Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
1.12 Talking About People (Part 3) Language & Culture Lessons I hope you're enjoying the lessons so far. Grammar is not everyone's favorite topic, but if you take it in bite-sized bits, it can be easy to digest. And it will be rewarding when you start to see patterns emerging in the way the language is structured and really begin to understand the mechanics behind it. Our objective in this lesson is to examine some of the pieces of common French conversations - and you'll notice that many of these words and phrases are the same ones that appear in the early lessons of the Interactive Audio Course. Today we're learning how to express ourselves using the verb « avoir » (to have), allowing you to say "I'm tired", "I'm happy" and all the emotions in between. Language Lesson Talking about People Action words in French have to agree with who is doing the action. In addition, we'll also look at how the verb être, "to be", works with descriptions (adverbs and adjectives). The endings of the descriptive words that go with the verb être, “to be”, has to agree in gender and number (plurals) with the part of the verb you choose. This does not apply to « avoir », “to have”, the other verb you will be looking at in this lesson. The verb "to have" is widely used in French to describe feelings, states and moods, such as hunger and cold, as well as age, which in English, we normally associate with the verb “to be”. We are used to saying that we are hungry. In French we use the verb “to have” to express hunger, as in: “we have hunger”. Je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils and elles are “people” pronouns which are central to any language. In this module we will explain the uses of the verb “to have” with these pronouns. Consider the verb avoir and the verb être are two of the French language’s corner stones, on which many of your expressions will be built. Avoir : To Have In the following table you can look at how the different pronouns work with the verb « avoir », "to have". The same applies in French with avoir and all other verbs. Il a, “he has”, is different to avoir: one is adapted to the pronoun il (he) and the other is in neutral form, avoir, “to have”. This type of conjugation happens throughout the French language, which means you will need to become familiar with the concept and begin to do some memorizing! Most of these changes are totally unpredictable! In grammar this principle is referred to as verbs being “regular” or “irregular”. For the purposes of this learning program with Rocket French, we recommend that you view all verbs in French as highly random and best stored through repetition and use, to a safe place in your memory bank! Elle a She has « Avoir » with Pronouns J’ai I have Tu as You have (casual) Il a He has Elle a She has Nous avons We have Vous avez You have (formal) Ils ont They have (masculine) Elles ont They have (feminine) Elle a faim Il a soif She is hungry! He is thirsty! Let’s use the above examples to make statements with the verb avoir, “to have”. You will notice that in French, avoir is often associated with describing states and feelings. The most notable are: Thirst Hunger Fear Cold Heat Age Bonne fête Happy birthday You might tell someone that you are 29 years old in English– in French, you have to think of age as something that you have, as in I have 29 years. You might tell someone about being afraid in a particular situation. In French, you have to think of fear as something that you have, as in I have fear of the dark. Let’s look at this principle in more detail with the verb « avoir ». In each example, it’s a case of substituting what you would normally say in English, using the verb “to be”, with the verb “to have”. Avoir (to have) used with Pronouns and Adverbs Person Action Description (Pronoun) (Verb) (Adverb or Adjective) J’ ai I Tu 29 ans am as You (casual) Il peur are a He 29 years old afraid froid is cold Elle She Nous We Vous You (formal, plural) Ils a raison is right avons faim are hungry avez chaud are hot ont They (masculine) Elles They (feminine) faim are hungry ont soif are thirsty In summary: ● Descriptions used with « avoir » (to have) do not change form to agree with gender or plural pronouns. ● « Avoir » (to have) is often used to express feelings, emotions, age and moods in French. J’ai vingt ans I am twenty years old (I have twenty years). Tu as raison ! You are right! (You have reason) Elle a froid She is cold (She has coldness). Il a peur He is afraid (He has fear). Vous avez chaud You are hot (You have heat). Ils ont besoin They need (They have need). Elle a tort. She is wrong Nous avons faim ! We are hungry! Il a mal. He is in pain (he has hurt) Vous avez chaud ! You are hot! As a last note on the basics about avoir, to have, there will be times when there is a fine line between feelings and states that you want to describe. Let’s take the example of “feeling tired”. You could say the phrase “I am tired” or “I am feeling sleepy” depending on the context. In French one phrase uses the verb être and the other, the verb avoir. Notice that “being tired” in French is one of those adverbs that agree with gender and plural. Why? Because it is part of the exclusive principle that applies only with the verb être! Je suis fatigué I am tired (masculine) Je suis fatiguée I am tired (feminine) Nous sommes fatigués We are tired (plural) J’ai sommeil I am feeling sleepy (I have sleepiness) Nous sommes fatigués We are tired Avoir with Pronouns J’ai Tu as Il a Elle a Nous avons Vous avez Ils ont Elles ont I have You have (casual) He has She has We have You have (formal) They have (masculine) They have (feminine) ● All verbs change from their neutral form as in « avoir » (to have) to agree with pronouns. ● « Avoir » (to have) is used to express some feelings, age and moods in French. ● Descriptions used with avoir do not change form to agree with gender or plural pronouns. Discover new French Words! These audio tracks are for all the words in this lesson that you haven’t heard yet! Manger To eat Je mange I eat Une idée An idea Un croissant A croissant La soif Thirst Une bonne idée A great idea Avoir soif To be (feel) thirsty Ours en peluche Teddy bear Aimer To love Elle aime She loves La veste Jacket En fourrure Fur lined Très Very Être fatigué(e) To be tired Avoir sommeil To be (feel) sleepy Dormir To sleep Ils dorment They are sleeping Être en retard To be late Transpirer To sweat Il transpire He is sweating Boire To drink Il boit He drinks Vite Quickly Culture Café Culture Many travelers are gob-smacked at how French cafés always seem to be full! Do the locals never go to work?! Yes the locals do work occasionally, but they just love the café environment. Whether you're catching up with a friend, talking business or meet someone for the first time… there's a strong likelihood that you'll end up on the terrasse of a café. Parisienne girls at a 'terrasse d'un café de Paris' A terrasse is the outdoor area of a café. If there is even a hint of sun, the French will be sitting outside to enjoy their food or coffee. Spring, summer, autumn or winter… if there's sun then the terrasse will be open. The size of a café terrace will range from a couple tables on a street corner to a tennis court-sized area in the city centre. Cafés typically serve a small selection of hot food, and specialize in tea and coffee. Now if you're the kind of person that likes to order a decaf trim hazelnut latte, or an iced mochaccino with cream and chocolate on top; you might need to re-think your coffee order! In France coffee typically comes in two forms: espresso or café long. Espresso is a small strong shot of coffee, and café long is just regular coffee served black. If you want a coffee with milk, ask for a cappuccino. Pick a café that's packed with locals, sit down and soak up the atmosphere. It's one of the cheapest and most enjoyable ways to absorb the local culture. Libros Media Ltd. - Copyright 2004-2014 USA: 10660 Page Avenue, PO Box 1261, Fairfax, VA 22038, USA | Phone: 703-349-0452 Asia/Pacific: 2-1008 Ferry Road, Woolston, Christchurch 8023, New Zealand | Phone: +64-3-384-6350