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French Possessive Adjectives

by Amelie Hurford
April 29, 2017

Mon, Ta, Notre, Leur

How to understand French Possessive Adjectives Better

There are many French possessive adjectives so let’s learn them in this French lesson and make it clear and simple.

In English, you have 8 possessives : My your his her its our your and their.

In French, you have 10 more.

So, If you are asking yourself how to learn French in an efficient and simple way, join us today at French lessons Australia and click here to know more about the French possessive adjectives.

How to understand French Possessive Adjectives Better?

Here we are!

How to speak French like a native.

Just go through this French Learning…

The French possessive adjectives are related to the noun.

They are words that say to whom or to what something belongs.

In English they are:

My Your His Her It’s Our Your (when you’re talking to more than one person) and Their.

In French, they are a few more.

You might remember that all French nouns are either masculine or feminine: As a result, all possessive adjectives in French have to agree with the gender of the noun.

Let’s put all of them in a table so you can understand clearly how it works.

Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine
In front of a consonant In front of a vowel
Singular Persons First Pers MON MA MON MES
Sec Pers TON TA TON TES
Third Pers SON SA SON SES
Plurals Persons First Pers NOTRE NOS
Second Pers VOTRE VOS
Third Pers LEUR LEURS

You might have noticed that there’s no “its” in this table. This is because French possessive adjectives relate to the noun, and every noun has a gender.

There’s no need for the gender-neutral “its

Examples :

My Father
mon père
My mother
ma mère
His father
son père
Her mother
ma mère

She has her book.

Elle a son livre.

It’s my car.

C’est ma voiture.

Our friends come tonight.

Nos amis viennent ce soir.

My Neighbor’s’ cat ; his name is Moustache.

Le chat de ma voisine ; son chat s’appelle Moustache.

Your home is very nice.

Votre maison est très belle.

Their children are adorable.

Leurs enfants sont adorables.

The best way to make it yours is to practice, so click here to register at French lessons Australia.

French Online Courses, French Vocabulary

How to deal with un, une, des in French ?

by Amelie Hurford
April 4, 2017

Je mange une tarte et je bois un café avec des amies.

If you want to know more about the French indefinite articles  go through this French lesson and you will know how to speak French properly.

Click here

Do you want to learn how to deal with un, une, des in French. There is No need to attend a French class to understand the French indefinite articles!

It’s very simple!! French articles are necessary to determine the gender of the noun. You cannot make a sentence without an article or a noun.

Un café très chaud.

The noun café needs the article to fit with the sentence.

The French indefinite article (un, une, des in French)  is used with a noun referring to an unspecified item, or to a specific item when the speaker and audience both do not know what the item is.

In English there are three kinds of singular articles «a,” “an,” or “one”.

In French there are only two.

Un for the masculine noun.

Une for the feminine noun.

The plural “some” in English corresponds to “des.” In French.

Des   m or f plural

Note that the plural indefinite article is the same for all nouns, whereas the singular has different forms for masculine and feminine.

Learning French & un, une, des in French is easy! Test yourself by doing this simply test.

What you should put in front of these nouns?

Bicyclette                                           une

Ordinateurs                                       des

Pain au chocolat                              un

Leçon de français                            une

Joueur de foot                                  un

Parties de tennis                              des

 

Caution !

In a negative sentence, the indefinite article changes to de or d’ in front of a vowel.

Il mange un pain au chocolat.

Il ne mange pas de pain au chocolat. (negative sentence with ne …pas)

Il mange un artichaut (artichoke).

Il ne mange pas d’artichaut.

 

Once again do the test!

DE or D’

Il ne boit pas … café.                       De       He doesn’t drink coffee.

Ils ne partent pas …. Paris             De       They do not leave from Paris.

Le client n’a pas … argent.            D’        The customer does not have cash.

Pierre n’a pas … amis.                    D’        Pierre does not have friends.

 

When referring to a person’s profession or religion, the indefinite is not used in French, although it is used in English.

Je suis professeure de français.

I am a french teacher.

If you want to learn more about French definite articles Click Here

If you want to practice your French join us at French lessons Australia and enroll into one of our class.

VERBS IN FRENCH
French Online Courses

French Vocab Most Common Verbs

by Amelie Hurford
March 27, 2017

What are the most important things when you start learning a language?

Let your French learning journey begin with this Vocabulary unit. What are the most common verbs in French ? You need vocabulary to express clearly your ideas and opinions. And you also need verbs. Verbs are very important to learn in every language.

You may ask what are the most used verbs in French?

There are plenty verbs in French!

Not even a native French speaker knows all the verbs in French so there is no need to know all of them. But You must start to memorise some of the simple verbs.

Don’t forget to check out all our French lesson classes to be able to conjugate verbs at French Lessons Australia.

What are the most commonly used verbs in French?

The bad reputation of the French conjugation is largely undeserved!

It is true that there are a large number of the forms.

But it is the same in many languages. Moreover, most of these forms are predictable.

For example to make the past compound forms it is sufficient to have the following three pieces of information in order to form them correctly:

The form of the past participle of the verb; the auxiliary used and the conjugation of these two auxiliaries.

Today in this French learning we are going to develop the most common verbs in French

The 50 most used verbs in French

In English

In French

To be: I am a teacher
Être: Je suis professeure.
To have: I have a lot of students
Avoir; J’ai beaucoup d’étudiants.
To Make: I make effort
Faire : Je fais des efforts.
To do: What are you doing?
Faire : Que fais-tu ?
To tell: I have to tell you something.
Dire : Je dois vous dire quelque chose.
To say: You said something interesting to me
Dire : Tu m’as dit quelque chose d’intéressant.
To can: I can speak French.
Pouvoir : Je peux parler Français.
To go: I go to the night club tonight.
Aller : Je vais en boite ce soir.
To see: I see what you mean
Voir : Je vois ce que tu veux dire.
To know: Who knows?
Savoir: Qui sait?
To want: I want an apple.
Vouloir : Je veux une pomme.
To come: Come to me.
Venir : Viens vers moi.
To put: Put this on the table please.
Mettre : Mets ça sur la table, s’il te plait.
To give: Give me the book.
Donner : Donne-moi le livre.
To take: I will take the bus.
Prendre : Je vais prendre le bus.
To have To: You have To stop smoking.
Falloir : Il faut arrêter de fumer !
To give back: He gave me my cash back.
Rendre : Il m’a rendu ma monnaie.
To understand: I do not understand.
Comprendre : Je ne comprends pas.
To stay: I stayed there for three months.
Rester : Je suis restée là trois mois.
To hold: The baby holds his toy.
Tenir : Le bébé tient son jouet.
To speak: I speak French.
Parler : Je parle Français.
To show: Let me show you something.
Montrer : Laisse-moi te montrer quelque chose.
To think: I think of you.
Penser : Je pense à toi.
To follow: Follow me.
Suivre : suivez-moi.
To believe: Believe me it’s true!
Croire : Crois-moi c’est vrai !
To Begin: Let the show begins!
Commencer : Que le spectacle commence!
To hear : I heard a bear !
Entendre : J’ai entendu un ours !
To wait : I am waiting for the bus.
Attendre: J’attends le bus.
To call : I called him yesterday.
Appeler : Je l’ai appelé hier.
To allow : It is not allowed.
Permettre : Ce n’est pas permis!
To become : It is becoming difficult.
Devenir : Ca devient difficile.
To leave : He leaves tomorrow.
Partir : Il part demain.
To seem : He seems happy.
Sembler : Il semble heureux.
To answer : I answer the phone.
Répondre : Je réponds au téléphone.
To live : I live in Brisbane.
Vivre : Je vis à Brisbane.
To play : I play piano.
Jouer : Je joue du Piano.
To choose : Choose a subject.
Choisir : Choisis un sujet.
To like / love : I like pink !
Aimer : J’aime le rose.
To lose : I lost my dog.
Perdre : J’ai perdu mon chien.
To open : Open the door.
Ouvrir : Ouvre la porte.
To read : I read it
Lire : Je l’ai lu !
To try : You have to try this dress !
Essayer Tu dois essayer cette robe.
To learn : I am learning French.
Apprendre J’apprends le Français.
To teach : I teach French.
Enseigner : J’enseigne le Français.
To go out : I went out yesterday.
Sortir : Je suis sortie hier.
To get : I got an A in my test.
Obtenir : J’ai obtenu un A à mon examen.
To look for : I am looking for a job.
Chercher : Je cherche un emploi.
To bring : I will bring the wine.
Apporter : J’apporterai le vin.
To use : I use skype to teach.
Utiliser : J’utilise Skype pour enseigner.
To write : I am writing a letter.
Ecrire : J’écris une lettre.

If you would like to know how to conjugate all of them; just click here to speak French with us at French lessons Australia.

Yes, you really CAN learn French easily
French Online Courses, French Vocabulary

Yes, you really CAN learn French easily

by Amelie Hurford
December 27, 2016

French is a difficult language, but once you get to know the most common and useful verbs, it becomes a real piece of cake to master the basics!

You can Learn French Quickly and Easily. One of these verbs is the verb… POUVOIR.

The verb ”POUVOIR” is used a lot in French and can be translated in English by:

  • to be able to
  • to can
  • to be allowed to
  • to manage to

The particularity with this verb is that is it an irregular (which means tricky conjugation), but above all: it is a powerful verb!

It will make you able to say what you can do and to ask someone to do something for you!

Asking someone to do something:

Peux-tu faire les courses? -> Can you do the grocery shopping?

Pouvez-vous me donner le pain? -> Can you give me the bread?

Saying what you can/cannot do:

Je peux vous aider. -> I can help you.

Ma soeur peut t’apprendre le francais. -> My

sister can learn to you French.

Ma fille ne peut pas sortir ce soir. -> My daugher cannot go out tonight.

Then, the verb POUVOIR is also present in a few French expressions, check these ones:

Je n’en peux plus. -> I can’t do it anymore.

Je n’y peux rien. -> It’s not my fault.

Once you get the verb POUVOIR in mind, it becomes really easy to build basic but powerful sentences! Leave us a comment using this verb 🙂

If you want to know more about how to create easy and useful French sentences? We have a

large range of options for you available at French Lessons Australia!

To learn LEARN FRENCH easily contact us at info@french-lessons-australia.com to get more information or enroll now online or at one of our classes!

French Online Courses

What do you WANT to do tonight to improve your French?

by Amelie Hurford
December 22, 2016

Today, at French Lessons Australia, we are teaching you the verb

”VOULOIR”, meaning ”to want” to improve your French!

Uses of ”vouloir”

Vouloir indicates a strong will or command: “to want” or “to wish”.

Vouloir often precede an infinitive.

Eg. Nous voulons aller au restaurant. -> We want to go to the restaurant.

There is also a famous French expression which is: en vouloir à , meaning ”to be angry at”.

Eg. J’en veux à ma soeur de m’avoir pris mes chaussures. -> I am angry at my sister for having taken my shoes.

 

Conjugation of ”vouloir”

Vouloir is an irregular verb, so study it well as it will be really useful in your conversations!

Invite someone!

In English, when you want to invite someone you usually use the conditional: ”Would you like to…go to the restaurant tonight?”

In French, no need to use the conditional (such a relief, right?), you will use the present: ”Tu veux…aller au restaurant ce soir?”

Learning French at French Lessons Australia is a good way to start a new language in a fun and result-based environment! Contact us at info@french-lessons-australia.com or check our available courses: online or in a course, you will always find what is right for you!

 

The old secrets of authentic Colmar and Strasbourg
French Online Courses, French Vocabulary

The old secrets of authentic Colmar and Strasbourg

by Amelie Hurford
December 21, 2016

Colmar is probably not the most known city in France, but it is for sure one of the loveliest!

What does this place look like? And why should you definitely see it?

Besides this city, another, bigger, called Strasbourg is also a must-see for its similar medieval architecture, but also for its European importance… At French Lessons Brisbane, we will give you 5 good reasons to visit these 2 beautiful places!

Colmar Medieval towns

Colmar is situated in the Alsace region, in the North East of France, close to the German border. Well-known for its wines and its lovely streets that makes you feel like you were walking 500 years ago, Colmar is one of these cities that remain in your memory.

There are still houses that have been built during the Middles Ages, and many places such as a monastery make Colmar a cultural and historical town to visit.

A good climate

Colmar is also known for its charming climate. Indeed, it is one of the driest cities in France, and its weather in summer is mild and Clement. During the winter, it rarely snows, which is quite surprising regarding its localization on the map!

A long history

Colmar is as you may have understood a pretty old town. The first time we heard about it was during the 9th century. Obviously, multiple wars left traces on the town, but is also what makes its charm… Colmar was the last city to be freed after the Nazi occupation.

Since then, Colmar has focused on its historical beauties. A large part of its historic centre has become a protected sector, and its local musee: the Musee Unterlinden is the most visited provincial one in France!

half-timbered-houses-in-Colmar

 

Siege of the European Parliament

Strasbourg is located in the same region as Colmar but is bigger and popular for political matters as well as it is the official seat of the European Parliament since 1952! Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe (with its European Court of Human Rights) and the Eurocorps. The city is also the seat of the International Institute of Human Rights. This political importance for the EU can be explained by its geographical position between the two first European leaders: France and Germany. In fact, Strasbourg has been for centuries the witness of the rivalry (and enmity) opposing these two great powers. Becoming a strategic city for the EU is therefore symbolic as well.

cathedrale strasbourg

 

A World heritage site

Strasbourg’s historic city centre is classed by the UNESCO as a world heritage site! The city’s gothic sandstone cathedral and its astronomic clock does have something magical, and medieval sights are all around the city centre.

Did you enjoy Colmar and Strasbourg? Or would you like to visit them but you would like to first start French? Don’t hesitate anymore longer and contact us at info@french-lessons-australia.com  🙂

The Mont Saint-Michel
French Culture, French Online Courses

Visiting Mont Saint Michel in France

by Amelie Hurford
December 21, 2016

The Mont Saint-Michel (Mount St Michael) is located at around one kilometre off the north-western French coast, in the region called Normandie (Normandy). 

The building of the monastic establishment started in the 8th century and is, therefore, a typical representation of the feudal system with on top of the island the abbey and monastery (God), below the great halls, then the stores and middle-class housing, and then, outside the walls, the fishermen and farmers houses.

The legend says that the Archangel Michael appeared in 708 on the island to the bishop of Avranches, and demanded him to build a church there. Yet, the bishop ignored the archangel, and this latter then burned a hole in the bishop’s skull. The kind of story that gives you thrills and brings even more mystery to this mythic island.

The status of island of the Mont Saint-Michel has changed several times over the centuries.

Until the 19th century, the Mont was a semi-island: when the rising tide, the path connecting the Mont to the mainland was covered by the sea. It was a great advantage for the island’s defense, making it an impenetrable fortress. In fact, the Mont Saint Michel remained unconquered until the Hundred Years of war opposing the Great-Britain to France. After that, the Mont has also been used as a jail under Louis XI, valuing the geographical benefits of the island.

However, in 1879, the water was drained and the coastal flats converted into pasture land. The Mont became silted up and in 2006, a project started with the objectives to remove the silt and to make the Mont an island again.

Today, the Mont Saint-Michel is therefore officially an island, connected to the continent by a light bridge!

Did you like that post about the Mont Saint-Michel? Would you start Learning French, or just asking us more details about our personalised classes? Contact us at info@french-lessons-australia.com !

 

How to say you in French?
French Online Courses, Learning New Language

How to say you in French?

by Amelie Hurford
December 15, 2016

There are two forms of “you” in French: “tu” and “vous”.

If modern English doesn’t have that difference anymore, it used to. Shakespeare uses “you” and “thou”.

tu = you

vous = thou

There are two rules regarding the usage of “tu” and “vous” in French.

1.Old English used “you” to refer to one person (singular) and “though” to refer to several people (plural). The same logic applies to French. Exemple: Pierre, tu regardes la télé ?– Pierre, are you watching TV? Exemple: Marie et Sophie, vous avez vu le nouveau James Bond ? Mary and Sophie, did you see the new James Bond?

2.The second rule refers to a certain number of social codes. – the use of “tu”: informality between friends an adult talking to a child – the use of “vous” formality to acknowledge hierarchy (an employee talking to his boss and vice versa) you can refer to someone by his or her first name and still you the “vous” form; however this is rather old-fashioned. Général Charles de Gaulle would use “vous” and her first name to talk to his wife.

 

If uncertain about “tutoyer” or “vouvoyer” someone, go with the latter.

Happy Learning Tips from your teacher

Have a great week!

Amelie

Your French Teacher

L’imparfait , French Grammar
French Grammar, French Online Courses

How do you form the imparfait in French?

by Amelie Hurford
December 15, 2016

The imperfect tense is a past tense, but in which cases is it used and how often do French people use it?

Join us in our French Grammar tour at French Lessons Australia and master the past in 5 minutes!

 

When to use it?

The imperfect tense is a past tense used to talk about descriptions. It definitely has a talent to describe things. Example: Henry was a tall, brilliant, and smart man -> Henry était un homme grand, brillant et intelligent.

In English, the Imperfect can also be represented by the Past Continuous. That to say to talk about a situation that was happening when another event interrupted it. For instance: She was playing on her computer when… -> Elle jouait sur son ordinateur quand…

The Imperfect generally expresses a situation that happened in the past for an indefinite period of time, without any link with today. Eg. Michael was unhappy with his grades when he was at school -> Michael était mécontent de ses points quand il était a l’école.

Finally, the Imperfect can be used to express a past habit or something you were used to do. Eg. When I was young, I used to work in a office -> Quand j’étais jeune, je travaillais dans un bureau.

How to use it?

The Imperfect tense is easy to learn!

All conjugations except for the verb ‘être’ are formed in the same way!

You know how to conjugate verbs at the present form. So all you need to do to conjugate at the imperfect form is to take the first person of plural (-nous-) at the present form, to drop the “ons” at the end, and to replace it by the correct Imperfect ending.

Example: the verb “chanter” (to sing). The first person of plural in Present is “Nous chantons”. Drop the “ons”. Which gives “chant-” and add the correct ending which are shown below. The Imperfect form will therefore be: je chantais, tu chantais, il chantait, nous chantions, vous chantiez, ils chantaient.

Je -ais

Tu -ais

Il/Elle -ait

Nous -ions

Vous -iez

Ils/Elles -aient

Examples:

  • We used to like -> Nous aimions
  • I danced a lot when I was young -> Je dansais beaucoup quand j’étais jeune.

The only exception is the verb ‘être’ that will be conjugated like this: j’étais, tu étais, il était, nous étions, vous étiez, ils étaient.

Seems a bit vague? Want to have more precise information about the use of tenses? Or just more information on French in general? Easy! Contact us at info@frenchlessons-australia.com.au

The verb faire and its expressions
French Online Courses, French Vocabulary

Faire conjugaison verb of this important french verb

by Amelie Hurford
December 14, 2016

The verb faire, is one of the most used verbs in the French language.

You can translate it in English by “to do” or “to make”, but there are also countless expressions using it with a different meaning. Let’s jump on the French Lessons Brisbane train and learn how to understand this word better…

 

To do/to make

While in English, people make a distinction between two types of actions using either “to make” or “to do”, French people make it perhaps more simple and only use one verb: Faire.

For instance, to say that your friend makes you smile, you will say ‘mon ami me fait sourire’. Besides, if you want to say that you do your homework every weekend, then you’ll say ‘je fais mes devoirs tous les week-ends’.

In a general way, everytime you want to translate the verbs to do or to make, you can use the verb faire.

Expressions using ”faire”

French people really like this verb and tend to use it quite a lot. It

would be too long (and possibly too boring) to list here all the expressions using ”faire” so French Lessons Australia  will only provide you here with the most useful ones:

Talking about the weather: whether it is cold or warm outside, French will say ‘Il fait froid’ (it is cold) or ‘Il fait chaud’ (it is warm). If the weather is nice, you can say ‘Il fait bon’ (it is good), and if the weather is bad you can say ‘Il fait mauvais’ (it is bad).

Talking about the chores: various expressions about chores or sport also use the verb ”faire”. Doing the dishes will be translated by ‘faire la vaisselle’. Doing housework will be ‘faire le menage’. Cooking could be translated by ‘cuisiner’ or ”faire la cuisine’ (to do the kitchen, literally). Going out to buy food will be ‘faire les courses’. If you do a sport, you can always use the verb ”faire” as well: ‘faire du sport’. In this way, swimming can either be translated by ‘nager’ or ‘faire de la natation’. Doing some fitness will be ‘faire du fitness’. Doing bicycle will be ‘faire du velo’, etc…

Some random expressions: when you ask someone to pay attention, you will say ”fais attention” to this person. If you hurt yourself, we use the expression ‘se faire mal’, so in this case you will say ‘je me suis fait mal’. Then, you can also express the fact of becoming very rich: ‘faire fortune’. To explain that something doesn’t matter, you can just say ”ca ne fait rien”. And if you trust someone, you can tell him ‘je te fais confiance’.>

How to conjugate the verb ”faire”

Unfortunately, the verb ”faire”, as most of the very used verbs in French, is an irregular verb. That means that you will need to know its conjugation by heart, but don’t worry it’s pretty easy!

Unfortunately, the verb ”faire”, as most of the very used verbs in French, is an irregular verb.

That means that you will need to know its conjugation by heart, but don’t worry it’s pretty easy!

Je fais = I do, make

Tu fais = You do, make

Il/Elle fait = She does, makes

Nous faisons = We do, make

Vous faites = You do, make

Ils/Elles font = They do, make

This post has been provided by French Lessons Australia, don’t hesitate to contact us via email at info@frenchlessons-australia.com.au

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