Chapter 1

Warming Up with Some

French Fundamentals
In This Chapter
▶ Looking at French words related to English
▶ Exploring pronunciation patterns
▶ Noting differences in Canadian French

L earning a new language can be challenging. Not only do you need to pick
up a whole new vocabulary, but you also need to twist your head around
different grammar rules and twist your tongue — and ears — around different
pronunciation rules. But here’s a little news that may make the task seem a
little less daunting: You already know quite a few French words and expressions.
How? Because the English language has borrowed many French words and
expressions, and French has absorbed some English words, too.

In this chapter, you explore some French words and phrases that have the
same spellings and meanings as their English counterparts as well as words
that are close in spelling and meaning. But not every word that resembles an
English word shares its meaning, so we also tell you which words to watch
out for. In addition, we include some French expressions that you probably
already know and understand. We also cover pronunciation so you can
accustom your ear, tongue, and brain to the French spoken in Europe
(France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, and Switzerland) as well as the
French that’s uniquely Canadian.

Starting with What You Already Know

With just a narrow stretch of water between them, the people of England
and France have historically been very close, even if they weren’t always the
friendly allies they are today. In fact, French was the language of the English
court for a very long time. The Normans who invaded England in 1066 with
William the Conqueror were French, as were some of the most prominent
people in English history. French became the language of the nobility after
10 Book I: Speaking in Everyday Settings

William took the English throne and didn’t lose its prestige until the Hundred
Years’ War in the 14th and 15th centuries.

What does this have to do with your learning French? Well, today, about
35 percent of English vocabulary is of French origin, so you already know an
impressive amount of French, whether you realize it or not. The only pitfall
is that English words sometimes have different meanings from their French
counterparts and almost certainly have different pronunciations.

Friendly allies: The perfect matches

Several French words are spelled the same and have the same meanings
as their English counterparts. The only thing that may be different is the
pronunciation (for pronunciation guidelines, check the later section
“Practicing Some Basic Pronunciation”). Take a look at these bons alliés
(bohN zah-lyey) (friendly allies). The first two examples are adjectives, and
the rest are nouns (le, la, and l’ mean the):

✓ excellent (ehk-seh-lahN)
✓ important (aN-pohr-tahN)
✓ le bureau (luh bew-roh)
✓ le client (luh klee-yahN)
✓ le concert (luh kohN-sehr)
✓ la condition (lah kohN-dee-syohN)
✓ le courage (luh kooh-razh)
✓ le cousin (luh kooh-zaN)
✓ la culture (lah kewl-tewr)
✓ le garage (luh gah-razh)
✓ le guide (luh geed)
✓ le moment (luh moh-mahN)
✓ la nation (lah nah-syohN)
✓ l’orange (f) (loh-rahNzh)
✓ le parent (luh pah-rahN)
✓ la question (lah kehs-tyohN)
✓ la radio (lah rah-dyoh)
 Chapter 1: Warming Up with Some French Fundamentals 11
✓ le restaurant (luh rehs-toh-rahN) Book I
✓ la route (lah rooht) Speaking
in Everyday
✓ le sport (luh spohr) Settings
✓ la surprise (lah sewr-preez)

Kissing cousins: A clear resemblance

Some French words, although not identical in spelling to their English
counterparts, look similar. Sometimes the resemblance is just obvious.
For example, the French word succès means success, and the French word
adresse means address.

Changing part of a French word sometimes gives you its English equivalent
or at least something very close to it. If the change works, you don’t have to
waste time looking up those words in a dictionary. Try the following rules:

✓ Change the -ique ending of a French word to -ic: fantastique → fantastic,

musique → music
✓ Change the ê in the French word to eas or es: fête → feast, forêt → forest
✓ Change the -ment ending of a French word to -ly: probablement →
probably, sérieusement → seriously
✓ Change the -té ending of the French word to -ty: charité → charity,
liberté → liberty
✓ Change the -aire ending of the French word to -ary: exemplaire →
exemplary, dromadaire → dromedary
✓ Change the -eur ending of a French word to -or in professions: acteur →
actor, professeur → professor
✓ Change the -ie ending of a French noun to y or c: comédie → comedy,
magie → magic (noun)
✓ Change the -que ending of a French noun to c or ck: banque → bank,
chèque → check

Here are some words that fit into the kissing-cousins category:

✓ nécessaire (ney-sey-sehr) (necessary)

✓ ordinaire (ohr-dee-nehr) (ordinary)
✓ le kiosque (luh kyuhhsk) (kiosk)
✓ l’aéroport (m) (lah-ey-roh-pohr) (airport)
12 Book I: Speaking in Everyday Settings

✓ la lampe (lah lahmp) (lamp)

✓ l’allée (f) (lah-ley) (alley)
✓ la lettre (lah leh-truh) (letter)
✓ l’Américain (m) (lah-mey-ree-kaN) (American); l’Américaine (f)
(lah-mey-ree-kehn) (American — female)
✓ la mémoire (lah mey-mwahr) (memory)
✓ l’âge (m) (lahzh) (age)
✓ le miroir (luh mee-rwahr) (mirror)
✓ l’artiste (m/f) (lahr-teest) (artist)
✓ la nationalité (lah nah-syoh-nah-lee-tey) (nationality)
✓ la cathédrale (lah kah-tey-drahl) (cathedral)
✓ la classe (lah klahs) (class)
✓ le papier (luh pah-pyey) (paper)
✓ la chambre (lah shahN-bruh) (chamber, bedroom)
✓ le poème (luh poh-ehm) (poem)
✓ la démocratie (lah dey-moh-krah-see) (democracy)
✓ le sénateur (luh sey-nah-tuhr) (senator)

Sometimes a French word is used in English with a slightly different meaning,

but with a little reasoning, you can still figure out what it means in the context
of the sentence. For example, matinee in English refers to a daytime or early
show at the movies or at the theater. In French, la matinée (lah mah-tee-ney)
means morning, which is, of course, the early part of a day.

False friends: Deceptive lookalikes

Some French words are faux amis (foh zah-mee) (false friends) — they look
similar to English words, but they don’t have the same meaning. Misusing
these words can cause a lot of confusion. For example, if you tell people that
your young adult son or daughter is in collège (koh-lehzh), they’ll probably
look at you strangely, because the French word collège means middle school.
You use the French word l’université (f) (lew-nee-vehr-see-tey) when you
want to say college.
 Chapter 1: Warming Up with Some French Fundamentals 13
The following list shows some of these easy-to-confuse words: Book I

Speaking
✓ actuellement (ahk-tew-ehl-mahN): This word means now, not actually.
in Everyday
The French word for actually is en fait (ahN feht). Settings
✓ assister à (ah-sees-tey ah): This word means to attend, not to assist. The
French word for to assist is aider (ey-dey).
✓ attendre (ah-tahN-druh): This word means to wait for, not to attend. The
French word for to attend is assister à (ah-sees-tey ah).
✓ la bague (lah bahg): This word means ring (the kind you wear on your
finger), not bag. The French word for bag is le sac (luh sahk).
✓ blesser (bleh-sey): This word means to wound or to hurt. The French
word for to bless is bénir (bey-neer).
✓ la cave (lah kahv): The word cave means cellar in French. The word for
cave is la grotte (lah gruhht).
✓ formidable (fohr-mee-dah-bluh): This word means wonderful or
tremendous, not fearsome or daunting. To say formidable in French, you
use the word redoutable (ruh-dooh-tah-bluh).
✓ la lecture (lah lehk-tuhr): This word means a reading, as in a reading
of Balzac’s novels. The word for lecture is la conférence (lah kohN-fey-
rahNs).
✓ la librairie (lah lee-brey-ree): This word means bookstore, not library.
The French word for library is la bibliothèque (lah bee-blee-oh-tehk).
✓ la place (lah plahs): This word means square, seat at the theater, or seat
on the bus, not place. The French word for place is le lieu (luh lyuh) or
l’endroit (m) (lahN-drwah).
✓ rester (reh-stey): This word means to stay or to remain, not to rest. The
French word for to rest is se reposer (suh ruh-poh-zey).
✓ sympathique (saN-pah-teek): This word means nice. To say sympathetic
in French, you say compatissant(e) (kohN-pah-tee-sahN[t]).
✓ la veste (lah vehst): This word means jacket in French, not vest or
waistcoat. The French word for vest is le gilet (luh zhee-leh).

If a French word looks like something you know but makes no sense, guess at
another meaning within the context.