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La grammaire (grammar)--Français 9
Subject pronouns:
Je-I
Tu-you (informal/singular)
Il-he
Elle-she
On-we/one
Nous-we
Vous-you (formal/plural)
Ils-they
Elles-they
A verb= an action word
An infinitive=a verb that is not conjugated (to dance, to talk, to listen)
A verb that is conjugated= I dance, She talks, We listen
Conjugating regular –er verbs into the present tense (le present)
-remove the –er ending and add for
je-e
tu-es
il-e
elle-e
on-e
nous-ons
vous-ez
ils-ent
elles-ent
example: danser (to dance)
Je danse-I dance, I am dancing, I do dance
Tu danses-You dance, You are dancing, You do dance
Il danse-He dances, He is dancing, He does dance
Elle danse-She dances, She is dancing, She does dance
On danse-We/one dances, We/one is dancing, We/one do/does dance
Nous dansons-We dance, We are dancing, We do dance
Vous dansez- You dance, You are dancing, You do dance
Ils dansent-They dance, They are dancing, They do dance
Elles dansent-They dance, They are dancing, They do dance
***NOTE-there are 3 ways to express the PRESENT tense in English and
one way to do so in French. (Je danse-I dance, I am dancing, I do dance)
Verbs that end in –ger have one small difference and it has to do with
pronunciation. The ending for the “nous” form of the present tense is
“eons”. The “e” is kept to keep a soft ‘g’ sound as in the word “page”
(not like “dog”).
Example: manger (to eat)
Je mange
Tu manges
Il/elle/on mange
Nous mangeons
Vous mangez
Ils/elles mangent
Verbs that end in –cer also have a small difference that has to do with
pronunciation. The ending for the “nous” form of the present tense is
“çons” (the cédille on the c makes that c sound like an s like
“cent” (not like “car”).
Example: commencer (to start)
Je commence
Tu commences
Il/elle/on commence
Nous commençons
Vous commencez
Ils/elles commencent
When”g” or “c” in French is followed by an “a, o, u” they have hard g and
c sounds such as “game” and “car” respectively. If the goal is to soften
the sound as in the verbs manger and commencer, an ‘e’ is placed after g
and a cédille (ç) is placed on the ‘c’. This will be true for all –ger and
–cer verbs in French.
Conjugating regular –re verbs into the present tense (le présent)
-remove the –re ending and add for
je-s
tu-s
il-(nothing)
elle-(nothing)
on-(nothing)
nous-ons
vous-ez
ils-ent
elles-ent
Example: attendre (to wait)
J’attends
Tu attends
Il/elle/on attend
Nous attendons
Vous attendez
Ils/elles attendent
Conjugating regular –ir verbs into the present tense (le présent)
-remove the –ir ending and add for
je-is
tu-is
il-it
elle-it
on-it
nous-issons
vous-issez
ils-issent
elles-issent
Example: finir (to finish)
Je finis
Tu finis
Il/elle/on finit
Nous finissons
Vous finissez
Ils/elles finissent
**Note that regular verbs follow a clear pattern and the pattern can be
applied to any regular –er/-re/-ir verb.
The negative of the present tense.
If a verb is in the negative then the subject is NOT doing the action. For
example—she doesn’t dance. He is not speaking. We are not eating.
In French the negative is formed by sandwiching the CONJUGATED verb
with ne or n’ and pas.
Example: Je ne danse pas. (I don’t dance. I am not dancing.)
Nous n’écoutons pas. (We don’t listen. We are not listening.)
Conjugating reflexive verbs (les verbes réfléchis).
Reflexive verbs are easy to identify because they look different than
other verbs. The have either s’ or se in front of them. For example—se
laver, s’arrêter, se coucher). Reflexive verbs follow the same
conjugation patterns as noted above but you must take into consideration
the s’/se.
The s’/se usually denotes that the subject is doing the action to
him/her/itself. For example take the verb “laver”. It means to wash,
however, if it is found in it’s reflexive form of “se laver” it means to
wash oneself.
Example reflexive verb conjugation:
Se laver
Je me lave (I was myself)
Tu te laves (You wash yourself)
Il/elle/on se lave (He/She/we washes/wash himself/herself/ourselves)
Nous nous lavons (We wash ourselves)
Vous vous lavez (You wash yourself)
Ils/elles se lavent (They wash themselves)
Many reflexive verbs are also regular –er verbs and are conjugated in the
same manner except there is the addition of the pronouns (me, te, se,
nous, vous, se). Use m’, t’, and s’ if the verb begins with a vowel
sound.
Example: s’arrêter (to stop oneself/to come to a stop)
Je m’arrête
Tu t’arrêtes
Il/elle/on s’arrête
Nous nous arrêtons
Vous vous arrêtez
Ils/elles s’arrêtent
**Please note the irregular reflexive verb “s’asseoir” which means to sit
down.
Je m’assois (I sit down)
Tu t’assois (You sit down)
Il/elle/on s’assoit (He/she/we sits/sit down)
Nous nous assoyons (We sit down)
Vous vous assoyez (You sit down)
Ils/elles s’assoient (They sit down)
The negative of a reflexive verb is as follows.
Je ne me lave pas.
Nous ne nous couchons pas.
NOTE that the ne/n’ and pas are ALWAYS sandwiching the pronoun and the
conjugated verb.
There are several irregular verbs in French that do not follow any
pattern when you conjugate them into the present tense. You must
memorize these conjugations.
Some irregular verbs:
-refer to vocabulary booklet
The imperative (l’impératif)
The imperative verb tense is a tense used to give/state commands or
orders. For example: Listen! Speak! Let’s go!
The imperative has only three forms, the “tu”, “nous” and “vous” forms. In
fact, the imperative is conjugated exactly like the present tense but
there are no subject pronouns.
Present tense:
Tu finis.
Nous finissons.
Vous finissez.
The imperative:
Finis.(Finish-informal,singular)
Finissons.(Let’s finish.)
Finissez. (Finish-formal,plural)
Of course there is one little rule to remember. For all regular –er verbs
and the verb aller, the “tu” form must NOT keep the final “s”.
Example:
Present tense:
Tu danses.
Nous dansons.
Vous dansez.
The imperative:
Danse.(Dance-informal,singular)
Dansons. (Let’s dance.)
Dansez. (Dance-formal, plural)
Also, there are some irregular verbs but you only need to know AVOIR and
ÊTRE.
AVOIR
Present tense:
The imperative:
Tu as
Aie. (Have-informal,singular)
Nous avons
Ayons. (Let’s have.)
Vous avez
Ayez. (Have-formal, plural)
ÊTRE
Present tense:
Tu es.
Nous sommes.
Vous êtes.
The imperative:
Sois. (Be-informal,singular)
Soyons.(Let’s be.)
Soyez. (Be-formal,plural)
The imperative with reflexive verbs.
Example:
Present tense:
Tu te laves.
Nous nous lavons.
Vous vous lavez.
Imperative.
Lave-toi. (Wash yourself)
Lavons-nous (Let’s wash ourselves.)
Lavez-vous (Wash yourself/yourselves)
The negative of verbs in the imperative.
The same rule applies—put ne or n’ and pas around the conjugated verb.
Examples:
Ne finis pas. (Don’t finish.)
Ne dansons pas. (Let’s not dance.)
With reflexice verbs, the negative follows a different pattern.
Examples:
Ne te lave pas! (Don’t wash yourself.)
Ne nous couchons! (Let’s not go to bed.)
Ne vous habillez pas! (Don’t dress yourself/yourselves.)
Conjugating verbs into the near or immediate future (le future proche).
The near future is used to express that an action is taking place in the
future.
The near future= a subject + the verb “aller” conjugated + a verb infinitive
into the present tense
Examples:
Je
Tu
Il/elle/on
Nous
Vous
Ils/elles
vais
vas
va
allons
allez
vont
danser.
parler.
manger.
finir.
attendre.
aller.
Meanings:
I
You
He/she/we
We
You
They
am going
are going
is/are going
are going
are going
are going
to dance.
to speak/talk.
to eat.
to finish.
to wait.
to go.
The immediate future with reflexive verbs.
You must always consider the pronouns.
Example: se laver (to wash oneself)
Je vais me laver
Tu vas te laver
Il/elle/on va se laver
Nous allons nous laver
Vous allez vous laver
Ils/elles vont se laver
The negative form of the near future.
The same rule applies here as well. The ne or n’ and the pas ALWAYS
sandwich the conjugated verb. In this case the only conjugated verb is
“aller”.
Examples. Je ne vais pas aller. (I am not going to go.)
Nous n’allons pas parler. (We are not going to speak.)
Ils ne vont pas danser. (They are not going to dance.)
With reflexive verbs it is as follows.
Examples: Je ne vais pas me laver. ( I am not going to wash myself.)
Nous n’allons pas nous habiller. (We are not going to get
dressed.)
Elles ne vont pas se coucher. (They are not going to go to bed.)
Conjugating verbs into the past tense (le passé composé)
This verb tense is used to express a completed action in the past. For
example- I danced, I have danced, I did dance.
formation= subject pronoun
+
helper verb +
a past participle
(is avoir or être and
is conjugated into
the present tense)
Most verbs will use the verb avoir as the helper.
The verb avoir will be conjugated into the present tense.
Subject pronoun
verb avoir (present tense)
past participle
J’
Tu
Il/elle/on
Nous
Vous
Ils/elles
ai
as
a
avons
avez
ont
dansé
regardé
attendu
vendu
fini
choisi
Notice the trend in the past participles. For regular -er verbs remove
the -er ending and add ‘é’. For regular -re verbs remove the -re ending
and add ‘u’. And, for regular -ir verbs remove the -ir ending and add
‘i’.
So,
J’ai dansé-I danced, I have danced, I did dance
Tu as vendu-You sold, You have sold, You did sell
Il/elle/on a fini-He/she/we finished, He/she/we have finished, He/she/we
did finish
...
There are some irregular verbs that use avoir as the helper. What makes
them irregular is their past participle.
irregular verb
past participle
avoir
être
vouloir
pouvoir
mettre
prendre
écrire
boire
faire
lire
eu
été
voulu
pu
mis
pris
écrit
bu
fait
lu
Examples:
J’ai eu-I had, I have had, I did have
Tu as voulu-You wanted, You have wanted, You did want
There are 17 verbs that will use être as the helper and these must be
committed to memory.
The following acronym can be used to help you memorize these 17 verbs.
DR.MRS.VANDERTRAMPP
Devenir-to become
Revenir-to come back/to return
Monter-to climb
Rester-to stay
Sortir-to exit/go out
Venir-to come
Arriver-to arrive
Naître-to be born
Descendre-to descend/to go down
Entrer-to enter
Rentrer-to go back in (re-enter)
Tomber-to fall
Retourner-to return
Aller-to go
Mourir-to die
Partir-to leave
Passer-to pass by
All of these verbs MUST use être as the helper verb.
Je suis
Tu es
Il/elle/on est
Nous sommes
Vous êtes
Ils/Elles sont
In addition to using être as the helper, the past participle MUST agree in
gender and in number with the subject pronoun.
If the subject pronoun is masculine and singular, just leave the past
participle alone. If it’s masculine and plural, add an ’s’ to it. If it’s
feminine and singular, add an ‘e’. And, if it’s feminine and plural, add
an ‘es’.
Examples;
Je (m)
Je (f)
Tu (m)
Tu (f)
Il
Elle
Nous (mp)
Nous (fp)
Vous (m)
Vous (f)
Vous (mp)
Vous (fp)
Ils
Elles
suis
suis
es
es
est
est
sommes
sommes
êtes
êtes
êtes
êtes
sont
sont
allé
allée
allé
allée
allé
allée
allés
allées
allé
allée
allés
allées
allés
allées
The passé composé with reflexive verbs.
Reflexive verbs must also use être as the helper verb. The past
participle must also agree in gender and in number with the subject
pronoun. Also, don’t forget your reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous,
vous, se).
Example:
Je (m)
Je (f)
Tu (m)
Tu (f)
Il
Elle
Nous (mp)
Nous (fp)
Vous (m)
Vous (f)
Vous (mp)
Vous (fp)
Ils
Elles
me
me
t’
t’
s’
s’
nous
nous
vous
vous
vous
vous
se
se
suis
suis
es
es
est
est
sommes
sommes
êtes
êtes
êtes
êtes
sont
sont
lavé
lavée
lavé
lavé
lavé
lavée
lavés
lavées
lavé
lavée
lavés
lavées
lavés
lavées
The negative and the passé composé.
The rule remains the same. Sandwich ne/n’ and pas around the conjugated
verb. The only verb that is considered conjugated, in the passé composé,
is the helper verb (avoir or être).
Example.
Je n’ai pas mangé.
Nous ne sommes pas allés.
Ils ne se sont pas lavés. (with a refelcive verb, notice that the ne and
pas sandwich the pronoun and the verb).
Conjugating verbs into the imperfect. (l’imparfait)
The imperfect is also a past tense.
You only need to recognize the verbs avoir and être in the imperfect.
AVOIR
ÉTRE
J’avais
J’étais
Tu avais
Tu étais
Il/elle/on avait
Il/elle/on était
Nous avions
Nous étions
Vous aviez
Vous étiez
Ils avaient
Ils étaient
Elles avaient
Elles étaient
The meaning is pretty much the same as the passé compose. However, the
imperfect is usually used to describe people/events in the past (often
involving adjectives).
For example:
J’avais 5 ans. I was 5 years old.
Elle était drôle. She was funny.
Nous étions sympathiques. We were kind/sympathetic.
Expressions using the verb avoir.
Various expressions in French use the verb avoir where as in English they
may use the verb être.
For example;
I am thirsty. J’ai soif.
He is hungry. Il a faim
These expressions include the following:
-avoir faim (to be hungry)-J’ai faim.
-avoir soif (to be thirsty)-Tu as soif.
-avoir chaud (to be hot). Il a chaud.
-avoir froid (to be cold) Elle a froid.
-avoir # ans (to be # years old). Vous avez 18 ans.
-avoir mal (to be hurt/to have a pain) J’ai mal au bras.
-avoir peur (to be scared) Elles ont peur.
A little different-avoir lieu (to take place) Le match a lieu au parc. The
match is taking place in the park.
Interrogative terms.
Qui-who
Où-where
Quand-when
Quel/Quelle/Quels/Quelles-what +noun
Pourquoi-why
Est-ce que-Do/Does/Is/Are, Can
Qu’est-ce que-What + subject pronoun + verb
Combien-How many/much
Comment-How
3 easy ways to ask questions in French:
1) intonation-a simple statement can be changed into a question just by
changing the tone of your voice. (oral dialogue)
Simple statement- You dance.---You dance?
Tu danses.--- Tu danses?
2) using Est-ce que/Est-ce qu’ in front of a simple statement changes it
into a question.
Simple statement-You dance.----Tu danses
Do you dance?----Est-ce que tu danses?
Does he dance?----Est-ce qu’il danse? (use Est-ce qu’ if
the subject pronoun begins with a vowel)
3) inversion- if you reverse the subject pronoun and a verb, you can form a
question.
Simple statement-You dance---Tu danses
Inversion----Danses-tu? (Do you dance?) (don’t forget the
hyphen)
Also, if the verb ends in a vowel and the subject begins with a vowel, squeeze
in –t- between the two. This is to facilitate pronunciation.
Simple statement- He dances---Il danse.
Inversion---Danse-t-il? (Does he dance?)
(-t- has been added)
Negative expressions.
We have already seen ne/n’… pas as a negative expressions in which the
conjugated verb is always squeezed between the two. The same will apply
with the following negative expressions:
Ne……..plus (anymore, no more, no longer) ----Je ne danse plus. I don’t dance
anymore.
I no longer
dance.
Ne…….rien (nothing, anything)-----Tu ne manges rien. You don’t eat anything.
Ne……jamais (never)------Il ne danse jamais. He never danses.
Prepositions of place.
To say to,at or in:
à (in French)
With any location that is not a city, province, country, territory, state:
à + le=au (masculine/singular location)
à + la= à la (feminine/singular location)
à +l’= à l’ (singular location beginning with a vowel)
à + les=aux (plural location)
Examples:
Je vais au parc. (parc is masculine)-I go to the parc.
Tu vas à la plage. (plage is feminine)-You go to the beach.
Il va à l’école. (école begins with a vowel)-He goes to the school.
Nous allons aux boutiques. (boutiques is plural)-We go to the boutiques.
The rules are a little different for cities, provinces, countries, territories
or states:
au-masculine/singular Country, Province, Territory, State (C, P, T, S)
en-feminine/vowel/singular C, P, T, S
aux-plural C, P, T , S
à-for any city
Examples.
Tu vas au Canada. (Canada is masculine)-You go to Canada.
Il va en France. (France is feminine)-He goes to France.
Elle va en Australie (Australie starts with a vowel)-She goes to Australia.
Nous allons aux États-Unis. (États-Unis is plural)-We go to the United
States.
Je vais à Abbotsford. –I go to Abbotsford.
Vous allez à Vancouver.-You go to Vancouver.
You can also use “à” for the following.
Je parle à Lucie.- I speak to Lucie.
Je donne le livre à Lucie.-I give the book to Lucie.
To say from, of or about= de (in French)
With any location including C, P, T and S apply the following:
de + le= du (masculine/singular location)
de + la= de la (feminine/singular location)
de + l’= de l’ (singular and beginning with a vowel)
de + les= des (plural)
Use the following for cities
de= city beginning with a consonant
d’=city beginning with a vowel
Examples:
Je viens du Canada. (Canada is masculine)-I come from Canada.
Je viens du parc. (parc is masculine)-I come from the parc.
Tu viens de la France. (France is feminine)- You come from France.
Tu viens de la plage. (plage is feminine)-You come from the beach.
Il vient de l’Égypte. (Égypte starts with a vowel)-He comes from Egypt.
Il vient de l’école. (école starts with a vowel)-He comes from the school.
Elle vient des États-Unis. (États-Unis is plural)- She comes from the United
States.
Elle vient des boutiques. (boutiques is plural)-She comes from the boutiques.
For cities:
Nous venons de Vancouver. (Vancouver begins with a consonant)-We come
from
Vancouver.
Nous venons d’Abbotsford. (Abbotsford begins with a vowel)-We come from
Abbotsford.
You can also use “de” for the following:
Je parle de Marie.-I talk about Marie.
Je parle d’Anne.-I talk about Anne.
Using “de” for possession.
In English we usually add an apostrophe, for example, Mark’s truck/Mom’s
car.
This does NOT exist in French. You must find an alternative way in English
to make the same statement.
For example: Mark’s truck-->The truck of Mark-->Le camion de Mark
Ann’s book---> The book of Ann--> Le livre d’Ann.
Adjectives.
In French, adjectives need to agree in gender and in number with the nouns
they describe (masculine, feminine, singular, plural).
Some adjectives have the same masculine and feminine forms. Also, they
only take an ‘s’ at the end to make them plural.
Examples.
Il est drôle.. He is funny.
Elle est drôle. She is funny.
We are funny. Nous sommes drôles.
There is a list of these adjectives in your vocabulary booklet.
***All other adjectives have different masculine and feminine forms.
Examples:
Il est charmant. He is charming.
Elle est charmante. She is charming.
Nous sommes charmants. We are charming. (at least one male)
Nous sommes charmantes. We are charming (all females)
Many of these adjectives follow a pattern.
Masculine ending
Feminine ending
ant
ante
ent
ente
é
ée
if
ive
eux
euse
Examples:
charmant-charmante
patient-patiente
reservé-réservée
actif-active
heureux-heureuse
ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT ALL ADJECTIVES MUST AGREE IN GENDER
AND IN NUMBER WITH THE NOUNS THEY DESCRIBE.
Placement of adjectives:
Most adjectives in French will go after the nouns they desribe despite
where they might appear in English.
For example: The funny book.--Le livre drôle.
The bizarre boy--Le garçon bizarre.
However, there are a few adjectives in French that will be placed before the
nouns they describe. And there is an acronym to help remember these
adjectives. BANGS.
Beauty, Age, Numbers, Goodness, Size
Some adjectives associated with these 5 things (beauty, age....) will be
placed before the nouns they describe.
Refer to your vocab list for these adjectives.
Examples: The old book.--Le vieux livre.
The young girl.--La jeune fille.
The comparative (le comparatif)
To compare two nouns in French we use the comparative.
plus (more)
formation: noun+ moins (less) + adjectif
aussi (as/equal)
+que/qu’
+noun
Examples:
La fille est plus gentille que le garçon.-The girl is nicer than the boy.
Le livre est moins intéressant que le film.-The book is less interesting than
the film.
Marie est aussi drôle que Julie. -Marie is as funny as Julie.
The expression “comme”
comme can mean like, as in similar to
Examples:
Elle est comme son père. She is like her father.
Comme son père, elle est impatiente. Like her father, she is impatient.
The superlative (le superlatif)
To state that something is: the most + adjective
the least
le plus (masculine)
la plus (feminine) + adjective=the most
les plus (plural)
Examples:
Elle est la plus jolie.-She is the prettiest. (feminine)
Il est le plus intelligent.-He is the most intelligent. (masculine)
Les livres sont les plus intéressants.-The books are the most interesting.
le moins (masculine)
la moins (feminine) + adjective=the least
les moins (plural)
Examples:
Elle est la moins bizarre.-She is the least bizarre.
Il est le moins drôle.-He is the least bizarre.
Les livres sont les moins intéressants.--The books are the least interesting.
***Note that you cannot follow this pattern for the adjectives GOOD and
BAD because you can’t say the most good/the least good or the most
bad/least bad. Instead you would say the BEST or the WORST.
le meilleur (masculine)
la meilleure (feminine)
les meilleurs (masculine/plural)
les meilleures (feminine/plural)
le pire (masculine)
la pire (feminine)
les pires (plural)
=the best
=the worst
Examples:
Elle est la meilleur.-She is the best.
Il est le pire.-He is the worst.
Les films sont les meilleurs.-The films are the best.
Il faut/ On doit
Il faut+ infinitive (a verb that is not conjugated)= it is necessary+ an
infinitive
On doit
one must
Examples:
Il faut aller au parc. It is necessary to go to the park.
On doit être sympathique. One must be kind.
The negative would just be:
Il ne faut pas
On ne doit pas
+ infinitive= it is not necessary +infinitive
one must not
Examples:
Il ne faut pas aller au parc. It is not necessary to go to the park.
On ne doit pas être sympathique. One must not be kind.
Adverb placement
très
trop
plutôt
un peu
pas assez
assez
+ adjective
Examples:
Elle est très jolie. She is very pretty.
Il est trop bizarre. He is too bizarre.
Je suis plutôt patient. I am rather patient.
La fille est un peu charmante. The girl is a little charming.
Elle n’est pas assez charmante. She is not charming enough.
Elle est assez charmante. She is charming enough.
The partitive (le partitif)
du (masculine)
de la (feminine)
de l’ (vowel)
des (plural)
= some
You can’t often use the partitive with foods.
For example:
some cake-du gâteau
some pizza-de la pizza
some garlic-de l’ail
some carrots-des carottes
Direct object pronouns--DOPs (les pronoms complément directs)
Often, in English, we don’t want to keep repeating a word. We can find other
ways to express the meaning but by using a pronoun.
For example.
I really like that book. That book is good. I am reading the book.
BOOK can be replaced with a pronoun (it).
I really like that book. It’s good. I am reading it.
You can do the same kind of thing in French.
These are direct object pronouns DOPS:
le
(him/it)-masculine
la
(her/it)-feminine
l’
(him/her/it)-vowel
les
(them)-plural
me/m’ (me)
te/t’ (you)
nous (us)
vous (you)
Examples.
Je déteste le livre. Je le déteste.-I detest the book. I detest it.
Je veux la pizza. Je la veux. -I want the pizza. I want it.
Tu adores la fille. Tu l’adore.-I adore the girl. I adore her.
Il mange les pommes. Il les mange. He eats apples. He eats them.
Il m’adore.-He adores me.
Elle te déteste.-She detests you.
Elle nous voit.-She sees us.
Je vous aime. -I like you.
NOTE that the DOP is always between the subject pronoun and the verb.
The negative and DOPS
formation: subject pronoun + NE + DOP + verb
+ PAS
Je ne le mange pas.
Tu ne m’aimes pas.
To play a musical instrument
subject pronoun
+ verb JOUER conjugated
+instrument
+ du (masculine)
de la (feminine)
de l’ (vowel)
des (plural)
Examples:
Je joue du saxophone. I play the saxophone. (saxophone is masculine)
Tu vas jouer de la flûte. You are going to play the flute. (flute is feminine)
Nous avons joué de l’orgue. We played the organ. (organ begins with a vowel)
Possessive adjectives (les adjectifs possessifs)
French
mon (masculine)
ma (feminine)
mes (plural)
English
my
ton (masculine)
ta (feminine)
tes (plural)
your (informal/singular)
son (masculine)
sa (feminine)
ses (plural)
his/her
notre (singular)
nos (plural)
our
votre (singular)
vos (plural)
your (formal/plural)
leur (singular)
leurs (plural)
their
NOTE that the gender of the person whom the noun/object belongs to has
nothing to do with your selection of the possessive adjective.
For example:
Her book.=Son livre. (book is masculine so you use ‘son’)
His ruler.=Sa règle. (ruler is feminine so you use ‘sa’)
Nos livres.=Our books.
Votre crayon.=Your pencil.
Stating opinions/preferences and justifying them
J’aime(I like)
J’adore (I adore)
Je préfère(I prefer)
+..............
parce que/qu’
Je déteste(I destest)
because
Selon moi (In my opinion)
À mon avis (In my opinion)
Examples:
J’aime le livre parce que c’est intéressant. I like the book because it’s
interesting.
+.........
Selon moi le garçon est bizarre parce qu’il mange son crayon.In my opinion the boy is bizarre because he is eating his pencil.
The expression “il y a”
-it means there is or there are
Examples:
Il y a une fille dans la classe. There is a girl in the class.
Il y a des filles dans la classe. There are (some) girls in the class.
Note with the negative:
Il n’y a pas de filles dans la classes. There aren’t any girls in the class.
Il n’y a pas d’élèves dans la classe. There aren’t any students in the class.