An Introduction to French

These are my notes on an introduction to French.

Introduction To French

I have been trying to follow recommendations to foreign math and science texts. Increasingly, they are in French or are bad translations of French. So, I am beginning a study of this language to add to my other lifelong studies. I hope it helps you in some way.

Salutations

When you address a person you don’t know well, include the word monsieur, madame, or mademoiselle in your greeting. In French, the use of these words is considered part of everyday polite conversation. In writing, the words Monsieur, madame, and Mademoiselle are capitalized only when used before a name or title. In addition, Monsieur is often abbreviated before a name as M. Madame is abbreviated as Mme. Mademoiselle is abbreviated as Mlle.

The Numbers

Combien?-How many?

Use the phrase:

Il y a six crayons

Trouvez les differences - Find the differences

Il y a un professeur

Il y a deux professeurs

Dans votre salle de classe - In your classroom

Il y a vingt-trois cahiers dans la salle de classe

French words that have been borrowed into English are called cognates. There are over 10,000 such words currently. The meanings are often the same or identical. 

Que veut dire? - What is the meaning of?

Here are obvious cognates.

Visite, lampe, carrots, lettre, appartement, microphone, adresse, geographie, groupe, drame, enthousiaste, and calme.

Ecoutez bien - Listen well

Qui est-ce? Who is that?

C’est Suzanne It’s Suzanne

Et la, qui est-ce? And who is that over there?

La, ce sont Paul et Diane That’s Paul and Diane

Et qui est-ce a la table? And who is that at the table?

Je ne sais pas I don’t know

To ask who a person is, use Qui est-ce?

Qui est-ce - Who is it?

Use the phrase c’est to make an identification. The plural of c’est is ce sont.

C’est Delphine - This is Delphine

Ce sont Serge and Chantal - They are Serge and Chantal

In the negative, c’est and ce sont become ce n’est pas and ce ne sont pas

Ce n’est pas Paul - This is not Paul

Ce ne sont pas Suzanne et Chantal - They are not Suzanne and Chantal

To indicate that you do not know the answer, say je ne sais pas

Qui est-ce? Est-ce Chantal - Who is that? Is it Chantal?

Je ne sais pas - I don’t know

Introducing yourself - Je m’appelle Jason

Identifying and Specifying

Qu ‘est-ce que c’est? - What is this?

C’est un studio de television - It’s a television studio

Il y a des techniciens dans la salle - There are technicians in the room

Il ya a une camera - There is a camera

Les acteurs regardent le chien - The actors are watching the dog

In French, nouns are divided into two broad categories, masculine and feminine. Gender in French is a grammatical category and used to classify nouns that share certain patterns. You should learn the gender of each noun as you learn the noun itself. To do this, you will need to learn the articles.

The Indefinite Article

The indefinite article means a, an, or some. Un is used before masculine nouns, une before feminine nouns, and des before plural nouns of either gender.

Masculine - un personnage - des personnages

Feminine - une camera - des cameras

C’est un film americain - It is an American film

C’est une photo de Louise - This is a photo of Louise

Ce ne sont pas des photos d’Antoine - These are not photos of Antoine

The Definite Article

The definite article means the. Le is used before masculine nouns, la before feminine nouns, and les in the plural. Note that before a noun beginning with a vowel sound, le and la become l’.

Le studio - les studios

L’acteur - les acteurs

L’hotel - les hotels

La personne - les personnes

L’actrice - les actrices

L’histoire - les histoires

The Plural Substantifs

Noun plurals are usually formed by adding -s to the written singular form. See the examples in the preceding article charts. This plural -s ending is usually silent.

Le film - les films

Note the following plurals of compound nouns.

Un sac a dos - deux sacs a dos

Un bloc-notes - deux blocs-notes

Une salle de classe - deux salles de classe

To ask for identification of a thing, use Qu’est-ce que c’est.

Qu’est-ce que c’est? - What is that?

C’est un sac a dos - Its a backpack

Vocabulary

Un acteur - an actor

Une actrice - an actress

Un cinema - movie theater

Une femme - woman

Une histoire - story

Un homme - man

Un personnage - character

Un ami - male friend

Une amie - female friend

Un cahier - notebook

Une calculatrice - calculator

Un crayon - pencil

Un etudiant - male university student

Une etudiante - female university student

Un livre - book

Un mobile - cell phone

Un ordinateur - computer

Un portable - laptop

Un stylo - pen

Des - some

Le, la, les - the

Un, une - a/an

A bientot - see you soon

A demain - see you tomorrow

Au revoir - goodbye

Bonjour - hello

Ca va? How’s it going?

Ca va bien - I’m fine

Comment allez-vous? - How are you?

Comment t’appelles-tu? -  What is your name?

Comment vas-tu? - How are you?

Comment vous appelez-vous? - What is your name?

Enchante - Nice to meet you

Et toi? - And you?

Et vous? - and you?

Je m’appelle - my name is…

Je vais bien - I am fine

Merci - thankyou

Salut - hi or bye

Tres bien - very well

Aussi - also

Bien - well

Dans - in

De - of or from

Et - and

Il y a - there us or there are

La - there or here

Non - no

Ou - or

Oui - yes

Tres - very

Vocabulary In Context

These are my notes on vocabulary in context in French.

Spelling a word correctly in French requires using written accents, which are part of the spelling of some words. They cannot be omitted. To ask how to spell a word in French, say:

Comment secrit le mot? - How do you spell the word?

Qui sont ces personnes? - Who are these people?

Subject Pronouns

Just as in English, every French verb has a subject, the person or thing that performs the action of the verb. Subjects are singular or plural, as well as masculine or feminine. Sometimes the subject is not named specifically but is identified by a pronoun.

Je becomes j’ before a verb form beginning with a vowel sound.

J’adore Paris - I love Paris

French has two pronouns meaning you; the distinction is mostly one of politeness. Tu is familiar and informal. It is used with animals, young children, family, friends, and contemporaries in age and status. The plural of tu is vous.

Tu es Yasmine? - Are you Yasmine?

Vous etes Yasmine et Benoit? - Are you Yasmine and Benoit?

Vous is also used in more formal situations, to address a person with whom you are not well acquainted, who is older, or who possesses greater status. The plural form is also vous.

Vous etes M. Jackson? - Are you Mr. Jackson?

Vous etes M. et Mme Harvey? - Are you Mr. and Mrs. Harvey?

These guidelines are general and may vary according to situation, region, or social class. If you are in doubt, it is best to address a person using vous.

Il, elle, and elles may refer to both people and things. Note that French has no single equivalent of the pronoun it. Use il or ils to replace masculine nouns, use elle or elles to replace feminine nouns.

Le livre est sur la table! - Is the book on the table?

Oui, il est sur la table. - Yes, it is on the table.

Les comptines sont utiles? - Are comptines useful?

Oui, elles ont tres utiles. - Yes, they are very useful.

If you need to refer to both masculine and feminine nouns at once, use the pronoun ils.

Rachid, Yasmine, et Isabelle sont a l’ecole. Ils parlent ensemble. - Rachid, Yasmine, and Isabelle are at school. They are talking.

The meaning of the pronoun on depends on the context: one, you, people, we, they.

En France, on aime les mobiles. - In France, people like cell phones.

On va ou? - Where are we going?

Tout le monde is a singular expression meaning everybody. It takes the same verb form as il, elle, and on.

Tout le monde est la? - Is everybody here?

The Verb Etre(to be)

In French, the form of a verb changes depending on the subject.

Je suis Isabelle. - I am Isabelle.

Tu es Yasmine? - Are you Yasmine?

Vous etes M. Bouhazid? - Are you Mr. Bouhazid?

The verb etre can be followed by a name, a noun, an adjective, and many other kinds of phrases.

Je suis Yasmine! - I am Yasmine!

C’est un portable. - That is a laptop.

Il est intelligent. - He is intelligent.

C’est vrai. - That’s true.

Vous etes dans le classe? - Are you in the class?

When expressing someone’s job or profession in French, the indefinite article is not used after the verb etre.

Je suis institutrice. - I am a school teacher.

Il est professeur. - He is a professor.