lfb 1010 french for beginners lecture notes

8/3/2019 Lfb 1010 French for Beginners Lecture Notes

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LFB 1010 FRENCH FOR BEGINNERS

Lecture notes



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L’alphabet A B C D

A H B A Y S A Y D A Y

E F G H

E R E F F J A Y A S H

I J K LE E H J E E H C A R E L

M N O PE M E N O H P A Y

Q R S T C O O A I R E S S T A Y

U V W XO O H V A Y D O O B L E R V A Y I X

Y ZE E H G R E C Z E D

La prononciation

Letter/ Lettre Pronunciation/ Prononciation

Example/ Exemple

A [ah] Unarbre a treeB [bay] Unbébé a babyC [say] Uncadeau / une cerise a gift/ a cherryD [day] Undocteur a doctorE [er] Une fenêtre a windowF [eff] Une fleur a flowerG [jay] Ungénéral/ un gateau a general/ a cakeH [ash] Unhôpital an hospitalI [eeh] Une î le an islandJ [jeeh] Unjouet a toyK [car] Unkangourou a kangarooL [el] Unlapin a rabbitM [em] Une maison a houseN [en] Une nuit a nightO [oh] Une oreille an earP [pay] Unprofesseur a teacherQ [coo] Une quantité a quantity

R [air] Unrésumé a summaryS [ess] Unsac a bagT [tay] Une table a tableU [ooh] Une usine a factoryV [vay] Une voiture a carW [doobler vay] Unweek-end a week-endX [ix] Unxylophone a xylophoneY [eeh grec] Unyaourt a yoghourtZ [zed] Unzoo a zoo



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Les salutations

Hellos and goodbyes :Bonjour Hello (good morning, good afternoon)

Bonsoir Bonsoir Salut Hi, goodbye (informal)

Au revoir Goodbye

A demain See you tomorrow A lundi See you Monday A bientot See you soon A plus tard See you later

Bonne journée Have a good day Bonne soirée Have a good evening

How are you? :

Comment allez-vous? (formal)Comment vas-tu? (informal)Comment ça va?Ça va?

Je vais bien. I am fine. Je ne vais pas bien. I am not fine. Je suis fatigué. I am tired. Ça va bien. It’s going ok. Et toi ? And you ? (informal)Et vous? And you? (formal)

Miscellanous :Bienvenu Welcome

Enchanté Nice to meet you (if the person talking is male)Enchantée Nice to meet you (if the person talking is female)

S’il vous plait Please (formal) S’il te plait Please ( informal)

Merci Thank you Merci beaucoup Thanks a lot

De rien You’re welcome Je vous en prie You’re welcome

Excusez-moi Excuse me Je suis désolé I am sorry Je suis en retard I am late

Madame Madam Mademoiselle Miss Monsieur Sir

Oui Yes Non No



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Exercice : Les salutations

Complète les dialogues avec le vocabulaire de la leçon:1.Georges : Bonjour !Sophie : _______________

____________________ ?Georges : Je vais bien, et toi ?Sophie : _________________ Georges : Je suis désolé, je suis en retard. Je dois partir.

_________________ Sophie : A bientôt !

______________________________________________________________________________________

2.

Mélanie : Bonsoir Damien !Damien : He, salut Mélanie… _______________________________ ?

Mélanie : Je ne vais pas bien, je suis très fatiguée… Et toi ?

Damien : _______________________________ Mélanie : Je vais voir le docteur maintenant.

A plus tard.Damien : _________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________

3.Monsieur Dujardin : Bonjour mademoiselle.Mademoiselle Jeanne : Bonjour monsieur, comment allez-vous ?Monsieur Dujardin : ___________________________ ,

_____________________ ?Mademoiselle Jeanne : Ça va…

Voici votre table et votre menu.Monsieur Dujardin : _____________________.Mademoiselle Jeanne : De rien. Je reviens dans une minute.Monsieur Dujardin : Très bien.

Vocabulaire :

Je dois partir I must leave Très Very Voir To see

Maintenant Now Voici… Here is… Je reviens I come back



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Se présenter – Introduce yourself

In French, we have different ways of saying the same thing, so I am giving you differentways to say the same thing:

Le nom, the name:

Comment tu t’appelles? How are you called? (informal) Comment vous vous appelez? How are you called? (formal)

Quel est ton nom? What is your name? (informal) Quel est votre nom? What is your name? (formal)

Je m’appelle… (+your name) I am called … Mon nom est… My name is… Je suis … I am…

La nationalité, the nationality: (refer to annexe 3)

Quelle est ta nationalité? What is your nationality? (informal) Quelle est votre nationalité? What is your nationality? (formal)

Je suis français (e). I am French .malaisien (ne). Malaysian indonésien (ne). Indonesian iranien (ne). Iranian botswanais (e ). Botswanian…

D’où viens -tu? Where do you come from? (informal) D’où venez -vous? Where do you come from? (formal)

Je viens de France. I come from France.de Malaisie. from Malaysia. d’Indonésie.d’Iran. du Botswana.

from Indonesia. from Iran.from Botswana.



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Exercice : Se Présenter

1. Complète les dialogues avec le vocabulaire de la leçon.

Agnès : Bonjour!Tania : ______________________

Je m’appelle Tania.

__________________________ ?Agnès : Je m’appel le Agnès.Tania : Enchantée !Agnès : Et ________________________ ?Tania : Je suis Vietnamienne, ____________ ?Agnès : ________________Française.

Oh ! Je suis en retard ! _____________ Tania : Bonne journée !

______________________________________________________________________

Monsieur Bernard : Bonjour docteur !Madame Pinot : ____________ monsieur.

___________________________________ ?Monsieur Bernard : Je ne vais pas bien. Je suis malade.Madame Pinot : Oh, je vois. Quel est votre nom ?Monsieur Bernard : _________________________________ Madame Pinot : Très bien. Et d’où venez -vous monsieur ?Monsieur Bernard : _________________________ de Suisse.

2. Imagine une courte conversation entre deux personnes. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulaire :Malade SickJe vois I see



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Les verbesHere are a few very important verbs that you should know.We have a few differences in French in using the verbs:We have 2 you,tu is informal and singular,vous is formal and plural.We have of 2 they,ils is used to refer to a masculine group or amixed group .

elles is used to refer a female group.

être: to beJe suis I am Tu es You are Il/elle est He/she is

Nous sommes We are Vous êtes You are

Ils / elles sont They are

avoir: to have

J’ai I have Tu as You have

Il/ elle a He/ she has

Nous avons We have Vous avez You have Ils/ elles ont They have aller: to go

Je vais I go/ I am going Tu vas You go/ You’re going

Il/elle va He/she goes / He/she is going

Nous allons We go/ we’re going Vous allez You go / you’re going Ils /elles vont They go/ they’re going

In French, we have only one present tense ;that is why “je vais” can be translated into either “I go” or “I am going”



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Exercice : Les verbes

1. Complète avec la correcte forme du verbe être,puis traduis en anglais.

Je _______________ Malaisien. ________________________________________________ Vous _________________ Français. ________________________________________________ Ils ________________ Japonais. ________________________________________________

Tu ___________ Indonésienne.

________________________________________________ Elle ____________ Soudanaise. ________________________________________________

Nous _______________ Iraniens. ________________________________________________

2. Complète avec la correcte forme du verbe avoir,puis traduis en anglais.

1. Elle ________________ un bébé. ________________________________________________

2. Nous _______________ une maison. ________________________________________________

3. Je _______________ un lapin. ________________________________________________

4. Vous __________________ une voiture. ________________________________________________

5. Elles _______________ un jouet. ________________________________________________

6. Tu ________________ un sac. ________________________________________________

3. Relie la traduction correcte de chaque verbe.

Il va

Tu vas

Nous allons

Je vais

Elle va

Vous allez

Ils vont

Elles vont

I am goingShe is going

We are going

They are going

He is going

You are going



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Les nombres

In French, most of the numbers will work on a regular basis.

Nevertheless, the numbers below 17 are irregular. You have to make sure you learnthem very carefully.

Now from 20 to 69, things are quite easy and regular…

Now when we come to 70 +, there are some changes to follow :

70 soixante-dix71 soixante-et-onze72 soixante-douze73 soixante-treize74 soixante-quatorze75 soixante-quinze76 soixante-seize77 soixante-dix-sept78 soixante-dix-huit79 soixante-dix-neuf

80 quatre-vingt81 quatre-vingt-un82 quatre-vingt-deux83 quatre-vingt-trois84 quatre-vingt-quatre85 quatre-vingt-cinq86 quatre-vingt-six87 quatre-vingt-sept88 quatre-vingt-huit89 quatre-vingt-neuf

90 quatre-vingt-dix91 quatre-vingt-onze92 quatre-vingt-douze93 quatre-vingt-treize94 quatre-vingt-quatorze95 quatre-vingt-quinze96 quatre-vingt-seize97 quatre-vingt-dix-sept98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

1 un2 deux3 trois4 quatre5 cinq6 six7 sept8 huit

9 neuf10 dix

11 onze12 douze13 treize14 quatorze15 quinze16 seize17 dix-sept18 dix-huit

19 dix-neuf20 vingt

21 vingt-et-un22 vingt-deux23 vingt-trois24 vingt-quatre25 vingt-cinq

26 vingt-six27 vingt-sept28 vingt-huit29 vingt-neuf30 trente

31 trente-et-un32 trente-deux33 trente-trois34 trente-quatre35 trente-cinq

36 trente-six37 trente-sept38 trente-huit39 trente-neuf40 quarante

50 cinquante60 soixante

100 cent1000 mille



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Les dates

Les jours de la semaine:

Lundi Monday Mardi Tuesday Mercredi Wednesday Jeudi Thursday Vendredi Friday Samedi Saturday Dimanche Sunday

Les mois de l’année:

Janvier January Février February Mars March Avril April Mai May Juin June Juillet July Août August Septembre September Octobre October Novembre November Décembre December

Les saisons :

Le printemps the spring L’été the summer L’autom ne the autumn L’hiver the winter

Les moments de la journée:

Le matin the morning L’après -midi the afternoon Le soir the evening La nuit the night



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Exercice : Les nombres et les dates1. Ecris les nombres avec des lettres :

15 : _______________________________ 21 : _______________________________

33 : _______________________________ 64 : _______________________________ 72 : _______________________________ 156 : _______________________________ 348 : _______________________________ 1990 : _______________________________ 2002 : _______________________________ 120 317 : ____________________________________________________________

2. Ecris les prix avec des nombres :

_______________

________________

________________ ___________

________________ ________________

a. La table coute soixante-quinzeeuros.

b. L’ordinateur coute cinq cent vingt -neuf euros.

c. L’hamburger coute trois euros.

d. Le téléphone coute cinquante-huiteuros.

e. Le gateau coute un euro etcinquante cents.

f. Le scooter coute mille trois centquarante euros.

3. Ecris les dates avec des lettres :

a. 3 / 11 / 1986 : ________________________________________________________ b. 15 / 6 / 2001 : ________________________________________________________ c. 21 / 3 / 1914 : ________________________________________________________ d. 24 / 9 / 1981 : ________________________________________________________ e. 7 / 4 / 1983 : ________________________________________________________



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Se présenter (2)

L’âge , la date de naissance et l’anniversaire:

Quel âge as-tu? How old are you? (informal) Quel âge avez-vous? How old are you? (formal)

J’ai 20 ans. I am 20 years old.

Quand est ton anniversaire? When is your birthday? (informal) Quand est votre anniversaire? When is your birthday? (formal)

Mon anniversaire est le 5 janvier. My birthday is on the 5 th of january.

Quand es-tu né? (masculine) When were you born? (If you ask a boy) Quand es-tu née? (feminine) When were you born? (If you ask a girl)

Je suis né le 5 janvier 1989.(masc.) I was born on the 5 th of january. Je suis née le 5 janvier 1989. (fem.) I was born on the 5 th of january.

Le domicile, l’adresse: (refer to annexe 3)

Où habites-tu? Where do you live? (informal) Où habitez-vous? Where do you live? (formal)

J’habite à Melaka. I live in Melaka. J’habite en Malaisie. I live in Malaysia. J’habite dans une maison. I live in a house. J’habite dans un appartement. I live in a flat.



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Exercice : Se Présenter (2)

1. Ecris quelques phrases pour décrire les personnes comme dans l’exemple:

1. Joseph, Je m’appelle Joseph. Français, Je suis français. 20 ans, J’ai 20 ans. 13 janvier, Mon anniversaire est le 13 janvier.Paris, France. J’habite à Paris en France.

2. Daniela, _____________________________________________ Malaisienne, _____________________________________________ 35 ans, _____________________________________________ 24 mars, _____________________________________________ Ipoh, Malaisie. _____________________________________________

3. Régis, _____________________________________________ Suisse, _____________________________________________

71 ans, _____________________________________________ 18 juillet, _____________________________________________ Berne, Suisse. _____________________________________________

4. Amir, _____________________________________________ Américain, _____________________________________________ 19 ans, _____________________________________________ 20 octobre, _____________________________________________ Dallas, Amérique. _____________________________________________

2. Choisis deux personnes ci-dessus et imagine une conversation : ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________



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3. Réponds aux questions suivantes :

- Comment tu t’appelles ? ______________________________________________ - Quelle est ta nationalité ? _____________________________________________ - D’où viens -tu ? _____________________________________________________ - Quel âge as-tu ? ____________________________________________________ - Quand est ton anniversaire ? __________________________________________ - Quand es-tu né (e) ?_________________________________________________ - Où habites-tu ? _____________________________________________________

4. Complète les dialogues avec le vocabulaire de la leçon :

Marc : Bonjour.Jean : ___________________

Je m’appelle Jean, _________ __________________ ?Marc : ________________Marc et je suis Espagnol.

_________________________________ ?Jean : Moi, je viens d’Italie, je suis Italien.

Marc : Tu habites en Italie ?Jean : Non, _______________________ à Paris.Et toi, _____________________________ ?

Marc : J’habite à Madrid, c’est la capitale de l’Espagne. Jean : Oui, je sais. Et_____________________, Marc ?Marc : J’ai vingt -cinq ans. Et toi ?Jean : _____________________trente _______ Marc : Et quand est _____________________ ?Jean : Mon anniversaire est le 20 juin. Et toi ?Marc : Oh ! Moi aussi ! Quelle surprise !! ___________________________________________________________________________________

Véronique : Bonsoir !Christophe : ______________

______________ est Christophe. Comment vous vous appelez ?Véronique : ______________________________________ Christophe : Enchanté Véronique !Véronique : Et quel âge ________________ ?Christophe : J’ai quarante ans, et vous ?Véronique : ______________________________________

Je suis Française, mais j’habite à New York.

Quelle est ___________________________ ?Christophe : _______________________Chinois.Mais _______________ aussi à New York…

Vocabulaire :Oui Yes Non No C’est It is Moi aussi Me too

Aussi Also, too Quelle surprise ! What a surprise ! Mais But



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Présenter quelqu’un – Introduce someone

Le nom :

Comment il s’appelle? Il s’appelle… Comment elle s’appelle? Elle s’appelle… (+Nom)

Quel est son nom? Son nom est….

La nationalité :

Quelle est sa nationalité? Il est…/ Elle est… (+Nationalité)

D’où vient -il? Il vient de… (+Pays) D’où vient -elle? Elle vient de…

L’âge :

Quel est son âge? Il a …ans./ Elle a… ans.

Quand est son anniversaire? Son anniversaire est le…

Quand est-il né ? Il est né le… (+Date) Quand est-elle née ? Elle est née le…

Le domicile, l’adresse :

Où habite-t-il? Il habite … Où habite-t-elle? Elle habite…



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Exercice : Présenter quelqu’un

1. Ecris quelques phrases p our décrire les personnes comme dans l’exemple:

a. Suresh, Il s’appelle Suresh.

Indien, Il est Indien. 34 ans, Il a trente-quatre ans. 25 novembre, Son anniversaire est le 25 novembre.Mumbai, Inde. Il habite à Mumbai en Inde.

b. Valentina, ____________________________________________________ Italienne, ____________________________________________________ 42 ans, ____________________________________________________ 14 avril, ____________________________________________________ Milan, Italie. ____________________________________________________

c. Claudio, ____________________________________________________ Russe, ____________________________________________________ 15 ans, ____________________________________________________ 19 novembre, ____________________________________________________ Moscou, Russie. ____________________________________________________

2. Ecris quelques phrases pour décrire ton meilleur ami / ta meilleure amie : ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

3. Ecris quelques phrases pour décrire ton chanteur préféré / ta chanteusepréférée :

______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Vocabulaire :

Ton meilleur ami Your best friend (if he is a boy) Ta meilleure amie Your best friend (if she is a girl)

Ton chanteur préféré Your favourite singer(if he is a boy) Ta chanteuse préférée Your favourite singer (if she is a girl)



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Les couleurs

• In French, the colours have to take the gender of the object they are related to.If the colour refers to a masculine object, the colour will also be masculine.If the colour refers to a feminine object, the colour will have to take the feminine form, asshown in the table below.

• In French the colour will always come after the noun it refers to.A white bag Un sac blancThe purple flower La fleur violette

Masculine : Feminine : English :

Usually, to transform from masculine to feminine, you had an extra –E at the end of themasculine word, as you can see in this first group of colours:

vert verte green gris grise grey bleu bleue blue noir noire black

But, some colours here already end with a – E at their masculine form. In these cases,there won’t be any change needed from masculine form to feminine form:

rouge rouge red rose rose pink jaune jauneyellow orange orange orange

And, of course, it would be too simple if it was all regular! Here are three mainexceptions which don’t follow the normal rule:

blanc blanche white violet violette purple marron marron brown (never changes)



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Exercice : les couleurs

1. Traduis les expressions suivantes:

A red tomato A yellow banana

_________________

A blue car A green table ___________________ _____________

An orange sun _____________________

A pink house _________________

A brown guitar ____________________

2. Traduis les phrases suivantes en français:

I have a green bag. ______________________________________________________ She has a purple flower. __________________________________________________ We have a pink cake. ____________________________________________________ The night is black. _______________________________________________________ The toy is white and grey. _________________________________________________

3. Traduis les phrases suivantes en anglais:

Tu as une maison jaune et bleue. ___________________________________________ J’ai une cerise r ouge. _____________________________________________________ Nous avons une table verte. _______________________________________________ Le sac est violet et noir. ___________________________________________________ Le lapin est gris. _________________________________________________________

Vocabulaire :Une tomate A tomato Une banane A banana

Un soleil A sun Une guitare A guitar



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Décrire quelqu’un (1) : Le visage

When you want to describe someone, you would want to talk about the colour of the eyes, of the

hair, the size of the nose maybe, or even if he or she has a big mouth! Here is some vocabularyto help you.

Vocabulaire :

Les yeux (the eyes)

(the mouth)La bouche

Les cheveux (the hair)L’oreille

Le nez

Des lunettes Une moustache

Une barbe

• If you want to say that your friend has a black moustache, the colour (here, black) will go afterthe noun… Example: He has a black moustache. Il a une moustache noire.

• The colour will take the sign of the feminine, if it refers to a feminine object (Here, unemoustache, une barbe, une bouche) and the sign of the plural if it refers to a plural object (Here,les cheveux, les yeux, des lunettes).Example : She has black eyes. Elle a les yeux noirs.

• For the hair, you will have extra colours :Blond, brun, roux . These are used only when yourefer to the hair.• To describe the hair, you can use:longs (long ), courts (short ), raides (straight ), frisés (curly )...



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Décrire quelqu’un (2)

Avoir:

Les cheveux : courts/ longsnoirs/ blonds/ marron/ rouges….raides (straight)/ frisés (curly)

Les yeux : noirs, marron, verts, bleus, gris…

Des lunettes, une moustache, une barbe….

Être:

Masculine Feminine English

Agréable Agréable Nice

Amusant Amusante Funny

Bavard Bavarde Talkative

Beau Belle Beautiful/ handsome

Blond Blonde Blond-haired

Brun Brune Brunette

Célèbre Célèbre Famous

Courageux Courageuse Brave

Dangereux Dangereuse Dangerous

Difficile Difficile Difficult

Élégant Élégante Smart (well-dressed)

Embêtant Embêtante Annoying (for someone)

Ennuyeux Ennuyeuse Boring

Étrange Étrange Strange

Facile Facile Easy Gentil Gentille Kind

Grand Grande Tall (for someone) / big (for something)

Gros Grosse Fat

Heureux Heureuse Happy

Honnête Honnête Honest



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Impatient Impatiente Impatient

Intelligent Intelligente Clever

Intéressant Intéressante Interesting

Jaloux Jalouse Jealous

Jeune Jeune Young Joli Jolie Cute

Joyeux Joyeuse Glad

Laid Laide Ugly

Malheureux Malheureuse Unhappy

Marrant Marrante Funny

Mince Mince Thin

Paresseux Paresseuse Lazy

Patient Patiente Patient

Petit Petite Small / short (height)

Peureux Peureuse Fearful

Poli Polie Polite

Roux Rousse Red-haired

Sérieux Sérieuse Serious

Simple Simple Simple

Sportif Sportive Athletic

Surpris Surprise Surprised

Sympathique Sympathique Friendly Timide Timide Shy

Travailleur Travailleuse Hard-working

Triste Triste Sad

Vieux Vieille Old

Remember: If you are talking about a man, you should use the masculine of the adjectives. Ifyou are talking about a woman, you should use the feminine.

Example : He is tall. Il est grand.She is tall. Elle est grande.

Vocabulaire :un peu - a little assez - quite très - very



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Exercices : Décrire quelqu’un (2)

1. Traduire le mot entre parenthèse et accorder (féminin/masculin ; singulier/pluriel).

1. Sophie est (tall) ___________ et elle a les cheveux (short) ______________.2. Jonathan est (friendly) ______________ mais il est (shy) _______________.3. Je suis (brave) ______________ et (honnest) ________________________.4. Vous êtes (strange) ___________________et aussi (interesting) _______________.5. Vanessa et Jennifer sont (polite) _________________ et (smart) _______________.

2. Remettre les mots dans le bon ordre.

1. longs / j’/ suis / et / ai /les / Je / cheveux / grande. ___________________________________________________________________

2. mais / assez / Il /sympathique / il / paresseux / est / est. ___________________________________________________________________

3. courts / sommes / avons / grands / nous / les/ très / Nous / cheveux / mais. ___________________________________________________________________

4. a / assez / Elle / grands /petite / elle / des / est / mais / yeux. ___________________________________________________________________

5. et / sont / aussi / Elles / marrantes / bavardes. ___________________________________________________________________

3. Traduire les phrases en anglais.

1. I am tall and I have long and black hair. ___________________________________________________________________

2. Joshua is quite small and he has blue eyes. ___________________________________________________________________

3. Martina and Vincent are very kind, but they are impatient. ___________________________________________________________________

4. She has grey eyes and she is very cute. ___________________________________________________________________

5. You are tall and you have a beautiful moustache. ___________________________________________________________________



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Les verbes réguliers : -ER

In French, the verbs are divided intothree groups . The verbs from the first 2 groups areto be conjugated in a regular way too. The third group is filled with all the irregular verbs.The verbs form the 1st group are the verbs with the infinitiveending with: -ER These are the ones we are going to discuss now.

A lot of verbs in french are from the first group:Danser (to dance ), chanter (to sing ), regarder (to look at ), travailler (to work ),voyager (to travel ), manger (to eat ), jouer (to play ), aimer (to like ), détester (to hate ),appeler (to call ), acheter (to buy ), parler (to speak ), habiter (to live )…

These verbs are composed of 2 parts:First the beginning, which is the part that doesn’t change at the beginning of the word. And the second part is the ending which will change according to which pronoun you areusing.

For example: Jouer is composed of“ jou ” as the beginning and “ er” as ending. If we conjugate the verb, jou will not change, only the ending will, as youcan see in the example.

Jouer to playJe jou e - I playTu jou es - you playIl/elle jou e - he/she plays

Nous jou ons - we playVous jou ez - you playIls/ellesjou ent - they play

As you can see, you just have to change the ending of the verb, according to thesubject. You replace the infinitive ending -ER with the proper ending.

Therefore, you mostly need to learn the endings that will be used for all thoseverbs, which are:

-E -ES -E -ONS -EZ -ENT

! Be careful ! In French there is only one present tense, that means:

I am playing and I play are going to have the same translation in French: Je joue



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Vocabulaire:Verbes du premier groupe:

Autoriser to allow Aider to help Accepter to accept Arriver to arrive

Compléter to complete Commencer to begin Casser to break Couter to cost Couper to cut Changer to change Chanter to sing Chercher to look for

Demander to ask Donner to give Décider to decide

Dessiner to draw Danser to dance

Entrer to come in Écouter to listen Embrasser to kiss Espérer to hope Étudier to study Essayer to try

Fermer to close Fumer to smoke

Gagner to win / to earn

Laisser to let Laver to wash

Manger to eat Marcher to walk Montrer to show

Nager to swim

Partager to share Préférer to prefer Payer to pay Penser to think Porter to carry, to wear

Regarder to look at

Regretter to regret Ressembler to look like Rigoler to laugh

Soigner to heal

Trouver to find

Utiliser to use

Visiter to visit



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Exercices: Les verbes du premier groupe

1. Complète avec la forme correcte du verbe.

1. Je ______________ (travailler) dans une banque.2. Joel _____________________ (aimer) regarder la télé le soir.3. Valérie et Monique ____________________ (détester) le chocolat.4. Nous _________________ (regarder) un film le samedi.5. Tu _________________ (jouer) avec ton cadeau.6. Son meilleur ami _________________ (chanter) très bien.7. Nadège et Mathieu __________________ (dessiner) une belle voiture rouge.8. Mon acteur préféré ________________ (habiter) à San Francisco.9. Je ________________ (voyager) pendant les vacances.10. Tu ________________ (parler) le français avec ton professeur.

2. Traduis les phrases suivantes en français:

1. She likes to eat a lot. _________________________________________________________________

2. My best friend hates to work. _________________________________________________________________

3. The car costs twelve thousand euros. _________________________________________________________________

4. I hope to be a doctor. _________________________________________________________________

5. I am studying in Melaka. _________________________________________________________________

6. We like to travel in Malaysia. _________________________________________________________________

7. You think that (=que) you are very clever. _________________________________________________________________

8. Jonathan is very friendly and he likes to have a lot of friends. ________________________________________________________________

9. They (masc.) live in New York, but they prefer Paris. ________________________________________________________________

10. You (informal/singular) are eating with your best friend Wednesday. ________________________________________________________________



27

La Famille

English French English FrenchA father un père A mother une mère

A brother un frère A sister une soeur

A son un fils A daughter une fille

A husband un mari A wife une femme

A grandfather un grand-père A grandmother une grand-mère

A grandson un petit-fils A granddaughter une petite-fille

A cousin - male un cousin A cousin - female une cousine

An uncle un oncle An aunt une tante

A nephew un neveu A niece une nièce

As you can see, all the men in the family vocabulary are masculine words (UNpère, UN oncle..). It means that even if you are a woman, your father is still a man and therefore the word“père” will always remain a masculine word. That is to say that you will always have a masculinearticle preceding the word.

un père (a father ) / mon père (my father ) / ton père (your father ) / son père (his/her father )

The same goes for the women in the family. The words will always be feminine (UNEmère,UNEsoeur...). That is why these words will always be preceded by a feminine article.

une mère (a mother)/ ma mère (my mother) / ta mère (your mother) / sa mère (his/her mother)

Then if you have to use the plural, it gives you this:

MASCULINE PLURAL FEMININE un père → des parents ← une mère

mon père → mes parents ← ma mèreton père → tes parents ← ta mèreson père → ses parents ← sa mère

http://french.about.com/library/media/wavs/pere.wav



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http://french.about.com/library/media/wavs/niece.wav























28

Additional vocabulary.

Maman mum (mummy)

Papa dad (daddy)

Mamie / mémé granny

papy / pépé granddad

une sœur aînée an older sister

une sœur cadette a younger sister

une sœur jumelle a twin sister

des jumelles twin sisters

un frère aîné an older brother

un frère cadet a younger brother

un frère jumeau a twin brother

des jumeaux twin brothers

une belle- sœur a sister-in-law

un beau-frère a brother-in-law

des beaux-parents parents-in-law

une belle-mère a step-mother / a mother-in-law

un beau-père a step-father / a father-in-law

une demi- sœur a step-sister / a half-sister

un demi-frère a step-brother / a half-brother

L’amie de mon père my father’s girl friend

L’ami de ma mère my mother’s boyfriend

Marié(e) married

Ils sont mariés. They are married.

Fiancé(e) engaged

Célibataire single

Divorcé(e) divorced

Séparé(e) separated



29



30

Traduire les phrases suivantes.

1. In my family, there are five persons. _______________________________________________________________________

2. My mother is called Janine. _______________________________________________________________________3. I have two brothers and they are very tall. ________________________________________________________________________4. Your father has blue eyes and black hair. _______________________________________________________________________5. His cousin (feminine) is studying in Paris. ________________________________________________________________________6. Her parents like to watch tv. ________________________________________________________________________

7. My sister is called Daniela and she is seventeen. ________________________________________________________________________8. The birthday of my sister is on the 23 march. ________________________________________________________________________9. Your father is quite small but he has long hair. ________________________________________________________________________10. My uncle is quite old, but he likes to travel. ________________________________________________________________________11. Her grand-father is very friendly and patient. ________________________________________________________________________

12. She has a very big family. ________________________________________________________________________13. My sister is married and she has a daughter. ________________________________________________________________________



31

1. Traduire en Français :

My Family :

My father is called Patrick. He is 54. He has grey hair and blue eyes and he is quite

tall. He is quite hard-working. My mother is called Martine. She is 49. She has blackhair and brown eyes. She is very small. I have a brother and a sister. My brother iscalled Allan. He has blond hair and green eyes. He is very lazy. My sister is calledFabienne, she has brown hair and blue eyes. She is 21. She likes to study.

______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________

2. Ecris un paragraphe pour décrire ta famille.

______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________



32

À la maison(At home)

la maison the housel’entrée (fem.) the entrance (hall)le salon the living roomla cuisine the kitchenle bureau the office/studyla salle à manger the dining roomles toilettes(fem. plur.) the toiletla salle de bains the bathroomla chambre the bedroomla douche the showerla cave the cellarla salle de jeux the games room

le garage the garagele jardin the gardenle balcon the balconyle couloir the corridorle grenier the attic

Au rez-de-chaussée on the ground floorAu premier étage on the first floorAu deuxième étage on the second floor

en ville / in townà la campagne / in the countryside

Il y a there is / there areIl n’y a pas de there is not/ there are notchez.... at (someone’s place)



33

1. Traduire ce texte

“Chez moi”

J’habite en ville, à Melaka , dans une maison. Ma maison est assez grande.Il n’y a pas de cave, mais il y a un petit jardin. Au rez-de-chaussée, il y a une entrée avec un couloir, un salon, un petit bureau, unesalle à manger et une jolie cuisine.Au premier étage, il y a trois chambres et une salle de bains avec une douche.Il y a un grenier, mais il est vide.Il n’y a pas de balcon. Et chez toi, c’est comment?

_______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

2.Ecris un paragraphe pour décrire ta maison. _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________



34

Dans la ville:

La mairie / the town hall Le tribunal / the justice court Le comissariat de police / the police station La gare / the train station La banque / the bank L’hôpita l (masc) / the hospital Le magasin / the shop La pharmacie / the pharmacy La librairie / the bookshop La bibliothèque / the library L’école (fem) / the school

L’université (fem)/ the university Le bureau de tabac / the newspaper and cigarettes shop

Le salon de coiffure / the hairdresser La boulangerie / the bakery Le restaurant / the restaurant Le marché / the market La piscine / the swimming pool Le théâtre / the theater Le cinéma / the cinema Le café / the coffee shop Le bar / the bar- the pub La discothèque / the night club Le stade / the stadium L’église (fem) / the church

Le temple / the temple La mosquée / the mosque Le musée / the museum

In French, when you want to say that you’re going somewhere, you need to use a sort of translation for“to”. This translation will be different according to the gender of the placeyou’re talking about.

Example 1: I am going to the swimming-pool .Je vais à la piscine.

La piscine being feminine, we use “ à la”.

Example 2: I am going to the cinema.Je vais au cinéma.

Le cinéma being masculine, we use “ au ”.

Example 3: I am going to the hospital.Je vais à l’ hopital.

When the word for the location starts with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u), we do not need tomake a difference between masculine or feminine: for both, you h ave to use “à l’”



35

Exercices :

1. Écris quelques phrases suivants le modèle :

1. Le lundi, je vais au cinéma.2. Le mardi, ______________________________3. ______________________________________4. ______________________________________5. ______________________________________6. ______________________________________7. ______________________________________

2. Traduis les phrases suivantes :

1. I like to go to the swimming pool with my mother.

_____________________________________________________________2. We are going to the restaurant tomorrow.

________________________________________________________________________3. My family lives in a big white house in town.

________________________________________________________________________4. In my house, there are three small bedrooms.

________________________________________________________________________

5. At my uncle’s place, there is no garden. _______________________________________________________________________6. In my town, there are two police stations and one justice court.

________________________________________________________________________7. She likes to live in Kuala Lumpur, because there are a lot of cinemas.

________________________________________________________________________8. Your sister likes to go to the night-club on Saturday.

________________________________________________________________________9. Sasha and Jonathan hate to go to the hospital.

_______________________________________________________________________10. You are going to the train station soon.

________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulaire:

Parce que because



36

Les verbes irréguliers (2)

Here are a second batch of very important, but irregular verbs.

Faire (to do, to make)Je fais I doTu fais you doIl/elle fait he/she does

Nous faisons we doVous faites you doIls/elles font they do

Pouvoir (to be able to, can)Je peux I canTu peux you canIl/elle peut he/she can

Nous pouvons we canVous pouvez you canIls/elles peuvent they can

Vouloir (to want)Je veux I wantTu veux you wantIl/elle veut he/she wants

Nous voulons we wantVous voulez you wantIls/elles veulent they want

Venir (to come)Je viens I comeTu viens you comeIl/elle vient he/she comes

Nous venons we comeVous venez you comeIls/elles viennent they come

Devoir (must)Je dois I mustTu dois you mustIl / elle doit he / she must

Nous devons we mustVous devez you mustIls / elles doivent they must

Savoir (to know smtg)Je sais I knowTu sais you knowIl/ elle sait he/ she knows

Nous savons we knowVous savez you knowIls / elles savent they know



37

Exercice: Les verbes (2)

Traduire les phrases suivantes:1. She wants to be happy. ___________________________________________________________________

2. I don’t know. ___________________________________________________________________

3. She thinks that (=que) she can have a big house. ___________________________________________________________________

4. We come from Italy but we live in Australia. ___________________________________________________________________

5. I like to laugh with my friends. ___________________________________________________________________

6. My parents want to go to Canada (masc.) soon. ___________________________________________________________________

7. The mother of my friend can dance. ___________________________________________________________________

7. Your uncle is coming tomorrow. ___________________________________________________________________

8. We are going to wash your car today. ___________________________________________________________________

9. I want to help my brother. ___________________________________________________________________

10. She hopes that she can pay. ___________________________________________________________________

11. We must go to the school with Patricia. ___________________________________________________________________

12. Jacques knows that I am lazy. ___________________________________________________________________



38

Les activités

Les sports

In French, as in English language to a certain extent, there are sports you “play”, andothers that you “do”.

For example, “you play football”, but “you do boxing”… the verbs will be used almost inthe same way in French (meaning that the sports you play in English will be the same inFrench).

We have already seen the different verbs to play(jouer)and to do (faire), but it might beuseful to recall here how they are conjugated:

Faire (to do)Je faisTu fais

Il/ elle faitNous faisonsVous faites

Ils/ elles font

Jouer (to play)Je joue

Tu jouesIl/ elle joue

Nous jouonsVous jouez

Ils/ elles jouent



39

I. Sports / games you play

Vocabulaire:le badminton badmintonle basket-ball basketball

le football footballle golf golfle handball handballle hockey hockeyle ping-pong table tennisle rugby rugbyle volley-ball volleyballle tennis tennis

Grammar:In French, when you are using“jouer” relating to a sport or any game, you will need touse “à” after the verb. Asin English, you use “to look at”, in French, “à” will always comeafter “jouer”. Once again the gender of the word is very important.

• When you are using the name of a sport or a game which is feminine, it will remain asits usual self.

For example: “je joue à la belote” (la belote is a card game)

• When you are using the name of a sport or a game which is masculine, you will haveto change it to“au”. The rule is that, whenever you find“à le” in a sentence, you have to

replace it by“au”. For example: “je joue à le au football”

1. Ecris la phrase correspondant à chaque image.

←Tu ______________________________________________ Nous _________________________________________→

2. Traduis les phrases suivantes .

1. I like to play tennis. _____________________________________________________________________

2. My sister plays badminton with her friend today. _____________________________________________________________________



40

II. Sports / games you do

Vocabulaire:le cyclisme cyclingl’équitation (fem) horse riding

la gymnastique gymnasticsle judo judola natation swimmingle VTT mountain bikingla boxe boxingl’escalade (fem) moutain climbingla planche à voile windsurfingle patin à glace ice-skatingl’athlétisme (masc) athletics le ski ski

Grammar:Well, things will work almost the same way for“faire” … “Faire” in French is always followed withde • As we have seen before, the feminine doesn’t imply any changes.

For example: “Je fais de la boxe.”

• Whereas, the masculine will induce the change from“de le” into“du” For example: « je faisde le du judo. »

1. Ecris la phrase correspondant à chaque image.

← Il _______________________________________________ Elle ____________________________________________→

2. Traduis les phrases suivantes .1. We want to go to the swimming pool Sunday.

_____________________________________________________________________2. They do horse-riding two times a month.

_____________________________________________________________________3. His mother likes to do boxing once a week.

_____________________________________________________________________

Vocabulaire:toujours always souvent often parfois sometimes jamais never

une (deux/ trois/quatre...) fois par jour (semaine/ mois/année...)one (2/ 3 / 4...) time per day (week / month/ year...)



41

Les professions:In french, as we have seen so many times now, all the nouns have a specific gender whichcannot change. For professions, it will be slightly different, as most of the professions have both afeminine and a masculine possibility.

For example: Un avocat is a male lawyer.Une avocate is a female lawyer.

Remember: when you transform a masculine into a feminine one, normally you had an extra –E.

Here are a few examples of other transformations into feminine:Un étudiant une étudiante a student

Un infirmier une infirmière a nurseUn boulanger une boulangère a bakerUn caissier une caissière a cashier

Un serveur une serveuse a waiter/a waitressUn coiffeur une coiffeuse a hairdresserUn vendeur une vendeuse a salesman/saleswomanUn danseur une danseuse a dancer

Un acteur une actrice an actor/an actressUn agriculteur une agricultrice a farmer

Un musicien une musicienne a musicianUn chirurgien une chirurgienne a surgeonUn magicien une magicienne a magician… Some are irregular ones:Un chanteur une chanteuse a singer

Some don’t change whether they are used to refer to a male or to a female, because the masculineform already ends with an –E, only the article will help us find out:Un comptable une comptable an accountantUn journaliste une journaliste a journalistUn dentiste une dentiste a dentisteUn pilote une pilote a pilot

And some exception words are only used in masculine (even if you are talking about a woman!):Un professeur un médecin un écrivainA teacher a doctor a writer

We also have some special ones:Un homme d’affaire une femme d’affaire a businessman / womanUn homme au foyer une femme au foyer a house husband(?) / wife



42

Annexe 1 : Les articles

In French, as in English, we have different articles, according to the way you want tospecify the object you are talking about.

We have definite articles (the) and indefinite articles (a).The main differences on that point between French and English is thateach noun has agender and a number , and the gender always remain the same for that specific object.

For example:a table is feminine in French and will always be:une tablea restaurant is masculine in French and will always be:un restaurant

then,the table becomes la table the restaurant becomes le restaurant

That is why, when you learn the vocabulary, it is very important that you also learn the article linked to it, so that you will know what gender it is.

Now, coming to the plural of things. In French both the noun and the articles have tocarry the mark of the plural which is (most of the times) -S.When it comes to plural, the articles don’t take into account the gender anymore, as: The tables become les tables, andThe restaurants become les restaurants

As for the indefinite articles, they don’t have a plural in English, as you would say:a

table becomes (in a plural form)tables. You can notice the absence of article for theplural. In French, we have an article for the indefinite plural:des .

So that, tables become des tables and restaurants become des restaurants

To sum up all this:indefiniteenglish

indefinitefrench

definiteenglish

definite french

Masculine A Un The LeFeminine A Une The LaPlural Des The Les

Attention: when you use the singular definite article in front of a noun that begins with avowel or a H, you have to retrieve the last vowel of that article:

Le oiseau l’oiseau (the bird) La amie l’amie (the f emale friend)Le hôpital l’hôpital (the hospital)



43

Annexe 2 : Les adjectifs

1.Feminine .

The adjectives are the words that you use when you want to describe someone orsomething (noun). For example when you say :

“Jean has a big grey house.”

“big ” is an adjective. “ grey ” is also an adjective. They both are used to describe thehouse.

• Now, as you know, in French all nouns have a gender. Here, a house, in French, isfeminine:“une maison” Well, the adjectives will have to fit the gender of the noun they are describing.Therefore, here, “ big” and “ grey”, as they are referring to the house, will have to be used

in their feminine forms, which gives us:“grande” and “grise” • Another important point is, in French, the colours will always be placed after the nounthey are describing. Whereas, most of the time, the other adjectives will be placedbefore the noun, same way as in English.

Therefore, if we translate this sentence it will give us:

“Jean a une grande maison gris e.”

2. Plural.

Now let’s ta ke another example, if I say:

“ Jonathan and Daniel are tall.”

What is the adjective in this sentence?.... it is “ tall”.And who is tall? In other words, to which words refers “ tall” in that sentence?.... Well, “ Jonathan and Daniel” are the ones who are “ tall”, agreed? So, as we modify the adjective when it refers to a feminine noun, we will also modify itwhen it refers to a plural.Therefore, here, we will have:

“Jonathan et Daniel sont grands.”

So, the important points to remember about the adjectives: 1. find who or what the adjective refers to, and use the right form of the word

accordingly (masculine-feminine; singular-plural) 2. the colours will always be placed after the word they describe



44

Annexe 3 : Les nationalités et les pays

1. Les nationalités:In French, according to the person you are talking about, you have to adapt the wordsyou use.If you are a man, and you are talking about yourself, you will use the masculine form ofthe words; the same will happen if you are talking about another man.If you are a woman, and you are talking about yourself, you need to use the feminineform of the words; the same will happen if you are talking about another woman.This work for a lot of situations, here we will just go through the nationalites.

Name of thecountry (in French)

NationalityMasculine

NationalityFeminine

NationalityEnglish

Most of the nationality will follow one of these patterns: -AIS -AISE

La France Français Française FrenchL’Angleterre (fem.) Anglais Anglaise EnglishLe Japon Japonais Japonaise JapaneseLe Soudan Soudanais Soudanaise SudaneseLe Portugal Portugais Portugaise PortugueseLe Botswana Botswanais Botswanaise BotswanianLa Thailande Thailandais Thailandaise ThaiLa Hollande Hollandais Hollandaise Dutch

Le Cameroun Camerounais Camerounaise CameroonianL’Irlande (fem.) Irlandais Irlandaise IrishL’Ouganda (masc.) Ougandais Ougandaise Ugandan

-IEN -ENNELa Malaisie Malaisien Malaisienne MalaysianL’Indonésie (fem.) Indonésien Indonésienne IndonesianL’Italie (fem.) Italien Italienne ItalianLe Brésil Brésilien Brésilienne Brazilian

Le Vietnam Vietnamien Vietnamienne VietnameseL’Algérie (fem.) Algérien Algérienne AlgerianLa Tunisie Tunisien Tunisienne TunisianL’Inde (f em.) Indien Indienne IndianSingapour Singapourien Singapourienne SingaporeanL’Australie (fem.) Australien Australienne Australian



45

Some nationalities will follow the normal transformation to feminine : add an extra -E

La Chine Chinois Chinoise Chinese

L’Amérique (fem.) Américain Américaine AmericanLa Jamaique Jamaicain Jamaicaine JamaicanLe Maroc Marocain Marocaine MoroccanL’Allemagne (fem.) Allemand Allemande GermanL’Espagne (fem.) Espagnol Espagnole SpanishLa Mongolie Mongol Mongole MongolianLe Nigéria Nigérian Nigériane Nigerian

Some nationalities will be the same for masculine and feminine

(when the masculine already ends with –E )La Belgique Belge Belge BelgianLa Suisse Suisse Suisse Swiss

2. Les pays:

In the chart above, you also have the names of countries. Most of them are quite similarto the English versions, but you have to be careful with the spelling.

You can notice that the countries also have genders. Most countries are feminine, butsome of them as you can see here are masculine.

This will lead to some changes in the way you use the names of countries in sentences.

There will be two major moments when you need to take the gender into account:

1. You will say: J’habite en France . (La France being a feminine country)And J’habite au Japon . (Le Japon being a masculine country)

2. You will say : Je viens de France .And Je viens du Japon .

Attention: Singapour is a special case in French, it will be considered as the name of a town,therefore, you will use it the way you use the name of a town :

J’habite à Singapour.

Je viens de Singapour.



46

Annexe 4 : le féminin

In French language, all nouns and objects have a gender. Everything is eithermasculineor feminine. The neutral doesn’t exist in French .Maybe that is why people say that it is such a romantic language!!!

Most of the words will have one gender which will never change.

For example:Unarbre a tree is masculine and will always be.Une plante a plant is feminine and will always be.

There are some sort of rules on how to guess if a word is masculine or feminine, but

every rule knows a lot of exceptions, so we will not go through this.The only way that you can know for sure if a word is masculine or feminine is bylookingat the article (cfannexe 1 ).A masculine word will always follow a masculine article (un, le ), whereas a feminineword will always follow a feminine article (une, la ).

That is why it is very important that when you learn the vocabulary you learn itwith the article that goes with it.

Remember we have seen in annexe 2 that the adjectives refering to a masculine nounor object will have to be used in their masculine form;And the adjectives refering to a feminine noun or object will have to be used in theirfeminine form.

Unpetitarbre Je suis français.Une petite plante Je suis française.

The usual sign for feminine will be an extra – E at the end of the word.

Now, there are some nouns that can change from masculine to feminine and fromfeminine to masculine. This will happen when you are talking about professions.

As in English a waiter is the masculine version of a waitress, in French most of theprofessions will have a masculine and a feminine version. We will see those in ourlesson about the professions later on.



47

Annexe 5 : Le pluriel

As we have seen previously, all nouns (objects) have agender (masculine / feminine)and a number (singular / plural).We have discussed already the changes that need to be done if you use masculine orfeminine, now we are going to discuss changes that occur when you are using differentnumbers: one or many.

The use of plural in French is generally quite simple :remember how to use the feminine you had an extra –E at the end of the word ;well, for the plural, you will usually add an extra –S.

For example: La maison Les maisons

Un homme Des hommes Remember : the articles will also change from singular to plural, cfannexe 1 .

Nevertheless, what would be the fun in this if there wasn’t any exceptions!!! We have a few special cases to remember when you are using the plural:

1. The words that already end with -S, -X, or -Z will not take an extra –S for theplural, there will be no changes to these:

For example: Un pays Des pays Le nez Les nez

2. The other main exception will come with a change of the sign for the plural; that is to say for some words the sign for plural will be – X instead of – S :

Words ending with – EU will end with –EUX for the plural.Words ending with – AL and –AU will end with – AUX for the plural.

For example: Un journal Des journaux Le cadeau Les cadeaux Un cheveu Des cheveux

Of course, there are other funny exceptions, but these should be enough to beginwith !



48

Annexe 6 : La négation

A negative sentence is not a sentence that says something bad!Here is an example of the transformation to a negative sentence in English:

I am tall. I amnot tall.

In French, the negative form works in two parts:Ne….. Pas

The rule is that you have to putNe…Pas on each side of the verb.So, of course the first thing that you need to do is to find the verb ( the action word) inthe sentence.

For example:

Je suis grande. Je ne suis pas grande.

Subj. Verb Adjective Subj. ne Verb pas Adjective

Now, if it was that simple, it wouldn’t be fun!Sometimes, you will have to be careful when building a negative sentence.

Problems happen when you are using the verb “avoir”

For example:

J’a i une maison. Je n’ai pas de maison.

Tu as un chien. Tu n’as pas de chien.

Nous avons des voitures. Nous n’avons pas de voitures.

So you can notice here that the articles «un », « une » and « des » when put into anegative sentence are transformed into «de »

BBuutt tthhiiss hhaappppeennss oonnllyy wwhheenn yyoouu hhaavvee aa sseenntteennccee wwiitthh aavvooiirr,, aanndd oonnllyy wwiitthh uunn,, uunnee,, ddeess ..

Attention !Il y a Il n’y a pas (de)



EExxeerrcciicceess :: LLaa nnééggaattiioonn

Transformez à la forme négative:

1. Nous avons une grande maison. __________________________________________________________2. Il y a un grand chien dans le jardin. __________________________________________________________3. Vous regardez beaucoup la télé. __________________________________________________________4. J’aime jouer au rugby avec mes amis. __________________________________________________________

5. Ils ont trois enfants. __________________________________________________________6. Tu aimes manger du chocolat. __________________________________________________________7. Il va à la piscine deux fois par mois. __________________________________________________________8. Je suis Française et je parle très bien l’anglais. __________________________________________________________

9. Mes amis vont en Indonésie pour noel. __________________________________________________________10. Damien adore danser en discothèque. __________________________________________________________11. Il a un chat blanc. __________________________________________________________12. Je suis heureux de visiter la Malaisie. __________________________________________________________

13. Daniel et moi, nous regardons beaucoup la télé. __________________________________________________________14. Il habite à Kuala Lumpur.

lfb 1010 french for beginners lecture notes

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