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 -là to the end of the noun for that and those. For example, ce lit-ci is this bed, while ce lit-là is that bed.
5. Useful Words and General Vocabulary [ mp3 - 1.11 MB ]
It's / That's
|
c'est
|
seh
|
There is/are
|
il y a
|
eel-ee-yah
|
There is/are
|
voilà
|
vwah-lah
|
Here is/are
|
voici
|
vwah-see
|
and
|
et
|
ay
|
always
|
toujours
|
too-zhoor
|
but
|
mais
|
meh
|
often
|
souvent
|
soo-vawn
|
now
|
maintenant
|
mahnt-nawn
|
sometimes
|
quelquefois
|
kell-kuh-fwah
|
especially
|
surtout
|
sewr-too
|
usually
|
d'habitude
|
dah-bee-tewd
|
except
|
sauf
|
sohf
|
also, too
|
aussi
|
oh-see
|
of course
|
bien sûr
|
bee-ahn sewr
|
again
|
encore
|
awn-kore
|
so so
|
comme ci, comme ça
|
kohm see kohm sah
|
late
|
en retard
|
awn-ruh-tar
|
not bad
|
pas mal
|
pah mal
|
almost
|
presque
|
presk
|
book
|
le livre
|
luh leevr
|
friend (fem)
|
une amie
|
ew nah-mee
|
pencil
|
le crayon
|
luh krah-yohn
|
friend (masc)
|
un ami
|
ah-nah-mee
|
pen
|
le stylo
|
luh stee-loh
|
woman
|
une femme
|
ewn fawn
|
paper
|
le papier
|
luh pah-pee-yay
|
man
|
un homme
|
ah-nohm
|
dog
|
le chien
|
luh shee-ahn
|
girl
|
une fille
|
ewn feey
|
cat
|
le chat
|
luh shah
|
boy
|
un garçon
|
ahn gar-sohn
|
money
|
l'argent (m)
|
lahr-zhawn
|
job / work
|
le travail
|
luh trah-vy
|
Note: 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 pèze, le pognon, des sous and for job/work: le boulot.
6. Subject Pronouns [ mp3 - 204 KB ]
Subject Pronouns
|
je
|
zhuh
|
I
|
nous
|
noo
|
We
|
tu
|
tew
|
You (informal)
|
vous
|
voo
|
You (formal and plural)
|
il
elle
on
|
eel
ell
ohn
|
He
She
One
|
ils
elles
|
eel
ell
|
They (masc.)
They (fem.)
|
Note: 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 and To Have [ mp3 - 1.83 MB ]
Present tense of être - to be (eh-truh)
|
I am
|
je suis
|
zhuh swee
|
We are
|
nous sommes
|
noo sohm
|
You are
|
tu es
|
tew ay
|
You are
|
vous êtes
|
voo zett
|
He is
She is
One is
|
il est
elle est
on est
|
eel ay
ell ay
ohn ay
|
They are
They are
|
ils sont
elles sont
|
eel sohn
ell sohn
|
Past tense of être - to be
|
I was (being)
|
j'étais
|
zhay-teh
|
|
We were (being)
|
nous étions
|
ay-tee-ohn
|
You were (being)
|
tu étais
|
ay-teh
|
|
You were (being)
|
vous étiez
|
ay-tee-ay
|
He was (being)
She was (being)
One was (being)
|
il était
elle était
on était
|
ay-teh
ay-teh
ay-teh
|
|
They were (being)
They were (being)
|
ils étaient
elles étaient
|
ay-teh
ay-teh
|
Note: Je and any verb form that starts with a vowel (or silent h) combine together for ease of pronunciation.
Future Tense of être - to be
|
I will be
|
je serai
|
suh-reh
|
|
We will be
|
nous serons
|
suh-rohn
|
You will be
|
tu seras
|
suh-rah
|
|
You will be
|
vous serez
|
suh-ray
|
He will be
She will be
One will be
|
il sera
elle sera
on sera
|
suh-rah
suh-rah
suh-rah
|
|
They will be
They will be
|
ils seront
elles seront
|
suh-rohn
suh-rohn
|
Present tense of avoir - to have (ah-vwahr)
|
I have
|
j'ai
|
zhay
|
We have
|
nous avons
|
ah-vohn
|
You have
|
tu as
|
ah
|
You have
|
vous avez
|
ah-vay
|
He has
She has
One has
|
il a
elle a
on a
|
ah
|
They have
They have
|
ils ont
elles ont
|
ohn
|
Past tense of avoir - to have
|
I had
|
j'avais
|
zhah-veh
|
|
We had
|
avions
|
ah-vee-ohn
|
You had
|
avais
|
ah-veh
|
|
You had
|
aviez
|
ah-vee-ay
|
He/she had
|
avait
|
ah-veh
|
|
They had
|
avaient
|
ah-veh
|
Future tense of avoir - to have
|
I will have
|
j'aurai
|
zhoh-reh
|
We will have
|
nous aurons
|
oh-rohn
|
You will have
|
tu auras
|
oh-rah
|
You will have
|
vous aurez
|
oh-ray
|
He will have
She will have
One will have
|
il aura
elle aura
on aura
|
oh-rah
|
They will have
They will have
|
ils auront
elles auront
|
oh-rohn
|
In spoken French, the tu forms of verbs that begin with a vowel contract with the pronoun: tu es = t'es, tu as = t'as, etc.
In addition, it is very common to use on (plus 3rd person singular conjugation) to mean we instead of nous.
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