Ffrench 2

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INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES
COURSE MATERIAL
Course Name: – FRENCH-II UNIT I-V Course Code: SFR1102
Semester 2. French Notes
Demonstrative Adjectives
Adjectifs démonstratifs
Demonstrative adjectives are used to indicate a specific noun or nouns. In

French, they must agree with the noun(s) in number and sometimes
gender.
Par exemple…
Ce livre est très bon. This/That book is really good.
Je vais acheter ces chaises. I’m going to buy these/those chairs.
Characteristics of demonstrative adjectives
1. Used in place of an article, not with one

2. Placed directly in front of a noun or an adjective + noun
3. Agree with the demonstrated noun in number and sometimes gender
4. Demonstrative adjective + noun can be replaced by a demonstrative pronoun
French demonstrative adjectives
Masculine Before vowel Feminine
this, that ce cet Cette
these, those ces ces Ces
+ There are three singular adjectives:
1. Masculine: ce
2. Masculine in front of a vowel: cet
3. Feminine: cette
+ When a singular demonstrative adjective precedes a masculine noun or
adjective that begins with a vowel or h muet, cet is used to avoid a hiatus – learn
more.
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Par exemple…
ce homme cet homme this/that man
ce ancien château cet ancien château this/that former château
+ There is only one plural demonstrative adjective: ces.
Cettes does not exist, and neither does cets.

Par exemple…
ces femmes these/those women
ces hommes these/those men
French vs English
French demonstrative adjectives make no distinction between "this" and "that"
– ce, cet, and cette can each mean either one. Likewise, ces can mean "these" or
"those." When you need to make the distinction, you can attach a suffix to the noun:
 –ci = "this" or "these"

 –là = "that" or "those"
Par exemple…
cette chaise-ci this chair
ces chaises-là those chairs
Je vais à cet hôtel-ci, pas à cette maison-là. I’m going to this hotel, not that house.
Passive Voice
Voix passive
As seen in this sentence, the passive voice is used to indicate that

something is being done to a subject by an agent. It’s passive because the
subject is being acted upon, rather than acting as in the active voice. The agent may
be implied or introduced by one of two prepositions.
1) Active verbs
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The agent of active verbs is introduced by the preposition par.
Par exemple…
L’oie est suivie par ses oisons. The goose is followed by her goslings.
Ce film a été tourné en France (par un This movie was filmed in France (by a
étudiant). student).
2) State-of-being verbs
When the verb indicates a state of being, the agent—if any—is introduced by the
preposition de.
Par exemple…
Ce professeur est détesté de ses This teacher is hated by his colleagues.

collègues.
La décision est très appréciée (de tout le The decision is greatly appreciated (by
monde). everyone).
À noter
Only transitive verbs (verbs with direct objects) can be used in the passive voice.
Just as the subject of an active sentence becomes the agent, the direct object
becomes the subject.
Par exemple…
Active Les ingénieurs conçoivent les Ingénieurs is the subject, voitures is the
voitures. direct object.
Passive Les voitures sont conçues par Voitures is the subject, ingénieurs is the
les ingénieurs. agent.
Using the passive voice

There are two good reasons to use the passive voice.
1) Emphasize the agent

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In the passive voice, the agent is placed at the end of the sentence, which gives it
extra weight.
En comparaison…
Passive Active
Ce professeur est détesté de tous ses Tous ses collègues détestent ce

collègues. professeur.
Le film a été tourné par un étudiant. Un étudiant a tourné le film.
2) Anonymous subject
With the passive voice, you can avoid saying who or what is doing something by
leaving out the agent, whereas in the active voice, you have to specify a subject.
Par exemple…
Passive Active
La décision est très appréciée. Tout le monde / Le public / Les gens…

apprécie(nt) la décision.
Beaucoup de voitures sont ___ conçoit (conçoivent) beaucoup de voitures ici.

conçues ici.
Avoiding the passive voice

It’s easy to overuse the somewhat formal passive voice, but there are ways to achieve
essentially the same results without it.
1) Emphasize the subject with c’est or ce sont:
Ce sont les collègues qui détestent ce professeur (pas les étudiants).
C’est un étudiant qui a tourné le film (incroyable, n’est-ce pas ?)
2) For an anonymous subject, you have two options:

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a) Impersonal subject pronoun on
On a pris la décision facilement. The decision was made easily, We/They

made…
On conçoit beaucoup de voitures Many cars are designed here, We/They

ici. design…
b) Passive reflexive se
La décision s’est prise facilement.
Beaucoup de voitures se conçoivent ici.
Passé composé vs Imparfait

French past tenses
The most important French past tenses are the passé composé and the imparfait,
and they are troublesome for several reasons. While l’imparfait is more or less
equivalent to the English past progressive, l’imparfait is more widely used, especially
with verbs like avoir and être. As for the passé composé, it has three English
equivalents. Be sure you fully understand these two French tenses before continuing
with this lesson.
For French students, the trickiest aspect of these French verb forms is that they often
work together, juxtaposed not only throughout stories, but even within individual
sentences. Understanding the contrasting relationship between the passé
composé and imparfait is essential to communicating in French.
Imparfait vs passé composé

In a nutshell, the imparfait is used for incomplete actions while the passé
composé is reserved for completed ones, but of course it’s more complicated than
that.
Incomplete vs Complete
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Imparfait explains what was happening, with Passé composé announces what
no indication of when or even if it ended. happened, actions that were
completed.
J’étais à l’école. I was at school. Je suis arrivé tôt. I arrived early.
Je faisais mes devoirs. I was doing my J’ai fini mes I finished my

homework. devoirs. homework.
Uncounted vs Counted
Imparfait details what used to happen on a Passé composé expresses what

regular basis, or happened an indefinite number happened a specific number of times.
of times.
J’étudiais le lundi. I used to study on J’ai étudié lundi. I studied on (a

Mondays. specific) Monday.
Je perdais I was always losing J’ai perdu mon I lost my book

constamment mon my book. livre deux fois. twice.
livre.
Ongoing vs New
Imparfait indicates an ongoing state of being or Passé composé reports a change in a

feeling. state of being, a new feeling.
J’aimais l’école. I liked school. À ce moment, j’ai At that moment, I

détesté l’école. hated school.
J’étais toujours inspiré I was always inspired J’ai été inspiré I was (became)
par mes profs. by my teachers. par ton succès. inspired by your
success.
Background + Event
Imparfait describes what was happening or … the passé composé interrupted with
how something was when … news of some occurence.
J’étais à l’école quand I was at school when … il a commencé … it started

… … à pleuvoir. raining.
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J’essayais d’étudier I was trying to study … mon ami m’a … my friend asked
mais … but … posé une me a question.
question.
Imparfait and passé composé in action

To give you an idea of how these tenses work, together and separately, here are three
similar stories using each past tense individually and then both together.
Histoire à l’imparfait
Quand j’étais lycéen, j’étudiais tous les jours. When I was in high school, I studied every
Je voulais être accepté dans une grande école day. I wanted to be accepted into a
parce que je souhaitais être politicien. Je prestigious university because I hoped to
lisais les journaux régulièrement et je be a politician. I read newspapers
commentais constamment l’actualité en regularly and I talked about current events
compagnie de mes amis. all the time to my friends.
Histoire au passé composé
Quand j’ai décidé d’être politicien, j’ai When I decided to be a politician, I started
commencé à étudier tous les jours. J’ai fait studying every day. I did research and
des recherches et j’ai choisi une grande chose a prestigious university. However, I
école. Cependant, je n’ai lu le journal que only read the newspaper three times in one
trois fois en un an, et, un soir, quand j’ai year, and, one evening, when I talked
parlé de l’actualité pendant un dîner, je me about current events at a dinner party, I
suis rendu ridicule devant tout le monde. made a fool of myself in front of
everyone.
Histoire aux temps passés mélangés
Quand j’étais lycéen, j’ai décidé que je When I was in high school, I decided that
voulais être politicien. J’étudiais tous les I wanted to be a politician. I studied every
jours parce que je devais, pour cela, être day because for that I needed to be
accepté dans une grande école. Je lisais les accepted into a prestigious university. I
journaux régulièrement, et, un soir, quand read newspapers regularly and one
j’ai parlé de l’actualité pendant un dîner, j’ai evening, when I talked about current
impressionné tout le monde. events at a dinner party, I impressed
everyone.
Imparfait and passé composé clues

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Some French words and phrases are virtually always used with the imparfait, while
others seem to stick like glue to the passé composé. These lists can help you
determine which tense you need in any given sentence.
Imparfait Passé composé
chaque semaine, every week, month, une semaine, un one week, month,
mois, année year mois, un an year
le week-end on the weekends un week-end one weekend
le lundi, le mardi… on Mondays, on lundi, mardi… on Monday, on

Tuesdays… Tuesday
tous les jours every day un jour one day
le matin, le soir in the mornings, in the un matin, un soir one morning, one
evenings evening
toujours always (in the past) Toujours always (and still

now)
normalement, usually plusieurs fois several times

d’habitude
en général, in general, generally une fois, deux fois… once, twice…

généralement
souvent often soudain, suddenly

soudainement
parfois, quelquefois sometimes tout à coup all of a sudden
de temps en temps from time to time tout d’un coup in one fell swoop
rarement rarely d’abord first
autrefois formerly ensuite, puis next, then
Enfin finally
Finalement in the end

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How to Conjugate Regular French Verbs
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 whose infinitive ends in -er (the -er verbs),
like parler (to speak).
 The second largest group is made up of the verbs whose infinitive ends 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 his or her 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 their pattern of conjugation in the present tense, you can pretty much conjugate 80
percent of French verbs. Doesn’t that sound great?
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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

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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
Venir de – Recent Past

Passé récent
What just happened? You can explain what happened in the recent past with
the construction venir de + infinitive, the French equivalent of "to have just
done."
To use le passé récent, conjugate venir in the present tense according to the subject,
then follow it with the preposition de and the infinitive of the action verb.
Remember that de must contract when it’s followed by a verb starting with
a vowel or mute h.
Par exemple…
Je viens de terminer ce puzzle. I just finished this puzzle.
Martin vient de se réveiller. Martin just woke up.
Nous venons d’arriver. We just arrived.

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Venir de can also be used in the imperfect to say "had just done" something, when
something else happened.
Par exemple…
Je venais de terminer ce puzzle quand…. I’d just finished this puzzle when….
Martin venait de se réveiller quand…. Martin had just woken up when…
Nous venions d’arriver quand…. We’d just arrived when….
Stressed Pronouns
Pronoms disjoints / Pronoms toniques
As indicated by the name, stressed pronouns (also

known as disjunctive pronouns and emphatic Share / Tweet / Pin Me!
pronouns) are used for emphasis. Stressed
pronouns exist in English, but they are not always
used in the same ways or for the same reasons as
French stressed pronouns.
Par exemple…
Ça ne marche pas pour moi. It doesn’t work for me.
Je ne sais pas, moi. I don’t know.
Il l’a fait lui-même. He did it himself.
Characteristics of stressed pronouns
1. May be used with or in place of a subject or object

2. Must agree with the subject or object in number and gender
3. Can only refer to people
French stressed pronouns
moi me nous us
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toi you vous you
lui him eux them
elle her elles
soi* oneself
Using stressed pronouns

French stressed pronouns may be used in addition to or in place of subject and object
pronouns in many different ways:
1. To emphasize the subject; this is known as the accent tonique:
a) After c’est and ce sont
C’est moi qui l’ai fait. I did it.
Ce sont eux qui ont menti. They‘re the ones who lied.
b) To repeat the subject pronoun
Toi, tu dois partir ! You (yes you) need to leave!
Je n’en sais rien, moi. Et toi ? I don’t know anything about it. What about you?
2. To act as the subject
a) When the verb is implied.
Nous aimons skier, mais lui pas du We like skiing, but he doesn’t (like it) at
tout. all.
Moi aussi. / Moi non plus. Me too. / Me neither.

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– Qui a raison ? – Who’s right?

– Toi. – You.
b) With an emphatic term like aussi, non plus, seul, or surtout.
Moi seul sais la bonne réponse. Only I know the right answer.
Eux non plus ne doivent travailler. They don’t have to work either.
3. In place of any subject or object pronouns connected or preceded by

a conjunction.
Je ne cherchais ni toi ni lui. I was looking for neither you nor him.
Comme eux, je suis perplexe. Like them, I’m puzzled.
Lui et toi avez raison. You and he are right.
Note that the verb must be conjugated to match the plural pronoun that would
replace them:
 toi et moi (nous) avons

 lui et moi (nous) avons
 elle et moi (nous) avons
 lui et toi (vous) avez
 elle et toi (vous) avez
 lui et elle (ils) ont
4. In place of direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns, and reflexive
pronouns in certain imperative constructions:
Calme-toi. Calm down.
Donne-le-moi. Give it to me.
5. After a preposition
a) As the object of the preposition

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Je veux aller avec toi. I want to go with you.
Achète-le pour moi. Buy it for me.
Nous pensons à eux. We’re thinking about them.
b) To indicate possession
Ces livres sont à moi. These books are mine.
J’ai trouvé un anorak à lui. I found a jacket of his.
6. After que
a) In comparisons
Je suis plus sportif que lui. I’m more athletic than he is.
Tu étudies moins que moi. You study less than I do.
b) With ne … que
Je ne connais que lui. I know only him.
Il n’y a que toi qui peux le It’s only you who can do it, You’re the only one who
faire. can do it.
7. With -même(s) for even more emphasis.
Je peux le faire moi-même ! I can do it myself!
Ils le construisent eux-mêmes. They’re building it themselves.
* Soi is the third person indefinite pronoun, equivalent to "oneself" or

"everyone" in English. It’s used only with indefinite pronouns and impersonal
verbs.
Par exemple…
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Chacun pour soi. Every man for himself.
Il faut rester chez soi. Everyone should stay home.
Learn more: Soi and soi-même.
Adverbial Pronouns / Pronominal Adverbs

Pronoms adverbiaux / Adverbes pronominaux
As you might guess from their name, adverbial pronouns are caught between two
worlds: they are pronouns in the sense that they replace nouns, and at the same time
they are adverbs representing a place, a quantity, or the object of a preposition.
French has two adverbial pronouns: en and y.
Characteristics of adverbial pronouns
1. Are required
2. Usually replace prepositions plus their objects
3. Can be used with one another as well as with direct and indirect object and
reflexive pronouns
Word order
Adverbial pronouns precede the verb in all tenses and moods except
the imperative – learn more.
Par exemple…
J’en ai deux. I have two of them.
J’y suis allé hier. I went (there) yesterday.
Je n’en sais rien. I don’t know anything about that.
Il y en a beaucoup. There are a lot of them.
Two Adverbial Pronouns

There are just two adverbial pronouns: en and y. To learn the difference, please see
the detailed lessons:
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 En – adverbial pronoun
 Y – adverbial pronoun
 Aller – Near Future
 Futur proche
 What’s going to happen? You can explain what will happen in the near
future with the construction aller + infinitive, the French equivalent of "to be
going to do."
 To use le futur proche, aka le futur périphrastique,* conjugate aller in
the present tense according to the subject, then follow it with the
the infinitive of the action verb.
 Par exemple…
L’avion va atterrir dans 2 minutes. The plane is going to land in 2 minutes.
Je vais te téléphoner à midi. I’m going to call you at noon.
Nous allons aller à la plage. We’re going to go to the beach.
 Near Future in the Past

 Aller can also be used in the imperfect to say "was going to do" something.
This construction is known as le futur proche dans le passé or le futur
périphrastique au passé.*
 Par exemple…
L’avion allait atterrir tôt mais …. The plane was going to land early but ….
J’allais te téléphoner quand j’avais des I was going to call you when I had news.
nouvelles.
Nous allions aller à la plage s’il faisait We were going to go to the beach if it
beau. was nice out.
 In English, you can say "I am going to" or "I was going to” and it’s a complete
sentence. But French needs more: you have to include an infinitive.
– Tu as fait tes devoirs ? – Did you do your homework?

– Je vais les faire après cette émission. – I’m going to after this show.
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– Il faut lire ce livre. – You have to read this book.

– J’allais le faire / lire mais … – I was going to, but …
Adverbs
Adverbes
One of the eight parts of speech, adverbs are descriptors: they can modify
several different parts of speech, including themselves. Virtually every
French word that ends in -ment is an adverb, equivalent to -ly in English. But there
are also many adverbs that don’t end in -ment.
Characteristics of French Adverbs
1. May modify verbs, adjectives, prepositions, or other adverbs

2. Are invariable
3. Are categorized according to type of modification
4. Follow specific placement rules
Types of French Adverbs

Here are the different types of French adverbs with a few examples of each. Click the
titles for detailed lessons on each type.
Adverbs of Frequency Adverbs of Manner
jamais ever bien well

parfois sometimes heureusement fortunately
rarement rarely mal poorly
souvent often poliment politely
toujours always vite quickly
Adverbs of Place Adverbs of Quantity
dehors outside assez quite, fairly

ici here beaucoup a lot
là there peu few, little
partout everywhere très very
quelque part somewhere trop too much
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Adverbs of Time Exclamative Adverbs
bientôt soon ce que how, so

déjà already combien (de) so much/many
hier yesterday comme how, so
longtemps for a long time que (de) how, so
maintenant now qu’est-ce que how, so
Interrogative Adverbs Negative Adverbs
combien how much/many ne … guère hardly

comment how ne … jamais never
où where ne … pas not
pourquoi why ne … plus not any more
quand when ne … que only
Comparative Adverbs Superlative Adverbs
moins less le moins the least

plus more, ___er le plus the most, the ___est
aussi as
Pronominal Adverbs
en of it
y there
French Adverbs and Word Order

Very generally speaking, when adverbs modify verbs, they are placed after the (first)
verb.
Je travaille beaucoup. I work a lot.

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J’ai beaucoup travaillé. I worked a lot.
Je dois beaucoup travailler. I have to work a lot.
When adverbs modify any other part of speech, they precede it.
Je suis très fatigué. I’m very tired.
Je suis assez souvent fatigué. I’m tired fairly often.
Il habite tout près de moi. He lives quite near me.
Word order with adverbs will be addressed in more detail in a future lesson.
Making or refusing an invitation is always tricky: finding the right words in French to
do so with tact is essential. Furthermore, the grammatical constructions, verbs and
tenses don’t always match between French and English. So you need to train a lot
on this concept so the French way becomes natural to you…
To make, accept or refuse and invitation in French, we use mostly 3 irregular verbs :
vouloir (want), pouvoir (can) and devoir (must).
1. Vouloir: je veux, tu veux, il veut, nous voulons, vous voulez, ils veulent (don’t
say the ent but do say the L).
2. Pouvoir: je peux, tu peux, il peut, nous pouvons, vous pouvez, ils peuvent
(don’t say the ent but say the V).
3. Devoir: je dois, tu dois, il doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils doivent (don’t say
the ent, but do say the V).
Remember, when 2 verbs follow each other, the second one is in the infinitive; tu
veux dinER.
You will find audio recordings of the verbs vouloir and devoir, and their correct
modern French pronunciation + exercises in my French Verb Drills.
1 – How To Make an Invitation In French
To say “would you like”, we say “do you want to” – we do not use the verb “aimer”,
we use the verb “vouloir”. And we use the present tense, not the conditional.
Est-ce que tu veux dîner avec moi ?
Est-ce que vous voulez jouer au tennis avec nous ?
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So, if you translate literally, we say “do you want to have dinner with me”, “Do you
want to play tennis with us”, but the meaning is “would you like to…”: this is the polite
way to invite someone in French.
You cannot translate word by word, so you need to train until this way of making an
invitation in French sounds normal to you.
2 – How to Accept an Invitation in French?
There are many ways to accept, but here are the most common:
1. Volontiers – with pleasure – we also use “avec plaisir” but it’s a bit less
common.
2. Oui, d’accord – yes, OK, I agree
3. Je veux bien. – OK, I’d love to, meaning YES, I accept.
Note that in English, “I’d love to” can lead to a positive or negative answer
(yes I’d love to ≠ I’d love to but I can’t).
In this context (an invitation) “Je veux bien” means that you accept the
invitation.
You cannot say “je veux bien mais…” and then refuse or give an excuse.
Examples of accepting an invitation in French:
1. Oui, je veux bien aller au cinéma avec toi, merci.

2. D’accord, à quelle heure ?
3. Volontiers, merci, c’est très gentil.
3 – How To Politely Refuse an Invitation in French?
Refusing an invitation in French – or in any language – is not easy. You need to be

tactful, not hurt the other person’s feelings, but also make the message clear. Let me
warn you that the typical French may be a bit blunter than the Americans on this
front…
 Non, je ne veux pas – No, I don’t want to.

If you may need to say that in some occasion, be careful that it is quite strong,
and can be seen as rude.
We tend to use the expressions below:
1. Malheureusement…. then give an excuse – unfortunately. It’s pronounced

“ma leu reuz man(nasal)”
2. Désolé(e)… then give an excuse – sorry
3. Je voudrais bien, mais… then give an excuse.
Same remark as above, you need to watch out!
In this context (answering to an invitation) “Je voudrais bien” means that
you actually refuse the invitation.
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Examples of politely refusing an invitation in French:
1. Non, désolée, je ne peux pas dîner avec toi ce soir. J’ai déjà des projets.
2. Non, je ne veux pas acheter ce magazine ! Arrêtez d’insister ! (stop insisting –
quite strong)
3. Malheureusement, nous ne pouvons pas ce soir. Peut-être que nous pouvons
dîner ensemble samedi soir ?
4. Je voudrais bien, mais malheureusement, je ne peux pas. Est-ce que tu peux
la semaine prochaine ?
Note that in French, it is not considered rude to not say why you cannot accept the
invitation. French people will often just say that they cannot, then offer another day to
meet. In the States, people always said why they couldn’t make it, even when my
students canceled a class…
I felt they were telling me too much, especially when this was business related. I
guess that in France we are blunter when it comes to making/accepting/refusing
invitations. It’s about finding a date that works for everybody, not about telling your
personal life. I’m in no way judging, just pointing out cultural differences.
Pronom démonstratif
French demonstrative pronoun
See also: Pronom and Pronoun Types
Demonstrative pronouns indicate which person/people or thing(s) (out of a set or
list of possible people or things) we are specifically talking about.
French Demonstrative Pronouns
Simple Compound
Near N
celui celui-ci celui-là

Singular
the one, this/that one this one, this one here, the latter that one, that one (
Masculine
ceux ceux-ci ceux-là
Plural
the ones, these/those these, these here, the latter those, those (over)
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celle celle-ci celle-là

Singular
the one, this/that one this one, this one here, the latter that one, that one (
Feminine
celles celles-ci celles-là
Plural
the ones, these/those these, these here, the latter those, those (over)
ce (c') ceci, cela, ça

Neuter
this, that, it this, that
For example:
 Il y a deux portraits. Celui à droite est plus grand.

There are two portraits. The one on the right is bigger.
 On peut voir deux tables. Celle-là est plus belle. Celle-ci est trop petite.
We can see two tables. That one over there is nicer. This one here is smaller.
 Ceux qui m'écoutent recevront un prix.

Those who are listening to me will receive a prize.
 Ce sera prévu.
It/That will be taken care of.
 Cela/Ça ne m'intéresse pas.

That/This/It doesn't interest me.
 French Relative Pronouns
 When it comes to French, relative pronouns work the same way. These are
the words qui, que, lequel, auquel, duquel, dont and où.
 1. qui and que
 Qui and que can both be used to refer to persons or things. The main
difference is, qui is used for the subject (or indirect object for persons) while
que is for the direct object. Qui is also being used after a preposition (à,
de or pour)
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 Qui (subject) could mean who, which, or that.
 Que (direct object) could mean who, whom, which, or that.
 A few examples:
 Mon frère, qui a vingt ans, est à l'université. (My brother, who's twenty, is at
university.)
 *Est-ce qu'il y a un bus qui va au centre-ville? (ls there a bus that goes to the
town centre?)
 Les amis que je vois le plus sont Léa et Mehdi. (The friends that I see most
are Lea and Mehdi.)

 Voilà la maison que nous voulons acheter. (That's the house which we want
to buy.)
 la personne à qui il parle (the person he is speaking to)
 les enfants pour qui j'ai acheté des bonbons (the children I bought sweets for)
 *Kindly note that que is shortened to qu' if it precedes a word that starts with a
vowel or most words that begin with a letter h.
 dont
 Another French relative pronoun is dont. When translated in English, it means
whose, of whom, of which. It may be used to refer to persons or things. The
good news is, it does not change its form, nor does it have to agree with
anything!
 Let's see some examples:
 Plural noun: les films dont tu parles (the films you are talking about)
 Singular noun: la femme dont la voiture est en panne (the woman whose car
has broken down)

 4. où
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 This French relative pronoun is used for places and times. Its English
counterpart could either be where, when or even which and that, depending
on how it is used.
 Où is also used as the question word where (see article on ASKING
QUESTIONS IN FRENCH) and the way it is used as an interrogative pronoun
is basically the same as its use as a relative pronoun. There is an added

function however, and that is to refer to a time something occurred.
 In short, it covers both place and time in its relative pronoun function and
takes the job of “when” as well, aside from “where”. (Note: the interrogative
pronoun “quand” is not as multifunctional as où and cannot be used as a
relative pronoun.)
 Some examples:
 Paris est la ville où on peut manger les meilleurs escargots. (Paris is the city
where we can eat the best snails.)
 C'est l'année où ils ont gagné la coupe du monde. (That's the year they won
the world cup.)
 In addition, où can also be used after prepositions.

 La ville d'où elle vient… The city (where) she's from...
rench Direct and Indirect Speech (Discours direct et indirect)
In French, there are two different ways to express the words of another person: direct
speech (or direct style) and indirect speech (indirect style).
 In direct speech, you are quoting the words of another person.

 In indirect speech, you are referencing what another person has said without
quoting them directly.
Direct Speech (Discours direct)

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Direct speech is very simple. You will use it to impart the exact words of the original
speaker are reported in quotes.
 Paul dit : « J'aime les fraises ». - Paul says, "I like strawberries."
 Lise répond : « Jean les déteste ». - Lisa replies, "Jean hates them."
 « Jean est stupide » déclare Paul.* - "Jean is stupid" Paul declares.
Notice the use of « » around the quoted sentences. The quotation marks used in
English (" ") don't exist in French, instead the guillemets (« ») are used.
Indirect Speech (Discours indirect)
In indirect speech, the original speaker's words are reported without quotes in a
subordinate clause (introduced by que).
 Paul dit qu'il aime les fraises. - Paul says that he loves strawberries.
 Lise répond que Jean les déteste. - Lisa replies that Jean hates them.
 Paul déclare que Jean est stupide. - Paul declares that Jean is stupid.
The rules associated with indirect speech are not as simple as they are with direct
speech and this subject requires further examination.
Reporting Verbs for Indirect Speech
There are many verbs, called reporting verbs, that can be used to introduce indirect
speech:
 affirmer - to assert
 ajouter - to add
 annoncer - to announce
 crier - to shout
 déclarer - to declare
 dire - to say
 expliquer - to explain
 insister - to insist
 prétendre - to claim
 proclamer - to proclaim
 répondre - to answer
 soutenir - to maintain
Switching From Direct to Indirect Speech
Indirect speech tends to be more complicated than direct speech because it requires
certain changes (in both English and French). There are three primary changes that
may need to be made.
#1 - Personal pronouns and possessives may need to be changed:

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DS David déclare : « Je veux voir mamère ». David declares, "I want to see my mother."
IS David déclare qu'il veut voir sa mère. David declares that he wants to see his mother.
#2 - Verb conjugations need to change to agree with the new subject:
DS David déclare : « Je veux voir ma mère ». David declares, "I want to see my mother."
IS David déclare qu'il veut voir sa mère. David declares that he wants to see his mother.
#3 - In the above examples, there is no change in the tense because the statements
are in the present. However, if the main clause is in the past tense, the verb tense of
the subordinate clause may also need to change:
DS David a déclaré : « Je veux voir ma mère David declared, "I want to see my mother."
».
IS David a déclaré qu'il voulait voir sa mère. David declared that he wanted to see his
mother.
The following chart shows the correlation between verb tenses

in direct and indirect speech. Use it to determine how to rewrite direct speech as
indirect speech or vice versa.
Note: Présent/Imparfait to Imparfait is by far the most common - you don't need to
worry too much about the rest.
Main verb Subordinate verb may change...

Direct speech Indirect speech
Au Passe Présent or Imparfait Imparfait
Passé composé or Plus-que-parfait Plus-que-parfait
Futur or Conditionnel Conditionnel
Futur antérieur or Conditionnel passé Conditionnel passé
Subjonctif Subjonctif
Au présent no change
Possessive Adjectives
Adjectifs possessifs
French possessive adjectives are used in front of nouns to indicate to

whom or to what those nouns belong. They are considerably more
complicated than English possessive adjectives because French has several different
forms depending on the gender and number of the possessed noun.
Par exemple…
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Nous écoutons ma musique. We’re listening to my music.
Où est mon frère ? Where is my brother?
J’ai perdu mes clés. I lost my keys.
Characteristics of French possessive adjectives

2. Placed directly in front of a noun or an adjective + noun
3. Must agree with the possessed noun in number and sometimes gender
4. Possessive adjective + noun can be replaced by a possessive pronoun
There are a total of 15 different French possessive adjectives depending on the
combination of possessor and the possession, which can be overwhelming. Here,
they are divided up in different ways so that you can study them in whichever way
makes more sense to you.
Focus on possessor
For beginners:
 Singular possessors (my | your | his/her/its)

(mon, ma, mes | ton, ta, tes | son, sa, ses)
 Plural possessors (our | your | their)

(notre, nos | votre, vos | leur, leurs)
Focus on possession
More advanced:
 Singular possessions (one item owned)

(mon, ma | ton, ta | son, sa | notre | votre | leur)
 Plural possessions (two or more items owned)

(mes | tes | ses | nos | vos | leurs)
French vs English
French and English possessive adjectives are used pretty much in the same
way, with just a few key differences.
1) In a list of nouns, the French possessive adjective must be used in front of each
one.
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Par exemple…
mon fils, ma fille et mes petits-enfants my son, daughter, and grandchildren
notre maison et nos voitures our house and cars
Note that notre maison is singular because there is only one house that we
share, while nos voitures is plural because we each have a car. For more detail,
see singular possessions.
2) When body parts are involved, French tends to avoid the possessive adjective and
instead specify the possessor with pronominal verbs.
Par exemple…
Je me brosse les dents. I’m brushing my teeth.
Il s’est cassé le bras. He broke his arm.
ndirect Objects
Compléments d’objet indirect (COI)
An indirect object is a person that someone or something does something

to indirectly. In the simplest sentences, the indirect object directly follows
a verb + preposition, so it’s very easy to see the effect that the verb has on
that person.
Par exemple…
Il donne des fleurs à son amie. He’s giving his friend flowers.
Je l’achète pour mes enfants. I’m buying it for my children.
Characteristics of indirect objects
1. Are connected to the verb with a preposition

2. Cannot be removed without altering the meaning of the sentence
3. Can be found by asking "to whom?" or "for whom?"*
Par exemple…
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To whom is he giving flowers? To his friend.
For whom am I buying it? For my children.
*The person following "for" is only an indirect object when s/he is a recipient, as in "I
bought it for you." When "for" means "on behalf of," as in "I think I speak for
everyone when I say this," the noun after it is called an object of the preposition.
Indirect object pronouns

In order to avoid repeating nouns in a series of sentences or when answering
questions, both French and English replace indirect objects with indirect object
pronouns.
En comparaison…
Je lis à mes enfants. Je lis à mes enfants I’m reading to my kids. I read to my kids
chaque soir. every evening.
Je lis à mes enfants. Je leur lis chaque I’m reading to my kids. I read to them
soir. every evening.
As you can see, the second version sounds much more natural, in both languages.
French indirect object pronouns
me (m’, moi) me nous us
te (t’, toi) you vous you
lui him, her leur them
+ The first and second person singular pronouns have three forms each:
1. Normal forms: me and te

2. Contracted forms: m’ and t’, for use in front of a vowel or h muet
3. Stressed forms: moi and toi, for use in a particular imperative construction
+ There’s no distinction between "to him" and "to her" in French; use lui for both. If
you need to make a distinction, you can add à lui or à elle: Je lui ai donné le livre, à
elle.
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+ The first and second plural indirect object pronouns are identical to the first and
second person direct object pronouns – learn more.
Word order
In French, indirect object pronouns generally precede the verb, whereas in English
they follow it – learn more.
In addition, the French indirect object pronoun replaces both the preposition and the
noun, but in English, some verbs have to keep the preposition, while other verbs have
the option of keeping it.
Par exemple…
Il me parle. He’s talking to me.
Je t’achète une chemise. I’m buying you a shirt, I’m buying a shirt for you.
Elle nous donne son She’s giving us her couch, She’s giving her couch to
canapé. us.
Direct Objects
Compléments d’objet direct (COD)
A direct object is a noun, whether person or thing, that someone or

something acts upon. In the simplest sentences, the direct object directly
follows the verb, so it’s very easy to see the effect that the verb has on the
noun.
Par exemple…
Elle connaît Grégoire. She knows Grégoire.
Je vois le chiot. I see the puppy.
Je lis un roman historique. I’m reading a historical novel.
Characteristics of direct objects
1. Always used with transitive verbs

2. Never preceded by prepositions
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3. Cannot be removed without altering the meaning of the sentence

4. Become the subject when sentence is turned around into the passive voice
5. Can always be found by asking "Whom?" or "What?"
Par exemple…
Whom does she know? She knows Grégoire.
What do I see? I see the puppy.
What am I reading? I’m reading a historical novel.
Direct object pronouns

In order to avoid repeating nouns in a series of sentences or when answering
questions, both French and English replace direct objects with direct object
pronouns.
En comparaison…
Elle voit Grégoire. Elle connaît Grégoire She sees Grégoire. She’s known
depuis 2 ans. Grégoire for 2 years.
Elle voit Grégoire. Elle le connaît depuis She sees Grégoire. She’s known him for
2 ans. 2 years.
As you can see, the second version sounds much more natural, in both languages.
French direct object pronouns
me (m’, moi) me nous us
te (t’, toi) you vous you
le (l’) him, it les them
la (l’) her, it
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COURSE MATERIAL
+ The first and second person singular pronouns have three forms each:
1. Normal forms: me and te

2. Contracted forms: m’ and t’, for use in front of a vowel or h muet
3. Stressed forms: moi and toi, for use in a particular imperative construction
+ The third person singular pronouns have two forms:
1. Normal forms: le and la

2. Contracted form: l’, for use in front of a vowel or h muet
À noter :
 Le replaces any masculine noun, whether human or inanimate,

while la replaces any feminine noun.
 Le is also a neuter object pronoun
+ The plural direct object pronouns have just one form each.
Word order
In French, direct object pronouns generally precede the verb, whereas in English
they follow it – learn more.
Par exemple…
Je le connais. I know him.
Nous la buvons. We’re drinking it.
Tu m’aimes ? Do you love me?
Elles vous voient. They see you.
Advanced word order

In compound tenses like the passé composé, direct object pronouns precede
the auxiliary verb.
Je l’ai dit. I said it.

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Nous t’avons vu. We saw you.
With semi-auxiliary verbs, direct object pronouns precede the infinitive.
Je dois le dire. I have to say it.
Nous pouvons te voir. We can see you.
The subjunctive mood is used to express actions or ideas which are subjective or
otherwise uncertain: will/wanting, emotion, doubt, possibility, necessity, judgment...
It is nearly always found in dependent clauses introduced by que or qui, and the
subjects of the dependent and main clauses are usually different.
 Je veux que tu le fasses.I want you to do it.

 Il faut que nous partions.
it is necessary that we leave.
The following pages of this lesson include lists of verbs, expressions, and
conjunctions which require the subjunctive in French. They are divided into
categories to help you remember them.
The subjunctive can seem overwhelming, but the thing to remember is the
subjunctive = subjectivity, unreality. That should help you figure it out at least 90%
of the time.
On the last page of this article (page 8), you'll find many more links to subjunctive
related articles on About.com, including verb conjugations in the subjunctive mood.
NOTE: There is no future subjunctive. Even if the action is to happen in the future,
the present subjunctive is used. However, there is a past subjunctive.
French subjunctive: Expressions of will - orders, advice, desires
Verbs and expressions which express someone's will, an order, a need, a piece of
advice, or a desire require the subjunctive.
aimer mieux que: to like better / to prefer that
commander que: to order that
demander que: to ask (someone to do something
désirer que: to desire that

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donner l'ordre que: to order that
empêcher que*: to prevent (someone from doing something)
éviter que*: to avoid
exiger que: to demand that
il est à souhaiter que: it is to be hoped that
il est essentiel que: it is essential that
il est important que: it is important that
il est naturel que: it is natural that
il est nécessaire que: it is necessary that
il est normal que: it is normal that
il est temps que: it is time that
il est urgent que: it is urgent that
il faut que: it is necessary that
il vaut mieux que: it is better that
interdire que: to forbid that
s'opposer que: to oppose that
ordonner que: to order that
permettre que: to permit that
préférer que: to prefer that
proposer que: to propose that
recommander que: to recommend
souhaiter que: to wish that
suggérer que: to suggest that
tenir à ce que: to insist that

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COURSE MATERIAL
vouloir que: to want that
*These verbs are followed by the ne explétif:

Évitez qu'il ne parte.
Prevent him from leaving.
Pronominal Verbs
Verbes pronominaux
The grammatical term "pronominal" means "relating to a pronoun." You

already know that conjugated verbs always need a subject
pronoun (except in the case of the imperative), but pronominal verbs need a reflexive
pronoun as well.
Par exemple…
Ils se sont mariés. They got married.
Je me lève. I’m getting up.
Tu t’endors. You’re falling asleep.
English doesn’t have pronominal verbs per se. We can translate Je m’habille as
"I’m dressing myself," but we’re far more likely to say "I’m getting dressed" –
the fact that it’s myself is implicitly understood. This is not the case in French.
If you’re dressing yourself, you need the reflexive pronoun, because without it, you’re
automatically saying that you’re dressing someone else.
French students first learn about reflexive verbs, but those are only one of four types
of pronominal verbs. Click on the lessons for more information and a list of common
verbs:
1. Reflexive verbs – subject acts on itself

2. Reciprocal verbs – subjects act on one another
3. Idiomatic pronominal verbs – reflexive pronoun changes the meaning of the
verb
4. Essentially pronominal verbs – verb can only be used pronominally
Many French verbs can be used reflexively and reciprocally as well as non-
pronominally.
Par exemple…
Nous nous voyons dans la glace. We see ourselves in the mirror.

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Nous nous voyons tous les jours. We see each other every day.
Nous voyons beaucoup de films. We see lots of movies.
Conjugating pronominal verbs

The infinitive of pronominal verbs is preceded by the impersonal reflexive
pronoun se, which must change to agree with the subject of the verb. The verb itself
is conjugated as usual according to whether it’s regular, irregular, or stem-changing.
se raser – to shave se souvenir – to remember se lever – to get up
je me rase je me souviens je me lève
tu te rases tu te souviens tu te lèves
il se rase il se souvient il se lève
nous nous rasons nous nous souvenons nous nous levons
vous vous rasez vous vous souvenez vous vous levez
ils se rasent ils se souviennent ils se lèvent
The reflexive pronoun has to match the subject in all tenses and moods.
Par exemple…
Future Je me lèverai. I will get up.
Passé composé Je me suis levé. I got up.
Infinitive Je vais me lever. I’m going to get up.
Present participle En me levant While getting up

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In addition, pronominal verbs usually require agreement in the compound

conjugations.
Interrogative Adjectives
Adjectifs interrogatifs
When asking someone to make a choice between two or more things, you need the
interrogative adjective quel, meaning "which" or "what."
Par exemple…
Quel film veux-tu voir ? Which movie do you want to see?
Quelle ville est plus jolie : Annecy ou Which city is prettier: Annecy or
Besançon ? Besançon?
Characteristics of interrogative adjectives

2. Placed directly in front of a noun
3. Must agree with the noun in gender and number
4. Are identical to French exclamative adjectives
5. Quel + noun can be replaced by lequel
French interrogative adjectives
Singular Plural
Masculine quel quels
Feminine quelle quelles
All four words are pronounced identically in front of consonants: the s in the
plural forms is silent. In front of a vowel or mute h, a liaison is required.
Asking questions
You can ask questions with either est-ce que or inversion.
Par exemple…
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Quel film est-ce que tu préfères ? Which movie do you prefer?

Quel film préfères-tu?
Quels livres est-ce qu’elle doit acheter ? What books does she need to buy?
Quels livres doit-elle acheter ?
Informally, you can put quel and the noun at the end of the question:
Tu préfères quel film ? You prefer which movie?
Elle doit acheter quels livres ? She needs to buy what books?
When asking a question with a verb that needs a preposition, the preposition
precedes quel.
Par exemple…
À quel voyage est-ce que tu penses ? Which trip are you thinking about?
À quel voyage penses-tu ?
Sur quelle table est-ce que tu as mis ton Which table did you leave your bag
sac ? on?
Sur quelle table as-tu mis ton sac ?
Quel + être
 Quel est … ? means "what is … ?"

 Quels sont … ? means "what are … ?"
Par exemple…
Quelle est la solution ? What’s the solution?
Quels sont les cours les plus intéressants? What are the most interesting classes?
Set expressions
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Quelle heure est-il ? What time is it? telling time
Quelle est la date? What’s the date? dates
Quel jour sommes-nous / est-il ? What day is it? days
Beyond questions
Despite the name, the interrogative adjective quel is not limited to questions.
Par exemple…
Je ne sais pas quelle chemise acheter. I don’t know which shirt to buy.
Il ne m’a pas dit à quelle heure il va He didn’t tell me what time he’s
arriver. arriving.
To say "which one?" you need the interrogative pronoun lequel.

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Semester 2. French Notes

Demonstrative adjectives are used to indicate a specific noun or nouns. In

Ce livre est très bon. This/That book is really good.

Je vais acheter ces chaises. I’m going to buy these/those chairs.

Characteristics of demonstrative adjectives

1. Used in place of an article, not with one

French demonstrative adjectives

Masculine Before vowel Feminine

this, that ce cet Cette

these, those ces ces Ces

+ There are three singular adjectives:

ce homme cet homme this/that man

ce ancien château cet ancien château this/that former château

+ There is only one plural demonstrative adjective: ces.

Cettes does not exist, and neither does cets.

ces femmes these/those women

ces hommes these/those men

 –ci = "this" or "these"

cette chaise-ci this chair

ces chaises-là those chairs

As seen in this sentence, the passive voice is used to indicate that

The agent of active verbs is introduced by the preposition par.

Ce professeur est détesté de ses This teacher is hated by his colleagues.

Using the passive voice

1) Emphasize the agent

Ce professeur est détesté de tous ses Tous ses collègues détestent ce

Le film a été tourné par un étudiant. Un étudiant a tourné le film.

La décision est très appréciée. Tout le monde / Le public / Les gens…

Beaucoup de voitures sont ___ conçoit (conçoivent) beaucoup de voitures ici.

Avoiding the passive voice

1) Emphasize the subject with c’est or ce sont:

Ce sont les collègues qui détestent ce professeur (pas les étudiants).

C’est un étudiant qui a tourné le film (incroyable, n’est-ce pas ?)

2) For an anonymous subject, you have two options:

a) Impersonal subject pronoun on

On a pris la décision facilement. The decision was made easily, We/They

On conçoit beaucoup de voitures Many cars are designed here, We/They

La décision s’est prise facilement.

Beaucoup de voitures se conçoivent ici.

Passé composé vs Imparfait

Imparfait vs passé composé

J’étais à l’école. I was at school. Je suis arrivé tôt. I arrived early.

Je faisais mes devoirs. I was doing my J’ai fini mes I finished my

Imparfait details what used to happen on a Passé composé expresses what

J’étudiais le lundi. I used to study on J’ai étudié lundi. I studied on (a

Je perdais I was always losing J’ai perdu mon I lost my book

Imparfait indicates an ongoing state of being or Passé composé reports a change in a

J’aimais l’école. I liked school. À ce moment, j’ai At that moment, I

J’étais à l’école quand I was at school when … il a commencé … it started

Imparfait and passé composé in action

Histoire au passé composé

Histoire aux temps passés mélangés

Imparfait and passé composé clues

Imparfait Passé composé

le week-end on the weekends un week-end one weekend

le lundi, le mardi… on Mondays, on lundi, mardi… on Monday, on

tous les jours every day un jour one day

toujours always (in the past) Toujours always (and still

normalement, usually plusieurs fois several times

en général, in general, generally une fois, deux fois… once, twice…

souvent often soudain, suddenly