More Negatives

ne...plus no longer

ne...jamais never

ne...rien nothing

ne...aucun(e) not a single one

ne...que only

ne...personne nobody

ne...ni...ni neither...nor

ne...nulle part nowhere

The negatives are used exactly like ne...pas ; but que in ne...que is placed directly before the noun it

limits. Rien and personne may be used as subjects: Personne n' est ici. Aucun(e) by definition is

singular, so the verb and nouns must also be changed to the singular. With ni...ni , all articles are

dropped except definite articles. Je n'ai ni caméra ni caméscope , but Je n'aime ni les chats ni les

chiens.

Il n' aime plus travailler. He no longer likes to work. (Or: He doesn't like to work anymore)

Nous ne voulons faire des achats que lundi. We want to go shopping only on Monday.

Elle ne déteste personne . She hates no one. (Or: She doesn't hate anyone.)

Negatives with Passé Composé

1. Ne...pas, ne...plus, ne...jamais, and ne...rien

Ne comes before auxiliary verb, and the other part is between auxiliary and past participle.

Nous n'avons rien fait. We did nothing. Vous ne vous êtes pas ennuyés. You were not bored.

2. Ne...personne, ne...aucun, ne...ni...ni, ne...nulle part, and ne... que

Ne comes before the auxiliary verb, but the other part is after the past participle.

Il n'a écouté personne. He listened to no one . Il n'a fait aucune faute. He made not a single mistake.

* Use of ne ... pas de : In negative sentences, the partitives and indefinite articles become de before

the noun (unless the verb is être, then nothing changes.)

Partitive: Je prends du pain et du beurre. I'm having some bread and butter.

Negative: Je ne prends pas de pain ou de beurre. I am not having any bread or butter.

Indefinite: J'ai un chien. I have a dog.

Negative: Je n'ai pas de chien. I don't have a dog.

Verb is être: C'est une chatte brune. It's a brown cat.

Negative: Ce n'est pas une chatte brune. It's not a brown cat.

Commands

Use the vous, tu and nous forms for commands.

Vous form Polite and Plural Same as verb form Restez! Stay!

Tu form Familiar Same as verb form, but Regarde! Watch!

drop -s for -er verbs

Allons! Let's go! Nous form Let's... Same as verb form

Note: With using pronominal verbs as commands, the pronoun is placed after the verb connected by a

hyphen. Tu te dépêches becomes Dépêche-toi! And in negative commands, the pronoun precedes

the verb, as in Ne nous reposons pas.

Irregular Command Forms

être (be) avoir (have) savoir (know)

sois aie sache tu swah tu ay tu sahsh

nous soyons swah-yohn nous ayons ay-yohn nous sachons sah-shohn

vous soyez swah-yay vous ayez ay-yay vous sachez sah-shay

Ne sois pas méchant à ta sœur! Don't be mean to your sister!

N'ayez pas peur! Don't be afraid!

Sachez les mots pour l'examen demain! Know the words for the exam tomorrow!

Fruits, Vegetables and Meat

fruit un fruit fwee corn le maïs mah-eez

apple une pomme pohm cucumber un concombre cohn-cohn-bruh

apricot un abricot ah-bree-koh eggplant une aubergine oh-behr-zheen

banana une banane bah-nahn lettuce la laitue leh-tew

shahm-pee-

blueberry une myrtille meer-tee mushroom un champignon

nyohn

cherry une cerise suh-reez onion un oignon wawn-yohn

nwah duh koh-

coconut une noix de coco les pois pwah

koh peas

date une date daht pepper un piment pee-mawn

fig une figue feeg potato une pomme de terre pohm duh tehr

grape un raisin reh-zahn pumpkin une citrouille see-troo-ee

un pahm-pluh-

grapefruit le riz reez

pamplemousse moos rice

lemon un citron see-trohn spinach des épinards ay-pee-nar

lime un limon lee-mohn squash une courge koorzh

melon un melon mel-ohn tomato une tomate to-maht

olive une olive oh-leev turnip un navet nah-vay

orange une orange oh-ranzh zucchini des courgettes koor-zhett

peach une pêche pesh meat une viande vee-awnd

une poire du lard, du bacon pear pwahr bacon lar, bah-kohn

pineapple un ananas ah-nah-nah beef le bifteck beef-teck

plum une prune prewn chicken un poulet poo-lay

prune un pruneau proo-noh duck un canard kah-nar

raisin un raisin sec reh-zahn sek goat une chèvre shev-ruh

raspberry une framboise frwahm-bwahz ham le jambon zhahm-bohn

strawberry une fraise frez lamb l'agneau awn-yoh

watermelon une pastèque pah-stek liver le foie fwah

des boulettes de boo-lett duh vee-

vegetable une légume leh-goom meatballs

viande awnd

une côtelette de

artichoke un artichaut ar-tee-sho pork chop kote-lett duh pork

porc

asparagus des asperges ahs-pehrzh rabbit un lapin lah-pahn

beet une betterave bett-rahv T-bone une côte de bœuf kote duh buf

steak

broccoli le brocoli broh-coh-lee sausage la saucisse so-seess

cabbage un chou shoo turkey une dinde dahnd

carrot une carotte cah-roht veal le veau voh

cauliflower un chou-fleur shoo-flir venison un chevreuil shuv-ruh-ee

celery un céléri say-lay-ree

Food and Meals / La Nourriture et Les Repas

Breakfast le petit déjeuner puh-tee day-zhew-nay

Lunch le déjeuner day-zhew-nay

le dîner Dinner dee-nay

Cup la tasse tahss

Slice la tranche trawnsh

Bowl le bol bohl

Glass le verre verr

Salt and Pepper le sel et le poivre luh sell ay luh pwahv-ruh

Fork la fourchette foor-shett

Spoon la cuillère kwee-yehr

Knife le couteau koo-toh

Plate l'assiette (f) ah-syett

Napkin la serviette ser-vyett

Ice cream la glace glahss

Juice le jus zhew

Fruit le fruit fwee

Cheese le fromage froh-mawzh

Chicken le poulet poo-lay

Egg l'œuf (m) luff

le gâteau Cake gah-toh

Pie la tarte tart

Milk le lait leh

Coffee le café kah-fay

Butter le beurre burr

Water l'eau loh

Ham le jambon zham-bohn

Fish le poisson pwah-sohn

Tea le thé tay

Salad la salade sah-lahd

Jam la confiture kon-fee-chur

Meat la viande vee-awnd

French fries les frites (f) freet

Beer la bière bee-ehr

Wine le vin vahn

Sugar le sucre soo-kruh

Soup le potage poh-tawzh

Etre Verbs

Sixteen "house" verbs and all pronominal verbs are conjugated with être , and they must agree in

gender and number with the subject. The house verbs are:

aller-to go sortir-to go out venir-to come mourir-to die

arriver-to arrive partir-to leave devenir-to become monter-to go up

entrer-to enter tomber-to fall revenir-to come back rester-to stay

rentrer-to return home naître-to be born passer-to go by (pass) descendre-to go down

Most have regular past participles, except venir-venu, devenir-devenu, revenir-revenu, mourir-

mort, and naître-né. And five of these verbs, monter, descendre, sortir, rentrer, and passer can

sometimes be conjugated with avoir if they are used with a direct object . Elle a rentré le livre à la

bibliothèque. She returned the book to the library.

Conjugation of an être verb

Je suis resté(e) Nous sommes resté(e)s

Tu es resté(e) Vous êtes resté(e)(s)

Il est resté Ils sont restés

Elle est restée Elles sont restées

You add the e for feminine and s for plural. Vous can have any of the endings.

Conjugation of a Pronominal Verb

Je me suis amusé(e) Nous nous sommes amusé(e)s

Tu t'es amusé(e) Vous vous êtes amusé(e)(s)

Il s'est amusé Ils se sont amusés

Elle s'est amusée Elles se sont amusées

There are only two cases with pronominal verbs where the past participle does not agree:

1. When the pronominal verb is followed by a direct object.

Compare: Elles se sont lavé es , but elles se sont lav é les mains.

2. With verbs where the reflexive pronoun is an indirect object, such as

se parler, se demander, se dire, s'écrire, se sourire , and se téléphoner .

Ils se sont téléphon é

Irregular Past Participles

ouvert (oo-

avoir to have eu (ew) had ouvrir to open

vehr) opened

connaître to know connu known offrir to offer offert offered

croire to believe cru believed pouvoir to be able to pu was

able to

devoir to have to dû had to prendre to take pris (pree) taken

dire to tell dit said apprendre to learn appris learned

écrire to write écrit written comprendre to compris understood

understand

être to be été been surprendre to surprise surpris surprised

reçu (reh-

fait made recevoir to receive faire to do,

make sew) received

lire to read lu read rire to laugh ri laughed

mis

mettre to put su known

(me) put savoir to know

permettre to permit permis permitted voir to see vu seen

voulu (voo-

promettre to promise promis promised vouloir to want

lew) wanted

The Past Indefinite Tense or Passé Composé

You have learned the present indicative so far, which expresses what happens, is happening, or does

happen now; but if you want to say something happened, or has happened, you have to use the passé

composé. The passé composé is used for actions that happened only once, a specified number of

times or during a specified period of time, and as a result or consequence of another action. All you

need to learn are the past participles of the verbs.

Regular Verbs: Formation of the Past Participle

-er -é

-re -u

-ir -i

Then conjugate avoir and add the past participle:

J' ai aimé le concert. I liked the concert.

Tu as habité ici? You lived here?

Il a répondu au téléphone. He answered (or has answered) the telephone.

Nous avons fini le projet. We finished (or have finished) the project.

Elles ont rempli les tasses. They filled (or have filled) the cups.

To make it negative, put the ne and pas around the conjugated form of avoir .

Je n' ai pas aimé le concert. I didn't like the concert.

Il n' a pas répondu . He didn't answer (or hasn't answered) .

Elles n' ont pas rempli les tasses. They didn't fill (or haven't filled) the glasses.

Irregularities in Regular Verbs

1. Verbs that end in -ger and -cer : The nous form of manger isn't mangons, but mangeons. The e

has to stay so the g can retain the soft sound. The nous form of commencer isn't commencons, but

commençons. The c must have the accent (called a cedilla) under it to make the c sound soft.

manger-to eat commencer-to begin

mawn- koh- koh-mawn-

mange mawnzh mangeons commence commençons

zhohn mawnz sohn

koh- koh-mawn-

manges mawnzh mangez mawn-zhay commences commencez

mawnz say

koh-

mange mawnzh mangent mawnzh commence commencent koh-mawnz

mawnz

2. Verbs that add or change to an accent grave: Some verbs add or change to an accent grave ( è ) in

all the forms except the nous and vous .

acheter-to buy espérer-to hope

j'achète zhah-shet achetons ahsh-tohn j'espère zhess-pehr espérons ess-pay-rohn

achètes ah-shet achetez ahsh-tay espères ess-pehr espérez ess-pay-ray

achète ah-shet achètent ah-shet espère ess-pehr espèrent ess-pehr

3. Verbs that are conjugated as -er verbs: Some -ir verbs are conjugated with -er endings. For

example: offrir -to offer, give, ouvrir -to open, couvrir -to cover, découvrir -to discover and souffrir -to

suffer.

offrir-to offer

j'offre zhaw-fruh offrons aw-frohn

offres offrez aw-fruh aw-fray

offre aw-fruh offrent aw-fruh

4. Verbs that end in -yer : Change the y to an i in all forms except the nous and vous. Examples:

envoyer -to send , nettoyer -to clean , essayer -to try (awn-vwah-yay) (nuh-twah-yay) (ess-ah-yay)

envoyer-to send

j'envoie zhawn-vwah envoyons awn-vwah-yohn

envoies awn-vwah envoyez awn-vwah-yay

envoie awn-vwah envoient awn-vwah

5. Verbs that double the consonant: Some verbs, such as appeler -to call , and jeter -to throw (ahp-lay)

double the consonant in all forms except the nous and vous . (zheh-tay)

appeler-to call

j'appelle zhah-pell appelons ahp-lohn

appelles ah-pell appelez ahp-lay

appelle ah-pell appellent ah-pell

Pronominal (Reflexive) Verbs

These verbs are conjugated like normal verbs, but they require an extra pronoun before the verb.

Most indicate a reflexive action but some are idiomatic and can't be translated literally. The pronouns

are:

me nous

te vous

se se

Some Pronominal Verbs

s'amuser to have fun se reposer to rest

se lever to get up se souvenir de to remember

se laver to wash (oneself) s'entendre bien to get along well

se dépêcher to hurry se coucher to go to bed

se peigner to comb se brosser to brush

s'habiller to get dressed se maquiller to put on makeup

se marier to get married se casser to break (arm, leg, etc.)

Note: When used in the infinitive, such as after another verb, the reflexive pronoun agrees with the

subject of the sentence. Je vais me coucher maintenant . I'm going to go to bed.

Sample Irregular Pronominal Verb

s'asseoir - to sit down

je m'assieds mah-see-ay nous nous asseyons noo-zah-say-ohn

tu t'assieds tah-see-ay vous vous asseyez vous-zah-say-yay

il s'assied sah-see-ay ils s'asseyent sah-say-ee

Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Present Indicative Tense

Verbs in French end in -er, -re, or -ir. The verb before it is conjugated is called the infinitive.

Removing the last two letters leaves you with the stem ( aimer is the infinitive, aim - is the stem.) The

present indicative tense indicates an ongoing action, general state, or habitual activity. Besides the

simple present tense (I write, I run, I see); there are two other forms of the present tense in English:

the progressive (I am writing, I am running, etc.) and the emphatic (I do write, I do run, etc.) However,

these three English present tenses are all translated by the present indicative tense in French.

To conjugate verbs in the present tense, use the stem and add the following endings.

-er -re 1st -ir 2nd -ir*

-e -ons -s -ons -is -issons -s -ons

-es -ez -s -ez -is -issez -s -ez

-e -ent - -ent -it -issent -t -ent

Sample Regular Verbs

aimer -to like, love vendre - to sell

j'aime zhem aimons em-ohn vends vawn vendons vawn-dohn

aimes em aimez em-ay vends vawn vendez vawn-day

aime em aiment em vend vawn vendent vawn

finir - to finish partir - to leave

finis fee-nee finissons fee-nee-sohn pars pahr partons pahr-tohn

finis fee-nee finissez fee-nee-say pars pahr partez pahr-tay

finit fee-nee finissent fee-nee ss part pahr partent pahrt

Regular verbs

-er -re

aimer em-ay to like, love vendre vawn-druh to sell

chanter shahn-tay to sing attendre ah-tawn-druh to wait for

chercher share-shay to look for entendre awn-tawn-druh to listen

commencer perdre koh-mawn-say to begin pair-druh to lose

donner dohn-nay to give répondre (à) ray-pohn-druh (ah) to answer

étudier ay-too-dee-ay to study descendre deh-sawn-druh to go down

fermer fehr-may to close 1st -ir

habiter ah-bee-tay to live bâtir bah-teer to build

jouer zhoo-ay to play finir fee-neer to finish

manger choisir mawn-zhay to eat shwa-zeer to choose

montrer mohn-tray to show punir poo-neer to punish

parler par-lay to speak remplir rawn-pleer to fill

penser pawn-say to think obéir (à) oh-bay-eer (ah) to obey

travailler trah-vy-yay to work réussir ray-oo-seer to succeed

trouver troo-vay to find guérir gay-reer to cure, heal

Note: If a verb is followed by à (like répondre) you have to use the à and any contractions after the

conjugated verb. Ex: Je réponds au téléphone.

* The 2nd -ir verbs are considered irregular sometimes because there are only a few verbs which

follow that pattern. Other verbs like partir are sortir (to go out), dormir (to sleep), mentir (to lie),

sentir (to smell, feel) and servir (to serve.)