Understanding how French words and sentences are constructed will give you the best possible basis for learning the language. Words Caroline Smart
Are you one of those people who want to learn French, ibut have never quite managed? The best way to begin is to learn the basics.
Nouns
In French all nouns are either ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’. These are just terms to describe the way a word behaves: it doesn’t necessarily mean that the thing itself is male or female, so don’t waste time worrying what makes a cup ‘feminine’ but the coffee in it ‘masculine’. The words le and la ‘the’, and un and une ‘a’ (known as articles) give you the clue: le/un are for masculine words (café ‘coffee’), and la/une are for feminine words (tasse ‘cup’). Adding an -s is the standard way to make a plural in French. The plural of the indefinite articles (un/une) is des, meaning ‘some’ or ‘any’. This has to be included, even though in English we might simply say ‘fruit’, not ‘some fruit’.
Verbs
In French there are various endings according to who is ‘doing’ the action, e.g. tu aimes ‘you like’, nous aimons ‘we like’, ils aiment ‘they like’, while English usually has just two: ‘like/likes’. French verbs generally divide into three sorts, according to whether the infinitive (which is just one word in French) ends in -er (e.g. aimer ‘to like, love’), -ir (e.g. finir ‘to finish’) or -re (e.g. vendre ‘to sell’). Most verbs are regular, but some of the most common ones are unpredictable, just as in English we say ‘I am’, ‘you are’ and ‘he is’ rather than ‘I be’, ‘you be’ and ‘he bes’.
Negatives
To construct a negative in French the verb must be enclosed between the two magic words ne and pas, for example je ne parle pas anglais ‘I don’t speak English’. The ne abbreviates to n’ before a vowel: c’est loin? ‘is it far?’ Non, ce n’est pas loin. ‘No, it’s not far’.
Read more in the October 2010 edition of Living Abroad Magazine
Are you one of those people who want to learn French, ibut have never quite managed? The best way to begin is to learn the basics.
Nouns
In French all nouns are either ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine’. These are just terms to describe the way a word behaves: it doesn’t necessarily mean that the thing itself is male or female, so don’t waste time worrying what makes a cup ‘feminine’ but the coffee in it ‘masculine’. The words le and la ‘the’, and un and une ‘a’ (known as articles) give you the clue: le/un are for masculine words (café ‘coffee’), and la/une are for feminine words (tasse ‘cup’). Adding an -s is the standard way to make a plural in French. The plural of the indefinite articles (un/une) is des, meaning ‘some’ or ‘any’. This has to be included, even though in English we might simply say ‘fruit’, not ‘some fruit’.
Verbs
In French there are various endings according to who is ‘doing’ the action, e.g. tu aimes ‘you like’, nous aimons ‘we like’, ils aiment ‘they like’, while English usually has just two: ‘like/likes’. French verbs generally divide into three sorts, according to whether the infinitive (which is just one word in French) ends in -er (e.g. aimer ‘to like, love’), -ir (e.g. finir ‘to finish’) or -re (e.g. vendre ‘to sell’). Most verbs are regular, but some of the most common ones are unpredictable, just as in English we say ‘I am’, ‘you are’ and ‘he is’ rather than ‘I be’, ‘you be’ and ‘he bes’.
Negatives
To construct a negative in French the verb must be enclosed between the two magic words ne and pas, for example je ne parle pas anglais ‘I don’t speak English’. The ne abbreviates to n’ before a vowel: c’est loin? ‘is it far?’ Non, ce n’est pas loin. ‘No, it’s not far’.
Read more in the October 2010 edition of Living Abroad Magazine
