Tag Archives: Grammar

Adverbs in French language (A2)

Adverbs in French language

Adverbs ending with “-ment” in French language

 

Adverbs are used to give a precision on the action that is performed. They usually answer the question “how?” and are placed behind the verb.

Example:

  • Il parle lentement.
  • Elle travaille efficacement.
  • Nous étudions régulièrement.

Adverbs are invariable, i.e. their spelling does not change.

 

How to form an adverb?

Take the adjective in the masculine form (doux), put it in the feminine form (douce) then add “-ment” . That’s it! 🙂

  • Doux —> Douce —> Doucement : Ils jouent doucement avec le chien.
  • Franc —> Franche —> Franchement : Je peux te parler franchement?
  • Naturel —> Naturelle —> Naturellement : Elle a réagi naturellement.
  • Fou —> Folle —> Follement : Ils sont follement amoureux.

 

Of course, as you can imagine, there are different types of adverbs which do not comply with this rule…

1. Some adverbs are formed from the masculine of the adjective; this adjective is ended by a vowel:

  • Passionné + ment —> Passionnément (avec passion)
  • Spontané + ment —> Spontanément (de manière spontanée)
  • Poli + ment —> Poliment (de manière polie)
  • Vrai + ment —> Vraiment 

2. Other adverbs end with -amment or -emment when the adjective ends with -ant or -ent.

  • Bruyant —> Bruyamment : Il mange bruyamment.
  • Méchant —> Méchamment : Il lui a répondu méchamment.
  • Intelligent —> Intelligemment : Il suffit de travailler intelligemment.
  • Patient —> Patiemment : Il a attendu patiemment.

 

Here is a poster that can summarize today’s lesson.

Adverbs in French language

READ MORE

Ask and tell the time in French (A1)

What time is it in French language

How to ask and tell the time in French (1)

To ask what time it is in French, there are different options:

  • Vous avez l’heure ? (to ask if you don’t know if the person you are talking to can give you the time)
  • Quelle heure est-il ? (formal)
  • Il est quelle heure ? (casual)

There are two different ways to tell the time:

  • The formal way (professional appointments, medical appointments, airports, administrations…)
  • The casual way (family, friends, colleagues…)

For each of these ways, your sentence will start with “Il est…”.

Example:

Il est 15h00 (formal).

Il est 3h00 (casual).

 

 

Time in French

 

 

A few objects for time  :

Une montre (watch)

Une horloge (clock)

Un portable (cellphone)

Un réveil (alarm clock)

 

Et chez vous, quelle heure est-il?

 

Drag and drop the right sentence on the clock. Then, check your answer!

 

 

 

 

READ MORE

Indirect verbs and pronouns in French (A2 / B1)

Indirect Verbs in French

Indirect Verbs in French

 

 

Which pronouns for which verbs (2)?

 

A few weeks ago, we introduced  « les pronoms compléments directs » in French language.

Today, we will be talking about the “pronoms compléments indirects” : me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur .

 

INDIRECT PRONOUNS ARE :
* used to replace a person (or an animal) only introduced by a definite article (le, la, les, l’) or a possessive adjective (mon, ton, son …).

* used with “indirect verbs”, i.e. between these verbs and the person, you will find the letter “à”(téléphoner à quelqu’un, offrir à quelqu’un, dire à quelqu’un…)

* always before the verb.

 

Example:

Tu téléphones souvent à tes parents? —> Oui, je LEUR téléphone assez souvent.

Elle a déjà annoncé à  son petit ami qu’elle allait partir faire le tour du monde ? —> Oui, elle LUI a annoncé hier soir.

Ils ont prêté leur voiture à Jeanne ? —> Non, ils ne LUI ont pas prêté leur voiture.

 

! « LUI » peut remplacer un homme ou une femme.

 

When there are two verbs, indirect pronouns are placed between these two verbs:

Vous allez proposer À VOS VOISINS de vous accompagner? —> Oui, nous allons LEUR proposer de nous accompagner.

Je peux LUI offrir une bière? —> Oui, vas-y. Il aime bien la bière blonde.

 

Their use is simple when you know if the verb is used with “à + quelqu’un” or not.

That’s why we made this list of 15 verbs !

READ MORE

Masculine nouns in French

Masculine nouns in French

Masculine, don’t do the mistake anymore!

Masculine nouns in French

 

After a first poster for feminine nouns in French language, here is a second one for masculine nouns.

 

It is not always clear which word should be used with “le” or “la“, however, it is still possible to know the gender of nouns in some cases.

 

For example, nouns ending with “-ment” will always be masculine: le bâtiment | le médicament | un éclaircissement | un aboiement.

Others ending in “-age”, for example, will also always be masculine with a few exceptions though! You can therefore easily say “le fromage, le garage, le massage, le message, le blocage, le carambolage, le sondage, l’atterrissage, le décollage, le chômage…”

… but be careful with the following 5 words that are feminine: la page | la plage | la cage | une image | la rage.

 

And you, do you know of any other nouns that are masculine according to their endings? Can you complete the above poster with more masculine nouns?

READ MORE

Feminine nouns in French

Les mots féminins du français

Feminine ou masculine?

 

Les mots féminins du français

 

For many, nouns and gender in French are a real headache…. Why is the word “amour” masculine and the word “guerre” feminine? Who knows?

Today, we made this poster that will allow you to memorize the endings of nouns that are always feminine.

For instance, words ending with “-ure”, “-tion”, “-ette”(…) are always feminine.

Be careful however as the word “Skeleton” is masculine!

Click on the image below to practice a bit.

🙂

Les mots féminins

READ MORE

How to express obligation in French with “Il faut”

How to express obligation in French

Il faut … Il ne faut pas…

 

How to express an obligation in French

 

Daily life, work, family, sport, travel… Everywhere and most of the time, we must face obligations.

To express them in French, there is of course the verb “devoir” but also the expression “il faut” followed by the infinitive. This structure is very easy to use!

You will never read or hear “je faut” ou “vous fallez“. This structure is always the same and is only used with “il”.

Take a verb with an infinitive, place it behind “il faut” and… voilà! 🙂

For example: “A la plage, il faut mettre de la crème solaire / Il faut jeter ses déchets à la poubelle / Il faut prendre un parasol / Il faut emporter une serviette de plage”

 

In the negative form: “Il ne faut pas oublier son pique-nique!”

 

Below are more examples to practice.

Have fun!

Il faut...

READ MORE

How to say thank you in French

How to say thank you in French

A quick guide to say thank you in French!

 

“M e r c i ” a short, simple word, quite easy to pronounce. Being able to show gratitude is essential for us and for those around us.

Thanking your neighbour, family, friends, employee or employer (…) goes a long way!

 

How to say thank you in French

 

** Merci **

“Merci”  is the classic way to say “thank you” in French. You can use it in all types of situations.

 

** Merci beaucoup **

When you feel a simple “merci”  would just not be enough, these are the right words to say.

 

** Merci d’avance **

Used to anticipate the thanks because we want/we know that what we are asking for will be accomplished. It can be taken for a command though.

 

** Merci de m’avoir aidé **

When you want to thank someone for something they did for you, you must use “merci de + verb”.

 

** Merci pour votre aide **

You can also use “merci pour + noun”  to thank them for something they did for you.

 

** C’est gentil de ta/votre part **

A bit like “merci beaucoup”. This is to show that you really appreciate what has been done for you.

 

** Je vous remercie **

If you wish to sound more formal when you thank someone, these are the words to use.

 

** Merci bien **

“Merci bien” is a genuine thank. It is also something you could say to a shopkeeper:

— “Un croissant s’il-vous-plaît.

— Voilà, et avec ceci?

— Ce sera tout, merci bien.”

 

With the right intonation, it will be perceived as ironic and could be replace by “non merci”:

— “Faire la cuisine pour une cinquantaine d’adolescents turbulents et ingrats , merci bien!”

 

READ MORE

Weekdays in French

Week days in French

The different days of the week

 

In French, weekdays can be used with the article “le” but also without.

 

—–> Without “le” (Dialogue 1)

To talk about the days to come or the past days, we do not use the article “le”.

In dialogue 1 further below, you will see that “le” is not used.

 

—–> With “le” (Dialogue 2)

To talk about a habit, to express a regularity the article “le” is necessary.

In dialogue 2, the article “le” is used because the person is talking about a habit. “Le” may be replaced by “chaque lundi” or “tous les lundis”.

 

 

Week days in French

 

 

 

Dialogues pour les jours de la semaine

READ MORE