Duolingo Flashcards
What one-syllable words can elide?
je, me, te, se, de, ce, ne, and que
Tu can also be elided in casual speech, but not in writing
What happens to the contraction du (de + le) before a vowel?
It takes the de l’ form
Here are some mandatory liaisons, along with approximate pronunciations:
Articles and adjectives with nouns. For example, un homme (“uh-nohm”), mon orange (“mohn-norahnge”), or deux hommes (“duh-zohm”).
Pronouns and verbs. For example, nous allons (“noo-zalohn”) or est-il (“ay-teel”).
Single-syllable adverbs and prepositions. For instance, très utile (“tray-zuteel”) or chez elle (“shay-zell”).
Liaisons are forbidden:
Before and after et (“and”).
After singular nouns (including proper nouns and names).
After inversions (which you’ll learn in “Questions”).
Before an aspirated H (e.g. héros - “hero”).
After a nasal sound, except that un, on, and en do liaise.
What sounds do these letters make in liaisons?
- s, -x, -z?
- d?
- f?
Z
T
V
When to use ce
When describing people and things with a noun after être you must use the impersonal pronoun ce,
Note that ce is invariable, so it can never be ces sont.
These pronouns aren’t interchangeable. The basic rule is that you must use ce when être is followed by any determiner—for instance, an article (le, la, les, un, une) or a possessive adjective (ma, ses, votre). Note that c’est should be used for singulars and ce sont should be used for plurals.
C’est un homme. — He’s a man. / This is a man. / That is a man.
Ce sont des chats. — They’re cats. / These are cats. / Those are cats.
C’est la fille. — She is the girl. / This is the girl. / That is the girl.
Ce sont les femmes. — They are the women. / These are the women. / Those are the women.
When not to use ce
If an adjective, adverb, or both appear after être, then use the personal pronoun.
Elle est belle. — She is beautiful. (Or “It is beautiful.”)
Il est très fort. — He is very strong. (Or “It is very strong.”)
However, c’est should be used when using an adjective to make a general comment about (but not describe) a thing or situation. In this case, use the masculine singular form of the adjective.
C’est normal ? — Is this normal?
Non, c’est étrange. — No, this is strange.
I am [in the process of] eating.
Je suis en train de manger.
crêpe m/f?
f
carotte m/f?
f
Spell “Onion” and gender?
un oignon (m)
Languages, days of the week, months, seasons, metals, colors, and measurements are mostly?
Masculine
Most nouns ending in -e tend to be?
Feminine
Most nouns ending in consonants tend to be?
Masculine
Nouns that have the endings -ion and -son tend to be?
Feminine
What gender are the following puppies usually?
- tre, -ble, -cle (think “treble clef”)
- one, -ème, -ège (think “OMG”)
- age, -isme
Masculine
Words ending in -é (but not -té) are?
Masculine
Words ending in -té are?
Feminine
Words ending in -de (le guide) are masculine except for?
-ade, -nde, -ude (these are feminine) (la parade)
-ste and -me tend to be masculine, but there are dozens of exceptions. Words for people ending in -ste are often gender-neutral. Give an example
le/la cycliste
-eur is masculine for most professions or technical terms, but it’s feminine for some emotions and abstract things.
Give an example of each
le chauffeur — the driver
la peur — the fear
Female animal nouns are generally formed as follows?
taking the last consonant, doubling it, and adding a mute -e to the end.
un chat ⇒ une chatte
un chien ⇒ une chienne
tigre m/f?
m (exception to -e rule)
Poulet is chicken, what is hen?
Une poule
a fly
une mouche
What is the weather like?
Quel temps fait-il ?
It is windy.
Il y a du vent.
it is misty.
Il y a de la brume.
It is stormy.
Il y a de l’orage.
It is freezing.
Il gèle.
cloudy
nuageux
What does BANGS stand for?
Beauty Age Number Good or bad Size
Figurative meanings _______ the noun
precede
Literal meanings ________ the noun (with figurative adjectives)
follow
a pitiful man
un pauvre homme
a poor man
un homme pauvre
a particular number
un certain nombre
a guaranteed victory
une victoire certaine
my own car
ma propre voiture
my clean car
ma voiture propre
a dear friend
un cher ami
an expensive watch
une montre chère
What are three common adjectives that change for the sake of euphony?
beau ⇒ bel
vieux ⇒ vieil
nouveau ⇒ nouvel
There are no quotation marks in French. Instead, the French use guillemets (« »). Exclamation marks (!), question marks (?), colons (:), semicolons (;) and guillemets need to have a space on either side.
Incorrect: “Ça va?”
Correct: « Ça va ? »
When writing numbers in French, commas are decimal points, while spaces mark thousands places.
Incorrect: 1,235.8
Correct: 1 235,8
citron m/f?
m
What happens to “des” in front of an adjective?
It becomes “de”
monkey
le singe
As nouns, colors are usually __________?
Masculine
colors derived from nouns (e.g. fruits, flowers, or gems) tend to be _________?
Invariable in gender and number
in compound adjectives (les adjectifs composés) made up of two adjectives, both adjectives remain _______?
in single masculine form
Most colors that end in -e in their masculine forms are ______?
invariable with gender
Demonstrative Adjectives
(“this”, “that”, “these”, and “those”) modify nouns so they refer to something or someone specific. They can be used in place of articles. Like other adjectives, they must agree with the nouns they modify.
Ça or Ce?
A simple rule of thumb to follow is that ce should be used with être, including in the double-verb constructions pouvoir être and devoir être.
Ça should be used with all other verbs.
comme
as/like
donc
so/thus
car
because (in writing)
parce que in speech
if the subject of the sentence is a noun, then the noun should appear before the verb, although a pronoun still needs to appear afterwards.
Le lait est-il froid ? — Is the milk cold?
Les chats sont-ils noirs ? — Are the cats black?
If the verb ends in a vowel, the letter T must be inserted after the verb for euphony. This T is chaîned onto the pronoun and is meaningless.
A-t-il un chien ? — Does he have a dog?
Parle-t-elle anglais ? — Does she speak English?
The most common interrogative pronouns are qui (for people) and que (for everything else). However, the construction changes based on a number of factors. Qui is the only pronoun that can start a question by itself, but both qui and que can be used with inversion.
Qui parle ? — Who is speaking?
Qui es-tu ? — Who are you?
Que fait-il ? — What is he making?
Both can also use est-ce, but est-ce que (which you learned above) can only be used in a question with être or when the pronoun is the object (“what” or “whom”). When it’s the subject, est-ce qui must be used.
Qui est-ce qui parle ? — Who’s speaking? (subj.)
Qu’est-ce qui se passe ? — What is going on? (subj.)
Qui est-ce que tu appelles ? — Whom are you calling? (obj.)
Qu’est-ce que c’est ? — What is it? (question with être)
A number of interrogative adverbs can be used to request information
Pourquoi (“why”): Pourquoi manges-tu du pain ? — Why are you eating bread?
Comment (“how”): Comment allez-vous ? — How are you?
Quand (“when”): Quand est-ce que tu vas manger ? — When are you going to eat?
Combien (“how many/much”): Combien d’eau ? — How much water?
Où (“where”): Où suis-je ? — Where am I?
Note that when these adverbs are used with intonation-based questions, they can appear at the beginning or the end of the sentence (except pourquoi).
Tu vas comment ? — How are you?
Vous êtes d’où ? — Where are you from?
Unlike an adjective, an interrogative pronoun can stand alone. For instance, the interrogative pronoun lequel can replace quel + noun. Note that it agrees with the noun it replaces.
Quel cheval ? — Which horse? Lequel ? — Which one?
Quels hommes mangent ? — Which men eat? Lesquels mangent ? — Which ones eat?
Quelle robe est rose ? — Which dress is pink? Laquelle est rose ? — Which one is pink?
Quelles lettres ? — Which letters? Lesquelles ? — Which ones?
The adverbial pronoun en can be used to replace objects introduced by de. For instance, it can replace a partitive article + noun.
Avez-vous de l’argent ? — Do you have some money?
Oui, j’en ai. — Yes, I have some.
En may replace nouns or pronouns in verb constructions that use de, like parler de (“to talk about”).
Marc parle de son frère ? — Is Marc talking about his brother?
Oui, il en parle. — Yep, he’s talking about him.
Nouns in adverbs of quantity can also be replaced with en.
Achetez-vous beaucoup de livres ? — Are you buying a lot of books?
Oui, j’en achète beaucoup. — Yes, I am buying a lot [of them].
Notice that en always precedes the verb, but adverbs stay in place after the verb.
The adverbial pronoun y can refer to a previously mentioned or implied place, in which case it’s usually translated as “there”.
In English, “there” may be omitted, but the same is not true of y in French. Je vais is not a complete sentence without y.
Allez-vous au restaurant ? — Are you going to the restaurant?
Oui, j’y vais. — Yes, I’m going there.
Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, which are subordinate clauses that elaborate upon a previously mentioned noun (the antecedent). Use que when the relative pronoun is the direct object (“whom” in English) and use qui when it’s the subject (“who” in English).
C’est l’homme que je connais. — He’s the man whom (or “that”) I know.
La fille qui lit un menu. — The girl who (or “that”) reads a menu.
If you have trouble figuring out whether to use qui or que, try rephrasing the sentence without the relative pronoun. Use qui if the antecedent is the subject; otherwise, use que.
Subject: La fille qui lit un menu. ⇒ La fille lit un menu.
Object: C’est l’homme que je connais. ⇒ Je connais l’homme.
When se refers to a plural subject, it can also be reciprocal or mutual (“each other”).
Ils s’aiment. — They love each other.
Les filles se parlent. — The girls speak to each other.
On se parle quand ? — When do we speak to each other?
On se voit bientôt. — We will see each other soon.
Certain pronouns can be added to the end of the sentence to differentiate between reflexive and reciprocal uses if necessary.
Ils s’aiment eux-mêmes. — They love themselves.
Elles s’aiment elles-mêmes. — They love themselves.
Ils s’aiment l’un l’autre. — They love each other.
Elles s’aiment les unes les autres. — They love one another.
This is my mother.
These are my parents.
C’est ma mère.
Ce sont mes parents.
