Muriel Martyliving French TW Knight Revisions by Muriel Marty Hodder & Stoughton A MEMBER OF THE HODDER HEADLINE GROUP.Orders: please contact Bookpoint Ltd, 130 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4SB. Telephone: (44) 0123 5 827720, Fax: (44) 0123 5 400454. Lines are open from 9,00 — 6.00, Monday to Saturday, with a 24 hour message answering service. You can also order through our website: www.madaboutbooks.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue entry for this title is available from The British Library ISBN 0 340 59669 4 First published 1952 Fifth edition published 1994 Impression number 15 14 Year 2004 Copyright in original material © T W Knight Copyright at revisions © 1994 Hodder Headline All rights reserved. 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Printed in Great Britain for Hodder & Stoughton Educational, a division of Hodder Headline, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH by Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, Berkshire.Contents Preface Accents, Elision, Punctuation Pronunciation Lesson 1 Gender of nouns; the definite article; the indefinite article; plural of nouns; present tense of avoir and étre. Reading passage: Le salon Lesson 2 The partitive article; agreement of adjectives; Il y a; questions. Reading passage: La salle 4 manger Lesson 3 Present tense of verbs ending in -er; showing possession; to or ai; present tense of aller. Reading passage: En ville Lesson 4 Question forms of verbs; negatives; use of de; possessive adjectives; present tense of dire, lire, partire and prendre. Reading passage: Au bureau Lesson 5 Present tense of verbs ending in -ir; position of adjectives; use of de; feminine forms of adjectives; on; present tense of jeter. Reading passage: La maison et le jardin Revision Lessons 1 —5 11 16 21 27 43, 38)LIVING FRENCH Lesson 6 Present tense of verbs ending in -re; irregular plural forms of nouns and adjectives; use of tout; the demonstrative adjective; Voici and Voila; present tense of boire and faire. Reading passage: Au parc Lesson 7 Personal pronoun objects of a verb (conjunctives); the imperative; position of personal pronoun objects with the imperative; present tense of venir, voir and vouloir. Reading passage: Les collectionneurs de timbres Lesson 8 Reflexive verbs; formation and position of adverbs; present tense of ouvrir and mettre. Reading passage: Le cambrioleur Lesson 9 Numerals 1-60; telling the time; seasons, months and days; present tense of irregular reflexive verb s’asseoir; the cedilla. Reading passage: Les habitudes des Dubois Lesson 10 Countries, inhabitants and languages, towns; phrases with avoir; omission of the article; irregularities of some -er verbs; word order. Reading passage: Au restaurant Revision Lessons 6 - 10 Lesson 11 Numerals from 60 onwards; collective numerals and measurements; comparative and superlative of adjectives; present tense of connaitre and savoir Reading passage: La France Lesson 12 Relative pronouns; the conjunction que. Reading passage: Une erreur @identité Lesson 13 Quel and lequel; demonstrative pronouns; comparative and superlative of adverbs; present tense of vouloir and pouvoir. Reading passage: Un grand magasin a Paris 4 55 63 72 80 90 98 100 dit 118CONTENTS Lesson 14 The future tense; use of the future tense; emphatic pronouns; present tense of écrire and recevoir. Reading passage: Une lettre de Paris Lesson 15 The perfect tense with avoir; agreement of the past participle after avoir; the position of adverbs. Reading passage: Une lettre de Londres Revision Lessons 11-15 Lesson 16 The perfect tense with étre; insertion of the definite article. Reading passage: Le Tour de France Lesson 17 Interrogative pronouns; possessive pronouns; present tense of croire and devoir. Reading passage: Les vendanges Lesson 18 The imperfect (or past continuous) tense; the present participle; prepositions plus gerund; present tense of conduire and rire. Reading passage: Le professeur distrait Lesson 19 Negatives; inversion of subject and verb. Reading passage: Un chien intelligent Revision Lessons 16-19 Lesson 20 The conditional tense; use of si. Reuiliny passage: Le choix Pune carriére Lesson 21 The infinitive after verbs; the infinitive after adjectives; the infinitive after nouns. Reading passage: La chasse au canard Lesson 22 Compound tenses; the passive; the verb devoir. Reading passage: Une histoire de lion 5 128 138 146 148 155 163 172 179 181 187 196LIVING FRENCH Lesson 23 Verbs + preposition + noun. Reading passage: Le perroquet Lesson 24 Some problem prepositions; miscellaneous pronouns and adjectives; miscellaneous adjectives and adverbs. Reading passage: Le cimetiére hanté Revision Lessons 20 — 24 The subjunctive Purpose of the subjunctive in French; formation of the subjunctive; rules for using the subjunctive; avoiding the subjunctive. Correspondence Commercial and official letters; personal correspondence; useful phrases Table of verbs Idioms and phrases Useful word lists Key to the exercises French-English vocabulary English-French vocabulary Abbreviations m. = masculine subj. = subject f. = feminine ind. = indicative adj. = adjective ady. = adverb pres. = present conj. = conjunction pron. = pronoun 204 211 220 222 233 239 246 252 263 294 307Preface to the fifth edition Living French, first published in 1952, has become a highly respected and well established coursebook. It has remained popu- lar during a period when language teaching methods have changed constantly and this ia a tremendous testimony to the thoroughness and effectiveness of T W Knight's original course. This book continues to be useful for learners seeking an organ- ised course which pays careful attention to the systematic building of grammar and vocabulary. Teachers who are looking for additional exercises to supple- ment other courses will also find this book of great value. In this edition, Muriel Marty has retained the careful structured approach of the original and has modified the content where appropriate to bring the material fully up to date. The course comprises a full introduction to modern French, containing sections on all the grammatical and structural essen- tials of the spoken language. John Langran Series ConsultantAccents, elision, punctuation ACCENTS | The circumflex This accent is used (a) to show the lengthening of the vowel owing to the dropping of s: fenétre (Latin: fenestra); (6) to show some other contraction: sir (Latin: securus); (¢) to distinguish two words spelt alike: cru (believed), and crit (grown). 2 The acute accent This indicates a closed, sharp e, and occurs when the next syllable is sounded. ému and always on a final e, if accented. donné, fatigué 3 The grave accent This indicates an open e, and occurs before a silent or mute e or -ent. le pére, ils donnérent This is also always used on a and u to show differences in meaning. a-—has a-to ou — or o— where Note also the grave accent on: trés — very, prés — near, aprés — after. (Initial capital letters do not, as a rule, take the accent, except E.)ACCENTS, ELISION, PUNCTUATION 4 The cedilla This is used to make the letter c soft (like an s) before the letters a, 0, u. le garcon Note that c is naturally soft before i or e. ici, ce 5 The tréma This is used over the second of two vowels, when this is not to be merged with the preceding vowel in a diphthong, but is to be pronounced separately. hair — fo hate (a and i pronounced separately — not as in j’ai — I have). ELISION In French the final vowel of the following words is elided and replaced by an apostrophe when it comes before another word beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, 0, u and y) or h mute. 1 -e in je, me, te, se, le, ce, de, ne, que always; and in lorsque, puisque, quoique before il, elle, on, un, une only; and in quelque before un, une only. 2 -ainla. 3 is elided only before another i, hence only in si before i, ils. -e jai, l'enfant, "homme lorsqu’il quelqu’un -a Vamie Sl aes iLLIVING FRENCH The letter h The letter h is generally mute or silent in French, but in certain cases it is aspirate or breathed and this is indicated by absence of elision. Ja haie (the hedge) PUNCTUATION le point «» les guillemets , lavirgule () _ les parenthéses le deux points - le tiret le point virgule = le trait d’union ? le point d‘interrogation ... les points de suspension ! le point d’exclamation Note: To conform with the usual practice in examination papers, and for simplification, English quotation marks are used in this book.Pronunciation The following notes are for the benefit of students working on their own. The English sounds given as a guide are in many cases only approximately similar. The French alphabet consists of the same twenty-six letters as the English alphabet, but certain accents and other signs are used in French with some letters (see pp. 8-9). Wis called double v and yis @ grec (i.e. Greek ‘i’), while gis gé (zhay) and jis gi (zhee). French cannot be spoken without opening the mouth and moving the lips — though English often is! SYLLABLES AND STRESS Stress on each syllable of a word is practically equal, but the last syllable of a word of more than one syllable is slightly stressed — not unstressed and almost unheard as is often the case in English. Note: DIVISION INTO SYLLABLES 1 A single consonant between two vowels always belongs to the syllable following it, e.g. café = ca-fé (not café). 2 Combinations of consonants between vowels are divided: e.g. im/por/tant — but if the last of a group of consonants is | or r it counts as one with the preceding consonant, e.g. ta/bleau, ven/dre/di. For mm and nn see Nasal Vowels. 3 gn always begins its syllable, e.g. compa/gnon.LIVING FRENCH CONSONANTS When a consonant ends a word in French it is usually not pro- nounced, though final c, f, 1 and r in words of one syllable are generally pronounced. Most consonants, except when final, are pronounced as in English, but note the following points: ebefores,i:y )_ 65 cen ie ici, cygne) ¢ before a, 0, u (¢a, garcon, recu) cbefore a, 0,u =k (car, cote, curé) (For cui . .. see Diphthongs.) ch = sh (champ) g before e, i=s in pleasure (age, agir) gn =n in onion (signe, campagne) gu = g in go, in most cases ignoring the u (guerre) but as gw in a few cases h is never pronounced ((h)omme) (see p. 10) -il, -ill- = y in yes (the I not being sounded at all) (gentil, grille) but there are a few words in which the ] in -il and -ill- is pronounced as 1 (fil, ville, village, mille, etc.), and initial il and ill are always pronounced normally (ile, illustration), i.e. with 1 sounded -ail, -aille = a(h)ee (travail, paille) -eil, -eille = ayee — but only when final (pareil, pareille) j=sin pleasure (je, jeter) qu =k (qui, que, quand) r must be either trilled or rolled in the throat (rat, grand, Paris) s at beginning of a word = sin sea (si, chasse, Ss, s in st, sp, sc } station, espéce, science) s between two vowels = z as in nose (maison, rose) s at end of a word is not pronounced (e.g. les livres) but fi(1)s is an important exception -isme = issme (tourisme) th = t (thé) -tion = -sion (station) -stion = -stion (question) W = v (wagon) except in words borrowed from English, when w sound is retained (tramway)PRONUNCIATION x = s in numbers six, dix (when not followed by a noun, e.g. si(x) sous) but silent when final otherwise (tableau(x)). See also, Liaison. VOWELS a =a in papa when short (lac, la), or in father when long (pas, mat), i.e. followed by s, or with circumflex e =e in quiet when not final (revenir) and in one-syllable words with only one consonant preceding e (le, me, te, se, ne) final e When unaccented e occurs as the final letter of a word of more than two letters it is silent, and is called e mute (porte, chaise). The plural ending -ent in tenses of verbs is also never sounded (donn(ent), allai(ent) ) € = ay in day, a short, quick sound (été, café); -er at the end of words of more than one syllable (donner); -ez (allez); -ai (lait), except followed by n or m (see Nasal Vowels) & =e in met (mére). E(s) (except in termination -es showing the plural) and es in the same syllable (espéce, succés); -et (com- plet). One-syllable words like mer, however, sound the r, so pronounce as mare i, y=iin machine (il, nid, y) © = 0 in so (gros, mot) when a silent consonant closes the sylla- ble; otherwise as 0 in not (or, porte) u has no equivalent in English and must never be pronounced like the English sound you or yew. Round the lips, pushing them forward, and then try to say the French sound for i. A true Scotsman saying ‘rude’ is a good attempt (tu, sur) A circumflex (see p. 8) on a vowel — 4, é, i, 6, G — requires the vowel to be carried on longer (mit, féte, ile, réle, sir)LIVING FRENCH NASAL VOWELS (Vowels pronounced through the nose) These have no equivalent in English (unless one has a cold) and occur in French when a vowel precedes in, or n at the end of a syllable (an, en, vin, on, un). The n or in is then not pronounced, but the preceding vowel is pronounced by letting the breath pass through the nose instead of through the lips. There are four nasal vowel-sounds in French: 1 am,an } aun in aunt without { (champ, dans) em, en thet (exemple, dent) 2 im, in, ym, yn -ang (timbre, vin, sympathie, aim, ain | without the syndicat) ein, ien g (faim, main) (teint, parisien) 3. om, on = ong without g (nombre, bon) 4 um, un = earn without n (parfum, brun) The phrase un’ bon’ vin’ blan(c)* contains the four different nasal sounds (final c after nasal is silent), but mm and nn do not usual- ly cause a nasal sound, and are pronounced (homme, bonne). DIPHTHONGS ‘Two vowels coming together are called a diphthong when they make one sound, and in French there are cases of three vowels coming together and forming only one sound. ai, ay ei, ey au, eau = 0 in note (saut, peau) eu, eeu =u in urn (feu, coeur) oi = wa (moi) ou = 00 in pool (vous) oui = we, sharply (oui) (c)ui = queer (cuisine) = ay in day (mai, payer, peine, asseyez)PRONUNCIATION There are exceptions to many of the above notes, which can be learnt only by the study of a dictionary giving phonetic pronuncia- tion, or the help of a teacher or a French-speaking friend. LIAISON Liaison (a French word meaning ‘joining’ or ‘linking’) occurs in French when a word ending in a consonant is immediately fol- lowed by a word beginning with a vowel or silent h (h mute). This final consonant is pronounced and carried on to the initial vowel of the word that follows. In such cases, s and x are pronounced like z (e.g. les _enfants, six_ éléves, un petit enfant, ils— ont); d is pronounced like t (e.g. vend-—il); and f like v (e.g. neuf_ heures). Such liaison occurs particularly in words closely connect- ed grammatically (e.g. adjective + noun, pronoun + verb) but et (and) is never run on, e.g. et il (never et_il). Avoid confusion with est-_ il? (is he?). THE FRENCH ALPHABET FRENCH NAME FRENCH NAME AND AND LETTER PRONUNCIATION LETTER PRONUNCIATION a a n enne b bé ° o c cé p pe d dé q ku e€ es ay erre f effe s esse g gé t té h ache u u i i v vé j ji w double vé k ka x iks J elle y; igrec m emme Zz zedeGRAMMAR Gender of nouns In French all nouns are either masculine or feminine. You will have no difficulty in deciding the gender of people, but the gender of things and abstract nouns is determined, with few exceptions, by the ending of the noun. Nouns ending in -e mute have developed from Latin nouns with the feminine ending -a, and are therefore usually feminine. Most abstract nouns are also feminine. The definite article Singular Plural Masculine le (I’ before vowel or mute h) } les (the) Feminine la (I’ before vowel or mute h) m. le pére, l'enfant, l'homme les péres, the father, the child, the man les enfants, f. la mére, l’église, heure les hommes, the mother, the church, the hour and so on. The indefinite article Singular Plural Masculine un un pére, un enfant, un homme des (some) Feminine une des péres, une mére, une église, une heure and so on.LIVING FRENCH Plural of nouns In French the plural of nouns is formed, with few exceptions, by adding -s as in English. If the noun already ends in -s in the singular, no addition is necessary. Singular Plural le pere les péres le fils (the son) les fils (the sons) Present tense of avoir (to have) and étre (to be) Avoir to have jai Ihave je sui Tam tuas you have you are ha [les } ienas iu est fet Y sis elle she has she is nous avons we have nous sommes we are yous avez you have vous étes you are ils } one they (m) have {ils they (m) are sont elles they (f) have elles they (f) are Note that tu is singular only, and is used when speaking to a rela- tive, a close friend, a child or an animal. And vous is used for you, both for singular and plural, in all other cases. Remember to write j’ instead of je when the verb begins with a vowel, such as j’ai. If a noun is the subject of the verb the pronoun must be omitted. Le pére est dans le salon. (not Le pére ilest. . .) The father is in the lounge.le canapé le chat Tenfant (m/f) le fauteuil le livre le pére le plancher le salon Ta chaise la cheminée la famille la fenétre la fille Ja maison la mére la pendule la porte Madame Marie LIVING FRENCH VOCABULARY settee, sofa cat child armchair book father floor lounge, sitting-room chair fireplace, manielpiece family window daughter house mother clock (small) door Mrs Mary le feu le fils le journal le mur Je tableau le tapis Pierre Monsieur deux et on? qui? assis aussi avec dans derriére devant sur sous where? who? sitting, seated also with in behind in front of on under Note that words spelt identically, or almost identically, in each language (and whose gender, in the case of nouns, is clearly indi- cated in the reading matter) are omitted from the vocabulary. Verbs and any other special words which have been dealt with in the Grammar preceding each lesson will also be omitted.LIVING FRENCH READING PASSAGE ©] Le salon Le salon a une porte et deux fenétres. Il a aussi une cheminée, une table, des chaises, deux fauteuils, un canapé, et un poste de télévision. Le tableau est sur le mur; la pendule est sur la cheminée; le tapis est sur le plancher; la lampe est derriére la table; la télévi- sion est dans un coin. La famille Dubois est dans le salon. Monsieur Dubois est le péere; il est assis dans un fauteuil devant le feu. Il a un journal et une pipe. Madame Dubois est la mére; elle est sur le canapé, sous la lampe, et elle a un livre. Monsieur et Madame Dubois sont les parents; Pierre et Marie sont les enfants. Pierre est le fils; il est devant la fenétre, avec Marie, la fille. [ls ont un chat; il est sous la table. QUESTIONS 1 Ouest le pére? 2 Qui est sur le canape? 3 Ou est le chat? 4 Quia un livre? 5 Ow est la mére? 6 Qui sont les parents? 7 Ot est le tapis? 8 Qui a un journal? 9 Owest la pendule? 10 Qui est devant la fenétre?A D E iE LIVING FRENCH EXERCISES Write le, la, I’ or les before the following: pendule famille pére livre murs fauteuil enfant fenétres cheminée tableau Write un, une or des before the following: pipe canapé mére murs enfant salon chats fenétre journal tables Replace the infinitive, in brackets, with the appropriate form of the verb: 1 Nous (étre) dans le salon. 6 Il (avoir) un journal. 2 Ils (étre) devant la lampe. 7 Vous (avoir) des livres. 3 Je (Etre) derriére la table. 8 Ils (avoir) un chat. 4 Vous (étre) le pére. 9 Je (avoir) une pipe. 5 Marie (étre) la fille. 10 Nous (avoir) une pendule. Fill in the appropriate missing word or words: 1 Le salona fenétres et porte. 2 La pendule la cheminée. 3 Monsieur Dubois est un fauteuil 4 est la mére; elle un livre. 5 Pierre le fils; Marie est la > le feu. Translate into French: 1 We are in the house. 2 The children are in front of the window. 3 You are behind the table. 4 Mary is the daughter. 5 She has a newspaper. 6 The books are on the mantelpiece under the picture. 7 We have two windows and two doors in the lounge. 8 Iam behind the armchair in front of the lamp. 9 The father has a pipe, and he also has a book. 10 Mr and Mrs Dubois have a family, a son and a daughter. 11 The television set is in a corner. Write in French a few lines about La famille. Look at the word lists on p. 253 and p. 255 to help you. 202 GRAMMAR The partitive article (some, any) In English you often omit the partitive article, and say We have pens and paper instead of some pens and some paper, but in French the word some must never be omitted, and it is expressed by the words of the (some bread = of the bread). PARTITIVE ARTICLE Singular Plural Masculine du Feminine dela (before a vowel or mute h: de P’) des (before a vowel or mute h: de I’) du pain some bread de Peau some water de la viande some meat des tables some tables (Never use de le for du, or de les for des.) Le garcon a du pain et The boy has bread and des biscuits. biscuits. Agreement of adjectives Adjectives in French, unlike adjectives in English, must agree with 21LIVING FRENCH the nouns to which they refer, showing by their endings whether they are masculine or feminine, singular or plural. AGREEMENT RULES Singular Add -e to form the feminine, unless the adjective already ends in -e in the masculine, in which case no change is required. rouge (red) Note, however, that adjectives ending in -€ in the masculine require an additional -e to form the feminine. fatigué (tired) fatiguée Plural Add -s to masculine or feminine singular. Le garcon est grand. The boy is big. La piéce est grande. The room is big. Les garcons sont grands. The boys are big. Les piéces sont grandes. The rooms are big. Note that if two or more nouns are the subject of a sentence, and one or more of these are masculine, the masculine takes preference, and the adjective ending required is consequently the masculine plural. Le plat etla nappe sont blancs. The dish and the cloth are white. llya A very common and useful expression in French, used in making statements, is ily a... (there is or there are). Il y a un livre sur la chaise. There is a book on the chair. lly a des tleurs sur la table. There are some flowers on the table. Questions The simplest way of asking a question in French is to put: Est-ce que .. .(literally, Js it that. . .) before a statement. 22LIVING FRENCH Est-ce que le pére est dans Is the father in the room? la piéce? Est-ce qu'il y a des fleurs sur Are there any flowers on the table? la table? Note that que becomes qu’ before a vowel. Est-ce qu’il y a un livre sur Is there a book on the table? la table? VOCABULARY le beurre butter pur pure le buffet sideboard rouge red Vassiette (f) plate vert green la cuiller | spoon l'eau (f) water la cuillére la fleur flower le café coffee lafourchette —_fork le couteau knife la nappe tablecloth (pl. couteaux) lasalle a le fromage cheese manger dining-room Je lait milk la tasse cup le légume vegetable la viande meat le pain bread de (d’) of le plat dish ou or le sucre sugar oui yes Je vase vase pour Sor le verre glass trois le vin wine quatre blanc white Comment est (f. blanche) le vase? brun brown De quelle grand big, large couleur? joli pretty Qu’est-ce noir black qu'il y a? petit little, small 23LIVING FRENCH READING PASSAGE La salle a manger La salle 4 manger est grande. Dans la salle 4 manger il y a un buf fet, une table et quatre chaises. Sur la table il y a une nappe. Elle est blanche. Sur la nappe il y a des serviettes, des couteaux, des fourchettes, des cuillers, des assiettes et trois verres. Il y a aussi trois tasses pour le café, Les tasses sont petites. Il y a du pain, du beurre et du fromage sur une assiette. Il y a aussi de la viande et des légumes sur un plat, une carafe d’eau et une bouteille de vin. Qu’est-ce qu'il y a dans les verres? Dans les verres il y a du vin ou de l'eau. Le vin est rouge ou blanc. Le café est noir. Le sucre et le lait sont blancs. Est-ce qu’il y a des fleurs sur la table? Oui, il y a des fleurs dans un vase. De quelle couleur sont les fleurs? Les fleurs sont blanches et rouges. Et comment est le vase? Le vase est joli; il est brun et vert. 24LIVING FRENCH QUESTIONS 1 Ouest la nappe? 2 Est-ce qu'il y a une tasse sur la table? 3 De quelle couleur est le vin? 4 De quelle couleur sont les fleurs? 5 Ot est la viande? 6 Est-ce qu’il y a de I’eau dans le verre? 7 Ot est le fromage? 8 Comment est le vase? 9 Qu’est-ce qu’il y a dans la tasse? 10 Qu’est-ce qu’il y a sur le plat? EXERCISES A Put the correct form of the partitive article (du, de la, de I’, des) before the following nouns: café sucre tasses fromage viande beurre eau couleur vin plats verres lait pain assiettes légumes B (a) Alter, if necessary, each adjective to make it agree with its noun: La table est (petit) Les vases sont (joli) Les fleurs sont (rouge) L’eau est (pur) Le café est (noir) Le vin est (rouge) Les tasses sont (petit) Les légumes sont (vert) L’assiette est (grand) La nappe est (blanc)LIVING FRENCH (b) Fill in a suitable adjective, and make it agree with its noun: Ja lampe est __ les filles sont les tapis sont __ la pendule est le livre est __ C Translate: some coffee the chairs are big some cups the water is pure some water the milk and the sugar some meat are white there are three chairs Is there some bread? they have four plates Are there some flowers? the cup is small What colour is the wine? the flowers are pretty What is the dining-room like? D Translate: The dining-room is small. There are four chairs and a table in the dining-room. On the table there is a tablecloth. It is green. There are also plates, knives, spoons and forks. Is there a cup on the table? Yes, there are three cups and a glass. The cups are small. What is there in the cups? There is coffee in the cups. What is there in the glass? There is some wine. The coffee is black and the milk is white. There is also meat on a dish, and there are vegetables on a plate. Are there any flowers? Yes, there are some flowers in a vase. What is the vase like? It is pretty; it is green and brown. What colour are the flowers? They are red and white. E Write in French a few lines about La table. 26GRAMMAR Present tense of verbs ending in -er (Group I, regular verbs) Most verbs in French, with the exception of about thirty common irregular verbs, which you will learn by degrees, form their tenses in a regular way, following definite rules. There are three groups of these regular verbs. The largest and most important group is those whose name, or infinitive, ends in -er, such as donner (to give). All verbs whose infinitive ends in -er are conjugated like donner, except aller (to go) and envoyer (to send). The -er is called the ending, and the donn- the stem. To make the present tense of Group I regular verbs, we remove the -er, and put on the endings: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. Donner fo give je donne I give tu donnes you give (sing. familiar only) 7 | donne te } gives elle she nous donnons we give yous donnez you give (sing. or pl) ils a elles | donnent they give 27LIVING FRENCH The present tense in French translates both the simple present and the continuous present in English: je donne I give or Jam giving and so on. Note that there are a few verbs in Group I with the vowel e as stem vowel, and this must take a grave accent before a final mute sylla- ble (one that ends in -e without an accent, -€s or -ent). Acheter to buy jachéte nous achetons tu achétes vous achetez il achéte ils achétent Similarly: lever (¢o lift), mener (¢o lead), promener (to walk). Showing possession The French do not use ’s to show possession as you do in English, but always say the hat of John, the book of the boy. The French for of is de. le chapeau de Jean. John’s hat. But when de is combined with le, la, les for of the it becomes exact- ly like the partitive article, some, which you have already learnt. SINGULAR Masculine du (de I’ before a vowel or mute h) Feminine de la (de l’ before a vowel or mute h) Singular Plural du garcgon of the boy des garcons de homme of the man des hommes de la femme of the woman des femmes de l’école of the school des écoles 28LIVING FRENCH le livre du garcon the boy’s book les livres des garcons the boys’ books To or at a Jean to John a Paris to or at Paris aun magasin to or at a shop but when a is combined with le, la, les it becomes: Masculine au (al before a vowel or silent h) Feminine ala (al before a vowel or silent h) Singular Plural au garcon to the boy aux garcons alhomme to the man aux hommes ala femme to the woman aux femmes alécole to the school aux écoles Je donne le livre au garcon I give the book to the boy eta la fille. and to the girl. Irregular verbs You will need to learn by heart the present tense of some twenty common irregular verbs, which are summarised in a table at the back of the book. You have already learnt avoir (to have) and étre (to be). The next important irregular verb is aller (/o go). All irregular verbs will be indicated in the English-French vocabulary by an asterisk. 29Aller to go je vais tu vas il (elle) va nous allons vous allez ils (elles) vont LIVING F RENCH I go, am going you go he (she) goes we go SHAETRD they go Pagent (de police) largent (m) Vautobus (m), le bus le chapeau le coin le déjeuner Pépicier le franc le magasin Je marchand le marché le médecin le panier le prix le ticket de bus le sac en plastique admirer apporter arriver déjeuner Vamie (f) VOCABULARY policeman money bus hat corner lunch grocer franc shop shopkeeper market doctor basket price bus ticket carrier-bag to admire to bring to arrive to have lunch friend la boutique la femme Vheure (£) la maison la place la pomme la robe (de soie) la rue Ja ville Ja vitrine la voiture cing cinquante douze quatre-vingts six beau (f. belle) gai demander entrer (dans) monter (dans) porter quitter small shop woman, wife hour (o'clock) house square apple dress (of silk) street town Shop-window car five fifty twelve eighty six fine, beautiful bright, cheerful to ask, ask for to enter to get or climb into to carry, wear to leave 30LIVING FRENCH regarder to look at puis then, next rencontrer to meet quand when rentrer to come back, quel (f. quelle) what return home qui who, which chez to or at the (subject) house or shop of — Quel beau What a fine combien? how much? marché! market! d’abord firstly Qu’est-ce What is it de bonne heure early que ...? that...? ensemble together Qui est-ce Who is it en ville in town que... ? that? prés de near You will learn more numbers in lessons Y and 11. On French buses and at French stations you are required to push your ticket into a machine which marks it with the date. When you do this, vous compostez. READING PASSAGE En ville Madame Dubois, qui porte un joli chapeau, quitte la maison de bonne heure. Il y a un arrét de bus au coin de la rue. Il y a un agent de police prés du coin. Madame Dubois monte dans le bus, et puis elle composte un ticket de bus. Elle arrive en ville, et va d’abord chez !’épicier, 00 elle achéte des provisions. Elle donne quatre-vingts francs a l’épicier. Puis elle va dans les grands magasins, qui sont trés gais. Les vitrines des magasins sont jolies. Elle regarde les robes, et elle achéte une robe de soie dans une boutique prés de la place du marché. Elle rencontre la femme du médecin, et elles vont ensemble au marché. Quel beau marché! Elles admirent les fruits, les legumes, et les belles fleurs. 31LIVING FRENCH Madame Dubois demande au marchand le prix des pommes: ‘Combien le kilo?’ ‘Douze francs, madame.’ Elle donne de l’argent au fils du marchand, qui apporte les fruits dans un sac en plastique. Puis les amies entrent dans un restaurant, ow elles déjeunent. Aprés le déjeuner elles vont au cinéma, et elles rentrent a la mai- son a six heures dans la voiture de l’amie de Madame Dubois. QUESTIONS 1 Qu’est-ce que Madame Dubois porte? 2 Ou est-ce qu’elle monte? 3 Ot este qu’elle arrive? 4 Qu’estce qu’elle regarde? 5 Qu’estce qu'elle achéte? 6 Qui est-ce que Madame Dubois rencontre? 7 Ow est-ce qu’elles vont ensemble? 8 Qu’est-ce qu’il ya au marché? 9 Qu’est-ce que Madame Dubois donne au fils du marchand? 10 A quelle heure est-ce que les deux amies rentrent a la maison? EXE RIG ISIES A Replace the infinitive, in brackets, with the appropriate form of the verb: 1 Elle (porter) un costume. 6 Je (entrer) dans le restaurant. 2 Nous (arriver) 4 la ville. 7 Elle (demander) des pommes. 3. Ills (acheter) des tickets. 8 Tls (aller) au cinéma. 4 Vous (regarder) la vitrine. 9 Nous (rentrer) a six heures. 5 Il (aller) au marché. 10 Vous (quitter) la maison B Put of the (du, de la, de P, or des) before the following nouns: marchand restaurant coin médecins pommes autobus amie maison rue femme 32LIVING FRENCH C Put to the (au, ala, A; or aux) before the following nouns: ville marchand meédecins voiture magasins amie cinéma place coin marché D Fill in the appropriate missing word: 1 Madame Dubois porte un __ chapeau; elle va ___ magasins. 2 Madame Dubois un ticket de bus. 3 Marie —_ de l’argent au marchand qui —_ un sac en plastique. 4 Les amies __ les vitrines, __ sont trés gaies. 5 Lafemme — meédecin et Pierre __ au cinéma. E Translate: early to the market square at the corner of the street the doctor’s son to the shops we go to the cinema near the shop What a fine hat! the windows are bright firstly the shopkeeper’s wife six francs a kilo the price of the vegetables I get in the bus at five o'clock Do they have lunch at the the friend’s car restaurant? Mrs Dubois’ hat Where does he go? F Translate: Mrs Dubois arrives early at the town. She goes to the shops with a friend who is the doctor’s wife. They buy two dresses, which are very pretty. Then they go together to the market where they admire the vegetables and the beautiful flowers. They also look at the fruit. The shopkeeper’s son brings a carrier-bag and he gives some apples to Mrs Dubois’ friend. They have lunch at a restaurant near the market. At two o’clock Mrs Dubois goes to the cinema, but the doctor’s wife gets into a bus at the corner of the street. G Write in French a few lines about Le marché or La ville. Look at the word list on p. 257 to help you. 334 GRAMMAR Question forms of verbs Although the expression Est-ce que, which has been used to ask a question in previous lessons, can be used at all times, a simpler and more usual method of asking a question in French is to invert the subject and verb. QUESTIONS Etre Avoir Donner suisje? aije? est-ce que je donne? am I? have I? dol give? es-tu? as-tu? donnes-tu? est-il (-elle)? a-til (-elle)? donne-til (-elle)? sommes-nous? avons-nous? donnons-nous? étes-vous? avez-vous? donnez-vous? sontils (-elles)? ontils (-elles)? donnentils (-elles)? Remember the following points. When the verb ending before il or elle is a vowel a t is inserted. atil? has he? Similarly, in the case of il y a (there is, there are), write y a-til? (is there? are there?). Although you can use suis-je and ai-je, you should generally use est-ce que before je to avoid an awkward sound. 34LIVING FRENCH Est-ce que je donne? (Never donne-je? — but donné-je is found in literary French.) When there is a noun subject to a verb instead of a pronoun, you should place the noun first, then invert the verb and add the necessary pronoun. L’homme, donne-t-il? Does the man give? But you can always avoid this if you wish by using est-ce que. Est-ce que "homme donne? Negatives ‘To express not with a verb, e.g. / do not give, you should put ne (n’ before a vowel) before the verb, and pas after. NEGATIVES Donner Avoir je ne donne pas. je n‘ai pas I do not give I have not tu ne donnes pas tu n’as pas il (elle) ne donne pas il (elle) n’a pas nous ne donnons pas nous n’ayons pas yous ne donnez pas vous n’avez pas ils (elles) ne donnent pas ils (elles) n’ont pas Notice the position of ne: When asking a negative question Ne suis-je pas? Am I not? Ne donnons-nous pas? Don't we give? N’a-t-il pas? Hasn't he? With ilya Iln’ya pas. There is not, are not. N’y a-t-il pas? Ts there, are there not? 35LIVING FRENCH In everyday conversation the French often omit the ne (but never the pas) so Je n’aime pas les pommes (J don't like apples), for example, may be said as J’aime pas les pommes. Use of de De (de’ before a vowel or h mute) is used instead of du, de la, de Y, des for some, any in the following cases: AFTER A NEGATIVE Je n’ai pas de stylo. I haven't a (any) pen. Iln’ya pas d’eau. There is no water (= not any). AFTER EXPRESSIONS OF INDEFINITE QUANTITY Other than the words some, any, which are translated by du, de la, de P, des; and the adjectives quelques (a few) and plusieurs (several). beaucoup de many, alotof wopde too many, assez de enough too much tant de so much, autant de as much, So many as many un peu de a little combien de? —_ how many, peu de Sew, little how much? beaucoup de pommes a lot of apples trop d’eau too much water un peu de vin @ little wine Also after such expressions as: Adjective plein d’eau full of water un verre de vin a glass of wine uns { un sac de blé a sack of corn EXCEPTIONS bien des pommes many, a lot of, apples encore du pain some more bread la plupart des maisons most of the houses 36LIVING FRENCH Possessive adjectives SINGULAR my your his, her, its our your their These agree in gender and number with the noun possessed, and not with the possessor. ma mére et mon pére my mother and father son mari her husband In other words, they agree with their adjacent noun, just like le, Ta, les. Before a feminine noun beginning with a vowel or mute h write mon, ton, son instead of ma, ta, sa. mon amie (not: ma amie) Note that ton, ta and tes, like tu, are used only when addressing a relative, a close friend, a child or an animal. Present tense of dire, lire, partir and prendre Dire to say Lire to read je dis je lis tu dis tu lis il (elle) dit il (elle) lit nous disons nous lisons vous dites vous lisez ils (elles) disent ils (elles) lisent 37LIVING FRENCH Partir to leave Prendre to take Jje pars je prends tu pars tu prends il (elle) part il (elle) prend nous partons nous prenons vous partez vous prenez ils (elles) partent ils (elles) prennent Note that compound forms of any verb are conjugated like their parent verb. For example, repartir (to leave again) is conjugated like partir; reprendre (fo take again), comprendre (to understand) are conjugated like prendre. VOCABULARY lami (m) friend le diner dinner Vaprés-midi (in the) le facteur postman afternoon Varrivée arrival le billet rail ticket la dactylo typist le bureau office, desk la gare station le bureau de la lettre letter poste, la poste post office la machine le courrier mail a écrire typewriter la réponse answer huit eight la serviette brief-case aprés after fatigué tired aujourd’hui today la métro Underground avec with le parapluie umbrella d’accord? O.K.? agreed? le petit encore again, more deéjeuner breakfast jusqu’a until le repas meal midi 12 noon le temps time mais non! oh no! le timbre stamp oui yes le travail work pour tn order to 38LIVING FRENCH causer to chat en retard late (for a chercher to look for fixed time) dicter to dictate tard late (ata téléphoner to telephone late hour) sept seven Note that, in everyday conversation, the French often make a question simply by raising their voice, in preference to the inver- sion and the est-ce que forms. READING PASSAGE Au bureau Monsieur Dubois entre un peu tard dans la salle 4 manger. La famille est 4 table. Il prend généralement le petit déjeuner 4 sept heures. Il demande 4 sa femme: ‘Je suis en retard?’ ‘Oui,’ dit-elle. ‘Tu n’as pas beaucoup de temps.’ Il cherche son parapluie et sa serviette et part pour la gare. A la gare il prend son billet et il achéte un journal au kiosque. Puis il composte son billet et monte dans le train. Quand il arrive a Paris il prend le métro, et entre dans son bureau a huit heures. A son arrivée il demande 4 sa dactylo: ‘Y atil du courrier, mademoiselle?’ Elle est assise devant sa machine 4 é€crire, et elle donne cing lettres 4 Monsieur Dubois. ‘Il n’y a pas beaucoup de courrier aujourd’hui,’ dit-il, et il lit les lettres de ses clients et dicte les réponses jusqu’a midi. A midi Monsieur Dubois et son ami Monsieur Lebrun dé- jeunent, et aprés le repas Monsieur Dubois téléphone a sa femme. Il dit: ‘Il n’y a pas trop de travail aujourd’hui. Je vais rentrer par le train de six heures trente. Nous allons au cinéma aprés diner, d’accord?” L’aprés-midi il cause avec des clients. Le facteur apporte encore des lettres. Sa dactylo dit: ‘Je n’ai pas de timbres. Je vais 39LIVING FRENCH acheter des timbres au bureau de poste.” Monsieur Dubois ferme son bureau a six heures, prend un taxi pour aller a la gare, et rentre a la maison. Sa femme dit: ‘Tu n’es pas fatigué?’ ‘Mais non,’ ditil. ‘Est-ce que les enfants yont au ciné- ma avec nous?” Aprés le diner, 4 huit heures, Monsieur et Madame Dubois par- tent au cinéma avec leurs enfants. QUESTIONS 1 A quelle heure Monsieur Dubois prend-il son petit déjeuner? 2 Qu’est-ce qu’il demande a sa femme? 3 Qu’est-ce qu’il cherche? 4 Oi entre-t-il 4 huit heures? 5 Qu’est-ce qu’il dicte jusqu’a midi? 6 Son ami, déjeune-t-il avec Monsieur Dubois? 7 La dactylo, a-t-elle des timbres? 8 A quelle heure Monsieur Dubois ferme-t-il son bureau? 9 Est-il fatigue? 10 Combien d’enfants a Monsieur Dubois? EXERCISES Replace the infinitive, in brackets, with the appropriate ending: 1 Vous (dire) 6 Je (partir) 2 Ils (dire) 7 Vous (partir) 3 Elle (lire) 8 Ils (prendre) 4 Nous (lire) 9 Nous (prendre) 5 Ils (lire) 10 Vous (étre) Make each of the following sentences (a) interrogative and (b) negative: 1 Monsieur Dubois porte un chapeau. 2 Test en retard. 40LIVING FRENCH 3 Ila un parapluie. 4 Monsieur Dubois et son ami déjeunent. 5 Ily a beaucoup de lettres. 6 Je dicte une réponse. 7 Les enfants vont au cinéma. 8 Je suis fatigué. 9 Le monsieur prend un billet. 10 Elle achéte un journal. Insert a suitable possessive adjective (e.g. mon, ma, mes, and so on): 1 Il porte __ parapluie. 6 Vous achetez billet. 2 Nous lisons __ lettres. 7 Tu prends __ serviette. 3 Ils parlent 4_—_ amis. 8 Nous cherchons __ train. 4 Elle rencontre —_ amie. 9 Elle parle a___ pére. 5 Je lis — courrier. 10 Ils entrent dans __ bureau. Insert correctly: du, de la, de I’, des or de, d’ before the following: — billets je n’ai pas — vin —viande —légumes —eau peu — lettres _ pain elle n’a pas — timbres beaucoup — café trop —eau Translate: How many clients? a glass of milk few trains several books a little water most of the letters enough work we have no stamps too many apples Haven’t you any tickets? Translate: Mr and Mrs Dubois and their children have breakfast at seven o’clock. Mr Dubois has not too much time. He leaves for the station, where he buys his newspaper. When he arrives in Paris he meets his friend Mr Lebrun and they go together to their office. Mr Dubois asks (to) his typist: 4lLIVING FRENCH ‘Are there many letters today?’ She says: ‘No, there are few letters, sir.’ She is seated in front of her typewriter, and she has a lot of paper, pens and pencils. Mr Dubois dictates letters until twelve o’clock. Then he goes to have lunch. After the meal he chats with his clients, and at four o’clock he telephones to his wife: ‘We are going to the cinema after dinner, O.K? There are few clients, and I have not too much work. I am returning by the six thirty train.’ Describe in French, from memory, La journée de Monsieur Dubois. Note that la journée means the whole day (not journey). 42GRAMMAR Present tense of verbs ending in -ir (Group Il, regular verbs) Verbs of this group are not nearly so numerous as those belong- ing to Group I. In the plural, they insert -iss after the stem. The endings are: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. Finir to finish (Stem: fin-) je finis I finish nous finissons tu finis vous finissez il (elle) finit ils (elles) finissent There are a few important verbs ending in -ir which are irregular and do not insert -iss in the present. Note particularly: dormir (to sleep), partir (to leave or to set off), servir (to serve), sortir (to go oul). These are all conjugated like partir (Lesson 4). Position of adjectives In French, with a few exceptions, adjectives are placed after the nouns they describe. Adjectives placed after their nouns include all adjectives of colour and nationality, and all long adjectives. 43LIVING FRENCH Je chien noir the black dog une maison anglaise an English house une lecon intéressante an interesting lesson Two or more adjectives following a noun are joined by et. Vherbe verte et épaisse the thick green grass ADJECTIVES PLACED BEFORE THEIR NOUNS The following list of common adjectives which generally precede their nouns should be learnt by heart: large broad long long mauvais bad méchant wicked, nasty meilleur betier méme same petit little, small high, tall vieux old young vilain nasty, ugly pretty un beau jour a beautiful day une jolie petite maison @ pretty little house All numeral adjectives also precede their nouns; as do chaque (each), plusieurs (several), quelque (some, a few), and tout (all). trois livres three books plusieurs livres several books le troisiéme livre the third bookLIVING FRENCH ADJECTIVES PLACED BEFORE, OR AFTER, ACCORDING TO MEANING brave worthy, good brave cher beloved expensive dernier final past nouveau fresh, another recently-made pauvre to be pitied penniless propre own clean Note that the above rules are given for general guidance; the posi- tion of the adjective in modern French is not always a question of tule, but one of style or of emphasis, and many adjectives other than those listed above will often be found placed before the noun. Use of de De (d’ before a vowel or mute h) is written instead of des for some, any when an adjective comes before a noun in the plural. de bons livres some good books Note: une jeune fille (a girl), des jeunes filles, as the adjective is really part of the noun in such cases. Feminine forms of adjectives (You learnt the rule for forming regular feminines in Lesson 2.) Notice the following irregular groups: Masculine ending Feminine ending (1) -er tre cher, chére (dear) @y x -ve actif, active (active) GC) =x -se heureux, heureuse (happy) 45LIVING FRENCH (4) -on -onne -ien | These double -ienne -eil the final -eille -el consonant -elle -et -ette bon, bonne good parisien, parisienne Parisian pareil, pareille similar cruel, cruelle cruel muet, muette mute (5) You will need to learn the following irregular feminines: MASCULINE FEMININE MEANING basse low blanche white douce sweet, soft Epaisse thick favorite favourite fraiche fresh gentille nice grasse fat grosse big, fat longue long séche dry (6) Three common adjectives which come before the noun have a special form before a masculine noun beginning with a vowel or mute h, as well as an irregular feminine form: MASCULINE FEMININE MEANING (Consonant) (Vowel or mute h) beau bel belle beautiful fou fol folle mad nouveau nouvel nouvelle new vieux vieil vieille old 46LIVING FRENCH un bel été a beautiful summer un nouvel ami a new friend un vieil oncle an old uncle See pages 55 and 56 for the special masculine plural of adjectives ending in -au and in -x. On French expresses people go, you go, one goes, by on with the 3rd person singular of the verb. (An I’ may be inserted before on to avoid an awkward sound, e.g. si l’on = if one.) On va a l’église. One goes to church. Present tense of jeter Note that the Group I verb jeter (to throw) doubles the t before a mute syllable in the present tense. Jeter to throw je jette nous jetons tu jettes vous jetez il (elle) jette ils (elles) jettent VOCABULARY le boeuf beef, ox le rez-de- le chien dog chaussée T’escalier (m) staircase le r6ti l’étage (m) storey, floor le toit le fond bottom, end entrée le jardin garden aimer les meubles (m) furniture jouer le potage soup la balle 47LIVING FRENCH la banlieue la chambre a coucher bedroom la cheminée chimney la cuisine kitchen la dent tooth la haie hedge l‘herbe (f.) grass la pelouse lawn la plate-bande _flower-bed la pomme de terre potato la salle de bain bathroom la salle de séjour living room cest itis Note the following abbreviations: M. (Monsieur) Mme (Madame) Mlle (Mademoiselle) outer suburbs obéir to obey préparer to prepare punir to punish saisir to seize *sortir to go out travailler to work trouver to find A cété at the side au milieu in the middle comment? how? de Of, from dix ten entre between quand when trés very bon (fbonne) good chaque each confortable comfortable délicieux delicious élégant elegant entouré (de) surrounded (my) fier (f. fiére) proud frais (f. fraiche) fresh gentil (f.-lle) nice, kind haut high large broad long (f. longue) long premier first roti Toast situé situated vieux (f. vieille) oldLIVING FRENCH READING PASSAGE La maison et le jardin La belle maison de M. et Mme Dubois est située dans la banlieue, a dix kilométres de Paris. C’est une grande maison blanche. Au milieu du toit rouge, il y a une haute cheminée. Il y a un grand garage sous la maison. Au rez-de-chaussée, il y a une entrée, une petite salle 4 manger, un salon élégant, et une cuisine. Madame Dubois travaille dans la cuisine, ot elle prépare le diner: un potage délicieux, un réti de boeuf avec des pommes de terre réties, du fromage, et des fruits. Elle choisit aussi un bon vin ronge pour M. Dubois. On monte par un large escalier au premier étage, ou il y a trois chambres a coucher et une salle de bain. Dans chaque chambre on trouve de jolis meubles. Les fenétres ont des yolets verts. Derriére la maison et a cété, il y a un joli jardin. Il y a de belles fleurs dans les longues plates-bandes prés de la pelouse verte. Le jardin est entouré d’une haie épaisse. 49LIVING FRENCH A huit heures M. et Mme Dubois et leurs deux enfants finissent leur repas et sortent dans le jardin. Leur chien, Bijou, joue dans Vherbe fraiche avec une balle. Les enfants jettent la balle au fond du jardin, et Bijou saisit la balle entre ses dents. La famille Dubois aime le gentil Bijou, et on ne punit pas le vieil animal quand il n’obéit pas. Mme Dubois est trés fiére de son beau jardin. QUESTIONS 1 Od est la maison de M. Dubois? 2 De quelle couleur est le toit? 3 Qu’est-ce qu’il y a au rez-de-chaussée? 4 Qui prépare le diner? 5 Qu’est-ce que Madame Dubois choisit? 6 Comment est-ce qu’on monte au premier étage? 7 Qu’est-ce qu’il y a dans chaque chambre? 8 Ot est-ce qu’on trouve de belles fleurs? 9 Qui jette la balle du chien? 10 Comment Bijou saisit-il la balle? EXGER GISESS Replace the infinitive, in brackets, with the appropriate form of the verb: 1 Nous (finir) le repas. 6 Il (jeter) la balle. 2 (finir)-il le travail? 7 (punir)-vous le chien? 3 Je ne (finir) pas le livre. 8 Nous (saisir) le chat. 4 Vous (jeter) le fruit. 9 Ils (sortir) dans le jardin. 5 Ils ne (obéir) pas toujours? 10 Elle ne (jouer) pas dans la maison. Give the feminine of the following adjectives: large heureux cruel nouveau. situé doux vieux frais 50LIVING FRENCH cher actif parisien muet bon long rouge gros beau blane sec épais Make the adjectives in brackets agree with their nouns: une maison (blanc) de (long) plates-bandes un (beau) ami une femme (fier) de (bon) chambres la (vieux) cheminée une haie (€pais) des pelouses (vert) Vherbe (frais) une pomme de terre (délicieux) (a) Place the adjectives in brackets before or after their nouns, as required, and make the necessary agreement: 1 (frais) Pherbe 2 (beau) l'auto 3 (nouveau) lami 4 (fatigué) la mére 5 (vieux) la maison 6 (bon, confortable) une chambre 7 (vert, premier) la maison 8 (blanc, rouge) des fleurs 9 (haut, noir) les cheminées 10 (joli, petit) des jardins (b) Fill in suitable adjectives, making the necessary agreement: 1. ==anaison = 2 Nous avons des fleurs __ et _. 3 Un escalier monte au —_ étage. 4 5 Les cheminées sont __ et __. ——amis sont _. Translate: some good friends some comfortable beds an old animal near the pretty garden we punish sometimes in the middle of the lawn in the country on the first floor one throws a ball some bad wine 51LIVING FRENCH F Translate: Our pretty house is situated in the middle of the country, (at) nine kilometres from Rouen. It has two floors, and four chimneys, and it is surrounded by a thick hedge. On the ground-floor you find a small entrance hall, a lounge, a dining-room, and a big kitchen where my mother prepares the meals. You go up to the first floor by a long staircase. There are three comfortable bedrooms and a white bathroom. Each bedroom has some fine furniture, and green shutters. In front of the house there is a pretty garden, with a broad lawn and flower-beds. The flowers are very beautiful, and my father is proud of his green lawn. At the bottom of our garden our dog Bijou plays with his old ball in the thick grass. We seize and throw the ball, and he brings the little red ball between his teeth. le rez-de-chaussée le premier Stage = crembre) | OL 4 ces |e Se oa ah come) s oe=a [6a =: le salon Chamtbre| e couche le vestibule la salle & monger Chambre & coucher G Write in French a few lines about: (a) Mamaison, (b) Mon jardin, or (c) Mon chien. 52REVISION Lessons | — 5 A Translate: They are, are you? Have they? There are, is there? There is not, she is not, we are not, has he? They are giving, do I give? We do not speak, does she speak? I buy, he does not finish, we finish, does he choose? B Translate: some water some bread some meat some cups the man’s newspaper the door of the house the son’s book the windows of the rooms Mary’s friend at the market C Translate: They go, does she go? They read She does not read you say Does he take? We take I do not go out, do they go out? they throw, we throw, you buy to the man to the gardens near the wall a lot of dogs too many plates a glass of wine his mother her cat our friends their car 1 The little green book is on the lounge mantelpiece. 2 On the dining-room table there are plates and glasses. 3 I buy some beautiful red apples at the market. 4 Mary’s mother wears a pretty white dress. 5 We finish our lessons and we go to the cinema.LIVING FRENCH 6 Their friends have a lot of pencils, but few pens. 7 His car is not red; it is black and green. 8 Her father goes to the office, and reads his letters. 9 Do you sell wine? No, we have no wine. 10 The merchant's son is giving a carrier-bag to the old man. D Write in French a few lines about: (a) Une visite a la ville or (b) Notre maison. E Answer in French the following questions, making a complete sentence in each answer: 1 Qu’est-ce qu'il y a dans le salon? 2 Qui est dans le salon? 3 Qu’est-ce qu’il ya sur la table de la salle 4 manger? 4 Ou est-ce que Madame Dubois achéte des pommes? 5 Qui est-ce qu'elle rencontre? 6 A quelle heure Monsieur Dubois part-il pour la gare? 7 Combien d‘enfants a-t-il? 8 Ou achetez-vous des timbres? 9 De quelle couleur sont les fleurs? 10 Comment est le jardin de Monsieur Dubois? 54GRAMMAR Present tense of verbs ending in -re (Group Ill, regular verbs) Endings: -s, -s, —, -ons, -ez, -ent. Vendre to sell (stem: vend-) je vends I sell nous vendons tu vends vous vendez il (elle) vend ils (elles) vendent Notice the following points: (1) prendre (o take) is irregular (see Lesson 4) and its compounds reprendre (to take again, to take back or to repeat), surprendre (to Surprise), apprendre (to learn), comprendre (to understand), are con- jugated similarly. (2) When the verb stem does not end in -d, a t is added to the 8rd person singular. rompre (to break), il rompt. Irregular plural forms of nouns and adjectives If the singular ends in -s, -x, -z, no change is made in the plural. le fils (son) les fils le nez (nose) les nez vieux (old) vieux 55LIVING FRENCH Nouns and adjectives ending in -au and -eu add -x. le couteau (knife) les couteaux le feu (fire) les feux beau (beautiful) beaux Note the following exception to the above rule: bleu (blue) bleus Nouns and adjectives ending in -al change to -aux. le journal (newspaper) les journaux principal (principal) principaux but principale (£) principales (pl.) A few nouns ending in -ou add -x. le bijou (jewel) le caillou (pebble) le chou (cabbage) le joujou (plaything) le genou (knee) le hibou (owl) All other nouns and adjectives ending in -ou add -s. le trou (hole) les trous You will need to learn the following irregular plurals: Singular Plural Monsieur (Mr or gentleman) Messieurs (MM.) Madame (Mrs) Mesdames (Mmes) Mademoiselle (Miss) Mesdemoiselles (Mlles) le ciel (sky) les cieux Veil (ee) les yeux le travail (work) les travaux Remember that proper names take no -s in the plural. les Smith the Smiths Use of tout The adjective tout (all) is irregular in the masculine plural. 56LIVING FRENCH SINGULAR PLURAL Masculine tout tous Feminine It precedes the article as in English. tous les hommes all the men. Tout can also be used alone, as a pronoun, for all, everything, and tous and toutes are also used in the plural as pronouns, placed after the verb. Tout est perdu. All is lost. Everything is lost. Ils sont tous ici. Elles sont toutes ici. They are all here. The final s of tous is pronounced when it is a pronoun — but not when it is an adjective. The demonstrative adjective (this or that) (this or that) (these or those) Masculine ce (cet before a vowel or mute h) Feminine cette ce chien (this dog) ces chiens cet homme (this man) } cette femme (this woman, this wife) ces femmes ces hommes For emphasis, or when two nouns are mentioned in comparisons, and it is essential to distinguish between them by using ths and that or these and those, you should add -ci to the nouns for this, these and -Ia to the nouns for that, those. These suffixes are formed from the adverbs ici (here) and la (there). 57LIVING FRENCH J'ai deux crayons: ce crayon-ci est noir, ce crayon-la est bleu. Ihave two pencils; this pencil is black, that pencil is blue. Voici (here is, here are) and voila (there is, there are) These are used in conversation when pointing out some person or thing. Voici mon pére! Here is my father! Voila les livres! There are the books! Remember that il y a (there is, are) is used in making a statement, but not when an object is pointed out. Present tense of boire and faire Boire to drink Faire to do or make je bois I drink je fais I door make tu bois tu fais il (elle) boit il (elle) fait nous buvons nous faisons vous buvez vous faites ils (elles) boivent ils (elles) font The verb faire (to make) is used in expressions dealing with the weather (le temps). Quel temps fait-il? What is the weather like? Tl fait beau (temps). It is nice (weather). Tl fait mauvais (temps). It is bad ( The weather is bad). Tl fait chaud It is hot. Il fait froid. It is cold. Il fait jour. It is daylight (light). Tl fait nuit (noir). It is night (dark). 58le banc le bateau le canard le cygne Je gardien Je gateau le gazon le lac Je morceau Toiseau (m) le pain le péchcur le petit pain le poisson le retour Je tour attendre attraper crier louer pécher bleu chaud clair faché gris méchant LIVING FRENCH VOCABULARY bench, seat occupé (a) boat la brioche duck la chose swan la patisserie keeper la promenade cake la rive lawn la riviére lake la vitesse piece au bord de bird au bout de loaf of bread fisherman au solcil bread roll comme fish ensuite return midi tour, trip loin to wait pendant que to catch pour to call out qui to hire to fish regardez! blue tiens! hot voici! clear voila! angry Que faitil? grey naughty 59 occupied (in) bun thing pastry-shop walk bank river speed on the edge of at the end of, after in the sun as next midday far while in order to who, which (subject) look (at)! Just look! here is, are! there is, are! What is he doing?LIVING FRENCH READING PASSAGE E) Au pare Comme il fait beau M. Dubois et M. Lebrun font une promenade avec leurs fils, Pierre et Paul, au parc qui est prés de la maison de M. Lebrun. Au milieu du parc, il y a un petit lac, avec des bateaux. Les deux péres choisissent un banc confortable au bord de l’eau et, assis au soleil, ils lisent leurs journaux, pendant que leurs enfants louent un bateau pour faire un tour sur le lac. Il fait és chaud, et au bout d’une heure ils entrent tous dans un café prés du parc. Les garcons boivent une limonade, mais M. Lebrun prend un apéritif. M. Dubois achéte des croissants et des brioches dans une patis- serie ot l’on vend toutes sortes de gateaux. A leur retour ils vont ensuite a la petite riviére qui traverse le pare. ‘Voici de beaux cygnes,’ crie Pierre, et il jette des morceaux de pain aux oiseaux. “Tiens, papa,’ dit Paul, ‘ce cygne-ci est blanc, mais ce cygne-la est gris. Et voila de jolis canards bleus et bruns.’ 60LIVING FRENCH Deux vieux messieurs sur la rive sont occupés a pécher. M. Dubois demande 4 un des pécheurs: ‘Attrapez-vous beaucoup de poissons aujourd’hui?’ ‘Non, monsieur,’ répond-il. ‘Cette eau est trop claire.’ Pendant qu’ils parlent le méchant Bijou fait des trous dans le gazon, et le gardien, qui arrive a cet instant, est trés faché. ‘Je vais punir ce chien,’ dit-il, mais Bijou n’attend pas. Il part a toute vitesse pour la maison. A midi tout le monde rentre déjeuner. QUESTIONS 1 Quel temps fait-il aujourd’ hui? 2 Qui fait une promenade au parc? 3 Qu’y atil au milieu du pare? 4 Quest-ce que les deux péres choisissent? 5 Que font leurs enfants? 6 Ot est le café? 7 Qu’est-ce qu’on vend 4 la patisserie? 8 De quelle couleur sont les canards? 9 Que fait Bijou? 10 Le gardien du parc, aime-t-il Bijou? EXERCISES A Replace the infinitive, in brackets, with the appropriate form of the verb: 1 Ils (vendre) du vin. 6 II (attendre) le bateau. 2 Je (répondre) au pécheur. 7 (vendre)-nous des gateaux? 3 Elle ne (boire) pas. 8 Ils (boire) de l’eau. 4 (boire)-nous du lait? 9 Vous (faire) une promenade. 5 (faire)-il beau? 10 Nous ne (faire) pas ces choses. élLIVING FRENCH B Put into the plural: madame jai un vieux bateau ce monsieur tu es mon fils le nouveau journal il fait ce trou il porte son chapeau gris elle a un caillou blanc C Fill in ce, cet, cette or ces appropriately: — bateau — femmes — bancs — riviére ——ami — femme — homme eel — garcon —— pécheurs D Translate: this boat this bird that river this duck and that duck all these cakes we all (note position it is very hot in French) go on our return he goes for (makes) a walk at the edge of the lake E Translate: Mrs Dubois goes for a walk with her children in the park. The weather is nice, and they hire a boat in order to go for a row on the lake. On their return they go to a shop where one sells many things, and, seated on the grass, they drink some lemonade. Mrs Dubois also buys some rolls and some cakes. ‘There is a pretty green duck,’ cries Mary, and she throws some pieces of bread to the bird. “This swan is black,’ says her mother, ‘but that swan is white.’ While they are looking at some old gentlemen who are fishing at the edge of the water, Bijou makes holes in the flower-beds. At this moment the keeper arrives. He is very angry and he shouts: “What is this dog doing? Look at all these flowers.’ Bijou does not like this man; he sets off at full speed while Mrs Dubois talks to the keeper. F Write a few lines in French about Une promenade. 62GRAMMAR Personal pronoun objects of a verb (conjunctives, i.e. connected with verb) In English you say J sell it but the French say J zt sell, i.e. in French all personal pronoun objects must come immediately before the verb (except after the imperative). There are twelve personal pronoun objects which precede the verb, and you will need to learn them by heart. PRONOUN OBJECTS 1 3 me me, to me him, it(m) |lui to him, to her te you, fo you leur to them se (see lesson 8) nous us, fo us yous you, to you Remember to use te only for a relative, a close friend, a child or an animal. It is very important to remember the order in which the above come (i.e. the order of a football or hockey team: 5 forwards, 3 halves, 2 backs, 1 goalkeeper, and 1 referee) since, though in English you can say either J give it to you or I give you it, French always requires the order indicated in this table when there are two objects. 63LIVING FRENCH je le vends T sell it i] leur parle he speaks to them je vous le donne I give you it/I give it to you ive. yous in column 1 comes before le in column 2. Use en with expressions of quantity. jen ai deux. Thave two of them. Remember the following points: me, te and se become m’, t’ and s’ before a vowel or mute h. ilm’en donne he gives me some je mhabille I dress myself The position of the pronoun object in negative and interrogative sentences is still immediately before the verb. Je ne le donne pas Ido not give it. Le donnez-vous? Do you give it? When a verb is followed by an infinitive, be careful to put the pro- noun object before the infinitive, of which it is obviously the object. Je peux le voir I can see him (not ‘je le peux voir’) The pronoun objects precede the expressions voici (here is, here are) and voila (there is, there are), which are made by adding ici (here) and la (there) to the verb voir (to see), and which are used when pointing out people or things. Le voi Here he (it) is! Les voila! There they are! The imperative (order or command) With the exception of a few irregular verbs (see verb table, pages 239-44) the imperative of all verbs is formed by dropping tu, nous and vous of the present indicative, and by using the 2nd personLIVING FRENCH singular and the Ist and 2nd person plural of the verb alone, i.e. without the pronoun. Finir Vendre (tu) finis finish vends sell (mous) finissons Je us finish vendons let us sell (vous) finissez finish vendez sell But all -er verbs drop the final -s of the 2nd person singular. Donner Aller donne give va go donnons let us give allons let us go donnez give allez go The 2nd person singular form is used only when addressing a relative, a close friend, child, or animal. Note the irregular imperative of avoir and étre: Etre sois soyons soyez Note that the final -s is not dropped in the 2nd person singular of aller before the pronoun y (there): vas-y! go there! (also, go on!) Position of personal pronoun objects with the imperative All personal pronoun objects are placed after an affirmative order, and joined to the verb by hyphens; and the direct object must always be placed before the indirect object (to) when there 65