ST.

JOSEPH'S COLLEGE
(Autonomous)
Special heritage status awarded by UGC
Accredited at A++ Grade(4th cycle) by NAAC
Trichy

FRANÇAIS POUR LE DÉBUTANT

(Basic French for Complete Beginners)
A1.1
L’HEURE – TIME - PRONOMINAL
VERBS -DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES

RESORCE PERSON
Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
Assistant Professor of French
St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous)
Tiruchirappalli

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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 FACT
USING THE CALENDAR AND DATES

France, the United States, and many other countries

around the world use a similar calendar, one that
has seven days and twelve months. Yet countries
differ in how the date is presented. In English, the
month comes first, followed by the day of the
month, followed by the year.
French, the day of the month comes first, followed
by the month, followed by the year. For example,
he date May 8, 2011 is presented like this in
French: le 8 mai, 2011 (luh wee meh duh-meel-
ohNz), and it’s written 8-5-2011

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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 TELLING TIME IN FRENCH
Telling Time in French

begin with il est (eel eh) (it is) and add a number
representing the hour and then the word heure(s) (uhr)
(time, o’clock). Use the singular heure when it’s 1:00;
use theplural heures for all other hours.
 Il est huit heures. (eel eh weet-uhr.) (It’s 8 o’clock.)
 Il est neuf heures. (eel eh nuhv-uhr.) (It’s 9
o’clock.)
 Il est une heure. (eel eh ewn-uhr.) (It’s 1 o’clock.)

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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The time isn’t always exactly on the hour. Therefore, you need a way to
indicate time past and before the hour, too. To indicate time past the hour,
you can simply follow the phrase il est. . .heure(s) with the number of
minutes it is past the hour. To express time before the hour (10 minutes to
2:00, for example), you add the word moins (mwaN), which means
minus
 Il est huit heures dix. (eel eh weet-uhr dees.) (It’s 8:10 or It’s
10 past 8.)
 Il est huit heures moins dix. (eel eh weet-uhr mwaN dees.)
(It’s 7:50. [Literally: It’s 8:00 minus 10.])
 Il est dix heures moins vingt-cinq. (eel eh deez-uhr mwaN
vahN-saNk.)
 (It’s 9:35 or It’s 25 to 10:00. [Literally: It’s 10:00 minus 25
minutes.])

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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To distinguish between a.m. and p.m.in the 12-hour clock, use these
phrases after the time:

du matin (dew mah-taN) (in the morning)

de l’après-midi (duh lah-preh-mee-dee) (in the afternoon)

du soir (dew swahr) (in the evening)

midi (mee-dee) (noon)

minuit (mee-nwee) (midnight)

Il est 10 heures du matin. (eel eh deez-uhr dew mah-

taN.) (It is 10:00 in the morning [a.m.])
Il est 10 heures du soir. (eel eh deez-uhr dew swahr.)
(It is 10:00 in the evening [p.m.])

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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 Using the 24-hour routine

In Europe, as well as French-speaking Canada, the use of the 24-

hour clock, or military time, is very common. It’s used for all
transportation schedules, concert times, store hours, appointment
times, and any other scheduled events. When you use the 24-hour
clock, you don’t need to distinguish between a.m. or p.m.

To say what time it is in the 24-hour system, simply add the

number of
minutes to the hour.
 Il est 11h15 [onze heures quinze]. (eel eh ohNz uhr kaNz.)
(It’s 11:15 [a.m.].)
 Il est 16h10 [seize heures dix]. (eel eh sehz uhr dees.) (It’s
4:10 [p.m.].)

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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 PRONOMINAL VERBS

In French, you use what’s called a pronominal

verb. The term pronominal may help you grasp the
particular form of these verbs better: They are
conjugated with an extra pronoun. It means that,
on top of the subject pronoun (je, tu, and so on)
they require another type of pronoun called a
reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, or whichever is
appropriate).

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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Pronominal verbs can be divided into three
categories:

Reflexive verbs: Express an action done by the

subject to itself, such as Je me regarde
(I look at myself).

Reciprocal verbs: Indicate that two subjects are

doing something to one another, as in Ils se
parlent (They talk to each other).

Idiomatic pronominal verbs: The extra pronoun

indicates neither to oneself nor to one another,
like Tu te souviens (You remember).

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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As a general rule, reflexive pronouns go
directly before the verb in the infinitive. For
example, in se laver (to wash oneself), laver is
the verb in the infinitive, and se is the
reflexive pronoun that goes before the verb.
When you conjugate the verb to indicate a
different subject, thereflexive pronoun se
must also be modified according to the
subject of the verb. For instance,if the subject
is je (I), se changes to me; for the subject tu
(you), se changes to te; and so on.

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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 TIPS ABOUT FRENCH PRONOMINAL VERBS

The meaning of most pronominal verbs has some

connection with the meaning of the base verb, so when
you’ve learnt the base verb, automatically you’ll have
some idea what the corresponding pronominal verb
means.

Another reason why these French verbs can be

confusing for English speakers is because their
counterpart in English may not be reflexive or
reciprocal.

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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Communication between two people is often
expressed using a reciprocal verb. Here are some
common reciprocal verbs of communication:

s’écrire (to write to each other)

se dire (to tell each other)

s’envoyer (des lettres/des emails/des textos) (to

send to each other [letters/e-mails/texts])

se parler (to talk to each other)

se téléphoner (to phone each other)

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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 SOME PRONOMINAL VERBS
•se brosser (les dents; les cheveux) (to brush [one’s
teeth/hair])

•se casser (le bras; la jambe) (to break [one’s arm/leg])

•se coucher (to go to bed)

•se couper/se couper les cheveux (to cut oneself/to cut

one’s hair)

•se coiffer (to do one’s hair)

•se doucher (to take a shower)

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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•se laver (les cheveux; les mains) (to wash one’s [hair; hands])

•se lever (to get up)

•se mouiller (to get wet)

•se maquiller (to put on makeup)

•se préparer (to get ready)

•s’habiller (to get dressed)

•se regarder (to look at oneself)

•se réveiller (to wake up)

•se raser (to shave [oneself])

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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SOME IDIOMATIC PRONOMINAL VERB

Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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Ms. M.Mohanalakshmi
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