1. BASIC PHRASES / LES EXPRESSIONS DE BASENEW!If you'd like to study these phrases (and their pronunciations) individually, please go toBasic French Phrases.Bonjour/bu/Hello /Good day/ Good morningBonsoir/bswa/Good eveningBonne nuit/bn ni/Good night (only said when going to bed)

Salut/saly/Hi / ByeAu revoir/()vwa/GoodbyeS'il vous plat / S'il te plat/sil vu pl/Please (formal / informal)

Merci (beaucoup)/msi boku/Thank you (very much)De rien./d j/You're welcome.Je vous en prie./vu z pri/You're welcome. (formal) / Go ahead.

Bienvenu(e)/bjvny/Welcome (also You're welcome in Quebec)Allons-y!/al zi/Let's go!A tout l'heure/a tu ta l/See you in a little while

A plus tard/a ply ta/See you laterA bientt/a bjto/See you soonA demain/a dm/See you tomorrow

Je suis dsol(e)/dezle/I'm sorryPardon !/pad/Excuse me! (pushing through a crowd) / Sorry! (stepped on someone's foot)Excusez-moi !/ekskyze mwa/Excuse me! (getting someone's attention) / I'm sorry! (more formal apology)

Comment allez-vous ?/km tale vu/How are you? (formal)Je vais bien/ ve bj/I'm fine.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 response to a va ?)Oui / non/wi/ /n/Yes / no

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...

Enchant(e)/te/Nice to meet you.Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle/msj/ /madam/ /madwazl/Mister, Misses, MissMesdames et Messieurs/medam/ /mesj/Ladies and gentlemen

Vous tes d'o ? / Vous venez d'o ?/vu zt du/ /vu vne du/Where are you from? (formal)Tu es d'o ? / Tu viens d'o ?/ty du/ /ty vj du/Where are you from? (informal)Je suis de... / Je viens de.../ si d/ / vj d/I am 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 ?/Tu parles anglais ?/pale vu frs/ /ty pal gl/Do you speak French? (formal) / Do you speakEnglish? (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? / Tu comprends?/kpne vu/ /ty kp/Do you understand? (formal / informal)Je comprends/ kp/I understandJe ne comprends pas/ n kp pa/I don't understand

Pouvez-vous m'aider ? / Tu peux m'aider ?/puve vu mede/ /ty p mede/Can you help me? (formal / informal)Bien sr./bj sy/Of course.Comment ?/km/What? Pardon?

Tenez / Tiens/tne/ /tj/Hey / Here (formal / informal)Je sais/ s/I knowJe ne sais pas/n s pa/I don't know

O est ... / O sont ... ?/u / /u s/Where is ... / Where are ... ?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...

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

a ne fait rien./sa n f j/It doesn't 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.

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.a m'est gal./ Je m'en fiche./sa m teal/ / m fi/It's the same to me / I don't care. (informal)Ne vous en faites pas. / Ne t'en fais pas./n vu ft pa/ /n t f pa/Don't worry (formal / informal)

Ce n'est pas grave./s n pa gav/It's no problem. / It's alright.J'ai oubli./e ublije/I forgot.Je dois y aller./ dwa i ale/I must go.

A vos souhaits ! / A tes souhaits !/a vo sw/ /a te sw/Bless you! (formal / informal)Flicitations !/felisitasj/Congratulations!Bonne chance !/bn s/Good luck!

C'est vous ! / C'est toi !/s ta vu/ /s ta tw/It's your turn! (formal / informal)Taisez-vous ! / Tais-toi !/tze vu/ /t tw/Shut up! / Be quiet! (formal / informal)Je vous aime/ Je t'aime/ vu zm/ / tm/I love you (formal & plural / informal)

Tu me manques./ty m mk/I miss you. (informal)Quoi de neuf ?/kw d nf/What's new?Pas grand-chose./pa g oz/Not a whole lot.

Notice that French has informal and formal ways of saying things. This is because there is more than one meaning to "you" in French (as well as in many other languages.) The informal you is used when talking to close friends, relatives, animals or children. The formal you is used when talking to someone you just met, do not know well, or someone for whom you would like to show respect (a professor, for example.) There is also a plural you, used when speaking to more than one person. Also notice that some words take an extrae, shown in parentheses. If the word refers to a woman or is spoken by a woman, then theeis added in spelling; but in most cases, it does notchangethe pronunciation. To make verbs negative, French addsnebefore the verb andpasafter it. However, theneis frequently dropped in spoken French, although it must appear in written French.Don't forget to check out myvideoseries on informal French expressions and slang vocabulary at theInformal French tutorial

2. PRONUNCIATION / LA PRONONCIATIONFor a more in-depth look at French pronunciation, try to theFrench Phoneticstutorial.French Vowels

IPAPhonetic spellingSample wordsGeneral spellings

[i]eevie, midi, lit, rizi, y

[y]ee roundedrue, jus, tissu, usineu

[e]aybl, nez, cahier, pied, et, final er andez

[]ay roundedjeu, yeux, queue, bleueu

[]ehlait, aile, balai, reinee, , ,ai, ei, ais

[]eh roundedsur, uf, fleur, beurreu, eu

[a]ahchat, ami, papa, saladea, ,

[]ah longerbas, ne, grce, chteaua,

[u]ooloup, cou, caillou, outilou

[o]oheau, dos, escargot, htelo,

[]awsol, pomme, cloche, horlogeo

[]uhfentre, genou, cheval, cerisee

[]is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by[a]. Vowels that do not exist inEnglishare marked in blue.French semi-vowels

IPAPhonetic spellingSample wordsGeneral spelling

[w]wfois, oui, Louisoi, ou

[]ew-eelui, suisseui

[j]yuhoreille, Mireilleill, y

French nasal vowels

IPAPhonetic spellingSample wordsGeneral spelling

[a]awngant, banc, denten, em, an, am, aon, aen

[]ahnpain, vin, lingein, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um,en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, en

[]uhnbrun, lundi, parfumun

[o]ohnrond, ongle, fronton, om

[]is being replaced with[]in modern FrenchIn words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant. Otherwise, the in- prefix is pronounceeenbefore a vowel.French Consonants

ex + vowelegzexamen, exercice

ex + consonanteksexceptionnel, expression

ch (Latin origin)sharchitecte,archives

ch (Greek origin)korchestre, archologie

ti + vowel (except )seedmocratie, nation

c + e, i, y; or scent, ceinture, maon

c + a, o, ukcaillou, car, cube

g + e, i, yzhgenou, gingembre

g + a, o, uggomme, ganglion

thtmaths, thme, thym

jzhjambe, jus, jeune

qu, final qkque, quoi, grecque

hsilentharicot, herbe, hasard

vowel + s + vowelzrose, falaise, casino

x + vowelzsix ans, beaux arts

final xssix, dix, soixante(these 3 only!)

There are a lot of silent letters in French, and you usually do not pronounce the final consonant, unless that final consonant is C, R, F or L (except verbs that end in -r).Liaison:French slurs most words together in a sentence, so if a word ends in a consonant that is not pronounced and the next word starts with a vowel or silent h, slur the two together as if it were one word. S and x are pronounced as z; d as t; and f as v in these liaisons. Liaison is always made in the following cases: after a determiner:un ami, des amis before or after a pronoun:vous avez, je les ai after a preceding adjective:bon ami, petits enfants after one syllable prepositions:en avion, dans un livre after some one-syllable adverbs (trs, plus, bien) afterestIt is optional afterpas, trop fort, and the forms oftre, but it is never made afteret.Silent e:Sometimes theeis dropped in words and phrases, shortening the syllables and slurring more words. rapid(e)ment, lent(e)ment, sauv(e)tage/apidm/ /tm/ /sovta/ sous l(e) bureau, chez l(e) docteur/sul byo/ /el dkto/ il y a d(e)... , pas d(e)... , plus d(e).../yad/ /pad/ / plyd/ je n(e), de n(e)/n/ /dn/ j(e) te, c(e) que/t/ /sk/ (note the change of the pronunciation of the j as well)Stress & Intonation:Stress on syllables is not as heavily pronounced as in English and it generally falls on the last syllable of the word. Intonation usually only rises for yes/no questions, and all other times, it goes down at the end of the sentence.

3. ALPHABET / L'ALPHABETa/a/j/i/s/s/

b/be/k/ka/t/te/

c/se/l/l/u/y/

d/de/m/m/v/ve/

e//n/n/w/dublve/

f/f/o/o/x/iks/

g//p/pe/y/igrk/

h/a/q/ky/z/zd/

i/i/r//

4. NOUNS, ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES / LES NOMS, LES ARTICLES & LES DEMONSTRATIFSAll nouns in French have a gender, either masculine or feminine. For the most part, you must memorize the gender, but there are some endings of words that will help you decide which gender a noun is. Nouns ending in -age and -ment are usually masculine, as are nouns ending with a consonant. Nouns ending in -ure, -sion, -tion, -ence, -ance, -t, and -ette are usually feminine.Articles and adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. And articles have to be expressed even though they aren't always in English; and you may have to repeat the article in some cases. Demonstratives are like strong definite articles.Definite Articles (The)

MasculineFeminineBefore VowelPlural

lelit/l li/the bedlapomme/la pm/the applel'oiseau/lwazo/the birdlesgants/le /the gloves

Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some)

MasculineFemininePlural

unlit/ li/a bedunepomme/ yn pm/an appledesgants/de /some gloves

Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those)

Masc.Masc, Before VowelFem.Plural

celit/s li/this/that bedcetoiseau/s twazo/this/that birdcettepomme/st pm/this/that applecesgants/se /these/those gloves

If you need to distinguish between this or that and these or those, you can add -ci to the end of the noun for this and these, and -l to the end of the noun for that and those. For example,ce lit-ciisthis bed, whilece lit-listhat bed.

5. USEFUL WORDS / LES MOTS UTILESIt's / That'sc'est/s/There is/areil y a/il i a/

There is/arevoil/vwala/Here is/arevoici/vwasi/

andet/e/alwaystoujours/tuu/

butmais/m/oftensouvent/suv/

nowmaintenant/mtn/sometimesquelquefois/klkfwa/

especiallysurtout/sytu/usuallyd'habitude/dabityd/

exceptsauf/sof/also, tooaussi/osi/

of coursebien sr/bj sy/againencore/k/

so socomme ci,commea/km si, km sa/lateen retard/ta/

not badpas mal/pa mal/almostpresque/psk/

bookle livre/l liv/friend (fem)une amie/y nami/

pencille crayon/l kj/friend (masc)un ami/ nami/

penle stylo/l stilo/womanune femme/yn fam/

paperle papier/l papje/manun homme/ nm/

dogle chien/l j/girlune fille/yn fij/

catle chat/l a/boyun garon/ gas/

moneyl'argent (m)/la/job / workle travail/l tavaj/

The expressionil y ais reduced toy ain everyday speech. When il y a is followed by a number, it meansago. Il y a cinq minutesmeansfive minutes ago.Some common slang words for money include:le fric, le pze, le pognon, des sousand for job/work:le boulot.

6. SUBJECT PRONOUNS / LES PRONOMS SUJETSSubject Pronouns

je//Inous/nu/We

tu/ty/You (informal)vous/vu/You (formal and plural)

ilelleon/il//l///HeSheOneilselles/il//l/They (masc.)They (fem.)

Ilandellecan also meanitwhen they replace a noun (il replaces masculine nouns, and elle replaces feminine nouns) instead of a person's name. Ilsandellescan replace plural nouns as well in the same way. Notice there are two ways to say you. Tuis used when speaking to children, animals, or close friends and relatives. Vousis used when speaking to more than one person, or to someone you don't know or who is older. Oncan be translated into English as one, the people, we, they, or you.Tutoyerandvouvoyerare two verbs that have no direct translation into English.Tutoyermeans to usetuor be informal with someone, whilevouvoyermeans to usevousor be formal with someone.

7. TO BE & TO HAVE / ETRE & AVOIRPresent tenseof tre /t/ - to be

I amjesuis/ si/We arenoussommes/nu sm/

You aretues/ty /You arevoustes/vu zt/

He isShe isOne isilestelleestonest/il //l // n/They areThey areilssontellessont/il s//l s/

Past tense of tre - to be

Iwasj'tais/et/Wewerenoustions/nu zetj/

You weretutais/tu et/You werevoustiez/vu zetje/

He wasShe wasOne wasiltaitelletaitontait/il et//l et// net/They wereThey wereilstaientellestaient/il zet//l zet/

Jeand any verb form that starts with a vowel (or silent h) combine together for ease of pronunciation.Future Tense of tre - to be

Iwill bejeserai/ se/We willbenousserons/nu s/

You will betuseras/ty sa/Youwill bevousserez/vu se/

He will beShe will beOne will beilseraelleseraonsera/il sa//l sa// sa/They willbeTheywill beilsserontellesseront/il s//l s/

Present tense of avoir /avwa/ - to have

I havej'ai/e/Wehavenousavons/nu zav/

You havetuas/ty /You havevousavez/vu zave/

He hasShe hasOne hasilaelleaona/il //l // n/They haveThey haveilsontellesont/il z//l z/

Past tense of avoir - to have

I hadj'avais/av/We hadnousavions/nu zavj/

You hadtuavais/ty av/You hadvousaviez/vu zavje/

He hadShe hadOne hadilavaitelleavaitonavait/il av//l av// nav/They hadilsavaientellesavaient/il zav//l zav/

Future tense of avoir - to have

Iwillhavej'aurai/oe/We willhavenousaurons/nu zo/

You will havetuauras/ty o/You will havevousaurez/vu zoe/

He will haveShe will haveOne will haveilauraelleauraonaura/il oa//l oa// noa/They willhaveThey will haveilsaurontellesauront/il zo//l zo/

In spoken French, the tu forms of verbs that begin with a vowel contract with the pronoun: tu es =t'es/t/, tu as =t'as/t/, etc. In addition, it is very common to useon(plus 3rd person singular conjugation) to mean we instead of nous.COMMON EXPRESSIONS WITH AVOIR AND ETRE

Avoirandtreare used in many common and idiomatic expressions that should be memorized:avoir chaud/avwa o/to be hottre de retour/t d tu/to be back

avoir froid/avwa fwa/to be coldtre en retard/t ta/to be late

avoir peur/avwa p/to be afraidtre en avance/t navs/to be early

avoir raison/avwa z/to be righttre d'accord/t dak/to be in agreement

avoir tort/avwa t/to be wrongtre sur le point de/t sy l pw d/to be about to

avoir faim/avwa f/to be hungrytre en train de/t t d/to be in the act of

avoir soif/avwa swaf/to be thirstytre enrhume/t yme/to have a cold

avoir sommeil/avwa smj/to be sleepynous + tre (un jour)/t u/to be (a day)

avoir honte/avwa t/to be ashamed

avoir besoin de/avwa bzw d/to need

avoir l'air de/avwa d/to look like, seem

avoir l'intention de/avwa tsj/to intend to

avoir envie de/avwa vi d/to feel like

avoir de la chance/avwa d la s/to be lucky

J'ai froid.I'm cold.Tu avais raison.You were right.Il aura sommeil ce soir.He will be tired tonight.Elle a de la chance !She's lucky!Nous aurons faim plus tard.We will be hungry later.Vous aviez tort.You were wrong.Ils ont chaud.They are hot.Elles avaient peur hier. They were afraid yesterday.Je suis en retard! I'm late!Tu tais en avance.You were early.Elle sera d'accord. She will agree.Nous sommes lundi.It is Monday.Vous tiez enrhum.You had a cold.Ils seront en train d'tudier.They will be (in the act of) studying.Elles taient sur le point de partir.They were about to leave.On est de retour.We/you/they/the people are back.

8. QUESTION WORDS / LES INTERROGATIFSWhoQui/ki/

WhatQuoi/kwa/

WhyPourquoi/pukwa/

WhenQuand/k/

WhereO/u/

HowComment/km/

How much / manyCombien/kbj/

Which / whatQuel(le)/kl/

9. CARDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES CARDINAUXZeroZro/zeo/

One Un//

TwoDeux/d/

ThreeTrois/tw/

FourQuatre/kat/

FiveCinq/sk/

SixSix/sis/

SevenSept/st/

EightHuit/it/

NineNeuf/nf/

TenDix/dis/

ElevenOnze/z/

TwelveDouze/duz/

ThirteenTreize/tz/

FourteenQuatorze/katz/

FifteenQuinze/kz/

SixteenSeize/sz/

SeventeenDix-sept/dist/

EighteenDix-huit/dizit/

NineteenDix-neuf/diznf/

TwentyVingt/v/

Twenty-oneVingt et un/vt e /

Twenty-twoVingt-deux/v d/

Twenty-threeVingt-trois/v tw/

ThirtyTrente/tt/

Thirty-oneTrente et un/tt e //

Thirty-twoTrente-deux/tt d/

FortyQuarante/kat/

FiftyCinquante/skt/

SixtySoixante/swast/

SeventySoixante-dix/swastdis/

(Belgium & Switzerland)Septante/sptt/

Seventy-oneSoixante et onze/swast e z/

Seventy-twoSoixante-douze/swast duz/

EightyQuatre-vingts/katv/

(Belgium & Switzerland)Octante/ktt/

Eighty-oneQuatre-vingt-un/katv t/

Eighty-twoQuatre-vingt-deux/katv d/

NinetyQuatre-vingt-dix/katv dis/

(Belgium & Switzerland)Nonante/nnt/

Ninety-oneQuatre-vingt-onze/katv z/

Ninety-twoQuatre-vingt-douze/katv duz/

One HundredCent/s/

One Hundred OneCent un/s t/

Two HundredDeux cents/d s/

Two Hundred OneDeux cent un/d s t/

ThousandMille/mil/

Two ThousandDeux mille/d mil/

MillionUnmillion/o milj/

BillionUn milliard/o milja/

French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and Swiss French useseptanteandnonantein place of the standard French words for 70 and 90 (though some parts of Switzerland usehuitantefor 80 andoctanteis barely used anymore). Also, when the numbers 5, 6, 8, and 10 are used before a word beginning with a consonant, their final consonants are not pronounced. Phone numbers in France are ten digits, beginning with 01, 02, 03, 04, or 05 depending on the geographical region, or 06 and 07 for cell phones. They are written two digits at a time, and pronounced thus: 01 36 55 89 28 = zro un, trente-six, cinquante-cinq, quatre-vingt-neuf, vingt-huit.ORDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES ORDINAUXfirstpremier /premire

seconddeuxime / second

thirdtroisime

fourthquatrime

fifthcinquime

sixthsixime

seventhseptime

eighthhuitime

ninthneuvime

tenthdixime

eleventhonzime

twelfthdouzime

twentiethvingtime

twenty-firstvingt et unime

thirtiethtrentime

The majority of numbers become ordinals by adding -ime. But if a number ends in an e, you must drop it before adding the -ime. After a q, you must add a u before the -ime. And an f becomes a v before the -ime.Listen to thela tlphone : un messagemp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

10. DAYS OF THE WEEK / LES JOURS DE LA SEMAINEMondaylundi/ldi/

Tuesdaymardi/madi/

Wednesdaymercredi/mkdi/

Thursdayjeudi/di/

Fridayvendredi/vddi/

Saturdaysamedi/samdi/

Sundaydimanche/dim/

dayle jour/l u/

weekla semaine/la s()mn/

todayaujourd'hui/oudi/

yesterdayhier/j/

tomorrowdemain/dm/

nextprochain / prochaine/p/ /pn/

lastdernier / dernire/dnje/ /dnj/

day before yesterdayavant-hier/avtj/

day after tomorrowaprs-demain/apdm/

the following dayle lendemain/l ldm/

the day beforela veille/la vj/

Articles are not used before days, except to express something that happens habitually on a certain day, such aslelundi= on Mondays. Days of the week are all masculine in gender and they are not capitalized in writing.Listen to thel'heure & la date : l'emploi du tempsmp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

11. MONTHS OF THE YEAR / LES MOIS DE L'ANNEEJanuaryjanvier/vje/

Februaryfvrier/fevije/

Marchmars/mas/

Aprilavril/avil/

Maymai/m/

Junejuin//

Julyjuillet/ij/

Augustaot/u(t)/

Septemberseptembre/sptb/

Octoberoctobre/ktb/

Novembernovembre/nvb/

Decemberdcembre/desb/

monthle mois/l mwa/

yearl'an / l'anne/l/ /lane/

decadela dcennie/deseni/

centuryle sicle/l sjkl/

millenniumle millnaire/milen/

To express in a certain month, such asin May, useenbefore the month as in "en mai." With dates, the ordinal numbers are not used, except for the first of the month: le premier maibutle deux juin. Also note that months are all masculine and not capitalized in French (same as days of the week).

12. SEASONS / LES SAISONSSummerl't/lete/inthesummeren t/ nete/

Falll'automne/lotn/in the fallen automne/ notn/

Winterl'hiver/liv/in the winteren hiver/ niv/

Springle printemps/l pt/in the springau printemps/o prt/

13. DIRECTIONS / LES DIRECTIONSon the left gauche/a go/

on the right droite/a dwt/

straight aheadtout droit/tu dw/

Northle nord/l n/Northeastle nord-est/l n(d)st/

Southle sud/l syd/Northwestle nord-ouest/l n(d)wst/

Eastl'est/lst/Southeastle sud-est/sydst/

Westl'ouest/lwst/Southwestle sud-ouest/sydwst/

14. COLORS & SHAPES / LES COULEURS & LES FORMESRedrouge/u/squarele carr/kae/

Orangeorange//circlele cercle/skl/

Yellowjaune/on/trianglele triangle/tijgl/

Greenvert / verte/v/ /vt/rectanglele rectangle/ktgl/

Bluebleu / bleue/bl/ovall'ovale/val/

Purpleviolet / violette/vjl/ /vjlt/cubele cube/kyb/

Whiteblanc / blanche/bl/ /bl/spherela sphre/sf/

Brownbrun / brunemarron/bo/ /byn//ma/cylinderle cylindre/sild/

Blacknoir / noire/nwa/conele cne/kon/

Pinkrose/oz/octagonl'octogone/ktogn/

Golddor / dore/de/boxla bote/bwat/

Silverargent / argente/ate/lightclair / claire/kl/

Graygris / grise/gi/ /giz/darkfonc / fonce/fse/

Some adjectives of color do not change to agree with gender or number, such as adjectives that also exist as nouns:orange, marron, rose; and compound adjectives:bleuclair, noir foncremain masculine even if they describe a feminine noun. Remember to place the color adjective after the noun.

15. WEATHER / LE TEMPS QU'IL FAITWhat'stheweatherlike?Queltemps fait-il ?/kl t f til/

It's niceIl fait bon/il f b/

badIl fait mauvais/il f mve/

coolIl fait frais/il f f/

coldIl fait froid/il f fw/

warm, hotIl fait chaud/il f o/

cloudyIl fait nuageux/il f nya/

beautifulIl fait beau/il f bo/

mildIl fait doux/il f du/

stormyIl fait orageux/il f a/

sunnyIl fait soleil/il f slj/

humidIl fait humide/il f ymid/

muggyIl fait lourd/il f lu/

windyIlfait du vent/il f dy v/

foggyIl fait du brouillard/il f dy buja/

snowingIl neige/il n/

rainingIl pleut/il pl/

freezingIl gle/il l/

hailingIl grle/il gl/

It is ____ degrees.Il fait ____ degrs./il f __ dge/

Il pleut des cordes/il pl de kod/ is a common expression meaningit's pouring.Il caille/il kaj/ ora caille/sa kaj/ is slang for it's freezing. And remember that France uses Celcius degrees.Listen to thele climat: le temps dans les Alpesmp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

16. TIME / LE TEMPS QUI PASSEWhattimeisit?Quelleheure est-il ?/kl til/

It is...Il est.../il /

one o'clockune heure/yn /

two o'clockdeux heures/d z/

noonmidi/midi/

midnightminuit/mini/

a quarter after threetrois heures et quart/tw z e ka/

one o'clock sharpune heure prcise/yn pesiz/

four o'clock sharpquatre heures prcises/kat pesiz/

twelve thirtymidi (minuit) et demi/midi (mini) e dmi/

six thirtysix heures et demie/si z e dmi/

aquarter to sevensept heures moins le quart/st mw l ka/

five twentycinq heures vingt/sk v/

ten fiftyonze heures moins dix/z mw dis/

in the morning/AMdu matin/dy mat/

in the afternoon/PMde l'aprs-midi/d lapmidi/

in the evening/PMdu soir/dy swa/

Official French time is expressed as military time (24 hour clock.) You can only use regular numbers, and not demi, quart, etc. when reporting time with the 24 hour system. For example, if it is 18h30, you must saydix-huit heures trente. The wordpile/pil/ is also a more informal way of sayingprcise(exactly, sharp).Listen to thel'heure & la date : l'emploi du tempsmp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

17. FAMILY & ANIMALS / LA FAMILLE & LES ANIMAUXFamilyla famille/famij/Niecela nice/njs/

Relativesdes parents/pa/Nephewle neveu/n()v/

Parentsles parents/pa/Grandchildrenles petits-enfants/p()tizf/

Grandparentsles grands-parents/gpa/Granddaughterla petite-fille/p()tit fij/

Momla mre / maman/m/ /mm/Grandsonle petit-fils/p()tifis/

Stepmother/Mother-in-Lawla belle-mre/blm/Godfatherle parrain/pa/

Dadle pre / papa/p/ /papa/Godmotherla marraine/man/

Stepfather/Father-in-Lawle beau-pre/bop/Godsonle filleul/fijl/

Daughterla fille/fij/Goddaughterla filleule/fijl/

Sonle fils/fis/Distant Relativesdes parents loigns/pa elwae/

Sisterla sur/s/Singleclibataire/selibat/

Half/Step Sisterla demi-sur/dmi s/Marriedmari(e)/maje/

Sister-in-Lawla belle-sur/bls/Separatedspar(e)/sepae/

Stepdaughter/Daughter-in-Lawla belle-fille/bl fij/Divorceddivorc(e)/divse/

Brotherle frre/f/Widowerveuf/vf/

Half/Step Brotherle demi-frre/dmi f/Widowveuve/vv/

Brother-in-Lawle beau-frre/bo f/

Stepson/Son-in-Lawle beau-fils/bo fis/Dogle chien /la chienne(m) / (f)/j/ /jn/

Twins (m)les jumeaux/ymo/Catle chat / la chatte(m) / (f)/a/ /at/

Twins (f)les jumelles/yml/Puppyle chiot/jo/

Unclel'oncle/kl/Kittenle chaton/at/

Auntla tante/tt/Pigle cochon/k/

Grandmotherla grand-mre/gm/Roosterle coq/kk/

Grandfatherle grand-pre/gp/Rabbitle lapin/lap/

Cousin (f)la cousine/kuzin/Cowla vache/va/

Cousin (m)le cousin/kuz/Horsele cheval/()val/

Wifela femme/fam/Duckle canard/kana/

Husbandle mari/mai/Goatla chvre/v/

Womanla femme/fam/Goosel'oie/wa/

Manl'homme/m/Sheeple mouton/mut/

Child (m) / (f)un enfant / une enfant/f/Lambl'agneau/ao/

Girlla fille/fij/Donkeyl'ne/n/

Boyle garon/gas/Mousela souris/sui/

Le gendre/d/ is another word for son-in-law.Listen to thela famille : ma famillemp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.Slang words for people and pets:The entire familytoute la smala/tut la smala/Sisterla frangine/fin/

Grandmamm / mamie/meme/ /mami/Brotherle frangin/f/

Grandpapp / papi/pepe/ /papi/Sonle fiston/fist/

Childrendes gosses/gs/Aunttata / tatie/tata/ /tati/

Kidun gamin / une gamine/gam/ /gamin/Uncletonton/tt/

Womanune nana/nana/Dogle cabot / clbard/kabo/ /kleba/

Manun mec / type / gars/mk/ /tip/ /ga/Catle minou/minu/

Listen to theanimaux : chien ou chat ?mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

18. TO KNOW PEOPLE & PLACES / CONNAITRE & SAVOIRconnatre-to know people/knt/savoir-to know facts/savwa/

connais/kn/connaissons/kns/sais/s/savons/sav/

connais/kn/connaissez/knse/sais/s/savez/save/

connat/kn/connaissent/kns/sait/s/savent/sav/

Connatreis used when you know (are familiar with) people, places, food, movies, books, etc. andsavoiris used when you know facts. Whensavoiris followed by an infinitive it meansto knowhow.There is another form of savoir commonly used in the expressionsque je sachethat I know (of)andpas que je sachenot that I know (of).Je connais ton frre.I know your brother.Je sais que ton frre s'appelle Jean.I know that your brother is named John.Connaissez-vous Grenoble ?Do you know (Are you familiar with) Grenoble? / Have you ever been to Grenoble?Oui, nous connaissons Grenoble.Yes, we know (are familiar with) Grenoble. / Yes, we've been to Grenoble.Tu sais o Grenoble se trouve.You know where Grenoble is located.Ils savent nager.They know how to swim.Connatrecan be translated several ways into English:Tu connais le film, Les Enfants ?Have you seen the film, Les Enfants?Tu connais Lyon ?Have you ever been to Lyon?Tu connais la tartiflette ?Have you ever eaten tartiflette?

19. FORMATION OF PLURAL NOUNS / LA FORMATION DES NOMS PLURIELSTo make a noun plural, you usually add an -s (which is not pronounced).But there are some exceptions:Sing.Plural

If a noun already ends in an -s, add nothing.bus(es)le busles bus

If a noun ends in -eu or -eau, add an x.boat(s)le bateaules bateaux

If amasculinenoun ends in -al or -ail, change it to -aux.horse(s)le chevalles chevaux

Some nouns ending in -ou add an -x instead of -s.knee(s)le genoules genoux

Exceptions:festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, dtail, chandailall add -s. There are only seven nouns ending in -ou that add -x instead of -s:bijou, caillou, chou, genou, pou, joujou, hibou.There are, of course, some irregular exceptions: un il(eye) -des yeux(eyes);le ciel(sky) -les cieux(skies); andun jeune homme(a young man) -des jeunes gens(young men).Notice that the only time the pronunciation will change in the plural form is for masculine nouns that change -al or -ail to -aux and for the irregular forms.All other nouns are pronounced the same in the singular and the plural- it is only the article that changes pronunciation (le, la, l' to les).

20. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES / LES ADJECTIFS POSSESSIFSMasc.Fem.Plural

Mymon/m/ma/ma/mes/m/

Yourton/t/ta/ta/tes/t/

His/Her/Itsson/s/sa/sa/ses/s/

Ournotre/nt/notre/nt/nos/no/

Yourvotre/vt/votre/vt/vos/vo/

Theirleur/l/leur/l/leurs/l/

Possessive pronouns go before the noun. When a feminine noun begins with a vowel, you must use the masculine form of the pronoun for ease of pronunciation. Ma amieis incorrect and must bemon amie, even thoughamieis feminine. Remember that adjectives agree with the noun in gender and number, not the possessor!Sa mrecan mean his mother or her mother even thoughsais the feminine form, because it agrees with mre and not the possessor (his or her).C'est ma mre et mon pre.This is my mother and my father.Ce sont vos petits-enfants ?These are your grandchildren?Mes parents sont divorcs. My parents are divorced.Sa grand-mre est veuve.His grandmother is a widow.Notre frre est mari, mais notre sur est clibataire.Our brother is married, but our sister is single.Ton oncle est architecte, n'est-ce pas ?Your uncle is an architect, isn't he?Leurs cousines sont nerlandaises.Their cousins are Dutch.DirectionalWords

righttherejuste lzhoostlahacross fromen face deawnfawz duh

hereiciee-seebetweenentreawn-truh

over therel-baslah bahnext to ct deah koh-tay duh

to the right of droite deah dwaht duhnearprs depreh duh

to the left of gauche deah gohsh duhfar (from)loin delwahn duh

straight aheadtout droittoo dwahat the end ofau fond deoh fohn duh

in front ofdevantduh-vawnat the top ofenhaut deawnoh duh

behindderriredare-ee-air

119. OTHER TRANSLATION DIFFICULTIES: ENGLISH TO FRENCHbe getting / going + adjectivedevenir + adjectivelet somebody knowfaire savoir

do nothing butne faire quelet's just hope thatpourvu que

forgive somebody for [verb]-ingexcuser quelqu'un de + infinitivelet's [verb] / how about we [verb]?Et si on...?

get oneself + past participlese faire + infinitivemay / mightil se peut / pourrait que

how come...?comment se fait-il que...?may...puisse...

however / no matter (much)avoir beauno matterpeu importe

I can't help [verb]-ingJe ne peux pas m'empcher de + infinitiveno sooner...n'avoir pas si tt

I hate/loathe/can't stand [verb]-ingJ'ai horreur de + infinitivesee to it thatveiller ce que

I miss + [verb]-inga me manque de ne passo farjusqu' prsent

I was going to / I had planned toJ'avais prvu deThe way + subject + verbLa faon dont + subject + verb

I wish (regret)Je regrette de ne pasThere is no + [verb]-ingIl n'y a pas de moyen de

I wish + imperfectsi seulement + imperfectThere/it happens toIl se trouve que

I wish + past perfectJ'aurais aim que + subjunctiveto sit, stand, lietre assis, debout, allong

I'd rather thatJ'aimerais mieux que + subjunctiveWhat / How about + [verb]-ing?Que dirais tu de + infinitive ?

In order (not) todans le but de (ne pas) + infinitiveWhat if?et si?

It's about timeil serait grand tempswhateverquel que soit

it's no use / you needn'til est inutile quewhateverquoi que

It's typical of him/hera lui ressemblewheneverchaque fois

It's usual foril est d'usage quewherevero que + subjunctive

just because... doesn't meanle simple fait que... ne veut pas direWhether you like it or notQue a te plaise ou non.

keep on [verb]-ingne cesser pas de + infinitivewhoeverquiconque

let (permission)Que + subjunctiveYou just have to + infinitiveTu n'as qu' + infinitive

Toujours dans mon curAmour de ma viePour toujours et jamais: "Forever and for always"Tu es mon amour. Ton amour est aussi prcieux que l'or. This phrase means:Your love is as precious as gold. Tu es pour moi la plus belle. Tu es dans toutes mes penses. You are in all my thoughts. C'est pour toi que je suis l. I am here for you. Tu es ma meilleure amie. You are my best friend. Mon cher couter la voix de mon cur qui dit les mots que je ne pourrais pas vous dire. Entre deuxcoeursqui saiment, nulbesoinde paroles.

Viaa eo ans nu o lsa s se piard!Viaa efrumoas admir-o!Viaa ebucurie gust-o din plin!Viaa eun vis transform-l n realitate!Viaa eo sfidare nfrunt-o!Viata eo datorie mplinete-o!Viaa eun joc joac-l!Viaa epreioas ai grij de ea!Viaa eo bogie pzete-o!Viaa edragoste bucur-te de ea!Viaa eun mister ncearc s-l ptrunzi!Viaa eo promisiune n-o lsa nemplinit!Viaaetristee treci peste ea!Viaa eun imn cnt-l!Viaa eo lupt accept-o!Viaa eo tragedie fii tare!Viata eo aventur ndznete s i-o asumi!Viaa efericire fii astfel nct s o merii!Viaa e via ocrotete-o!(Maica Tereza)

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