The French Basics

1. The French Basics French 8 Review

2. Nouns: Gender and Number Nouns in French are either Masculine or Feminine. The gender of the noun is usually memorized with the spelling. Its gender is also indicated by the article. In most cases, plurals are indicated by an “s” Masculine Feminine Plural “the” le la les ’ a ‘ un unedes Le garçon = the boy Un garçon = a boy Les garçons = the boys Des garçons = (some) boys La fille = the girl Unefille = a girl

3. Subject Pronouns Singular Plural Je = I Nous = we Tu = you Vous = you Il = he Ils = they Elle = she Elles = they (girls)

4. Adjectives 1) Descriptive Adjectives 2) Demonstrative Adjectives 3) Possessive adjectives

5. Adjectives and Gender In French, the ending of an adjective change depending on whether the noun it is describing is feminine or masculine, singular or plural. If an adjective is feminine, you add an “e” to the end of it, unless it already has an “e” Masculine Example: “Chaud” is an adjective meaning “hot”. “Un bain” is a noun meaning “bath”. Together they become: Un bainchaud A hot bath Feminine example: “uneboisson” is a noun meaning a drink. It is a feminine noun so the adjective “chaud” will have an “e” added to the end of it. Together they will become: Uneboissonchaude A hot drink Remember if the adjective already has an “ e “ you do not add another one. Example: Un garçon bizarre Unefille bizarre

6. Adjectives and Number If a noun is plural, then the adjective must also be made plural. To make an adjective plural, you add an “s” to the end of the adjective, unless it already ends in “s” or “x”. Example: Le bainchaudLesbainchauds La boissonchaudeLesboissonschaudes

7. Adjectives with Irregular Feminine Forms There are some adjectives that have feminine form that are spelt differently. Instead of simply adding “e”, they often change or double their consonants before adding the “e”. Masculine Feminine Bon bonne Grosgrosse Ancienancienne Nouveau nouvelle Beau belle Vieux vieille Long longue

8. Demonstrative Adjectives Like other adjectives, demonstrative adjectives have a masculine, feminine and plural. They mean “this” or “that” Masculine Feminine Plural CeCetteCes J’aimecelivre. I like this/that book. A common contraction is ce + est = c’est C’est un chien. This/that is a dog.

9. Possessive Adjectives In French, possessive adjectives agree in gender and in number with their noun i.e. they agree with the thing/person that is possessed and NOT with the owner. Masculine Feminine Plural My monma mes (je) Your ton tates (tu) His/her son sases (Il/elle) Our notrenotrenos (nous) Your votrevotrevos (vous) Their leurleurleurs (ils/elles) Kate : C’estmon frère et ma sœur. This is my brother and my sister. Note: even though Kate is a girl, she uses the masculine form of “mon” when she is talking about her brother because He is a boy. In French, the “my” must agree with the brother, not with the girl who is talking about her brother. Challenge: This is her pencil and her chair. That is his pencil and his chair. C’est son crayon et sa chaise. C’est son crayon et sa chaise.

10. Simple Verbs - Present Tense - ER verbs - RE verbs - IR verbs Regarder – to watch Attendre – to wait Finir – to finish Je regard j’attends je finis TuregardesTuattends tu finis Il regard Il attend Il finit Elle regard Elle attend Elle finit Qui regard Qui attend Qui finit On regard On attend On finit Nous regardons nous attendonsnous finissons Vousregardezvousattendezvousfinissez IlsregardentIlsattendentIlsfinissent EllesregardentEllesattendentEllesfinissent Note : « regarder » « attendre » and « finir » are Infinitives (i.e. verbs before they are conjugated)

11. ALLER Aller – to go Je vais (I am going) Nous allons (we are going) Tu vas (You are going) Vousallez (You are going) Il va (He is going) Ilsvont (They are going) Elle va (She is going) Ellesvont (They are going)

12. Negation 1, 2 rule of Negation 1) One verb and only 1 verb goes inside the ne....pas sandwhich – the 1st verb. 2) If there is a 2nd verb in the sentence, it stays outside the ne...pas sandwich (ie. comes after the “pas”) In English, we form the most basic negative in a variety of ways involving the word NOT: don’t, doesn’t, isn’t’; aren’t, etc. In French, “not” is represent by the words “ne...pas” surrounding the action that is being negated. Je vais à l’école. becomes: Je ne vais pas à l’ecole. I’m going to school I am not going to school. Je veux un biscuit. Becomes Je ne veux pas un biscuit. I want a cookie I don’t want a cookie. The same rule applies even if there are two verbs in the sentence. Je peuxaller becomes Je ne peux pas aller. I can go. I can’t go. Tu vas finir becomes Tu ne vas pas finir. You are going to finish You aren’t going to finish.

13. Forming Questions by Inversion In English, normal word order in a simple sentence is “subject verb”. (I can; you want; he is going). When we want to form a question, we can often simply reverse this word order. (Can I? May I? Is he?). In French, we can also reverse (or invert) the regular word to form a question. In French we separate and emphasize the inversion by putting a hyphen between the two words. Tuveux un biscuit. Becomes Veux-tu un biscuit? Nous faisons du ski BecomesFaisons-nous du ski Note that there are a few exception to be aware of: Je peux manager de la gommePuis-je manger de la gomme? Peux becomes puis only in the 1st person (je) form. Il va à l’école becomes Va-t-ilà l’école? With avoir and aller in the 3rd person singular (il/elle), a “t” is inserted between the vowels.

14. Contractions of the preposition “à” and “de” À + the place = means « to the » « at the » or « in the » but the “to” and “the” are contracted À + le = au Je vais au magasin. I am going to the store. À + la = à la Je vais à la ville. I am going to the city. À + les = aux Je vais aux magasins I am going to the stores. De + the place = means “from the” De + le = du Je viens du De + la = de la Nous venons de la De + les = des Ilsviennent des De + object (like food) often means “some” or “ any”

15. To STUDY You need to study… • Months, days, numbers, seasons, body parts • ER/IR/RE verbs • Irregular verbs: avoir, être, aller, faire • Pouvoir/Vouloir (last new thing we learned). • Expressions with avoir and être • In, under, beside, on top etc