LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #1
Talking About Your Profession

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 1
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Je suis journaliste.

2. Je suis dentiste.

3. Je suis informaticien.

4. Je suis médecin.

5. Je ne suis pas professeur.

6. Es-tu psychologue?

ENGLISH

1. I am a journalist.

2. I am a dentist.

3. I am a computer engineer.

4. I am a doctor.

5. I am not a teacher.

6. Are you a psychologist?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

boulanger baker noun masculine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #1 - T ALKI NG ABOUT YOUR PROFES S I ON 2
 policier police officer noun masculine

informaticien computer engineer noun masculine

pharmacien pharmacist noun masculine

vendeur salesperson noun masculine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Nous sommes boulangèr es. Il est policier .

“We are bakers.” “He is a police officer.”

Elle est infor mat icienne. Ils sont phar maciens.

“She is a computer engineer.” “T hey are pharmacists.”

Vous êt es vendeuses.

“You are salespersons.”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Je + suis + profession

"I + am + occupation"

Je suis journaliste.

"I am a journalist."

Replace "occupat ion" for : Wor d Class Gender

Boulanger "baker" noun masculine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #1 - T ALKI NG ABOUT YOUR PROFES S I ON 3
Policier "police officer" noun masculine

Informaticien "computer noun masculine

engineer"

Pharmacien "pharmacist" noun masculine

Vendeur "salesperson" noun masculine

Sample Sent ences:

1. Nous sommes boulangères.

"We are bakers."

2. Il est policier.
"He is a police officer."

3. Elle est informaticienne.

"She is a computer engineer."

4. Ils sont pharmaciens.

"They are pharmacists."

5. Vous êtes vendeuses.

"You are salespersons."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is T alking About Your Pr ofession

Use the following pattern to let others know what you do for a living.

[Je + suis + profession]

"I + am + occupation"

1. Je suis journaliste.
"I am a journalist."

First you have the pronoun, then the verb "to be" conjugated according to the pronoun. And
lastly we have the noun, which has to agree with the gender and number. Unlike in English,
when you talk about profession in French, it's "I am" directly followed by the profession. There

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isn't an article between the verb and the noun.

Ver b "t o be"

French "English"

Je suis "I am"

Tu es "You are" *informal register

Il, Elle est "He/She is"

Nous sommes "We are"

Vous êtes "You are" *formal register, plural

Ils sont "They are"

Être is a basic verb. It is irregular. Its uses are:

• To give information about events or people:

For Example:

1. Tu es marié.
"You are married."

2. C'est mardi.
"It's Tuesday."

• To describe physical or emotional states:

For Example:

1. Il est malade.
"He is sick."

2. Il est content.
"He is happy."

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #1 - T ALKI NG ABOUT YOUR PROFES S I ON 5
Sample Sent ences:

1. Être ou ne pas être!

"To be or not to be!"

2. Je suis excentrique.
"I am eccentric."

3. Tu es mon ami.
"You are my friend."

4. Vous êtes direct.

"You are direct."

T alking About Pr ofessions in Fr ench

To ask about a person's job, use the verb faire, as in Qu'est-ce que vous faites ? ("What do
you do?").

This very common question is part of the standard French register, and you can break it into:

1. the question word qu'est-ce que, meaning "what." Use qu'est-ce que to ask any
question to which the answer will vary depending upon each person or situation. It's
also called an open question or "what" question in English.

2. the subject vous. Here, it is the pronoun vous, the equivalent of the polite "you."

3. the verb form faites (from the infinitive faire), conjugated at l'indicatif présent ("the
present tense") formed according to the subject vous.

This question can vary in structure depending on the level of formality as follows:

Formal: Que faites-vous? ("What do you do?")

In this question, qu'est-ce que is replaced with its formal equivalent que, meaning "what."
Note the inversion of the subject and the verb, which is another mark of formality in the
French language.

Informal: Vous faites quoi? ("What do you do?")

In this question, qu'est-ce que is replaced with its informal question word quoi, meaning
"what." Note here even though the question word order (subject-verb question word) and the
use of quoi denotes the informality of the question, the pronoun vous shows respect to the
speaker.

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In order of formality from less to most:

Informal: Vous faites quoi ? "What do you do?"

Standard: Qu'est-ce que vous faites ? "What do you do?"

Formal: Que faites-vous ? "What do you do?"

You can use another question to ask for someone's profession, if you have suspicions about
their professional activity. If you are making a guess, you will use a yes-no question, called in
French une question fermée, meaning "a closed question," as follows:

Subject + Verb être + Profession ?

Vous + êtes + profession ?

For Example:

1. Vous êtes ingénieur ?

"Are you an engineer?"

2. Vous êtes assistant commercial ?

"Are you a junior salesperson?"

If you are in a more informal setting, simply exchange the formal "you" (vous) for the informal
"you" (tu) as follows:

Informal: Tu fais quoi ? "What do you do?"

Standard: Qu'est-ce que tu fais ? "What do you do?"

Formal: Que fais-tu ? "What do you do ?"

1. Je suis comédienne.
"I'm an actress."

If you are asked this question, you will have to give an answer. To be able to tell your
profession, use the verb être in a simple phrase. This "simple phrase," or une phrase simple, is
structured as follows:

Subject + Verb être + complement

Note that in French, no article is necessary in front of the profession as it is in English.

Un(e) professeur/ une professeure: "a teacher/a professor" Je suis professeur. "I'm a teacher."
Un boulanger/une boulangère: "a baker" Je suis boulanger. "I'm a baker."

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #1 - T ALKI NG ABOUT YOUR PROFES S I ON 7
Un policier/une policière: "a police officer" Je suis policière. "I'm a police officer."

Un(e) comptable: "an accountant" Je suis comptable. "I'm an accountant."

Un banquier/une banquière: "a banker" Je suis banquier. "I'm a banker."

Un informaticien/ une informaticienne: "a computer scientist" Je suis informaticien. "I'm a

computer scientist."

Un avocat/une avocate: "a lawyer" Je suis avocate. "I'm a lawyer."

Un web designer: (to show the Anglicism) "a web designer" Je suis web designer. "I'm a web
designer."

Un(e) journaliste: "a reporter/a journalist" Je suis journaliste. "I'm a reporter."

Un(e) ingénieur: "an engineer" Je suis ingénieur. "I'm an engineer."

Review

So remember, to state your profession, just say "I," plus the verb "to be," plus the profession.
Be aware of the speaker's gender.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #2
Expressing What You Want

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
5 Grammar

# 2
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Je veux un livre à Noël.

2. Je veux gagner ce concours.

3. Je veux partir en vacances.

4. Je veux aller au cinéma.

5. Je ne veux pas travailler aujourd'hui.

6. Veux-tu une glace?

ENGLISH

1. I want a book for Christmas.

2. I want to win this contest.

3. I want to go on vacation.

4. I want to go to the cinema.

5. I don't want to work today.

6. Do you want ice-cream?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

chat cat noun masculine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #2 - EXPRES S I NG WHAT YOU WANT 2
 dormir to sleep verb

verre d’eau glass of water phrase masculine

couverture blanket noun feminine

jouer to play verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

À qui appar t ient ce chat ? Elle veut un chat .

“Whose cat is this?” “She wants a cat.”

J 'ador e les chat s. J 'ai mar ché sur mon chat .

"I love cats." "I stepped on my cat."

J 'aime les chat s. Les chat s noir s sont souvent

suspect és de por t er malheur .
"I love cats"
"Black cats are often thought to
bring misfortune."

J e veux dor mir . Elle est t ellement fat iguée, elle ne

peut pas dor mir .
“I want to sleep.”
"She's so tired, she can't sleep."

C'est l'heur e de dor mir . Ils veulent un ver r e d’eau.

"It's time to sleep." “T hey want a glass of water.”

Il veut une couver t ur e. Le bébé dor mait sur la couver t ur e.

“He wants a blanket.” "T he baby slept on the blanket."

L'homme est ent r ain de pr endr e la Le bébé dor t sur la couver t ur e.

douche.
"T he baby is sleeping on the
"T he man is showering in the blanket."
shower."

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Le bébé dor mait sur la couver t ur e. J e vais jouer à des jeux vidéos.

"T he baby slept on the blanket." “I will play video games.”

Nous voulons jouer . J ouer du piano.

“We want to play.” T o play the piano.

J e joue de la musique. Il ne faut jamais jouer avec les

sent iment s des aut r es.
I play music.
"You should never play with
people's feelings."

Le pet it gar çon joue à des jeux vidéo J e joue le r ôle du méchant dans
t ous les soir s apr ès avoir t r availlé cet t e pièce.
dur .
"I play the role of the bad guy in
"T he little boy plays video games this play."
every evening after studying hard."

J e joue à l'har monica.

"I play harmonica."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Je + veux + complément

"I + want + complement"

1. Je veux un livre à Noël.

"I want a book for Christmas."

Replace "complement " for : Wor d Class Gender

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #2 - EXPRES S I NG WHAT YOU WANT 4
chat "cat" noun masculine

dormir "to sleep" verb

verre d'eau "glass of water" phrase masculine

couverture "blanket" noun feminine

jouer "to play" verb

Sample Sent ences:

1. Elle veut un chat.

"She wants a cat."

2. Je veux dormir.
"I want to sleep."

3. Ils veulent un verre d'eau.

"They want a glass of water."

4. Il veut une couverture.

"He wants a blanket."

5. Nous voulons jouer.

"We want to play."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Expr essing What You Want

Use the following pattern to let others know what it is you want.

[Je + veux + complément]

"I + want + complement"

1. Je veux un livre à Noël.

"I want a book for Christmas."

First you have the pronoun, then the verb "to want" conjugated according to the pronoun.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #2 - EXPRES S I NG WHAT YOU WANT 5
Lastly, the complement expressing what it is that you want. In the case of a noun, an article
is needed before it and also after the verb. The article is modified according to the gender
and number of the noun. In case of a verb, it should be in the infinitive form.

Ver b "t o want "

The verb vouloir is classified in the third verb group.

Definitions:

1. to have the desire of

2. to have the intention /intent, a desire that something will happen

3. to desire, possess; to be interested in

4. to pretend

For mat ion:

"Present Indicative" - Indicatif Présent

Fr ench English

Je veux "I want"

Tu veux "You want" *informal register

Il/Elle veut "He/She wants"

Nous voulons "We want"

Vous voulez "You want" *formal register, plural

Ils veulent "They want"

For Example:

1. Il veut que je vienne ce soir.

"He wants me to come tonight."

Nouns

French divides nouns into two classes using gender: masculine, and feminine.

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Masculine nouns:

1. lit
"bed"

2. fromage
"cheese"

3. village
"village"

4. livre
"book"

Feminine nouns:

1. cuillère
"spoon"

2. boue
"mud"

3. revue
"review"

4. syllabe
"syllable"

There are some rules for learning the gender of French nouns, but they're quite complex.
Many consider the designation of gender to be largely arbitrary, so it 's likely t hat you'll
just have t o memor iz e t hem.

Learning gender nouns is impor t ant for for ming sent ences in Fr ench.

For example, lit means "bed" in French, and it's a masculine noun. If you want to refer to "the
bed" in a sentence however, you need to add le before the noun.

le lit "the bed"

If you want to refer to any masculine noun in French, you need to use le or un:
Examples:

1. le fromage
"the cheese"

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #2 - EXPRES S I NG WHAT YOU WANT 7
2. le village
"the village"

3. un livre
"a book"

On the other hand, you need to use la and une to refer to feminine nouns.

1. la cuillère
"the spoon"

2. la boue
"the mud"

3. une revue
"a review"

4. une syllabe
"a syllable"

Nouns change also according to the number, either singular or plur al:

Singular Plur al

jardin (m. "garden") jardins ("gardens")

maison (f. "house") maisons ("houses")

tour (f. "tower") tours ("towers")

Legend:

m. = masculine noun

f. = feminine noun

Gener a Plur al Mar k: -s

The most common mark of the plural is the letter -s that we add to nouns and adjectives.
However, some nouns and adjectives have an irregular plural.

1. Nouns ending in -au, -eau, -eu, and -oeu form their plural in -x, except for a few exceptions
ending in -s.

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For Example:

1. un tuyau
"a tube"

2. des tuyaux
"some tubes"

3. un cadeau
"a gift"

4. des cadeaux
"some gifts"

5. un cheveu
"a hair"

6. des cheveux
"some hair"

7. un voeu
"a wish"

8. des vœux
"some wishes"

9. un pneu
"a tire"

10. des pneus

"some tires"

Notes: Same Spelling in Singular and Plur al, Differ ent Pr onunciat ion

Some words have a different pronunciation at the singular form from the plural one.

For Example:

1. un os
"a bone"

2. des os
"some bones"

3. un œuf
"an egg"

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4. des œufs
"some eggs"

Only Plur al Nouns:

Some words don't have a singular form.

For Example:

1. les ténèbres
"darkness"

2. les gens
"people"

3. les archives
"archives"

4. les funérailles
"funeral"

Family Names:

Family names are invariable and do not change at the plural form.

For Example:

1. la famille Dupont
"The Dupont Family"

2. les Dupont
"The Duponts"

3. la famille Martin
"The Martin Family"

4. les Martin
"The Martins"

Review

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #2 - EXPRES S I NG WHAT YOU WANT 10
So remember, to express you want something, say "I," plus the verb "to want," plus the
complement. Be aware of the number and gender in case of a noun.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #2 - EXPRES S I NG WHAT YOU WANT 11
LESSON NOTES
Must-Know French Sentence
Structures #3
Asking About Manner

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
5 Grammar

# 3
COPYRIGHT © 2019 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Comment vas-tu à la fête ?

2. Comment fêtes-tu le Nouvel An ?

3. Comment joue-t-on à ce jeu ?

4. Comment fais-tu un gâteau au chocolat ?

5. Comment perd-elle autant de poids ?

6. Comment ose-t-il être impoli ?

ENGLISH

1. How are you going to the party?

2. How will you celebrate New Year's?

3. How do you play this game?

4. How do you make chocolate cake?

5. How does she lose so much weight?

6. How does he dare being rude?

VOCABULARY

French English Class

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUST-KNOW FRENCH SENTENCE STRUCTURES #3 - ASKING ABOUT MANNER 2

 to manage to [do
réussir à verb
something]

pouvoir to be able to verb

régler to fix verb

aller to go verb

écrire to write irregular verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Comment réussit-elle à rester calme? Comment peux-tu dire ça?

“How does she manage to stay “How can you say that?”
calm?”

Comment réglez-vous ce problème? Je suis allée à une fête.

“How do you fix this problem?” “I went to a party.”

Comment allons-nous là-bas? Qui va à la plage le week-end

prochain?
“How do we go there?”
"Who is going to the beach next
weekend?"

Je suis allée à la clinique vétérinaire. Ils vont au parc le dimanche.

"I went to the animal hospital." "They go to the park on Sundays."

Marie va en Egypte. Comment écris-tu ce mot?

"Mary goes to Egypt." “How do you write this word?”

Elle aime écrire un journal. Écrire un blog est comme écrire un

journal, mais sur Internet.
"She likes writing a diary."
"Writing a blog is like writing a
journal, but on the Internet."

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUST-KNOW FRENCH SENTENCE STRUCTURES #3 - ASKING ABOUT MANNER 3

Il peut écrire une synthèse.

"He can write a synthesis."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Related Words and Phrases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Comment + verbe conjugué + pronom + complément?

"How + conjugated verb + pronoun + complement?"

1. Comment vas-tu à la fête?

"How are you going to the party?"

Replace "conjugated verb" for a conjugated form of: Word Class

aller "to go" verb

écrire "to write" verb

"to manage to [do

réussir à something]" verb

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUST-KNOW FRENCH SENTENCE STRUCTURES #3 - ASKING ABOUT MANNER 4

pouvoir "to be able to" verb

régler "to fix" verb

Sample Sentences:

1. Comment allons-nous là-bas?

"How do we go there?"

2. Comment écris-tu ce mot?

"How do you write this word?"

3. Comment réussit-elle à rester calme?

"How does she manage to stay calm?"

4. Comment peux-tu dire ça?

"How can you say that?"

5. Comment réglez-vous ce problème?

"How do you fix this problem?"

GRAMMAR

The Focus of This Lesson is Asking About Manner

Use the following pattern to ask questions about how to do something.

[Comment + verbe conjugué + pronom + complément?]

"How + conjugated verb + pronoun + complement?"

1. Comment vas-tu à la fête?

How are you going to the party?

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUST-KNOW FRENCH SENTENCE STRUCTURES #3 - ASKING ABOUT MANNER 5

First you have the adverb meaning "how," then the conjugated verb according to the
pronoun, followed by the subject, and then the complement.

Interrogative Adverb "How"

Comment is an interrogative adverb. Its main use is to talk about means-it is the equivalent
of "How?" in English.

Quel moyen? is composed of the interrogative adverb quel (as in quelle heure?) and the
noun moyen, which we translate as "means" or "way." Literally, it means "What is the
means?"

You can use the words comment and quel moyen in many different sentences (see below).
We use these expressions to ask about the means or the best way to get to the meeting
point.

You can see that the sentences' structures are the same as the ones you've seen before;
we just replaced the interrogative adverb with comment or quel est le moyen.

For Example:

1. Comment viens-tu/Tu viendras comment?

"How do/will you get there?"

2. Comment faire pour venir?

"How can I get there?"

3. Comment peut-on se retrouver facilement?

"How can we meet easily?"

4. Quel est le moyen le plus simple pour venir?

"What is the best way to get there?"

Comment ? / Par quel moyen ?

French "English"

Comment vas-tu rentrer chez toi ? "How will you go back home?"

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUST-KNOW FRENCH SENTENCE STRUCTURES #3 - ASKING ABOUT MANNER 6

Comment fais-tu pour y aller ? "What do you do to get there?"

Comment faire pour être à l'heure ? "What can I do to be on time?"

Quel est le moyen le plus rapide pour y

aller ? "What is the fastest way to get there?"

"What transportation do you advise me to

Quel moyen de transport me conseilles-tu ? take?"

Questions: Construction

To get information from someone, we can ask wh- questions or yes/no questions in French.

Asking Wh- Questions: Wh- questions are open questions (questions ouvertes). For these
questions, the answers can be different according to the context.

Examples with Comment:

Formal:

1. Comment allez-vous?
"How are you?"

Informal:

1. Comment ça va?
"What's up?"

2. Comment tu vas?
"How are you?"

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUST-KNOW FRENCH SENTENCE STRUCTURES #3 - ASKING ABOUT MANNER 7

Review

So remember, to make inquiries, start with the adverb "how," followed by a conjugated
verb, a pronoun, and a complement about the thing you want to know.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUST-KNOW FRENCH SENTENCE STRUCTURES #3 - ASKING ABOUT MANNER 8

LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #4
Asking About Location or Position

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
5 Grammar

# 4
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Où sont mes clés?

2. Où est la salle de bains?

3. Où est le chat?

4. Où mène ce chemin?

5. Où allons-nous?

6. Où est ta maison?

ENGLISH

1. Where are my keys?

2. Where is the bathroom?

3. Where is the cat?

4. Where does this path lead to?

5. Where are we going?

6. Where is your house?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

Magasin shop noun

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #4 - AS KI NG ABOUT LOCAT I ON OR POS I T I ON 2
 école school noun feminine

z oo z oo noun masculine

restaurant restaurant noun masculine

cinéma cinema noun masculine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Où se t r ouve le magasin? Où se t r ouve l’école?

“Where is the shop located?” “Where is the school located?”

L'école commence à 8 h3 0 . J e vais à l'école

"School starts at 8:30." "I'm going to school."

Où est le z oo? Où se t r ouve le r est aur ant ?

“Where is the zoo?” “Where is the restaurant located?”

Le Subway est mon r est aur ant L'at mosphèr e de ce r est aur ant a
pr éfér é. at t ir é beaucoup de client s
r écemment .
"My favorite restaurant is Subway."
"T he atmosphere of the restaurant
has drawn a lot of customers
lately."

Le r est aur ant est t r ès bon. Où est le cinéma?

"T he restaurant is really good." “Where is the cinema?”

On va au cinéma ce soir ? Elle va au cinéma une fois par

semaine.
"Do you want to go to the cinema
tonight?" "She is going to the cinema once a
week."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

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Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Où + verbe conjugué + sujet?

"Where + conjugated verb + subject?"

1. Où sont mes clés?

"Where are my keys?"

Replace "subject " for : Wor d Class Gender

magasin "shop" noun masculine

école "school" noun feminine

zoo "z oo" noun masculine

restaurant "restaurant" noun masculine

cinéma "cinema" noun masculine

Replace "conjugat ed ver b" for conjugat ed for m of: Wor d Class

être "to be" verb

se trouver "to be located, to meet, to verb

get together"

Sample Sent ences:

1. Où se trouve le magasin?
"Where is the shop located?"

2. Où se trouve l'école?
"Where is the school located?"

3. Où est le zoo?
"Where is the z oo?"

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4. Où se trouve le restaurant?
"Where is the restaurant located?"

5. Où est le cinéma?
"Where is the cinema?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Asking About Locat ion Or Posit ion

Use the following pattern to ask where something is or takes place.

[Où + verbe conjugué + sujet?]

"Where + conjugated verb + subject?"

1. Où sont mes clés?

"Where are my keys?"

First you have the adverb meaning "where," then the conjugated verb according to the
pronoun, and then the subject.

Int er r ogat ive adver b "wher e"

Où is an interrogative adverb. Its main use is to talk about places. It is the equivalent of
"Where?"

You can use the word où in many different sentences (see below) to ask about a meeting
point.

For Example:

1. Où peut-on se retrouver?
"Where can we meet?"

2. Où peut-on se donner rendez-vous ?

"Where can we meet?"

3. Où est le rendez-vous ?
"Where is the meeting point?"

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4. Où peut-on se voir ?
"Where can I meet you?"

Each sentence above has the same meaning but does not have the same formulation. Some
of them use the verb retrouver, whereas others use the expression rendez-vous.

In every case, however, we have to place the interrogative word où at the beginning to make
a correct sentence (we'll see that it's the same rule for every interrogative word).

Mor e examples wit h Où:

French "English"

Où va t-on ce soir ? "Where do we go tonight?"

Où aimerais-tu aller ? "Where would you like to go?"

Où peut-on aller pour s'amuser ? "Where can we go to have fun?"

Où peut-on aller pour être au calme ? "Where can we find a quiet place?"

Où pourrions-nous aller pour réviser nos "Where could we go to revise our exams?"
devoirs ?

Quest ions: Const r uct ion

Asking Wh- Quest ions: Wh- questions are open questions (questions ouvertes). For these
questions, the answers can be different according to the context.

Examples wit h où:

1. Où est la fête?
"Where is the party?"

2. Où vas-tu ?
"Where are you going?"

Review

So remember, to ask where something is, start with the adverb "where," followed by a
conjugated verb, and the thing(s) you're looking for.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #5
Asking for Information About
Something

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 5
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Quelle est ta couleur préférée?

2. Quel est ton numéro de siège?

3. Quels sont les résultats?

4. Quelles sont les règles de ce jeu?

5. Quelle est la question?

6. Quels sont tes passe-temps?

ENGLISH

1. What is your favorite color?

2. What is your seat number?

3. What are the results?

4. What are the rules for this game?

5. What is the question?

6. What are your hobbies?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

matière subject noun feminine

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 histoire story noun feminine

numéro de téléphone phone number noun masculine

cauchemar nightmare Noun masculine

passe-temps hobby noun masculine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Quelle est t a mat ièr e pr éfér ée? J e dois choisir une mat ièr e de plus
pour ce t r imest r e.
“What is your favorite subject?”
I need to choose one more subject
for this term."

Quelle est l’hist oir e du film? Quel est t on numér o de t éléphone?

“What is the story of the movie?” “What is your phone number?”

Quel est t on numér o de t elephone? Quel est t on pir e cauchemar ?

"What is your phone number?" “What is your worst nightmare?”

J 'ai fait un cauchemar hier soir . Quels sont leur s passe-t emps?

"I had a nightmare yesterday “What are their hobbies?”

evening."

T out le monde a besoin d'un passe-t emps pour r est er en for me et concent r é.

"Everybody needs a hobby to stay healthy and focused."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Quel + verbe "être" conjugué + sujet?

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #5 - AS KI NG FOR I NFORMAT I ON ABOUT S OMET HI NG 3
"What + verb "to be" (conjugated) + subject?"

1. Quelle est ta couleur préférée?

"What is your favorite color?"

Replace "subject " for : Wor d Class Gender

matière "subject" noun feminine

histoire "story" noun feminine

numéro de "phone number" phrase masculine

téléphone

cauchemar "nightmare" noun masculine

passe-temps "hobbies" noun masculine

Sample Sent ences:

1. Quelle est ta matière préférée?

"What is your favorite subject?"

2. Quelle est l'histoire du film?

"What is the story of the movie?"

3. Quel est ton numéro de téléphone?

"What is your phone number?"

4. Quel est ton pire cauchemar?

"What is your worst nightmare?"

5. Quels sont leurs passe-temps?

"What are their hobbies?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Asking for Infor mat ion About Somet hing

Use the following pattern to ask for information about something.

[Quel + verbe être conjugué + sujet?]

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"What + verb "to be" (conjugated) + subject?"

1. Quelle est ta couleur préférée?

"What is your favorite color?"

First you have the adjective meaning "what," modified in gender and number according to
the subject. Then we have the conjugated verb "to be" modified according to the subject,
and finally the subject.

Int er r ogat ive Adver b "What "

Questions with quel (as well as où-"where," quand-"when," combien-"how much," etc) are
called partial questions or question ouvertes. They are named this way simply because the
answer is limited, even though it will certainly be distinct from one person or situation to
another.

Such partial questions' answers are related to a noun, naming a person, animal, place,
thing, or an abstract idea.

For mat ion

To agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies, the interrogative adjective quel
has different spelling as follow

Singular

Feminine → Quelle

Masculine → Quel

Plur al

Feminine → Quelles

Masculine → Quels

The questions structure may vary as well, for example, let's consider Quel jour sommes-
nous? ("What day is it ? ")

You can ask the same question, in different ways:

1 - SIMPLE FROM

Subject + verb + quel + noun

Nous sommes quel jour?

2 - EST -CE QUE FORM*

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Quel + noun + est-ce que + subject + verb

Quel jour est-ce que nous sommes?

Quel jour sommes-nous?*

* Note that the est-ce que form is optional, but in that case the verb comes before the subject.

The question without the est-ce que part is accepted and widely used in everyday French,
i.e.on est quel jour?

3 - SUBJ ECT / VERB INVERSION

Quel + noun + verb + subject

Quel jour sommes-nous ?

*NOTE: With the verb être the structure differs a little than with other verbs.

Quel + être + determiner** + noun

1. Quelle est la bonne réponse?

"What is the correct answer?"

2. Quels sont vos animaux favoris?

"What are your favorite animals?"

3. Quelle est la boisson locale?

"What is the local drink?"

** a determiner is a word (as an article as a, an, the, possessive as my, our, your,
demonstrative as this, that, these or quantifier as all, few, many) that makes specific the
denotation of a noun.

Sample Sent ences:

1. Quel jour est ton anniversaire ?

"Which day is your birthday?"

2. Quelle robe préfères-tu ?

"Which dress do you prefer?"

3. Quelles villes de France connaissez-vous ?

"Which cities from France do you know?"

4. Quelles langues est-ce que vous parlez ?

"Which languages do you speak?"

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5. Il a quel modèle d'ordinateur ?
"Which computer model does he have?"

6. Tu prends quels trains pour aller en Grèce ?

"Which trains do you take to go to Greece?"

7. Quelles sont les maison à vendre ?

"What are the houses to sell?"

8. Quel est le site internet de l'entreprise ?

"What is the web site of the company?"

Quest ions: Const r uct ion - Review

There are various structures to form a partial question.

I. T he Simple For m

Subject + Ver b + Int er r ogat ive Wor d

1. La fête est où ?
"Where is the party?"

2. La fête est quand ?

"When is the party?"

!!!At t ent ion!!! With quel → Subject + Ver b + quel(le) + Noun

1. La fête est à quelle heure ?

"What time is the party?"

II. T he For m wit h est-ce que or est-ce qu'*

Int er r ogat ive Wor d + est-ce que / est-ce qu' + Subject + Ver b

1. Où est-ce que la fête se trouve ?

"Where is the party?"

2. Quand est-ce que la fête commence ?

"When does the party start?"

3. À quelle heure est-ce que la fête commence ?

"At what time does the party start?"

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Not e 1: We can omit est-ce que or est-ce qu'.

→ Quand la fête commence ?

Not e 2 : In these examples, we changed the verb être to commencer ("to start, to begin"), and
se trouver ("to be located"). This is because using être in this context is uncommon and
sounds strange to the native ear.

III. T he Inver sion For m

Int er r ogat ive Wor d + Ver b + Subject

Où est la fête ?

Quand est la fête ?

À quelle heure est la fête ?

Où est-elle?

Quand est-elle?

À quelle heure est-elle?

Not e: Please make note of the dash between the verb and the subject.

Review

So remember, to ask for information about something, start with the adjective "what,"
followed by the conjugated verb "to be," and then the subject.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #5 - AS KI NG FOR I NFORMAT I ON ABOUT S OMET HI NG 8
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #6
Asking About Time

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
5 Grammar

# 6
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Quand est-ce que le train arrive?

2. Quand est-ce qu'on mange?

3. Quand est-ce qu'on fait un barbecue?

4. Quand est-ce qu'on se voit?

5. Quand est-ce que la pluie va s'arrêter?

6. Quand est-ce qu'elle rentre?

ENGLISH

1. When does the train arrive?

2. When do we eat?

3. When will we have a barbecue?

4. When do we meet?

5. When is the rain going to stop?

6. When is she coming home?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

décoller to take off verb

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #6 - AS KI NG ABOUT T I ME 2

 école school noun feminine

soirée party noun feminine

soleil sun masculine noun masculine

restaurant restaurant noun masculine

avion plane noun masculine

se terminer to finish verb

commencer to start verb

se lever to rise verb

ouvrir to open infinitive verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Quand est -ce que l’avion décolle? Où se t r ouve l’école?

“When does the plane take off?” “Where is the school located?”

L'école commence à 8 h3 0 . J e vais à l'école

"School starts at 8:30." "I'm going to school."

Le soleil t ape for t aujour d'hui. Le soleil est une ét oile.

"T he sun is beating down today." "T he sun is a star."

Le soleil br ille. Où se t r ouve le r est aur ant ?

"T he sun shines." “Where is the restaurant located?”

Le Subway est mon r est aur ant L'at mosphèr e de ce r est aur ant a
pr éfér é. at t ir é beaucoup de client s
r écemment .
"My favorite restaurant is Subway."
"T he atmosphere of the restaurant
has drawn a lot of customers
lately."

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Le r est aur ant est t r ès bon. Le Concor de est un avion connu.

"T he restaurant is really good." "T he Concorde is a well-known

airplane."

Quand est -ce que l’école se Quand est -ce que la soir ée
t er mine? commence?

“When does school finish?” “When does the party start?”

Il a commencé à t r availler à la st at ion- Les gens s'animent lor sque la

ser vice il y a une semaine. musique commence.

"He started working at the gas "People become alive when the
station a week ago." music starts."

Quand est -ce que le soleil se lève? Quand est -ce que le r est aur ant
ouvr e?
“When does the sun rise?”
“When does the restaurant open?”

Un nouveau r est aur ant a ouver t hier . T u peux ouvr ir le pot de confit ur e ?

"A new restaurant opened "Can you open the marmalade jar?"
yesterday."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Quand + est-ce que + sujet + verbe conjugué?

"When + is it that + subject + conjugated verb?"

1. Quand est-ce que le train arrive?

"When does the train arrive?"

Replace "subject " for : Wor d Class Gender

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école "school" noun feminine

soirée "party" noun feminine

soleil "sun" noun masculine

restaurant "restaurant" noun masculine

avion "plane" noun masculine

Replace "conjugat ed ver b" for t he conjugat ed Wor d Class

for m of:

se terminer "to finish" verb

commencer "to start" verb

se lever "to rise" verb

ouvrir "to open" verb

décoller "to take off" verb

Sample Sent ences:

1. Quand est-ce que l'école se termine?

"When does school finish?"

2. Quand est-ce que la soirée commence?

"When does the party start?"

3. Quand est-ce que le soleil se lève?

"When does the sun rise?"

4. Quand est-ce que le restaurant ouvre?

"When does the restaurant open?"

5. Quand est-ce que l'avion décolle?

"When does the plane take off?"

GRAMMAR

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T he Focus of T his Lesson is Asking About T ime

Use the following pattern to ask when something is going to happen.

[Quand + est-ce que + sujet + verbe conjugué?]

"When + is it that + subject + conjugated verb?"

1. Quand est-ce que le train arrive?

"When does the train arrive?"

First you have the adverb meaning "when." This is followed by the polite form of asking a
question, literally meaning "is it that." It's used quite similar to the English auxiliaries "do" or
"does." Finally, we have a complement, which is most often a subject (an article and a noun)
followed by a verb, and sometimes an extra complement.

Int er r ogat ive Adver b "When"

Quand is an interrogative adverb. Its main use is to talk about time. It is the equivalent of
"When?" in English.

A quelle heure is composed of the interrogative adverb quelle, which means "what" or
"which," and the noun heure, which means "hour." This is the expression for "What time?"

You can use Quand or A quelle heure in many different sentences (see below) to ask about a
meeting date. You can see that the sentences' structures are the same as ones seen before;
we just replaced the interrogative adverb with quand or a quelle heure.

For Example:

1. Quand peut-on se retrouver?

"When can we meet?"

2. Quand peut-on se donner rendez-vous?

"When can we meet?"

3. A quelle heure est le rendez-vous?

"What time is the meeting point?"

4. A quelle heure peut-on se voir?

"What time can I meet you?"

Quest ions: Const r uct ion

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To get information from someone, we can ask wh- questions or yes/no questions in French.

Asking Wh- Quest ions: Wh- questions are open questions (questions ouvertes). For these
questions, the answers can be different according to the context.

Examples wit h quand:

1. Quand pourras-tu sortir cette semaine?

"When will you be able to go out this week?"

2. Quand fais-tu ta soirée?

"When do you organiz e your party?

Review

So remember, to ask when something is going to happen, start with the adverb "when,"
followed by the polite form of asking a question, and what you want to know.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #6 - AS KI NG ABOUT T I ME 7

LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #7
Asking for a Reason

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 7
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?

2. Pourquoi est-ce que les gens mentent?

3. Pourquoi est-ce que la fille pleure?

4. Pourquoi est-ce que tu as fait ça?

5. Pourquoi est-ce qu'il ne peut pas venir?

6. Pourquoi est-ce qu'elles sont toujours en retard?

ENGLISH

1. Why do the children sing?

2. Why do people lie?

3. Why is the girl crying?

4. Why did you do this?

5. Why can't he come?

6. Why are they always late?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

être aussi difficile to be so hard verb phrase

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #7 - AS KI NG FOR A REAS ON 2
 ne pas manger to not eat verb phrase

apprendre le français to learn French verb phrase

être triste to be sad verb phrase

avoir peur to be scared verb phrase

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Pour quoi est -ce que c’est aussi Pour quoi est -ce que vous ne mangez
difficile? pas?

“Why is it so hard?” “Why aren’t you eating?"

Pour quoi est -ce que t u appr ends le Pour quoi est -ce qu’elles sont
fr ançais? t r ist es?

“Why do you learn French?" “Why are they sad?”

Pour quoi est -ce qu’il a peur ?

“Why is he scared?”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Pourquoi + est-ce que + complément?

"Why + is it that + complement?"

1. Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?

"Why do the children sing?"

Replace "complement " for : Wor d Class

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #7 - AS KI NG FOR A REAS ON 3
être aussi difficile "to be so hard" verb phrase

ne pas manger "to not eat" verb phrase

apprendre le français "to learn French" verb phrase

être triste "to be sad" verb phrase

avoir peur "to be scared" verb phrase

Sample Sent ences:

1. Pourquoi est-ce que c'est aussi difficile?

"Why is it so hard?"

2. Pourquoi est-ce que vous ne mangez pas?

"Why aren't you eating"?

3. Pourquoi est-ce que tu apprends le français?

"Why do you learn French"?

4. Pourquoi est-ce qu'elles sont tristes?

"Why are they sad?"

5. Pourquoi est-ce qu'il a peur?

"Why is he scared?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Asking About a Reason

Use the following pattern to ask about a reason.

[Pourquoi + est-ce que + complément?]

"Why + is it that + complement?"

1. Pourquoi est-ce que les enfants chantent?

"Why do the children sing?"

First you have the adverb meaning "why," followed by the polite form of asking a question,

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #7 - AS KI NG FOR A REAS ON 4
literally meaning "is it that." It's quite similar to the English auxiliary "do" or "does." Finally
there's a complement, which is mostly a subject (an article and a noun), followed a verb, and
sometimes an extra complement.

Int er r ogat ive Adver b "Why"

Pourquoi/parce que

To ask for an explanation or a reason for something, use the interrogative adverb pourquoi,
which means "why." The most common way to respond to a question with pourquoi is to use
parce que ("because"). Parce que is a subordinating conjunction and can begin a sentence.
Parce que introduces a cause, explanation, or motive and it explains why something is done.

Example:

1. A: Pourquoi tu es chez le docteur ?

B: Je suis chez le docteur parce que mon fils est malade.
A: "Why are you at the doctor's office?"
B: "I'm at the doctor's office because my son is sick."

2. A: Pourquoi tu es pauvre ?
B: Parce je n'ai pas d'argent, je suis pauvre.
A: "Why are you poor?"
B: "Because I don't have any money, I am poor."

Quest ions: Wor d Or der

St andar d Fr ench (question with est-ce que)

•
Est-ce que/est-ce qu'* + S + V + complement ?

1. Est-ce que vous parlez français ?

"Do you speak French?"

2. Est-ce que vous pouvez l'écrire ?

"Can you write it down?"

Infor mal Fr ench (intonation question)

•
S + V + complement ?

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1. Vous parlez français ?
"Do you speak French?"

2. Vous pouvez l'écrire ?

"Can you write it down?"

For mal Fr ench (subject-inverted question)

•
V-S** + complement ?

1. Parlez-vous français ?
"Do you speak French?"

2. Pouvez-vous l'écrire ?
"Can you write it down?"

* Use est-ce qu' when the subject starts with a vowel.

** Observe the hyphen between the verb and subject. We only invert the subject and verb in
questions when the subject is a personal pronoun (tu, il, etc.)

For Example:

French "English"

As-tu de la monnaie ? "Do you have change?"

Est-ce que vous êtes disponible ? "Are you available?"

Tu es à l'hôtel ? "Are you at the hotel?"

Pouvez-vous appeler un taxi ? "Can you call a taxi?"

Pourquoi n'es-tu pas à l'hôtel? "Why aren't you at the hotel?"

Pourquoi prend t-il le taxi ? "Why is he taking a taxi?"

Review

So remember, to ask about a reason, start with the adverb "why," followed by the polite form

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of asking a question, and what you want to know.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #8
Asking About Ownership

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
5 Grammar

# 8
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. À qui appartient ce parapluie?

2. À qui est cette veste?

3. À qui appartient cette gomme?

4. À qui est ce stylo?

5. À qui appartient ce téléphone?

6. À qui sont ces clés?

ENGLISH

1. Whose umbrella is this?

2. Whose jacket is this?

3. Whose eraser is this?

4. Whose pen is this?

5. Whose phone is this?

6. Whose keys are these?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

montre watch noun feminine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #8 - AS KI NG ABOUT OWNERS HI P 2
 chat cat noun masculine

livre book noun masculine

bague ring noun feminine

clé key noun feminine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

À qui est cet t e mont r e? À qui appar t ient ce chat ?

“Whose watch is this?” “Whose cat is this?”

Elle veut un chat . J 'ador e les chat s.

“She wants a cat.” "I love cats."

J 'ai mar ché sur mon chat . J 'aime les chat s.

"I stepped on my cat." "I love cats"

Les chat s noir s sont souvent Quels livr es aimes-t u?

suspect és de por t er malheur .
“Which books do you like?”
"Black cats are often thought to
bring misfortune."

À qui est ce livr e? Elle lit au moins un livr e par jour .

“Whose book is this?” "She reads at least one book every

day."

Ce livr e est assez amusant . J 'aime les livr es d'Hist oir e.

"T his book is pretty funny." "I like history books."

J 'ai lu t ous les livr es d'Agat ha L'aut eur de ce livr e est t r ès

Chr ist ie. populair e.

"I've read all the books by Agatha "T he author of this book is very
Christie." popular."

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À qui appar t ient cet t e bague? Ouvr ir la por t e avec la clé.

“Whose ring is this?” "T o open the doot with a key."

Ne per dez pas vos clés! Recevoir sa clef.

"Don't lose your keys!" "Getting your key. "

C'est la clé de la por t e d'ent r ée. J 'ai encor e per du mes clés !

"T his is the key to the front door." "I lost my keys, again !"

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

À qui + verbe conjugué + sujet?

"Whose + conjugated verb + subject?"

1. À qui appartient ce parapluie?

"Whose umbrella is this?"

Replace "subject " for : Wor d Class Gender

montre "watch" noun feminine

chat "cat" noun masculine

livre "book" noun masculine

bague "ring" noun feminine

clé "key" noun feminine

Sample Sent ences:

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #8 - AS KI NG ABOUT OWNERS HI P 4
1. À qui est cette montre?
"Whose watch is this?"

2. À qui appartient ce chat?

"Whose cat is this?"

3. À qui est ce livre?

"Whose book is this?"

4. À qui appartient cette bague?

"Whose ring is this?"

5. À qui sont ces écouteurs?

"Whose earphones are these?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Asking About Owner ship

Use the following pattern to ask whom something belongs to.

[À qui + verbe conjugué + sujet?]

"Whose + conjugated verb + subject?"

1. À qui appartient ce parapluie?

"Whose umbrella is this?"

First you have the pronoun "whose," followed by a verb conjugated in the third person, most
often "to belong to" or "to be," then a word meaning "this" or "these," and then a noun.

Int er r ogat ive Adver b "Whose"

In French, the interrogative pronoun "whose" is translated as two words: à qui.

The preposition à is used to express possession and the pronoun qui to ask about a person
(the owner, in this case).

Prepositions such as à ("at," "to," "in"), de ("of"), avec ("with"), and pour ("for") always precede
the interrogative qui. In French, a question never ends with a preposition.

For example:

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #8 - AS KI NG ABOUT OWNERS HI P 5
1. À qui est-ce?
"Whose is it?"

2. À qui est ce chien?

"Whose dog is this?"

3. Pour qui sont sont ces pommes?

"Who are these apples for?"

Some mor e examples wit h À qui:

1. À qui appartient cette voiture?

"Whose car is this?"

2. À qui est cette écharpe?

"Whose scarf is this?"

Review

So remember, to ask about ownership, start with the pronoun "whose," followed by the verb
"to belong to" or "to be," and the belonging you want to know about.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #8 - AS KI NG ABOUT OWNERS HI P 6
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #9
Asking About a Choice

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 9
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Quelle voiture aime-t-il?

2. Quel acteur aime-t-elle?

3. Quel cours aimes-tu?

4. Quelle robe aimes-tu?

5. Quels jeux n'aiment-ils pas?

6. Quel plat aimes-tu?

ENGLISH

1. Which car does he like?

2. Which actor does she like?

3. Which class do you like?

4. Which dress do you like?

5. Which games do they not like?

6. Which meal do you like?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

confiture jam noun feminine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #9 - AS KI NG ABOUT A CHOI CE 2
 sport sport noun masculine

livre book noun masculine

genre de musique kind of music phrase masculine

sucrerie sweet noun feminine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Quelle confit ur e aime-t -elle? Quel spor t aime-t -il?

“Which jam does she like?” “Which sport does he like?”

Quels livr es aimes-t u? À qui est ce livr e?

“Which books do you like?” “Whose book is this?”

Elle lit au moins un livr e par jour . Ce livr e est assez amusant .

"She reads at least one book every "T his book is pretty funny."
day."

J 'aime les livr es d'Hist oir e. J 'ai lu t ous les livr es d'Agat ha
Chr ist ie.
"I like history books."
"I've read all the books by Agatha
Christie."

L'aut eur de ce livr e est t r ès Quel genr e de musique aimez -vous?

populair e.
“Which kind of music do you like?”
"T he author of this book is very
popular."

Quelles sucr er ies aime-t -elle?

“Which sweets does she like?”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #9 - AS KI NG ABOUT A CHOI CE 3
Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Quel + nom + verbe "aimer" conjugué ?

"Which + noun + conjugated form of "to like"?"

1. Quelle voiture aime-t-il?

"Which car does he like?"

Replace "noun" for : Wor d Class Gender

confiture "jam" noun feminine

sport "sport" noun masculine

livre "book" noun masculine

genre de musique "kind of music" phrase masculine

sucrerie "sweet" noun feminine

Sample Sent ences

1. Quelle confiture aime-t-elle?

"Which jam does she like?"

2. Quel sport aime-t-il?

"Which sport does he like?"

3. Quels livres aimes-tu?

"Which books do you like?"

4. Quel genre de musique aimez-vous?

"Which kind of music do you like?"

5. Quelles sucreries aime-t-elle?

"Which sweets does she like?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Asking About a Choice

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Use the following pattern to ask about someone's preferences.

[Quel + nom + verbe aimer conjugué?]

"Which + noun + conjugated form of 'to like'?"

1. Quelle voiture aime-t-il?

"Which car does he like?"

First you have the adjective "which" modified in gender and number according to the
following noun. Next is the noun, and then the verb "to like" (interchangeable with "prefer" or
other similar verbs) conjugated according to the gender and number of the subject.

Int er r ogat ive Adver b "Which"

The question word quel is an interrogative adjective as it refers to a noun. Therefore, it agrees
in gender (feminine or masculine) and number (singular or plural) with its corresponding
noun.

Singular Plur al

Masculine Quel Quels

Feminine Quelle Quelles

Questions with quel are partial questions. They are named this way simply because the
answer concerns only part of a phrase and not the whole.

Example Sent ences

1. Quelle personne est invitée ?

"Who (literally: which person) is invited?"

2. Quelle est ton adresse ?

"What is your address?"

3. Quel est ton numéro de téléphone ?

"What is your phone number?"

4. Quelles sont vos dates de naissance ?

"What are your dates of birth?"

5. Quels jours vous préférez pour votre cours de Français ?

"Which days do you prefer for your French class?"

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To talk about likes, we use different verbs to express our degree of preference.

Infinit ive Fr ench "English T r anslat ion"

Bien aimer J'aime bien les échecs. "I like chess."

Aimer J'aime les aventures. "I love adventures."

Aimer beaucoup J'aime beaucoup les "I love novels a lot."

romans.

Apprécier J'apprécie votre amabilité. "I appreciate your

helpfulness."

Préférer Je préfère être en vacances. "I prefer to be on vacation."

Adorer J'adore les films "I'm fond of independent

indépendants. movies."

If you're confused with the verb aimer to talk about something you like but aren't fond of it
but rather simply enjoy, use instead J'aime bien as in

1. J'aime bien marcher.

"I like to walk."

2. J'aime bien lire.

"I like to read."

Review

So remember, to ask about a choice, start with the adjective "which," followed by a noun,
and then a conjugated verb according to the gender and number of the subject.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #9 - AS KI NG ABOUT A CHOI CE 6
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #10
Using the Verb "to Have"

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 10
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Tu as les cheveux très longs.

2. Tu as un joli collier.

3. Tu as le sens de l'humour.

4. Tu as de beaux yeux.

5. Tu n'as pas de lunettes de rechange.

6. As-tu un ordinateur portable?

ENGLISH

1. You have very long hair.

2. You have a pretty necklace.

3. You have a sense of humor.

4. You have pretty eyes.

5. You don't have any spare glasses.

6. Do you have a laptop?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

une jolie bague a pretty ring phrase feminine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #10 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O HAVE" 2
 huit frères et soeurs eight siblings phrase masculine

beaucoup
d’imagination a lot of imagination phrase feminine

femme adorable lovely wife phrase feminine

plusieurs choix multiple options phrase masculine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

T u as une jolie bague. T u as huit fr èr es et soeur s?

“You have a pretty ring.” “You have eight siblings?”

T u as beaucoup d’imaginat ion. T u as une femme ador able.

“You have a lot of imagination.” “You have a lovely wife.”

T u as plusieur s choix.

“You have multiple options.”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Tu + as + complément
"You + have + complement"

1. Tu as les cheveux très longs.

"You have very long hair."

Replace "complement " for : Wor d Class Gender

une jolie bague "a pretty ring" phrase feminine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #10 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O HAVE" 3
huit frères et soeurs "eight siblings" phrase masculine

beaucoup "a lot of phrase feminine

d'imagination imagination"

femme adorable "lovely wife" phrase feminine

plusieurs choix "multiple options" phrase masculine

Sample Sent ences:

1. Tu as une jolie bague

"You have a pretty ring."

2. Tu as huit frères et soeurs?

"You have eight siblings?"

3. Tu as beaucoup d'imagination.
"You have a lot of imagination."

4. Tu as une femme adorable.

"You have a lovely wife."

5. Tu as plusieurs choix.
"You have multiple options."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is T alking About Belongings

Use the following pattern to talk about belongings.

[Tu + as + complément]
"You + have + complement"

1. Tu as les cheveux très longs.

"You have very long hair."

First you have the pronoun, then the verb "to have," conjugated according to the pronoun,
and lastly the complement.

Ver b "T o Have"

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As with the verb être, the verb avoir is a basic, widely used and irregular verb. Its meaning is
"to have."

It can also be found in compound tenses such as le passé composé.

For mat ion: Pr ésent de l'indicat if

Singular

French "English"

*j'ai "I have"

tu as "You have" (informal register)

Il / elle a "He/She has"

Nous avons "We have"

Vous avez "You " *formal register, plural have

Ils ont "They have"

*Not e:

The personal pronoun for the first person singular has two forms:

1. the full form je

2. the contracted form j'

We only use this contracted form when the following verb begins with a vowel:

1. J'aime
"I love"

2. J'admire
"I admire."

In order to express your physical sensations about hunger and thirst, talk about your
possessions, or give other information, we use the verb avoir. It is as common as être and we
use it in many contexts such as:

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #10 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O HAVE" 5
Physical sensat ion

French "English"

J'ai faim. "I'm hungry."

J'ai soif. "I am thirsty."

J'ai mal à la tête. "I have a headache."

J'ai chaud. "I'm warm."

Age

French "English"

J'ai cinquante ans. "I'm 50 years old."

J'ai vingt-six ans. "I am 26."

Possessions

French "English"

J'ai un chien. "I have a dog."

J'ai deux stylos. "I have two pens."

J'ai trois frères. "I have three brothers."

Enumer at ion

French "English"

Il y a un stade. "There is a stadium."

Il y a des nuages. "There are clouds."

Il y a quelqu'un à la porte. "There is someone at the door."

Adject ives - Descr ibing an Object

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How t o how t o use adject ives:

1. In French, adjectives always have to agr ee wit h t he subject t hey'r e qualifying.

For example: C'est un jeu amusant, "It is a funny game." Here the noun jeu is
masculine, so the adjective amusant is also masculine.

2. With a feminine subject: C'est une fille amusante, "She's a funny girl." Here we add
an e to the adjective to make it feminine.

3. More examples: Gentil is masculine, gentille is feminine for "nice," "kind." Beau is
masculine, belle is feminine for "nice," "beautiful." Chaud is masculine, chaude is
feminine for "hot." Délicieux is masculine, délicieuse is feminine for "delicious."

4. To make it plural, you put an s at the end of the adjective. For example: Julie est
gentille means "Julie is kind." Mes amis sont gentils means "my friends are kind."
The pronunciation is the same despite the "s".

5. More examples: Mon jardin est grand means "My garden is big." Ma chambre est
grande means "My bedroom is big." Mes frères sont grands means "My brothers are
tall." Mes sœurs sont grandes means "My sisters are tall." You hear the e but not the
s in "grandes".

Some of the most common adjectives are:

French "English"

froid "cold"

près "near"

loin "far"

mignon "cute"

jolie "pretty"

beau "beautiful"

T ip: You may have noticed also that adjectives go after the noun in French. Whereas in
English we put the adjective before the noun, the French put it after. For example, "black cat"
is chat noir. However, there are some exceptions. These adjectives may be categoriz ed as
adjectives of Beauty, Age, Good and bad, and Siz e, which you can remember with the
mnemonic BAGS. They all go before the noun. Here they are:

French "English"

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #10 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O HAVE" 7
bon "good"

mauvais "bad"

grand "tall" "big"

petit "small," "little"

jeune "young"

vieux "old"

long "long"

beau "beautiful"

faux "false"

gros "big"

nouveau "new"

joli "nice," "beautiful"

Review

So remember, to talk about belongings, start with a pronoun, then the verb "to have"
conjugated according to the pronoun, and then the belongings you want to talk about.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #10 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O HAVE" 8
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #11
Talking About the Future

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
5 Grammar

# 11
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Je vais aller au cinéma demain.

2. Je vais lire un livre dans l'avion.

3. Je vais faire des crêpes pour le dîner.

4. Je vais emménager la semaine prochaine.

5. Je ne vais pas refaire la même erreur.

6. Vas-tu aller à une soirée Halloween cette année?

ENGLISH

1. I will go to the cinema tomorrow.

2. I will read a book on the plane.

3. I will make crêpes for dinner.

4. I will move in next week.

5. I won't make the same mistake again.

6. Will you go to a Halloween party this year?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

aller à la plage to go to the beach phrase

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #11 - T ALKI NG ABOUT T HE FUT URE 2
 faire la vaisselle to do the dishes phrase

dîner to have dinner verb

jouer to play verb

se promener to take a walk verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

J e vais aller à la plage. J e vais fair e la vaisselle.

“I will go to the beach.” “I will do the dishes.”

N'oublie pas de fair e la vaisselle avant J e ne fais pas la vaisselle. C'est mon
de sor t ir ! lave-vaisselle qui la fait !

"Don't forget to do the dishes "I don't do dishes. My dishwasher

before going out!" does it."

J ’ai dîné au r est aur ant . J e vais dîner chez mes amis.

“I had dinner at a restaurant.” “I will have dinner at my friends’

house.”

Ce soir , nous allons dîner chez les J e vais jouer à des jeux vidéos.
par ent s de ma copine.
“I will play video games.”
"T onight, we are having dinner at
my girlfriend's parents' place."

Nous voulons jouer . J ouer du piano.

“We want to play.” T o play the piano.

J e joue de la musique. Il ne faut jamais jouer avec les

sent iment s des aut r es.
I play music.
"You should never play with
people's feelings."

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Le pet it gar çon joue à des jeux vidéo J e joue le r ôle du méchant dans
t ous les soir s apr ès avoir t r availlé cet t e pièce.
dur .
"I play the role of the bad guy in
"T he little boy plays video games this play."
every evening after studying hard."

J e joue à l'har monica. J e vais me pr omener au par c.

"I play harmonica." “I will take a walk in the park.”

Beaucoup de gens se pr omènent au bor d de la Seine le dimanche.

"Many people walk along the river Seine on Sundays."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Je + vais + verbe à l'infinitif + complément

"I + will + infinitive form verb + complement"

1. Je vais aller au cinéma demain.

"I will go to the cinema tomorrow."

Replace "infinit ive for m ver b" for : Wor d Class

faire la vaisselle "to do the dishes" phrase

dîner "to have dinner" verb

jouer "to play" verb

se promener "to take a walk" verb

aller à la plage "to go to the beach" phrase

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #11 - T ALKI NG ABOUT T HE FUT URE 4
Sample Sent ences:

1. Je vais faire la vaisselle.

"I will do the dishes."

2. Je vais dîner chez mes amis.

"I will have dinner at my friends' house."

3. Je vais jouer à des jeux vidéos.

"I will play video games."

4. Je vais me promener au parc.

"I will take a walk in the park."

5. Je vais aller à la plage.

"I will go to the beach."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Descr ibing Somet hing in t he Fut ur e

Use the following pattern to talk about future plans.

[Je + vais + verbe à l'infinitif + complément]

I + will + infinitive form verb + complement

1. Je vais aller au cinéma demain.

"I will go to the cinema tomorrow."

First you have a pronoun, then the verb "to go" conjugated according to the pronoun. This
plays a role similar to the English auxiliary "will." Then we have a verb in the infinitive form,
and lastly the complement.

Fut ur e T ense

There are two future tenses in French: the futur simple, or "simple future," and the futur
proche, or "near future." The futur proche usually translates into English as "going +
infinitive." The futur proche is characteristic of spoken French but we may also use it in
informal writing.

For mat ion

We form the futur proche with the verb aller ("to go"), conjugated in the present tense, and

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #11 - T ALKI NG ABOUT T HE FUT URE 5
followed by an infinitive.

Futur proche = aller in the present tense + infinitive of the verb.

Fut ur Pr oche

Lire "to read"

French "English"

Je vais lire "I will read"

Tu vas lire "You (informal) will read"

Il /Elle/On va lire "He/She/It will read"

Nous allons lire "We will read"

Vous allez lire "You (formal, plural) will read"

Ils/Elles vont lire "They will read"

We use the futur proche to talk about something that we're sure will happen soon. It can
happen later in the day or even during the week, but we use it to talk about something that's
almost certain.

For Example:

1. Futur proche: Je vais aller au Japon. → "I'm going to go to Japan."

2. Futur: J'irai au Japon. → "I will go to Japan."

In the first case, it is certain, almost a fact. You're going to Japan next week or during the
next holiday. You've already booked your plane tickets, maybe a hotel: it is no longer a
hypothesis. In the second case, you don't know when (the precise date): nothing has been
organiz ed yet, but you will go one day before your death because you want to. It's more a
promise made to yourself.

Sample Sent ences

1. Il va demander une augmentation.

"He is going to ask for a raise."

2. Je vais déjeuner au restaurant.

"I'm going to eat lunch at the restaurant."

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #11 - T ALKI NG ABOUT T HE FUT URE 6
3. Vous allez être content.
"You are going to be happy."

Adver bs of T ime - Fut ur e

Adverbs in French are invariable, that is, they do not show number or gender. Their function
is to modify the meaning of verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

The following adverbs can be used to talk about the future.

Adver bs

1. quand
"when"

2. après
"after"

3. ensuite
"then"

4. jamais
"never"

5. bientôt
"soon"

6. demain
"tomorrow"

7. prochainement
"in the near future"

8. tard
"late"

9. tôt
"early"

10. encore
"still, yet, again"

Adver bial Locut ions

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Adverbial locutions are phrasal expressions that use adverbs. The following can be used to
talk about the future.

1. dès à présent
"from now on"

2. dès demain
"from tomorrow"

3. pendant la journée
"in the daytime"

4. du jour au lendemain
"overnight"

5. d'ici peu
"shortly, soon"

6. tout à l'heure
"in a while"

7. à l'avenir
"in the future"

8. pour lors
"for the time being"

9. après-demain
"the day after tomorrow"

Example Sent ences

1. Dès à présent nous parlerons anglais.

"We will speak in English from now on."

2. J'irai te voir après-demain.

"I will go to see you the day after tomorrow."

Review

So remember, to describe something in the future, start with a pronoun, then the verb "to go"
conjugated according to the pronoun, a verb in the infinitive form, and then the thing you
want to describe.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #11 - T ALKI NG ABOUT T HE FUT URE 8
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #12
Requesting Permission

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 12
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 FRENCH

1. Je peux aller aux toilettes?

2. Je peux emprunter un stylo?

3. Je peux m'asseoir ici?

4. Je peux utiliser tes ciseaux?

5. Je peux faire une pause?

6. Je peux me joindre à vous?

ENGLISH

1. Can I go to the bathroom?

2. Can I borrow a pen?

3. Can I sit here?

4. Can I use your scissors?

5. Can I take a break?

6. Can I join you?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

jouer to play verb

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 aider to help verb

venir to come verb

utiliser to use verb

manger to eat verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Aimer iez -vous jouer à ce jeu? J e peux jouer aux échecs.

“Would you like to play this game?” “I can play chess.”

J e peux jouer avec vous? Pour r iez -vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ?

“Can I play with you?” “Could you help me please?”

J e peux vous aider ? Aimer iez -vous venir à la fêt e

d’anniver sair e?
“Can I help you?”
“Would you like to come to the
birthday party?”

J e peux venir aussi? J e peux ut iliser un or dinat eur .

“Can I come too?” “I can use a computer.”

J e peux ut iliser vot r e t éléphone? J e peux manger les r est es d’hier ?

“Can I use your phone?” “Can I eat yesterday’s leftovers?”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Je + peux + verbe à l'infinitif + complément?

"Can + I + infinitive form verb + complement?"

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1. Je peux aller aux toilettes?
"Can I go to the bathroom?"

Replace "ver b" for : Wor d Class

jouer "to play" verb

aider "to help" verb

venir "to come" verb

utiliser "to use" verb

manger "to eat" verb

Sample Sent ences:

1. Je peux jouer avec vous?

"Can I play with you?"

2. Je peux vous aider?

"Can I help you?"

3. Je peux venir aussi?

"Can I come too?"

4. Je peux utiliser votre téléphone?

"Can I use your phone?"

5. Je peux manger les restes d'hier?

"Can I eat yesterday's leftovers?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Request ing Per mission

Use the following pattern to ask for permission about something.

[Je + peux + verbe à l'infinitif + complément?]

"Can + I + infinitive form verb + complement?"

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1. Je peux aller aux toilettes?
"Can I go to the bathroom?"

First you have the pronoun, then the verb "to be able to" conjugated according to the
pronoun, then a verb in the infinitive form, and lastly the complement.

Expr essions Used t o Request Per mission

Pouvoir is a semi-auxiliary verb when an infinitive verb follows it.

We use pouvoir to express ability or possibility, just like its English equivalent "can."

French "English"

je peux "I can"

tu peux "you can"

il/elle "he/she can"

on peut "we can" (informal)

nous pouvons "we can"

vous pouvez "you can" (plural or formal)

ils/elles peuvent "they can"

You can use pouvoir in a question when you speak to a salesman or a waiter in order to be
more polite. Be careful to recogniz e the exception in the conjugation of pouvoir for a
question: it is not peux-je?, but puis-je?

For Example:

1. Puis-je avoir du ketchup?

"Can I have some ketchup?"

2. Pouvez-vous m'apporter l'autre chemise?

"Can you bring me the other shirt?"

To be formal, use vous instead of tu with pouvoir, which becomes vous pouvez.

For mal Request s wit h Pouvoir

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To ask for someone's help in a more polite way, the present conditional is used to with the
verb pouvoir.

1. Pourrais-je...?
("Could I...?")

2. Pourrais-tu...?
("Could you...?")

3. Pourrait-il/elle...?
("Could he/she...?")

4. Pourrions-nous...?
("Could we...?")

5. Pourriez-vous...?
("Could you...?") (plural or formal)

6. Pourraient-ils/elles...?
("Could they...?")

For the first singular person je, you can also say puis-je...? which is polite but less formal
than Pourrais-je...?

Examples:

1. Pourrais-je avoir du thé s'il vous plaît?

"Could I have some tea please?"

2. Pourriez-vous m'aider s'il vous plaît?

"Could you help me please?"

3. Pourraient-ils le faire?
"Could they do it?"

T ip: To ask politely for something, "please" is added to a request. It can also be used to get
someone's attention.

Uses:

1. Get someone's attention:

Example: Monsieur, s'il vous plaît? - "Sir, please?"

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2. Polite request:

Example: Un verre d'eau, s'il vous plaît. - "A glass of water, please."

There are two forms:

Infor mal → s'il te plaît

For mal → s'il vous plaît.

The verb form plaît is the conjugation of plaire meaning "to please." Literally S'il te plaît or S'il
vous plaît means "if it pleases you."

Review

So remember, to request permission, start with a pronoun, then the verb "to be able to"
conjugated according to the pronoun, a verb in the infinitive form, and then the thing you
want to ask permission for.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #13
Expressing Certainty

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 13
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Je suis sûre que c'est la bonne réponse.

2. Je suis sûr qu'il sera content de son cadeau.

3. Je suis sûr qu'il ne l'a pas fait exprès.

4. Je suis sûr que tout le monde pense comme moi.

5. Je ne suis pas sûr que c'est une bonne idée.

6. Es-tu sûre que ça va marcher?

ENGLISH

1. I’m sure it's the right answer.

2. I'm sure he'll be happy about his present.

3. I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose.

4. I'm sure that everybody thinks like I do.

5. I am not sure that it's a good idea.

6. Are you sure that it's going to work?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

correct correct adjective

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 contrefait counterfeit adjective

escroc crook noun masculine

faisable doable adjective

vérité truth Noun

SAMPLE SENTENCES

J e suis sûr que c’est cor r ect . J e suis sûr e que c’est cont r efait .

“I am sure that it’s correct.” “I am sure that it’s counterfeit.”

J e suis sûr qu’il est un escr oc. J e suis sûr e que c’est faisable.

“I am sure that he is a crook.” “I am sure that it’s doable.”

J e suis sûr e que c’est la vér it é. Il dit t oujour s la vér it é.

“I am sure that it’s the truth.” "He always tells the truth."

Elle dit t oujour s la vér it é !

"She always says the truth!"

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the fourth
element:

Pattern

Je suis sûr(e) que + sujet + verbe conjugué + complément

"I am sure that + subject + conjugated verb + complement"

1. Je suis sûre que c'est la bonne réponse.

"I'm sure it's the right answer."

Replace "complement " for : Wor d Class Gender

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vérité "truth" noun feminine

correct "correct" adjective

contrefait "counterfeit" adjective

escroc "crook" noun masculine

faisable "doable" adjective

Sample Sent ences:

1. Je suis sûre que c'est la vérité.

"I am sure that it's the truth."

2. Je suis sûr que c'est correct.

"I am sure that it's correct."

3. Je suis sûre que c'est contrefait.

"I am sure that it's counterfeit."

4. Je suis sûr qu'il est un escroc.

"I am sure that he is a crook."

5. Je suis sûre que c'est faisable.

"I am sure that it's doable."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Expr essing Cer t aint y.

Use the following pattern to say that you are sure about something.

[Je suis sûr(e) que + sujet + verbe conjugué + complément]

"I am sure that + subject + conjugated verb + complement"

1. Je suis sûre que c'est la bonne réponse.

"I'm sure it's the right answer."

First you have the expression "I am sure that." The writing of the word "sure" varies
depending on if the speaker is a man or a woman. Then comes the subject, followed by a
verb conjugated in gender and number according to the subject, and lastly the complement.

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Expr ession "I'm sur e"

Être sûr means "To be sure."

Être is a verb meaning "to be" and sûr is an adjective meaning "sure." Être sûr (mas.) or Être
sûre (fem.) may require the subjunctive, depending on whether it is used affirmatively,
negatively, or interrogatively.

1. Je suis sûr qu'il va pleuvoir demain.

"I'm sure it's going to rain tomorrow."

2. Je suis sûr qu'il ment.

"I'm sure he's lying."

3. Je ne suis pas sûr qu'il mente. (subjunctive)

"I'm not sure he's lying."

4. Es-tu sûr qu'il mente ? (subjunctive)

"Are you sure he's lying?"

If you want to speak formally you may replace sûr with certain:

1. Je suis certain qu'il ment .

"I'm sure he is lying."

In the feminine form, it's certaine.

Ot her expr essions t o expr ess cer t aint y:

1. ne pas douter
"to not doubt"

2. être persuadé
"to be persuaded"

3. être convaincu
"to be convinced"

4. affirmer
"to assess"

5. constater
"to state"

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6. assurer
"to assure"

Examples:

1. Je ne doute pas que tes intentions sont bonnes.

"I do not doubt that your intentions are good."

2. Je suis persuadée que c'est de la bonne qualité.

"I'm persuaded that it is good quality."

3. Mon ami est convaincu que les commerces locaux fonctionnent bien.
"My friend is convinced that local commerce function well."

4. Il affirme que j'ai choisi la bonne option.

"He assesses that I choose the correct option."

5. Tu constates que c'etait une fraude.

"You state that it was a fraud."

6. Le gérant du magasin m'assure qu'il me remboursera.

"The store manager assures me that he will reimburse me."

Review

So remember, to express certainty, start with the expression "I'm sure that," followed by a
subject and a verb conjugated according to that subject, and then the thing you're positive
about.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #14
Talking About the Past

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
4 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
5 Grammar

# 14
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Je suis allée à la poste ce matin.

2. Je suis allée à la plage.

3. Je suis allée chez le coiffeur.

4. Je suis allé chez mon ami.

5. Je ne suis pas allée à la mairie hier.

6. Es-tu allé acheter du pain?

ENGLISH

1. I went to the post office this morning.

2. I went to the beach.

3. I went to the hairdresser's.

4. I went to my friend's house.

5. I didn't go to my city hall yesterday.

6. Did you go buy bread?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

voir to see verb

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 dîner to have dinner verb

manger to eat verb

faire to do verb

aller to go verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

J ’ai vu un film au cinéma. Elles ont vu des animaux sauvages.

“I saw a movie at the cinema.” "T hey saw wild animals."

J ’ai dîné au r est aur ant . J e vais dîner chez mes amis.

“I had dinner at a restaurant.” “I will have dinner at my friends’

house.”

Ce soir , nous allons dîner chez les J ’ai mangé une pomme.
par ent s de ma copine.
“I ate an apple.”
"T onight, we are having dinner at
my girlfriend's parents' place."

Nous sommes supposés manger au J e mange un sandwich.

moins t r ois fois par jour .
"I am eating a sandwich."
"We are supposed to eat at least
three times a day."

Vous mangez le déjeuner à midi ? J ’ai fait des cour ses au

super mar ché.
"You eat lunch at noon?"
“I shopped at the supermarket.”

J e suis allée à une fêt e. Comment allons-nous là-bas?

“I went to a party.” “How do we go there?”

Qui va à la plage le week-end J e suis allée à la clinique vét ér inair e.

pr ochain?
"I went to the animal hospital."
"Who is going to the beach next
weekend?"

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Ils vont au par c le dimanche. Mar ie va en Egypt e.

"T hey go to the park on Sundays." "Mary goes to Egypt."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Je + verbe conjugué au passé composé + complément

"I + conjugated verb in the perfect tense + complement"

1. Je suis allée à la poste ce matin.

"I went to the post office this morning."

Conjugat e t he ver b in t he per fect t ense: Wor d Class

voir "to see" verb

dîner "to have dinner" verb

manger "to eat" verb

faire "to do" verb

aller "to go" verb

Sample Sent ences:

1. J'ai vu un film au cinéma.

"I saw a movie at the cinema."

2. J'ai dîné au restaurant.

"I had dinner at a restaurant."

3. J'ai mangé une pomme.

"I ate an apple."

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4. J'ai fait des courses au supermarché.
"I shopped at the supermarket."

5. Je suis allée à une fête.

"I went to a party."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is T alking about Somet hing in t he Past

Use the following pattern to talk about something that happened in the past.

Je + verbe conjugué au passé composé + complément

"I + conjugated verb in the perfect tense + complement"

1. Je suis allée à la poste ce matin.

"I went to the post office this morning."

First you have a pronoun, then a verb conjugated in the perfect tense. The writing of the verb
varies depending on if the speaker is a man or a woman. Finally you have the complement.

Past T ense

Le passé composé is used to describe:

• completed actions at the time of speaking, a result.

• completed actions in the past.

For mat ion

Le passé composé is a compound tense with the auxiliary être or avoir.

The auxiliary être is only used with

1. t he pr onominal ver bs (se lever - "to wake up, stand up" / se doucher - "to take a
shower" / s'ennuyer - "to be bored")

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2. 14 ver bs (most of them indicating movement or change of state). aller - "to go" / venir -
"to come" / naitre - "to be born" / mourir - "to die" / devenir - "to become" / arriver - "to
arrive" / partir - "to leave" / passer - "to go by" / rester - "to stay" / retourner - "to return" /
entrer - "to come in" / sortir - "to go out" / monter - "to go up, to ride" / descendre - "to go
down."

An easy way to remember them is to think about "DR

1. Devenir

2. Revenir

3. Monter

4. Rentrer

5. Sortir

6. Venir

7. Arriver

8. Naître

9. Descendre

10. Entrer

11. Retourner

12. T omber

13. Rester

14. Aller

15. Mourir

16. Partir

At the passé composé, the auxiliary être is conjugated at the present tense followed by the
past participle of the main verb.

Example: partir → Elle est partie.

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The past par t iciple agrees in gender and number wit h t he subject when the auxiliary
être is used in the passé composé.

Example:

1. Ils sont arrivés.

"They arrived."

Sample Sent ences:

1. Marie et Virginie sont montées dans la voiture.

"Mary and Virginie went in the car."

2. Nous sommes partis en vacances.

"We left for vacation."

3. Je suis allée au lit.

"I went to bed."

4. Elles sont retournées à la plage.

"They returned to the beach."

Not es

!!! ATTENTION !!!

If the verbs ENTRER / SORTIR /PASSER / MONTER / DESCENDRE / RETOURNER are used
with an object , the auxiliary avoir needs to be used.

1. J'ai rentré la voiture dans le garage.

"I put the car in the garage."

2. Nous avons monté nos bagages au 2ème étage.

"We put our luggage up stairs on the 2nd floor."

3. Vous avez retourné les crêpes.

"You turned upside down the crêpes."

Adver bs of T ime - Past

Adverbs in French are invariable, that is, they do not show number or gender. Their function
is to modify the meaning of verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Adverbs are important because they locate the verbal action, in this case temporally. That is,

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adverbs of time modify the verbal action in such a way that the temporal aspect of the action
gains dimension. For example, if we say:

1. Martin aime nager

"Martin likes to swim."

*We know nothing about when Martin likes to swim. We simply express the pleasure he takes
as a fact without any temporal aspect.

However, if we add an adverb, we can modify the action of "liking." As in:

1. Martin aime nager le matin.

"Martin likes swimming in the morning."

The following adverbs can be used to talk about the past.

Adver bs

1. avant-hier
"the day before yesterday"

2. avant
"before"

3. hier
"yesterday"

4. quand
"when"

5. après
"after"

Adver bial Locut ions

Adverbial locutions are phrasal expressions that use adverbs. The following can be used to
talk about the past.

1. à la tombée de la nuit
"at nightfall"

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2. pendant la journée
"in the daytime"

3. du jour au lendemain
"overnight"

4. dans l'après-midi
"in the afternoon"

5. dans la matinée
"in the morning"

6. pendant la nuit
"at night"

Example Sent ences

Je suis allé chez toi à la tombée de la nuit.

"I went to your house at nightfall."

Il a gagné une fortune du jour au lendemain.

"He won a fortune overnight."

Review

So remember, to talk about something that happened in the past, start with a pronoun, then
a verb in the past tense, and then the thing you want to talk about.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #15
Giving Advice, Part 1

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 15
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Tu devrais aller chez le dentiste.

2. Tu devrais te coucher plus tôt.

3. Tu devrais ranger ta chambre.

4. Tu devrais manger 5 fruits et légumes par jour.

5. Tu ne devrais pas regarder trop la télé.

6. Devrais-je faire plus de sport?

ENGLISH

1. You should go to the dentist.

2. You should go to sleep earlier.

3. You should clean your bedroom.

4. You should eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day.

5. You shouldn't watch too much TV.

6. Should I do more sports?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

se renseigner inquire verb

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 se reposer rest verb

penser think verb

parler speak verb

voyager travel verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

T u devr ais t e r enseigner d’abor d. T u devr ais t e r eposer aujour d’hui.

“You should inquire first.” “You should rest today.”

T u devr ais penser à t on avenir . T u devr ais par ler plus lent ement .

“You should think about your “You should speak slower.”

future.”

T u devr ais voyager plus souvent .

“You should travel more often.”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Tu devrais + verbe à l'infinitif + complément

"You should + infinitive form verb + complement"

1. Tu devrais aller chez le dentiste.

"You should go to the dentist."

Replace "infinit ive ver b for m" for : Wor d Class

se renseigner "inquire" verb

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se reposer "rest" verb

penser "think" verb

parler "speak" verb

voyager "travel" verb

Sample Sent ences:

1. Tu devrais te renseigner d'abord.

"You should inquire first."

2. Tu devrais te reposer aujourd'hui.

"You should rest today."

3. Tu devrais penser à ton avenir.

"You should think about your future."

4. Tu devrais parler plus lentement.

"You should speak slower."

5. Tu devrais voyager plus souvent.

"You should travel more often."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Giving Advice

Use the following pattern to give advice.

[Tu devrais + verbe à l'infinitif + complément]

"You should + infinitive form verb + complement"

1. Tu devrais aller chez le dentiste.

"You should go to the dentist."

First you have the expression "you should," then a verb in the infinitive form followed by a
complement.

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"Should" in Fr ench, t he Condit ional Pr esent

When an event takes place or is going to occur, we are confident when speaking of it and
use the present or future tense. But in a hypothetical world, under conditions that make a
situation less likely, we use the conditional tense to express other eventualities and
alternative propositions. That is the case, when we want to give advice to someone. We use
the conditional not only because we are not sure about the other person's real intentions, but
also to sound more polite.

Let's see how to conjugate the verb devoir:

Pr onoun Ending Devoir

je -ais devrais

tu -ais devrais

il -ait devrait

nous -ions devrions

vous -iez devrriez

ils -aient devraient

Let's see some examples:

1. Tu devrais boire un thé chaud.

"You should drink a hot tea."

2. Tu devrais essayer ce restaurant.

"You should try this restaurant."

Here are other verbs conjugated in the conditional present:

Parler Finir Étudier Manger Être

"t o t alk" "t o "t o "t o eat " "t o be"
Pr onoun Ending
finish" st udy"

je -ais parlerais finirais étudierais mangerais serais

tu -ais parlerais finirais étudierais mangerais serais

il -ait parlerait finirait étudierait mangerait serait

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nous -ions parlerions finirions étudierion mangerio serions
s ns

vous -iez parleriez finiriez étudieriez mangeriez seriez

ils -aient parleraient finiraient étudieraie mangeraie seraient

nt nt

T he Gr ammat ical Usage of t he Condit ional Pr esent :

Supposition: Si + imparfait (condition), conditional present

For Example:

1. Si j'avais de l'argent, je mangerais du caviar tous les jours.

"If I had money, I'd eat caviar everyday.

Polite request : subject + conditional

For Example:

1. Je voudrais trois éclairs au chocolat,s'il vous plaît.

"I would like three chocolate eclairs, please."

2. Si tu pouvais venir dans l'heure qui suit, ce serait parfait.

"If you could come in the next hour, that would be perfect."

Review

So remember, to give advice, start with the expression "you should," followed by a verb in the
infinitive form, and then the thing you advise to do.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #15 - GI VI NG ADVI CE, PART 1 6
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #16
Using the Auxiliary Verb "Can"

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 16
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Je peux manger avec des baguettes.

2. Je peux faire deux choses à la fois.

3. Je peux écrire des deux mains.

4. Je peux m'adapter rapidement.

5. Je ne peux pas jongler.

6. Peux-tu parler français?

ENGLISH

1. I can eat with chopsticks.

2. I can do two things at once.

3. I can write with both hands.

4. I can adapt quickly.

5. I can't juggle.

6. Can you speak French?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

réparer to fix verb

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #16 - US I NG T HE AUXI LI ARY VERB "CAN" 2
 dormir to sleep verb

jouer to play verb

cuisiner to cook verb

utiliser to use verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

J e peux r épar er des voit ur es. Il se peut que je dor me chez mes
amis ce soir .
“I can fix cars.”
“I might sleep at my friends’ house
tonight.”

J e peux dor mir assis. Aimer iez -vous jouer à ce jeu?

“I can sleep sitting.” “Would you like to play this game?”

J e peux jouer aux échecs. J e peux jouer avec vous?

“I can play chess.” “Can I play with you?”

J e peux cuisiner sans r ecet t e. J e peux ut iliser un or dinat eur .

“I can cook without a recipe.” “I can use a computer.”

J e peux ut iliser vot r e t éléphone?

“Can I use your phone?”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Je peux + verbe à l'infinitif + complément

"I can + infinitive verb form + complement"

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #16 - US I NG T HE AUXI LI ARY VERB "CAN" 3
Je peux manger avec des baguettes.
"I can eat with chopsticks."

Replace "infinit ive ver b for m" for : Wor d Class

dormir "sleep" verb

jouer "play" verb

cuisiner "cook" verb

utiliser "use" verb

réparer "fix" verb

Sample Sentences:

1. Je peux dormir assis.

"I can sleep sitting."

2. Je peux jouer aux échecs.

"I can play chess."

3. Je peux cuisiner sans recette.

"I can cook without a recipe."

4. Je peux utiliser un ordinateur.

"I can use a computer."

5. Je peux réparer des voitures.

"I can fix cars."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Expr essing your Abilit y t o do Somet hing

Use the following pattern to express your ability to do something.

[Je peux + verbe à l'infinitif + complément]

"I can + infinitive verb form + complement"

1. Je peux manger avec des baguettes.

"I can eat with chopsticks."

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #16 - US I NG T HE AUXI LI ARY VERB "CAN" 4
First you have the expression "I can," then a verb in the infinitive form followed by a
complement.

T he Auxiliar y Ver b "Can" - Pouvoir

The verb pouvoir is mostly used to express a capacity. If you are "able to do something" or if
you "can do" it, you'll use pouvoir. The verb after pouvoir is always in the infinitive.

You will have t o follow t his pat t er n:

• Subject + verb pouvoir + verb in the infinitive + the complement

For Example:

1. Je peux faire cet exercice.

"I can do this exercise."

2. Nous pouvons dormir dans cette pièce.

"We can sleep in this room."

Ver bs in t he Infinit ive For m - Review

The infinitive is the form of the verb you will find in the dictionary. It exists in almost every
language. It's the base form of the verb we use when introducing a new verb. We also use this
form when the verb is not conjugated because there is no subject.

For Example:

1. Travailler dans un restaurant est difficile.

"Working in a restaurant is difficult."

2. Réserver une table en français est impossible.

"It's impossible to book a table in French."

Or we use it because the subject is already conjugating another verb.

For Example:

1. Jacques aime travailler dans cette école.

"Jacques likes to work in this school."

In this last example, Jacques is the subject of aimer, so we use the conjugated form aime, but

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #16 - US I NG T HE AUXI LI ARY VERB "CAN" 5
the noun Jacques can only conjugate one verb, so the second one, travailler, stays in the
infinitive form, even though Jacques is also the one working. Here are a few more examples.
Remember to pay attention to the way we use these words in French.

1. Je suis désolé de te laisser beaucoup de messages.

"I'm sorry for leaving you lots of messages."

2. J'espère te parler bientôt.

"I hope to speak to you soon."

Adver bs - Review

In French, as in English, an adverb describes the action of a verb. It answers such questions
as 'where,' 'when,' 'how,' 'how long,' or 'how often.' Adverbs are invariable and may be used
with almost all verbs.

For mat ion:

French adverbs are usually formed by adding -ment to the end of the feminine adjective

Adject ive Adver b English

heureuse heureusement happily

facile facilement easily

franche franchement frankly

parfaite parfaitement perfectly

However, if masculine singular for m of adjectives that end wit h a vowel -ment is added.
Note the exception gaiement which is derived from the adjective gai ("cheerful").

Adject ive Adver b English

vrai vraiment really

agréable agréablement nicely

joli joliment prettily

Common adver bs

Following is a list of frequently used adverbs, categoriz ed by type:

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #16 - US I NG T HE AUXI LI ARY VERB "CAN" 6
manner bien, "well" mal, "badly" vite, "quickly"

manner souvent, "often" quelquefois, toujours, "always"

"sometimes"

t ime jamais, "never" tôt, "early" tard, "late"

time bientôt, "soon" aujourd'hui, "today" hier, "yesterday"

time maintenant, "now" déjà, "already" demain, "tomorrow"

place dedans, "inside" dehors, "outside" ici, "here"

place là, "there" partout, quelque part,

"everywhere" "somewhere"

quant it y or beaucoup, "a lot" très, "very" trop, "too much"

degr ee

quantity or degree assez, "enough" peu, "little," "not peut-être, "maybe"

much"

Review

So remember, to express your ability to do something, start with the expression "I can,"
followed by a verb in the infinitive form, and what you can do.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #16 - US I NG T HE AUXI LI ARY VERB "CAN" 7
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #17
Apologizing Politely

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 17
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour votre perte.

2. Je suis sincèrement désolée pour cette mauvaise nouvelle.

3. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour son comportement.

4. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour ce malentendu.

5. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour le retard.

6. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour l'accident.

ENGLISH

1. I am truly sorry for your loss.

2. I am truly sorry for the bad news.

3. I am truly sorry for his behavior.

4. I am truly sorry for this misunderstanding.

5. I am truly sorry for the delay.

6. I am truly sorry for the accident.

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

malentendu misunderstanding noun masculine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #17 - APOLOGI Z I NG POLI T ELY 2
 comportement behavior noun masculine

désagrément inconvenience noun masculine

dérangement disturbance noun masculine

nouvelles news noun feminine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

J e suis sincèr ement désolée pour ce J e suis sincèr ement désolé pour le
malent endu. compor t ement déplacé de mes
enfant s.
“I am truly sorry for this
misunderstanding.” “I am truly sorry for the
inappropriate behavior of my
children.”

J e suis sincèr ement désolée pour le Le mar at hon est un désagr ément
désagr ément . chaque année.

“I am truly sorry for the "T he marathon is an inconvenience

inconvenience.” every year."

J e suis sincèr ement désolé pour le J e suis sincèr ement désolée pour
dér angement . ces mauvaises nouvelles.

“I am truly sorry for the “I am truly sorry for the bad news.”
disturbance.”

Vous connaissez la bonne nouvelle?

"Do you know the good news?"

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #17 - APOLOGI Z I NG POLI T ELY 3
Je suis sincèrement désolé(e) + pour + complément

"I am truly sorry + for + complement"

1. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour votre perte.

"I am truly sorry for your loss."

Replace "complement " for : Wor d Class Gender

malentendu "misunderstanding noun masculine

"

comportement "behavior" noun masculine

désagrément "inconvenience" noun masculine

dérangement "disturbance" noun masculine

nouvelles "news" noun feminine

Sample Sent ences:

1. Je suis sincèrement désolée pour ce malentendu.

"I am truly sorry for this misunderstanding."

2. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour le comportement déplacé de mes enfants.

"I am truly sorry for the inappropriate behavior of my children."

3. Je suis sincèrement désolée pour le désagrément.

"I am truly sorry for the inconvenience."

4. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour le dérangement.

"I am truly sorry for the disturbance."

5. Je suis sincèrement désolée pour ces mauvaises nouvelles.

"I am truly sorry for the bad news."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Apologiz ing in For mal Sit uat ions

Use the following pattern to apologiz e formally.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #17 - APOLOGI Z I NG POLI T ELY 4
[Je suis sincèrement désolé(e) + pour + complément]

"I am truly sorry + for + complement"

1. Je suis sincèrement désolé pour votre perte.

"I am truly sorry for your loss."

First you have the expression "I am truly sorry." The writing of "sorry" varies depending on if
the speaker is a man or a woman. Then comes the preposition "for," and lastly the
complement.

Expr essions for Apologiz ing Polit ely

In French you can use different expressions to apologiz e yourself:

Expression Note

We use this phrase when we want to get by

someone, when we want to apologiz e for
Pardon - "Sorry" bumping into someone, or when we don't
understand what someone says.

Formal.
We also use this phrase to get by someone,
but it is a bit stronger and a bit more
forceful without losing any politeness. We
also use it to apologiz e for oneself in a
more emphatic way than pardon. Whereas
we can say pardon in passing, just like
Excusez-moi. - "Excuse me."
"excuse me" in English, we use excusez-
moi to communicate our apology directly
to a particular person. You can only use
excusez-moi before a sentence explaining
what you are apologiz ing for, just like
pardon.

Excuse-moi. - "Excuse me." Casual form of Excusez-moi.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #17 - APOLOGI Z I NG POLI T ELY 5
 f you really want to apologiz e for
something, it might be better to use a
different phrase.
je suis désolé. It means "I am sorry" and
Je suis désolé(e). - "I'm sorry." can be used in both formal and informal
situations.

The pronunciation of either désolé (m.) or

désolée (f.) is the same.

Ce n'était pas intentionnel. - "It was not

intentional," "I didn't mean it."

1. Excusez-moi, je ne parle pas Français.

"Excuse-me, I don't speak French."

2. Pardon, je ne parle pas Français.

"Sorry, I don't speak French."

3. Je suis désolé, mais je ne sais pas.

"I"m sorry, but I don't know."

Review

So remember, to apologiz e formally, first start with the expression "I am truly sorry." Next is
the preposition "for," and last the thing that you are sorry about.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #17 - APOLOGI Z I NG POLI T ELY 6
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #18
Expressing Uncertainty

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 18
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Il se peut que je fasse les courses plus tard.

2. Il se peut que je travaille cet été.

3. Il se peut que j'arrive en retard.

4. Il se peut que j'aille à la bibliothèque plus tard.

5. Il se peut que je ne prenne pas ce bus.

6. Se peut-il que tu aies oublié le rendez -vous?

ENGLISH

1. I might go grocery shopping later.

2. I might work this summer.

3. I might be late.

4. I might go to the library later.

5. I might not take this bus.

6. Might it be that you forgot the appointment?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

dormir to sleep verb

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #18 - EXPRES S I NG UNCERT AI NT Y 2
 finir to finish verb

avoir to have verb

être to be verb

aller to go verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Il se peut que je dor me chez mes J e peux dor mir assis.

amis ce soir .
“I can sleep sitting.”
“I might sleep at my friends’ house
tonight.”

Il se peut que je finisse de t r availler Il se peut que j’aie oublié d’ar r oser
t ar d demain. les plant es.

“I might finish work late tomorrow.” “I might have forgotten to water

the plants.”

Il va y a avoir du monde chez moi Il se peut que je sois meilleur e en

demain. fr ançais qu’en allemand.

"T here will be a lot of people at my “I might be better at French than

place tomorrow." German.”

Il se peut que j’aille à Par is l’année pr ochaine.

“I might go to Paris next year.”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Il se peut que je + verbe au subjonctif + complément

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #18 - EXPRES S I NG UNCERT AI NT Y 3
"It may be that I / I might + verb (subjunctive) + complement"

1. Il se peut que je fasse les courses plus tard.

"I might go grocery shopping later."

Replace "ver b (subjunct ive)" for : Wor d Class Gender

dormir "sleep" verb /

finir "finish" verb /

avoir "have" verb /

être "be" verb /

aller "go" verb /

Sample Sent ences:

1. Il se peut que je dorme chez mes amis ce soir.

"I might sleep at my friends' house tonight."

2. Il se peut que je finisse de travailler tard demain.

"I might finish work late tomorrow."

3. Il se peut que j'aie oublié d'arroser les plantes.

"I might have forgotten to water the plants."

4. Il se peut que je sois meilleure en français qu'en allemand.

"I might be better at French than German."

5. Il se peut que j'aille à Paris l'année prochaine.

"I might go to Paris next year."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Expr essing Possibilit y

Use the following pattern to say that you might do something.

[Il se peut que je + verbe au subjonctif + complément]

"It may be that I / I might + verb (subjunctive) + complement"

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #18 - EXPRES S I NG UNCERT AI NT Y 4
1. Il se peut que je fasse les courses plus tard.
"I might go grocery shopping later."

First you have the expression "it may be that I." This is followed by a verb in the subjunctive
form modified in gender and number according to the subject, and lastly the complement.

Expr essing Possibilit y wit h Imper sonal Ver bs

There are different ways to express possibility in French. In this lesson we'll see the
impersonal verbs.

Il est possible que ("it is possible that") and Il se peut que ("It may be that/might") refer to an
uncertainty and are therefore followed by a subject and a verb at the subjunctive. For
example, in the phrase Il est possible que/Il se peut que ma grand-mère soit là ("My grandma
might be there."), the verb être is at the subjunctive present.

Il est possible que / Il se peut que + subject + subjunct ive*.

For Example:

1. Il se peut que je ne vienne pas.

"I might not come."

2. Il se peut qu'ils restent là.

"They might stay here."

3. Il se peut qu'à 16 heures je sorte de la maison.

"At four o'clock p.m., I might get out of the house."

*The subjunctive mood is a verb tense that we only use in particular cases. It follows some
specific verbs that express personal feelings such as regret, doubt, wish, necessity,
possibility, etc. Commonly used ones are vouloir, regretter, souhaiter, falloir, etc.

Some are followed by the subjunctive only in the negative form: penser, imaginer, croire, etc.

Here is the subjunctive present conjugation of four of the most used irregular verbs:

Être - "t o be" Avoir - "t o have" Aller - "t o go" Faire - "t o do"
que je sois que j'aie que j'aille que je fasse
que tu sois que tu aies que tu ailles que tu fasses
qu'il soit qu'il ait qu'il aille qu'il fasse
que nous soyons que nous ayons que nous allions que nous fassions
que vous soyez que vous ayez que vous alliez que vous fassiez
qu'ils soient qu'ils aient qu'ils aillent qu'ils fassent

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #18 - EXPRES S I NG UNCERT AI NT Y 5
Ot her Expr essions t o Expr ess Uncer t aint y

In French, a hypothesis can be expressed in many different ways, such as the conditional
mood, for example. In this lesson, we'll see how to use words expressing a hypothesis:

1. peut-être
("maybe/perhaps")

2. sans doute
("undoubtedly")

3. probablement
("probably")

4. sûrement
("very probably")

All these words are used as adverbs and are placed just after the verb or are used just as
nominal sentences to answer a question about an opinion.

The formation is as follows:

[subject] + [verb] + [hypothesis word]

Q: Tu crois qu'elle dort déjà ?

A: Probablement.

Q: "Do you think she's already sleeping?"

A: "Probably."

Q: Tu penses qu'il va pleuvoir demain?

A: "Peut-être."

Q: Do you think it will rain tomorrow?

A: "Maybe."

Even though sans doute literally means "without doubt," it's usually used as "probably,"
when someone is almost sure of something.

For example:

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #18 - EXPRES S I NG UNCERT AI NT Y 6
1. Je vais sûrement faire des travaux de rénovation dans la maison.
"I'll very probably do some renovation work in my house."

2. Elle doit sans doute être déjà rentrée chez elle.

"She's probably already home."

3. Le train est probablement à l'heure.

"The train is probably on time."

Review

So remember, to express possibility, first start with the expression "it may be that I." Next is a
verb in the subjunctive form modified in gender and number according to the subject, and
last what you might do.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #18 - EXPRES S I NG UNCERT AI NT Y 7
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #19
Using the Verb "to Sound"

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 19
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Cette musique sonne bien.

2. Ces compliments sonnent sincères.

3. Cette idée sonne merveilleuse!

4. Ce chauchemar sonne terrifiant.

5. Cette proposition ne sonne pas trop mal.

6. Cet argument sonne-t-il convaincant?

ENGLISH

1. This music sounds good.

2. These compliments sound sincere.

3. This idea sounds wonderful!

4. This nightmare sounds terrifying.

5. This offer doesn't sound too bad.

6. Does this argument sound convincing?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

plan plan noun masculine

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #19 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O S OUND" 2
 excuse apology noun feminine

argument argument noun masculine

nom name noun masculine

idée idea noun feminine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Ce plan sonne diabolique. Ces excuses sonnent faux.

“T his plan sounds devilish.” “T hese apologies sound fake.”

Cet ar gument sonne convaincant . Ce nom sonne ét r ange.

“T his argument sounds convincing.” “T his name sounds weird.”

Quel est vot r e nom? Cet t e idée sonne int ér essant e.

"What's your name?" “T his idea sounds interesting.”

J e n'en ai aucune idée.

"I don't have any idea."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Ce + nom + sonne + adjectif

"This + noun + sounds + adjective"

Cette musique sonne bien.

"This music sounds good."

Replace "noun" for : Wor d Class Gender

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #19 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O S OUND" 3
nom "name" noun masculine

idée "idea" noun feminine

plan "plan" noun masculine

excuse "apology" noun feminine

argument "argument" noun masculine

Sample Sent ences

1. Ce nom sonne étrange.

"This name sounds weird."

2. Cette idée sonne intéressante.

"This idea sounds interesting."

3. Ce plan sonne diabolique.

"This plan sounds devilish."

4. Ces excuses sonnent faux.

"These apologies sound fake."

5. Cet argument sonne convaincant.

"This argument sounds convincing."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Expr essing Feelings and Impr essions

Use the following pattern to talk about your impressions after hearing something.

[Ce + nom + sonne + adjectif]

"This + noun + sounds + adjective"

1. Cette musique sonne bien.

"This music sounds good."

First you have the adjective "this," either in the masculine, feminine or plural form, depending
on the following noun's gender. After that comes the verb "to sound" modified in gender and

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #19 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O S OUND" 4
number according to the noun, and lastly the adjective, also modified in gender and
number according to the noun.

Expr essing Feelings wit h t he Ver b sonner and Ot her Expr essions

To express one's feelings or impressions in French, you can use different verbs:

Sonner "to sound"

1. Ca sonne bien.
"This sounds good."

2. Ca sonne intéressant.
"This sounds interesting."

Avoir l'air "to look/seem"

1. Ces chaussettes ont l'air trouées.

"These socks look holed."

2. Cet homme a l'air vieux.

"This man looks old."

Avoir (adject ive) goût "to taste (adjective)"

1. Ce gâteau a bon goût.

"This cake has a nice taste."

2. Cette soupe a mauvais goût.

"This soup has a bad taste."

J'ai l'impression que... "I have the impression that..."

1. J'ai l'impression que quelque chose ne va pas.

"I have the impression that something is wrong."

2. J'ai l'impression qu'il me cache quelque chose.

"I have the impression that he is hiding something from me."

Review

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #19 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O S OUND" 5
So remember, to give your opinion about something, first start with the adjective "this,"
followed by a noun. Then we have the verb "to sound" modified in gender and number
according to the subject, and finish with an adjective that describes your feelings.

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #19 - US I NG T HE VERB "T O S OUND" 6
LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #20
Offering a Polite Invitation

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 20
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Aimeriez -vous joindre notre équipe?

2. Aimeriez -vous venir à la soirée?

3. Aimeriez -vous déjeuner ensemble?

4. Aimeriez -vous danser avec moi?

5. Aimeriez -vous jouer aux échecs?

6. Aimeriez -vous prendre une pause?

ENGLISH

1. Would you like to join our team?

2. Would you like to come to the party?

3. Would you like to have lunch together?

4. Would you like to dance with me?

5. Would you like to play chess?

6. Would you like to take a break?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

déjeuner to have lunch verb

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #20 - OFFERI NG A POLI T E I NVI T AT I ON 2
 venir to come verb

boire to drink verb

danser to dance verb

jouer to play verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Aimer iez -vous déjeuner avec nous? Aimer iez -vous venir à la fêt e
d’anniver sair e?
“Would you like to have lunch with
us?” “Would you like to come to the
birthday party?”

J e peux venir aussi? Aimer iez -vous boir e un ver r e de vin?

“Can I come too?” “Would you like to drink a glass of

wine?”

Aimer iez -vous danser avec lui? Aimer iez -vous jouer à ce jeu?

“Would you like to dance with him?” “Would you like to play this game?”

J e peux jouer aux échecs. J e peux jouer avec vous?

“I can play chess.” “Can I play with you?”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Aimeriez-vous + verbe à l'infinitif + complément?

"Would you like to + verb (infinitive) + complement?"

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1. Aimeriez-vous joindre notre équipe?
"Would you like to join our team?"

Replace "ver b (infinit ive)" for : Wor d Class

déjeuner "have lunch" verb

venir "come" verb

boire "drink" verb

danser "dance" verb

jouer "play" verb

Sample Sent ences:

1. Aimeriez-vous déjeuner avec nous?

"Would you like to have lunch with us?"

2. Aimeriez-vous venir à la fête d'anniversaire?

"Would you like to come to the birthday party?"

3. Aimeriez-vous boire un verre de vin?

"Would you like to drink a glass of wine?"

4. Aimeriez-vous danser avec lui?

"Would you like to dance with him?"

5. Aimeriez-vous jouer à ce jeu?

"Would you like to play this game?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Making a Polit e Invit at ion

Use the following pattern to make a polite invitation.

[Aimeriez-vous + verbe à l'infinitif + complément?]

"Would you like to + verb (infinitive) + complement?"

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1. Aimeriez-vous joindre notre équipe?
"Would you like to join our team?"

First you have the expression "would you like to," followed by a verb in the infinitive form, and
then a complement

For mulat ing an invit at ion "Would you like...? " in Fr ench

To express a desire, ask, or wish for something, we can use the verb aimer. In order to make a
polite request, we conjugate the verb vouloir in the specific tense called le conditionnel
présent:

Fr ench English

J'aimerais "I'd love"

Tu aimerais "You'd love"

Il/Elle aimerait "He/She'd love"

Nous aimerions "We'd love"

Vous aimeriez "You'd love" (plural)

Ils/Elles aimeraient "They'd love"

How t o make a r equest or expr ess a desir e wit h t he ver b aimer:

Examples:

Polite request:

1. J'aimerais un dessert.
"I would like a dessert."

2. J'aimerais aller à la piscine.

"I would like to go to the swimming pool."

Wish or desire:

1. Vous aimeriez être millionnaire.

"You would like to be a millionaire."

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2. Ils aimeraient avoir des pouvoirs magiques.
"They would like to have magical powers."

Polit e Invit at ions wit h Vouloir

You can use vouloir to express polite requests or invitations by using the polite vous as in:

1. Voudriez-vous venir, s'il vous plaît?

"Would you like to come, please?"

2. Voudriez-vous déjeuner avec nous?

"Would you like to eat lunch with us?"

Ot her ways t o make a polit e invit at ion

Make an Invit at ion

Formal French Informal French English

Je vous invite à... Je t'invite à "I invite you to"

Vous voulez...? Tu veux...? "Do you want"

Vous voudriez...? Tu voudrais...? "Would you like to"

Vous êtes libre ... ? Tu es libre... ? "Are you free to"

Est-ce que vous pouvez....? Est-ce que tu peux...? "Can you"

Avez-vous envie de... Tu as envie de...? "Do you want to/ feel like"

Nous serions très heureux Ça te dit de...? "We would be happy to /

de... How does ... sound?"

Vous nous feriez très plaisir Et si on...? "We would be delighted

si... if.. / how about..."

Accept an Invit at ion

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French English

Oui, c'est possible. "Yes, it's possible."

D'accord. "Okay."

Bonne idée ! "Good idea!"

Ça va être sympa / génial ! "It's going to be awesome."

Oui, je suis libre. "Yes, I'm free."

D'accord, je ne suis pas occupé(e). "Okay, I'm not busy."

Refuse an Invit at ion

French English

C'est impossible pour moi. "It's impossible for me."

Non, je dois ... "No, I have to..."

Désolé, je ne peux pas. "Sorry, I can't."

C'est dommage, mais... "It's too bad, but..."

Je ne suis pas libre. "I'm not free."

Non, je suis occupé. "No, I'm busy."

Review

So remember, to make a polite invitation, first start with the expression "would you like to,"
followed by a verb in the infinitive form, and then the thing you want to invite someone to.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #21
Using the Auxiliary Verb "Could"

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 21
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 FRENCH

1. Pourriez -vous fermer la fenêtre, s'il vous plaît?

2. Pourriez -vous parler plus fort, s'il vous plaît?

3. Pourriez -vous m'aider, s'il vous plaît?

4. Pourriez -vous venir demain à 14h, s'il vous plaît?

5. Pourriez -vous me tenir au courant dès que possible, s'il vous plaît?

6. Pourriez -vous me rendre service, s'il vous plaît?

ENGLISH

1. Could you close the window, please?

2. Could you speak louder, please?

3. Could you help me, please?

4. Could you come tomorrow at 2pm, please?

5. Could you let me know as soon as possible, please?

6. Could you do me a favor, please?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

apporter to bring verb

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 ouvrir to open verb

aider to help verb

enlever to take off verb

parler to talk verb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Pour r iez -vous m’appor t er une t asse Pour r iez -vous ouvr ir la por t e s’il vous
de café s’il vous plaît ? plaît ?

“Could you do bring me a cup of “Could you open the door please?”
coffee please?”

Pour r iez -vous m’aider s’il vous plaît ? J e peux vous aider ?

“Could you help me please?” “Can I help you?”

Pour r iez -vous enlever vos Pour r iez -vous par ler plus lent ement
chaussur es s’il vous plaît ? s’il vous plaît ?

“Could you take off your shoes “Could you speak slower please?”
please?”

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Pourriez-vous + verbe à l'infinitif + complément + s'il vous plaît?

"Could you + verb (infinitive) + complement + "please"?"

1. Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre s'il vous plaît?

"Could you close the window please?"

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Replace "ver b (infinit ive)" for : Wor d Class

ouvrir "open" verb

aider "help" verb

enlever "take off" verb

parler "talk" verb

apporter "bring" verb

Sample Sent ences:

1. Pourriez-vous ouvrir la porte s'il vous plaît?

"Could you open the door please?"

2. Pourriez-vous m'aider s'il vous plaît?

"Could you help me please?"

3. Pourriez-vous enlever vos chaussures s'il vous plaît?

"Could you take off your shoes please?"

4. Pourriez-vous parler plus lentement s'il vous plaît?

"Could you speak slower please?"

5. Pourriez-vous m'apporter une tasse de café s'il vous plaît?

"Could you do bring me a cup of coffee please?"

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Polit ely Asking Someone T o Do Somet hing

Use the following pattern to ask someone politely to do something.

[Pourriez-vous + verbe à l'infinitif + complément + s'il vous plaît?]

"Could you + verb (infinitive) + complement + "please"?"

1. Pourriez-vous fermer la fenêtre s'il vous plaît?

"Could you close the window please?"

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First you have the expression "could you" followed by a verb in the infinitive form and then a
complement. S'il vous plaît (meaning "please") at the end of the sentence is not obligatory
but it shows politeness.

"Could You...Please? "

Let's see how to ask someone something very politely. This phrasing is useful when you are
in a formal situation, when you're with someone you don't know, if you are a client or a sales
assistant, etc.

After this lesson, you will be able to ask something by saying "Could you...please?"

The equivalent of the interrogative pattern "Could you...please?" in French is Pourriez-

vous...s'il vous plaît?

Using this expression is very simple. You have to follow this pattern:

[Pourriez-vous + t he t hing you want + s'il vous plaît]

Four elements compose this expression:

Pourriez → The verb pouvoir in the second person plural conditional

Vous → Second person plural personal pronoun

Ver b + complement → The thing you want/need

S'il vous plaît → Polite expression meaning "please"

For Example:

1. Pourriez-vous me donner cette boîte s'il vous plaît ?

"Could you give me this box, please?"

2. Pourriez-vous me dire où est le lait s'il vous plaît ?

"Could you tell me where the milk is, please?"

3. Pourriez-vous aller chercher ma fille à la gare s'il vous plaît ?

"Could you pick up my daughter at the train station, please?"

4. Pourriez-vous finir les réparations rapidement s'il vous plaît ?

"Could you finish repairs quickly, please?"

5. Pourriez-vous répondre dès que possible s'il vous plaît ?

"Could you reply as soon as possible, please?"

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What Can You Answer wit h T his Pat t er n?

A few possible answers to this type of questions are:

1. oui / non
"yes / no"

2. Bien sûr.
"Of course."

3. Avec plaisir.
"Gladly."

4. Pas de problème.
"No problem."

5. D'accord.
"Okay."

Review

So remember, to make a polite request you first start with the expression "could you"
followed by a verb in the infinitive form, and then your request.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #22
Showing Your Gratitude

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 22
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 FRENCH

1. J'apprécie votre soutien.

2. J'apprécie ta visite.

3. J'apprécie vos efforts.

4. J'apprécie le geste.

5. Je n'apprécie pas votre ingérence.

6. A-t-elle apprécié sa surprise?

ENGLISH

1. I appreciate your support.

2. I appreciate your visit.

3. I appreciate your efforts.

4. I appreciate the gesture.

5. I don't appreciate your interference.

6. Did she appreciate her surprise?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

honnêteté honesty noun feminine

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 aide help noun feminine

geste gesture noun feminine

effort effort pronoun masculine

visite visit noun, feminine

SAMPLE SENTENCES

J ’appr écie t on honnêt et é. J ’appr écie leur aide.

“I appreciate your honesty.” “I appreciate their help.”

Aidez -moi s'il vous plait ! J ’appr écie le gest e.

Please help me ! “I appreciate the gesture.”

J ’appr écie vos effor t s. J ’appr écie sa visit e.

“I appreciate your efforts.” “I appreciate her visit.”

La visit e chez le doct eur s'est bien passée.

"T he doctor visit went well."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

J'apprécie + complément

I appreciate + complement

1. J'apprécie votre soutien.

"I appreciate your support."

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Replace "complement " for : Wor d Class Gender

honnêteté honesty noun feminine

aide help noun feminine

geste gesture noun feminine

effort effort noun masculine

visite visit noun feminine

Sample Sent ences:

1. J'apprécie ton honnêteté.

I appreciate your honesty.

2. J'apprécie leur aide.

I appreciate their help.

3. J'apprécie le geste.
I appreciate the gesture.

4. J'apprécie vos efforts.

I appreciate your efforts.

5. J'apprécie sa visite.
I appreciate her visit.

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Expr essing Gr at it ude t o Someone for Doing

Somet hing

Use the following pattern to show your appreciation to someone who did a nice thing to you.

[J'apprécie + complément]

"I appreciate + complement"

1. J'apprécie votre soutien.

"I appreciate your support."

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First you have the expression "I appreciate," followed by a complement.

Expr essions for Showing Your Gr at it ude

When you want to show your gratitude, a simple thank you can be much appreciated.

Merci.
"T hank you"

To say thank you in French the word Merci is used.

If you want to put emphasis on your appreciation, you can say:

1. Merci beaucoup.
"Thank you very much."

2. Mille fois merci.

"Thanks a million."

3. Merci bien.
"Thanks a lot." (can be sincere or sarcastic)

4. Merci mille fois.

"Thanks a million."

When you want to emphasiz e your gratitude, you can use the verb "to appreciate" Apprécier:

J'apprécie "I appreciate"

Tu apprécies "You appreciate" (casual)

Il/Elle apprécie "He/She appreciates"

Nous apprécions "We appreciate"

Vous appréciez "You appreciate"

Ils/Elles apprécient "They appreciate"

T hank you for ...

In French you can use the phrases Merci de or Merci de bien vouloir to make a polite request.

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Mer ci de bien + infinit ive
ver b + complement

Merci de bien vouloir venir "Thank you to come over

par ici. here."

Merci de bien + infinitive Merci de bien vouloir vous "Thank you to sit."
verb + complement asseoir.

Mer ci de / d' + infinit ive

ver b + complement
"Thank you to come over
Merci de venir par ici.
here."

Merci de / d' + infinitive Merci de vous asseoir. "Thank you to sit."

verb + complement

Review

So remember, to express gratitude, start with the expression "I appreciate," followed by what
you are thankful for.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #23
Using Conditionals

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 23
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Si je perds mes cheveux, j'achète une perruque.

2. Si je rate mon bus, j'arriverai en retard.

3. S'il fait beau demain, je vais à la plage.

4. Si les voisins font trop de bruit, j'appelle la police.

5. Si tu ne fais pas la vaisselle, il ne restera plus d'assiettes propres.

6. Si elle ne peut pas aller au concert, je peux avoir sa place?

ENGLISH

1. If I lose my hair, I'll buy a wig.

2. If I miss my bus, I'll arrive late.

3. If the weather is nice tomorrow, I'll go to the beach.

4. If the neighbors make too much noise, I'll call the police.

5. If you don't do the dishes, there won't be any clean plates left.

6. If she can't go to the concert, can I have her ticket?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

perdre le match to lose the game verb phrase

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 venir en ville to come to town verb phrase

arriver à l’heure to arrive on time verb phrase

faire beau to be sunny Verb phrase

rater son train to miss one’s train verb phrase

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Si mon équipe per d le mat ch, je ser ai Si t u viens en ville, dis-le moi.
t r ist e.
"If you come to town, tell me."
"If my team loses the game, I’ll be
sad."

S’ils ar r ivent à l’heur e, je ser ai S’il fait beau, j’ir ai me pr omener dans
sur pr ise. le par c.

"If they arrive on time, I’ll be "If it’s sunny, I’ll go for a walk in the
surprised." park."

Si je r at e mon t r ain, je n’ar r iver ai pas à l’heur e.

"If I miss my train, I won’t make it on time."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the second
element:

Pattern

Si + proposition A au présent de l'indicatif + proposition B au futur ou au présent de l'indicatif

If + clause A (present indicative) + clause B (future or present indicative)

1. Si je perds mes cheveux, j'achète une perruque.

"If I lose my hair, I'll buy a wig."

FRENCHPOD101.COM MUS T -KNOW FRENCH S ENT ENCE S T RUCT URES #23 - US I NG CONDI T I ONALS 3
Replace "clause A (pr esent indicat ive)" for : Wor d Class

perdre le match to lose the game verb phrase

venir en ville to come to town verb phrase

arriver à l'heure to arrive on time verb phrase

faire beau to be sunny Verb phrase

rater son train to miss one's train verb phrase

Sample Sent ences:

1. Si mon équipe perd le match, je serai triste.

If my team loses the game, I'll be sad.

2. Si tu viens en ville, dis-le moi.

If you come to town, tell me.

3. S'ils arrivent à l'heure, je serai surprise.

If they arrive on time, I'll be surprised.

4. S'il fait beau, j'irai me promener dans le parc.

If it's sunny, I'll go for a walk in the park.

5. Si je rate mon train, je n'arriverai pas à l'heure.

If I miss my train, I won't make it on time.

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Using Condit ionals Wit h "If"

Use the following pattern to make conditions.

[Si + proposition A au présent de l'indicatif + proposition B au futur ou au présent de l'indicatif]

"If + clause A (present indicative) + clause B (future or present indicative)"

1. Si je perds mes cheveux, j'achète une perruque.

"If I lose my hair I'll buy a wig."

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First you have the word "if," followed by a first clause in the present indicative form, then
another clause in either the present indicative or future form.

Fir st Condit ional

The main structures with si ("if") require a specific tense coordination. In this lesson we'll see
only the one t o expr ess a pr obabilit y or quasi-cer t it ude:

1- Si clause with ver b at t he indicat ive pr esent , + main clause with ver b at t he
indicat ive pr esent .

For Example:

1. Si tu veux, tu peux rester ici.

"If you want, you can stay here."

Ot her examples

French English

Si tu te fâches, je ne vais nulle part. "If you get angry, I won't go anywhere."

Si tu veux, tu peux. "If you want, you can."

S'il est d'accord, alors on y va ensemble. "If he agrees, we'll go there together."

2 - Si clause with ver b at t he indicat ive pr esent , + main clause with ver b at t he
indicat ive fut ur e.

For Example:

Si vous venez, nous irons au cinéma.

"If you come, we'll go to the movies."

Ot her examples

French English

S'ils comprennent, ils mémoriseront mieux. "If they understand, they'll memoriz e
better."

Si elle étudie régulièrement, elle s'améliorera. "If she studies consistently, she'll improve."

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3 - Si clause with ver b at t he indicat ive pr esent , + main clause with ver b at t he
imper at ive.

For Example:

Si vous avez faim, servez-vous !

"If you are hungry, help yourselves."

Ot her examples

French English

Si vous achetez une voiture, montrez-la moi. "If you buy a car, show it to me."

Si vous l'appelez, tenez-moi au courant. "If you call him, let me know."

Si vous revenez, amenez du camembert. "If you come back, bring some
camembert."

Review

So remember, to express conditions, start with "if," followed by a first clause in the present
indicative form, and add another clause in either the present indicative or future form.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #24
Tag Questions

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 24
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. C'est mignon, n'est-ce pas?

2. Le monde est petit, n'est-ce pas?

3. Tu aimes les épinards, n'est-ce pas?

4. Tu es allée aux toilettes avant de partir, n'est-ce pas?

5. Il n'a pas oublié ses billets de train, n'est-ce pas?

6. C'est génial, n'est-ce pas?

ENGLISH

1. This is cute, isn't it?

2. It's a small world, isn't it?

3. You like spinach, right?

4. You went to the bathroom before leaving, right?

5. He didn't forget his train tickets, right?

6. That's awesome, right?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass

Il fait froid aujourd’hui It’s cold today sentence

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 Le monde est petit It’s a small world sentence

C’est intéressant It’s interesting sentence

Tu aimes le brocoli You like broccoli sentence

C’est un miracle It’s a miracle sentence

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Il fait fr oid aujour d’hui, n’est -ce pas? Le monde est pet it , n’est -ce pas?

"It’s cold today, isn’t it?" "It’s a small world, isn’t it?"

C’est int ér essant , n’est -ce pas? T u aimes le br ocoli, n’est -ce pas?

"It’s interesting, isn’t it?" "You like broccoli, right?"

C’est un mir acle, n’est -ce pas?

"It’s a miracle, isn’t it?"

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the first
element:

Pattern

Phrase + n'est-ce pas?

Sentence + isn't it?

1. C'est mignon, n'est-ce pas?

"This is cute, isn't it?"

Replace "sent ence" for : Wor d Class

Il fait froid aujourd'hui It's cold today sentence

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Le monde est petit It's a small world sentence

C'est intéressant It's interesting sentence

Tu aimes le brocoli You like broccoli sentence

C'est un miracle It's a miracle sentence

Sample Sent ences:

1. Il fait froid aujourd'hui, n'est-ce pas?

It's cold today, isn't it?

2. Le monde est petit, n'est-ce pas?

It's a small world, isn't it?

3. C'est intéressant, n'est-ce pas?

It's interesting, isn't it?

4. Tu aimes le brocoli, n'est-ce pas?

You like broccoli, right?

5. C'est un miracle, n'est-ce pas?

It's a miracle, isn't it?

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson is Seeking Confir mat ion about a St at ement

Use the following pattern to confirm what you're saying.

[Phrase + n'est-ce pas?]

"Sentence + isn't it?"

1. C'est mignon, n'est-ce pas?

"This is cute, isn't it?"

First you start with a sentence, and then you add "isn't it" at the end.

T ag Quest ions

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Tag questions are used to confirm information, and to check information. They are a
structure in which a declarative statement or an imperative is turned into a question by
adding an interrogative fragment-a "tag."

Declar at ive st at ement + t ag = t ag quest ion

1. On peut utiliser la carte de crédit + n'est-ce pas

"Cr edit car d is okay + r ight "

→ On peut utiliser la carte de crédit, n'est-ce pas?

"Cr edit car d is okay, r ight ? "

N'est-ce pas-"right", the tag, is added to the question to make sure or confirm, that one can
purchase something with a credit card.

Tag questions are more prevalent in spoken than in written French. They can be used to
express a variety of emotions; some are used to express things like politeness or lack of
confidence, while others are used to express anger or suspicion. Tag questions are also often
used to show emphasis.

In English, tag questions depend on the auxiliary verbs used in the main sentences - when
we have an affirmative sentence, the tag question is negative, and after a negative sentence,
the tag question is affirmative. In French, however, tag questions are invariable. There are not
so many of them, we can use n'est-ce pas meaning "isn't it/right", or simply non, meaning
"no":

1. Le travail n'est pas encore terminé, n'est-ce pas?

"The job isn't done yet, is it?"

2. Tu viens de Berlin, non?

"You are from Berlin, aren't you?"

Review

So remember, to ask for confirmation about a statement, just ask "isn't it" after your sentence.

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LESSON NOTES

Must-Know French Sentence

Structures #25
Giving Advice, Part 2

CONTENTS
2 French
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar

# 25
COPYRIGHT © 2017 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
 FRENCH

1. Je recommanderais de goûter les lasagnes.

2. Je recommanderais d'attendre un peu.

3. Je recommanderais de voyager hors saison.

4. Je recommanderais de visiter la chambre avant de la prendre.

5. Je ne recommanderais pas de faire des achats sur ce site web.

6. Recommanderiez -vous de prendre cette compagnie aérienne?

ENGLISH

1. I would recommend to try the lasagna.

2. I would recommend to wait a little.

3. I would recommend to travel off-season.

4. I would recommend to visit the room before taking it.

5. I wouldn't recommend to buy anything on this website.

6. Would you recommend to take this airline?

VOCABULARY

Fr e nc h English C lass Ge nde r

en avance in advance adverb

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 dictionnaire dictionary noun masculine

France France proper noun feminine

tôt early adverb

plus more adverb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

J e r ecommander ais de r éser ver en J 'ai r eçu t r ois mois de salair e en

avance. avance.

"I would recommend to make "I received three months' pay in

reservations in advance." advance."

J e r ecommander ais d’ut iliser ce Des fois j'ut ilise des mot s qui ne sont
dict ionnair e. pas dans le dict ionnair e.

"I would recommend to use this "I sometimes use words that are
dictionary." not in the dictionary."

J e r ecommander ais de visit er la J e r ecommander ais de dor mir t ôt .

Fr ance.
"I would recommend to sleep early."
"I would recommend to visit France."

J e me lève t ôt , je me couche t ar d, je 7 heur es du mat in, c'est t ôt .

suis fat iguée.
"Seven in the morning, it's early."
"I get up early, I go to bed late, I
am tired."

Il est t r op t ôt pour vous donner une J e r ecommander ais d’ét udier plus.
r éponse.
"I would recommend to study more."
"It's too early to give you an
answer."

Il fait plus chaud aujour d'hui.

"It's warmer today."

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

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Relat ed Wor ds and Phr ases

Using the pattern you just learned, use the following information to substitute the third
element:

Pattern

Je recommanderais + de verbe à l'infinitif + complément

I would recommend + "to" verb (infinitive) + complement

1. Je recommanderais de goûter les lasagnes.

"I would recommend to try the lasagna."

Replace "complement " for : Wor d Class Gender

en avance in advance adverb

dictionnaire dictionary noun masculine

France France proper noun feminine

tôt early adverb

plus more adverb

Sample Sent ences:

1. Je recommanderais de réserver en avance.

I would recommend to make reservations in advance.

2. Je recommanderais d'utiliser ce dictionnaire.

I would recommend to use this dictionary.

3. Je recommanderais de visiter la France.

I would recommend to visit France.

4. Je recommanderais de dormir tôt.

I would recommend to sleep early.

5. Je recommanderais d'étudier plus.

I would recommend to study more.

GRAMMAR

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T he Focus of T his Lesson is Giving Advice

Use the following pattern to give someone advice about something.

[Je recommanderais + de verbe à l'infinitif + complément]

"I would recommend + "to" verb (infinitive) + complement"

1. Je recommanderais de goûter les lasagnes.

"I would recommend to try the lasagna."

First you have the expression "I would recommend," followed by "to" and a verb in the
infinitive form. Finally a complement.

Expr essions Used t o Give Advice

In order to help people, we often tell them what to do for their own good. This is simply the
act of giving advice. To give advice, we can use different structures.

L'impératif

The main use of this tense is to give orders. However, depending on the context and
especially the tone you use, the order can become advice when the tone becomes softer.
Tone is the use of pitch to express emotion or intent.

For example:

1. Bois un thé chaud.

"Drink a hot tea." (Informal "you")

2. Buvez un thé chaud.

"Drink a hot tea." (polite "you" or plural)

Devoir

Use it in the conditional present followed by a verb in the infinitive form. In the example, the
tense itself indicates politeness. Its English equivalent is "should."

For example:

1. Tu devrais boire un thé chaud.

"You should drink a hot tea." (Informal "you")

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2. Vous devriez boire un thé chaud.
"You should drink a hot tea." (polite "you" or plural)

Ce serait bien de

Use this phrase followed by a infinitive verb. In this phrase, serait is the verb être conjugated
in the conditional present tense.

For example:

1. Ce serait bien de boire un thé chaud.

"It would be nice to drink a hot tea."

Faire

Use this verb in the conditional present followed by bien de or mieux de and an infinitive verb.

For example:

1. Elle ferait bien de boire un thé chaud.

"She'd better drink a hot tea."

2. Il ferait mieux de partir.

"He'd better leave."

Recommander de

Use this verb in the conditional present followed by an infinitive verb to say that you
recommend something.

For example:

1. Je recommanderais de voyager hors-saison.

"I would recommend to travel off season."

2. Je recommanderais d'arriver à l'heure.

"I would recommend to be on time".

Review

So remember, to give advice, simply use the expression "I would recommend," then "to" and

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a verb in the infinitive form, and finally add what it is you would recommend

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 Intro 13 Expressing Certainty
1 Talking About Your Profession 14 Talking About the Past
2 Expressing What You Want 15 Giving Advice, Part 1
3 Asking About Manner 16 Using the Auxiliary Verb "Can"
4 Asking About Location or Position 17 Apologizing Politely
5 Asking for Information About Something 18 Expressing Uncertainty
6 Asking About Time 19 Using the Verb "to Sound"
7 Asking for a Reason 20 Offering a Polite Invitation
8 Asking About Ownership 21 Using the Auxiliary Verb "Could"
9 Asking About a Choice 22 Showing Your Gratitude
10 Using the Verb "to Have" 23 Using Conditionals
11 Talking About the Future 24 Tag Questions
12 Requesting Permission 25 Giving Advice, Part 2

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