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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fremdsprachen
- Sprache: Englisch
Get right to the good stuff with this easy-to-follow guide to French fundamentals
French Essentials For Dummies, 2nd Edition walks you through the core concepts of French so you can apply right away and start communicating effectively. From conjugating verbs to understanding tenses, this easy-to-read guide skips past the fluff and dives deep into the basics you need to improve your French and succeed on a French class exam and more.
This guide helps you figure out the right articles, adjectives, and pronouns you need to use in different situations. Plus, you'll also get expert advice on when to use the past tense, the imperfect, and how to express the future.
Inside:
- Make adjectives agree, understand the different parts of French speech, and select the right preposition
- Correctly ask and answer yes or no questions and participate in simple conversations
- Use important verb distinctions, correctly pronounce French words, and deploy proper grammar
Perfect for everyone taking a French class, undertaking solo French study, or anyone looking for a handy, practical supplement to improve their understanding of the language, French Essentials For Dummies, 2nd Edition is a hands-on reference packed with the tools, tips, and strategies you need to speak French.
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French Essentials For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Chapter 1: Getting Down to Basics
Using Numbers
Setting the Date
Telling Time
Understanding the Parts of Speech
Chapter 2: Putting Grammar to Work
Defining the Definite Articles
Generalizing with Indefinite Articles
Understanding Partitive Articles
Using Demonstrative Adjectives
Grasping Grammatical Gender
Pluralizing Nouns
Confirming Possession
Substituting with Object Pronouns
Figuring Out Adverbial Pronouns
Positioning Pronouns
Chapter 3: Here and Now: The Present Tense
Choosing Subject Pronouns
Communicating in the Present Tense
Preserving Pronunciation with Spelling-Change Verbs
Dissecting Stem-Changing Verbs
Recognizing Irregular Verbs
Expressing Yourself with Idiomatic Expressions
Identifying Pronominal Verbs
Understanding the -ing Family
Chapter 4: Describing and Comparing with Flair
Coloring with Adjectives
Using Adverbs Accurately
Comparing Things
Chapter 5: Connecting with Prepositions
Identifying Common Prepositions
Going Places with Prepositions
Giving Verbs the Prepositions They Need
Chapter 6: Asking and Answering Questions
Oui ou Non: Asking Yes/No Questions
Asking Who, What, Which, When, Where, Why, and How Questions
Answering Questions
Being Negative
Chapter 7: Using the Past
Understanding the Recent Past
Remembering with the Passé Composé
Using the Passé Composé
Reminiscing with the Imperfect
Choosing between the Passé Composé and the Imperfect
Chapter 8: Looking toward the Future
Conquering the Future Tense
Using the Future
Speaking about the Future with the Present
Chapter 9: Recognizing Verb Moods
Giving Orders with the Imperative
Deciphering the Present Subjunctive
Exploring the Conditional
Chapter 10: Ten Important Verb Particularities
Arriving, Happening, or Coming Right Back
Knowing People or Places or Knowing Something
Leaving or Leaving Behind
Liking or Loving
Modal Verbs (Can, Could, Must, Should, Will, Would)
Playing a Game or Playing an Instrument
Returning Home, Returning Something, or Just Returning
Spending Time or Spending Money
Thinking or Thinking About
Visiting a Place or Visiting a Person
Appendix Verb Charts
Regular Verbs
Spelling-Change Verbs
Stem-Changing Verbs
Irregular Verbs
Index
About the Authors
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
TABLE 1-1 French Ordinal Numbers
Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 Combining Definite Articles with the Preposition à or de
TABLE 2-2 Partitive Articles
TABLE 2-3 Demonstrative Adjectives
TABLE 2-4 Masculine and Feminine Nouns
TABLE 2-5 Word Endings of Masculine and Feminine Nouns
TABLE 2-6 Plural Patterns
TABLE 2-7 Irregular Plurals
TABLE 2-8 Possessive Adjectives
TABLE 2-9 Singular-Subject Possessive Adjectives
TABLE 2-10 Plural-Subject Possessive Adjectives
TABLE 2-11 Direct Object Pronouns
TABLE 2-12 French Indirect Object Pronouns
Chapter 3
TABLE 3-1 French Subject Pronouns
TABLE 3-2 Regular Verb Conjugation in the Present
TABLE 3-3 Common Expressions
TABLE 3-4 Properly Using Reflexive Pronouns
TABLE 3-5 Different Verb Meanings
TABLE 3-6 Forming the Present Participle
Chapter 4
TABLE 4-1 Adjectives with Special Masculine Singular Forms
TABLE 4-2 Adjectives Whose Meanings Change
Chapter 5
TABLE 5-1 Common French Prepositions
Chapter 6
TABLE 6-1 Additional Negatives in French
TABLE 6-2 Affirmatives and Their Negatives
Chapter 7
TABLE 7-1 Stem-Changing and Spelling-Change Verbs and Their Past Participles
TABLE 7-2 Irregular Verbs and Their Past Participles Ending in u
TABLE 7-3 Irregular Verbs and Their Past Participles Ending in t
TABLE 7-4 Irregular Verbs and Their Past Participles Ending in i
TABLE 7-5 Verbs Taking Être in the Passé Composé
TABLE 7-6 Imperfect Stems of Irregular Verbs
TABLE 7-7 Functions of the Imperfect and the Passé Composé
Chapter 8
TABLE 8-1 Accent Grave (è) Spelling-Change in Verbs in the Future Tense
TABLE 8-2 Double Consonant Spelling-Change in Verbs in the Future Tense
TABLE 8-3 Y to i Spelling-Change Verbs in the Future Tense
TABLE 8-4 Irregular Future Tense Verbs
Chapter 9
TABLE 9-1 The Subjunctive Endings of Regular Verbs
TABLE 9-2 Verbs with Two Subjunctive Stems
TABLE 9-3 Phrases That Express Doubt or Uncertainty
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Appendix Verb Charts
Index
About the Authors
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French Essentials For Dummies®, 2ndEdition
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2025945066
ISBN 978-1-394-37319-2 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-37321-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-394-37320-8 (ebk)
Introduction
Whether you’re taking a French class or studying on your own, this handy reference book can help you recall grammar rules, verb conjugations, crucial differences between French and English, and much more. If the idea of snuggling up with your textbook in advance of a big exam makes you queasy, take heart: This book is a focused, straightforward review of the key material covered in introductory and intermediate French courses. This second edition of French Essentials For Dummies can help you reach your goals painlessly and effortlessly as you enhance your French language skills.
French Essentials For Dummies provides you with all the basic grammar you need to know to understand the language and to communicate it clearly. With the help of this book, you’ll find it a snap to have a conversation about topics other than your name and the weather. And that’s quite an achievement!
About This Book
We designed this book to be as accessible as possible. Each self-contained chapter presents a different topic that allows you to master essential French skills. We cover just the basics of each topic, so you can get a quick refresher of what you’ve learned in your coursework. Plus, we include plenty of examples to reinforce the rules so that you’re exposed to colloquial, everyday, correct French that native speakers expect to hear from someone using their language.
To make this book as easy to use as possible, we use two important conventions throughout:
French words and sentences, as well as endings we want to highlight, are set in
boldface
to make them stand out.
English equivalents, set in
italic,
follow the French examples.
Foolish Assumptions
We wrote this book with the following assumptions in mind:
You’ve taken — or are taking — an introductory French class either at the high school or college level.
You want to review what you’ve already learned so you can pass a test for your course or excel on a college placement exam.
You want a thorough book, but one that isn’t so advanced that you get bogged down by the rules. We try to explain French grammar as simply as possible without using too many technical terms.
You use French at work or school and want to improve your writing or speaking skills. Maybe a family member or significant other is studying French, and you want to help (even though you haven’t looked at a verb conjugation for years). Or you’re planning a trip to France or another French-speaking country and want to put your French into practice.
Icons Used in This Book
Like all For Dummies books, this one uses icons to indicate certain kinds of content. You can see them in the left-hand column throughout the book. Here’s what they mean:
The Remember icon points out important concepts that you need to store in the back of your mind because you’ll use them regularly.
We use Tip icons to give you time-saving information that makes your studies quick and effective.
This icon points out certain differences between English and French that you may find confusing.
Where to Go from Here
French Essentials For Dummies is organized to let you read only what you want to read. Each chapter stands on its own and doesn’t require that you complete any of the other chapters in the book. This setup saves you a lot of time if you’ve mastered certain topics but feel a bit insecure about others. Take a look at the table of contents or index, pick a topic, and go! Or you may want to proceed methodically by starting at the very beginning. It’s up to you!
Go ahead! Jump right in and get your feet wet. If you don’t know where to begin, take time to look at the table of contents and choose the topic that seems to best fit your abilities and needs. If you’re timid because you feel that your background hasn’t prepared you enough, you can start at the very beginning and work your way through the book.
No matter how you choose to read French Essentials For Dummies, we’re confident that it can help you improve your French writing and speaking skills. Of course, you shouldn’t let your practice end here. Write to a French pen pal, visit French websites and social media, stream foreign movies, attempt conversations with your French-speaking friends, or try to translate song lyrics into French while you’re stuck in traffic. And when you have a grammar question, come back here and look it up. Pretty soon, the thoughts running through your head may take on a decidedly French flair. Bon courage !(Good luck!)
Chapter 1
Getting Down to Basics
IN THIS CHAPTER
Using cardinal and ordinal numbers
Expressing dates
Telling time
Reviewing parts of speech
Being able to use cardinal and ordinal numbers and recognizing parts of speech are essential French skills. Knowing these basics will help you perfect your oral and written French.
Using Numbers
Numbers are one of the most basic and useful parts of language. In addition to simple counting, you need cardinal numbers for communicating dates, time, prices, phone numbers, addresses, and so much more. You use ordinal numbers to express the number of a floor or the order of a person in a race or competition. We discuss these numbers here.
Counting with cardinal numbers
Cardinal numbers are for counting, and the low numbers are easy. You may already know them backwards and forwards, but if not, all you need to do is memorize them. The higher numbers get a bit more complicated. Check out the following lists of French numbers, starting with easy ones and moving on to more difficult ones.
Number
French
Number
French
0
zéro
5
cinq
1
un, une
6
six
2
deux
7
sept
3
trois
8
huit
4
quatre
9
neuf
Here are the easier double digits:
Number
French
Number
French
10
dix
40
quarante
11
onze
41
quarante et un
quarante-et-un
12
douze
42
quarante-deux
13
treize
43
quarante-trois
14
quatorze
44
quarante-quatre
15
quinze
45
quarante-cinq
16
seize
46
quarante-six
17
dix-sept
47
quarante-sept
18
dix-huit
48
quarante-huit
19
dix-neuf
49
quarante-neuf
20
vingt
50
cinquante
21
vingt et un vingt-et-un
51
cinquante et un cinquante-et-un
22
vingt-deux
52
cinquante-deux
23
vingt-trois
53
cinquante-trois
24
vingt-quatre
54
cinquante-quatre
25
vingt-cinq
55
cinquante-cinq
26
vingt-six
56
cinquante-six
27
vingt-sept
57
cinquante-sept
28
vingt-huit
58
cinquante-huit
29
vingt-neuf
59
cinquante-neuf
30
trente
60
soixante
31
trente et un
trente-et-un
61
soixante et un
soixante-et-un
32
trente-deux
62
soixante-deux
33
trente-trois
63
soixante-trois
34
trente-quatre
64
soixante-quatre
35
trente-cinq
65
soixante-cinq
36
trente-six
66
soixante-six
37
trente-sept
67
soixante-sept
38
trente-huit
68
soixante-huit
39
trente-neuf
69
soixante-neuf
The conjunction et(and) is used only for the numbers 21, 31, 41, 51, 61, and 71, with or without hyphens. For all other compound numbers through 99, use just a hyphen between the separate words.
Here are the trickier double digits:
Number
French
Number
French
70
soixante-dix
85
quatre-vingt-cinq
71
soixante et onze
86
quatre-vingt-six
72
soixante-douze
87
quatre-vingt-sept
73
soixante-treize
88
quatre-vingt-huit
74
soixante-quatorze
89
quatre-vingt-neuf
75
soixante-quinze
90
quatre-vingt-dix
76
soixante-seize
91
quatre-vingt-onze
77
soixante-dix-sept
92
quatre-vingt-douze
78
soixante-dix-huit
93
quatre-vingt-treize
79
soixante-dix-neuf
94
quatre-vingt-quatorze
80
quatre-vingts
95
quatre-vingt-quinze
81
quatre-vingt-un
96
quatre-vingt-seize
82
quatre-vingt-deux
97
quatre-vingt-dix-sept
83
quatre-vingt-trois
98
quatre-vingt-dix-huit
84
quatre-vingt-quatre
99
quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
And here are the big numbers:
Number
French
Number
French
100
cent
200
deux cents
1.000
mille
2.000
deux mille
1.000.000
un million
2.000.000
deux millions
1.000.000.000
un milliard
2.000.000.000
deux milliards
1.000.000.000.000
un billion
2.000.000.000.000
deux billions
Note the following about cardinal numbers:
Un
becomes
une
before a feminine noun:
trente et un hommes
(31 men)
trente et une femmes
(31 women)
Quatre-vingts and the plural cents drop the –s before another number:
quatre-vingt-trois pages/deux cent trois pages
(
83/203 pages)
but not before another noun.
quatre-vingts pages/deux cents pages
(80/200 pages)
The indefinite article
un/une
doesn’t precede
cent
and
mille:
cent planètes
(100 planets)
mille idées
(1,000 ideas)
Mille
doesn’t change in the plural:
Six mille étoiles
(6,000 stars)
Mille
is sometimes written as
mil
in dates:
Il est né en deux mille douze/deux mil douze.
(He was born in 2012.)
Million, milliard
(billion),
and
billion
(trillion)
are nouns. They’re preceded by
un
(or another number) and are followed by
de
before another noun:
Un million de livres
(1,000,000 books)
Deux milliards de dollars
(2 billion dollars)
With numerals and decimals, French uses commas where English uses periods, and vice versa:
English
French
6,000
6.000
0.75
0,75
14.99
14,99
Assigning rank with ordinal numbers
You use ordinal numbers — those used to express numbers in a series — far less frequently than cardinal numbers, but they still have some very important applications in everyday life. Table 1-1 presents the French ordinal numbers:
TABLE 1-1 French Ordinal Numbers
English Ordinal
French Ordinal
Abbreviation
1st
premier, première
1er, 1re
2nd
deuxième
second, seconde
2e
2d, 2de
3rd
troisième
3e
4th
quatrième
4e
5th
cinquième
5e
6th
sixième
6e
7th
septième
7e
8th
huitième
8e
9th
neuvième
9e
10th
dixième
10e
Here’s what you need to remember when using ordinal numbers in French:
Premier
and
second
are the only ordinal numbers that have a feminine form:
première
and
seconde:
le premier garçon
(the first boy)
la première fille
(the first girl)
le second acte
(the second act)
la seconde pièce
(the second play)
Second(e)
usually replaces
deuxième
in a series that doesn’t go beyond two:
son deuxième livre
(
his second book
— there are more than two)
son second livre
(
his second book
— he wrote only two)
Except for
premier
and
second,
ordinal numbers are formed by adding
–ième
to the cardinal numbers. The silent
e
at the end of
quatre,
onze,
and so on is dropped:
quatre
→
quatrième.
Two additional spelling changes:
u
is added for
cinquième
and
f
changes to
v
for
neuvième.
Setting the Date
Knowing French calendar words and how to say what day it is makes it easier for you to make appointments, break dates, and plan outings. Here we delve deeper into dates.
Naming the days of the week
The days of the week end in -di, except for Sunday, which begins with those two letters.
In French, the week starts on Monday, not Sunday, and you don’t capitalize the names of days. Here are les jours de la semaine(the days of the week):
lundi
(Monday)
mardi
(Tuesday)
mercredi
(Wednesday)
jeudi
(Thursday)
vendredi
(Friday)
samedi
(Saturday)
dimanche
(Sunday)
If you want to know what day of the week it is, ask Quel jour sommes-nous ? or C'est quel jour aujourd’hui ? You can answer such a question with any of the following phrases followed by the day of the week: Nous sommes or On est.
Nous sommes mardi.(It’s Tuesday.)
To say that something happens once on a certain day, you just use that day with no preposition or article.
Je vais à la banque lundi.(I am going to the bank on Monday.)
To say that something regularly happens on a certain day, you use the definite article.
Je vais à la banque le vendredi.(I go to the bank on Fridays.)
Here are some other useful words related to days and weeks:
hier
(yesterday)
aujourd’hui
(today)
demain
(tomorrow)
la semaine dernière/passée
(last week)
cette semaine
(this week)
la semaine prochaine
(next week)
Using the months of the year
You need to know the names of the months in French when writing a letter or making a date. This list shows you the months of the year, which, like the days of the week, aren’t capitalized.
janvier
(January)
février
(February)
mars
(March)
avril
(April)
mai
(May)
juin
(June)
juillet
(July)
août
(August)
septembre
(September)
octobre
(October)
novembre
(November)
décembre
(December)
To say that something happened or will happen in a given month, use the preposition en:
J’ai acheté ma voiture en juin.(I bought my car in June.)
Expressing the date
Every event takes place on a particular date. So if you want to invite or if you’re invited, you need to know how to express the date. The first thing to know is the question:
Quelle est la date (d’aujourd’hui) ?(What’s the date [today]?)
To answer, you can say Nous sommes, On est, or C’est followed by le + cardinal number + month + year (optional). Notice that the day comes before the month and its number has to be preceded by the definite article le. For example:
On est le 22 février 2025 [deux mille vingt-cinq].(It’s February 22, 2025.)
If you include the day of the week, the article goes before it:
C’est le lundi 3 mai.(It’s Monday May 3.)
Use a cardinal number to say the date in French, except when you’re talking about the first day of the month. For that, you use premier:
C’est le 1er[premier] décembre.(It’s December 1st.)
In French, when dates are written as numbers, they follow the sequence day/month/year, which may prove confusing to English speakers — especially for dates on or before the 12th of the month. You write February 9th as 2/9 in English, but in French it’s 9/2!
Telling Time
When writing and speaking French, knowing and telling the time is an important concept, especially when you have an appointment or a train to catch. The first thing you need to know is how to ask what time it is: Quelle heure est-il ? The response may be one of the following:
Il est une heure.
(It’s one o’clock.)
Il est deux/quatre/sept heures.
(It’s two/four/seven o’clock.)
Il est midi/minuit.
(It’s noon/midnight.)
