1.

BASIC PHRASES / LES EXPRESSIONS DE BASE Bonjour Hello / Good day / Good morning Salut /saly/ Hi / Bye Bonsoir Good evening Bonne nuit n ni Good night (only said when going to bed) S'il vous plat / S'il te plat il v pl Please (formal / informal) Je vous en prie. v pi You're welcome. (formal) / Go ahead. A tout l'heure t t l See you in a little while A demain m See you tomorrow Excusez-moi ! /ekskyze mwa/ Excuse me! (getting someone's attention) / I'm sorry! (more formal apology) Trs bien / mal / pas mal t j m l p m l Very good / bad / not bad Oui / non i n Yes / no Je m'appelle...

Au revoir ()v Goodbye

Merci (beaucoup) m i ok Thank you (very much) Bienvenu(e) jvn Welcome (also You're welcome in Quebec) A plus tard pl t See you later

De rien. j You're welcome.

Allons-y! l i Let's go! A bientt jto See you soon Pardon ! p Excuse me! (pushing through a crowd) / Sorry! (stepped on someone's foot) Je vais bien ve j I'm fine. a va. /sa va/ I'm fine. (informal response to a va ?) Tu t'appelles comment ?

Je suis dsol(e) e le I'm sorry

Comment allez-vous ? k m t le v How are you? (formal) a va ? /sa va/ How are you? (informal) Comment vous appelez-

vous ? k m v ple v What's your name? (formal)

t t pl k m What's your name? (informal) Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle m j m m m l Mister, Misses, Miss Tu es d'o ? / Tu viens d'o ? t t vj Where are you from? (informal) Tu habites o ? /ty abit u/ Where do you live? (informal) Tu as quel ge ? t kl How old are you? (informal)

m pl My name is...

Enchant(e) te Nice to meet you.

Mesdames et Messieurs /medam/ /mesj/ Ladies and gentlemen

Vous tes d'o ? / Vous venez d'o ? v t v vne Where are you from? (formal) O habitez-vous ? /u abite vu/ Where do you live? (formal)

Je suis de... / Je viens de... i vj I am from...

J'habite ... it I live in...

Quel ge avez-vous ? kl ve v How old are you? (formal) Parlez-vous franais ? / Tu parles anglais ? p le v t p l l Do you speak French? (formal) / Do you speak English? (informal) Comprenez-vous? / Tu comprends? k p ne v t k p Do you understand? (formal / informal) Pouvez-vous m'aider ? / Tu peux m'aider ? /puve vu mede/ /ty p

J'ai ____ ans. e I am ____ years old.

Je parle allemand. p l lm I speak German.

Je ne parle pas espagnol. n p l p p l I don't speak Spanish.

Je comprends k p I understand

Je ne comprends pas n k p p I don't understand

Bien sr. j Of course.

Comment ? k m What? Pardon?

mede/ Can you help me? (formal / informal) Tenez / Tiens tne tj Hey / Here (formal / informal) O est ... / O sont ... ? Where is ... / Where are ... ? Comment dit-on ____ en franais ? k m it How do you say ____ in French? a ne fait rien. n j It doesn't matter. Je suis fatigu(e) / Je suis malade. i tie i m l I'm tired / I'm sick. Je sais I know Je ne sais pas n p I don't know Il y a ... / Il y avait... il i il i v There is / are... / There was / were...

Voici / Voil /vwasi/ /vwala/ Here is/are... / There it is.

Qu'est-ce que c'est que a ? k k k What is that? Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? k ki p What's happening? J'ai faim / J'ai soif. e e I'm hungry / I'm thirsty.

Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? k kil i What's the matter?

Je n'ai aucune ide. ne ok n i e I have no idea. J'ai chaud / J'ai froid. e o e I'm hot / I'm cold. Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne t'en fais pas. n v t p n t pa/ Don't worry (formal / informal) Je dois y aller. i le I must go. Bonne chance ! n Good luck!

Je m'ennuie. m ni I'm bored.

a m'est gal. / Je m'en fiche. m te l m i It's the same to me / I don't care. (informal) J'ai oubli. e lije I forgot. Flicitations ! eli it j Congratulations!

Ce n'est pas grave. n p v It's no problem. / It's alright. A vos souhaits ! / A tes souhaits ! vo te

Bless you! (formal / informal) C'est vous ! / C'est toi ! t v t t It's your turn! (formal / informal) Tu me manques. t m m k I miss you. (informal) Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi ! t e v t t Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal / informal) Quoi de neuf ? k n What's new? Je vous aime / Je t'aime v m tm I love you (formal & plural / informal) Pas grand-chose. p o Not a whole lot.

Notice that French has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more than one meaning to "you" in French (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone you just met, do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example.) There is also a plural you, used when speaking to more than one person. Also notice that some words take an extra e, shown in parentheses. If the word refers to a woman or is spoken by a woman, then the e is added in spelling; but in most cases, it does not change the pronunciation. To make verbs negative, French adds ne before the verb and pas after it. However, the ne is frequently dropped in spoken French, although it must appear in written French.

2. PRONUNCIATION / LA PRONONCIATION For a more in-depth look at French pronunciation, try to the French Phonetics tutorial. French Vowels IPA [i] [y] Phonetic Sample words spelling ee ee rounded vie, midi, lit, riz rue, jus, tissu, usine General spellings i, y u

[e] ay [] ay rounded

bl, nez, cahier, , et, final pied er and ez jeu, yeux, queue, eu bleu lait, aile, balai, reine e, , , ai, ei, ais

[] eh [] eh rounded

sur, uf, fleur, ,e beurre chat, ami, papa, a, , salade

[a] ah

bas, ne, grce, a, [] ah longer chteau [u] oo [o] oh [] aw [] uh loup, cou, caillou, outil eau, dos, escargot, htel sol, pomme, cloche, horloge fentre, genou, cheval, cerise ou o, o e

[] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in English are marked in blue. French semi-vowels IPA [w] [] Phonetic spelling w ew-ee Sample words fois, oui, Louis lui, suisse General spelling oi, ou ui

[j]

yuh

oreille, Mireille

ill, y

French nasal vowels IPA [ ] [] [ ] [ ] Phonetic spelling awn ahn uhn ohn Sample words gant, banc, dent pain, vin, linge brun, lundi, parfum rond, ongle, front General spelling en, em, an, am, aon, aen in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um, en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, en un on, om

[ ] is being replaced with [] in modern French In words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant. Otherwise, the in- prefix is pronounce een before a vowel. French Consonants ex + vowel ex + consonant ch (Latin origin) ch (Greek origin) ti + vowel (except ) c + e, i, y; or c + a, o, u g + e, i, y g + a, o, u th j qu, final q h vowel + s + vowel x + vowel final x egz eks sh k see s k zh g t zh k silent z z s examen, exercice exceptionnel, expression architecte, archives orchestre, archologie dmocratie, nation cent, ceinture, maon caillou, car, cube genou, gingembre gomme, ganglion maths, thme, thym jambe, jus, jeune que, quoi, grecque haricot, herbe, hasard rose, falaise, casino six ans, beaux arts six, dix, soixante (these 3 only!)

There are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the final consonant, unless that final consonant is C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r). Liaison: French slurs most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that is not pronounced and the next

word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if it were one word. S and x are pronounced as z; d as t; and f as v in these liaisons. Liaison is always made in the following cases: after a determiner: un ami, des amis before or after a pronoun: vous avez, je les ai after a preceding adjective: bon ami, petits enfants after one syllable prepositions: en avion, dans un livre after some one-syllable adverbs (trs, plus, bien) after est 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. rapid(e)ment, lent(e)ment, sauv(e)tage ovt sous l(e) bureau, chez l(e) docteur l pi m o el tm kto

il y a d(e)... , pas d(e)... , plus d(e)... /yad/ /pad/ / plyd/ je n(e), de n(e) n n k (note the ch n e o the p on nci tion

j(e) te, c(e) que t of the j as well)

Stress & Intonation: Stress on syllables is not as heavily pronounced as in English and it generally falls on the last syllable of the word. Intonation usually only rises for yes/no questions, and all other times, it goes down at the end of the sentence. 3. ALPHABET / L'ALPHABET

a /a/ b /be/

j k

i /ka/

s t

/te/

c /se/ d /de/ e f g h i
/i/

l m n o p q r

l m n /o/ /pe/ /ky/

u /y/ v w x y z
/iks/ i k /ve/ lve

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. Definite Articles (The) Masculine le lit l li the bed Feminine la pomme l p m the apple Before Vowel l'oiseau /lwazo/ the bird Plural les gants le the gloves

Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some) Masculine un lit li a bed Feminine une pomme np m an apple Plural des gants e some gloves

Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those)

Masc. ce lit li this/that bed

Masc, Before Vowel cet oiseau t o this/that bird

Fem. cette pomme t p m this/that apple

Plural ces gants e 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 There is/are and but now especially except of course so so not bad book pencil pen paper dog cat money voil et mais maintenant surtout sauf bien sr comme ci, comme a pas mal le livre le crayon le stylo le papier le chien le chat l'argent (m) j k m i, k m sa/ /pa mal/ l liv l k j l tilo l p pje l j l l /vwala/ /e/ m mtn t /sof/ There is/are il y a Here is/are always often sometimes usually also, too again late almost friend (fem) friend (masc) woman man girl boy job / work voici toujours souvent quelquefois d'habitude aussi encore en retard presque une amie un ami une femme un homme une fille un garon le travail /il i a/ /vwasi/ t v klk /dabityd/ /osi/ k t p k /y nami/ n mi /yn fam/ n m /yn fij/ l t v j

The expression il y a is reduced to y a in everyday speech. When il y a is followed by a number, it means ago. Il y a cinq minutes means five minutes ago. Some common slang words for money include: le fric, le pze, le pognon, des sous and for job/work: le boulot. 6. SUBJECT PRONOUNS / LES PRONOMS SUJETS Subject Pronouns je tu /ty/ I You (informal) He She One nous /nu/ We You (formal and plural) They (masc.) They (fem.)

vous /vu/ ils /il/ elles l

il /il/ elle l on

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 You are He is She is One is je suis tu es il est elle est on est i t il l n We are You are They are They are nous sommes vous tes ils sont elles sont n v il l m t

Past tense of tre - to be I was You were He was She was One was j'tais tu tais il tait elle tait on tait et t et il et l et net We were You were They were They were nous tions vous tiez ils taient elles taient n etj /vu zetje/ il et l et

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 You will be He will be She will be One will be je serai tu seras il sera elle sera on sera t e We will be You will be They will be They will be nous serons n

vous serez /vu e ils seront il elles seront l

il l

Present tense of avoir /avwa/ - to have I have You have He has She has One has j'ai tu as il a elle a on a t il l n e We have You have They have They have nous avons vous avez ils ont elles ont /nu v

/vu zave/ il l

Past tense of avoir - to have I had You had He had She had One had j'avais tu avais il avait elle avait on avait t v v il v l v n v o e t o We had You had They had nous avions vous aviez n vj /vu zavje/ v v

ils avaient il elles avaient l

Future tense of avoir - to have I will have You will have j'aurai tu auras We will have You will have nous aurons vous aurez n v o o e

He will have She will have One will have

il aura elle aura on aura

il o l o no

They will have They will have

ils auront elles auront

il o l o

In spoken French, the tu forms of verbs that begin with a vowel contract with the pronoun: tu es = t'es t , t = 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 avoir froid avoir peur avoir raison avoir tort avoir faim avoir soif avoir sommeil avoir honte avoir besoin de avoir l'air de avoir l'intention de avoir envie v v v v v v v v v v v v v t vi t p o to be hot to be cold to be afraid to be right to be wrong to be hungry to be thirsty mj to be sleepy t j to be ashamed to need to look like, seem to intend to to feel like tre de retour tre en retard tre en avance tre d'accord tre sur le point de tre en train de tre enrhume nous + tre (un jour) t t t t t n v t k to be back to be late to be early to be in agreement to be about to to be in the act of

t l p t t t t

me to have a cold to be (a day)

de avoir de la chance

v l to be lucky Je suis en retard! I'm late! Tu tais en avance. You were early. Elle sera d'accord. She will agree. Nous sommes lundi. It is Monday. Vous tiez enrhum. You had a cold. Ils seront en train d'tudier. They will be (in the act of) studying. Elles taient sur le point de partir. They were about to leave. On est de retour. We/you/they/the people are back.

J'ai froid. I'm cold. Tu avais raison. You were right. Il aura sommeil ce soir. He will be tired tonight. Elle a de la chance ! She's lucky! Nous aurons faim plus tard. We will be hungry later. Vous aviez tort. You were wrong. Ils ont chaud. They are hot. Elles avaient peur hier. They were afraid yesterday.

8. QUESTION WORDS / LES INTERROGATIFS Who What Why When Where How How much / many Which / what Qui Quoi Pourquoi Quand O Comment Combien Quel(le) /ki/ /kwa/ p k /u/ k m k kl j k

9. CARDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES CARDINAUX Zero One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Zro Un Deux Trois Quatre Cinq Six Sept e o /d/ t k t k /sis/ t

Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-one Twenty-two Twenty-three Thirty Thirty-one Thirty-two Forty Fifty Sixty Seventy (Belgium & Switzerland) Seventy-one Seventy-two Eighty (Belgium & Switzerland) Eighty-one Eighty-two Ninety (Belgium & Switzerland) Ninety-one Ninety-two One Hundred

Huit Neuf Dix Onze Douze Treize Quatorze Quinze Seize Dix-sept Dix-huit Dix-neuf Vingt Vingt et un Vingt-deux Vingt-trois Trente Trente et un Trente-deux Quarante Cinquante Soixante Soixante-dix Septante Soixante et onze Soixante-douze Quatre-vingts Octante Quatre-vingt-un Quatre-vingt-deux Quatre-vingt-dix Nonante Quatre-vingt-onze Quatre-vingt-douze Cent

it n /dis/ /duz/ t k t k i t i it i n v vt e v v t t t t k t te t t k t t t i pt t te t k t v kt t k t v t k t v k t v i n n t k t v k t v

One Hundred One Two Hundred Two Hundred One Thousand Two Thousand Million Billion

Cent un Deux cents Deux cent un Mille Deux mille Un million Un milliard

t t

/mil/ /d mil/ milj milj

French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and Swiss French use septante and nonante in place of the standard French words for 70 and 90 (though some parts of Switzerland use huitante for 80 and octante 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 second third fourth fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth twentieth twenty-first premier / premire deuxime / second troisime quatrime cinquime sixime septime huitime neuvime dixime onzime douzime vingtime 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 Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday day week today yesterday tomorrow next last day before yesterday day after tomorrow the following day the day before

lundi mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi samedi dimanche le jour la semaine aujourd'hui hier demain prochain / prochaine dernier / dernire avant-hier aprs-demain le lendemain la veille

l i m i v im l l o j m p p nje v tj p m l l l vj m n nj ()mn i i /samdi/ i m k i

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-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. 11. MONTHS OF THE YEAR / LES MOIS DE L'ANNEE January February March April May June July August September October November December month year decade century millennium janvier fvrier mars avril mai juin juillet aot septembre octobre novembre dcembre le mois l'an / l'anne la dcennie le sicle le millnaire l m v il m ij /u(t)/ pt kt n v e l m l ne /deseni/ l jkl milen vje ev ije

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 Fall Winter Spring l'automne l'hiver le printemps /lete/ lot n liv l p t in the summer in the fall in the winter in the spring en t en automne en hiver au printemps nete not n niv /o p t

13. DIRECTIONS / LES DIRECTIONS

on the left on the right straight ahead North South East West le nord le sud l'est l'ouest l n l l t l t

gauche droite tout droit t

o t

Northeast le nord-est Northwest le nord-ouest Southeast le sud-est Southwest le sud-ouest

l n l n

( ) t ( ) t t

14. COLORS & SHAPES / LES COULEURS & LES FORMES Red rouge on v /bl/ vj l vj lt l m n o e te i i l n v t square circle triangle rectangle oval cube sphere cylinder cone octagon box light dark le carr le cercle le triangle le rectangle l'ovale le cube la sphre le cylindre le cne l'octogone la bote clair / claire fonc / fonce k t ij kt v l /kyb/ il /kon/ kto /bwat/ kl e n e kl l l

Orange orange Yellow jaune Green Blue Purple White Brown Black Pink Gold Silver Gray vert / verte bleu / bleue violet / violette blanc / blanche brun / brune marron noir / noire rose dor / dore argent / argente gris / grise

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? It's nice bad cool cold warm, hot cloudy beautiful mild stormy sunny humid muggy windy foggy snowing raining freezing hailing It is ____ degrees. Quel temps fait-il ? Il fait bon Il fait mauvais Il fait frais Il fait froid Il fait chaud Il fait nuageux Il fait beau Il fait doux Il fait orageux Il fait soleil Il fait humide Il fait lourd Il fait du vent Il fait du brouillard Il neige Il pleut Il gle Il grle Il fait ____ degrs. kl t il il m ve il il il o il n il o il il il il l il il il n /il pl/ il l il il l e v j lj il mi til

Il pleut des cordes il pl e ko i common exp e ion 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-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. 16. TIME / LE TEMPS QUI PASSE What time is it? It is... one o'clock two o'clock Quelle heure est-il ? Il est... une heure deux heures kl til il n

noon midnight a quarter after three one o'clock sharp four o'clock sharp twelve thirty six thirty a quarter to seven five twenty ten fifty in the morning/AM in the afternoon/PM in the evening/PM

midi minuit trois heures et quart une heure prcise quatre heures prcises midi (minuit) et demi six heures et demie sept heures moins le quart cinq heures vingt onze heures moins dix du matin de l'aprs-midi du soir

/midi/ mini t ek n p e i k t p e i mi i (mini) e mi i e mi t m l k k v m i m t l p mi i

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-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. 17. FAMILY & ANIMALS / LA FAMILLE & LES ANIMAUX Family Relatives Parents Grandparents Mom Stepmother/Mother-inLaw la famille /famij/ des parents les parents les grandsparents la mre / maman la bellemre p p p m m m lm Niece Nephew Grandchildren Granddaughter Grandson Godfather la nice le neveu les petitsenfants la petitefille le petit-fils le parrain nj n()v p()ti p()tit ij p()ti i p

Dad Stepfather/Father-inLaw Daughter Son Sister Half/Step Sister Sister-in-Law

le pre / papa le beaupre la fille le fils la sur la demisur la bellesur

p /papa/ op /fij/ /fis/ mi l l ij mi o

Godmother Godson Goddaughter Distant Relatives Single Married Separated Divorced Widower Widow

la marraine m le filleul la filleule des parents loigns clibataire mari(e) spar(e) divorc(e) veuf veuve ijl ijl p el eli m ep iv v vv

e t je e e

Stepdaughter/Daughter- la bellein-Law fille Brother Half/Step Brother Brother-in-Law Stepson/Son-in-Law le frre le demifrre le beaufrre le beaufils les jumeaux les jumelles l'oncle la tante la grandmre le grandpre la cousine

/bo fis/

Dog

le chien / la chienne j (m) / (f) le chat / la chatte (m) / (f) le chiot le chaton le cochon le coq le lapin la vache le cheval le canard la chvre k k k l p v jo t

jn

Twins (m) Twins (f) Uncle Aunt Grandmother Grandfather Cousin (f) Cousin (m) Wife Husband

mo ml kl t t m p /kuzin/ i

Cat Puppy Kitten Pig Rooster Rabbit Cow Horse Duck Goat

le cousin k le mari m

()v l k n v

la femme /fam/

Woman Man Child (m) / (f) Girl Boy

la femme /fam/ l'homme un enfant / une enfant la fille le garon Le gendre /fij/ m

Goose Sheep Lamb Donkey Mouse i nothe o

l'oie le mouton l'agneau l'ne la souris o

/wa/ m t o n i on-in-law.

Listen to the la famille : ma famille mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources. Slang words for people and pets: The entire family Grandma Grandpa Children Kid Woman Man toute la smala mm / mamie pp / papi des gosses un gamin / une gamine une nana un mec / type / gars /tut la smala/ Sister la frangine /meme/ Brother le frangin /mami/ /pepe/ /papi/ Son le fiston Aunt tata / tatie m Uncle tonton /gamin/ le cabot / /nana/ Dog clbard mk tip Cat le minou in i t /tata/ /tati/ t t /kabo/ kle /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 k n connais k n connat k n connaissons k n connaissez connaissent k n e k n savoir-to know facts /savwa/ sais sais sait savons savez savent v /save/ /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 To make a noun plural, you usually add an -s (which is not pronounced). But there are some exceptions: If a noun already ends in an -s, add nothing. If a noun ends in -eu or -eau, add an x. bus(es) boat(s) Sing. le bus le bateau le cheval le genou Plural les bus les bateaux les chevaux les genoux

If a masculine noun ends in -al or -ail, change horse(s) it to -aux. Some nouns ending in -ou add an -x instead of -s. knee(s)

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. My Your His/Her/Its Our Your Their mon m ton t son notre n t votre v t leur l Fem. ma /ma/ ta /ta/ sa /sa/ notre n t votre v t leur l Plural mes m tes t ses nos /no/ vos /vo/ 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.