ELEMENTARY FRENCH

To start learning French from scratch, I recommend that you study the basics, since
without this you won't be able to do anything. Much of the French you hear will refer to
these 10 important points that you will need to learn:

 Learning how to introduce yourself. It is practically the first lesson in any French
book. Ex: "My name is Samuel." You are already using a conjugated pronominal verb
(s'appeler).
 Know the different ways to greet and say goodbye. The typical "Bonjour",
"Bonsoir" and "Bonne nuite" (good morning, good afternoon and good evening) that
you will have to say when entering a place. Or the more generic and informal
"Salut!". Also to say goodbye: "Au revoir", "À demain", "À bientôt", "À tout à
l'heure".
 Learning numbers in French. This is key, not only in French, but in any language.
The good thing is that once you learn them once and for all, you just have to add to
form more complicated numbers. On this page you have a list of numbers in French.
 Know the vowels and the alphabet. It is essential to learn phonetics well. In many
classes it is often overlooked, but it is important to know both the consonant and
vowel sounds well: "a", "é", "e", "ai", "eu", "i", "eau", "au", "o", "oi", "ou", "u", "y".
 Have a good command of the auxiliary verbs "être" (to be) and "avoir" (to
have). If we don't know how auxiliary verbs are formed, we won't be able to say
basic things. But neither does it form other verbal tenses, such as the passé composé.
 Learn demonstrative adjectives. The use of "ce", "cet", "cette" and "ces" is very
important when referring to things and is used constantly.
 Study the verbs of the first group or those ending in -er. It is highly advisable to
learn to conjugate at least the regular verbs ending in -er at the beginning. Also learn
the most important verbs in French and those that are going to be used the most, such
as: "entendre", "rester", "manger", "étudier", "arriver", "trouver", "montrer",
"tourner", "retourner". And other irregular ones like: "aller", "prendre", "finir" or
"choisir".
 Know some useful vocabulary. If we know the verbs well, but we don't know some
vocabulary, we will hardly be able to express ideas. You have to learn terms little by
little. The best thing is to go by themes: food, tastes, places, getting your bearings in
the city, studies...
 Study nationalities and countries. It is also one of the first things we are taught. For
a very simple reason: when we take a French course abroad, people of many
nationalities usually come. In order to introduce yourself you have to know how to

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 say "Je suis espagnol(e)". But also because it is an excuse to learn the formation of
the feminine (adding an "e" at the end.
 Learn to ask questions and request information. Learning to ask questions and
request information is another fundamental aspect. The use of pronouns such as
"Que", "Quoi", "Qui", "Où", "Quand", "Comment" or "Pourquoi" is essential to form
questions.
 Know well the negative form "ne + verbe + pas". It is extremely important that we
learn the negative form of sentences. The French use two words and the verb in
between. Example: "Je ne sais pas" (I don't know). Under no circumstances should
we eat the "pas", since it is the word that identifies with negation. The "ne" is less
important and many French people forget it or pronounce it very quickly in spoken
language, even though it is somewhat informal and not very correct.

This is a very brief summary of what they teach you in your first French classes, although
they go into much more depth on each topic. Obviously, it is not enough to have a basic
level of French and be able to defend yourself in a conversation. But it is good to already
have in mind what is most important if you plan to start studying it on your own.

Numbers in French

1 a
2 two
3 three
4 four
5 five
6 six
7 Sept
8 huit
9 new
10 said
11 eleven
12 douze
13 treize
14 fourteen
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 I
15
guessed
16 seize
17 dix-sept
18 said-hut
19 dix-new
20 vingt
Now let's see how tens are formed, from 30 to 100. You can observe the special way in which numbers
are formed starting from 70 (60 + 10).

30 thirty
40 forty
50 fifty
60 soybean
70 soy said
71 soixante eleven
…
four hundred
80
and one
four hundred
81
and one
…
four hundred
90
and ten
91 four twenty eleven
…
100 said-hut

And the number one thousand and one million would be respectively:

1000 thousand
1000000 a million

In this 2nd lesson of basic French we will see how colors are written in French. Keep in
mind that feminine adjectives change their ending; as a general rule, -e is added, although
there are special cases.

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the colors the colors
Masc. / Fem.
white/a white / white
black/a black / black
red/a red / red
green green / verte
blue blue / blue
purple/a violet / violette
brown brown / brownish
yellow/a yellow / yellow
pink rose / rose
grey grey / grise

In the 3rd lesson of elementary French we will see greetings and farewells in French, as
well as the correct pronunciation of each expression.

Greetings in French

Spanish French

Hello Hello

Where are you going? / Good,

How are you? / Fine, thanks
thank you

How are you? How are you?

How are you? What's this about?

Good morning Hello

Good afternoon Goodbye

Good night Good night

Goodbyes in French

Spanish French

Bye Goodbye
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See you later Goodbye

See you
See you soon
soon

See you
Bye-bye
tomorrow

Basic Questions

Spanish French

What is your name? / My name is Louise How do you call them? / My name is Louise

Where are you from? / I am Spanish Where are you? / I am Spanish

How old are you? / I am twenty-seven years

How old are you? / I'm twenty-seven years old
old

Hello everyone, in this lesson we are going to start studying the verbal conjugation in
French, specifically the Present of the verb être, that is, the verb to be.

To be or to be Être
I am / I am I am
You are / you are You are
He/she is/is He/she is
We are / we are We are
You are / you are You are
They are / are They are

Pay special attention to the pronunciation of the verb être and try to distinguish each verb
form without looking at the text. A good exercise for these cases is, after listening to the
French pronunciation several times, to try to write down what you hear.

Let's look at some examples of the use of the present tense of the verb être:

Spanish French
I am a woman I am a woman
You are tall You are great
He is very ugly He is very face to face
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We are in the house We are in the house
They are in the field They are in the field

The definite article in French

The definite article in French for the singular has two forms, one for the masculine: le, and
another for the feminine: la. In plural, les is used for both masculine and feminine.

In the singular, the contraction l' is sometimes used, when the noun that accompanies the
article begins with a vowel or an h.

Let's see some examples:

The defining
The definite article
article

The boy The boy

The house The house

The man The man

The children The children

Women The women

The indefinite article in French

For the indefinite article in French, un and une are used for the masculine and feminine
singular respectively, and des for the plural.

Let's see some examples:

The undefined
The indefinite article
article

A man A man

A woman A woman

Some children Children

Some houses From the houses

The partitive article in French

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There is still another form for articles in French: the partitive article. This is used for non-
countable nouns, using du for the masculine singular, de la for the feminine singular and
des for the plural. If used in a negative sentence, the partitive de, or d', is used.

In Spanish there is no direct translation, but it is easy to recognize when it is used, let's see
some examples:

The partitive
The partitive article
article

Bread Of bread

Meat From the meat

Fruit Of fruits

Water From the water

I have no money I'm not silver

Finally, as a curiosity, in French the names of countries are used with the definite article in
front, for example: La France, L' Espagne, L' Italie, Le Portugal …

It's time to learn the date and time in French. In this lesson of the basic French course we
will learn the days of the week, the months and the time in French.

Days of the week in French

The days of the week The days of the week

Monday Monday

Tuesday Mardi

Wednesday Good morning

Thursday Thursday

Friday Friday

Saturday Samedi

Sunday Sunday

The months of the year in French

The months of the The months of the

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year year

January January

February February

March Mars

April Avril

May May

June June

July July

August August

September September

October October

November November

December December

The date in French

The date in French is written as follows:

 The + day + month + year. Example: October 23, 1998.

 Special case, the 1st of the month: Le premier de Décembre.

Time in French

The way to tell time in French is:

 If it is an hour: It is 9:00 -> It is 9 hours.

 They are “hour” and “minutes”: It is 9:10 -> It is 9 hours 10.
 They are the “hour” minus “minutes”: They are 10 minus 20 -> Il est 10 heures
moins 20.
 It is “hour” and “half”: It is 11:30 -> Il est 11 heures et demi.
 It is “hour” and “quarter”: It is 8:15 -> Il est 8 heures et quart.
 It is “hour” minus “quarter”: It is 8:45 -> Il est 9 heures moins le quart.

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Examples of date and time

Spanish French
What time is it? What time is it? / What time is it?
It's 9:00 in the morning It's 9 o'clock in the morning
It's 10:15 p.m. It's 10 hours and a quarter of the night
It's 4:30 in the afternoon It's 4 hours and half of the afternoon
What day is it today? Quel jour est-il aujourd'hui?
It's Tuesday, May 25, 2010 Today is Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Types of connectors in French

Also known as "mots de liason" or "marqueurs de relation", each connector is usually used at the
beginning or end of a sentence to link together an oral intervention or a written essay. The important
thing is that you remember that it is good to use these terms from time to time to organize your ideas
and express yourself more comfortably.

To indicate time
Currently At the moment

At the current time Currently

Ensuite Immediately

Today Today

Later Later

At this moment At the moment

Currently Now

To indicate affirmation

Obviously Obviously

Well sure Of course

Indeed Indeed

Really Truly
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Connectors of causality

Because of Because of

Dua Due to

Thanks to Thanks to

This is why That's why

It's for this That's why

Consequence connectors

By conséquant Therefore

As a consequence Consequently

Alors So

So Therefore

Pair of As a result of

To indicate opposition or compare

Otherwise Contrary

Malgré Although

Cependant However

More But

Even though However (oral)

On the contrary On the contrary

Everything Nevertheless

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Tandis that While

Even if Although

Well that Although

Pourtant However

To indicate order

Aboard First

All in front First of all

In first place First of all

In the second place In second place

At the end In the end

Ensuite Immediately

Well Then

After After

In the end In the end

Finally Finally

Conditionality / Possibility

Suppose that Assuming that

So much so Provided that

Provided that On condition that

At least Unless

Sometimes Maybe

Possibly Likely

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Maybe It may be that

To separate

In this subject With respect to

Regarding Regarding this

From one part On the one hand

From elsewhere Besides

In this manner This way

How much As to

About About

From the other side On the other hand

To explain ideas

That's right That is to say

Ainsi So

In other words In other words

For example For example

In other words In other words

To sum up

In summary In summary

Brief Briefly

In a word In one word

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Additive connectors

Of plus Besides

In addition In addition

Also Also

In addition In addition to

A part Apart

Also Likewise

Learn French: Phrases to use in restaurants

 A table for one pleaseUne
table pour une personne, je vous prie (un table pur un persón, she vu prí)
 A table for two, pleaseUne
table pour two people, je vous prie. (a table for the person, she saw first)
 May I see the menu please?
Can I see the card? (Can you see the card?)
 Can I see the kitchen?
Can I visit the cuisines? (Have you visited the kitchen?)
 Is there a house specialty?
What is the specialty of the house? (what is the inn's specialty?)
 Are there any local specialties?
And at-il a local spécialité? (And even a local specialty?)
 I am a vegetarian
Je suis végétarien. (she is a woman)
 I don't eat
pork. I don't eat pork. (she doesn't have a father)
 A la carteà
la carte (a la cart)

Breakfastpetit-déjeuner (petit-dishonor)

Lunch left (dishonest)

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 I want _____
Je voudrais _____ (She voudré _____)
 I want a dish that contains ______
Je voudrais un plat avec _____ (she vudré an plá avec______)
 ChickenDu
poulet (du pulé)
 ResDu
boeuf (du beef)
 FishThe
fish (du poisson)
 SalmonDu
saumon (du somón)
 TunaDu
thon (du tón)
 CodDe
la morue (de la morú)
 SeafoodDes
fruits de mer (de frui de mer)
 LobsterYour
homard (your mother)
 ClamsDes
palourdes (de palurd)
 OystersOysters
(from oyster)
 MusselsDes
moules (of mul)
 SnailsDes
escargots (unloaded)
 FrogsDes
grenouilles (from gronuí)
 HamDu
jambon (du shanbon)
 PigYou pig
/pig (you pig)
 SausageDes
saucisses (from sosis)

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 CheeseDu
fromage (du fromash)
 EggsOf
eggs (of eggs)
 An eggAn
oeuf (an of)
 SaladA
salad (a salad)
 Fresh vegetablesFresh
vegetables (from fried vegetables)
 Fresh fruitDes
fruits frais (de frui fré)
 PanDu
pain (du pa)
 Toasted
bread (roti)
 NoodlesDes
pâtes (of pat)
 RiceDu
riz (du rí)
 BeansDes
haricots (from aricot)
 Can I have a glass of _____?
Puis-je avoir un verre de _____? (how much do you want to see _____?)
 Can I have a cup of _____?
Can I see a taste of _____? (puish avuar un ás do______?)
 Can I have a bottle of _____?
Can I see a bouteille of _____? (puish avuar un buteí do_____?)

CoffeeCoffee (coffee)

TeaThé (tea)
 JuiceJus
(shu)
 Mineral
waterEau gazeuse (oh gasses)

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  WaterEau
(or)
 BeerBière
(bier)
 Red/white wineVin
rouge/blanc (van rush/bló)
 Can I have some _____?
Can I have _____? (since you have left)

SalSel (sel)
 Black
pepperPoivre (puavr)
 Butterbeurre
(ber)
 Excuse me waiter (calling the waiter)
S'il vous plaît, monsieur/madame? (silly vu plé, lady/madam)
 I'm doneI'm
done. (she finished)
 It was delicious
C'était délicieux. (this delicious tea)
 Please remove the plates. Can you
clear the table? (Did you see that I could destroy the table?)
 The account
pleaseL'addition s'il vous plait. (the-dissio, syllable)
 How much is it?
Is that okay? (Does it bend?)
 Is the service included?
Is the service understood? (Do you serve and buy it?)
 This is for youC'est
pour vous (Se pur vu)

Learning French: Phrases for asking for directions

 Where is ______?
Where did you find _____? (U is thundered)
 …the train station?
…the station? (the gar?)

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 …bus station?
…the road station? (the gar rutier?)
 …the airport?
… the airport? (laeropor?)
 …the center?
…the city centre? (the vile center?)
 …the suburbs?
…the suburbs? (the good one?)
 …the hostel?
…the youth hostel? (Shunese lobersh)
 …the hotel ______?
…the hotel ______ ? (lot)
 Where can I find many…
Où y'a-t-il des… (U and atil dé)
 …hotels?
…hotels? (hotel)
 …restaurants?
…restaurants? (restored)
 …bars?
…bars? (bar)
 …places of interest?
…sites to visit? (sits a visitor)
 Can you show me on the map?
Can you see me on the card? (Did you see me on the map?)
 CalleRue
(ru)
 Turn leftTournez
à gauche (turné sa gosh)
 Turn
rightTournez à droite (turné sa druat)
 LeftGauche
(gosh)
 RightDroite
(druat)
 All rightTout
droit (you have right)

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  Towards _____
Towards _____ (see him/her)
 Passing the _____
Après le/la _____ (apré lo/la)
 Before him/her _____
Avant le/la _____ (avant him/her)
 Look for the _____
Repérez le/la _____ (I repeated it)

Intersection (antersec-sió)
 NorthNord
(nor)

SouthSouth (south)
 ThisIs
(it)

WestWest (guest)

Learning French: Phrases for Hosting

 Do you have rooms available?
Have you got free rooms? (have you seen a book of shame?)
 May I see the room first?
Can I visit the room? (so I visited the shambr?)
 Do you have a quieter room?
Do you ever have a quiet room? (Vu navé pa de shambr plú tranquil?)
 …bigger?
… bigger? (… bigger?)
 …cleaner?
…more your own? (… further propr?)
 …cheaper?
…less cool? (… what are you doing?)
 Does the room have…
It is in the room that there is already… (it is in the room that there is already…)
 …bed sheets?
…of drapes? (of dras?)

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  …bathroom?
…a bathroom? (a bath salt?)
 …phone?
…a telephone? (on the phone?)
 …television?
…a TV? (a phone?)
 How much does a room cost for one person?
What is the size of a room for a person? (combiá cut a shambr pur a person?)
 How much does a room for two people cost?
What is the size of a room for two people? (combiá cut a shambr pur dú persón?)
 Okay, I'll stay. Okay
, you turn it on. (what, she bought it)
 I will be staying for _____ night(s).
Je compte rester _____ night(s). (she counts rest _____ nui)
 Can you suggest another hotel?
Can you suggest me another hotel? (Did you suspect me in another hotel?)
 Do you have a safe?
Do you have a strong box? (have you seen the chest here?)
 Is breakfast included?
Le petit-déjeuner est-il inclus? (did I dishonor him ethyl anclu?)
 What time is breakfast?
What time is the petit-déjeuner? (Who did I ask and dishonor him?)
 Please clean my room. Thank
you for cleaning my room. (mersi from netoyé to shambr)
 Can you wake me up at ______?
Can you reveal me to _____? (I saw myself again at _____)
 I want to register my departure Je
veux vous signaler mon départ. (she sees you I signaled mon depar)

Learn French: Phrases for Transport

 How much does a ticket to _____ cost?
Combien coûte le billet pour _____? (Combian cut le bié pur _____)
 A ticket to ______, please.
A billet pour _____, je vous prie. (an bié pur _____, she vu prí)
 Where does this train/bus go?
Where is this train/bus? (are you going by tram/bus?)

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  Where is the train/bus to ______?
Où est le train/bus pour ______ (U e le tram/bus pur ______)
 Does this train stop at ______?
Does the train/bus arrive at _____? (are you going to _____?)
 When does the train leave for _______?
When does the train/bus leave for ______? (can par le tran/bus pur ______)
 When is this train/bus going to arrive at ______?
When will the train/bus arrive at ______? (can ce tram/bus arivera tilá______?)
 Taxi!
Taxi! (Taxi!)
 Take me to ______, please.
Déposez-moi a ______, je vous prie. (I deposited mua to_______, she vu pri)
 How much does it cost to get to _______?
Combine the coûte-t-il d'aller à _______? (How do you cut it to give it to_______?)
 Take me there please.
Welcome me, I love you. (amen-mua la, she saw it first)

Learn French: Phrases for travelers in trouble

 Leave me alone
Laissez-moi tranquille! (read mua calm down!)
 Don't touch meNe
me touchez pas (ne me tushé pas)
 I'm
going to call the policeJ'appelle la police (Shapel la polis)
 High! Thief!
Stop! The thief! (earring! or voloeur)
 Aid!
In the dry season! (Oh help!)
 I need your
helpAidez-moi, s'il vous plaît! (and you will hear the voice)
 It's an emergency C'est une urgency
(se te nurshons)
 I'm lostJe
suis perdu (She is lost)
 I have lost my bagJ'ai
perdu mon sac (She perdú mon sac)

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  I'm sick Je
suis malade (She sui malad)
 I am woundedJe
sui blessé (She sui blessé)

I need a doctorJ'ai kissoin d'un médecin (She besuá da medza)
 May I use your phone?
Can I use your telephone? (She pesitiliser votr telefon?)

Learning French: Phrases to ask for help

 Excuse me
sirPardon, Monsieur (Pardó, mesiú)

MadamMadame (Madam)

Mademoiselle (Madmuasel)
 Speak Spanish?
Do you speak Spanish? (do you speak Spanish?)

SiOui (Uí)

NoNon (no)
 I'm sorry Je
suis désolé (She sui desolé)
 I don't speak French Je
ne parle pas français (She ne parle pa fransé)
 I don't understand
I don't understand pas (She doesn't buy pas)
 Please speak more slowlyParlez
plus slowly, s'il vous plaît (parle plú lentmont, sil vu plé)
 Please repeat Répétez,
s'il vous plaît (I repeated, sil vu plé)
 Can I ask you a question?
A question, s'il vous plaît? (A question, please?)
 Can you help me please?
Pourriez-vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît? (Purrié-vu medé, sil vu plé?)

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  AgreedD'accord
(Dakor)
 Of courseBien
sitr (Bian sitr)
 Where is _______?
Where is _______? (U is _______?)
 Thank you so much.
Thank you very much (Thank you very much)
 Who?
Who? (Who?)
 That?
What? (Which?)
 Because?
Why? (Purcua?)
 When?
When? (With?)
 Where?
Where? (OR?)
 As?
Comment? (What?)

Learn French: Phrases to use in banks

 Where is the nearest bank?
Où est la banque la plus proche? (Is the bank the best?)
 Is there a currency exchange office around here?
And at-il a bureau de change près d'ici? (And to the bureau of Shonsh did you predict?)
 I would like to change some eurosJe
voudrais changer des euros (She voudré shansher de euro)
 How much is the euro worth?
What is the euro worth? (have you seen the euro?)
 Can I cash traveler's checks?
Est-ce que je peux changer des voyage checks? (is that what she pú shensh de shek de voyash?)
 Where do I sign?
Where am I supposed to sign? (What is she dua sinié?)
 Can you give me small bills?
Can you give me silver in petits coupres? (puve vú I donated larshon in petí cupré?)

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