French Practice

Une histoire à dormir debout! A Cock and Bull story!

2008-03-31T09:39:00.001-07:00

To see the text related to this photo, please click here.

French Weekly Lesson/ Leçon de la semaine

How to Ask a question in French?

The Yes/No questions.

Using the intonation pattern : familiar common and quicker way. There is nothing to change in the declarative sentence, just raise the intonation. A question mark is placed at the end of the sentence when written.
Elle aime la soupe? (Do you like soup?)
Tu vas à Paris? (are you going to Paris?)
Vous parlez anglais? (Do you speak English?)
Using the expression “est-ce que”.It is another common spoken way. What you have to do is to place “est-ce que” at the beginning of the sentence.
Est-ce que tu viens avec moi? (are you coming with me ?).
Est-ce que vous allez au cinéma? (are you[plur] going to the movies ?).
Est-ce que tu manges du fromage? (do you eat cheese?).

NB : If the pronoun subject is “il” or “elle”, you have to remove the “e” in the expression “est-ce que” and replace it by an apostrophe: "est-ce qu'" Otherwise you will have 2 vowels in a row: ~~est-ce que elle~~ , ~~est-ce que il~~ .
So you get :
Est-ce qu’il parle anglais (does he speak English?) or Est-ce qu’elle parle français (does she speak French?).
Make the liaison between "qu" and "il" or "elle" (like in "kill" or "kell").
Using the inversion : This is a little more formal, but still frequent. The verb is followed by the pronoun subject (an hyphen is added between them).

If the subject is a pronoun, simply invert the verb and the pronoun subject:
Parlez-vous anglais? (do you speak English?)
As-tu faim? (are you hungry?)
Ont-ils soif? (Are they thirsty?).
Comprends-tu? (Do you understand?)

NB : When the verb ends with a vowel (in the third person singular) a “t” is added to make the pronunciation easier. (remember to place dashes between the “t”)
A-t-elle un frère? (does she has a brother ?)
Aime-t-elle la soupe? (does she like soup?)
Va-t-elle à Paris (is she going to paris?)

NB : With the first person singular “je” (in present and imperfect tense) the inversion is not possible:
- with verbs ending with an “e”: ~~Mange-je?~~ ~~parle-je?~~ , ~~chante-je~~ ? ~~trouve-je?~~
- with verbs ending in a nasal sound such as : ~~Finis-je~~ ? ~~Sonne-je~~ ?
- with verbs that are monosyllabic such as: ~~Dors-je~~ ? ~~Sors-je~~ ? ~~Prends-je~~ ?
In these cases, use: “est-ce que” question:
Est-ce que je sors tous les soirs?(Do I go out every evening ?)
Est-ce que je parle français (Do I speak French?).
However, it’s quite common to see the inversion with :
Ai-je le temps (do I have time), Puis-je sortir? (May I leave?) Suis-je perdue? (Am I lost?) Dois-je répéter? (do I have to repeat?).
If the subject is a noun: place the noun at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the inversion (verb-subject).
Catherine aime-t-elle la soupe? (does Catherine like the soup?).
Les enfants jouent-ils dans le jardin (Are the children playing in the yard?).
You can also use: "est-ce que": Est-ce que Catherine aime la soupe?

----------------------------
French Exercice

Directions :
Select the best question that corresponds to the given answer.
To check the result, double-click in the box, or highlight, by moving your cursor form left to right.

1. Answer: Oui, je suis français. (Yes I am French):
A. Est-ce que vous êtes français ?
B. Vous êtes-vous français ?
C. Etes-vous français est-ce que ?

2. Answer: Non ils ne sont pas malades. (no, they are not sick):
A. Sont malades ils?
B. Est-ce que sont-ils malades ?
C. Ils sont malades ?

3. Answer: Oui, il regarde un film à la télévision. (yes, he is watching a movie on TV).
A. Regarde-il un film ?
B. Regarde-t-il un film ?
C. Est-ce que regarde il un film ?

4. Answer: Non, il ne travaille pas bien. (no he doesn’t work well).
A. Travaille-il bien ?
B. Est-ce que il travaille bien ?
C. Travaille-t-il bien ?

5. Answer: oui, Adrien apprend le japonais (yes, Adrien is learning Japanese)
A. Adrien apprend-t-il le japonais ?
B. Adrien apprend-il le japonais ?
C. Est-ce qu’Adrien il apprend le japonais ?

6. Answer: Non, vous ne pouvez pas fumer ici. (no, you cannot smoke here)
A. Est-ce que peux-je fumer?
B. Puis-je fumer?
C. Peux-je fumer ?

7. Answer: oui, tu as raison. (yes, you’re right)
A. Ai-je raison ?
B. Est-ce que je ai raison ?
C. Est-ce que ai-je raison ?

8. Answer: Non ils n’aiment pas voyager. (no, they don’t like traveling)
A. Aiment-ils voyager ?
B. Est-ce que ils aiment voyager ?
C. Aiment-t-ils voyager

9. Answer: Non, mes amis ne sont pas libres maintenant. (No, my friends are not free now)
A. Sont tes amis libres?
B. Est-ce que sont-ils libres tes amis ?
C. Tes amis sont-ils libres?

10. Answer: oui, ma soeur vient demain. (yes, my sister is coming tomorrow)
A. Ta soeur vient-elle demain ?
B. Vient-elle ta soeur demain ?
C. Est-ce que vient ta soeur demain ?

11. Answer: Non, je n’ai pas faim. (no, I am not hungry)
A. Est-ce que as-tu faim ?
B. Tu as faim.
C. Est-ce que tu as faim?

À bientôt!

He who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind! Qui sème le vent récolte la tempête!

2008-03-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

To see the text related to these 2 photos, please click here.

French Weekly Lesson/ Leçon de la semaine:

French Vocabulary/ Vocabulaire

une tour: a tower
une éolienne; a windmill
l'energie propre: the clean energy
un panneau: a sign
soutenir une campagne : to support a campaign

French Verbs

Present Indicative of French regular verbs (2nd group):
-ir verbs (type "finir" = to finish)

To conjugate in present indicative, drop the infinitive ending (-ir) and replace by: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent .

French Affirmative Form - (I finish, I am finishing, I do finish):

je finis (I finish)	nous finissons (we finish)
tu finis (you finish: sing)	vous finissez (you finish: plur)
il/elle finit (he/she finishes)	ils/elles finissent (they finish)

French Negative Form - (I am not finishing, I do not finish):

je ne finis pas (I do not finish)	nous ne finissons pas (we do not finish)
tu ne finis pas(you do not finish: sing)	vous ne finissez pas(you do not finish: plur)
il/elle ne finit pas(he/she doesn't finish use)	ils/elles ne finnissent pas(they do not finish)

French Interrogative Form - (Are you finishing? Do you finish?):

est-ce que je finis? (do I finish)	finissons-nous?(do we finish)
finis-tu (do you finish? sing)	finissez-vous? (do you finish? plur)
finit-il/elle? (does he/she finish?)	finissent-ils/elles? (do they finish?)

A hyphen is written between the subject and the verb: finis-tu?
When asking a question with a noun as subject, first state the noun, and then invert the verb and the pronoun subject: les étudiants réussissent-ils? (Do the students succeed?).

Here is a list of common French -ir verbs ( 2nd group):

accomplir: (to accomplish), agir: (to act) , applaudir: (to applaud), approfondir (to go into details), atterrir (to land), avertir (), bâtir: (to build), bénir: (to bless), choisir: (to choose), désobeir: (to disobey), divertir (to distract, to entertain), démolir (to demolish), enrichir: (to enrich, to improve), envahir: (to invade), établir: (to establish), fleurir: (to bloom), fournir: (to provide, to supply), franchir: (to pass over), garantir: (to garantee), grandir: (to grow), grossir: (to put on weight, to gain weight), guérir: (to heal, to cure), investir: (to invest), jaunir: (to turn yellow), maigrir: (to lose weight), nourrir: (to feed), obéir: (to obey), punir: (to punish), réfléchir: (to think), remplir: (to fill), réussir (to succeed, to pass), rougir: (to blush), saisir: (to seize), subir (to undergo, to suffer, to endure), trahir: (to betray) ...

Exercise/ Exercice:

Test on French Verbs:

Present Tense of French Regular -ir verbs:

Directions :
Fill in the following blanks with the correct verb form of the Present Indicative:
To see the answer, double click in the the next box.

1. (choisir/ to choose). Elle un livre (she chooses a book).

choisit

2. (réfléchir/ to think). Ils intensément. (They think hard).

réfléchissent

3. (atterrir /to land). L'avion à Boston. (The plane lands in Boston).

atterrit

4. (réussir/ to pass). Vous tout. (You[plur] succeed in everything).

réussissez

5. (applaudir/ to applaud). J' à la fin du spectacle. (I applaud at the end of the show).

applaudis

6. (agir / to act). Tu n' pas bien! (You [sing] don't act well!).

agis

7. (grossir/ to put on weight). Je en ce moment. (I am putting on weight these days).

grossis

8. (fleurir/ to bloom). Les pommiers au printemps. (apple trees bloom in spring).

fleurissent

9. (finir/ to finish, to end). Tu mton travail à 7 heures. (You [sing] end my work at 7h ).

finis

10. (guérir/ to cure). Ce médicament -il sa maladie. (Does this medicine cure his/her disease).

guérit

11. (remplir/ to fill). Vous ne pas votre verre avec de l'eau. (you don't fill your glass with water).

remplissez

12. (choisir/ to choose). Nous un autre film. (we choose another movie).

choisissons

13.(subir/to suffer ). Ils les conséquences de la sécheresse. (They suffer consequences of drought).

subissent

14.(accomplir/ to accomplish), to achieve. Le coureur une performance. (the runner achieves a performance).

accomplit

15. (investir/ to invest). -vous dans l'or? (Do you invest in gold?).

investissez

A superb performance at the Symphony Hall! Un concert superbe au Symphony Hall!

2008-03-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

French Vocabulary

Voici les 6 mots liés à la photo ci-dessus.
Here are the 6 words related to the picture above:

un orgue: an organ
la salle de concert: tthe concert Hall.
la scène: the stage.
les musiciens: the musiciens.
jouer: to perform
magnifique, sublime : magnificent

French Verbs:

How to conjugate in present indicative?

---->drop the infinitive ending (-er) and replace by: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent.

French Present Indicative of "jouer" (to perform/ to play)

French Affirmative Form - (I am performing / I perform):

je joue (I perform)	nous jouons (we perform)
tu joues (you perform: sing)	vous jouez (you perform: plur)
il/elle joue (he/she performs)	ils/elles jouent (they perform)

French Negative Form - (I am not perforing, I do not perform):

je ne joue pas (I don't perform)	nous ne jouons pas (we do not perform)
tu ne joues pas(you do not perform: sing)	vous ne jouez pas(you do not perform: plur)
il/elle ne joue pas(he/she perform)	ils/elles ne jouent pas(they do perform)

French Interrogative Form - (Are you performing? /Do you perform?):

Est-ce que je joue? (am I performing)	jouons-nous?(are we performing)
joues-tu (are you performing? sing)	jouez-vous? (are your performing? plur)
joue-t-il/elle? (is he/she performing?)	jouent-ils/elles? (are they performing?)

With "il, elle, on", a t is placed between the verb and the pronoun to make the pronunciation easier: Examples: joue-t-il ce soir? Joue-t-elle ? (does he/she perform tonight?).
A hyphen is written between the subject and the verb: joues-tu?
When asking a question with a noun as subject, first state the noun, and then invert the verb and the pronoun subject: les pêcheurs attrapent-ils? (Do the fishermen catch?). Claude chante-t-il? (Is Claude singing?).

How do you say it in French?

"a location" (a position)

----->Allez sur mon blog jumelé www.bostonsnapshot.com (le dernier post) et trouvez la traduction en français.
----- >Go to my sister blog www.bostonsnapshot.com (the last post) and find the french translation .

Bonne chance!

Have you found it? Here is the answer: (highlit the empty box by moving your cursor form left to right :

un endroit

À BIENTÔT!