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Basics 1 · Genders, Personal Subject Pronouns, Subject-Verb

Agreement updated 2019-01-01

Grammar notes like those below can be helpful if you're having trouble with the
lessons, so consider trying the lessons above before reading the notes. They'll be
more helpful once you have a context for understanding them.

Genders
French has two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine
feminine. All nouns have
a gender that you must memorize. Sometimes, the gender can be obvious: une
femme ("a woman") is feminine. Other times, it's not obvious: une pomme ("an
apple") is also feminine.

There is no rule of thumb to guess a noun’s gender, so make sure you learn every
noun together with its indefinite article un or une as if the article were part of
the noun, like “apple” is une pomme.

Personal Subject Pronouns

In every complete sentence, the subject is the person or thing that performs an
action or is being described. This is often a noun, but a personal subject
pronoun (e.g. "I", "you", or "he") can replace that noun. In both English and French,
pronouns have different forms based on what they replace.

English French Example

I je Je mange. — I eat.
You (familiar singular) tu Tu manges. — You eat.
He/It il Il mange. — He eats.
She/It elle Elle mange. — She eats.

Subject-Verb Agreement
Notice above that the verb manger (as well as its English equivalent, "to eat")
changes form to agree grammatically with the subject. These forms are called
conjugations of that verb.

Here are some conjugations for verbs you'll encounter in the first few units:

Subject Manger (To Eat) Être (To Be) Avoir (To Have)

je je mange — I eat je suis — I am j'ai — I have

tu tu manges — you eat tu es — you are tu as — you have
il/elle/on il mange — he eats il est — he is il a — he has

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Basics 2 · Articles, Elisions, Contractions, Words beginning with H

updated 2019-01-01

Articles
Articles (e.g. "the" or "a") provide context for a noun. In English, articles may be
omitted, but French nouns almost always have an article. French has three types
of articles:

Definite articles ("the") are used with specific nouns that are known to
the speakers, as in English, but also to indicate the general sense of a noun,
unlike in English.
Indefinite articles ("a"/"an") are used for countable nouns that are
unspecified or unknown to the speakers.
Partitive articles ("some"/"any") indicate a quantity of something
uncountable.

Articles have multiple forms, as provided in this table:

Article Masculine Feminine Plural Example

Definite le/l' la/l' les le chat — the cat

 Indefinite un une des une femme — a woman
Partitive du/de l' de la/de l' de ll'eau — (some) water

It is critical to understand that articles must agree with their nouns in both
gender and number. For instance, le femme is incorrect. It must be la femme
because la is feminine and singular, just like femme.

Elisions
Le and la become just l' if they're followed by a vowel sound. This is an example
of elision
elision, which is the removal of a vowel sound in order to prevent consecutive
vowel sounds and make pronunciation easier. Elisions are mandatory—for
instance, je aime is incorrect. It must be j'aime.

These other one-syllable words can also elide: je, me, te, se, de, ce, ne, and que. Tu
can also be elided in casual speech, but not in writing (including on Duolingo).

Contractions
In a contraction
contraction, two words combine to form one shortened word. For instance,
the partitive article du is a contraction of the preposition de with le.

du pain — (some) bread

However, since du can create vowel conflicts, when it would appear in front of a
vowel sound, it takes the elided de l' form instead. This is also the case for de la.

de l'ananas [masc.] — (some) pineapple

de l'eau [fem.] — (some) water

Words Beginning with H

The letter H is always mute (silent) in French, but when H starts a word, it can act
as a consonant (aspirate) or vowel (non-aspirate). For example, the H in homme
acts as a vowel. This means that "the man" must be written as l'homme.

Conversely, an aspirate H doesn't participate in elisions or liaisons (which you'll

learn about soon). It's usually found at the beginning of loanwords from other
languages. For instance, "the hero" is le héros. Pay attention to this when learning
new vocabulary.
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Common Phrases · Bonjour, Idioms, Liaisons, Enchaînement, Il y a

updated 2019-01-01

Bonjour !
Bonjour is a universal greeting that can be spoken to anyone at any time. In
France, greeting people is very important, and some will even say bonjour aloud
when entering a public room or bus. Culturally it is considered good manners to
greet shopkeepers and staff upon entering a store or restaurant, and the height of
rudeness to ignore them. Bon après-midi is often used as a farewell in the
afternoon, while bonsoir is an evening greeting.

Greetings: bonjour, bonsoir

Farewells: bonne journée, bon après-midi, bonne soirée, bonne nuit

Note: après-midi can be masculine or feminine, so you can also use bonne après-
midi.

Idioms
Many words or phrases cannot be translated literally between English and French
because their usages are idiomatic. For instance, consider « Ça va ? », which
means "How are you?" The literal translation of the French is "That goes?", but
this is nonsensical in English. It is very important to identify idioms in both
languages and learn how to translate them properly.

Liaisons
In a liaison
liaison, an otherwise silent ending consonant is pushed to the next word,
where it's pronounced as part of the first syllable. Like elisions, this prevents
consecutive vowel sounds. Liaisons are possible whenever a silent ending
consonant is followed by a word beginning in a vowel sound. Some liaisons are
mandatory, some are forbidden, and some are optional.
Here are some mandatory liaisons, along with approximate pronunciations:

Articles and adjectives with nouns. For example, un homme [œ̃ -nɔm], mon
orange [mɔ̃-nɔrɑ̃ʒ], or deux hommes [døz-ɔm]. * Pronouns and verbs. For
example, nous allons [nu-zalɔ̃] or est-il [ε-til].
Single-syllable adverbs and prepositions. For instance, très utile [trε-zytil]
or chez elle [ʃe-zεl].

Liaisons are forbidden:

Before and after et ("and").

After singular nouns (including proper nouns and names).
After inversions (which you'll learn in "Questions").
Before an aspirated H (e.g. héros - "hero").
After a nasal sound, excluding un, on, and en which do form a liaison.

Note that some consonants take on a different sound in liaisons, and it's
important to pronounce these correctly when speaking.

Original Resulting Liaison

Example
Consonant Sound

-s, -x, -z Z des hommes [de-zɔm]

un grand arbre [œ̃ grɑ̃-
-d T
tarbr]

-f V neuf ans [nəvɑ̃]

Liaison rules vary among speakers, particularly across dialects, and fewer liaisons
tend to appear in casual and slow speech. Note that the slow mode in Duo
listening exercises does not include liaisons.

Enchaînement
In enchaînements
enchaînements, ending consonant sounds are pushed onto the next word if it
begins in a vowel. This is essentially the same as a liaison, except that the
consonant sound wasn't silent beforehand. For instance:

elle est is pronounced like [ɛ-lɛ].

mange une pomme is pronounced like [mɑ̃ ʒyn pɔm].

The Impersonal Expression IL Y A

Impersonal expressions are phrases where there isn't a real subject. For
instance, in the phrase "It is snowing" (Il neige), "it" doesn't refer to anything. It's a
dummy subject that exists just to maintain the sentence structure.

One of the most common impersonal expressions is il y a, which is an idiom for

"there is" or "there are".

Il y a une fille ici. — There is a girl here.

You will learn more about impersonal expressions in "Verbs Present 1".

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Plurals 1 · Plurals, Plural Articles, Plural Pronouns & Verbs,

Agreement, Tu or Vous updated 2019-01-01

Plurals
Many French words have plural forms. Plural nouns and adjectives can be formed
by appending an -s to the singular, but remember that this -s is usually silent.

homme ("man") hommes ("men")

femme ("woman") femmes ("women")
chat noir ("black cat") chats noirs ("black cats")

Plural Articles
The plural definite article "les" corresponds to the English plural "the". It is the
plural of le, la, and l'. It is used with specific nouns that are known to the speaker
or to indicate a generality about a plural noun.

les hommes = the men - or men (in general)

les filles = the girls - or girls (in general)

The plural article "des" is an indefinite article. It is simply the plural of "un" or
"une". This article does not exist in English. It is required in French and means
“more than one” when the English noun would have “a” or “an” in the singular.

Vous êtes une femme. = You are a woman.

Vous êtes des femmes. = You are women.

Plural Pronouns and Verbs

There are also plural forms for pronouns and verb conjugations. Consider parler
("to speak"):

Person French Example

I je Je parle. — I speak.
You (familiar singular) tu Tu parles. — You speak.
You (formal) singular vous Vous parlez. — You speak.
He il Il parle. — He speaks.
She elle Elle parle. — She speaks.
We nous Nous parlons. — We speak.
You (plural) vous Vous parlez. — You speak.
They (any group including a male) ils Ils parlent. — They speak.
They (all women) elles Elles parlent. — They speak.

Agreement
Pronouns, adjectives, and articles must agree with their nouns in both gender and
number. Consider the examples below and note how the article and adjective
change to agree with each noun.

Masculine singular: Le chat noir — The black cat

Masculine plural: Les chats noirs — The black cats
Feminine singular: La robe noire — The black dress
Feminine plural: Les robes noires — The black dresses

Not all adjectives change forms. For instance, riche is the same for both
masculine and feminine singular nouns, and their common plural form is riches.
Tu or Vous ?
French has two words for the subject pronoun "you": tu and vous . For a singular
"you", tu should only be used for friends, peers, relatives, children, or anyone else
who's very familiar to you. In all other cases and also for plurals, the more formal
vous should be used to show respect. When in doubt, use vous.

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Gallicism · C’est or Il est, Idioms with Avoir updated 2019-01-01

A gallicism is a phrase or grammatical construction peculiar to the French

language.

C'est or Il est?
When describing people and things with a noun after être in French, you usually
can't use the personal subject pronoun like il, elle, ils, and elles. Instead, you must
use the indefinite pronoun ce, which can also mean "this" or "that". Note that ce is
invariable, so it can never be ces sont.

Indefinite Subject Pronoun Personal Subject Pronoun

Singular c'est il/elle est

Plural ce sont ils/elles sont

These pronouns aren't interchangeable. The basic rule is that you must use ce
when être is followed by any determiner—for instance, an article or a possessive
adjective. Note that c'est should be used for singulars and ce sont should be used
for plurals.

C'est un homme. — He's a man. / This is a man. / That is a man.

Ce sont des chats. — They're cats. / These are cats. / Those are cats.
C'est la fille. — She is the girl. / This is the girl. / That is the girl.
 Ce sont les femmes. — They are the women. / These are the women. /
Those are the women.

If an adjective, adverb, or both appear after être, then use the personal pronoun.

Elle est belle. — She is beautiful. (Or "It is beautiful.")

Il est très fort. — He is very strong. (Or "It is very strong.")

As you know, nouns generally need determiners, but one important exception is
that professions can act as adjectives after être and devenir (“to become”). This is
optional; you can also choose to treat them as nouns.

He is a doctor. — Il est médecin. / C'est un médecin.

However, c'est should be used when using an adjective to make a general

comment about (but not describe) a thing or situation. In this case, use the
masculine singular form of the adjective.

C'est normal ? — Is this normal?

Non, c'est étrange. — No, this is strange.

Idioms with Avoir

One of the most common idioms in French is the use of the verb avoir in certain
places where English would use the verb "to be". This is especially common for
states or conditions that a person may experience.

Elle a chaud. — She is warm. (Or "She feels warm.")

Il a froid. — He is cold.
Elle a deux ans. — She is two years old.
J'ai peur ! — I am afraid!

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Basics 3 · Être & Avoir, Continuous Tenses updated 2019-01-01

Être and Avoir
Être and avoir (“to be” and “to have”) are the most common verbs in French. Like
many common verbs, they have irregular conjugations.

Subject Être ("to be") Avoir ("to have")

je/j' (je) suis (j')ai

tu es as
il/elle/on est a
nous sommes avons
vous êtes avez
ils/elles sont ont

There should be a “z” liaison between ils or elles and ont [il-zɔ̃] or [ɛl-zɔ̃]. The "z"
sound is essential here to differentiate between "they are" and "they have", so be
sure to emphasize it.

These two verbs are very important because they can act as auxiliary verbs in
French, but they differ from their English equivalents. "I write" and "I am writing"
both translate to j'écris, not je suis écrivant (the present participle of écrire). This
is because être cannot be used as an auxiliary in a simple tense. It can only be
used in compound tenses, which you will learn in the "Passé Composé" unit.

Another important distinction is that avoir means "to have" in the sense of "to
possess", but not "to consume" or "to experience". Other verbs must be used for
these meanings.

Continuous Tenses
English has two present tenses: simple ("I write") and continuous ("I am
writing"), but French has no specialized continuous verb tenses. This means that
"I write", "I am writing", and "I do write" can translate to j'écris (not je suis écrivant)
and vice versa.

However, the idiomatic phrase être en train de is often used to indicate that
someone is in the process of doing something.

Je suis en train de manger. — I am [in the process of] eating.

Most of the time present tense sentences in French can be interpreted in either
the present or the present continuous tense in English. Stative verbs in English
are an exception to this and have no continuous form. For instance, J'aime un
garçon cannot be translated as "I am loving a boy".

You can learn more about stative verbs here:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/intermediate-grammar/stative-verbs

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Food 1 · Partitive Article, Count Noun or Mass Noun, Omitted Articles,

De + Definite Article updated 2019-01-01

The Partitive Article

The partitive article is used for unspecified amounts of uncountable nouns. In
English, it can translate to "some", but it's often just omitted. Remember that du is
a contraction of de + le and that partitives can elide: du and de la become de l’
before a vowel sound.

Partitive
Gender Example
Article

Masculine du Je mange du poisson. — I am eating fish.

Feminine de la Je mange de la viande. — I am eating meat.
Elided Je mange de l'ananas. — I am eating
de l'
Masc. pineapple.
Elided Fem. de l' Je bois de l'eau. — I am drinking water.

Nouns almost never appear without articles in French, so articles must be

repeated in serial lists.

Il cuisine du poisson et de la viande — He cooks fish and meat.

Count Noun, Mass Noun, or Both?
Count nouns are discrete and can be counted, like une pomme ("an apple"). They
can be modified by definite and indefinite articles, but usually not partitive
articles.

Je mange une pomme. — I eat an apple.

Nous mangeons les pommes. — We are eating the apples.

Mass nouns like lait ("milk") are uncountable, and they can be modified by
definite and partitive articles, but not indefinite articles.

Je bois du lait. — I am drinking [some] milk.

Je bois le lait. — I am drinking the milk.

However, many nouns can behave as both count nouns and mass nouns. This is
true for most edible things. For instance, consider poisson ("fish") or vin ("wine"):

Count noun: Le poisson est rouge. — The fish is red.

Mass noun: Je mange du poisson. — I eat [some] fish.
Count noun: Le vin est blanc. — The wine is white.
Mass noun: Je bois du vin rouge ou blanc. — I drink red or white wine.

Note that some mass nouns can be pluralized in English when they refer to
multiple types of the noun, but this usage isn't found in French. For instance, "the
fishes" refers to multiple species of fish, while les poissons just refers to multiple
fish.

Omitted Articles
When an article is missing in an English sentence, it must be added to the French
translation. The definite article can be used to fill this void in four situations:

1. Almost anywhere one would use "the" in English (i.e. when referring to
specific things).
2. Before the subject of a sentence to state general truths about it.
3. Before the direct object of a verb of appreciation (like aimer) to express
like/dislike.
4. Before categories (singular or plural), concepts and immaterial things.

If any of the above is true, then use the definite article. Otherwise, use the
indefinite or partitive article. When in doubt, add “some” before the English bare
noun; if the sentence keeps its meaning, use the indefinite or partitive article.

I like wine, but I am drinking milk. — J'aime le vin, mais je bois du lait.

Both articles are missing in the English version of this example. Aimer expresses
fondness for wine, so le vin should be used there. However, boire is not a verb of
appreciation, so the partitive du should be used on the uncountable lait.

I study art and I draw cats. — *J’étudie l’l’art et je dessine des chats.

“Art” is a concept, so l’art should be used there. Dessiner is not an appreciation

verb and the plural object “cats” only means “some cats”, so the plural indefinite
des should be used on the count noun chats.

Horses are animals. — Les chevaux sont des animaux.

This is a general truth about horses, but #2 above can only apply to subjects, so
only chevaux takes a definite article here. Animaux are countable, so use the
plural indefinite des.

He likes to eat meat. — Il aime manger de la viande.

This is a tricky example because the meat is the direct object of manger, not
aimer. Thus, #3 does not apply and viande cannot take a definite article.

Also, the French definite article can be ambiguous when translating from French
to English. Depending on the context, it can refer to either a specific noun or the
general sense of a noun.

Les chiens sont nos amis. — Dogs are our friends. / The dogs are our
friends.

De + Definite Article
De plus a definite article can also have other meanings. De means "of" or "from",
so this can also indicate possession or association with a definite noun.

La copie du livre. — The copy of the book.

Les copies des livres. — The copies of the books.
L'enfant de la femme. — The woman's 's child.

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Animals 1 · Noun Genders, Feminine Animals updated 2019-01-01

Noun Genders
As you learned in "Basics 1", French has two grammatical genders: masculine and
feminine. All nouns have a gender, and most nouns have a fixed gender. For
instance, la pomme is always feminine and un bébé ("a baby") is always
masculine, even for baby girls.

However, some nouns can have multiple genders depending on the situation, and
many masculine nouns can be changed to a feminine form simply by adding an -e
to the end. Your male friend is un ami and your female friend is une amie. Some
nouns, like un élève and une élève ("a student"), have the same spelling and
meaning for both gender forms.

Other nouns may have the same spelling, but different genders and meanings.
For instance, un tour (masculine) is a tour, while une tour (feminine) is a tower.

One of the most difficult aspects of learning French is memorizing noun genders.
However, by spending some time now memorizing the following patterns, you
may be able to guess most nouns' genders and save yourself a lot of trouble in
the future.

Some genders depend on a noun's classification. For instance, languages, days of

the week, months, seasons, metals, colors, and measurements are mostly
masculine.

Otherwise, memorizing word endings is the best way to guess genders. We'll
learn these ending patterns in four steps:

First: Nouns ending in -e tend to be feminine. All others, especially nouns ending
in consonants, tend to be masculine. This is true for over 70% of all nouns.

Second: Nouns that have the endings -ion and -son tend to be feminine, even
though they end in consonants.

Third: Nouns with these endings are usually masculine, although they end in -e:
 -tre, -ble, -cle (think "treble clef")
-one, -ème, -ège (think "OMG")
-age, -isme

Fourth: Watch out for these complications:

-é is masculine, but -té is feminine.

le résumé (masc) — the resumé
la liberté (fem) — the liberty
-de is masculine, but -ade, -nde, and -ude are feminine.
le guide — the guide
la parade — the parade
-ste and -me tend to be masculine, but there are dozens of exceptions.
Words for people ending in -ste are often gender-neutral, e.g. le/la cycliste.
-eur is masculine for most professions or technical terms, but it's feminine
for some emotions and abstract things.
le chauffeur — the driver
la peur — the fear

That's it! Memorize these, and you'll be able to guess most noun genders.

Feminine Animals
In French, female animal nouns are generally formed as follows by taking the last
consonant, doubling it, and adding a mute -e to the end.

un chatt une chatte

tte
un chienn une chienne
nne

Of course, there are many exceptions. For example:

un ours une ourse (not une oursse)

un cheval une jument (not une chevalle)

Other animal nouns do not vary in masculine or feminine and the opposite
gender will be specified with mâle or femelle.

une girafe une girafe mâle

un serpent un serpent femelle

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Weather 1 · Impersonal Expressions, Il fait, Il y a updated 2019-01-01

Impersonal Expressions to Describe the Weather

In French, it is common to use verbs like faire ("to do") idiomatically for general
conditions such as weather, especially with ordinary adjectives like beau, mauvais,
chaud, froid, etc.

To describe the weather (le temps), we can use the impersonal expression il fait
(literally, "it does" or "it makes"). In English, when we say "it is raining", we do not
use "it" as a real subject. The "it" doesn't refer to anything. This is the same with
the French il in impersonal expressions: it is not a real subject. You have
encountered something similar to this in the "Phrases" unit: il y a ("there is/are").

However, il fait followed by various ordinary adjectives describes sensory

impressions.

Il fait chaud. — It is hot (outside).

Il fait froid. — It is cold (outside).
Il fait beau. — It is nice out.

Note that we can also explicitly describe the weather with the same adjectives:
Le temps est chaud. Le temps est froid. Le temps est beau., etc.

Some weather conditions are commonly expressed with a noun instead of an

adjective, and il y a is used, followed by a partitive article if the noun is
uncountable or the indefinite article with a count noun.

Il y a du vent. — It is windy.
Il y a de la brume. — It is misty.
Il y a de l'orage. — It is stormy.
Il y a des nuages. — It is cloudy.

There are other French verbs used impersonally with il to describe the weather.
You will encounter some of them in this unit.
 Il pleut. — It is raining.
Il neige. — It is snowing.
Il gèle. — It is freezing.

To ask someone about the weather, simply use the expression Quel temps fait-il ?
(What is the weather like?). You will learn later on how this question is formed
grammatically.

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Adjectives 1 · Agreement, Placement, Figurative, Euphony

updated 2019-01-01

Agreement
Unlike English adjectives, French adjectives must agree in number and gender
with the nouns that they modify. A black dog is un chien noir, but a black dress is
une robe noire. Also, remember that some adjectives have the same masculine
and feminine form, especially those ending in a silent -e (e.g. riche).

When used with pronouns, adjectives agree with the noun that has been replaced.
This is particularly tricky with the formal vous: to a singular man, you would say
vous êtes beau, but to plural women, you would say vous êtes belles.

Adjective Placement
In French, most adjectives appear after the nouns they modify. For instance, colors
follow the noun, as in le chat noir. However, some adjectives precede the noun.
You may find it helpful to remember many these types of adjectives using the
mnemonic BANGS
BANGS.

B is for beauty: beau, joli. Une belle femme — A beautiful woman

A is for age: nouveau, jeune, vieux. Une jeune fille — A young girl
N is for number. Deux hommes — Two men
This can also be for rank: Le premier/dernier mot — The first/last
word
 G is for good or bad: bon, mauvais. Un bon garçon — A good boy
S is for size: petit, grand, gros, court, long, large, haut, vaste. Un gros chat —
A fat cat

There are a few things to keep in mind. BANGS is not a grammar rule and later on
you may encounter a few adjectives that would seem to fit in a BANGS category,
but in fact follow the noun. It is a mnemonic device to help you remember many
of the common, short adjectives that do precede nouns in French.

However, all determiner adjectives (e.g. possessives, interrogatives, and

demonstratives) appear before the noun, e.g. mon livre "my book" and ce cochon
"that pig". You will learn these later.

Figurative Adjectives
A few adjectives can come both before and after the noun depending on their
meaning. The most common example is grand, which is a BANGS adjective for
everything but people. For people, it comes before a noun when it means
"important" and after the noun when it means "tall". For instance, Napoleon was
un grand homme ("a great man"), but not un homme grand ("a tall man").

Usually, figurative meanings will precede the noun, while literal meanings will
follow the noun.

un pauvre homme — a pitiful/unfortunate man

un homme pauvre — a poor man
un certain nombre — a certain (particular) number
une victoire certaine — a certain (guaranteed) victory
ma propre voiture — my own car
ma voiture propre — my clean car
un cher ami — a dear friend
une montre chère — an expensive watch

Euphony
As you have already learned, elisions, contractions, liaisons, and enchaînements
are all designed to prevent consecutive vowel sounds (which is called hiatus
hiatus).
This quest for harmonious sounds is called euphony and is an essential feature
of French. It has, however, created some unexpected rules.

For instance, the masculine beau ("beautiful") changes to bel if its noun begins
with a vowel sound. A beautiful man is un bel homme. The other two common
changes are vieux to vieil ("old") and nouveau to nouvel ("new"). You may also
encounter fou which becomes fol ("crazy" or "mad") in front of a vowel sound. "A
mad hope" is un fol espoir.

Note that this doesn't occur to feminine adjectives because they usually end in
silent vowels.

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Plurals 2 · Nouns & Adjectives, Articles, Conjugations, Punctuation

updated 2019-01-01

Nouns and Adjectives

Most plural forms of nouns and adjectives can be formed by appending an -s to
the singular, but remember that this -s is usually silent.

Le chat noir — The black cat Less chatss noirss — The black cats
Un chat noir — A black cat Des chatss noirss — (Some) black cats

Note: If the noun is preceded by an adjective, des becomes de

de.

Un petit chat — A little cat De petits chats

Articles
Articles must agree with the nouns they modify, so plural nouns require either les
or des. This is a great way to tell if a noun is plural. If you hear les or des (which
sound like [le] and [de]), then the noun is plural. If not, it's probably singular.

Conjugations
Remember that verbs change conjugation to agree with their subjects in both
grammatical person and number.

Subject Être ("to be") Parler ("to speak")

 je suis parle

tu es parles
il/elle/on est parle

nous sommes parlons

vous êtes parlez

ils/elles sont parlent

Punctuation
There are no quotation marks in French. Instead, the French use guillemets (« »).
Exclamation marks (!), question marks (?), colons (:), semicolons (;) and guillemets
need to have a space on either side.

Incorrect: "Ça va?"

Correct: « Ça va ? »

When writing numbers in French, commas are decimal points, while spaces mark
thousands places.

Incorrect: 1,235.8
Correct: 1 235,8

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Clothing · Idiomatic Plurals, Diacritics, Nasal Vowels

updated 2019-01-01

Idiomatic Plurals
English has a number of idiomatic nouns that appear the same whether singular
or plural and care must be taken when translating them into French.

For instance, "the pants" can mean one or more pairs of pants in English, but le
pantalon is singular and means one pair of pants in French. Les pantalons is
plural and refers to multiple pairs of pants, never a single pair. Similarly, when
translating le pantalon back to English, you can say "the pants" or "the pair of
pants", but "the pant" is not correct. This also applies to un jean, un pyjama, un
short ("a pair of jeans/pajamas/shorts").

Please note that un vêtement refers to “a single article of clothing”, and it's
incorrect to translate it as "clothes" Clothes is invariably plural in English and
refers to a collection of clothing. “Clothes” would be des vêtements.

Diacritics
The acute accent (é) only appears on E and produces a pure [e] that isn't found
in English. To make this sound, say the word "cliché", but hold your tongue
perfectly still on the last vowel to avoid making a diphthong sound.

The grave accent (è) can appear on A/E/U, though it only changes the sound
for E (to [ɛ], which is the E in "lemon"). Otherwise, it distinguishes homophones
like a (a conjugated form of avoir) and à (a preposition), or ou (“or”) and où
(“where”).

The cedilla (ç) softens a normally hard C sound to the soft C in "cent". Otherwise,
a C followed by an A, O, or U has a hard sound like the C in "car".

The circumflex (ê) usually means that an S used to follow the vowel in Old
French or Latin. (The same is true of the acute accent.) For instance, île was once
"isle".

The trema (ë) indicates that two adjacent vowels must be pronounced
separately, like in Noël ("Christmas") and maïs ("corn").

Nasal Vowels
There are four nasal vowels in French. Try to learn these sounds by listening to
native speakers.

IPA Letter Sequence Examples

/œ̃ / un/um un/parfum

/ɛ̃/ in/im/yn/ym vin/pain/syndicat/sympa

/ɑ̃/ an/am/en/em dans/chambre/en/emploi
 /ɔ̃/ on/om mon/ombre

These aren't always nasalized. If there's a double M or N, or if they are followed

by any vowel, then the vowel should have an oral sound instead. For instance, un
is nasal, but une is not. Also, vin is nasal, but vinaigre is not.

Please see this discussion for more information about nasal vowels.

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Colors · Nouns & Adjectives updated 2019-01-01

Colors can be both nouns and adjectives. As nouns, colors are usually masculine.

Le rose. — The pink.

As adjectives, they agree with the nouns they modify except in two cases. First,
colors derived from nouns (e.g. fruits, flowers, or gems) tend to be invariable with
gender and number. Orange ("orange") and marron ("brown") are the most
common examples.

La jupe orange — The orange skirt

Les jupes orange — The orange skirts
Les chiens marron — The brown dogs

Second, in compound adjectives (les adjectifs composés) made up of two

adjectives, both adjectives remain in their masculine singular forms.

Sa couleur est vert pomme. — Its color is apple-green.

J'aime les robes rose clair. — I like light-pink dresses.

Most colors that end in -e in their masculine forms are invariable with gender.

Un chapeau rouge — A red hat

Une jupe rouge — A red skirt

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Possessives 1 · Possessive Adjectives, Euphony, Femme

updated&2019-01-01
Fille

Possessives Match What is Owned

In English, possessive adjectives (e.g. "his/her") match the owner. However, in
French, they match the thing being owned.

Consider the example of "her lion". The French translation is son lion, because
lion is masculine and both the lion and the woman are singular. Note that if we
hear just son lion, we can't tell if the lion is owned by a man or woman. It's
ambiguous without more context. If two people or more own a lion, then it is leur
lion.

Because of this ambiguity, the convention is that the object belongs to the
subject: Elle aime son lion = "She likes her lion"; otherwise "She likes his lion"
would turn to Elle aime son lion à lui.

Possessives have different forms that agree with four things: the number of
owners, the number of things owned, the gender of the thing owned, and the
grammatical person of the owner (e.g. "his" versus "my").

For one owner, the possessive adjectives are:

Person English Masculine Singular Feminine Singular Plural

1st my mon ma mes

2nd your (singular) ton ta tes

3rd his/her/its son sa ses

For multiple owners, genders don't matter:

Person English Singular Owned Plural Owned

1st our notre nos

 2nd your (formal singular or plural) votre vos
3rd their leur leurs

The plural second-person possessive adjectives, votre and vos, should be used
when addressing someone formally with vous.

Examples:

Owner Masc. Singular Owned Fem. Singular Owned

My Mon père — My father Ma mère — My mother

Your Ton livre — Your book Ta lettre — Your letter
His/Her/Its Son oiseau — His/Her/its bird Sa vache — His/Her/Its cow
Our Notre riz — Our rice Notre soupe — Our soup
Your Votre sac — Your bag Votre cravate — Your tie
Their Leur chien — Their dog Leur fille — Their daughter

Owner Masc. or Fem. Plural Owned

My Mes parents (m) — My parents

Your Tes lettres (f) — Your letters
His/Her/Its Ses animaux (m) — His/Her/Its animals
Our Nos tomates (f) — Our tomatoes
Your Vos vêtements (m) — Your clothes
Their Leurs enfants (m) — Their children

Euphony in Possessives
For the sake of euphony, all singular feminine possessives switch to their
masculine forms when followed by a vowel sound.

Person Masculine Feminine Feminine + Vowel Sound

1st mon chat ma robe mon eau

2nd ton chat ta robe ton eau

 3rd son chat sa robe son eau

Femme and Fille

Femme can mean "woman" or "wife" and fille can mean "girl" or "daughter"
depending on the context. For example, when femme and fille are preceded by a
possessive adjective, then they translate to "wife" and "daughter", respectively.

Une fille et une femme sont dans le restaurant — A girl and a woman are in
the restaurant. (Not: "A daughter and a wife are in the restaurant.")
Ma fille — My daughter. (Not: "My girl".)
Ta femme — Your wife. (Not: "Your woman".)

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Verbs: Present 1 · Conjugations, Pronunciation, Infinitives after

conjugations: Appreciation updated 2019-01-01

Conjugations
As you learned in "Basics 1", verbs like parler conjugate to agree with their
subjects. Parler itself is an infinitive, which is a verb base form. It consists of a
root (parl-) and an ending (-er). The ending can dictate how the verb should be
conjugated. In this case, almost all verbs ending in -er are regular verbs in the
1st Group that share the same conjugation pattern. To conjugate another 1st
Group verb, affix the ending to that verb's root.

Aimer ("to love"): j'aimee, tu aimes

es, nous aimons
ons, etc.
Marcher ("to walk"): je marchee, tu marcheses, nous marchons
ons, etc.

Every verb belongs to one of three groups:

The 1st Group includes regular -er verbs and includes 80% of all verbs.
The 2nd Group includes regular -ir verbs like finir ('to finish").
 The 3rd Group includes all irregular verbs. This includes many common
verbs like être and avoir as well as a handful of less common conjugation
patterns.

Subject G1: parler G2: finir G3: dormir

je parlee finis
is dorss

tu parles
es finis
is dorss
il/elle/on parlee finit
it dortt

nous parlons
ons finissons
issons dormons
ons

vous parlez
ez finissez
issez dormez
ez

ils/elles parlent
ent finissent
issent dorment
ent

Aller ("to go") is the only fully irregular verb in Group 1, but a handful of others
are slightly irregular.

Spelling-changing verbs end in -ger (e.g. manger) or -cer (e.g. lancer, "to
throw") and change slightly in the nous form, as well as any other form whose
ending begins with an A or O. These verbs take a form like nous mangeons or
nous lançons.

Stem-changing verbs have different roots in their nous and vous forms. For
instance, most forms of appeler ("to call") have two L's (e.g. j'appelle), but the N/V
forms are nous appelons and vous appelez.

Pronunciation
There is a temptation to pronounce all the letters when first encountering the
various conjugations, but it would be a mistake. Often the final consonants are
silent at the end of words. For example, the verb “parler” in je parle, tu parles,
il/elle parle, ils/elles parlent sounds exactly the same [paʁl]. In fact, il parle and
ils parlent are perfect homophones, as well as elle parle and elles parlent. The
third person plural ending, -ent, is always silent.

However, the ending “-ent” found at the end of nouns, adjectives, and adverbs is
not silent and is pronounced [ɑ̃]. For example: vêtement [vɛtmɑ̃], content [kɔ̃tɑ̃],
and souvent [suvɑ̃].

Infinitives after conjugations.

The infinitive is the non-conjugated form of a verb. It does not need a specific
subject and it has several uses: as a noun, as a soft command, in interrogative or
exclamatory phrases, and other uses that will be developed in further lessons.

For now, we will focus on the use of an infinitive directly after a conjugated verb.
There are about thirty French verbs which can be directly followed by another
verb in the infinitive.

The most frequent of them are:

Verbs of appreciation: aimer, adorer, désirer,

détester, préférer
J’aime/Je déteste/Je préfère danser. — I like/I hate/I prefer dancing.

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Verbs: Present 1 · Il faut/Aller/Movement/Opinion/Ability/Perception,

More about Il faut updated 2019-01-01

The impersonal il faut :

Il faut manger des bananes — One must/needs to/has to eat bananas
(We/You must/need to/have to eat bananas or It is necessary to eat
bananas).

Aller in the near future tense:

Je vais manger. — I am going to eat.
Vous allez lire le livre. — You are going to read the book.

Verbs of movement: aller, courir, descendre,

entrer, monter, partir, retourner, revenir, sortir,
venir
Elle va/court/vient… faire ses devoirs. — She goes/runs/comes… to do her
homework.

Verbs of opinion: croire, espérer, oser, penser,

souhaiter
Bob croit/espère/pense… changer le monde. — Bob believes/hopes/thinks…
he will change the world.

Verbs of ability: pouvoir, paraître, rester, savoir,

sembler, vouloir
Tu peux/sais/veux parler allemand — You can/know how to/want to speak
German.
Vous semblez/paraissez avoir froid — You seem/appear to be cold.

Verbs of perception: écouter, entendre, regarder,

sentir, voir
Ils vous écoutent/entendent chanter — They listen to/hear you sing.

Other conjugated verbs need a preposition to introduce another verb in the

infinitive, typically “à” or “de”, or possibly several alternative prepositions with
different meanings. There is no rule of thumb to know which verb needs one or
another preposition, so constructions have to be learned as you go.

Tu apprends à lire — You learn to read.

Vous essayez de parler français. — You try to speak French.

More about Il faut

A few defective impersonal verbs can only be used in impersonal statements
and must be conjugated as third-person singular with il. Remember that il is a
dummy subject and does not refer to a person.

Falloir means "to be necessary", and in the present tense, it takes the form il faut
+ infinitive or noun. The meaning of il faut extends from necessity to needs and
obligations. It is very versatile and common both in writing and in spoken French.

Il faut manger. — It is necessary to eat. / One must/needs to/has to eat.

Il faut choisir. — It is necessary to choose. / One must/needs to/has to
choose.

Il faut can also be used transitively with a noun to indicate that something is
needed.

Il faut du pain. — (Some) bread is needed.

This type of impersonal verb does not exist in English and the translation may
change depending on the target audience and context. Il faut can mean
we/you/they/I must/need to/have to do something.

However, il faut never translates to “he must/needs to/has to”. Later you will learn
about inserting an indirect personal pronoun which specifies directly who
must/needs to/has to do something.

Here is a broad example without context that can interpreted a number of ways:
Il faut faire ça. — “It is necessary to do that” or “We/You/They/I must/need to/have
to do that” or “One must/needs to/has to] do that” or even “That has to be done”.

This next example is more specific:

Il faut diminuer la quantité de sucre que nous mangeons. — “It is necessary that
we decrease the quantity of sugar that we eat” or “We must/need to/have to
decrease the quantity of sugar that we eat”.

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Verbs: Present 1 · Confusing Verbs, One Each or One Shared, Ah

l’amour updated 2019-01-01

Confusing Verbs
Used transitively, savoir and connaître both mean "to know", but in different
ways. Savoir implies understanding of subjects, things, or skills, while connaître
indicates familiarity with people, animals, places, things, or situations.

Je sais les paroles. — I know the lyrics (I can recite or sing them by heart).
Je connais le garçon. — I know the boy. (I am acquainted to him)

Attendre means "to await", which is why it does not need a preposition.

Il attend son ami. — He is awaiting (or "waiting for") his friend.

One Each or One Shared

When the verb has a plural subject and a singular object, the object does not
always refer to just one thing. Depending on the nature of the object, it can refer
to one thing for each subject or one thing shared by the subjects.

Paul et Ben attendent leur femme: Each of them is waiting for his own
wife.
Ils portent un manteau vert.: They each wear one green coat.
Julie et Paul ont une nouvelle voiture: They have one common
common, new car.

Ah, L'Amour !
Love is tricky in France. For people and pets, aimer means "to love", but if you add
an adverb, as in aimer bien or aimer beaucoup, it means "to like". For everything
else, aimer only means "to like". Adorer means "to love" or “to adore”, though it
tends to be more coy than aimer.

Please note that bien acts as a softener when used with aimer + people or things.

J’aime Marc. — I love Marc.

J’aime bien Marc. — I like Marc.
J’aime beaucoup Marc. — I like Marc a lot.
J’aime (bien) le chocolat. — I like chocolate.
J’adore le chocolat. — I love (adore) chocolate.

In love, less is sometimes more!

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Demonstratives 1 · Demonstrative Adjectives, Ça/Ça or Ce2019-01-01

updated

Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives ("this", "that", "these", and "those") modify nouns so
they refer to something or someone specific. They can be used in place of articles.
Like other adjectives, they must agree with the nouns they modify.

Gender Singular Plural

Masc ce/cet ces

Fem cette ces

The singular masculine ce becomes cet in front of a vowel sound for euphony.

Ce livre est rouge. — That book is red.

Cet arbre est grand. — That tree is big.
Cette pomme est rouge. — That apple is red.
Ces livres et ces pommes sont rouges. — Those books and those apples are
red.

Ce can mean either "this" or "that". It's ambiguous between the two. To specify, use
the suffix -ci ("here") or -là ("there") on the modified noun.

Ce livre-ci
-ci est rouge. — This book is red.
Ces chats-là
-là sont noirs. — Those cats are black.

Typically, -ci and -là are added when comparing people or things or for a specific
emphasis. However, these suffixes are required with some time notions to specify
a present or past or even future date.

Ces jours-ci — These days

En ce temps-là — At that time

French learners often confuse the demonstrative adjective ce with the pronoun
ce (from U05: Gallicism"). Discerning between them is easy, however: an adjective
must modify a noun, while a pronoun can stand alone as a subject or object.
Compare:
 Adjective: Ces hommes sont mes amis. — These men are my friends.
Pronoun: Ce sont mes amis. — They are my friends.

In the first example, ces is an adjective that modifies hommes, but in the second,
ce is a subject pronoun.

Ça
The indefinite demonstrative pronoun ça is the shortened informal version
of cela, and it refers to an unnamed concept or thing. When it's used as an object,
it usually translates to "this" or "that".

Tu manges ça. — You are eating this.

Je veux ça. — I want that.

Ça can also be used as a subject, in which case it can also mean "it".

Ça sent bon. — It smells good.

Ça semble simple. — This seems simple.

Ça or Ce ?

A simple rule of thumb to follow is that ce should be used with être, including in
the double-verb constructions pouvoir être and devoir être.

C’est un très bon vin ! — This is a really good wine!

Ce sont des garçons. — They are boys.
Ce peut être triste en hiver. — It can be sad in winter.
Ce doit être ton fils. — It must be your son.

Ça should be used with all other verbs.

Ça va bien. — It's going well.

Ça dure un jour. — That lasts a day.
Ça m'intéresse beaucoup. — That interests me a lot.

However, when an object pronoun comes before être, then you must use ça, not
ce. This is relatively rare.

Ça m'est égal. — It's all the same to me.

Also, note that ça is informal and is usually replaced by cela ("that") or ceci ("this")
in writing.
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Conjunctions 1 · Coordinating Conjunctions updated 2019-01-01

Conjunctions function by hooking up words, phrases, and clauses. This unit

focuses on coordinating conjunctions
conjunctions, which link two or more similar
elements in a sentence. For instance, et may be used to link two nouns together.

Je mange une pomme et une orange. — I am eating an apple and an orange.

Elle a un chien et un chat. — She has a dog and a cat.

It may also link two adjectives or even two clauses.

La robe est grande et jolie. — The dress is big and pretty.

Le chat est noir et le chien est blanc. — The cat is black and the dog is
white.

For the most part, French coordinating conjunctions behave very similarly to their
English counterparts.

Conj. English Example

et and Elle a un chien et un chat. — She has a dog and a cat.

mais but Mais pas maintenant. — But not now.
ou or Oui ou non ? — Yes or no?
comme as/like Je suis comme ça. — I am like that.
donc so/thus Il est jeune, donc il est petit. — He is young, so he is small.
car because Je lis, car j'aime ce livre. — I read because I like this book.

The conjunction car means "because", and it's usually reserved for writing. The
subordinating conjunction parce que is preferred in speech; you'll learn this in
"Conjunctions 2".

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Questions · Inversions, Est-ce que, Intonation, Interrogative

Adjectives/Pronouns/Adverbs updated 2019-01-01

Inversions
The most formal way of asking a question is to use an inversion
inversion, where the verb
appears before its pronoun and the two are connected by a hyphen.

Boit-il ? — Does he drink? / Is he drinking? / He drinks?

Boivent-ils du lait ? — Do they drink milk? / Are they drinking milk? / They
drink milk?

However, if the subject of the sentence is a noun, then the noun should appear
before the verb, although a pronoun still needs to appear afterwards.

Le lait est-il froid ? — Is the milk cold?

Les voitures sont-elles bleues ? — Are the cars blue?

If the verb ends in a vowel, the letter T must be inserted between the verb and
the pronouns il or elle for euphony. This T is chained onto the pronoun and is
meaningless.

A-tt-il un chien ? — Does he have a dog?

Parle-tt-elle anglais ? — Does she speak English?

Inverted forms still obey other grammar rules, like those for il est vs. c'est.
However, the pronoun in an inversion cannot elide.

Est-ce un problème ? — Is it a problem?

Est-elle médecin ? — Is she a doctor?
Puis-je aider les enfants ? — Can I help the children?

Note: Puis-je comes from the verb pouvoir. Inverted, it always takes the form of
puis-je, and not peux-je. This is the equivalent of “may I” in English and it is a
formal register of speech.
Est-ce Que
Est-ce que (pronounced [ɛs kə]) can be added in front of a statement to turn it
into a question. This interrogative format is the standard way of asking a close-
ended question (answer: yes/no) both in writing and in speech. Remember that
que elides in front of vowel sounds.

Est-ce qu'
qu'il boit ? — Does he drink? / Is he drinking?
Est-ce que c'est un problème ? — Is it a problem?
Est-ce qu'
qu'elle a un chien ? — Does she have a dog?

Intonation
In informal speech, one of the most common ways to ask a question is simply to
raise your intonation at the end of a statement, like you'd do in English.

Il boit ? — Is he drinking?
C’est un problème ? — Is it a problem?
Elle a un chien ? — Does she have a dog?

Interrogatives
An interrogative word introduces an open-ended question. French has
interrogative adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs.

Interrogative Adjectives

French has one interrogative adjective with four forms. It translates to "which"
or "what" depending on the context.

Singular Plural

Masculine quel quels

Feminine quelle quelles

An interrogative adjective cannot stand alone. It must modify (and agree with) a
noun, and that noun must either be adjacent to it or separated by a form of être.
Use “quel” whenever you are choosing between two or more nouns or you are
asking specific information about a noun. The answer to the question is limited by
the preexisting frame of reference.
 Quelle fille ? — Which girl?
Quel est le problème ? — What is the problem?
Quelles fleurs achetez-vous ? — Which flowers are you buying?
Quels sports aiment-ils ? — What sports do they like?

Quel is also an exclamatory adjective in statements.

Quelle chance ! — What luck!

Quel grand garçon il est ! — What a tall boy he is!

Interrogative Pronouns

Unlike an adjective, an interrogative pronoun can stand alone. For instance,

the interrogative pronoun lequel can replace quel + noun. Note that it agrees
with the noun it replaces.

Quel Form Lequel Form

Quel cheval ? — Which horse? Lequel ? — Which one?

Quels hommes mangent ? — Which men Lesquels mangent ? — Which ones
eat? eat?

Quelle robe est rose? — Which dress is Laquelle est rose ? — Which one is
pink? pink?

Quelles lettres ? — Which letters? Lesquelles ? — Which ones?

The difference between quel and lequel is a matter of how wide the frame of
reference is. Quels livres lis-tu ? has a wide-open choice of possible answers,
whereas *Lesquels de ces livres lis-tu ?” suggests that the choice has already
been narrowed and there are no more than a couple of books.

The most common interrogative pronouns are qui (for people) and que (for
everything else). However, the construction changes based on a number of factors.
Qui is the only pronoun that can start a question by itself, but both qui and que
can be used with inversion.

Qui parle ? — Who is speaking?

Qui es-tu ? — Who are you?
Que fait-il ? — What is he making?

After prepositions and at the end of informal questions, que becomes quoi.
 À quoi pensez-vous ? — What are you thinking about?
Vous faites quoi ? — What are you doing?

Qui and que can be very confusing because they can also be relative pronouns.
Que can also be a subordinating conjunction. You will learn these uses later.

Interrogative Adverbs

A number of interrogative adverbs can be used to request information.

Pourquoi ("why"): Pourquoi manges-tu du pain ? — Why are you eating

bread?
Comment ("how"): Comment allez-vous ? — How are you?
Quand ("when"): Quand vas-tu manger ? — When are you going to eat?
Combien ("how many/much"): Combien d'eau veux-tu ? — How much water
do you want?
Où ("where"): Où suis-je ? — Where am I?

Note that when these adverbs are used with intonation-based questions, they can
appear at the beginning or the end of the sentence (except pourquoi).

Pourquoi tu manges du pain ?

Vous allez comment ?
Tu vas manger quand ?
Tu veux combien d’eau ?
Je suis où ?

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Pronouns · On, Direct Object Pronouns, En, Y, Relative Pronouns,

Reflexive Se updated 2019-01-01

On
On is a versatile and ubiquitous French indefinite subject pronoun. Standing for
an unidentified person, on is genderless, masculine by default and the verb is
conjugated in third-person singular, which is why conjugation charts often list
il/elle/on together.

On can be used for general statements, much like the English, formal “one”, or the
general “you”.

On doit dormir assez. — One/You must sleep adequately.

On a toujours le choix. — You always have a choice.
On n’est jamais seul, ici. — One is/You are never alone here.

On is often used in active statements where English uses a passive construction.

On m'a envoyé des fleurs. — I was sent flowers.

On m'a dit que le magasin était ouvert. — I was told that the shop was
open.

Yet, Francophones usually say on as a substitute for nous. In this use, on keeps its
conjugations in third person singular, but its adjectives or past participles can be
in the plural masculine or feminine, depending on whom the subject represents.

On mange toutes (feminine plural) nos légumes. — We all eat our

vegetables.
On est partis (masculine plural) très tard. — We left very late.

Direct Object Pronouns

Direct objects are things or people that are directly acted upon by a verb. For
instance, in the sentence "Ben threw the ball", the ball is the direct object. French
has a set of pronouns that can be used to refer to a direct object.

English Direct Object

me me

you (sing.) te

him le

her la

us nous

you (plur. or formal sing.) vous

them les
Direct object pronouns usually come before their verbs.

L'enfant me voit. — The child sees me

me.
Le lion le mange. — The lion eats it (or "him"!).
Vous nous aimez. — You love usus.
Je t 'aime. — I love you
you.

Me/te/le/la elide, so make sure you notice them when they hide in the first
syllable of a verb.

Elle m 'attend. — She is waiting for me.

L'enfant l 'appelle. — The child calls to him (or "her").

Le and les only contract when they're articles, not when they're object pronouns.

Je suis en train de le faire. (Not du faire) — I am in the process of doing it.

Note: “On” does not have a direct object form. As a consequence, L’enfant nous
voit keeps the object pronoun “nous”, and On nous aime means “One loves us”.

For more information about direct objects see TNs, U21:

Verbs Present: 22..

En Replaces De + Noun
The adverbial pronoun en can be used to replace objects introduced by de. For
instance, it can replace a partitive article + noun.

Avez-vous de l'argent ? — Do you have some money?

Oui, j'en
en ai. — Yes, I have some.

En may replace nouns or pronouns in verb constructions that use de.

Rêvez-vous souvent de votre avenir ? — Do you often dream about your

future?
Oui, j'en
en rêve souvent. — Yes, I dream about it often.
Marc parle de Peter ? — Is Marc talking about Peter?
Oui, il en parle. or Oui, il parle de lui
lui. — Yes, he's talking about him.
-Note: It is more correct to say il parle de lui but in current usage it is
common to hear en replacing a person.

Nouns in adverbs of quantity or numbers can also be replaced with en.

 Achetez-vous beaucoup de livres ? — Are you buying a lot of books?
Oui, j'en
en achète beaucoup. — Yes, I am buying a lot [of them].
Non, j’en
en achète un. — No, I am buying one [of them].

Notice that en always precedes the verb, but adverbs stay in place after the verb.

Y Can Refer to a Place or a preceding indirect

object.
The adverbial pronoun y can refer to a previously mentioned or implied place, in
which case it's usually translated as "there".

Allez-vous au restaurant ? — Are you going to the restaurant?

Oui, j'yy vais. — Yes, I'm going there.

In English, "there" may be omitted, but the same is not true of y in French. Je vais
is not a complete sentence without y. The verb aller must be followed by a
location or y.

Y can also replace the indirect object of a verb using à.

Pensez-vous aux conséquences ? — Are you thinking about consequences?

Oui, j’yy pense. — Yes, I am (thinking about them).

The Relative Pronouns Que and Qui

As mentioned in “Interrogative Pronouns”, qui and que can be very confusing
because they can be interrogative or relative pronouns.

In a nutshell:

As interrogative pronouns, qui ? means “who?” and que ? means “what?”.

As relative pronouns, qui is a subject (people or things) and que is a direct
object (people or things) of the following verb.

Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, which are subordinate clauses

that elaborate upon a previously mentioned noun or pronoun (the antecedent
antecedent).
Use que when the relative pronoun is the object ("whom", “which” or “that” in
English) and use qui when it's the subject ("who", “which” or “that” in English).

C'est l'homme que je connais. — He's the man whom (or "that") I know.
Je connais les livres que vous lisez. — I know the books that you are
 reading.
Ce sont les oiseaux que je préfère. — These are the birds which I prefer.
La fille qui lit un menu. — The girl who (or "that") reads a menu.
Le chapeau qui est ici semble doux. — The hat which (or “that”) is here
looks soft.
Je regarde les gens qui dansent. — I’m looking at people dancing (lit. “the
people who are dancing”).

If you have trouble figuring out whether to use qui or que, try rephrasing the
sentence without the relative pronoun. Use qui if the antecedent is the subject;
otherwise, use que. You can also remember that as a relative pronoun, qui is
followed by a verb, whereas que is followed by a noun or pronoun.

Subject: La fille qui lit un menu. La fille lit un menu.

Object: C'est l'homme que je connais. Je connais l'homme.

In questions, after qui est-ce (lit. “who is it”) or qu’est-ce (lit. “what is it”), the
relative pronouns qui and *que” can be used to introduce a relative clause.

Qu'est-ce que c'est ? — What is it? (question with être; lit. “what is it that it
is?”)
Qui est-ce que tu appelles ? — Whom are you calling? (que is the object of
appelles; lit. “who is it that you are calling?”)
Qui est-ce qui parle ? — Who's speaking? (qui is the subject of parle; lit.
“who is it that is speaking?”)
Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? — What is going on? (qui is the subject of se passe;
lit “what is it that is going on?”)

The Reflexive Pronoun Se

A reflexive pronoun like se can be used to indicate that a verb acts upon the
subject. Se is used with all third-person subjects, regardless of gender and
number.

Il s 'aime. — He loves himself

himself.
Il s 'appelle comment ? — What's his name? (Lit, "He calls himself what?")
Elle se demande pourquoi. — She wonders why. (Lit, "She asks herself
why.")
Les garçons se lèvent tôt. — The boys get up early.

When se refers to a plural subject, it can also be reciprocal or mutual ("each

other").
 Ils s 'aiment. — They love each other
other.
Les filles se parlent. — The girls speak to each other
other.
On se parle quand ? — When do we speak to each otherother?
On se voit bientôt. — We will see each other soon.

Certain pronouns can be added to the end of the sentence to differentiate

between reflexive and reciprocal uses if necessary.

Ils s'aiment eux-mêmes

eux-mêmes. — They love themselves.
Elles s'aiment elles-mêmes
elles-mêmes. — They love themselves.
Ils s'aiment l'un l'autre
l'autre. — They love each other.
Elles s'aiment les unes les autres
autres. — They love one another.

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Adjectives · Multiple Adjectives, Grand or Gros, Faux-Amis

updated 2019-01-01

Multiple Adjectives
When multiple adjectives modify a noun, they should come before or after the
noun based on the same rules. This means that adjectives may straddle the noun
if one is a BANGS adjective.

La grande robe rouge — The big red dress

Une jeune fille française — A young French girl

When arranging multiple adjectives on the same side, concrete adjectives should
usually be placed closer to the noun than abstract ones.

J'ai un joli petit mouton gris. — I have a lovely little grey sheep.
J'ai un canard blanc courageux. — I have a brave white duck.

You can add conjunctions and adverbs to break up multiple adjectives.

J'ai un chapeau blanc et bleu. — I have a white and blue hat.

L'homme est fort et sérieux. — The man is strong and serious.
 Elle a un très beau chapeau, chaud et violet. — She has a very beautiful,
warm purple hat.
J'adore mon propre tout petit lapin blanc très doux. — I love my own very
small, white and really soft rabbit.

When there are multiple nouns being described by one adjective, that adjective
takes the masculine plural by default.

Un garçon et une fille italiens — An Italian boy and girl

J'ai une chemise et un manteau bleus. — I have a blue shirt and coat.

However, if the nouns are all feminine, then they take the feminine plural.

La robe et la jupe vertes — The green dress and skirt

Grand or Gros ?
Grand and gros can both mean "big", but they're only partly interchangeable.

Grand tends to be used for:

General size: La grande robe — The big dress

Height: L'homme est grand. — The man is tall.
Area: La ville est grande. — The city is big.
Figurative size: La grande richesse — The great wealth
Importance: Un grand homme — A great man

Gros tends to be used for:

Thickness or volume: Une grosse boîte de petits-pois — A big can of peas

Fatness: Un gros chat — A fat cat
Things that are round: Une grosse pomme — A big apple
Seriousness: Un gros problème — A big (serious) problem

Faux Amis
Many English and French words look alike and share meanings. This is because
English is heavily influenced by French and Latin. However, there are faux amis
("false friends") that look similar but do not have the same meaning. For instance,
gros looks like "gross", but their meanings are not the same. Be careful before
assuming the meaning of a French word based on its English lookalike.

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Verbs: Present 2 · Group 3 Verbs, Transitive & Intransitive, Confusing

Verbs updated 2019-01-01

Group 3 Verbs
As you learned in "Verbs Present 1", Group 3 verbs are considered irregular, but
some sparse patterns do exist among the -ir and -er verbs in this group.

Subject G1 parler G2 finir G3 dormir G3 ouvrir G3 vendre

je parlee finis
is dorss ouvree vendss

tu parles
es finis
is dorss ouvres
es vendss

il/elle/on parlee finit

it dortt ouvree vend

nous parlons
ons finissons
issons dormons
ons ouvrons
ons vendons
ons

vous parlez
ez finissez
issez dormez
ez ouvrez
ez vendez
ez

ils/elles parlent
ent finissent
issent dorment
ent ouvrent
ent vendent
ent

Among the G3 -ir verbs, some conjugate like dormir, while verbs like ouvrir
conjugate as though they're -er verbs. Note that singular conjugations of dormir
drop the last letter of the root. Also, while some -re verbs (such as attendre,
entendre, and perdre) conjugate like vendre, dozens of other conjugation patterns
exist, so it's best to memorize each verb's conjugation individually.

Here are some useful conjugation websites to use while you are learning the
various conjugations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_conjugation http://la-
conjugaison.nouvelobs.com/ http://www.conjugation-fr.com/

Even native speaking French school children must spend time writing and
rewriting verb conjugations, so take the time to learn them from memory and
don’t be discouraged if it requires daily effort.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Sentences can have grammatical objects, which are nouns that are affected by a
verb. There are two types of objects: direct objects
objects, which are nouns acted upon,
and indirect objects
objects, which are nouns that are indirectly affected by the action.

Ben threw the ball at him

him.

In this example, "Ben" is the subject, "the ball" is the direct object, and "him" is the
indirect object. You can usually recognize indirect objects in English by looking
for a preposition after a verb. Identifying objects is important, especially in
French.

Verbs can be transitive, intransitive, or both. Transitive verbs can have direct
objects, while intransitive verbs cannot. However, both types of verbs can have
indirect objects.

Transitive: Je lance une chaussure. — I throw a shoe.

Intransitive: Je parle à Jacques. — I am speaking to Jacques.

Parler is an interesting example because it's intransitive for everything but

language names.

Transitive: Je parle anglais. — I speak English.

French verbs can be tricky for Anglophones because some transitive verbs in
French have intransitive English translations and vice versa. Pay attention to this.

Transitive: Le chat regarde le chien.

Intransitive: The cat is looking at the dog.
Intransitive: Il téléphone à son ami.
Transitive: He is calling his friend.

Confusing Verbs
Like their English counterparts, voir "to see" and regarder "to watch" differ based
on the subject's intention. If the subject is actively watching or looking for
something, use regarder. Otherwise, use voir.

Le chat regarde le poisson. — The cat is watching the fish.

Elle peut voir la ville. — She can see the city.
Similarly, the verbs entendre “to hear” and écouter “to listen” differ whether it is
a passive event that happens naturally (entendre) or an action that is done
consciously (écouter). Use écouter if the subject is actively listening, if not, use
entendre.

Il entend les oiseaux. — He hears the birds.

J’écoute la symphonie. — I am listening to the symphony.

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Prepositions 1 · De & À, Articles after De, Des before Adjectives

updated 2019-01-01

French prepositions can be difficult because their meanings and uses don't
always line up to what you would expect in English.

De and À

The most common French prepositions are de ("of"/"from") and à ("to"/"at"). These
prepositions can be used in many ways. For instance, they may indicate
movement or location.

Nous allons à Paris. — We are going to Paris.

Il vient de Bordeaux. — He is coming from Bordeaux.
Je suis au restaurant. — I am at the restaurant.

Le and les (masc. or fem.) contract with the preposition “ à, as they do with the
preposition de, whenever they are adjacent.

Je suis au restaurant. (masc.) — I am at the restaurant.

Tu parles aux enfants. (masc.) — You are talking to the children.
Tu parles aux garçons et aux filles. — You speak to the boys and girls.

Definite Article De À

le du au

la de la à la
 les des aux

If the contraction is followed by a vowel sound, du and de la both become de l'

and au and à la both become à l'. This change occurs for euphony only; the nouns
do not change genders because of it.

Tu parles à l'l'enfant. (Not au) — You are speaking to the child.

Je crois à l’l’amitié. (Not à la)— I believe in friendship.
La porte de l’l’appartement est ouverte. (Not du*) — The apartment door is
open.
Son bureau est en face de l’l’église. (Not de la) — His office is across from
the church.

De may be found in numerous fixed expressions, especially after adverbs of

quantity to form prepositional phrases like un peu de (“a little”) or beaucoup de
("a lot of"). In such cases, the partitive or indefinite article is removed.

Rémy a un peu d'

d'argent. (Not de du)— Remy has a little money.
Nous avons beaucoup de pommes. (Not de des)— We have a lot of apples.

Adding de or à to the end of certain verbs can change their meanings.

Penser ("to think"): Je pense que c'est un homme. — I think that he is a man.
Penser à ("to think about"): Elle pense à son chien. — She's thinking about
her dog.
Penser de ("to have an opinion about"): Que pensez-vous de ce repas ? —
What do you think of this meal?

Using Articles After De

Most articles can be used immediately after expressions and verbs ending in de,
but they must follow contraction and elision rules.

Elle parle beaucoup des (de + les) pâtes. — She speaks a lot about the
pasta.
Que pensez-vous de la voiture ? — What do you think of the car?
Il a besoin d'un
un chien. — He needs a dog.

However, no article that already contains de may follow a negative term. This
includes the partitives du and de la and the indefinites un, une and des. In this
situation, the article is removed so that only the naked de remains.

Je n'ai pas de pain. (Not de du) — I do not have (any) bread.

 Elle ne mange jamais de soupe. (Not de de la) — She never eats soup.
Nous ne voulons plus de voiture. (Not de une) — We no longer want a car.
Personne n’achète de choses inutiles. (Note de des) — Nobody buys any
useless things.

Des Before Adjectives

When the plural indefinite article des appears immediately before an adjective, it
changes to de. This occurs with BANGS adjectives, which come before the noun,
as well as with adjectives placed before the noun with a subjective meaning

Vous êtes de jeunes garçons. — You are young boys.

Elle a de petits chiens. — She has small dogs.
Il y a d’
d’adorables grenouilles. — There are adorable frogs.

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Numbers 1 · Zéro to Vingt, Uses of Un updated 2019-01-01

Between 0 and 20, most French numbers are constructed similarly to English
numbers. The main difference is that French starts using compound numbers at
dix-sept (17), while English continues with single-word numbers until 21.

Number French

0 zéro

1 un

2 deux

3 trois

4 quatre

5 cinq

6 six
 7 sept

8 huit

9 neuf

10 dix

11 onze

12 douze

13 treize

14 quatorze

15 quinze

16 seize

17 dix-sept

18 dix-huit

19 dix-neuf

20 vingt

Uses of Un
The word un (or une in feminine) can be used in a number of ways:

1. As an indefinite article ("a" or "an"), which is used to modify countable nouns

that are unspecified or unknown to the speakers.
un livre — a book
une lettre — a letter
2. As a numeral ("one"), which is a kind of adjective.
J'ai une seule question. — I have only one question.
3. As a pronoun ("one"). Like in English, French numbers can be used as
pronouns. In general, when you see a preposition like de after a number,
that number acts as a pronoun.
C'est un de mes enfants. — He is one of my children.
Je connais une de ces femmes. — I know one of those women.

Note: In either example above, you can use l’un or l’une as an optional, more
formal alternative. It is generally recognized that the addition of the elided
definite article l’ can avoid a vowel sound conflict, and the omission of it a
consonant sound conflict. However, l’un or l’une is preferable at the beginning of
a sentence or before a plural personal pronoun.

C’est notre fils et l’l’un de ses amis. (et un: vowel sound conflict) — This is
our son and one of his friends.
Il appelle un de ses amis. (appelle l’un: consonant sound conflict) — He is
calling one of his friends.
L’une des pommes est rouge. — One of the apples is red.
Nous allons choisir l’une de vous. — We will choose one of you.

Also, keep in mind that liaisons are forbidden before and after et with one
notable exception in the number vingt et un [vɛ̃ te œ̃ ].

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Family · Refresher: C’est or Il est updated 2019-01-01

Refresher: C'est or Il Est ?

You learned in U05: Gallicism that you must often use the impersonal pronoun ce
when describing people and things with être followed by a modified noun. In
general, use ce whenever être is followed by any determiner—for instance, an
article or a possessive adjective. Remember that ce is invariable, so use c'est for
singulars and ce sont for plurals.

C'est ma soeur. — She's my sister.

Ce sont ses parents. — They're his/her parents.
C'est ce pauvre chien. — It's this poor dog.

This rule applies everywhere, including in questions, inversions, and subordinate

clauses.

C'est un animal ? — That's an animal?

Est-ce votre petit-fils ? — Is he your grandson?
Vous l'aimez parce que c'est votre fils. — You love him because he is your
son.
The personal pronoun il should only be used with être when followed by an
adjective and/or adverb.

Il est fort. — He is strong.

Est-elle vraiment forte ? — Is she really strong?
Est-ce qu'il est content ? — Is he happy?

In the last example, note that est-ce still appears because est-ce que is a fixed
impersonal phrase.

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Possessives 2 · Possessive Pronouns updated 2019-01-01

Possessive pronouns replace a possessive adjective + a noun. Like most other

pronouns, they agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

Est-ce ton chapeau ? — Is that your hat?

Oui, c'est le mien
mien. — Yes, it's mine.

For one owner, the forms of possessive pronouns follow a simple pattern:

Person English Masc. Sing. Fem. Sing. Masc. Plur. Fem. Plur

1st mine le mien la mienne les miens les miennes

2nd yours le tien la tienne les tiens les tiennes

3rd his/hers le sien la sienne les siens les siennes

J'ai mon livre. As-tu le tien ? — I have my book. Do you have yours?
Ma ceinture est rouge. La sienne est blanche. — My belt is red. His (or
"hers") is white.

For multiple owners, the articles vary with gender, but the pronouns do not:

Person English Sing. Masc. Sing. Fem. Plural

 1st ours le nôtre la nôtre les nôtres

2nd yours le vôtre la vôtre les vôtres

3rd theirs le leur la leur les leurs

Vous mangez vos repas et nous mangeons les nôtres. — You eat your meals
and we eat ours.
Vous aimez notre voiture et nous aimons la vôtre. — You like our car and we
like yours.

The 2nd-person articles for multiple owners can be used for a single owner when
speaking formally.

Informal, one owner: C'est le tien.

Formal, one owner: C'est le vôtre.
Multiple owners: C'est le vôtre.

Notice that you must use c'est with possessive pronouns, not il est, elle est,
because possessive pronouns use the definite pronouns le, la, les

The definite article at the beginning of a possessive pronoun can contract with à
or de.

Tu téléphones à ton père et je téléphone au mien. — You are calling your

dad and I am calling mine.
J'aime mon repas. Qu'est-ce que vous pensez du vôtre ? — I like my meal.
What do you think of yours?

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Demonstratives 2 · Ceci or Cela, Ce or Cela, Demonstrative

Pronouns/+Relative Pronoun/+Preposition, Comparisons

updated 2019-01-01

Ceci and Cela

Ceci ("this") and cela ("that") are the formal versions of the indefinite
demonstrative pronoun ça ("this" or "that"), and they literally mean “this thing”
and “that thing”. These are used when pointing something out, referring to
something indefinite (like an idea), or referring back to something already
mentioned.

Je connais cela. — I know about that.

Je veux ceci. — I want this.

Ceci is usually only used when making a distinction between "this" and "that".
Otherwise, cela is preferred in writing and ça is preferred in speech.

Ce or Cela ?

Remember that ce can only be used with être, including devoir être and pouvoir
être.

C’est un très bon vin ! – This is a really good wine!

Ce doit être ton fils. — That must be your son.

However, cela and ceci can also be used with être for emphasis.

Ceci est à moi et cela/ça aussi. — This is mine and that too.
Non, cela est à mon frère/ça, c’est à mon frère. — No,THAT's my brother’s.

Cela/ceci/ça should be used with all other verbs.

Cela arrive souvent. — It happens often. / That happens often.

Ceci contient un bonbon. — This contains a candy.

Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns (e.g. "this one", "that one", "these", "those") replace a
demonstrative adjective + noun for the sake of avoiding repetition. Like most
other pronouns, they agree in gender and number with the noun they replace.

Adj + Noun
Type English
Pronoun

Masc.
ce + noun celui the one / this one / that one / this / that
Sing.

Fem.
 Sing. cette + noun celle the one / this one / that one / this / that

Masc. the ones / these ones / those ones / these /

ces + noun ceux
Plur. those

Fem. the ones / these ones / those ones / these /

ces + noun celles
Plur. those

Demonstrative pronouns refer to a very specific thing and cannot stand alone.
They must be used in one of three constructions.

Demonstrative Pronoun + Relative Pronoun

A relative pronoun and dependent clause can follow the demonstrative pronoun.
For instance, you can use que when the relative pronoun is the direct object and
use qui when it's the subject.

Celui qui est dans ma poche. — The one that is in my pocket.

Ceux que je connais. — The ones that I know. / The ones whom I know.

Demonstrative Pronoun + Preposition

The preposition de can appear after the demonstrative pronoun to indicate

possession.

À qui est cette balle ? – Whose ball is this?

C'est celle du chien. — It's the dog's. (Literally: "It is the one of the dog.")

Demonstrative Pronoun + Suffix

This construction appears in "Demonstratives 3".

Usage Examples

Demonstrative pronouns are often used in comparisons or choices between

alternatives.

Ce tableau est moins beau que celui de Rembrandt. — This painting is less
beautiful than that by Rembrandt.
Quelle robe préfères-tu ? Celle de Paris ou celle de Tokyo ? — Which
dress do you prefer? The one from Paris or the one from Tokyo?
They can also be used within prepositional phrases.

Je pense à celles qui sont en vacances. — I am thinking about the ones

who are on vacation.
Ce repas est pour ceux qui aiment les oignons. — This meal is for those
who like onions.

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Time · Close Future, Dates, Jour or Journée, Tellingupdated

Time 2019-01-01

The Close Future

In French, the present tense can often be used to describe something that will
happen soon.

Je vous appelle demain. — I [will] call you tomorrow.

On se voit demain. — We [will] see each other tomorrow.

This also occurs in English, albeit less frequently.

Ça commence demain. — That begins tomorrow.

Describing Dates
The most common way to express a date in French is to use nous sommes or on
est.
This construction is idiomatic and does not directly translate to English.

Nous sommes vendredi. — It is Friday.

Aujourd'hui, on est mardi. — Today is Tuesday.

Note that c'est vendredi does not mean "it is Friday" but "it is on Friday", where
"c'est/it is" refers to an event or occasion. However, c'est vendredi aujourd'hui
means and translates to/from "it is Friday today".
Note that while "today" is a noun and adverb in English, aujourd'hui cannot be
used as a noun to give a date, so you cannot say Aujourd'hui est mardi. However,
hier, aujourd'hui, and demain can be used as nouns when jour or journée are used
as well.

Demain est un autre jour. — Tomorrow is another day.

Hier était un jour férié. — Yesterday was a holiday.

This construction can be used to express the month or year, though you must add
en. Like weekdays, months aren't capitalized in French.

Nous sommes en juillet. — It's July.

On est en deux mille dix-huit. — It's 2018.

When denoting specific dates, put le and the date before the month. Also, French
date abbreviations take the form DD/MM/YY.

27/11/14 — C'est le 27 novembre 2014. — It's on November 27, 2014.

02/10 — Nous sommes le 2 octobre. — It's October 2nd.

However, for the first day of the month, you must use the word premier.

01/04 — C'est le premier avril. — It's on April 1st.

01/12 — On est le premier décembre. — It's December first.

To express a relative time in the past, you can use il y a.

Il y a huit jours — Eight days ago

Il y a deux ans — Two years ago

Jour or Journée ?
A few words for dates and times have both masculine and feminine forms that
are used in different contexts.

English Masculine Feminine

day jour journée

morning matin matinée

evening soir soirée

year an année
Consider the meaning of the whole sentence when deciding between the two.
Some pairs are more flexible than others. Jour and journée can sometimes be
interchangeable, but matin and matinée are very strictly separate.

The masculine forms are used for countable units of time and specific dates or
moments. For instance:

With numerals (except un in some cases).

deux ans — two years
trois jours — three days
With tous ("all"), chaque ("every"), and ce ("this"/"that").
chaque matin / tous les matins — every morning
With temporal adverbs (e.g. demain and hier).
demain matin — tomorrow morning
hier soir — yesterday evening / last night

The feminine forms are used to express or emphasize a duration or the passing of
time. They're also used with most adjectives. For instance:

When emphasizing a duration.

Je vais lire toute la matinée. — I am going to read all morning.
la journée de huit heures — the 8-hour day
With adjectives (except tous/chaque/ce).
une belle soirée — a beautiful evening
Cette année est mémorable. — This year is memorable.

Deciding between forms with un depends on whether un acts as a numeral or

article. If you can translate un as "one" in English, then go with the masculine.

I must spend a (one) year abroad. — Je dois passer un an à l’étranger.

I’ll have dinner there one day. — Je vais dîner là-bas un jour.

Notice that chaque matin doesn't require an article but tous les matins does. This
is because chaque, ce, and articles are all examples of determiners, which are
words that give context to nouns. You will learn more about determiners in
"Adjectives 3".

Telling time: Quelle heure est-il ?

To introduce the time (which is l'heure, not le temps), the impersonal il est is
used, and the noun heure(s) is required, except for midi (noon) and minuit
(midnight).
 Il est sept heures. (shortened to 7h00) — It is seven (o'clock).
Il est midi. — It is noon.
Rendez-vous à minuit. — Let's meet at midnight.

Time is often expressed on a 24-hour clock; otherwise du matin (from 1:00 a.m.
to 11:00 a.m.), de l'après-midi (from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 or 6:00 p.m.) or du soir
(from 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.) are added. This also works with minutes,
quarter-hours (et quart or moins le quart) and half-hours (et demie).

Il est seize heures. or Il est quatre heures de l'après-midi. — It is four p.m./4

p.m.
Il est vingt heures quinze. or Il est huit heures et quart du soir. — It is eight
fifteen in the evening/8:15 p.m.
Mon rendez-vous est à cinq heures de l'après-midi/du soir. — My
appointment is at five/5:00 p.m.
Il est minuit moins le quart. — It is eleven forty-five/11:45 p.m.
Il est midi et demi. — It is twelve thirty/12:30 p.m.
Je suis libre entre onze heures (du matin) et midi. — I am available between
eleven and noon/11:00 and 12:00.

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Verbs: Infinitive 1 · Infinitive Mood, Without Prepositions, With

Prepositions, After Nouns, After Adjectives, Causative Faire2019-01-01

updated

Verb conjugations are classified in two ways: tense and mood

mood. Tenses reflect a
time frame (e.g. present tense), while moods reflect a speaker's attitude. So far,
you've mainly used the indicative mood (for facts and certainties), but it is only
one of seven moods.

The Infinitive Mood

The infinitive mood is an impersonal mood that isn't conjugated nor associated
with any subject pronoun. It can be used in a variety of constructions, either with
or without prepositions.
Without Prepositions

Infinitives are often the objects of other conjugated verbs such as vouloir,
pouvoir, and aimer. You learned this in "Verbs: Present 1".

Ça va venir
venir. — It is going to come.
Je veux danser
danser. — I want to dance.
J'aime avoir un chat. — I like having a cat.

Infinitives can also act like nouns and can be used as subjects.

Faire du café est facile. — Making coffee is easy.

Cuisiner et nettoyer sont ses responsabilités. — Cooking and cleaning are
his/her responsibilities.

Here, note that French infinitives can often be translated as English gerunds (with
an -ing ending), especially when they're subjects.

After Verbs + Prepositions

As you learned previously, some verbs must be followed by a preposition to

complete their meaning (e.g. penser à). An infinitive can be used as a object when
it follows such prepositions.

Elle parle de cuisiner le poulet. — She is talking about cooking the

chicken.
Je pense à changer de job. — I am thinking about changing jobs.
Je vous remercie de laver les verres. – I thank you for washing the glasses.

Since infinitives can act like nouns, they can follow être + de to describe or define
a subject (as a subject complement).

Mon travail est de cuisiner

cuisiner. — My job is to cook.
L'objectif est d'apprendre le français
français. — The goal is to learn French.

The preposition pour ("for" or "in order to") can come before an infinitive to
express the purpose of an action.

Je lis pour apprendre

apprendre. — I read [in order] to learn.
Je viens pour parler
parler. — I am coming [in order] to talk.

Keep in mind that conjugated verbs should never come after prepositions.

After Nouns
An infinitive can also modify a noun when used with de or à. It may take practice
to decide which preposition should be used, but in general, use de whenever the
infinitive has an object.

Merci de laver les verres. — Please wash the glasses.

Il prend le temps de manger une pomme. — He takes the time to eat an
apple.

Use à when the verb in the sentence is avoir (with the translation "to have").

J'ai une décision à prendre. — I have a decision to make.

Il a un examen à préparer — He has an exam to prepare.

À can also be used to indicate the purpose of a noun.

une maison à vendre — a house for sale

l'eau à boire — drinking water

After Adjectives

Infinitives can be used with the construction il est + adjective + de to create

impersonal expressions. Remember from "Common Phrases" that an impersonal
statement is one with a dummy subject instead of a real one.

Il est possible de manger maintenant. — It is possible to eat now.

Il est nécessaire de boire de l’eau. — It is necessary to drink water.

However, if the subject il is a real thing instead of just a dummy subject, then you
must use à instead of de.

Cette tâche est facile à faire. — This task is easy to do.

C'est bon à savoir. — That's good to know.

To further illustrate the difference, consider these two different translations of "It
is fun to read." The first is a general statement, while the second is a statement
about a real subject.

Il est amusant de lire. (Impersonal) — It is fun to read. / Reading is fun.

Il est amusant à lire. (Real) — It (e.g. a book) is fun to read.

As a consequence, the construction c’est amusant de lire is improper because the

only impersonal personal pronoun is il and ce/c’ is a demonstrative pronoun
(“this” or “that”) representing a real thing, like ceci or cela. However, please note
that [c’est + adjective + de + an infinitive] is massively used in spoken French, as
well as [c’est + adjective + que+ a subordinate clause].

Causative Faire
Faire often appears before a verb to indicate that the subject causes something
to happen instead of performing it. It's often used in relation to cooking, where
the verb often describes what the food does, not the person cooking.

Il fait bouillir le thé. — He boils the tea.

J'aime faire griller du poulet. — I like grilling chicken.

It can also be used to indicate that the subject has directed someone else to
perform an action.

Je le fais réparer
réparer. — I am having it fixed.
Je fais nettoyer les tapis. — I am getting the rugs cleaned.
Elle se fait coiffer tous les deux mois. — She gets her hair done every other
month.
Il se fait faire un costume. — He is having a suit made.

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Adverbs 1 · Placement, Comparatives & Superlatives,

Bon/Bien/Mauvais/Mal updated 2019-01-01

Adverbs are invariable words that can modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and
more.

Adverb Placement
If an adverb modifies a verb, it usually follows right after it.

Il parle vite
vite. — He speaks quickly.
Elle mange souvent de la soupe. — She often eats soup.
J'aime bien l'hiver. — I like the winter.
An adverb comes before an adjective or other adverb that it modifies.

Je suis très heureux. — I am very happy.

Ma cuillère est trop grande ! — My spoon is too big!

A long adverb that modifies a phrase can usually be relegated to the beginning or
end of a sentence.

Ton fils est un homme maintenant

maintenant. — Your son is a man now.
Généralement , je sais quoi faire. — Generally, I know what to do.

Comparatives and Superlatives

The adverbs plus ("more") and moins ("less") can be used with the conjunction
que in comparisons.

Ta sœur est plus jolie qu

qu'elle. — Your sister is prettier than her.
Ils mangent moins que nous. — They are eating less than us.

To express equivalence, use aussi...que ("as...as").

Je suis aussi timide que mon père. — I am as shy as my father.

Adding a definite article before plus or moins creates a superlative. The definite
article agrees with the noun being modified.

C'est la plus jolie robe. — That's the prettiest dress.

Le plus grand arbre du monde est là. — The biggest tree in the world is
there.

If the adjective should follow the noun, then the definite article must be
repeated.

Je veux acheter le pain le moins cher. — I want to buy the least expensive
bread.
C'est le livre le plus difficile à comprendre. — That's the most difficult book
to understand.

Bon , Bien , Mauvais , and Mal

In French, we have to deal with the good (bon and bien), the bad (mauvais and
mal), and the ugly (trying to decide which to use). Luckily, in most cases, bon and
mauvais are adjectives while bien and mal are adverbs.
 C'est un bon chanteur. — He is a good singer.
Il chante bien
bien. — He sings well.
C’est une bonne étudiante. — She's a good student.
Elle étudie bien
bien. — She studies well.
C'est un mauvais homme. — He's a bad man.
Mon frère lit très mal
mal. — My brother reads very badly.
Tu bois le mauvais vin ! — You're drinking the wrong wine!
L'anglais, ce n'est jamais que du français mal prononcé. (Georges
Clemenceau) — English is nothing but mispronounced French.

There are also a number of fixed expressions or special usages for bien. You are
familiar with some of these from "Common Phrases", and bien can also be
exceptionally used as an invariable adjective, that is, it does not form agreements
with the nouns it modifies.

Bien ! — Good!
C'est très bien ! — That's very good!
Bien sûr. — Of course.
C’est une femme bien. — She is a good/decent woman

Also, remember that aimer normally means "to love" when directed at people and
pets, but adding bien reduces its meaning to "to like".

Elle l'aime. — She loves him/her.

J'aime bien mon ami. — I like my friend.

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Near Time · Near Future, Recent Past updated 2019-01-01

So far, you have learned how to express present events using the present tense.
You have also just learned about the infinitive form of a verb. We can combine
these verb forms to help ease you into building more French verb tenses.

There are two special tenses in French used to indicate an action that happens
very close to present time: the near future and the near past (also called
"recent past"). They are formed by conjugating aller and venir in the present tense
and adding an infinitive. You will learn them both in this "Near Time" unit.

Near Future ( le futur proche )

The near future tense is used for things that are going to happen very soon or
in the near future. It is similar in meaning and construction with the English "to
be going to" + infinitive.

To form the futur proche, conjugate the semi-auxiliary verb aller ("to go") in the
present tense and add the infinitive form of your active verb.

As a reminder, here is the present tense conjugation of aller

Subject Verb

je vais

tu vas

il/elle/on va

nous allons

vous allez

ils/elles vont

Here are some examples of the near future tense.

Je vais lire un livre. — I am going to read a book.

Il va le faire. — He is going to do it.
Nous allons vendre les chaussures. — We are going to sell the shoes.
Où allez-vous dormir ? — Where are you going to sleep?

Near Past or Recent Past ( le passé récent )

The recent past tense is used to describe things that have just happened
happened.

To form the recent past, conjugate the verb venir ("to come") in the present tense,
add the preposition de, and add the infinitive.

As a reminder, here is the present tense conjugation of venir

 Subject Verb

je viens

tu viens

il/elle/on vient

nous venons

vous venez

ils/elles viennent

Here are some examples of the recent past tense.

Je viens de manger. — I have just eaten.

Vous venez de parler avec elle. — You just spoke with her.
Elle vient d'écrire une lettre. — She has just written a letter.
Mes parents viennent d'appeler. — My parents just called.

Note that the required preposition de must elide (contract) with the infinitive
when the infinitive starts with a vowel or a mute H.

In these tenses, there is no movement meant by aller or venir. They work as

auxiliary verbs.

Also note that the French recent past does not distinguish between the English
simple past and the English present perfect. For example, "tu viens de manger"
can be translated as either "you just ate" or "you have just eaten".

As you continue to see more verb forms in later units, you will be able to
conjugate aller and venir into other tenses and moods. If they are used in the
"near time" construction, you can then express more special situations, events,
and conditions.

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Occupations · Professions as Adjectives, Genders updated 2019-01-01

Remember that occupations can act as adjectives when used with être or devenir,
so unlike in English, the French often drop the indefinite article (un, une, des)
before an occupation.

Je suis juge. — I am a judge.

Elle va devenir avocate. — She is going to become a lawyer.
Ses parents sont boulangers. — His/Her parents are bakers.

However, if any specification follows the occupation, then the indefinite article
must be added.

Tu es un juge respecté par tous. — You are a judge respected by all.

Il veut devenir un professeur pour adultes. — He wants to become a teacher
for adults.

Omitting the indefinite article is optional. However, if it's included in the third-
person, then you must use c'est or ce sont.

C'est un juge. — He's a judge.

C’est une dentiste bien connue. — She is a well-known dentist.
Ce sont des journalistes. — They are journalists.

Genders in Occupations
Some occupations have the same form in both masculine and feminine.

un médecin — a doctor
un/une juge — a judge
un/une journaliste — a journalist
un/une pédiatre — a pediatrician
un/une dentiste — a dentist
un/une secrétaire — a secretary
un/une ingénieur — an engineer
un professeur — a teacher

Some professions do not reflect the gender of the person at all and are
invariable; un médecin, un professeur, and un maire, for instance, are all
masculine regardless of the person doing the work.

Other occupations have a feminine form that's derived from the masculine:

Masculine Feminine English

 un policier une policière a police officer

un agriculteur une agricultrice a farmer

un avocat une avocate a lawyer

un enseignant une enseignante a teacher

un serveur une serveuse a server

un cuisinier une cuisinière a cook

un coiffeur une coiffeuse a hairdresser

un boulanger une boulangère a baker

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Negations · Ne… Pas/Plus/Jamais/Rien/Personne/Aucun, Negative

Pronouns & Conjunctions, Word order, Notes updated 2019-01-01

A negation changes the meaning of a statement to its negative. Most French

negations are constructed out of two words that surround a conjugated verb.

Je ne comprends pas
pas. — I don't understand.
Il ne parle pas anglais. — He doesn't speak English.

Note that the particle ne elides before vowel sounds.

Vous n'n'avez pas de chien. — You don't have a dog.

Ils n'
n'aiment pas le menu. — They don't like the menu.

Along with ne...pas, there are a number of other negations you can use.

Ne… plus: not anymore/no more/not any longer/no longer

Elle n'a plus de lait. — She no longer has milk.
Il ne peut plus marcher. — He can't walk any longer.
Ne… jamais: not ever/never
Je ne sais jamais. — I never know.
 Je ne gagne jamais. — I don't ever win.
Ne… rien: not anything/nothing
Je n'ai rien. — I have nothing.
Elles ne voient rien. — They don't see anything.
Ne… personne: not anybody/nobody/not anyone/no one
Je ne vois personne. — I don't see anybody.
Il n’aime personne. — He doesn't like anyone.
Ne… aucun: none/no [thing]/not one/not any (note that “aucun” must
agree in gender with the thing being negated, but it is always singular.)
Elle n’aime aucun homme politique. — She likes no politician./She
doesn’t like any politician.
Je n’ai aucune idée. — I have no idea./I don’t have any idea.

Note that in negations, indefinite and partitive articles change to de.

Elle n'a pas de lait. — She doesn't have milk. (Not du lait.)
Je n'entends plus de bruit. — I don't hear a sound anymore. (Not un bruit.)
Je n’entends jamais d’d’oiseaux. — I never hear any birds. (Not des oiseaux.)

Of course, there's an exception: when negating être, all articles may be used.

Ce liquide n'est pas du lait. — This liquid isn't milk.

Ce n'est pas un couteau. — That's not a knife.
Ce ne sont pas des soldats. — They are not soldiers.

Negative Pronouns and Conjunctions

In addition to the negative adverbs above, you also have the option of starting a
sentence with a negative adverb, which acts like a masculine subject. Both
personne and rien can also be negative pronouns if you put ne after them.

Personne ne means "nobody".

Personne ne sait. — Nobody knows.

Personne n'aime cela. — Nobody likes that.

Rien ne ("nothing") is the pronoun version of ne...rien.

Rien n'est parfait. — Nothing is perfect.

Rien n'est si dangereux qu'un ignorant ami. (Jean de La Fontaine) — Nothing
is so dangerous as an ignorant friend.

The negative conjunction ni can be used to add something to a negation and is

similar to the English "nor". Think of it as a negative form of et ("and"). Ni can be
used in addition to other negative adverbs.

Elle ne connaît ni toi ni moi. — She knows neither you nor me. (Or "She
doesn't know you or me.")
Je ne veux ni ce repas ni cette boisson. — I want neither this meal nor this
drink.
Il ne fait jamais chaud ni froid. — It is never hot or cold.

When ni coordinates multiple conjugated verbs, each verb must be preceded by

ne.

Je ne lis pas, ni n'

n'écris. — I don't read or write.
Il ne veut ni ne peut manger de colle. — He neither wants nor is able to
eat glue.

Word Order
When the negated verb has a pronoun object, it belongs right after ne.

Je ne les aime pas. — I don't like them.

Je n'en
en ai pas. — I don't have any. (Lit: "I do not have any of it.)

When a negation is used with an inversion (to ask a question), the whole
inversion must remain inside the negation.

Ne comprenez-vous pas ? — Don't you understand?

Pourquoi ne l'as-tu
as-tu pas ? — Why don't you have it?

Unconjugated verbs like infinitives must come after the negation.

Ne pas toucher
toucher. — Do not touch.
Elle choisit de ne pas manger
manger. — She chooses not to eat.

Extra adverbs that modify the verb usually come after the negation. Otherwise,
they follow the rules from "Adverbs 1".

On ne marche pas vite

vite. — We aren't walking quickly.
Elle ne vient jamais ici
ici. — She never comes here.

Other Notes
In English, two negatives may make a positive, but in French, they usually don't.
For instance, consider ne… jamais rien, which is "never… anything", not "never…
nothing".

Ils ne vont jamais rien perdre. — They will never lose anything.
Elle ne mange jamais rien. — She never eats anything.
Il n’y a rien de plus important que la liberté. — There is nothing more
important than liberty.

The particle ne is often skipped or slurred in casual speech. It's also omitted for
short phrases that lack a verb.

Pas si vite ! — Not so fast!

Pas de problème. — No problem.

Remember that verbs of appreciation (e.g. aimer) require the definite article in
French. Negations are no different.

I don't like fish. — Je n'aime pas le poisson. (Not Je n'aime pas de poisson.*)

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Conjunctions 2 · Subordinating Conjunctions, Temporal/Causal,

Elisions with Si & Que updated 2019-01-01

Subordinating Conjunctions
In "U17: Conjunctions 1", you learned about coordinating conjunctions, which link
similar elements that have equal importance in a sentence. However, in complex
sentences, one clause may be dependent on another.

The subordinating conjunctions are as follows:

Sub. Conjunction English Meaning

comme as, since

lorsque when
 puisque as, since

quand when, whenever

que that

quoique even though

si if

Il mange quand il a faim. — He eats whenever he is hungry.

In this example, quand il a faim ("whenever he is hungry") is a dependent

clause because it gives more information about the main clause il mange ("he
eats"). The dependent clause is introduced by quand, which is a subordinating
conjunction
conjunction.

Tu dois rester au lit puisque tu es malade. — You must stay in bed since
you are sick.
J’espère que vous allez mieux. — I hope (that) you are feeling better.

Unlike coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions can begin

sentences.

Comme je suis en retard, je vais rater mon train. — Since I am late, I’m going
to miss my train.
Lorsque le garçon mange, la fille mange. — When the boy eats, the girl eats.

Two or more words can join together to form a conjunctive phrase which acts as a
conjunction. Many conjunctive phrases end in que, such as “parce que”, “alors que”,
“pendant que”, “après que”, etc.

Pendant que je lis, il écrit. — While I read, he writes.

Temporal Conjunctions

Quand and lorsque both mean "when", but they aren't always interchangeable.
Both can be used for temporal correlations, but lorsque cannot be used in direct
or indirect questions. Only quand is also an adverb, so it can be used in questions.
When in doubt, use quand.

Je sortais quand/lorsque tu es arrivé(e). — I was leaving when you arrived.

Je mange quand/lorsque j'ai faim. — I eat when (whenever) I am hungry.
Quand mangez-vous ? — When do you eat?
 Je veux savoir quand le train part — I want to know when the train leaves.

Alors que , pendant que , and tandis que can indicate simultaneity.

Je mange alors que tu manges. — I eat while you eat.

Pendant que tu bois, je bois. — While you drink, I drink.
Je fais la salade tandis que vous mettez la table. — I make the salad while
you set the table.

Alors que and tandis que can also indicate a contrast, contradiction or opposition,
though this is rare for tandis que.

Elle est grande, alors que je suis petit. — She is tall, whereas I am short.
Je mange alors que je n'ai pas faim. — I am eating even though I am not
hungry.
On est en été ici tandis que c’est l’hiver là-bas. - It’s summer here whereas
it’s winter over there.

Causal Conjunctions

Parce que , car , and puisque all mean "because" and describe some kind of
cause-and-effect relationship, but they aren't completely interchangeable.

Parce que is a subordinating conjunction that provides an explanation, motive, or

justification.

Elle lit parce qu'elle a un livre. — She is reading because she has a book.
Parce qu'elle est jeune, elle est jolie. — She is pretty because she is young.

Car is similar to parce que, but it's a coordinating conjunction and thus cannot
begin a sentence or clause.

Je mange du poulet car j'aime la viande. — I am eating chicken because I

like meat.

Puisque is a subordinating conjunction that means "because" or "since" and gives

an already-known or obvious reason or justification.

Puisqu’il pleut, j'ai un parapluie. — Since it's raining, I have an umbrella.

Elisions with Si and Que

Usually, only one-syllable words ending in -e can be elided (je, de, le, ne, me, te,
se, que) as well as puisque, quoique, and jusque.
However, si can elide but only before il and ils, so you must write s'il/s’ils, but si
elle/si elles.

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Adverbs 2 · Construction, Adverbs with Negations updated 2019-01-01

Constructing Adverbs
In English, many adverbs are constructed from adjectives by adding "-ly" to the
end. For instance, "quick" becomes "quickly". In French, add -ment to feminine
adjectives to create adverbs.

facile (easy) facilement (easily)

forte (strong) fortement (strongly)
grande (great) grandement (greatly)

However, if the masculine form ends in -nt, replace that ending with -mment
instead.

constant (constant) constamment (constantly)

prudent (prudent) prudemment (prudently)

Adverbs with Negations

In negative clauses, adverbs that would otherwise follow the verb usually appear
after the negation.

Nous ne vivons pas ensemble

ensemble. — We don't live together.
Ce n'est pas si mauvais. — That isn't so bad.

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Verbs: Compound Past 1 · Auxiliaries, Past Participles, Agreement,

Using the PC updated 2019-01-01

Compound verbs contain at least two words: a conjugated auxiliary and a past
participle. In this unit, we will cover the passé composé (PC ), which can
translate to the English past simple or present perfect.

The French PC is the tense of choice to translate the English past simple. The
French language also has a past simple tense, but it has run out of use, except in
formal writing and in third person singular and plural.

Elle a vu ce chien. — She has seen/saw that dog.

Ils ont dit la vérité. — They (have) told the truth.

In both languages, the compound verb begins with an auxiliary verb (avoir and
"to have" here) that is conjugated according to the subject. A past participle (e.g.
vu or "seen") follows the auxiliary and remains invariable.

With the auxiliary avoir, the past participle never agrees with the subject.

Auxiliaries
In English, the active present perfect has only one auxiliary verb ("to have"), but
the PC has two: avoir and être. Most verbs use avoir.

J'ai
ai été malade. — I have been sick.
Il a appelé un docteur. — He has called a doctor.

A handful of verbs use être. The mnemonic "ADVENT" may help you remember
these.

Initial Verb Opposite Verb Related Verbs

A rriver (arrive) partir (leave)

D escendre (descend) monter (ascend)
V enir (come) aller (go) devenir (become), revenir (return)
 E ntrer (enter) sortir (leave) rentrer (re-enter)
N aître (be born) mourir (die)
T omber (fall)

The remaining verbs are passer (pass), rester (stay), retourner (return), and
accourir (run up). Notice that être verbs often involve movement or
transformation.

Il est venu. — He has come.

Septembre est passé. — September has passed.
Je suis devenu roi. — I have become king.

Also, all pronominal verbs use être.

Elle s'est souvenue de ses amis. — She has remembered her friends.
Ils se sont rasés. — They have shaved.

With the auxiliary être, the past participle agrees with the subject.

Object pronouns, negations, and inversions appear around the auxiliary.

Je l 'ai entendu(e). — I have heard him (her).

Il ne m m'a pas trouvé(e). — He has not found me.
Avez-vous
vous vu les robes ? — Have you seen the dresses?
Pourquoi l'avez
l'avez- vous fait ? — Why have you done it?

Past Participles
A participle is a special non-conjugated form of a verb. Most participles are
formed by adding an ending to a verb's root.

Group Ending Example

-er verbs -é manger

er mangéé

-ir verbs -i choisir

ir choisii

-re verbs -u vendre

re venduu

Unfortunately, most irregular verbs have irregular participles. For instance, the
past participle of venir is venu.
 Il est venu. — He has come.
Les filles sont venues. — The girls have come.

Note that participles vary with gender and number just like adjectives when the
auxiliary is être.

Gender Singular Plural

Masculine venu venuss

Feminine venuee venues

es

Adverbs appear right before the participle.

Je l’ai souvent entendu. — I often heard him/her/it.

Je vous en ai déjà parlé. — I already talked to you about it.

Participle Agreement

A participle that follows avoir is usually invariable.

L'homme a mangé. — The man has eaten.

Les femmes ont mangé. — The women have eaten.

However, if a direct object appears before avoir, its participle agrees with the
direct object. Below, vues agrees with the plural feminine robes because les
precedes the verb.

Tu as vu les robes ? — Have you seen the dresses?

Oui, je les ai vues. — Yes, I have seen them.

A participle that follows être agrees with the subject.

L'homme est venu. — The man has come.

Les hommes sont venus. — The men have come.
La femme est venue. — The woman has come.
Les femmes sont venues. — The women have come.

However, if a pronominal verb is intransitive, then the participle is invariable. For

instance, compare s'appeler (transitive: appeler quelqu’un) to se téléphoner
(intransitive: téléphoner à quelqu’un).

Nous nous sommes appeléss. — We called each other. (For a masculine

nous.)
 Nous nous sommes téléphoné. — We called each other. (For both genders of
nous.)

Using the PC
Translating the past tense can be difficult because the English simple past
(preterit) overlaps the French passé composé and imparfait (taught later in the
“Past Imperfect” unit). The PC can translate to the preterit when it narrates events
or states that began and ended in the past. In this usage, the PC often appears
with expressions of time or frequency like il y a, which means "ago" when
followed by a duration.

La fille a mangé il y a cinq minutes. — The girl ate five minutes ago. (A
single specific event.)
Les enfants ont eu froid hier. — The children were cold yesterday. (A state
on a specific date.)
Je suis tombé(e) plusieurs fois. — I fell several times. (Multiple specific
actions.)
Je suis déjà tombé(e)
tombé(e). — I already fell. (An event in an undetermined time
frame.)

The PC can also translate to the present perfect for actions and states that
started in the past and are still true.

Il n’aa jamais mangé de pâtes. — He has never eaten pasta.

Tu as perdu tes clés. – You have lost your keys.

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Objects · Cognates, Noun of Noun updated 2019-01-01

Cognates
As you may have noticed, a lot of English vocabulary (vocabulaire) comes from
French. This has created many etymological patterns that you can use to your
advantage when learning new words. Consider the following suffix patterns:

-aire -ary
ordinaire — ordinary
un dictionnaire — a dictionary
-eur -er
un chargeur — a charger
un serveur — a server (waiter)
-tion / -sion -tion
une invitation — an invitation
une condition — a condition
-ment (noun) -ment
un document — a document
un gouvernement — a government
-ment (adverb) -ly
probablement — probably
evidemment — evidently
-ique -ical
logique — logical
électrique — electrical
-able -able / -ible
responsable — responsible
indispensable — indispensable

The “Noun of Noun” construction

Unlike English, French does not have noun adjuncts
adjuncts, which are nouns that
modify other nouns. Instead, you must use de or another preposition and remove
the article to make the second noun add information to the first noun in terms of
content, material, quality or purpose. Note that the “noun or noun” construction is
also used in English.

l'album de photos — the photo album

la tasse de thé — the cup of tea
le litre de vin — the litre of wine
l’âge de pierre — the stone age
la soupe de poulet — the chicken soup

Other prepositions can be used with a similar function and construction.

le hockey sur gazon — field hockey

 la tasse à café — tea cup

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Adjectives 3 · Determiners, Indefinite Adjectives, Comparatives &

Superlatives, Bon/Bien/Mauvais updated 2019-01-01

Determiners
You learned in "Basics 1" that almost all nouns must be preceded by an article.
This isn't entirely accurate. Rather, almost all nouns must be preceded by a
determiner
determiner, which is a word that puts a noun in context. As of this unit, you will
have encountered every type of determiner.

Articles, as in le pantalon ("the pants").

Articles
adjectives, as in ton cochon ("your pig").
Possessive adjectives
adjectives, as in cette personne (“this person”).
Demonstrative adjectives
numbers, as in deux chevaux ("two horses").
Cardinal numbers
adjectives, as in quel chat ? ("which cat?").
Interrogative adjectives
adjectives, as in quelle chance ! ("what luck!").
Exclamation adjectives
adjectives, as in aucune chance ("no chance!").
Negative adjectives
adjectives, as in plusieurs jouets ("several toys").
Indefinite adjectives

There are very few exceptions to the rule that nouns must have a determiner. A
few are verb-based. For instance: a few nouns expressing a status with être;
names of languages with parler; and most nouns with devenir.

Il est bon élève. — He is a good student.

Elle est victime de son succès. — She is a victim of her own success.
Paul a été témoin à mon mariage. — Paul was a witness at my wedding.
Je parle anglais. — I speak English.
Il est devenu champion du monde. — He became a world champion.

Determiners are also omitted after some prepositions.

 Je ne peux pas vivre sans eau. — I cannot live without water.
Nous le transportons par avion — We transport it by aircraft.
Je suis en vacances — I am on vacation.

Indefinite Adjectives
Indefinite adjectives like plusieurs, certains, quelques, and chaque reference
nouns in a non-specific sense, akin to the way indefinite articles reference nouns.

L'enfant a plusieurs jouets. — The child has several toys.

Certains hommes sont mauvais. — Some (or "certain") men are bad.
J'ai quelques livres. — I have a few (or "some") books.
L’automne est un deuxième printemps où chaque feuille est une fleur.
(Albert Camus) — Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.

Comparatives and Superlatives

In "Adverbs 1", you learned that you can use plus as a comparative and le/la/les
plus as a superlative.

C'est une plus jolie robe. — That's a prettier dress.

C'est la plus jolie robe. — That's the prettiest dress.

Bon ("good"), bien ("well"), and mauvais ("bad") also have comparative and
superlative forms, but they're irregular, just like their English counterparts.

Bon

To say "better" when referring to a noun, you can't just say plus bon. Instead, use
meilleur, which is a BANGS adjective with four inflections.

masc fem

singular meilleur meilleure

plural meilleurs meilleures

Elle cherche un meilleur emploi. — She is looking for a better job.

Je veux de meilleures robes. — I want better dresses. (Remember that des
becomes de when immediately followed by an adjective.)

For the superlative, just add a definite article before the adjective that agrees
with it.

Paul est le meilleur. — Paul is the best.

Ses filles sont les meilleures. — Her daughters are the best.

Bien

When "better" modifies an action, state of being or an adjective, you must use
mieux.

Il parle mieux japonais. — He speaks better Japanese.

Ça va mieux. — It is going better.
L’hôtel est mieux situé. — The hotel is better located.

Add a definite article to create a superlative.

C'est Paul qui cuisine le mieux. — It's Paul who cooks the best.
Il les connaît le mieux. — He knows them the best.
Voici l’hôtel le mieux situé. — Here is the best located hotel.

Mauvais

Unlike bon and bien, comparative and superlative forms of mauvais can either be
regular (with plus) or irregular (with pire).

C'est une plus mauvaise situation. — That's a worse situation.

Ça peut être pire. — That might be worse.
Ce sont les pires choix. — Those are the worst choices.

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Prepositions 2 · Temporal, Duration, References, Puzzling

Prepositions, Peu updated 2019-01-01

Temporal Prepositions
Choosing a preposition for time depends on the situation, but multiple choices
may be appropriate.

Duration

Pendant and durant are interchangeable and mean "during" or "for". These are
versatile and can be used for most expressions of duration.

Pendant l'été, il fait chaud. — During the summer, it is hot.

Je veux dormir pendant une semaine ! — I want to sleep for a week!
Elles peuvent rester durant une journée. — They can stay for a day.
Chaque matin, je courais pendant une heure. — Every morning, I ran for an
hour.
Elle a été médecin durant trente ans. — She was a doctor for thirty years.

Depuis ("since" or "for") can be used for things that are still happening, and it's
usually followed by a start date or a duration. It's tricky because a French present-
tense verb with depuis often translates to an English present perfect verb.

Il pleut depuis hier. — It has been raining since yesterday.

Je te connais depuis deux ans. — I have known you for two years.

En ("in") indicates the length of time an action requires for completion and can
be used with any tense. You can also think of it as “within”.

Je peux le finir en deux heures. — I can finish it in (within) two hours.

Elle va lire le livre en une heure. — She is going to read the book in (within)
an hour.

Pour ("for") is the most limited choice and is used with some verbs like être, aller
or partir for future events.

Il va être en vacances pour une semaine. – He will be on vacation for a

week.
Je reste chez moi pour la nuit. — I am staying home for the night.
Mes enfants sont partis pour deux jours. — My children left for two days.

References

Use à to pinpoint exactly what time of day an event begins or to give the
endpoint of a time range in conjunction with de.

Le repas commence à midi. — The meal begins at noon.

 La boutique est ouverte de 8h00 à 17h00. — The boutique is open from 8
to 5.

En can also indicate that an action took place in a particular month, season, or
year. The exception is spring, which requires au.

Je vais à Paris en avril. — I am going to Paris in April.

Je commence à bronzer en douceur en été. — I begin to gently sunbathe in
summer.
Il va toujours chez lui au printemps. — He always goes home in spring.

Dans also means "in", but it gives the amount of time before an action will take
place.

Elle va revenir dans 15 minutes. — She is going to return in 15 minutes.

Je vais t'appeler dans une demi-heure. — I'm going to call you in half an
hour.

Puzzling Prepositions

Chez can be combined with a person (pronoun or noun) to refer to someone's

home or workplace.

Je vais chez le dentiste. — I am going to the dentist's.

Elle est chez Kristy. — She's at Kristy's house.

Note: You can say “je suis chez le boulanger” (at the baker’s- person), but not
chez la boulangerie (the bakery- place). For that, you’d say “je suis à la
boulangerie”.

Entre means "between", both literally and figuratively.

Il est entre deux fougères. — He is between two ferns.

Je te le dis, mais c'est entre nous. — I can tell you, but it's between us.

Parmi means "among" and indicates that something is part of a larger group of
assorted people, animals, or things.

Des lions sont parmi les animaux du zoo. — Lions are among the zoo
animals.
Le chat dort parmi les chiens. — The cat sleeps among the dogs.

However, if the larger group is uniform in some specific way, entre can also mean
"among".
 Ici, nous sommes entre femmes. — Here, we are among women.
Nous pouvons parler librement entre collègues. — We can speak freely
among colleagues.

There are some situations where both entre and parmi are acceptable.

Il choisit entre/parmi les options. — He chooses between the options.

Devant and avant both mean "before", but devant is spatial while avant is
temporal.

Je suis devant vous. — I stand before you.

Il mange avant nous. — He eats before us.

Peu

Using the word peu ("few"/"little") can be surprisingly complicated. By itself, peu
is usually an adverb that diminishes what it modifies and is generally translated
using "not very/much/well".

Elle parle peu. — She doesn't talk much.

Il est peu probable. — It is not very likely.
Je vous connais peu. — I don't know you well.
Ce phénomène est peu fréquent. – This phenomenon is infrequent.
peu après — not long after

Appending de creates a preposition of quantity that modifies nouns.

Peu de femmes disent ça. — Few women say that.

Peu d'eau sur la Terre est potable. — Little of the water on Earth is
drinkable.

However, peu can also be a noun, especially when preceded by an article.

Elle parle un peu de français. — She speaks a bit of French.

Tu veux manger un peu de fraises ? — Do you want to eat a few
strawberries?
Oui, j'en veux un peu. — Yes, I want a few. (Or "a little".)

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Places 1 · Spatial Prepositions, Special Rules: Cities & Countries

updated 2019-01-01

Spatial Prepositions
Expressing locations in French can be tricky because many English prepositions
don't have one-to-one French translations. This is especially true for "in", which
can be dans, en, or à depending on how specific the location is.

Dans means "in" for specific, known locations. It is especially appropriate when
the location name has an article or possessive.

Il mange dans le restaurant. — He's eating in the restaurant.

Un chat est dans ma chambre. — A cat is in my room.

Use à and its contractions for unspecific or vague locations.

On vit à la campagne. — We live in the country.

C'est dangereux à la frontière. — It's dangerous at the frontier.

When describing a location that doesn't require a determiner (usually a type of

place), use en .

Nous sommes en classe. — We are in class.

Elle est en prison. — She is in prison.

Special Rules: Cities and Countries

For all cities (and islands), use à for "to" or "in" and de for "from".

Le roi vit à Versailles. — The king lives in Versailles.

Nous allons à Paris. — We are going to Paris.
Napoléon vient de Corse. — Napoleon comes from Corsica.
Je l'envoie d'Orléans. — I am sending it from Orleans.

Plural islands use the prepositions aux and des.

Je veux aller aux Philippines. — I want to go to the Philippines.

Il vient des Antilles. — He comes from the West Indies.

Countries, provinces/states, and continents have gender-based rules. For feminine

ones, en means "to" or "in" and de means "from". Luckily, all continents are
feminine, as are most countries ending in -e.

Bordeaux est en France. — Bordeaux is in France.

Il reste en Europe. — He is staying in Europe.
On vient de Californie. — We come from California.
Elle part d'Asie. — She is departing from Asia.

For masculine countries that start with a consonant sound, use au and du.

Je veux aller au Mexique. — I want to go to Mexico.

Elles partent du Japon. — They are departing from Japan.

If they start with a vowel sound, switch back to en and d’ for euphony.

Il y a une guerre en Irak. — There is a war in Iraq.

J'arrive d'Afghanistan — I am coming from Afghanistan.

For countries with pluralized names, use aux and des.

On travaille aux États-Unis. — We work in the United States.

Elles viennent des Pays-bas — They are from the Netherlands.

Cardinal points are not capitalized, masculine and usually keep their articles. Tu
habites au nord. — You live in the North. Nous venons du sud. — We are coming
from the South. Le soleil se lève à l’est. — The sun rises in the East. Le vent
souffle de l’ouest. — The wind is blowing from the West.

Country To or In From

feminine en de, d’

masculine beginning in a consonant au du

masculine beginning in a vowel en d’

plural aux des

State or Province To or In From

feminine en de

masculine beginning in a consonant au, dans le du

masculine beginning in a vowel en, dans l’ d’, de l’

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Verbs: Compound Past 2 · Être Verbs + Direct Objects, Past Participles

as Adjectives, Advanced Participle Agreement, C’estupdated

in the2019-01-01
PC

Être Verbs + Direct Objects

Six être verbs can be used transitively with a direct object: monter, descendre,
sortir, rentrer, retourner, and passer. When used transitively, they switch from être
to take avoir as an auxiliary.

Je suis monté(e). — I went up.

J'ai monté les valises. — I brought up the suitcases.
Il est sorti. — He left.
Il a sorti son portefeuille. — He took out his wallet.
Septembre est passé. — September has passed.
J'ai passé trois heures ici. — I spent three hours here.

Notice that the transitive versions of these verbs have a different meaning than
the intransitive versions.

Past Participles as Adjectives

Just like in English, past participles can be used as adjectives in French.

La baguette grillée — The toasted baguette

Des biens vendus — Sold goods
Elle est mariée
mariée. — She is married.
C'est du temps perdu
perdu. — It is lost time.

Advanced Participle Agreement

You learned in the first compound verb lesson that participles that follow an
avoir auxiliary are invariable unless a direct object (often a pronoun) precedes the
verb.
 Voici nos livres. Je les ai achetés hier. — Here are our books. I bought them
yesterday.
Où est leur voiture ? Ils l 'ont vendue ? — Where is their car? Did they sell it?
C’est la fille que j’ai vue. – She is the girl that I saw.

An avoir participle also agrees with any form of quel + a noun as long as the
noun is the object of the compound verb.

Quelle femme avez-vous vuee ? — Which woman did you see?

Quels bonbons a-t-il achetéss ? — Which candies did he buy?

This is also true for lequel (plus its other forms) and combien.

Laquelle des filles as-tu vuee ? — Which of the girls did you see?
Lesquelles de ces chemises a-t-il aimées es ? — Which of those shirts did
he like?
Combien de robes ta fille a-t-elle achetées
es ? — How many dresses did
your daughter buy?

Participles do not agree with indirect objects, y, or en.

Je leur ai parlé. — I talked to them.

J'y ai pensé. — I thought about it.
Nous en avons vendu. — We have sold some.

C'est in the PC
In the present indicative tense, c'est can be used to identify or describe nouns. In
the passé composé, être takes avoir as an auxiliary. One consequence of this is
that ce actually becomes ç' because it must elide before the vowel beginnings of
all forms of avoir while still retaining its original soft consonant sound.

Ç'a été un succès ! — This has been a success!

Ç'a été un désastre ! — This has been a disaster!

Since this form is somewhat awkward, many Francophones prefer to use the
imparfait instead.

C'était très agréable. — That was very pleasant.

C'était très bon pour l'économie. — This was very good for the economy.

In informal writing, you may also see the ungrammatical form Ça a été. When
spoken, both "A" sounds fuse into one long vowel. Erudite Francophones may also
use ce fut as a substitute. This alternative uses the passé simple tense, one of the
French literary tenses.

Ce fut bref mais intense ! — That was short but intense!

Ce fut une année très intéressante. — This was a very interesting year.

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Irregular Plurals · Plurals ending in -x updated 2019-01-01

Plural Nouns and Adjectives

Most French nouns and adjectives can be pluralized by adding an ending -s, like
in English.

un hôtel des hôtels (hotels)

un jardin des jardins (gardens)

The plural forms for most words ending in -ail are regular and made with an -s
at the end.

un détail des détails (details)

un épouvantail des épouvantails (scarecrows)

EXCEPTIONS
There are seven exceptions: un bail/des baux (leases), un corail/des coraux
(coral(s)), un émail/des émaux (emails), un soupirail/des soupiraux (ventilators),
un travail/des travaux (a job/works), un ventail/des ventaux (leaves or
casements), un vitrail/des vitraux (stained glass(es)).

Words that do not end with an -s in the plural form typically end in -x. For
instance, most words ending in -al change to -aux.

un animal des animaux (animals)

un journal des journaux (newspapers)
EXCEPTIONS
These words ending in -al are exceptions: un bal/des bals (balls/formal dances),
un festival/des festivals (festivals), un carnaval/des carnavals (carnivals), un
cal/des cals (calluses), un régal/des régals (treats or delights), un chacal/des
chacals (jackals).

Add -x to the end of most nouns that end in -au, -eau, and -eu to pluralize them.

un tuyau des tuyaux (pipes)

mon chapeau mes chapeaux (my hats)
le feu les feux (the fires)

Seven masculine nouns ending in -ou also add an -x in the plural.

bijou/bijoux (jewels), caillou/cailloux (pebbles), chou/choux (cabbages),

genou/genoux (knees), hibou/hiboux (owls), joujou/joujoux (toys), pou/poux
(lice).

The plural forms of -au, -eau, -eu, and -ou words are homophones of their
singular forms. In general, the best way to tell if a noun is plural is to listen
carefully to its article. If you hear les or des, it's plural. Otherwise, it's probably
singular.

Masculine & Feminine Adjectives

Similarly, masculine singular adjectives ending in -al take on -aux endings in the
plural. However, feminine singular adjectives ending in -ale simply add an ending
-s.

général généraux (general)

générale générales (general)
idéal idéaux (ideal)
idéale idéales (ideal)

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 People · Nationality Nouns & Adjectives updated 2019-01-01

French nouns for persons of a certain nationality (demonyms) are capitalized, but
in French, national adjectives and language names are not capitalized. By default,
the demonyms une Francaise/des Françaises are “a Frenchwoman/French
women” and un Japonais/des Japonais are “ a Japanese man/Japanese men or
Japanese people. Only when the person is not a man or woman, is it necessary to
use an adjective and a noun. These rules apply to all nationalities.

C'est un Chinois. — He's a Chinese man.

Ces Espagnols sont sympas. — These Spaniards are nice.
C'est une voiture anglaise. — It's an English car.
Ce sont des Allemandes. — They are German women.
Elles parlent français. — They speak French.
J’ai rencontré une petite fille américaine. — I met an American little girl.

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Verbs: Present 3 · Pronominal Verbs, Pronoun Order, Verbs with À &

De updated 2019-01-01

Pronominal Verbs
A pronominal verb requires a reflexive pronoun
pronoun, which is a special kind of
pronoun that agrees with and refers back to the subject. They're identical to
direct object pronouns except for the third-person se.

Person Singular Plural

1st me nous
2nd te vous
3rd se se
One type of pronominal verb, the reflexive verb
verb, describes an action being done
by the subject to the subject.

Je me couche tôt. — I go to bed early.

Vous vous levez. — You are getting up. (Lit, "You raise yourself".)
La femme se promène. — The woman goes for a walk. (Lit, "walks herself".)

Reflexive verbs include se in their infinitive forms (e.g. se promener). It isn't

necessary to include the reflexive pronoun in the English translation. Also, the
reflexive verb should come after ne in negations.

Ils se rasent. — They are shaving.

Elle ne se rase pas. — She doesn't shave.

The other kinds of pronominal verbs are reciprocal, passive, and subjective. You
will learn these later.

Pronoun Order
Remember that pronoun objects can be either direct (no preposition) or indirect
(preposition à). The verb acts upon the direct object and the indirect
object receives the direct object.

When two object pronouns are related to the same verb, they appear in a
predefined order between the subject and the verb.

1.The indirect object pronouns me, te, se, nous, vous precede the direct object
pronouns le, la, les:

Le professeur me la laisse. — The teacher is leaving it for me.

Maman nous le donne. — Mom is giving it to us.
Notre ami se les réserve. – Our friend reserves them for himself.

2.The direct object pronouns le, la, les precede the indirect object pronouns lui
and leur:

Le professeur les lui laisse. — The teacher is leaving them to him/her.

Maman le lui donne. — Mom is giving it to him/her.
Notre ami la leur réserve. — Our friend reserves it for them.

Pronoun Order Summary

Subject 1 2 Verb
 me/m’ le/la/l’/les
te/t’ le/la/l’/les
se/s’ le,la/l’/les
nous le/la/l’/les
vous le/la/l’/les

le/la/l’/les lui/leur

Verbs with À and De

As you learned previously, à or de can appear after a verb to introduce an
infinitive or object. You should consider such a preposition to be an integral part
of the verb that completes or changes its meaning.

Je commence à manger. — I am starting to eat.

Ma nièce essaie de dormir. — My niece is trying to sleep.
Je pense à des éléphants roses. — I am thinking about pink elephants.
Que pensez-vous de ce film ? — What do you think of that film?

However, recall from "Verbs: Present 1" that conjugated verbs can be followed by
verbs in the infinitive without needing a preposition.

Je veux lire. — I want to read.

Il aime nager. — He likes to swim./He likes swimming.

Here is the list of the verbs followed by an infinitive without a preposition:

Aimer/aimer mieux, aller, compter, croire, courir, daigner, descendre, désirer,

détester, devoir, entendre, entrer, espérer, faire, falloir, (s')imaginer, laisser, monter,
oser, paraître, partir, penser, pouvoir, préférer, prétendre, rentrer, rester, retourner,
revenir, savoir, sembler, sentir, sortir, souhaiter, valoir mieux, venir, voir, vouloir.

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 Verbs: Present 3 · Y = À + Thing, Confusing Verbs updated 2019-01-01

Y Replaces À + Thing

For verbs appended with à (like penser à), the adverbial pronoun y can replace à
+ a thing.

Tu penses à l'examen ? — Are you thinking about the test?

Oui, j'yy pense encore. — Yeah, I'm thinking about it again.
Il croit aux fantômes ? — Does he believe in ghosts?
Oui, il y croit. — Yes, he believes in them.

To replace à + a person or animal, use an indirect object pronoun instead.

Je lui parle. — I am talking to him/her.

Elle me téléphone maintenant. — She is calling me right now.

Confusing Verbs
Demander à means "to ask to" when followed by an infinitive.

Elle demande à payer avec des dollars. — She asks to pay with dollars.

However, when used with nouns, demander is particularly confusing because its
direct and indirect object are the opposite of its English counterpart, "to ask".

Je demande une baguette. — I ask for a baguette. (Not "I ask a baguette.")
Je demande une baguette à la boulangère. — I ask the baker for a baguette.
Je lui demande de me donner une baguette. — I ask him/her to give me a
baguette.

Manquer à means "to miss", but the pronouns are flipped from its English
counterpart. If it helps, you can think of manquer as "to be missed by".

Vous me manquez. — I miss you.

Je vous manque. — You miss me.

Plaire à is commonly translated as "to like", but for grammatical purposes, think
of it as "to please" or "to be pleasing to".

La jupe plaît aux filles. — The girls like the skirt. / The skirt is pleasing to
the girls.
Ça me plaît. — I like it. / That is pleasing to me.
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Verbs: Pronominal · Reciprocal/Subjective/Passive Pronominal Verbs,

Objects & Agreement updated 2019-01-01

Pronominal Verbs
A pronominal verb is always paired with a reflexive pronoun that agrees with
the subject and (almost) always precedes its verb. In "Verbs: Present 3", you
learned about reflexive verbs
verbs, which describe actions being done by the subject
to the subject.

La femme se promène. — The woman goes for a walk. (Lit, "walks herself".)
Vous vous levez. — You are getting up. (Lit, "You raise yourself.")

Pronominal verbs always take être as an auxiliary in compound tenses like the
passé composé. The pronominal verb se lever ("to get up") means to physically
get up from a non-standing position, not to wake up.

Je me lève à sept heures. — I get up at seven o’clock.

Elle s'est
est levée tôt. — She got up early.
Ils se sont rasés hier. — They shaved yesterday.

When a pronominal verb is inverted in a formal question, its reflexive pronoun

stays before the verb.

S'
S'est-elle lavée ? — Did she wash?
Mon frère se rase-t-il encore ? — Is my brother still shaving?

Reciprocal Verbs

Another type of pronominal verb, the reciprocal verb

verb, is used with plural
subject pronouns and describes when multiple people act upon each other.

Ils s 'aiment. — They love each other.

Les filles se parlent. — The girls speak to each other.
 Vous vous embrassez. — You are kissing each other.
Nous nous téléphonions souvent dans ce temps-là. — We used to call each
other often back then.

Recall from "Pronouns 1" that you can distinguish between reflexive and
reciprocal meanings by appending certain pronouns.

Ils s'aiment eux-mêmes

eux-mêmes. — They love themselves.
Elles s'aiment les unes les autres
autres. — They love one another.
Nous nous parlions à nous-mêmes
nous-mêmes. — We were speaking to ourselves.

Subjective Pronominal Verbs

Subjective (or idiomatic

idiomatic) pronominal verbs have a reflexive pronoun because
they are idiomatic; they do not have a reflexive or reciprocal meaning. Examples
include se souvenir, se taire, se marier, and s'enfuir.

Elle s'est souvenue

souvenue. — She remembered.
Parfois, il faut se taire
taire. — Sometimes, it is necessary to keep quiet.
Elle s'est mariée le mois dernier. — She got married last month.
Veut-il s'enfuir ? — Does he want to run away?

Passive Pronominal Verbs

A pronominal verb can be used in a passive sense with an inanimate subject in

the third-person, often the indefinite pronoun ça.

Ça se voit. — It shows. (Lit, "It sees itself.")

Ça se peut. — It is possible.
Le sol se nettoie facilement. — The floor can be cleaned easily.
La réunion s'est bien passée. — The meeting went well.

This construction may sound unusual to Anglophones, but it is a common

alternative to using the passive voice when one wishes to avoid naming an
agent.

Les vers se sont écrits ainsi. — The verses have been written this way.
Ce mot, comment se prononce-t-il ? — How is this word pronounced?

Objects and Agreement

Pronominal verbs have the same transitivity as their non-pronominal forms. For
instance, appeler is transitive, so s'appeler is also transitive. When a pronominal
verb is transitive, the reflexive pronoun is its direct object.

Elles se sont appelées. — They called each other.

On se lève maintenant. — We are getting up now.

When a pronominal verb is intransitive, se is its indirect object. As a consequence,

the past participle remains invariable.

Elles se sont téléphoné. — They called each other.

Ces trois rois se sont succédé. — These three kings succeeded one another.

Some verbs can have both direct and an indirect objects, in which case the
reflexive pronoun is the indirect object.

La fille s'achète des jupes

jupes. — The girl is buying herself some skirts.
On se donnait des fleurs
fleurs. — We gave each other flowers.

When describing actions on parts of the body, Francophones avoid using

possessive adjectives; instead, they use reflexive verbs with definite articles
whenever possible.

Elle se lave les cheveux

cheveux. — She is washing her hair.
Nous nous brossons les dents
dents. — We are brushing our teeth.

Notice that the past participles of the previous two examples do not agree with
the reflexive pronouns. While pronominal verbs take être as an auxiliary, they
behave like avoir verbs because their participles actually only agree with
preceding direct objects. If there is no preceding direct object, they are invariable.
In the next two examples, the direct objects follow the verb, so the participles are
still invariable.

La fille s'est acheté des jupes. — The girl bought herself some skirts.
Elles se sont lavé les cheveux. — They washed their hair.

In the next examples, the participles agree with preceding direct objects.

Il se les est acheté(e)s. — He bought them (for himself).

Ce sont les robes qu'elle s'est achetées. — Those are the dresses that she
bought (herself).

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Verbs: Past Imperfect · Conjugation, Translations, Using the Imperfect,

States or Situations, Actions or Processes, Habit or Repeated Actions,

combining the Imperfect with the PC updated 2019-01-01

Conjugating the Imperfect

French has a few past tenses, one of which is the imperfect (imparfait). You can
construct it by taking the present indicative nous form of any verb and replacing
the -ons with the imperfect ending. Notice that all the conjugated forms except
the nous and vous forms have the same sound.

Subject Ending Être Avoir Parler Manger Finir

je (j') -ais étais

ais avais
ais parlais
ais mangeais
ais finissais
ais

tu -ais étais
ais avais parlais
ais mangeais
ais finissais
ais

il/elle/on -ait était

ait avait
ait parlait
ait mangeait
ait finissait
ait

nous -ions étions

ions avions
ions parlions
ions mangions
ions finissions
ions

vous -iez étiez

iez aviez
iez parliez
iez mangiez
iez finissiez
iez

ils/elles -aient étaient

aient avaient
aient parlaient
aient mangeaient
aient finissaient
aient pren

The only irregular imperfect verb is être, which takes on an ét- root. However, for
spelling-changing verbs that end in -ger or -cer (e.g. manger), add an "e" to the
root so the consonant remains soft.

Kilroy était ici. — Kilroy was here.

Elle mangeait avec ses amis. — She was eating with her friends.

Translating the Imperfect

Translating the past tense between English and French can be difficult because
there is no simple mapping between the English past tenses and the two main
French past tenses, the imparfait and the passé composé (taught in the previous
units). When choosing a tense, pay close attention to what you're trying to
express.

The imperfect describes situations, states of mind, and habits in the past. In a
story, it sets the scene or background; thus, it often translates to and from the
English past continuous tense.

Il allait chez lui. — He was going home.

Dis donc ! Je mangeais ça ! — Hey! I was eating that!

For repeated actions or habits, you can also use constructions with "used to" or
"would".

Nous visitions une ville chaque semaine. — We used to visit a city every
week.
À l'époque, elle chantait souvent. — Back then, she would often sing.

A lot of confusion stems from the versatile English preterit (simple past), which
overlaps both French tenses. For instance, the preterit can also be used for habits
with other elements of language suggesting frequency or repeated events.

Nous visitions une ville chaque semaine. — We visited a city every week.
À l'époque, elle chantait souvent. — Back then, she often sang.

English stative verbs (e.g. "to be", "to think") usually can't be used in English
continuous tenses. When used in past tenses, they should translate to the preterit.
However, French does not distinguish stative from dynamic verbs, and all French
verbs can use the past imperfect.

Il croyait son père. — He used to believe his father. / He believed his father.
Nous avions trois cousins. — We had three cousins. (Using "were having"
would make you a confessed cannibal.)

Using the Imperfect

The Imperfect conveys three things from the past:

States or situations

Use the preterit here to describe mental or physical conditions, scenes, date or
times, weather, etc.

Il était malade. — He was sick.

 Elle avait froid. — She was cold. / She used to be cold.
Nous avions vingt ans. — We were twenty.
Tu semblais heureux. — You looked happy. / You used to look happy.
Il était trois heures. — It was 3:00.
Votre fleurs sentaient si bon ! — Your flowers smelled so nice! / Your
flowers used to smell so nice!
Elle comprenait mes sentiments. — She understood my feelings. / She
used to understand my feelings.

Also, when using il y a in other tenses, conjugate avoir to match. For the
Imperfect, it becomes avait.

Il y avait du vent. — It was windy.

Actions or processes

The continuous past can be used here to set up a scene by describing an ongoing
action or process.

Je marchais lentement. — I was walking slowly.

Vous regardiez la mer. — You were watching the sea.
Elles pensaient à leurs enfants. — They were thinking of their children.
("Thinking" is a process here.)
Il pleuvait fort. — It was raining hard.

A habit or repeated action

A sense of habit or repeated action, state or feeling is inherent in the imparfait

and there is no need for further elements of language to point to frequency or
recurrence, especially in storytelling.

Nous nous entraînions (chaque semaine). - We trained every week (or) We

would train every week (or) We used to train (every week).
Il récitait des poèmes (le soir). — He recited poems in the evening (or) He
would recite poems in the evening (or) He used to recite poems (in the
evening).
Je ressentais (souvent) de la douleur. — I often felt pain (or) I would often
feel pain (or) I (often) used to feel pain.

Combining the Imparfait and the Passé Composé

The imparfait and passé composé can work together in the same sentence. A verb
in the imparfait may be used as a background for an action given by a verb in the
passé composé.

Elle chantait quand elle est arrivée

arrivée. — She was singing when she arrived.
Vous m'avez
avez téléphoné pendant que je dînais
dînais. — You called me while I
was having dinner.
Il dormait quand il a entendu un bruit. — He was sleeping when he heard
a noise.
Je marchais quand je suis tombé
tombé. — I was walking when I fell.

Remember that while you shouldn't use English continuous tenses for stative
verbs (such as "to be"), any French verb can take the imparfait. Thus, you may
often need to translate the imparfait into the English preterit when dealing with
verbs that describe background feelings or states.

Je le savais mais je l’ai oublié. — I knew it but I forgot it. (Not "was
knowing".)
Je connaissais l’histoire qu’elle a racontée hier. — I knew the story she
told yesterday.
Je le comprenais
comprenais, alors je l'ai accepté. — I understood it, so I accepted it.

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Numbers 2 · Vingt to Milliards updated 2019-01-01

In French, most numbers are structurally similar to their English counterparts.

They start as single words.

Number French Number French

0 zéro 10 dix

1 un 11 onze

2 deux 12 douze
3 trois 13 treize
 4 quatre 14 quatorze

5 cinq 15 quinze

6 six 16 seize

7 sept 17 dix-sept

8 huit 18 dix-huit

9 neuf 19 dix-neuf

After seize (16), French starts combining a multiple of ten (e.g. dix) with a single
digit (e.g. sept) to form a compound number (e.g. dix-sept). English also does this
starting after 20. This pattern remains in French numbers up to 60, but notice the
et (no hyphens) in the middle of 21, 31, 41, and 51. However, since 1990, all
compound numbers may use hyphens.

Number French

20 vingt

21 vingt et un / vingt-et-un

22 vingt-deux

23 vingt-trois

24 vingt-quatre

25 vingt-cinq

26 vingt-six

27 vingt-sept

28 vingt-huit

29 vingt-neuf

30 trente

31 trente et un / trente-et-un

...

40 quarante

41 quarante et un / quarante-et-un

...
 50 cinquante

51 cinquante et un / cinquante-et-un

For 60 through 79, French combines soixante (60) with the numbers from 1 to 19.
There is no separate word for 70.

Number French

60 soixante

61 soixante et un / soixante-et-un

62 soixante-deux

63 soixante-trois

64 soixante-quatre

65 soixante-cinq

66 soixante-six

67 soixante-sept
68 soixante-huit

69 soixante-neuf

70 soixante-dix

71 soixante et onze / soixante-et-onze

72 soixante-douze

73 soixante-treize

74 soixante-quatorze

75 soixante-quinze

76 soixante-seize

77 soixante-dix-sept

78 soixante-dix-huit

79 soixante-dix-neuf

The same thing happens from 80-99, except notice that quatre-vingts (80) has an
ending -s while the rest of the set does not. Also, notice that there is no et in 81.
 Number French

80 quatre-vingtss

81 quatre-vingt-un

82 quatre-vingt-deux

83 quatre-vingt-trois
84 quatre-vingt-quatre

85 quatre-vingt-cinq

86 quatre-vingt-six

87 quatre-vingt-sept

88 quatre-vingt-huit

89 quatre-vingt-neuf

90 quatre-vingt-dix

91 quatre-vingt-onze

92 quatre-vingt-douze

93 quatre-vingt-treize

94 quatre-vingt-quatorze

95 quatre-vingt-quinze

96 quatre-vingt-seize

97 quatre-vingt-dix-sept

98 quatre-vingt-dix-huit

99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

This pattern does not appear in Swiss or Belgian French, which instead uses
septante (70), huitante or octante (80), and nonante (90) with the original pattern.

From 100 to 999, put the number of hundreds first, just like in English. Notice
that multiples of 100 have an ending -s, but there is no ending -s if cent is
followed by another number.

Number French

100 cent
 108 cent huit / cent-huit

144 cent quarante-quatre / cent-quarante-quatre

200 deux centss / deux-cents

233 deux cent trente-trois / deux-cent-trente-trois

400 quatre centss / quatre-cents

Numbers in the thousands are also similar to English in structure. Note that
French separates every three digits with a space or period instead of a comma
and that mille is never pluralized.

Number French

1 000 mille

1 580 mille cinq cent quatre-vingts / mille-cinq-cent-quatre-vingts

quatre mille cent quatre-vingt-un / quatre-mille-cent-quatre-vingt-

4 181
un

trois cent dix-sept mille huit cents / trois-cent-dix-sept-mille-huit-

317 800
cents

Million (million) and milliard (billion) do pluralize, and they keep their ending -s
even when followed by other numbers. Also, unlike cent and mille, million and
milliard must be preceded by a number.

Number French

1 000
un million
000

4 000
quatre millions
000

9 227 neuf millions deux cent vingt-sept mille quatre cent soixante-cinq /
465 neuf-millions-deux-cent-vingt-sept-mille-quatre-cent-soixante-cinq

1 000
un milliard
000 000

A noun can usually directly follow a number, but de must appear before nouns for
million and milliard.
 Il est distant de milliards d'années-lumières. — It is billions of light-years
away.
Il y a soixante-cinq millions d'années — Sixty-five million years ago.

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Possessives 3 · Possessive Pronouns updated 2019-01-01

A possessive pronoun replaces a possessive adjective + a noun. Like most other

pronouns, they agree in gender and number with the noun they replace. You first
encountered these in "Possessives 2".

Est-ce ton chapeau ? — Is that your hat?

Oui, c'est le mien
mien. — Yes, it's mine.

Possessive pronouns take different forms depending on how many things are
possessed. First, let's take another look at the forms used when a single thing is
possessed.

Owners Person English Masc. Sing. Fem. Sing.

singular 1st mine le mien la mienne

singular 2nd yours le tien la tienne

singular 3rd his/hers le sien la sienne

plural 1st ours le nôtre la nôtre

plural 2nd yours le vôtre la vôtre

plural 3rd theirs le leur la leur

To change these to the forms used when multiple things are possessed, simply
add an -s to the end of the pronoun and change the definite article to les.

Owners Person English Masc. Plur. Fem Plur.

singular 1st mine les miens les miennes

 singular 2nd yours les tiens les tiennes

singular 3rd his/hers les siens les siennes

plural 1st ours les nôtres les nôtres

plural 2nd yours les vôtres les vôtres

plural 3rd theirs les leurs les leurs

Ces enfants sont les miens

miens. — These (or "those") children are mine.
Ce sont les tiens
tiens. — Those are yours.
Ces photos sont les siennes
siennes. — These photos are his (or "hers").

Note that the plural forms here are invariable with gender.

Ces jupes sont les leurs

leurs. — Those (or those) skirts are theirs.
Ces chaises sont les nôtres
nôtres. — These (or those) chairs are ours.

Possessive pronouns act like modified nouns, so you must use ce/c' when
referring to them with être.

Est-ce ton fils ? — Is he your son?

Oui, c’est le mien. (Not il est) — Yes, he is mine.

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Demonstratives 3 · Demonstrative Pronouns + Suffixes -ci2019-01-01

updated & -là

A demonstrative pronoun (e.g. "this one" or "those") replaces and agrees with a
demonstrative adjective + noun. You learned four such pronouns in
"Demonstratives 2".

Adj + Noun
Type English
Pronoun

Masc.
ce + noun celui the one / this one / that one / this / that
Sing.
 Masc. the ones / these ones / those ones / these /
ces + noun ceux
Plur. those

Fem.
cette + noun celle the one / this one / that one / this / that
Sing.

Fem. the ones / these ones / those ones / these /

ces + noun celles
Plur. those

Demonstratives like ce and celui are ambiguous and can mean either "this" or
"that". To remove this ambiguity, you can add a suffix to the end of each pronoun.
Add -ci for "this/these" and -là for "that/those".

Tu veux celui-ci
-ci. — You want this one.
Je préfère celle-là
-là. — I prefer that one.
Celles-ci
-ci sont noires. — These are black.
Elle n'aime pas celles-là
-là. — She doesn't like those
those.

These suffixes can also be used with demonstrative adjectives in many situations.

Je suis très occupé ces jours-ci

jours-ci. — I am too busy these days
days.
Ils vous ont vus ce jour-là
jour-là. — They saw you that dayday.
Le magasin est-il sur ce côté-ci de la rue ? — Is the store on this side of
the street?
Elle connaît ce type-là
type-là. — She knows that guy
guy.

In conversations, be aware that using demonstrative pronouns like celui-là to

refer to people who aren't present can be considered condescending.

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Body · Body Parts with Definite Articles updated 2019-01-01

As you learned in the "Pronominal Verbs" unit, Francophones avoid using

possessive pronouns with parts of the body. Whenever a specific person who has
the body part has already been mentioned, the definite article is used instead of a
possessive adjective and the verb of the sentence becomes reflexive.
 Je me lave les mains. (Not Je lave mes mains.) — I am washing my hands.
Il s'est cassé la jambe. (Not Il a cassé sa jambe.) — He broke his leg.
Elle a les pieds sur une chaise. (Not Elle a ses pieds sur une chaise.) — She
has her feet on a chair.

Avoir mal/Avoir une douleur

Use the verb avoir to express pain in French.

J’ai très mal. — I’m in a lot of pain. / I really ache.

Il n’a pas mal. — He’s not in pain.

When describing pain in specific locations use avoir mal + (au, à la, à l’, aux).

Elle a mal au dos. — She has a backache.

Simone a mal à la tête. — Simone has a headache.
Vous avez mal à l’épaule. — You have hurt your shoulder.
Tu as mal aux dents. — Your teeth hurt. / You have a toothache.

The plural of mal is maux and it needs a determiner.

Elle souffre de terribles maux de tête. — She suffers from terrible

headaches.
Je dois aller chez le dentiste pour mes maux de dents. — I need to go to the
dentist’s for my toothache.

Pain can also be expressed with avoir une douleur + (au, à la, à l’, aux).

J’ai une douleur au côté. — I have a pain in my side.

To talk about pain in general, use the definite article, la, les.

La douleur émotionnelle blesse autant que la douleur physique. —

Emotional pain hurts as much as physical pain.
C’est un médicament contre la douleur. — It’s a pain medication.
Quand les douleurs arrivent, respire. — When pain comes, breathe.

Idioms
The expression avoir mal au cœur does not mean that the heart hurts and has
nothing to do with heart problems or pain at all. It means "queasy", "nauseated", or
"sick to one's stomach".
 J'ai mal au cœur. — I'm sick to my stomach.

To talk about chest or heart pain use des douleurs thoraciques/cardiaques or

more simply des douleurs dans/à la poitrine

L'homme a des douleurs cardiaques. — The man has heart pain.

In French, estomac is “stomach”, the organ, and ventre refers to the “belly”,
“(lower) abdomen” or “womb”. Thus to describe pain or cramping in your abdomen
use ventre, not estomac unless you know you are suffering from stomach
disorders specifically.

Ça te fait toujours mal au ventre. — That always gives you a bellyache.

*Avez-vous des pilules contre les brûlures d’estomac ? — Do you have pills
for heartburn?

When shopping for clothing in France, you will need to know how measurements
are shown on size charts. Tour de poitrine means the circumference of the chest
for men or women.

Quel est son tour de poitrine ? — What is his (her) chest measurement?
Quel est votre tour de taille ? — What is your waist measurement?
Quel est son tour de bassin ? — What is her (his) hip measurement?

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Adjectives 4 · Participles as Adjectives, Neuf vs Nouveau

updated 2019-01-01

The Participle as an Adjective

The French past participle, which you learned in "Verbs: Compound Past 1 & 2",
can often be used as an adjective.

L'homme fatigué veut dormir. — The tired man wants to sleep.

L'examen est terminé
terminé. — The test is finished.
Elle n’est pas occupée
occupée. — She is not busy.
 On va parler avec les parties intéressées
intéressées. — We will speak with the
interested parties.

Neuf
The adjective neuf ("new") describes something that has just been created or
manufactured. Don't confuse it with nouveau, which describes something that has
just been acquired by a new owner but may already be quite old. Remember that
the masculine nouveau is placed before the noun it modifies and it becomes
nouvel in front of vowel sounds.

J'achète seulement des sous-vêtements neufs

neufs. — I only buy new underwear.
Cette voiture est toute neuve
neuve. — This car is brand-new.
Voici ma nouvelle montre ancienne. — Here's my new antique watch.
J'aime ton nouvel appartement. — I like your new apartment.

While neuf (new) and neuf (9) are homonyms, you can often distinguish them
based on context. For instance, neuf (9) comes before its noun, isn't accompanied
by any articles, and is invariable.

J'ai neuf livres. — I have nine books.

J'ai des livres neufss. — I have new books.

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Pronouns 2 · Direct, Indirect, Disjunctive Objects, updated

Quelque 2019-01-01

French has three sets of personal object pronouns: direct object pronouns (from
"Pronouns 1"), indirect object pronouns, and disjunctive pronouns.

English Direct Object Indirect Object Disjunctive

Example "je le vois" "je lui parle" "je vais avec eux
eux"
me me me moi

you (sing.) te te toi

 him le lui lui

her la lui elle

self soi

us nous nous nous

you (plur.) vous vous vous

them (masc.) les leur eux

them (fem.) les leur elles

You may notice that only the third-person pronouns differ between direct and
indirect objects.

Please note that soi is the disjunctive pronoun with the impersonal “il, on,
chacun/e, personne, and nul/le” as a subject.

Il faut être sûr de soi

soi. — One must be confident in oneself.

Indirect Objects
As you learned in "Verbs: Present 2", indirect objects are nouns that are
indirectly affected by a verb; they are usually introduced by a preposition.

Il écrit une lettre à Mireille

Mireille. — He is writing a letter to Mireille.
Vous pouvez parler aux juges
juges. — You can talk to the judges.
Elle parle de son amie. — She is talking about her friend.

A personal indirect object pronoun can replace à + indirect object. For instance,
the first two examples above could be changed to the following:

Il lui écrit une lettre. — He is writing a letter to her

her.
Vous pouvez leur parler. — You can talk to them them.

Remember that il faut alone cannot mean or translate to “he must/needs to/has
to. The insertion of an indirect pronoun between il and faut* determines who
must/needs to/has to perform the action.

Il lui faut manger. — He has to eat. / She has to eat.

Il nous faut le croire. — We have to believe it/him. / It is necessary for us to
believe it/him.
Disjunctive Pronouns
Disjunctive pronouns (a.k.a. stressed or tonic pronouns) must be used in
certain situations. For instance, only disjunctive pronouns can follow prepositions.

Il parle avec toi

toi. — He speaks with you.
Ils sont rentrés chez eux
eux. — They returned home.
C'est pour lui
lui. — This is for him.

Note that lui can be masculine or feminine when it's an indirect object, but it can
only be masculine when it's disjunctive.

Je lui parle. (indirect object) — I am talking to him/her.

Je parle de lui
lui. (disjunctive) — I am talking about him.
Je parle d'elle
elle. (disjunctive) — I am talking about her.

The construction être + à + disjunctive pronoun indicates possession.

Le livre est à moi

moi. — The book is mine.
Celui-ci est à toi
toi. — This one is yours.
Ceux-là sont à eux
eux. — Those are theirs.

However, using à + pronoun is incorrect when a verb can accept a preceding

pronoun.

Incorrect: Je parle à lui

lui.
Correct: Je lui parle.

Disjunctive pronouns are also used for emphasis, for multiple subjects, or in
sentence fragments without a verb.

Moi ? Je l'aime. — Me? I love him.

Lui et elle mangent. — He and she are eating.
Toi aussi. — You, too.

As mentioned before, there is also a disjunctive, impersonal pronoun you can use
to represent an unidentified subject.

Chacun pour soi et Dieu pour tous. — Everyone for himself and God for us
all.
On a souvent besoin d’un plus petit que soi (Jean de la Fontaine). — One
often needs someone smaller than oneself.
Le sport améliore l’estime de soi
soi. — Sports improve self-esteem.
Quelque
The indefinite adjective quelque ("some") can be combined with pronouns or
nouns to create indefinite pronouns. For instance, chose means "thing", so
quelque chose means "something".

Nous écrivons quelque chose. — We are writing something.

Je veux manger quelque chose. — I want to eat something.

Quelque can combine and elide with un ("one") to give quelqu'un ("someone"),
which is singular.

Quelqu'un est ici. — Someone is here.

Je connais quelqu'un au restaurant. — I know someone at the restaurant.

For multiple people or things, use the plural forms quelques-uns (masc) and
quelques-unes (fem), which are normally translated as "a few", or perhaps "some".

Ce sont quelques-uns de nos meilleurs amis. — These are a few of our best
friends.
Quelques-unes de ces questions sont difficiles. — Some of these questions
are difficult.

While quelqu'un only refers to an indefinite person (there is no feminine

quelqu’une) quelques-un(e)s can refer to anything.

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Pronouns 2 · Indirect Objects and Y, Indirect Objects and 2019-01-01

updated EN

Indirect Objects and Y

For most verbs, personal indirect object pronouns like lui can only refer to people
or animals, but you can use the adverbial pronoun y for inanimate things.

Elle ressemble à sa mère

mère. Elle lui ressemble. — She resembles her.
 Ça ressemble à un robot
robot. Ça y ressemble. — It resembles it.

Some verbs allow personal pronouns like lui to be used with anything you can
personify. These verbs are dire à, demander à, donner à, parler à, téléphoner à, and
ressembler à.

L’enfant parle à son jouet. L’enfant lui parle.

Je demande un renseignement à la banque. Je lui demande un
renseignement.

Some French expressions don't allow any preceding indirect objects, notably être
à, faire attention à, s’habituer à, penser à, revenir à, and tenir à.

Tu fais attention à elle. (Not Tu lui fais...) – You are paying attention to her.
Il pense à elle. (Not Il lui pense...) – He thinks of her.

Remember that y can also refer to locations.

J'yy vais. — I'm going there.

Il y était. — He was there.

Indirect Objects and EN

En Replaces De + Noun

The adverbial pronoun en can be used to replace objects introduced by de. For
instance, it can replace a partitive article + noun.

« Avez-vous de l'argent ? » - « Oui, j'en

en ai. » — “Do you have some money?”
- “Yes, I have some.”

En may replace nouns or pronouns in verb constructions that use de, like parler
de ("to talk about").

« Marc parle de sa maison ? » - « Oui, il en parle. » — “Is Marc talking

about his house?” - “Yes, he's talking about it.”

Nouns in expressions of quantity or numbers can also be replaced with en.

« Achetez-vous beaucoup de livres ? » - « Oui, j'enen achète beaucoup. » —

“Are you buying a lot of books?” - “Yes, I am buying a lot [of them].”

« Tu as fait ces deux tartes ? » - « Non, j’en

en ai fait une. » . — “Did you make
 these two pies?” - “No, I made one [of them].”

Notice that en always precedes the verb, but adverbs stay in place after the verb.

You have learned in U19 “Pronouns” that object pronouns precede the verb.

Also, in the section U45a “Verbs: Present 3”, you were shown the pronoun order
between the subject and the verb when a verb has both a direct and an indirect
objects. When en is one of these objects, it is placed right before the verb it
depends on and after any other pronouns.

En with another object pronoun

Here are a few examples to show you how to construct a sentence when the
objects are en and another object pronoun.

1.Verbs with indirect objects (introduced by à) + direct objects like donner

quelque chose à quelqu’un, commander quelque chose à quelqu’un, falloir
quelque chose à quelqu’un, offrir quelque chose à quelqu’un, demander quelque
chose à quelqu’un, montrer quelque chose à quelqu’un, etc.

« Tu donnes du lait au chat ? » - « Oui, je lui en donne. » — “Are you giving

milk to the cat?” - “Yes, I am giving it some.”
Marc voudrait des fleurs blanches. Peut-il vous en commander douze ? —
Marc would like white flowers. Can he order twelve (of them) from you?
Où est le sel ? Il m’en faut un peu. — Where is the salt? I need some.

2.Verbs with 2 objects and reflexive verbs like parler de quelque chose, se
souvenir de quelque chose, s’informer de quelque chose, s’inquiéter de quelque
chose, se méfier de quelque chose, s’occuper de quelque chose, etc.

Notre fils doit faire des efforts et nous devons lui en parler. — Our son
must make an effort and we should talk to him (about it).
J’avais des chaussures bleues ; tu t’en souviens ? — I had blue shoes; do
you remember them?
Si le logiciel doit être mis à jour, je m’en occuperai. — If the software needs
to be updated, I’ll see to it.

3.A few idiomatic phrases:

Prenez cette chaise, je vous en prie. — Take this chair, please. (lit. I am
begging you to do so).
Je m’en vais. — I am going.
 Il s’en fiche. (colloq.) — He doesn’t care (about it).
Bruno s’en veut d’avoir fait ça. — Bruno feels guilty for having done that.
Comme vous vous en doutez, ... — As you can guess, …
Tu ne t’en sortiras pas ! — You won’t get away with it!
Elles s’en tirent bien. — They’re doing all right/terrific.

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Verbs: Infinitive 2 · Infinitives as Subjects, Polite Orders, Impersonal

Expressions with À or De, Register, Faire vs Rendreupdated 2019-01-01

As you learned in "Verbs: Infinitive 1", verbs in the infinitive mood are not
conjugated and are not paired with a subject pronoun. The infinitive is more
versatile in French than in English.

As a Subject Noun

For instance, an infinitive can act as a noun (where gerunds might be used in
English).

Faire du café est facile. — Making coffee is easy.

Cuisiner et nettoyer sont ses responsabilités. — Cooking and cleaning are
his responsibilities.

Polite Orders and Instructions

In French, the infinitive is also used for generalized instructions like those in
product manuals, public notices, recipes, and proverbs.

Lire le mode d'emploi avant utilisation. — Read the instructions before

using.
Garder hors de la portée des enfants. — Keep out of reach of children.
Battre les œufs. — Beat the eggs.
Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir
guérir. — It is worth more to prevent than to
cure.
Conjugated verbs are the only verbs that can appear inside a negation, so when a
negation is used with an infinitive, both parts of the negation come before the
infinitive.

Ne pas entrer. — Do not enter.

Ne rien administrer par la bouche. — Do not administer by mouth.

Impersonal Questions

An infinitive can also be used to pose a question. These sentences may not
translate literally to English.

Comment obtenir ça ? — How does one obtain that?

Qui croire ? — Whom should I believe?
Quoi faire ? — What can we do?
Comment ne pas tomber amoureux d'elle ? — How can I not fall in love
with her?

Impersonal Expressions
Recall that the subject in the impersonal construction il est + adjective + de must
be a dummy subject. If it's a real subject, you must use à instead of de.

Il est impossible de vivre sur cette île. — It is impossible to live on that

island.
Il est facile de comprendre le livre. — It is easy to understand the book.
Il est amusant de cuisiner. — It is fun to cook. / Cooking is fun.
Je n'aime pas ce livre. Il est difficile à comprendre. — I don't like this book.
It's difficult to understand.
Ce plat est sympa parce qu'il est facile à cuisiner. — This dish is nice
because it is easy to cook.
Il est difficile à faire. — It is difficult to do.

Please refer to further examples in the chapter Extra: Impersonal vs Personal

Expressions

Registers of Formality
Communication in French can occur at several different levels of formality, which
are called registers
registers. Different registers may vary in word choice, sentence
structure, and even pronunciation. For instance, the use of liaisons is relatively
formal. By comparison, English verbal formality is arguably less intricate.

The most obvious indication of register is pronoun choice. As you know by now,
addressing someone with the pronoun vous is considered more formal. This is
described by the French verb vouvoyer [vuwɑje]

Il doit vouvoyer son professeur. — He must speak formally with his

professor.
Je n’ai jamais vouvoyé mes amis. — I don't want to address my friends
formally.

The more familiar tu form should be used with friends, peers, relatives, or
children. If you're not sure who's a vous and who's a tu, consider matching the
register of your interlocutor. Alternatively, you can directly ask if you can speak
informally by using the verb tutoyer [tytwɑje].

On peut se tutoyer ? — Can we be on familiar terms?

Je tutoie mes amis. — I am on familiar terms with my friends.

Question structure is another key ingredient of register. Inversions are considered

formal.

Pouvons-nous nous tutoyer ? — Can we be on familiar terms? (Very

formally.)
Comment allez-vous ? — How are you?

Use the conditional forms of aimer and vouloir for polite requests. More on this in
the "Verbs: Conditional" unit.

J'aimerais une tasse de café, s'il vous plaît. — I would like a cup of coffee,
please.
Je voudrais vous remercier. — I would like to thank you.

Faire vs Rendre
In "Verbs: Present 1", you learned about the causative faire, which can indicate
that the subject has directed someone to perform an action. Notice that faire is
followed by an infinitive here.

Je le fais réparer
réparer. — I am having it fixed
fixed.
Elle lui a fait perdre cinq kilos. — She made him/her/it lose five kilos.
Je leur ai fait faire de l’exercice. — I made them (get some) exercise
exercise.
The verb rendre ("to make") can also indicate that the subject has caused
something to happen, but it's used with adjectives instead of verbs.

Elle le rend heureux. — She makes him happy.

Ça me rend fou ! — That drives me crazy!
L'erreur a rendu le texte incompréhensible. — The error rendered the text
incomprehensible.

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Abstract Objects 1 · Expressing Obligations and Needs

updated 2019-01-01

There are many different ways to express need or obligation in French, but there
is no single expression that works in all situations. In "Verbs: Present 1", you
learned the essential semi-auxiliary verb devoir, which means "must", "have to", or
"need to" when placed before another verb.

Je dois manger plus de légumes. — I must eat more vegetables.

Ils doivent acheter plus de livres. — They need to buy more books.

Remember that the impersonal expression il faut + infinitive can also express a
need or obligation.

Il faut manger. — It is necessary to eat.

Il nous faut payer des taxes. — We have to pay taxes.

You can also use the impersonal construction from the last unit, il est + adj + de.

Il est nécessaire de reprendre le travail. — It is necessary to return to work.

Il est nécessaire de faire attention. — It is necessary to pay attention.

Another way to express obligation is avoir à, though this is rarely used by French
speakers because it tends to create vowel conflicts.

Je sais ce que j'ai

ai à faire. — I know what I have to do.
J'ai
ai quelque chose à vous dire urgemment. — I have something to tell you
urgently.
What about when you want to say that you need something (instead of having to
do something)? One way you learned previously is to use il faut with a noun
instead of a verb.

Il faut du lait. — Milk is needed.

Il faut un début à tout. — A beginning is needed for everything.

A common expression for need is avoir besoin de quelque chose. While this
literally translates as "to have need of something", a better translation is "to need
something".

J'ai
ai besoin dd'un stylo. — I need a pen.
Il a besoin dd'eux. — He needs them.
Elles ont besoin de magazines en anglais. — They need magazines in
English.
Vous avez besoin de ce produit. — You need this product.

You can also use this expression with verbs but it is far less frequent than il faut
and far less common than “to need to + verb”.

Vous avez besoin de gagner plus d'argent. — You need to earn more money.
Mes amis ont besoin de manger
manger. — My friends need to eat.

Notice that besoin is invariable in this expression, but the noun un besoin
("need") is just a standard masculine noun that does have a plural form.

Il a des besoins importants. — He has important needs.

Il y a un besoin urgent d'agir. — There is a pressing need to act.

Consider the difference between "I don't have to" and "I must not". The former
expresses a lack of obligation, while the latter expresses an obligation to avoid
an action. In French, to express a lack of obligation, use a negation with avoir
besoin de or avoir à.

Je n'ai pas besoin dd'un stylo. — I don't need a pen.

Nous n'avons pas besoin de votre permission ! — We don't need your
permission!
Elle n'a pas à parler. — She doesn't have to speak. On n'a pas à* manger
maintenant. — We don't have to eat right now.

To express "must not" in French, use a negation with devoir or il faut.

Elle ne doit pas manger de poisson. — She must not eat fish.
Nous ne devons pas nous mentir. — We must not lie to each other.
 Il ne faut pas réfrigérer les tomates. — One must not refrigerate
tomatoes.
Il ne faut jamais oublier les leçons de l'histoire. — We must never forget
the lessons of history.

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Adverbs 3 · Placement, Confusing Words:

Actuellement/Effectivement/Définitivement, Ne… que

updated 2019-01-01

Placement
In a compound tense like the passé composé, adverbs normally come between
the auxiliary verb and its participle.

J'ai rapidement fini mon travail. — I finished my work quickly.

Ils ont trop mangé. — They ate too much.

Unlike English, adverbs in French never come between the subject and the verb.
Instead they usually follow the conjugated verb that they modify.

We often read in the evening. — Nous lisons souvent le soir.

Time adverbs (aujourd’hui, hier, demain, etc.) can come at the the beginning or
the end of a sentence.

Aujourd’hui
Aujourd’hui, elles vont construire un robot. — Today, they are going to
build a robot.
Ils sont partis hier
hier. — They left yesterday.

It’s important to keep in mind that time adverbs cannot stand alone as a subject.

Correct: Aujourd’hui
Aujourd’hui, c’est son anniversaire. — Today is her birthday.
Incorrect: Aujourd’hui est son anniversaire.

Place adverbs (ici, là-bas, partout, etc.) typically come after the direct object they
modify.

Il a mis son violon ici

ici. — He put his violin here.
Il y a de l’eau partout ! — There’s water everywhere!

Confusing Words
Be careful about the faux amis that appear in this unit. Many of them look like
English adverbs with a different ending, but they may have an entirely different
meaning.

Actuellement

The French adverb actuellement means "currently" or "at the moment", not
"actually".

Il est actuellement fermé. — It is currently closed.

Mon mari est sans emploi actuellement. — My husband is unemployed
currently.

To translate "actually", use en fait ("in fact") or en réalité ("in reality"). This conveys
the notion that the rest of the sentence should be surprising to the listener.

Nous lisons très rarement, en fait. — We read very rarely, actually.

En réalité, il va en Amérique. — Actually, he is going to America.

Alternatively, effectivement or réellement can translate as "actually", but these are

more confirmatory than contradictory in tone.

Effectivement, ton gâteau est très bon. — Indeed, your cake is very good.
Cet animal existe réellement. — That animal does really exist.

Effectivement

Effectivement is also misleading because it means "really" or "indeed". To say

"effectively" or "efficiently", use efficacement.

On n'utilise pas cet outil efficacement. — We aren't using this tool

effectively.
Vous pouvez apprendre plus efficacement avec Duolingo. — You can learn
more efficiently with Duolingo.

Définitivement
There is a difference between the adverbs "definitively" and "definitely". Most
commonly, "definitively" describes a conclusive ending or final resolution. The
French adverb définitivement also carries this meaning.

Elle part définitivement. — She is leaving for good.

Ils ont conclu définitivement la négociation. — They concluded the
negotiation definitively.

"Definitively" and définitivement can also describe an authoritative action.

Le juge détermine définitivement le verdict. — The judge determined the

verdict definitively.
Ce livre donne définitivement la réponse. — That book definitively gives the
answer.

Conversely, "definitely" is used for conditions that are true beyond a doubt. For
this, use certainement or a close synonym, like absolument or sûrement.

Elle est certainement française. — She is definitely French.

Oui, j'en suis sûr, absolument. — Yes, I am sure, definitely.

With the meaning of “beyond any doubt”, the French also use sans aucun doute,
indubitablement, incontestablement, indéniablement. However, sans doute does
not mean “without a doubt” but “probably”.

Ne… que
The adverb ne is a limitation but not a negation when combined with the
conjunction que. Instead ne… que means “only”, as an alternative to seulement.
Since it is not negative, the indefinite article is not altered in front of the direct
object.

Je n’ai que des tomates pour la sauce. — I only have tomates for the sauce.

Soyez patient ! Il n’a que quatre ans. — Be patient! He’s only four years old.

Je regrette de n’avoir qu’une seule vie à perdre pour mon pays. — I regret
that I have but one life to lose for my country. (Nathan Hale)

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Infinitive 3 · Impersonal Expressions, Causative Faire, Past Participle

Usage, Confusing Verbs updated 2019-01-01

As you learned before, an infinitive can act as a noun (where gerunds might be
used in English).

Faire du café est facile. — Making coffee is easy.

Cuisiner et nettoyer sont ses responsabilités. — Cooking and cleaning are
his responsibilities.

Impersonal Expressions
When you use the impersonal construction il est + adjective + de, keep in mind
that il must be a dummy subject. If it's a real subject, you must use à instead of
de.

Il est impossible de vivre sur cette île. — It is impossible to live on that

island.
Il est facile de comprendre le livre. — It is easy to understand the book.
Ce problème est difficile à résoudre. — That problem is difficult to solve.
Écrire un livre ? Il est difficile à faire. — Writing a book? It is difficult to do.

In informal usage, c'est tends to replace the impersonal il est, but it is an

improper use of ce/c’ which is indefinite but not impersonal.

C'est difficile de terminer ce travail en une journée. — It's hard to finish that
work in one day.
C'est mieux d'éviter cette zone. — It's better to avoid that area.

You’ll find more about this in the following sections of the Tips & Notes: Extra:
Personal & Impersonal constructions and Extra: C'est/Ce sont.

Causative Faire
Recall from "Verbs: Infinitive 1" that faire may precede a verb to indicate that the
subject causes that action to happen. This is especially common when describing
food preparation.
 Il fait bouillir le thé. — He boils the tea.
J'aime faire griller du poulet. — I like grilling chicken.
Ils font pousser des fruits et des légumes. — They grow fruits and
vegetables.

Past Participle Usage

As you learned in "Verbs: Compound Past 1 & 2", the passé composé is formed
with an auxiliary verb (e.g. avoir) and a past participle (e.g. terminé).

Il a terminé son travail. — He finished his work.

Nous avons aimé ce repas. — We liked that meal.

As in English, a verb in the past infinitive appears in its past participle form after
its auxiliary in the infinitive.

Manger (infinitive present) -> Avoir mangé (infinitive past). — To eat

(infinitive present) -> To have eaten (infinitive past).
Aller (infinitive present) -> Être allé (infinitive past). — To go (infinitive
present) -> To have gone (infinitive past).

Notably, the past infinitive is used after the verbs allowing a double-construction
(e.g. aimer, vouloir, pouvoir, sembler, etc. re. Verbs: Present 1 Infinitives after
conjugations and Infinitives and Verbs: Present 3 Verbs with À and De, when the
action or state occurred before the action or state expressed by the main,
conjugated verb.

Il aime avoir terminé son travail. — He likes to have finished his work.
Ils doivent être montés dans leur chambre. — They must have gone up in
their rooms.
Ces lettres semblaient avoir confirmé nos craintes. — Those letters
seemed to have confirmed our fears.

However, past participles can sometimes also act as adjectives in both French
and English.

Elle est mariée

mariée. — She is married.
C'est du temps perdu
perdu. — It is lost time.
C'est ouvert au public. — It is open to the public.
Il est actuellement fermé
fermé. — It is currently closed.

Keep this in mind for the next unit, where you will learn the passive voice.
Confusing Verbs
Remember from "Verbs: Present 3" that manquer à means "to miss", but with
flipped pronoun positions as compared to English. If it helps, you can think of
manquer à as "to be missed by".

Vous me manquez. — I miss you.

Je vous manque. — You miss me.

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Passive Voice · Construction & Uses, Passive PC updated 2019-01-01

The most common grammatical voice is the active voicevoice, which describes a
clause whose subject is also the agent of the verb in the clause. For instance,
when "Hugo throws a ball", Hugo is both the subject of the clause and the agent
that performs the verb.

On the other hand, the passive voice describes any clause where the subject is
not the agent of the verb in the clause. For instance, when "The ball is thrown by
Hugo", the subject ("the ball") is actually the direct object of the action. The
passive voice in both English and French is constructed using the auxiliary "to be"
and the past participle of the action verb. The past participle must agree with the
subject here.

L'ennemie est battue

battue. — The enemy is beaten
beaten.
Le pain est mangé
mangé. — The bread is being eateneaten.
La balle est lancée par Hugo. — The ball is thrown by Hugo.
C'est
est fait par ordinateur. — It is done by computer.

Notice that the agent of a verb in the passive voice can be introduced by the
preposition par ("by"). However, you can also use de with verbs expressing
emotions or feelings, like aimer or respecter.

La princesse est aimée de ses amis. — The princess is loved by her friends.
Je suis respecté des citoyens. — I am respected by the citizens.
 Le magicien est adoré des enfants. — The magician is loved by children.
La grand-mère est entourée de sa famille. — The grandmother is
surrounded by her family.

The passive voice is useful for emphasizing a verb's object or avoiding naming a
verb's agent.

Tout est fait par ordinateur ces temps-ci. — Everything is done by computer
these days.
L'histoire était oubliée. — The tale was forgotten.
L'histoire n'est pas écrite à l'avance. — History is not written in advance.
Le travail est loin d'être terminé. — The work is far from being finished.

However, Francophones often avoid the passive voice by using the imprecise
pronoun on in the active voice.

On fait tout avec des ordinateurs. — We/They do everything with computers.

On oublie souvent les règles. — We often forget the rules.
On va mener une étude. — We/They will conduct a study.
On est en train de perdre du temps. — We are wasting time.

The Passive Passé Composé

Remember that when multiple verbs are combined in a single construct, only the
first verb can be conjugated; any following verbs must be infinitives or participles.
When using the passive voice in the passé composé (or another compound tense),
être takes avoir as an auxiliary. Thus, avoir must be conjugated, followed by être
and the action verb in past participle form.

Cette lettre a été lue par mon père. — That letter has been read by my
father.
Ce chat a été adopté par des gens gentils. — That cat was adopted by
some nice people.
Deux rapports ont été demandés
demandés. — Two reports have been requested.
Tes valises ont été mises devant. — Your suitcases were put in front.

Note that the past participle of the action verb still must agree with the subject
(as usual for être verbs).

Also note that être is intransitive and cannot have a direct object, so its past
participle été is always invariable.

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Prepositions 3 · Long List, Confusing Prepositions updated 2019-01-01

The following prepositions appear in the course. Note that the translations below
are not exhaustive; some prepositions have additional, more obscure English
meanings.

Preposition Translation Examples

à côté de next to à côté de ma femme — next to my wife

à travers la vitre — through the looking-
à travers through(out)/across
glass

à at arriver à la banque — to arrive at the bank

à in être à Paris — to be in Paris
à to aller à Paris — to go to Paris
après after après vous — after you
au milieu de l'hiver — in the middle of
au milieu de in the middle of
winter

au-dessus
above au-dessus des nuages — above the clouds
de
auprès de next to/close to (See below.)

avant before avant ce jour — before this day

chez at the home of chez nous — our house
chez at the office of chez le dentiste — the dentist's office
contre against contre toute attente — against all odds
dans in dans un coin — in a corner
d'après according to d'après eux — according to them
de/d' from de la ville — from the city
 la femme de mon frère — my brother’s
de/d' of
wife

de/d' about parler de la ville — to talk about the city

depuis since depuis octobre — since October
depuis for depuis deux mois — for two months
derrière behind derrière lui — behind him
devant in front of devant elle — in front of her
durant during durant la nuit — during the night
en bas de l'escalier — at the bottom of the
en bas de at the bottom of
stairs

en dehors outside of/apart en dehors de la maison — outside the

de from house

on top of/at the top en haut de la page — at the top of the

en haut de
of page

entre between entre deux fougères — between two ferns

hors de outside of hors de question — out of the question
jusqu'à up to/until jusqu'à midi — until noon
malgré despite malgré elle — despite her(self)
parmi among parmi des amis — among friends
pendant during/for pendant longtemps — for a long time
pour for pour ma mère — for my mother
pour (in order) to pour manger — to eat
près de near près de Paris — near Paris
sans without sans peur — without fear
sauf except/without sauf un — except for one
selon according to selon nous — according to us
sous under sous vide — under vacuum
sur on sur la table — on the table
vers toward(s) vers l'est — toward the East
The following are prepositional phrases used in the course.

French English Example

à cause de la neige — because of the

à cause de because of
snow

afin de devenir juge — in order to become

afin de in order to
a judge

assez de enough assez de poisson — enough fish

as many/as much/so
autant de autant de mots — as many words
many

beaucoup
a lot of beaucoup de mots — a lot of words
de
en train de courir — in the process of
en train de in the process of
running

grâce à thanks to grâce à elles — thanks to them

jusque up to/until (See below.)

loin de far from loin de chez nous — far from (our) home
moins de less (than) moins de soupe — less soup
moins de fewer (than) moins d'enfants — fewer children
as much as/as many elle a plein de chocolat — she has as
plein de
as much chocolate

plus de more (than) plus de lait — more milk

tant de so much/so many tant de mots ! — so many words!
un petit un petit peu de gâteau — a little bit of
a little bit of
peu de cake
un peu de a bit of un peu de pluie — a bit of rain
un peu de a little un peu d'argent — a little money

Confusing Prepositions
Jusque is an adverb that means "until" or "up to" and defines the ending point of
an action (in time or space). It can also be combined with prepositions like à or
chez or with adverbs. Note that jusque elides before words starting with vowel
sounds, such as à, ici, où, or alors.

Il va jusque chez elle. — He is going up to her house.

Le lion mange jusqu'à la nuit. — The lion eats until night.
Jusqu’où va-t-il ? – How far is he going?

Auprès de has both physical and figurative meanings. In the physical sense, it
means "next to" or "close to".

Il fait bon dormir auprès de ma petite amie. — It feels good to sleep next to
my girlfriend.
Il vous faut rester auprès de votre mère. — You have to stay close to your
mother.

Figuratively, it can mean "in the opinion of".

Il passe pour un héros auprès de ses amis. – He is considered a hero, in the

opinion of his friends.

It can also mean "compared to".

Ce poisson n'est rien auprès d'un requin. — This fish is nothing compared to
a shark.

Also, it can be used when applying to an organization.

As-tu fait une demande auprès de la banque? — Did you apply at the bank?

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Verbs: Pluperfect · Construction, Être Verbs, Nuances

updated 2019-01-01

In French, the pluperfect (plus-que-parfait) is a compound-tense verb

conjugation used to indicate that an action, state or event preceded another
action, state or event in the past. It is a prior-past tense.

Luckily, the French pluperfect is quite similar to the English past perfect
perfect, whose
form combines the past-tense verb "had" with a past participle. In the French
plus-que-parfait, the auxiliary (avoir or être) is conjugated in the imperfect tense
and the past participle follows the same rules of agreement as the passé
composé.

Formation of the Plus-que-parfait

pronoun avoir past participle English

j’ avais mangé I had eaten

tu avais fini you had finished

il/elle/on avait dormi they had slept

nous avions pris we had taken

vous aviez su you had known

ils/elles avaient chanté they had sung

pronoun être past participle English

j’ étais allé(e) I had gone

tu étais tombé(e) you had fallen

il/elle était mort(e) he/she had died

nous étions venu(e)s we had come

vous étiez sorti(e)(s) you had gone out

ils/elles étaient entré(e)s they had entered

In a sentence that describes some past time frame, any verb conjugated in the
pluperfect expresses an action, process or event that has occurred even earlier in
the past.

Elle avait commencé le travail quand vous l’avez appelée. — She had
started the work when you called her.
Je n’ai pas cuisiné ce soir parce que je n’avais
avais pas fait les courses dans
l’après midi. — I didn’t cook tonight because I hadn’t done the shopping in
the afternoon.

Reflexive and Passive Verbs

Recall that there are three situations where verbs take être as an auxiliary: when
the verb is naturally an être verb; pronominal verbs; and passive verbs. Refer to
the previous units for more information.

In the pluperfect, pronominal and reflexive verbs still take être as an auxiliary,
and the reflexive pronoun always precede the auxiliary. Consider these examples:

Nous nous étions rencontré(e)s à la gare. – We had met at the station.

C’étaient les robes que je m'étais achetées. — Those were the dresses that
I had bought (myself).
Les filles s'étaient tues. — The girls had kept quiet.
Un chat s'était assis sur la chaise. — A cat had sat on the chair.

In passive constructions, the rules of agreement in the past participle remain the
same as in the passé composé.

Est-ce que les règles avaient été respectées

es ? — Had the rules been
respected?
Elle avait été touchéee par ces changements. – She had been affected by
these changes.
C’étaient ces hommes qui avaient été arrêtéss par la police. — They were
those men who had been arrested by the police.

Nuances
On Duolingo, be sure to translate the plus-que-parfait to the English past perfect
and not to the preterit (simple past). The distinction between verb tenses in
proper French is much stricter than it is in English, so Duolingo is
correspondingly strict about verb tense inexactness.

Oui, on avait remarqué. — Yes, we had noticed. (Not just "we noticed.")
J'avais appelé le docteur. — I had called the doctor. (Not just "I called".)

The pluperfect can be used to express wishes about the past with si seulement
("if only").

Si seulement j'avais vu la troupe originale ! — If only I had seen the original

cast!
Si seulement il n'était pas parti ! — If only he hadn't left!

Déjà

When the adverb déjà is used with the pluperfect, it must come immediately after
the auxiliary. Its English counterpart, "already", can be positioned more flexibly.

On était déjà parti(e)s. — We had already left. / We already had left. / We

had left already
already.

Negations surround the auxiliary in the pluperfect. Also, the negative form of déjà
is usually ne pas encore ("not yet").

Il n 'avait jamais vu ce film auparavant. — He had never seen that film

before.
Elles n 'avaient pas encore commencé. — They had not yet begun.

Often the pluperfect in English and French overlap but there are two exceptions
to this. Depuis in French is usually paired with the imparfait to describe an event
that preceded another past event, but the English translation is in the pluperfect,
“had + past participle”. Likewise, venir de conjugated in the imparfait means “had
just done something”.

Depuis

The preposition depuis can mean either "since" or "for" and it is most often used
in conjunction with the imparfait rather than the pluperfect.

J’habitais
habitais dans cette maison depuis 2008. — I had lived in that house
since 2008.
Depuis son mariage, il se sentait équilibré. — Since his marriage, he had
felt well-rounded.
Il pleuvait depuis deux heures. — It had been raining for two hours.
Nous attendions depuis trente minutes l’arrivée du bus quand nous avons
enfin appelé un taxi. — We had been waiting for thirty minutes for the
bus to arrive when we finally called a taxi.

Venir de

You learned earlier in Near Time that the present tense of venir + de means “just
did something”. When venir de is conjugated in the imparfait it means “had just
done something”.

Ma mère venait d’avoir dix-huit ans sur cette photo. — My mother had just
turned eighteen in this photo.
Je venais de m’allonger quand on a sonné à la porte. — I had just lain
down when the doorbell rang.
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Verbs: Future · Conjugations, Conjunctions of Timeuupdated

pdated 2019-01-01

In Near Time, you learned the French near future tense (futur proche), which uses
aller + infinitive to describe an action that is going to happen soon.

Je vais manger. — I am going to eat.

Vous allez lire le livre. — You are going to read the book.

Conjugations
Another way to express the future is the French simple future tense.

To form it, add the endings below to the infinitive of a verb. For infinitives ending
in -re, drop the final -e before adding the endings. For instance, entendre
becomes j'entendrai.

Pronoun Ending Example English

je -ai j’espérerai
ai I will/shall hope

tu -as tu puniras
as You will punish

il/elle/on -a elle comprendraa She will understand

nous -ons nous partirons

ons We will/shall leave

vous -ez vous mettrez

ez You will put

ils/elles -ont ils écriront

ont They will write

Also, some verbs are irregular in the simple future. For example:

Infinitive Stem Example Translation

être ser- je serai I'll be

avoir aur- j'aurai I'll have

 aller ir- j'irai I'll go

faire fer- je ferai I'll do/make

pouvoir pourr- je pourrai I'll be able to

falloir faudr- il faudra It'll be necessary to

devoir devr- je devrai I'll have to

venir viendr- je viendrai I’ll come

tenir tiendr- je tiendrai I’ll hold

courir courr- je courrai I’ll run

voir verr- je verrai I'll see

Use the simple future tense for events that will happen at any point in the future,
often with a lower degree of certainty than a futur proche.

Je l'aurai
aurai. — I will have it.
Ils seront très heureux. — They will be very happy.
Nous devrons partir bientôt. — We will have to leave soon.
Il verra le résultat. — He will see the result.

After a conjunction of time

The French simple future tense is very similar to the English simple future tense
except in compound sentences that use a conjunction of time. When the main
clause is in the simple future, the subordinate clause also must be. In English, the
subordinate clause is often in the present tense.

Je le finirai quand je pourrai

pourrai. — I'll finish it when I can. (Lit. "when I will be
able.")
Elle partira dès que elle sera prête. — She'll leave as soon as she is ready.
(Lit. "as soon as she will be ready.")

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 Measures · Être De updated 2019-01-01

Être de
Whenever an expression of measurement is used with the verb être, the
preposition de must follow it.

La longueur est de dix centimètres. — The length is ten centimeters.

La contenance est de deux litres. — The capacity is two liters.
La distance est de quatre kilomètres. — The distance is four kilometers.
La température est de dix degrés. — The temperature is ten degrees.

Faire une Taille

To talk about clothing size, use the verb faire.

Quelle taille faites-vous ? — What size are you?

Je fais une taille 38. — I am size 38./I wear a size 38.

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Verbs: Subjunctive Present · Rules & Trends, Conjugations

updated 2019-01-01

Unlike the English subjunctive, the French subjunctive mood is common and
required, both in writing and in speech. It is even used in informal conversations.

Rules and trends :

A subjunctive is required if the main clause has one of the following verbs:
all verbs of likes and dislikes, as well as verbs expressing feelings (fear,
wish, doubt, regret, happiness, sorrow, etc.), order, obligation or necessity.

Je suis désolé qu'il

il soit ici. — I am sorry that he is here.

The subjunctive mood is also required when the verb's subject in the
 subordinate clause is different from that in the main clause.

Je regrette qu'il
il soit ici. — I regret that he is here. (Subject differs =>
Subjunctive)
Je déteste être ici. — I hate being here. (Subject is the same => Infinitive)

Usually, the subordinate clause is introduced by the conjunction que, or

other conjunctions, like avant que, bien que, afin que, pour que, quoique.

Some impersonal expressions automatically prompt a subjunctive, the most

common being il faut que . Others include : il est bon que, c’est bien que, il
est nécessaire que, il est important que.

Some verbs that are usually constructed with the indicative switch to the
subjunctive when they are in the negative, like penser and croire.

Some relative clauses can be found in subjunctive, when the main clause
has such expressions as le seul qui/que, le premier qui/que, le dernier
qui/que, or a superlative (le/la/les plus + adjective).

Conjugation:
The French subjunctive has 4 tenses : present, imperfect, past and pluperfect.
There is no future tense and among the 3 past tenses, only the subjunctive past is
commonly used.

The subjunctive present endings are the same for all verbs:

Pronoun Ending

Je -e

Tu -es

Il/Elle -e

Nous -ions

Vous -iez

Ils/Elles -ent

In most cases, the subjunctive is formed by removing the –ent ending from the
ils/elles indicative present form, and then adding the subjunctive endings.
-er verbs:

For je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, elles, the subjunctive present form and pronunciation are
identical to those of the indicative present :

chanter — stem = chant -ent

Subject Verb

que je chantee

que tu chantes
es

qu’il/elle/on chantee

qu’ils/elles chantent
ent

For nous, vous, the subjunctive present form and pronunciation are similar to
those of the indicative imperfect :

Subject Verb

que nous chantions

ions

que vous chantiez

iez

-ir and –re verbs:

For "je, tu, il, elle, on", the subjunctive present is different from the indicative
present, because the stem is different. Yet the pronunciation is the same as that
of the ils/elles indicative present.

finir — stem = finiss -ent

Subject Verb

que je finissee

que tu finisses
es

qu’il/elle/on finissee

qu’ils/elles finissent
ent

dormir — stem = dorm -ent

 Subject Verb

que je dormee

que tu dormes
es

qu’il/elle/on dormee

qu’ils/elles dorment
ent

comprendre — stem = comprenn -ent

Subject Verb

que je comprennee

que tu comprennes
es

qu’il/elle/on comprennee

qu’ils/elles comprennent
ent

For nous, vous, the subjunctive present form and pronunciation are similar to
those of the indicative imperfect :

finir — stem = finiss -ent

Subject Verb

que nous finissions

ions

que vous finissiez

iez

dormir — stem = dorm -ent

Subject Verb

que nous dormions

ions

que vous dormiez

iez

comprendre — stem = comprenn -ent

Subject Verb

que nous comprenions

ions
 que vous compreniez
iez

Other common and irregular verbs:

Subject Être Avoir Aller Faire

que je/j' sois aie aille fasse

que tu sois aies ailles fasses

qu’il/elle/on soit ait aille fasse

que nous soyons ayons allions fassions

que vous soyez ayez alliez fassiez

qu’ils/elles soient aient aillent fassent

Subject Courir Voir Venir Falloir

que je/j' coure voie vienne -

que tu coures voies viennes -

qu’il/elle/on coure voie vienne qu’il faille

que nous courions voyions venions -

que vous couriez voyiez veniez -

qu’ils/elles courent voient viennent -

Subject Pouvoir Vouloir Savoir Devoir

que je puisse veuille sache doive

que tu puisses veuilles saches doives

qu’il/elle/on puisse veuille sache doive

que nous puissions voulions sachions devions

que vous puissiez vouliez sachiez deviez

qu’ils/elles puissent veuillent sachent doivent

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Imperative · Formation, With Object Pronouns, Irregular Forms,

Negative, Pronominal updated 2019-01-01

The imperative (l'impératif) mood is used to give orders or to make a suggestion

or a request.

Formation of the imperative

To form the imperative, simply take the present tense forms of tu, nous, or vous.
See the chart below. For -er verbs, the -s is dropped for the tu form, unless the
adverbial pronouns en or y follow the verb (please re. below).

Note that according to French typographic rules, an extra space is required before
the exclamation mark at the end of a sentence in the imperative.

Pronoun Regarder Choisir Attendre Boire

(tu) Regarde ! Choisis ! Attends ! Bois !

(nous) Regardons ! Choisissons ! Attendons ! Buvons !

(vous) Regardez ! Choisissez ! Attendez ! Buvez !

Mange les fraises ! — Eat the strawberries!

Finissons notre repas ! — Let's finish our meal!
Buvez du vin rouge ! — Drink red wine!

Note that the nous form of the imperative corresponds to the command in
English "let's" + verb.

Imperative with object pronouns

In affirmative commands, object pronouns are placed after the verb and
connected with a hyphen.

Donne-lui
lui ton adresse ! — Give him your address!
Mettons-les
les sur la table ! — Let's put them on the table!
Excusez-le
le ! — Excuse him!
Note that the indirect or direct object me is changed to its stressed pronoun form
when inverted in the imperative.

Regardez-moi
moi ! (not me ) — Look at me!
Dis-moi
moi ton nom ! (not me ) — Tell me your name!

When the verb has both a direct and an indirect pronoun, the direct pronoun will
be inserted between the verb and the indirect pronoun, with hyphens.

Donne-le-moi ! — Give it to me!

Présentez-la-leur ! — Introduce her to them!

You will need to return the final -s in the tu form of -er verbs if the verb is
followed by the pronoun en or y for euphony. The -s creates a Z-sound liaison and
avoids the vowel sound conflict.

Achète des journaux ! Achètess-en !

Va au musée ! Vass-y !

Irregular forms
There are some commonly used irregular forms of the imperative, namely the
imperative forms for être, avoir, savoir, and vouloir.

Pronoun Être Avoir Savoir Vouloir

(tu) Sois ! Aie ! Sache ! Veuille !

(nous) Soyons ! Ayons ! Sachons ! Veuillons !

(vous) Soyez ! Ayez ! Sachez ! Veuillez !

The imperative form veuillez, which comes from vouloir, is very polite and formal.
This is translated in English with the word "please”.Veuillez is common in official
letters, public signage, and correspondence, for example.

Veuillez rappeler plus tard ! — Please call back later!

Veuillez patienter ! — Please wait!
Veuillez accepter mes excuses ! — Please accept my excuses!

Note that instead of the formal Veuillez, Merci de is common and still a polite
way of giving orders, suggestions or advice.

Merci de noter les points suivants ! — Please take note of the following!
 Merci de me contacter ! — Please contact me!
Merci de vérifier que votre portable est éteint ! — Please ensure that your
cell phone is turned off.

Negative imperative
In the negative form, the negation elements ne and pas are placed around the
verb. Object pronouns are placed before the verb. The word order is similar to
that of the indicative mood, so just remove the subject pronoun.

Ne sois pas trop triste ! — Don't be too sad!

N'ayons pas peur ! — Let's not get scared!
Ne me regardez pas ! — Don’t look at me!
Ne lui donnez pas votre adresse ! — Don't give him your address!
Ne me le donne pas ! — Don’t give it to me!

Remember that the direct/indirect object pronoun order is reversed to

indirect/direct in 3rd person singular or plural.

Ne le lui dites pas ! — Don’t say it to him/her!

Ne la leur présentez pas ! — Don’t introduce her to them!

Imperative with pronominal verbs

For pronominal verbs, the pronouns are placed after the verb. The reflexive
pronoun (te) takes the stressed pronoun form (toi) in this case. However, in the
negative imperative, the reflexive pronoun is placed before the verb, and the "te"
remains as "te." Observe how the imperative of se lever is formed below.

Statement: Tu te lèves. — You get up.

Imperative: Lève-toi
toi ! — Get up!
Negative imperative: Ne te lève pas ! — Don't get up!

For the formal singular or plural vous, just like for nous, the subject, object,
reflexive and stressed pronoun forms are the same.

Statement: Vous vous asseyez. — You sit down.

Imperative: Asseyez-vous
vous ! — Sit down!
Negative imperative: Ne vous asseyez pas ! — Don't sit down!

Here is another example: the nous form of s'arrêter.

 Statement: Nous nous arrêtons. — We stop.
Imperative: Arrêtons-nous
nous ! — Let's stop!
Negative imperative: Ne nous arrêtons pas ! — Let's not stop!

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Conditional · Formation, Hypotheses with “si”, Polite Requests and

Wishes, Regrets & Preferences updated 2019-01-01

You have already learned 4 verb moods: the indicative, infinitive, subjunctive, and
imperative moods. The conditional mood le conditionnel is a mood in itself when
it is used together with “if” clauses to express conditions or hypotheses, and it is
most often translated by “would”.

Formation
The stem used to form the conditional present tense is the infinitive, as for the
indicative Simple Future, and the endings are the same as those used in the
indicative Past Imperfect: -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient .

Pronoun Stem Ending Example Translation

je casser ais Je casserais I would break

tu choisir ais Tu choisirais You would choose

il/elle/on apprendr ait Elle apprendrait She would learn

nous paraîtr ions Nous paraîtrions We would appear

vous permettr iez Je permettriez You would allow

ils/elles lir aient Ils liraient They would read

For infinitives ending in -re, drop the final -e before adding the endings. For
instance entendre becomes j’entendrais. Also, some verbs are irregular in the
conditional present. For example:
 Infinitive Stem Example Translation

être ser- Je serais I would be

avoir aur- J'aurais I would have

aller ir- J’irais I would go

faire fer- Je ferais I would do/make

pouvoir pourr- Je pourrais I would be able to/I could

falloir faudr- Il faudrait It would be necessary to

devoir devr- Je devrais I would have/need to/I should

voir verr- Je verrais I would see

Uses
Hypotheses with si + imperfect clauses.

In hypothetical situations describing what would happen if certain conditions

were met, the conditional is used in the main clause and the indicative past
imperfect l’imparfait is used in the si clause.

Si + Past Imperfect (Imparfait), Conditional Clause

Si j’étais
étais un animal, je serais une souris. — If I were an animal, I would be
a mouse.
Si tu n’avais
avais pas de voiture, prendrais
prendrais-tu le bus ? — If you did not have a
car, would you take the bus?

The order can also be reversed.

Conditional Clause si + Past Imperfect (Imparfait)

Je ne pourrais pas dormir la nuit si je buvais du café après le dîner. — I

would not be able to sleep at night if I drank coffee after dinner.
Nous irions au mariage si nous étions invités. — We would go to the
wedding if we were invited.

Polite requests and wishes with pouvoir , aimer and vouloir .

When politely asking for something, the conditional softens the request or
invitation.

Est-ce que tu pourrais m’appeler plus tard ? — Could you call me later?
Pourrions
Pourrions-nous commander maintenant ? — Could we order now?
Voudriez
Voudriez-vous venir avec nous ? — Would you want/like to come with us?

To mean “I’d like”, Je voudrais and j’aimerais are practically interchangeable.

Nous voudrions/aimerions une bouteille de vin, s’il vous plaît. — We

would like a bottle of wine, please.
J’aimerais/voudrais
aimerais/voudrais dire quelque chose. — I would like to say something.

Regrets and Preferences

When reality and desire don’t match, aimer or aimer bien in the conditional are
used to mean “wish + subjunctive”.

J’aimerais
aimerais être avec vous. — I wish I were with you.
Nous aimerions bien connaître la vérité. — We wish we knew the truth.

Aimer mieux and préférer can translate the idiomatic “would rather” to express
preference.

J’aimerais
aimerais mieux partir maintenant. — I’d rather go now.
On préférerait qu’il se taise. — We’d rather he keeps quiet.

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Conditional · Future time in the Past, Possibilities & Uncertainty,

Needs, Obligations & Advice updated 2019-01-01

A future time in the past.

When reporting past thoughts or sayings, the conditional is used to express a

future event.
 Elle a dit qu’elle rentrerait tard. — She said she would return late.
Je pensais que tu pourrais emmener les enfants à l’école. — I thought you
could bring the children to school.

Possibilities and uncertainty.

Prospects and uncertain facts can be told with the conditional mood. The use of
the conditional to report uncertain facts is unique to French and would be
expressed as “allegedly”, “believed to”, or “reportedly” in English. It is commonly
found in breaking news stories.

Je cherche quelqu’un qui pourrait m’aider. — I’m looking for someone who
could help me.
Selon la police, l’homme aurait une arme à feu. — According to the police,
the man reportedly has a firearm.

Needs, Obligations & Advice.

The conditional mood can be used in combination with other moods and to
translate English modal verbs and idiomatic verbal phrases.

-I should/ought to call him. — Il faudrait que je l’appelle (subjunctive). / Je

devrais l’appeler.
-Should you ever meet her, please let me know. — Si vous devriez la rencontrer,
faites-le moi savoir (imperative).
-They ought to be in bed at this time. — Ils devraient être couchés (infinitive) à
cette heure-ci.
-You might try this. — Vous devriez peut-être essayer (infinitive) ceci.
-I had better tell you the truth. — Je ferais mieux de te dire la vérité. (idiom)
-It would be better to start the meeting later. — Il vaudrait mieux commencer la
réunion plus tard. (idiom)

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Past Conditional · Formation, Past si Clauses, Regrets and Criticisms,

Unconfirmed News updated 2019-01-01

The past conditional conditionnel passé in French is very similar to English. It

expresses what could have, should have, or would have occurred if certain
conditions had been met.

Formation

The past conditional is a compound verb of two parts. The first part is made of
the conditional auxiliary verbs avoir or être. The second part is the past participle
of the main verb.

Pronoun Finir (with auxiliary avoir) Translation

j’ aurais fini I would have finished

tu aurais fini you would have finished

elle aurait fini she would have finished

nous aurions fini we would have finished

vous auriez fini we would have finished

elles auraient fini they would have finished

Pronoun Venir (with auxiliary être) Translation

j’ serais venu(e) I would have come

tu serais venu(e) you would have come

il serait venu he would have come

elle serait venue she would have come

nous serions venu(e)s we would have come

vous seriez venu(e)(s) you would have come

ils seraient venus they would have come

elles seraient venues they would have come

Remember when the auxiliary is être, the past participle must agree with
the subject in gender and number.
 Pronoun Habiller (Pronominal with auxiliary Translation
être

je me serais habillé(e) I would have dressed

you would have

tu te serais habillé(e)
dressed

il se serait habillé he would have dressed

she would have

elle se serait habillée
dressed

we would have
nous nous serions habillé(e)s
dressed

you would have

vous vous seriez habillé(e)(s)
dressed

they would have

ils se seraient habillés
dressed

they would have

elles se seraient habillées
dressed

Past si Clauses

A past conditional clause describes what would have happened if certain

conditions had been met. It may be helpful to think of it as a past tense if… then
statement. The “si clause” is made using the pluperfect plus-que-parfait that you
learned about earlier and the past conditional.

Si + plus-que-parfait, conditionnel passé

Si nous avions été à l’heure, nous n’aurions pas raté notre train. — If we
had been on time, we wouldn’t have missed our train.
J’aurais
aurais ouvert la porte si j’avais entendu la sonnette. — I would have
opened the door if I had heard the doorbell.
Si elles avaient été invitées à la fête, elles seraient venues
venues. — If they had
been invited to the party, they would have come.
Nous serions allés au parc s’il avait fait beau. — We would have gone to
the park if it had been nice (outside).
Si le sauveteur n’avait pas été là, je me serais noyée
noyée. — If the lifeguard
had not been there, I would have drowned.
Il se serait levé plus tôt si tu le lui avais demandé. — He would have
 gotten up sooner if you had asked him to.

Regrets and Criticisms

The past conditional can also be used to express regret whether the unmet
condition is explicit or implied.

J’aurais
aurais aimé voir une pièce de théâtre. — I would have liked to see a play.
Nous aurions dû porter nos manteaux. — We should have worn our coats.
Il aurait pu t’aider. — He could have helped you.

Or criticism:

Vous auriez dû y penser. — You should have thought of that.

Tu aurais dû étudier avant l’examen. — You should have studied before the
test.

Unconfirmed News

When relaying information about unconfirmed events or uncertain facts, the past
conditional may be used. In English, the terms “allegedly”, “reportedly”, and
“believed to be” are indications that the facts haven’t been confirmed, but in
French the past conditional serves the same purpose.

Le Président aurait nié avoir accepté des pots-de-vin. — The President

allegedly denied accepting bribes.
Plusieurs personnes seraient mortes dans l’accident. — Several people are
believed to have died in the accident.

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Present Participle · As Adjectives or Nouns, As Verbs, Perfect

Participle, Passive, Gerunds updated 2019-01-01

Present Participle
You have already seen the past participle, which is used in compound tenses, in
the passé composé units. The other type of participle in French is the present
participle (participe présent), which is formed by taking the present indicative
nous form of a verb and switching the -ons ending to -ant.

Nous Form Translation Present Participle Translation

faisons
ons (we) do/make faisant
ant doing/making

disons
ons (we) say disant
ant saying

agissons
ons (we) act agissant
ant acting

voyons
ons (we) see voyant
ant seeing

The verbs être, avoir, and savoir have irregular present participles: étant, ayant,
and sachant, respectively.

Although English also has present participles, they're used differently and more
often than their French counterparts, so it would be wise to avoid trying to make
comparisons between the two languages here. In particular, the French present
participle cannot be used after another verb, including the auxiliary être.

The French present participle can be used as an adjective; a noun; a verb; or a

gerund (when combined with the preposition en).

Present Participles as Adjectives or Nouns

Present participles can be used as adjectives that agree with the noun they
describe.

J’ai vu un film intéressant

intéressant. — I saw an interesting film.
C’est une histoire amusante
amusante. — That's an amusing story.
Il y a des couleurs changeantes
changeantes. — There are changing colors.

Many nouns are derived from the present participle of a verb.

étudier — to study un étudiant/une étudiante — a student

enseigner — to teach un enseignant/une enseignante — a teacher
gagner — to win un gagnant/une gagnante — a winner

Present Participles as Verbs

Present participles are invariable when used as verbs. When used as a simple
verb, the present participle expresses a state or action that is simultaneous with,
and performed by the same subject as the main verb.

Sachant la réponse, elle a levé la main. — Knowing the answer, she raised
her hand.
Ne voyant personne à la porte, il est parti. — Seeing no one at the door,
he left.
Mangeant des fruits, il est en bonne santé. — (By) eating fruits, he is
healthy.

Past participles and present participles can be combined in two ways: the perfect
participle and the passive voice.

Perfect Participle

The perfect participle (participe présent passé) indicates that one action was
completed before another. In this compound tense, a past participle follows the
present participle of its usual auxiliary—étant for être verbs and ayant for avoir
verbs. This is basically a present participle version of the passé composé.

Ayant accepté d'aider, ils ont commencé leur travail. — Having agreed to
help, they began their work.
Ayant vendu sa maison, elle était presque riche. — Having sold her
house, she was almost rich.
Étant arrivée tôt, elle a attendu les autres. — Having arrived early, she
waited for the others.
Marcia, s'étant souvenue de ton avis, a quitté ce lieu. — Marcia, having
remembered your advice, left that place.

Remember that all compound tenses (including the perfect participle and the
passé composé) follow the same agreement rules. Refer to the "Compound Past"
lessons for more information.

Passive Voice

When used in the passive voice, the past participle always follows a form of the
passive marker être. In the present tense, this form will be étant.

Étant respecté de tous, il reste confiant. — Being respected by all, he

remains confident.
Cela étant dit
dit, vous avez raison. — That being said
said, you are right.

In the past tense, être usually takes its perfect participle form, which is ayant été.
 La boîte ayant été bien fermée
fermée, le produit est resté intact. — The box
having been tightly closed
closed, the product remained intact.
Le travail ayant été fini plus tôt, ils sont partis. — The work having been
finished earlier, they all left.

Gerunds

Adding en before a present participle creates a gerund (gérondif) that can

describe how one action is related to another. They might be related by time,
condition, manner, or cause.

Time: Elle est tombée en faisant ses exercices. — She fell while doing
her exercises.
Condition: Tu peux réussir en faisant un effort. — You can succeed by
making an effort.
Manner: Elle parle en articulant les mots. — She speaks by articulating
the words.
Cause: En partant seule, elle a pris des risques — By leaving alone, she
took risks.

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Subjunctive Past · Refresher, Conjugation, Sequence of Events

updated 2019-01-01

From the Tips and Notes in Subjunctive Present, you have already learned that:

Unlike the English subjunctive, the French subjunctive is common and

required, in writing and in speech, including informal conversations.

A subjunctive is required if the main clause has verbs of likes/dislikes,

feelings (fear, wish, doubt, happiness, sorrow, regret…), order, obligation or
necessity.

In most cases, the subject in the subordinate clause is different from that in
the main clause (otherwise you will use an infinitive).
 Usually, the subordinate clause is introduced by the conjunction que, or
other conjunctions, like avant que, bien que, afin que, pour que, quoique.
(Yet après que needs an indicative.)

Some impersonal expressions automatically prompt a subjunctive, like: il

faut que, il est bon que, c’est bien que, il est nécessaire que, il est important
que.

Some verbs that are usually constructed with the indicative switch to the
subjunctive when they are in the negative, like penser and croire.

Some relative clauses can be found in subjunctive, when the main clause
has such expressions as le seul qui/que, le premier qui/que, le dernier
qui/que.

The French subjunctive has 4 tenses : Present, Imperfect, Past and

Pluperfect. There is no future tense and among the 3 past tenses, only the
Subjunctive Past is commonly used.

Conjugation
The Subjunctive Past is a compound tense and as such, the verb uses the
same auxiliary être or avoir as in the indicative mood, and the same rules of
agreement are applied in the past participle (Re. Tips and Notes in Verbs:
Compound Past 1 & 2).

To form a subjunctive past, the auxiliary is conjugated in subjunctive present, and

the past participle of the verb is added.

Avoir verb:

Subject Verb

que j’ aie mangé

que tu aies mangé

qu’il/elle ait mangé

que nous ayons mangé

que vous ayez mangé

qu’ils aient mangé

Être verb:

Subject Verb

que je sois allé(e)

que tu sois allé(e)

qu’il soit allé

qu’elle soit allée

que nous soyons allé(e)s

que vous soyez allé(e)(s)

qu’ils soient allés

qu’elles soient allées

Sequence of events
Since there is no Subjunctive Future and the Subjunctive Imperfect and
Pluperfect are no longer used in contemporary French, you will have to use:

the present tense for future and present events;

the present tense instead of the imperfect tense;
the past tense instead of the pluperfect tense.

To pick the suitable subjunctive tense in the subordinate clause, you will compare
the subordinate clause’s time of event with that of the main clause.

Let's compare with the indicative:

Time in
main to
Indicative Subjunctive: [ TENSE vs MEANING
MEANING]]
time in
subordinate

Je crois que tu J'attends que tu viennes

viennes. [PRESENT
Present to
viendras. - I think that with a FUTURE meaning] - I am
future
you will come. waiting for you to come.

J’espère que tu vas Je doute que tu ailles bien. [PRESENT

Present to
bien. - I hope that you with a PRESENT meaning] - I doubt
present
are doing well. that you are doing well.
 Je ne croyais pas qu'il fasse froid .
Past to Je croyais qu'il faisait
[PRESENT with a SIMULTANEOUS
simultaneous froid. - I believed that
PAST meaning] - I did not believe that
past the weather was cold.
the weather was cold.

Je pensais que tu Je doutais que tu aies mangé assez.

Past to
avais mangé assez. - I [PAST with an EARLIER PAST
earlier past
thought that you had meaning] - I doubted that you had
(avoir)
eaten enough. eaten enough.

Past to J'étais sûr(e) que tu Je ne pensais pas que tu sois parti(e)

earlier past étais parti(e). - I was [PAST with an EARLIER PAST
(être) certain you had left. meaning] - I did not think you had left.

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Moods in Verbs · Infinitive, Indicative, Participles, Subjunctive,

Imperative, Conditional updated 2019-01-01

Summary of grammatical moods in verbs

Verbs have tenses (present, past, future), and they are divided in 6 categories or
modes (moods) indicating various ways of presenting states or actions.

L'infinitif (the infinitive) is actually the name and non-conjugated form of a verb.
It indicates an action or state, without a subject.

Je veux quitter cet endroit. — I want to leave this place.

Prendre le bus est rapide. — Taking the bus is fast.

L'indicatif (the indicative) is used to describe a fact or state that is real or

considered as real.

Je mange une pomme. (present) — I am eating an apple.

Il n’avait
avait pas encore vingt ans. (imperfect) — He was not twenty years old
yet.
 Iras
Iras-tu chez le médecin ? (future) — Will you go to the doctor’s?

Le participe (the participle) can help form verbal forms and compound tenses.

Ayant froid, elle mit une veste. (present participle) — Feeling cold, she put
on a jacket.
Elles partent en chantant
chantant. (gerund) — They leave while singing.
Tu as mangé deux pommes. (past participle in compound past) — You ate
two apples.

Le subjonctif (the subjunctive), to express one’s fears, wishes, doubts, regrets,

etc.

J’ai peur qu’il ne soit trop tard. — I’m afraid it’s too late.
Il est dommage qu’elles ne fassent pas ça. — It’s too bad they don’t do that.

L'impératif (the imperative), to give orders and commands, and to express

advice, requests or suggestions.

Passe-moi le sel ! — Pass me the salt!

N’ouvre
ouvre pas la fenêtre ! — Do not open the window!

Le conditionnel (the conditional), to indicate that an action or state is possible,

on one condition; to replace the future when the main clause’s verb is in the past
tense; to express a wish or request; to indicate that a fact is not sure yet.

S’il partait plus tôt, il arriverait à l’heure. — If he left earlier, he would

arrive on time.
Nous pensions que vous viendriez
viendriez. — We thought you would come.
Je voudrais une baguette, s’il vous plaît. — I would like a baguette, please.
Selon elle, il y aurait encore un espoir. — According to her, there would still
be hope.*

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Personal and Impersonal constructions · Il est + adjective + À or De +

Infinitive updated 2019-01-01

Aside from the typical "il faut" or "il pleut", more complex structures can use the
dummy subject il with state verbs (être, paraître, sembler, devenir, demeurer,
rester), various adjectives complemented by the preposition de + a verb in
infinitive or a subordinate clause introduced by the conjunction que + a verb in
the subjunctive mood.

One of the issues for learners is to distinguish the impersonal "il" as a dummy
subject (= it) from the personal "il" as a real subject (= he or it).

NOTE: C'est + ADJ + de and C'est + ADJ + que, though used colloquially, are
NOTE
improper and should not be used in writing, because c', ceci, cela/ça are real
subjects.

This is a list of examples using some adjectives able to build IMP

IMPersonal or
PERS
PERSonal constructions.

Facile/Difficile:

IMP: Il est facile/difficile de faire un gâteau. — It is easy/difficult to make a

cake.
IMP: Il est facile/difficile que tu te perdes dans la ville. — It is easy/difficult
for you to get lost in the city.
PERS: (Le gâteau) Il est facile/difficile à faire. — (The cake) It is
easy/difficult to make.
PERS: C'est facile/difficile à faire. — This/it is easy/difficult to make.

Possible/Impossible:

IMP: Il est possible/impossible de manger un gâteau. — It is

possible/impossible to eat a cake.
IMP: Il est possible/impossible que tu manges un gâteau. — It is
possible/impossible for you to eat a cake.
PERS: (Ce gâteau) Il semble possible/impossible à réussir. — (This cake) It
seems possible/impossible to pull off.
PERS: Cela semble possible/impossible à réussir. — That seems
possible/impossible to pull off.

Important:

IMP: Il est important de travailler. — It is important to work.

IMP: Il est important que tu travailles. — It is important that you work.
PERS: (Le délai) Il est important à considérer. — (The deadline) It is
 important to consider.
PERS: Ceci est important à considérer. — This is important to consider.

Evident:

IMP: Il paraît évident de regarder ici. — It seemed obvious to look here.

IMP: Il est évident que cet homme est riche. — It is obvious that this man is
rich.
IMP: Il n'est pas évident que cet homme soit riche. — It isn't obvious that
this man is rich.
PERS: (Le détail) Il ne paraît pas évident à trouver. — (The detail) It doesn't
seem straightforward to find.
PERS: Ça ne paraît pas évident à trouver. — That doesn't seem
straightforward to find.

Triste:

IMP: Il est triste de perdre ses cheveux. — It is sad to lose one's hair.
IMP: Il est triste que tu perdes tes cheveux. — It is sad that you are losing
your hair.
PERS: (L'homme) Il reste triste à voir. — (The man) He is still sad to see.
PERS: Cela reste triste à voir. — That is still sad to see.

Utile/Inutile:

IMP: Il est utile/inutile de parler anglais. — It is useful/useless to speak

English.
IMP: Il est utile/inutile que tu parles anglais. — It is useful/useless that you
speak English.
PERS: (Le mot) Il est utile/inutile à connaître. — (The word) It is
useful/useless to know.
PERS: Celui-ci est utile/inutile à connaître. — This one is useful/useless to
know.

Simple/Compliqué:

IMP: Il est simple/compliqué de planter un arbre. — It is

simple/complicated to plant a tree.
IMP: Il paraît simple/compliqué que tu partes seul. — It seems
simple/complicated that you are leaving alone.
PERS: (Le jouet) Il est simple/compliqué à manoeuvrer. — (The toy) It is
 simple/complicated to maneuver.
PERS: C'est simple/compliquée à découvrir. — It's simple/complicated to
discover.

Bon/Pas Bon:

IMP: Il est bon/n'est pas bon de sortir le soir. — It is/isn't good to go out in
the evening.
IMP: Il est bon/n'est pas bon que tu sortes le soir. — It is/isn't good that you
go out in the evening.
PERS: (L'argent) Il est/n'est pas toujours bon à prendre. — (Money) It is/isn't
always good to take.
PERS: (La leçon) Elle est/n'est pas toujours bonne à recevoir. — (The lesson)
It is/isn't always good to receive.

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C'est / Ce sont · Nature, form & construction of Ce, Used when

followed by, In specific Figures of Speech, Il est/Elle est/Ils sont/Elles

sont updated 2019-01-01

NATURE, FORM & CONSTRUCTION OF CE

Ce is an indefinite demonstrative pronoun, not to be confused with the

demonstrative adjective ce (masc. sing., in front of a word starting with a
consonant sound).

Ce is used mostly with the verb “être” (+ pouvoir être & devoir être) to identify or
describe people or things.

Ce is elided whenever the verb’s form starts with a vowel: c’est, c’était
Ce is elided and needs a cedilla in the compound tenses of être in front of
the auxiliary avoir: ç’a été, ç’avait été, ç’aura été, ç’aurait été.

C’est can be followed by an adjective that remains masculine and singular.

Ce sont is the plural of c’est (not ces sont).

Ce sont cannot be used in front of an adjective.

Ce sont precisely translates to “they are + modified noun/pronoun” or

“these/those are + modified noun/pronoun”.

The inversion sont-ce is rarely used in questions:

Are they friends of yours? — (Sont-ce des ami(e)s à vous ?) Est-ce que ce
sont des ami(e)s à vous ?

In the negative form: ce n’est pas and ce ne sont pas.

In the interrogative form: n’est-ce pas ?/est-ce que ce n’est pas ? and est-ce que ce
ne sont pas ? (not ne sont-ce pas?)

C'EST / CE SONT ARE USED WHEN FOLLOWED BY: a non-

specific adjective, a modified noun, another pronoun, a proper
noun, a disjunctive pronoun, dates, and an infinitive as a
subject.

1.An
An adjective for non-specific referents (in singular only)

C'est super ! — That's neat!

C'est incroyable ! — That's unbelievable!
C'est intelligent ! — That's clever!

2.Modified
Modified nouns
nouns, i.e. nouns determined by an article or a possessive,
demonstrative or numeral adjective, and indefinite adjectives:

C'est un enseignant. — He is a teacher.

C'est un petit chien blanc. — He/It is a little white dog.
Rex et Buster ne sont pas des chats. Ce sont des chiens. — Rex and Buster
are not cats. They are dogs.
Ce sont les chiens de mon voisin. — They are my neighbor’s dogs.
C'est son avocate. — She is his/her lawyer.
C'est cet Américain que j’ai vu. — He is this American I saw.
Ce sont deux bons amis. — They are two good friends.
Ce ne sont que quelques fleurs. — These are only a few flowers.
Ce sont certaines personnes que je connais. — They are some people I
know.

-Exceptions: case: When il est, elle est, ils sont, elles

Exceptions: the « single status » case
sont are followed by a noun or pronoun, and the identification expresses a
unique/exclusive status, the change to c’est/ce sont is optional. Some key
triggers are: possessives + le seul, le premier, le dernier, l’unique, le plus, le
moins, etc.

C’est mon seul cousin / Il est mon seul cousin. — He is my only cousin.
Ç’aurait été le roi de Bohème / Il aurait été le roi de Bohème — He would
have been the king of Bohemia.
Ç’a été la dernière à partir / Elle a été la dernière à partir. — She was the
last to leave.
C’étaient ceux que tout le monde admirait / Ils étaient ceux que tout le
monde admirait. — They were those everybody admires.
C’est la meilleure élève de sa classe / Elle est la meilleure élève de sa
classe. — She is the best in class.
C’est le plus grand champion / Il est le plus grand champion. — He is the
greatest champion.

3.Another
Another pronoun (demonstrative, possessive, interrogative, indefinite or
numeral)

C’est celui que je veux. — He/It is the one I want.

Ces enfants, ce sont les miens
miens. — These children are mine.
Lequel est-ce ?* — Which (one) is it?
Qui est-ce ? — Who is this? / Who is it? (Qui est-il ? — Who is he? Does not
inquire about his name but his status, occupation…)
Ce n’est pas n’importe qui
qui. — He is not anybody.
Ce sont les mêmes professeurs. — They are the same teachers.
Ce sont quelques-uns des livres que j’ai lus. — These are some of the books
I have read.
Ce sont deux des Américains que je connais. — They are two of the
Americans I know.

4.A
A proper noun or a disjunctive pronoun.

C'est Pierre. — He’s/It's Pierre.

C’est nous/vous (not ce sont) — It is us/you.
C’est Pierre et moi. (not ce sont) — It is Pierre and I/me.
Ce sont eux/elles. (ce sont in plural only with plural third parties) — It is
them.
C'est moi. — It's me.
Ah, c'est toi ! — Oh, it's you!
5.Dates.
Dates.

Mon anniversaire ? C'est le quatorze juillet. — My birthday? It's July 14.

C'est en deux-mille-dix-neuf ! — It's in 2019!

6.An
An infinitive as subject.

Vivre, c'est parler français. — To live is to speak French.

Partir, c’est mourir un peu. — To leave is to die a little.

C'EST / CE SONT IN SPECIFIC FIGURES OF SPEECH

Impersonal constructions: In informal usage, it is common to use c'est

1.Impersonal
instead of il est. For example, the following would be completely normal in
everyday speech. Yet, in writing, this form of emphasis is quite cumbersome.

C'est (Il est) difficile d'apprendre une langue étrangère. — Learning a foreign
language is difficult.
Ce n'est pas (Il n’est pas) facile de trouver un emploi en France. — Finding a
job in France is not easy.

2.Emphasis
Emphasis by extraction: One element of the sentence is “extracted” to
emphasize it. C’est… qui (subject) or c’est… que (object) come as brackets around
the element. In English, a word may be emphasized by placing stress on it, but
French does not put stress on individual words.

C’est mon équipe qui a gagné. vs Mon équipe a gagné.

C’est du beurre que je veux. vs Je veux du beurre.
Ce sont mes chaussures qui sont là. vs Mes chaussures sont là.
C’est lui qu’elle a vu à l’hôtel. vs Elle l’a vu à l’hôtel.

3.The
The “double-subject/object”: The real subject or object is isolated, followed
by a comma, and then repeated in the form of c’est or ce sont.

La mer, c’est beau ! vs La mer est belle.

Les tartes, c’est bon ! vs Les tartes sont bonnes.
Pierre, c’est mon frère. vs Pierre est mon frère.
Jack et John, ce sont des chats. vs Jack et John sont des chats.

IL/ELLE EST AND ILS/ELLES SONT REFER TO SPECIFIC

PERSONS, ANIMALS OR THINGS.

The personal pronouns are used to introduce the following: an adjective for
something specific, a quality, an occupation, impersonal constructions and for
time.

An adjective alone , i.e. the adjective is not followed by a noun.

1.An noun.:

Il est gentil. — He is nice.

Elle est brillante. — She is brilliant.
Il n'est pas français, il est américain. — He is not French; he is American.
Je connais sa chienne, elle est un peu folle. (beware, “un peu” is not a
modified noun - but an adverbial phrase) — I know his dog; it is a bit crazy.

2.Qualities
Qualities vs professions

Note: A few adjectives can have a different meaning when used as nouns:

Il est travailleur. (quality) vs C’est un travailleur. (profession)

Elle est artiste. (quality) vs C’est une artiste. (profession)
Il est bon/mauvais joueur. (fair/unfair player) vs C’est un bon/mauvais
joueur. (good/poor)

3.Occupations
Occupations and a few ‘status’ nouns (which are treated as adjectives)

Il est artiste. — He is an artist.

Ils sont dentistes. — They are dentists.
Elle est étudiante. — She is a student.
Il est victime de son succès. He is a victim of his success.
Elle est témoin de l’événement. She is a witness to the event.
Ils sont élèves à Sainte-Marie. — They are students at Sainte-Marie.

4.Impersonal
Impersonal constructions: Using the impersonal "il est", i.e., when the "il"
does not refer to anything specific, or "il est" is followed by an adjective, and the
adjective is followed by a clause (que + expression or de + expression).
However, as mentioned above, in speech, it is common to use c'est instead of il
est.

Il est difficile d'apprendre une langue étrangère. — It is difficult to learn a

foreign language.
Il n'est pas facile de trouver un emploi en France. — It's not easy to find a
job in France.
Il est impossible de savoir si… — It is impossible to know whether…
Il est probable qu'il fera beau demain. — It's likely that it will be nice
weather tomorrow

There are many other impersonal constructions using Il est. In such phrases, il
est… que is followed by a verb in the indicative or subjunctive, and il est… de by
an infinitive.

bon que (+ subj.) /de

certain que (+ ind.)
conseillé de
courant de
essentiel que (+subj.) /de
évident que (+ ind.)
mieux que (+subj.) /de
nécessaire que (+ subj.) /de
préférable que (+ subj.) /de
prévu que (+subj.) /de
question que (+subj.) /de
vrai que (+ ind.)

Clock time and time of the day use il est : Il est trois heures, il est tôt, il
5.Clock
est tard, il est temps que (+subj.)/de.

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Aimer · Aimer, aimer bien, adorer, and other appreciation verbs

updated 2019-01-01

It is essential for beginners to learn about the grammar and, even more
importantly, the meanings and uses of appreciation verbs. When it comes to
feelings, nobody wants to goof-up, be misunderstood, nor hurt feelings or offend
sensibilities.

Grammar
There is one important rule to know about the direct object of such appreciation
verbs as aimer, aimer bien, adorer, apprécier, préférer, détester, haïr, respecter,
admirer: Whenever the object is a count noun, a mass noun, a concept or a plural
noun, the definite articles (le, la, l’, les) are most often used, not to specify the
object but to generalize it.
 J’aime le chocolat. — I like chocolate.
Je préfère l’l’histoire à la fiction. — I prefer history to fiction.
Je ne déteste pas les ordinateurs. — I don’t hate computers.
Je respecte les personnes âgées. — I respect older people.
Je n’aime pas la violence. — I don’t like violence.

These cover statements may also be understood as one-time opinions about

specific things, so if the context allows, the definite article “the” can be suitable
before the object. Also remember that only indefinite (un, une, des) and partitive
(du, de la, de l') articles disappear and are replaced with de in front of the direct
object of a negated verb, as in Je n’ai pas d’ordinateur or Je ne mange pas de
chocolat.

Another rule is that appreciation verbs can be followed by an infinitive without a

preposition or a subordinate clause with a verb in the subjunctive mood.

J’adore regarder les oiseaux. — I love watching birds.

J’admire que tu sois si patiente. — I admire that you are so patient.

”I love you” is Je t’aime .

To properly express our feelings in French, we have two main verbs: aimer and
adorer, which translate to “like” and “love”, depending on the object and other
elements of the language, especially adverbs.

When you love someone, you say je t'aime.

When you like someone, you say je t’aime bien.
When you like something, you say j’aime ça or j’aime bien ça.
When you like doing something, you say j'aime faire ça or j'aime bien faire ça.
When you love something, you say j’adore ça.
When you love doing something, you say j'adore faire ça.

Among human beings, l’amour is love and the verb is aimer. This applies to
romantic relationships and family bonds, and extends to pets.

Cette femme aime sa fille, je le sais. — This woman loves her daughter, I
know it.
Si tu aimes ton petit chien, nourris-le bien. — If you love your little dog,
feed it well.

To clear any doubt, you can also use être amoureux/amoureuse to mean “to be in
love”.
 Je suis amoureux/amoureuse d’elle/de lui. — I am in love with her/him.

If the feeling is not love, the verb aimer needs an adverb like bien or beaucoup to
weaken aimer and thereby state that the feeling is not “love” in the romantic
sense. However, this does not preclude sincere commitment and affection.

J’aime bien notre comptable. — I like our accountant: as coworkers, we get

along well.
J’aime beaucoup mon ami Fred. — I very much/really like my friend Fred: we
are good friends.
J’aime énormément mes tantes et mes oncles. — I very much/really like my
aunts and uncles.
Je t’aime beaucoup. — I like you very much (Not “I love you very much”).

To evidence the difference between aimer and aimer bien when the object is a
person, we can quote the song from Zazie, « Chanson d’ami »:

Je ne t’aime pas : je t’aime bien.— I am not in love with you: I like you.

When it comes to animals and things or concepts, aimer and aimer bien are not
significantly different and several adverbs can be added to better qualify our
feeling.

J’aime (bien) ton blog. — I like your blog.

J’aime vraiment/beaucoup/énormément cette émission. — I really like/like
this show a lot/very much.

Adorer for exaggeration

In ancient times, adorer was the verb of choice for gods or idols. Nowadays, using
adorer mostly denotes enhancement, magnification or embellishment of an
otherwise milder feeling.

Ma femme, je l’adore. — I adore my wife.

J’adore ta nouvelle cravate ! — I love your new tie!
J’ai toujours adoré les fourmis. — I have always loved ants.
J’adorais Michael Jackson. — I loved Michael Jackson.
Je t’adore quand tu me fais rire. — I love you when you make me laugh.

Other appreciation verbs

Préférer is synonymous with aimer mieux but their constructions are different.
 Je préfère le vin à la bière. — I prefer wine to beer.
J’aime mieux le vin que la bière. — I like wine better than beer.

Détester and hair are synonymous, but due to its somewhat difficult
conjugation, haïr has become uncommon. Another synonym of détester is avoir
horreur de , which does not imply any fear, unlike the faux-ami “to have a horror
of”.

Je déteste / Je hais / J’ai horreur des épinards. — I hate spinach.

Important: If you find any errors in the Tips and Notes, have questions related to
the grammar points aboveabove, or would like to discuss the topic in depth, please
feel free to comment below. We ask that you keep your comments on topic so that
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For more Tips and Notes, click HERE

Punctuation · French punctuation updated 2019-01-01

English and French share many of the same punctuation marks, but how they are
used can be different between the two languages.

Le point (.)
The period or full-stop is used after title abbreviations if the last letter is not in
the abbreviation.

Monsieur M.
Madame Mme (no punctuation)
Docteur Dr (no punctuation)

It may be used to separate numbers in a date. Remember that the order is day,
month, year in French.

le 6 avril 2001 6.4.2001

le 27 novembre 2015 27.11.2015

For numbers, le point or a space may be used between every three digits, where
in English you would find a comma.

Deux mille deux cents 2 200 or 2.200

Deux millions 2 000 000 or 2.000.000

-Please note that le point not used as a decimal placeholder in numbers. Please
see la virgule below.

La virgule (,)
La virgule is used to separate ideas joined by a conjunction, natural pauses, and
more than two items in a series. However, the “oxford comma” does not exist in
French, and la virgule is not used before et or ou in a series.

Je vais acheter une tomate, un poivron et des champignons. — I’m going to

buy a tomato, a pepper, and mushrooms.
Voulez-vous un café, un thé, un chocolat chaud ou un soda ? — Do you want
a coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or soda?

It is found in front of conjunctions when it is separating two coordinating ideas

with different subjects.

Jean lit le journal, et Marc fait ses devoirs. — Jean is reading the newspaper,
and Marc is doing his homework.

Decimals in English are separated by une virgule in French. Thus π is 3,141 592…

This can be a confusing because the punctuation for numbers in French is the
inverse in English.

French English

4,5 (quatre virgule cinq) 4.5 (four point five)

4.500 (quatre mille cinq-cents) 4,500 (four thousand five hundred)

Two-Part Punctuation

Anytime the punctuation mark is composed of two or more parts, there is a space
both before and after it.

They all follow this pattern:

text[space]![space]text

Le point d’exclamation and Le point

d’interrogation (! and ?)
The punctuation following a phrase changes the meaning.

Ça va ? — How are you?/How’s it going?

Ça va. — I’m fine./It’s okay.
Ça va ! — All right!/I’m good!

Notice the space between the last word and le point d’interrogation and le point
d’exclamation.

Le point-virgule (;)
As in English le point-virgule or semicolon separates two independent phrases
(subject-verb ; subject-verb) connected logically together.

Appelez-moi demain ; nous pouvons en discuter à ce moment-là. — Call me

tomorrow; we can talk about it at that time.

Use a point-virgule if the second clause in a sentence begins with an adverb.

Elles étaient à l’heure pour la pièce de théâtre ; malheureusement, elles

avaient oublié leur billet. — They were on time for the play; unfortunately,
they had forgotten their tickets.

Les deux points (:)

The colon or les deux points is used before enumerating a list of things.

Le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unis a cinq membres permanents : la

Chine, les États-Unis, la France, le Royaume-Uni et la Russie. — The United
Nations Security Council has five permanent members: China, the United
States, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia.

It is also serves to link two clauses in a cause or consequence situation.

Le petit garçon n’a pas fini son dîner : il n’aura pas de morceau de gâteau. —
The little boy did not finish his dinner. He will not have a piece of cake.

Lastly les deux points can appear before quoted text.

Le musicien a affirmé : « La pratique rend parfait. » — The musician

affirmed, “practice makes perfect”.
Les guillemets and les tirets ( « » and — )
French quotation marks are not introduced in the Duolingo course, but spend
anytime reading French articles or books and you will be confronted with these
two notations.

As shown above, les guillemets can enclose quoted text that is followed by les
deux points. They can also enclose a single word or group of words to add
emphasis or nuance, much like quotations marks do in English writing. They often
encircle foreign or slang words as well.

C’était un peu maladroit quand le secrétaire d’État américain a fait un « big

hug » au président français. — It was a little awkward when the American
Secretary of State gave the French President a “big hug”.
Mon collègue agit comme si son rapport hebdomadaire était un « grand
projet ». — My colleague acts as if his weekly report is a “big project”.

Les guillemets require an international or French keyboard to make. They are not
two angle brackets simply typed together. Here are instructions for PC and for
Mac. It is also useful to change your keyboard settings in order to easily type the
various accents.

This: « »
Not that: << >>

Like all two-part punctuation in French, there is a space before and after les
guillemets.

When you pick up a French novel you may notice what looks like a long hyphen
in front of the dialogue whenever the speaker changes. This is un tiret and it is
longer than the trait d’union (hyphen) you have already seen in inverted
questions, numbers, and imperative statements involving pronouns.

Qu’a-t-elle dit ? (trait d’union) — What did she say?

Laisse-moi le faire. (trait d’union) — Let me do it.

— Excusez-moi. Avez-vous l’heure ? a demandé l’inconnu. (tiret) — “Excuse

me. Do you have the time?” the stranger asked.

— Désolée, non, a-t-elle répondu. (tiret) — “Sorry, no”, she replied.

Les tirets can also be found in the middle of sentences, acting in the place of
parenthesis.

Ses parents — de grands lecteurs — lui ont donné le goût des livres. — Her
parents, avid readers, have given her a passion for books.

Important: If you find any errors in the Tips and Notes, have questions related to
the grammar points aboveabove, or would like to discuss the topic in depth, please
feel free to comment below. We ask that you keep your comments on topic so that
this post stays educational and everyone can benefit from them. Any spam or
unrelated comments will be deleted.

For more Tips and Notes, click HERE

76 skills with tips and notes by Sitesurf, CommeuneTexane, DXLi & GeorgeofTruth

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