Module 1: La Famille
Lesson 1:00 La Tour Eiffel
Fun Facts:
The Eiffel Tower:
- was designed by
.
- was built for the
held in the year
.
- is a tribute to
.
- was only supposed to stand for
years, but it quickly became a tourist attraction even though Parisians
thought it was an eyesore!
- is
feet tall and gets painted every
years with 3 different colors.
Lesson 1:01 Les Adjectifs
Every noun in French has a gender. Nouns are either
adjectives will
with the noun they are describing.
or
. All
- If your noun is masculine and singular, you don’t add anything to the adjective.
ex: Il est grand.
- If your noun is feminine and singular, you simply add E to the adjective.
ex: Elle est grande.
- If your noun is masculine and plural, you simply add S to the adjective.
ex: Ils sont grands.
- If your noun is feminine and plural, you simply add ES to the adjective.
ex: Elles sont grandes.
Adjectives that end in "s" in the masculine singular do not change in the masculine plural.
o
Ex: Il est français. / Ils sont français.
Adjectives that end in "e" in the masculine singular, you do not add another “e” in the feminine form.
o
Ex: Il est riche. / Elle est riche.
**Keep in mind that, generally, when you make an adjective plural, no pronunciation difference is made (the “s” is
not pronounced.
**All adjectives go AFTER the noun unless it is describing BAGS (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size).
Some adjectives do not follow this simple spelling change pattern.
Adjectives ending in:
Masculine Singular
Feminine Singular
Masculine Plural
Feminine Plural
-eux
généreux
généreuse
généreux
généreuses
-if
sportif
sportive
sportifs
sportives
-al
original
originale
originaux
originales
-il
gentil
gentille
gentils
gentilles
Être:
"Être" is the infinitive of the French verb meaning to be.
In English, an infinitive is a verb with "to" in front. Example: I am going to be there at noon.
In French it is the form of the verb given in the dictionary.
Je suis (I am)
Nous_______________ (We are)
Tu es (You are)
Vous _______________ (You go)
Il _____________ (He is)
Elle _____________ (She is)
On _____________ (It is)
Ils _______________ (They are - masculine or mixed)
Elles _______________ (They are - feminine)
**The "s" in the forms "es" and "est" is almost never pronounced.
** The final "t" of "est" and "sont" is frequently pronounced before a vowel sound. The final consonants of the
other forms may also be pronounced in front of vowel sounds.
Imperative Commands (to tell someone how to act – “be”)
Sois! (tu form)
ex : sois poli(e) = be polite
Soyons! (nous form)
ex : Soyons aimables = Let’s be nice
Soyez! (vous form)
ex: Ne soyez pas timide = Don’t be shy
Lesson 1.02 La Famille
Des Adjectives:
Most adjectives go AFTER the noun, but adjectives that describe BAGS go
BAGS stands for:
the noun.
2 adjectives that go with each:
B
*beau,
A
*vieux,
G
bon,
S
grand,
*irregular spelling pattern (see below)
Fill in the chart with the missing adjectives:
Masculine singular Masculine singular Masculine plural
before a vowel
Feminine singular
Feminine plural
beau
bel
___________
___________
belles
___________
vieil
___________
vieille
___________
bon
bon
bons
___________
___________
petit
___________
petits
___________
___________
Possessive Adjectives:
These are adjectives you will use to say what belongs to yourself or others.
**The adjective you choose depends on the noun, not who it belongs to!!
My
Your (singular)
His/Her
Our
Your (formal or plural)
Their
ex :
Elle est mon amie.
Masculine singular noun /
Feminine noun beginning
with a vowel.
mon
ton
son
notre
votre
leur
Feminine singular noun
C’est notre maison.
ma
ta
sa
notre
votre
leur
Plural noun (masc/fem)
mes
tes
ses
nos
vos
leurs
Vous avez vos crayons ?
Lesson 1.03 La Martinique
Fun Facts:
La Martinique was discovered and named by
The
in
took over the island in
.
.
Today the people of Martinique are
citizens.
The official language is
, but when walking around the island you will hear
spoken. Creole is a combination of French and
dialect.
Martinique cuisine includes a lot of
The symbol of Carnival is
A Carnival style music called
and shellfish.
.
is very popular in Martinique.
Les Verbes:
You should be familiar with 3 types of REGULAR verbs : -er, -ir, -re.
You cannot always leave a verb in its infinitive form. Sentences like “I to play soccer” and “He to eat pizza” don’t
make sense! You have to conjugate the verb, or give a different form of the verb so that it makes sense (I play
soccer and He eats pizza).
-er verbs:
The most common type of regular verbs are –er verbs. Some examples are: jouer, écouter, regarder, adorer,
chanter, etc.
For –er verbs, it’s simple!! Just follow these steps:
1. Start by crossing off the –er at the end of the verb.
2. You are left with a stem (regard)
3. Add the following endings to the remaining stem:
Je
-e
Nous
Tu
- es
Vous
Il/elle/on
-e
Ils/elles
ex: regarder
- ons
- ez
- ent
**remember to drop the E on je when followed by a vowel or vowel sound (ex. j’adore, j’habite)
Ex:
Je regarde
Tu regardes
Il/elle/on regarde
Nous regardons
Vous regardez
Ils/elles regardent
-ir verbs:
The 2nd largest group of regular verbs is –ir verbs. Some examples are: finir, maigrir, grossir, rougir.
Just like for –er verbs, it’s simple to conjugate –ir verbs!! Just follow these steps:
1. Start by crossing off the –ir at the end of the verb. ex:
finir
2. You are left with a stem (fin)
3. Add the following endings to the remaining stem:
Je
Tu
Il/elle/on
- is
- is
- it
Nous
Vous
Ils/elles
- issons
- issez
- issent
**remember to drop the E on je when followed by a vowel or vowel sound (ex. j’adore, j’habite)
Ex:
Je finis
Tu finis
Il/elle/on finit
Nous finissons
Vous finissez
Ils/elles finissent
-re verbs:
This is the smallest group of regular verbs. Some examples are: vendre, répondre, attendre.
It’s just as simple for –re verbs as it is for –er and –ir verbs!! Just follow these steps:
1. Start by crossing off the –re at the end of the verb. ex:
2. You are left with a stem (vend)
3. Add the following endings to the remaining stem:
Je
-s
Nous
- ons
Tu
-s
Vous
- ez
Il/elle/on
Ils/elles
- ent
vendre
Did you notice? The il/elle/on form? You don’t add anything to the stem!
Ex:
Je vends
Tu vends
Il/elle/on vend
Nous vendons
Vous vendez
Ils/elles vendent
Irregular Verbs:
Some verbs do not follow a regular pattern and they have to be learned separately. You already know some of these.
Être, Aller, Avoir and Faire are all irregular verbs. They are called irregular verbs because their present-tense forms
do not follow a pattern like –er, -ir and –re verbs do.
Être = to be
Je suis
Nous sommes
Tu es
Vous êtes
Il/elle/on est
Ils/elles sont
Aller = to go
Je vais
Nous allons
Tu vas
Vous allez
Il/elle/on va
Ils/elles vont
Avoir = to have
J’ai
Nous avons
Tu as
Vous avez
Il/elle/on a
Ils/elles ont
Faire = to do / to make
Je fais
Nous faisons
Tu fais
Vous faites
Il/elle/on fait
Ils/elles font
Lesson 1.04 La Pronunciation
Please spend time in the lesson practicing the consonant, vowel and special sounds.
A good basic pronunciation rule to remember is that no final
are pronounced. The exception to
this rule is that the letters
,
,
and
are generally pronounced at the end of a word.
Lesson 1.05 La France
Fun Facts:
The north of France includes two regions:
La Picardie is located between Paris and
both
.
and
.
. It has been a place for battles and invasions during
La Picardie is famous for the writer
under the Sea and John Calvin, who created the
.
In La Picardie, there is an amusement park called
the famous cartoon characters
Le Nord Pas de Calais is an
who wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues
religion during the
. You will find
and
region that was destroyed during both wars.
Lesson 1.06 Leçon À et De
Prepostion à:
The preposition à can be the equivalent of
,
,
, or
in English.
Remember that à may contract to form a new word »
When à is followed by le, it changes to
.
When à is followed by la, it stays
.
When à is followed by l’, it stays
.
When à is followed by les, it changes to
Prepostion de:
The preposition de can mean
.
or
. De is also used to show possession.
De may also contract to form a new word :
When de is followed by le, it changes to
.
When de is followed by la, it stays
.
When de is followed by l’, it stays
.
When de is followed by les, it changes to
.
Did you know?
In the negative, all forms of de (du, de la, de l’ and des) revert back to de after pas.
ex: J’achète du riz. Je n’achète pas de riz.
Module Review for DBA:

Here are the topics to review for your exam and DBA.
01.00

La Tour Eiffel
01.01




lesson vocabulary
numbers to 70
adjectives
être
01.02



family vocabulary
irregular adjectives
possessive adjectives
01.03



La Martinique
regular present tense verbs
For extra practice with regular present tense verbs, visit the Français Interactif's Verb Practice at the
University of Texas website.
01.04

French pronunciation
01.05


Northern France
review questions
01.06

the prepositions à and de
01.07


lesson vocabulary
listening comprehension