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G: The French alphabet
[edit | edit source]Grammar The French Alphabet · L'alphabet français | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characters | Aa | Bb | Cc | Dd | Ee | Ff | Gg | Hh | Ii | Jj | Kk | Ll | Mm | |||||||||||||
| Pronunciation | ah | bay | say | day | uh | ehf | zhay | ahsh | ee | zhee | kah | ehl | ehm | |||||||||||||
| Characters | Nn | Oo | Pp | Rr | Ss | Tt | Uu | Vv | Ww | Xx | Yy | Zz | ||||||||||||||
| Pronunciation | ehn | oh | pay | kew | ehr | ehs | tay | ew | vay | doo-bluh-vay | eeks | ee-grehk | zehd | |||||||||||||
In addition, French uses several accents which are worth understanding. These are: à, è, ù, (grave accents) and é (acute accent). A circumflex applies to all vowels: â, ê, î, ô, û. A tréma (French for dieresis) is also applied: ä, ë, ï, ö, ü, ÿ. Two combined letters are used: æ and œ, and a cedilla is used on the c to make it sound like an English s: ç.
V: Basic phrases
[edit | edit source]Vocabulary Basic Phrases · Les expressions de base | |
|---|---|
| bonjour, salut | hello (formal), hi (informal) |
| Comment allez-vous ? (formal), Comment vas-tu ? (informal), Comment ça va ? / Ça va ? (informal) |
(lit: How you go/How it goes?) |
| ça va (très) bien | I'm doing (very) well (lit. It goes (very) well) |
| merci | thank you |
| et toi ? et vous ? | and you? (informal) and you? (formal) |
| pas mal | not bad |
| bien | well |
| pas si bien/pas très bien | not so well |
| comme ci, comme ça | so-so |
| Désolé(e) | I'm sorry. |
| quoi de neuf ? | what's up with you? (lit. what's new) |
| pas grand-chose | not much (lit. no big-thing) |
| au revoir | bye |
| à demain | see you tomorrow (lit. at tomorrow) |
| à plus tard | see you later |
| Au revoir, à demain. | Bye, see you tomorrow |
V: Numbers
[edit | edit source]Vocabulary Numbers · Les nombres | ||
|---|---|---|
| un | 1 | une unité (a unity) |
| deux | 2 | |
| trois | 3 | |
| quatre | 4 | |
| cinq | 5 | |
| six | 6 | |
| sept | 7 | |
| huit | 8 | |
| neuf | 9 | |
| dix | 10 | une dizaine (one ten) |
| onze | 11 | |
| douze | 12 | une douzaine (one dozen) |
| treize | 13 | |
| quatorze | 14 | |
| quinze | 15 | |
| seize | 16 | |
| dix-sept | 17 | |
| dix-huit | 18 | |
| dix-neuf | 19 | |
| vingt | 20 | |
| vingt et un | 21 | |
| vingt [deux - neuf] | 22-29 | |
| trente | 30 | |
| trente et un | 31 | |
| trente [deux - neuf] | 32-39 | |
| quarante | 40 | |
| cinquante | 50 | |
| soixante | 60 | |
| soixante-dix | 70 | |
| soixante et onze | 71 | |
| soixante-[douze - dix-neuf] | 72-79 | |
| quatre-vingts | 80 | |
| quatre-vingt-un | 81 | |
| quatre-vingt-[deux - neuf] | 82-89 | |
| quatre-vingt-dix | 90 | |
| quatre-vingt-[onze - dix-neuf] | 91-99 | |
| cent | 100 | une centaine (one hundred) |
| [deux - neuf] cents | 200-900 | |
| deux cent un | 201 | |
| neuf cent un | 901 | |
| mille | 1.000 | un millier (one thousand) |
| (un) million | 1.000.000 | |
| (un) milliard | 1.000.000.000 | |
| (un) billion | 1.000.000.000.000 | |
Things of note about numbers
[edit | edit source]- For 70-79, it builds upon "soixante" but past that it builds upon a combination of terms for 80-99
- Only the first (21,31,41,51,61 and 71, but not 81 nor 91) have "et un" without a hyphen; but past this it is simply both words consecutively (vingt-six, trente-trois, etc.) with a hyphen in between.
- For 100-199, it looks much like this list already save that "cent" is added before the rest of the number; this continues up to 1000 and onward.
V: Asking for the day/date/time
[edit | edit source]Vocabulary Asking For The Day, Date, Time · Demander le jour, la date, le temps | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Asking for the day. | |||
| 1a | Aujourd'hui c'est quel jour? | Today is what day? | (oh-zhur-dewee seh kehl zhoor) |
| 1b | Aujourd'hui c'est [jour]. | Today is [day]. | |
| 2a | Demain c'est quel jour | Tomorrow is what day? | (duh-ma(n) seh kehl zhoor) |
| 2b | Demain c'est [jour]. | Tomorrow is [day]. | |
| Asking for the date. | |||
| 3a | Quelle est la date (aujourd'hui)? |
What is the date (today)? |
(kehl eh lah daht) |
| 3b | C'est le [#] [month]. | It's [month] [#]. | |
| Asking for the time. | |||
| 4a | Quelle heure est-il? | What hour/time is it? | (kehl ewr eh-teel) |
| 4b | Il est quelle heure? | (eel eh kehl ewr) | |
| 5 | Il est [nombre] heure(s). | It is [number] hours. | (eel eh [nombre] ewr) |
V: Time
[edit | edit source]In French, “il est” is used to express the time; though it would literally translate as “he is”, it is actually, in this case, equivalent to “it is” (unpersonal "il"). Unlike in English, it is always important to use “heures” (“hours”) when referring to the time. In English, it is OK to say, “It’s nine,” but this wouldn’t make sense in French. The French time system traditionally uses a 24-hour scale. Shorthand for writing times in French follows the format "17h30", which would represent 5:30PM in English.
Vocabulary Time · Le temps | |
|---|---|
| Quelle heure est-il ? | What time is it? |
| Il est une heure. | It is one o’clock. |
| Il est trois heures. | It is three o’clock. |
| Il est dix heures. | It is ten o’clock. |
| Il est midi. | It is noon. |
| Il est minuit. | It is midnight. |
| Il est quatre heures cinq. | It is five past four. |
| Il est quatre heures et quart. | It is a quarter past four. |
| Il est quatre heures quinze. | It is four fifteen. |
| Il est quatre heures et demie. | It is half past four. |
| Il est dix-neuf heures moins le quart. | It is a quarter to seven, or six forty-five. |
| Il est quatre heures trente. | It is four thirty. |
| Il est cinq heures moins vingt. | It is twenty to five. |
| Il est quatre heures quarante. | It is four forty. |
V: The days of the week.
[edit | edit source]Vocabulary The days of the week · Les jours de la semaine | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| French | Pronunciation | English | Origin |
| lundi | /lœ̃di/ (luh(n)-dee) | Monday | (Moon) |
| mardi | /maʁdi/ (mahr-dee) | Tuesday | (Mars) |
| mercredi | /mɛʁkʁədi/ (mehr-kruh-dee) | Wednesday | (Mercury) |
| jeudi | /ʒødi/ (zhur-dee) | Thursday | (Jupiter) |
| vendredi | /vɑ̃dʁədi/ (vah(n)-druh-dee) | Friday | (Venus) |
| samedi | /samdi/ (sahm-dee) | Saturday | (Saturn) |
| dimanche | /dimɑ̃ʃ/ (dee-mah(n)sh) | Sunday | (Dies Domini) |
- The days of the week are not capitalized in French.
- For phrases relating to the day of the week, see the phrasebook.
Notes:
- What day is it today? is equivalent to Quel jour sommes-nous ?.
- Quel jour sommes-nous ? can be answered with Nous sommes..., C'est... or On est... (last two are less formal).
- Nous sommes... is not used with hier, aujourd’hui, or demain. C'était (past) or C'est (present/future) must be used accordingly.
V: The months of the year
[edit | edit source]Vocabulary The months of the year · Les mois de l'année | ||
|---|---|---|
| French | Pron. | English |
| janvier | /ʒɑ̃vje/ (zhah(n)-vyay) | January |
| février | /fevʁije/ (fay-vree-yay) | February |
| mars | /maʁs/ (mahrs) | March |
| avril | /avʁil/ (ahv-reel) | April |
| mai | /mɛ/ (meh) | May |
| juin | /ʒɥɛ̃/ (zhoo-a(n)) | June |
| juillet | /ʒɥijɛ/ (zhoo-ee-yeh) | July |
| août | /ut/, /u/ (oot/oo) | August |
| septembre | /sɛptɑ̃bʁ/ (sehp-tah(n)-br) | September |
| octobre | /ɔktɔbʁ/ (ohk-toh-br) | October |
| novembre | /nɔvɑ̃bʁ/ (noh-vah(n)-br) | November |
| décembre | /desɑ̃bʁ/ (day-sah(n)-br) | December |
V: Relative date and time
[edit | edit source]Vocabulary Relative Date and Time · Date et heure relatives | |
|---|---|
| Times of Day | |
| le lever du jour | daybreak lit:the rise of the day |
| le lever du soleil | sunrise lit: the rise of the sun |
| le soleil levant | rising sun. |
| le matin | morning |
| ...du matin | A.M., lit: of the mornng |
| hier matin | yesterday morning |
| le midi | noon, midday |
| l'après-midi (m) | afternoon |
| le soir | evening, in the evening |
| ...du soir | P.M. lit: of the evening |
| le coucher du soleil | sunset |
| la nuit | night |
| Relative Days | |
| avant-hier | the day before yesterday |
| hier | yesterday |
| aujourd'hui | today |
| ce soir | tonight |
| demain | tomorrow |
| après-demain | the day after tomorrow |
V: Seasons
[edit | edit source] Vocabulary
The Seasons
· Les Saisons | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| la saison | /la sɛ.zɔ̃/ (lah seh-zoh(n)) | season | |||
| le printemps |  /lə pʁɛ̃.tɑ̃/ (luh pra(n)-taw(n)) |
Spring | |||
| l'été (m) | /le.te/ (lay-tay) | Summer | |||
| l'automne (m) | /lo.tɔn/ (loh-tawn) | Autumn | |||
| l'hiver (m) | /li.vɛʁ/ (lee-vehr) | Winter | |||
Dialogue · A conversation between friends · Une conversation entre amis
[edit | edit source]| Daniel | Bonjour Hervé. Comment vas-tu ? | |
| Hello, Hervé. How are you? | ||
| Hervé | Je vais bien, merci. Et toi ça va ? | |
| I'm good,1 thank you. And you, it goes (fine)? | ||
| Daniel | Ça va bien. Est-ce que2 tu viens à mon anniversaire ? J'organise une petite fête. | |
| It goes well. You're coming to my party? I'm organizing a little party. | ||
| Hervé | C'est quand ? | |
| When is it? | ||
| Daniel | Le 3 mars à 20h. | |
| March 3 at 08:00 PM. | ||
| Hervé | Le 3 mars, entendu. Tu fais ça chez toi3 ? | |
| March 3, agreed. You're having it at your place? | ||
| Daniel | Oui c'est chez moi. J'ai invité une vingtaine d'amis. On va danser toute la nuit. | |
| Yes, it's at my place. I have invited (a set of) twenty friends. We4 are going to dance all night. | ||
| Hervé | C'est très gentil de m'inviter, merci. A bientôt. | |
| It's very nice to invite me, thank you. So long. | ||
| Daniel | A demain, bonne journée. | |
| Until tomorrow, good day. | ||
^1 Bien... is an adverb meaning well. Its adjective equivalent is bon(ne), which means good. Since je vais, meaning I go, uses an action verb,
the adverb bien is used. In English, I'm good, which uses the linking verb am, is followed by an adjective rather than an adverb.
^2 Est-ce que... doesn't mean anything (like the Spanish upside down question mark) and is used to start a question.
This can be used in a similar manner to do in English. Instead of You want it?, one can say Do you want it?
^3 chez... is a preposition meaning at the house of.... Chez moi is used to say at my place. Chez [name] is used to say at [name's] place.
^4 on... can mean we or one.
French : Lessons · Vocabulary · Grammar · Appendices · Texts