In this section, you’ll be reviewing the grammar concepts and vocabulary from this section, then will take a short quiz. You’ll also have a chance to listen to the French speaker (and imitate her) another time.
Step 1 – Review Alphabet
Here’s how to pronounce the French alphabet.
Step 2: 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.
Grammar Summary
1) Article adjectives: little words before nouns
In English we say a/an and the before nouns (a city, an apple, the cat). French does the same thing, but the words change depending on gender (boy-word vs girl-word) and number (one vs many):
- Indefinite (“a/an”):
- un = “a” for a masculine noun: un fils (a son)
- une = “a” for a feminine noun: une fille (a daughter)
- Definite (“the”):
- le (masc.), la (fem.), les (plural):
- le fils (the son), la fille (the daughter), les enfants (the children)
French has three ways to say “the”; we only have one in English. Pick le for a masculine singular word, la for a feminine singular word, and les for any plural.
- le fils (the son), la fille (the daughter), les enfants (the children)
- le (masc.), la (fem.), les (plural):
Why this matters: In French you almost always learn the noun with its article, because the article tells you its gender: say le père, la mère, les enfants out loud so your ear remembers it.
2) Linking verb être (“to be”) and the equals test
A linking verb connects the subject to a word that describes or renames it. The quick test the teacher gives: if you can swap the verb with an = sign, it’s a linking verb.
- Madame Duclos est une femme.
Try the test: Madame Duclos = une femme. Yep—so est is linking. - Les enfants sont Jean, Henri, Yvonne et Nicole.
Test it: Les enfants = Jean, Henri, Yvonne et Nicole. Works again.
Tip: Think of est = “is” and sont = “are.” If “is/are” glues the two sides together like a name tag, you’re using a linking verb correctly. The teacher stresses this because it shows up everywhere.
3) Asking “Who?” and answering with C’est / Ce sont
When you ask about people, you use interrogative pronouns (words that ask questions). The teacher even points to the Latin root interrogo (“I ask”) so you remember what “interrogative” means.
- Qui est … ? = Who is … ? (singular)
- Qui sont … ? = Who are … ? (plural)
How to answer: We usually answer with C’est (singular) or Ce sont (plural):
- C’est Monsieur Duclos. = It’s Mr. Duclos.
- Ce sont les enfants. = They are the children.
Spelling magic (elision): The teacher repeats this memory hook: “e’s don’t get along.”
- Start with ce + est → the first e vanishes and becomes an apostrophe: c’est.
- With ce + sont, we don’t use an apostrophe; we write ce sont.
4) Possession with de / d’ (“of/’s”)
French shows ownership with de (of). Think: [thing] + de + [owner].
- le livre de Paul = Paul’s book
- When de bumps into a vowel (or often h or y), the e falls out (again, “the e’s don’t get along”) and becomes d’:
- le livre d’Yvonne = Yvonne’s book
Step 3: Learn Vocabulary
The following French words are included in chapter 1, pages 1-3. Please write all these words in your French notebook.
We will provide a list of new vocabulary per section. The column listing part of speech includes the following abbreviations:
- masc. = masculine
- fem. = feminine
- sg. = singular
- pl. = plural
| French | Part of Speech | English |
|---|---|---|
| un homme | noun (masc. sg.) | a man |
| l’homme | noun (masc. sg.) | the man |
| une femme | noun (fem. sg.) | a woman |
| la femme | noun (fem. sg.) | the woman |
| un garçon | noun (masc. sg.) | a boy |
| le garçon | noun (masc. sg.) | the boy |
| les garçons | noun (masc. pl.) | the boys |
| une fille | noun (fem. sg.) | a girl |
| la fille | noun (fem. sg.) | the girl |
| les filles | noun (fem. pl.) | the girls |
| un chat | noun (masc. sg.) | a cat |
| un chien | noun (masc. sg.) | a dog |
| les chiens | noun (masc. pl.) | the dogs |
| Monsieur | title / noun | Mr.; sir |
| Madame | title / noun | Mrs.; ma’am |
| est | verb (3rd sg., être) | is |
| sont | verb (3rd pl., être) | are |
| c’est (c’est) | fixed phrase (ce + est) | it is; this is |
| ce sont | fixed phrase | they are; these are |
| est-ce | interrogative pattern | is it … ? |
| ce | demonstrative pronoun | this; that; it |
| qui | interrogative/relative pronoun | who |
| oui | interjection | yes |
| non | interjection | no |
| aussi | adverb | also |
| et | conjunction | and |
| deux | numeral | two |
Step 4: Listen to Chapter 1, part 1
Step 5: Practice Pronunciation
Repeat each French sentence during the pauses.