French Notes

 The version of the possessive pronoun that you use (my – their) depends on the number and the gender of the possessed item.  
    For example;
My house – house is feminine – so one uses the feminine singular form of ‘my’ – ma maison
Our dad – dad is masculine – so one uses the masculine singular form of ‘our’ – notre père
Her truck – truck is masculine – so one uses the masculine singular form of ‘her’ – son camion
Your books – books are plural – so one uses the plural version of ‘your’ – tes livres

Quelle heure est – il? What time is it?
Il est quelle heure? – What time is it?

1. to answer, the “formula” is “il est # heures #of minutes

to say it is 3:08, one says il est trois heures huit
it is 4:25 = il est quatre heures vingt cinq
it is 9:10 = il est neuf heures dix
it is 1:20 = il est une heure vingt

2. special vocab
15 past the hour = et quart
il est 3 heures et quart = it is 3:15
il est 5 heures et quart = it is 5:15

30 past the hour = et demie
il est 4 heures et demie = it is 4:30
il est 7 heures et demie = it is 7:30

45 after or 15 til the next hour = next hour moins le quart
it is 5:45 = it is quarter to 6 = il est 6 heures moins le quart
it is 2:45 = it is quarter to 3 = il est 3 heures moins le quart
it is 8:45 = it is quarter to 9 = il est 9 heures moins le quart

3. past 30 minutes in an hour, one can say “minutes til the next hour” –
Ex. 5:50 = it’s ten ’til 6 = il est 6 heures moins 10
2:40 = it’s twenty ’til 3 = il est 3 heures moins 20
8:55 = it’s five ’til 9 = il est 9 heures moins 5

4. time of day vocab
in the morning = du matin
in the afternoon = de l’après-midi
at night = du soir
it’s 7a.m. = il est 7 heures du matin
it’s 4:30 p.m. = il est 4 heures et demie de l’après-midi
il est 4 heures 30 de l’après-midi
it’s 9:15 p.m. = il est 9 heures et quart du soir
il est 9 heures 15 du soir

5. more time vocab
yesterday – hier
today – au jourd’hui
tomorrow – demain
last night – hier soir
tonight – ce soir
this morning – ce matin
this afternoon – cet après-midi
late (in the day) – tard
late (to something) – en retard
early (in the day) – de bonne heure
early (to something) – en avance
on time – à l’heure

I – je
you (informal and singular) – tu
he (or it) – il
she (or it) – elle
we – nous
you (formal or plural) – vous
they (masculine or mixed) – ils
they (feminine) – elles

The subject does the action. These pronouns replace the nouns that are the subjects of the phrases or sentences.

In French, nouns fall into the two categories of masculine and feminine. The gender of the noun determines which articles are used with it.

A
a (masc) = un > un crayon = a pencil
a (fem) = une > une chaise = a chair

The

le = the (masculine, singular) le crayon = the pencil

la = the (feminine, singular) la chaise = the chair

l’ = the (masc or fem, singular, starts with vowel) –
l’ordinateur = the computer
l’étudiant = the student
l’affiche = the poster
the l’ is like a contraction in English (do not > don’t, is not >isn’t)

les = the (plural, either gender – nice and simple)
les crayons = the pencils
les chaises = the chairs
les ordinateurs = the computers
les étudiants = the students
les affiches = the posters