Listening comprehension is often one of the most difficult skills to develop, and that’s why it’s so important to expose yourself to spoken French as frequently as possible. In this exercise, listening comprehension and grammar skills combine forces! The reading that you will listen to includes many verbs in the imparfait, futur simple, and conditionnel (among other tenses). This is a four step activity to help you work on listening, reading, and writing skills.
What’s included in this French listening comprehension activity?
👉STEP 1: Listen to a 4 minute audio recording about a 14 year old girl making a diary entry
👉STEP 2: Download the fill in the blanks exercise. Write verbs in the imparfait, futur simple, and conditionnel as you listen to the audio recording. The verbs are not provided on the worksheet, so this will be a challenge.
👉STEP 3: Download the fill in the blanks writing verbs in the imparfait, futur simple, and conditionnel as you read the text carefully paying attention to context. The infinitive form of each verb is provided in parentheses. You can either do this exercise while listening to the audio or not.
👉STEP 4: Download the complete French text and English translation in case there are some passages you don’t completely understand.
Use French stressed pronouns to add emphasis to what you want to say. Use these pronouns when you want to change the tone of your voice (as we do in English). You can place them either at the beginning or at the end of a sentence. Have a look at my comprehensive video lesson at the bottom of this page.
Careful: You won’t use disjunctive pronouns with À + A PERSON because that would require an indirect object pronoun. Many times POUR + A PERSON will also require an indirect object pronoun if something is actually being done for that person.
moi
avec – with
avec moi – with me
toi
pour – for
pour toi – for you
lui
chez – at the home of
chez lui – at his house
elle
avant – before
avant elle – before her
nous
devant – in front of
devant nous – in front of us
vous
après – after
après vous – after you
eux
derrière – behind
derrière eux – behind them
elles
à côté de – next to
à côté d’elles – next to them
Stressed pronouns – Emphasize who is doing something
When you want to say something like “I am the one who is going to the store”, just use the following model. You must be sure to make the verb agree with the stress / disjunctive pronoun being used. Even though we don’t say it like this in English, here’s a direct translation. It’s as if you were saying “It is me who am going to the store”. Weird, huh? But that’s how you do it in French, and it makes sense.
English
French
Example
me
moi
C’est moi qui vais au magasin. I’m the one who is going to the store.
you
toi
C’est toi qui vas au magasin. You’re the one who is going to the store.
him
lui
C’est lui qui va au magasin. He’s the one who is going to the store.
her
elle
C’est elle qui va au magasin. She’s the one who is going to the store.
us
nous
C’est nous qui allons au magasin. We’re the ones who are going to the store.
you
vous
C’est vous qui allez au magasin. You’re the ones who are going to the store. (plural vous)
them (masculine)
eux
Ce sont eux qui vont au magasin. They’re the ones who are going to the store.
them (feminine)
elles
Ce sont elles qui vont au magasin. They’re the ones who are going to the store.
Stressed pronouns – Use them to say also or neither – either
English
French
Example
me too moi non plus
moi aussi me neither
Je vais au magasin, moi aussi. I’m also going to the store.
Je ne vais pas au magasin, moi non plus. I’m not going to the store either.
you too you neither
toi aussi toi non plus
Tu vas au magasin, toi aussi. You’re also going to the store.
Tu ne vas pas au magasin, toi non plus. You’re not going to the store either.
him too him either
lui aussi lui non plus
Il va au magasin, lui aussi. He’s also going to the store.
Il ne va pas au magasin, lui non plus. He’s not going to the store either.
her too her either
elle aussi elle non plus
Elle va au magasin, elle aussi. She’s also going to the store.
Elle ne va pas au magasin, elle non plus. She’s not going to the store either.
us too
us either
nous aussi
nous non plus
Nous allons au magasin, nous aussi. We’re also going to the store.
Nous n’allons pas au magasin, nous non plus. We’re not going to the store either.
you too
you either
vous aussi
vous non plus
Vous allez au magasin, vous aussi. You’re also going to the store.
Vous n’allez pas au magasin, vous non plus. You’re not going to the store either.
them too (masculine)
them either (masculine)
eux aussi
eux non plus
Ils vont au magasin, eux aussi. They’re also going to the store.
Ils ne vont pas au magasin, eux non plus. They’re not going to the store either.
them too (feminine)
them either (feminine)
elles aussi
elles non plus
Elles vont au magasin, elles aussi. They’re also going to the store.
Elles ne vont pas au magasin, elles non plus. They’re not going to the store either.
French Stress Pronouns – Disjunctive Pronouns Comprehensive Lesson
This is a complete lesson on how to use French disjunctive pronouns: MOI – TOI – LUI – ELLE – NOUS – VOUS – EUX – ELLES. In English these are: ME – YOU – HIM – HER – US – PLURAL YOU – THEM.
The first step is to watch my 13 minute video tutorial carefully and take notes. I’ve included a 7 page support guide so that you will have all of the examples used in the video written down for you. In the support guide document you will also find a link to a quizlet study set on French prepositions of location. These are often used with disjunctive pronouns.
You’ll then take an online quiz to practice what you’ve learned in the video tutorial. There are 50 questions with multiple choice answers.
Next, you’ll be able to download 50 cards to practice using French stress pronouns in three different ways. These cards closely resemble the online quiz, but they’re much more of a challenge since there are no multiple choice answers available. Also, the answer prompts aren’t always exactly they way you will have seen them in the multiple choice quiz. You can either practice with these cards online or print out a deck for those times when you don’t want to be stuck in front of your computer.
All of the cards have a question written on them. There are two blanks to fill in with your answers. One of the blanks requires a disjunctive pronoun, and the other requires you to change the verb conjugation to agree with the subject of the answer sentence. All of the cards are written in the present tense.
At last comes the real challenge and the true test to know when you’ve finally mastered French disjunctive pronouns. You’ll listen to an audio recording of me asking you the same 50 questions that you will have first seen in the multiple choice quiz, then you will have practiced using the challenge cards with answer prompts. This time you’ll write out your answers with no prompts at all on the student response sheet provided. Answer key is provided.
Verbs to be conjugated in present tense: être (10 cards), aller (14 cards), avoir (5 cards), faire (5 cards), regular -er verbs (12 cards), vouloir (1 card), partir (2 cards), prendre (1 card).
Are you ready to learn a new way to speak about the future? Have you been using the futur proche all the time? Are you ready to up your game in the way you speak French? You’ll see the futur simple is very useful, and it’s not hard to form. Have a look at my comprehensive video lesson at the bottom of this page. I will teach you how to use this tense with regular and irregular verbs, and you’ll have loads of resources to help you practice and master your new skill!
STEP 1: Download your 6 page study guide and be ready to take notes and write sentences in the futur simple.
STEP 2: Watch my video tutorial.
STEP 3: Worksheet #1 – Futur proche vs Futur simple
STEP 4: Worksheet #2 – Complete sentences by filling in the blanks with verbs in the futur simple.
STEP 5: Practice, practice, practice using your set of 40 conjugation cards. You’ll see the futur simple in action with 40 new examples. Regular and irregular verbs are included for lots of exposure.
STEP 6: Have a little fun while learning the futur simple with 5 crossword puzzles.
STEP 7: Once you complete this set of 50 sudoku puzzles, you’ll definitely be a pro! There are so many different versions. You’ll be able to print new ones anytime you’d like a fun review.
STEP 8: See the futur simple in action with 10 different page long mini-dialogues. It’s always a great idea to see how your new skill can be used in different contexts. Try reading them aloud to practice oral production! Here’s a list of the fun themes used in the dialogues:
La météo Le cinéma Au restaurant Chez le médecin L’automne L’environnement La montagne La plage Les vacances Les tâches ménagères
STEP 9: You have 60 half-page worksheets to practice using 60 different verbs in the futur simple. Regular and irregular verbs are included. You write the conjugation as well as your own sentence using the verb. Use at least 7 words!
STEP 10: You’ll get a link to a Quizlet study set that you can use online anytime to practice forming the futur simple with fun games and tests to evaluate your progress.
“Dictation is the transcription of spoken text: one person who is “dictating” speaks and another who is “taking dictation” writes down the words as they are spoken. Among speakers of several languages, dictation is used as a test of language skill, similar to spellingbees in the English-speaking world.”
You can watch the first of twenty French beginner level dictation exercises in the video at the bottom of this post. Click on the button below for a free transcript, translation, and audio version of “Dans la rue”.
➯ Video presentation of the dictée. Watch me and listen as I read each sentence two times slowly enough to understand and write at the same time. Many non-natives find it makes the listening comprehension part of dictation exercises more manageable to see the speaker’s mouth. Once I’ve finished reading the dictation, I will present each written sentence in French along with the English translation. Once we’ve gone through all of the sentences and you have checked your work, I will present the complete text in paragraph form on the screen. At that time, we can slowly read through the complete text together so they can see how the separate sentences actually form a short story.
➯ Audio presentation of the dictée.. Listen as I read each sentence two times slowly enough to understand and write at the same time. This version of the exercise will be more challenging as you will not see the speaker’s mouth.
➯ PDF of the numbered sentences in the dictée and the English translation.
➯ Numbered response sheet. This is located on page 2 of the PDF.
Have you learned all or most of the French grammar you see on the list below? Do you find it easier to read and write than to speak and understand when being spoken to? Listening comprehension takes a ton of practice. Watch Jennifer’s first lesson on listening comprehension for beginners in the video below. This is the French course for you if you have studied a lot of basic grammar, and you need to practice putting it all together. Maybe you have some knowledge of French grammar, but you have difficulty creating solid sentences. In this course you will learn a lot about all of those “extra” words that pop up everywhere in French (and why they’re there).
This is an upper beginner level French listening comprehension course. Ten lessons are included for a total of 2.5 + hours of video instruction. Each comprehensive lesson includes French grammar unique to the A1 level (see grammar specifics below).
Each lesson covers a different theme, but the grammar used is repeated in different contexts lesson to lesson all the while adding new elements from the list.
In each lesson:
Jennifer does a first reading of the text on video
Jennifer asks 5 comprehension questions and you begin to answer
Jennifer does a second reading of the text on video
Jennifer shows you the 5 comprehension questions in written form and you finish answering
Jennifer goes over all 5 questions and answers with you
Jennifer leads you through a comprehensive grammatical analysis of the text
Each video lesson lasts approximately fifteen minutes. PDFs of the texts in French with English translations as well as the 5 listening comprehension questions are provided for you to print out and perhaps take notes on as you take each lesson.
This French listening comprehension course for beginners covers the grammar on the list below:
French subject pronouns
Stressed pronouns
Articles: Definite, indefinite and partitives
Plural nouns
Possessive adjectives
Prepositions of location
Numbers
Time, days, months
French verb ALLER
French verb ÊTRE
French verb AVOIR + expressions
French verb FAIRE + expressions
French verb PRENDRE
French verb METTRE
Descriptive adjectives
Questions
Il faut / Il ne faut pas
Themed vocabulary
There is a lot included in the lessons that isn’t on this list. Don’t worry, these are new things you will learn during our time together. Have a look at the first lesson in the following video.
Watch my video lesson on how to use French reflexive verbs in the present and passé composé tenses. Download your 10 page support guide to this lesson on Patreon. Here’s a list of 32 of the most common reflexive verbs, their past participles, and their translations in English.
Watch my vide lesson on using the verb être as helping verb in the French passé composé. Download your support guide to this lesson on Patreon. Here’s a list of the most common 17 verbs that take être as auxiliary verb.Click here for my full course.
Listen to the dictée while watching the video below. Download your free support guide which indicates all of the grammar topics included as well as the correction and English translation @LLL French Academy.
40 – 60 WORDS: This is the length of the written part of the A1 DELF EXAM
INSTRUCTIONS
Write exactly what you hear in the dictée. I will read each sentence twice.
Pause the video if you need more time to write. Keep in mind that in French many words seem to run together and sound like just one word.
Useful vocabulary: point = period; full stop virgule = comma point d’exclamation = exclamation mark point d’interrogation = question mark
GRAMMAR
Grammar covered in this dictée:
Regular French verbs ending in ER, IR, and RE Reflexive verbs – Present tense Futur proche Passé composé with avoir Imperfect tense Direct object pronouns Indirect object pronouns
There are two main factors to consider when using adjectives in French, and they are very different to the way we use adjectives in English. Scroll all the way down if you just want a quick list of 40 very easy to use French adjectives.
French adjectives must agree in number and in gender with the person, place or thing that they are describing.
Most of the time you must place the adjective AFTER the noun it is describing.
The final consonant in masculine adjectives is usually silent and usually pronounced in feminine ones.
Most of the time you add an E to a masculine adjective to make it feminine, and you add an S to make it plural. Exceptions follow.
masculine
singular
masculine
plural
feminine
singular
feminine
plural
bleu
blue
bleu
C’est un stylo bleu.
bleus
Ce sont des stylos bleus.
bleue
C’est une voiture bleue.
bleues
Ce sont des voitures bleues.
amusant
funny / fun
amusant
C’est un garçon amusant.
amusants Ce sont des garçons amusants.
amusante
C’est une fille amusante.
amusantes
Ce sont des filles amusantes.
salé
salty
salé C’est un plat salé.
salés Ce sont des plats salés.
salée C’est une tarte salée.
salées Ce sont des tartes salées.
Sometimes the masculine form of the adjective already ends in E. When this is the case there is no difference in the masculine and feminine forms.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
timide shy
timide C’est un garçon timide.
timides Ce sont des garçons timides.
timide C’est une fille timide.
timides Ce sont des filles timides.
Other common regular French adjectives
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
warm
chaud
chauds
chaude
chaudes
short
court
courts
courte
courtes
right
droit
droits
droite
droites
strong
fort
forts
forte
fortes
cold
froid
froids
froide
froides
gray
gris
gris
grise
grises
high
haut
hauts
haute
hautes
ugly
laid
laids
laide
laides
heavy
lourd
lourds
lourde
lourdes
evil
mauvais
mauvais
mauvaise
mauvaises
perfect
parfait
parfaits
parfaite
parfaites
small
petit
petits
petite
petites
deaf
sourd
sourds
sourde
sourdes
amusing
amusant
amusants
amusante
amusantes
content
content
contents
contente
contentes
big
grand
grands
grande
grandes
intelligent
intelligent
intelligents
intelligente
intelligentes
interesting
intéressant
intéressants
intéressante
intéressantes
mean
méchant
méchants
méchante
méchantes
slow
lent
lents
lente
lentes
full
plein
pleins
pleine
pleines
next
prochain
prochains
prochaine
prochaines
powerful
puissant
puissants
puissante
puissantes
blue
bleu
bleus
bleue
bleues
clear
clair
clairs
claire
claires
complicated
compliqué
compliqués
compliquée
compliquées
sorry
désolé
désolés
désolée
désolées
hard
dur
durs
dure
dures
equal
égal
égals
égale
égales
tired
fatigué
fatigués
fatiguée
fatiguées
happy
gai
gais
gaie
gaies
pretty
joli
jolis
jolie
jolies
black
noir
noirs
noire
noires
polite
poli
polis
polie
polies
sure
sûr
sûrs
sûre
sûres
Some French adjectives come before the noun they describe: BAGS = Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size
When an adjective falls into the BAGS category you need to put it in front of the nouns that it describes.
Beauty
beau
C’est un beau chien.
That’s a beautiful dog.
Age
vieux
C’est un vieux monsieur.
He’s an old man.
Good or Bad
bon
C’est un bon gâteau.
This is a good cake.
Size
grand
C’est un grand garçon.
He’s a tall boy.
Other common French adjectives that are placed before the noun
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
young
jeune
jeunes
jeune
jeunes
little, small, short
petit
petits
petite
petites
bad
mauvais
mauvais
mauvaise
mauvaises
best
meilleur
meilleurs
meilleure
meilleures
false, fake
faux
faux
fausse
fausses
big, fat
gros
gros
grosse
grosses
high
haut
hauts
haute
hautes
pretty
joli
jolis
jolie
jolies
new
nouveau
nouveaux
nouvelle
nouvelles
Sometimes the masculine form of the adjective ends in S or X. When this is the case there is no difference in the masculine singular and plural forms.
The following example uses an adjective that falls into the BAGS category, so it is placed before the noun that it describes.
Note that when the adjective comes BEFORE the noun, DES must change to DE. This is an exception in the French language.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
gros big
gros C’est un gros chien.
gros Ce sont de gros chiens.
grosse C’est une grosse voiture.
grosses Ce sont de grosses voitures.
Irregular adjectives
Most adjectives are formed as you see in the examples above. However, many French adjectives are irregular.
Adjectives that end in a VOWEL + L
Make the adjective feminine by doubling the L and adding an E.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
personnel personal
personnel C’est un problème personnel.
personnels Ce sont des problèmes personnels.
personnelle C’est une histoire personnelle.
personnelles Ce sont des histoires personnelles.
cruel cruel
cruel Ce professeur est cruel.
cruels Ces gens sont cruels.
cruelle C’est une femme cruelle.
cruelles Ce sont des femmes cruelles.
Adjectives that end in a VOWEL + N
Make the adjective feminine by doubling the N and adding an E. The adjective in the following example falls into the BAGS category.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
bon good
bon C’est un bon restaurant.
bons Ce sont de bons restaurants.
bonne C’est une bonne idée.
bonnes Ce sont de bonnes idées.
Other common French adjectives that end in a VOWEL + N
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
ancient, old
ancien
anciens
ancienne
anciennes
Christian
chrétien
chrétiens
chrétienne
chrétiennes
European
européen
européens
européenne
européenne
Italian
italien
italiens
italienne
italiennes
middle
moyen
moyens
moyenne
moyennes
Parisian
parisien
parisiens
parisienne
parisiennes
rural
paysan
paysans
paysanne
paysannes
Adjectives that end in ER or ET
Make these adjectives feminine by adding an ACCENT GRAVE.
Make the adjective feminine by doubling the L and adding an E.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
léger light
léger C’est un repas léger.
légers Ce sont des repas légers.
légère C’est une table légère.
légères Ce sont des tables légères.
complet full
complet Le bus est complet.
complets Les bus sont complets.
complète La liste est complète.
complètes Les listes sont complètes.
Other common French adjectives that end in ER
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
bitter
amer
amers
amère
amères
expensive, dear
cher
chers
chère
chères
last
dernier
derniers
dernière
dernières
entire, whole
entier
entiers
entière
entières
foreign
étranger
étrangers
étrangère
étrangères
proud
fier
fiers
fière
fières
first
premier
premiers
première
premières
Other common French adjectives that end in ET
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
concrete
concret
concrets
concrète
concrètes
discreet
discret
discrets
discrète
discrètes
uneasy, worried
inquiet
inquiets
inquiète
inquiètes
secret
secret
secrets
secrète
secrètes
Adjectives that end in C
Make the adjective feminine by adding HE to the end
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
franc frank / honest
franc C’est un homme très franc.
francs Ce sont des hommes très francs.
franche C’est une femme très franche.
franches Ce sont des femmes très franches.
Other common French adjectives that end in C
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
white
blanc
blancs
blanche
blanches
dry
sec
secs
sèche
sèches
Adjectives that end in EUR
Make the adjective feminine by taking off the R and adding SE. The following adjective falls into the BAGS category.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
meilleur best
meilleur C’est mon meilleur ami.
meilleurs Ce sont mes meilleurs amis.
meilleure C’est ma meilleure amie.
meilleures Ce sont mes meilleures amies.
Other common French adjectives that end in EUR and that follow this pattern
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
anterior
antérieur
antérieurs
antérieure
antérieures
posterior
postérieur
postérieurs
postérieure
postérieures
exterior
extérieur
extérieurs
extérieure
extérieures
interior
intérieur
intérieurs
intérieure
intérieures
inferior
inférieur
inférieurs
inférieure
inférieures
superior
supérieur
supérieurs
supérieure
supérieures
major
majeur
majeurs
majeure
majeures
minor
mineur
mineurs
mineure
mineures
best
meilleur
meilleurs
meilleure
meilleures
Adjectives that end in TEUR
Make the adjective feminine by taking off the EUR and adding RICE
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
conservateur conservative
conservateur C’est un parti politique conservateur.
conservateurs Ce sont des partis politiques conservateurs.
conservatrice C’est une femme politique conservatrice.
conservatrices Ce sont des femmes politiques conservatrices.
Other common French adjectives that end in TEUR
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
acting
acteur
acteurs
actrice
actrices
creative
créateur
créateurs
créatrice
créatrices
protective
protecteur
protecteurs
protectrice
protectrices
Adjectives that end in EUX
Make the adjective feminine by taking off the X and adding SE. Note that the masculine singular and plural forms are the same.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
heureux happy
heureux Il est heureux.
heureux Ils sont heureux.
heureuse Elle est heureuse.
heureuses Elles sont heureuses.
Other common French adjectives that end in EUX
English meaning
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
in love
amoureux
amoureux
amoureuse
amoureuses
courageous
courageux
courageux
courageuse
courageuses
curious
curieux
curieux
curieuse
curieuses
boring
ennuyeux
ennuyeux
ennuyeuse
ennuyeuses
furious
furieux
furieux
furieuse
furieuses
jealous
jaloux
jaloux
jalouse
jalouses
marvelous
merveilleux
merveilleux
merveilleuse
merveilleuses
fearful
peureux
peureux
peureuse
peureuses
serious
sérieux
sérieux
sérieuse
sérieuses
Adjectives that end in F
Make the adjective feminine by taking off the F and adding VE.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
actif active
actif C’est un enfant actif.
actifs Ce sont des enfants actifs.
active C’est une petite fille active.
actives Ce sont de petites filles actives.
Other common French adjectives that end in F
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
active
brief
bref
brefs
brève
brèves
destructive
déstructif
déstructifs
déstructive
déstructives
new
neuf
neufs
neuve
neuves
alive, bright
vif
vifs
vive
vives
Irregular plural adjectives
When an adjective ends in AL in the masculine form you must change the AL to AUX in the masculine plural. Note that the feminine singular and plural forms follow the normal rules.
Make the adjective feminine by doubling the L and adding an E.
adjective
masculine singular
masculine plural
feminine singular
feminine plural
génial great / fantastic
génial Mon fils est génial.
géniaux Mes enfants sont géniaux.
géniale Ma fille est géniale.
géniales Mes filles sont géniales.
Very irregular adjective forms
NEW
OLD
CRAZY
BEAUTIFUL
SOFT
masculine singular
nouveau C’est un nouveau film.
vieux C’est un vieux monsieur.
fou Ce garçon est fou.
beau C’est un beau gâteau.
mou Le concombre est mou.
masculine singular before a VOWEL or H
nouvel C’est mon nouvel appartement.
vieil C’est un vieil homme.
fol C’est un fol espoir.
bel C’est un bel hôtel.
mol C’est un mol avocat.
masculine plural
nouveaux Ce sont de nouveaux pantalons.
vieux Ce sont de vieux vêtements.
fous Ils sont tous fous.
beaux Les monuments sont beaux.
mous Les légumes sont mous.
feminine singular
nouvelle C’est une nouvelle élève.
vieille C’est une vieille voiture.
folle C’est une folle aventure.
belle C’est une belle femme.
molle Cette orange est molle.
feminine plural
nouvelles Ce sont de nouvelles chaussures.
vieilles Ce sont de vieilles maisons.
folles Ce sont de folles aventures.
belles Ce sont de belles jeunes filles.
molles Ces pommes sont molles.
40 easy to use French descriptive adjectives:
1
bon
good
2
mauvais
bad
3
joli
pretty
4
gentil
nice
5
fort
strong
6
drôle
funny
7
bizarre
odd
8
effrayé
scared
9
fâché
angry
10
cher
expensive
11
courageux
brave
12
désorienté
confused
13
difficile
difficult
14
facile
easy
15
épuisé
exhausted
16
fatigué
tired
17
grave
totally (slang)
18
gros
fat; heavy
19
impossible
impossible
20
juste
fair
21
libre
free; available
22
meilleur
better
23
moche
ugly
24
navré
sorry
25
pareil
the same
26
pauvre
poor
27
pressé
in a hurry
28
prêt
ready
29
ravi
delighted
30
simple
uncomplicated
31
sympa
nice
32
tranquille
calm
33
travailleur
hardworking
34
triste
sad
35
vide
empty
36
vieux
old
37
méchant
mean
38
inquiet
worried
39
haut
high
40
bas
low
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Relative pronouns are words that are used to link a dependent clause to a main clause. A dependent clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. It does not express a complete thought so it isn’t a sentence and can’t stand alone.
In English: WHO, WHOM, THAT, WHICH, WHOSE, WHERE or WHEN
Unlike in French, relative pronouns are often optional in English. For example, in English we can say either “the movie I saw last night” or “the movie that I saw last night”.
QUI as a question word means WHO. As a relative pronoun it can mean WHO or WHAT. QUI replaces the subject in the dependent clause.
In these examples QUI means WHO:
Je téléphone à ma mère.Elle est en Louisiane. Je téléphone à ma mère qui est en Louisiane. I am calling my mother.She is in Louisiana. I am calling my mother who is in Louisiana.
In these examples QUI means WHAT:
Je vais lire le livre.Il est dans mon sac. Je vais lire le livre qui est dans mon sac. I am going to read the book.It is in my bag. I am going to read the book that is in my bag.
QUI can also replace an indirect object (a person) after a preposition:
J’appelle une amie. J’étais au lycée avec cette amie. J’appelle une amie avec qui j’étais au lycée. I’m calling a friend. I was in high school with this friend. I’m calling a friend with whom I was in high school.
It sounds kind of strange when you translate it this way to English, but you can see that it means WITH WHOM.
QUE
QUE replaces the direct object in a dependent clause. Direct objects answer the questions WHO or WHAT?
Many times the relative pronoun QUE will be followed by a subject or subject pronoun.
Je fais rôtir le poulet. Mon mari l’a acheté. Je fais rôtir le poulet que mon mari a acheté. I am roasting the chicken. My husband bought it. I am roasting the chicken that my husband bought.
In the passé composé, QUE replaces a direct object. You need to make agreement with the past participle in gender and number.
Je prépare les légumes. Mon mari les a achetés. Je prépare les légumes que mon mari a achetés. I’m preparing the vegetables. My husband bought them. I’m preparing the vegetables that my husband bought.
Sometimes you may come across sentences that are put together a little differently:
Les bonbons que mange mon petit frère sont trop sucrés.
This one is a little difficult to translate into English. It means “The candies that my little brother is eating are too sweet.”
You’ll notice that the verb MANGE in this sentence actually is placed before the subject, mon petit frère. This is not a very common construction.
OÙ
As a relative pronoun, OÙ not only indicates place as its English translation would suggest, but it can also indicate time.
OÙ often means WHERE when used as a relative pronoun.
OÙ means WHERE in this sentence: La fromagerie OÙ j’ai acheté le camembert est en ville. The cheese shop where I bought the camembert is in town.
OÙ as a relative pronoun can also refer to time. Be careful! OÙ can be translated to mean WHEN in English.
When referring to time we want to use the word QUAND because it means WHEN. However, QUAND is not a relative pronoun, so you can’t use it as if it were. C’est le moment où…This is the time when…
Would you have been tempted to use QUAND instead of OÙ? Il pleuvait le jour où nous sommes arrivés. It was raining the day when we arrived.
DONT
DONT replaces people or objects that come after DE.
This is an example of a person preceded by DE.
Tu vois cette dame? Je t’ai parlé de cette dame. C’est la dame dont je t’ai parlé.
Do you see that lady? I spoke to you about that lady. That’s the lady I talked to you about. – That’s the lady of whom I spoke.
The trickiest part about using DONT isn’t understanding the rules, but knowing which verbs and expressions are followed by DE.
J’ai besoin d’un couteau. Le couteau est sur la table. Le couteau dont j’ai besoin est sur la table. I need a knife.The knife is on the table.The knife that I need is on the table.
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