French with Pierrick

Category: B1 Intermediate

French Grammar B1 Intermediate

  • Tout, toute, tous, toutes in French

    Tout as an adjective

    When “tout” is used as an adjective it agrees with the gender and number of the noun it is linked to.

    • Tout le train (masculine). All the train.
    • Toute la table (feminine). All the table.
    • Tous les livres (masculine plural). All the books.
    • Toutes les fleurs (feminine plural). All the flowers.

    Tout as a pronoun

    When “tout” is used as a pronoun, it replaces a masculine or feminine plural group or a neutral group.

    • Ils sont tous sympas (masculine plural). They are all nice.
    • Elles sont toutes drôles (feminine plural). They are all funny.
    • Tu as tout compris (neutral). You understood everything.

    Tout as an adverb

    When “tout” is used as an adverb it is invariable.

    • Ce produit est tout nouveau (singular). This product is brand new.
    • Ces produits sont tout nouveaux (plural). These products are brand new.

    Expressions with tout

    Here are some common expressions with “tout”:

    • Tout le temps. All the time.
    • Tout le monde. Everybody.
    • Tout de suite. Right now.
    • Tout d’un coup. Suddenly.
    • Tout à l’heure. Later/earlier.
    • En tout cas. In any case.
    • C’est tout. That’s all.

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  • An vs année in French

    The nouns “an” and “année” (year) have the same meaning, but they are often used in different contexts.  

    Un an

    The noun “un an” is used with cardinal numbers, quantities and repetitive events.

    • J’ai 30 ans (nombre cardinal). I’m 30 years old (cardinal number).
    • J’apprends le français depuis 2 ans (quantité). I’ve been learning French for 2 years (quantity).
    • Il va en vacances en Italie tous les ans (évènement répétitif). He goes on holiday to Italy every year (repetitive event).

    Une année

    The feminine noun “une année” is used with ordinal numbers, adjectives and to describe something qualitative.

    • Je suis en deuxième année de Master (nombre ordinal). I’m in my second year of a Masters degree (ordinal number).
    • J’apprends le français depuis plusieurs années (adjectif). I’ve been learning French for several years (adjective).
    • Il va en vacances en Italie cette année (qualitatif). He is going on holiday to Italy this year (qualitative).

    « an » and « année » are interchangeable when used before an adjective.

    • L’an prochain. L’année prochaine. Next year.
    • L’an dernier. L’année dernière. Last year.

    “Jour” and “journée”

    It’s more or less the same rules for “jour” et “journée » (day).

    • On va passer 3 jours au Maroc (quantité). We’re going to spend 3 days in Morocco (quantity).
    • Je me lève tous les jours à 7h (répétition). I get up every day at 7am (repetition).
    • C’est une très belle journée (adjectif). It’s a beautiful day (adjective).

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  • Bon vs bien in French

    The difference between “bon” and “bien” in French.

    BON

    “Bon” is used as an adjective and agrees with the gender and number of the noun it is linked to.

    • Ce gâteau est très bon. This cake is very good.
    • Ces tartes sont très bonnes. These pies are very good.

    The superlative of “bon” is “meilleur“.

    • Ce gâteau est très bon mais celui-ci est meilleur. This cake is really good but this one is better.

    BIEN

    “Bien” is an adverb and it’s used with a verb. It doesn’t agree with anything.

    • Je vais bien. I’m good.
    • Ils vont très bien. They’re really good.

    The superlative of “bien” is “mieux“.

    • Je vais bien mais demain j’espère que j’irai mieux. I’m good but tomorrow I hope I will feel better.

    “c’est bon” vs “c’est bien“

    The difference between “c’est bon” and “c’est bien“:

    “C’est bon” is mostly used to talk about a taste.

    • Ce gâteau est super bon. This cake is really good.
    • C’est super bon ! It’s really good!

    “C’est bien” is mostly used to express a feeling or an opinion.

    • Personne A : J’ai réussi mon examen de français.
    • Person A: I passed my French exam.
    • Personne B : Bravo, c’est super bien !
    • Person B: Well done, it’s really good!

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  • Revenir vs retourner vs rentrer in French

    Here are three situations to show the the difference between “revenir”, “retourner” and “rentrer”:

    Revenir

    • Je reviens du Japon (revenir).
    • I’m coming back from Japan.

    I was in Japan and now I’m back at home.

    Retourner

    • Je retourne au Japon (retourner).
    • I’m going back to Japan.

    I’ve already been to Japan and I’m going back there again.

    Rentrer

    • Je rentre chez moi (rentrer).
    • I’m going home.

    I was on holiday in Japan and now I’m going home.

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  • Savoir vs connaître in French

    Here is the main difference between savoir and connaître in French:

    Savoir

    Savoir is followed by an infinitive or a clause starting with qui (who), que (what), quoi (what), quand (when), comment (how), où (where), si (if), etc.

    Savoir is used when we have knowledge of something, like for example:

    • Je sais qu’il fait chaud en été. I know it’s hot in summer.
    • Tu sais où ton ami habite. You know where your friend lives.

    Or when we know how to do something:

    • Elle sait jouer à la guitare. She knows how to play the guitar.
    • Nous savons nager. We know how to swim.

    Connaître

    Connaître is followed by a noun, a person’s name or a place.

    • Je connais cette recette (noun). I know this recipe.
    • Vous connaissez Elsa (person’s name). You know Elsa.
    • Ils connaissent cette region (place). They know that region.

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    You can find some exercises here.

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  • Emmener, emporter, amener and apporter in French

    It can be difficult for French learners to differentiate “emmener”, “amener”, “emporter” and “apporter” between them, so here is some explanation:

    Emmener

    We use “emmener” when we lead someone or people with us, with the intention to go from a point A to a point B, for example:

    • J’emmène ma fille à l’école (de la maison à l’école). 
    • I bring my daughter to school (from home to school).

    Emporter

    “Emporter” has the same meaning as “emmener” but it is used with things:

    • Elle emporte son déjeuner avec elle (de la maison au bureau). 
    • She takes her lunch with her (from home to the office).

    Amener

    The difference between “emmener” and “amener” is that with “amener” you don’t have the intention to go from a point A to a point B, for example:

    • Il amène sa copine avec lui (à la soirée). 
    • He is bringing his girlfriend with him (to the party).

    Apporter

    In the same way, “apporter” has the same meaning as “amener” but it is used with things:

    • On va apporter un gâteau (à la soirée).
    • We are going to bring a cake (to the party).

    It is not uncommon for native speakers to mix up “emmener” and “amener”.

    The main thing to remember is that “emmener” and “amener” are used with people, while “emporter” and “apporter” are used with things.

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  • Reflexive verbs in French

    Reflexive verbs are verbs which use a reflexive pronoun like in the table bellow. They describe an action that is done to yourself. The reflexive pronoun changes depending on who is doing the action.

    Reflexive pronouns

    Personal pronounsReflexive pronounsSe lever (to get up)
    JeMe, m’Je me lève
    TuTe, t’Tu te lèves
    Il, elle, onSe, s’Il, elle, on se lève
    NousNousNous nous levons
    VousVousVous vous levez
    Ils, ellesSe, s’Ils, elles se lèvent

    If you want you can do some exercises with reflexive pronouns here.

    Conjugation of reflexive verbs

    Depending on the tense and the form (affirmative or negative) the reflexive pronoun isn’t going to be at the same place in the sentence.

    Here are in the table bellow the different structure for conjugated reflexive verbs:

    TenseAffirmative formNegative form
    PrésentJe me lèveJe ne me lève pas
    Passé composéJe me suis levéJe ne me suis pas levé
    ImparfaitJe me levaisJe ne me levais pas
    Futur procheJe vais me leverJe ne vais pas me lever
    Futur simpleJe me lèveraiJe ne me lèverai pas

    The main thing to keep in mind is that the structure change with the futur proche but stay the same with the other main tenses.

    Also, for the “passé composé” reflexive verbs always need the “être” (to be) auxiliary.

    Common reflexive verbs

    Some verbs are only reflexive like “se souvenir” (to remember).

    • Se lever. To get up.
    • Se réveiller. To wake up.
    • Se souvenir. To remember.

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    You can practise using reflexives verbs here.

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    Find my other post about French grammar here.

  • French prepositions of time

    Here are 9 French prepositions of time (depuis, pendant, pour, il y a, dans, jusqu’à, en, de… à and d’ici) and when to use them.

    Depuis

    “Depuis” is used to talk about a period of time which started in the past and continues in the present.

    • Je te connais depuis que j’ai dix ans. I have known you since I’m ten years old.
    • Elle t’attend depuis cinq minutes. She’s been waiting for you for five minutes.

    Pendant

    “Pendant” is used to talk about past and future actions of a limited period of time.

    • J’ai habité au Canada pendant un an. I lived in Canada for a year.
    • Il sera en vacances pendant deux semaines. He will be on holiday for two weeks.

    Pour

    “Pour” is used to talk about future plans.

    • Je pars travailler en France pour six mois. I’m going to work in France for six months.

    Il y a

    We use “Il y a” to talk about a moment in the past.

    • Il est allé au Mexique il y a trois ans. He went to Mexico three years ago.

    Dans

    “Dans” is used to talk about a moment in the future.

    • J’ai un entretien dans une semaine. I have an interview in one week’s time.

    Jusqu’à

    “Jusqu’à/jusqu’aux/jusqu’en” are used to talk about the end of a period of time.

    • Je serai en Irlande jusqu’à la fin du mois. I will be in Ireland until the end of the month.
    • Nous travaillons jusqu’aux vacances de Noël. We are working until the Christmas holidays.
    • Je reste ici jusqu’en avril. I will stay here until April.

    En

    We use “en” to talk about a date or the time required to complete an action.

    • Je suis allé aux États-Unis en 2010. I went to the United States in 2010.
    • J’ai fait mes courses en vingt minutes. I did my shopping in twenty minutes.

    De… à

    The prepositions “de… à” is used to limit a period of time.

    • Le supermarché est ouvert de 8h à 21h. The supermarket is open from 8am to 9pm.

    D’ici

    Lastly, “d’ici” is the equivalent of by in English.

    • Je veux parler couramment français d’ici la fin de l’année. I want to be fluent in French by the end of the year.

    Find my other post about French grammar here.

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