases [ mp3 - 2.94 MB ]

Bonjour Bonsoir Bonne nuit
bohn-zhoor bohn-swahr bun nwee
Hello / Good day Good evening Good night
Salut Au revoir S'il vous plaît

sah-lew ohr-vwah seel voo pleh
Hi / Bye Goodbye Please
De rien. / Je vous en prie. Bienvenu(e)

Merci (beaucoup)
duh ree-ahn / zhuh voo zawn bee-ahn-vuh-new
mair-see boh-koo
pree Welcome (also You're welcome
Thank you (very much)
You're welcome. in Quebec)
A tout à l'heure / A plus tard A bientôt A demain

ah too tah luhr / ah plew tahr ah bee-ahn-toh ah duh-mahn
See you later See you soon See you tomorrow
http://www.ielanguages.com/french1.html 7/25/2008
French I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar at ielanguages.com Page 2 of 16
Désolé(e)! Pardonnez-moi! Allons-y!

day-zoh-lay pahr-dohn-nay-mwah ah-lohn-zee
Sorry! Excuse me! Let's go!
Comment allez-vous ? Ça va ? Très bien / mal / pas mal

koh-mawn tahl-ay voo sah vah treh bee-ahn / mahl / pah mahl
How are you? (formal) How are you? (informal) Very good / bad / not bad
Je vais bien Ça va. Oui / non

zhuh vay bee-ahn sah vah wee/nohn
I'm fine. I'm fine. (informal) Yes / no
Comment vous appelez-vous ? Tu t'appelles comment ? Je m'appelle...

koh-mawn voo zah-play voo tew tah-pell koh-mawn zhuh mah-pell
What's your name? (formal) What's your name? (informal) My name is...
Monsieur, Madame,
Enchanté(e) Mademoiselle Mesdames et Messieurs
awn-shawn-tay muh-syuh, mah-dahm, mahd- meh-dahm zeh meh-syuh
Nice to meet you. mwah-zell Ladies and gentlemen
Mister, Misses, Miss
Vous êtes d'où ? Tu es d'où ? Je suis de...

voo zet doo tew ay doo zhuh swee duh
Where are you from? (formal) Where are you from? (informal) I am from...
Où habitez-vous ? Tu habites où ? J'habite à...

ooh ah-bee-tay voo tew ah-beet ooh zhah-beet ah
Where do you live? (formal) Where do you live? (informal) I live in...
Quel âge avez-vous ? Tu as quel âge ? J'ai ____ ans.

kell ahzh ah-vay voo tew ah kell ahzh zhay ____ awn
How old are you? (formal) How old are you? (informal) I am ____ years old.
Tu parles anglais ?
Parlez-vous français ? Je (ne) parle (pas)...
tew parl on-glay
par-lay voo frahn-say zhuh nuh parl pah
Do you speak English?
Do you speak French? (formal) I (don't) speak...
(informal)
Comprenez-vous? / Tu
comprends?
Je (ne) comprends (pas) Je (ne) sais (pas)
kohm-pren-ay-voo / tew kohm-
zhuh nuh kohm-prawn pah zhuhn say pah
prawn
I (don't) understand I (don't) know
Do you understand? (formal /
informal)
Pouvez-vous m'aider ? / Tu
peux m'aider ?
Bien sûr. Comment?
poo-vay voo meh-day / tew puh
bee-ahn sewr kohm-mawn
meh-day
Of course. What? Pardon?
Can you help me? (formal /
informal)
Il y a ... / Il y avait...
Où est ... / Où sont ... ? Voici / Voilà
eel-ee-ah / eel-ee-ah-veh
ooh eh / ooh sohn vwah-see / vwah-lah
There is / are... / There was /
Where is ... / Where are ... ? Here is... / Here it is.
were...
Comment dit-on ____ en

français ? Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça ? Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
kohm-mawn dee-tohn ___ on kess kuh seh kuh sah kess keel-ee-ah
frahn-say What is that? What's the matter?
How do you say ____ in French?
Ça ne fait rien. Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? Je n'ai aucune idée.

sah nuh feh ree-ahn kess kee suh pahs zhuh neh oh-kewn ee-day
It doesn't matter. What's happening? I have no idea.
Je suis fatigué(e) / malade. J'ai faim / J'ai soif. J'ai chaud / J'ai froid.
zhuh swee fah-tee-gay / mah-lahd zhay fawn / zhay swahf zhay show / zhay fwah
I'm tired / sick. I'm hungry / I'm thirsty. I'm hot / I'm cold.
Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne

Ça m'est égal. / Je m'en fiche.
Je m'ennuie. t'en fais pas.
sah meh-teh-gahl / zhuh mawn
zhuh mawn-nwee nuh voo zawn fett pah / nuh
feesh
I'm bored. tawn feh pah
I don't care.
Don't worry (formal / informal)
Ce n'est pas grave. J'ai oublié. Je dois y aller.

suh neh pah grahv zhay oo-blee-ay zhuh dwah ee ah-lay
It's no problem. / It's alright. I forgot. I must go.
A vos souhaits ! / A tes

Félicitations ! Bonne chance !
souhaits !
fay-lee-see-tah-see-ohn bun shahns
ah voh soo-eh / a teh soo-eh
Congratulations! Good luck!
Bless you! (formal / informal)
Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi ! Je vous aime / Je t'aime

C'est à vous ! / C'est à toi !
teh-zay voo / teh twah zhuh voo zem / zhuh tem
set ah voo / set a twah
Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal / I love you (formal & plural /
It's your turn! (formal / informal)
informal) informal)
Tenez / Tiens Quoi de neuf ? / Ça boume ? Pas grand chose.

tuh-nay / tee-ahn kwah duh nuhf / sah boom pah grahn shohz
Hey / Here (formal / informal) What's new? / What's up? 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.
2. Pronunciation [ mp3 - 4.22 MB ]

French Vowels
Phonetic General
IPA Sample words
spelling spellings
[i] ee vie, midi, lit, riz i, y

[y] ee rounded rue, jus, tissu, usine u
é, et, final er
[e] ay blé, nez, cahier, pied
and ez
[ø] ay rounded jeu, yeux, queue, bleu eu
[ǫ] e, è, ê, ai, ei,

eh lait, aile, balai, reine
ais
sœur, œuf, fleur,
[œ] eh rounded œu, eu
beurre
chat, ami, papa,
[a] ah a, à, â
salade
bas, âne, grâce,
[ǡ] ah longer a, â
château
loup, cou, caillou,
[u] oo ou
outil
eau, dos, escargot,
[o] oh o, ô
hôtel
sol, pomme, cloche,
[ Ǥ] aw o
horloge
fenêtre, genou,
[ǩ] uh e
cheval, cerise
[ǡ] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]
French semi-vowels
Phonetic
IPA Sample words General spelling
spelling
[w] w fois, oui, Louis oi, ou
[ǵ ] ew-ee lui, suisse ui
[j] yuh oreille, Mireille ill, y
French nasal vowels

IPA Phonetic spelling Sample words General spelling
[ã] awn gant, banc, dent en, em, an, am, aon, aen
[ǫ]ɶ ahn pain, vin, linge in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um, en, eng, oin, oing, oint,
[œ]ɶ uhn brun, lundi, parfum un
[õ] ohn rond, ongle, front on, om
[œ]ɶ is being replaced with [ǫ]ɶ in modern French
In words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant. Otherwise, the in- prefix is
pronounce een 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, archéologie

ti + vowel (except é) see démocratie, nation
c + e, i, y; or ç s cent, ceinture, maçon
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, thème, thym
j zh jambe, jus, jeune
qu, final q k que, quoi, grecque
h silent haricot, herbe, hasard
vowel + s + vowel z rose, falaise, casino
x + vowel z six ans, beaux arts
final x s six, dix, soixante (these 3 only!)
There are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the final consonant, unless that final
consonant is C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r).
Liaison: French slurs most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that is not pronounced
and the next word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if it were one word. S and x are
pronounced as z; d as t; and f as v in these liaisons. Liaison is always made in the following cases:
after a determiner: un ami, des amis

before or after a pronoun: vous avez, je les ai
after a preceding adjective: bon ami, petits enfants
after one syllable prepositions: en avion, dans un livre
after some one-syllable adverbs (très, plus, bien)
after est
It is optional after pas, trop fort, and the forms of être, 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 (pronounced ra-peed-mawn, not ra-peed-uh-mawn)

sous l(e) bureau, chez l(e) docteur (pronounced sool bewr-oh, not soo luh bewr-oh)
il y a d(e)... , pas d(e)... , plus d(e)... (eel yahd, pahd, plewd, not eel ee ah duh, pah duh, or plew duh)
je n(e), de n(e) (zhuhn, duhn, not zhuh nuh or duh nuh)
j(e) te, c(e) que (shtuh, skuh, not zhuh tuh or suh kuh - 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 [ mp3 - 538 KB ]

a ah j zhee s ess
b beh k kah t teh
c seh l ell u ew
d deh m em v veh
e uh n en w doo-bluh-veh
f eff o oh x eeks
g zheh p peh y ee-grek
h ahsh q kew z zed
i ee r air
4. Nouns, Articles and Demonstrative Adjectives [ mp3 - 373 KB ]
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, -té, and -ette are usually feminine.
Articles and adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. And articles have to be
expressed even though they aren't always in English; and you may have to repeat the article in some cases.
Demonstratives are like strong definite articles.
Definite Articles (The)
Masculine Feminine Before Vowel Plural
le lit la pomme l'oiseau les gants

the bed the apple the bird the gloves
Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some)
Masculine Feminine Plural
un lit une pomme des gants

a bed an apple some gloves
Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those)
Masc. Masc, Before Vowel Fem. Plural
ce lit cet oiseau cette pomme ces gants

this/that bed this/that bird this/that apple 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 -là to the end of the noun for that and those. For example, ce lit-ci is this bed, while ce lit-là is
that bed.
5. Useful Words and General Vocabulary [ mp3 - 1.11 MB ]
It's / That's c'est seh There is/are il y a eel-ee-yah

There is/are voilà vwah-lah Here is/are voici vwah-see
and et ay always toujours too-zhoor
but mais meh often souvent soo-vawn
now maintenant mahnt-nawn sometimes quelquefois kell-kuh-fwah
especially surtout sewr-too usually d'habitude dah-bee-tewd
except sauf sohf also, too aussi oh-see

of course bien sûr bee-ahn sewr again encore awn-kore
so so comme ci, comme ça kohm see kohm sah late en retard awn-ruh-tar
not bad pas mal pah mal almost presque presk
book le livre luh leevr friend (fem) une amie ew nah-mee
pencil le crayon luh krah-yohn friend (masc) un ami ah-nah-mee
pen le stylo luh stee-loh woman une femme ewn fawn
paper le papier luh pah-pee-yay man un homme ah-nohm
dog le chien luh shee-ahn girl une fille ewn feey
cat le chat luh shah boy un garçon ahn gar-sohn
money l'argent (m) lahr-zhawn job / work le travail luh trah-vy
Note: 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 pèze, le pognon, des sous and for job/work: le boulot.
6. Subject Pronouns [ mp3 - 204 KB ]
Subject Pronouns
je zhuh I nous noo We
tu tew You (informal) vous voo You (formal and plural)
il eel He
ils eel They (masc.)
elle ell She
elles ell They (fem.)
on ohn One
Note: 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 and To Have [ mp3 - 1.83 MB ]

Present tense of être - to be (eh-truh)
I am je suis zhuh swee We are nous sommes noo sohm
You are tu es tew ay You are vous êtes voo zett
He is il est eel ay
They are ils sont eel sohn
She is elle est ell ay
They are elles sont ell sohn
One is on est ohn ay
Past tense of être - to be
I was (being) j'étais zhay-teh We were (being) nous étions ay-tee-ohn
You were (being) tu étais ay-teh You were (being) vous étiez ay-tee-ay
He was (being) il était ay-teh
They were (being) ils étaient ay-teh
She was (being) elle était ay-teh
They were (being) elles étaient ay-teh
One was (being) on était ay-teh
Note: Je and any verb form that starts with a vowel (or silent h) combine together for ease of pronunciation.
Future Tense of être - to be
I will be je serai suh-reh We will be nous serons suh-rohn

You will be tu seras suh-rah You will be vous serez suh-ray
He will be il sera suh-rah
They will be ils seront suh-rohn
She will be elle sera suh-rah
They will be elles seront suh-rohn
One will be on sera suh-rah
Present tense of avoir - to have (ah-vwahr)
I have j'ai zhay We have nous avons ah-vohn
You have tu as ah You have vous avez ah-vay
He has il a
They have ils ont
She has elle a ah ohn
They have elles ont
One has on a
Past tense of avoir - to have
I had j'avais zhah-veh We had avions ah-vee-ohn

You had avais ah-veh You had aviez ah-vee-ay
He/she had avait ah-veh They had avaient ah-veh
Future tense of avoir - to have
I will have j'aurai zhoh-reh We will have nous aurons oh-rohn

You will have tu auras oh-rah You will have vous aurez oh-ray
He will have il aura
They will have ils auront
She will have elle aura oh-rah oh-rohn
They will have elles auront
One will have on aura
In spoken French, the tu forms of verbs that begin with a vowel contract with the pronoun: tu es = t'es, tu as = t'as,
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 être [ mp3 - 1.33 MB ]

Avoir and être are used in many common and idiomatic expressions that should be memorized:
avoir chaud - to be hot être de retour - to be back

avoir froid - to be cold être en retard - to be late
avoir peur - to be afraid être en avance - to be early
avoir raison - to be right être d'accord - to be in agreement
avoir tort - to be wrong être sur le point de - to be about to
avoir faim - to be hungry être en train de - to be in the act of
avoir soif - to be thirsty être enrhumée - to have a cold
avoir sommeil - to be sleepy nous + être (un jour) - to be (a day)
avoir honte - to be ashamed
avoir besoin de - to need
avoir l'air de - to look like, seem

avoir l'intention de - to intend to
avoir envie de - to feel like
avoir de la chance - to be lucky
J'ai froid. I'm cold. Je suis en retard! I'm late!

Tu avais raison. You were right. Tu étais en avance. You were early.
Il aura sommeil ce soir. He will be tired tonight. Elle sera d'accord. She will agree.
Elle a de la chance ! She's lucky! Nous sommes lundi. It is Monday.
Nous aurons faim plus tard. We will be hungry later. Vous étiez enrhumé. You had a cold.
Vous aviez tort. You were wrong. Ils seront en train d'étudier. They will be (in the act of
Ils ont chaud. They are hot. Elles étaient sur le point de partir. They were about t
Elles avaient peur hier. They were afraid yesterday. On est de retour. We/you/they/the people are back.
8. Question Words [ mp3 - 183 KB ]

Who Qui kee
What Quoi kwah
Why Pourquoi poor-kwah
When Quand kawn
Where Où ooh
How Comment kohn-mawn
How much / many Combien kohn-bee-ahn
Which / what Quel(le) kehl
9. Numbers / Les numéros [ mp3 - 1.06 MB ]
Zero Zéro zay-roh

One Un ahn
Two Deux duh
Three Trois twah
Four Quatre kat
Five Cinq sahn
Six Six seess
Seven Sept set
Eight Huit weet
Nine Neuf nuhf
Ten Dix deess
Eleven Onze ohnz
Twelve Douze dooz
Thirteen Treize trehz
Fourteen Quatorze kah-tohrz
Fifteen Quinze kanz
Sixteen Seize sez
Seventeen Dix-sept dee-set
Eighteen Dix-huit deez-weet
Nineteen Dix-neuf deez-nuhf
Twenty Vingt vahn
Twenty-one Vingt et un vahn tay ahn

Twenty-two Vingt-deux vahn duh
Twenty-three Vingt-trois vahn twah
Thirty Trente trawnt
Thirty-one Trente et un trawnt ay uhn
Thirty-two Trente-deux trawnt duh
Forty Quarante kah-rawnt
Fifty Cinquante sank-awnt
Sixty Soixante swah-sawnt
Seventy Soixante-dix swah-sawnt dees
(Belgium & Switzerland) Septante sehp-tawnt
Seventy-one Soixante et onze swah-ssawnt ay ohnz
Seventy-two Soixante-douze swah-ssawnt dooz
Eighty Quatre-vingts ka-truh vahn
(Belgium & Switzerland) Octante awk-tawnt
Eighty-one Quatre-vingt-un ka-truh vahn tahn
Eighty-two Quatre-vingt-deux ka-truh vahn duh
Ninety Quatre-vingt-dix ka-truh vahn dees
(Belgium & Switzerland) Nonante noh-nawnt
Ninety-one Quatre-vingt-onze ka-truh vahn ohnz
Ninety-two Quatre-vingt-douze ka-truh vahn dooz
One Hundred Cent sawn
One Hundred One Cent un sawn ahn
Two Hundred Deux cents duh sawn
Two Hundred One Deux cent un duh sawn ahn
Thousand Mille meel
Two Thousand Deux mille duh meel
Million Un million ahn meel-ee-ohn
Billion Un milliard ahn meel-ee-yahr
Note: French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and Swiss French
use septante, octante and nonante in place of the standard French words for 70, 80, and 90 (though some parts of
Switzerland use huitante instead of octante). 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 for cell phones. They are written
two digits at a time, and pronounced thus: 01 36 55 89 28 = zéro un, trente-six, cinquante-cinq, quatre-vingt-neuf,
vingt-huit.
Ordinal Numbers [ mp3 - 356 KB ]

first premier / première
second deuxième / second
third troisième
fourth quatrième
fifth cinquième
sixth sixième
seventh septième
eighth huitième
ninth neuvième
tenth dixième
eleventh onzième
twelfth douzième
twentieth vingtième
twenty-first vingt et unième
thirtieth trentième
Note: The majority of numbers become ordinals by adding -ième. But if a number ends in an e, you must drop it
before adding the -ième. After a q, you must add a u before the -ième. And an f becomes a v before the -ième.
10. Days of the Week / Les jours de la semaine [ mp3 - 481 KB ]
Monday lundi lahn-dee

Tuesday mardi mahr-dee
Wednesday mercredi mair-kruh-dee
Thursday jeudi zhuh-dee
Friday vendredi vawn-druh-dee
Saturday samedi sawm-dee
Sunday dimanche dee-mawnsh
day le jour luh zhoor
week la semaine lah suh-men
today aujourd'hui oh-zhoor-dwee
yesterday hier ee-air
tomorrow demain duh-mahn
next prochain / prochaine proh-shahn / proh-shen
last dernier / dernière dair-nee-ey / dair-nee-air
day before yesterday avant-hier ah-vawn-tee-air
day after tomorrow après-demain ah-preh-duh-mahn
the following day le lendemain lawn-duh-mahn
the day before la veille vay
Note: 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.
11. Months of the Year / Les mois de l'année [ mp3 - 383 KB ]
January janvier zhan-vee-ay

February février fay-vree-ay
March mars marz
April avril ah-vril
May mai may-ee
June juin zhwahn
July juillet zhwee-ay
August août oot
September septembre sep-tawm-bruh
October octobre ahk-toh-bruh
November novembre noh-vawm-bruh
December décembre day-sawm-bruh

month le mois luh mwah
year l'an / l'année lawn/law-nay
decade la décennie day-suh-nee
century le siècle see-ehk
millennium le millénaire mee-lay-nair
Note: 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 [ mp3 - 157 KB ]
Summer l'été lay-tay in the summer en été awn ay-tay

Fall l'automne loh-tohn in the fall en automne aw noh-tohn
Winter l'hiver lee-vair in the winter en hiver aw nee-vair
Spring le printemps luh prahn-tawn in the spring au printemps oh prahn-tawn
13. Directions / Les directions [ mp3 - 254 KB ]

on the left à gauche ah gohsh
on the right à droite a dwaht
straight ahead tout droit too dwah
North le nord luh nor Northeast le nord-est luh nor-est

South le sud luh sewd Northwest le nord-ouest luh nor-west
East l'est lest Southeast le sud-est luh sewd-est
West l'ouest lwest Southwest le sud-ouest luh sewd-west
14. Colors and Shapes / Les couleurs et les formes [ mp3 - 814 KB ]
Red rouge roozh square le carré kah-ray

Orange orange oh-rahnzh circle le cercle sair-kluh
Yellow jaune zhohn triangle le triangle tree-awn-gluh
Green vert / verte vehr / vehrt rectangle le rectangle ruhk-tawn-gluh
Blue bleu / bleue bluh oval l'ovale loh-vahl
Purple violet / violette vee-oh-leh / vee-oh-lett cube le cube kewb
White blanc / blanche blawn / blawnsh sphere la sphère sfair
brun / brune brahn / brewn
Brown cylinder le cylindre see-lahn-druh
marron mah-rohn
Black noir / noire nwahr cone le cône kohn
Pink rose roze octagon l'octogone ok-toh-gohn
Gold doré / dorée doh-ray box la boîte bwaht
Silver argenté / argentée ahr-zhawn-tay light clair / claire klehr
Gray gris / grise gree / greez dark foncé / foncée fohn-say
Note: 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 foncé 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 [ mp3 - 757 KB ]
What's the weather like? Quel temps fait-il ? kell tawn fay-teel
It's nice Il fait bon eel fay bohn
bad Il fait mauvais moh-vay
cool Il fait frais fray
cold Il fait froid fwah
warm, hot Il fait chaud shoh
cloudy Il fait nuageux noo-ah-zhuh
beautiful Il fait beau boh
mild Il fait doux dooh
stormy Il fait orageux oh-rah-zhuh
sunny Il fait soleil so-lay
humid Il fait humide ew-meed
muggy Il fait lourd loor
windy Il fait du vent vawn
foggy Il fait du brouillard broo-ee-yar
snowing Il neige eel nezh
raining Il pleut pluh
freezing Il gèle zhell
hailing Il grêle grell
It is ____ degrees. Il fait ____ degrés. eel feh duh-greh
Note: Il pleut des cordes is a common expression meaning it's pouring. Il caille or ça caille is slang for it's
freezing. And remember that France uses Celcius degrees.
16. Time / Le temps qui passe [ mp3 - 529 KB ]
What time is it? Quelle heure est-il ? kell urr ay-teel

It is... Il est... eel ay
one o'clock une heure oon urr
two o'clock deux heures duh zurr
noon midi mee-dee
midnight minuit meen-wee
a quarter after three trois heures et quart twa zurr ay car
one o'clock sharp une heure précise oon urr pray-sees
four o'clock sharp quatre heures précises ka-truh urr pray-sees
twelve thirty midi (minuit) et demi meee-dee (meen-wee) ay duh-mee
six thirty six heures et demie see zurr ay duh-mee
a quarter to seven sept heures moins le quart set urr mwahn luh car
five twenty cinq heures vingt sank urr vahn
ten fifty onze heures moins dix ohnz urr mwan dees
in the morning/AM du matin doo mah-tahn
in the afternoon/PM de l'après-midi duh lah-pray mih-dee
in the evening/PM du soir doo swahr
Note: 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 is also a more informal way of saying précise (exactly, sharp).
17. Family and Animals / La famille et les animaux [ mp3 - 2.01 MB ]

Family la famille fah-mee Girl la fille fee
Relatives des parents pahr-awn Boy le garçon gar-sohn
Parents les parents pahr-awn Niece la nièce nee-ess
les grands- grawn-pahr-
Grandparents Nephew le neveu nuh-vuh
parents awn
la mère, mehr, ma- les petits- puh-tee-zawn-
Mom Grandchildren
maman ma enfants fawn
Stepmother/Mother-in-Law la belle-mère bell-mehr Granddaughter la petite-fille puh-teet fee
Dad le père, papa pehr, pa-pa Grandson le petit-fils puh-tee feez
Distant des parents pahr-awn ay-
Stepfather/Father-in-Law le beau-père boh-pehr
Relatives éloignés lwawn-yay
Daughter la fille fee Single célibataire say-lee-bah-tair
Son le fils feess Married marié(e) mah-ree-ay
Sister la sœur sir Separated séparé(e) say-pah-ray
Half/Step Sister la demi-sœur duh-mee-sir Divorced divorcé(e) dee-vor-say
Widower /
Sister-in-Law la belle-sœur bell-sir veuf / veuve vuhf / vuhv
Widow
Stepdaughter/Daughter-in-
la belle-fille bell-fee
Law
le chien / la shee-ahn / shee-
Brother le frère frehr Dog
chienne enn
duh-mee- le chat / la
Half/Step Brother le demi-frère Cat shah / shaht
frehr chatte
Brother-in-Law le beau-frère boh-frair Puppy le chiot shee-oh
Stepson/Son-in-Law le beau-fils boh-feess Kitten le chaton shah-tohn
Twins (m) les jumeaux zhoo-moh Pig le cochon koh-shohn
Twins (f) les jumelles zhoo-mell Rooster le coq kohk
Uncle l'oncle ohnk-luh Rabbit le lapin lah-pahn
Aunt la tante tawnt Cow la vache vahsh
Grandmother la grand-mère grawn-mehr Horse le cheval chuh-val
Grandfather le grand-père grawn-pehr Duck le canard kah-nahr
Cousin (f) la cousine koo-zeen Goat la chèvre shev-ruh
Cousin (m) le cousin koo-zahn Goose l'oie lwah
Wife la femme fawn Sheep le mouton moo-tohn
Husband le mari mah-ree Lamb l'agneau lan-yoh
Woman la femme fawn Donkey l'âne lon
Man l'homme ohm Mouse la souris soo-ree
Note: Le gendre is another word for son-in-law.
Slang words for people and pets:
The entire
toute la smala toot lah smahlah Sister la frangine lah frahn-zheen
family
Grandma mémé / mamie meh-meh / mah-mee Brother le frangin luh frahn-zhan
Grandpa pépé / papi peh-peh / pah-pee Son le fiston luh fee-stohn
Children des gosses deh gohss Aunt tata / tatie tah-tah / tah-tee
un gamin / une ahn gah-mahn / ewn gah-
Kid Uncle tonton tohn-tohn
gamine meen
luh kah-boh / kleh-
Woman une nana ewn nah-nah Dog le cabot / clébard
bahr
un mec / type /
Man ahn mek / teep / gahr Cat le minou luh mee-noo
gars
18. To Know People and Places [ mp3 - 843 KB ]
connaître-to know people (koh-net-truh) savoir-to know facts (sahv-wahr)

connais koh-neh connaissons koh-nezz-ohn sais say savons sah-vohn
connais koh-neh connaissez koh-nezz-ay sais say savez sav-ay
connaît koh-neh connaissent koh-ness sait say savent sahv
Note: Connaître is used when you know (are familiar with) people, places, food, movies, books, etc. and savoir is
used when you know facts. When savoir is followed by an infinitive it means to know how.
There is another form of savoir commonly used in the expressions que je sache that I know (of) and pas que je
sache not that I know (of).
Je connais ton frère. I know your brother.

Je sais que ton frère 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 où Grenoble se trouve. You know where Grenoble is located.
Ils savent nager. They know how to swim.
Connaître 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 [ mp3 - 637 KB ]

To make a noun plural, you usually add an -s (which is not pronounced).
Sing. Plural
But there are some exceptions:
If a noun already ends in an -s, add nothing. bus(es) le bus les bus
If a noun ends in -eu or -eau, add an x. boat(s) le bateau les bateaux
If a masculine noun ends in -al or -ail, change it to -aux. horse(s) le cheval les chevaux
Some nouns ending in -ou add an -x instead of -s. knee(s) le genou les genoux
Exceptions: festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, détail, 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 œil (eye) - des yeux (eyes); le ciel (sky) - les cieux (skies); and un jeune homme
(a young man) - des jeunes gens (young men).
20. Possessive Adjectives [ mp3 - 654 KB ]

Masc. Fem. Plural
My mon (mohn) ma (mah) mes (may)
Your ton ta tes
His/Her/Its son sa ses
Our notre (noh-truh) notre nos (noh)
Your votre votre vos
Their leur (luhr) leur leurs (luhr)
Note: 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.
C'est ma mère et mon père. This is my mother and my father.

Ce sont vos petits-enfants ? These are your grandchildren?
Mes parents sont divorcés. My parents are divorced.
Sa grand-mère est veuve. His grandmother is a widow.
Notre frère est marié, mais notre sœur est célibataire. 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 néerlandaises. Their cousins are Dutch.
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French I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar at ielanguages.

Last Update: Tuesday, July 1, 2008

[ French I Zip file of mp3s - 20.95 MB ]

1. Some Basic Phrases [ mp3 - 2.94 MB ]

Salut Au revoir S'il vous plaît

De rien. / Je vous en prie. Bienvenu(e)

A tout à l'heure / A plus tard A bientôt A demain

Désolé(e)! Pardonnez-moi! Allons-y!

Comment allez-vous ? Ça va ? Très bien / mal / pas mal

Je vais bien Ça va. Oui / non

Comment vous appelez-vous ? Tu t'appelles comment ? Je m'appelle...

Vous êtes d'où ? Tu es d'où ? Je suis de...

Où habitez-vous ? Tu habites où ? J'habite à...

Quel âge avez-vous ? Tu as quel âge ? J'ai ____ ans.

Comment dit-on ____ en

Ça ne fait rien. Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? Je n'ai aucune idée.

Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne

Ce n'est pas grave. J'ai oublié. Je dois y aller.

A vos souhaits ! / A tes

Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi ! Je vous aime / Je t'aime

Tenez / Tiens Quoi de neuf ? / Ça boume ? Pas grand chose.

2. Pronunciation [ mp3 - 4.22 MB ]

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

[ǫ] e, è, ê, ai, ei,

[ǡ] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]

French nasal vowels

[œ]ɶ is being replaced with [ǫ]ɶ in modern French

ch (Greek origin) k orchestre, archéologie

after a determiner: un ami, des amis

rapid(e)ment, lent(e)ment, sauv(e)tage (pronounced ra-peed-mawn, not ra-peed-uh-mawn)

3. Alphabet [ mp3 - 538 KB ]

b beh k kah t teh

g zheh p peh y ee-grek

h ahsh q kew z zed

4. Nouns, Articles and Demonstrative Adjectives [ mp3 - 373 KB ]

Definite Articles (The)

Masculine Feminine Before Vowel Plural

le lit la pomme l'oiseau les gants

Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some)

Masculine Feminine Plural

un lit une pomme des gants

Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those)

Masc. Masc, Before Vowel Fem. Plural

ce lit cet oiseau cette pomme ces gants

5. Useful Words and General Vocabulary [ mp3 - 1.11 MB ]

It's / That's c'est seh There is/are il y a eel-ee-yah

except sauf sohf also, too aussi oh-see

6. Subject Pronouns [ mp3 - 204 KB ]

je zhuh I nous noo We

tu tew You (informal) vous voo You (formal and plural)

7. To Be and To Have [ mp3 - 1.83 MB ]

I am je suis zhuh swee We are nous sommes noo sohm

You are tu es tew ay You are vous êtes voo zett

Past tense of être - to be

I was (being) j'étais zhay-teh We were (being) nous étions ay-tee-ohn

Future Tense of être - to be

I will be je serai suh-reh We will be nous serons suh-rohn

Present tense of avoir - to have (ah-vwahr)

I have j'ai zhay We have nous avons ah-vohn

You have tu as ah You have vous avez ah-vay

Past tense of avoir - to have

I had j'avais zhah-veh We had avions ah-vee-ohn