10 things you need to know about French...

Transcription

1 10 things you need to know about French...

2 1. Nouns A noun is the name of a person, place or thing. In French, all nouns are masculine (leor un) or feminine (la or une). There s no easy way to remember. Try to learn the gender with the noun, E.g.: le chien, la tortue. Dictionaries use the abbreviations m and f

3 2. Adjectives An adjective describes a noun. Common examples are colours, descriptions of character, and opinions. An adjective has to agree with the gender (m or f) of the noun and to show whether it is singular or plural: Un chien noir Une tortue verte Deux chiens noirs Deux tortues vertes

4 Some irregular adjectives Masc. singular Fem. singular Masc. plural Fem. plural blanc blanche blancs blanches rouge rouge rouges rouges marron marron marron marron vieux vielle vieux vielles

5 Other changes to adjectives Masc. singular Fem. singular Masc. plural Fem. plural paresseux paresseuse paresseux paresseuses travailleur travailleuse travailleux travailleuses rigolo rigolote rigolos rigolotes

6 3. Possessive pronouns Possessive pronouns are used to show belonging, e.g. my dog. They don t just show who the owner is. They also show whether the object (e.g. the dog) is a masculine, feminine or plural noun.

7 Possessive Pronoun Grid masculine feminine plural My mon ma mes Your ton ta tes His/her son sa ses Our notre notre nos Your votre votre vos Their leur leur leurs

8 4. Prepositions Prepositions show the position of things. Some commonly used prepositions: à= to, at, in de = of, from dans = in sous = under sur = on devant = in front of derrière = behind à côtéde = next to en = in

9 5. Linking words Linking words do just that they link your phrases: et = and mais = but alors = so parce que = because aussi = also pourtant = however

10 6. Opinion phrases J aime = I like C est super = it s brilliant J aime = I like J adore = I love Je déteste = I hate Je préfère = I prefer Je pense que = I think that Je trouve que = I find that A mon avis = In my opinion

11 7. Question words Qui? = Who? Comment? = How? Pourquoi? = Why? Où? = Where? Quand? = When? Qu est-ce que? = What? Qu est-ce que c est? = What is it?

12 8. Making comparisons Plus que = more than mon frère est plus grand que moi Moins que = less than je suis moins grand que mon frère Aussi que = as...as ma sœur est aussi grande que moi

13 9. Negatives Negatives go around the verb: je ne regarde pas las télé Ne...pas = not Ne... jamais = only Ne.. rien = nothing Ne...plus = no longer Ne...ni...ni = neither...nor NOTE: ne...que = only

14 10. And finally... verbs A verb is a doing word. Every sentence contains a verb. If you look up a verb, eg play in the dictionary, you will find the infinitive, jouer. You do not use the verb in its infinitive you need to make it show who is doing the action and what tense is being used.

15 Present tense: regular er verbs Most verbs are regular er verbs, like jouer. To make the verb agree, remove the er and add the following endings: Je joue Tu joues Il/elle/on joue Nous jouons Vous jouez Ils/elles jouent

16 Present tense re verbs To form re verbs, like vendre, remove the re and add these endings: Je vends Tu vends Il/elle/on vend (no ending) Nous vendons Vous vendez Ils/elles vendent

17 Present tense ir verbs To form ir verbs, like finir, remove the ir and add these endings: Je finis Tu finis Il/elle/on finit Nous finissons Vous finissez Ils/elles finissent

18 Irregular verbs Irregular verbs have to be learned separately. We have already looked at avoir, être, aller and faire. Make sure you know them. Other common irregular verbs: Lire, dire, savoir, boire, voir, connaître Prendre, apprendre, comprendre Vouloir, pouvoir, devoir Manger, commencer Partir, sortir, dormir, venir

19 The perfect tense The perfect tense describes a completed action. E.g. I have watched TV/ I watched TV Regular verbs: j ai joué, j ai vendu, j ai fini Être verbs: je suis allée remember MRS VAN DER TRAMP

20 Irregular past participles Avoir j ai eu; être j ai été; faire j ai fait; aller je suis allé Lire j ai lu; dire-j ai dit; savoir j ai su; boire j ai bu; voir j ai vu; connaître j ai connu Prendre j ai pris; apprendre-j ai appris; comprendre j ai compris Vouloir j ai voulu; pouvoir j ai pu; devoir j ai dû Partir je suis parti; sortir je suis sorti; dormir j ai dormi; venir je suis venu

21 The future tense Take the infinitive (cross off the e on re verbs) and add these endings: Je jouerai Tu joueras Il/elle/on jouera Nous jouerons Vous jouerez Ils/elles joueront

22 Irregular future stems Avoir j aurai Être je serai Aller j irai Faire je ferai Voir je verrai Savoir- je saurai Vouloir je voudrai Pouvoir je pourrai Venir je viendrai

23 The imperfect tense The imperfect tense describes what something was like, eg the weather, how you felt, or what something was like. Take the nous form of the present tense. Cross off the ons and add these endings: Je jouais Tu jouais Il/elle/on jouait Nous jouions Vous jouiez Ils/elles jouaient

24 Être The verb être is irregular in the perfect tense: J étais = I was C était = it was

25 The pluperfect The pluperfect tense is: I had played Use the imperfect of avoir or être + the past participle: J avais joué= I had played J étais sorti = I had gone out

26 The conditional The conditional is used to express what would be. There is no word for would in French you have to change the verb. Take the future stem and the imperfect ending: Je voudrais = I would like Je serais = I would be J aurais = I would have

27 Revision Tips Familiarise yourself with verbs. Take a verb and work through all its tenses. Make a list of adjectives you use frequently. Learn your prepositions and possessive pronouns. Practise giving opinions and explaining why you think that. Practise joining sentences and ideas with linking words and comparisons.

28 What about the vocab? If you have a basic grasp of grammar, your topic-related vocabulary will be much easier to use. Take a noun and work out how many adjectives and verbs you can use it with. Experiment with mind maps, venn diagrams and flow charts. Try making a podcast about a chosen topic.