Lesson 1 Flashcards Preview

poor - pauvre

but - mais

ugly - laid. Note that laid only applies to people, so it is common to use moche, which applies to both people and things.

it is, that is - c’est. Note that cool comes from English, and that an alternative is sympa.

I - je

I am - je suis. Suis is the first-person singular in the present tense of the verb être, or “to be.” For professions or occupations, you can skip using the indefinite article un/une: je suis étudiant.

with - avec

I’m sorry - je suis désolé. If the speaker were female, it would be je suis désolée.

you - tu, vous. The personal pronoun tu is typically used to address a single friend or child. Meanwhile, vous is used either to formally address one person or to address a group of people (“you all”).

you are - tu es. Es is the second-person singular in the present tense of the verb être, or “to be.”

you (many of you) are - vous êtes. Êtes is the second-person plural in the present tense of the verb être. Note that in this case, the adjective takes the plural masculine form.

Note the use of the plural feminine form of the adjective, mignonnes. If there were at least one male member of the group being addressed, you would use mignons.

you (formal) are - vous êtes. Note that, although the verb is conjugated in the second-person plural, the adjective is singular (and masculine), as in this case you are formally addressing only one (male) person.

a child - un enfant. Note that an informal alternative is gosse, which is masculine.

bad, naughty - méchant

good (adj.) - bon. Adjectives dealing with goodness (right and wrong) are often placed before the nouns they modify. Also note how il est is replaced by c’est here, because the noun that follows has been modified.

young (adj.) - jeune. Note that adjectives dealing with age are often placed before the nouns they modify.

small - petit. Un petit garçon also translates to “a short boy.” Note that adjectives dealing with size are often placed before the nouns they modify.

tall (person) - grand. When associated with objects, grand generally means “big.” Grand is an adjective whose meaning depends on its placement around the noun.

The meaning of the adjective grand depends on its placement around the noun, particularly if the noun is a person. Placed after the noun, adjectives like this often have a literal meaning (size/height in this case). Placed before the noun, they take on a figurative meaning (historical greatness in this case).

Note how the placement of pauvre can alter its meaning. Used after the noun, it literally means “poverty-stricken.” Placed before the noun, it takes on a more figurative meaning.

beautiful - beau. Note that the plural masculine form is beaux.

Note that beau is changed to bel before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel or a mute “h.”

sports-loving - sportif. Note that the singular feminine form is sportive. While there is no perfect English equivalent, sportif means someone who enjoys and plays sports. It is both a noun and an adjective.

brave - courageux

humble - humble

smart - intelligent

dumb - bête. Note that stupide or idiot could work as alternatives.

bright - brillant. Note that brillant can mean both “smart” and “shiny.” Here we are of course addressing a person’s intelligence.

muscular - musclé. Note that the singular feminine form is musclée. This adjective comes from the noun muscle, obviously meaning “muscle.”

beautiful (feminine) - belle

gorgeous - magnifique. Superbe and splendide also translate to “gorgeous.” All three adjectives can convey greatness as well as good looks.

well-dressed - bien habillé. We will learn more about adverbs like bien elsewhere.

Note that in French, on is a neuter impersonal pronoun meaning “one”: “One should respect the king” – On devrait respecter le roi.

we - on, nous. The first-person plural pronoun nous is the literal translation of “we.” However, in informal speech, Francophones frequently use the third-person singular pronoun on to mean “we.” Recall that on is technically an impersonal subject pronoun that translates to “one.”

we are - on est, nous sommes. Note that while nous sommes is more literal, on est is much more commonly used in conversation to mean “we are.”

sociable - sociable. Note the plural form of this adjective, since the subject is plural.

they - ils, elles

they are - ils/elles sont. Sont is the third-person plural in the present tense of the verb être, or “to be.”

fit, athletic - athlétique, en forme

a house - une maison. La maison, which translates to “the house,” usually signifies one’s “home.”

children, kids - enfants. Note that saying les enfants can connote “(the) kids” in the same way that a mother would call out to her own children.

super, great - super. Note that super can be used on its own: for example, “Great!” can be translated as Super! It is used informally, and is also a rare invariable adjective, meaning it does not change in gender or number.

likable, nice, cool - sympa. This is a shortened, informal form of the adjective sympathique. Another way of saying “nice” is gentil.

I am lost - je suis perdu. If the speaker were female, it would be je suis perdue.

a table - une table

food is ready/dinner is served - à table. This is a typical French expression, used to call children to the table for a meal. The literal translation is “at the table!”

Enjoy your meal - Bon appétit. This translates directly to “good appetite.”

a friend - un ami. Note that you can also use copain, the feminine form of which is copine.

of, from - de. Note that this translates directly to “He is a student of Monsieur Martin.”

from - de. The preposition de is very common in French, and can sometimes mean “with,” “about,” or “for” as well.

to have - avoir. Note that avoir is an irregular verb.

I have - j’ai. Ai is the first-person singular in the present tense of the verb avoir, or “to have.” Note that the personal pronoun je changes to j’ because the verb begins with a vowel.

he/she/one has - il/elle/on a. A is the third-person singular in the present tense of the verb avoir.

a boyfriend - un petit ami. This translates directly as “little friend.” Note that in a familiar context, you can also use copain.

you (a close friend) have - tu as. As is the second-person singular in the present tense of the verb avoir.

we have - on a, nous avons. Avons is the first-person plural in the present tense of the verb avoir, while a is the third-person singular.

you (many of you) have - vous avez. Avez is the second-person plural in the present tense of the verb avoir.

sugar - le sucre

money - l’argent. This masculine word literally means “silver.”

soup - la soupe

De la is a partitive article, formed by pairing de with the appropriate definite article. Partitive articles indicate a part of something (like soup) that can’t necessarily be counted. In English, we use words like “some” or “any,” but often omit them. In French, they are necessary: you cannot say avoir soupe or avoir la soupe; the de is required.

Du is the partitive article for masculine singular nouns. It replaces the construction de le (de + proper definite article). If you said On a le sucre, the meaning would be different: “We have the sugar.”

Here, de l’ replaces what would have been du; you cannot say du argent because argent begins with a vowel.

gold - l’or. Or is a masculine noun. Because or begins with a vowel, the contracted construction de l’ must be used.

The partitive article for plural nouns is the plural indefinite article des. This replaces de les. Here you are essentially saying, “I have some friends.”

(to be) classy - avoir de la classe. This literally translates as “to have class.” Note that you cannot say avoir classe or avoir la classe; the partitive de is necessary.

they have - ils/elles ont. Ont is the third-person plural in the present tense of the verb avoir.

I am X years old - j’ai X ans. Note that in French, the verb avoir, “to have,” is used to give one’s age instead of être, “to be.” This directly translates to “I have X years.”

a girlfriend - une petite amie. In a familiar context, you can also use copine.

to arrive - arriver. The first-person singular form of this verb in the present, j’arrive, is commonly used as an expression to say “I’m on my way!”

You can remember these with the acronym BRAGS.