1. Se Présenter

1.1 Greetings

1.2 Subject Pronouns

1.3 The Alphabet

1.4 Pronunciation

1.5 Auxiliaries Être and Avoir

1.6 Mise En Pratique

1.1 Greetings

Here is a conversation between two friends and colleagues, Thierry and Julien:

T: “Salut Julien, comment tu vas?”J: “Ça va bien, et toi?”T: “Pas mal!”J: “Bonne journée, à bientôt!”T: “Au revoir”

Now, here is a conversation between an employee, Pierre, and his boss, Alain:

P: “Bonjour Monsieur, comment allez-vous?”A: “Bonjour Pierre, je vais très bien, et vous?”P: “Je vais bien, merci.”A: “Passez une bonne journée.”P: “Vous aussi!”

Informal Formal

Tu t’appelles comment?

Comment vous appelez-vous?

Salut! Je m’appelle

Pierre.

Bonjour Monsieur! Je

m’appelle Pierre.

Salut!Hi/Goodbye (depending on context)

Ça va pas I’m not doing too well

Bonjour Hello Au revoir Goodbye

Bonsoir Good evening Bonne journée

Have a nice day

Ça va?/Comment ça va?

How are you? (informal) À bientôt See you soon

Comment allez-vous?

How are you doing? (formal) À plus tard See you later

Pas mal Not bad (informal)

Ça va (bien)/Je vais bien

I’m fine/I’m doing fine

1.2 Subject Pronouns

Singular Plural

Je (I) Nous (We)

Tu (You) Vous (You- plural; formal)

Il/Elle/On (He/She/One)

Ils/Elles (They - masculine

and feminine)

Tu is used:

• When addressing a single person.

• With friends and family.

• When addressing a classmate, a child, etc.

Vous is used:

• When addressing a group of people.

• When addressing someone you have never met before.

• When addressing your superior.

• When addressing someone in a professional or business context (a doctor, a clerk in a store, etc.)

Vous is used:

• When addressing a group of people.

• When addressing someone you have never met before.

• When addressing your superior.

• When addressing someone in a professional or business context (a doctor, a clerk in a store, etc.)

1.3 The Alphabet

1.4 Pronunciation

Accent aigu: é Vélo;

Téléphone

Accent grave: è(à; ù)

Très; AprèsAccent

circonflexe: â, ê, î, ô, û

Forêt; Théâtre; Île

Cédille: ç Français;

Leçon

Tréma: ï, ë Noël; Maïs

French accents

/th/ is pronounced [t]: Théâtre; Thé

/ch/ is pronounced [š] (as in the English word

‘shirt’): Chaise; Machine

The letter /j/ is pronounced [ž] (as in the English word ‘division’):

Déjeuner; Journal

The letter /g/ is also pronounced [ž] when followed by the letter

/i/, /e/ or /y/: Manger; Gymnase

The sounds /th/, /ch/, /g/ and /j/

a. General rules: • Liaison is when a

normally silent consonant at the end of a word is pronounced at the beginning of the word that follows it.

French liaisons

• Liaisons are usually required when the first word ends with a consonant and the second word starts with a vowel.

• Liaisons are also required when the second word starts with a mute ‘H’ (majority of words in French).

• There are required and forbidden liaisons in French.

b. Required liaisons

The liaison is required:• Between a subject

pronoun and a verb:Vous avez

• Between a number and a noun:

Deux amis

• Between an article and a noun:

Les oranges

• Between an adjective and a noun:

Grand arbre

c. Forbidden liaisons

The liaison is forbidden: • Before and after full

names: Alain Ø est grand.

• After the word et: Un et Ø un.

• After singular nouns: La maison Ø est grande.

• Before ‘H’ aspiré (when the ‘H’ is not mute):

En Ø haut.

d. Sound change

The table below shows the final consonant and the sound it transforms into when placed before a word that starts with a vowel.

Final consonant New sound

D TF VN NP PS ZX Z

1.5 Auxiliaries Être and Avoir

Je suis (I am)

Nous sommes (we are)

Tu es (you are)

Vous êtes (you are - plural and

formal)

Il/Elle/On est (he/she/one

is)

Ils/Elles sont (they are)

J’ai (I have)

Nous avons (we have)

Tu as (you have)

Vous avez (you have - plural and

formal)

Il/Elle/On a (he/she/one

has)

Ils/Elles ont (they have)

Avoir is used: • When stating one’s age

(English uses ‘to be’):

J’ai 20 ans (‘I am 20.’)

• As the translation of ‘there is/there are’:

Il y a 3 personnes dans la salle. (‘There are 3 people in the room.’)

• As the translation of ‘to need’: Avoir besoin de:

J’ai besoin d’un stylo. (‘I need a pen.’)

• As the translation of ‘to feel like/to want’: Avoir envie de:

J’ai envie d’une glace. (‘I want an ice cream.’)

J’ai envie d’une glace. (‘I want an ice cream.’)

1.6 Mise En Pratique

1. Decide which expression to use to ask the following people their name:

A child Comment tu t’appelles?

Comment vous appelez-vous?

Your boss Comment tu t’appelles?

Comment vous appelez-vous?

Your new roommate

Comment tu t’appelles?

Comment vous appelez-vous?

Your instructor Comment tu t’appelles?

Comment vous appelez-vous?

2. Decide which expression you would use to ask the following people how they’re doing:

A father to his child Comment ça va? Comment allez-

vous?You to your professor Comment ça va? Comment allez-

vous?You to two of your friends Comment ça va? Comment allez-

vous?You to a new neighbor Comment ça va? Comment allez-

vous?

3. Conjugate the auxiliary être at the correct form:

a. Nous _____ français.

b. Je _____ grand.

c. Tu _____ poli (polite).

d. Elles _____ gentilles (nice).

4. Conjugate the auxiliary avoir at the correct form:

a. Il _____ une voiture.

b. J’ _____ un chien.

c. Ils _____ des amis.

5. Decide whether or not you should make the liaison in the following sentences:

Liaison No liaison

Des amis

Un ordinateur

Nous avons

Un homme