Lesson 1 Flashcards
This deck covers basic pleasantries, personal pronouns, nouns, and adjectives. You will also learn the definite and indefinite articles, as well as some numbers and "être" and "avoir" in the present tense.
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hello
bonjour
hello - bonjour. Note that bonjour literally translates to “good day.” You can use it to say “good morning” or “good afternoon” as well.
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Good evening!
Bonsoir!
Good evening - Bonsoir. Note that bonsoir is a compound word formed from the words for “good” and “evening.” It is used instead of bonjour to greet people in the evening.
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My name is Marc
Je m’appelle Marc
my name is - je m’appelle. This literally translates to “I call myself…”
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hi/bye
salut
hi/bye - salut. To informally greet or say goodbye to someone at any time of day, you can say salut.
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Hello (on the phone)
Allo
Hello - Allo. Note that allo is only said when picking up the phone.
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goodbye
au revoir
goodbye - au revoir
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yes
oui
yes - oui
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no
non
no - non
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What is your name?
Comment vous appelez-vous?
What is your name? - Comment vous appelez-vous? Note that this literally translates to “How/What do you call yourself?”
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please
s’il vous plaît
please - s’il vous plaît. This expression literally means, “if it pleases you.” Note that with a close friend, you could say s’il te plaît.
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Thank you
Merci
thank you - merci. Note that “no, thank you” would be non, merci.
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You’re welcome
De rien
you’re welcome - de rien. Note that a formal alternative is je vous en prie.
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Excuse me
Excusez-moi
excuse me - excusez-moi. Note that you could also say pardon, which translates more directly as “pardon me.”
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Welcome!
Bienvenue!
Welcome - Bienvenue
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How are you?
Comment ça va?
How are you? - Comment ça va? This is sometimes shortened to Ça va?
Comment allez-vous - This is mostly used as a greeting in very formal situations.
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(in a formal setting) How are you?
Comment allez-vous?
How are you? (formal) - Comment allez-vous?
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I’m fine
Ça va bien
I’m fine, I’m OK - Ça va bien. This translates directly to “It goes well.” Note also that bien is a common adverb – “well.”
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I (would like to) introduce Jean to you
Je vous présente Jean
I (would like to) introduce ___ to you - Je vous présente ___
One may also say “Je (aimerais) vous présenter Jean.”
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Can you help me?
Pouvez-vous m’aider?
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Of course
Bien sûr
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a boy
un garçon
Note that singular masculine nouns use the indefinite article un.
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a girl
une fille
Note that singular feminine nouns use the indefinite article une.
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the boy
le garçon
the (masculine) - le. Note that singular masculine nouns use the definite article le.
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the girl
la fille
the (feminine) - la. Note that singular feminine nouns use the definite article la.
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a woman
une femme
a woman - une femme
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a man
un homme
a man - un homme
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a person
une personne
a person - une personne
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the man
l’homme
For any singular (masculine or feminine) noun starting with a vowel or a mute “h,” the correct definite article is l’ instead of le/la. This is called a contraction, and it also happens with words like de and ne.
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an American boy
un garçon américain
American (masculine adj.) - américain. Unless otherwise noted, adjectives are presented by default in their singular, masculine forms. Adjectives usually come after the nouns they modify. Note also that for the noun “an American,” the translation would be capitalized: un Américain.
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an American girl
une fille américaine
American (feminine adj.) - américaine. Adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns they modify. Here, the adjective’s gender is feminine to match the gender of the noun. This is normally done by adding an “e” at the end, which causes the final consonant to be pronounced audibly.
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a happy boy
un garçon heureux
happy - heureux. Remember that most descriptive adjectives are placed after the nouns they modify. There are some exceptions, which we will learn about elsewhere.
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the happy girl
la fille heureuse
happy (feminine) - heureuse. Note that for adjectives ending with an “x,” the ending in the singular feminine form changes to -se, where the “s” is pronounced audibly.
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the women
les femmes
the (plural) - les. Note that the definite article for plural nouns, regardless of gender, is les. Note also that the plural is formed most often by adding an “s” to the end of the word in question.
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some boys
des garçons
some (plural) - des. The indefinite article for plural nouns, regardless of gender, is des. Also note how the plural “s” added to the noun is not pronounced audibly.
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(some) happy women
des femmes heureuses
happy (plural feminine) - heureuses. Remember that adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify. For adjectives ending with an “x,” in the plural feminine form the ending changes to -ses.
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the boys and the girls
les garçons et les filles
and - et. Note that for the vast majority of French words ending in “t,” the “t” is not pronounced.
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a man or a woman
un homme ou une femme
or - ou
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a student
un élève
a student - un élève. The feminine form of this noun is the same: une élève. For a university or graduate student, use étudiant.
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the students
les élèves
Note the pronunciation of the “s” in les here. When a word ending with a normally silent consonant is followed by a word beginning with a vowel or mute “h,” the normally silent consonant is pronounced. This is called a liaison.
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a pretty girl
une jolie fille
pretty (adj.) - joli. Note that the singular feminine form is jolie. Adjectives dealing with beauty typically precede the nouns they modify.
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to be
être
to be - être. Note that être is an irregular verb, as are the majority of the most commonly used verbs in French.
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The girl is pretty
La fille est jolie
(he/she/it) is - est. Est is the third-person singular in the present tense of the verb être.
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The man is sad
L’homme est triste
sad - triste
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He is happy
Il est heureux
he - il
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She is pretty
Elle est jolie
she - elle
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He is rich
Il est riche
rich - riche. Note that the feminine form is the same.
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She is very rich
Elle est très riche
very - très
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The boy is cute
Le garçon est mignon
cute - mignon
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The girl is cute
La fille est mignonne
cute (feminine) - mignonne. Note the singular feminine form of mignon. For any masculine form ending in “n” or “l,” the feminine form doubles that consonant before adding an “e.”
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The boy is funny
Le garçon est drôle
funny - drôle. Note that the singular feminine form would remain drôle. Marrant also works as a translation for “funny.”
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The girl is funny
La fille est drôle
funny - drôle. Note that the singular masculine form would remain drôle. Marrant also works as a translation for “funny.”
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The person is attractive
La personne est attrayante
attractive - attirant. Note that attirant has a slightly stronger emphasis on physical/sexual attraction than its English equivalent “attractive.”
