Review Grammar Ch 1, pt 1

Review the grammar concepts and vocabulary from this section. You’ll also have another chance to listen to the French speaker (and imitate her).

Review Alphabet

Here’s how to pronounce the French alphabet.

Review Grammar

We learned all the grammar while we read the chapter, but I think it’s helpful to review those grammar concepts. Here’s a quick video review, then a written explanation below that.

Read Grammar Summary

In each lesson, we’ll provide a written explanation of the Grammar. It’s the same material covered in the prior video, so if you’d prefer to skip this, you can scroll down to the next step.

In French, un and une both mean “a” or “one.” The choice depends on the gender of the noun.

Page 1

Use un with masculine nouns:

• un garçon — a boy
• un homme — a man

Use une with feminine nouns:

• une femme — a woman
• une fille — a girl

Simple rule:

• masculine noun → un
• feminine noun → une

Page 2

In French, est and sont come from the verb être (to be). 

Use est with one person or one thing:

• Jean est un garçon. — Jean is a boy.

Use sont with two or more people or things:

• Jean et Henri sont deux garçons. — Jean and Henri are two boys.

Simple rule:

• singular → est
• plural → sont

Count the subject. One person: est. More than one: sont.

In French, the h in homme and Henri is silent because it belongs to what French calls an h muet, or the mute “h”.

This kind of h never makes a sound and never blocks pronunciation. You move straight from the article to the vowel sound, which is why you say l’homme, un homme, and Henri est ici, with smooth sound flow and natural linking. 

French inherited this silent h from Latin but the “h” sound disappeared over time even though the letter stayed on the page. 

The key takeaway is simple: when a word starts with an h muet, you pronounce it exactly as if the word started with a vowel. That’s why homme sounds like omme and Henri sounds like enri.

Page 3

In French, le and l’ both mean “the”, and you choose between them based on sound, not meaning. 

Use le before a masculine noun that starts with a consonant, like le garçon — the boy. 

When a masculine noun starts with a vowel sound or a silent h, French switches to l’ to make pronunciation smooth. That’s why you say l’homme — the man — not le homme. The e in le drops before a vowel sound, and l’ takes its place so French flows easily. 

Here’s the short rule.  Consonant sound → le; vowel sound or silent h → l’.

In French, le, la, and les are definite articles. They all mean “the,” but you choose them based on gender and number.

Use le with masculine singular nouns:

• le garçon — the boy
• le chien — the dog

Use la with feminine singular nouns:

• la fille — the girl
• la maison — the house

Use les with plural nouns, masculine or feminine:

• les garçons — the boys
• les filles — the girls

One important sound rule: if le or la comes before a vowel or silent h, they shorten to l’:

• l’homme, l’école

Simple rule:

• masculine singular → le
• feminine singular → la
• plural → les

In French, when you identify or name someone, you answer with c’est (singular) or ce sont (plural).

What’s happening here is a very French way of answering “who is…?” questions, and it hinges on c’est / ce sont, not il est / ils sont.

• Qui est l’homme ?
  C’est Monsieur Duclos.
  (You’re identifying who the man is.)

• Qui sont les garçons ?
  Ce sont Jean et Henri.
  (You’re identifying who the boys are.)

French uses c’est / ce sont to point and identify, almost like saying “This is…” or “These are…” in English.

You do not say Il est Monsieur Duclos or Ils sont Jean et Henri in this context. Il est / ils sont describe someone; c’est / ce sont identify someone by name, title, or definition.

Simple rule:

• Asking Qui est / Qui sont…? → answer with c’est / ce sont

Think of c’est / ce sont as French’s way of pointing and saying, “Here’s who that is.”

In French, de and d’ mean the same thing. d’ is simply de shortened before a vowel or a silent h. Nothing changes in meaning — only the pronunciation flows better.

d’ → d’eau, d’amis, d’homme

de → de pain, de garçons, de la maison

Re-Listen to Chapter 1, part 1

Keep Practicing Pronunciation

Repeat each French sentence during the pauses.