Download Linguistic study of French

Pauchet David ( [email protected] )
Perdereau Agaric ([email protected] )
Sunday, 05 October 2003
Linguistic study of French
Summary of contents :
1
LETTERS AND SOUNDS ................................................................................................. 2
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.4.1
1.4.2
2
2.1
2.2
MAIN CLAUSE ................................................................................................................. 3
QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................... 3
2.3
2.4
2.5
IMPERATIVE ................................................................................................................... 4
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE ...................................................................................................... 4
NEGATIVE FORM.............................................................................................................. 5
GENDER AND NUMBER....................................................................................................... 6
ARTICLES ...................................................................................................................... 6
PLURALS ....................................................................................................................... 6
ADJECTIVES ................................................................................................................... 6
VERBAL GROUPS........................................................................................................... 8
4.1
4.2
4.3
5
Yes-No questions..................................................................................................... 3
Other questions ....................................................................................................... 4
THE NOMINAL GROUP .................................................................................................. 6
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
4
Particularities .......................................................................................................... 2
Nasal sounds........................................................................................................... 2
WORD ORDER ............................................................................................................... 3
2.2.1
2.2.2
3
LETTERS ....................................................................................................................... 2
DIACRITIC MARKS ............................................................................................................ 2
OTHERS PARTICULARITIES ................................................................................................. 2
SOUNDS ....................................................................................................................... 2
TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS................................................................................... 8
ADVERBS ...................................................................................................................... 8
TENSES ........................................................................................................................ 8
INTONATION............................................................................................................... 10
5.1
5.2
5.3
AFFIRMATIVE INTONATION ............................................................................................... 10
QUESTIONING INTONATION .............................................................................................. 10
ASTONISHMENT INTONATION ............................................................................................ 10
The french language
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1 LETTERS AND SOUNDS
1.1 Letters
The French alphabet is made of twenty-six letters. The letters are the same as the Swedish alphabet but
without the letters Ö, Å and Ä.
1.2 Diacritic marks
In addition to letters, there are some diacritic marks. A diacritic mark does not change the nature of one
letter. Only the pronunciation is changed. There are five different diacritic marks.
ƒ
‘ grave stress. This stress is only with ‘e’ letter.
ƒ
’ acute stress. This stress is only with ‘e’ letter.
ƒ
¨ dieresis stress. This stress can be used with ‘a’ and ‘e’
ƒ
^ circumflex stress. Only letters ‘u’, ‘i’, ‘a’ and ‘e’ can have this stress.
ƒ
ç cedilla. The cedilla is only used with ‘c’
1.3 Others particularities
In some words, letters are concatenated. For example ‘sœur’, ‘cœur’ and ‘œuf’ have this kind of
concatenation. These two letters have a particular pronunciation: [œ].
1.4 Sounds
1.4.1 Particularities
In French, there are multiple ways to make one sound. For example the group letter ‘en’ and ‘an’ have the
same pronunciation. In the word ‘pendant’ we encounter both syllables.
There are some rules to define which letters we have to use.
For example before letters ‘m’, ‘p’ and ‘b’ we have to use ‘m’ instead of ‘n’. However, the French is not an
easy language. There are some exceptions like ‘bonbon’ and ‘néanmoins’.
Like the Swedish letter ‘k’, some consonants have a pronunciation depending to the following letter.
ƒ
The letter ‘c’ is pronounced [k] before ‘a’, ‘o’, ‘u’ and it is pronounced [s] before ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘y’.
ƒ
The letter ‘s’ is pronounced [s] in most cases. However when the letter ‘s’ is not at the beginning of a
word and it is followed by letters ‘e’ and ‘i’ it is pronounced [z].
Like Swedish, French have many sounds which look like. For example, these sounds are very close one to the
others:
ƒ
[ø] used in feu, nœud
ƒ
[ə] used in œuf
ƒ
[œ] used in entremets
Some sounds in French are not used in Swedish like [ƺ].
An example: Je voyage car j’aime la joie de découvrir
I travel because I am glad to discover
1.4.2 Nasal sounds
There are many nasal sounds in French:
ƒ
‘un’ , ‘in’
ƒ
‘en’ , ‘an’ enfant (child)
ƒ
‘on’ bonbon (sweets)
ƒ
‘oin’ : shampooing
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2 WORD ORDER
2.1 Main clause
The French language does not allow a lot of variety concerning the order of words in a sentence. In the
main clause, the subject always precedes the verb.
Ex:
Marcel joue.
S
V
Marcel is playing.
Depending on the kind of verb that is used, the verb can be followed by a direct object (COD – Direct
Object Complement) and/or an indirect object (COI – Indirect Object Complement). COD and COI are often in
this order.
Ex with COD :
Marcel mange une pomme.
S
V
COD
Marcel is eating an apple.
Ex with COI:
Marcel parle à Julie.
S
V
COI
Marcel is talking to Julie.
Ex with COD and COI:
Marcel donne une pomme à Julie.
S
V
COD
COI
Marcel gives an apple to Julie.
It is impossible to change the order S, V, COD:
False ex. :
*Une pomme à Julie donne Marcel.
COD
COI
V
S
We can add complements for time (CT), for location (CL) or for manner (CM). CMs can be for example
adverbs. These are often placed at the beginning or at the end of a sentence. Unlike Swedish, there can be many
complements at the beginning of the sentence.
Ex :
A midi à la cantine, Marcel a donné une pomme à Julie avec un sourire.
CT
CL
S
V
COD
COI
CM
At noon, at the canteen, Marcel gave an apple to Julie with a smile.
The passive form is created by putting the COD in the first place, then the verb, and finally the former subject,
that becomes an “agent complement” (CA).
Ex:
Une pomme est mangée par Marcel.
S
V
CA
An apple is eaten by Marcel.
2.2 Questions
2.2.1 Yes-No questions
There are three kinds of questions, depending of the level of French used: formal, intermediate and colloquial.
In formal and written language, the question is made by swapping verb and subject.
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Ex:
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Viens-tu au cinéma ?
V
S
Are you coming to the cinema?
In intermediate language, we simply add “Est-ce que” at the beginning of the affirmative sentence.
Ex:
Est-ce que tu viens au cinéma?
S V
Are you coming to the cinema?
In colloquial language, you use the same sentence as if there were no question, and add a “?”.
Ex:
Tu viens au cinéma?
S V
Are you coming to the cinema?
2.2.2 Other questions
There is the same classification for the equivalent of wh-questions.
The French question words are:
•
Où (Where)
•
Quoi (What)
•
Pourquoi (Why)
•
Comment (How)
•
Quand (When)
In formal and intermediate languages, it is the same rules with the question word at the beginning.
Ex:
Quand viens-tu au cinéma?
Qu-word V S
Quand est-ce que tu viens au cinéma ?
Qu-word
S
V
When are you coming to the cinema?
In colloquial language, you have to put the question word after the verb, by keeping the original sentence.
Ex:
Tu viens quand au cinéma?
S V
Qu-word
When are you coming to the cinema?
2.3 Imperative
It is the same grammar as an affirmative sentence, where the subject is suppressed.
Ex:
Viens au cinéma!
V
CT
Come to the cinema!
2.4 Subordinate clause
Subordinate clauses can be found as complements (COD, COI, CT, CL or CM).
They are introduced by a preposition. Then, the form of the verb can vary depending on the kind of subordinate
clause. If it is not an infinitive clause, the rules for word order are the same as in the main clause.
Ex:
Il vient pour chanter avec ses copains.
Main
Infinitive clause
He’s coming to sing with his friends.
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Le chat qui est là-bas est en train d’attraper une souris.
Main
Relative clause Main
The cat that is over there is catching a mouse.
Je dormirai quand je serai fatigué.
Main
Time Clause
I will sleep when I am tired.
2.5 Negative form
The negation in French is composed of two words: “ne” and “pas”.
“Ne” is placed before the verb, and “pas” is written after the verb (exception for the formal questions where “pas”
is after the subject).
Ex:
Tu ne viens pas au cinéma.
V
You are not coming to the cinema.
Ne viens-tu pas au cinéma?
V S
Aren’t you coming to the cinema?
Ne viens pas au cinéma !
S
Don’t come to the cinema!
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3 THE NOMINAL GROUP
3.1 Gender and number
Unlike English, French names all have a gender, which can be masculine or feminine. There is also the
number criterion, depending on whether it is singular or plural.
Ex of masculine names: fauteuil (armchair), cousin (cushion), camembert (camembert)…
Ex of feminine names: table (table), bouteille (bottle), chaussure (shoe)…
3.2 Articles
The articles in French vary according to gender, number, and whether the nominal group is defined or undefined.
Gender, number
Masculine
Feminine
Plural
Definite
Le
La
Les
Indefinite
Un
Une
Des
They are before the noun.
Ex: un chat (a cat), la tarte (the tart), des poires (pears), les chiens (the dogs)
3.3 Plurals
The only changes in the endings of names come from the plural form.
Most of the time, the plural is made by adding –s. But there are many other rules and exceptions.
Regular plurals:
Chat->chats (cat), canard->canards (duck), livre->livres (book)…
For words that end with s or z there is not a different form for plural.
Gaz->gaz (gas), mets->mets ((good) dish)…
Some words that end in –ou end with –s, others end with –x.
Clou->clous (nail), trou->trous (hole), but: chou->choux (cabbage), caillou->cailloux (little stone)…
Most of the words that end in –al have the plural in –aux.
Cheval->chevaux (horse), journal->journaux (newspaper) but: festival->festivals (festival)…
It is the same rule for the endings –ail -> -aux.
And so on…
3.4 Adjectives
When an adjective is used, it can be placed between the article and the name or after the name. This depends on
adjectives.
Ex:
Le joli chat (the beautiful cat) but not Le chat joli
Le chat gris (the grey cat) but not Le gris chat
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Le joli chat gris (the beautiful, grey cat)
In a nominal group, adjectives take the same gender and number than the article and name. Unlike the name,
the ending of an adjective varies according both to plural and masculine or feminine.
The feminine form is always ended with an –e, which is a derived form of the masculine singular adjective, which
is the stem. The plural is more or less made like for names.
The feminine plural is only used if all of the subjects are feminine. If one of them is masculine, it becomes a
masculine plural.
Here is a list of examples:
Masculine Sg
Gentil
Beau
Intéressant
Lourd
Pratique
Feminine Sg
Gentille
Belle
Intéressante
Lourde
Pratique
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Masculine Pl
Gentils
Beaux
Intéressants
Lourds
Pratiques
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Feminine Pl
Gentilles
Belles
Intéressantes
Lourdes
Pratiques
English
Nice (for sb)
Beautiful
Interesting
Heavy
Practical
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4 VERBAL GROUPS
4.1 Transitive and intransitive verbs
In French as in many others languages, some verbs are transitive and others are intransitive. A transitive
verb can be followed by a COD and / or a COI. An intransitive verb cannot have a complement.
Example : Je mange une pomme (transitive)
I am eating an apple
Example : Je dors. (intransitive)
I am sleeping
4.2 Adverbs
An adverb modifies the meaning of the verb. As in English where they are most of the time formed by adding –
the suffix –ly, we add the suffix –ment in French.
Ex:
gentil->gentiment
Kind->kindly
4.3 Tenses
There are sixteen different tenses in French. Most are useful but some are quite useless like the ‘subjonctif plus
que parfait’.
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Tenses in French
mode
Indicatif
tenses
présent
Passé simple
Je mange
Je mangeai
Tu manges
Tu mangeas
Il mange
Il mangea
Ns mangeons Nous mangeâmes
Vous mangez Vous mangeâtes
Ils mangent
Ils mangèrent
présent
impératif
--mange !
--mangeons !
mangez !
--conditionel Conditionnel présent
Je mangerais
Tu mangerais
Il mangerait
Nous mangerions
Vous mangeriez
Ils mangeraient
subjonctif Present
Que je mange
Que tu manges
Qu’il mange
Que nous mangions
Que vous mangiez
Qu’ils mangent
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Passé composé
J’ai mangé
Tu as mangé
Il a mangé
Ns avons mangé
Vous avez mangé
Ils ont mangés
Futur antérieur
J’aurai mangé
Tu auras mangé
Il aura mangé
Nous aurons
Vous aurez
Ils auront mangé
past
Que j’aie mangé
Que tu aies mangé
Qu’il ait mangé
Que nous ayons mangé
Que vous ayez mangé
Qu’ils aient mangé
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Passé antérieur
futur
J’eu mangé
j'e mangerais
Tu eus mangé
tu mangeras
Il eut mangé
il mangera
Ns eûmes mangé
ns mangerons
Vous eûtes mangé
vous mangerez
Ils eurent mangé
ils mangeront
Passé
--aie mangé !
--ayons mangé !
ayez mangé !
--Conditionnel passé
J’aurais mangé
Tu aurais mangé
Il aurait mangé
Nous aurions mangé
Vous auriez mangé
Ils auraient mangés
imparfait
Que je mangeasse
Que tu mangeasses
Qu’il mangeât
Que nous mangeassions
Que vous mangeassiez
Qu’ils mangeassent
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imparfait
Je mangeais
Tu mangeais
Il mangeait
Nous mangions
Vous mangiez
Ils mangeaient
Plus que parfait
J’avais mangé
Tu avais mangé
Il avait mangé
Ns avions mangé
Vous aviez mangé
Ils avaient mangé
Plus que parfait
Que j’eusse mangé
Que tu eusses mangé
Qu’il eût mangé
Que nous eussions mangé
Que vous eussiez mangé
Qu’ils eussent mangé
The french language
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5 INTONATION
In spoken French, there is no possibility to make the distinction between:
Tu viens au cinéma ce soir.
You are coming to the cinema this evening.
which is an affirmative sentence.
And:
Tu viens au cinéma ce soir?
Are you coming to the cinema this evening?
which is a question.
We need different intonations to express what we mean.
5.1 Affirmative intonation
For an affirmative intonation, the tone rises at the beginning of the sentence and goes down at the end.
Ex:
Tu viens au cinéma ce soir.
5.2 Questioning intonation
For a question, the tone rises at the beginning and remains high until the end of the sentence.
Ex:
Tu viens au cinéma ce soir ?
The intonation would be the same if the question had been formal or of intermediate language (cf. II.2).
5.3 Astonishment intonation
The intonation varies in the sentence to express astonishment, and ends either high or low whether it rather
waits for an answer or not.
Ex:
Tu viens au cinéma ce soir ?
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