Nallenart's Club Mimi: French Lessons, Quizzes, Puzzles, Podcasts

Expressions with AVOIR - peur de

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:00:09 PDT

avoir peur de = to be afraid of

The French phrase avoir peur de is another example of a French expression that uses avoir, to have, where English uses to be.

Eg.: Robert a peur des araignées. = Robert is afraid of spiders.

See if you can translate the following sentences.

     J'ai peur de ton chien.
     Danielle n'a pas peur des araignées.
     Paul a peur de ton frère.
     Est-ce que tu as peur des chiens?
     Non, je n'ai pas peur des chiens.

For more work with AVOIR, download Nallenart's Avoir Workpages.

Expressions with AVOIR - faim

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:00:03 PDT

j'ai faim (zhay* FEH)** = I am hungry

In English, we use the phrase "I am hungry" to let someone know we need food. In this sentence "am," the being word, is used. To make the same statement in French, avoir (the having word) is used. The French phrase for "I am hungry," j'ai faim, uses the having verb avoir. Even though this phrase literally means "I have hunger," we would translate it as "I am hungry," because that is how we would say it in English. Faim is like the English word famine or famished.

This is what the different forms of this phrase look like in the
present tense.

j'ai faim -I am hungry	nous avons faim -we are hungry
tu as faim -you are hungry	vous avez faim -you are hungry
il a faim -he is hungry	ils ont faim -they are hungry
elle a faim -she is hungry	elles ont faim -they are hungry

For more work with AVOIR, download Nallenart's Avoir Workpages.

* zh sounds like "g" in beige or "s" in measure.
** Please keep in mind that these pronunciation guides give only a
crude approximation of the actual French sounds.

Expressions with AVOIR - age

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:00:03 PDT

French uses the verb avoir to tell how old someone is.
   How old are you?
      Quel âge as-tu? (kel ahzh* ah tyoo)**
   I am ten years old.
      J’ai dix ans. (zhay* deez ah)**
Read the question, then answer in French.
   Quel âge as-tu?
      J'ai...
* zh sounds like "g" in beige or "s" in measure.
** Please keep in mind that these pronunciation guides give only a
crude approximation of the actual French sounds.

For more work with AVOIR, download Nallenart's Avoir Workpages.

Expressions with AVOIR - soif

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:29:41 PDT

j'ai soif (zhay* SWAHF)** = I am thirsty

In English, we use the phrase "I am thirsty" to let someone know we need a drink. In this sentence "am," the being word, is used. To make the same statement in French, avoir (the having word) is used. The French phrase for "I am thirsty," j'ai soif, uses the having verb avoir. Even though this phrase literally means "I have thirst," we would translate it as "I am thirsty," because that is how we would say it in English.

This is what the different forms of this phrase look like in the
present tense.

j'ai soif -I am thirsty	nous avons soif -we are thirsty
tu as soif -you are thirsty	vous avez soif -you are thirsty
il a soif -he is thirsty	ils ont soif -they are thirsty
elle a soif -she is thirsty	elles ont soif -they are thirsty

For more work with AVOIR, download Nallenart's Avoir Workpages.

* zh sounds like "g" in beige or "s" in measure.
** Please keep in mind that these pronunciation guides give only a
crude approximation of the actual French sounds.

BnF - La bibliothèque nationale de France

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:00:01 PDT

It's very likely that you have visited a public library in your community. Did you know that you can take a virtual tour of the National Library of France?

Follow the link below to take a look inside this enormous library and see some of its treasures:

http://www.bnf.fr/visiterichelieu/index.htm

Les adjectifs - French Adjectives

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 06:00:00 PDT

French adjectives must change their forms depending on whether the nouns they describe are masculine or feminine, singular or plural. Usually the feminine form adds “e” to the masculine adjective. This can change the pronunciation of the adjective by causing the final consonant to be pronounced.

The dog is small.
Le chien est petit. (puh-TEE)
The mouse is small.
La souris est petite. (puh-TEET)

The plural form usually adds “s” to the noun, just like in English. In French we also need to add "s" to the adjective that describes a plural noun. This “s” is almost never pronounced.

The dogs are small.
Les chiens sont petits. (puh-TEE)
The mice are small.
Les souris sont petites. (puh-TEET)

Learn more about French adjectives in Nallenart's French programs for school and homeschool.

Visit Nallenart for your French curriculum needs.

ÉCRIRE = to write

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:00:01 PDT

Écrire means to write. It is related to the English words scribe,
script, and scripture.

j’écris (zhay-KREE)* = I write
tu écris (tyoo ay-KREE) = you write
il écrit (eel ay-KREE) = he writes
elle écrit (el ay-KREE) = she writes
nous écrivons (noo-zay-kree-VOH) = we write
vous écrivez (voo-zay-kree-VAY) = you write
ils écrivent (eel-zay-KREEV) = they write
elles écrivent (el-zay-KREEV) = they write

*These pronunciation guides give only a rough approximation of the French sounds!

Visit Nallenart for your French curriculum needs.

DIRE = to say, to tell

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:27:13 PDT

Dire is an irregular verb meaning to say or to tell. The French word dire is from the Latin word dicere (to say) and is related to the English words dictate, diction, and dictionary.

Note the irregular vous form!

je dis (zhuh DEE)* = I say
tu dis (tyoo DEE) = you say
il dit (eel DEE) = he says
elle dit (el DEE) = she says
nous disons (noo dee-ZOH) = we say
vous dites (voo DEET) = you say
ils disent (eel DEEZ) = they say
elles disent (el DEEZ) = they say

*These pronunciation guides give only a rough approximation of the French sounds!

Visit Nallenart for your French curriculum needs.

French for High School Sample Pages

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:49:24 PDT

Now available!

I am excited to announce that Nallenart's French for Grade 9, L'Art d'ECRIRE, is now available.

Download your free sample pages today!

High School French: L'art d'écrire

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:42:50 PDT

I am excited to announce that Nallenart's program for first year high school, L'art d'écrire, has gone to press. L'art d'écrire follows the Ontario curriculum guidelines for FSF1D, grade 9 advanced French.

More than just grammar lessons, vocabulary, and exercises, the content of the course is built around the theme of self-discovery. Students are challenged to examine their likes and dislikes, the uniqueness of their personalities, and their hopes and dreams for the future.

In addition to this, students begin to explore some of the classics of French literature, such as the famous play Cyrano de Bergerac and the novels of Jules Verne.

Sample Pages will be posted soon!

Available April 6, 2009.

Le Louvre

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:00:01 PDT

The Louvre (LOO-vruh) in the French capital city of Paris is one of the largest art museums in the world. Many famous and easily recognized paintings and sculptures are exhibited there, such as Leonardo DaVinci's Mona Lisa and the Greek statue Venus de Milo. The museum covers more than 16 hectares (40 acres) and contains 13 kilometers (8 miles) of galleries!

To see the Louvre online visit: The Louvre Museum Official Website.

This site can be viewed in French or English.

Lire = to read

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 06:00:01 PDT

Lire is an irregular verb meaning to read. The English words literature and literary are related to lire.

je lis (zhuh LEE)
= I read, I am reading, I do read
tu lis (tyoo LEE)
= you read, you are reading, you do read
il lit (eel LEE)
= he reads, he is reading, he does read
elle lit (el LEE)
= she reads, she is reading, she does read

nous lisons (noo lee-SOH)
= we read, we do read, we are reading
vous lisez (voo lee-ZAY)
= you read, you are reading, you do read
ils lisent (eel LEEZ)
= they read, they are reading, they do read
elles lisent (el LEEZ)
= they read, they are reading, they do read

Visit Nallenart for more.

Dormir

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:00:02 PDT

Dormir means “to sleep.” Our English words dormitory and dormant are related to dormir. Write out and memorize the present tense of dormir.

je dors (zhuh DOHR)
= I sleep, I am sleeping, I do sleep
tu dors (tyoo DOHR)
= you sleep, you are sleeping, you do sleep
il dort (eel DOHR)
= he sleeps, he is sleeping, he does sleep
elle dort (el DOHR)
= she sleeps, she is sleeping, she does sleep

nous dormons (noo dohr-MOH)
= we sleep, we are sleeping, we do sleep
vous dormez (voo dohr-MAY)
= you sleep, you are sleeping, you do sleep
ils dorment (eel DOHRM)
= they sleep, they are sleeping, they do sleep
elles dorment (el DOHRM)
= they sleep, they are sleeping, they do sleep

Visit Nallenart for more information about our enduring French curriculum.

More -IR Verbs

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 06:00:00 PDT

Here are some more -IR verbs.

réfléchir (ray-flay-SHEER) = to think, to reflect
choisir (shwah-ZEER) = to choose
bâtir (ba-TEER) = to build
punir (pyoo-NEER) = to punish
grandir (grahn-DEER) = to grow
réussir (ray-yoo-SEER) = to succeed

Club Mimi is sponsored by Nallenart.

-IR Verbs

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:00:01 PDT

Finir means to finish. Other verbs have similar endings. This group of verbs, -IR verbs, is the second major verb group, after -ER verbs.

je finis (zhuh fee-NEE)
= I finish, I am finishing, I do finish
tu finis (tyoo fee-NEE)
= you finish, you are finishing, you do finish
il finit (eel fee-NEE)
= he finishes, he is finishing, he does finish
elle finit (el fee-NEE)
= she finishes, she is finishing, she does finish

nous finissons (noo fee-nee-SOH)
= we finish, we are finishing, we do finish
vous finissez (voo fee-nee-SAY)
= you finish, you are finishing, you do finish
ils finissent (eel fee-NEES)
= they finish, they are finishing, they do finish
elles finissent (el fee-NEES)
= they finish, they are finishing, they do finish

Want to learn more? Visit Nallenart.

Expressions with avoir

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 06:00:01 PDT

Avoir (to have) is used in many common expressions in French. Some of these are quite different from English, so you must memorize them.

1. avoir chaud (a-VWAHR shoh)*- to be hot
2. avoir froid (a-VWAHR frwah)- to be cold
3. avoir mal (a-VWAHR mal)- to be sick
4. avoir faim (a-VWAHR fay)- to be hungry
5. avoir soif (a-VWAHR swahf)- to be thirsty
6. avoir sommeil (a-VWAHR soh-MAY)- to be tired, sleepy
7. avoir peur de (a-VWAHR PUHR duh)- to be afraid of
8. avoir besoin de (a-VWAHR buh-ZWAY duh)- to have need of

*Please note that these pronunciation guides give only a crude approximation of the French sounds!

Visit Nallenart for more!

Quelle est la date?

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:00:00 PDT

To ask, “What is the date today?” say:
Quelle est la date aujourd’hui?

To answer, we say:
Aujourd’hui, c’est le jour numéro mois.
eg.: Aujourd’hui c’est le lundi 6 février.
Today is Monday, February 6.

Another possibility:
Aujourd’hui, c’est jour, le numéro mois.
eg.: Aujourd’hui c’est mercredi, le 14 mars.
Today is Wednesday, March 14.

Les Mois de l’année

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:00:01 PDT

Can you put the months of the year in order? Notice how the months in French are very similar to the months in English.

février
avril
août
octobre
septembre
mai
novembre
janvier
juin
juillet
décembre
mars

Listen to the French Months of the Year Podcast.

Visit Nallenart for French curriculum for your school or homeschool.

Les jours de la semaine

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:00:00 PDT

Can you put the French days of the week in order?

vendredi
mardi
dimanche
lundi
samedi
jeudi
mercredi

Take the days of the week quiz.

Visit Nallenart for more French resources!

Days of the Week

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:00:00 PDT

Les jours de la semaine

Sunday - dimanche
Monday - lundi
Tuesday - mardi
Wednesday - mercredi
Thursday - jeudi
Friday - vendredi
Saturday - samedi

Notice that the days of the week are not capitalized in French as they are in English.

Take the days of the week quiz.

Visit Nallenart for more!

Au clair de la lune

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:00:00 PDT

Maybe you have heard this French folk song.

Au clair de la lune,
mon ami Pierrot,
prête-moi ta plume
pour écrire un mot.
Ma chandell’ est morte;
je n’ai plus de feu.
Ouvre-moi ta porte
pour l’amour de Dieu.

By the light of the moon, the singer asks his friend Pierrot to lend him a pen so that he can write. He also complains that his candle has also gone out. He begs Pierrot to open the door “for the love of God.”

Visit our sponsor Nallenart for French Curriculum for your school or homeschool.

Using Colour Words

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:00:10 PDT

In French the colour words come after the nouns that they describe.

For example:
une pomme rouge = a red apple (an apple, red)

See if you can translate the following phrases:

une tomate rouge
un chien brun
une banane jaune
une carotte orange
le céleri vert

Try our Colour Wordsearch and Colour Crossword Puzzles.

Visit our sponsor Nallenart for French Curriculum for your school or homeschool.

Pronouns

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:00:01 PDT

Instead of having a separate pronoun such as it to refer to things, French uses il (he, it) to replace masculine nouns and elle (she, it) to replace feminine nouns.

The book is black. It is black.
Le livre est noir. Il est noir.

The tomato is red. It is red.
La tomate est rouge. Elle est rouge

Plural nouns follow the same pattern.

The bananas are yellow. They are yellow.
Les bananas sont jaunes. Elles sont jaunes.

The pencils are green. They are green.
Les crayons sont verts. Ils sont verts.

Notice that the colour words must be plural if the noun that they describe is plural!

Visit our sponsor Nallenart for French Curriculum for your school or homeschool.

What colour is it?

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:00:00 PDT

To ask what colour something is, use the phrase "De quelle couleur...?"

What colour is the book?
De quelle couleur est le livre?

The book is red.
Le livre est rouge.

What colour is the cat?
De quelle couleur est le chat?

The cat is black.
Le chat est noir.

Try our Colour Wordsearch and Colour Crossword Puzzles.

Visit our sponsor Nallenart for French Curriculum for your school or homeschool.

More Than One

normaallen@clubmimi.com (Norma Allen) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 06:00:01 PDT

Most French nouns form the plural by adding “s” at the end, just like in English. Because this final “s” is not usually pronounced in French, The plural must also be indicated by the accompanying article.

le or la becomes les (the)

un or une becomes des (often translated as some)

For example:
le chien (the dog), les chiens (the dogs)
un chien (a dog), des chiens (dogs, or some dogs)

Words that end in “eau” add “x” instead of “s.”

For example:
le chapeau (the hat), les chapeaux (the hats)
un chapeau (a hat), des chapeaux (hats, or some hats)

Visit our sponsor Nallenart for French Curriculum for your school or homeschool.