Bienvenue à français!
Welcome to French! This packet has been created for French students (beginner –
advanced) and anyone else interested in French; however, it is especially geared toward Madame
Rocha’s French 1-4 students. In this packet, there are three sections: Resources, How To, and
Cheat Sheet. In Resources, you will learn how to effectively use your textbook, the
accompanying online website, and the people around you in your studies of French language and
culture. In the How To section, you will learn the step-by-step processes for going about certain
tasks Madame Rocha might ask her students to do. In the Cheat Sheet portion, some of the
trickiest bits of French grammar have been laid out for you in simplified form.
Resources
Textbook
French 1-2 students use the Promenades textbook and French 3-4 students use Imaginez.
If you go to the first few pages of either book, you will find the table of contents, and then a
handy section called “Promenades / Imaginez at a glance.” Use these pages to take a tour of the
textbook before you use it. Then explore the pages at the back of the book; there are maps of the
French-speaking world, verb conjugation tables, French-English and English-French dictionaries,
and an index. Imaginez also has a section devoted to supplementary grammar practice (“Fiches
de Grammaire”), and also a section with all the movie scripts for the short films you’ll watch in
class (“Dialogues”) – and the maps are in the front of the book instead of at the back.
EXPLORE AND USE THESE SECTIONS!!! Your textbook is your most valuable tool for
language learning; do not be one of the many students who do not bother to learn how to use it!
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Internet
All Madame Rocha’s French classes, especially 1-2, rely heavily on the accompanying
website to the textbook: http://www.vhlcentral.com ... French 1-2 students will use this for
almost all homework assigned, and 3-4 students will use it for all the listening portions of the
homework. To sign up for the first time, go to the site, click “Create an Account,” and then fill
in the appropriate personal information. Next, go to the very first page of your textbook and
scratch away to find your student passcode (if it is already scratched away and invalid, you can
buy a passcode separately from the publisher). Type the code into the website. After that, you
will be asked to find your school. Enter San Joaquin Delta College and select that choice when it
appears. Then you need to select which course you belong to; make sure you select the
appropriate section and time. Eventually you will be logged in and ready to go. Click on the
picture of the textbook you’re using to get into the actual site where you’ll be doing homework.
There are four tabs: Practice, Web-SAM, Assessment, and My Results. French 1-2
students will do their homework in the Web-SAM tab and sometimes in the Practice tab; the
easiest way to do assigned work is look to the far right of the screen and click from the Top Ten
homework assignments; when finished with each assignment, exit out of it and click the next one
assigned. When that box is empty, your job is done! French 3-4 students will only need the
button called “Lab Audio MP3s” on the far right of the screen. Click it and choose the
appropriate chapter and section that corresponds with the section assigned in your workbook.
If ever you feel you need more practice, go ahead and do any of the other assignments in
any of the tabs that look helpful to you; they will NOT count toward/against your grade, so don’t
worry about getting good scores on the assignments Madame Rocha doesn’t assign. Also,
French 1-2 students, most assignments allow up to three chances to get the correct answers. If
you don’t know what you did wrong on the first try, make sure you have all the correct accents,
verb conjugations, and agreement with adjectives; also make sure you didn’t accidentally type
two spaces instead of one between the words. If you still get the answers wrong on the second
try, exit out and see a tutor; they will probably be able to help you, but if not, just do your best
and don’t worry... sometimes it isn’t even your fault, and the program itself is wrong. Madame
Rocha gives bonus points to all students who do all their homework for a chapter ON TIME for
precisely this reason. As long as you complete everything before the due dates, you will get
extra credit to compensate lost points.
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Dictionary
A good French-English / English-French dictionary is a valuable tool; your textbook
doesn’t have many words in it, so invest in a really good one. The Collins Robert French
College Dictionary is highly recommended, and can be purchased from Barnes and Noble or
Amazon.
Tutor Center
In the first floor of the Delta library, there is a tutor center complete with multiple French
tutors, some of whom are native French speakers and others who have gone through French 1-4
with Madame Rocha and know the class structure really well. If you need any assistance, see the
front desk or Virginia for help finding a tutor who can quiz you, teach you how to study, or give
extra practice speaking, listening, reading or writing in French. Even advanced students can
benefit greatly from a tutor; there is always progress to be made. Make an appointment or go to
a tutor’s drop-in hours today!
Teacher
Madame Rocha is exceptionally kind, enthusiastic, and supportive regarding all her
students. If you have ANY questions whatsoever, she is available before and after class and
during office hours for help. Even if you’re struggling and you don’t know what questions to ask,
visit her! She loves helping her students and will do anything to make sure you’re experience
learning French is easy and enjoyable. Don’t be shy! Also, questions during class are always
welcome as long as they are pertinent; don’t be afraid to ask, because likely her answer will be
very helpful to the entire class. Raise your hand!
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
How To
Study for Tests
Jaclyn’s Recipe for Unfailing Success: Do all your homework throughout the weeks.
Then, in the days before your exam, open your textbook to the beginning of the appropriate
chapter. Read EVERYTHING through again, page by page – all the vocabulary, grammar
lessons, culture sections and video/literature sections. Don’t skip pages. Before you turn each
page, do the exercises on the vocab. pages and in the blue, green and orange colored boxes on all
the other pages, along with any other exercises you can do by yourself. If you have any trouble
doing the exercises, read through the page again, and perhaps see a tutor for help. If you find the
exercise easy, move on to the next page. Go through the entire chapter page by page (you WILL
be tested on ALL of it!) and end on the page that has all the vocabulary from the chapter. At this
point, either make your own flashcards from this list, or go online to the Practice tab of the VHL
Supersite, scroll to the very bottom, and do all the flashcards under the “Vocabulaire” section –
first from English to French, then from French to English. After this, go to the Assessment tab
of the website and do BOTH of the “Épreuves” (practice tests). Do them again and again until
you get 100% (they will not count against your grade). When you’re finished with this whole
process, relax and get some rest. You KNOW this stuff. Take your test with confidence. Raise
your hand during the exam if you have any questions. And even if you somehow do poorly,
don’t worry; your lowest test score is dropped!
Translate
Translating a paragraph is easier said than done. The goal is to be able to read a string of
words in French without having to translate it, but still understand it; the only way to achieve this
is through practice. Until then, use a dictionary for words you just don’t know, but don’t
translate the sentence word for word. For example, “mon chat noir” is literally “my cat black,”
but of course we should translate it instead as “my black cat.” It’s best to translate phrase by
phrase instead of word by word.
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Create Speeches
Madame Rocha may ask all students to introduce themselves with a speech in front of the
whole class at the beginning of the semester. It is best if this is memorized, so in preparing your
speech, don’t use French words you’re not familiar with. Use phrases you know, so that they
will be easier to remember when you’re in front of the class. Here’s an example of a first-day
speech:
Salut! Je m’appelle Jaclyn Marie. Je suis nerveuse, mais ça va. J’adore penser et écrire.
J’ai un chien, et je l’aime. J’espère être prof et aussi une mère un jour. Mais maintenant,
j’étudie. Et quand il pleut, je danse ; quand je suis déprimée, je chante, je lis, et je dessine. Et
j’essaie d’aimer la vie. C’est tout !
Create Presentations
French 3-4 students are usually required to create presentations relating to a certain
chapter from the textbook, and which the whole class can learn from. If you are assigned a
certain chapter, skim that chapter for people, places, things, or ideas that interest you. The
chapters are filled with interesting things to research – pick a musician and show a YouTube
video of their music, or choose a French-speaking country like Lebanon and bring in Lebanese
food for the students to sample. Presentations are usually done on PowerPoint and brought to
class on a flash drive. When researching the topic, don’t copy and paste information; short
sentences of vocabulary words you know are better than long paragraphs that are not your own.
Here is an example of a PowerPoint slide:
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Memorize French Poetry
French 3-4 students may also be asked to memorize a French poem and present it to the
class. First, pick a poem you think might interest you. Then spend time translating it into
English – don’t leave one word a mystery; really pick it apart and understand it. Learn and
understand all the words you don’t know. Then, go through the stanzas line by line and turn
them into images in your mind – memorize those. If you memorize the images, you will be able
to see a picture story in your head and translate that into French or English. Then say the poem
over and over (very slowly and also quickly) in French with these pictures in your head, until
your mouth can say the words without the brain even being aware of it. Be able to say the poem
even when you’re driving or playing video games or working. Say it under your breath when
you’re bored. Eventually this process results in not only memorizing the poem, but learning it by
heart. This poem will remain in you for the rest of your life, and you will find that it has special
meaning to you and will help you through difficult situations. After all this, presenting it to the
class will be as easy as telling them all some fact about yourself.
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Write Essays
All Madame Rocha’s students must write “Rédactions,” exams that will be included in
your exam grade. There is no reason these essays have to be tedious; they can be ridiculously
fun and imaginative. Poor Madame Rocha has to read hundreds of these – make them silly or
profound; enjoy creating stories in a different language. This is creative writing at its best: you
are relearning words you’ve known for years, and they are fresh and newly meaningful.
Here is a sample of a creative writing piece using vocabulary and grammar from the chapter on
household tasks and housing in the Imaginez textbook; it was turned in as a Rédaction for an
exam. The prompt was “describe the house of your dreams.” The author put it in the past tense
for practice with a different verb tense and used the vocab. she knew:
Quand j’étais petite, j’habitais dans un château qui volait dans le ciel… c’était au-dessus du
monde, de la douleur, et de la mort ; c’était un château de la sécurité ! Ma ville était le ciel, et mes
voisins étaient les oiseaux, les anges, et les étoiles. Les nuages des orages étaient ma colère, mes
larmes étaient les gouttes de pluie, et quand j’ai étincelé de joie – c’était les rayons de soleil.
When I was young, I lived in a castle that flew in the sky... it was above the world, suffering,
and death; it was a castle of safety! My city was the sky, and my neighbors were the birds, the angels,
and the stars. The storm clouds were my anger, my teardrops were the raindrops, and when I
sparkled with joy – that was the sunshine.
Mon quartier était très beau. Je regardais l’océan sous moi, et quelquefois, je descendais aux
vagues avec mon ami, Monsieur duVent. Nous câlinions les poissons doucement. Il fallait, pour moi,
repasser les vagues, balayer les traînées des comètes, et enlever la poussière des nuages. C’étaient
mes tâches ménagères.
My neighborhood was very beautiful. I looked at the ocean beneath me, and sometimes, I
descended to the waves with my friend, Mister Wind. We gently petted the fish. It was necessary for
me to iron the waves, sweep the stardust, and dust off the clouds. Those were my household tasks.
Ma pièce préférée était le sous-sol ; là, je pouvais discuter avec mon reflet dans l’océan, et
sentir le sel sur la brise. Mon reflet aimait m’enseigner les leçons d’une vie solitaire… J’aimais bien
la maison de mes rêves, où je toujours trouvais moi-même toute seule…
My favorite room was the basement; there, I could talk with my reflection in the ocean, and
fell the salt on the breeze. My reflection loved to teach me the lessons of a solitary life... I loved the
house of my dreams, where I always found myself completely alone...
Non, non, non ! Ce n’était pas la maison de mes rêves ! Maintenant, avec ma famille, mes
vrais amis, et mon prince – ici, avec les plaisirs et la tristesse, la douleur, la mort, et la beauté de
l’amour… ici, sur la Terre, c’est ma vie préférée ! Aujourd’hui, j’habite dans beaucoup de maisons
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
différentes ; une pièce seulement, deux pièces – ça ne fait rien. Au moins je ne suis pas solitaire,
comme hier, quand j’étais petite. Au moins je connais l’amour.
No, no, no! That wasn’t the house of my dreams! Now, with my family, my true friends, and
my prince – here, with pleasure and sadness, with suffering, death, and the beauty of love... here, on
Earth, is my preferred life! Today, I live in many different houses; one room only, two rooms – that
doesn’t matter. At least I am not alone, like yesterday, when I was little. At least I know love.
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Cheat Sheet
Regular and Irregular Verbs
Most verbs follow regular patterns of conjugation. There are three different types of
regular verbs: -er verbs (like parler), -ir verbs (like finir), and -re verbs (like vendre). The
conjugated verb endings for -er verbs are -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent. The conjugated verb endings
for -ir verbs are -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. The conjugated verb endings for -re verbs are
-s, -s, -d, -ons, -ez, -ent. To conjugate a verb, take off the -er, -ir, or -re to find the root (in parler,
then, the root is parl); then add the appropriate endings according to each category - I, you
(singular/familiar), he/she/one, we, you (plural/formal) and them. Here are examples of a verb
conjugation box for a regular -er verb:
parler - to speak
je parle
nous parlons
tu parles
vous parlez
il/elle/on parle ils/elles parlent
There are four very important irregular verbs in the French language, and many others
that are not so crucial. They do not follow common patterns of conjugation, and so are termed
“irregular.” The four most important verbs are être (to be), avoir (to have), aller (to go), and
faire (to do). The verb être is used any time you want to describe what you are or what
something is; it is paired with adjectives to describe someone or something’s physical nature or
personality (and sometimes it is used to form the past tense). The verb avoir is used a lot in
order to say things like “I’m scared / hungry” by literally saying “I have fear / hunger”; it is also
used most often to form the past tense: “I have talked.” The verb aller is used to explain where
people are going, and also to form the future tense: “I am going to eat.” The verb faire is used
with lots of phrases to explain what people are doing. Take this space to scribble the conjugated
forms of these four irregular verbs:
être - to be
avoir - to have
aller - to go
faire - to do
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
IMPORTANT TIP: Students often make the mistake of thinking that something like “I am
talking” is translated to “Je suis parle”; however, THIS IS INCORRECT. The sentence “Je parle”
already means either “I talk” OR “I am talking,” so don’t add the word “am” (“suis”) into the
sentence.
Negating a sentence usually involves surrounding the conjugated verb with “ne” and “pas”
- so “Je danse” becomes “Je ne danse pas.” If the word “pas” is followed by an “un” or “une” or
“des,” then it will turn into “de” or “d’ ” in the negated sentence (for example, “J’ai un stylo”
becomes “Je n’ai pas de stylo”).
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Verb Forms
Future - The first future tense you will learn is “futur proche,” which uses aller. For
example, “I will sleep” is “Je vais dormer” in this particular tense - conjugate aller and then use
the infinitive of the verb being used in future tense. However, you will also learn the “futur
simple,” which is generally used to talk about things in the more distant future. “I will sleep”
would be translated into “Je dormirai” in this case. The endings for futur simple are -ai, -as, -a,
-ons, -ez, -ont (compare these endings to the verb avoir for an easier time remembering them);
they are usually simply added to the infinitive of the verb being used, but there are exceptions.
Past - The simplest form of past tense uses the conjugated form of either avoir or être
along with the past participle of the verb being used in past tense. For example, “I danced”
translates to “J’ai dansé.” The past participle of regular verbs is formed by taking the root of the
infinitive and adding -é if it’s an -er verb, -i if it’s an -ir verb, and -u if it’s an -re verb. Irregular
verbs have unique past participles that must be memorized. Another past tense used to describe
habitual actions in the past is the “imparfait.” To use this, take the root of the 3rd person plural of
most verbs and add the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. In this case, “I danced” would
be “Je dansais.” There are some exceptions.
Conditional and Subjunctive - These two tenses are unique. The “conditionel” is used
to say things like “I would.” Take the root of the infinitive and add the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, ions, -iez, -aient (for example, “I would sleep” becomes “Je dormirais”). These are the same
endings as those used in the imparfait. The “subjunctif” is entirely unique, and is used in
sentences involving Doubt, Opinion, Volition (will), or Emotion - an acronym to remember these
circumstances is DOVE. However, the subjunctive is only used when there are two subjects
joined by the word “que” - for example, “J’aime que tu boives de l’eau.” The subjunctive is
used with the second verb (in this case, boire). This is usually done by taking the 3rd person
plural form of the verb and adding the endings -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent... although, as always,
there are some exceptions.
Imperative - This last verb form is used to give commands; for example “Clean your
room” or “Be nice.” To do this, take a tu, nous or vous statement, omit the subject pronoun (you,
we) from the sentence, and then put the verb in the correct format; for most verbs, the format is
the same (“Finish the salad” becomes “Tu finis la salade”), but for regular -er verbs in the tu
form, the final -s is omitted, and the avoir and étre forms are irregular.
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Pronouns
First, it’s important to know the different parts of a sentence: the sentence “I am giving a
present to Marie” is translated as “Je donne un cadeau à Marie”; “Je” is the subject, “donne” is
the verb, “un” is the article, “cadeau” is the direct object, “à” is the preposition, and “Marie” is
the indirect object. There are many different types of pronouns, some of which can replace the
words in that sentence: subject pronouns (je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles), disjunctive
pronouns (moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles), direct object pronouns (me/m’, te/t’, le/la/l’,
nous, vous, les), indirect object pronouns (me, te, lui, nous, vous, leur), and “y” and “en.”
Pronouns are used to replace certain words in a sentence. For example, “Scott is eating”
becomes “He eats,” or “Il mange,” by way of a subject pronoun. Disjunctive pronouns are
words like “me,” “him” and “us”; for example, “I am talking with them (masculine),” or “Je
parle avec eux.” For direct object pronouns, there are three different types of sentences involved:
present, future and past, or sentences with one verb, two verbs, or a verb and a past participle.
Here are some examples of the sentence “I am eating / will eat / have eaten it,” where “la / it” is
a direct object pronoun that here stands for the word “une banana.” Study and memorize the
patterns used:
Je (ne) la mange (pas).
Je (ne) vais (pas) la manger.
Je (ne) l’ai (pas) mangée. (make agreement!)
For indirect object pronouns, there are also three different types of sentences. Here are some
examples of the sentence “I am talking / going to talk / have talked to him,” where “him / lui” is
the indirect object pronoun:
Je (ne) lui parle (pas).
Je (ne) vais (pas) lui parler.
Je (ne) lui ai (pas) parlé.
The pronouns “y” is used to refer to locations; it generally translates as “there.” For example,
“J’habite à Stockton” becomes “J’y habite”; “y” replaces most prepositions and their objects.
The pronoun “en” stands for the preposition “de” and its object; for example, “Je bois de l’eau”
becomes “J’en bois.” The pronoun “en” can also be used to replace quantities, such as “a lot of”
or “one kilogram of”; for example, “J’ai beaucoup de carrottes” becomes “J’en ai beaucoup.”
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor
Agreement
REMEMBER TO MAKE AGREEMENT AMONG ADJECTIVES AND VERBS!!!
Almost all students make mistakes here. Agreement must be made in most sentences, and the
type of agreement depends on whether the subject is masculine, feminine, singular, or plural.
For example, “I am courageous” will be translated to “Je suis courageux” if you are male, but “Je
suis courageuse” if you are female. And if you are a courageous, but nervous female who is
alone in the world, you must say “Je suis une courageuse, mais nerveuse femme qui est seule
dans le monde,” adding all appropriate agreement throughout the entire sentence. Other
situations in which you must make agreement are when être is used in the past tense (“Nous
sommes nées,” if female and plural, for example), and also when direct object pronouns are used
in the past tense (when, for example, “J’ai mange une banane” becomes “Je l’ai mangée,”
because banana is feminine).
In this packet, you have read about how to get started in Madame Rocha’s French 1-4
classes; you now have useful information regarding studying tips and grammar which you can
use all throughout your French experience. Thank you for your time, et bon chance!
© 2011 by Jaclyn Marie, French 1-4 tutor