French I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar

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1. BASIC PHRASES / LES EXPRESSIONS DE BASE

If you'd like to study these phrases (and their pronunciations) individually, please go to Basic
French Phrases.
Bonjour
/b u/
Hello / Good day / Good morning

Bonsoir
/bs wa/
Good evening

Bonne nuit
/bn ni/
Good night (only said when
going to bed)

Salut
/saly/
Hi / Bye

Au revoir
/()vwa/
Goodbye

S'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)
/bjv ny/
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 later

A bientt
/a bjt o/
See you soon

A demain
/a dm/
See you tomorrow

Je suis dsol(e)
/dezle/
I'm sorry

Pardon !
/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, Miss

Mesdames 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 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? / Tu
comprends?
/kpne vu/ /ty kp/
Do you understand? (formal /
informal)

Je comprends
/ kp/
I understand

Je 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 know

Je 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 extra e, shown in parentheses. If the word
refers to a woman or is spoken by a woman, then the e is added in spelling; but in most cases, it
does not change the pronunciation. To make verbs negative, French adds nebefore the verb
and pas after it. However, the ne is frequently dropped in spoken French, although it must
appear in written French.
Don't forget to check out my video series on informal French expressions and slang
vocabulary at the Informal French tutorial
2. PRONUNCIATION / LA PRONONCIATION
pronunciation, try to the French Phonetics tutorial.

For a more in-depth look at French

French Vowels
IPA

Phonetic
spelling

Sample words

General
spellings

[i]

ee

vie, midi, lit, riz

i, y

[y]

ee
rounded

rue, jus, tissu,

usine

[e] ay

bl, nez, cahier,

pied

, et, final er
and ez

[] ay rounded

jeu, yeux, queue,

bleu

eu

[] eh

lait, aile, balai,

reine

e, , , ai, ei,
ais

sur, uf, fleur,

beurre

u, eu

[a] ah

chat, ami, papa,

salade

a, ,

[] ah longer

bas, ne, grce,

chteau

a,

[u] oo

loup, cou, caillou,

outil

ou

[o] oh

eau, dos, escargot,

o,
htel

[] aw

sol, pomme,
cloche, horloge

[] uh

fentre, genou,
cheval, cerise

[]

eh
rounded

[] is disappearing in modern French, being replaced by [a]. Vowels that do not exist in English
are marked in blue.

French semi-vowels
IPA

Phonetic
spelling

Sample words

General
spelling

[w]

fois, oui,
Louis

oi, ou

[]

ew-ee

lui, suisse

ui

[j]

yuh

oreille,
Mireille

ill, y

French nasal vowels

PA

Phonetic spelling

Sample words

General spelling

[a]

awn

gant, banc, dent

en, em, an, am, aon, aen

[]

ahn

pain, vin, linge

in, im, yn, ym, ain, aim, ein, eim, un, um,
en, eng, oin, oing, oint, ien, yen, en

[]

uhn

brun, lundi, parfum

un

[o]

ohn

rond, ongle, front

on, om

[] is being replaced with [] in modern French

In words beginning with in-, a nasal is only used if the next letter is a consonant. Otherwise, the
in- prefix is pronounce eenbefore a vowel.
French Consonants
ex + vowel

egz

examen, exercice

ex + consonant

eks

exceptionnel, expression

ch (Latin origin)

sh

architecte, archives

ch (Greek origin)

orchestre, archologie

ti + vowel (except )

see

dmocratie, nation

c + e, i, y; or

cent, ceinture, maon

c + a, o, u

caillou, car, cube

g + e, i, y

zh

genou, gingembre

g + a, o, u

gomme, ganglion

th

maths, thme, thym

zh

jambe, jus, jeune

qu, final q

que, quoi, grecque

silent

haricot, herbe, hasard

vowel + s + vowel

rose, falaise, casino

x + vowel

six ans, beaux arts

final x

six, 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)
after est

It is optional after pas, trop fort, and the forms of tre, but it is never made after et.
Silent e: Sometimes the e is 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'ALPHABET

a /a/

/i/

/s/

b /be/

/ka/

/te/

c /se/

/l/

u /y/

d /de/

m /m/

e //

/n/

w /dublve/

/f/

/o/

/iks/

g //

/pe/

/igrk/

h /a/

/ky/

/zd/

//

/i/

/ve/

4. NOUNS, ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES / LES NOMS, LES ARTICLES & LES
DEMONSTRATIFS
All 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)

Masculine

Feminine

Before Vowel

Plural

le lit
/l li/
the bed

la pomme
/la pm/
the apple

l'oiseau
/lwazo/
the bird

les gants
/le /
the gloves

Indefinite Articles (A, An, Some)

Masculine

Feminine

Plural

un lit
/ li/
a bed

une pomme
/ yn pm/
an apple

des gants
/de /
some gloves

Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those)

Masc.

Masc, Before Vowel

Fem.

Plural

ce lit
/s li/
this/that bed

cet oiseau
/s twazo/
this/that bird

cette pomme
/st pm/
this/that apple

ces gants
/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-ci is this bed, while ce lit-l is that bed.
5. USEFUL WORDS / LES MOTS UTILES
It's / That's

c'est

/s/

There is/are

il y a

/il i a/

There is/are

voil

/vwala/

Here is/are

voici

/vwasi/

and

et

/e/

always

toujours

/tuu/

but

mais

/m/

often

souvent

now

maintenant

/mt n/

sometimes

quelquefois

/suv/
/klkfwa/

especially

surtout

/sytu/

usually

d'habitude

/dabityd/

except

sauf

/sof/

also, too

aussi

/osi/

of course

bien sr

/bj sy/

again

encore

/k/

so so

comme
ci, comme a

/km si, km sa/

late

en retard

/ta/

not bad

pas mal

/pa mal/

almost

presque

/psk/

book

le livre

/l liv/

friend (fem)

une amie

/y nami/

pencil

le crayon

/l kj/

friend (masc)

un ami

pen

le stylo

/l stilo/

woman

une femme

/ nami/
/yn fam/

paper

le papier

/l papje/

man

un homme

dog

le chien

/l j/

girl

une fille

cat

le chat

/l a/

boy

un garon

money

l'argent (m)

/la/

job / work

le travail

/ nm/
/yn fij/
/ gas/
/l tavaj/

The expression il y a is reduced to y a in everyday speech. When il y a is followed by a number,

it means ago. Il y a cinq minutes means five minutes ago. Some common slang words for
money include: le fric, le pze, le pognon, des sous and for job/work: le boulot.
6. SUBJECT PRONOUNS / LES PRONOMS SUJETS
Subject Pronouns
je

//

nous

tu

/ty/

You (informal)

vous

/vu/

You (formal and plural)

il
elle
on

/il/
/l/
//

He
She
One

ils
elles

/il/
/l/

They (masc.)
They (fem.)

/nu/

We

Il and elle can also mean it when they replace a noun (il replaces masculine nouns, and elle
replaces feminine nouns) instead of a person's name. Ils and elles can replace plural nouns as
well in the same way. Notice there are two ways to say you. Tu is used when speaking to
children, animals, or close friends and relatives. Vous is used when speaking to more than one
person, or to someone you don't know or who is older. On can be translated into English as
one, the people, we, they, or you.
Tutoyer and vouvoyer are two verbs that have no direct translation into
English. Tutoyer means to use tu or be informal with someone, while vouvoyer means to
use vous or be formal with someone.
7. TO BE & TO HAVE / ETRE & AVOIR
Present tense of tre /t/ - to be
I am

je suis

/ si/

We are

nous sommes

/nu sm/

You are

tu es

/ty /

You are

vous tes

/vu zt/

He is
She is
One is

il est
elle est
on est

/il /
/l /
/ n/

They are
They are

ils sont
elles sont

/il s/
/l s/

Past tense of tre - to be

I was

j'tais

/et/

We were

nous tions

/nu zetj/

You were

tu tais

/tu et/

You were

vous tiez

/vu zetje/

He was
She was
One was

il tait
elle tait
on tait

/il et/
/l et/
/ net/

They were
They were

ils taient
elles taient

/il zet/
/l zet/

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

je serai

/ se/

We will be

nous serons

/nu s/

You will be

tu seras

/ty sa/

You will be

vous serez

/vu se/

He will be

il sera

/il sa/

They will be ils seront

/il s/

She will be
One will be

/l sa/
/ sa/

elle sera
on sera

They will be elles seront

/l s/

Present tense of avoir /avwa/ - to have

I have

j'ai

/e/

We have

nous avons

/nu zav/

You have

tu as

/ty /

You have

vous avez

/vu zave/

He has
She has
One has

il a
elle a
on a

/il /
/l /
/ n/

They have
They have

ils ont
elles ont

/il z/
/l z/

Past tense of avoir - to have

I had

j'avais

/av/

We had

nous avions

/nu zavj/

You had

tu avais

/ty av/

You had

vous aviez

/vu zavje/

He had
She had
One had

il avait
elle avait
on avait

/il av/
/l av/
/ nav/

They had

ils avaient
elles avaient

/il zav/
/l zav/

Future tense of avoir - to have

I will have

j'aurai

/oe/

We will have

nous aurons

/nu zo/

You will have

tu auras

/ty o/

You will have

vous aurez

/vu zoe/

He will have
She will have
One will have

il aura
elle aura
on aura

/il oa/
/l oa/
/ noa/

They will have

They will have

ils auront
elles auront

/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 use on (plus 3rd person singular
conjugation) to mean we instead of nous.
COMMON EXPRESSIONS WITH AVOIR AND ETRE
Avoir and tre are used in many common and idiomatic expressions that should be memorized:
avoir chaud

/avwa o/

to be hot

tre de retour

/t d tu/ to be back

avoir froid

/avwa fwa/

to be cold

tre en retard

/t ta/

to be late

avoir peur

/avwa p/

to be afraid

tre en avance

/t navs/

to be early

avoir raison

/avwa z/

to be right

tre d'accord

/t dak/

to be in agreement

avoir tort

/avwa t/

to be wrong

tre sur le point

de

/t sy l
pw d/

to be about to

avoir faim

/avwa f/

to be hungry

tre en train de

/t t d/

to be in the act of

avoir soif

/avwa swaf/

to be thirsty

tre enrhume

/t yme/

to have a cold

avoir sommeil

/avwa smj/

to be sleepy

nous + tre (un

jour)

/t u/

to be (a day)

avoir honte

/avwa t /

to be ashamed

avoir besoin de

/avwa bzw
d/

to need

/avwa d/

to look like,
seem

avoir l'intention
/avwa t sj/
de

to intend to

avoir envie de

/avwa vi d/

to feel like

avoir de la
chance

/avwa d la s/ to be lucky

avoir l'air de

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 INTERROGATIFS

Who

Qui

/ki/

What

Quoi

/kwa/

Why

Pourquoi

/pukwa/

When

Quand

Where

/k/
/u/

How

Comment

How much / many

Combien

/km/
/kb j/

Which / what

Quel(le)

/kl/

9. CARDINAL NUMBERS / LES NOMBRES CARDINAUX

Zero

Zro

One

Un

/zeo/
/ /

Two

Deux

/d/

Three

Trois

/tw/

Four

Quatre

/kat/

Five

Cinq

/sk /

Six

Six

/sis/

Seven

Sept

/st/

Eight

Huit

/it/

Nine

Neuf

/nf/

Ten

Dix

/dis/

Eleven

Onze

Twelve

Douze

/z /
/duz/

Thirteen

Treize

/tz/

Fourteen

Quatorze

/katz/

Fifteen

Quinze

/kz /

Sixteen

Seize

/sz/

Seventeen

Dix-sept

/dist/

Eighteen

Dix-huit

/dizit/

Nineteen

Dix-neuf

/diznf/

Twenty

Vingt

/v/

Twenty-one

Vingt et un

/vt e /

Twenty-two

Vingt-deux

/v d/

Twenty-three

Vingt-trois

/v tw/

Thirty

Trente

Thirty-one

Trente et un

/tt/
/tt e //

Thirty-two

Trente-deux

Forty

Quarante

/tt d/
/kat/

Fifty

Cinquante

/sk t/

Sixty

Soixante

Seventy

Soixante-dix

/swast/
/swastdis/

(Belgium & Switzerland)

Septante

Seventy-one

Soixante et onze

Seventy-two

Soixante-douze

Eighty

Quatre-vingts

(Belgium & Switzerland)

Octante

Eighty-one

Quatre-vingt-un

/ktt/
/katv t /

Eighty-two

Quatre-vingt-deux

/katv d/

Ninety

Quatre-vingt-dix

/katv dis/

(Belgium & Switzerland)

Nonante

Ninety-one

Quatre-vingt-onze

/nnt/
/katv z/

Ninety-two

Quatre-vingt-douze

/katv duz/

One Hundred

Cent

One Hundred One

Cent un

Two Hundred

Deux cents

/s/
/s t /
/d s/

Two Hundred One

Deux cent un

/d s t /

Thousand

Mille

/mil/

Two Thousand

Deux mille

/d mil/

Million

Un million

/o milj/

Billion

Un milliard

/o milja/

/sptt/
/swast e z /
/swast duz/
/katv/

French switches the use of commas and periods. 1,00 would be 1.00 in English. Belgian and
Swiss French use septante andnonante in place of the standard French words for 70 and 90
(though some parts of Switzerland use huitante for 80 andoctante is 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 ORDINAUX
first

premier / premire

second

deuxime / second

third

troisime

fourth

quatrime

fifth

cinquime

sixth

sixime

seventh

septime

eighth

huitime

ninth

neuvime

tenth

dixime

eleventh

onzime

twelfth

douzime

twentieth

vingtime

twenty-first

vingt et unime

thirtieth

trentime

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 the la tlphone : un message mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank)
exercise from French Listening Resources.
10. DAYS OF THE WEEK / LES JOURS DE LA SEMAINE
Monday

lundi

Tuesday

mardi

/ldi/
/madi/

Wednesday

mercredi

/mkdi/

Thursday

jeudi

/di/

Friday

vendredi

Saturday

samedi

/vddi/
/samdi/

Sunday

dimanche

day

le jour

/dim/
/l u/

week

la semaine

/la s()mn/

today

aujourd'hui

/oudi/

yesterday

hier

/j/

tomorrow

demain

/dm/

next

prochain / prochaine

/p/ /pn/

last

dernier / dernire

/dnje/ /dnj/

day before yesterday

avant-hier

/avtj/

day after tomorrow

aprs-demain

/apdm/

the following day

le lendemain

/l ldm/

the day before

la veille

/la vj/

Articles are not used before days, except to express something that happens habitually on a
certain day, such as le lundi = on Mondays. Days of the week are all masculine in gender and
they are not capitalized in writing.
Listen to the l'heure & la date : l'emploi du temps mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-theblank) exercise from French Listening Resources.
11. MONTHS OF THE YEAR / LES MOIS DE L'ANNEE
January

janvier

February

fvrier

/vje/
/fevije/

March

mars

/mas/

April

avril

/avil/

May

mai

/m/

June

juin

//

July

juillet

/ij/

August

aot

/u(t)/

September

septembre

October

octobre

/sptb/
/ktb/

November

novembre

December

dcembre

/nvb/
/desb/

month

le mois

/l mwa/

year

l'an / l'anne

decade

la dcennie

/l/ /lane/
/deseni/

century

le sicle

/l sjkl/

millennium

le millnaire

/milen/

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

Summer

l't

/lete/

in the summer

en t

Fall

l'automne

/lotn/

in the fall

en automne

Winter

l'hiver

/liv/

in the winter

en hiver

Spring

le printemps

/l pt /

in the spring

au printemps

/ nete/
/ notn/
/ niv/
/o prt /

13. DIRECTIONS / LES DIRECTIONS

on the left

gauche

/a go/

on the right

droite

/a dwt/

straight ahead

tout droit

/tu dw/

North

le nord

/l n/

Northeast

le nord-est

/l n(d)st/

South

le sud

/l syd/

Northwest

le nord-ouest

/l n(d)wst/

East

l'est

/lst/

Southeast

le sud-est

/sydst/

West

l'ouest

/lwst/

Southwest

le sud-ouest

/sydwst/

14. COLORS & SHAPES / LES COULEURS & LES FORMES

/u/

square

le carr

/kae/

Orange orange

//

circle

le cercle

/skl/

Yellow jaune

/on/

triangle

le triangle

/tijgl/

Green

vert / verte

/v/ /vt/

rectangle

le rectangle

/ktgl/

Blue

bleu / bleue

/bl/

oval

l'ovale

/val/

Purple violet / violette

/vjl/ /vjlt/

cube

le cube

/kyb/

White

blanc / blanche

/bl/ /bl/

sphere

la sphre

/sf/

Brown

brun / brune
marron

/bo/ /byn/
/ma/

cylinder

le cylindre

/sild /

Black

noir / noire

/nwa/

cone

le cne

/kon/

Pink

rose

/oz/

octagon

l'octogone

/ktogn/

Gold

dor / dore

/de/

box

la bote

/bwat/

Silver

argent /
argente

/ate/

light

clair / claire

/kl/

Gray

gris / grise

/gi/ /giz/

dark

fonc / fonce /fs e/

Red

rouge

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: bleu clair, noir
fonc remain masculine even if they describe a feminine noun. Remember to place the color
adjective after the noun.
15. WEATHER / LE TEMPS QU'IL FAIT
What's the weather like?

Quel temps fait-il ?

/kl t f til/

It's nice

Il fait bon

/il f b/

bad

Il fait mauvais

/il f mve/

cool

Il fait frais

/il f f/

cold

Il fait froid

/il f fw/

warm, hot

Il fait chaud

/il f o/

cloudy

Il fait nuageux

/il f nya/

beautiful

Il fait beau

/il f bo/

mild

Il fait doux

/il f du/

stormy

Il fait orageux

/il f a/

sunny

Il fait soleil

/il f slj/

humid

Il fait humide

/il f ymid/

muggy

Il fait lourd

/il f lu/

windy

Il fait du vent

/il f dy v/

foggy

Il fait du brouillard

/il f dy buja/

snowing

Il neige

/il n/

raining

Il pleut

/il pl/

freezing

Il gle

/il l/

hailing

Il grle

/il gl/

It is ____ degrees.

Il fait ____ degrs.

/il f __ dge/

Il pleut des cordes /il pl de kod/ is a common expression meaning it's pouring. Il caille /il kaj/
or a caille /sa kaj/ is slang for it's freezing. And remember that France uses Celcius degrees.
Listen to the le climat: le temps dans les Alpes mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-theblank) exercise from French Listening Resources.
16. TIME / LE TEMPS QUI PASSE
What time is it?

Quelle heure est-il ?

/kl til/

It is...

Il est...

/il /

one o'clock

une heure

/yn /

two o'clock

deux heures

/d z/

noon

midi

/midi/

midnight

minuit

/mini/

a quarter after three

trois heures et quart

/tw z e ka/

one o'clock sharp

une heure prcise

/yn pesiz/

four o'clock sharp

quatre heures prcises

/kat pesiz/

twelve thirty

midi (minuit) et demi

/midi (mini) e dmi/

six thirty

six heures et demie

/si z e dmi/

a quarter to seven

sept heures moins le quart

/st mw l ka/

five twenty

cinq heures vingt

/sk v/

ten fifty

onze heures moins dix

in the morning/AM

du matin

/z mw dis/
/dy mat/

in the afternoon/PM

de l'aprs-midi

/d lapmidi/

in the evening/PM

du 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 say dix-huit heures trente. The word pile/pil/ is also a more informal way
of saying prcise (exactly, sharp).
Listen to the l'heure & la date : l'emploi du temps mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-theblank) exercise from French Listening Resources.

17. FAMILY & ANIMALS / LA FAMILLE & LES ANIMAUX

Family

la famille

/famij/

Relatives

des parents

Parents

les parents

/pa/
/pa/

Grandparents

les grands-parents

Mom

la mre / maman

/gpa/
/m/ /mm/

Stepmother/Mother-in-Law

la belle-mre

/blm/

Dad

le pre / papa

/p/ /papa/

Stepfather/Father-in-Law

le beau-pre

/bop/

Daughter

la fille

/fij/

Son

le fils

/fis/

Sister

la sur

/s/

Half/Step Sister

la demi-sur

/dmi s/

Sister-in-Law

la belle-sur

/bls/

Stepdaughter/Daughter-in-Law

la belle-fille

/bl fij/

Brother

le frre

/f/

Half/Step Brother

le demi-frre

/dmi f/

Brother-in-Law

le beau-frre

/bo f/

Stepson/Son-in-Law

le beau-fils

/bo fis/

Twins (m)

les jumeaux

/ymo/

Twins (f)

les jumelles

/yml/

Uncle

l'oncle

Aunt

la tante

/kl/
/tt/

Grandmother

la grand-mre

Grandfather

le grand-pre

/gm/
/gp/

Cousin (f)

la cousine

/kuzin/

Cousin (m)

le cousin

/kuz/

Wife

la femme

/fam/

Husband

le mari

/mai/

Woman

la femme

/fam/

Man

l'homme

/m/

Child (m) / (f)

un enfant / une enfant

Girl

la fille

/f/
/fij/

Boy

le garon

Niece

la nice

/gas/
/njs/

Nephew

le neveu

/n()v/

Grandchildren

les petits-enfants

Granddaughter

la petite-fille

/p()tizf/
/p()tit fij/

Grandson

le petit-fils

/p()tifis/

Godfather

le parrain

/pa/

Godmother

la marraine

/man/

Godson

le filleul

/fijl/

Goddaughter

la filleule

/fijl/

Distant Relatives

des parents loigns

Single

clibataire

/pa elwae/
/selibat/

Married

mari(e)

/maje/

Separated

spar(e)

/sepae/

Divorced

divorc(e)

/divse/

Widower

veuf

/vf/

Widow

veuve

/vv/

Dog

le chien / la chienne (m) / (f)

/j/ /jn/

Cat

le chat / la chatte (m) / (f)

/a/ /at/

Puppy

le chiot

/jo/

Kitten

le chaton

Pig

le cochon

/at/
/k/

Rooster

le coq

/kk/

Rabbit

le lapin

/lap/

Cow

la vache

/va/

Horse

le cheval

/()val/

Duck

le canard

/kana/

Goat

la chvre

/v/

Goose

l'oie

/wa/

Sheep

le mouton

Lamb

l'agneau

/mut/
/ao/

Donkey

l'ne

/n/

Mouse

la souris

/sui/

Le gendre /d/ is another word for son-in-law.

Listen to the la famille : ma famille mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank) exercise
from French Listening Resources.
Slang words for people and pets:
The entire
family
Grandma
Grandpa
Children
Kid
Woman

Sister la frangine

/fin/

toute la smala

/tut la smala/

mm / mamie
pp / papi
des gosses
un gamin / une
gamine
une nana

/meme/ /mami/ Brother le frangin

/pepe/ /papi/ Son
le fiston
/gs/
Aunt tata / tatie

/f/
/fist/
/tata/ /tati/

/gam/ /gamin/ Uncle tonton

/tt/

/nana/

/kabo/

Dog

le cabot /

Man

un mec / type / gars

/mk/ /tip/
/ga/

Cat

clbard

/kleba/

le minou

/minu/

Listen to the animaux : chien ou chat ? mp3 and try the cloze (fill-in-the-blank)
exercise from French Listening Resources.
18. TO KNOW PEOPLE & PLACES / CONNAITRE & SAVOIR
connatre-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/

Connatre is used when you know (are familiar with) people, places, food, movies, books, etc.
and savoir is used when you know facts. When savoir is followed by an infinitive it means to
know how.
There is another form of savoir commonly used in the expressions que je sache that I know
(of) and pas que je sache not 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.
Connatre can 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 PLURIELS

To 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 bus

les bus

If a noun ends in -eu or -eau, add an x.

boat(s)

le bateau

les bateaux

If a masculine noun ends in -al or -ail, change it to -aux.

horse(s)

le cheval

les chevaux

Some nouns ending in -ou add an -x instead of -s.

knee(s)

le genou

les genoux

Exceptions: festival, carnaval, bal, pneu, bleu, landau, dtail, chandail all 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); and un 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 POSSESSIFS
Masc.

Fem.

Plural

My

mon /m/

ma /ma/

mes /m/

Your

ton /t/

ta /ta/

tes /t/

His/Her/Its

son /s/

sa /sa/

ses /s/

Our

notre /nt/

notre /nt/

nos /no/

Your

votre /vt/

votre /vt/

vos /vo/

Their

leur /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 amie is incorrect and must
be mon amie, even though amie is feminine. Remember that adjectives agree with the noun in
gender and number, not the possessor! Sa mre can mean his mother or her mother even
though sa is 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.