Sommaire
French is not so very far from English. Both languages have the same historical origins and this is a great help for learners, especially when it comes to acquiring vocabulary.
But there are important differences in the structures of the two languages. And if you understand those from the beginning, you’ll build your knowledge on a firm foundation.
Let’s start with the simple sentence :
Une dame et un garçon regardent tranquillement le paysage.
The basic elements are the same in French as in English :
Subject | Verb | Adverb | | Object
Une dame et un garçon | regardent | tranquillement | le paysage
A lady and a boy | look | peacefully | at | the countryside
Now let’s look at the differences.
1 The masculine and feminine genders
Le genre masculin et le genre féminin
Where in English we have a lady and a boy, in French we have :
une dame et un garçon
Une is French for a – the indefinite article – when the noun that follows is feminine.
Un is French for a when the noun that follows is masculine.
And in French, all nouns are either masculine or feminine.
une fleur et un arbre
a flower and a tree
une maison ou un appartement
a house or a flat
As for the word the – the definite article – in French it’s la for feminine nouns and le for masculine nouns :
la péniche et le bateau
the barge and the boat
la dame et le monsieur
the lady and the gentleman
le chat et la souris
the cat and the mouse
When you learn a noun, memorise the article that goes with it at the same time : « la maison » and not simply « maison ». Confidence over the gender of nouns will greatly improve your fluency.
Plural nouns take the same indefinite article whether they are masculine or feminine – des :
un café des cafés
a coffee – some coffees
une voiture des voitures
a car – some cars
And plural nouns also take the same definite article whether they are masculine or feminine – les :
les chats et les souris
the cats and the mice
2 How adjectives behave
Le comportement des adjectifs
Adjectives must agree with nouns in terms of number, singular or plural, and gender, masculine or feminine.
More often than not, making an adjective feminine involves adding an e to the masculine version.
noir
is masculine for black and
noire
is the feminine for black.
Sometimes you will find the root of the word changes a little too, for example :
le mur blanc
the white wall
la maison blanche
the white house
When you learn an adjective, learn its two gender forms at the same time.
blanc | blanche
white
heureux | heureuse
happy, lucky
Often, making nouns and adjectives plural involves adding an s.
le chat noir les chats noir s
the black cat – the black cats
la voiture noire les voitures noire s
the black car – the black cars
Sometimes though, particularly when there is a group of vowels at the end of the word, making a word plural involves adding an x :
Les bateaux noirs quittent le port
The black ships leave the port.
Neither the s for the plural nor the x for the plural is pronounced.
The adjective noir goes after the noun
le café noir
the black coffee
la marée noire
the black tide: the oil slick
unlike the English black, which goes before coffee or tide. This isn’t a rule for all adjectives – but in spoken French the adjectives of colour go after the noun.
For other adjectives, it’s a question of learning by experience. Sometimes the word order changes the meaning :
a tall man
un grand homme
a great man
3 The conjugation of verbs
La conjugaison des verbes
Verb endings change according to whether the subject is singular or plural :
Le sujet | Le verbe | L’objet
Le bateau noir | quitte | le port.
The black boat | leaves | the port.
Les bateaux | quittent | le port.
The boats | leave | the port.
Verb endings also change according to whether the subject is the first person
je
I
nous
we
the second person
tu
you (singular)
vous
you (plural or formal)
or the third person
il
he, it
elle
she, it
ils, elles
they
Here are the endings for the verb parler – to speak :
parler | to speak
je parle
I speak
tu parles
you speak
il parle
he speaks (masculine)
elle parle
she speaks (feminine)
nous parlons
we speak
vous parlez
you speak
ils parlent
they speak (masculine)
elles parlent
they speak (feminine)
With the verb parler – and all regular verbs ending in er – the pronunciation is the same for the first, second and third person singular and the third person plural.
je parle
tu parles
il parle
elle parle
ils parlent
elles parlent
4 The construction of verbs
La construction des verbes
Look again at the sentence which began this lesson.
Subject | Verb | Adverb | | Object
Une dame et un garçon | regardent | tranquillement | | le paysage
A lady and a boy | look | peacefully | at | the countryside
In English there is the additional word at. The sense of at is included in the French verb regarder. There are some verbs in French which stand on their own, where in English you need a preposition :
regarder
to look at
Nous regardons la rivière.
We look at the river.
chercher
to look for
Elle cherche le journal.
She looks for the newspaper.
And there are some verbs in French which take a preposition, where the English equivalent stands alone :
entrer dans
to enter
Il entre dans le bureau.
He enters the office.
And sometimes the meaning of a verb can change when it’s followed by a preposition :
chercher
to look for
chercher à
to try to
Elle cherche à comprendre.
She tries to understand.
When you learn a verb, always learn the construction that goes with it at the same time.
Les Exercices
After each lesson, you will find exercises to test what you’ve learnt. To begin with they’re easy. As your knowledge builds up, they become more challenging.
1 Les adjectifs
a) For your first exercise, put the following adjectives into the feminine form.
Exemple
bleu
bleue
blue
À vous maintenant…
lent
lente
slow
grand
grande
big/ tall
blanc
blanche
white
petit
petite
small
court
courte
short
simple
simple
simple
magique
magique
magic
clair
claire
clear
français
française
French
anglais
anglaise
English
espagnol
espagnole
Spanish
Show the answers Hide the answersb) Now put the following adjectives into the plural :
sympathique
sympathiques
nice
extraordinaire
extraordinaires
extraordinary
beau
beaux
beautiful
magnifique
magnifiques
magnificent
Show the answers Hide the answers2 Les Verbes
Mastering verbs is the key to speaking French fluently. Today we are going to learn the present indicative of group one verbs. These verbs have the infinitive -er . Listen to the following conjugations and repeat. Keep practising this exercise. When you feel confident enough, repeat out loud the conjugation without looking at the words on the screen. Listen back to the French reading to make sure you have it correct.
regarder
to look at
je regarde
I look at
tu regardes
you look at
il regarde
he looks at
elle regarde
she looks at
nous regardons
we look at
vous regardez
you look at
ils regardent
they look at (masc.)
elles regardent
they look at (fem.)
jouer
to play
je joue
I play
tu joues
you play
il joue
he plays
elle joue
she plays
nous jouons
we play
vous jouez
you play
ils jouent
they play (masc.)
elles jouent
they play (fem.)
3 Les expressions vivantes
Listen well and you will pronounce well. Listen and repeat the following sentences. Keep practising them until you can say them off by heart. Equip yourself with a microphone. Record your voice and compare it with the French.
Une dame et un garçon regardent tranquillement le paysage.
A lady and a boy look peacefully at the countryside.
La voiture noire quitte le garage.
The black car leaves the garage.
Le bateau noir quitte le port.
The black boat leaves the port.
4 Vocabulaire
To finish, some vocabulary. Many words have the same meaning in French and English. So a quick way to build up your vocabulary is to recognise types of words which are often the same in the two languages.
Careful though with the pronunciation, which is not identical. Repeat after each word. Keep a notebook and jot down words which you’re likely to use in the future.
To begin with some words ending in -tion . Nearly all French nouns ending in -tion are feminine.
Féminin
l’information
la solution
la révolution
l’intonation
l’intention
la résolution
l’évolution
la génération
la présentation
la séparation
la création
l’adoption
la négation
And now some words ending in -ment . Nearly all nouns ending in -ment are masculine.
Masculin
le gouvernement
l’élément
le département
l’appartement
le développement
le parlement
l’agrément
le compliment
le complément
le sentiment
Now it’s time for the next lesson.
