Essential French Grammar

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Essential French Grammar Page 7

by Seymour Resnick


  être de retour (to be back)

  Je serai de retour à neuf heures.

  I shall be back at nine o‘clock.

  être en retard (to be late)

  J’espère que le train ne sera pas en retard.

  I hope the train won’t be late.

  être sur le point de (to be about to)

  Nous étions sur le point de sortir.

  We were about to leave.

  être en train de (to be in the act of)

  Nous sommes en train de le décider.

  We are (in the act of) deciding it.

  être enrhumé (to have a cold)

  Marie est enrhumée et ne pourra pas nous accompagner.

  Mary has a cold and will not be able to accompany us.

  Note also:

  Ce n’est pas la peine.

  It is not worth the effort.

  The verb être is also used to tell time in French. Its usage in expressions of time is discussed on page 88.

  Faire (to make, do)

  In addition to being one of the most common verbs in the language, faire (to do, make) is also used in a variety of idiomatic expressions. Most expressions of weather in French use faire.

  Quel temps fait-il?

  Il fait chaud.

  [What weather makes it?]

  [It makes warm.]

  How is the weather?

  It’s warm.

  Il fait beau (temps).

  Il fait froid.

  [It makes good (weather).]

  [It makes cold.]

  The weather is fine.

  It’s cold.

  Il fait mauvais (temps).

  Il fait du vent.

  [It makes bad (weather).]

  [It makes some wind.]

  The weather is bad.

  It’s windy.

  Il fait doux.

  Il fait du soleil.

  [It makes mild.]

  [It makes some sun.]

  It’s mild.

  It’s sunny.

  Other common expressions using the verb faire:

  Cela ne fait rien.

  Cela ne me fait rien.

  That doesn’t matter.

  I don’t care.

  faire un voyage (to take a trip)

  J‘aimerais faire un voyage.

  I would like to take a trip.

  faire une promenade (to take a walk)

  Nous faisons une promenade.

  We take a walk.

  faire des emplettes (to go shopping)

  Je dois faire des emplettes cet après-midi.

  I must go shopping this afternoon.

  faire mal (to hurt, be painful)

  Est-ce que cela vous fait mal?

  Does that hurt you ?

  Falloir (to be necessary)

  The verb falloir (to be necessary) is used only in the third person singular form, and usually occurs either in the present (il faut) or future (il faudra) tenses. It is generally followed by an infinitive, and is translated as “one must,” “one should,” “one ought,” “it is necessary,” or, in the future, as “one will have to,” “it will be necessary,” etc. The verb devoir discussed on page 82, expresses a similar idea.

  Il faut étudier pour apprendre.

  It is necessary to (one must) study in order to learn.

  Il faudra passer au moins quinze jours en Provence.

  It will be necessary to spend at least two weeks in Provence.

  Penser (to think)

  “To think of, or about” a person or thing is expressed by penser à, but if we mean “to have an opinion of” we must use penser de.

  À quoi pensez-vous ?

  Je pense à mes amis.

  What are you thinking about?

  I am thinking of my friends.

  À qui pensez-vous?

  Que pensez-vous de mes amis?

  Whom are you thinking about?

  What do you think of my friends?

  Savoir (to know) and Connaître (to meet, be acquainted with)

  In English, we use the same verb, “to know,” for both knowing facts and knowing people. In French, however, these ideas are separated. Savoir means to know facts, to have information, to know how to. Connaître means to know or be acquainted with persons and places.

  Savez-vous ce qu’il a dit?

  Do you know what he said?

  Je voudrais savoir tout ce qui s’est passé.

  I would like to know everything that happened.

  Est-ce qu’elle sait nager?

  Does she know how to swim?

  Je connais ce monsieur mais je ne sais pas son nom.

  I know that gentleman but I don’t know his name.

  Connaissez-vous Bruxelles?

  Are you acquainted with Brussels?

  Note the expression faire la connaissance (de) which means to meet, make the acquaintance (of).

  Enchanté de faire votre connaissance, madame.

  I am delighted to meet you, madam.

  Valoir (to be worth)

  Valoir (to be worth) is used in the third person singular in a number of expressions.

  Il ne vaut pas la peine d’y aller.

  It’s not worth while going there.

  Il vaudra mieux se taire.

  It will be better to keep quiet.

  Venir (to come)

  The present tense of venir + de and infinitive means “to have just” + past participle.

  Nous venons d’arriver.

  II vient de partir.

  We have just arrived.

  He has just left.

  Vouloir (to want, wish)

  Vouloir may translate “ to want,” “wish,” “be willing,” and is also used in a number of important expressions.

  vouloir dire (to mean)

  Que veut dire ce mot?

  Que voulez-vous dire?

  What does this word mean?

  What do you mean?

  Voulez-vous (bien) and voudriez-vous (bien) very often are used to express a polite command, and may be used as a substitute for the imperative or command form, as explained on page 36. Veuillez plus infinitive may also be so used, but is not so common.

  Veuillez fermer les fenetres s’il commence à pleuvoir.

  Please close the windows if it begins to rain.

  Telling Time

  In French the verb être (to be) is used idiomatically in expressions of time. Study the following examples:

  Quelle heure est-il?

  Il est trois heures (précises).

  [What hour is it?]

  [It is three o‘clock (exact).]

  What time is it?

  It is exactly three o’clock.

  Il est deux heures cinq.

  Il est cinq heures moins dix.

  [It is two hours five.]

  [It is five hours less ten.]

  It is five (minutes) past two.

  It is ten (minutes) to five.

  Il est quatre heures et demie.

  Il est six heures et quart.

  [It is four hours and a half.]

  [It is six hours and a quarter.]

  It is half past four.

  It is quarter past six.

  Il est six heures moins le quart.

  Il est midi.

  [It is six hours less the quarter.]

  It is noon.

  It is a quarter to six.

  Il est minuit.

  It is midnight.

  Some Useful Expressions

  Here are some useful idiomatic expressions which have not appeared in the main body of this little grammar, and which are often neglected by phrase books.

  Quelle est la date?

  What is the date?

  C‘est aujourd’hui le premier août (le deux août).

  Today is August 1 (August 2).

  à l’américaine

  in the American fashion

  à la française

  in the French fashion

  à peu pres

  about, approximately

  À quoi
bon ?

  What’s the use?

  au lieu de

  instead of

  c‘est-à-dire

  that is to say

  d’abord

  at first

  d‘ordinaire

  usually, generally

  en effet

  as a matter of fact

  en tout cas

  at any rate

  encore une fois

  once more

  entendu

  all right, fine, O.K.

  bien entendu

  of course

  N’importe.

  It doesn’t matter.

  par exemple

  for example

  par ici

  this way, through here

  par là

  that way, through there

  pas du tout

  not at all

  quant à (lui)

  as for (him)

  sans doute

  without doubt, no doubt

  Service compris?

  Is the tip included?

  de temps en temps

  from time to time

  tout à coup

  suddenly

  tout à fait

  completely, entirely

  tout à l’heure

  a little while ago, in a little while

  tout droit

  straight ahead

  tout le monde

  everybody

  toute la semaine

  the whole week, all week

  toutes les semaines

  every week

  Vocabulary Tips

  Cognates14

  Many words in English and French are exactly the same in both languages. Many others have only minor changes in spelling, and are easily recognized. Study the following vocabulary hints and word lists. They will help you increase your vocabulary by many hundreds of words.

  Adjectives

  The suffixes -able, -ible, -al, -ant, -ent are usually the same in both languages.

  Study the following French suffixes and their usual English equivalents: -eux (-euse)=-ous; -eur=-or; -el=-al; -ique=-ic.

  Nouns

  The following suffixes are generally the same in French and English: -ion, -tion, -age, -ice, -ent, -ence.

  attention

  distraction

  courage

  fonction

  million

  passage

  opinion

  question

  village

  caprice

  accident

  différence

  justice

  instrument

  patience

  service

  moment

  silence

  Study the following French suffixes and their usual English equivalents: -eur=-or, -er; -té=-ty; -ie=-y; -ique=-ic; -re=-er.

  Verbs

  As mentioned on page 30, the great majority of all French verbs belong to the ist conjugation (-er). Notice how we may derive the meaning of many of these verbs by observing the following changes in the ending:

  The -er ending drops in English. aider consulter insister passer profiter

  The French -er becomes -e. arriver décider désirer préparer refuser

  The French -er becomes -ate. communiquer hésiter indiquer séparer

  False Cognates

  Now that we have called attention to the many similarities in French-English vocabulary, we must also point out that there are many pitfalls in words that look and sound alike. Sometimes these words mean entirely different things, other times the French word has other meanings more important than its exact English equivalent. Some of the most common of these faux amis (false friends) are given below.

  French

  Eng. meaning

  actuel

  present (les conditions actuelles, present conditions)

  actuellement

  at the present time

  addition

  bill or check in a restaurant, as well as addition

  assister à

  to attend, be present at

  attendre

  to wait (for)

  blesser

  to wound

  chance

  (good) luck or fortune (Bonne chance! Good luck!; Vous avez de la chance, You are lucky)

  client

  customer as well as client

  commander

  to order at a restaurant or in business, as well as to command

  correspondance

  connection, transfer place; for example, in the Paris subway (métro)

  dame

  lady

  défendre

  to forbid, prohibit, as well as to defend. A number of public signs begin with Défense de ... (Défense de fumer, No smoking)

  demander

  to ask (for)

  déranger

  usually to disturb, upset

  embrasser

  to kiss, as well as to embrace

  enchanté

  delighted, pleased, as well as enchanted

  enfant

  child

  figure

  face

  formidable

  wonderful, marvelous

  friction

  massage, rubdown, as well as friction

  front

  forehead as well as front

  glace

  ice, ice cream, mirror

  histoire

  story as well as history

  intoxication

  (food) poisoning

  large

  wide, broad

  lecture

  reading

  librairie

  bookstore

  magasin

  shop, store

  monnaie

  change, small cash

  nature

  nature, but note these expressions: nature morte, still life; omelette nature, plain omelet

  note

  hotel bill, school grade, as well as note, memo

  parent

  relative as well as parent

  patron

  usually boss, owner

  pension

  boarding-house, room and board, as well as pension

  phrase

  sentence

  pièce

  room, or play, drama

  place

  usually seat, job, plaza

  prune

  plum

  regarder

  to look at

  remarquer

  usually to notice

  rester

  to remain

  robe

  dress

  rose

  as an adjective, usually pink; as a noun, rose

  société

  society, but in commercial language has the sense of company

  sympathique

  nice, likable, pleasant, applied to persons

  tarif

  rates, scale of charges, as well as tariff

  tour

  tour, excursion, and turn (C‘est mon tour, It’s my turn), when masculine. As a feminine noun, tower (la Tour Eiffel).

  type

  type, but also a colloquial term for fellow, guy, character

  wagon

  railroad car (wagon-lit, sleeping car; wagonrestaurant, diner)

  Vocabulary Building with Cognates

  When you study a foreign language, building a vocabulary is often one of the most difficult and laborious tasks. It can mean a great deal of tedious memorization and time-consuming study. Yet an English-speaker is in a fortunate position for learning foreign vocabulary, and his work can be considerably lightened. English is composite in origin, and in its word-trove are to be found thousands of forms that are borrowed from other languages. If you have already studied a foreign language, you probably remember the pleasure you felt when you came upon a word that was like its English counterpart; it immediately became easy to remember and use, since it was linked to something familiar, and it probably stayed in your memory longer than other words.

  This wor
d list is based upon a useful principle that until the present has not been widely used—the seeking out of vocabulary resemblances and making full use of them. It would seem to be obvious that the easiest way to obtain a French vocabulary would be to study words that English shares with French. Yet, surprisingly enough, until this present list, there has been no systematic compilation of the words that form the common ground between English and French.

 

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