GCSE French/Week 1

This week we will learn:

• the verb être, "to be"
  • how to conjugate être in the present tense only
  • use être and its inflections in sentences with basic vocabulary
• the verb avoir, "to have"
  • how to conjugate avoir in the present tense only
  • use avoir and its inflections in sentences with basic vocabulary
• the verb habiter, "to live"
  • how to conjugate habiter in the present tense only
  • use habiter and its inflections in sentences with basic vocabulary

Basic vocabulary

Greetings

• salut, "hi" or "bye"
• bonjour, "hello" or "good morning"

Pronouns

• je, "I"
• tu, "you" (singular)
• il, "he" or "it"
• elle, "she"
• nous, "we"
• vous, "you" (plural)
• ils, "they"
• "elles", "they"

être

• The verb "to be"
• Is an irregular verb

Conjugating être in the present tense

• First person singular — je suis, "I am"
• Second person singular — tu es, "you are"
• Third person singular — il/elle est, "he/she is"
• First person plural — nous sommes, "we are"
• Second person plural — vous êtes, "you are"
• Third person plural — ils/elles sont, "they are"

avoir

• The verb "to have"
• Is an irregular verb

Conjugating avoir in the present tense

• First person singular — j'ai, "I have"
• Second person singular — tu as, "you have"
• Third person singular — il/elle a, "he/she has"
• First person plural — nous avons, "we have"
• Second person plural — vous avez, "you have"
• Third person plural — ils/elles ont, "they have"

habiter

• The verb "to live"
• Is a regular verb

Conjugating habiter in the present tense

• First person singular — j'habite, "I live"
• Second person singular — tu habites, "you live"
• Third person singular — il/elle habite , "he/she lives"
• First person plural — nous habitons, "we live"
• Second person plural — vous habitez, "you live"
• Third person plural — ils/elles habitent, "they live"

Useful notes

• When conjugating verbs there are usually rules which can be used to determine how a certain verb should be conjugated. The verbs avoir "to have" and être "to be", are irregular and do not follow any of these rules. Their inflections must therefore be remembered. Habiter "to live" is a regular -er verb, however.
• The first person singular of avoir is ai. As it starts with a vowel, when combined with je, the phrase "I have" becomes j'ai not je ai which would be tedious to pronounce.
• Similarly to the first person singular of avoir, ai, the first person singular of habiter, habite, when combined with je forms j'habite not je habite. This is because the h in habite is silent making the first sound of habite a vowel sound, "a".