Grammar Flashcards
Why do we use du instead of le?
Du, de la, de l’ and des are called partitive articles (les articles partitifs). They are used to express uncountable quantities or when the amount is unknown. This is instead of definite articles (le,la, l’, les) and indefinite articles (un, une, des) which is used for quantities that we can count.
Je voudrais une tasse de thé avec du miel. I would like a cup of tea with honey.
Je voudrais des pommes. I would like some apples.
When should I use au, à la, à l’ and aux?
First of all, it is important to understand the meaning we are trying to convey. Au, à la, à l’ and aux are all ways of saying ‘to the’ or ‘at the’. For example, in order to say ‘I work at the cinema’ in French, we would say ‘je travaille au cinéma’. We use the different variants au, à la, à l’ and aux depending on the gender and number of the noun which follows. For instance, we said ‘je travaille au cinéma’ because cinéma is a masculine noun. For a feminine noun, like ‘maison’, we would use ‘à la’ : ‘il est resté à la maison’. For a singular noun which begins with either a noun or ‘h’, we would use ‘à l’’. An example of this is the sentence ‘je vais parler à l’ami de Pierre’. Finally, for plural nouns we use ‘aux’ : ‘j’habite aux États-Unis.
When do you use the French proposition de?
The preposition de is generally summarized as ”of, from, or about,” but it has quite a few more meanings and uses than that.
When de is followed by the definite article le or les, the two words must contract.
le les But… la l’
de du des de la de l’
However, de does not contract with the direct objects le and les.
J’ai promis de le faire – I promised to do it.
1) Origin or starting point
Il est du Midi. He’s from the South of France.
Nous arrivons de Lille. We’re arriving from Lille.
2) Reference point
Nous sommes à 5 km de la plage. We’re 5 kilometers from the beach.
Il habite à 20 minutes d’ici. He lives 20 minutes from here.
3) Possession
la voiture de Nicole. Nicole’s car
la poste de Brest. Brest’s post office.
4) Description, defining feature
la soupe de tomates. tomato soup.
un bébé de 3 mois. a three-month-old baby.
5) Contents
un verre de vin. glass of wine.
un film de guerre. war film, film about war.
6) Cause or reason
rougir de honte. to blush with shame.
être mécontent de la décision. to be annoyed about the decision.
7) Means or manner
dessiner de la main gauche. to draw left-handed.
regarder d’un air admiratif. to look at admiringly.
8) Start of a period of time / range
J’ai travaillé de 8h à midi. I worked from 8am to noon.
du lundi au samedi. from Monday to Saturday.
9) Presentation of agent in the passive voice
Elle est très appréciée de ses étudiants. She is well liked by her students.
Je serai accompagné de mon père. I’ll be accompanied by my father.
10) After verbs
Many verbs must be followed by de in front of a noun or infinitive.
11) After adjectives
Some adjectives must be followed by de in front of a noun or infinitive.
12) After merci
Merci de votre assistance. Thank you for your assistance.
Merci de vs merci pour.
When do you use “faire de” with sports in French?
For some activities, such as skiing or horse riding, you cannot use jouer, just like you wouldn’t say I play ski or I play horse riding in English.
**Without a ball use the verb “faire de”.
**
**Je fais de la natation.
**I do swimming.
When using “faire de la danse” or “faire de la natation” (FOR EXAMPLE) rather than simply “danser” or “nager”, you refer more to an organised, repeated activity - I take dance lessons / I go swimming [as a regular activity, e.g. attending class or lessons] - than just a ‘one-off’ activity you’re in the middle of doing such as I’m dancing / I’m swimming.
**Je fais du ski quand je suis dans les Alpes.
**I ski when I’m in the Alps.
**Je skie avec ma famille.
**I’m skiing with my family.
-> Note that in that context, the difference is not very noticeable.
You can use faire de followed by la or l’ in front of a vowel or mute h, but remember that le and les will contract with de and become du and des.
Je fais du sport tous les jours.
I do sport every day.
Il fait du tennis.
He plays tennis.
Sam fait de l’aïkido.
Sam does aïkido.
Tu fais de la natation.
You swim (regularly / in a club).
Remember, English has two present tenses: I dance (simple), and I am dancing (continuous) which lets us make the distinction between something you do regularly versus something you’re in the middle of doing. French has no present continuous tense, so we use faire de to distinguish the regular activity that you do, from the one-off activity you are doing.
**How to use question words in French?
**
What are the most basic form of questions, these question words can be used:
who
what
when
where
how
why
how much
In the most basic form of questions, these question words can be used:
who = qui
what = que/quoi
when = quand
where = où
how = comment
why = pourquoi
how much = combien
When do you use “jouer à” with sports in French?
**JOUER + À + [SPORT]
**
**With a ball use the verb “jouer à”.
**Ils jouent au basket.
**They play basketball.
**Je joue aux échecs.
**I play chess.
**Il joue au tennis.
**He plays tennis
**You can use jouer à followed by la or l’ in front of a vowel or mute h, but remember that le and les will contract with à and become au and aux.
**
**Ils jouent au basket.
**They play basketball
ATTENTION:
With music instruments, you will use de instead of à
How to use “jouer de” with musical instruments in French?
Jouer de = to play an instrument in French
**Je joue de la guitare.
**I play the guitar.
**Elle joue du violon.
**She plays violin.
**Nous jouons de la trompette.
**We play the trumpet.
To say you play an instrument in French, you must use:
jouer + de + definite article (le/la/l’/les) + [instrument
TIP: Remember that le and les will contract with de and become du and des.
La and l’ will become de la and de l’.
How to use question words in French?
1. Use intonation with a normal statement
In that very simple case, most of the time question words would be at the end of the statement, but they can also sometimes be at the beginning of the statement.
The question will be marked with a querying tone (and in written form with a question mark):
How are you?
How are you?
When are you coming?
Why doesn’t he want to play?
Comment tu vas ?
How are you?
Tu vas comment ?
How are you?
Tu viens quand ?
When are you coming?
Pourquoi il ne veut pas jouer ?
Why doesn’t he not want to play?
How to use question words in French?
1. Use intonation with a normal statement
ATTENTION:
When you use ‘what’ where does it go in the sentence?
Do you use quoi or que?
How do you say what is it?
How do you say what are we going to do tomorrow?
What can only be at the end of the sentence, and you use quoi and NOT que.
C’est quoi ?
What is it?
On va faire quoi demain ?
What are we going to do tomorrow?
ATTENTION: in the inverted form, what, quoi becomes que or qu’ and they are always placed at the start with inverted forms:
Que veut-il ?
What does he want?
Qu’écoutes-tu à la radio ?
What do you listen to on the radio?
2. With est-ce que…
You place the question word before est-ce que followed by the statement in a normal order. This is a common way to start a question.
Where are you going?
When do you leave Chicago?
How much does it cost?
What does she want to do?
Où est-ce que tu vas ?
Where are you going?
Quand est-ce que vous quittez Chicago?
When do you leave Chicago?
Combien est-ce que ça coûte?
How much does it cost?
Qu’est-ce qu’elle veuet fair?
What does she want to do?
Note: that in this last case, que becomes qu’ because it’s in front of a vowel.
**How to use question words in French?
**
1. Use intonation with a normal statement
In who + [verb] questions - (who does, who cooks…?) - where is qui placed in the sentence?
Who washes the dishes tonight?
Who is it?
Who is it?
Who(m) does she love?
In who + [verb] questions - (who does, who cooks…?) - qui is always at the beginning of the question - (qui fait, qui cuisine…?) - BUT in other cases, such as whom… or who is it?, qui can be in either place.
Qui fait la vaisselle ce soir ?
Who washes the dishes tonight?
C’est qui ?
Who is it?
Qui c’est ?
Who is it?
Elle aime qui ?
Who(m) does she love?
3. Use the “inverted question” form
You use the question word at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the inverted verb and then the subject. This is a more elegant and more formal way to ask questions in French.
Who is it?
Why have they got stripes (des rayures)?
When are they leaving for Quebec City?
How are you?
Qui est-ce ?
Who is it?
Pourquoi ont-ils des rayures ?
Why have they got stripes?
Quand partent-ils pour Québec ?
When are they leaving for Quebec City?
Comment vas-tu ?
How are you?
ATTENTION: in the inverted form, what, quoi becomes que or qu’ and they are always placed at the start with inverted forms:
Que veut-il ?
What does he want?
Qu’écoutes-tu à la radio ?
What do you listen to on the radio?
