Class notes
Good French Basics
This document summarizes the necessary basics to learning French such as; the pronunciation, grammar rules, basic vocabulary, the present tense, the past tense, the future tense, numbers and common phrases.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
French BasicsTable of contents :
1. L’alphabet (Alphabet)
2. La prononciation (Pronunciation)
3. Les mots interrogatifs et comment poser des questions (Interrogative words and asking
questions)
4. Les mots utiles (Useful Words)
5. Le présent de l’indicatif (The Present Tense)
6. Le passé composé de l’indicatif (The Past Tense)
7. Le future de l’indicatif (The Future Tense)
8. Les verbes communs (Common verbs)
9. Le vocabulaire (Vocabulary)
10. Les expressions utiles (Useful Expressions)
11. Les numéros (Numbers)
L'alphabet (Alphabet)
A [ah] C [ceh]
B [beh] D [deh]
, E [e] P [pe]
F [ɛf] Q [ky]
G [jeh] R [air]
H [aSh] S [ehss]
I [ee] T [te]
J [ghee] U [oo]
K [kah] V [veh]
L [ehl] W [doublevé]
M [emm] X [iks]
Y [igrɛk]
N [ehnn] Z [zd]
O [o]
La prononciation (Pronunciation)
➔ 《 oi 》 is pronounced like [wah]. (E.g) moi → [mwah]
➔ 《 ui 》 is pronounced like [ we]. (E.g) cuisiner → [quwe-zeen-ay]
➔ 《 er,ez, é, ait/ais/ai/è 》are pronounced like [ay]. (E.g) connait →
[cone-ay]
➔ 《 ch 》 is pronounced like [Sh]. (E.g) cheval → [sheval]
➔ 《 ille 》is pronounced like [ee] in (fee). (E.g) Fille → [fee]
→ (there are exceptions e.g mille, ville here it’s pronounced like [eel])
→ Ville → [veel ] and mille → [meel]
➔ 《eu/eux/œu》are pronounced like [œ/er] in happier. (E.g) sœur → [sœ]
➔ 《 ère 》is pronounced kind of like 《air》in English → [air]
➔ 《 in 》 is pronounced like [ein] similar to the sound to show indifference
toward something.
➔ 《 on, an, en 》are pronounced like [onh] in honour, but with a《n》
soft. (E.g) enfant → [onh -fonh]
➔ 《 au/aux, eau 》are pronounced like [o] in oh. (E.g) faux → [foh]
➔ 《 gn 》is pronounced like [ni] onion. (E.g) mignon → [mi-nien]
➔ 《 tion 》is pronounced like [sy-onh]
➔ 《 ç 》is pronounced like [ss]
➔ 《 ail 》is pronounced like [ahy]. (E.g) ail (garlic)
➔ 《 eui/eil 》are pronounced like [euhy] ou 《 uh+ee 》in English. (E.g)
accueil → [ah-keuhee]
, ➔ In French words that end in a vowel can't be followed by another
beginning with a vowel. (E.g)《 j'aime la nourriture. 》 Not, 《 je aime la
nourriture 》. 《 Qu'il faut savoir ton prénom 》. Not, 《 que il
faut… 》
* Consonants are usually not pronounced at the end of words !
(Example)
Vert → [vair] , verte → [vairt]
grande → [grond] grand
Les catégories de mots (Categories of words)
Le nom (noun) - a person, place or thing
La préposition (preposition) - words that describe the location of objects
Le verbe (verb) - words after a subject like “he, she, I, they” and they are action words. Verbs
that end in《 er, re, or ir 》are referred to as “infinitives”.
L'adverbe (adverb) - they are words that add emphasis to the verb
L'adjectif (adjective) - is a word that describes a noun and it is usually placed after the noun they
are describing except words of《 Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size 》
Les pronoms de sujets (Subject pronouns)
Je/J’ - I Nous - We (a specific group)
Tu - You (informal) Vous - You (formal/ you plural)
Il/Elle/On - He/She/We (in general) Ils/Elles - They (a group of males/a group of females)
*”Il” and “elle” can mean “it” when referring to and object
(Example)
The table, it is huge! → La table, elle est énorme!
My bed, it is broken… → Mon lit, il est cassé…
*The “vous” form is used for:
- Formal situations (school and work)
- Addressing people much older than your age
- Strangers
- When referring to a group of people as “you”
- To simply be polite
Les articles définis (Defined articles) Les articles indéfinis (Undefined articles)
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller malcolmcharles1. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for CA$6.26. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67474 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now