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Bonsoir
/bs wa/
Good evening
Bonne nuit
/bn ni/
Good night (only said when
going to bed)
Salut
/saly/
Hi / Bye
Au revoir
/()vwa/
Goodbye
Merci (beaucoup)
/msi boku/
Thank you (very much)
De rien.
/d j/
You're welcome.
Je vous en prie.
/vu z pri/
You're welcome. (formal) / Go
ahead.
Bienvenu(e)
/bjv ny/
Welcome (also You're welcome in
Quebec)
Allons-y!
/al zi/
Let's go!
A tout l'heure
/a tu ta l/
See you in a little while
A plus tard
/a ply ta/
See you later
A bientt
/a bjt o/
See you soon
A demain
/a dm/
See you tomorrow
Je suis dsol(e)
/dezle/
I'm sorry
Pardon !
/pad/
Excuse me! (pushing through
a crowd) / Sorry! (stepped on
someone's foot)
Excusez-moi !
/ekskyze mwa/
Excuse me! (getting someone's
attention) / I'm sorry! (more
formal apology)
Comment allez-vous ?
/km tale vu/
How are you? (formal)
Je vais bien
/ ve bj/
I'm fine.
a va ?
/sa va/
How are you? (informal)
a va.
/sa va/
I'm fine. (informal response to
a va ?)
Oui / non
/wi/ /n/
Yes / no
Tu t'appelles comment ?
/ty tapl km/
What's your name? (informal)
Je m'appelle...
/ mapl/
My name is...
Enchant(e)
/te/
Nice to meet you.
Monsieur, Madame,
Mademoiselle
/msj/ /madam/ /madwazl/
Mister, Misses, Miss
Mesdames et Messieurs
/medam/ /mesj/
Ladies and gentlemen
O habitez-vous ?
/u abite vu/
Where do you live? (formal)
Tu habites o ?
/ty abit u/
Where do you live? (informal)
J'habite ...
/abit a/
I live in...
Quel ge avez-vous ?
/kl ave vu/
How old are you? (formal)
Tu as quel ge ?
/ty kl /
How old are you? (informal)
Je parle allemand.
/ pal alm/
I speak German.
Comprenez-vous? / Tu
comprends?
/kpne vu/ /ty kp/
Do you understand? (formal /
informal)
Je comprends
/ kp/
I understand
Je ne comprends pas
/ n kp pa/
I don't understand
Bien sr.
/bj sy/
Of course.
Comment ?
/km/
What? Pardon?
Tenez / Tiens
/tne/ /tj/
Hey / Here (formal / informal)
Je sais
/ s/
I know
Je ne sais pas
/n s pa/
I don't know
Voici / Voil
/vwasi/ /vwala/
Here is/are... / There it is.
Il y a ... / Il y avait...
/il i a/ /il i av/
There is / are... / There was /
were...
Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ?
/ks kil i a/
What's the matter?
a ne fait rien.
/sa n f j/
It doesn't matter.
Je m'ennuie.
/ mni/
I'm bored.
J'ai oubli.
/e ublije/
I forgot.
Je dois y aller.
/ dwa i ale/
I must go.
Flicitations !
/felisitasj/
Congratulations!
Bonne chance !
/bn s/
Good luck!
Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi !
/tze vu/ /t tw/
Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal /
informal)
Tu me manques.
/ty m mk/
I miss you. (informal)
Quoi de neuf ?
/kw d nf/
What's new?
Pas grand-chose.
/pa g oz/
Not a whole lot.
Notice that French has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more
than one meaning to "you" in French (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is
used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when
talking to someone you just met, do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show
respect (a professor, for example.) There is also a plural you, used when speaking to more than
one person. Also notice that some words take an extra e, shown in parentheses. If the word
refers to a woman or is spoken by a woman, then the e is added in spelling; but in most cases, it
does not change the pronunciation. To make verbs negative, French adds nebefore the verb
and pas after it. However, the ne is frequently dropped in spoken French, although it must
appear in written French.
Don't forget to check out my video series on informal French expressions and slang
vocabulary at the Informal French tutorial
2. PRONUNCIATION / LA PRONONCIATION
pronunciation, try to the French Phonetics tutorial.
French Vowels
IPA
Phonetic
spelling
Sample words
General
spellings
[i]
ee
i, y
[y]
ee
rounded
[e] ay
, et, final er
and ez
[] ay rounded
eu
[] eh
e, , , ai, ei,
ais
u, eu
[a] ah
a, ,
[] ah longer
a,
[u] oo
ou
[o] oh
[] aw
sol, pomme,
cloche, horloge
[] uh
fentre, genou,
cheval, cerise
[]
eh
rounded
[] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in English
are marked in blue.
French semi-vowels
IPA
Phonetic
spelling
Sample words
General
spelling
[w]
fois, oui,
Louis
oi, ou
[]
ew-ee
lui, suisse
ui
[j]
yuh
oreille,
Mireille
ill, y
Phonetic spelling
Sample words
General spelling
[a]
awn
[]
ahn
in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um,
en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, en
[]
uhn
un
[o]
ohn
on, om
egz
examen, exercice
ex + consonant
eks
exceptionnel, expression
ch (Latin origin)
sh
architecte, archives
ch (Greek origin)
orchestre, archologie
ti + vowel (except )
see
dmocratie, nation
c + e, i, y; or
c + a, o, u
g + e, i, y
zh
genou, gingembre
g + a, o, u
gomme, ganglion
th
zh
qu, final q
silent
vowel + s + vowel
x + vowel
final x
There are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the final consonant,
unless that final consonant is C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r).
Liaison: French slurs most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that
is not pronounced and the next word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if it
were one word. S and x are pronounced as z; d as t; and f as v in these liaisons. Liaison is
always made in the following cases:
It is optional after pas, trop fort, and the forms of tre, but it is never made after et.
Silent e: Sometimes the e is dropped in words and phrases, shortening the syllables and
slurring more words.
Stress & Intonation: Stress on syllables is not as heavily pronounced as in English and it
generally falls on the last syllable of the word. Intonation usually only rises for yes/no questions,
and all other times, it goes down at the end of the sentence.
3. ALPHABET / L'ALPHABET
a /a/
/i/
/s/
b /be/
/ka/
/te/
c /se/
/l/
u /y/
d /de/
m /m/
e //
/n/
w /dublve/
/f/
/o/
/iks/
g //
/pe/
/igrk/
h /a/
/ky/
/zd/
//
/i/
/ve/
4. NOUNS, ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES / LES NOMS, LES ARTICLES & LES
DEMONSTRATIFS
All nouns in French have a gender, either masculine or feminine. For the most part, you must
memorize the gender, but there are some endings of words that will help you decide which
gender a noun is. Nouns ending in -age and -ment are usually masculine, as are nouns ending
with a consonant. Nouns ending in -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -t, and -ette are usually
feminine.
Articles and adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. And
articles have to be expressed even though they aren't always in English; and you may have to
repeat the article in some cases. Demonstratives are like strong definite articles.
Feminine
Before Vowel
Plural
le lit
/l li/
the bed
la pomme
/la pm/
the apple
l'oiseau
/lwazo/
the bird
les gants
/le /
the gloves
Feminine
Plural
un lit
/ li/
a bed
une pomme
/ yn pm/
an apple
des gants
/de /
some gloves
Fem.
Plural
ce lit
/s li/
this/that bed
cet oiseau
/s twazo/
this/that bird
cette pomme
/st pm/
this/that apple
ces gants
/se /
these/those gloves
If you need to distinguish between this or that and these or those, you can add -ci to the end of
the noun for this and these, and -l to the end of the noun for that and those. For example, ce
lit-ci is this bed, while ce lit-l is that bed.
5. USEFUL WORDS / LES MOTS UTILES
It's / That's
c'est
/s/
There is/are
il y a
/il i a/
There is/are
voil
/vwala/
Here is/are
voici
/vwasi/
and
et
/e/
always
toujours
/tuu/
but
mais
/m/
often
souvent
now
maintenant
/mt n/
sometimes
quelquefois
/suv/
/klkfwa/
especially
surtout
/sytu/
usually
d'habitude
/dabityd/
except
sauf
/sof/
also, too
aussi
/osi/
of course
bien sr
/bj sy/
again
encore
/k/
so so
comme
ci, comme a
late
en retard
/ta/
not bad
pas mal
/pa mal/
almost
presque
/psk/
book
le livre
/l liv/
friend (fem)
une amie
/y nami/
pencil
le crayon
/l kj/
friend (masc)
un ami
pen
le stylo
/l stilo/
woman
une femme
/ nami/
/yn fam/
paper
le papier
/l papje/
man
un homme
dog
le chien
/l j/
girl
une fille
cat
le chat
/l a/
boy
un garon
money
l'argent (m)
/la/
job / work
le travail
/ nm/
/yn fij/
/ gas/
/l tavaj/
//
nous
tu
/ty/
You (informal)
vous
/vu/
il
elle
on
/il/
/l/
//
He
She
One
ils
elles
/il/
/l/
They (masc.)
They (fem.)
/nu/
We
Il and elle can also mean it when they replace a noun (il replaces masculine nouns, and elle
replaces feminine nouns) instead of a person's name. Ils and elles can replace plural nouns as
well in the same way. Notice there are two ways to say you. Tu is used when speaking to
children, animals, or close friends and relatives. Vous is used when speaking to more than one
person, or to someone you don't know or who is older. On can be translated into English as
one, the people, we, they, or you.
Tutoyer and vouvoyer are two verbs that have no direct translation into
English. Tutoyer means to use tu or be informal with someone, while vouvoyer means to
use vous or be formal with someone.
7. TO BE & TO HAVE / ETRE & AVOIR
Present tense of tre /t/ - to be
I am
je suis
/ si/
We are
nous sommes
/nu sm/
You are
tu es
/ty /
You are
vous tes
/vu zt/
He is
She is
One is
il est
elle est
on est
/il /
/l /
/ n/
They are
They are
ils sont
elles sont
/il s/
/l s/
j'tais
/et/
We were
nous tions
/nu zetj/
You were
tu tais
/tu et/
You were
vous tiez
/vu zetje/
He was
She was
One was
il tait
elle tait
on tait
/il et/
/l et/
/ net/
They were
They were
ils taient
elles taient
/il zet/
/l zet/
Je and any verb form that starts with a vowel (or silent h) combine together for ease of
pronunciation.
Future Tense of tre - to be
I will be
je serai
/ se/
We will be
nous serons
/nu s/
You will be
tu seras
/ty sa/
You will be
vous serez
/vu se/
He will be
il sera
/il sa/
/il s/
She will be
One will be
/l sa/
/ sa/
elle sera
on sera
/l s/
j'ai
/e/
We have
nous avons
/nu zav/
You have
tu as
/ty /
You have
vous avez
/vu zave/
He has
She has
One has
il a
elle a
on a
/il /
/l /
/ n/
They have
They have
ils ont
elles ont
/il z/
/l z/
j'avais
/av/
We had
nous avions
/nu zavj/
You had
tu avais
/ty av/
You had
vous aviez
/vu zavje/
He had
She had
One had
il avait
elle avait
on avait
/il av/
/l av/
/ nav/
They had
ils avaient
elles avaient
/il zav/
/l zav/
j'aurai
/oe/
We will have
nous aurons
/nu zo/
tu auras
/ty o/
vous aurez
/vu zoe/
He will have
She will have
One will have
il aura
elle aura
on aura
/il oa/
/l oa/
/ noa/
ils auront
elles auront
/il zo/
/l zo/
In spoken French, the tu forms of verbs that begin with a vowel contract with the pronoun: tu es
= t'es /t/, tu as = t'as /t/, etc. In addition, it is very common to use on (plus 3rd person singular
conjugation) to mean we instead of nous.
COMMON EXPRESSIONS WITH AVOIR AND ETRE
Avoir and tre are used in many common and idiomatic expressions that should be memorized:
avoir chaud
/avwa o/
to be hot
tre de retour
/t d tu/ to be back
avoir froid
/avwa fwa/
to be cold
tre en retard
/t ta/
to be late
avoir peur
/avwa p/
to be afraid
tre en avance
/t navs/
to be early
avoir raison
/avwa z/
to be right
tre d'accord
/t dak/
to be in agreement
avoir tort
/avwa t/
to be wrong
/t sy l
pw d/
to be about to
avoir faim
/avwa f/
to be hungry
tre en train de
/t t d/
to be in the act of
avoir soif
/avwa swaf/
to be thirsty
tre enrhume
/t yme/
to have a cold
avoir sommeil
/avwa smj/
to be sleepy
/t u/
to be (a day)
avoir honte
/avwa t /
to be ashamed
avoir besoin de
/avwa bzw
d/
to need
/avwa d/
to look like,
seem
avoir l'intention
/avwa t sj/
de
to intend to
avoir envie de
/avwa vi d/
to feel like
avoir de la
chance
/avwa d la s/ to be lucky
avoir l'air de
Qui
/ki/
What
Quoi
/kwa/
Why
Pourquoi
/pukwa/
When
Quand
Where
/k/
/u/
How
Comment
Combien
/km/
/kb j/
Which / what
Quel(le)
/kl/
Zro
One
Un
/zeo/
/ /
Two
Deux
/d/
Three
Trois
/tw/
Four
Quatre
/kat/
Five
Cinq
/sk /
Six
Six
/sis/
Seven
Sept
/st/
Eight
Huit
/it/
Nine
Neuf
/nf/
Ten
Dix
/dis/
Eleven
Onze
Twelve
Douze
/z /
/duz/
Thirteen
Treize
/tz/
Fourteen
Quatorze
/katz/
Fifteen
Quinze
/kz /
Sixteen
Seize
/sz/
Seventeen
Dix-sept
/dist/
Eighteen
Dix-huit
/dizit/
Nineteen
Dix-neuf
/diznf/
Twenty
Vingt
/v/
Twenty-one
Vingt et un
/vt e /
Twenty-two
Vingt-deux
/v d/
Twenty-three
Vingt-trois
/v tw/
Thirty
Trente
Thirty-one
Trente et un
/tt/
/tt e //
Thirty-two
Trente-deux
Forty
Quarante
/tt d/
/kat/
Fifty
Cinquante
/sk t/
Sixty
Soixante
Seventy
Soixante-dix
/swast/
/swastdis/
Septante
Seventy-one
Soixante et onze
Seventy-two
Soixante-douze
Eighty
Quatre-vingts
Octante
Eighty-one
Quatre-vingt-un
/ktt/
/katv t /
Eighty-two
Quatre-vingt-deux
/katv d/
Ninety
Quatre-vingt-dix
/katv dis/
Nonante
Ninety-one
Quatre-vingt-onze
/nnt/
/katv z/
Ninety-two
Quatre-vingt-douze
/katv duz/
One Hundred
Cent
Cent un
Two Hundred
Deux cents
/s/
/s t /
/d s/
Deux cent un
/d s t /
Thousand
Mille
/mil/
Two Thousand
Deux mille
/d mil/
Million
Un million
/o milj/
Billion
Un milliard
/o milja/
/sptt/
/swast e z /
/swast duz/
/katv/
French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and
Swiss French use septante andnonante in place of the standard French words for 70 and 90
(though some parts of Switzerland use huitante for 80 andoctante is barely used
anymore). Also, when the numbers 5, 6, 8, and 10 are used before a word beginning with a
consonant, their final consonants are not pronounced. Phone numbers in France are ten digits,
beginning with 01, 02, 03, 04, or 05 depending on the geographical region, or 06 and 07 for cell
phones. They are written two digits at a time, and pronounced thus: 01 36 55 89 28 = zro un,
trente-six, cinquante-cinq, quatre-vingt-neuf, vingt-huit.
ORDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES ORDINAUX
first
premier / premire
second
deuxime / second
third
troisime
fourth
quatrime
fifth
cinquime
sixth
sixime
seventh
septime
eighth
huitime
ninth
neuvime
tenth
dixime
eleventh
onzime
twelfth
douzime
twentieth
vingtime
twenty-first
vingt et unime
thirtieth
trentime
The majority of numbers become ordinals by adding -ime. But if a number ends in an e, you
must drop it before adding the -ime. After a q, you must add a u before the -ime. And an f
becomes a v before the -ime.
Listen to the la tlphone : un message mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank)
exercise from French Listening Resources.
10. DAYS OF THE WEEK / LES JOURS DE LA SEMAINE
Monday
lundi
Tuesday
mardi
/ldi/
/madi/
Wednesday
mercredi
/mkdi/
Thursday
jeudi
/di/
Friday
vendredi
Saturday
samedi
/vddi/
/samdi/
Sunday
dimanche
day
le jour
/dim/
/l u/
week
la semaine
/la s()mn/
today
aujourd'hui
/oudi/
yesterday
hier
/j/
tomorrow
demain
/dm/
next
prochain / prochaine
/p/ /pn/
last
dernier / dernire
/dnje/ /dnj/
avant-hier
/avtj/
aprs-demain
/apdm/
le lendemain
/l ldm/
la veille
/la vj/
Articles are not used before days, except to express something that happens habitually on a
certain day, such as le lundi = on Mondays. Days of the week are all masculine in gender and
they are not capitalized in writing.
Listen to the l'heure & la date : l'emploi du temps mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-theblank) exercise from French Listening Resources.
11. MONTHS OF THE YEAR / LES MOIS DE L'ANNEE
January
janvier
February
fvrier
/vje/
/fevije/
March
mars
/mas/
April
avril
/avil/
May
mai
/m/
June
juin
//
July
juillet
/ij/
August
aot
/u(t)/
September
septembre
October
octobre
/sptb/
/ktb/
November
novembre
December
dcembre
/nvb/
/desb/
month
le mois
/l mwa/
year
l'an / l'anne
decade
la dcennie
/l/ /lane/
/deseni/
century
le sicle
/l sjkl/
millennium
le millnaire
/milen/
To express in a certain month, such as in May, use en before the month as in "en mai." With
dates, the ordinal numbers are not used, except for the first of the month: le premier mai but le
deux juin. Also note that months are all masculine and not capitalized in French (same as days
of the week).
12. SEASONS / LES SAISONS
Summer
l't
/lete/
in the summer
en t
Fall
l'automne
/lotn/
in the fall
en automne
Winter
l'hiver
/liv/
in the winter
en hiver
Spring
le printemps
/l pt /
in the spring
au printemps
/ nete/
/ notn/
/ niv/
/o prt /
gauche
/a go/
on the right
droite
/a dwt/
straight ahead
tout droit
/tu dw/
North
le nord
/l n/
Northeast
le nord-est
/l n(d)st/
South
le sud
/l syd/
Northwest
le nord-ouest
/l n(d)wst/
East
l'est
/lst/
Southeast
le sud-est
/sydst/
West
l'ouest
/lwst/
Southwest
le sud-ouest
/sydwst/
square
le carr
/kae/
Orange orange
//
circle
le cercle
/skl/
Yellow jaune
/on/
triangle
le triangle
/tijgl/
Green
vert / verte
/v/ /vt/
rectangle
le rectangle
/ktgl/
Blue
bleu / bleue
/bl/
oval
l'ovale
/val/
/vjl/ /vjlt/
cube
le cube
/kyb/
White
blanc / blanche
/bl/ /bl/
sphere
la sphre
/sf/
Brown
brun / brune
marron
/bo/ /byn/
/ma/
cylinder
le cylindre
/sild /
Black
noir / noire
/nwa/
cone
le cne
/kon/
Pink
rose
/oz/
octagon
l'octogone
/ktogn/
Gold
dor / dore
/de/
box
la bote
/bwat/
Silver
argent /
argente
/ate/
light
clair / claire
/kl/
Gray
gris / grise
/gi/ /giz/
dark
Red
rouge
Some adjectives of color do not change to agree with gender or number, such as adjectives that
also exist as nouns: orange, marron, rose; and compound adjectives: bleu clair, noir
fonc remain masculine even if they describe a feminine noun. Remember to place the color
adjective after the noun.
15. WEATHER / LE TEMPS QU'IL FAIT
What's the weather like?
/kl t f til/
It's nice
Il fait bon
/il f b/
bad
Il fait mauvais
/il f mve/
cool
Il fait frais
/il f f/
cold
Il fait froid
/il f fw/
warm, hot
Il fait chaud
/il f o/
cloudy
Il fait nuageux
/il f nya/
beautiful
Il fait beau
/il f bo/
mild
Il fait doux
/il f du/
stormy
Il fait orageux
/il f a/
sunny
Il fait soleil
/il f slj/
humid
Il fait humide
/il f ymid/
muggy
Il fait lourd
/il f lu/
windy
Il fait du vent
/il f dy v/
foggy
Il fait du brouillard
/il f dy buja/
snowing
Il neige
/il n/
raining
Il pleut
/il pl/
freezing
Il gle
/il l/
hailing
Il grle
/il gl/
It is ____ degrees.
/il f __ dge/
Il pleut des cordes /il pl de kod/ is a common expression meaning it's pouring. Il caille /il kaj/
or a caille /sa kaj/ is slang for it's freezing. And remember that France uses Celcius degrees.
Listen to the le climat: le temps dans les Alpes mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-theblank) exercise from French Listening Resources.
16. TIME / LE TEMPS QUI PASSE
What time is it?
/kl til/
It is...
Il est...
/il /
one o'clock
une heure
/yn /
two o'clock
deux heures
/d z/
noon
midi
/midi/
midnight
minuit
/mini/
/tw z e ka/
/yn pesiz/
/kat pesiz/
twelve thirty
six thirty
/si z e dmi/
a quarter to seven
/st mw l ka/
five twenty
/sk v/
ten fifty
in the morning/AM
du matin
/z mw dis/
/dy mat/
in the afternoon/PM
de l'aprs-midi
/d lapmidi/
in the evening/PM
du soir
/dy swa/
Official French time is expressed as military time (24 hour clock.) You can only use regular
numbers, and not demi, quart, etc. when reporting time with the 24 hour system. For example, if
it is 18h30, you must say dix-huit heures trente. The word pile/pil/ is also a more informal way
of saying prcise (exactly, sharp).
Listen to the l'heure & la date : l'emploi du temps mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-theblank) exercise from French Listening Resources.
la famille
/famij/
Relatives
des parents
Parents
les parents
/pa/
/pa/
Grandparents
les grands-parents
Mom
la mre / maman
/gpa/
/m/ /mm/
Stepmother/Mother-in-Law
la belle-mre
/blm/
Dad
le pre / papa
/p/ /papa/
Stepfather/Father-in-Law
le beau-pre
/bop/
Daughter
la fille
/fij/
Son
le fils
/fis/
Sister
la sur
/s/
Half/Step Sister
la demi-sur
/dmi s/
Sister-in-Law
la belle-sur
/bls/
Stepdaughter/Daughter-in-Law
la belle-fille
/bl fij/
Brother
le frre
/f/
Half/Step Brother
le demi-frre
/dmi f/
Brother-in-Law
le beau-frre
/bo f/
Stepson/Son-in-Law
le beau-fils
/bo fis/
Twins (m)
les jumeaux
/ymo/
Twins (f)
les jumelles
/yml/
Uncle
l'oncle
Aunt
la tante
/kl/
/tt/
Grandmother
la grand-mre
Grandfather
le grand-pre
/gm/
/gp/
Cousin (f)
la cousine
/kuzin/
Cousin (m)
le cousin
/kuz/
Wife
la femme
/fam/
Husband
le mari
/mai/
Woman
la femme
/fam/
Man
l'homme
/m/
Girl
la fille
/f/
/fij/
Boy
le garon
Niece
la nice
/gas/
/njs/
Nephew
le neveu
/n()v/
Grandchildren
les petits-enfants
Granddaughter
la petite-fille
/p()tizf/
/p()tit fij/
Grandson
le petit-fils
/p()tifis/
Godfather
le parrain
/pa/
Godmother
la marraine
/man/
Godson
le filleul
/fijl/
Goddaughter
la filleule
/fijl/
Distant Relatives
Single
clibataire
/pa elwae/
/selibat/
Married
mari(e)
/maje/
Separated
spar(e)
/sepae/
Divorced
divorc(e)
/divse/
Widower
veuf
/vf/
Widow
veuve
/vv/
Dog
/j/ /jn/
Cat
/a/ /at/
Puppy
le chiot
/jo/
Kitten
le chaton
Pig
le cochon
/at/
/k/
Rooster
le coq
/kk/
Rabbit
le lapin
/lap/
Cow
la vache
/va/
Horse
le cheval
/()val/
Duck
le canard
/kana/
Goat
la chvre
/v/
Goose
l'oie
/wa/
Sheep
le mouton
Lamb
l'agneau
/mut/
/ao/
Donkey
l'ne
/n/
Mouse
la souris
/sui/
Sister la frangine
/fin/
toute la smala
/tut la smala/
mm / mamie
pp / papi
des gosses
un gamin / une
gamine
une nana
/f/
/fist/
/tata/ /tati/
/tt/
/nana/
/kabo/
Dog
le cabot /
Man
/mk/ /tip/
/ga/
Cat
clbard
/kleba/
le minou
/minu/
Listen to the animaux : chien ou chat ? mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank)
exercise from French Listening Resources.
18. TO KNOW PEOPLE & PLACES / CONNAITRE & SAVOIR
connatre-to know people /knt/
connais
/kn/
connaissons
/kns/
sais
/s/
savons
/sav/
connais
/kn/
connaissez
/knse/
sais
/s/
savez
/save/
connat
/kn/
connaissent
/kns/
sait
/s/
savent
/sav/
Connatre is used when you know (are familiar with) people, places, food, movies, books, etc.
and savoir is used when you know facts. When savoir is followed by an infinitive it means to
know how.
There is another form of savoir commonly used in the expressions que je sache that I know
(of) and pas que je sache not that I know (of).
Je connais ton frre. I know your brother.
Je sais que ton frre s'appelle Jean. I know that your brother is named John.
Connaissez-vous Grenoble ? Do you know (Are you familiar with) Grenoble? / Have you ever
been to Grenoble?
Oui, nous connaissons Grenoble. Yes, we know (are familiar with) Grenoble. / Yes, we've
been to Grenoble.
Tu sais o Grenoble se trouve. You know where Grenoble is located.
Ils savent nager. They know how to swim.
Connatre can be translated several ways into English:
Tu connais le film, Les Enfants ? Have you seen the film, Les Enfants?
Tu connais Lyon ? Have you ever been to Lyon?
Tu connais la tartiflette ? Have you ever eaten tartiflette?
19. FORMATION OF PLURAL NOUNS / LA FORMATION DES NOMS PLURIELS
Sing.
Plural
bus(es)
le bus
les bus
boat(s)
le bateau
les bateaux
horse(s)
le cheval
les chevaux
knee(s)
le genou
les genoux
Exceptions: festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, dtail, chandail all add -s. There are
only seven nouns ending in -ou that add -x instead of -s: bijou, caillou, chou, genou, pou,
joujou, hibou. There are, of course, some irregular exceptions: un il (eye) - des
yeux (eyes); le ciel (sky) - les cieux (skies); and un jeune homme (a young man) - des jeunes
gens (young men).
Notice that the only time the pronunciation will change in the plural form is for masculine nouns
that change -al or -ail to -aux and for the irregular forms. All other nouns are pronounced the
same in the singular and the plural - it is only the article that changes pronunciation (le, la, l' to
les).
20. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES / LES ADJECTIFS POSSESSIFS
Masc.
Fem.
Plural
My
mon /m/
ma /ma/
mes /m/
Your
ton /t/
ta /ta/
tes /t/
His/Her/Its
son /s/
sa /sa/
ses /s/
Our
notre /nt/
notre /nt/
nos /no/
Your
votre /vt/
votre /vt/
vos /vo/
Their
leur /l/
leur /l/
leurs /l/
Possessive pronouns go before the noun. When a feminine noun begins with a vowel, you must
use the masculine form of the pronoun for ease of pronunciation. Ma amie is incorrect and must
be mon amie, even though amie is feminine. Remember that adjectives agree with the noun in
gender and number, not the possessor! Sa mre can mean his mother or her mother even
though sa is the feminine form, because it agrees with mre and not the possessor (his or her).
C'est ma mre et mon pre. This is my mother and my father.
Ce sont vos petits-enfants ? These are your grandchildren?
Mes parents sont divorcs. My parents are divorced.
Sa grand-mre est veuve. His grandmother is a widow.
Notre frre est mari, mais notre sur est clibataire. Our brother is married, but our sister
is single.
Ton oncle est architecte, n'est-ce pas ? Your uncle is an architect, isn't he?
Leurs cousines sont nerlandaises. Their cousins are Dutch.