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.~ ~~.! a
.~.l.a t,
a, l-ll
First published in 2009 by
The Publishing Cupboard
20 St Vincent Crescent
Glasgow G3 8LQ
www.publishingcupboard.co.uk
Feel free to suggest any subjects you think would
benefit from the Nod Off approach.
compiled by Harry Campbell
The Publishing Cupboard 2009
All rights reserved.
e-printed in Scotland by The Publishing Cupboard
:t.aa.t.
Often it is not the long words that get people into
a tizz, it is the wee ones. They can have different
meanings which can be confusing. You need to bear
this in mind when trying to work out what the French
means.
Take le, for instance, which can mean the, it and
him. You need to stand back a bit from the French
and try to take in the bigger picture. Otherwise,
Huston, we could have a problem.
Here we give an a-z of the most common French
words.
If it doesnt make sense, dont assume
that the French is wrong, it is the way you are
interpreting it.
a (from the verb avoir, to have)
alors = then, so
tu viens, alors? = so, are you coming? are you coming then?
et alors? = so what?
assez = enough
tu as assez? = have you got enough?
tu as assez mang? = have you had enough to eat?
assez de vin = enough wine
= rather, quite
cest assez difficile = its rather difficult
au [contraction of +le]
= to (the), at (the), in (the), on (the)
au troisime tage = on the third floor
au Canada = to/in Canada
avec = with
bien = well
cest bien! = thats good! (a good thing)
eh bien... = well...
bon = good
cest bon! = thats good! (nice, fine, OK)
a = that
a va? = is that OK?
salut, a va? = hi, hows it going?
a y est! = thats it! its done
vv .~ ~~.! a
vv .~ ~~.! a
:
vv .~ ~~.! a
t
vv .~ ~~.! a
z
ce = this/that [when followed by masculine noun
beginning with a consonant]
ce garon-ci = this boy
ce garon-l = that boy
cest = its...
cest facile = its easy
cest a = thats right
quest-ce que cest? = what is it?
comme = as
comment = how
comment a va? = hows it going?
comment vous appelez-vous? = whats your name?
comment? = sorry? pardon?
de = of, from [becomes d when followed by a vowel; see also du, des]
beaucoup de gens = a lot of people
un kilo doranges = a kilo of oranges
le jour de lAn = New Years Day
je suis de Londres = Im from London
(de+le = du, de+les = des)
vv .~ ~~.! a
e
vv .~ ~~.! a
v
donc = so, then
dont = of which
lhtel dont je te parle = the hotel Im telling you about
elle = she, it
= elle est excellente, cette voiture = its excellent, this car
elles = they [feminine plural]
en = in, at, to
en France = in/to France
en famille = as a family
enfin = at last
te voil enfin! = there you are at last!
= well...
cest pret? oui! enfin, presque = is it ready? yes! well, almost
entre = between
et = and
il = he, it
= il est bon, ce fromage = its good, this cheese
il y a = there is/are
il y a un problme = theres a problem
il y a trois ans = three years ago
mais = but
mal = badly
ja mal compris = I misunderstood
mauvais = bad
le mauvais temps = bad weather
tre de mauvaise humeur = to be in a bad mood
me = me
elle me dit que... = she tells me that...
vv .~ ~~.! a
v
vv .~ ~~.! a
je = I
la = the
la confiture = the jam, jam [in general]
= her, it [direct object of a verb]
je la cherche = I look for her/it
l = there
cet homme-l = that man
l-bas = over there
le = the
le caf = the coffee, coffee [in general]
= him, it [direct object of a verb]
je le cherche = I look for him/it
les = the
les animaux = the animals, animals [in general]
= them [direct object of a verb]
je les cherche = I look for them
nous = we, us
ou = or
o = where
oui = yes
pendant = during
pendant que... = while...
vv .~ ~~.! a
.
vv .~ ~~.! a
-
mes = my [with plural noun]
mes amis = my friends
moins = less
moins cher = cheaper
ne = not
je ne prends pas de sucre = I dont take sugar
vv .~ ~~.! a
vv .~ ~~.! a
:
personne [often in the construction ne ... personne] = nobody
je nai vu personne = I didnt see anybody
il ny avait personne = there was nobody there
peut-tre = perhaps
pour = for
presque = almost
quand = when
que = that
le problme que jai eu = the problem I had
quel (quel, quelle, quelles) = which
qui = who
quoi = what
sans = without
vv .~ ~~.! a
t
vv .~ ~~.! a
z
se [used in reflexive constructions]
se laver = to wash (oneself)
se changer de vtements
si (1) = if
si (2) = yes [contradicting the idea of no]
vous ntes pas tired? - si, un peu = youre not tired? - yes,
a bit
sur = on
te = you
il te regarde = hes looking at you
trs = very
trop = too
trop chaud = too hot
= too much
non, cest trop = no, thats too much
tu = you [informal]
vers = towards
y = there
vv .~ ~~.! a
e