Beginner’s Podcast – French Etc

Prononciation des consonnes initiales

French and English consonants at the beginning of a word are pronounced pretty much the same way except for a few.

I’d like to focus on words starting with PN and PS in this lesson. They are pronounced differently in French than they are in English.

* m …. pneu …. tire* m/f …. pneumatique …. inflatable* f …. pneumonie …. pneumonia* m …. pseudo, pseudonyme …. username, pen name* m/f …. psychopathe …. psychopath* m/f …. psychiatre …. psychiatrist* f …. psychiatrie …. psychiatry* m/f …. psychologue …. psychologist* f …. psychologie …. psychology* f …. psyché …. psyche, tall mirror* f …. psychose …. psychosis* f …. pseudoscience …. pseudoscience

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Combinaison de lettres en français

This lesson is an excerpt of Week 3 of Anne’s ‘French 1 – A1’ course, a 30-week French course for the total  French beginner.

Les mots en français ne sont pas toujours intuitifs.

The French alphabet has 26 letters, just like in English. However, French words don’t always look the way they sound. They may combine letters to make a new sound.

Anne goes over the 25 most common ones in te premium lesson. Click below to access it.

For instance,

EAU is pronounced O, such as in

EAU –> water

BEAU –> beautiful

CU is pronounced KU, such as in

CUBE –> cube

but ÇU is pronounced SU, such as in

REÇU –> received

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Exercice – Practice

Which one sounds like the bold-letter choice? Decide between 1. and 2.

1-__2-__3-__

* an sounds like* the EI in eight* the UM in bump* ça sounds like* ka* sa* -tie sounds like* see* tea

Réponses – Answers

1-22-23-1

* an sounds like* the UM in bump* ça sounds like* sa* -tie sounds like* see

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La maison de France et Henri

France and Henri’s House

Talk about your house in French. Practice with Anne. Download the audio file and print this page.

What to do with this worksheet

* Listen* Read the translation* Repeat* Memorize

La maison de France et Henri

France et Henri Durand habitent à Louret. Louret est une petite ville de 8 000 habitants. Ils ont une maison en banlieue. Leur maison a deux étages. Au rez-de-chaussée, il y a une cuisine, une pièce de vie, un salon et un cabinet de toilettes pour les invités. Il n’y a pas de salle à manger. Au premier étage, il y a trois chambres, une terrasse, deux salles de bains, un bureau et un débarras. France et Henri n’ont pas de bibliothèque au premier. Au sous-sol, il y a un garage pour deux voitures et une cave. France et Henri y habitent depuis 10 ans.

CONTINUEContinue this week-long lesson – Get the PDF and many exercises that go with it

Course on French 2 – A2: many hours of French at all levels on this theme. Dossier sur le français 2 – A2 : des heures de fiches à tous les niveaux sur ce thème.

Be proactive

Describe your house and send your written or recorded work to Anne. She’ll get back to you within 24 hours. 

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English Words in French

Mots anglais en français

This post is an excerpt of Week 1 of Anne’s ‘French 1 – A1’ course, a 30-week French course for the total beginner.

Who says French is hard to learn? There are tons of English words used in the French language – with a French accent, of course. Here is a list of some that I hear often in French.

Note that most of them are masculine.

My favorite one is ‘un pin’s’. What’s your favorite?

Do you know another one? Feel free to Leave a Reply below.

Most of all, listen, repeat out loud and learn how to pronounce these words. That’s how you’ll start sounding like a French person, by copying my voice and my intonation.

* m …. babyfoot …. foosball, table football* m …. barman …. barman, bartender* m …. basket …. basket-ball* f …. basket …. tennis shoe* m …. best-seller …. best-seller book* m …. bifteck …. steak (beef)* m …. blazer …. blazer, suit jacket* m …. blogue …. blog* m …. bluff …. bluff* m …. boss …. boss* m …. bouledogue …. bulldog* m …. boycott …. boycott* ø …. boycotter …. to boycott* m …. brainstorming …. brainstorming session* m …. business …. business* m …. businessman[1] …. businessman* m …. caddy …. store cart* m …. camping …. camp site* m …. casting …. casting, distribution* m …. challenge …. challenge

Get the Long List in the premium lesson.

Exercice – Practice

Remplacez les tirets avec les mots de la liste et la traduction. — Fill in the blanks with the words from the list and the translation.

L’été dernier, on était au « 1._____ des Lilas ». On jouait tous les jours au 2._____ et au 3._____. On a sympathisé avec le 4._____. Un jour, il nous a demandé de faire les courses pour lui : il voulait 5 caisses de bière. C’est très lourd ! Quand nous sommes arrivés au supermarché, il n’y avait pas de 5._____. On est donc revenus les mains vides et les gens au camping ont presque fait la révolution. On se souviendra de ce jour-là toute notre vie !

ENGLISH

Last summer, we were staying at the ‘Lilacs 1.Campsite’. We would play 2.basketball and 3.foosball every day. We became friendly with the 4.bartender. One day, he asked us to go shopping for him: he wanted 5 crates of beer. It’s very heavy! When we arrived at the supermarket, there were no 5.carts. So we came back empty-handed and people at the campsite almost had a revolution. We will remember that day forever!

Answers at FrenchHour

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* Passé composé or imparfait – Today’s French* faire les courses – Mot du Jour

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Small talk - Part 2 - French Beginner’s Course

Learn how to ask any question in French, and how to use the present tense. This lesson is a follow up on 'Small talk - Part 1'.

Semaine 30

This is the last lesson of the last unit of our FRENCH ETC, beginner’s course for the French traveler, although there’s going to be a review unit next post.

In part one of ‘Small talk’ you got to practice a small talk conversation. You’ve learned how to say ‘Je viens de New York’ – I come from New York and to ask a question such as ‘Comment s’appellent-ils ?’‘What are their names?

Today, we are going over how to ask all kinds of questions in French, and we are closing up that big can of worms that is the present tense in French.

In the companion worksheet – 40 pages

* how to ask any question in French

* let’s finish the review of the present tense

* verbs in -IR

* verbs in -OIR

* verbs in -RE

* irregular Verbs

Practice and answers

Text excerpt – transcribe it before reading and compare with the worksheet

Translate into French

* I’m coming tomorrow.

* I don’t understand.

* I am finishing the cake.

* We sleep well here.

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AUDIO

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Small Talk - Part 1 - French Beginner’s Course

Learn how to break the ice, chat about the weather, and French phrases, making small talk to get to know the French

Semaine 29

Today, we are chitchatting, making small talk and getting to know other people. The French call it ‘Parler de la pluie et du beau temps’ - as ‘To talk about rain and nice weather’, which we’ll translate as ‘Small Talk’ . Henri gets to know Walter in the hotel lobby. After they mention the weather – a must in breaking the ice, they ask each other where they live, where they are from, they ask about their families, spouses and children and what they do for living. They end up finding they are quite fond of each other and decide to go and have a drink to get more acquainted. This is a typical small-talk conversation, such as the one you might want to have when you are in France. So get going, and make progress in French.

In the companion worksheet – 11 pages

* translation

* about the word AUJOURD’HUI

* the weather

* French family vocabulary

* occupations in French

* practice

Text excerpt – transcribe it and compare

Parler de la pluie et du beau temps

W - Ah salut. Ça va ? Vous êtes Henri ?

H - Ça va. Oui, je suis Henri. Vous êtes Walter, vous êtes américain

...

Related: About AUJOURD’HUI . Family matters .

AUDIO

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Introductions – Part 2 – French Beginner’s Course

How do you conjugate French verbs? How do French verbs work? What about negative sentences? Learn with the AUDIO file, made by Anne, a native speaker.

Semaine 28

Today, we will go through the grammar part of our unit on Introductions.

In the companion worksheet – 9 pages

* grammar explanations

* quick review on negative sentences in French

* conjugation of all -ER verbs in the present tense

* conjugations with spelling changes

* FAIRE in the present tense

* practice on all of the above

 

Related: -ER verbs in the present tense . Negative sentences . 

AUDIO

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Introductions - Part 1 - French Beginner’s Course

How do introductions work in French? What do you say? How do you say it? Listen to Anne's AUDIO.

Semaine 27

Today’s lesson is called “Les Présentations - Introductions”. France engages in a casual conversation with tourists. They introduce themselves, talk about their summer plans, their families and hobbies.

In the companion worksheet – 14 pages

* text

* translation

* family members

* hobbies

* introductions

* countries and nationalities

* review on numbers

* practice

 

Related: Family terms in French . Countries and nationalities . Review on numbers .

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AUDIO

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Booking a hotel room – Part 2 – French Beginner’s Course

Booking a hotel room – Part 2 – French Beginner’s Course. Learn colors, the plural of adjectives, possessive adjectives, negative sentences and verb conjugation.

Semaine 26

Booking a hotel room – Grammar part

This unit is a follow up of "Booking A Hotel Room - Part 1", where you learned vocabulary to book a hotel room.

Cette leçon est la suite de "Réserver une chambre d'hôtel - Partie 1", où vous avez appris le vocabulaire.

In the companion worksheet – 9 pages

* colors

* how to make an adjective plural: how to say blue rooms and beautiful views

* my, your, his, her

* PAS DE

* 3 verbs: one regular –ER verb, two verbs with a spelling change

Worksheet excerpt

* black …. noir

* blue …. bleu

* brown …. marron

* green …. vert

* grey …. gris

* orange …. orange

* pink …. rose

* purple …. violet

* red …. rouge

* white …. blanc

* yellow …. jaune

Related: Colors . Adjectives . Place of adjectives . Possessive adjectives . PAS DE .

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AUDIO

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