Learn French

No attempt has been made to provide pronunciation guidelines for the French alphabet. If you know English well and want to speak French in the English way, you will probably be the last person to be understood even by a French. French pronunciation is dramatically different from English.

These pages should better be used with the help of an instructor. Self-study might be possible. But that is expected to be a little difficult.

Contents

1. Introduction

• French alphabet
• Introduce yourself in French
• Some common expressions
• Numbers
• Expressions involving time

2. Grammar

2.1 Parts of speech

• Articles
• Nouns
  1. Genders
  2. Number
• Pronouns
• Adjectives
  1. Regular adjectives
  2. Irregular adjectives
  3. Antonyms
  4. Demonstrative adjectives
  5. Adjectives denoting quantity
• Verb conjugation - Present tense
  1. General conjugation patterns
  2. Conjugation patterns for some common verbs
  3. Some other verbs
  4. Reflexive verbs
• Prepositions
  1. Use of prepositions
  2. Appropriate prepositions after verbs
• Adverbs
  1. Some common adverbs
  2. Construction of adverbs from adjectives
  3. Position of an adverb in a sentence

2.2 Sentence construction

• Negative sentences
• Interrogative sentences
  1. Three forms of interrogative sentences
  2. WH questions
• Imperative sentences

3. Vocabulary

• Places
• Family
• Vehicles
• Common professions
• Some countries
• Body parts
• Colors
• House
• Food and drink
• Instruments and objects

References

[1]

Class notes of a course offered by the `Foreign Languages Section', Indian Institute of Science.

[2]

P. Dominique, J. Girardet, M. Verdelhan and V. Verdelhan, Le nouveau sans frontières 1 (Méthode de français), CLE International, 1988. (This is a nice introduction to French. Audio cassettes available with the book make it a valuable resource to learn French pronunciations. The book contains many good exercises that clarify the grammatical rules. It also helps build a rich vocabulary on a variety of items. The problem with the book is that it is written in French and hence it is not ideal for self-study for the beginners.)

[3]

J. Bady, I. Greaves, A. Petetin, Grammaire, Hachette Livre, 1996. (This is basically an execrcise-book that deals with a (possibly more) in-depth study of French grammar. The examples provided are fairly illustrative and the coverage is extensive. This book is also written in French and is better to be studied with the help of an instructor.)

[4]

The ARTFL project, Divisions of the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Chicago. (This is an on-line version of many utilities on French. In particular, look at the on-line French-English dictionary and the on-line verb conjugator. The data-base is reasonably large.)

[5]

Jacques Léon, French Language Course. (A nice on-line introduction to French in html. Ideal for beginners and for self-study.)

Note

Download PostScript Version of the tutorial

1. Introduction

French alphabet

Accent		Examples
L'accent aigu (acute or sharp accent)		année (year), étudiant (student), école (school)
L'accent grave (grave accent)		à (to, towards), père (father), où (where)
L'accent circonflexe (circumflex)		âge (age), tête (head), connaître (to know), hôtel (hotel), août (August)
Le Tréma (diaeresis)		Noël (Christmas), naïf (naive)
La Cédille (cedilla)		français (French), garçon (boy)
Trait d'union (hyphen)		Excusez-moi (Excuse me)

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Introduce yourself in French

Q:

Comment vous vous appelez? [What's your name? (Lit. How do you call yourself?)]

A:

Je m'appelle Barda. [My name is Barda. (Lit. I call myself Barda.)]

Q:

Quel est votre nom? [What's your name?]

A:

Barda.

Q:

Quel est votre prénom? [What's your forename (first name)?]

A:

Barda.

Q:

Épelez votre nom. [Spell your name.]

A:

B-a-r-d-a.

Q:

Quel âge avez-vous? [What's your age? (Lit. What age do you have?)]

A:

J'ai 29 (vingt-neuf) ans. [I am 29 years old. (Lit. I have 29 years.)]

Q:

Quelle est votre profession? [What is your profession?]

A:

Je suis étudiant(e). [I am a student.]

Q:

Quelle est votre adresse? [What's your address?]

A:

N 97, IISc, Bangalore 560 012

Q:

Quelle est votre nationalité? [What's your nationality?]

A:

Je suis indien(-ne). [I am an Indian.]

Q:

Où habitez-vous? [Where do you live?]

A:

J'habite à Bangalore. [I live in Bangalore.]

Q:

Où habitent vos parents? [Where do your parents live?]

A:

Mes parents habitent à Calcutta. [My parents live in Calcutta.]

Q:

Quelle est votre langue maternelle? [What is your mother tongue?]

A:

Bangla.

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Some common expressions

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Numbers

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Expressions involving time

Units French     English seconde, f second minute, f minute heure, f hour jour, m day semaine, f week mois, m month an, m year année, f year décennie, f decade siècle, m century

Seasons French     English été, f summer automne, f autumn hiver, m winter printemps, m spring

Today etc. French     English maintenant now aujourd'hui today demain tomorrow après demain day after tomorrow hier yesterday avant hier day before yesterday

Clock time

Other expressions

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2. Grammer

2.1 Parts of Speech

Articles

Definite article

le

masculine, singular
Example: le garçon (the boy), le livre (the book)

la

feminine, singular
Example: la fille (the girl), la chaise (the chair)

l'

special form (masculine or feminine, singular) when followed by a vowel or vowel sound
Example: l'école (the school), l'hôpital (the hospital)

les

plural (masculine and feminine)
Example: les garçons (the boys), les filles (the girls)

Indefinite article

un

masculine, singular
Example: un homme (a man), un livre (a book)

une

feminine, singular
Example: une femme (a woman), une chaise (a chair)

des

plural (masculine and feminine)
Example: des hommes (men), des femmes (women)

Note: The concept of a plural form of the indefinite article might look alien (and surprising) to you. But this is quite often used in French. There is no equivalent of `des' in English (and in German, too). The difference between `les livres' and `des livres' is that `les livres' refer to a specific set of books, whereas `des livres' refer to `some books' or books in general. Well, this rule is rather over-simplified. But don't mind. We will see enough examples of both `les' and `des' throughout this tutorial.

Partitive article

du

masculine, singular
Example: du café (the coffee), du travail (the work)

de la

feminine, singular
Example: de la beauté (the beauty), de la bière (the beer)

de l'

special form (masculine or feminine, singular) when followed by a vowel or vowel sound
Example: de l'eau (the water)

des

plural (masculine and feminine)
Example: des fruits (the fruits)

Nous avons du temps. - We have the time.
Voudriez-vous manger du boeuf? - Would you like to eat beef?
J'ai de la chance. - I have the chance (or luck).
Nous buvons de l'eau. - We drink water.

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Nouns

Gender

Some masculine nouns: livre (book), hôpital (hospital), bras (arm), vélo (bicycle), magasin (shop), aéroport (airport), piano (piano), mot (word), matin (morning), chemin (street), village (village), soleil (sun), Pakistan (Pakistan).

Some feminine nouns: chaise (chair), pharmacie (drug store), jambe (leg), moto (motor-cycle), boutique (shop), gare (railway station), musique (music), phrase (sentence), nuit (night), rue (road), ville (city), lune (moon), Inde (India).

It is apparent from the above examples that no good rule decides the gender of a noun. One must remember it. In some specific cases, however, we can frame certain rules:

Human beings

Professions

Note that there is again no rule that tells how to generate the feminine form from the masculine form (and vice versa).

Regular suffixes

Special nouns

• The name of a country is feminine if it either starts with a vowel or ends with `e'. An exception to this rule is: `Mexique' (Mexico) is masculine.
• All languages are masculine.

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Number

Singular		Plural
la table (the table)		les tables (the tables)
une main (a hand)		deux mains (two hands)
mon livre (my book)		mes livres (my books)
une bouteille de vin (a bottle of wine)		des bouteilles de vin (bottles of wine)

There are many exceptions to this simple rule. For some specific suffixes of the singular form of the noun, the plural form can be derived following some specific rules. In the other cases, the plural form is completely irregular. Let's take examples.

Suffix `al' and `ail' change to the suffix `aux' in the plural form.

un cheval (a horse) - des chevaux (horses)
un animal (an animal) - des animaux (animals)
un journal (a magazine or newspaper) - des journaux (magazines or newspapers)
un travail (a work) - des travaux (works)

Nouns ending with `eu', `ou' or `eau' append an `x' in the plural form.

le cheveu (the hair, singular) - les cheveux (the hair, plural)
le jeu (the game) - les jeux (the games)
le bijou (the jewel) - les bijoux (the jewels)
l'oiseau (the bird) - les oiseaux (the birds)

Nouns ending with `s' and `x' do not change in the plural form.

un bras (an arm) - deux bras (two arms)
un mois (a month) - douze mois (twelve months)
un fils (a son) - trois fils (three sons)
un prix (a prize) - cent prix (hundred prizes)

Irregular plurals

un oeil (an eye) - deux yeux (two eyes)
monsieur (Mr.) - messieurs (Mr. - plural)
madame (Mrs.) - mesdames (Mrs. - plural)
mademoiselle (Miss.) - mesdemoiselles (Miss. - plural)

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Pronouns

Possessive adjectives

Examples

Alternative form of the pronouns

These pronouns are called `les pronoms personnels toniques'. These are used in certain specific circumstances.

After certain prepositions (like avec, sans, pour, devant, chez etc.)

Je mange avec toi. - I eat with you.
Elle vient chez moi. - She comes to my house.

Moi, je suis étudiant. - I am a student.
Person 1 (to Person 2): J'ai faim. (I am hungry)
Person 2 (to Person 1): Moi aussi et (about Person 3) lui aussi. (I too and he too)

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Adjectives

Regular adjectives

To start with we state the regular termination patterns for an adjective. In the following table `-' denotes the stem of an adjective. (In most of the cases, these stems are listed as head-words in dictionaries.)

		masculine		feminine
singular		-		-e
plural		-s		-es

We need examples to illustrate. Consider the four forms of `grand' (which means great):

Example 1

1. Masculine, singular: un grand homme (a great man)
2. Feminine, singular: une grande femme (a great woman)
3. Masculine, plural: de grands hommes (great men)
4. Feminine, plural: de grandes femmes (great women)

The second example illustrates the fact that the adjective follows the same termination patterns when used in sentences like `He is pretty' or `She is pretty'.

Example 2

1. Masculine, singular: Il est joli. (He is pretty.)
2. Feminine, singular: Elle est jolie. (She is pretty.)
3. Masculine, plural: Ils sont jolis. (They are pretty.)
4. Feminine, plural: Elles sont jolies. (They are pretty.)

Note that the same termination patterns hold even in sentences `I am tired' or `We are tired'. In this case, the exact form of the adjective depends on the gender of the speaker(s).

Example 3

1. Masculine, singular: Je suis fatigué. (I am tired.)
2. Feminine, singular: Je suis fatiguée. (I am tired.)
3. Masculine, plural: Nous sommes fatigués. (We are tired.)
4. Feminine, plural: Nous sommes fatiguées. (We are tired.)

It is customary in French to put the adjective after the noun it qualifies, as in the following examples:

C'est un homme blond. (This is a blond man.)
C'est une femme blonde. (This is a blond woman.)
On ne mange pas de poisson cru. (One does not eat raw fish.)

Il est un grand homme.

Il est un homme grand.

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Irregular adjectives

Adjectives ending with `e'

1. Masculine, singular: Le livre est rouge. (The book is red.)
2. Feminine, singular: La fleur est rouge. (The flower is red.)
3. Masculine, plural: Les livres sont rouges. (The books are red.)
4. Feminine, plural: Les fleurs sont rouges. (The flowers are red.)

Adjectives ending with `n'

1. Masculine, singular: Je suis indien. (I am an Indian.)
2. Feminine, singular: Je suis indienne. (I am an Indian.)
3. Masculine, plural: Nous sommes indiens. (We are Indian.)
4. Feminine, plural: Nous sommes indiennes. (We are Indian.)

Bon après-midi! (Good afternoon!)
Bonne nuit! (Good night!)

Adjectives ending with `s'

Le doigt est gros. (The finger is big.)
La tête est grosse. (The head is big.)

Adjectives ending with `el', `ul' and `eil'

C'est le principe essentiel. (That is the essential principle.)
C'est l'idée essentielle. (That is the essential idea.)

Adjectives ending with `al'

le sujet spécial (the special subject)
l'année spéciale (the special year)

les sujets spécaux (the special subjects)
les années spéciales (the special years)

Adjectives ending with `f'

un étudiant attentif (an attentive male student)
une étudiante attentive (an attentive female student)

Adjectives ending with `er' or `et'

le dernier appartement (the last apartment)
la dernière maison (the last house)

un livre secret (a secret book)
une lettre secrète (a secret letter)

Adjectives ending with `eux' or `oux'

1. Masculine, singular: dangereux (dangerous)
2. Feminine, singular: dangereuse
3. Masculine, plural: dangereux
4. Feminine, plural: dangereuses

Totally irregular adjectives

1. Masculine, singular: le nouveau danseur (the new dancer), le nouvel acteur (the new actor)
2. Feminine, singular: la nouvelle danseuse (the new (female) dancer)
3. Masculine, plural: les nouveux danseurs (the new dancers)
4. Feminine, plural: les nouvelles danseuses (the new (female) dancers)

Some other irregular adjectives are listed below:

masculine, singular		feminine, singular		meaning
blanc		blanche		white
bref		brève		brief, short
doux		douce		gentle
faux		fausse		false
favori		favorite		favorite
fou (or `fol' before vowel)		folle		mad
frais		fraîche		fresh
gentil		gentille		nice
grec		grecque		Greek
long		longue		long
public		publique		public
roux		rousse		the rust color
sec		sèche		dry
vieux		vieille		old

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Antonyms

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Demonstrative adjectives (This / That)

masculine, singular	ce		ce garçon (this/that boy)
masculine, singular (before a vowel sound)	cet		cet homme (this/that man), cet animal (this/that animal)
feminine, singular	cette		cette femme (this/that woman)
masculine or singular, plural	ces		ces arbres (these/those trees), ces lampes (these/those lamps)

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Adjectives denoting quantity

Adjective		Meaning
beaucoup		a lot
assez		enough
trop		excessive, too many
peu		little
un peu		a little
un morceau / une tranche		a piece / a slice
deux morceaux / deux tranches		two pieces / two slices
une bouteille / un pot		a bottle / a jar
dix bouteilles / dix pots		ten bottles / ten jars
un kilo / un litre		a kilo / a liter
trois kilos / trois litres		three kilos / three liters

These adjectives are used in the following way:

adjective + de (or d') + noun (singular or plural)

Examples:

1. Elle a gagné beaucoup de prix. - She has won many prizes.
2. J'ai trop de travail. - I have too much work.
3. Il y a assez de livres. - There are enough books.
4. Nous avons un litre / cinq litres d'huile. - We have one liter / five liters of oil.
5. Voici huit bouteilles de bière et deux tranches de pain. - Here are eight bottles of beer and two slices of bread.

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Verb conjugation - Present tense

General conjugation patterns

-er

Most of the verbs in the first group follow a specific conjugation pattern. This is:

Je + stem + -e		Nous + stem + -ons
Tu + stem + -es		Vous + stem + -ez
Il/Elle + stem + -e		Ils/Elles + stem + -ent

Examples

Regular conjugation pattern: parler (to talk), habiter (to live), s'appeler (to call oneself), chanter (to sing), écouter (to listen), manger (to eat), commencer (to begin), rester (to stay).

Irregular conjugation pattern: aller (to go), acheter (to go).

-ir

Verbs in the second group are less regular in terms of a fixed conjugation pattern. However, in many cases the pattern shown below is followed.

Je + stem + -s		Nous + stem + -ons
Tu + stem + -s		Vous + stem + -ez
Il/Elle + stem + -t		Ils/Elles + stem + -ent

In some other cases, the following pattern is used.

Je + stem + -s		Nous + stem + -ssons
Tu + stem + -s		Vous + stem + -ssez
Il/Elle + stem + -t		Ils/Elles + stem + -ssent

Examples

Regular conjugation pattern of the first type: partir (to leave), sortir (to go out).

Regular conjugation pattern of the second type: finir (to finish), choisir (to choose), rougir (to turn red, to blush).

Irregular conjugation pattern: avoir (to have), vouloir (to want), vouloir (would like), pouvoir (to be able), savoir (to know), venir (to come).

-re

There is practically no good general rule to describe the conjugation pattern of the verbs in the third group. Most of these verbs are irregular.

Examples

être (to be), faire (to do), connaître (to know), comprendre (to understand), lire (to read), écrire (to write), boire (to drink), prendre (to take (food etc.)), vendre (to sell).

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Some common verbs

• être (to be)
• avoir (to have)
• faire (to do)
• habiter (to live)
• parler (to speak)
• dire (to say, to tell)
• s'appeler (to call oneself)
• vouloir (to want)
• vouloir (would like)
• connaître (to know)
• savoir (to know)
• comprendre (to understand)
• aller (to go)
• venir (to come)
• arriver (to arrive)
• entrer (to enter)
• rentrer (to return)
• partir (to leave)
• sortir (to go out)
• commencer (to start)
• finir (to finish)
• lire (to read)
• écrire (to write)
• pouvoir (can)
• manger (to eat)
• boire (to drink)
• prendre (to take (food))
• choisir (to choose, select)
• acheter (to buy)
• vendre (to sell)
• louer (to hire)
• écouter (to listen)
• regarder (to watch, to look at)
• voir (to see)
• donner (to give)
• falloir (should)

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In English both these verbs are translated as `to know'. If you know German, it is easier for you to understand the distinction between these verbs. The German equivalent of `connaître' is `kennen', whereas that of `savoir' is `wissen'.

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Some other verbs

Verb		Meaning		Note on conjugation
adorer		to love (a thing or to do something)		regular
aimer		to like (a thing or to do something)		regular
préférer		to prefer (a thing or to do something)		regular, but the second é changes to è in all cases except with `nous' and `vous'
détester		to hate, detest (a thing or to do something)		regular
conduire		to drive		similar to lire
jouer		to play (a game or a musical instrument)		regular
étudier		to study		regular
enseigner		to teach		regular
envoyer		to send		J'envoie / Tu envoies / Il/Elle envoie / Nous envoyons / Vous envoyez / Ils/Elles envoient
porter		to wear, to put on (cloth etc.)		regular
attendre		to wait		J'attends / Tu attends / Il/Elle attend / Nous attendons / Vous attendez / Ils/Elles attendent
voyager		to travel		Similar to manger
chanter		to sing		regular
danser		to dance		regular
rester		to stay		regular
se promener		to take a walk		reflexive: Je me promène / Tu te promènes / Il/Elle se promène / Nous nous promenons / Vous vous promenez / Ils/Elles se promènent
se reposer		to take rest, to relax		regular, reflexive
rencontrer		to meet (somebody)		regular
gagner		to win, to earn		regular
travailler		to work		regular
inviter		to invite		regular
dormir		to sleep		Je dors / Tu dors / Il/Elle dort / Nous dormons / Vous dormez / Ils/Elles dorment
demander		to ask for		regular
poser		to ask (a question)		regular
répondre		to answer, reply		Je réponds / Tu réponds / Il/Elle répond / Nous répondons / Vous répondez / Ils/Elles répondent
décrire		to describe		similar to écrire
déjeuner		to take lunch		regular
dîner		to take dinner, to dine		regular

Examples

jouer + de + definite article + musical instrument (to play a musical instrument)
jouer du piano / du violon / de la guitare (to play piano / violin / guitar)

adorer / aimer / préférer / detester + definite article + noun
J'aime la montagne / le ski (I like mountain / ski)

adorer / aimer / préférer / detester + infinitive
J'aime aller à la montagne / faire du ski (I like to go to the mountain / to do skiing)

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Reflexive verbs

Some other reflexive verbs that we have seen so far include `se promener' (to take a walk), `se reposer' (to relax). That is, `Je me promène' literally means `I take a walk myself'. Clearly the `myself' is completely redundant in the English translation. But the French sentence must have the pronominal object `me'.

Another language that makes frequent use of reflexive verbs is German. If you already know German, the concept of reflexive verbs would not be alien to you. We note in passing that the German equivalents of s'appeler (heißen) and se promener (spazierengehen) are not reflexive, whereas that of se reposer (sich entspannen) is reflexive. Two other verbs that are reflexive in both French and German are:

French: se souvenir (de + ...)
German: sich (an + ...) erinnern
English: to remember, to recall (Lit. to remind oneself)

French: se raser
German: sich rasieren
English: to (have a) shave

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Prepositions

Use of prepositions

à (to, at, in)

à + le = au
à + la = à la
à + l' = à l'
à + les = aux

Movement to a place

Je vais au restaurant. - I am going to the restaurant.
Tu pars aux États-Unis. - You leave for the USA.

Position

à is used to denote position of an object or action at a city and some other places.

Mon frère habite à Mumbai. - My brother lives at Mumbai.
Il reste à la maison. - He stays at the house.
Les enfants sont à l'école. - The children are in the school.
au rez-de-chaussée / premier étage / dernier étage - at the ground / first / top floor

Time

Je commence mon travail à 8h. - I start my work at 8 o'clock.
À mercredi! - See you on Wednesday!

To (somebody)

Soumen écrit à ses parents. - Soumen writes to his parents.
Je donne le crayon à Debu. - I give the pencil to Debu.

Before an infinitive

Je commence à travailler. - I start working.
Il y a l'appartement à vendre / louer. - There is the apartment for sale / rent.

With some modes of transportation

à bicyclette / vélo - by bicycle
à pied - on foot
à cheval - on horseback

en (in)

With countries

Its form is `au', `en' or `aux' depending on whether the name of the country is masculine, feminine or plural.

Il habite au Maroc. - He lives in Morocco.
Je suis en Inde. - I am in India.
Elle va aux États-unis. - She goes to the USA.

With seasons and months

En été il fait chaud. - In summer it is hot.
En janvier il neige. - In January it snows.

With vehicles

Nous allons en bus. - We go by bus.
en avion / train / métro / bateau - by airplane / train / metro / boat

With languages

Il chante des chansons en beaucoup de langues. - He sings songs in many languages.
J'écris une lettre en anglais. - I am writing a letter in English.

de (from, of)

de + le = du
de + la = de la
de + l' = de l'
de + les = des
de + un = d'un
de + une = d'une

From a place or time

Ils sortent de la maison. - They come out of the house.
Je pars de la bibliothèque. - I leave (from) the library.
Le train de Madras arrive à 21h15. - The train from Madras arrives at 21:15 hours.

The preposition `de' is often used in conjunction with `à' to denote `from ... to ...'.

J'arrive de Paris à Bangalore. - I arrive (go) from Paris to Bangalore.
Nous travaillons de 8h à 18h. - We work from 8 hours to 18 hours.

of (to denote possession)

C'est la rue du cinéma. - This is the road of the cinema.
C'est un cahier d'un étudiant. - This is a notebook of a student.
C'est le livre de mon ami. - This is the book of my friend.
Il est dans un magasin de musique. - He is in a music shop (lit. shop of music).

As a complement

Je parle de mon ami. - I am talking about my friend.
Cette chaise est pleine de poussière. - This chair is full of dust.

Before an infinitive

Nous finissons de travailler. - We finish working.

dans (on, in, at)

Je rencontre mon amie dans la rue. - I meet my friend on the road.
Le garçon achète le pain dans la boulangerie. - The boy buys bread from (or at) the bakery.
L'étudiante entre dans la Salle. - The (female) student enters into the classroom.

chez (in/at the house of)

Nous déjeunons chez moi. - We take lunch at my house.
Il va chez le médecin. - He is going to the doctor's house.
Vous partez de chez lui. - You leave from his house.

avec (with), sans (without), pour (for), par (by, per)

Ils vont avec / sans moi. - They are going with / without me.
Nous partons pour Mysore. - We leave for Mysore.
C'est un portrait d'un grand musicien par le journaliste. - This is a report about a great musician by the journalist.
Je loue l'appatement 4000 roupies par mois. - I rent the apartment for 4000 rupees per month.

Prepositions denoting positions of an object or action with respect to another

avant de (before), devant (before, in front of), derrière (behind, after), à côté de (beside, at the side of), au bord de (at the bank of), entre (between), à gauche de (to the left of), à droite de (to the right of), au-dessous de (below, under), au-dessus de (above), sur (on, atop, over), sous (below, beneath, under)

Les garçons jouent devant (/ derrière / à côté de) la maison. - The boys are playing in front of (/ behind / beside) the house.
avant de commencer le repas - before starting the meal

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Appropriate prepositions after verbs

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Adverbs and adverbial phrases

Some common adverbs

• bien - well
• mal - badly
• bientôt - soon
• beaucoup - a lot
• très - very
• bien sûr - of course

• déjà - already
• encore - yet, again
• toujours - always
• jamais - never
• souvent - often
• parfois - sometime
• quelquefois - sometimes
• rarement - rarely, seldom
• prochaine fois - next time
• pas du tout - not at all

• près (de) - near to, close to
• loin (de) - far from
• ici - here
• là - there
• là-bas - over there
• ici et là - here and there

• en avance - before time
• à l'heure - in time
• en retard - late

• maintenant - now
• aujourd'hui - today
• demain - tomorrow
• après demain - day after tomorrow
• hier - yesterday
• avant hier - day before yesterday

• ensemble - together
• seul - alone
• enfin - at last, finally

• oui - yes
• non - no
• si - yes (affirmative answer to a negative question)

  Examples

  Q:

  Vous aimez aller au cinéma? (Do you like to go to the cinema?)

  A:

  Oui. (Yes.)

  Q:

  Vous adorez le tennis? (Do you love tennis?)

  A:

  Non. (No.)

  Q:

  Vous n'aimez pas aller au cinéma? (Don't you like to go to the cinema?)

  A:

  Si. (Yes. That is, I like to go to the cinema.)

  Q:

  Vous n'adorez pas le tennis? (Don't you love tennis?)

  A:

  Non. (No. That is, I don't love tennis.)

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Construction of adverbs from adjectives

The general rule

    

adjective		feminine, singular		Adverb
certain (certain)		certaine		certainement (certainly)
normal (normal)		normale		normalement (normally)
actuel (present)		actuelle		actuellement (presently)
dernier (last, latest)		dernière		dernièrement (recently)
collectif (collective)		collective		collectivement (collectively)
agréable (nice, pleasant)		agréable		agréablement (nicely, pleasantly)

Exceptions

Adjectives that end with a vowel usually append `ment' to the masculine (not feminine), singular form

vrai (true, real) - vraiment (truely, really)
absolu (absolute) - absolument (absolutely)

Exceptions: assidu (diligent) - assidûment (diligently)

Adjectives that end with `ant' or `ent' change the `nt' to `mment'

brillant (brilliant) - brillamment (brilliantly)
constant (constant) - constamment (constantly)
évident (obvious) - évidemment (obviously)

Some adverbs are the same as the corresponding adjectives (masculine, singular form)

haut (loud) - haut (aloud, loudly)
dur (hard) - dur (hard)

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Position of an adverb in a sentence

Je vais rapidement à l'école. - I am going to the school fast.
Il sait bien nager. - He knows swimming well.
À Calcutta les chemins sont malheureusement très étroits. - In Calcutta, the streets are unfortunately very narrow.

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2.2 Sentence construction

Negative sentences

Affirmative		Negative
Elle va chez le médecin. (She goes to the doctor.)		Elle ne va pas chez le médecin. (She doesn't go to the doctor.)
J'aime la musique classique. (I like classical music.)		Je n'aime pas la musique classique. (I don't like classical music.)
Ils peuvent travailler jusqu'à minuit. (They want to work till midnight.)		Ils ne peuvent pas travailler jusqu'à minuit. (They don't want to work till midnight.)
A Bangalore il y a bons restaurants. (In Bangalore, there are good restaurants.)		A bangalore il n'y a pas bons restaurants. (In Bangalore, there are not good restaurants.)
C'est mon ami. (This is my friend.)		Ce n'est pas mon ami. (This is not my friend.)

Under certain special circumstances, one has to make more or other changes than just adding `ne' and `pas' as discussed earlier. Some examples are given below. First we consider the case where the indefinite article (un, une, des) changes to `de'.

Affirmative		Negative
Il veut un dictionnaire. (He wants a dictionary.)		Il ne veut pas de dictionnaire. (He does not want a dictionary.)
J'ai une soeur. (I have a sister.)		Je n'ai pas de soeur. (I don't have a sister.)
Il y a des restaurants dans la rue. (There are restaurants on the road.)		Il n'y a pas de restaurants dans la rue. (There are not restaurants on the road.)

Note that the definite article (le, la, les) does not change under such circumstances. For example,

Affirmative		Negative
Il veut le dictionnaire. (He wants the dictionary.)		Il ne veut pas le dictionnaire. (He does not want the dictionary.)
J'aime beaucoup la chanson. (I like the song very much.)		Je n'aime pas beaucoup la chanson. (I don't like the song very much.)

Finally, the partitive articles change like the indefinite articles, that is, `du', `de la' `des' etc. change to `de' in the negative sentence:

Affirmative		Negative
Je mange du chocolat. (I eat chocolate.)		Je ne mange pas de chocolat. (I do not eat chocolate.)
Tu as de la chance. (You have chance.)		Tu n'as pas de chance. (You do not have chance.)

Next we consider examples where some other changes are necessary.

Affirmative		Negative
J'ai déjà le livre. (I already have the book.)		Je n'ai pas encore le livre. (I do not have the book yet.)
Elle préfère toujours aller à la montagne. (She always prefers to go to the mountain.)		Elle ne préfère pas toujours aller à la montagne. (she does not prefer to go to the mountain always.) or Elle ne préfère jamais aller à la montagne. (She never prefers to go to the mountain.)
Nous mangeons souvent du poisson. (We often eat fish.)		Nous ne mangeons pas souvent de poisson. (We do not eat fish often.) or Nous ne mangons jamais de poisson. (We never eat fish.)
Ils mangent parfois du poisson. (They sometimes eat fish.)		Ils ne mangent jamais de poisson. (They never eat fish.)
Vous avez beaucoup de travail. (You have a lot of work.)		Vous n'avez pas beaucoup de travail. (You do not have a lot of work.) or Vous n'avez pas du tout de travail. (You do not have any work at all.)
Tu détestes le thé et le café. (You dislike tea and coffee.)		Tu ne détestes ni le thé ni le café. (You dislike neither tea nor coffee.)
J'aime aller à la mer. (I like to go to the sea.)		Je n'aime pas aller à la mer. (I do not like to go to the sea.) or J'aime ne pas aller à la mer. (I like not to go to the sea.)

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Interrogative sentences

Three forms of interrogative sentences

1. La langue familière
2. La langue courante or la langue standarde
3. La langue soignée

Example 1

Interrogative forms:

1. La langue familière: Vous aimez la mer?
2. La langue courante / standarde: Est-ce que vous aimez la mer?
3. La langue soignée: Aimez-vous la mer?

Note that in the third type of construction, the subject comes after the verb. In such cases, one must use the hyphen (trait d'union).

Example 2

Interrogative forms:

1. La langue familière: Nous allons au cours de français?
2. La langue courante / standarde: Est-ce que nous allons au cours de français?
3. La langue soignée: Allons-nous au cours de français?

Example 3

Interrogative forms:

1. La langue familière: Il habite à Paris?
2. La langue courante / standarde: Est-ce qu'il habite à Paris?
3. La langue soignée: Habite-t-il à Paris?

Example 4

Interrogative forms:

1. La langue familière: Elle parle français?
2. La langue courante / standarde: Est-ce qu'elle parle français?
3. La langue soignée: Parle-t-elle français?

Example 5

Interrogative forms:

1. La langue familière: Soumen va avec toi?
2. La langue courante / standarde: Est-ce que Soumen va avec toi?
3. La langue soignée: Soumen va-t-il avec toi?

Example 6

Interrogative forms:

1. La langue familière: Ananya dîne chez Anirban?
2. La langue courante / standarde: Est-ce qu'Ananya dîne chez Anirban?
3. La langue soignée: Ananya dîne-t-elle chez Anirban?

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WH questions (What, Who, How etc.)

Examples

Combien (How many, how much)

• Combien de livres avez-vous? or Combien de livres vous avez? - How many books do you have?
• Combien de persons partage la chambre avec toi? - How many persons share the room with you?
• Combien coûte cette bouteille de vin? - How much does this bottle of wine cost?

Comment (How)

• Comment allez-vous? - How are you? (Lit. How are you going?)
• Comment tu t'appelles? or Comment t'appelles-tu? - What's your name? (Lit. How do you call yourself?)
• Comment le nouvel artiste chante? or Le nouvel artiste, comment chante-t-il? - How does the new artist sing?

Où (Where)

• Où est-ce que vous travaillez? or Où travaillez-vous? - Where do you work?
• Où est-ce que votre ami travaille? or Votre ami, où travaille-t-il? - Where does your friend work?
• D'où est-ce qu'elle sort? or D'où sort-t-elle? - From where does she go out?
• Où est l'école? or L'école, où est-ce? or L'école, où est-ce que c'est? - Where is the school?

Pourquoi (Why)

• Pourquoi vous êtes fatigué? or Pourquoi êtes-vous fatigué? - Why are you tired?
• Pourquoi elle écrit la lettre? or Pourquoi écrit-t-elle la lettre? - Why does she write the letter?

Quand (When)

• Quand est-ce que tu prends le petit déjeuner? or Quand prends-tu le petit déjeuner? - When do you take the breakfast?
• Quand est-ce que le train arrive à Bangalore? or Le train, quand arrive-t-il à Bangalore? - When does the train arrive at Bangalore?

Quel, quelle, quels, quelles (What, which)

• Quel est votre numéro de téléphone? - What is your telephone number?
• Quelle est votre profession? - What is your profession?
• De quelle heure à quelle heure travaillez-vous? - From what hour to what hour do you work?
• Quelles couleurs tu préfères? or Quelles couleurs préfères-tu? - Which colors do you prefer?

  Note: Look at the different forms of `quel':

  • quel (masculine, singular)
  • quelle (feminine, singular)
  • quels (masculine, plural)
  • quelles (feminine, plural)

Qui (Who)

• Qui écrit la lettre? or Qui est-ce qui écrit la lettre?- Who writes the letter?
• Qui rencontrez-vous dans la rue? or Qui est-ce que vous rencontrez dans la rue? - Whom do you meet on the road?
• À qui est-ce qu'elle écrit la lettre? or À qui écrit-t-elle la lettre? - To whom does she write the letter?

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Imperative sentences

Verbs in the first group

Nous parlons. (We speak.)
Vous parlez. (You speak.)
Tu parles. (You speak.)

Parlons! (Let us speak!)
Parlez! (Speak!)
Parle! (Speak!)

Nous allons. (We go.)
Vous allez. (You go.)
Tu vas. (You go.)

Allons! (Let us go!)
Allez! (Go!)
Va! (Go!)

Verbs in other groups

Nous venons. (We come.)
Vous venez. (You come.)
Tu viens. (You come.)

Venons! (Let us come!)
Venez! (Come!)
Viens! (Come!)

Negative forms

Ne parlons pas! (Let's not speak!)
Ne parlez pas! (Don't speak!)
Ne parle pas! (Don't speak!)

N'allons pas! (Let's not go!)
N'allez pas! (Don't go!)
Ne va pas! (Don't go!)

Other examples

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3. Vocabulary

Common places aéroport, m - airport ambassade, f - embassy autoroute, f - highway, motorway avenue, f - avenue banque, f - bank bar, m - bar, buffet bord, m - bank (of a river) boulevard, m - boulevard boutique, f - shop, store bureau de poste, m - post office café, m - cafeteria campagne, f - countryside cathédrale, f - cathedral chemin, m - street cinéma, m - cinema consulat, m - consulate discothèque, f - discotheque école, f - school église, f - church endroit, m - place foyer d'étudiants, m - students' hostel gare, f - (railway) station hôpital, m - hospital hôtel, m - hotel île, f - island jardin, m - garden lac, m - lake lieu, m - place, scene (of an accident etc.) magasin, m - shop, store mairie, f - town hall maison, f - house marché, m - market mer, f - sea montagne, f - mountain office de tourisme, m - tourism office pays, m - country pharmacie, f - drug store plage, f - beach port, m - port, harbor restaurant, m - restaurant rivière, f - river rue, f - road salle, f - room (class room, lecture hall) salle de spectacle, f - theater stade, m - stadium, stage supermarché, m - supermarket théâtre, m - theater village, m - village ville, f - city est, m - east nord, m - north ouest, m - west sud, m - south

Family ami, m - friend amie, f - girl friend beau-fils, m - son-in-law beau-frère, m - brother-in-law beau-père, m - father-in-law bébé, m - baby belle-fille, f - daughter-in-law belle-mère, f - mother-in-law belle-soeur, f - sister-in-law cousin, m - cousine cousine, f - cousine dame, f - lady enfant, m - child femme, f - woman, wife fiancé, m - lover fiancée, f - lover fille, f - daughter, girl fils, m - son frère, m - brother garçon, m - boy grand-mère, f - grand mother grands-parents, m,pl - grand parents grand-père, m - grand father homme, m - man madame, f (abbr. Mme.) - Mrs. mademoiselle, f (abbr. Mlle.) - Miss. mari, m - husband mère, f - mother monsieur, m (abbr. M.) - Mr. neveu, m - nephew nièce, f - niece oncle, m - uncle parents, m,pl - parents père, m - father petit-enfant, m - grand child petite-fille, f - grand daughter petit-fils, m - grand son soeur, f - sister tante, f - aunt

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Vehicles

• autobus, m - bus
• avion, m - airplane
• bateau, m - boat
• bicyclette, m - bicycle
• bus, m - bus
• camion, m - truck
• charette, f - cart
• fusée, f - rocket
• moto, f - motorcycle
• navire, m - ship
• taxi, m - taxi
• train, m - train
• vélo, m - bicycle
• vélomoteur, m - moped
• voiture, f - car

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Professions

• acteur (actrice) - actor
• architecte (-) - architect
• avocat (-) - advocate
• chanteur (chanteuse) - singer
• commerçant (-e) - shopkeeper
• conducteur (conductrice) - driver
• contrôleur (contrôleuse) - bus conductor, ticket inspector (in train)
• danseur (danseuse) - dancer
• directeur (directrice) - director
• dramaturge (-) - dramatist
• écrivain (-) - writer
• enseignant (-e) - teacher
• érudit (-e) - scholar
• étudiant (-e) - student
• homme (femme) d'affaires - businessman (businesswoman)
• infirmière, f - nurse
• ingénieur, m - engineer
• instituteur (institutrice) - teacher
• journaliste (-) - journalist
• mécanicien (-) - mechanic
• médecin (-) - doctor
• musicien (-ne) - musician
• photographer (-) - photographer
• professor (-) - professor
• propriétaire (-) - landlord
• réalisateur (réalisatrice) - film director
• scientifique (-) - scientist
• secrétaire (-) - secretary

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Countries and nationality

• l'Allemagne - allemand [Germany, German]
• l'Angleterre - anglais [England, English]
• l'Autriche - autrichien [Austria, Austrian]
• la Canada - canadien (-ne) [Canada, Canadian]
• la Chine - chinois (-e) [China, Chinese]
• la Corée - coréen (-e) [Korea, Korean]
• l'Espagne - espagnol (-e) [Spain, Spanish]
• les États-Unis (d'Amérique) - américain (-e) [USA, American]
• la Finlande - finlandais (-e) or finnois (-e) [Finland, Finnish]
• la France - français (-e) [France, French]
• la Grèce - grec (grecque) [Greece, Greek]
• l'Inde - indien (-ne) [india, Indian]
• l'Iran - iranien (-ne) [Iran, Iranian]
• l'Irlande - irlandais (-e) [Ireland, Irish]
• l'Italie - italien (-ne) [Italy, Italian]
• le Japon - japonais (-e) [Japan, Japanese]
• le Maroc - marocain (-e) [Morocco, Moroccan]
• le Pakistan - pakistanais (-e) [Pakistan, Pakistani]
• les Pays-Bas (m,pl) - néerlandais (-e) or hollandais (-e) [(the) Netherlands, Dutch]
• le Portugal - portugais (-e) [Portugal, Portugese]
• la Russie - russe (-) [Russia, Russian]
• la Suède - suédois (-e) [Sweden, Swedish]
• la Suisse - suisse (-) [Switzerland, Swiss]

Note: The name of a country is feminine, if either it starts with a vowel or it ends with e. In all other cases, the name is masculine.

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House

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Some instruments and objects

Postal items

• lettre, f - letter
• enveloppe, f - envelope
• timbre, m - postal stamp
• carte postale, f - picture postcard
• poste, f - post office
• bureau de poste, m - post office
• code postal, m - post code, zip code
• boîte postale, f - P.O. box
• poster - to post
• lieu d'envoie, m - the place from where a letter is sent
• destinateur - the person who sends a letter
• destinataire, m,f - the person to whom a letter is sent, addressee

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