French with Pierrick

Tag: french language

french language

  • Possessive determiners and pronouns in French

    Here are in the table bellow the possessive determiners in French:

    Possessive determiners

    MasculinFémininPlurielPossessive determiners
    MonMaMesMy
    TonTaTesYour
    SonSaSesHis, her, its
    NotreNotreNosOur
    VotreVotreVosYour
    LeurLeurLeursTheir

    A possessive determiner is linked to a noun and agrees with the gender and number of that noun, like for examples:

    • Mon téléphone. My phone.
    • Ta veste. Your jacket.
    • Leurs amis. Their friends.

    The possessive determiners ma, ta, sa become mon, ton, son in front of a noun starting with a vowel or a silent h such as:

    • Je cherche mon amie (instead of ma amie). I look for my friend.
    • C’est ton histoire (instead of ta histoire). It is your storie.
    • Elle parle de son école (instead of sa école). She speaks about her school.

    Possessive pronouns

    Here are in the table bellow the possessive pronouns in French:

    MasculinFémininPlurielPossessive pronouns
    Le mienLa mienneLes miens, les miennesMine
    Le tienLa tienneLes tiens, les tiennesYours
    Le sienLa sienneLes siens, les siennesHis, hers, its
    Le nôtreLa nôtreLes nôtresOurs
    Le vôtreLa vôtreLes vôtresYours
    Le leurLa leurLes leursTheirs

    Possessive pronouns replace a noun and agrees with the gender and number of the noun they replace, like for examples:

    • C’est ma veste. C’est la mienne. It is my jacket. It is mine.
    • Ce n’est pas mon téléphone, c’est le tien. It is not my phone, it is yours.
    • Ce sont nos livres, pas les leurs. They are our books, not theirs.

    If you want to practise with exercises, you can do it here.

    Find my other articles about the French pronouns here.

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  • Personal pronouns in French

    Here are how french personal pronouns match with their equivalent in the English language:

    Pronoms personnelsPersonal pronouns
    Je, j’I
    TuYou
    Il, elle, onHe, She
    NousWe
    VousYou
    Ils, ellesThey

    Difference between tu and vous

    “Tu” is the singular form of “you” which we use most of the time.

    “Vous” is the plural form of “you” and also the singular form for formal situations.

    For example, it might be more appropriate to use “vous” to talk to someone in the situations bellow:

    • When you buy something from someone like in a shop, a restaurant, a bar, etc.
    • When you meet someone in the street.
    • When you want to talk to your teacher.
    • When you speak to the boss of your company.
    • Other formal situations.

    The thing is “Tu” and “Vous” are a bit tricky to use sometimes (even for natives) because depending on the situation and their personality, people are not necessarily use the same pronouns.

    However, when you’re not sure, you can start by using “vous” to talk to someone and then ask them if you can use “tu”.
    For example you can ask:

    • Est ce que l’on peut se tutoyer ? Can we use “tu” to talk to each other?

    On vs nous

    In spoken French and most of the time, French speakers use “on” instead of “nous” to say “we” like for example:

    • On va au restaurant. We go to the restaurant.

    “Nous”, as a personal pronoun, is used in formal oral situations or in written French.

    Talking about animals

    When we talk about animals in the French language we always use either “il” or “elle” depending on the gender of the animal. It is different from the English language when you use “he” and “she” only for pets and then “it” for other animals. For examples:

    • Le chien est gentil. Il est gentil. The dog is nice. He is nice.
    • La chienne est gentille. Elle est gentille. The dog is nice. She is nice.
    • Le rouge-gorge chante. Il chante. The bird sings. It sings.
    • La mésange chante. Elle chante. The great tit sings. It sings.

    Find my other articles about the French pronouns here.

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  • Futur proche vs futur simple in French

    Here are how to form and when to use the two main future tenses in French.

    Futur proche

    We form the futur proche with the present tense of aller (to go) followed by an infinitive.

    Futur proche = aller (present tense) + infinitive

    Personal pronounsFutur proche
    Je, j’vais manger
    Tuvas manger
    Il, elle, onva manger
    Nousallons manger
    Vousallez manger
    Ils, ellesvont manger

    Use

    1. The futur proche is used to talk about an immediate action or an action about to happen soon.
    • Je vais faire des courses (action immédiate).
    • I am going to do my food shopping (immediate action).
    • Le bus va arriver dans cinq minutes (action proche dans le temps).
    • The bus is going to arrive in five minutes (action about to happen soon).
    1. We also use the futur proche to talk about an action planned at a specific time in the future.
    • On va jouer au tennis demain. We tennis tomorrow.

    Futur simple

    We form the futur simple by adding the endings –ai, –as, –a, –ons, –ez and –ont to the infinitive for verbs which belong to the 1st and 2nd groups.

    • Parler (1er groupe) : Je parlerai (parler + ai). To speak (1st group): I will talk.
    • Finir (2ème groupe) : Je finirai (finir + ai). To finish (2nd group): I will finish.
    Personal pronouns1st group:
    parler (to talk)    		2nd group:
    finir (to finish)
    Je, j’parleraifinirai
    Tuparlerasfiniras
    Il, elle, onparlerafinira
    Nousparleronsfinirons
    Vousparlerezfinirez
    Ils, ellesparlerontfiniront

    We use the same endings for verbs which belong to the 3rd group and the auxiliaries, but you have to learn them by heart because their structure changes.

    • Voir (3ème groupe) : Je verrai. To see (3rd group): I will see.
    • Être (auxiliaire) : Je serai. To be (auxiliary): I will be.
    Personal pronouns3rd group:
    voir (to see)    		Être
    (to be)    		Avoir
    (to have)
    Je, j’verraiseraiaurai
    Tuverrasserasauras
    Il, elle, onverraseraaura
    Nousverronsseronsaurons
    Vousverrezserezaurez
    Ils, ellesverrontserontauront

    Use

    1. The futur simple is used to talk about an intention in the future.
    • Je finirai mes devoirs demain. I will finish my homework tomorrow.
    1. The futur simple is also used to talk about a supposition in the future.
    • Ils pensent qu’ils partiront au Canada l’année prochaine. They think they will go to Canada next year.

    One thing to keep in mind is that the futur proche is used more often in spoken French than the futur simple.

    Find my other posts about the French tenses here.

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  • French pronouns en and y

    The French pronouns en and y can be a little bit difficult to differentiate for my students sometimes so here’s a couple of explanations about when you should use them.

    The french pronouns en and y are used to replace a noun or a group of nouns.

    1. The y pronoun is used to replace a place.
    • Je suis déjà allé à Madrid (I’ve already been to Madrid)
    • -> J’y suis déjà allé (I’ve already been there)
    • Je vais aller en France (I’m going to go to France)
    • -> Je vais y aller (I’m going to go there)

    Sometimes we use the y pronoun in others situations like:

    • Je vais y penser (I am going to thing about it)
    • Je vais y réfléchir (I am going to reflect on it)
    • J’y vais (I am on my way)
    1. The en pronoun is used to replace an element of the sentence starting with “de”:
    • On a parlé de leurs vacances en Australie. On en a parlé.
    • We talked about their holiday in Australia. We talked about it.

    Or a countable element.

    • J’ai acheté trois poires. J’en ai acheté trois.
    • I bought three pears. I bought three (of them).

    Find my other articles about the French pronouns here.

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  • 15 summer words in French

    Here are 15 summer words in French:

    FrançaisIPAEnglish
    Des lunettes de soleil[de lynεt də sɔlεj]Sunglasses
    Une serviette[yn sεrvjεt]A towel
    Une bouteille d’eau[yn butεj do]A water bottle
    Une casquette[yn kaskεt]A cap
    Un chapeau[œ̃ ʃapo]A hat
    Un maillot de bain[œ̃ majo də bε̃]A swimming costume
    Un short de bain[œ̃ ʃɔrt də bε̃]Swimming trunks
    Un bikini[œ̃ bikini]A bikini
    Des sandales[de sɑ̃dal]Sandals
    Des tongs [de tɔ̃g]Flip-flops
    Un parasol[œ̃ parasɔl]A parasol
    Une glace[yn glas]An ice cream
    Un sorbet[œ̃ sɔrbε]A sorbet
    Une plage[yn plaʒ]A beach
    De la crème solaire[də la krεm sɔlεr]Sun cream
    Un coup de soleil[œ̃ ku de sɔlɛj]Sunburn
    *IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

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  • 30 fruits in French

    Here are 30 fruits in French:

    FrançaisIPA*English
    Les fruits[le frɥi]Fruit
    Une pomme[yn pɔm]An apple
    Un abricot[œ̃n abriko]An apricot
    Un avocat[œ̃n avɔka]An avocado
    Une banane[yn banan]A banana
    Une mûre[yn myr]A blackberry
    Un cassis[œ̃ kasis]A blackcurrant
    Une myrtille[yn mirtij]A blueberry
    Une cerise[yn səriz]A cherry
    Une clémentine[yn klemɑ̃tin]A clementine
    Une noix de coco[yn nwa də koko]A coconut
    Une datte[yn dat]A date
    Un pamplemousse[œ̃ pɑ̃pləmus]A grapefruit
    Un raisin[œ̃ rεzε̃]A grape
    Un kiwi[œ̃ kiwi]A kiwi
    Un citron[œ̃ sitrɔ̃]A lemon
    Un citron vert[œ̃ sitrɔ̃ vεr]A lime
    Une mangue[yn mɑ̃g]A mango
    Un melon[œ̃ məlɔ̃]A melon
    Une nectarine[yn nεktarin]A nectarine
    Une olive[yn ɔliv]An olive
    Une orange[yn ɔrɑ̃ʒ]An orange
    Une pêche[yn pεʃ]A peach
    Une poire[yn pwar]A pear
    Un ananas[œ̃n anana(s)]A pineapple
    Une prune[yn pryn]A plum
    Une framboise[yn frɑ̃bwaz]A raspberry
    Une groseille[yn grozεj]A redcurrant
    De la rhubarbe[də la rybarb]Rhubarb
    Une fraise[yn frεz]A strawberry
    Une pastèque[yn pastεk]A watermelon
    *IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

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  • 30 vegetables in French

    Here are 30 vegetables in French:

    FrançaisIPA*English
    Les légumes[le legym]Vegetables
    Une asperge[yn aspεrʒ]Asparagus
    Une aubergine[yn obεrʒin]An aubergine
    Une betterave[yn bεtrav]A beetroot
    Un brocoli[œ̃ brɔkɔli]A broccoli
    Un chou de Bruxelles[œ̃ ʃu də brysεl]A Brussels sprout
    Un chou[œ̃ ʃu]A cabbage
    Une carotte[yn karɔt]A carrot
    Un chou-fleur[œ̃ ʃuflɶr]A cauliflower
    Une courgette[yn kurʒεt]A courgette
    Un concombre[œ̃ kɔ̃kɔ̃br]A cucumber
    Un haricot vert[œ̃ ʼariko vεr]A French bean
    Un fenouil[œ̃ fənuj]A fennel
    De l’ail[də laj]Garlic
    Du gingembre[dy ʒε̃ʒɑ̃br]Ginger
    Un poireau[œ̃ pwaro]A leek
    Une lentille[yn lɑ̃tij]A lentil
    Une salade[yn salad]A lettuce
    Un champignon[œ̃ ʃɑ̃piɲɔ̃]A mushroom
    Un oignon[œ̃n ɔɲɔ̃]An onion
    Un panais[œ̃ panɛ]A parsnip
    Un petit pois[œ̃ p(ə)ti pwa]A pea
    Une pomme de terre[yn pɔmdətεr]A potato
    Un potiron[œ̃ pɔtirɔ̃]A pumpkin
    Un radis[œ̃ radi]A radish
    Une échalote[yn eʃalɔt]A shallot
    Des épinards[de zepinar]Spinach
    Une courge[yn kurʒ]A squash
    Une patate douce[yn patat dus]A sweet potato
    Une tomate[yn tɔmat]A tomato
    Un navet[œ̃ navε]A turnip
    *IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

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  • 20 positive adjectives to describe a person in french

    Here are 20 positive adjectives to describe a person in french:

    FrançaisIPA*English
    Il/elle est ambitieux/se[ɑ̃bisjø/jøz]He/she is ambitious
    Il/elle est prudent/te[pʀydɑ̃/ɑ̃t]He/she is cautious
    Il/elle est intelligent/ente[ɛ̃teliʒɑ̃/ɑ̃t]He/she is clever
    Il/elle est confiant/te[kɔ̃fjɑ̃/jɑ̃t]He/she is confident
    Il/elle est drôle[dʀol]He/she is funny
    Il/elle est franc/che[fʀɑ̃/fʀɑ̃ʃ]He/she is frank
    Il/elle est gentil/ille[ʒɑ̃ti/ij]He/she is kind
    Il/elle est généreux/euse[ʒeneʀø/øz]He/she is generous
    Il/elle est honnête[ɔnɛt]He/she is honest
    Il/elle est modeste[mɔdɛst]He/she is modest
    Il/elle est sympa[sɛ̃pa]He/she is nice
    Il/elle est ouvert/te d’esprit[uvɛʀ/ɛʀt dɛspʀi]He/she is open-minded
    Il/elle est optimiste[ɔptimist]He/she is optimistic
    Il/elle est patient/te[pasjɑ̃/jɑ̃t]He/she is patient
    Il/elle est poli/ie[pɔli]He/she is polite
    Il/elle est sincère[sɛ̃sɛʀ]He/she is sincere
    Il/elle est romantique[ʀɔmɑ̃tik]He/she is romantic
    Il/elle est sociable[sɔsjabl]He/she is sociable
    Il/elle est respectueux/euse[ʀɛspɛktɥø/øz]He/she is respectful
    Il/elle est compréhensif/ive[kɔ̃pʀeɑ̃sif/iv]He/she is understanding
    *IPA : International Phonetic Alphabet

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    Find my other vocabulary lists in French here.