French
General
à and le together usually combine to au.
When referring to parts of your body, French usually uses the definite article rather than a possessive pronoun.
Grammar terms
Reflexive verb: Verb where the subject and the object are the same, e.g. se lever - to get up.
Gendered nouns
All nouns in French are either masculine or feminine (unlike Latin there is no neuter).
Some nouns are always one gender, even if they can refer to people of either gender, e.g. un bébé is a male or female baby and une personne is a male or female person. The same can be true for animals, e.g. a fish is always un poisson.
The following nouns are always masculine:
- Days of the week
- Months
- Seasons
- Names of languages
- English nouns used in French, e.g. le football
Feminine versions of masculine nouns can often be generated by appending e, e.g. mon ami (my male friend) becomes ma amie (my female friend). If the masculine form ends with a vowel, the additional e does not affect pronunciation. If the masculine form ends with a consonant, that consonant is not pronounced in the masculine form but is pronounced in the feminine form, e.g. étudiant vs étudiante.
passé composé
The passé composé is the past tense which is potentially still ongoing, e.g. j'ai reservé une table (I have reserved a table - the reservation was made in the past but it exists in the present?).
All verbs in the passé composé take either avoir or être as an auxiliary verb, which changes based on the person and number. The form of the main verb is the same in all cases, known as the participe passé or past participle.
For example, aimer (to like) has the following forms in the passé composé:
J'ai aimé - I liked Tu as aimé - You liked (informal and singular) Il/Elle/On a aimé - He/she/'we' liked Nous avons aimé - We liked Vous avez aimé - You liked (formal singular and plural 'you') Ils/Elles ont aimé - They liked
The partcipe passé is always aimé and does not change. The auxiliary verb is avoir and does change.
A small number of verbs use être as the auxiliary, all other verbs use avoir.
Useful phrases
J'aime lire, et toi? - I like to read, and you?
Greetings and goodbyes
Bonjour - Literally 'good day', but is used as a general greeting to mean good morning or good afternoon.
Salut - Hi/bye (informal).
Bienvenue - Welcome.
Enchanté - Nice to meet you. Slightly formal, most people would just say bonjour.
À plus tard - See you later.
À demain - See you tomorrow.
À bientôt - See you soon.
Likes and dislikes
When saying what objects you like and dislike in French, include the definite article. For example, j'aime le chocolat is I like chocolate, even though it literally translates as I like the chocolate (which implies the existence of a particular chocolate to be liked).
Difference between je veux (I would like) and j'ai envie de (I have a desire for, but possibly more colloquial French).
Jobs
When saying what you do for a living in French, omit the indefinite article. For example, je suis professeur is I am a teacher, even though it literally translates as I am teacher. Je suis un professeur is incorrect.
Flirting
Je ne suis pas saoul, je suis juste ivre de vous: I'm not drunk, I'm just intoxicated by you.
Tu me plais: I like you.
Tu es mannequin ?: Are you a model?
Je suis tombé amoureux de toi: I have fallen in love with you.
Vous venez ici souvent ?: Do you come here often?
Voulez-vous danser avec moi ?: Do you want to dance with me?
Faux pas
Avoid the following, lest you commit a faux pas:
- Using the informal tu/toi with someone you don't know well. Always use vous, or say on peut se tutoyer (we can use the informal 'you').
- Using jouir (to enjoy). Depending on context it does not mean 'enjoy' but 'enjoy amorous activities' (is the polite way of putting it).
- Using putain. It is generally used to express frustration but depending on context it can be translated as swearing.
- Watch out for translating to be literally from English. For example, je suis chaud does not mean I am hot but I am horny. J'ai chaud is more appropriate (literally I have heat).