Unforgettable French Memory Tricks To Help You Lea... - (PG 36 - 70)

Les jours et les mois Days and months
Les jours de la semaine The first letter of the days and the months is not
capitalized because there are many Mondays etc
(The days of the week) and many Januarys etc in a lifetime.
lundi mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi

(Monday) (Tuesday) (Wednesday) (Thursday) (Friday)
lundi - from the mardi - from the mercredi - from the jeudi – from the planet vendredi – from
French word “lune” planet “Mars” (Mars) planet “Mercure” “Jupiter” (Jupiter) the planet “Vénus”
(moon) (Mercury) (Venus)
samedi samedi starts like

Saturday dimanche On dimanche you
diminish your work
(Saturday) (Sunday)
To remember “la semaine” (the

When you put “le” in front of “lundi” it means week = 7 days), think of “se”
“every Monday” or “on Mondays.” We say from “sept” (seven) and “maine” –
pronounced like “men” – and men work
“le” because it is short for “le jour”: “le during the week.
lundi”, “le mardi”, etc.
The French and English

months have many
letters in common.
Les mois de l’année
(The months of the year)
janvier février mars

(January) (February) (March)
avril mai juin

Copyright © 2010. Andrews UK Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Note: very similar

pronunciation.
(April) (May) (June)
juillet août septembre

(July) (August) (September)
octobre novembre décembre

(October) (November) (December)
en janvier en février
(in January) (in February)
Rice-Jones, Maria. Unforgettable French : Memory Tricks to Help You Learn and Remember French Grammar, Andrews UK Ltd., 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,
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Les dates et les saisons Dates and seasons
Les dates
It is simple to say dates in French because for the first of each month we say “le
premier” and for all the other days we just say the numbers from 2 to 31:
Le Nouvel An est La Fête Nationale est

le premier janvier. le quatorze juillet.
(New Year’s Day is on the 1st of January.) (The “Fête Nationale” is on the 14th of July.)
Halloween est le trente et un octobre. Noël est le vingt-cinq décembre.

(Halloween is on the 31st of October.) (Christmas is on the 25th of December.)
Les saisons
le printemps l’été “En été”
(spring) (summer)
you eat
au printemps = in spring Printemps en été = in summer
outside.
has letters in
common with
spring.
l’automne l’hiver “En

(autumn) (winter) hiver”
en automne = in autumn “Automne” en hiver = in winter you shiver.
has letters in
common with
“autumn”.
We say “en” before “été”, “automne” and “hiver” because the “n” in “en” makes
the pronunciation easier before a vowel or an “h”. On the other hand, we say “au
Rice-Jones,printemps” because
Maria. Unforgettable French “printemps”
: Memory Tricks starts
to Help You Learn and Rememberwith a consonant.
French Grammar, Andrews UK Ltd., 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,
36 This page may be photocopied for use by the purchasing institution only. Unforgettable French
To speak, to like/love,
Parler, aimer, habiter to live
parl / er to speak The “nt” in “ils

je parl e I speak parlent” reminds us of “nt”
in “ils ont”.
tu parl es you speak
il/elle parl e he/she speaks
nous parl ons we speak The letters “ons” at
vous parl ez you speak the end of “nous parlons” are
found in “nous”.
ils/elles parl ent they speak
These are all

“Tu parles” has The “z” in “vous parlez”
pronounced the same way:
an “s” because “s” is reminds us of the sound the “s” makes in
(je) parle (tu) parles
close to “t” and “u” “vous avez” (you have).
(il) parle (ils) parlent
in the alphabet.
We use “j’” in
“j’aime”, instead
of “je”, because
aim / er to like/love “aimer” starts with
j’ aim e I like/love a vowel.
tu aim es you like/love
il/elle aim e he/she likes/loves
nous aim ons we like/love
vous aim ez you like/love
ils/elles aim ent they like/love
habit / er to live
j’ habite I live
tu habites you live
We use “j’” in
il/elle habite he/she lives “j’habite” instead
nous habitons we live of “je” because the
vous habitez you live “h” in “habiter” is
silent.
ils/elles habitent they live
Les verbes en “er” (1) Verbs ending in “er” (1)
Some more useful verbs ending in “er”

The following verbs conjugate in the same way as “parler”, “aimer” or
“habiter”: e, es, e, ons, ez, ent.
accompagner aider
(to take someone somewhere) (to help)
Accompagner: when someone takes you

somewhere, he/she offers you his/her Aider: when someone helps you, he/
company. she brings some aid.
apporter attraper
(to bring) (to catch)
Apporter: in a hotel, a porter brings Attraper: when you want to catch an

your luggage. animal, you trap it.
bouger cacher
(to move) (to hide)
Bouger: to “boogie” means to dance

and when you dance you move a lot. Cacher: you must hide your cash.
enseigner envoyer
(to teach) (to send)
Enseigner: imagine a teacher doing Envoyer: when you send a letter, you
signs to help explain what he/she is put it in an envelope which goes on a
teaching. voyage.
essayer étudier
(to try) (to study)
The French and English étudier

Essayer: you try your best when you words have three letters in study
write an essay. common:
Les verbes en “er” (2) Verbs ending in “er” (2)
Some more useful verbs ending in “er”

The following verbs conjugate in the same way as “parler”, “aimer” or
“habiter”: e, es, e, ons, ez, ent.
garder donner
(to keep) (to give)
Garder: at Buckingham Palace, the

guards keep the Palace safe. Donner: we give donations to charities.
jouer oublier
(to play) (to forget)
Oublier: remember the English

expression, “to fall into oblivion” and
Jouer: it is a joy to play. the adjective “oblivious”.
partager penser
(to share) (to think)
In the English word “think” there is

“ink”, but in the French word “penser”
Partager: when you share with there is “pen”. Also think of the English word
someone else, you each have a part. “pensive”.
rêver sauter
(to dream) (to jump)
Rêver: when you dream you have Sauter: sauté potatoes are cooked in a
revelations. pan where the hot oil makes them jump.
tomber trouver
(to fall) (to find)
Tomber: remember not to fall into a Trouver: it would be nice to find a

tomb. treasure trove.
Verbs ending
Hexagonie story: Verbes en “er” in “er”
Read this story about the imaginary land of Hexagonie, told by the great traveller,
Voyager, about his encounter with Madame Parler.
The verbs’ outfits

The verbs are Hexagonie’s busiest inhabitants by far and, if it wasn’t for all their
hard work, nothing would ever get done. Many verbs ended in “er” like me,
Voyager.
It was amazing to see how active the verbs were. What surprised me most was
how often they changed the outfits they wore. Each time an “er” verb was next
to a different subject, such as “je”, “tu”, “il”, “elle”, “nous”, “vous”, “ils” and
“elles”, it changed outfit – always making sure that it was perfectly suited to the
occasion.
One of the “er” verbs I liked the best was called Madame Parler (to speak). She
was very chatty and only too happy to show me all her different outfits.
When seen with a single subject such as “je”,

“il” and “elle”, Madame Parler told me that she
would choose a simple outfit. She just took off
her final “r” and ended with an “e” (je parle, il
parle, elle parle). However, with “tu” she liked
to add a special letter, because “tu” was a close
friend. She chose the letter “s” as it was close to
“t” and “u” in the alphabet (tu parles).
When seen with plural subjects such as

“nous”, “vous”, “ils” and “elles”, Madame
Parler liked to wear more sophisticated
outfits. With “nous” (nous parlons) she

chose to wear the outfit “ons” as it had
letters in common with “nous”. With
“vous” (vous parlez), Madame Parler
wore the letter “z” which reminded her of
the “z” sound Queen Avoir made when
she pronounced the “vous” in “vous
avez”. And finally, with “ils” and “elles” she wore the outfit “nt” (ils/elles
parlent), which is similar to the one King Être wears with “ils” and “elles” in
“ils/elles sont” and Queen Avoir wears with “ils” and “elles” in “ils/elles ont.”
Now I have heard that some people find these verbs tiring with all their changes
of outfit – but not me. I just admire their great sense of fashion!
Quelques ordres (1) Useful commands (1)
Assieds-toi! Asseyez-vous!
(Sit down!) (Sit down!)
Assieds-toi: in the French

command (to one person) there
are the same letters as in “sit”.
Lève-toi! Levez-vous!
(Stand up!) (Stand up!)
Lève-toi/levez-vous: the French

commands remind us of an
“elevator”, which goes up.
Écoute! Écoutez!
(Listen!) (Listen!)
Écoute/écoutez: the French

commands remind us of the word

“echo”.
Dessine! Dessinez!
(Draw!) (Draw!)
Dessine/dessinez: the French

commands remind us of the word
“design”.
Quelques ordres (2) Useful commands (2)
Répète! Répétez!
(Repeat!) (Repeat!) Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Bonjour!
Répète/répétez: the French

commands look similar to the
English word “repeat”.
Entre! Entrez!
(Enter!/Come in!) (Enter!/Come in!)
Entre/entrez: the French

commands look similar to the
English word “enter”.
Retourne à ta place! Silence!

(Return to your place!) (Silence!)
Retourne à ta place: the French Silence: the French command

command reminds us of the words is spelt the same as the English

“return” and “place”. command.
Écoutez!
Aller To go
The way we conjugate “aller” (to go) is very similar to “avoir” (to have). “Aller
à” means “to go to”.
aller to go avoir to have

je vais I go j’ ai I have
tu vas you go tu as you have
il/elle va he/she goes il/elle a he/she has
nous allons we go nous avons we have
vous allez you go vous avez you have
ils/elles vont they go ils/elles ont they have
Je vais au restaurant. Je vais aux États-Unis.

(I’m going to the restaurant.) (I’m going to the United States.)
“au” comes from “à” + “le” “aux” comes from “à” + “les”
Sometimes women complain about
men, and how they would like them to à + le = au
be different. That’s exactly what French has à + les = aux
done in changing “à” + “le” into “au” before a (The letter “x” at the end of a word indicates
masculine noun! the plural in French.)
Je vais à la boutique.
(I’m going to the shop.) Je vais à l’aéroport.
(I am going to the airport.)
“à + la” doesn’t change before a

feminine noun, as we rarely have “à + l’ ” doesn’t change because it isn’t
problems with women, don’t you think? difficult to say.
Les transports Prepositions: transport
When we say how we go somewhere using transport, the prepositions

“à” and “en” are used. This simple memory trick will help you to remember
when to use each one.
Is there an engine in the means of transport? If there is, you say “en” before it, as
“en” is at the beginning of “engine”:
en avion
(by plane)
en voiture
(by car)
en autobus
(by bus) en métro
(by underground)
ENgine
en taxi
(by taxi)
en bateau
(by boat)
en train
(by train)
If there isn’t an engine, you cannot say “en”, so use the first letter of the alphabet “a” and
add a grave accent to it: “à”:
à pied à cheval à vélo/à bicyclette

(by foot) (by horse) (by bike)
Even though a motorbike has

an engine, remember that originally it was a bike
to which an engine was added. Therefore we say
à motocyclette/à moto “à moto” and not “en moto”.
(by motorcycle)
Les pays Prepositions: countries
“Au” with masculine names of countries

With masculine names of countries, “à + le” becomes “au”, therefore:
French is an official
language in 29 countries,
including France, Canada,
Belgium and Switzerland.
Je vais au Maroc. Je vais au Canada.
suis suis
(I go to Morocco.) (I go to Canada.)
am in am in
“En” with feminine names of countries When a country

We use “en” with feminine names of countries. ends in “e” and
is feminine (such as
France) we say “en”
before it because
“en” starts with an
“e”.
Je vais en France. Je vais en Belgique.

suis suis
(I go to France.) (I go to Belgium.)
am in am in
“En” with names of “Aux” with names

countries starting with a of countries that are
vowel plural and end in “s”
You use “en” before a country (masculine We use “aux” when a country is
or feminine) starting with a vowel, such plural, such as États-Unis and

as Algérie and Angola, to make the Pays-Bas (the Netherlands).
pronunciation easier.
Je vais en Algérie. Je vais aux États-Unis.

suis suis
(I go to Algeria.) go to
(I the United States.)
am in am in
Hexagonie story: Les pays Prepositions: countries
Read this story told by the traveller, Voyager, to remember when to use “en” and “au”
when talking about countries.
Aller is always on the go

Throughout the year Queen Avoir and King Être receive many invitations to
go and visit other countries. It is a great opportunity for them to be known in
the world and also to learn from other countries. However, when King Être is
unable to go, he asks the verb Aller (to go) to accompany the Queen instead.
Queen Avoir is always very excited to travel with Aller because he is always on
the go and tells her lots of stories about his wonderful trips. He calls his trips
his “voyages” to make them seem even more special. She could listen to him for
hours.
She feels he understands her since they are quite

similar: their names start with the same letter and
contain the same amount of letters. Like the Queen,
Aller likes almost the same outfits because when
she talks about herself she says “j’ai”and he says
“je vais” keeping the same letters, but adding “v”
and “s”, the first and last letters of “voyages”, of
course. They have fun together during those long
hours when they decide which outfits to take. And
of course, they always end up taking too many
suitcases.
What Queen Avoir likes most is when they decide where to go on a trip. They
sit down together and look at a list of countries. In front of countries ending in
“e”, which Aller likes enormously, he puts the abbreviation “en” (en Chine, en
Irlande, etc) and those he does not like very much because they don’t end in
“e” he writes the abbreviation “au” which is short for “aunt”, as he says those
countries would please his old aunty (au Canada, au Portugal, etc). This always
makes Queen Avoir laugh.
They really have a good time

together. What fun it would be for
me to travel with someone like Aller
instead of always travelling on my
own. However, I am so used to it
now that I am sure it is better as it is.
Les villes et les régions Prepositions: cities and areas
Prepositions before names of cities and towns

Because names of most cities and towns have no gender and are not preceded
by an article, when you want to say “I go to Paris,” you just put the preposition
“à” in front of the name of the town. In the same way, if you want to say “I am
in Paris,” you use the preposition “à”.
Cities and towns
Je vais à Paris. Il travaille à Avignon. are smaller than
(I go to Paris.) (He works in Avignon.) countries so we use a
small letter. The first
Some French towns are preceded by an article: Le letter of the alphabet
will do.
Touquet, Le Havre. In this case, “à + le” becomes “au”:
Je vais à Paris.
J’habite au Touquet. Je suis au Havre. (I go to Paris.)
(I live in Le Touquet.) (I am in Le Havre.)
Prepositions before areas in France When an area

When the name of the area is feminine (and it ends in ends in “e”, such
“e”), it follows the same rule as for countries: as Normandie, we say
“en” before it because
“en” starts with an “e”.
Je suis en Provence. Je suis en Normandie.

(I am in Provence.) (I am in Normandy.)
When the name of the area is masculine and preceded by “le” or plural
and preceded by “les”, you say “dans” before it:
Le Touquet •
Le Havre
•
Normandie/
Le Calvados • Paris
Je vais dans les Alpes.

(I go to the Alps.)
les
Alpes
Provence
Je vais dans le Calvados.

(I go to Le Calvados.)
Jouer (1) To play (1)
Je joue au football.
(I play football.)
Tu joues au rugby.
(You play rugby.)
We say “au” before a
Il/elle joue au tennis. sport which involves a
(He/she plays tennis.) ball. Remember that a ball is
usually round like the letter “o”.
We say “o” before the sport
Nous jouons au cricket. but write “au”.
(We play cricket.)
Vous jouez au ping-pong.

= o = “au”
(You play table tennis.)
Ils/elles jouent au hockey.

(They play hockey.)
Je joue au ballon. Je joue aux billes.

(I play ball.) (I play marbles.)
“au” comes from “à” + “le”

“aux” comes from “à” + “les”
men, and how they would like them to à + le = au
be different. That’s exactly what French has à + les = aux
done in changing “à” + “le” into “au” before a (The letter “x” at the end of a word indicates
masculine noun! the plural in French.)
Je joue à la marelle Je joue à l’élastique.

(I play hopscotch.) (I play the elastic rope game.)
“à + la” doesn’t change before a feminine

noun, as we rarely have problems with “à + l’ ” doesn’t change because it isn’t
women, don’t you think? difficult to say.
Jouer (2) To play (2)
The “nt” in
jou/er (to play) “Tu joues” has an “s”
“ils jouent” reminds us of
because “s” is close to “t” and
je jou e “u” in the alphabet. “nt” in “ils ont”.
tu jou es
il/elle jou e These are all
The letters “ons” at the
end of “nous jouons”
nous jou ons pronounced the are found in “nous”.
vous jou ez same way:
(je) joue
ils/elles jou ent (tu) joues The “z” in “vous jouez”
(il) joue reminds us of the sound the “s” makes
(ils) jouent in “vous avez” (you have).
Ils jouent des percussions.

(They play percussion instuments.)
Je joue
du piano.
(I play the
piano.)
“du” comes from “de” + “le”

“des” comes from “de” + “les”
men, and how they would like them to
be different. That’s exactly what French has de
done in changing “de” + “le” into “du” before + les
a masculine noun! des
Elle joue Il joue de

de la l’orgue.
guitare. (He plays the organ.)
(She plays the

guitar.)
“de + la” doesn’t change before a

feminine noun, as we rarely have “de + l’ ” doesn’t change because it isn’t
Ne … pas/n’ … pas The negative form
In French you use two words in the negative form:

“ne” and “pas”. “Ne” comes before the verb and
“pas” after the verb. Imagine that “ne” and “pas”
are prison walls, which lock up one verb only.
Je ne parle pas (I don’t speak)

ne + 1 verb + pas
More negatives “Ne” is shortened to

In French, you cannot have more than two words for “n’ ” when it is in
front of a vowel or a
the negative form, so “jamais”, “rien” and “personne” silent “h” because it
take the place of “pas”. sounds better.
1 st
2 nd
neg. neg.
ne/n’ + 1 verb only + pas Je ne travaille pas.
I don’t work.
ne/n’ + 1 verb only + jamais Il n’écoute jamais.

never He never listens.
ne/n’ + 1 verb only + rien Je ne vois rien.

nothing I cannot see anything.
ne/n’ + 1 verb only + personne Je ne connais personne.

nobody I do not know anybody.
Note: when the word “personne”

(no-one/nobody) is the subject of the

sentence, the order is reversed.
Personne ne travaille le dimanche.

Nobody works on Sundays. How to say “not”
When “not” does not accompany
a verb (eg “not now”), we only
say one word in French: “pas”
(“pas maintenant”).
Pas avec elle Not with her

Pas pour moi Not for me
Pas
Rice-Jones, Maria. Unforgettable French : Memory Tricks to Help You Learn and Remember French Grammar, encore
Andrews Not yet
UK Ltd., 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,
Manger et boire (1) To eat and to drink (1)
mang / er (to eat) “Tu manges” has an “s” The “nt” in “ils mangent”
je mang e because “s” is close to “t” and reminds us of “nt” in
“u” in the alphabet. “ils ont”.
tu mang es
il/elle mang e The letters “ons” at
the end of “nous mangeons” are found
nous mang eons These are all
in “nous”. We add an “e” before “ons”
pronounced the
vous mang ez same way:
to make a soft “g” sound.
ils/elles mang ent (je) mange
(tu) manges The “z” in “vous mangez” reminds
(il) mange us of the sound the “s” makes in
Imagine that the letter
(ils) mangent “vous avez” (you have).
“e” is opening its mouth
to eat. That is why the letter
“e” always appears in the
conjugation of “manger”.
Boire is not an “er” verb and, for this “Boire” means to drink, so let us
reason, the endings are different. imagine that the verb “to drink” has
become drunk and is behaving strangely
boire (to drink) with “nous” and “vous”. When we look at the
je boi s endings for “boire” they are “s”, “s”, “t”:
tu boi s
je boi s
il/elle boi t tu boi s
nous buv ons il/elle boi t
vous buv ez
ils/elles boiv ent If we continue in alphabetical order we have
“u” and “v”. The letters “u” and “v” are in

“buvons” and “buvez”.
“Ils/elles boivent” takes the stem
“boi” from “je bois, tu bois, il/elle
boit”, but because “ils/elles” is
plural, it adds the “v” used in “nous
buvons” and “vous buvez”.
Manger et boire (2) To eat and to drink (2)
du, de la, de l’, des Elle mange du chocolat.

The French like eating and drinking so, when they (She eats some chocolate.)
eat or drink, they want to know exactly what is on
Il boit de la limonade.
their plate or in their glass, and that includes knowing (He drinks some lemonade.)
whether it is masculine, feminine or plural. That is why
when French people want to say that they are eating Il boit de l’eau.
something the gender of the noun is always indicated (He drinks some water.)
by saying “du”, “de la”, “de l’ ” or “des”.
Elle mange des pâtes.
(She eats some pasta.)
There are four ways to say “some” in French: “de la”, “du”, “de l’ ” and “des”.
Je mange du pain. Je mange des

(I eat some bread.) céréales.
(I eat some cereals.)
“du” comes from “de” + “le”

“des” comes from “de” + “les”
Think how often women complain about
men, and how they would like them to
de
be different. That’s exactly what French has
+ les
done in changing “de” + “le” into “du” before a
des
masculine noun!
Je bois de la Je bois de l’eau.

limonade. (I drink some water.)
(I drink some lemonade.)
“de + la” doesn’t change before a

“de + l’ ” doesn’t change because it isn’t
feminine noun, as we rarely have

Pas de
If a French person is not eating or drinking something, then they are not really
all that bothered about it and can get by just fine without knowing if it is masculine,
feminine or plural. That is why, in negative sentences, French people just use “pas de”
instead.
Je ne mange pas de pain. I don’t eat (any) bread.

Je ne bois pas de limonade. I don’t drink (any) lemonade.
Je ne mange pas de céréales. I don’t eat (any) cereals.
Je ne
Rice-Jones, Maria. Unforgettable pas: Memory
boisFrench d’eau. I don’t
Tricks to Help You Learn and Remember drinkAndrews
French Grammar, (any) water.
UK Ltd., 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,
To eat and
Hexagonie story: Manger et boire to drink
Read this story told by the traveller, Voyager, to remember how to conjugate “manger”
and “boire”.
The good friends Manger and Boire

Everywhere I went in Hexagonie, I saw that the nouns were always eating and
drinking or planning to eat and to drink. There were food shops, restaurants
and bars everywhere, and the nouns always seemed to be talking about food
and drinks with great passion. They thought they had the best food and the best
wines in the world.
So, inevitably, one day I met Manger and Boire. They

were never seen apart from each other and were the
best of friends.
Both verbs were regularly seen with many nouns

such as “je”, “tu”, “il/elle”, “nous”, “vous” and “ils/
elles”. Being an “er” verb, Manger behaved like them and wore the same
outfits according to the nouns he was with: je mange, tu manges, il mange,
nous mangeons, vous mangez, ils/elles mangent. He added an “e” to “nous
mangeons” so that all his outfits would have an “e” in them, as he thought the
letter “e” looked a bit like an open mouth, about to gobble up food.
However, Boire was different and more imaginative. He loved to keep changing
his outfits and each one was more eccentric than the last. The first one he wore
was the versatile letter “s” which he could wear in all sorts of ways. When next
to “je” and “tu”, he wore it instead of “re” (je bois, tu bois). He did not want to
end the fun of changing outfits too early so he tried on other letters. Logically
the next one was “t” and he wore it for “il” and “elle” (il/elle boit). Then with
“nous” and “vous”, Boire became even wilder, choosing letters he had never
worn before. He chose “u” and “v” because they were the next letters after “t”
(nous buvons, vous buvez). He looked at himself and thought he was stunning.
As for “ils/elles” he
changed again into an
even more eccentric
outfit: ils/elles boivent.
Manger thought that

Boire was rather mad
with his obsession about
outfits, but they were
good friends anyway.
Beaucoup de … A lot of …
Remember “du”, “de l’ ”, “de la” and “des” all mean “some” and “de” means
“of”.
un verre d’ eau une bouteille de limonade une tasse de thé

(a glass of water) (a bottle of lemonade) (a cup of tea)
une barre de chocolat un kilo de pommes un paquet de bonbons

(a bar of chocolate) (a kilo of apples) (a packet of sweets)
Je mange beaucoup de chocolats. I eat a lot of chocolates.

Je bois beaucoup d’eau. I drink a lot of water.
Je bois beaucoup de thé. I drink a lot of tea.
Je bois beaucoup de limonade. I drink a lot of lemonade.
If you said “Je bois un verre de l’eau” it would mean “I drink a glass some water” and
that would be incorrect. In English you say, “I drink a glass of water”. Therefore, in
French we say, “Je bois un verre d’eau.”
If you said “Je mange beaucoup des chocolats” it would mean “I eat a lot some
chocolates” and that would be incorrect. In English you say, “I eat a lot of chocolates”.
Therefore, in French we say, “Je mange beaucoup de chocolats.”
Quelle heure est-il? What time is it?
Quelle heure est-il? Il est … Note the similar sentence

(What time is it?) (It is …) construction to English.
The 24 hour clock is widely used in France:

07h00 13h00 18h00
Il est sept heures. Il est treize heures. Il est dix-huit heures.
Il est sept heures Il est une heure de Il est six heures

du matin. l’après-midi. du soir.
(It is 7 o’clock in the (It is 1 o’clock in the (It is 6 o’clock in the
morning.) afternoon.) evening.)
10h10 08h40
Il est dix heures dix. Il est huit heures In French we always
(It is 10:10.) quarante.
say the hour first
(It is 8:40.)
and then the minutes. It
is obvious that the hour is
more important than the
minutes.
The last 30 minutes can be subtracted and
the word “moins” (minus) is used:
08h35 06h50
Il est neuf heures Il est sept
moins vingt-cinq. heures moins Note: “demie” is
(It is 9 o’clock less dix. written with an “e”
25 minutes.) (It is 7 o’clock less
10 minutes.)
when it follows a
feminine noun: “une
heure et demie” but
not when it precedes
12 a feminine noun “une
11 1 demi-heure” (half an
hour).
midi/minuit
10 2
“Demi” is written
without an “e” when
it follows a masculine
noun: “midi et demi”
9 3
moins le quart et quart
(because “midi” is
considered masculine).
et demie
8 4 “Quart” reminds us of
a “quarter”. Therefore
we say “et quart” (and
7 5 quarter) and “moins le
6
quart” (minus the (last)
quarter).
Faire To do/make
faire (to do/make) Some verbs behave in the same way.

je fai s
tu fai s avoir aller faire
j’ai je vais je fais
il/elle fai t
ils ont ils vont ils font
nous fais ons
vous FAITES Sorry, you have to remember
ils/elles font “vous faites” by heart. Even French
toddlers get this wrong and need to
be corrected!
Elle fait la Il fait le ménage.
vaisselle. (He does the housework.)
(She does the washing up.)
“Men” and “age” are both found in

The word “vaisselle” is a bit like the “ménage”. We could say that “men”
English word “vessel”. A vessel is a ship of any “age” could do the housework if they
that floats on the water rather like dishes do in a wanted to. To remember that “ménage” is
washing-up bowl. masculine, remember that it starts with “men”.
Il fait les Elle fait la lessive.

courses. (She does the laundry/clothes
(He does the shopping.) washing.)
When you do the shopping, you buy

food for the first course of the meal, the When you wash your clothes, you want
second course and so on. That is why the word them to be “less” stained. The word
“courses” (food shopping) is plural. “lessive” starts with “less”.
Elle fait le Il fait une

repassage. promenade.
(She does the ironing.) (He goes for a walk.)
When you iron, you “pass” and “re-pass”

the iron over the clothes. Note that the
word “repassage” is masculine as women often Seaside towns have “promenades” along
iron for men. the sea, for people to walk along.
Le temps The weather
The French use the verb “faire” to talk about the weather:
Quel temps fait-il? Il fait chaud.

(What is the weather like?) (It is hot).
Because the weather is always doing something (as it changes all the time), the
French use “il + fait + adjective”.
Il fait froid. Il fait chaud.

(It is cold.) (It is hot.)
You show you are

hot by sweating
The word “froid” reminds us of “fridge”. when “il fait chaud.”
Il fait beau. Il fait mauvais

(It is nice weather.)
temps.
(It is bad weather.)
The word “beau” reminds us of “beautiful”.
Il fait du vent. Il fait du brouillard.

(It is windy.) (It is foggy.)
The start of “brouillard” reminds us of

“broom”, so think of a broom, sweeping
The word “vent” reminds us of
the fog away.

“ventilation”.
Note: the French don’t use “faire” with the verb “pleuvoir” (to rain) and
“neiger” (to snow), because they are already verbs.
Il pleut souvent dans le nord de Il neige en ce moment en Suisse.

l’Europe. (At the moment it is snowing in Switzerland.)
(It often rains in the north of Europe.)
Hexagonie story: Le temps The weather
Read this story about the weather told by the traveller, Voyager.
The weather in action

One day while I was in Hexagonie, I was introduced to the fairy, Faire. With
her magical wand Faire could change things in a few seconds. Inside she could
tidy a house in no time at all, but outside she was even busier as she made the
weather.
This is because, in Hexagonie, twice a year, the verbs

could decide what sort of weather they wanted to have
for special occasions, and all for free. Imagine being able
to guarantee that the weather will be nice on the day of a
barbecue or a picnic outside with your friends!
They would contact the fairy Faire who would come to their garden or to the
park to install a huge bubble underneath which the weather would be just as
they wanted. Most verbs would request an “il fait beau” or an “il fait chaud”
programme.
Very rarely the “il fait froid” programme was requested, but sometimes some
verbs had a skiing party where the cold was required. Then the fairy Faire
would come to install a big bubble and she would call Neiger (to snow).
Thus the verbs would have an “il fait froid” programme with an “il neige”
programme.
I am glad to say that Pleuvoir (to rain) was not often asked because nobody,
including me, likes the “il pleut” programme. I much prefer when the weather
is nice. If only in every country I travelled, there was a fairy Faire.
Mots sur le temps Weather words
Here are some other words to describe the weather
un orage orageux
(a storm) (stormy)
When it’s stormy, the weather is in a rage:

“Oh rage!”
un nuage nuageux
(a cloud) (cloudy)
Clouds have been around

for ages, and are not
new, so “new age” reminds us
of “nuage” (cloud).
l’éclair le tonnerre
(lightning) (thunder)
A chocolate
éclair is often
eaten as fast as
lightning
le brouillard Le ciel est

(the fog) couvert.
(The sky is overcast.)
The start of “brouillard”
reminds us of “broom”,
so think of a broom, sweeping
the fog away.
une avalanche pluvieux

(an avalanche) (rainy)
Same
spelling as
the English word.
une tempête la neige

(a gale/storm) (the snow)
Think of The
Tempest, a play
written by the famous la pluie
playwright, Shakespeare. (the rain)
Finir To finish
finir (to finish)

je fini s The first three
tu fini s forms are all
pronounced the
il/elle fini t same way:
nous finiss ons (je) finis
(tu) finis
vous finiss ez (il/elle) finit
ils/elles finiss ent
Some more useful verbs that end in “ir”

The following verbs conjugate in the same way as “finir”.
choisir obéir
to choose to obey
Choisir: is quite Obéir: is quite similar

similar to the English to the English word
word “choose”. “obey”.
punir grandir
to punish to grow up
Grandir: because
Punir: is quite similar when you grow
to the English word up you become “grand”
“punish”. (tall).
réussir réfléchir
to succeed to reflect
Réussir: you succeed Réfléchir: is quite

when you “re-use” similar to the English
your knowledge. word “reflect”.
Note: not all verbs ending in “ir” will conjugate in the same way as “finir”. Two
common verbs are “ouvrir” (to open) and “offrir” (to give to). They end in “ir”
but conjugate like “er” verbs
ouvr/ir offr/ir
j’ ouvr e j’ offr e
tu ouvr es tu offr es
il/elle ouvr e il/elle offr e
nous ouvr ons nous offr ons
vous ouvr ez vous offr ez
ils/elles ouvr ent ils/elles offr ent
“Ouvrir” and “offrir” end in “rir”. This ending reminds us of the verb “rire” (to laugh)
whose last letter is an “e”. This “e” helps us to remember that some verbs ending in
Rice-Jones,“rir” conjugate
Maria. Unforgettable French :like
Memory“er”
Tricks toverbs.
Help You Learn and Remember French Grammar, Andrews UK Ltd., 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central,
Verbes en “ir” (1) Verbs ending in “ir” (1)
dor/m/ir (to sleep) “Dormir” means to

je dor s sleep because you
tu dor s sleep in a dormitory.
il/elle dor t
nous dorm ons

vous dorm ez
ils/elles dorm ent
par/t/ir (to leave) “Partir” means to

je par s leave or to depart.
tu par s
il/elle par t
nous part ons

vous part ez
ils/elles part ent
sor/t/ir (to go out) Sortir” means to

je sor s go out. Think of the
tu sor s French word for exit:
sortie.
il/elle sor t
nous sort ons

vous sort ez
ils/elles sort ent
Or, note that when you

“sort out” a problem, it
“Dormir”, “partir” and “sortir” share a similarity: “goes out” of your head.
they all express a need to escape. That is why their
conjugation is quite similar.
Verbes en “ir” (2) Verbs ending in “ir” (2)
ven/ir (to come) “Venir” means to

je vien s come, because
tu vien s famous bands come
il/elle vien t to play at venues.
nous ven ons
vous ven ez
ils/elles vienn ent
je viens, tu viens, il vient

The first four letters (“vien”) in “je viens”, “tu viens”
and “il vient” are the same as for “venir”, but they are
rearranged.
nous venons, vous venez

In “nous venons” and “vous venez” the first three letters
(“ven”) are the same as in “venir”.
Ils/elles viennent
“Viennent” takes the stem “vien” from “je viens, tu viens,
il/elle vient”, and adds an extra “n” before “ent”.
These memory tricks also apply for the verb “tenir” (to hold):
ten/ir (to hold)

je tien s The English word “tenacious”,
which means “keeping a
tu tien s firm hold”, reminds us of the word
il/elle tien t “tenir” (to hold).

nous ten ons
vous ten ez
ils/elles tienn ent
“Venir” and “tenir” are important verbs because many others are made from
them.
obtenir contenir devenir revenir

(to obtain) (to contain) (to become) (to come back)
Verbes en “dre” (1) Verbs ending in “dre” (1)
enten/d/re (to hear) Entendre: the sound

j’ entend s “enters” your ear
tu entend s when you “hear”.
il/elle entend
nous entend ons
vous entend ez
ils/elles entend ent
descen/d/re (to descend) Descendre: is very

j’ descend s similar to the English
tu descend s word “descend”.
il/elle descend
nous descend ons
vous descend ez
ils/elles descend ent
atten/d/re (to wait for) Attendre:

j’ attend s the queen’s
tu attend s “attendants” are also
il/elle attend called her “ladies in
nous attend ons waiting”.
vous attend ez
ils/elles attend ent
ven/d/re (to sell)

je vend s Vendre: vendor is

tu vend s another word for
il/elle vend seller in English.
nous vend ons
vous vend ez
ils/elles vend ent
Verbes en “dre” (2) Verbs ending in “dre” (2)
pren/d/re (to take)

je prend s Unlike most verbs
ending in “dre”,
tu prend s because “prendre” means
il/elle prend “to take”, you take away
nous pren ons the “d” for “nous, vous,
vous pren ez ils/elles”: “nous prenons,”
ils/elles prenn ent “vous prenez,” “ils/elles prennent.”
The word “Ils/elles prennent” takes

“prendre” appears in the stem “pren” from “je prends, tu
“comprendre” and prends, il/elle prend”, and adds an extra
“apprendre”, so they “n” before “ent”.
conjugate in the same
way.
compren/d/re (to understand)

je comprend s Comprendre:
tu comprend s when you
understand you
il/elle comprend
“comprehend”.
nous compren ons
vous compren ez
ils/elles comprenn ent
appren/d/re (to learn)

j’ apprend s
Apprendre: an “apprentice”
tu apprend s learns.
il/elle apprend
nous appren ons

vous appren ez
ils/elles apprenn ent
Je prends mon J’apprends les Maintenant, je comprends!

dictionnaire. mots. (Now, I understand!)
(I take my dictionary) (I learn the words.)
Voir/recevoir To see/to receive
voir (to see)

“Vois” and “bois” are pronounced in
je voi s a similar way.
tu voi s
il/elle voi t Je bois
Je vois avec ma
nous voy ons bouche.
avec mes
vous voy ez yeux. (I drink
with my
ils/elles voi ent (I see with my
mouth.)
eyes.)
“Voir” means to see. The English word “view” starts with a “v”, just like “voir”, and a
view is something we see.
Nous voyons / vous voyez

When the “i” is pronounced in words, it changes into “y”.
Even though some verbs end in “voir”, be aware, they do not always conjugate
like voir. Here is one example:
recevoir (to receive) “Voir” is in many verbs. When these verbs

je reçoi s conjugate, they have one less syllable with
tu reçoi s “je, tu, il/elle” than they do in the infinitive:
il/elle reçoi t
Infinitive Syllables Present Syllables
nous recev ons recevoir 3 je reçois 2
vous recev ez (to receive)
ils/elles reçoiv ent apercevoir 4 j’aperçois 3
(to notice/see)
Nous recevons, vous recevez

The “recev” in “nous recevons” and “vous
recevez” is the same as in “recevoir”.
Ils/elles reçoivent
“Ils/elles reçoivent” takes the stem “reçoi” from
“je reçois, tu reçois, il/elle reçoit”, but because
“ils/elles” is plural, it adds the “v” used in “nous
recevons” and “vous recevez”.
Pouvoir/vouloir To be able to, can/to want
pouvoir (to be able to/can) vouloir (to want) “Pouvoir” and

je peu x je veu x “vouloir” have the
tu peu x tu veu x “x” factor (in “peux”
and “veux”), so if you
il/elle peu t il/elle veu t
want, you can. “Vouloir,
nous pouv ons nous voul ons c’est pouvoir!” (To want
vous pouv ez vous voul ez is to be able to!)
ils/elles peuv ent ils/elles veul ent
Note that the verbs pouvoir and vouloir

both have seven letters, and they pouvoir = 7 letters
conjugate in the same way.
vouloir = 7 letters
Pouvoir Vouloir
Pouvoir means “to be able to” or Vouloir means to want because
“can”, because when you can do “voluntary” work is something you want
something, it is possible. to do.
nous pouvons, vous pouvez nous voulons, vous voulez

The “pouv” in “nous pouvons” and The “voul” in “nous voulons” and “vous
“vous pouvez” is the same as in voulez” is the same as in “vouloir”.
“pouvoir”.
ils/elles peuvent ils/elles veulent

“Ils/elles peuvent” takes the stem “Ils/elles veulent” takes the stem “veu”
“peu” from “je peux, tu peux, il/elle from “je veux, tu veux, il/elle veut”, but
peut”, but because “ils/elles” is plural, because “ils/elles” is plural it adds the
it adds the “v” used in “nous pouvons” “l” used in “nous voulons” and “vous
and “vous pouvez”. voulez”.
To have to, must/
Devoir/savoir/connaître to know how to/to know
devoir (to have to/must) The “dev” in

je doi s “nous devons”
tu doi s and “vous devez”
il/elle doi t is the same as in
“devoir”.
nous dev ons
vous dev ez ils/elles doivent
ils/elles doiv ent “Ils/elles doivent”
takes the stem “doi”
Note that the verbs from “je dois, tu
devoir and savoir both dois, il/elle doit”, but
because “ils/elles”
have six letters, and they is plural, it adds the
conjugate in almost the “v” used in “nous
same way. devons” and “vous
devez.”
devoir = 6 letters
The “sav” in “nous savons,”
savoir = 6 letters “vous savez” and “ils/elles
savent” is the same as in “savoir.”
savoir (to know how to) savoir + infinitive Je sais nager.
je sai s verb (I know how to swim.)
tu sai s
il/elle sai t Note: in English you say “I can swim;” in French you
nous sav ons always use the verb “savoir” (to know how to). You
vous sav ez know how to swim because someone taught you
how to do it.
ils/elles sav ent
connaître + noun Je connais le professeur.
(I know the teacher.)
connaître (to know)

je connai s
tu connai s Connaître: when
il/elle connaî t you know someone,
nous connaiss ons you connect with them.
vous connaiss ez
ils/elles connaiss ent
The “nous, vous, ils/elles” forms are like the first form “je connais,” then
the “s” is doubled and the usual endings are added: ons, ez, ent. We guess
this was done because it sounded much better than “nous connaions,” “vous
connaiez,” “ils/elles connaient.”
Note: when the “i” is before a “t” there is a circumflex accent (^) on the “i”.
Écrire/lire/dire To write/to read/to say
écrire (to write)

The verb “écrire” means
j’ écri s to write, which starts with
tu écri s “w”, said in French “double
il/elle écri t v”. This helps us to remember
nous écriv ons the “v” in “nous écrivons,”
vous écriv ez “vous écrivez,” and “ils/elles
écrivent.”
ils/elles écriv ent
The English word “scripture” will help you to
remember the word “écrire”.
lire (to read)

je li s je lis, tu lis, il lit
“Lis” and “lit” are
tu li s pronounced in the same
il/elle li t way as the word for bed in
nous lis ons French: “un lit”. Therefore
vous lis ez remember:
ils/elles lis ent
nous lisons, vous lisez, ils/elles lisent

The “nous, vous, ils/elles” forms have an “s”
like the first form “je lis”. We guess this was done
because it sounded much better than “nous lions,”
“vous liez,” “ils/elles lient.” Je lis dans mon lit.
(I read in my bed.)
dire (to say)

je di s
tu di s
il/elle di t
nous dis ons
vous DITES
ils/elles dis ent
nous disons, ils/elles disent

The “nous” and “ils/elles” forms have an “s” like the first form “je dis.” We
guess this was done because it sounded much better than “nous dions” and
“ils/elles dient.”
Sorry you have to remember “vous dites” by heart. Even French

toddlers get this wrong and need to be corrected!
Les verbes réfléchis (1) Reflexive verbs (1)
se lav/ er (to wash oneself) The “se”

je me lav e I wash (myself) before the infinitive
“lever” indicates
tu te lav es you wash (yourself) that the verb is
il/elle se lav e he/she washes (himself/herself) reflexive and only
appears in the
nous nous lav ons we wash (ourselves) conjugation with
vous vous lav ez you wash (yourself/yourselves) “il/elle” and “ils/
ils/elles se lav ent they wash (themselves) elles”.
Look at yourself in a mirror and you will see your own

image reflected back to you. It is the same with some daily
actions we do. Therefore some verbs are called reflexive verbs.
Not reflexive Reflexive

laver (to wash) se laver (to wash oneself)
Je lave ma chemise. Je me lave.

(I wash my shirt.) (I wash myself.)
When we want to say “je lave ma chemise” (I wash my shirt) the verb is not reflexive. But
if I wash myself, then I need to indicate with a pronoun who I am washing: “je me lave” (I
wash myself).
se lav/er
“Je” and “me” both end in “e”. Use “m’ ”
je me lav e I wash (myself)
before a vowel.
tu te lav es you wash (yourself) “Tu” and “te” both start with “t” – they almost
reflect each other. Use “t’ ” before a vowel.
In the word “himself/herself” there is “se”.
il/elle se lav e he/she washes (himself/ Use “s’ ” before a vowel.
herself)
“Nous nous” are identical – they reflect each
nous nous lav ons we wash (ourselves)
other.
vous vous lav ez you wash (yourself/ “Vous vous” are identical – they reflect each
yourselves) other.
Same as for “il/elle”; in the word “themselves”
ils/ se lav ent they wash (themselves)
there is “se”. Use “s’ ” before a vowel.
elles
Many reflexive verbs are “er” verbs such as “se réveiller”, “se lever”,
“s’habiller”, “se coucher” and “se brosser”.

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Les jours et les mois Days and months

lundi mardi mercredi jeudi vendredi

samedi samedi starts like

To remember “la semaine” (the

The French and English

janvier février mars

avril mai juin

Note: very similar

juillet août septembre

octobre novembre décembre

Le Nouvel An est La Fête Nationale est

Halloween est le trente et un octobre. Noël est le vingt-cinq décembre.

l’automne l’hiver “En

parl / er to speak The “nt” in “ils

These are all

Some more useful verbs ending in “er”

Accompagner: when someone takes you

Apporter: in a hotel, a porter brings Attraper: when you want to catch an

Bouger: to “boogie” means to dance

The French and English étudier

Some more useful verbs ending in “er”

Garder: at Buckingham Palace, the

Oublier: remember the English

In the English word “think” there is

Tomber: remember not to fall into a Trouver: it would be nice to ﬁnd a

The verbs’ outfits

When seen with a single subject such as “je”,

When seen with plural subjects such as

outﬁts. With “nous” (nous parlons) she

Assieds-toi: in the French

Lève-toi/levez-vous: the French

Écoute/écoutez: the French

commands remind us of the word

Dessine/dessinez: the French

Répète/répétez: the French

Entre/entrez: the French

Retourne à ta place! Silence!

Retourne à ta place: the French Silence: the French command

command reminds us of the words is spelt the same as the English

aller to go avoir to have

Je vais au restaurant. Je vais aux États-Unis.

(I am going to the airport.)

“à + la” doesn’t change before a

When we say how we go somewhere using transport, the prepositions

add a grave accent to it: “à”:

à pied à cheval à vélo/à bicyclette

Even though a motorbike has

“Au” with masculine names of countries

“En” with feminine names of countries When a country

Je vais en France. Je vais en Belgique.

“En” with names of “Aux” with names

or feminine) starting with a vowel, such plural, such as États-Unis and

Je vais en Algérie. Je vais aux États-Unis.

Aller is always on the go

She feels he understands her since they are quite

They really have a good time

Prepositions before names of cities and towns

Prepositions before areas in France When an area

Je suis en Provence. Je suis en Normandie.

Je vais dans les Alpes.

Je vais dans le Calvados.

Vous jouez au ping-pong.

Ils/elles jouent au hockey.