• French language

• French Pronunciation
• Pronouncing French Vowels

PRONOUNCING FRENCH
VOWELS
French pronunciation is the most difficult aspect of learning French for many studen
particularly English speakers. It takes a lot of practice to pronounce French correctly, but if you really w
to speak French, good pronunciation is essential.

A vowel is a sound that is pronounced through the mouth (and, in the case of nasal vowels, the nose) w
no obstruction of the lips, tongue, or throat.

Some general guidelines for the pronunciation of the French vowels:

• Most French vowels are pronounced further forward in the mouth than their English counterparts
• The tongue must remain tensed throughout the pronunciation of the vowel.
• French vowels do not diphthong. In English, vowels tend to be followed by a y sound (after a, e,
or a w sound (after o or u). In French, this is not the case - the vowel sound remains constant: i
does not change into a y or w sound. Thus the French vowel is a "purer" sound than the English
vowel.

A, O, and U are sometimes called hard vowels and E and I are soft vowels, because certain consonants
G, S) have a "hard" and a "soft" pronunciation, depending on which vowel follows.

Vowels followed by M or N are usually nasal. Nasal pronunciation can be very different from the norma
pronunciation of each vowel.
A nasal vowel is a sound made by expelling air through the mouth and nose without obstruction of the l
tongue, or throat. Nasal pronunciation can be very different from the normal pronunciation of the same
vowels.
Accents may change the pronunciation of vowels.

Vowels
The Letter E
Nasal Vowels
Vowel Groups

FRENCH EASY
CONSONANTS
Of the 18 French consonants, b, d, f, k, l, p, t and v are pronounced pretty much a
English. The letter w appears in words from German and English and is pronounced as English v or w. A
English, q only appears before u in French.
French easy consonants:

LETTER SOUND WORD

b beh bonbons - candy
d deh dinde - turkey
f eff février - february
k kah kiosque - newstand
l ell fleurs - flowers
p peh pomme - apple
t teh tomate - tomato

There is no inintial aspiration when pronouncing French consonants. However, there is a slight aspiratio
after pronouncing French consonants.

In English, someone might say soup without opening his mouth at the end of the word, thus "swallowin
the last sound. In French, you must open your mouth to complete the word

FRENCH DIFFICULT
CONSONANTS
French consonants are pronounced almost like in English, except that you don't ling
on them; let them explode and move on to the vowel that follows. You can't pronounce French with a la
mouth. Remember to articulate.

Another few words of caution: In French, the consonants at the end of a word are not usually
pronounced, except for c, f, r, and l (the consonants in the word careful).

LETTER SOUND AS IN WORD NOTES

c c cash cache generally
c s set cette before e, i and y
ç s set ça only occurs before a, o, and u
g g god gant generally
g zh measure gens before e, i and y
h hour hier always silent
j zh measure je
m m more moi syllable initial
n n not non syllable initial
r r rouge
s s sit soie generally
s z zip pause between vowels
x ks fix fixe generally
x gz exam exercise between vowels (ex-)
y y yet yeux before a vowel

• r - pronounced at the back of the throat, with your uvula. Needs lots of practise.
Combinations

Of the several consonant and vowel-consonant combinations used in French, two are pronounced as in
English: ph and sc (pronounced [s] before e or i).

LETTER SOUND AS IN WORD NOTES

ch sh ship chic
gn ny onion Boulogne run the sounds together
il y yet oeuil see below
qu k quiche quand pronounced (kw) in a few words
tch ch check tchèque very rare
th t Thomas thé rare
before a vowel, similary '-tie' is
ti sy pass you action
pronounced like French 'si'

• French language
• French Grammar
• French Nouns

FRENCH NOUNS
Definition: A noun is a word that represents a thing, whether that thing is concret
(For Example a home, a cat) or abstract (an idea, happiness).

In French, all nouns have a gender - they are either masculine or feminine. It is very important to learn
noun's gender along with the noun itself because articles, adjectives, and some verbs have to agree wit
nouns; that is, they change depending on the gender of the noun they precede or follow. The gender of
some nouns makes sense (homme (man) is masculine, femme (woman) is feminine) but others don't
(personne (person) is always feminine, even if the person is a man!).

Examples in French:

un livre book
une chaise chair

There are some tendencies in the gender of nouns, but there are always exceptions. Countries and nam
that end in e are usually (but not always) feminine. There are a few common patterns, but please don't
these as a way to avoid learning the genders of nouns - just learn each word as gender + noun and the
you'll know them forever.

IN
ENDING EXCEPTIONS
GENERAL
un million
un lion
-ion Feminine un scion un billion
un avion un
bastion
 -té Feminine un comité un invité
-ée Feminine un lycée un musée
une plage
une page
-age Masculine une nage une rage
une cage une
image
l'eau
-eau Masculine une peau
(fem.)

Plural of Regular French Nouns

Most French nouns form their plural by adding the letter S. The plural form will usually sound the same
the singular. Nevertheless, the French add the letter S when they write. While the indefinite form of the
article is un or une, its plural form is des for both masculine and feminine nouns.

Nearly all French nouns have different forms for singular and plural. In addition, many nouns that refe
people have both a masculine and a feminine form. Many of the rules here also apply to adjectives.

Note that the gender rules apply only to people and some animals. They do not apply to objects, which
have a masculine or a feminine form, never both.

A. Most nouns add an e for feminine and an s for plural

SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL

MASC. invité invités ami amis
FEM. invitée invitées amie amies
B.
C. When a noun ends in e, there is no difference between the masculine and feminine form

SINGULAR PLURAL
MASC. touriste touristes
FEM. touriste touristes

D. When a noun ends in s, x, or z there is no difference between the singular and plural
forms

SINGULAR PLURAL
le fils les fils
le gaz les gaz

E. Irregular gender patterns

ENDING MASC. FEM.

-an paysan paysanne
-en gardien gardienne
-on patron patronne
 -er boulanger boulangère
-eur danseur danseuse
-teur acteur actrice

F. Irregular plural patterns

ENDING SINGULAR PLURAL

-ail travail travaux
-al cheval chevaux
-eau château chateaux
-eu feu feux
-ou bijou bijoux

FRENCH PRONOUNS
Definition: A pronoun can replace a noun or another pronoun. French pronouns ar
inflected to indicate their role in the sentence. Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns. French dra
them in many places where English does not; as a result, there are many more pronouns in French than
there are in English.

Different kinds of French pronouns:

1. Subject Pronouns

The subject of a sentence is the person or thing which performs the action. Subject pronouns rep
this person or thing. You must understand subject pronouns before you begin conjugating verbs,
the forms of verbs change for each one.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Je/j' (I) nous (we)
tu (you familiar) vous (you people)
il, elle, on (he, she) ils, (they)
elles
2. Note: j' (I) is only used when followed by a vowel or mute h.

Since all nouns are either masculine or feminine, they use the 3rd person subject pronouns whic
correspond to their gender. Thus il can refer to a male he or a masculine noun it and elle can re
to a female she or a feminine noun it.

Elles means they when all of the nouns (both people and things) referred to are feminine. If the
are any masculine nouns, the subject pronoun defaults to the masculine ils. Ils and elles are
pronounced exactly like il and elle.

3. Direct Object Pronouns

French language has direct object pronouns, words that replace the direct object. Direct object
pronouns take the place of the direct object nouns. While the direct object noun follows the verb
pronoun is placed in front of it, for example: tu prends l’avion (you take the airplane), tu le pren
 (you take it).

SINGULAR PLURAL
me/m' (me) nous (us)
te (you familiar) vous (you people)
vous (you formal) les (them)
le (l'), la (l') (him, her)
4.
Note: Me, te, and le/la change to m', t', and l' in front of a vowel or mute h.

Examples in French:
5. Je le mange. I'm eating it.
Il la voit. He sees her.
Je t'aime. I love you.
Tu m'aimes. You love me.
6. Note: When deciding between direct and indirect objects, the general rule is that if the person o
thing is preceded by a preposition, that person/thing is an indirect object. If it is not preceded by
preposition, it is a direct object.

7. Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect objects are the people or things in a sentence to/for whom/what or the action of the ver
occurs.

SINGULAR PLURAL
me/m' (me) nous (us)
te (you familiar) vous (you people)
vous (you formal) leur (them)
lui (him, her)
8.
Examples in French:
9. Je lui parle. I'm talking to him.
Il leur achète des livres.
He buys books for them.
Je vous donne le pain.
I'm giving the bread to you.
Elle m'a écrit. She wrote to me.
10. Note: Je le lui donne I give it to him the first pronoun is subject (I), the second pronoun is dire
object (le), the third one is indirect object (lui) because it is the one to which the action is occurr

11. Reflexive Pronouns

As we have learned in the verbs section, reflexive verbs express an action that acts upon the
subject, and with the reflexive verbs you will find reflexive pronouns, which are placed in front o
conjugated verb
 For example: Je me lave (I wash myself).

SINGULAR PLURAL
me (myself) nous (ourselves)
te (yourself familiar) vous (yourself)
vous (yourself formal) se (themselves)
se (himself, herself)
12.
Examples in French:
13. Nous nous parlons.
We're talking to each other.
Ils ne s'habillent pas.
They aren't getting dressed.
14. Disjunctive Pronouns

French disjunctive pronouns (also known as stressed pronouns) are used to emphasize a noun o
pronoun that refers to a person. A disjunctive pronoun is widely used (after prepositions, to
emphasize nouns or pronouns, after c'est and ce sont, to answer questions)

SINGULAR PLURAL
moi (me) nous (us)
toi (you familiar) vous (you people)
vous (you formal) eux, (them)
lui, soi, elle (him, himself, elles
her)
15.
Examples in French

1. To emphasize nouns or pronouns (accent tonique)

Je pense qu'il a raison. I think he's right.

Moi, je pense qu'il a tort. I think he's wrong.
Je ne sais pas, moi. I don't know.

2. After c'est and ce sont (accent tonique)

Ce sont elles qui aiment Machupicchu.

They love Machupicchu.
C'est toi qui étudies l'art.
You're the one who's studying art.

3. When a sentence has more than one subject or object

Carlos et moi jouons au tennis.

Carlos and I are playing tennis.
Toi et lui, vous êtes très gentils.
 You and he are very kind.
Je les ai vus, lui et elle.
I saw him and her.

4. To answer questions

Qui va à la plage?
Who is going to the beach?
Lui. He is.

5. After prepositions (indirect object)

Vas-tu manger sans moi ?

Are you going to eat without me?
Louis habite chez elle.
Louis lives at her house.
Ce livre est à toi.
This is your book.

6. After que in comparisons

Elle est plus grande que toi.

She is taller than you (are).

7. With words like aussi, seul, and surtout

Elle aussi veut venir.

She wants to come too.
Lui seul a travaillé hier.
He alone worked yesterday.

8. With -même(s) for emphasis

Prépare-t-il le dîner lui-même ?

Is he making dinner himself?
Nous le ferons nous-mêmes.
We'll do it ourselves.
 9. With the negative adverb ne...que and conjunction ne...ni...ni

Je ne connais que lui ici.

He's the only one I know here.
Ni toi ni moi ne le comprenons.
Neither you nor I understand it.

10. After the preposition à to indicate possession

Quel livre est à toi ?

Which book is yours?
Ce stylo est à moi.
This pen is mine.

• French language
• French Grammar
• French Articles

FRENCH ARTICLES
Definition: French articles are sometimes confusing for French students, because they
have to agree with the noun they modify and because they don't always correspond to articles in other langua
As a general rule, if you have a noun in French, there is generally always an article in front of it.

In French, articles are required on almost every common noun; much more so than in English. They are infle
to agree in gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) with the noun they determine, tho
many have only one plural form (not distinguishing between masculine plural and feminine plural). Many als
often change form slightly when the word that follows them begins with a vowel sound.

The following table summarizes the forms of each type of French article.
DEFINITE INDEFINITE PARTITIVE
MASCULINE le un du
FEMININE la une de la
IN FRONT
l' de l'
OF A VOWEL
PLURAL les des

Note: When you are learning a new vocabulary, learn the gender of each noun by making your vocabul
lists with a definite or indefinite article for each noun, because the articles (as well as adjectives, pronou
and just about everything else) change according to the gender of the noun.

There are three kinds of articles in French:

 1. Definite articles
2. Indefinite articles

3. Partitive articles
• French language
• French Grammar
• French Verbs

FRENCH VERBS
Definition: The verb is maybe the most important part of the sentence. A verb is a
word that describes an action or mental or physical state. A verb or compound verb asserts something
about the subject of the sentence and express actions, events, or states of being. The verb or compoun
verb is the critical element of the predicate of a sentence.

Tenses and Moods

French verbs can be formed in four moods, each of which express a unique feeling. Each mood has a
varying number of tenses, which indicate the time when an action takes place.

Infinitives

The infinitive form of the verb will be used to identify it. In English, the infinitive form is to "Verb". In
French, the infinitive is one word. For example, parler translates to to speak, finir translates to to finis
and aller translates to to go.

Conjugation

French verbs conjugate, which means they take different shapes depending on the subject. English verb
only have one conjugation; that is the third person singular (I see, you see, he/she sees, we see, they s
The only exception is the verb "to be" (I am; (thou art); you are; he/she is; we are; they are;). Most
French verbs will conjugate into many different forms. Most verbs are regular, which means that they
conjugate in the same way. The most common verbs, however, are irregular.

Examples in French

• accomplir - to accomplish
• bâtir - to build
• choisir - to choose
• embellir - to make beautiful
• envahir - to invade
• finir - to finish
• perdre - to lose
• rendre - to render
• répandre - to spread
• répondre - to answer
• tendre - to tighten
 • vendre - to sell

NUMBERS
Numbers

0 1 2 3 4 5
zero one two three four five
zéro un deux trois quatre cing

6 7 8 9 10 11
six seven eight nine ten eleven
six sept huit neuf dix onze

12 13 14 15 16 17
twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen
douze treize quatorze quinze seize dix-sept

18 19 20 21 22
eighteen nineteen twenty twenty-one twenty-two
dix-huit dix-neuf vingt vingt et un vingt-deux

30 40 50 60 70 80
thirty forty fifty sixty seventy eighty
trente quarante cinquante soixante soixante-dix quatre-vingts

90 100 1,000
ninety one hundred one thousand
quatre-vingt-dix cent mille

COLORS
Colors

COLORS ENGLISH MASC SING. FEM SING. MASC PLURAL FEM PLURAL
purple violet violette violets violettes
blue bleu bleue bleus bleues
green vert verte verts vertes
yellow jaune jaune jaunes jaunes
orange orange orange orange orange
red rouge rouge rouges rouges
black noir noire noirs noires
white blanc blanche blancs blanches
 grey gris grise gris grises
brown marron marron marron marron
pink rose rose roses roses
light blue bleu clair bleu clair bleu clair bleu clair
dark blue bleu foncé bleu foncé bleu foncé bleu foncé

FRENCH VERB
CONJUGATOR
Verb conjugation is related to the process of changing a verb form to provide
information about the action being performed. The form of the verb can gives us
some idea about who is performing the action, when the action is being performed,
and the relation of the verb to other parts of the sentence.

Conjugation of the Top 20 French Verbs:

être To be arriver To arrive, come

avoir To have, be, obtain entrer To enter, go in
aller To go passer To pass, spend
faire To make, do, take retourner To return
pouvoir To be able naître To be born
vouloir To want, wish partir To leave, depart
venir To come acheter To buy
savoir To know apprendre To learn, teach
prendre To take, have croire To believe
aimer To like, love étudier To study