All the basics
First sentences, read 12 of 15, 3 min
Making a sentence
Faire une phrase
The order is the same as in English: who, then the verb, then the rest. Only three things work differently at first.
Saying no: ne ... pas
Put ne before the verb and pas after it, like a sandwich. ne becomes n' before a vowel. In casual speech, people often drop ne, but keep it in writing.
- Je parle français.I speak French.
- Je ne parle pas français.I don't speak French.
- Elle n'est pas là.She isn't here.
- Je ne sais pas.I don't know.
- Je sais pas.I don't know. (casual speech)
Describing words come after, and they agree
Most adjectives follow the noun, and they change to match it: add e for feminine and s for plural. A few short, common ones come before: petit, grand, bon, beau, jeune, vieux.
- une voiture rougea red car
- un livre intéressantan interesting book
- une histoire intéressantean interesting story
- un petit chata small cat
- une petite maisona small house
Small joining words
de means of or from. à means at or to. Both merge with le and les, which you'll meet everywhere: de + le = du, and à + le = au.
- etand
- maisbut
- ouor
- parce quebecause
- le livre de MarieMarie's book
- Je vais au marché.I'm going to the market.
- Je viens du Canada.I come from Canada.
The English sound guides are only rough. When they disagree with the voice, go with the voice.