Lesson 2 Flashcards Preview

finally - enfin

interesting - intéressant

Note that things are often inversed in questions, such that the pronoun comes after the verb, joined by a dash. Another example: “Do you have my book?” translates as As-tu mon livre?

a classmate - un(e) camarade (de classe)

homework - les devoirs. Used here as a plural masculine noun, devoir is also a verb, meaning “to owe” or “to have to.”

quickly - vite. Note that when an adverb (in this case, très) modifies another adverb (vite), it precedes that adverb.

often - souvent. Note that when adverbs modify adjectives, they usually precede the adjectives.

to go home by (means of transportation) - rentrer en. The preposition en can be used to introduce most modes of transportation. Note that en can also mean “in” or “inside.”

to live - vivre. This is an irregular verb: je vis, tu vis, il/elle/on vit, nous vivons, vous vivez, ils/elles vivent.

to live, to reside - habiter. Note that habiter is a regular -ER verb. Also note that it is different from vivre in that it is used to speak about one’s place of residence.

a train - un train

For example, for finir, which means “to finish”: je finis, tu finis, il/elle/on finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils/elles finissent.

to choose - choisir. Note that you translate “to choose to” with choisir de. In the first-person singular of the present tense, regular -IR verbs take the ending -is.

to react - réagir. In the second-person singular of the present tense, regular -IR verbs take the ending -is.

long - long. Note that the feminine form is longue.

to reflect, to ponder, to concentrate - réfléchir. In the third-person singular of the present tense, regular -IR verbs take the ending -it.

to age, to grow old - vieillir. In the first-person plural of the present tense, regular -IR verbs take the ending -issons.

to grow (up), to expand - grandir. In the second-person plural of the present tense, regular -IR verbs take the ending -issez.

to succeed - réussir. In the third-person plural of the present tense, regular -IR verbs take the ending -issent.

to finish - finir. Note that travail is a masculine noun.

on - sur. This preposition usually means “on,” but it can also take other meanings, depending on context. For instance, deux fois sur quatre means “two times out of four.” No matter what, note that sur should be followed by a noun.

to punish - punir

to count on - compter sur

easy - facile

difficult, hard - difficile

easily - facilement. Note that many adverbs are formed by adding the suffix -ment to adjectives (in this case, facile, or “easy”).

to slim down, to lose weight - maigrir

to gain/put on weight - grossir

For comprendre, which means “to understand”: je comprends, tu comprends, il/elle/on comprend, nous comprenons, vous comprenez, ils/elles comprennent.

Verbs with the same infinitive ending, like prendre (to take), apprendre (to learn), and comprendre (to understand), share the same conjugation endings in the present.

not - ne… pas. To make a sentence or question negative as you would with the word “not” in English, first place ne after the subject and before the verb. Then put the negative adverb pas after the conjugated verb. If the verb starts with a vowel, ne becomes n’.

never - ne… jamais. Note how negation is formed here by simply replacing pas with jamais. Note also that you can use jamais on its own, usually as the answer to a question, meaning “never.”

no more, not anymore, no longer - ne… plus

not anything, nothing - ne… rien. In a positive sentence such as “Anything will work,” there is a different French word for “anything”: n’importe quoi.

Notice how in a negative construction, the partitive article changes to de. This change happens for the articles un, une, du, de la, de l’, des.

bad - mauvais. Note the use of c’est to introduce the modified noun. When deciding between c’est and il est before a noun, remember to use c’est for modified nouns and il est for unmodified nouns.

to take - prendre. This is a very common verb. Its conjugations in the present are: je prends, tu prends, il/elle/on prend, nous prenons, vous prenez, ils/elles prennent.

an airplane - un avion

a boat - un bateau

weird, strange - bizarre, étrange

to learn - apprendre. This verb is conjugated in the present tense as follows: j’apprends, tu apprends, il/elle/on apprend, nous apprenons, vous apprenez, ils/elles apprennent.

to hear - entendre. This verb is conjugated in similar fashion to the verbs prendre and apprendre.

everything - tout. Note that tout is a common word that can take several different meanings, including “every,” “each,” and “all.” It is invariable here because it functions as a noun and not an adjective.

to understand - comprendre

to lose - perdre. This verb is conjugated in the present tense as follows: je perds, tu perds, il/elle/on perd, nous perdons, vous perdez, ils/elles perdent.

to sleep - dormir. Note that dormir is not a regular -IR verb. In the present tense, it is conjugated like so: je dors, tu dors, il/elle/on dort, nous dormons, vous dormez, ils/elles dorment.

to lie - mentir. Note that mentir is not a regular -IR verb: je mens, tu mens, il/elle/on ment, nous mentons, vous mentez, ils/elles mentent.

to feel - (se) sentir, ressentir. These are not regular -IR verbs. Note also that sentir is often used in the reflexive form. We will learn about reflexive verbs elsewhere.

to die - mourir. Note that mourir is not a regular -IR verb. Also note that film, “movie,” is masculine.

to write - écrire. This verb is conjugated in the present as follows: j’écris, tu écris, il/elle/on écrit, nous écrivons, vous écrivez, ils/elles écrivent.

to receive - recevoir. Note that after adverbs of quantity like beaucoup, de is used instead of the partitive article (des).

to believe - croire. In the present tense, this verb is conjugated as follows: je crois, tu crois, il/elle/on croit, nous croyons, vous croyez, ils/elles croient.

to want - vouloir. Remember that vouloir is an irregular verb.

to be able to - pouvoir. Note that pouvoir is an irregular verb: je peux, tu peux, il/elle/on peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils/elles peuvent.

to cook - cuisiner

to do, to make - faire. Note that faire is one of the most common French verbs. It is irregular and used in several expressions.

to make a meal - (se) faire à manger. Note that this literally means “to make to eat.” The reflexive form, se faire à manger, means “to make oneself a meal.”

breakfast - le petit déjeuner

lunch - le déjeuner. Note that déjeuner is also a regular -ER verb meaning “to eat lunch.”

dinner - le dîner. Note that dîner is also a verb meaning “to have dinner.”

a snack - un encas. This noun does not change in the plural since it already ends with an “s.” As an alternative, you could use the noun un goûter. Finally, note the construction vouloir + infinitive.

to be right - avoir raison. This literally translates as “to have reason.”

to be wrong - avoir tort

a decision - une décision. Note that “to make a decision” is prendre une décision, not faire une décision.

to ask - demander. This verb is often followed by the preposition à. The construction demander à + person + de + infinitive is common, and means “to ask someone to do something.”

a question - une question. Note that the verb “to question” also exists in French – questionner.

to ask a question - poser une question. Note that “to ask questions” is poser des questions.

to go - aller. Note that aller is one of the most common French verbs. It is irregular. Also note how à le must be changed to au.

The 3rd group of French verbs comprises non-ER and non-IR verbs, as well as irregular -ER and -IR verbs. Recall that there are many irregular verbs in French, most of them among the most commonly used verbs.

The construction penser + infinitive means “to consider/think about doing something.”

that (conjunction) - que. Que is an important word that has several uses. Used as a conjunction, as above, it means “that.”

what (in a question) - qu’est-ce que. Note that here que has been contracted to qu’.

what (in a question with inversion) - que. Note that the common structure here is: interrogative word + verb + pronoun. When “what” is the subject of the question and placed before the verb, you can begin the sentence with Que and then invert the verb and subject.

what (direct object in a question) - quoi. This is an informal construction frequently used instead of its more formal equivalent: Que fais-tu?

what (as the direct object in a sentence) - ce que. Note how ce que becomes ce qu’ when followed by a vowel sound.

which (as a pronoun) - ce qui

which/what - quel. When “what” precedes a noun, the correct translation is always quel. If the noun is feminine, use quelle.

who - qui. Note that the common interrogative form is: interrogative word + verb-pronoun.

when - quand

why - pourquoi

because - parce que

where - où. Note that the verb remains conjugated in the third-person singular form to match the direct object, “book.”

how - comment. Comment vas-tu? literally translates as “How are you going?” instead of the English phrasing “How are you?” Alternatively, you can say Comment ça va?

how much, how many - combien. Note that there is no difference in French between the questions “How much?” and “How many?”

What is a… - Qu’est-ce qu’un/une…

What does ___ mean? - Que veut dire ___?

to have an opinion about, to think about - penser de. Recall that penser à means “to think about (someone, something).” Penser de, on the other hand, means “to have an opinion about” someone or something.

so, so much - tellement. This adverb can also mean “to such a degree” or “in such a manner.” An alternative is si: Pourquoi le dîner est-il si important?

here is, this is - voici. Exemple is a masculine noun. Note that you would still use Voici even if the sentence began “Here are…”

here is, there is - voilà. Note how in this case voilà functions as a presentative.

that is why - voilà. This word is difficult to translate directly into English, as it has many different uses.

the whole, all of, every - tout + definite article. Note the feminine form of tout, toute. Here you are essentially saying “All of the house is beautiful.” The plural toutes les maisons would mean “all of the houses” or “every house.”

the whole, all of, every (plural) - tous + definite article. Note that the feminine form of tous is toutes.

each, every - chaque. The indefinite adjective chaque always takes a singular noun and/or the third-person singular verb form: Chaque train est long.

all right - d’accord. Note that d’accord is only used as an affirmation (to agree with someone), never as a description (to say something is “all right”). “To agree” or “to be in agreement” is expressed with the construction être d’accord.

together - ensemble. Note that ensemble is an invariable adverb.

for - pour. Note that pour can also be used to mean “to” or “in order to.”

in order to, so (as to) - afin de. This expression is usually followed by an infinitive. As an alternative, you could use pour.

pleased, glad - content. Note that content usually refers to a momentary state (often due to a specific reason) instead of a general state of happiness.

anyway, incidentally - d’ailleurs

other, another, different - autre. The plural form is d’autres: d’autres enfants means “other kids.” Autre can also be used as a noun: les autres means “the others.”

different - différent

other, another, different - autre. Note how in this case autre is used, not différent. Here you are essentially saying “He wants another house.” Meanwhile, “The house is different” would be translated as La maison est différente.