French Language Tutorial

Aix-en-Provence

2nd Edition
ielanguages.com

by Dr. Jennifer Wagner

2011-2016
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Introduction

The second edition of French Language Tutorial is a grammar and vocabulary review of the French
language with many sample sentences, informal and slang vocabulary, as well as information about
French culture for English-speakers living in France. This new edition has been redesigned in an order
that encourages progression and repetition of language skills over time. Many of the vocabulary lists
include cross-references to similar topics for easier review of previously learned vocabulary.

The first appendix includes extended vocabulary lists that reach beyond introductory or even
intermediate French courses, especially with respect to cultural vocabulary specific to certain
situations that students or expats in France may experience. The second appendix is an overview of
French pronunciation for speakers of American English. An alphabetical index is included after the
appendices.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols are used for pronunciation for all of the verb
conjugations and the majority of the vocabulary lists. If you do not know the IPA, sample words are
provided in English that contain similar sounds, but there are some vowel sounds in French that do not
exist in English.

In addition, all of the vocabulary lists, verb conjugations, and sample sentences have been recorded
by three native French speakers so that you can listen and read along at the same time. The
accompanying mp3s are included in the original product file as a .rar file which can be easily extracted
using WinRAR or another program.

Please send any comments, suggestions, or corrections to [email protected]

Thank you for supporting ielanguages.com by buying this book. Please visit
www.ielanguages.com/store/ for more language books.
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Table of Contents

Pronunciation Guide for the International Phonetic Alphabet.................................................................................................. 7

Basic Phrases / Les expressions de base............................................................................................................................... 8
Pronunciation / La prononciation........................................................................................................................................... 12
Alphabet & First Names / L'alphabet & les prnoms ............................................................................................................ 15
Nouns / Les noms................................................................................................................................................................. 16
Pronouns / Les pronoms....................................................................................................................................................... 17
Useful Words / Les mots utiles ............................................................................................................................................. 19
To Be & To Have / Etre & Avoir ........................................................................................................................................... 21
Expressions with Avoir and Etre........................................................................................................................................... 23
Question Words / Les interrogatifs ....................................................................................................................................... 25
Numbers / Les nombres ....................................................................................................................................................... 27
Time / L'heure....................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Days of the Week / Les jours de la semaine......................................................................................................................... 30
Months of the Year / Les mois de l'anne............................................................................................................................. 31
Weather / Le temps............................................................................................................................................................... 32
Seasons / Les saisons.......................................................................................................................................................... 32
Colors & Shapes / Les couleurs & les formes ..................................................................................................................... 33
Family & Pets / La famille & les animaux domestiques......................................................................................................... 34
To Do or Make / Faire........................................................................................................................................................... 36
Adjectives / Les adjectifs....................................................................................................................................................... 37
Plural Nouns / Le pluriel de noms......................................................................................................................................... 38
Possessive Adjectives & Pronouns / Les adjectifs & pronoms possessifs............................................................................39
Work / Le travail.................................................................................................................................................................... 40
School Subjects / Les matires............................................................................................................................................. 43
To Want, To Be Able To, To Have to / Vouloir, Pouvoir, Devoir ........................................................................................... 45
Prepositions / Les prpositions............................................................................................................................................. 47
Countries & Nationalities / Les pays & les nationalits......................................................................................................... 49
Directions / Les directions..................................................................................................................................................... 50
To Come & to Go / Venir & Aller........................................................................................................................................... 51
To / in and from places, cities, and countries........................................................................................................................ 52
Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Present Indicative Tense.................................................................................................53
Reflexive Verbs / Les verbes rflchis ................................................................................................................................. 55
Spelling Changes in Regular Verbs...................................................................................................................................... 57
Present and Past Perfect Tenses / Pass compos et Plus-que-parfait...............................................................................59
Irregular Past Participles / Les participes passs irreguliers.................................................................................................61
Etre Verbs............................................................................................................................................................................. 62
Food & Meals / La nourriture & les repas.............................................................................................................................. 64
Fruits & Vegetables / Les fruits & les lgumes ..................................................................................................................... 66
Spices & Nuts / Les pices & les noix................................................................................................................................... 67
To Take, Eat or Drink / Prendre & Boire................................................................................................................................ 68
Quantities / Les quantits...................................................................................................................................................... 69
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Commands / L'impratif........................................................................................................................................................ 70
Negatives / La ngation........................................................................................................................................................ 71
More Regular Verbs.............................................................................................................................................................. 72
Imperfect Tense / L'imparfait ................................................................................................................................................ 73
Buildings & Places / Les btiments & les endroits ............................................................................................................... 74
Transportation / Les moyens de transport............................................................................................................................. 75
To Know / Savoir & Connatre............................................................................................................................................... 76
The House / La maison ........................................................................................................................................................ 77
Comparatives & Superlatives / Le comparatif & le superlatif ................................................................................................80
The Body / Le corps ............................................................................................................................................................. 82
Describing People / Dcrire les gens.................................................................................................................................... 84
Clothes / Les vtements........................................................................................................................................................ 85
To Put or to Wear / Mettre .................................................................................................................................................... 86
Preceding Adjectives ........................................................................................................................................................... 87
Feminine & Plural Adjectives................................................................................................................................................ 88
More Adjectives.................................................................................................................................................................... 90
Adverbs / Les adverbes ....................................................................................................................................................... 92
Problem Verbs ..................................................................................................................................................................... 94
Adjective Patterns ................................................................................................................................................................ 96
Sports & Activities / Les sports & les activits ...................................................................................................................... 97
To Like & Miss / Plaire & Manquer ....................................................................................................................................... 99
Likes & Dislikes / Exprimer ses gots................................................................................................................................. 100
Future Tenses / Le futur ..................................................................................................................................................... 101
Conditional Tenses / Le conditionnel.................................................................................................................................. 103
Basic Communication......................................................................................................................................................... 105
Review of Personal Pronouns ............................................................................................................................................ 106
Review of Asking Questions: Interrogative Pronouns ........................................................................................................ 109
Forms of Lequel ................................................................................................................................................................. 111
Relative Pronouns / Les pronoms relatifs ........................................................................................................................... 112
Conjunctions & Connecting Words / Les conjonctions & les mots de liaisons ...................................................................113
To Read, To Say / Tell, & To Laugh / Lire, Dire, Rire ......................................................................................................... 114
Verb Patterns...................................................................................................................................................................... 115
Y & En ................................................................................................................................................................................ 117
To See, To Believe, & To Run / Voir, Croire, Courir ........................................................................................................... 119
Animals & Insects / Les animaux & les insectes................................................................................................................. 120
Nature / La nature .............................................................................................................................................................. 122
To Live & to Die / Vivre & Mourir......................................................................................................................................... 123
Subjunctive Mood / Le subjonctif ....................................................................................................................................... 124
Ne Expltif .......................................................................................................................................................................... 127
Falloir & Valoir .................................................................................................................................................................... 127
Going shopping / Faire les magasins ................................................................................................................................. 128
Cosmetics & Toiletries / Les produits de beaut & les articles de toilette ..........................................................................129
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At the hair salon / Chez le coiffeur ..................................................................................................................................... 130

False Cognates / Les faux amis ......................................................................................................................................... 131
Colloquial Expressions / Les expressions familires .......................................................................................................... 134
Uses of the Infinitive / L'infinitif ........................................................................................................................................... 136
Present Participle / Le participe prsent.............................................................................................................................. 136
Forms of Tout ..................................................................................................................................................................... 137
Marriage & Civil Unions / Le mariage & le PACS ............................................................................................................... 138
Babies & Children / Les bbs & les enfants ..................................................................................................................... 139
School & University / L'cole & l'universit ......................................................................................................................... 140
Work & Money / Le travail & l'argent .................................................................................................................................. 142
Computer & Internet / L'ordinateur & internet...................................................................................................................... 143
On the phone / Au tlphone ............................................................................................................................................. 144
Depuis, il y a, & pendant..................................................................................................................................................... 145
Faire Causative .................................................................................................................................................................. 146
Holidays & Holiday Phrases / Les ftes.............................................................................................................................. 147
Traveling & Airport / Les voyages & l'aroport.................................................................................................................... 148
Getting Around the City / Se dplacer en ville .................................................................................................................... 149
Hotel & Camping / L'htel & le camping.............................................................................................................................. 150
French Cuisine / La cuisine franaise................................................................................................................................. 151
Cooking & Kitchen Utensils / La cuisine ............................................................................................................................. 152
Passive Voice / La voix passive ......................................................................................................................................... 153
Direct & Indirect Discourse ................................................................................................................................................. 154
Filling out forms / Les formulaires ...................................................................................................................................... 155
Renting an apartment / Louer un appartement .................................................................................................................. 156
Bank / La banque................................................................................................................................................................ 157
Post Office / La poste ......................................................................................................................................................... 158
To Write, to Receive, & to Follow / Ecrire, Recevoir, Suivre .............................................................................................. 159
Parts of a Car & At the Gas Station / La voiture & la station-service ..................................................................................160
To Drive / Conduire............................................................................................................................................................. 161
Special Uses of Devoir ....................................................................................................................................................... 161
Going to the doctor / Chez le docteur ................................................................................................................................ 162
Medicine & Hospital / La mdecine & l'hpital.................................................................................................................... 163
Going to the dentist or eye doctor / Chez le dentiste ou l'ophtalmologiste .........................................................................164
English used in French ....................................................................................................................................................... 165
Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................................................... 166
Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................................................... 167
Media & Press / Les mdias & la presse............................................................................................................................. 169
News & Society / Les infos & la socit.............................................................................................................................. 170
Politics / La politique .......................................................................................................................................................... 171
Geography of France.......................................................................................................................................................... 172
Simple Past Tense / Le pass simple................................................................................................................................. 173
Fairy Tales & Fantasy / Les contes de fes & la fantaisie................................................................................................... 176
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Religion / La religion........................................................................................................................................................... 177

Music & Art / La musique & l'art ......................................................................................................................................... 178
Punctuation & Writing Letters.............................................................................................................................................. 179
To Acquire, Resolve & be Born / Acqurir, Rsoudre, Natre............................................................................................. 180
Imperfect & Past Subjunctive ............................................................................................................................................. 181
Translating Phrasal Verbs: English to French..................................................................................................................... 182
Other Translation Difficulties: English to French................................................................................................................. 188

Appendix I: Extended Vocabulary Lists............................................................................................................................... 190

Countries & Nationalities: European & Francophone..................................................................................................... 190
House: Yard & Workshop.............................................................................................................................................. 192
Body Parts: Slang.......................................................................................................................................................... 193
Health: Slang................................................................................................................................................................. 193
Clothes: Slang................................................................................................................................................................ 193
Sports: Soccer .............................................................................................................................................................. 194
Hobbies: Pastimes......................................................................................................................................................... 195
Zodiac Signs ................................................................................................................................................................. 195
Animals, Insects, Birds, Marine Life............................................................................................................................... 196
Nature............................................................................................................................................................................ 197
Ocean & Space.............................................................................................................................................................. 198
French School System................................................................................................................................................... 199
Holiday Vocabulary........................................................................................................................................................ 201
Television in France....................................................................................................................................................... 203
Departments of France ................................................................................................................................................. 204
Major Cities of France ................................................................................................................................................... 205
Adjective patterns with and de ................................................................................................................................... 207
Verb patterns with and de .......................................................................................................................................... 208
Quebecois French ......................................................................................................................................................... 211
Appendix II: French Pronunciation for Speakers of American English ...............................................................................213
Pure Vowels................................................................................................................................................................... 213
Semi-Vowels.................................................................................................................................................................. 215
Nasal Vowels................................................................................................................................................................. 215
Consonants.................................................................................................................................................................... 216
Silent Letters.................................................................................................................................................................. 218
e caduc ......................................................................................................................................................................... 220
Liaison........................................................................................................................................................................... 221
Stress............................................................................................................................................................................. 222
Intonation....................................................................................................................................................................... 222
Informal Reductions ...................................................................................................................................................... 223

Index................................................................................................................................................................................... 224
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Pronunciation Guide for the International Phonetic Alphabet

Below are all of the vowel and consonant symbols used in this book for the French language. Sounds
in gray do not exist in English.

English + French Vowels French Vowels Only Nasal Vowels

a father pte * long /a/ dent
e bait yeux rounded /e/ bain
bet sur rounded // long
i she y tu rounded /i/ brun *
o no Semi-Vowels
law huit /y/ + /i/
sofa j yes
u you w we

The English vowels // as in did, // as in put, and // as in bat are not found in native French words.
All vowels in French are pure, i.e. they are not diphthongs as in English. The so-called long vowels in
English tend to have a second sound, either /j/ or /w/. For example, play is pronounced /plej/ instead of
/ple/. Be sure to never pronounce the /j/ or /w/ after pure vowels in French.

The vowel // is not pronounced in all dialects of French, and it is being replaced by /a/. Similarly, the
nasal vowel // is being replaced by //.

Consonants
b big m man s sing
d dog n note shy
f fun canyon t train
g gold parking v vase
k cat p poor z zebra
l lose rire genre, measure

The sounds /t/ as in church and /d/ as in judge are not found in native French words. French // is
probably the only consonant that will give you much trouble.
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Basic Phrases / Les expressions de base

Bonjour /bu/ Hello / Good day / Good morning

Bonsoir /bswa/ Good evening
Au revoir /()vwa/ Goodbye
Salut /saly/ Hi / Bye
S'il vous plat /sil vu pl/ Please (formal)
S'il te plat /sil t pl/ Please (informal)
Merci (beaucoup) /msi boku/ Thank you (very much)
Je vous en prie / vu z pri/ You're welcome (formal)
De rien / Je t'en prie /d j/ / t pri/ You're welcome (informal)
Bonne journe /bn une/ Have a nice day
Pardon /pad/ Excuse me (passing through) / Sorry (stepped on foot)
Excusez-moi /ekskyze mwa/ Excuse me (getting attention) / I'm sorry (more formal apology)
Je suis dsol(e) / si dezle/ I'm sorry
Oui / Non /wi/ /n/ Yes / No
Monsieur /msj/ Mr. / Sir
Madame /madam/ Mrs. / Ma'am
Mademoiselle /madwazl/ Miss
Enchant(e) /te/ Nice to meet you
bientt /a bjto/ See you soon
tout l'heure /a tu ta l/ See you in a little while
plus tard /a ply ta/ See you later
demain /a dm/ See you tomorrow
Allons-y /al zi/ Let's go
Bonne nuit /bn ni/ Good night (only said when going to bed)

Questions & Responses

Comment allez-vous ? /km tale vu/ How are you? (formal)

Je vais bien / v bj/ I'm fine (formal)
Trs bien / mal / pas mal /t bj/ /mal/ /pa mal/ Very good / bad / not bad
a va ? /sa va/ How are you? (informal)
a va. /sa va/ I'm fine (informal)
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Comment vous appelez-vous ? /km vu zaple vu/ What's your name? (formal)
Tu t'appelles comment ? /ty tapl km/ What's your name? (informal)
Je m'appelle... / mapl/ My name is...

Vous tes d'o ? /vu zt du/ Where are you from? (formal)
Tu es d'o ? /ty du/ Where are you from? (informal)
Je suis de... / si d/ I am from...

Vous venez d'o ? /vu vne du/ Where do you come from? (formal)
Tu viens d'o ? /ty vj du/ Where do you come from? (informal)
Je viens de... / vj d/ I come from...

O habitez-vous ? /u abite vu/ Where do you live? (formal)

Tu habites o ? /ty abit u/ Where do you live? (informal)
J'habite ... /abit a/ I live in...

Quel ge avez-vous ? /kl ave vu/ How old are you? (formal)
Tu as quel ge ? /ty kl / How old are you? (informal)
J'ai ____ ans. /e __ / I am ____ years old.

Parlez-vous franais ? /pale vu frs/ Do you speak French? (formal)

Tu parles anglais ? /ty pal gl/ Do you speak English? (informal)
Je parle allemand. / pal alm/ I speak German.
Je ne parle pas espagnol. / n pal pa spal/ I don't speak Spanish.

Comprenez-vous? /kpne vu/ Do you understand? (formal)

Tu comprends? /ty kp/ Do you understand? (informal)
Je comprends / kp/ I understand
Je n'ai pas bien compris / ne pa bj kpi/ I didn't understand
Comment ? /km/ What? Pardon?

Pouvez-vous m'aider ? /puve vu mede/ Can you help me? (formal)

Tu peux m'aider ? /ty p mede/ Can you help me? (informal)
J'ai besoin d'aide. /e bzw dd/ I need help.
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More Useful Phrases

Je vous prsente... / vu pezt/ I'd like to introduce you to...

Je te prsente... / t pezt/ This is... (informal)

Je sais / s/ I know
Je ne sais pas / n s pa/ I don't know
Je n'en sais rien / n s j/ I really don't know
Je suis perdu(e) / si pdy/ I'm confused

Bien sr. /bj sy/ Of course.

Tenez / Tiens /tne/ /tj/ Hey / Here (formal / informal)
Voici / Voil /vwasi/ /vwala/ Here is / are... / There it is.
Il y a ... / Il y avait... /il i a/ /il i av/ There is / are... / There was / were...
O est ... / O sont ... ? /u / /u s/ Where is ... / Where are ... ?

Comment dit-on ____ en franais ? /km di t __ fs/ How do you say ____ in French?
Qu'est-ce que c'est que a ? /ks k s k sa/ What is that?
C'est quoi a ? /se kwa sa/ What is that? (informal)

Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? /ks kil i a/ What's the matter?

Qu'est-ce qui se passe ? /ks ki s pas/ What's happening?
Je n'ai aucune ide. / ne okyn ide/ I have no idea.
a ne fait rien. /sa n f j/ It doesn't matter.

Je suis fatigu(e) / Je suis malade. / si fatie/ / si malad/ I'm tired / I'm sick.
J'ai faim / J'ai soif. /e f/ /e swaf/ I'm hungry / I'm thirsty.
J'ai chaud / J'ai froid. /e o/ /e fw/ I'm hot / I'm cold.
Je m'ennuie. / mni/ I'm bored.

J'ai oubli. /e ublije/ I forgot.

a m'est gal. / Je m'en fiche. /sa m teal/ / m fi/ I don't care. (neutral / informal)
Je dois y aller. / dwa i ale/ I have to go.

Ne vous en faites pas. /n vu ft pa/ Don't worry (formal)