French with Pierrick

Tag: french grammar

french grammar

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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August 14, 2022
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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May 20, 2022
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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April 22, 2022
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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January 8, 2022
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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December 18, 2021
French prepositions for countries, cities and continents
The 4 different prepositions we use in French for countries, states, provinces, cities and continents are: “en“, “au“, “aux” and “à“.

1. Countries, states and provinces
1. First, we use the preposition “en” in front of feminine names or masculine which start with a vowel, for instance:
- En France (feminine) / In France
- En Équateur (masculine) / In Equator
- En Californie (feminine) / In California
- En Ontario (masculine) / In Ontario
Generally, country names ending in “e” are feminine but there are a couple of exceptions like “le Mexique”.
1. We use the preposition “au” in front of masculine names that do not start with a vowel like:
- Au Portugal (masculine) / In Portugal
- Au Brésil (masculine) / In Brazil
- Au Texas (masculine) / In Texas
- Au Québec (masculine) / In Quebec
1. Also, we use the preposition “aux” in front of plural names, for example:
- Aux États-Unis (plural) / In the United States
- Aux Pays-Bas (plural) / In the Netherlands
1. Lastly, we use the preposition “à” in front of country names without an article like:
- À Malte / In Malta
- À Madagascar / In Madagascar
2. Cities

We also use the preposition “à“ in front of every city names, like:
- À Paris / In Paris
- À Sidney / In Sidney
3. Continents

To finish, we use the French preposition “en” in front of every continent, for example:
- En Asie / In Asia
- En Afrique / In Africa
Find my other post about French grammar here.

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December 11, 2021
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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November 27, 2021

French liaison

We make the “liaison” in French when we pronounce the last consonant of a word with the first syllable of the following word, when it starts with a vowel or a silent h.

The liaison is mainly made with the sounds [z], [t] and [n].

When the last consonant is an “s” or an “x”, we make a [z] sound.

Also, after “grand” and “quand” we make a [t] sound.

Liaison in groups of nouns

We make the liaison in groups of nouns and after all numbers, like the examples in the table below:

Français	IPA*	English
Des_histoires	[de zistwaʀ]	Some stories
Mon_ami	[mɔ̃ nami]	My friend
Aux_États_Unis	[o zeta zyni]	In the United States
Huit_ans	[ˈɥi tɑ̃]	Eight years
Six_euros	[si zøʀo]	Six euros

*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

We make the liaison between an adjective and a noun, when the noun follows the adjective:

Français	IPA*	English
Joyeux_anniversaire	[ʒwajø zanivɛʀsɛʀ]	Happy birthday
Bon_appétit	[bɔ̃ napeti]	Enjoy your meal
Un petit_objectif	[œ̃ p(ə)ti tɔbʒɛktif]	A small goal
Un grand_arbre	[œ̃ gʀɑ̃ taʀbʀ]	A tall tree

*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

Liaison in groups of verbs

We make the liaison in groups of verbs after the personal pronouns, “on”, “nous”, “vous”, “ils” and “elles”, like in the examples below:

Français	IPA*	English
On_a	[ɔ̃ na]	We have
Nous_écrivons	[nu zekʀivɔ̃]	We write
Vous_êtes	[vu zɛt]	You are
Ils_apprennent	[il zapʀɛn]	They learn
Elles_achètent	[ɛl zaʃɛt]	They buy

*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

Liaison after short adverbs

We make the liaison after short adverbs like:

Français	IPA*	English
Elle est très_optimiste	[ɛl ɛ tʀɛ zɔptimist]	She is very optimistic
Vous avez bien_écouté	[vu ave bjɛ̃ nekute]	You listened carefully

*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

Quand

We also make the liaison after “quand”, and it makes a [t] sound. For example:

Français	IPA*	English
Quand_on marche	[kɑ̃ tɔ̃ maʀʃ]	When we walk

*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

Liaison in specific expressions

We also make the liaison in specific expressions like these common ones:

Français	IPA*	English
Plus_ou moins	[ply zu mwɛ̃]	More or less
De temps_en temps	[də tɑ̃ zɑ̃ tɑ̃]	From time to time
Pas_à pas	[pɑ za pɑ]	Step by step
Petit_à petit	[p(ə)ti ta p(ə)ti]	Little by little

*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

Aspirated h

Some words starting with an h in French have an aspirated h and with these words we don’t make the liaison. For example:

Français	IPA	English
Un héros	[œ̃ ˈeʀo]	A hero
Des haricots	[de ˈaʀiko]	Some French beans
Des hérissons	[de ˈeʀisɔ̃]	Some hedgehogs

*IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

If you want to exercise yourself with the liaison you can do it here.

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Find my other post about French grammar here.

November 19, 2021

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 pronouns	Reflexive pronouns	Se lever (to get up)
Je	Me, m’	Je me lève
Tu	Te, t’	Tu te lèves
Il, elle, on	Se, s’	Il, elle, on se lève
Nous	Nous	Nous nous levons
Vous	Vous	Vous vous levez
Ils, elles	Se, 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:

Tense	Affirmative form	Negative form
Présent	Je me lève	Je ne me lève pas
Passé composé	Je me suis levé	Je ne me suis pas levé
Imparfait	Je me levais	Je ne me levais pas
Futur proche	Je vais me lever	Je ne vais pas me lever
Futur simple	Je me lèverai	Je 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.

November 16, 2021

Indirect object pronouns in French

Here are in the table bellow the different indirect object pronouns in the French language and their equivalent in English:

Personal pronouns	Indirect object pronouns	Pronouns in English
Je	Me, t’	Me
Tu	Te, t’	You
Il, elle, on	Lui	His, her, its
Nous	Nous	Us
Vous	Vous	You
Ils, elles	Leur	Them

To find out wether or not a verb need a direct object pronouns or an indirect object pronouns you can ask yourself the question “à qui ?” (to who) or “à quoi ?” (to what) after the verb.

For examples:

Je parle à mon ami. Je parle (à qui ?) à mon ami. Je lui parle.
I talk to my friend. I talk (to whom?) to my friend. I talk to him.

The following table shows the phrase structure for the main French tenses:

Présent	Personal pronoun	Indirect object pronouns	Verb
	Je	lui	parle
Passé composé	Personal pronoun	Indirect object pronouns	Auxiliary	Past participe
	Je	lui	ai	parlé
Imparfait	Personal pronoun	Indirect object pronouns	Verb
	Je	lui	parlais
Futur proche	Personal pronoun	Verb	Indirect object pronouns	Infinitive
	Je	vais	lui	parler
Futur simple	Personal pronoun	Indirect object pronouns	Verb
	Je	lui	parlerai

Here is a list of common verbs which use the indirect object pronouns:

Parler à (to talk)
Téléphoner à (to call)
Demander à (to ask)
Répondre à (to answer)
Dire à (to say)
Écrire à (to write)

Read my post about direct object pronouns here.

You can practise using indirect object pronouns here or using different types of pronouns here.

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Find my other post about French grammar here.

September 25, 2021