MICHEL THOMAS FRENCH (BASIC) COURSE, 8 CDs TRANSCRIPT This is an approximate transcript of the course, since Michel often

changed his mind in the middle of a sentence to be translated, or adapted his sentences for the students. The booklet that accompanied Michel's courses was wholly inadequate, so I have written this transcript. I have found it useful, so maybe other people will, too. Naturally, it would be foolish to try to learn the language using this transcript, without buying the recordings. Note that English is my native language, so I don't guarantee that there are no mistakes. Tracks and track times in the recording are shown in brackets. Version 2, Jan 15th 2006 Transcribed by JK CD 1 (58.09) (1) 4.49 (2) 9.18 (-ible words stay the same in french) possible possible (-able words stay the same in French) table table comfortable confortable possible table comfortable it is, that is c'est life la vie it is possible c'est possible it is comfortable c'est confortable good bon it is good c'est bon very trs it is very good c'est trs bon it is very comfortable c'est trs confortable probable probable acceptable acceptable it is acceptable c'est acceptable for me pour moi it is for me c'est pour moi for you pour vous it is for you c'est pour vous it is very comfortable for me c'est trs confortable pour moi it is it is not ce n'est pas not pas

it is not for me thank you ce n'est pas pour moi merci thanks merci it is it is not it is not for me not for me thanks pas pour moi merci it is not very comfortable for me ce n'est pas trs confortable pour moi (3) 5.12 so-so comme ci, comme a (literally like this, like that) like that, that way comme a it is like that c'est comme a it is not like that ce n'est pas comme a it is not possible for me that way ce n'est pas possible pour moi comme a it is not possible for me like that I'm sorry je regrette I'm sorry, but je regrette, mais I'm sorry but it is not very comfortable for me that way je regrette, mais ce n'est pas trs confortable pour moi comme a I'm sorry but it is not acceptable for me that way je regrette, mais ce n'est pas acceptable pour moi comme a it is very remarkable c'est trs remarquable considerable considerable (4) 8.41 (-ent, -ant words stay the same in French) different diffrent important important it is not very difficult that way ce n'est pas trs diffrent comme a but it is very important for me mais c'est trs important pour moi (the s of trs leans into a following vowel, sounding like a z, i.e. tre zimportant) evident vident recent rcent constant constant (-ary words become -aire in French) necessary ncessaire it is not necessary for me ce n'est pas ncessaire pour moi contrary contraire on the contrary au contraire military militaire vocabulary vocabulaire I would like je voudrais to speak parler to speak French parler franais I would like to speak French je voudrais parler franais with avec with you avec vous with me avec moi I would like to speak French with you je voudrais parler franais avec vous

will you, will you please voulez-vous will you speak French with me voulez-vous parler franais avec moi to come venir will you come with me voulez-vous venir avec moi to eat manger will you eat voulez-vous manger to come will you come with me voulez-vous venir avec moi will you come eat with me voulez-vous venir manger avec moi (5) 4.55 to go aller to come to go will you go eat with me voulez-vous aller manger avec moi where o where do you want to go o voulez-vous aller? where do you want to go eat o voulez-vous aller manger? tonight, this evening ce soir it is for tonight c'est pour ce soir it is for me c'est pour moi it is for tonight c'est pour ce soir where do you want to go eat tonight o voulez-vous aller manger ce soir to have dinner dner where do you want to have dinner tonight? o voulez-vous dner ce soir? do you want to come have dinner with me tonight? voulez-vous venir diner avec moi ce soir? (6) 4.25 to know savoir I would like to know je voudrais savoir I would like to know where je voudrais savoir o I would like to know where it is je voudrais savoir ou c'est how much combien I would like to know how much it is je voudrais savoir combien c'est something quelque chose thing la chose the same thing la mme chose I would like to eat something je voudrais manger quelque chose I would like to eat the same thing je voudrais manger la mme chose will you do you want do you want to eat something? voulez-vous manger quelque chose? do you want to eat the same thing? voulez-vous manger la mme chose? the same thing for me please la mme chose pour moi s'il vous plat please s'il vous plat I would like the same thing for me please je voudrais la mme chose pour moi s'il vous plat (7) 7.17 (-ence, -ance words stay the same in French)

difference diffrence preference prfrer importance importance influence influence difference the difference la diffrence a difference une diffrence the difference a difference what difference quelle diffrence what, which quelle the preference a preference what preference have you, do you have avez-vous do you have a preference? avez-vous une prfrence? what preference do you have? quelle prfrence avez-vous? for what restaurant do you have a preference tonight? pour quel restaurant avez-vous une prfrence ce soir? (-ion words stay the same in French) opinion opinion condition condition the condition a condition what condition position position the position a position what position reservation rservation the reservation a reservation what reservation have you, do you have do you have a reservation for me for tonight? avez-vous une rservation pour moi pour ce soir? (8) 9.02 what kind quelle sorte of de

what kind of reservation do you have for me for tonight? quelle sorte de rservation avez-vous pour moi pour ce soir? will you do you want what kind of reservation do you want for tonight? quelle sorte de rservation voulezvous pour ce soir? (the 1200 nouns which end -ion in French are identical in English, there are only three exceptions) translation traduction I would like a translation je voudrais une traduction to do, to make faire will you make a reservation for me? voulez-vous faire une rservation pour moi? what kind of reservation to you want to make? quelle sorte de rservation voulez-vous faire? will you make a translation for me? voulez-vous faire une traduction pour moi? explanation explication to give donner will you give an explanation for me? voulez-vous donner une explication pour moi? vacation les vacances to spend (time) passer to spend (money) dpenser to spend the vacation passer les vacances where do you want to spend the vacation? o voulez-vous passer les vacances? the situation la situation what impression do you have? quelle impression avez-vous? what impression do you have of the situation? quelle impression avez-vous de la situation? (9) 4.30 (-ical words become -ique in French) political politique economical conomique philosophical philosophique astronomical astronomique logical logique practical pratique it is not logical, but it is very practical that way ce n'est pas logique, mais c'est trs pratique comme a (French adjectives follow the noun) the political situation la situation politique the economical situation la situation conomique and et the political and economic situation la situation politique et conomique in France, to France en France I would like to go to France je voudrais aller en France I would like to spend the vacation in France je voudrais passer les vacances en France (end of recording)

CD 2 (61.27) (1) 8.38 what impression do you have of the political and economical situation in France? quelle impression avez-vous de la situation politique et conomique en France? at the present time prsent what kind of reservation do you have for me? quelle sorte de rservation avez-vous pour moi? what kind of reservation do you want for tonight? quelle sorte de rservation voulezvous pour ce soir? (consonants at the end of the word are not sounded, unless they are followed by a silent -e) small petit it is very small c'est trs petit too, too much trop it is too small c'est trop petit late tard it is very late c'est trs tard it is too late c'est trop tard it is too much for me c'est trop pour moi (pronunciation of petite, grande) he is big il est grand she is big elle est grande she is little elle est petite (pronunciation of vit, vite) fast vit it is very fast c'est trs vit it is too fast for me c'est trop vite pour moi (2) 5.57 to speak (infinitive verbs end -r e.g. parler) you speak vous parlez you speak too fast for me vous parlez trop vit pour moi to go aller you go, you are going vous allez you are going too fast for me vous allez trop vite pour moi it is very good c'est trs bon so si it is so good c'est si bon if si if it is so good si c'est si bon I would like to know if it is so good je voudrais savoir si c'est si bon why pourquoi I would like to know why it is so good je voudrais savoir pourquoi c'est si bon to go you are going I would like to know where you are going je voudrais savoir o vous allez to have dinner I would like to know where you are going to have dinner tonight je voudrais savoir o

vous allez dner ce soir (3) 10.00 port, harbour port airport aroport door porte (for consonance may be pronounced at the end of the word: c, r, f, l, the so-called careful consonants. For example avec, sac, but not words ending -nc e.g. blanc) bag sac white blanc franc franc white wine vin blanc a glass un verre a glass of white wine un verre de vin blanc I would like a glass of white wine je voudrais un verre de vin blanc bottle bouteille I would like a bottle je voudrais une bouteille I would like a bottle of white wine je voudrais une bouteille de vin blanc water eau from de I would like a glass of white wine je voudrais un verre de vin blanc I would like a glass of water je voudrais un verre d'eau I would like a glass of mineral water je voudrais un verre d'eau minrale (words ending -el, -al are the same in French) normal normal normally normallement general gnral generally gnralement animal animal special spcial it is very special especially for you spcialement pour vous I would like a glass of mineral water cup tasse I would like a cup of coffee je voudrais une tasse de caf (4) 4.36 still, still more encore a little un peu I would like a little je voudrais un peu late it is very late c'est trs tard it is too late c'est trop tard later, more late plus tard to come will you come later voulez-vous venir plus tard a little un peu a little later un peu plus tard will you come a little later voulez-vous venir un peu plus tard now maintenant

not now pas maintenant possible possibly possiblement not now, possibly a little later pas maintenant, possiblement un peu plus tard (5) 4.57 I would like to eat something je voudrais manger quelque chose ("s" between two vowels has the sound of a "z") something the same thing I would like to eat the same thing je voudrais manger la mme chose other autre the other thing l'autre chose another thing une autre chose something else autre chose I would like something else je voudrais autre chose to see voir goodbye au revoir to see I would like to see something else je voudrais voir autre chose do you have something else? avez-vous autre chose? do you want something else? voulez-vous autre chose? (6) 8.04 to know savoir to have avoir to see voir I would like to have something else je voudrais avoir autre chose I would like to know je voudrais savoir I would like a glass of white wine je voudrais un verre de vin blanc I would like another glass of white wine je voudrais encore un verre de vin blanc another please! (to waiter) encore I would like another bottle of white wine je voudrais encore une bouteille de vin blanc I would like a cup of coffee je voudrais une tasse de caf I would like another cup of coffee je voudrais encore une tasse de caf I would like a glass of mineral water je voudrais un verre d'eau minrale I would like another glass of mineral water je voudrais encore un verre d'eau minrale (7) 4.34 (the final -r is pronounced, except in -er e.g. parler. 90% of French verbs end -er) to go beef buf (8) 8.39 (explanation of what noun, adjective and verb means. Infinitives end -er, -ir and -re) to leave partir to sleep dormir to know to understand comprendre to do, make (when two or three verbs appear consecutively, all but the first are in infinite form) will you

to come to eat will you come eat with me voulez-vous venir manger avec moi I must je dois I must speak with you je dois parler avec vous will you speak French with me voulez-vous parler franais avec moi I must know where it is je dois savoir o c'est I am je suis tired fatigu I am tired I am very tired now busy occup I am very busy now (9) 6.02 a little I can je peux I can a little je peux un peu not now pas maintenant not for me thank you pas pour moi merci I can I cannot je ne peux pas (French uses a negative signal ne for any kind of negation, which is often dropped in the spoken language, e.g "I cannot" je peux pas) I am I am not je ne suis pas I'm not tired now je ne suis pas fatigu maintenant but I'm very busy now mais je suis trs fatigu maintenant I'm sorry, but but I'm not very busy now mais je ne suis pas trs occup maintenant (end of recording)

CD 3 (62.22) (1) 4.41 to wait attendre to leave I am sorry but I cannot wait because I have to leave now je regrette, mais je ne peux pas attendre parce que je dois partir maintenant I'm sorry je suis dsole I'm sorry, but je suis dsole, mais I can I cannot (2) 6.08 I'm sorry but I cannot come with you now because I am very busy je suis desole, mais je ne peux pas venir avec vous parce que je suis trs occup I would like to speak with you je voudrais parler avec vous I have to speak with you you speak je voudrais encore une tasse de caf (in a question, invert the subject and verb) do you speak? parlez-vous? to speak French? parlez-vous franais? to go you are going vous allez are you going? allez-vous? where are you going? o allez-vous? to have dinner where are you going to have dinner tonight? o allez-vous dner ce soir? (3) 3.48 to leave you are leaving vous partez at what time? quelle heure? at what time are you leaving? quelle heure partez-vous? at what time do you leave? to stay rester you are staying vous restez I am staying je reste he he is staying il reste she she is staying elle reste my friend mon ami my friend is staying mon ami reste everybody tout le monde (4) 3.20 I am staying I am not staying I don't stay

(there are three ways to express the present tense in English, which are all translated the same way into French) (5) 3.10 I am busy I am not busy now I am tired I am not tired ready prt I am ready (spoken by man) je suis prt I am ready (spoken by woman) je suis prte he is il est he is reading il est prt she is reading elle est prte to stay (6) 6.44 I am staying I'm ready I am eating I am speaking do you speak? are you speaking? to wait you wait vous attendez wait a moment! attendez! attendez un moment! you are waiting you are not waiting vous n'attendez pas you don't wait why why do you wait? pourquoi attendez-vous? why are you waiting? to leave at what time at what time do you leave? quelle heure partez-vous? at what time are you leaving? (7) 11.25 we, us nous we are leaving nous partons you are waiting we are waiting you speak we speak to start commencer you are starting vous commencez we are starting nous commencons at what time are you starting? quelle heure commencez-vous? at what time do you start? tomorrow at what time are we starting tomorrow? quelle heure commencons-nous demain?

I am ready I am starting I am not starting he is starting she is starting she is ready she is starting she is not starting she doesn't start it is it is not it, this, that (at beginning of sentence) a it starts a commence it is ready c'est prt it is starting a commence it is possible it is very important it is very different it is not necessary it is starting it is not ready a n'est pas prt it is not starting a ne commence pas it doesn't start I can he can il peut she can elle peut it can start now a peut commencer maintenant it must start now a doit commencer maintenant (8) 5.54 (many French words can be guessed, such as "arrive" arriver) arrive arriver at what time do you arrive tomorrow? quelle heure arrivez-vous demain? at what time are you arriving? quelle heure arrivez-vous? morning matin tomorrow morning demain matin morning (the whole morning) matine to spend the whole morning passer la matine to spend the whole evening passer la soire good day bonjour day jour to spend the whole day passer la journe in, to (a city) at to (a country) en

at what time do we arrive in Paris tomorrow morning? quelle heure arrivons-nous Paris demain matin? I am I am arriving j'arrive I am busy I am tired I'm ready I am eating (9) 7.44 he is ready he is arriving she is ready she is arriving soon bientt so long, until soon bientt she is arriving soon elle arrive bientt today aujourd'hui (au is short for le) the restaurant le restaurant at the restaurant au restaurant the office le bureau I am at the office je suis au bureau not today pas aujourd'hui to be tre here ici I would like to be here je voudrais tre ici I would like to be here with you je voudrais tre ici avec vous at what time are you going to be here? quelle heure allez-vous tre ici? I have j'ai I have something for you j'ai quelque chose pour vous I have a message for you j'ai un message pour vous (10) 9.28 he has il a he has something for you il a quelque chose pour vous I have I don't have je n'ai pas he has he doesn't have il n'a pas I am hungry j'ai faim I would like to eat something now because I'm hungry je voudrais manger quelque chose parce que j'ai faim I am going je vais I am going to stay here je vais rester ici I'm going to leave soon, I'm not going to stay je vais partir bientt, je ne vais pas rester I'm going to eat je vais manger I'm going to start soon je vais commencer bientt I'm not going to leave today je ne vais pas partir aujord'hui I am going

I'm not going he is going il va I am going to start soon je vais commencer bientt he is going to start soon il vous commencer bientt he is il est there l he is there il est l he is not there il n'est pas l (il n'est pas l also means "he is not in") (end of recording)

CD 4 (55.39) (1) 5.51 who qui who is there? qui est l? my friend is there mon ami est l everybody is there tout le monde est l nobody personne the person la personne a person une personne nobody is there personne est l (personne est l also means "nobody is in") everybody is ready she is ready he is ready I am going to be ready soon je vais tre prt bientt he is going to be ready soon il va tre prt bientt she is going to be ready soon elle va tre prte bientt who is going to be there tonight qui va tre l ce soir he is going she is going everybody is going tout le monde va nobody is going personne va (2) 3.31 all, everything tout everything is going tout va well bien everything is going very well tout va trs bien nothing rien nothing is going rien va nothing is going to be ready today rien va tre prt aujourd'hui he is ready nothing is ready rien est prt who is ready? qui est prt? she is ready he is ready who is ready everybody is ready tout le monde est prt nobody is ready personne est prt everything is ready tout est prt nothing is ready (3) 7.10 is est is going va I am I am going I'm ready I am going to be ready soon je vais tre prt bientt he is

she is everybody is ready everybody is going to be ready soon tout le monde tre prt bientt he is going she is going who is going everybody is going nobody is going nothing is going it is going a va how comment how's it going? comment a va? it is going well a va bien it's going very well a va trs bien it's going very well the way it is a va trs bien comme a it is going to be ready soon a va tre prt bientt I'm going to be ready soon je vais tre prt bientt to go you go we are going nous allons I am going he is going she is going who is going it is going it is not going a ne va pas it is not going to be ready today a ne va pas tre prt aujourd'hui but everything is going to be ready for you tomorrow mais tout va tre prt pour vous demain (4) 5.46 he can she can who can it can I would like everybody is going to be here tout le monde va tre ici everybody must leave soon tout le monde doit partir bientt who speaks English here? qui parle anglais ici? I understand je comprends I don't understand je ne comprends pas he understands il comprends nobody understands personne comprends everybody understands very well tout le monde comprends trs bien to leave you are leaving we are leaving I am leaving je pars (only -er verbs sound the stem in the 1st person singular e.g. j'arrive, compare je pars)

everybody is leaving tout le monde part nobody is leaving personne part to wait I am waiting j'attends everybody is waiting tout le monde attends nobody is waiting personne attends (5) 4.28 to understand to take prendre I am taking je prends he is taking il prends time temps too much time trop de temps it is taking too much time a prends trop de temps it doesn't take too much time a prends pas trop de temps it is not taking too much time to sell vendre I am selling je vends he is selling il vends everybody can start now tout le monde peut commencer maintenant everybody must start now tout le monde doit commencer maintenant (there are only three verbs and French which do not conjugate in sound following the first person singular e.g. je dois, il doit etc) I am je suis he is il est I have j'ai he has il a I'm going je vais he is going il va (6) 3.59 will you come with me voulez-vous venir avec moi will you come have dinner with me at the house tonight because I would like to speak with you. It is very important voulez-vous venir dner avec moi la maison ce soir parce que je voudrais parler avec vous. C'est trs important pour moi and I would like to know et je voudrais savoir at what time you're going to be here quelle heure vous allez tre ici because I'm going to prepare the dinner for us parce que je vais prparer le dner pour nous (many French verbs can be formed simply by adding -er to an English verb) (7) 4.09 formation formation to form former to conform conformer to confirm confirmer will you confirm the reservation for me voulez-vous confirmer la rservation pour moi? to observe observer to reserve reserver

will you reserve a table for two for dinner for tonight voulez-vous rserver une table pour deux pour dner pour ce soir to invite inviter to consider considrer to accept accepter will you accept the condition voulez-vous accepter la condition? to prefer prfrer you prefer vous prfrez we prefer nous prfrons I prefer je prfre (8) 7.57 I must speak with you je dois parler avec vous he must be here soon il doit tre ici bientt she must be ready now elle doit tre prte ici he must be ready il doit tre prt it must be ready a doit tre prt maintenant it can be ready a peut tre prt maintenant maybe, perhaps peut-tre (so peut-tre literally means "can be") perhaps it can be ready now peut-tre a peut tre prt maintenant it must be ready now a doit tre prt maintenant I must je dois (-s is the first person singular ending for -ir and -re, and -t is the ending for 3rd person singular) to do, make I am doing je fais he is doing il fait it makes a big difference that way a fait une grande diffrence comme a to say, tell dire (9) 4.59 I say, I tell je dis he says il dit to see I see je vois he sees il voit to know you know vous savez we know nous savons we don't know nous ne savons pas you don't know vous ne savez pas do you know? savez-vous? do you know where it is? savez-vous o c'est? I know je sais I don't know je ne sais pas he knows il sait I know where it is je sais o c'est (10) 7.49 nobody knows where it is personne sait o c'est

nobody knows everybody knows where it is tout le monde sait o c'est who knows? qui sait? to have to see you have we have you know vous savez you have vous avez we know nous savons we don't know nous ne savons pas you don't know vous ne savez pas we have nous avons we don't have nous n'avons pas you have vous avez you don't have vous n'avez pas do you have? avez-vous? do we have? avons-nous? to have avoir to have to devoir you must vous devez we must nous devons we have to leave soon nous devons partir bientt you have to come with me vous devez venir avec moi (end of recording)

CD 5 (55.30) (1) 5.12 you have to wait vous devez attendre he has to wait il doit attendre I have to wait je dois attendre I'm going to wait here je vais attendre ici everybody is going to wait tout le monde va attendre nobody can wait personne peut attendre can you? pouvez-vous? you can vous pouvez I would like to know if you can come with me now je voudrais savoir si vous pouvez venir avec moi maintenant (2) 5.45 can you wait here? pouvez-vous attendre ici? we can nous pouvons we cannot wait, we have to leave now nous ne pouvons pas attendre, nous devons partir maintenant you are going we are going I am going he is going she is going everybody is going who is going it is going it is going very well how's it going? comment a va? is it going to be ready soon? a vas tre prt bientt to do, make to do it le faire I would like to do it je voudrais le faire I must do it je dois le faire I am going to do it je vais le faire I am not going to do it je ne vais pas le faire we are going to do it nous allons le faire we are not going to do it now nous n'allons pas le faire you are going to do it vous allez le faire you are not going to do it vous n'allez pas le faire (3) 3.46 when quand when are you going to do it? quand allez-vous le faire? I am going to do it je vais le faire I am not going to do it je ne vais pas le faire he is going to do it il va le faire he is not going to do it il ne vas pas le faire because he cannot do it parce que il ne peut pas le faire but he must do it mais il doit le faire you have to do it vous devez le faire

we have to do it nous devons le faire I cannot do it now je ne peut pas le faire maintenant can you do it? pouvez-vous le faire? we cannot do it nous ne pouvons pas le faire (4) 3.46 to see I would like to do it je voudrais le faire to see to do to do it to see to see it to see it, to see him le voir I am going to see it tonight je vais le voir ce soir I am going to see him tonight to understand I cannot understand it je ne peux pas le comprendre I cannot understand him (5) 7.31 to take prendre I am going to take it je vais le prendre to know I would like to know it je voudrais le savoir I must know it je dois le savoir to have I would like to have it je voudrais l'avoir I must have it today je dois l'avoir aujourd'hui when you want to have it? quand voulez-vous l'avoir? to buy acheter I would like to buy it because I must have it je voudrais l'acheter parce que je dois l'avoir will you prepare it for me voulez-vous le prparer pour moi? will you accept the condition voulez-vous accepter la condition? thank you very much merci beaucoup many, much, very much beaucoup (you never say trs beaucoup in French) thanks very much I would like very much to accept the condition je voudrais beaucoup accepter la condition but I'm sorry but I cannot accept it mais je ne peux pas l'accepter because it is not acceptable for me that way parce que ce n'est pas acceptable pour moi comme a to see I'm going to see it tonight je vais le voir ce soir I'm going to see him tonight (6) 4.48 to see

to see it, see him her la to see her la voir I'm going to see her tonight je vais aller la voir ce soir them les to see them les voirs to see to see it to see him to see her to see them to see you vous voir I would like to see you je voudrais vous voir I'm going to see you tonight je vais vous voir ce soir I hope j'espre to hope esprer (in French, the conjunction "that" is compulsory) that que I hope I'm going to see you j'espre que je vais vous voir because I would like very much to see you parce que je voudrais beaucoup vous voir to see to see it, see him to see him to see them to see you to see us nous voir to see me me voir can you come see me? pouvez-vous venir me voir? (7) 5.05 to understand it le comprendre to understand him to understand her to understand them to understand you I cannot understand you je ne peux pas vous comprendre to understand us to understand me can you understand me? pouvez-vous me comprendre? to say, tell to tell it le dire to tell you to tell us to tell me I must tell you je dois vous dire I am going to tell you later je vais vous dire plus tard to find trouver we find nous trouvons I find je trouve

would you tell me where it is because I cannot find it voulez-vous me dire o c'est parce que je ne peux pas le trouver (8) 4.39 will you tell me voulez-vous me dire can you tell me pouvez-vous me dire expensive, dear cher it is very expensive c'est trs cher it is too expensive c'est trop cher will you tell me how much it is because I would like to have it and I'm going to buy it if it is not too expensive voulez-vous me dire combien c'est parce que je voudrais l'avoir et je vais l'acheter, si ce n'est past trop cher I would like to buy it je voudrais l'acheter I am going to buy it je vais l'acheter to call appeler to phone tlphoner will you call me later voulez-vous m'appeler plus tard (9) 4.39 can you call me later? pouvez-vous m'appeler plus tard? when can you call me? quand pouvez-vous m'appeler? when are you going to call me? quand allez-vous m'appeler? I am going to call you later je vais vous appelez plus tard will you call me later and can you tell me at what time it is going to be ready, because I must have it today if it is possible voulez-vous m'appeler plus tard et pouvez-vous me dire quelle heure a va tre prt, parce que je dois l'avoir aujourd'hui si c'est possible because I have to have it today parce que je dois l'avoir aujourd'hui I cannot understand him je ne peux pas le comprendre to wait attendre (attendre is used like "to await", not "to wait for somebody") will you wait for me? voulez-vous m'attendre? can you wait for me? pouvez-vous m'attendre? I am going to wait for you je vais vous attendre I am in a hurry je suis press (10) 6.02 I'm sorry but I cannot wait for you because I am very much in a hurry and I have to leave soon je regrette mais je ne peut pas vous attendre parce que je suis trs press et je dois partir bientt I'm going to see him je vais le voir (when him is used in the sense "to him", the French word is not le but lui) to give to carry, wear porter to bring apporter I'm going to bring you something je vais vous apporter quelque chose the book le livre I am going to bring you the book je vais vous apporter le livre to send envoyer I'm going to send him the book je vais lui envoyer le livre I want to send it to him je vais le lui envoyer

(11) 4.17 will you send it to him voulez-vous le lui envoyer when can you send it to him? quand pouvez-vous le lui envoyer? I'm going to see him tonight and I'm going to give him the book je vais le voir ce soir, et je vais lui donner le livre to her lui I'm going to see her tonight and I'm going to give her the book je vais la voir ce soir, et je vais lui donner le livre to who, to whom qui? it is for me c'est pour moi it is for you it is for us it is for him c'est pour lui it is for her c'est pour elle (note that after pour, we say elle and not lui) with him avec lui with her avec elle (end of recording)

CD 6 (58.49) (1) 6.16 I am going to give it je vais le donner I am going to give it to him je vais le donner lui (that is much less ambiguous than je vais le lui donner) I'm going to give it to her je vais le donner elle I am going to bring him the book je vais lui apporter le livre I am going to bring her book je vais lui apporter le livre I'm going to bring the book to him je vais apporter le livre lui I'm going to bring the book to her je vais apporter le livre elle to them leur money, silver l'argent I'm going to send them the money je vais leur envoyer l'argent my father mon pre my mother ma mre with my father avec mon pre with my mother avec me mre my parents mes parents his father son pre his mother sa mre his parents ses parents her father son pre her mother sa mre her parents ses parents their leur their father leur pre their mother leur mre their parents leur parents (2) 3.56 (leur means "them" and "to them") I'm going to bring them their book je vais leur apporter leur livre will you tell him, will you say to him voulez-vous lui dire? will you tell him that I'm going to call him later voulez-vous lui dire que je vais l'appeler plus tard to ask demander will you ask him voulez-vous lui demander will you ask him if he can wait for me voulez-vous lui demander s'il peut m'attendre pour moi (3) 4.53 I don't have the time now je n'ai pas le temps maintenant (French nouns can be masculine or feminine) police la police army une arme (a few rules about when to use le and when to use la, and how to avoid needing to stop to think about which to use) (-ion words are la, english words ending -ty end in French -t and are la) liberty la libert difficulty la difficult

facility la facilit possibility la possibilit opportunity l'opportunit speciality la specialit what speciality do you have? quelle specialit avez-vous? what is the speciality of the house? quelle est la specialit de la maison? (4) 2.44 quality la qualit what quantity quelle quantit society la societ (verbs ending -ate in English end -er in French) to operate oprer to moderate modrer to accelerate acclrer to facilitate faciliter to negotiate ngocier to cooperate cooprer (verbs ending -fy in English end -fier in French) to certify certifier to modify modifier to justify justifier (5) 6.21 a un, une (in spoken French, le and la are contracted to l' and pulled into the preceding word, for example je n'ai pas le temps sounds je n'ai parl' temps) (words ending -me are le) problem le problme system le systme it's not the problem ce n'est pas le problme it's not a problem ce n'st pas un problme there is, there are il y a there is a problem here il y a un problme ici something someone quelqu'un there is someone here who would like to speak with you il y a quelqu'un ici, qui voudrait parler avec vous is there someone? il y a quelqu'un ici? is it that est-ce que is there, are there est-ce que il y a is there a message for me est-ce que il a une message pour moi? (plural definite article is les) the books les livres (6) 4.30 (for the plural indefinite article, use des) messages des messages I'm going to buy some books je vais acheter des livres flowers les fleurs I'm going to buy some flowers je vais acheter des fleurs

there is a message for you il ya a une message pour vous there are messages for you il y a des messages pour vous are there any messages for me il y a des messages pour moi? est-ce qu'il y a des messages pour moi? is there someone here who speaks English? est-ce qu'il y a quelqu'un ici qui parle anglais? (7) 6.13 there is nobody here who speaks English il n'y a personne ici qui parle anglais not for me pas pour moi not now pas maintenant no, not any pas de... no coffee for me pas de caf pour moi no problem pas de problme no cream for me pas de crme pour moi no sugar for me pas de sucre pour moi nobody understands why personne comprends pourquoi I don't understand je ne comprends pas I understand it je le comprends I don't understand it je ne le comprends pas (8) 9.51 true vrai it is true c'est vrai it is not true ce n'est pas vrai, c'est pas vrai is that so? c'est vrai? truly vraiment I don't understand je ne comprends pas I don't understand it je ne le comprends pas I don't understand him je ne le comprends pas I don't understand her je ne la comprends pas I don't understand them je ne les comprends pas I don't understand you je ne vous comprends pas he doesn't understand you il ne vous comprends pas he doesn't understand us il ne nous comprends pas he doesn't understand me il ne me comprends pas I understand you very well je vous comprends trs bien I don't understand you very well je ne vous comprends pas trs bien nothing I don't understand I don't understand anything je ne comprends rien I don't see it je ne le vois pas I don't see anything je ne le vois rien never jamais I never see it je ne le vois jamais I never understand why je ne comprends jamais pourquoi I can never understand je ne peut jamais comprends I cannot understand anything je ne peut rien comprendre I would like a glass of mineral water je voudrais un verre d'eau minerale I would like a cup of coffee je voudrais une tasse de caf

(9) 9.41 (when an adjective is followed by a full verb in English, in French you say adjective + de + verb) it is not possible to do it ce n'est pas possible de le faire it is not necessary to do it now ce n'est pas necessaire de le faire happy heureux, heureuse I am happy je suis heureux I am happy to do it for you je suis heureux de le faire pour vous I am very happy to see you je suis trs heureux de vous voir I am glad je suis content I am very glad to see you je suis trs content de vous voir (also, in English a noun + infinitive becomes in French noun + de + infinitive) next time la prochaine fois one time, once une fois two times, twice deux fois three times the first time la premire fois the last time la dernire fois once more encore une fois I'm going to see it next time je vais le voir la prochaine fois I see it for the first time je le voir pour la premire fois I would like to have the opportunity to see it next time je voudrais avoir l'opportunit de le voir la prochaine fois the opportunity to see it l'occasion de le voir I don't always have the opportunity to see it je n'ai pas toujours l'occasion de le voir I don't always have the time to do it je n'ai pas tourjours le temps de le faire it is always a pleasure to see it c'est toujour un plaisir de le voir (10) 4.24 to take I'm taking it je le prends it is taking too much time that way a prends trop de temps comme a it is making a big difference that way a fait une grande diffrence comme a I enjoy, it makes me pleasure a me fait plaisir I'm very pleased to see you a me fait plaisir de vous voir it gives me great pleasure to see you a me fait grand plaisir de vous voir (end of recording)

CD 7 (64.08) (1) 5.34 I'm sorry but I don't have the time to do it now because I am very busy je regrette mais je n'ai pas le temps de le faire maintenant parce que je suis trs occup (de follows nouns and adjectives, but also some verbs of communication, e.g. demander, decider, dire. If these are themselves are followed by another verb, separate them with de) will you ask him to do it voulez-vous lui demander de le faire will you tell him to wait for me voulez-vous lui dire de m'attendre will you ask him to call me later voulez-vous lui demander de m'appeler plus tard (after any form of "have", a following verb is preceded by ) what, i.e. what is it that qu'est-ce que what do you have? qu'est-ce que vous avez? do you understand? comprenez-vous?, est-ce que vous comprenez do you understand me? est-ce que vous me comprenez (2) 5.27 what do you have to eat? qu'est-ce que vous avez manger you have to eat vous devez manger to drink boire what do you have to drink? qu'est-ce que vous avez boire? ( also used after il y a) what is there to drink? qu'est-ce qu'il y a boire? what is there to eat? qu'est-ce qu'il y a manger? ( also used after -chose) I have something to tell you j'ai quelque chose vous dire (de is used after an expression of quantity) how much time combien de temps too much time trop de temps (any form meaning "much" also means "many") many things trop de chose much time beaucoup de temps I don't have much time je n'ai pas baucoup de temps many things beaucoup de chose I'm going to buy many things je vais acheter beaucoup de choses too much, too many trop I don't have too much time je n'ai pas trop de temps I am not going to buy too many things je ne vais pas acheter trop de choses (if expressions of quantity are followed by a verb, use ) I have much to do! j'ai beaucoup trop faire! "nothing doing!" "rien faire!" (3) 3.57 (there are several words in French for what, i.e.) what difference, which difference quelle diffrence what is the difference quelle est la diffrence between entre between us entre nous between the two, between both entre les deux what is the difference between the two? quelle est la diffrence entre les deux?

what speciality quelle specialit? what is the speciality of the house? quelle est la specialit de la maison? what address? quelle adresse? your votre what is your address? quelle est votre adresse? telephone number numro de tlphone what is your telephone number? quelle est votre numro de tlphone? (in English you can combine nouns, e.g. "telephone number". In French these nouns are separated by de) what is your name? quel est votre nom? (4) 5.07 what difference quelle diffrence what is the difference? quelle est la diffrence? what (followed by a verb) que what do you want? que voulez-vous? what do you want to eat? que voulez-vous manger? what do you want to do now? que voulez-vous faire maintenant? what do you want to know? que voulez-vous savoir? what do you want? que voulez-vous? what do you prefer? que prfrez-vous? to think penser what do you think? que pensez-vous? what do you have? que avez-vous? (que and qu'est-ce que are interchangeable,in a question followed by a verb, but after qu'est-ce que there is no inversion) what do you want? qu'est-ce que vous voulez? what do you know? qu'est-ce que vous savez? what do you have for me? qu'est-ce que vous avez pour moi? (5) 6.17 what do you want? qu'est-ce que vous voulez? what do you want to say? qu'est-ce que vous voulez dire? what do you mean? qu'est-ce que vous voulez dire? (what used in the middle of a sentence is ce que) I don't know what I'm going to do today je ne sais pas ce que je vais faire aujourd'hui nobody knows what it is persone sait ce que c'est who knows? qui sait? I don't understand what you mean je ne comprendes pas ce que vous voulez dire (6) 7.14 (there are only two French verbs which take -x in the first person singular) I can je peux he can il peut I want je veux he wants il veut I want it I don't want it that's not what I want ce n'est pas ce que je veux that's exactly what I want c'est exactement ce que je veux but that's not what I mean mais ce n'est pas ce que je veux dire

I want to do it je veux le faire I'm going to do it je vais le faire I'm going to do it because I want to see it je vais le faire parce que je veux le voir that's not what I mean ce n'est pas ce que je veux dire I don't understand what it means je ne comprends pas ce que a veut dire what does it mean? qu'est-ce que a veut dire? (7) 4.53 to explain expliquer will you explain to me what you mean voulez-vous m'expliquer ce que vous voulez dire (the French future tense formed with "going" is more common in French than in English) I will do it tomorrow je vais le faire demain some, a few quel que day jour in dans he will be here in a few days il va tre ici dans quel que jours I will arrive tomorrow morning je vais arriver demain matin we will arrive tomorrow morning nous allons arriver demain matin (the other future tense: in early French, there was a form "I to leave have" meaning "I will leave") (8) 5.46 I will leave tomorrow je partirai demain he will leave tomorrow il partira demain you will leave tomorrow vous partirez demain we will leave tomorrow nous partirons to tell, say I will say, I will tell je dirai I will wait j'attendrai you will wait vous attendrez we will wait nous attendrons he will wait il attendra I will understand je comprendrai I will not understand it je ne le comprendrai pas I won't understand you je ne vous comprendrai pas he won't understand me il ne me comprendra pas he will tell you il vous dira he won't tell me il ne me dira pas I will ask you later je vous demanderai plus tard (9) 7.02 it will start soon a commencera bientt it is going to start soon a va commencer bientt (there is a third future tense - use of the present tense to express the future) it will start tomorrow a commence demain week la semaine next week la semaine prochaine I'm going to see you next week je vous voir la semaine prochaine, je vais vous voir la semaine prochaine to lift, lift up lever

I'm lifting it je le leve he is lifting it il le leve she is lifting it elle le leve I am starting he is starting it is starting one (pronoun) on one is starting on commence (on is often used to express "we") are we starting now? on commence maintenant? (10) 6.33 we are very comfortable here on est trs confortable ici we are going now on va maintenant we are going to stay here on va rester ici (on va as a question also means "shall we?") shall we start? on va commencer? shall we leave? on va partir? shall we stay? on va rester? what shall we...? qu'est-ce qu'on va...? what shall we do? qu'est-ce qu'on va faire? what shall we eat? qu'est-ce qu'on va manger? to order, command commander what shall we order? qu'est-ce qu'on va commander? what shall we drink? qu'est-ce qu'on va boire? what shall we take? qu'est-ce qu'on va prendre? (in English, we "have" food and drinks, in French we "take" food and drinks) I'm going to have a cup of coffee je vais prendre une tasse de caf to have dinner dner to have lunch djeuner lunch le djeuner will you have lunch with me voulez-vous djeuner avec moi? breakfast le petit djeuner will you have breakfast with me tomorrow morning voulez-vous prendre le petit djeuner avec moi demain matin (11) I will do it je vais le faire, je le fairai (in English, "will you", "will you please" is the only time that "will" does not mean future tense) will you please, would you please voulez-vous will you come with me voulez-vous venir avec moi? do you want to come with me? voulez-vous venir avec moi? (end of recording) CD 8 (62.06) (1) 6.55 I'm lifting it je le leve I'm lifting myself up, i.e. I'm getting up je me leve

we are getting up nous nous levons you're getting up vous vous levez (for "himself", "oneself", "itself" etc use se) he is getting up il se leve one is getting up on se leve I'm going to get up je vais me lever one is going to get up on va se lever will you get up please? voulez-vous vous lever? at what time are you going to get up tomorrow morning? quelle heure allez-vous vous levez demain matin to ask I'm asking I'm asking you I am asking myself, I wonder je me demande I will call you tomorrow je vous appelle demain my name is, I call myself je m'appelle (2) 4.12 to call back rappeler will you call back? voulez-vous rappeler? I'm going to call you back je vais vous rappeler will you ask him to call me back voulez-vous lui dire demander de me rappeler I will call you back later je vous rappelle plus tard I remember je me rappelle I don't remember je ne me rappelle pas to hurry, "despatch oneself" se dpecher I'm hurrying je me dpeche I'm going to hurry je vais me dpecher I must hurry je dois me dpecher one is going to hurry on va se dpecher we are going to hurry nous allons nous dpecher you have to hurry vous devez vous dpecher will you hurry please voulez-vous vous dpecher (3) 4.30 in, to France en France in, to England en Angleterre in, to Italy en Italie in, to Germany en Allemagne in, to Switzerland en Suisse we are going to Spain nous allons en Espagne we are going to be in Spain nous allons tre en Espagne in, to California en Californie in, to Asia en Asie in, to Africa en Afrique in, to America en Amerique (most countries and continents use en, and these are mostly la countries that end in a vowel. Countries ending with a consonant are le countries, and they use au for "in, to") in Japan au Japon in Switzerland

in Denmark au Danemark in Portugal au Portugal in Brazil au Brsil in Canada (exception) au Canada (en is also used for languages) in French en franais one says on dit how does one say comment dit on how does one say in French? comment dit on en franais? how do you say at? comment a se dit? how is it spelled? comment a s'crit? to write crire it is being written a s'crit price, prize prix what price quelle prix what is the price? quelle est le prix? it is how much? c'est combien will you write it voulez-vous l'crire will you write down the price voulez-vous crire le prix (4) 6.40 in English en anglais in Spanish en espagnol (en also used in the construction "while -ing" en -ant) in passing, while passing en passant while waiting en attendant (en by itself means "of it", "from it". It replaces the two words de a "of it". en has the same position as "it". It also means "some of it", "any of it", "some" implying "some of it" or "any" implying "any of it") I want je veux I want it je le veux I want some of it j'en veux I don't want any of it je n'en veux pas I'm going to buy some je vais en acheter because I would like to have some parce que je voudrais en avoir do you want to have some? voulez-vous en avoir? do you have it? l'avez-vous?, est-ce que vous l'avez? do you have some of it? en avez-vous?, est-ce que vous en avez? do you want some of it? en voulez-vous?, est-ce que vous en voulez? (5) 6.08 enough assez I have enough j'ai assez I have enough of it j'en ai assez (that also means "I'm fed up with it") I'm really fed up with it! j'en ai marre to need avoir besoin de I need this book j'ai besoin de ce livre I need to do it j'ai besoin de le faire one must on doit, il faut

one must do it il faut le faire what you want to do now? qu'est-ce que vous voulez maintenant? if you want si vous voulez (that also means "It's all right with me") (vous verbs end -ez, with only three exceptions) you are vous tes (6) 5.16 where are you? o tes-vous? are you busy? tes-vous occup? free libre are you free? tes-vous libre? where are you? you are doing, making vous faites what are you doing? qu'est-ce que vous faites? you are saying, telling vous dites what are you saying? qu'est-ce que vous dites? what are you doing? qu'est-ce que vous faites? I don't understand what you are saying je ne comprends pas ce que vous dites to hurry I am hurrying je me dpeche I am in a hurry je suis press I am hurrying because I am in a hurry je me dpeche parce que je sais press I'm going to hurry je vais me dpecher I must hurry je dois me dpecher will you hurry please voulez-vous vous dpechez hurry yourself! dpechez-vous! (7) 4.39 to derange, bother dranger it bothers me a me drange it doesn't bother me a me drange pas it bothers you a vous drange it bothers me it bothers you? a vous drange to smoke fumer (8) 3.17 will it bother you if I smoke? a vous drange si je fume? information information (information means "information" in the general sense. For specific information, such as directions to somewhere, use renseignements) to teach enseigner to inform renseigner to inform oneself, get some information se renseigner I'm going to find out je vais ne renseigner (9) 6.01 (now some more handle verbs) I don't understand you je ne vous comprends pas I cannot understand you je ne peut pas vous comprendre I'm not doing it, i.e. I cannot do it now je ne peut pas le faire maintenant

he isn't doing it il ne peut pas le faire do you understand me? pouvez-vous me comprendre? why don't you do it now? pourquoi ne pouvez-vous pas le faire maintenant? why don't you tell me? pourquoi ne me dites pas?, pourquoi ne pouvez-vous pas me dire? (10) 6.10 why don't you come with me now? pourquoi ne pouvez-vous pas venir avec moi maintenant? (another handle) I have to leave now je dois partir maintenant we must leave now on doit partir maintenant (another handle) do you want? voulez-vous? why don't you do it, i.e. why don't you want to do it? pourquoi ne voulez-vous pas le faire? (you can also express the past tense using handles. In English, "can" in past tense is "could". So for "I didn't understand you", you can say "I couldn't understand you") I could je pouvais I couldn't understand you je ne pouvais pas vous comprendre he didn't wait for us il ne pouvait pas nous attendre I had to je devais he had to il devait he had to leave il devait partir he wanted to wait il voulait partir I didn't want to buy it je ne voulais pas l'acheter (11) 6.01 to know savoir I knew je savais I didn't know je ne savais pas to have avoir you have vous avez I had j'avais I didn't have the time to do it je n'avais pas le temps de le faire I was j'tais it was c'tait it wasn't ce n'tait pas it was not possible to do it that way ce n'tait pas possible le faire comme a because I was very busy parce que j'tait trs occup yesterday evening hier soir yesterday morning hier matin yesterday afternoon hier aprs-midi I was there last night, but nobody was there j'tais l hier soir, mais personne tait l I like, I love j'aime I like to do it that way j'aime le faire comme a (but there is a distinction between "I like you" and "I love you" !) I love you je vous aime I like you je vous aime bien I like you but I don't love you je vous aime bien mais je ne vous aime pas

I love to do it j'adore le faire (12) 2.17 (end of recording)