French Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 11-30-2022

Keep this Cheat Sheet handy as you're learning French. It's a great quick reference when you need to check definite, indefinite, and partitive articles; personal pronouns, identify être verbs, and need help with other particulars of French grammar.

Article / Updated 09-29-2022

The French indefinite article is the equivalent to a/an and some (but English often skips it). Do you ask about one thing, describe a couple of things that happened, and make plans for an outing that hasn’t yet been defined? If so, you’re an indefinite article kind of person, like the French! And as such, you should treat the article indéfini as the default article in French grammar. French Indefinite Articles French Article Usage in French English Equivalent Example un Before masculine singular nouns a/an un chat (a cat) une Before feminine singular nouns a/an une maison (a house) des Before masculine or feminine plural nouns some des enfants (some children) de, or d’ before nouns beginning with a vowel or a mute -h Instead of any indefinite article, after a negative verb no or not any pas d’ordinateur (no computer) Use the indefinite article when you talk about one or several individual things that you can count, as opposed to an entire category of things. Il y a un livre sur la table. (There is a book on the table.) Tu as mangé une banane. (You ate a/one banana.) Il a vu des lions au zoo. (He saw (some) lions at the zoo.) You also can use the indefinite articles un and une before an expression of quantity, like une tranche de (a slice of), un morceau de (a piece of), and un peu de (a little bit of). In a sentence with a negative verb, un, une, and des are replaced by de, even if the noun it introduces is plural. Here are some examples. Il n’y a pas de souris dans notre garage. (There is not a mouse in our garage.) Elle ne veut pas d’enfants. (She doesn’t want any children.) This rule has one exception. Don’t use de when the negative verb is être (to be). Just use the indefinite article as if the sentence was affirmative. Here are some examples: Cet animal n’est pas un chien. C’est un renard. (This animal is not a dog. It’s a fox.) — C’est une voiture rouge, n’est-ce pas? — Non ce n’est pas une voiture rouge! C’est une voiture noire. (— It’s a red car, right? — No, it’s not a red car! It’s a black car.) Choose between the definite article (le, la, l’, les) and the indefinite article (un, une, des, and de) to complete the sentences. Check a French-English dictionary if you need help with the vocabulary.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-18-2022

If you’re ready to move beyond the basics in French and want to improve your skills at reading, writing, or speaking in French, start by reviewing the three types of French articles, the French contractions formed with à and de, and French personal pronouns. Learning the correct object pronoun word order and identifying verbs that use être as their auxiliary verb will boost your confidence when speaking French.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-22-2022

Like any new language, learning French can be a challenge. You have to interpret unfamiliar sounds, decipher idioms, conjugate verbs in multiple tenses, dot your is, cross your ts, and link your œs. Nouns have both number and gender, and adjectives and articles have to agree with them. Here are a few French fundamentals to give your speaking, listening, reading, and writing a boost.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-15-2022

If you’re studying French, you need to get a handle on French verbs. Luckily, there’s a pattern to conjugating regular French verbs into the simple and compound tenses, so once you know how to conjugate one, you know hundreds! Learn how to give commands, directions, or requests by studying the imperative conjugations of French verbs. You can also check out these five frequently mixed-up verbs.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-19-2022

Whether you’re planning a trip to France or to a French-speaking country or you just want to learn a little French, knowing a few helpful expressions can make you feel more comfortable with the language. In this handy Cheat Sheet, you'll find basic French expressions, questions for gathering information or asking for help, and phrases to use in a restaurant. You'll also find the dates and numbers in French.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-19-2022

French grammar is all about using French words in the correct way so people can understand your meaning. You can learn a lot of French words by browsing an English-French dictionary, but to make sense, you need to know the rules of French grammar. Some of the basics include making nouns plural, adding description by pairing adjectives correctly to nouns, and using pronominal verbs to talk about actions done to you or someone else.

Article / Updated 10-28-2021

As you discuss days, months, and specific dates in French, you’re going to need tell time (l’heure) and probably with both the 12-hour and 24-hour clocks. How to express French time via the 12-hour clock Time is typically expressed based on a 12-hour clock. In French, you say the hour then the minutes, and it’s a little different from the way it’s done in English. To tell a time on the hour in French, use il est + (number) + heure(s). For example: il est deux heures (it is two o’clock). Note: When it is one o’clock, say: il est une heure (it is one o’clock), using the feminine singular une instead of un because the word heure (hour) is feminine. Always say the word heure(s) when telling time. Even if familiar language often skips il est, it never skips heure(s). For example: quelle heure est-il? (what time is it?) Huit heures (eight o’clock). French minutes have a few twists and turns that you may not expect. Check these out: To say 1 to 30 minutes past the hour, simply say the number of minutes after the hour, like this: Il est deux heures dix. (Literally, it is two hours ten, which is to say, it is 2:10.) Il est sept heures vingt-cinq. (It is 7:25.) For 15 minutes past the hour say, et quart (and a quarter). For example: Il est une heure et quart. (It’s a quarter past one.) For 30 minutes past the hour, say et demie (and a half). For example: Il est une heure et demie. (It’s half past one.) For 31 to 59 minutes past the hour, say the next hour moins (minus) the number of minutes, like this: Il est quatre heures moins dix. (Literally, four hours minus 10, or 3:50.) Il est huit heures moins vingt. (Literally, eight hours minus 20, meaning 7:40.) For a quarter until the hour, say moins le quart (minus the quarter). For example: Il est trois heures moins le quart. (It is a quarter until 3; meaning 2:45.) To abbreviate a time in French, don’t use a colon between the hour and minutes like in English. Instead, use the letter h (for heure), like this: 8h10 (8:10). French has specific words for noon and midnight: midi (noon) and minuit (midnight). Those two words are used without saying heures. For example: Il est minuit. Tout le monde au lit! (It’s midnight. Everybody to bed!) With the 12-hour clock, you may need to clarify whether it’s 8 a.m. or 8 p.m. It could make a big difference! French uses phrases to express the difference between morning (le matin), afternoon (l’après-midi), and evening/night (le soir). du matin (in the morning or a.m.) For example: Il part à six heures et demie du matin. (He leaves at 6:30 a.m.) de l’après-midi (in the afternoon or p.m.) For example: En hiver il fait nuit à cinq heures de l’après-midi. (In the winter, it’s dark at 5 p.m.) du soir (in the evening/at night or p.m.) For example: Ils dînent à sept heures du soir. (They eat dinner at 7 p.m.) The line between afternoon and evening is not a very fixed one. It varies with the perception of the speaker, the seasons, even the weather. Here are a few expressions that can come in handy when telling time in French. pile (on the dot). For example: Il mange à midi pile. (He eats at noon on the dot.) à (at). For example: Viens à trois heures. (Come at 3.) C’est à quelle heure? (At what time is it?) vers (around). For example: Je passerai vers 9 heures. (I will stop by around 9.) How to express French time via the 24-hour clock If you travel in France, you really may need this information! Using the 24-hour clock is really quite simple, because all you do is add. No more moins le quart or et demie and the like. All you need is to keep in mind that the 24-hour clock begins at zéro heure (12 a.m.) and ends at 23.59 (11:59 p.m.), and you write a period between the two parts of the time instead of using an h. For example, 13.00 (treize heures) is 1 p.m., 14.00 (quatorze heures) is 2 p.m., 15.00 (quinze heures) is 3 p.m., and so on. And because it’s clear that all times after 12 (noon) are p.m., you have no need for du matin, de l’après-midi, or du soir anymore. Here are some examples: Le film commence à 20.40 (vingt heures quarante). (The movie begins at 8:40 p.m.) Le bureau est ouvert de 8.00 (huit heures) à 17.30 (dix-sept heures trente). (The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.) Le déjeuner est servi à 12.15 (douze heures quinze) et le diner à 19.45 (dix-neuf-­heures quarante-cinq). (Lunch is served at 12:15, and dinner at 7:45.)

Article / Updated 09-14-2021

To simplify things, French has classified regular verbs into three types, based on the ending of their infinitives. Think of all the things you can possibly do in one day. That’s also a lot of French verbs to conjugate. The largest group is the verbs with infinitives that end in -er (the -er verbs), like parler (to speak). The second largest group is made up of the verbs with infinitives that end in -ir (the -ir verbs), like finir (to finish). The third group consists of the -re ending verbs (the -re verbs), like vendre (to sell). Each type follows a pattern of conjugation for every tense. Think of the infinitive as the family name of a verb: A family shares a common last name, but each individual has their own characteristics, right? Use the infinitive to recognize the verb type (-er, -ir, or -re) that allows you to find its conjugation pattern and also look up the verb in the dictionary. How to conjugate a regular -er verb More than 80 percent of French verbs are -er verbs. It’s great for you, because after you know this group's pattern of conjugation in the present tense, you can pretty much conjugate 80 percent of French verbs. Doesn’t that sound great? To conjugate a regular -er verb, drop the -er of the infinitive to get the stem. Then add the six present tense endings specific to -er verbs: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent, and you’re done. Easy! The following table conjugates a regular -er verb: aimer (to like). j’aime nous aimons tu aimes vous aimez il/elle/on aime ils/elles aiment Aller (to go) is a very common verb, and it looks like a regular -er verb. However, it is not. Aller is a very irregular verb. How to conjugate a regular -ir verb The -ir verb group is the second most common verb type. To form the present tense of a regular -ir verb, drop the -ir of the infinitive to get the stem for the present tense conjugation. Then add the present tense endings specific to -ir verbs: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. The following table conjugates a regular -ir verb: finir (to finish). je finis nous finissons tu finis vous finissez il/elle/on finit ils/elles finissent Not all -ir verbs follow this pattern. So just use a little more caution when dealing with -ir ending verbs. How to conjugate a regular -re verb Verbs that end in -re are the third conjugation type. To form the present tense of an -re verb, drop the -re of the infinitive, like you do for -er and -ir verbs. When you do that, you’re left with the stem for the conjugation of the present tense, and you can add the present tense endings specific to -re verbs: -s, -s, nothing, -ons, -ez, -ent. The following table conjugates a regular -re verb: vendre (to sell). je vends nous vendons tu vends vous vendez il/elle/on vend ils/elles vendent

Article / Updated 01-13-2020

Knowing some common French greetings and good-byes will be indispensable when traveling in French-speaking countries. Saying hello and good-bye in French will quickly become second nature because you'll use them day in and day out with everyone you come across. In most French-speaking countries it's considered good manners to greet everyone. So, whether you're speaking to a clerk, a waiter, or just bumping into someone on the street, take the time to say a polite bonjour before you proceed. This also means that when step on the bus or train you should say a quick bonjour to anyone within hearing distance. The most common conversational ways to greet someone in French are: Salut. (Hello; Hi. [Informal]) Bonjour. (Hello; Good morning.) Bonsoir. (Good evening.) You might think that you can use good afternoon (bon après-midi) as a greeting the way you can in the United States, but in most French-speaking countries, bon après-midi should only be used to as a form of goodbye. Greeting with a cheek kiss Cheek kissing is another common type of greeting in most French-speaking countries. However, the rules for cheek kisses can be complicated matter. The rules change depending on the country you're in and even the region of the country. For example, in Belgium, it's customary to greet everyone in your generation or younger with one kiss, but anyone that's a generation or more older than you should be given three kiss (right cheek-left-then right again). In Paris, most people stick to a four-kiss rule, but in most of the rest of France, two kisses is the norm. If you think that's confusing, you're right. The good news is that when you meet someone for the first time, you can usually just shake hands. Then just watch how other people interact. Because it's such a common practice, you should quickly be able to determine what the standard is where you're staying. How are you? How's it going? Asking how someone is doing is a common greeting in the U.S. How many times a day do we hear or say these brief greetings at the beginning of our conversations? So many times, in fact, that half the time, we don't even pay attention. These pleasantries are common in French-speaking countries as well. The most common ways to ask how someone is doing are: Comment ça va? (How’s it going?) Comment vas-tu? (How are you? [Informal]) Comment allez-vous? (How are you? [Formal]) Ça va? (How’s it going? [Informal]) As you'd expect, when someone asks you how you're doing, there are many possible responses. Ça va bien. It’s going well.) Tout va bien. (Everything is going well.) Je vais bien, merci. (I’m fine, thank you.) Je vais très bien. (I’m very well.) Je ne vais pas très bien. (I’m not doing very well.) Je vais comme-ci, comme-ça. (I’m so-so.) Once you've said that you're fine, or good, or so-so, it is customary to ask how the other person is doing. You can do this easily by saying Et toi? (And you? [informal]) or Et vous? (And you? [formal]). Saying good-bye As many ways as there are to greet someone, you'll find plenty of ways say goodbye, as well. Au revoir. (Good-bye.) Salut. (Good-bye. [Informal]) À bientôt. (See you soon.) À tout de suite. (See you in a minute.) À plus tard. (See you later.) À la prochaine. (Until next time.) À demain. (See you tomorrow.) À la semaine prochaine. (See you next week.) À lundi. (See you on Monday.) Bonne journée! (Have a good day!) Bonne chance! (Good luck!) Bonne nuit. (Good night. Used only when someone is going to sleep or retiring for the evening.) Aside from a few exceptions, final consonants aren’t pronounced in French. Pronounce a final consonant only if it’s followed by a vowel.