Copyright: Grammar ®1995-96 Translation Experts


table of contents

 French Grammar Reference Help Contents

©1995-1996 Translation Experts Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Pronunciation

Verbs

Nouns

Articles

Adjectives

Adverbs

Pronouns

Prepositions

Conjunctions

Time & Numbers

Sentence Structure

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 Pronunciation

French	Pronunciation
a, à	hat
â	calm
ai	bed
au	coat
b	balcony
c	before e,i,y = soup -- otherwise = kettle -- when c occurs at the end of a word and is preceded by a consonant, it is usually silent
ç	soup
cc	before e,i = Xerox -- otherwise = kettle
ch	short -- in words of Greek origin & before a,o,u = kettle
d	dog -- at the end of words usually silent
e	sofa -- at the end of words and between two single consonants usually silent
é	hate
è,ê,ei	bed
eau	automatic
ent	not pronunced if is it the third person plural ending
er	aircaft -- at the end of words of more than one syllable = hate
es	not pronunced at the end of words
eu	like French e but pronunced with the lips rounded outwards
ez	hate
f	feast -- silent at the end of a few words
g	give -- before e, I, y = azimuth a the end of words usually not pronounced
gn	onion
gu	give + French u -- before e, I, y = give
h	in most words silent -- sometimes represents aspiration
i,î	India
ill	yesterday
j	azimuth
k	kettle
l	long
m,mm	mother -- at end of word or before a consonant indicates nasalization of previous vowel
n,nn	nose -- at end of word or before a consonant indicates nasalization of previous vowel
o	mud -- at the end of the word or often before s, z = coat
ôoe,oeu	Europe
oi	w + palm
ou,oû,où	tour
p	paper -- usually silent at the end of words and between m and t, m and s, r and s
pn	parent + nanny
ps	parent + sound
ph	five
qu	kettle
r	a vibration of the tip of the tongue against the upper front teeth (not found in English) The closest English sound is race.
s	sound -- single s between vowels = zebra at the end of words usually silent
sc	skiing -- before e, i = sea
t	tingle (with tongue tip against teeth) At the end of words usually silent if followed by ie, ion, ium, ius, etc. = sound
th	tap
u,û	like needle but with lips rounded as in tour
ue	after c, g and before il = like French e but pronunced with the lips rounded outwards
v	vowel
w	vowel
x	Xerox -- if ex begins a word and is followed by a vowel = gz -- at the end of words usually silent
y	India -- between two vowels = yes
z	zebra -- at the end of words often silent


 Verbs

Types

Tenses

Moods

Voices

Infinitive

Conjugation


verb types

Types of Verbs

There are three types of French verbs:

 Regular Verbs

 Irregular Verbs

 Auxiliary Verbs

1 Regular verbs conform to a group pattern and have the same endings for each of the persons.

2 Irregular verbs are most often unique and, while the endings may be similar, the stem of the verb may differ in the persons. The English-French dictionary lists all the present, imperfect and future tenses both with the pronoun and separately.

3 The auxiliary verbs are être (to be) and avoir (to have). These have their own special forms. Both of these verbs have been included in the English-French dictionary in their present, imperfect and future forms both with pronouns and without the pronouns. Auxiliary verbs can be used in their own right or in conjunction with the past participle of another verb to form the past tense of the verb, for example: je donnais = I was giving but I have given = j'ai donné


 Verb Tenses

Present

Imperfect

Perfect

Pluperfect

Future

Future Perfect


Verb Moods and Voices

Moods

 Indicative

 Imperative

 Subjunctive

 Conditional

Voices

 Active

 Pasive


verb infinitive

Infinitive

The form in which the verb is usually given in dictionaries is called the infinitive.

Regular and irregular verbs consist of the verb stem plus (er) or (i)r or re (e.g. porter = port + er and finir = fin + ir and vendre = vend + re).


conjugation

 Verb Conjugation

Regular Verbs

Irregular Verbs


 Conjugation of Regular Verbs

Present

Imperfect

Perfect

Pluperfect

Future

Future Perfect


Present Tense of Regular Verbs

The present tense is formed by adding an ending to the stem of the verb:

Infinitive	donner	finir	vendre
je	donn-e	fin-is	vend-s
tu	donn-es	fin-is	vend-s
il/elle	donn-e	fin-is	vend
nous	donn-ons	fin-issons	vend-ons
vous	donn-ez	fin-issez	vend-ez
ils/elles	donn-ent	fin-issent	vend-ent


Imperfect Tense of Regular Verbs

The imperfect tense is formed by adding the endings given below (after the dash) to the stem of the verb:

Infinitive	donner	finir	vendre
je	donn-ais	fin-issais	vend-ais
tu	donn-ais	fin-issais	vend-ais
il/elle	donn-ait	fin-issait	vend-ait
nous	donn-ions	fin-issions	vend-ions
vous	donn-iez	fin-issiez	vend-iez
ils/elles	donn-aient	fin-issaient	vend-aient


Perfect Tense of Regular Verbs

The perfect tense is formed by using the past participle with the present tense of avoir:

	Present Tense	Past Participle
avoir	donner	finir   vendre
j'ai	donné	fini   vendu
tu as	donné	fini   vendu
il/elle a	donné	fini   vendu
nous avons	donné	fini   vendu
vous avez	donné	fini   vendu
ils/elles	donné	fini   vendu

Some verbs use être instead of avoir to form the perfect tense. These verbs are all intransitive and express movement or becoming. The most common in this category are: aller, venir, partir, arriver, retourner, descendre, monter, entrer, sortir, naître, mourir, devenir, rentrer, ressortir, rester, revenir and tomber. The perfect tense is formed by using the past participle with the present tense of être:

	Present Tense	Past Participle
être	arriver	partir
je suis	arrivé	parti
tu es	arrivé	parti
il/elle	arrivé	parti
nous sommes	arrivé	parti
vous êtes	arrivé	parti
ils/elles sont	arrivé	parti


Pluperfect Tense of Regular Verbs

The pluperfect is formed by using the past participle together with the imperfect tense of avoir or étre:

	Imperfect Tense	Past Participle
avoir	donner	finir   vendre
j'avais	donné	fini    vendu
tu avais	donné	fini    vendu
il/elle avait	donné	fini    vendu
nous avions	donné	fini    vendu
vous aviez	donné	fini    vendu
ils/elles	donné	fini    vendu
	Imperfect Tense	Past Participle
être	arriver	partir
j'étais	arrivé	parti
tu étais	arrivé	parti
il/elle était	arrivé	parti
nous étions	arrivé	parti
vous étiez	arrivé	parti
ils/elles	arrivé	parti


Future Tense of Regular Verbs

The future tense is formed by adding the ending (given after the dash) to the stem of the verb:

Infinitive	donner	finir	vendre
je	donn-erai	fin-irai	vend-rai
tu	donn-eras	fin-iras	vend-ras
il/elle	donn-era	fin-ira	vend-ra
nous	donn-erons	fin-irons	vend-rons
vous	donn-erez	fin-irez	vend-rez
ils/elles	donn-eront	fin-iront	vend-ront


future perfect of regular verbs

Future Perfect Tense of Regular Verbs

The future perfect is formed by using the future tense of avoir or être plus the past participle:

	Future Tense	Past Participle
avoir	donner	finir	vendre
j'aurai	donné	fini	vendu
tu auras	donné	fini	vendu
il/elle aura	donné	fini	vendu
nous aurons	donné	fini	vendu
vous aurez	donné	fini	vendu
ils/elles auront	donné	fini	vendu
	Future Tense	Past Participle
être	rriver	partir
je serai	arrivé	parti
tu seras	arrivé	parti
il/elle sera	arrivé	parti
nous serons	arrivé	parti
vous serez	arrivé	parti
ils/elles seront	arrivé	parti


irregular verbs

Conjugating Irregular Verbs

Since the conjugation of irregular verbs varies according to the verb, many translations are included in the dictionary.


 Nouns

Nouns are words which refer to persons, animals, things or abstract ideas, for example:

English	French
house	maison
ball	balle

French nouns are either masculine or feminine in gender. The nouns themselves normally do not show this, but any preceding adjective or article "agrees" with the noun by having the appropriate ending showing its gender plus number and case.

The gender of a noun must be learned but often the meaning or ending of the noun will help you determine if it is:

Masculine

Feminine

Plural


Masculine Nouns

You can determine the gender of most masculine nouns by either the meaning or meaning.


Masculine Nouns Determined By Meaning

1 Names of male humans and animals:

French	le fils	l'étudiant	le chien
English	son	student	dog
2 Names of days, months and seasons:

French	le mercredi	le mai	l'automne
English	Wednesday	May	Autum/Fall
3 Points of the compass:

French	le nord	le Sud	l'est	l'ouest
English	north	south	east	west
4 Names of rock and soil types:

French	le quartz	l'arguile
English	quartz	clay


Masculine Nouns Determined By Ending

Ending	French	English
-ment	découragement	discouragement
-eur	délateur	informer
-ant	délinquant	delinquent


Feminine Nouns

You can determine the gender of most feminine nouns by either the meaning or meaning.


Feminine Nouns Determined By Meaning

1 Names for female humans and animals:

French	la mère	ma femme	une vache	la nièce
English	the mother	my wife	a cow	the niece
2 Names of fruit:

French	la pomme	la poire	la nectarine
English	apple	pear	nectarine


Feminine Nouns Determined By Ending

Ending	French	English
-ion	la munition	ammunition
-é	la moralité	morality
-ette	la mouette	gull
-trice	la médiatrice	mediator
-euse	la marcheuse	walker
-ienne	la mécanicienne	mechanic
-esse	la noblesse	nobility
-ère	la passagère	passenger
-ie	la psychologie	psychology


forming the plural of nouns

Forming Plural Nouns

The plural of most nouns is formed by adding -s to the singular noun:

Singular	Plural
le bouton	les boutons

Irregular Plurals:

Singular Endings	Plural	Common Exceptions
-s, -x, -z	(no change)	----
le bois (wood)	les bois	----
la voix (voice)	les voix	----
le nez (nose)	les nez	----
Singular Endings	Plural	Common Exceptions
-al	-aux	----
le journal (newspaper)	les journaux	les bals
Singular Endings	Plural	Common Exceptions
-au, -eu	(add -x)	----
le bateau (boat)	les bateaux	----
le feu (fire)	les feux	----
Singular Endings	Plural	Common Exceptions
-ou	(add -s)	----
le trou (hole)	les trous	les bijoux (jewels)
		les genoux (knees)
		les hiboux (owls)
		les cailloux (pebbles)
		les choux (cabbages)
Singular Endings	Plural	Common Exceptions
-ail	(add -s)	----
le détail (detail)	les détails	les travaux
		les vitraux

Compound Nouns

Noun + Adjective or Two Nouns = Both Change

un chou-fleur (cauliflower)	des choux-fleurs
un grand-parent (grandparent)	des grands-parents
un beau-frère (brother-in-law)	des beaux-frères
un bonhomme (fellow)	des bonshommes
une grand-mère (grandmother)	des grands-mères
Two Nouns Joined by a Preposition = The First Takes the Plural Form

une pomme de terre (potato)	des pommes de terre
un arc-en-ciel (rainbow)	des arcs-en-ciel

Also Note:

Singular	Plural
un oeil (eye)	des yeux
le ciel (sky)	les cieux (the heavens)
Singular	Plural
monsieur	messieurs
madam	mesdames
mademoiselle	mesdemoiselles
Family Names & Christian (First) Names are Invariable

les Duroc	les Leblanc	les Michel


 Articles

Definite Article

Indefinite Article

Demonstratives

Possesives


Definite Article

In English, the definite article has only one form -- the. In French, there are two singular definite articles and one plural. These do not change with the case of the noun. The definite articles are:

Masculine	Feminine	Plural
le	la	les


Indefinite Article

In English, the indefinite article has only one form -- a/an. In French, there are only two singular indefinite articles. They do not alter with the case of the noun. The indefinite articles are:

Masculine	Feminine	Plural
un	une	des


Demonstratives

In English, the demonstrative articles are this and that. In French, the distinction between these two is denoted by the use of ci (this) or là (that).

French	ce garçon-ci	ce garçon-là
English	this boy	that boy

However, where English always draws the distinction between this and that, the French demonstratives are often used without the ci and là additions, consequently, 'ce garçon may mean either this boy or that boy.

French demonstrative articles are gender sensitive:

Masculine	Feminine	Plural
ce	cette	ceux


Possessives

The possessive article must always agree with the gender/number of the noun to which it refers:

Possessive

Pronoun	Masculine	Feminine	Plural
je	mon	ma	mes
tu	ton	ta	tes
il/elle	son	sa	ses
nous	notre	notre	notre
vous	votre	votre	votre
ils/elles	leurs	leurs	leurs

The possessive article -- when used on its own (e.g. the book is mine) -- must always agree with the gender of the noun to which it refers:

Pronoun	Masculine	Feminine	Plural
je	le mien	la mienne	les miens/les miennes
tu	le tiens	la tienne	les tiens/les tiennes
il/elle	le sien	la sienne	les siens/les siennes
nous	le nôtre	la nôtre	les nôtre
votre	le vôtre	la vôtre	les vôtre
ils/elles	le leur	la leur	les leurs


 Adjectives

1 An adjective must always agree with the gender/number of the noun to which it applies. The usual way of converting a masculine adjective to a feminine adjective is to add the suffix e to the masculine form. However, if the adjective ends in -ieux, the feminine form ends with -ieuse, for example:

Masculine	Feminine
délicieux	délicieuse
Also, if the adjective ends in -eux, the feminine form is -euse

2 The position of the adjective in a sentence can cause difficulty. With certain exceptions (see below) an adjective follows its noun in the sentence:

French	un repas délicieux	les robes rouges
English	a delicious meal	the red dresses
The adjectives which usually precede the noun are: petit, grand, haut, long, gros, vieux, jeune, bon, mauvais, joli, nouveau and ancien. Premier always precedes the noun.

Interrogative adjectives are:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	quel	quelle
Plural	quels	quelles
These interrogative are used at the beginning of a question, for example:

French	Quel prix avez-vous payé?
English	What price did you pay?
They can also be used in indirect questions, for example:

French	Savez-vous quel jour il viendra?
English	Do you know what day he will come?
They are also used in exclamations, for example:

French	Quel drôle de bonhomme!
English	What an odd fellow!
French	Quelle idée
English	What an idea!


 Adverbs

Forming Adverbs

Use of Adverbs

Adverbs -- Word Order


formation of adverbs

Forming Adverbs

1 French adverbs are formed by taking the feminine form of the adjective and adding ment.

English	contentedly	anxiously	perversely
French	contentement	anxieusement	perversement

2 Words which are exclusively adverbs: très, fort, assez and bien.


usage of adverbs

Use of Adverbs

Adverbs are often used to quantify a verb but as adverbial intensifiers they can also quantify adjectives and other adverbs.

With a Verb

When quantifying a verb, the adverb usually follows that verb in the sentence, for example:

French	il vient vitement
English	he comes quickly
French	il a écouté attentivement
English	he listened attentively

With An Adjective

The most common adverb used with an adjective is très , for example:

French	elle est très gentile
English	she is very kind
French	il est très gentil
English	he is very kind

In general, any adverb which is used with an adjective preceeds that adjective.


adverbs: word order

Adverbs -- Word Order

Qualifying an Adjective or Another Adverb

Adverbs come immediately before the adjective or adverb they qualify, for example:

French	Le garçon était très méchamment
English	The boy was very vicious
French	très bien
English	very good/well
French	assez grand
English	quite tall/high


 Pronouns

Pronouns are words which can substitute for nouns. They are divided into personal, reflexive, indefinite, relative and interrogative pronouns:

Personal Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns

Indefinite Pronouns

Relative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns


Personal Pronouns

subject	object	indirect object
Nominative	Accusative	Dative
English	French	English	French	English	French
I	je	me	me	to me	me
you	tu	you	te	to you	te
he	il	him/it	le	to him/it	lui
she	elle	her/it	la	to her/it	lui
we	nous	us	nous	to you	nous
you	vous	you	vous	to you	vous
they (m)	ils	them	leur	to them	leur
they (f)	elles


use of the nominative case

Use of the Nominative

The nominative is used for the subjects of verbs:

French	je finis/appelez-vous?
English	I finish/are you calling?


use of the accusative case

Use of the Accusative

The accusative is used for the direct object of verbs and the pronoun normally comes in front of the verb, for example:

French	je le connais/je la connais
English	I know him/I know her


use of the dative case

Use of the Dative

The dative is used for the indirect object of verbs and also normally goes in front of the verb, for example:

French	je lui ai parlé
English	I spoke to him/her


Reflexive Pronouns

English	French
myself	moi-même
yourself	toi-même
himself	loi-même
ourselves	nous-même
yourselves	vous-même
themselves (m)	eux-même
themselves (f)	elles-même


Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns which always agree with the object possessed are:

English	French
	mas sing	fem sing	mas pl	fem pl
mine	le mien	la mienne	les miens	les miennes
yours	le tien	la tienne	les tiens	les tiennes
his/hers	le sien	la sienne	les siens	les siennes
ours	le nôtre	la nôtre	les nôtres	les nôtres
yours	le vôtre	la vôtre	les vôtres	les vôtres
theirs	le leur	la leur	les leurs	les leurs

Examples

French	ce n'est pas ton verre -- c'est le mien
English	it's not your glass -- it's mine
French	tu as ta clé? -- j'ai perdu la mienne
English	have you got your key? -- I've lost mine


Relative Pronouns

French relative pronouns are:

French	English
qui	who/which/that
que	whom/which/that
qu'	whom/which/that
dont	whose/of whom/of which
lequel	whom/which
laquelle	whom/which
quoi	which/what
1 Qui is used when it refers to the subject of the sentence, for example:

French	Les enfants qui jouent.
English	The children who are playing.

2 Que is used when it refers to the object of the sentence, for example:

French	La dame que vous voyez
English	The lady whom* you see
French	La cravate qu'il porte
English	The tie which* he is wearing
* Please Note: In English, it is permissible to omit whom and which but in French they must always be included in the sentence.

3 Dont is used to denote possession, for example:

French	Je connais une dame dont le mari est riche.
English	I know a lady whose husband is rich.
Please Note: In French order, dont must stand first in the relative clause and be followed by the subject.

4 Lequel and laquelle are used for the prepositional case and must always be made to agree with their antecedents, for example:

French	L'homme, avec lequel je suis sorti, est riche
English	The man, with whom I am going out, is rich
French	La chaise, sur laquelle vous êtes assis, est cassée
English	The chair, on which you are sitting, is broken
French	Les chiens, pour lesquels j'ai acheté les os, sont contents
English	The dogs, for whom I have bought bones, are content
5 Quoi is the neuter form and does not refer to a noun, for example:

French	Après quoi il s'en alla dîner
English	After that he goes to dinner
French	Avez-vous de quoi écrire?
English	Have you something to write with?
6 Indirect questions beginning with what must have ce inserted before the relative pronoun, for example:

French	English
Dites-moi ce qui est arrivé.	Tell me what happened.
Demandez-lui ce qu'il a dit.	Ask him what he said.
Savez-vous ce dont il s'agit.	Do you know what it is about?
7 When which refers to a previous statement or to a whole clause it must be rendered by ce qui or ce que, for example:

French	Ils disent qu'ils sont riches, ce qui est vrai.
English	They say they are rich, which is true.
French	On lui dit de se taire, ce qu'il fit tout de suite.
English	They told him to stop talking, which he did at once.


Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative Pronouns:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	lequel	laquelle
Plural	lesquels	lesquelles
1 The interrogative pronoun takes the place of the interrogative adjective. It means which (one) and which (ones), for example:

French	Voici deux verres. Lequel voulez-vous?
English	Here are two glasses. Which would you prefer?
French	Laquelle de ces deux dames est votre tante?
English	Which of these two ladies is your aunt?
2 Qui? (who?) is used also but in accordance with the following:

Subject:	qui? or qui est-ce qui?
Direct Object	qui? or qui est-ce que?
Possessive (genitive)	de qui?
Prepositional (dative	à qui?
3 When translating whose it must be remembered that dont can never introduce a question. Whose can be translated in tree ways:

(A) Denoting possession: à qui+être. For example: à qui sont ses photos?

(B) Standing before a person: de qui+être. For example: de qui est-elle la femme?

(C) With any other verb but être -- quel, quelle, et cetera. For example: quelle bicyclette avez-vous prise?

4 What is translated in the following manner:

Subject	qu'est-ce qui? or que?
Direct object	qu'est-ce que? or que?
Possessive	de quoi?
Indirect object	à quoi?


 Prepositions

1 It's quite common for prepositions to be omitted from English sentences but this not allowable in French. The preposition should be repeated before each noun or verb, for example:

French	Il pensait à ses parents et aux autres chez lui.
English	He was thinking of his parents and the others at home.
French	N'oublie pas de te laver les mains et de te peigner.
English	Don't forget to wash your hands and comb your hair.
2 Some French prepositions have more than a single English translation. The following examples demonstrate the main uses:

à --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

à mon arrivée	on my arrival
à mon avis	in my opinion
Je l'ai reconnu à sa voix	I recognized him by his voice
à la lumière d'une lampe	by the light of a lamp
à ce qu'il dit	from what he says ...
Il ne comprend rien au problème.	He understands nothing about the problem.
de ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

la route de Paris	the road to Paris
les arbres du jardin	the trees in the garden
de nos jours	in our day
d'une main tremblante	with a trembling hand
de toutes ces forces	with all his might
de cette façon	in this fashion
de ce côte	on the other side
du cô de la gare	in the direction of the station
en ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

en l'air	in the air
en mon nom	in my name
de maison en maison	from house to house
je vous parle en ami	I speak to you as a friend
entre --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

entre nous	between ourselves
entre eux	between themselves
entre les mains de l'ennemie	in the hands of the enemy
à travers (meaning either through or across) ----------------------------------

à travers les champs	across (through) the fields
au travers de (implies resistance) ---------------------------------------------

au travers de la jungle	through the jungle
en travers de (meaning either across (in the positional sense) or athwart)

un arbre était tombé en travers de la route	a tree had fallen across the road
vers (meaning across (in the directional sense) ---------------------------------

vers le collège	towards the college
envers (meaning towards (when aplied to conduct or attitude) ----------------

respectueux envers les maître	respectful towards the masters
dès (a difficult word usually meaning staring immediately from but also translated as from, since, at or immediately upon) -------------------------------

dès le commencement	at (from) the beginning
dès son premier mot	from his very first word
dès mon arrivée	immediately upon my arrival
dès demain	as early as tomorrow
dès maintemant	here and now
dès los	since then/from then on
sans (meaning without) ------------------------------------------------------------

les arbres sans feuilles	the leafless trees
sans vous, nous aurions été battu	without you we should have been beaten


 Conjunctions

Conjunctions link words, phrases and clauses.

Co-ordinating Conjunctions

Co-ordinating conjunctions link two similar words or groups of words (e.g. nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, phrases or clauses).

1 Main co-ordinating French conjuctions:

French	mais	alors	ou	et	sauf
English	but	because	or	and	but

2 French conjunctions consisting of two parts:

French	English
ou bien	or else
aussi bien que	as well as
ainsi que	as also/ like
depuis que	since
tandis que	whilst/ whereas
pendant que	while
alors que	whereas/at the time when
vu que	seeing that
quand même	even if


time and numbers

 Time & Numbers

Time

The Date

Numbers


time

The Time

French	quelle houre est-il?
English	what is the time?

 Full Hours

French	il est une heure.	il est midi.	il est trois heures
English	It is one o'clock.	it is noon.	it is three o'clock

 Half Hours

French	il est trois heures et demi	il est onze heures et demi
English	it is half past three	it is 11.30

 Quarter Hours

French	il est onze heures et quart	il est dix heures moin le quart
English	it is 11.15	it is 9.45

 Minutes

French	il est neuf heures cinq	il est six heures moins seize
English	it is 9.05	it is 5.44

 a.m. & p.m.

French	il est neuf heures du matin
English	it is 9 a.m.
French	il est neuf heures de l'après -midi
English	it is 9 p.m.

The p.m. example above may also be expressed as: il est vingt-et-un heures


days of the week; months; seasons;dates

The Date

 Months

French	English
janvier	January
février	February
mars	March
avril	April
mai	May
juin	June
juillet	July
août	August
septembre	September
octobre	October
novembre	November
décembre	December

 Days of the Week

French	English
lundi	Monday
mardi	Tuesday
mercredi	Wednesday
jeudi	Thursday
vendredi	Friday
samedi	Saturday
dimanche	Sunday

 Seasons

French	English
printemps	spring
été	summer
automne	autumn
hiver	winter

 The Date

Ordinal numbers are used for the dates of the month, as in English, but of is not translated into French:

French	le 6 (spoken = sixième) Mai
English	the first of May
French	am 11 (spoken = onzième) avril
English	on the 11th of April
French	le mercredi 6 décembre
English	Wednesday, 6th Decembre
French	le 26 août au matin
English	on the morning of the 26th August


 Numbers

Cardinal Numbers

Ordinal Numbers

Measurement

Currency


Cardinal Numbers

0	zéro
1	un/une
2	deux
3	trois
4	quatre
5	cinq
6	six
7	sept
8	huit
9	neuf
10	dix
11	onze
12	douze
13	treize
14	quatorze
15	quinze
16	seize
17	dix-sept
18	dix-huit
19	dix-neuf
20	vingt
21	vingtet un
30	trente
40	quarante
60	soixante
70	soixante-dix
80	quatre-vingts
90	quatre-vingt-dix
100	cent
101	cent un
130	cent trente
200	deux cents
1000	mille
1,001	mille un
1,234	mille deux cents trente-quatre
1990	mille neuf cents quatre-vingt-dix (date)
2,000	deux mille
10,000	dix mille
2,000,000	deux million


Ordinal Numbers

1st	premier
2nd	deuxième
3rd	troisième
4th	quatrième
5th	cinquième
6th	sixième
7th	septième
8th	huitième
9th	neuvième
10th	dixième
21st	vingt et unième
32nd	trente-deuxième

Note: In French, cardinal numbers always precede ordinal numbers, for example:

les trois premiers autobus --or-- les deux derniers siècle


measurements

Measurement

France uses the metric system, therefore everything is measured in kilometers, meters, centimeters, millimeters, kilograms, grams, et cetera.


prices

Currency

The French unit of currency is the franc and is made up of 100 centimes.

French	English
deux francs le kilo	two francs per kilo
35 francs par jour	35 francs a day
5 francs la pièce	5 francs each
il m'en a pris demandé 26 francs	He charged me 26 francs for it
je l'ai vendu 150 francs	I sold it for 150 francs


 Sentence Structure

Word Order

Negatives

Questions


Word Order

1 In a simple French sentence, the basic word order follows the English pattern:

Subject + Finite Verb (+ object(s)) (+ complement)

2 Inversion: The subject and verb are inverted when verbs of saying are used parenthetically, for example:

French	English
«Au secours!» cria-t-il	"Look out!" he cried.
«Tu es folle!» lui dit son frère.	"You are mad," his son told him.


Negatives

1 The major French negatives are:

French	English
ne... pas	not
ne... pas du tout	not at all
ne... jamais	never
ne... plus	no more, no longer
ne rien	nothing
ne... personne	no-one
ne... ni(... ni)	neither... nor(... nor)
ne... aucun(e)	none
ne... nul(le)	none
ne ... point	not ("literary" form of ne..pas)
ne... guère	scarcely, hardly, seldom,rarely
ne... nulle part	nowhere
ne... que	only
2 In each of the negatives shown above the verb should be placed between the ne and the pas:

French	je ne vais pas
English	I am not going
3 In compound tenses pas, plus, rien, guère are placed immediately before the past participle. Personne and nulle part are always placed after the past participle:

French	English
il n'a rien vu	He saw nothing
je n'ai vu personne	I saw no-one
je ne l'ai trouvé nulle part	I have found it nowhere
4 Any two negatives may be used together (except pas) but only one retains the negative force:

French	English
je ne vois plus jamais	I never see him any more
il n'oublie jamais rien	He never forgets anything


Questions

1 The most normal method of forming a question is to begin with the phrase est-ce que (or est-ce qu if followed by a vowel):

French	est-ce qu'il part demain?
English	does he leave tomorrow?
2 If, however, the subject of the statement is a pronoun, then inversion of the normal word order of a statement is acceptable. In this case, the verb and the pronoun have a hyphen between them:

French	part-il demain?
English	does he leave tomorrow?
3 Very often (in spoken French) intonation is used to turn a statement into a question even though the word order of the statement remains unchanged. For example, the statement il part demain becomes a question when the intonation is raised on the last syllable.