LESSON NOTES

Absolute Beginner S1 #2 Understanding French Easily

CONTENTS
2 2 2 3 3 French English Vocabulary Sample Sentences Grammar

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FRENCH
1.

Rob : Giulia : Rob : Giulia : Rob : Giulia :

Salut Giulia, a va ? a va et toi ? Bof. a ne va pas ? Je ne comprends pas le franais ! Tu comprends trs bien le franais !

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ENGLISH
1.

Rob: Giulia: Rob: Giulia: Rob: Giulia:

Hi Giulia, how are you? Im good, and you? Not really. Youre not good? I dont understand French! You understand French very well!

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4.

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VOCABULARY
Fr e nc h a va ? English How are you? C lass phrase

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S1 #2 - UNDERSTANDING FRENCH EASILY

a va. Je ne parle pas bien le franais. trs bien comprendre et toi a ne va pas bof

I'm fine. I don't speak French very well. very well to understand and you it's not going well not really (casual)

phrase phrase phrase verb interjection phrase expression

SAMPLE SENTENCES
La clinique est trs bien et est rpute. Je comprends le franais.

"The clinic is very good and has a good reputation."

Moi, je vais bien. Et toi, a roule ?

"I understand French."

Tu aimes a ? Bof, pas vraiment.

"Me, I'm fine. And you, what's up?"

"Do you like this ? Not really."

GRAMMAR
The Focus of This Lesson Is Informal Greetings and the Verb comprendre in the Positive and Negative Forms. Salut Giulia, a va ? "Hi Giulia, how are you?"

First of all, let's be polite and salute others while smiling to make our environment a bit friendlier... To do so, a hand movement from right to left can be sufficient when passing someone familiar on a regular basis in a neighborhood or passing the receptionist for few days in a row at a hotel lobby. However, if you want to be social, at first you should say the everyday, standard bonjour, which means "hello." This is the safest and easiest way to greet someone as the French use it equally in formal and informal situations as well as throughout the day. When the daylight is waning and the evening is starting, bonsoir, which means "good evening," is more appropriate.

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S1 #2 - UNDERSTANDING FRENCH EASILY

Informal Greetings and Asking How a Person Is

Once you break the ice and get more acquainted and your interlocutor switches to the informal "you," using tu to address you, you can switch to the informal greeting Salut, which means "Hi." You will of course, also use this greeting with close friends and family. Then naturally, you will certainly want to ask how your interlocutor is. To do so, review and observe the tables below. Greetings French Informal Formal Salut Bonjour "English" "Hi" "Hello"

Asking Informally How a Person Is French Comment a va ? Comment a va ? a va ? Telling How You Are French a va. a va bien(, merci). Trs bien/Bien. a ne va pas.* a va mal. "English" "I'm fine." "I'm fine (thank you)." "I'm very well/well." "I'm not well." "I'm not well." "English" "How are you?" "How are you?" "How are you?"

* Note: Refer to the tables below for the construction of negative statements.

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S1 #2 - UNDERSTANDING FRENCH EASILY

Je ne comprends pas le franais ! "I don't understand French!"

The key to learning French or any other subject matter is to be able to understand! So let's make sure you can tell someone "I don't understand" when you have a hard time grasping what he or she is telling you in French. To make clear that you understand or don't understand something, use the verb comprendre conjugated using the correct form of l'indicatif present, "the indicative present," similar to the simple present (and according to context sometimes translated with the present progressive as in Je comprend, or "I am understanding") in English. To check which verb form you need to use, observe the following table: Verb comprendre - "to understand" Singular form French First Person Second Person Third Person Masculine** Third Person Feminine** Plural form French First Person Second Person Third Person Masculine** Third Person Feminine** Nous comprenons Vous comprenez Ils comprennent Elles comprennent "English Translation" "We understand" "You understand" "They understand" "They understand" Je comprends Tu comprends Il comprend Elle comprend "English Translation" "I understand" "You understand" "He understands" "She understands"

* Note: The pronoun Ils, which means "they," can refer to men only or women and men. However, the feminine pronoun elles, which also means "they," only refers to women. The Negative Form

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ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S1 #2 - UNDERSTANDING FRENCH EASILY

Use the negative form to tell someone that you don't understand or that you are not well. Negative statements in French are composed of the two particles ne or n' and pas, as you see in the dialogue with Je ne comprends pas and a ne va pas ? To construct a phrase in the negative form, follow the pattern below: ne verb starting with a consonant verb starting with a vowel pas

n' For Example: French Je ne comprends pas. a ne va pas bien. Je ne parle pas bien le franais. Je n'ai pas compris. Dialogue Expansion

pas

"English Translation" "I don't understand." "I'm not very well." "I'm not speaking French well." "I didn't understand."

If you didn't understand what someone said, you can ask that person to repeat what he or she said or to speak more slowly. Formality Formal French Vous pouvez rpter, s'l vous plat ? Lentement, s'il vous plat ? Tu peux rpter, s'il te plat ? Lentement, s'il te plat ? "English Translation" "Can you repeat, please?"

Formal Informal Informal

"Slowly, please." "Can you repeat, please?" "Slowly, please."

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