Describing vowels in french is not an easy task as there are only 5 vowels and 1 semi-vowel ( y ), but much more sounds in speech, and the prononciation is not regular and depends of accentuation, so instead of enumerate the written vowels we will see all the existing sounds and see which vowels are corresponding :
General rules for consonants : Most of consonants are silent at the end of a word, except f, k, l and q ; c is sometimes silent, sometimes pronounced as k
Here is a table to remember for numbers in french :
10 + .. | ...0 | ...00 | ..000 | ..000 000 | ..000 000 000 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | zero [zero] | dix [dis] | tens | hundreds | thousands | millions | billions |
1 | un [ẽ] | onze [õz] | dix [dis] | cent [sã] | mille [mil] | un million [ẽ miliõ] | un milliard [ẽ miliar] |
2 | deux [də] | douze [duz] | vingt [vẽt] | deux-cent [də-sã] | deux mille [də-mil] | deux millions [də miliõ] | deux milliard [də miliar] |
3 | trois [troa] | treize [trɛz] | trente [trãt] | trois-cent [troa-sã] | trois mille [troa-mil] | trois millions [troa miliõ] | trois milliard [troa miliar] |
4 | quatre [katr] | quatorze [katorz] | quarante [karãt] | ... | ... | ... | ... |
5 | cinq [sẽk] | quinze [kẽz] | cinquante [sẽkãt] | ... | ... | ... | ... |
6 | six [sis] | seize [səz] | soixante [soasãt] | ... | ... | ... | ... |
7 | sept [sɛt] | dix-sept [disɛt] | soixante-dix [soasãt-dis] | ... | ... | ... | ... |
8 | huit [uit] | dix-huit [dizuit] | quatre-vingt [katr-vẽ] | ... | ... | ... | ... |
9 | neuf [nəf] | dix-neuf [diznəf] | quatre-vingt-dix [katr-vẽ-dis] | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Then you just have to add numbers one after another, example : 2.748.169.513 : deux milliards, sept cent quarante huit millions, cent soixante neuf mille, cinq cent treize [də miliar, sɛt sã karãt uit miliõ, sã soasãt nəf, sẽk sã trɛz]
Ordinals are produced by the addition of -ième [yɛm] on the number, except of first which is said premier [prəmye], second deuxième [dəzyɛm], third troisième [troazyɛm], etc...
For halfs, you can use et demi [e dəmi] ( and half ) after the number : un et demi -> one and half ; deux et demi -> two and half ; un demi -> half one
The sentences in french follow a classical order Subject-Verb-Object, but as in english, in question phrases this order can become Verb-Subject-Object.
There are two grammatical genders in french : masculine and feminine, each noun has one of those two genders and adjectives and pronouns are declined according to those genders ; some nouns can be both gender, then most of the time an _-e_will be add to form the feminine noun that will make the last consonant non-silent and change sometimes the pronounciation of the word ;
as dog : chien [shiẽ], in feminine becomes chienne [shiɛn] ;
For most of the noun, there is no way to predict if a noun is feminine or masculine, so you will have to learn for each noun ; in the website, their will be a sign after each noun (m) or (f) to indicate if a noun is either masculine or feminine.
French uses articles, there are three kind of articles that we will see in detail later : definite articles, like the in english ; indefinite articles, like a in english and partitive articles that is used for uncountable singular noun, ex : I eat cake : je mange du gateau.
There are two way of negation in french : - the equivalent of the simple no : non [nõ] that is used as answer for a question.
- the equivalent of the english not or do not : ne ... pas [nə...pa], with the verb in between, ex : I don't eat -> je ne mange pas [jə nə mãj pa] ; ne will become n' in front of a vowel. I don't stop -> je n'arrête pas [jə n'arɛt pa]
There are two way of saying yes in french : - the equivalent of the simple yes : oui [ui] that is used as answer for any affirmative question.
Are you eating cake ? Yes I'm eating cake : Manges-tu du gateau ? Oui je mange du gateau.
- si [si] that is used as answer for a negative question.
You are not eating cake ? Yes I'm eating cake : Tu ne manges pas du gateau ? Si je mange du gateau.
As we saw, there are three kinds of articles in french :
Definite article :
Used as the in english, for a defined object or subject :
singular | plural | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
normal | contracted* | ||||
masculin | le [lə] | l' [l] | les [le] | ||
feminin | la [la] | l' [l] | les [le] |
* before vowel ; ex : the animal -> l'animal [l'animal]
Undefinite article :
Used as a or an in english, for a undefined object or subject :
singular
plural
normal
masculin
un [ẽ]
des [de]
feminin
une [ûn]
Partitive article :
Used as some in english, or where there is no article, for a part of something that you cannot count, like liquids or materials :
undefined
normal
contracted
masculin
du [dû]
de l' [də l']
feminin
de la [də la]
ex : there is sand on the table -> il y a du sable sur la table [il i a dû sabl sûr la tabl]
Here is a table for personal pronouns ( I, you, he, she, etc... ) in french :
singular | | | plural | | | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd masculine
feminine
undefined*
masculine
feminine
je [jə]
j'[j']
tu [tû]
il [il]
elle [ɛl]
on [õ]
nous [nu]
vous [vu]
ils [il]
elles [ɛl]
*on is very frequently used in french instead of nous to express _we, _it is conjugate with the 3rd person of singular.
So to say "we go to the beach", you can say "nous allons à la plage [nu alõ a la plaj]", but most people will use "on va à la plage [õ va a la plaj]"
And here are the possessive pronouns (my, your, his, her, etc...), possessive pronouns are declined according to the object and not to the owner.
person
masculine
feminine
plural
singular
1st
mon [mõ]
ma [ma]
mes [me]
2nd
ton [tõ]
ta [ta]
tes [te]
3rd
son [sõ]
sa [sa]
ses [se]
plural
1st
notre [notr]
nos [no]
2nd
votre [votr]
vos [vo]
3rd
leur [lər]
leurs [lər]
By example : - sa table ( "sa" because table is feminine ) means her/his table
- ton chien ( "ton" because chien is masculine ) means your dog
The simple equivalent of this/that in english is ça [sa] ( there is also ceci [sesi] and cela [sela] but they are used in more formal speech ).
So if you want to say by example I like this, it will be in french j'aime ça [j'ɛm sa] ;
Used with être ( to be ), it is contracted to form c'est ( this is / it is ).
It is also used to express it, by instance in it cannot be -> ça ne se peut pas [sa nə sə pə pa] , or I don't like it -> je n'aime pas ça [jə n'ɛm pa sa]
But when the demonstrative is followed by a noun, like in "I want this apple", then the demonstrative is declined according to gender and plurality, here is a table for the different demonstratives :
singular
plural
normal
before vowel*
masculin
ce [sə]
cet [sɛt]
ces [se]
feminin
cette [sɛt]
* before a vowel, cet will be used instead of ce : Je veux ce fruit [jə və sə frui] ( I want this fruit ) ; j'aime cet animal [j'ɛm set animal] ( I like this animal )
One of the most important things to learn in any language are the interrogative pronouns, how to say who, what, where, etc... :
These are the main conjonctions in french, there are used in the same way than in english :
These are the main prepositions in french, there are used in the same way than in english :
There is in french is simply express by il y a [il i a], and for once this is not subject to any declinaison in genders or numbers ; so it express both there is and there are.
Plurals in french are expressed simply by adding -s at the end of a word, in most of cases this won't affect the pronounciation :
a dog -> un chien [ẽ shiẽ] ; dogs -> des chiens [de shiẽ]
There is however an exception with words ending by -al, where -al in plural becomes -aux : the horse -> le cheval [lə shəval] ; the horses -> les chevaux [le shəvo]
Adjectives in french are usually placed after the noun but there are exceptions and many adjectives are rather situated before the noun :
the red car -> la voiture rouge [la voatûr ruj] ; the big car -> la grande voiture [la grãd voatûr] ; the big red car -> la grande voiture rouge [la grãd voatûr ruj]
Are expressed with plus [plu] ( more ), moins [muẽ] ( less ), le plus [l**ə plû] ( the most ) et le moins [l**ə muẽ]( the less ) and are placed before the adjective :
Que [k**ə] ( than ) is used for comparaison, example : il est plus grand que moi [il e plû grã k**ə moa] : he is taller than me.
Comme [kom] is used to express equality, as like or as in english : elle est grosse comme toi [ɛl e gros kom toa] -> she is as big as you
As we said there are two grammatical genders in french, nouns are either masculine or feminine, but for nouns that can be feminine or masculine you just have to add a -e at the end of the word to form the feminine noun, this will most of the time make the final consonant pronouncable, but of course, there are exceptions...
And this work exactly the same for adjectives, adjectives are declined according to the gender of the noun, and you will have to add an -e if it is feminine noun ( adjectives are also declined according to the number, so if the noun is plural a silent -s is added at the end of the adjective ).
The verbal system is quite complicate in french, especially compare to english, verbs are conjugate in different way according to the person (I, you, he/she, etc...), you have different tense and aspects and much more declinaisons than in english. But let's start easy :
Here is the conjugaison in present tense of among the most useful verbs in french, with their participle past form, as in english, the most useful verbs in french are irregular:
english :
to be
to have
to go
can/ be able
to know
to have to
person
french :
être [ɛtr]
avoir [avoar]
aller [ale]
pouvoir [puvoar]
savoir [savoar]
devoir [dəvoar]
singular
1st
je / j'
suis [sui]
ai [e]
vais [ve]
peux [pə]
sais [se]
dois [doa]
2nd
tu
es [e]
as [a]
vas [va]
peux [pə]
sais [se]
dois [doa]
3rd
il/elle/on
est [e]
a [a]
va [va]
peut [pə]
sait [se]
doit [doa]
plural
1st
nous
sommes [som]
avons [avõ]
allons [alõ]
pouvons [puvõ]
savons [savõ]
devons [dəvõ]
2nd
vous
êtes [ɛt]
avez [ave]
allez [ale]
pouvez [puve]
savez [save]
devez [dəve]
3rd
ils/elles
sont [sõ]
ont [õ]
vont [võ]
peuvent [pəv]
savent[sav]
doivent [doa]
participle past
été [ete]
eu [û]
allé [ale]
pu [pû]
su [sû]
du [pû]
There are 3 groups of verbs in french :
1st group : Verbs in -er :
first isolate the root by taking off the suffix -er
person
root +
examples :
parler [parle] (speak)
manger [mãje] (eat)
singular
1st
je / j'
e [-]
parle [parl]
mange [mãj]
2nd
tu
es [-]
parles [parl]
manges [mãj]
3rd
il/elle/on
e [-]
parle [parl]
mange [mãj]
plural
1st
nous
ont [õ]
parlont [parlõ]
mangont [mãjõ]
2nd
vous
ez [e]
parlez [parle]
mangez [mãje]
3rd
ils/elles
ent [-]
parlent [parl]
mangent [mãj]
participle past
é [e]
parlé [parle]
mangé [mãje]
2nd group : Verbs in -ir :
first isolate the root by taking off the suffix -r
person
root +
examples :
choisir [shoazir] (choose)
finir [finir] (finish)
singular
1st
je / j'
s [-]
choisis [shoazi]
finis [fini]
2nd
tu
s [-]
choisis [shoazi]
finis [fini]
3rd
il/elle/on
t [-]
choisit [shoazi]
finit [fini]
plural
1st
nous
ssont [sõ]
choisissont [shoazisõ]
finissons [finisõ]
2nd
vous
ssez [se]
choisissez [shoazise]
finissez [finise]
3rd
ils/elles
ssent [s]
choisissent [shoazis]
finissent [finis]
participle past
- [-]
choisi [shoazi]
fini [fini]
3rd group :
It contains among the most used verbs in french, but it is also the most irregular group of verb, try to follow the pattern of the auxiliary verbs to conjugate verbs of the 3rd group.
Here is the list is the list of terminaisons but stems preceding are very hard to predict and are not constant
person
endings
examples :
apprendre [aprãdr] (learn)
faire [fɛr] (do/make)
singular
1st
je / j'
s [-]
apprends [aprã]
fais [fini]
2nd
tu
s [-]
apprends [aprã]
fais [fini]
3rd
il/elle/on
t [-]
apprend [aprã]
fait [fini]
plural
1st
nous
ont [õ]
apprenons [aprənõ]
faisons [finisõ]
2nd
vous
ez [e]
apprenez [aprəne]
faites [finise]
3rd
ils/elles
ent [-]
apprennent [aprɛn]
font [finis]
One of the most easy tense to learn, it express past and corresponds to the english tense I have done, I have been, etc... but more used than in english ; you just have to use the verb avoir (have) conjugate in the right person followed by the participle past of the verb, but examples will be more clear :
One of the most easy tense to learn, it express futur and express a futur that will happen soon, and may correspond to the english I'm going to ; you just have to use the verb aller (go) conjugate in the right person followed by the infinitive of the verb, but examples will be more clear :