On vérifie... Present tense

Can you fill in the gaps with the correct for of the verb between brackets?

1. J’_________ beaucoup facebook (utiliser)
2. Tu __________ les photos (regarder)
3. Elle _________ ses devoirs (finir)
4. Vous ___________ vos parents (attendre)
5. Ils ___________ toujours les fruits (choisir)
6. Sarah ________ peu d’emails (envoyer)
7. Lucie et Martin _________ surfer sur internet (adorer)
8. Tu _________ quoi sur ebay? (vendre)
9. Nous __________ souvent nos profiles (modifier)
10. Laura en moi ______________ twitter (détester)

Translation:

1. I use facebook a lot.

2. You are watching the pictures.

3. She finishes her homework.

4. You are waiting for your parents.

5. They always choose the fruit.

6. Sarah sends few emails.

7. Lucie and Martin love to surf on the internet.

8. What are you selling on ebay?

9. We often update our profiles.

10. Laura and I hate twitter.

The present tense - Le présent

We use the present tense when we are talking or writing about something we are doing or something we do regularly.

Eg. I am eating chips

      We are watching X Factor

      Every week he plays football in school

Each verb is underlined in the sentences above.

In French there are 3 types of verbs, ending in -er, -ir, or -re.

3 examples of these different verbs

regarder-to watch

je regarde                              -I watch / I am watching

tu regardes                             -you watch

il/elle regarde                          -he /she watches

nous regardons                       -we watch

vous regardez                         -you (plural)/ (polite you) watch

ils regardent                           -they watch

finir - to finish

je finis                                     -I finish / I am finishing

tu finis                                     -you finish

il/elle finit                                 -he /she finishes

nous finissons                         -we finish

vous finissez                            -you (plural)/(polite you) finish

ils finissent                              -they finish

vendre – to sell

je vends                                   -I sell/ I am selling

tu vends                                   -you sell

il/elle vend                                -he /she sells

nous vendons                           -we sell

vous vendez                             -you sell

ils vendent                               -they sell

On vérifie... Opinions and cognates

Could you work out what the following sentences mean? (no cheating!)

1. J'aime le tennis.                      =>    ......................................
2. Je déteste la pollution.            =>    ......................................
3. Je n'aime pas les banques.      =>    ......................................
4. J'adore la musique.                 =>    ......................................
5. Je préfère les tortues.              =>    ......................................

Opinions - Les opinions

Basic opinions, to encourage you to express your own point of view:

j'aime - I like
j'adore - I love
je n'aime pas - I do not like
je déteste - I hate
je préfère - I prefer

! The phrase "I love you" is not expressed with 'adore'
                   Je t'aime - I love you

Months - Les mois

And of course, the months:
Be careful, the months do not beginning with a capital letter in French!

janvier - January
février - February
mars - March
avril - April
mai - May
juin - June
juillet - July
août - August
septembre - Septembre
octobre - Octobre
novembre - Novembre
décembre - Decembre

Numbers - Les nombres

Here come the numbers 1-31 so that you can start using dates:

0 - zéro         10 - dix               20 - vingt               30 - trente
1 - un            11 - onze            21 - vingt et un       31 - trente et un
2 - deux        12 - douze          22 - vingt-deux
3 - trois         13 - treize           23 - vingt-trois
4 - quatre      14 - quatorze      24 - vingt-quatre
5 - cinq         15 - quinze          25 - vingt-cinq
6 - six           16 - seize            26 - vingt-six
7 - sept         17 - dix-sept       27 - vingt-sept
8 - huit          18 - dix-huit        28 - vingt-huit
9 - neuf         19 - dix-neuf       29 - vingt-neuf

Introduce yourself - Présente-toi

Let's have a look at basic ways to introduce yourself and ask questions to others:

-Comment tu t'appelles? - What's your name?
-Je m'appelle (name) - My name is (name)

-Où habites-tu? - Where do you live?
-J'habite à (town) - I live in (town)

-Quel âge as-tu? - How old are you?
-J'ai (age) ans - I am (age) years old

-Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire? - When is your birthday?
-Mon anniversaire est le (number) (month) - My birthday is on the (date)

Greetings - Salutations

As with most languages, the first thing you will need are greetings, so here are some of the most frequent:

bonjour - hello
salut - hi
bonsoir - good evening

au revoir - goodbye
bonne nuit - good night
à bientôt - see you soon

bonne journée - have a good day
bonne soirée - have a good evening
à la prochaine - see you next time
à un de ces jours - see you one of these days
à tout à l'heure - see you later


As mentioned previously, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you need others!

Welcome - Bienvenue

Welcome to Pick French, a blog which will hopefully help you learn, revise, develop or understand different aspects of the French language and culture.

I am a French native speaker. I grew up in the small French town of Melle (Poitou-Charentes) and went to university in Poitiers where I got an MA in English. I have lived in the North-West of England for around 7 years now and teach French in a secondary school to students between the age of 11 and 18.

I have always wanted to compile most aspects of grammar, vocabulary, culture and resources linked with French in the one place, but never got round to doing it, so let's see if I can succeed. 

I should hopefully be able to use this blog in the classroom but also hope that you will find what you are looking for. Please feel free to leave comments or get in touch with me if you want me to post something specific, have a question or just need a bit of help.

So... let's go...