Lesson 9 Flashcards
This deck covers reflexive verbs and pronouns, as well as impersonal verbs. Along with vocabulary about the city, you will also learn about the causative "se faire," the construction "venir de" + infinitive, and the expression "il faut" + infinitive.
Translate to French:
I won’t go to Marc’s if you don’t want to come with me
Je ne vais pas aller chez Marc si tu ne veux pas venir avec moi
if - si. Si is a common word that is used both as an adverb and a conjunction. It can take on other meanings like “so”: elle est si intelligente means “she is so smart.” You can also use si as an affirmative response to a negative question.
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He isn’t coming? Yes (he is)
Il ne vient pas? Si (il vient)
yes - si. Note how si is used here as an affirmative response to a negative question.
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Can you check if the service is included?
Peux-tu vérifier si le service est compris?
to check - vérifier
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I forgot to buy a new jacket
J’ai oublié d’acheter une nouvelle veste
to forget - oublier. Note how de follows oublier when preceding another verb.
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Maurice’s baby hit me!
Le bébé de Maurice m’a frappé!
to hit - frapper
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It hit me straight in the face
Ça m’a frappé en pleine figure
right/straight in the face - en pleine figure
What are impersonal verbs?
Impersonal verbs do not change based on grammatical person. Instead, they are conjugated only in the third-person singular, with the indefinite il. Pleuvoir (to rain) and neiger (to snow) are examples of impersonal verbs. (e.g. A person cannot rain.)
Translate to French:
I sometimes forget to eat
Il m’arrive d’oublier de manger
to be possible, to happen - arriver (impersonal). Note the impersonal use of arriver here: il m’arrive, where the speaker (m’) is the indirect object, essentially means “it happens (on occasion) to me.”
Translate to French:
One (we) must make dinner / Dinner has to be made
Il faut faire à manger
must, have to, need to - falloir (with infinitive). This is an impersonal verb; it is only conjugated with il. Note the construction il faut + infinitive, which is common. You could also say On doit faire à manger.
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I have to go to school
Il me faut aller à l’école
Note how object pronouns can be used with the impersonal il faut. This construction is rare compared to alternatives like Je dois aller à l’école.
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New York is a huge city
New York est une ville immense
a city - une ville. Note the use of immense to mean “huge.” Énorme could also work.
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We have to be at the airport in two hours
Nous devons être à l’aéroport en deux heures
an airport - un aéroport
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I’m late because I just got back from the airport
Je suis en retard car je viens de revenir de l’aéroport
to have just (done something) - venir de + infinitive. This construction is very common and serves to describe a recently completed action.
Translate to French:
Julie just bought an apartment in New York
Julie vient d’acheter un appartement à New York
an apartment - un appartement
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This building has been here for 100 years
Cet immeuble est ici depuis 100 ans
a building - un bâtiment, un immeuble. The former typically applies to buildings of all kinds, while the latter applies to multi-story buildings.
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This skyscraper has 100 floors
Ce gratte-ciel a 100 étages
a skyscraper - un gratte-ciel. This is an invariable noun, which means its plural form doesn’t take an “s.”
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Is the Paris subway well known?
Le métro parisien est-il bien connu?
the subway - le métro. Note that “to take the subway” is prendre le métro, while “a subway station” is une station de métro.
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He is getting off at the next stop
Il descend au prochain arrêt
a bus/train/subway stop - un arrêt
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We need to buy three tickets
Nous devons acheter trois billets
a ticket (for transportation) - un billet, un ticket. The former is more general – it also applies to tickets for a show – but is likely to apply to planes and trains. The latter frequently applies to trams or subways.
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You must keep your ticket until the end of the trip
Il faut garder ton billet jusqu’à la fin du voyage
to keep - garder
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Paul just missed the train
Paul vient de rater le train
to miss - rater. This verb applies typically to modes of transportation. A different verb (manquer) is used more generally: it can mean “to miss” other things (like meetings), “to fail to meet,” and “to miss/long for” people.
Translate to French:
She failed her exams
Elle a raté ses examens
to fail (to not pass) - rater. This verb can mean both “to fail” and “to miss.” Another verb, échouer, means “to fail” in a broader sense – “to not succeed.” For example, le plan a échoué means “the plan failed.”
Translate to French:
There are a lot of cars on the street
Il y a beaucoup de voitures dans la rue
a street - une rue. Note that dans is used to say “on” or “in” the street.
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I don’t see the store on this boulevard
Je ne vois pas le magasin sur ce boulevard
a boulevard - un boulevard. Note that sur is used to say “on” or “in” the boulevard.
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They will see us on the avenue in 15 minutes
Ils vont nous voir sur l’avenue dans 15 minutes
an avenue - une avenue. Note that sur is used to say “on” or “in” the avenue.
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Did he already cross the street?
A-t-il déjà traversé la rue?
to cross - traverser, croiser
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This bridge crosses the Seine
Ce pont traverse la Seine
a bridge - un pont
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It will take at least 5 minutes to cross the bridge
Ça va prendre au moins 5 minutes pour traverser le pont
at least - au moins, au minimum. Another possible translation is Le pont met 5 minutes à traverser.
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The park is close to the Hudson River
Le parc est près du fleuve Hudson
a river - une rivière, un fleuve
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I decided to take a taxi
J’ai décidé de prendre un taxi
a cab, a taxi - un taxi. Recall that décider takes the preposition de.
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Are you guys looking for a taxi?
Cherchez-vous un taxi?
to look for - chercher. Note that chercher does not require a preposition in the same way that “to look for” does in English.
Translate to French:
My father works in a building downtown
Mon père travaille dans un immeuble en centre-ville
downtown - centre-ville. This literally means “center of town.” Note the use of en. Finally, note that “the business district” is le centre commercial – literally, “the commercial/business center.”
What are reflexive (or pronominal) verbs?
Reflexive verbs are verbs that require a reflexive pronoun in addition to a subject pronoun. Reflexive verbs are easily identifiable, as their infinitives are always preceded by se or s’: for example, s’appeler, which means “to call oneself,” is a reflexive verb.
What are reflexive pronouns and when are they used?
The reflexive pronouns are me, te, se, nous, vous, se.
They are used in addition to subject pronouns to conjugate reflexive (or pronominal) verbs like s’appeler. The reflexive pronoun must agree with the subject of the verb. This is because the action of a reflexive verb is both performed and received by the subject; the subject is also the object of the verb.
Translate to French:
His name is Michel
Il s’appelle Michel
his name is/he is named… - il s’appelle… When conjugating this reflexive verb in the third-person singular, you must use the reflexive pronoun se, changed here to s’ because the verb begins with a vowel. The reflexive pronoun is placed after the subject (pronoun) and before the verb. The literal translation would be “he calls himself…”
Translate to French:
(to a child) Is your name Marcel?
Est-ce que tu t’appelles Marcel?
(informal) your name is… - tu t’appelles… When conjugating this reflexive verb in the second-person singular, you must use the reflexive pronoun te, changed here to t’. The literal translation would be “you call yourself…”
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Where is the Eiffel Tower?
Où se trouve la tour Eiffel?
Where is… - Où se trouve… The reflexive verb se trouver should typically be used to refer to objects or places whose location is permanent.
Translate to French:
I remember his name
Je me rappelle de son nom
to recall, to remember - se rappeler (de). Note the use of the reflexive pronoun me to agree with the first-person singular subject. This verb also exists non-reflexively: rappeler means “to call back” or “to remind.”
Translate to French:
Now I remember that story!
Maintenant je me souviens de cette histoire!
to remember - se souvenir (de). Se rappeler can be used as a synonym.
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He called her back shortly afterwards
Il l’a rappelée peu après
shortly afterwards, soon thereafter - peu après. Note how the non-reflexive rappeler means “to call back” here.
Translate to French:
He reminds me all the time to buy stamps
Il me rappelle tout le temps d’acheter des timbres
to remind - rappeler. Recall that the non-reflexive rappeler can mean both “to remind” and “to call back.”
Translate to French:
Yes, she remembers that the meeting is mandatory
Oui, elle se rappelle que la réunion est obligatoire
mandatory - obligatoire. Note the construction se rappeler que here. Se souvenir que would also work.
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We often mess up
Nous nous trompons souvent
to be mistaken, to mess up - se tromper. Note the reflexive pronoun nous, which comes after the subject pronoun (also nous) and precedes the verb. The non-reflexive tromper means “to deceive” or “to mislead.”
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The building is located in Paris
Le bâtiment se trouve à Paris
to be located - se trouver. Recall that the non-reflexive trouver means “to find.”
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Who won? It happens to be you
Qui a gagné? Il se trouve que c’est toi
to happen to be - se trouver (impersonal)
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Where is the nearest amusement park?
Où se trouve le parc d’attractions le plus proche?
an amusement park - un parc d’attractions
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The post office is closed
La poste est fermée
the post office - la poste, le bureau de poste. Recall that the adjective “closed” is formed from the past participle of the verb fermer, “to close.”
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Jean is likely at the bank
Jean est probablement à la banque
a bank - une banque. Note that probablement can mean “likely” as well as “probably.”
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Then, I went to the police station
Ensuite, je suis allé au commissariat
a police station - un commissariat (de police)
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I just bought some potatoes at the supermarket
Je viens d’acheter des pommes de terre au supermarché
a supermarket - un supermarché
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My cousins live in the suburbs
Mes cousins habitent en banlieue
suburb - banlieue. This word carries a more negative connotation in France than it does in the U.S. Typically, a French city’s wealthiest districts are at the city center, while the less desirable neighborhoods are outside the city in la banlieue. You could say ils habitent dans la banlieue, but this is usually followed by the city’s name (de Paris, for instance).
