FRENCH I

Grammar
 TABLE OF CONTENTS:

General Grammar - How it works in French

Nouns

Verbs and verb conjugation

Adjectives

Articles

Unit 1 – It is nice to meet you!

Lesson 1.1 I can greet people, introduce myself, and spell

Lesson 1.2 I can use dates and numbers 0-31

Lesson 1.3 I can tell time and numbers 0-69

Lesson 1.4 I can share my address, phone number, and age

Unit 2 – Who am I?

Lesson 2.1 I can describe the personality of myself and others

Lesson 2.2 I can describe the appearance of myself and others

Unit 3 – What do you like to do?

Lesson 3.1 I can talk about my activities and preferences

Lesson 3.2 I can talk about places I go

Lesson 3.3 I can ask and answer questions

Unit 4 – My school life

Lesson 4.1 I can talk about school

Lesson 4.2 I can talk about every day objects

 Lesson 4.3 I can describe every day objects

Unit 5 – Who am I?

Lesson 5.1 I can talk about my family and pets

Lesson 5.2 I can talk about future activities

Unit 6 – Let’s go out to eat

Lesson 6.1 I can talk about food

Lesson 6.2 I can order food in a restaurant

Unit 1 Quizlet Unit 2 Quizlet Unit 3 Quizlet

Unit 4 Quizlet Unit 5 Quizlet Unit 6 Quizlet

 Grammar: Nouns
NOUNS

https://french.kwiziq.com/blog/nouns-pronouns-grammar-without-grief/#2-testmy-french

One of the eight parts of speech, a noun is commonly defined as "a person, place, or thing." If
that seems vague, that’s because it is: nouns can be visible (water) or invisible (air), they can be
concrete (books) or abstract (ideas). Some are commonplace (stones), some are rare (diamonds),
and others are non-existent (unobtainium). Generally speaking, if you can use "a," "the,"
"some," or "this" in front of any stand-alone word, it’s a noun.
Gender
In French, all nouns have a gender. Stones and ideas are feminine, while books and diamonds
are masculine. This can be hard to wrap your mind around, but it might help to think about
gender in English, limited as it is. Girls and women are feminine, which is reflected
grammatically in the use of "she" and "her," while boys and men are masculine: "he" and "his."
The difference is that in French, grammatical gender has nothing to do with biological gender.

It is absolutely essential to learn the gender of a noun at the same time as you learn the noun.
The best way to do this is by learning an article with every noun, rather than just the noun itself.
Don’t make vocabulary lists like this:
livre – book

idée – idea
pierre – stone
diamant – diamond
But rather, like this:
un livre – book
une idée – idea
une pierre – stone
un diamant – diamond

That way, the article will be attached to the noun in your brain, and you won’t spend the next
several years asking people (as those of us who did not learn genders and nouns together
constantly do) "is ___ masculine or feminine?" Gender is an intrinsic part of French grammar –
adjectives, certain pronouns, and even some verbs change to agree with the gender of the nouns
they are used with, so by learning gender and nouns together, you’ll make all of these other
 Grammar: Nouns
aspects of French grammar that much easier.

Feminine Forms and Plurals

Some nouns referring to people and animals have different forms for masculine and feminine,
and most nouns have different forms for singular and plural, which means there can be up to 4
forms of any given noun.

masculine singular masculine plural

feminine singular feminine plural

Feminine and/or plural endings are added to the default masculine singular form. For regular
nouns, these endings are e for feminine and s for plural.

Par exemple…

un étudiant (student)
un étudiant des étudiants
une étudiante des étudiantes

When the default form of the noun ends in s, x, or z, the singular and plural forms are the same.

Par exemple…

une brebis des brebis ewe(s)

un choix des choix choice(s)
un nez des nez nose(s)

When the default form of the adjective ends in e, the masculine and feminine forms are the
same.

Par exemple…

un artiste (artist)
un artiste des artistes
une artiste des artistes

A few nouns have completely different masculine and feminine equivalents.

Par exemple…

un homme une femme

man woman
 Grammar: Nouns
un garçon une fille
boy girl
un taureau une vache
bull cow

PERSONAL PRONOUNS

The subject of a verb is the person or thing, which performs the action of that verb:
Tom travaille.
Tom is working.

Mes parents habitent en Espagne.

My parents live in Spain.

La voiture ne veut pas démarrer.

The car won't start.

Subject pronouns replace this person or thing:

Il travaille.
He is working.

Ils habitent en Espagne.

They live in Spain.

Elle ne veut pas démarrer.

It won't start.

When studying French, you must understand subject pronouns before you can begin learning
how to conjugate verbs, because the forms of verbs change for each subject pronoun.

Click below for detailed information about how to use each French subject pronoun:
Singular
1st person je I
2nd person tu you
3rd person il he, it elle she, it on one
Plural
1st person nous we
2nd person vous you
3rd person ils they (m) elles they (f)
 Grammar: Nouns

French subject pronoun: je = I

The first person singular French subject pronoun je is used a lot like its English
equivalent "I":
Je travaille tous les jours.
I work every day.

Je veux voir ce film.

I want to see this movie.

Je sais ce qui s'est passé.

I know what happened.
Notes
1. Unlike "I," je is only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence.

Hier, je suis allé à la plage.

Yesterday, I went to the beach.

Non, je ne veux pas voir ce film.

No, I don't want to see this movie.

Dois-je commencer maintenant ?

Do I have to start now?

2. Je must contract to j' when followed by a vowel or mute h.

J'aime danser.
I like to dance.

Tu sais, j'ai le même problème.

You know, I have the same problem.

Oui, j'habite en France.

Yes, I live in France.

French subject pronouns: tu, vous = you

Lesson |

In English, the second person subject pronoun is always "you," no matter how many people
you're talking to, and regardless of whether you know them. But French has two different words
for "you": tu and vous.

The difference in meaning between these two words is very important* - you must understand
 Grammar: Nouns
when and why to use each of them. Otherwise, you may inadvertently insult someone by using
the wrong "you."

Tu is the familiar "you," which demonstrates a certain closeness and informality. Use tu when
speaking to one
I. friend
II. peer / colleague
III. relative
IV. child
V. pet

Vous is the formal "you." It is used to show respect or maintain a certain distance or formality
with someone. Use vous when speaking to
I. someone you don't know well
II. an older person
III. an authority figure
IV. anyone to whom you wish to show respect

Vous is also the plural "you" - you have to use it when talking to more than one person, no
matter how close you are.

Summary
 familiar and singular: tu
 familiar and plural: vous
 formal and singular: vous
 formal and plural: vous

Because the tu / vous distinction doesn't exist in English, beginning French students often have
trouble with it. Some people follow the guideline of using whatever the other person uses with
them. This can be misleading: someone in authority may use tu with you, but that certainly
doesn't mean that you can respond in kind. You can try asking On peut se tutoyer ?, but when in
doubt, I tend to use vous. I'd rather show someone too much respect than not enough!

*There are even verbs to indicate which pronoun you're using:

tutoyer = to use tu
vouvoyer = to use vous

French subject pronouns: il, elle = he, she, it

The French third person singular subject pronouns il and elle are used just like their English
equivalents "he" and "she" when talking about people:

Il aime skier.
He likes to ski.
 Grammar: Nouns

Elle veut être médecin.

She wants to be a doctor.

In addition, both il and elle can also mean "it." In French, all nouns are either masculine or
feminine, so to replace them, you use the subject pronouns corresponding to that gender.

Je vais au musée - il est ouvert jusqu'à 20h00.

I'm going to the museum - it's open until 8pm.

Où est la voiture ? Elle est chez Jean.

Where's the car? It's at Jean's place.

Summary
I. Il can refer to a male, "he," as well a masculine noun, "it."
II. Elle can indicate a female, "she," or a feminine noun, "it."

French subject pronoun: on = one, we, you, they

On is the indefinite pronoun and literally means "one." It's often equivalent to the English
passive voice.

On ne devrait pas poser cette question.

One shouldn't ask that question.

On demande : caissier.
Cashier wanted.

On ne dit pas ça.

That isn't said.

Ici on parle français.

French is spoken here.

In addition, on is an informal replacement for "we," "you," "they," "someone," or "people in

general."

On va sortir ce soir.
We're going out tonight.

Alors les enfants, que veut-on faire ?

OK kids, what do you want to do?

On dit que ce resto est bon.

 Grammar: Nouns
They say that this restaurant is good.

On a trouvé mon portefeuille.

Someone found my wallet.

On est fou !
People are crazy!

On ne sait jamais
You never know

French subject pronoun: nous = we

The first person plural French subject pronoun nous is used exactly like "we" in English.

Nous allons en Égypte.

We're going to Egypt.

J'espère que nous arriverons à temps.

I hope we arrive in time.

Devons-nous travailler ensemble ?

Do we have to work together?

Quand pouvons-nous commencer ?

When can we begin?

French subject pronouns: ils, elles = they

French has two third person plural subject pronouns, ils and elles, and they both mean "they."

Ils is used for groups of men as well as mixed-gender groups.

Je ne vois pas mes frères. Sont-ils déjà partis ?

I don't see my brothers. Did they already leave?

Paul et Anne viennent, mais ils sont en retard.

Paul and Anne are coming, but they're running late.

Ils is also used for groups of all masculine nouns and groups of mixed masculine-feminine
nouns.

J'ai trouvé tes livres - ils sont sur la table.

 Grammar: Nouns
I found your books - they're on the table.

Le stylo et la plume ? Ils sont tombés par terre.

The pen and pencil? They fell on the floor.

Elles can be used only when every single person or thing you're referring to is female or
feminine.

Où sont Annette et Marie ? Elles arrivent.

Where are Annette and Marie? They're on their way.

J'ai acheté des pommes - elles sont dans la cuisine.

I bought some apples - they're in the kitchen.

Notes
Even when talking about a room full of a hundred women and one man, you have
to use ils.
Ils and elles are pronounced exactly like il and elle, respectively, except in a
liaison.
 Grammar: Verbs

VERBS

“Why, oh why do we have to conjugate verbs?” Almost every student I teach asks this question
at some point. So if you feel like conjugating a verb is frustrating, unnecessary, redundant, etc.,
you are not alone! Regardless of your feelings about verb conjugation, it is one of THE most
important concepts you MUST learn in order to communicate in French.

FIRST, let’s take a look at a French verb and what it really is. A verb is an action word and
therefore communicates that something is happening (has happened, will happen, etc.). For our
purposes today, the verb has two main forms: infinitive and conjugated.

In its infinitive state (not conjugated) a verb simply denotes an action, but no one is doing the
action.

AIMER = to like Who likes something? No one!

FINIR = to finish Who is finishing? No one!
VENDRE = to sell Who sells? No one!

In its conjugated state (changed from the infinitive) someone is doing the action.

J’AIME = I like , I do like, I am liking

TU FINIS = You finish, you do finish, you are finishing
ELLE VEND = She sells, she does sell, she is selling

So what changes between the infinitive and conjugated states?

AIMER – J’AIME : aimer changes its spelling to aime and j’ is added (not je because of
the vowel)
FINIR – TU FINIS : finir changes its spelling to finis and tu is added
VENDRE – ELLE VEND : vendre changes its spelling to vend and elle is added

Those changes are what conjugation is all about! Without the changes we get this:

J’aimer = I to like
Tu finir = You to finish
Elle vendre = She to sell

Without conjugation, you will sound like the young child, who doesn’t quite have a grasp on the
language:
I to like pizza! You to finish the game? She to sell ice cream.

So how do we get from the infinitive to the conjugated state? It’s easy!! Just follow the steps!
 Grammar: Verbs

Step #1
Drop the ending. aimER = aim
finIR = fin
vendRE = vend

(-er, -ir, -re are the equivalent of “to” for us- TO like)

Step #2
Decide who is doing the action.

Je = I Nous = We
Tu = You (singular/informal) Vous = You (plural, formal)
Il = He Ils = They (males or males/females)
Elle = She Elles = They (all females)
On = One/people (one must eat more vegetables to be healthy)

Step #3
Add the NEW ending. Whenever you remove letters from the verb infinitive, you must
add new letters to match the person doing the action. This will typically follow a pattern
connected with the letters removed from the infinitive (the –ER, -IR, -RE).

For most –ER verbs, you will add the following:

Je + verb + E Nous + verb + ONS

J’aimE Nous aimONS
Tu + verb + ES Vous + verb + EZ
Tu aimES Vous aimEZ
Il/Elle/On + verb + E Ils/Elles + verb + ENT
Il aimE Ils aimENT

For most –IR verbs, you will add the following:

Je + verb + IS Nous + verb + ISSONS

Je finIS Nous finISSONS
Tu + verb + IS Vous + verb + ISSEZ
Tu finIS Vous finISSEZ
Il/Elle/On + verb + IT Ils/Elles + verb + ISSENT
Il finIT Ils finISSENT

For most –RE verbs, you will add the following:

 Grammar: Verbs
Je + verb + S Nous + verb + ONS
Je vendS Nous vendONS
Tu + verb + S Vous + verb + EZ
Tu vendS Vous vendEZ
Il/Elle/On + verb + nothing Ils/Elles + verb + ENT
Il vend Ils vendENT

There you have it! Follow the steps! 1 – Drop the –ER, -IR, or –RE. 2 – Decide who is doing
the action. 3 – Add the new letters.

What happens if you DON’T do the steps or miss match the patterns? Your sentences WON’T
make sense!

*It is important to note that in English we have three different ways to say the same thing:

You sell / You are selling / You do sell - These essentially mean the same thing, but we
use them in different situations. Not so in French!

Tu vends = you sell / Tu vends = you are selling / Tu vends = you do sell

To say that something IS NOT happening, ne…pas is added around the verb.

I don’t like = Je n’aime pas We aren’t finishing = Nous ne finissons pas

You don’t sell = Tu ne vends pas You guys do not like = Vous n’aimez pas

She isn’t finishing = Elle ne finit pas They aren’t selling = Ils ne vendent pas

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

http://french.about.com/od/grammar/a/Introduction-To-French-Verbs.htm
 Grammar: Verbs

http://french.about.com/od/grammar/fl/French-Verb-Conjugator-How-To-Conjugate-French-
Verbs.htm

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-conjugate-regular-french-verbs.html
 Grammar: Adjectives
ADJECTIVES

http://www.fluentu.com/french/blog/advanced-french-adjectives/?lang=en

Part 1. FRENCH VS. ENGLISH ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are words which describe a subject and answer the question: what kind of..? 


The main difference between English and French adjectives are:

a. The changes in form. English adjectives change only when used to compare (she is
prettier than Claire) while French adjectives have to “agree” with the word they are
describing according to its gender and quantity (il est joli, elle est jolie). 


b. The placement in a sentence. French adjectives are usually placed AFTER the noun
(the cat black), while English adjectives come BEFORE it (the black cat). 


Part 2. HOW TO MAKE FRENCH ADJECTIVES “AGREE”

The basic rule in changing a masculine adjective into its feminine form is simply to add an -e to
its ending. If it already ends with an -e, usually you do not need to add another one. (


A lot of adjectives that end in a consonant can be changed to feminine by doubling the
consonant and adding an -e towards the end. 


Some irregular masculine adjectives have another set of masculine forms which are used when
describing words that begin with a vowel or an h. 


To change an adjective into its plural form, the basic rule is to add an -s. But if it already ends
in -s or -x, no additional suffix is needed. 


For adjectives that end in -eau or -al, the plural form is -eaux or -aux. 


A few adjectives never change their form no matter what kind of noun they are describing 

 Grammar: Adjectives
Part 3. WHERE TO PLACE FRENCH ADJECTIVES IN A SENTENCE

There are four kinds of adjectives in French based on where they appear in a sentence:

Adjectives that come AFTER the subject they are describing – this is the most common case.

A small group of adjectives come BEFORE the subject. (BANGS1
)

Multiple adjectives can be connected using et which means and in English. 


1
See 4.3
 Grammar: Articles
ARTICLES

https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-french-articles-1368810

One of the eight parts of speech, an article is a word that modifies a noun in a particular way, by
stating whether the noun is specific, unspecific, or partial. French articles agree in gender and
number with the nouns they modify, and there are three types:

Definite / Défini

The definite article indicates that the speaker is referring to either a specific noun or to a class of
nouns in a general sense. The English definite article, the, has four equivalent forms in French,
depending on the gender and number of the noun as well as what letter it begins with.

Singular Plural
Masculine le le livre the book les livres the books
Feminine la la table the table les les tables the tables
Vowel or h muet l’ l’abricot the apricot les abricots the apricots

Learn more about definite articles.

Indefinite / Indéfini

The indefinite article indicates that the speaker is referring to either an unspecific noun or to
one/some of something. The English indefinite article has two forms, a and an, while the
French has three, depending on the gender and number of the noun.

The English equivalent of des is some, which is not considered an article in English.

Singular Plural
Masculine un un abricot an apricot des livres some books
des
Feminine une une table a table des tables some tables
 Unit 1.1

UNIT 1: It is nice to meet you!

Lesson 1.1 I can greet people, introduce myself, and spell

Essential Standards:

1. Specific question structures

2. Tu vs vous
3. Alphabet
4. Accents

1. Specific question structures

Eventually you will learn enough vocabulary that you can start to create your own sentence
structures, but because we are just at the beginning  you will need to memorize these specific
question/answer structures.

Comment vous appelez-vous? = Literally: How do you call yourself?

Comment t’appelles-tu?2 For us it means: What is your name?

Comment s’appelle-t-il/elle? = How does s/he call him/herself?

Qui est-ce? = Who is it?

Comment allez-vous?
Comment vas-tu? = Literally: How goes you/it?
Comment ça va? For us it means: How are you?

D’où êtes-vous?
D’où es-tu? = Literally: From where are you?

2. Tu vs Vous

How do we show politeness/respect when talking to someone in English? If you were from the
south, you would use “sir” or “ma’am” to show our respect. In French they have 2 different
ways to say “you” for this very purpose.

2
To find out why there are two ways to ask the same question, check out 1.1, 2nd grammatical point.
 Unit 1.1
Tu is an informal way to say “you.” You would use it with people you know well like close
friends or family members.

Vous is the formal way to say “you.” You would us it with everyone else: acquaintances
(people you know, but aren’t really close), people in authority (your boss, teacher, etc.), and
strangers.

When you are first learning French, it is hard to remember this because it is so new to us. So if
you mess up, don’t worry! Just apologize and move on .

Here are some websites with more information:

Tu vs vous: https://frenchtogether.com/you-in-french/

3. Alphabet

The French alphabet has all of the same 26 letters as ours with the major difference of
pronunciation. For example:

b in English = bee
b in French = bay

Here the alphabet here: https://www.laits.utexas.edu/fi/html/pho/02.html

Here are some letters you’ll want to know:

 I sounds like E and E sounds like I.

 G sounds like J and J sounds like G.
 H is almost always silent at the start of a word (hôtel = oh-tel)
 Q makes a K sound (quart = kar)
 R is fricative at the back of your throat
 E, U, O will be hard letters to distinguish, so practice, practice, practice!

Other things that will help you with pronunciation:

 90% of the time the last letter of the word is silent (especially the s)
 th sound doesn’t exist in French, so just pronounce it as a t (théâtre = tay-aht)
 It is all about letter combinations, so don’t try to sound it out like you would in English 
 Unit 1.1
4. Accents

https://www.rocketlanguages.com/french/lessons/french-accents

Accents serve a purpose in French, so they cannot be left out!

Name Symbol letters/purpose

letters: é,
Aigu
changes the e sound from
“euh” to “ay” (as in day)
letters: ù, à, è
Grave
changes the meaning or sound
letters: ç
Cédille
ç changes the c sound from “k”
to “s”
letters: ê, î, ô, û, â
Circonflexe
∧ denotes it used to be spelled
differently (hôpital – hôspital)
letters: ü, ï, ë


Tréma
pronounce both vowel sounds
(noël = no-el)
letters: œ
e dans l’o
œ pronounce letters as one sound
not two separate vowels

Depending on your computer, you can add them in different ways when you type. For nearly
all computers, if you go to “Insert” and special characters/symbols you can add them that way.
 Unit 1.2
Lesson 1.2 I can use dates and numbers 0-31

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. Dates

1. Specific question structures

Quelle3 est la date? = Which is the date?

Quel jour est-ce? = Which day is this?

C’est quand ton anniversaire? = This is when your birthday?

2. Dates

The important thing to remember about dates in French is that it goes from short to long = day,
month, year (where we give dates: month, day, year). This makes a big difference when the
date is written with only numbers.

5/11/17 = May 11, 2017 for us, but in France it is November, 5 2017.

3
You’ll find that there are many words that mean the same thing, but have different forms (quelle/quel= which).
It is because nouns have genders. See Unit 2.1 for more information.
 Unit 1.3
Lesson 1.3 I can tell time and numbers 0-69

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. l’heure officielle vs l’heure courrante

1. Specific question structures

Quelle heure est-il? = Which hour is it?

À quelle heure est…le match? = At which hour is…the game?

Time is expressed in this formula:

Il + est + _____ + heure(s) + ______ (+) optional morning, afternoon, evening

(hour) (minute)

Just like in English, however, we can use phrases like “quarter to,” “half past,” or “quarter
after.”
quarter after = il est _3__ heure(s) et quart = 3:15

half past = il est _3__ heure(s) et demie = 3:30

quarter to = il est __3__ heure(s) moins le quart = 2:45

(time it WILL be)

2. L’heure officielle vs l’heure courante

 Unit 1.3
https://www.frenchtoday.com/blog/how-to-tell-the-time-in-french

The French have two different ways to express the time, the official way and the every day way.
We also have these two different ways, but we call one “military” time. Can you guess which is
which?

L’heure officielle4 = Military time

How is military time formed? Well, it is on the 24 hour clock rather than the 12 hour clock.

1-12 (AM) is represented by the numbers 1-12.

But 1-12 (PM) is represented by the numbers 13-24, as you
can see on this clock.
So 10 PM would be 22, 5 PM would be 17 and 2 PM would
be 14.

So typically in French the time is written like this:

Il est une5 heure6 de l’après-midi

In l’heure officielle it will be written like this:

Il est treize heures7

If the time is first given in l’heure courante, the easiest way to figure out what the time in
l’heure officielle is to add 12:

6 PM + 12 = 18 heures

9 PM + 12 = 21 heures

If the time is first given in l’heure officielle, the easiest way to figure out what the time is in
l’heure courante is to subtract 12:

23 heures - 12 = 11 PM

16 heures - 12 = 4 PM

4
When using l’heure officielle, you cannot use saying like “quarter to,” “half past,” etc.
5
une not un, because heure is a feminine word
6
No ‘s’ on heure, because une is singular
7
‘s’ because 13 is plural (more than 1)
 Unit 1.3

L’heure officielle is used in transportation (arrival/departure), in the news (radio/television), in

schools, in movie theaters, or other places that post times.

L’heure courante is used when asking someone for the time and all other times.
 Unit 1.4
Lesson 1.4 I can share my address, phone number, and age

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. Age
3. Phone numbers
4. Numbers 70-99

1. Specific question structures

Quel est ton/votre8 numéro de téléphone? = Which is your number of phone?

Quelle est ton/votre adresse? = Which is your address?

Quel âge as-tu? = Which age have you?

Quel âge a-t-il/elle? = Which age has he/she?

2. Age

In English to express age we use the verb “to be” I AM twelve, he IS thirteen, etc. In French
they use the verb “to have” to express age. I HAVE twelve years, he HAS thirteen years, etc.
Why do they say have and we say is? Because they are two different languages  Different
languages do things in different ways!

I have = J’ai you have = tu as he has = il a she has = elle a

J’ai douze ans tu as treize ans il a dix ans elle a neuf ans

3. Phone numbers

In English we divide phone numbers: 3-3-4. In French the phone numbers are divided by 2: 2-
2-2-2-2. So if you were to put your number the French way, it would look something like this:

801-457-0274 = 80.14.57.02.74

8
ton for people you know, votre for people you don’t, to show respect, or if talking to multiple people
 Unit 1.4

Which brings us to numbers 70-99.

4. Numbers 70-99

70 = sixty + 10 soixante-dix

71= sixty + 11 soixante-onze

72= sixty + 12 soixante-douze

etc.

80= four twentys quatre-vingt

81= four twentys + 1 quatre-vingt un

82= four twentys + 2 quatre-vingt deux

83= four twentys + 3 quatre-vingt trois

etc.

90 = four twentys + 10 quatre-vingt dix

91= four twentys + 11 quatre-vingt onze

95= four twentys + 15 quatre-vingt quinze

98= four twentys + 10 + 8 quatre-vingt dix-huit

99= four twentys + 10 + 9 quatre-vingt dix-neuf

 Unit 2.1
UNIT 2: Who am I?

Lesson 2.1 I can describe the personality of myself and others

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. être
3. Adjective agreement

1. Specific question structures

Comment es-tu? Je suis…

Comment est-il/elle? Il/elle est…

2. être

This is one of THE most important verbs for you to memorize. The sooner you have it by heart,
the better off you will be!

I am = Je suis We are = Nous sommes

You are = Tu es You are = Vous êtes
He is = Il est They are = Ils sont
She is = Elle est They are =Elles sont

3. Adjective agreement

English adjectives have a single form, but in French, they can have up to 4 forms, according to
the gender and number of the nouns they modify:

masculine singular masculine plural

feminine singular feminine plural

Masculine singular is the default form, to which the feminine and/or plural endings are added.
For regular adjectives, these endings are e for feminine and s for plural.

Par exemple…
 Unit 2.1
petit (small)
le petit verre
les petits verres
la petite tasse
les petites tasses

When the default form of the adjective ends in s or x, the masculine singular and plural forms
are the same.

Par exemple…

surpris (surprised)
Il est surpris.
Ils sont surpris.
Elle est surprise.
Elles sont surprises.

When the default form of the adjective ends in a, e, or o, the masculine and feminine forms are
the same.

Par exemple…

calme (calm)
un homme calme
des hommes calmes
une femme calme
des femmes calmes

http://www.leaflanguages.org/french-grammar-adjective-agreement/

https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-french-adjectives-1368789

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/french/french-i/french-i-adjectives/changing-
masculine-to-singular-feminine
 Unit 2.2
Lesson 2.2 I can describe the appearance of myself and others

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. Negation
3. Avoir

1. Specific question structures

Comment es-tu? How are you (what are you like?)

Comment est-il/elle? How is he/she (What is s/he like?)

De quelle couleur sont vos/tes yeux? Of which color are your eyes?

De quelle couleur sont vos/tes cheveux? Of which color are your hairs?

Comment sont vos/tes cheveux? How are your hairs? (what is your hair like)

2. Negation

To change a sentence so that it is in the negative, you will need to use “ne…pas.” Think of ne
pas as do not.

J’ai = I have Je n’ai pas = I don’t have

Elle est = she is Elle n’est pas = She isn’t

Tu aimes = you like Tu n’aimes pas = You don’t like

Note that the ne…pas goes around the action (verb).

3. avoir

Avoir is also one of THE most important verbs to know. Be sure to take the time to learn them!

I have, do have, am having = J'ai

You have, do have, are having = Tu as
He has, does have, is having = Il a
 Unit 2.2
She has, does have, is having = Elle a
We have, do have, are having = Nous avons
You have, do have, are having = Vous avez
They have, do have, are having = Ils ont
They have, do have, are having = Elles ont
 Unit 3.1
UNIT 3: What do you like to do?

Lesson 3.1 I can talk about my activities and preferences

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. Aimer + infinitive
3. Adverb placement
4. Negation

1. Specific question structures

Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire? What is it you like to do?

Qu’est-ce qu’il/elle aime faire? What is it s/he likes to do?

Est-ce que tu aimes…? Do you like…?

Qu’est-ce que tu préfères faire? What is it you prefer to do?

Qu’est-ce que tu détestes faire? What is it you hate to do?

Qu’est-ce qu’il/elle préfère faire? What is it s/he prefers to do

2. Aimer + infinitive

In English we have 2 ways to express our feelings about doing an activity:

I like to ski I like skiing

The French have only 1 way that means both of ours:

J’aime skier = I like to ski, I like skiing

You can do this with any preference verb: détester, préférer, adorer

You can also do this to express a want: vouloir je veux skier = I want to ski

Verbs are an important part of learning to speak French! So far, we have seen two different
kinds of verb forms: infinitive and conjugated
 Unit 3.1

Infinitive – this verb as an –er, -ir, or –re at the end of it and means “to…”
danser = to dance lire = to read
manger = to eat dormir = to sleep

Conjugated – this verb does not have –er, -ir, or –re at the end of it, nor does it mean “to…”

j’aime = I like tu veux = you want

il déteste = he hates elle voudrait = she would like

If we put these two types of verbs together, we can say a lot of different things!

j’aime danser = I like to dance tu veux lire = you want to read

il déteste manger = he hates to eat elle voudrait nager = she would like to swim

**It is important that conjugated verb is first and the infinitive is second.

3. Adverb placement

Adverbs are words that connect to verbs and describe something about them. In English, we
can put them in several different places in a sentence:

Often, I go to the movies on the weekend.

I often go to the movies on the weekend.
I go often to the movies on the weekend.
I go to the movies, often on the weekend.

In French, they always* go after the verb they are describing:

J’aime aller souvent au cinéma le week-end.

Tu préfères jouer toujours au foot.
Il voudrait nager un peu à six heures.

*Can you see the two different meanings in these sentences?

J’aime beaucoup dormir. = I really like sleeping

J’aime dormir beaucoup. = I like sleeping a lot
 Unit 3.2
Lesson 3.2 I can talk about places I go

Grammatical points:

1. Il y a…
2. preposition à
3. gender of nouns

1. Specific question structures

Qu’est-ce qu’il y a dans ta ville? = What is there in your city

Qu’est-ce qu’il y a dans ton quartier? mon quartier

Qu’est-ce qu’il y a dans ta rue? ma rue

Où aimes-tu étudier? J’aime étudier…au / à la / à l’

Où aime-t-il/elle manger? Il/elle aime manger…au / à la / à l’

2. Preposition à

Use this to help you understand “to the” in French and how to use it correctly.

STEP #1 – What do these words mean?

à = in, at, to le/la/les/l’ = the (le = masculine the, la = feminine the, les = plural the,
l’=vowel)

When we put these words together, they can combine to make a new word. Kind of like “do
not” can combine in English to “don’t.”

When à is used with la = à la = to the (feminine place)*

When à is used with le = au = to the (masculine place)*

When à is used with les = aux = to the (more than one place)*

When à is used with l’ = à l’ = to the (next word starts with a vowel)*

 Unit 3.2
*Remember that this can ALSO mean: “in the” and “at the”

STEP #2 – How do you know if you should use: le, la, or les?

This is ALWAYS determined by whatever is following “the.” Which means that you have to
know if the things/places are masculine, feminine, or more than one place.

3. Gender of nouns

https://frenchtogether.com/french-nouns-gender/

http://www.fluentu.com/french/blog/french-gender-rules/?lang=en

The EASIEST way to know if a noun is masculine or feminine is to memorize it!

 Unit 3.3
Lesson 3.3 I can ask and answer questions

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question words

2. Formatting questions

1. Specific question words

Comment = how À qui = to whom

Qui = who quand = when

Avec qui = with whom À quelle heure = at what time

Pour qui = for whom Où = where

De qui = of/about whom Pourquoi = why

2. Formatting questions

In French there are 3 ways to ask a question:

1- voice influx – your voice raises pitch at the end of the sentence to indicate a question.
2- est-ce que – this has not literal meaning for us – essentially it is the equivalent to a question
mark
3- inversion – the subject and verb are switched

Let’s see what happens in each situation with this question:

Tu veux aller au cinéma?

If you are using a question word, it will always be at the beginning of the sentence:

Quand tu veux aller au cinéma?

If you are using est-ce que, it will go before the subject:

Est-ce que tu veux aller au cinéma? – or – Quand est-ce que tu veux aller au
cinéma?
 Unit 3.3

If you are using inversion, you will switch the subject and verb:

Veux-tu aller au cinéma? – or – Quand veux-tu aller au cinéma?

 Unit 4.1
UNIT 4: My school life

Lesson 4.1 I can talk about school

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. adverb placement
3. –ER verb conjugation

1. Specific question structures

Quels cours as-tu? = Which courses have you?

Quels cours avez-vous? = Which courses have you(formal)?

À quelle heure commence le cours de…? = At which time starts the course of…?

À quelle heure se termine le cours de…? = At which time ends the course of…?

À quelle heure est-ce que tu déjeunes? = At which time do you lunch?

Quel est ton/votre cours préféré? = Which is your course preferred?

Quel cours préfères-tu? = Which course prefer you?

Quel cours préférez-vous? = Which course prefer you(formal)?

Qui est ton/votre prof préféré? = Who is your teacher preferred?

Où as-tu un cours de…? = Where have you a course of…?

2. Adverb placement

Adverbs are words that connect to verbs and describe something about them. In English, we
can put them in several different places in a sentence:

Often, I go to the movies on the weekend.

I often go to the movies on the weekend.
 Unit 4.1
I go often to the movies on the weekend.
I go to the movies, often on the weekend.

In French, they always* go after the verb they are describing:

J’aime aller souvent au cinéma le week-end.

Tu préfères jouer toujours au foot.
Il voudrait nager un peu à six heures.

*Can you see the two different meanings in these sentences?

J’aime beaucoup dormir. = I really like sleeping

J’aime dormir beaucoup. = I like sleeping a lot

3. -ER verb conjugation

The majority of French verbs are regular -ER verbs.

The verb form that ends in -ER is called the infinitive and -ER is the infinitive ending. In
English, the infinitive is the verb preceded by the word "to".

To conjugate -ER verbs, remove the infinitive ending (-ER) and add the endings in the table
below.

Subject Ending parler > parl- donner > donn- visiter > visit-
to speak to give to visit
Je -e parle donne visite
Tu -es parles donnes visites
Il/Elle -e parle donne visite
Nous -ons parlons donnons visitons
Vous -ez parlez donnez visitez
Ils/Elles -ent parlent donnent visitent

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs don’t follow the patterns of regular verbs. The most common verbs in French
(as in English!) are also the most irregular ones, the ones we have to use all to time.
 Unit 4.1
AVOIR ETRE
j'ai je suis
tu as tu es
il/elle a il/elle est
nous avons nous sommes
vous avez vous êtes
ils/elles ont ils/elles sont

http://takelessons.com/blog/common-irregular-french-verbs-z04
 Unit 4.2
Lesson 4.2 I can talk about every day objects

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. Avoir besoin de
3. Possession

1. Specific question structures

Qu’est-ce que tu as chez toi? = What do you have at home?

Qu’est-ce que tu as en classe? = What do you have in class?

Qu’est-ce qu’il a chez lui? = What does he have at home?

Qu’est-ce qu’elle a chez elle? = What does she have at home?

De quoi as-tu besoin pour ton/votre cours de…? = Of what have you need for your class?

2. Avoir besoin de

In English, we say “I need + something.” To need is a verb. In French, need is a noun, so their
sentence is structured like this:

J’ai besoin de = I have need of + something

Elle a besoin d’un stylo = She needs a pen.

3. Possession

Showing Possession
To show an object belongs to someone, use the following pattern:
article + noun + DE or D’ + person
Exemples :
le stylo de Madame
les crayons d’ Elodie
 Unit 4.3
Lesson 4.3 I can describe everyday objects

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. c’est/ce sont vs il est/ils sont
3. Adjective positions

1. Specific question structures

De quelle couleur est…? = Of which color is…?

De quelle couleur sont…? = Of which color are…?

Comment est…? = How is…?

Comment sont…? = How are…?

2. C’est/ce sont vs il est/ils sont

The French expressions c'est and il/elle est are extremely important impersonal expressions.
They can mean things like this is, that is, it is, they are, and even he / she is.

C'est becomes ce sont when followed by a plural noun. Il/elle est becomes ils sont/elles sont
when followed by a plural noun.

Despite their similar meanings, the expressions c'est and il est are not interchangeable - there
are rules for using each one. The following table summarizes the different things that can be
used after each of them.

IL/ELLE EST + C'EST +

Specific Adjective describing a person vs General Adjective describing a situation
Il est fort, cet homme. C'est bizarre.
(That man is strong.) (That’s weird.)

Elle est intelligente. C'est normal !

(She is smart.) (That's normal!)
Unmodified noun vs Modified noun (+ un/une/le/la,etc)
Il est avocat. C'est un avocat.
(He's a lawyer.) (He's a lawyer.)
 Unit 4.3

Elle est actrice. C'est une bonne actrice.

(She's an actress.) (She's a good actress.)
Prepositional phrase (people) Proper name
Il est à la banque. C'est Luc. (That's Luc.)
(He's at the bank.)
Stressed pronoun
C'est moi. (That's me.)
Elle est en France.
(She's in France.)

3. Adjectives

Adjective Form
Adjectives in French agree in number and gender with the noun they modify.
The table below lists the main families of adjectives in French.

Types of adjective: Examples

Masculin Feminin Masculin Feminin
Meaning
singular singular plural plural
The general rule
grand grande grands grandes big
noir noire noirs noires black

Several short adjectives ending

in bon bonne bons bonnes good
vowel+ consonant gros grosse gros grosses fat

Adjectives ending in -g long

long longue longs longues

Many adjectives ending in -e sincère sincère sincères sincères sincere

Short adjectives ending in c blanc blanche blancs blanches white

Adjectives ending in -f actif active actifs actives active

adjectives ending in -eux serious

sérieux sérieuse sérieux sérieuses
 Unit 4.3
completely irregular adjective beau / bel belles beaux belles beautiful

Adjective Position

In English, adjectives are pretty easy to use. You put them before the noun they describe and
you’re done.

In French however, the placement of adjectives varies. And if that wasn’t enough to confuse
you, adjectives also change depending on whether the noun they describe is masculine,
feminine, singular or plural.

Luckily, in today’s lesson, you’ll discover several rules that’ll make it easier for you to know
how to place and use French adjectives.

You’ll also discover how to use the most common French adjectives.

n English, you put adjectives before the noun they describe. So you’d say “a green bag”, or
“a blue house”.

Most French adjectives are placed after the noun they describe. So you’d say “un sac vert”
(lit: a bag green) or “une maison bleue” (lit: a house blue).

To remember that, imagine a Frenchman coming to you and asking with a heavy (and
charming) French accent “excuse me, where is the house blue?”.

You could consider that French adjectives are placed after the noun they describe and would be
correct in most situations, however it’s important to know there are a few exceptions.

Here come the bad boys or rather the BANGS boys:

 Beauty – joli(e), beau(x), (bel), belle

 Age – jeune, vieux, (vieil), vieille, nouveau(x), (nouvel), nouvelle
 Number – un, premier, deux, deuxième, etc.
 Goodness – bon(ne), mauvais(e), gentil(le)
 Size – petit(e), grand(e), gros(se), court, long(ue), haut

Most adjectives expressing these (BANGS adjectives) are placed before the noun they
describe.
 Unit 4.3
Une belle femme (a beautiful woman)

Un vieil homme (an old man)

Un gros sandwich (a big sandwich)

This is a useful rule to know, but hardly a reliable one since there are many exceptions.

For example, some adjectives like “délicieux” (delicious) can come both before and after the
noun they describe depending on the context.

https://frenchtogether.com/french-adjectives/

https://www.slideshare.net/MmeStarman/les-adjectifs-bagsbangs
 Unit 5.1
UNIT 5: Let me introduce my family!

Lesson 5.1 I can talk about my family and pets

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. ER verb conjugation (pluriel)
3. avoir/être (pluriel)
4. possessive adjectives
5. Object pronouns

1. Specific question structures

Est-ce que tu as une famille? = Do you have a family?

Comment est ta famille? = How is your family?

Comment est votre famille? = How is your (formal) family?

Qui est-ce? = Who is this?

Comment est-il? = How is he (what is he like)

Quel âge a-t-il? = Which age has he?

Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire avec ta famille? = What do you like to do with your
family?

Qu’est-ce que vous aimez faire avec votre famille? = What do you (formal) like to do with
your family?

2. ER verb conjugation

“Why, oh why do we have to conjugate verbs?” Almost every student I teach asks this question
at some point. So if you feel like conjugating a verb is frustrating, unnecessary, redundant, etc.,
you are not alone! Regardless of your feelings about verb conjugation, it is one of THE most
important concepts you MUST learn in order to communicate in French.
 Unit 5.1
FIRST, let’s take a look at a French verb and what it really is. A verb is an action word and
therefore communicates that something is happening (has happened, will happen, etc.). For our
purposes today, the verb has two main forms: infinitive and conjugated.

In its infinitive state (not conjugated) a verb simply denotes an action, but no one is doing the
action.

AIMER = to like Who likes something? No one!

NAGER = to swim Who is swimming? No one!

In its conjugated state (changed from the infinitive) someone is doing the action.

J’AIME = I like , I do like, I am liking

TU NAGES = You swim, you do swim, you are swimming

So what changes between the infinitive and conjugated states?

AIMER – J’AIME : aimer changes its spelling to aime and j’ is added (not je because of
the vowel)
NAGER – TU NAGES : nager changes its spelling to nages and tu is added

Those changes are what conjugation is all about! Without the changes we get this:

J’aimer = I to like
Tu nager = You to swim

Without conjugation, you will sound like the young child, who doesn’t quite have a grasp on the
language:
I to like pizza! You to swim this Saturday?

So how do we get from the infinitive to the conjugated state? It’s easy!! Just follow the steps!

Step #1
Drop the ending. aimER = aim
nagER= nag

Step #2
Decide who is doing the action.

Je = I Nous = We
Tu = You (singular/informal) Vous = You (plural, formal)
Il = He Ils = They (males or males/females)
Elle = She Elles = They (all females)
 Unit 5.1
On = One/people (one must eat more vegetables to be healthy)

Step #3
Add the NEW ending. Whenever you remove letters from the verb infinitive, you must
add new letters to match the person doing the action.

For most –ER verbs, you will add the following:

Je + verb + E Nous + verb + ONS

J’aimE Nous aimONS
Tu + verb + ES Vous + verb + EZ
Tu aimES Vous aimEZ
Il/Elle/On + verb + E Ils/Elles + verb + ENT
Il aimE Ils aimENT

There you have it! Follow the steps! 1 – Drop the –ER 2 – Decide who is doing the action. 3 –
Add the new letters.

What happens if you DON’T do the steps or miss match the patterns? Your
sentences WON’T make sense!

*It is important to note that in English we have three different ways to say the same thing:

You eat / You are eating / You do eat - These essentially mean the same thing, but we
use them in different situations. Not so in French!
Tu manges = you sell / Tu manges = you are selling / Tu manges = you do sell

To say that something IS NOT happening, ne…pas is added around the verb.

I don’t like = Je n’aime pas We aren’t listening = Nous n’écoutons pas

You don’t swim = Tu ne nages pas You guys do not like = Vous n’aimez pas

She isn’t working = Elle ne travaille pas They aren’t speaking = Ils ne parlent pas

3. Avoir vs etre
These are the two most important verbs in French. You have been using them all year. When
you are describing people or saying what they have you are using avoir and etre. You should
memorize these yesterday:
avoir (to have) être (to be)
 Unit 5.1
j’ai (I have) je suis (I am)
tu as (You have) tu es (You are)
il/elle a (He/She has) il/elle est (He/She is)
nous avons (We have) nous sommes (We are)
vous avez (You have) vous êtes (You are)
ils/elles ont (They have) ils/elles sont (They are)

Saying how old you are in French is different than English. Remember, in French you talk
about how many years you have. J’ai quatorze ans is literally I have fourteen years. You also
have eyes of a certain color : j’ai les yeux verts. You also can talk about brothers and sisters, j’ai
trois sœurs et un frère. And that pencil you need for science? J’ai besoin d’un crayon pour le
cours de science.

4. Possessive Adjectives

My house = ma maison

Remember that une maison is feminine. What about a masculine object like my brother?

My brother = mon frère

What about plural objects? (Repeat after me “French adjectives agree in number and gender
with the noun they modify.”)
My parents = mes parents
 Unit 5.1
By now you are wondering why there are two yours. It is the same as with tu and vous. Tu is
singular and informal. Vous is plural or it can be singular if it is formal.

5. Object pronouns

Direct objects are the people or things in a sentence which receive the action of the verb. To
find the direct object in a sentence, ask the question Who? or What?

I see Pierre.
Je vois Pierre.
Who do I see? Pierre.

I'm eating the bread

Je mange le pain.
What am I eating? - Bread.

Direct object pronouns are the words that replace the direct object, so that we don't say things
like "Marie was at the bank today.
When I saw Marie I smiled." It's much more natural to say "Marie was at the bank today. When
I saw her I smiled." The French direct object pronouns are

me / m' me
te / t' you
le / l' him, it
la / l' her, it
nous us
vous you
les them

Me and te change to m' and t', respectively, in front of a vowel or mute H. Le and la both
change to l'.

Like indirect object pronouns, French direct object pronouns are placed in front of the verb.

I'm eating it.

Je le mange.

He sees her.
Il la voit.

I love you.
 Unit 5.1
Je t'aime.

You love me.

Tu m'aimes.
 Unit 5.2
Lesson 5.2 I can talk about future plans

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. going places
3. Futur proche

1. Specific question structures

Où vas-tu ? = Where go you ?

Où va-t-il/elle ? = Where goes he/she ?
Où allez-vous ? = Where goes you (formal) ?

2. Going places

Aller is the French word for to go. You can’t say I to go to school so it is necessary to put aller
into the correct form. This chart should be your best friend.

Je vais (I go, I am going) Nous allons (We go, We are going)

Tu vas (You go, You are going) Vous allez (You go, You are going)
Il va (He goes, He is going) Ils vont (They go, They are going)
Elle va (She goes, She is going) Elles vont (They go, They are going)

Another thing to know, à in French means to or at. If you are going to a feminine place like the
library or the beach you say: Je vais à la plage. Elle va à la bibliothèque. If you are going to a
masucline place like the movie theater or the restaurant you say: Je vais au restaurant. Nous
allons au cinema.

à + la = à la Tu vas à la piscine.
à + le = au Elles vont au café.
 Unit 5.2
à + l’ = à l’ Vous allez à l’école.
à + les = aux Je vais aux Galéries Lafayette.

3. Futur Proche

Aller is the French word for to go. As with English it can be used to talk about things that are
happening in the near future, things you are going to do. This chart should be your best friend.
Je vais (I go, I am going) Nous allons (We go, We are going)
Tu vas (You go, You are going) Vous allez (You go, You are going)
Il va (He goes, He is going) Ils vont (They go, They are going)
Elle va (She goes, She is going) Elles vont (They go, They are going)

Are you going to study tomorrow night? I know, funny joke, but if you wanted to impress your
French classmates you would say je vais étudier demain soir – I am going to study tomorrow
night. What are all your friends doing this Saturday? Ils vont faire du vélo samedi – They are
going to ride bikes Saturday.

Beware, some students like to change both verbs in those previous sentences. You do not need
to change étudier or faire. Only change aller. Do NOT say Je vais étudie or Ils vont font du
vélo.
 Unit 6.1
UNIT 6: Let’s go out to eat!

Lesson 6.1 I can talk about food

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. Object pronouns
3. Partitive articles

1. Specific question structures

Qu’est-ce que tu préfères/aimes/détestes = What do you prefer/like/hate to eat for

manger pour…

Qu’est-ce qu’on mange avec… = What does one eat with…

2. Object pronouns

Direct objects are the people or things in a sentence which receive the action of the verb. To
find the direct object in a sentence, ask the question Who? or What?

I see Pierre.
Je vois Pierre.
Who do I see? Pierre.

I'm eating the bread

Je mange le pain.
What am I eating? - Bread.

Direct object pronouns are the words that replace the direct object, so that we don't say things
like "Marie was at the bank today.
When I saw Marie I smiled." It's much more natural to say "Marie was at the bank today. When
I saw her I smiled." The French direct object pronouns are

me / m' me
te / t' you
le / l' him, it
la / l' her, it
nous us
vous you
 Unit 6.1
les them

Me and te change to m' and t', respectively, in front of a vowel or mute H. Le and la both
change to l'.

Like indirect object pronouns, French direct object pronouns are placed in front of the verb.

I'm eating it.

Je le mange.

He sees her.
Il la voit.

I love you.
Je t'aime.

You love me.

Tu m'aimes.

3. Partitive Article/Article partitif

The partitive article refers to an unspecified quantity of food, liquid, or some other uncountable
noun. English has no equivalent article – the partitive is usually translated by the adjectives
"some" or "any," or may be left out entirely.

Par exemple…

Achète des épinards. Buy some spinach.

J’ai mangé du pain hier. I ate bread yesterday.

Characteristics of partitive articles

 Used with uncountable nouns like chocolate, water, and money9

 Placed directly in front of a noun
 Agree with the noun in number and sometimes gender

French partitive articles

Masculine Feminine
singular du, de l’ de la, de l’

9
As opposed to countable nouns like bars of chocolate, glasses of water, and euros
 Unit 6.1
plural des des
+ There are three singular articles:
 Masculine: du
 Feminine: de la
 Contracted (m or f in front of vowel or mute h): de l’

+ There is only one plural partitive article: des.

Using partitive articles

The partitive article is needed when talking about an unknown or unspecified quantity of
something uncountable.

Par exemple…

Je veux de l’eau. I want some water.

J’ai acheté des pâtes. I bought some pasta.

Water and pasta are both uncountable – you can’t ask "how many" water or pasta, only "how
much." That’s how you know to use the partitive rather than the indefinite article.

The partitive is used with abstract nouns after verbs like avoir and falloir.

Par exemple…

Tu as de la chance. You’re lucky.

Il faut du courage. You need courage.

The partitive is also used with faire and jouer plus musical instruments, and with faire for
sports and other activities in the sense of practicing.

Par exemple…

Je fais / joue du violon. I play the violin.

Il fait du droit. He practices law.

In certain constructions, the partitive reverts to simply de (or its contraction d’).

After negation

Je n’ai pas mangé de pain. I didn’t eat any bread.

N’achète jamais d’épinards. Never buy spinach.
 Unit 6.1
After expressions of quantity

J’ai bu beaucoup de café. I drank a lot of coffee.

Il nous reste peu d’argent. We have little money left.
 Unit 6.2
Lesson 6.2 I can order food in a restaurant

Grammatical points:

1. Specific question structures

2. Formal/informal questions
3. prendre, boire

1. Specific question structures

Qu’est-ce que vous me recommandez? = What do you me recommend?

Avez-vous…? = Have you…?

Pourriez-vous m’apporter…? = Could you me bring?

Qu’est-ce qu’il y a dans…? = What is there in…?

Et avec ça? = And with that?

Est-ce que tu aimes le repas? = Do you like the meal?

Tout va bien? = All goes well?

De quoi as-tu besoin? = Of what have you need?

Combien coûte…? = How much costs…?

Combien coûtent…? = How much costs (plural)…?

Je vous dois combien? = I you owe how much?

2. Formal/informal questions

3. Prendre, boire

These 2 verbs are irregular and therefore don’t follow the pattern we learned. Their
conjugations are below:

prendre = to take
 Unit 6.2
je prends = I take, I do take, I am taking

tu prends = you take, you do take, you are taking

il/elle prend = s/he takes, s/he does take, s/he is taking

nous prenons = we take, we do take, we are taking

vous prenez = you guys take, you do take, you are taking

ils/elles prennent = they take, they do take, they are taking

boire = to drink

je bois = I drink, I do drink, I am drinking

tu bois = you drink, you do drink, you are drinking

il/elle boit = s/he drinks, s/he does drink, s/he is drinking

nous buvons = we drink, we do drink, we are drinking

vous buvez = you guys drink, you do drink, you are drinking

ils/elles boivent = they drink, they do drink, they are drinking