French Basics
Table of contents :
1. L’alphabet (Alphabet)
2. La prononciation (Pronunciation)
3. Les mots interrogatifs et comment poser des questions (Interrogative words and asking
questions)
4. Les mots utiles (Useful Words)
5. Le présent de l’indicatif (The Present Tense)
6. Le passé composé de l’indicatif (The Past Tense)
7. Le future de l’indicatif (The Future Tense)
8. Les verbes communs (Common verbs)
9. Le vocabulaire (Vocabulary)
10. Les expressions utiles (Useful Expressions)
11. Les numéros (Numbers)
L'alphabet (Alphabet)
A [ah] C [ceh]
B [beh] D [deh]
, E [e] P [pe]
F [ɛf] Q [ky]
G [jeh] R [air]
H [aSh] S [ehss]
I [ee] T [te]
J [ghee] U [oo]
K [kah] V [veh]
L [ehl] W [doublevé]
M [emm] X [iks]
Y [igrɛk]
N [ehnn] Z [zd]
O [o]
La prononciation (Pronunciation)
➔ 《 oi 》 is pronounced like [wah]. (E.g) moi → [mwah]
➔ 《 ui 》 is pronounced like [ we]. (E.g) cuisiner → [quwe-zeen-ay]
➔ 《 er,ez, é, ait/ais/ai/è 》are pronounced like [ay]. (E.g) connait →
[cone-ay]
➔ 《 ch 》 is pronounced like [Sh]. (E.g) cheval → [sheval]
➔ 《 ille 》is pronounced like [ee] in (fee). (E.g) Fille → [fee]
→ (there are exceptions e.g mille, ville here it’s pronounced like [eel])
→ Ville → [veel ] and mille → [meel]
➔ 《eu/eux/œu》are pronounced like [œ/er] in happier. (E.g) sœur → [sœ]
➔ 《 ère 》is pronounced kind of like 《air》in English → [air]
➔ 《 in 》 is pronounced like [ein] similar to the sound to show indifference
toward something.
➔ 《 on, an, en 》are pronounced like [onh] in honour, but with a《n》
soft. (E.g) enfant → [onh -fonh]
➔ 《 au/aux, eau 》are pronounced like [o] in oh. (E.g) faux → [foh]
➔ 《 gn 》is pronounced like [ni] onion. (E.g) mignon → [mi-nien]
➔ 《 tion 》is pronounced like [sy-onh]
➔ 《 ç 》is pronounced like [ss]
➔ 《 ail 》is pronounced like [ahy]. (E.g) ail (garlic)
➔ 《 eui/eil 》are pronounced like [euhy] ou 《 uh+ee 》in English. (E.g)
accueil → [ah-keuhee]
, ➔ In French words that end in a vowel can't be followed by another
beginning with a vowel. (E.g)《 j'aime la nourriture. 》 Not, 《 je aime la
nourriture 》. 《 Qu'il faut savoir ton prénom 》. Not, 《 que il
faut… 》
* Consonants are usually not pronounced at the end of words !
(Example)
Vert → [vair] , verte → [vairt]
grande → [grond] grand
Les catégories de mots (Categories of words)
Le nom (noun) - a person, place or thing
La préposition (preposition) - words that describe the location of objects
Le verbe (verb) - words after a subject like “he, she, I, they” and they are action words. Verbs
that end in《 er, re, or ir 》are referred to as “infinitives”.
L'adverbe (adverb) - they are words that add emphasis to the verb
L'adjectif (adjective) - is a word that describes a noun and it is usually placed after the noun they
are describing except words of《 Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size 》
Les pronoms de sujets (Subject pronouns)
Je/J’ - I Nous - We (a specific group)
Tu - You (informal) Vous - You (formal/ you plural)
Il/Elle/On - He/She/We (in general) Ils/Elles - They (a group of males/a group of females)
*”Il” and “elle” can mean “it” when referring to and object
(Example)
The table, it is huge! → La table, elle est énorme!
My bed, it is broken… → Mon lit, il est cassé…
*The “vous” form is used for:
- Formal situations (school and work)
- Addressing people much older than your age
- Strangers
- When referring to a group of people as “you”
- To simply be polite
Les articles définis (Defined articles) Les articles indéfinis (Undefined articles)
Table of contents :
1. L’alphabet (Alphabet)
2. La prononciation (Pronunciation)
3. Les mots interrogatifs et comment poser des questions (Interrogative words and asking
questions)
4. Les mots utiles (Useful Words)
5. Le présent de l’indicatif (The Present Tense)
6. Le passé composé de l’indicatif (The Past Tense)
7. Le future de l’indicatif (The Future Tense)
8. Les verbes communs (Common verbs)
9. Le vocabulaire (Vocabulary)
10. Les expressions utiles (Useful Expressions)
11. Les numéros (Numbers)
L'alphabet (Alphabet)
A [ah] C [ceh]
B [beh] D [deh]
, E [e] P [pe]
F [ɛf] Q [ky]
G [jeh] R [air]
H [aSh] S [ehss]
I [ee] T [te]
J [ghee] U [oo]
K [kah] V [veh]
L [ehl] W [doublevé]
M [emm] X [iks]
Y [igrɛk]
N [ehnn] Z [zd]
O [o]
La prononciation (Pronunciation)
➔ 《 oi 》 is pronounced like [wah]. (E.g) moi → [mwah]
➔ 《 ui 》 is pronounced like [ we]. (E.g) cuisiner → [quwe-zeen-ay]
➔ 《 er,ez, é, ait/ais/ai/è 》are pronounced like [ay]. (E.g) connait →
[cone-ay]
➔ 《 ch 》 is pronounced like [Sh]. (E.g) cheval → [sheval]
➔ 《 ille 》is pronounced like [ee] in (fee). (E.g) Fille → [fee]
→ (there are exceptions e.g mille, ville here it’s pronounced like [eel])
→ Ville → [veel ] and mille → [meel]
➔ 《eu/eux/œu》are pronounced like [œ/er] in happier. (E.g) sœur → [sœ]
➔ 《 ère 》is pronounced kind of like 《air》in English → [air]
➔ 《 in 》 is pronounced like [ein] similar to the sound to show indifference
toward something.
➔ 《 on, an, en 》are pronounced like [onh] in honour, but with a《n》
soft. (E.g) enfant → [onh -fonh]
➔ 《 au/aux, eau 》are pronounced like [o] in oh. (E.g) faux → [foh]
➔ 《 gn 》is pronounced like [ni] onion. (E.g) mignon → [mi-nien]
➔ 《 tion 》is pronounced like [sy-onh]
➔ 《 ç 》is pronounced like [ss]
➔ 《 ail 》is pronounced like [ahy]. (E.g) ail (garlic)
➔ 《 eui/eil 》are pronounced like [euhy] ou 《 uh+ee 》in English. (E.g)
accueil → [ah-keuhee]
, ➔ In French words that end in a vowel can't be followed by another
beginning with a vowel. (E.g)《 j'aime la nourriture. 》 Not, 《 je aime la
nourriture 》. 《 Qu'il faut savoir ton prénom 》. Not, 《 que il
faut… 》
* Consonants are usually not pronounced at the end of words !
(Example)
Vert → [vair] , verte → [vairt]
grande → [grond] grand
Les catégories de mots (Categories of words)
Le nom (noun) - a person, place or thing
La préposition (preposition) - words that describe the location of objects
Le verbe (verb) - words after a subject like “he, she, I, they” and they are action words. Verbs
that end in《 er, re, or ir 》are referred to as “infinitives”.
L'adverbe (adverb) - they are words that add emphasis to the verb
L'adjectif (adjective) - is a word that describes a noun and it is usually placed after the noun they
are describing except words of《 Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size 》
Les pronoms de sujets (Subject pronouns)
Je/J’ - I Nous - We (a specific group)
Tu - You (informal) Vous - You (formal/ you plural)
Il/Elle/On - He/She/We (in general) Ils/Elles - They (a group of males/a group of females)
*”Il” and “elle” can mean “it” when referring to and object
(Example)
The table, it is huge! → La table, elle est énorme!
My bed, it is broken… → Mon lit, il est cassé…
*The “vous” form is used for:
- Formal situations (school and work)
- Addressing people much older than your age
- Strangers
- When referring to a group of people as “you”
- To simply be polite
Les articles définis (Defined articles) Les articles indéfinis (Undefined articles)
