ZNOTES.

ORG

UPDATED TO 2020 SYLLABUS

CAIE IGCSE
FRENCH (0520)
SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE SYLLABUS
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Verb Meaning

1. The Infinitive S’habiller To dress up (To dress oneself)

Se brosser To brush
Se dépêcher To hurry up (To hurry oneself)
1.1. Infinitives
The infinitive is the original form of the verb 2. Tenses
All verbs either have an –er, -ir or –re ending.
Example: aller, avoir, regarder, manger, jouer
2.1. Present Tense
1.2. Negative Infinitives Both present and present continuous tenses in English
are conveyed in one single tense in French.
Formation:
Remove -er/-ir/-re from the ending of the verb to form
the present
stem
Negation  + Infinitive
Add the ending from the table below.
Note: Both negation words must come before the
infinitive -er -ir -re
Je -e -is -s
Examples:
Tu -es -is -s
Ne…pas + fumer → Ne pas fumer (Not to smoke)
Il/Elle/On -e -it
Je t’ai dit de ne pas fumer. (I told you not to smoke) — Saying
ne fumer pas is incorrect and could be interpreted as the Nous -ons -issons -ons
imperative ne fumez pas. Vous -ez -issez -ez
Ils/Elles -ent -issent -ent
1.3. Past Infinitives
Example: regarder → regard (present stem)Tu (regard +
Refers to something that has happened in the past es) = Tu regardes (You are watching or You watch)
Note: irregular verbs do not follow this pattern
Formation:

(aprˋes) + avoir or être + past participle 2.2. Present Perfect Tense

Example: Après avoir mangé… (after having eaten…)Après
être arrivé…(After having arrived)
Note: avoir/être will be used depending on weather the
verb takes avoir or être in the past perfect tense
Used to express an action completed in the past
Formation:
Subject + Auxiliary verb + Past participle

1.4. Reflexive Infinitives All verbs either take avoir or être as auxiliary verbs

When a reflexive verb is in its infinitive form, it retains its Verbs that take être as auxiliary:
ending (er, ir, re)
An additional se is placed before the infinitive (DR & MRS VANDERTRAMP → acronym to memorise)
Note: se becomes s’ when the infinitive starts with a Verb Meaning Past Participle
vowel and a silent h Devenir To become devenu(e)(s)
Revenir To return revenu(e)(s)
Common Reflexive Verbs in their infinitive form include:
Monter To climb monté(e)(s)
Verb Meaning
Rentrer To come back rentré(e)(s)
Se réveiller To wake up (To wake oneself up)
Sortir To go out sorti(e)(s)
To get out of bed (To get oneself
Se lever Venir To come venu(e)(s)
out of bed)
To go to bed (To put oneself to Arriver To arrive arrivé(e)(s)
Se coucher
bed) Naître To be born né(e)(s)
S’endormir To fall asleep Descendre To go down descendu(e)(s)
To take a shower (To shower Entrer To come in entré(e)(s)
Se doucher; Se baigner onself); To take a bath (To bath Retourner To give back retourné(e)(s)
oneself) Tomber To fall tombé(e)(s)
Se promener To talk a walk (To walk oneself) Rester To remain/stay resté(e)(s)

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Verb Meaning Past Participle Infinitive Meaning Past Participle

Aller To go allé(e)(s) Être To be été
Mourir To die mort(e)(s) Faire To do; To make fait
Partir To leave/depart parti(e)(s) Avoir To have eu
Voir To see vu
All the past participles verbs taking être must agree with Savoir To know su
the subject/noun in number and gender.
Connaître To know connu
All reflexive verbs take être as auxiliary
Add (e) for feminine singular, (s) for masculine plural, (es) Lire To read lu
for feminine plural — nothing is added for masculine Croire To believe cru
singular Devoir To have to (must) dû
Pouvoir To be able to (can) pu
Example: sortir → sorti
Elle + (être in present tense) + (past participle) Pleuvoir To rain plu
= Elle est sortie (She went out) Vouloir To want voulu
Vivre To live vécu
Forming the past participle for verbs taking avoir Recevoir To receive reçu
Décevoir To disappoint déçu
Remove the verb ending (-er/-ir/-re) and add the following
endings: Dire To say; To tell dit
Prendre To take pris
Verb ending Suffix Mettre To put mis
-er -é Rire To laugh ri
-ir -i Ouvrir To open ouvert
-re -u Offrir To offer offert

Note: verbs taking avoir as an auxiliary do not agree with

the noun in gender and number unless there is a direct
2.3. Imperfect Tense
object mentioned previously in the same sentence.
Used to express a continuous/habitual action done in the
Example: manger → mangé past
Nous + (avoir in present tense) + (past participle)
Formation:
= Nous avons mangé (We ate or We have eaten)
Conjugate the verb in present tense nous form
Past Participle Agreements with Avoir Remove the nous ending to form the imperfect stem
Add the ending from the table below.
Not only can verbs taking être can agree with the
Note: the ending does not change for different verb types
subject/noun in gender and number, but verbs taking
(-er/-ir/-re)
avoir can too in certain conditions
When the direct object pronouns (le/la/les) or a direct Ending
object are introduced before the past participle, the
Je -ais
participle must agree with the direct object.
Add (e) for feminine singular, (s) for masculine plural, (es) Tu -ais
for feminine plural — nothing is added for masculine Il/Elle/On -ait
singular Nous -ions
Note: The direct object pronouns le/la change to l’ when it Vous -iez
is met with a vowel
Ils/Elles -aient
Examples:
J’ai choisi les chiens (I chose the dogs) (les chiens is masculine Example: jouer → jouons → jou (imperfect stem)
plural) → Les chiens que j’ai choisis (The dogs that I chose) Il (jou + ait) = Il jouait (He used to play or He was playing)
Il m’a donné une trousse (He gave me a pencil case) (une Example: finir → finissons → finiss (Imperfect stem)
trousse is feminine singular) → Il me l’a donnée (He gave it to Je (finiss + ais) = Je finissais (I used to finish or I was finishing)
me)
J’ai perdu mes clés (I lost my keys) (mes clés is feminine 2.4. Immediate Future Tense
plural) → Je les ai perdues (I lost them)
Used to express actions that are going to occur in the
Common verbs with irregular past participles near future

Infinitive Meaning Past Participle Formation:

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Subject + Aller + The infinitive Remember DR & MRS P VANDERTRAMP

Example: Apprendre (to learn) Example: manger → mangé (past participle)

Vous + (aller in present tense) + (infinitive)
= Vouz allez apprendre (You are going to learn)
2.5. Future Tense
Used to express actions that will happen sometime in the
future or actions that will certainly happen
Formation:
Subject + Future stem + Suffix
To form future stem, use -ir and -er verb infinitives
For –re verbs, remove the -e
= J’avais mangé (I had eaten)
2.7. Conditional Tense
Used to talk about a hypothetical/imagined
reality/probable action
Formation:
Subject +  Future stem + Imperfect endings
Note: Irregular future stems also apply here
Example: jouer → jouer (future stem)
Il + jouer + ait = Il jouerait (He would play)

Subject Suffix
2.8. Recent Past Tense
Je -ai
Tu -as Used to express an action which has just been completed
Il/Elle/On -a
Formation:
Nous -ons
Vous -ez Subject + venir + de + infinitive verb
Ils/Elles -ont
Example: Je + (venir in the present tense) + de + (infinitive)
= Je viens de regarder la télé (I just watched the TV)
Example: descendre → descendr (future stem)= Nous
descendrons (We will go down)

There are also irregular stems in the future that must be 3. Imperative
remembered. Common ones include:
Used to give orders and requests, provide
Infinitive Meaning Irregular Stem recommendations and advice and prohibit actions
Être To be ser- Only exists in tu, nous & vous forms
Avoir To have aur- Informal singular: tu form of the present tense.
(For –er verbs, take off the –s.)
Aller To go ir-
Formal singular or Informal plural: vous form of the
Faire To do; To make fer- present tense.
Savoir To know saur- First person plural: nous form of present tense (e.g. let’s
Vouloir To want voudr- go)
Pouvoir To be able to (can) pourr-
Example:
Voir; Envoyer To see; To send verr- ; enverr- Parle ! (Talk!)
Recevoir; Décevoir; Parlons ! (Let’s talk!)
To receive; To
Devoir; (and other recevr- ; décevr- Parlez ! (Talk!)
dissapoint; To have
verbs that end in - ; devr
to (must) Common irregular verbs in the imperative
evoir)
Mourir To die mourr-
Infinitive Tu Nous Vous
Venir; Tenir (and
Aller Va Allons Allez
other verbs that end To come; To hold viendr- ; tiendr-
in -enir) Avoir Aie Ayons Ayez
Être Sois Soyons Soyez
Savoir Sache Sachons Sachez
2.6. Past Perfect Tense
Vouloir Veuille Veuillons Veuillez
Used to refer to an action in the past before a time in the
past
which is already referred to 3.1. Forming the imperative with reflexive verbs

Formation: Follows the same formation rule as the normal verbs

Subject + Imperfect tense (avoir or être) + Past participle Disjunctive pronouns toi, nous and vous are added at the
end and joined with a hyphen

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Informal singular: add toi

First person plural: add nous 5. Present Participle
Formal singular or Informal plural: add vous
Used to express the -ing form of the verb
Example: Used to express an action that is happening
Réveille-toi ! (Wake up!) simultaneously with another action
Réveillons-nous ! (Let’s wake up!) Never takes subject (je, tu, il…)
Réveillez-vous ! (Wake up!)
Formation:
3.2. Negating the imperative En + V erb in nous f orm ( without − ons) + (−ant)
Formation: Example:
manger → mangeons →mange
Ne + Verb in the imperative  + 2nd part of the negative = En mangeant (while eating)
Example: Je regarde la télé en mangeant du gâteau (I'm watching the
Ne parle pas ! (Don’t talk !) TV while eating cake)
Ne parlons pas ! (Let’s not talk!)
Note: Do not confuse with present tense. Present tense
Ne parlez pas ! (Don’t talk!)
can also be
translated like this:
Je parle → I am talking.

When negating the imperative with reflexive verbs, the

reflexive pronouns te, nous and vous replace toi, nous
and vous
The reflexive pronouns are placed in between the Ne and
6. Negative
the verb in the imperative
Informal singular: add te Ne… pas is the most common negative. It means ‘not’.
First person plural: add nous Most negatives form a sandwich around the main verb.
Formal singular or Informal plural: add vous Example:
Vous ne mangez pas de viande (You do not eat
meat).
Example: Remember: ne becomes n’ before a vowel or silent h
Ne t'inquiète pas ! (Don’t worry!)
Ne nous inquiétons pas ! (Let’s not worry!) MORE NEGATIVES…
Ne vous inquiétez pas ! (Don’t worry!) Negatives Meaning Examples
Not anymore, no Je ne travaille plus
Note: te contracts to t’ when there is a vowel or a silent h Ne…plus

longer (I don’t work anymore).

after it.
Je ne vois rien
Ne…rien Nothing, anything

(I can’t see anything).

4. Impersonal Verbs Je ne vais jamais à la
piscine
Ne…jamais Never
They cannot be used with other subject pronouns except (I never go to
the
il, not even elle or on swimming pool).
Here are some verbs that are used with weather: Je ne connais personne à
Ne… Paris
Nobody, anybody

Infinitives Sentences Translation personne (I don’t know anyone in

Pleuvoir Il pleut It is raining Paris).
Neiger Il neige It is snowing Je ne regarde que des
Ne…que Only films
Geler Il gèle It is freezing
(I only watch
films).
Tonner Il tonne It is thundering
Je ne vais ni au cinéma ni
Faire Il fait mauvais The weather is bad au théâtre
Ne…ni…ni Neither…nor (I neither go to
the
Note: The verb faire is usually used to describe weather, cinema nor to the
even
though it means ‘to do’ theatre).
Example: Il fait chaud. (It (the weather) is hot)
Ne… Je n'ai aucune idée
Other common expressions include: No
aucun(e) (I have no idea).

Il y a … (There is/are)
Ex. Il y a des serpents ! (There are snakes!) Je ne vais nulle part
Ne…nulle
Il faut … (You/We/One must/should) Nowhere, anywhere (I am not going

part
Ex. Il faut protéger l’environnement. (We must
anywhere).
protect the environment.)

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Note: Ne…aucun(e) agrees to the gender of the noun, but All nouns have either a masculine or a feminine gender.
not the quantity The articles, verbs, adjectives and pronouns agree with
the noun in gender and number

7. Infinitives With Prepositions 8.2. Plural Noun Formation

The following verbs require à/de before them at all times: Generally, plural nouns are formed by adding -s at the
end of words
Verbs requiring à Verbs requiring de
Ex. le chat → les chats
S’attendre (S’)arrêter Most singular nouns that end with -eau, -eu, -au become
S’amuser Décider plural by adding -x
Apprendre Essayer Ex. le tableau → les tableaux (painting)
Commencer S’occuper Ex. le cheveu → les cheveux (hair)
Ex. le noyau → les noyaux (pit of a fruit)
Consister Se souvenir
Common exceptions for the rule include: pneu (tire)
Continuer S’approcher and bleu (blue)
Encourager Promettre Most singular nouns that end with -ou become plural by
S’intéresser Refuser adding -s
Réussir Regretter Ex. le sou → les sous (penny; not to be confused with
Servir Rêver sous meaning under)
Other common singular nouns like: bijou (jewelry),
chou (cabbage), genou (knee) and hibou (owl) become
Example:
plural by adding -x
Il commence à comprendre. (He is beginning to
understand.)
All singular nouns that end with -s, -x and -z do not
Some infinitives can have à, de or nothing and have change when becoming plural
different meanings Ex. le cas → les cas (case)
Ex. le prix → les prix (price)
Example: Ex. le gaz → les gaz (gas)
Tu viens à parler de la fête (You end up talking about the Most singular nouns that end with -al become plural by
party) changing into -aux
Tu viens de parler de la fête (You just talked about the party) Ex. l’animal → les animaux (animal)
Tu viens parler de la fête (You come to talk about the party) Other common singular nouns like: carnaval (carnival)
and festival (festival) become plural by adding -s
7.2. Manquer à Some singular nouns that end with -ail become plural by
adding -s and some change into -aux
Common examples that add -s include: chandail
Is a regular -er verb meaning to miss
(sweater), détail (detail) and portail (doorway)
Has a special property when used with the preposition à
Common examples that change into -aux include:
The subject and the object inverts their position in the
travail (work)
sentence
Formed by placing what you or someone misses as the
subject of the sentence followed by the subject as the
Distinct Plurals
indirect object
There are some nouns that have no rules and have
Examples: distinct difference between singular and plural versions
Common examples include:
Tu me manques. (I miss you.) Un œil → Des yeux (eye)
The translation You miss me for this example is Monsieur → Messieurs
incorrect Madame → Mesdames
Je te manque. (You miss me.) Mademoiselle → Mesdemoiselles
The translation I miss you for this example is incorrect
Paris me manque. (I miss Paris.)
Vous allez nous manquer. (We are going to miss you.) 9. Adjectives and Adverbs
Antoine manque à Dominique. (Dominique misses
Antoine.)
9.1. Adjective Agreement

8. Nouns Adjectives must agree in number and gender with the

noun that they describe.
To make an adjective feminine singular → add -e
8.1. Gender To make an adjective masculine plural → add -s
To make an adjective feminine plural → add -es

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These rules apply to regular adjectives Meilleur (better) is the comparative form of bon(ne)
Adjectives that end with -s or -x do not change their form Ex. Ce plat est bon→ Ce plat est meilleur que le tiens.
in the masculine singular and plural (This dish is better than yours)
Adjectives that end with -eux or -eur Pire (worse) is the comparative form of mauvais
Change to -euse in the feminine singular Ex. Ce plat est mauvais → Ce plat est pire que le tiens.
Change to -euses in the feminine plural (This dish is worse than yours)
However, there are exceptions where
An additional e is added 9.3. Superlative
Ex. supérieur, inférieur, intérieur, extérieur etc.
It changes to -rice
Formation of superlatives:
Ex. directeur, acteur, etc.
Adjectives that end with -eau add -x in the masculine Le/La/Les  + noun  + Le/La/Les  + plus/moins  + adjec
plural
Adjectives that end with -al or
Change to -aux in the masculine plural
However, there are exceptions where it changes to Le/La/Les  + plus/moins  + adjective  + noun
-als
Note: They are not interchangeable
Ex. fatal, final, glacial, etc.
Adjective placement determines which superlative form
Adjectives that end with -er change to -ère in the feminine
to use
singular
If the adjective comes after the noun, the first one
Adjectives that end with -et change to -ète in the feminine
should be used
singular
Ex. La question la plus difficile (The most difficult
Adjectives that end with -f change to -ve in the feminine
question)
singular
If the adjective comes before the noun, the second
Adjectives that end with consonants -n, -l or -t change
one should be used
into the feminine singular by
Ex. Le moins petit parc (The smallest park)
Doubling up the consonant
When describing something using a superlative the
Adding an additional e
following formation must be followed:
Certain adjectives their ends change to -l when the noun
it precedes starts with a vowel or a silent Le  + plus/moins  + adjective
Common adjectives include:
Example:
Adjectives New Form Example Mon père conduit le plus vite. (My father drives the fastest)
Beau Bel Un bel arbre Elle parle le moins vite. (She speaks the least fast)
Fou Fol Un fol été Cette maison est la plus grande. (This house is the biggest)
Nouveau Nouvel Un nouvel ami
Note: Le is always with adverbs no matter what
Vieux Vieil Un vieil homme Le meilleur (the best); Le pire (the worst); Le moindre (the
least)
9.2. Comparative
9.4. Quantifiers
plus (que) = more (than).
Ex. Je mange plus lentement que toi. (I eat more Beaucoup de A lot of, many
slowly than you) Moins de Less
moins (que) = less (than).
Plus de More
Ex. Il parle moins vite que moi. (He speaks less quickly
than me) Trop de Too much, too many
aussi (que) = as (as). Assez de Enough
Ex. Elle chante aussi bien que moi. (She sings as well Bien Well/ a lot
as me) Comme As/ like
An adjective or an adverb must come after plus, moins or
Fort Large
aussi.
Peu/ un peu Not much/ little
Mieux, Meilleur, Pire and Plus mal Si If
Tellement So much
Mieux (better) is the comparative form of bien Tout The whole/the entire
Ex. Il joue bien → Il joue mieux que toi. (He plays
Très Very
better than you)
Plus mal (worse) is the comparative form of mal Trop Too much/ very
Ex. Il joue mal → Il joue plus mal que toi. (He plays
worse than you)

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9.5. Interrogative Adjectives Tard Late

Longtemps (for) a long time
They are used to ask for more detail than just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ Brièvement Briefly
They agree with the noun in gender and number Autrefois In the past
They mean ‘which’ or ‘what’ Actuellement At present
Quel Masculine singular La veille The day before
Quels Masculine plural Le lendemain The next day
Quelle Feminine singular Déjà Already
Quelles Feminine plural Pas encore Not yet

9.6. Possessive Adjectives 9.9. Common adverbial phrases

These come before the noun and agree with that noun Dans l’avenir/la passé In the future/past
Remember: mon, ton and son are used before a feminine En ce moment In a moment
word
starting with a vowel or silent h. En avance Early
English Masculine Feminine Plural En retard Late
my Mon Ma Mes À l’heure On time
your (singular, informal) Ton Ta Tes En face Across the way/ in front of
his, her, its Son Sa Ses Sans doute Without doubt/Undoubtedly
our Notre Notre Nos
your (plural, formal) Votre Votre Vos 9.10. Adjective Placement
their Leur Leur Leurs
Most of adjectives come after the noun
Ex. La maison blanche (The white house)
9.7. Indefinite Adjectives However, adjectives can also come before the noun
BAGS (Beauty, Age, Good and bad and Size) ← acronym
Indefinites always come before a noun and agree with to remember
the noun in
both number and gender. Common adjectives that come after the noun include:

Chaque Each/every (only in singular form) Adjective Meaning

Chacun Each one Grand(e) Big/Tall
Quelque Some/Any (in questions) Bon(ne) Good
Même The same thing Jeune Young
N’importe quel Any Petit(e) Small
Pareil The same Mauvais(e) Bad
Plusieurs Several Vieux/Vieille Old
Tel Such Meilleur(e) Best
Beau/Belle Beautiful/Handsome
9.8. Adverbs of place and time Faux/Fausse False/Fake
Gros(se) Large/Fat
These are some of the many adverbs of place and time Haut(e) High/Tall
used to
describe when an action is taking place
Bas(se) Low
Tard Late Joli(e) Pretty
Tôt Early Même Same
Dans un moment In a while Nouveau/Nouvelle New
Aussitôt Immediately
Finalement Finally Meaning-Dependent Placement
Tout de suite Straight away
Some adjectives can be placed before or after the noun
Toujours Always The meaning changes whether the adjective is placed
Jamais Never before or after the noun
Souvent Often
Example: propre (own or clean)
Rarement Rarely
Ma propre chambre (My own bedroom)

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Ma chambre propre (My clean bedroom) Ex. positif → positive + ment → positivement
(positively)
Common adjectives of this type include: Adjectives that end with é, -i and -u become adverbs by
adding -ment to their masculine singular form.
Meaning after a Ex. aisé + ment → aisément (comfortably)
Adjectives Meaning before a noun
noun Ex. poli + ment → poliment (politely)
Propre Own Clean Ex. résolu + ment → résolument (firmly)
Cher Dear Expensive When the masculine singular adjective ends in –ent,
Ancien Former Old remove the –ent and add –emment.
Ex. récent → réc + -emment → récemment
Dernier Last (of something) Last (recent event)
When the masculine singular adjective ends in -ant,
Next (when it happens Next (upcoming
Prochain remove the -ant and add -amment.
again) event)
Ex. étonnant → étonn + -amment → étonnamment
Même Same Very (surprisingly)
Vrai Real True Some adjectives in their feminine singular forms need to
change from -e to and -é in order to become adverbs
Ex. profond → profonde → profondé →
9.11. Irregular Adjectives profondément

Some adjectives have no proper rule that describes the

noun to which it agrees 9.14. Adverb Placement
Found in a lot adjectives that describe nationality
Common irregular adjectives include: Adverbs can be placed in front or behind the sentence
Ex. Hier, j’ai rencontré un homme. (Yesterday, I met a
Adjectives (Masculine man).
Adjecives (Feminine Singular)
Singular) Ex. J’ai rencontré un homme hier. (I met a man
Beau Belle yesterday).
Vieux Vieille Adverbs can also be placed in the middle of the sentence
Ex. Il parle aisément de la fête. (He comfortably
Fou Folle
speaks about the party.)
Nouveau Nouvelle Note: Adverbs cannot be placed in between the
Gros Grosse subject and conjugated verb
Faux Fausse Note: Adverbs of time (not to be confused with
Sec Sèche adverbs of frequency) are not usually placed in the
middle of the sentence
Public Publique
When a composed tense (Ex. passé composé) is used, the
Frais Fraîche adverb is placed in between the auxiliary verb and the
Favori Favorite past participle.
Blanc Blanche Ex. Elle a bien écrit la lettre. (She wrote the letter well.)
Doux Douce Generally, adverbs used in a negative sentence go after
the 2nd part of the negation
Ex. Il ne mange pas vite. (He doesn’t eat quickly.)
9.12. Compound Adjectives Some adverbs must always go before the 2nd part of the
negation notably including:
Adjectives can exist as multiple words called compound Peut-être (Maybe)
adjectives Même (Even)
Most compound adjectives are invariable meaning they Probablement (Probably)
do not agree in number and gender Généralement (Generally)
Certainement (Certainly)
Example: Les jupes bleu foncé (The dark blue skirts) Sans doute (With a doubt)
However, some compound adjectives can still agree in Some adverbs can also go both before or after the 2nd
number and gender found in: part of the negation, but its meaning changes notably
Dual nationalities including:
Fixed expressions Vraiment
Ex. Je ne lui ai pas vraiment parlé. (I didn’t talk to
him/her really.)
9.13. Adverb Formation Ex. Je ne lui ai vraiment pas parlé. (I didn’t really
talk to him/her)
Adverbs are formed by adding –ment to the feminine Toujours
singular form of the adjective. Ex. Je n’ai pas toujours compris ça. (I didn’t
understand it always.)

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Ex. Je n’ai toujours pas compris ça. (I still didn’t Du Masculine singular
undestand it.) De la Feminine singular
De l’ Singular word beginning with vowel
9.15. Tout as an Adjective Des Plural

Simply means all, whole or every

Agrees in the number and gender 11. Interrogatives
Placed before the noun and article

Example: Tous les lycées (All the highschools) Common words to start a question:
Singular Plural
Qui Who
Masculine Tout Tous
Que/ Qu’est-ce que What
Feminine Toute Toutes
Quand When
Où Where
10. Articles Pourquoi Why
Comment How
Combien How much/How many
10.1. Definite articles
À quelle heure? At what time?
These articles mean ‘the’ Combien de temps ? How long?/How much time?
They appear before the noun Lequel Which one?
Example: la femme → the woman
To ask - Demander; To ask a question - Poser une
Le Masculine singular question
La Feminine singular You cannot say Demander une question as it is incorrect
Les Plural
L’ Singular starting with vowel or h 11.2. Close-ended questions
Close-ended questions are questions whose answers are
10.2. Indefinite articles limited (Yes or No)

These articles mean ‘some’ or ‘a’ Inversion

They come before the noun
Note: after negative verb forms, un, une and des change Used in very formal situations
to
de A question is formed when the subject pronoun and the
conjugated switch places and are joined with a hyphen
Un Masculine singular
Une Feminine singular Example:
Des Plural Joues-tu au foot ? (Do you play football?)
Sont-elles heureuses ? (Are they happy?)
Écoutez-vous de la musique ? (Do you listen to music?)
10.3. Au, à la, à l’, aux
Note: You cannot invert any nouns — instead use the 2nd
These mean ‘to the’ or ‘at the’ person singular subject pronoun according to the gender
of the (noun and invert it with the conjugated verb
Au Masculine singular
Example:
À la Feminine singular
Antoine est-il toujours là ? (Is Antoine still here?)
Aux Plural
À l’ Singular starting with vowel or h Using Est-ce que

Example: au cinema (to/at the cinema) Used in friendly/neutral situations

à la gare (to/at the station)
A question is formed when Est-ce que is placed at the

à l’hôpital (to/at the hospital) beginning of a normal sentence

aux magasins (to/at the shops)

Example:
Est-ce que tu joues au foot ?
10.4. Partitive articles Est-ce qu’elles sont heureuses ?
Est-ce que vous écoutez de la musique ?
These articles mean ‘some’ or ‘any’.

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Informal Cette Feminine singular

Ces Plural
Used in rather informal situations
A question is formed by placing a question mark at the Cet Before a vowel/silent h
end of a normal sentence
When spoken, the pitch of the last word of the sentence 12.2. celui, celle, ceux, –ci, -là
must be raised to sound like a question
Celui and celle are used to specify one particular thing
Example:
from a
group.
Tu joues au foot ?
Elles sont heureuses ?
Celui Masculine singular
Vous écoutez de la musique ?
Celle Feminine singular
Ceux Plural
11.3. Open-ended questions
*
Open-ended questions are questions whose answers are
not limited to a fixed response. Forms ending in –ci indicate something that’s close to the
They can be formed by adding the question words speaker
(here/this)
mentioned: Example: celui-ci →
this one
In front of inverted questions Forms ending in –là indicate something that’s farther
Ex. Que fais-tu ? (What are you doing?) away from the
speaker (there/that)
In front of questions using est-ce que Example: celui-là → that one

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ? (What are you doing?)

Note: Que becomes Qu’ when it is met with a
vowel or y. 13. Pronouns
They can also be formed by adding the question words
after a sentence
13.1. Subject Pronouns
Example:
Tu vas où ? (Where are you going?) Person Pronoun Meaning

Note: Que at the end of the sentence changes to Quoi 1st Je I

2nd Tu You (singular informal)

Example:
Tu fais quoi ? (What are you doing?) — Tu fais que is incorrect 3rd Il/Elle/On He/She/One

1st Nous We
11.4. Euphonic Inversion 2nd Vous You (plural and singular formal)

Inversions can result two vowels being next to each other 3rd Ils/Elles They
The letter t is added for euphony both in the written and
spoken language All verbs are conjugated with these pronouns
Applies to only the subject pronouns il, elle and on It is required to use subject pronouns all the time
Ils is used to describe a group of males and a group of
Example: males and females.
il parle → parle-t-il (parle-il is wrong) Elles is used to describe a group of females only.
elle a → a-t-il (a-il is wrong)
on arrive → arrive-t-on (arrive-on is wrong)
13.2. Object Pronouns
Note: This does not apply to conjugated verbs that end
with consonants Direct Object Pronouns

These replace a noun in a phrase.

12. Demonstratives They agree with the noun in gender and number
They are placed before the verb
Example: Je le mange. (I am eating it)
12.1. Ce, cette, ces
Person Singular Plural
These demonstratives mean ‘this’ and ‘these’.
They come before a noun and agree with it in number 1st Me Nous
and gender. 2nd Te Vous

3rd Le/La Les

Ce Masculine singular

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Indirect Object Pronouns It replaces words of quantity and words including and
what comes after de.
These replace the names of people that come after the It comes before all parts of the verbs except the
preposition à. imperative
They agree with the noun in gender and number. Example: Tu veux du fromage ? Oui, j’en veux bien. (Do
They go before the verb. you want some cheese? Yes, I’d like some)
Example: Il écrit à nous. → Il nous écrit. (He writes to us) Tu as combien de sœurs? J’en ai trois. (How many sisters
do you have? I have 3 (of them))
Person Singular Plural J’en ai parlé hier. (I spoke about it yesterday)
1st Me Nous Remember: Parler with de is used if we’re talking about
something. The example replaces de ça.
2nd Te Vous

3rd Lui Leur 13.6. Definite Relative Pronouns

13.3. Reflexive Pronouns Link relative clauses to main clauses so that you don’t
have to
repeat subjects and objects
Qui/Que
Person Singular Plural
Qui and que can both be used to refer to people or
1st Me Nous things.
Qui is used for the subject or indirect object, as well
2nd Te Vous
as
after a preposition.
3rd Se Se Que is used for the direct object.
Examples:
Used with reflexive infinitives J’ai un ami, qui s’appelle Théo. (I have a friend, who
Describes an action that takes place upon oneself or is
called Theo)
upon each other Le chat que j’ai vu était noir. (The cat which I saw,
These pronouns are used in reflexive verbs and come was black.)
before the main
part of the verb. Lequel
Example: Se baigner → Je me baigne (I take a bath) Means ‘which’ and is used for indirect objects.
In the perfect tense, the reflexive pronoun goes before Follows some prepositions and is only used when
the
auxiliary verb referring to
things, never about people.
Example: Se coucher → Je me suis couché (I went to bed) Must also agree with the noun’s gender and number.
In the negative, the negation surrounds the reflexive verb Example:
and
pronoun. Le livre dans lequel j’ai écrit. (The book in which I
Example: Se coucher → Je ne me couche pas tôt (I don’t wrote.)
go to bed early)
When an object (especially a human body part) is used Singular Plural
with a reflexive, it does not express possession. Instead it Masculine Lequel Lesquels
uses a definite article. Feminine Laquelle Lesquelles
Example: Se brosser les dents → Je me brosse les dents. (I
brush my teeth.) Dont
Means ‘whose’, ‘of whom’ or ‘which’.
13.4. Y May be used to refer to persons or things.
It does not change its form or agree with anything.
Y means ‘there’ or ‘it’. Example:
It replaces a thing (but never a person), a place and J’ai rencontré un homme dont la femme est
words including and comes after à or a preposition policière. (I met a man whose wife is a
followed by a place policewoman.)
It comes before all parts of the verb. Où
Example: Où means ‘where’, ‘when’, or ‘that’
Il y est allé l’année dernière. (I went there last year.) Used to describe a location
Je ne m’y attendais pas. (I was not expecting that.) Used to describe an action relating to time
Remember: S’attendre has the preposition à. The Examples:
example replaces à ça La ferme où j’ai vu ta mère. (The farm where I saw
your mother.)
Le jour où nous partons. (The day that we leave) —
13.5. En
Using quand or que instead of où is incorrect
En means ‘of them’, ‘of it’, ‘about it’ or ‘some’.
13.7. Posessive Pronouns

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They agree with the possessed noun in gender and

number
They are always preceded by definite articles (le/la/les)
They replace (possessive adjective + noun)

Masc.
Fem. Sing. Masc. plural Fem. Plural
sing. Examples:
La
Mine Le mien Les miens Les miennes Achète-moi une maison ! (Buy me a house!)
mienne
Donne-le-moi ! (Give it to me!)
Yours (tu) Le tien La tienne Les tiens Les tiennes
Parle m’en ! (Talk to me about it!)
His, hers, Note: moi and toi when met with en and y become me
Le sien La sienne Les siens Les siennes
its and te and contract to m’ and t’
Ours Le nôtre La nôtre Les nôtres Les nôtres
Yours 13.9. Disjunctive/Stressed Pronouns
Le vôtre La vôtre Les vôtres Les vôtres
(vous)
Theirs Le leur La leur Les leurs Les leurs Person Singular Plural

Example: J’aime bien cette idée, mais que pensez-vous 1st Moi Nous
des
leurs ? (I really like this idea, but what do you think 2nd Toi Vous
about
theirs?)
3rd Lui, Elle, Soi Eux, Elles

13.8. Pronoun Order Note: Soi - oneself

Note: Lui as a disjunctive pronoun is not to be confused
When using object pronouns, it is important to know that with Lui as a indirect object pronoun
there is a specific order Disjunctive Pronouns have various important uses
The same type of pronouns cannot be used more than concerning:
once in the same sentence Emphasis
Two different pronouns can only be used in a single Ex. Moi, j’aime bien les fleurs. (As for me, I love
sentence flowers.)
The negation part Ne always before everything Objects of a preposition
Note: This diagram demonstrate the order only for Ex. Je suis avec toi. (I am with you.)
normal sentences excluding the affirmative imperative. Ex. Il court plus vite qu’eux. (He runs faster than
The negative imperative still follows this order. them.)
Compound subjects
Ex. Toi et moi (nous) sommes contents. (You and I
are happy.)
Ex. Elle et toi (vous) êtes contents. (You and her
are happy.)
Ex. Lui et elle (ils) sont contents. (Him and her are
happy.)
Note: The verb must be conjugated to the correct
person.
Emphatic/Intensive Pronouns
Examples: The pronoun can be used to create words like
Je le lui ai donné. (I gave it to him/her.) yourself, themselves, myself, etc.
Add même after the pronoun — joined with a
Il me les montre. (He is showing them to me.)
Ne me mens pas ! (Don’t lie to me!) hyphen
Ex. Toi-même (Yourself)
Used to further emphasise
However, It is different for the affirmative imperative Ex. Le président lui-même était là. (The
The disjunctive/stressed pronouns moi and toi are used president himself was there.)
instead of me and te. This also applies to imperative with The imperative
reflexive verbs.
13.10. Indefinite Relative Pronouns
Link relative clauses to main clauses, but do not have an
aforementioned specific object
Ce qui/Ce que

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Means ‘that’ or ‘what’ — not to be confused the

14.3. Emphatic Co-ordinating
interrogative ‘what’
Ce qui replaces the subject Conjunctions
Ce que replaces the direct object
Examples: et…et both…and
Je ne sais pas ce qui se passe. (I don’t know what is ni…ni neither…nor
happening.)
ou…ou either…or
Je fais ce que je veux. (I do what I want.)
ou bien…ou bien either…or
soit…soit either…or
13.11. Tout as a Pronoun
plus…plus the more…the more
Simply means “everything” moins…moins the less…the less
Does not agree to gender and number parfois…parfois sometimes…sometimes
It can be both subject and an object
When it is an object, its placement is always after the verb Note: plus…moins and moins…plus is also possible
— after the auxiliary verb in composed tenses

Examples: 14.4. Conjunctive Adverbs

Tout me déteste (Everything hates you)
Je déteste tout (I hate everything) Words or phrases that are used to link up paragraphs,
ideas and clauses.

14. Conjunctions Conjunctive Adverbs Meaning

(Tout) D’abord; Pour
First of all; Firstly
commencer
14.1. Co-ordinating Conjunctions
Enfin; Pour finir; Pour
In conclusion; Finally; Lastly
conclure
They connect two grammatically equivalent words or
phrases (e.g. two
phrases, two words) Et puis; Après; Ensuite Then; Next; Afterwards
Example: Jean et Pierre sont intelligents. (Jean and Pierre Par exemple For example; For instance
are intelligent) Pourtant; Cependant;
However; Yet; Nevertheless;
Néanmois; Toutefois; Par
Nonetheless
Car For, because contre
Donc So D’ailleurs Incidentally
Ensuite Next Par ailleurs; En plus; De plus;
In addition; Additionally;
Et And En outre
Mais But Au contraire On the contrary
Ni Nor On one hand…On the other
D’un côté…De l’autre côté
Ou Or hand
Ou bien Or else
,
Puis Then

14.2. Subordinating Conjunctions 15. Prepositions

They link a dependent clause with an independent clause 15.1. Prepositions of place
Example: Il a réussi parce qu’il a beaucoup travaillé. (He
succeeded because he worked a lot.)
Prepositions Meaning

Comme As, since Sur On

Puisque As, since Sous Under

Lorsque When Devant In front of

Si If Derrière Behind

Parce que Because Avec With

Pourquoi Why Dans In

Quand When En In (Abstract sense)

Chez At the home of
Près de Near

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Prepositions Meaning 15.3. Prepositions of time

Loin (de) Far (from)
À côté (de) Nearby; Next to Prepositions Meaning
Entre Between En In (months; seasons;)
Autour de Around Dans In
À gauche (de) Left; To/On the left (of) Depuis Since/For
À droite (de) Right; To/On the right (of) Pendant For/During
Au centre/milieu de In the centre/middle of Pour For (duration in the future)
Il y a Ago
Some prepositions agree with the gender and number of Avant Before
the noun.
Après After
These translate to ‘at’, ‘in’, or ‘to’ depending on
circumstances
Note: En when used to talk about seasons turns to Au
Au Masculine singular noun when the word starts with a consonant. This does not
À la Feminine singular nouns apply to months.

À l’ Singular nouns starting with vowel or h

Aux Plural nouns 15.4. Prepositions of movement
Prepositions Meaning
15.2. Prepositions for countries/cities Vers Towards
À To; At; In
In/To
De From
Preposition For Examples Par By (the way of)
Masculine Jusqu’à Until
Au Au Sénégal; Au Vietnam
countries

En
Feminine
En France; En Inde 15.5. Other prepositions
countries
Aux États-Unis; Aux Preposition Meaning
Aux Plural countries
Philippines Contre Against
À Cities À Paris, À New York Malgré Despite
Sans Without
Note: Regardless of the country’s gender if the country
Sauf Except
starts with a vowel or a silent h, En is always used.
Selon According to
Example: L’Iran (Masculine) → En Iran Sur/À propos de About
Grâce à Thanks to/Because of
From
À cause de Due to/Because of

Preposition For Examples En plus/De plus On top of that

Du Masculine countries Du Mexique Au sein de Within

Feminine countries; Parmi Among

De/D’ De Russie; D’Allemagne Au lieu de Instead of
cities
Des États-Unis; Des Pour In order to
Des Plural countries
Philippines
Note: Grâce à has more positive connotation whereas, À
Note: Regardless of the country’s gender if the country cause de has more negative connotation.
starts with a vowel or a silent h, D’ is always used.
15.6. Depuis, Pendant, Pour
Example: L’Angola (Masculine) → D’Angola

Note: A small group of cities have articles where it agrees Depuis

with the rules for countries notably including:
Le Caire (Cairo — The capital city of Egypt)
La Paz (The capital city of Bolivia)
Used mainly in the present, present perfect and
imperfect tense in French
Describes a duration of an action that started in the past
and is still ongoing in the present

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Examples: Je vais nager dans 5 minutes. (I am going to swim in 5

J’apprends le français depuis 2013. (I’ve been learning French minutes.)
since 2013.) Il achètera une grande maison dans 10 ans. (He will buy a big
Il jouait au foot depuis une heure quand il a plu. (He was house in 10 years.)
playing football for an hour when it rained.)
Tu n’as pas fumé depuis 2 ans. (You haven’t smoked for two
15.8. Cardinal Directions
years.)

Note: In the first example, the present tense is used in Cardinal Direction Meaning
French, but in English it’s the present perfect. Nord North
Note: In the third example, the present perfect is used Sud South
because the action of not smoking is not completed yet.
Est East
Ouest West
Pendant

Used mainly in the past and the future tense in French Note: All cardinal directions are masculine and they can
Describes a duration of an action that: also be used as an adjective however, it does not agree in
has started and has finished gender and number.
is going to/will happen in the future To form more specific cardinal directions add Nord or
Sud then followed by Est or Ouest separated by a hyphen
Examples:
J’ai eu une réunion pendant 20 minutes. (I had a meeting for Nord + Est → Nord-Est (North East)
20 minutes.) Nord + Ouest → Nord-Ouest (North West)
Il va faire les courses pendant 2 heures. (He is going to get Sud + Est → Sud-Est (South West)
groceries for 2 hours.) Sud + Ouest → Sud-Ouest (South West)
Elles voyageront pendant 3 semaines. (They will travel for 3
weeks.)
16. Numbers, Quantity, Time
Pour
16.1. Numbers
Used mainly in the future tense
Describes a duration of an action that is going to/will Numbers 21,31,41,51,61,71 follow this pattern:
happen
21 → vingt-et-un
Numbers from 70 to 79 follow this pattern:
Examples:
75→ soixante-quinze
Il va faire les courses pour 2 heures. (He is going to get
groceries for 2 hours.) Numbers from 80 to 99 follow this pattern:
87→quatre-vingt-sept
Elles voyageront pour 3 semaines. (They will travel for 3
weeks.) 98→quatre-vingt-dix-huit
Ordinal numbers can be shorten by writing the number
and adding e at the end
15.7. En and Dans as Prepositions of Ex. 19e siècle (19th century)
Time Second(e) is only used when the list has only two
elements
Note: Premier is shortened to 1er (masculine) or 1re
En
(feminine) and Second is shortened to 2d (masculine) or
2de (feminine)
Used only in the present and past tense
Describes an action that is completed in a certain amount
Numeral Cardinal Ordinal
of time
1 Un Premier (Première)
Examples: 2 Deux Deuxième or Second(e)
Tu marches à l’école en 20 minutes. (You walk to school in 20 3 Trois Troisième
minutes.)
4 Quatre Quatrième
J’ai fait mes devoirs en une heure. (I did my homework in an
hour.) 5 Cinq Cinquième
6 Six Sixième
Dans 7 Sept Septième
8 Huit Huitième
Used only in the future tense
9 Neuf Neuvième
Describes an action that is going to/will happen
10 Dix Dixième
Examples: 11 Onze Onzième

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Numeral Cardinal Ordinal When it is the first day of the month, premier or 1er is
used instead of un or 1
12 Douze Douzième
In France they use the 24 hour clock, so 3:15pm would
13 Treize Treizième
become 15h15
or quinze heures et quart.
14 Quatorze Quatorzième Note: heures is plural only when the time is more than
15 Quinze Quinzième one
16 Seize Seizième When telling the time, use Il est always. Using C’est is
17 Dix-sept Dix-septième incorrect.
Figures will be accepted in the written examination.
18 Dix-huit Dix-huitième
Years are said as regular numbers
19 Dix-neuf Dix-neuvième Example: 2020 → Deux-mille-vingt
20 Vingt Vingtième Days of the week
21 Vingt-et-un Vingt-et-unième
22 Vingt-deux Vingt-deuxième Days Meaning

23 Vingt-trois Vingt-troisième Lundi Monday

24 Vingt-quatre Vingt-quatrième Mardi Tuesday

25 Vingt-cinq Vingt-cinquième Mercredi Wednesday

26 Vingt-six Vingt-sixième Jeudi Thursday

27 Vingt-sept Vingt-septième Vendredi Friday

28 Vingt-huit Vingt-huitième Samedi Saturday

29 Vingt-neuf Vingt-neuvième Dimanche Sunday

30 Trente Trentième
Months of the year
40 Quarante Quarantième
50 Cinquante Cinquantième Months Meaning
60 Soixante Soixantième Janvier January
70 Soixante-dix Soixante-dixième Février February
80 Quatre-vingt Quatre-vingtième Mars March
90 Quatre-vingt-dix Quatre-vingt-dixième Avril April
100 Cent Centième Mai May
1000 Mille Millième Juin June
1000000 Million Millionième Juillet July
1000000000 Milliard Milliardième Août August
Septembre September
16.2. Expressions of Quantity Octobre October
Novembre November
Beaucoup A lot Décembre December
Assez Enough
Un peu A bit 16.4. Fractions
Trop Too much
Demi Half Formed by cardinal numbers (un, deux, trois…) and then
Moitié Half followed by ordinal numbers (cinquième, sixième,
septième…)
Quart Quarter
Exceptions include:
Tellement So much demi
Tant So much tiers
quart
16.3. Dates and Times Ordinal numbers (cinquième, sixième, septième…) must
agree to the cardinal numbers (un, deux, trois…) by
Date format: adding an s
All fractions are masculine except demi
le  + day  + number  + month text(+year)
Examples:
Ex. le lundi 12 septembre 2003. (Monday, September 12th un(e) demi(e) (one half)
2003 or Monday, the 12th of September 2003) deux tiers - (two thirds)
Everything is always in lowercase unless it’s at the start of trois quarts (three fourths)
the sentence — the article is capitalised Le cinquante-deux centième (fifty-two hundredths)

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Note: There are no mixed numbers in French you are referring to

Can also be formed by using only cardinal numbers (un,
deux, trois…) or numerals, but adding sur in-between the Examples:
number Cette maison, elle est vraiment jolie. (This house is really
pretty.)
Examples: Ils sont gentils, les Français. (The French are kind.)
dix sur vingt (ten over twenty or ten out of twenty)
99 sur 100 (99 over 100 or 99 out of 100) 18.2. Idiomatic Expressions
16.5. Quantity vs. Duration Words There are many expressions that exist using a
combination of verbs and nouns together using Avoir,
There are two words that meaning to: Year, Day, Morning Faire, Prendre, etc.
and Evening divided into quantity and duration words Common expressions that use Avoir :
Quantity words deals with units of times and are always
masculine Expression Meaning
Duration words deals with the duration or a length of Avoir besoin de To need
time and are always feminine Avoir du mal à/avec (à for
To struggle
verbs/avec for nouns)
Quantity Duration Meaning
Avoir l’air (de) To appear; To look like
An Année Year
Avoir envie de To feel like
Jour Journée Day
To have the intention of; To
Matin Matinée Morning Avoir l’intention de
plan
Soir Soirée Evening Avoir l’impression de To have the impression of

Examples:
Expressions that use Faire :
J’ai vécu en France pendant cinq ans. (I lived in France for a
year.) — Emphasis on the amount of years. Expression Meaning
Elle travaille pendant la matinée. (She works in the morning.)
To be careful; To pay attention
— Emphasis on the duration of the morning. Faire attention à
to
Faire les courses To get groceries
17. Passive Voice Faire le ménage To do the housework
Faire la vaiselle To wash the dishes
Subject + Conjugated e^tre + Past Participle Faire la cuisine (or cuisiner) To cook
Faire du vélo To bike
Participle has to agree with subject of passive verb
Not often used in French, you are only required to Faire du sport To play sports
understand it.
Expressions that use Prendre :

18. Constructions and Expression Meaning

Prendre du poids To gain weight
Expressions Prendre au sérieux To take (sb) seriously
Prendre soin de To take care of
18.1. Il est vs. C’est Prendre une décision To make a decision
Prendre une photo To take a photo
Il est alongside Elle, Ils and Elles are used with only
adjectives, not with nouns
C’est is used with nouns as well as adjectives
18.3. Si Clauses
Note: Adjectives are always masculine when C’est is used
Equivalent to if-then sentences in English
no matter what
Describes conditions to be met in order for results to
Examples: occur
C’est un chanteur. (He’s a singer.)
Il est chanteur. (He’s a singer.) Condition Result
Possibility Examples
clause clause
Note: All occupations do not use articles when Il est is
used — it acts like an adjective.
Il, Elle, Ils and Elles can also describe nouns, but the noun
must be mentioned before or after to make it clear what

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Condition Result Note: For the last point in French, both clauses must be in
Possibility Examples the future whereas in English, it’s the present and the
clause clause
S’il pleut, je ne sors future respectively.
pas. ou Je ne sors pas
Likely Present Present
s’il pleut. 18.5. Continuous Structure

go
(If it rains, I don’t
out. or I don’t go out if A structure exists that can express and emphasizes
it rains.) continuity in different tenses, notably the present and
S’il pleut, je ne sortirai imperfect tenses.
pas. ou Je ne sortirai
pas s’il pleut. Formation:
Likely Present Future
go
(If it’s raining, I won’t
out. or I won’t go out if
Subject  + Être en train de + Infinitive
it’s raining.) Examples:
S’il pleut, ne sortez pas. Je suis en train de manger une pomme. (I’m in the process of
ou Ne sortez pas, s’il eating an apple. or I’m eating an apple.)
pleut. Elle était en train de jouer au basket. (She was in the process
Likely Present Imperative
(If it’s raining,
then of playing basketball. or She was playing basketball.)
don’t go out. or Don’t
go out if it’s raining)
18.6. Savoir vs. Connaître
S’il pleuvait, je ne
sortirais pas. ou Je ne Both simply mean “to know” but have very distincts uses
sortirais pas s’il Savoir is most of the time followed by an infinitive and a
pleuvait. subordinating clause
Unlikely Imperfect Conditional
I
(If it was raining, When Savoir is followed by an infinitive, it means “to
wouldn’t go out. or I know how to”
wouldn’t go out if it Ex. Je sais parler français. (I know how to speak
was raining.) French.
When Savoir is followed by a subordination clause, it
18.4. Quand clauses express a knowledge of an action or a fact
Ex. Il sait que tu y es allé hier. (He knows that you
Equivalent to using when in English went there yesterday.)
Express an event that is taking place in the past, present Connaître must always be followed a direct object (object,
and future person, place etc.)
Ex. Je connais Louis. (I know Louis.)
Quand Ex. Il connait bien le français. (He knows French well.)
Result clause Examples
clause
Quand je danse, je me 18.7. Avoir besoin de vs. Devoir
sens heureux. ou Je me
sens heureux quand je Avoir besoin de is used to describe a need or necessity or
Present Present danse. a necessity to live/exist
(When I dance,
I feel Devoir is used to describe an obligation
happy. or I feel happy Note: Nouns can be used with Avoir besoin de when it is
when I dance) needed (Ex. an ingredient in a recipe)
Quand il a plu, je me
promenais. ou Je me Examples:
promenais quand il a Je dois travailler. (I have to work.) I have to work because I’m
Present Perfect (Passé obliged to
Imperfect plu.
Composé)
I was J’ai besoin de travailler. (I need to work.) I need to work
(When it rained,
walking. or I was because I’ll die if I don’t
walking when it rained.)
Quand je serai riche, j’y 18.8. Saying “Thank you for…”
irai. ou J’y irai quand je
serai riche. There are two ways to say “Thank you for…”
Future Future
(When I am rich,
I will Saying Merci pour…
go there. or I will go to Saying Merci de…
there when I am rich.) To thank someone for a noun, use Merci pour…

Examples:

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Merci pour le dîner. (Thank you for the dinner.) Expression Meaning
Merci bien pour ton aide ! (Thank you for your help.) Avoir faim To be hungry
To thank someone for an action, use Merci de…, but the Avoir soif To be thirsty
past infinitive must be used Avoir sommeil To be sleepy
Avoir peur (de) To be scared (of)
Examples:
Avoir honte (de) To be ashamed (of)
Merci d’avoir lu la lettre. (Thank you for reading the letter.)
Merci bien d’être venu ! (Thank you for coming!) Avoir mal (à) To be hurt (To hurt a body part)
Avoir chaud To be warm
If the regular infinitive is used, it may mean to ask
Avoir froid To be cold
someone to do something.
Avoir raison To be right (correct)
Examples: Avoir tort To be wrong
Merci d’accueillir Jodie. (Please welcome Jodie.) Avoir de la chance To be lucky
Merci de ne pas fumer. (Please do not smoke)

Note: Bien can be added after Merci for emphasis Age

The expression “avoir (number) ans” is used to say the

18.9. Sensational Expressions age of someone or something
Note: Être cannot be used in place of Avoir
Avoir is used to describe sensations as well as other Example: J’ai 21 ans. (I am 21 years old.)
feelings
Note: Être cannot be used in place of Avoir in the
following expressions

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Copyright 2021 by ZNotes

These notes have been created by Asmi Kawatakar for the 2020 syllabus
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