Aller – to go
May 11, 2011 § Leave a comment
Aller means to go.
je vais – I’m going, I do go, I go
tu vas – you’re going, you do go, you go
il va – he is going, he does go, he goes
elle va – she is going, she does go, she goes
nous allons – we are going, we do go, we go
vous allez – you are going, you do go, you go
ils vont – they are going, they do go, they go
elles vont – they are going, they do go, they go
Je vais au parc. I’m going to the park.
Fred va à la plage. Fred is going to the beach.
Nous allons à l’école. We are going to the school.
Aller can also be used with other verbs – to state that one is going to do something
Nous allons chanter. We’re going to sing.
Je vais nager – I’m going to swim.
Est-ce que tu vas étudier? – Are you going to study?
Gender Info
April 19, 2011 § Leave a comment
For those who are interested in the whys and hows of gender assignment in the French language, I have put together a quick lesson for after class Tuesday night (April 19). It’s not required, but it’s interesting and kind of fun.
Irregular IR Verbs
March 16, 2011 § Leave a comment
sortir- to go out
partir – to leave
dormir – to sleep
s’endormir – to fall asleep
servir – to serve
mentir – to lie
se sentir – to feel
sentir – to smell
Sortir – to go out, or to get something out
je sors | nous sortons |
tu sors | vous sortez |
il sort | ils sortent |
We are going out at 9 a.m. – Nous sortons à 9h.
I’m going out with Sophie and George – Je sors avec Sophie et George.
She’s getting her suitcase from the overhead compartment – Elle sort sa valise du compartiment.
Partir – to leave
je pars | nous partons |
tu pars | vous partez |
il part | ils partent |
They are leaving today. Ils partent aujourd’hui.
3,2,1, Go! Trois, deux, un, Partez!
Servir – to serve
je sers | nous servons |
tu sers | vous servez |
il sert | ils servent |
The waiter is serving the meal. Le serveur sert le repas.
Dormir – to sleep
je dors | nous dormons |
tu dors | vous dormez |
il dort | ils dorment |
Yer Verbs
March 15, 2011 § Leave a comment
These verbs are regular ‘er’ verbs, except that for the je, tu, il, and ils forms in present tense, one changes the ‘y’ to an ‘i’.
payer – to pay (for)
envoyer – to send
nettoyer – to clean
essayer (de) – to try (to)
essuyer – to wipe
balayer – to sweep
renvoyer – to send back, to fire
appuyer – to push
employer – to use, to employ
ennuyer – to annoy, to bore
aboyer – to bark
se noyer – to drown
To conjugate these verbs;
a. drop the er
b. add the ending to match the subject
c. for the je, tu, il, and ils forms, change the ‘y’ to ‘i’
payer
je paie | nous payons |
tu paies | vous payez |
Il paie | ils paient |
essuyer
j’essuie | nous essuyons |
tu essuies | vous essuyez |
il essuie | ils essuient |
Je paie à la caisse. I’m paying at the cashier
Sophie essuie le comptoir – Sophie’s wiping the counter
Nous nettoyons notre chambre – We’re cleaning our room
Porter vs. Mener
March 7, 2011 § Leave a comment
Pizza à emporter – take-out pizza
Porter means to carry. Mener means to lead. One uses forms of porter when talking about taking or bringing things. One uses forms of mener when talking about taking or bringing people. The prefix ‘a’ indicates bringing toward, the prefix ’em’ indicates taking away.
apporter – to bring
emporter – to take
porter – to carry
amener – to bring
emmener – to take
se promener – to walk
mener – to lead
Commands
March 6, 2011 § Leave a comment
When one is doing a command, one is directing another person to do something. The audience is either one person (tu), a group of people (vous) , an unknown audience (as in written instructions such as a recipe), or ourselves (let’s do _____). For each of these audiences, we conjugate the verb according to the audience.
1. for a basic command to another person, conjugate the verb for “tu”. For regular ‘er’ verbs, and for aller, drop the ‘s’. *the only irregular verbs are savoir, être, and avoir – the conjugations for them are listed at the very bottom of the page*
listen – écoute
pay attention – fais attention
eat your dinner – mange ton dîner
wait – attends
2. for a basic command for vous, conjugate the verb for ‘vous’. There are no changes for ‘er’ verbs nor for aller.
listen – écoutez
do your homework – faites vos devoirs
wait – attendez
3. when the audience is unknown, as in instructions, leave the verb in the infinitive form
prepare a sauce with lemon juice, oil, salt, and pepper – préparer une sauce avec le jus de citron, l’huile, du sel, et du poivre
peel and chop the onion – peler et hacher l’oignon
4. Let’s ________!
let’s dance – dansons
let’s go – allons-y
let’s eat – mangeons
pronoun | être | avoir | savoir | vouloir |
tu | sois | aie | sache | |
nous | soyons | ayons | sachons | |
vous | soyez | ayez | sachez | veuillez |
Chapter 3 Vocabulary
March 6, 2011 § Leave a comment
les courses et les distractions
to attend (a show) – assister à un spectacle
to deposit money – déposer de l’argent
to borrow a book – emprunter un livre
to go shop – faire les magasins
to window shop – faire les vitrines
to eat with friends – manger avec des amis
to forget – oublier
to take photos – prendre des photos
to go out – sortir * (way irregular)
to see a play – voir une pièce d théâtre
a painting – un tableau
pour indiquer le chemin
(prepositions are listed under prepositions post)
stuck, squeezed into – coincé
to go straight ahead – aller tout droit
to turn (to the left, to the right) – tourner (à gauche, à droite)
to cross – traverser
a bridge – un pont
pour se déplacer en ville: les transports
a bus stop – un arrêt d’autobus
heavy traffic – la circulation intense
a traffic jam – une embouteillage
a traffic signal – un feu de signalisation
a crowd (of people) – une foule (de gens)
rush hour – les heures de pointe
the subway – le métro
the station platform – le quai
the side of the platform – la voie
public transportation – les transports (m) en commun
a train car – un wagon
to get out of a taxi – descendre d’un taxi
to get on a bus – monter dans un autobus
to obey the rules – obéir aux règles
to wear a helmet – porter un casque
to take a train – prendre un train
to go by car – rouler en voiture
to go fast – rouler vite
to park in a no parking zone – stationner dans une zone interdite
to use a city map – utiliser un plan
se promener en ville
to go by foot – aller à pied
to be patient – avoir de la patience
to stroll – se balader
to go someplace – se déplacer
to obey a flashing sign – obéir au signal lumineux
to think of *- penser à
to think of (have an opinion of) – penser de
to look both ways – regarder dans les deux sens
to risk – risquer
pour faire des achats
I’ll take (two) of them – j’en prends (deux)
which one? – lequel? laquelle?
full of options – plein(e) d’options
to cost – coûter
to ask (for) – demander
to save money – faire des économies
a choice – un choix
mineral water – l’eau minérale
the euro – l’euro
a flower – une fleur
a daisy – une marguerite
a brand – une marque
a medication – un médicament
a style – un modèle
a cell phone – un portable
the price – le prix
a foreign product – un produit étranger
a detective novel – un roman policier
a novel – un roman
a stamp – un timbre
a salesman – un vendeur
a saleslady – une vendeuse
the wine – le vin
quand
each time – à chaque fois
at the time of – au moment de
in the early morning – au petit matin
from time to time – de temps en temps
while – pendant que
all the time – tout le temps
mots et expressions utiles
it’s convenient – c’est commode
okay, agreed – d’accord
in style – à la mode
a gourmet dinner – un dîner gastronomique
it is necessary – il faut
no parking – stationnement interdit
everyone together, all together – tous ensemble