Unité 1 Examen Retake Review
French II
What is a possessive adjective ?
A word that describes a noun by
showing who possesses it
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English example : my pen
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It refers to the subject.
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I lost my pen.
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I = subject

my = possessive adjective
French Possessive Adjectives
Just like other French adjectives in French, these must
agree with the gender and number of the noun it is
describing.
 French example : mes stylos (my pens)

English
Masculine
Feminine
Plural
my
mon
ma
mes
your (singular)
ton
ta
tes
his/her
son
sa
ses
our
notre
notre
nos
your (plural)
votre
votre
vos
their
leur
leur
leurs
Negation/Negative Words
To change an affirmative sentence to a negative one, place the
« ne » behind the subject and the negative word behind the
verb.
 Je parle. → Je ne parle pas.
 If there is an antonym in the affirmative sentence, replace it
with the negative word.
 Ex. Il y a quelqu'un. → Il n'y a personne.

Negative Word
English
Antonym
pas
not
N/A
jamais
never
toujours (always), souvent (often)
plus
no longer
toujours (still)
personne
no one, nobody
Quelqu'un (somebody),
Tout le monde (everyone)
rien
nothing
Quelque chose (something)
À and De + Definite Article
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What is a definite article ?
A word that goes in front of the noun when you are
speaking about a specific person, place, thing, or idea.
English : the
French : le, la, les
When the prepositions « à » or « de » are used in front
of the definite article, sometimes a new word formed to
prevent to vowels from being together.
Common expressions that use « à » and « de »
Parler de = to talk about
Aller à = to go to
Etre à = to be at
À and De + Definite Article
Combination
À + le
Result
Au
À + la
À + l'
À + les
De + le
De + la
De + l'
De + les
À la
À l'
Aux
Du
De la
De l'
Des
Forming Questions
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Raising your voice at the end.
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Ex. Il est médecin ?
Putting « Est-ce que » at the front of yes/no
questions.
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Ex. Est-ce qu'il est médecin ?
Putting « n'est-ce pas » at the other end of the
sentence.
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N'est-ce pas = isn't it ?/right ?

Il est medecin, n'est-ce pas ?
Inversion
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Def : Switching the subject pronoun and the
verb
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Ex. Est-il médecin ?
Adjectives
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What is an adjective ?
A word that describes a person, place, thing or idea
Most adjectives in French are placed behind the noun
Ex. Un T-shirt bleu
Adjectives must agree with the gender and amount
for the amount that it describes
Ex. deux chaises noires
There are some adjectives that always go before the
noun
These are concerning beauty, age, goodness, and
size (BAGS)
Ex. une petite maison
Irregular Adjectives
Some
adjectives have an irregular form
for feminine nouns
Ex. les pages blanches
Masculine
Feminine
Example
English
-eux
-euse
Paresseux → paresseuse
lazy
-er
-ère
Regulier → regulière
regular
-n
-nne
Bon → bonne
good
-anc
-anche
Blanc → blanche
white
-ais
-aiche
Frais → fraiche
fresh
-ong
-ongue
Long → longue
long
More Irregular Adjectives
Some adjectives have irregular forms
before a masculine noun that starts with a
vowel and in front of feminine nouns.
 Ex. Le Nouvel Observateur

Masculine
Masculine
Vowel
Feminine
English
vieil
vieille
old
nouveau
nouvel
nouvelle
new
beau
bel
belle
beautiful
vieux
Adjectives that don't change
 Some
adjectives do not change in the
feminine form
 Examples : moderne, sympa, super,
marron, orange, bon marché
 Ex. une fille sympa
Time
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To ask what time it is say « Quelle heure
est-il ? »
To give the time say : « Il est ______
heure(s). »
In France, they use a 24 hour system.
Il est treize heures = 1 in the afternoon.
Once the minutes have passed the 30 the
French start counting backwards.
Il est vingt heures moins dix = 19h50 or
7:50 p.m. (U.S.)
Time Vocabulary
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Midi = noon
Minuit = midnight
Demie = half past the hour/ 30 min
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Il est onze heures et demie = 11h30
Le quart = a quarter of an hour/ 15 minutes
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Il est onze heures et quart. = 11h15
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However the definite article is added if we
are counting backwards.
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Il est onze heures moins le quart. = 10h45
Aller (To Go)
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Aller is an irregular verb.

Je vais
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Tu vas
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Il/Elle/On va
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Nous allons
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Vous allez
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Ils/Elles vont
Common vocabulary with aller :
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Aller + à + place = to go to
Être (To Be)
 Être is an irregular verb
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Je suis
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Tu es
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Il/Elle/On est
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Nous sommes
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Vous êtes
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Ils/Elles sont
Avoir (To Have)
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Avoir is an irregular verb
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J'ai
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Tu as

Il/Elle/On a
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Nous avons
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Vous avez

Ils/Elles ont
Common expressions with « avoir »
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Avoir envie de = to want
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Avoir faim = to be hungry
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Avoir soif = to be thirsty
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Vous avez quel âge ? = How old are you ?
Faire (To Do, To Make)
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Faire is an irregular verb
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Je fais
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Tu fais
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Il/Elle/On fait
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Nous faisons
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Vous faites
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Ils/Elles font
Common expressions with faire :
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Il fait + weather condition
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Il fait beau.
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Faire un pique-nique
Regular -ER Verbs
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Drop the -er of the verb
What remains is your stem and will not change
Add the following endings to your stem depending
on the pronoun that it relates to :
Je = -e
Tu = -es
Il/Elle/On – e
Nous = -ons
Vous = -ez
Ils/Elles = -ent
Example of Conjugated -ER Verb
 Tomber (to fall)
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Je tombe.
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Tu tombes.
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Il tombe.
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Nous tombons.
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Vous tombez.
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Ils tombent.
Regular -IR Verbs
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Drop the « r »
What remains is your stem and will not change.
Add the following endings to your stem depending
on the pronoun that it relates to :
Je = -s
Tu = -s
Il/Elle/On = -t
Nous = -ssons
Vous = -ssez
Ils/Elles = -ssent
Example of Conjugated -IR Verb
 Choisir (to choose)
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Je choisis
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Tu choisis
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Il choisit
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Nous choisissons
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Vous choisissez
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Ils choisissent
Regular -RE Verbs
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Drop the « re »
What remains is the stem and will not change
Add the following endings to your stem
depending on the pronoun that it relates to :
Je = -s
Tu = -s
Il/Elle/On = no additional ending/just the stem
Nous = -ons
Vous = -ez
Ils/Elles = -ent
Example of Conjugated -RE Verb
 Vendre (to sell)

Je vends
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Tu vends

Il vend

Nous vendons

Vous vendez

Ils vendent