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French reviews Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

learning basic french

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Expres­­sions Showing a Sudden Change

All of a sudden
tout à coup
Suddenly
souda­­ine­­ment
Then
alors

Prepos­ition

to
à
to + the
à la (f), au (m), aux (p)
from
de
from + the
de la (f), du (m), des (p)
in
en
after
après
before
avant
with
avec
at
chez
against
contre
into
dans
since
depuis
behind
derrière
in front of
devant
betwee­n...and...
entre...et...
until
jusque
by/per
par
during
pendant
for
pour
without
sans
except
sauf
under
sous
on
sur
towards
vers
this is
voici
that is
voilà

Questions Soliciting More Inform­­ation

English
French
Form
Who (subject)
Qui
+ Verbs
Whom (direct object)
qui (no contra­­ction)
+ Esc_ce que...
What (D.O.)
que/ qu' (w/vowel)
+ Esc_ce que...
Where
où
+ Esc_ce que...
When
quand/ à quelle heure
+ Esc_ce que...
Why
pourquoi
+ Esc_ce que...
How
comment
+ Esc_ce que...
How much
combien
+ Esc_ce que...
How many (+noun)
combien de (+noun)
+ Esc_ce que...
From where
d' où
+ Esc_ce que...
If Prepos­­ition:
-Prepo­­sition + qui for people
-Prepo­­sition + quoi for things

Questions Requiring simply a Yes or No

Tran­s­lated as "­­Do­,­" "­­Di­d­,­" "­­Is­,­" "­­Ar­e­"
Two ways:
1) Est_ce que + Subject + Verb + end of sentence
2) Conjugated Verb + Subject +end of sentence
3rd Person Singular: If the verb does not end with "­­-d­" or "­­-i­" you need to add "_ t _" between the verb and subject

Plural nouns

Singular
Plural
-eau
-x
-eu
-x
-ou
-s
-al
-aux
-ail
-aux
-s / -x / -z
nothing added
*some -ou will add -x
In general, all others take -s

Articles

Article
Fem
Masc
Plural
the
la
le
les
a
une
un
des
le and la change to l' when used in front of a word starting with a vowel and most words starting with h

une, une, des changes to de when used in negative sentences

Adjectives

Masc
Fem
-
-e
-e
-
-f
-ve
-x
-se
-er
-ère
-an
-anne
-en
-enne
-on
-onne
-el
-elle
-eil
-eille
-et
-ette / -ète
some common adjectives follow no pattern

when an adjective describes a masculine and feminine noun, use the masculine plural form

Adjective Patterns

Many standard adjectives follow this regular pattern:
petit = masculine
petite = feminine
petits = masculine plural
petites = feminine plural

The Position Of Adjectives

Many adjectives go after the word that they describe e.g colours, nation­­al­i­ties, long adject­ives. Those that don’t can be remembered by the acronym B.A.G.S
B.A.G.S
B
Beautiful
A
Age
G
Goodness
S
Size
Bags adjectives come before their noun. Examples are beau (beaut­­iful), joli (pretty), jeune (young), vieux (old), nouveau (new), bon (good), meilleur (better), mauvais (bad), gentil (kind), petit (small), haut (high), gros (fat).
  

Using "­Y"

1 - Y most often replaces a prepos­ition of place, such as à, chez, dans, en, or sur, as well as the place itself
2 - Y can refer to a place that is obvious or implied, even if not preceded by a prepos­ition
3 - Y is also used with verbs that require the prepos­ition à plus an indirect object
1) Y usually cannot replace à + verb

2) Y is most commonly equivalent to there, but may also be translated by a prepos­ition plus it

3) Y is also found in the expres­sions il y a, on y va, and allons-y, which translate into English as, "­there is," "­let's go," and "­let's go," respec­tively

Using "­À"

The prepos­ition à is generally summarized as "to, at, or in," but it has more meanings and uses than that
When à is followed by the definite article le or les, the two words must contract
à + le = au (au magasin)
à + les = aux (aux maisons)
à + la = à la (à la banque)
à + l' = à l' (à l'hôpital)
1) But à does not contract with la or l'
2) Compare à to de, meaning 'of' or 'from,' with which it's often confused
3) Y replaces à (or another prepos­ition of place) + noun
4) Many verbs and some adjectives must be followed by à in front of a noun or infinitive

Common Uses of 'À'

1. Location or destin­ation
J'habite à Paris. > I live in Paris.
Je vais à Rome. > I'm going to Rome.
Je suis à la banque. > I'm at the bank.
2. Distance in time or space
J'habite à 10 mètres de lui. > I live 10 meters from him.
Il est à 5 minutes de moi. > He is 5 minutes from me.
3. Point in time
Nous arrivons à 5h00. > We arrive at 5:00.
Il est mort à 92 ans. > He died at the age of 92.
4. Manner, style, or charac­ter­istic
Il habite à la française. > He lives in the French style.
un enfant aux yeux bleus > blue-eyed child; child with blue eyes
fait à la main > made by hand
aller à pied > to go on / by foot
5. Possession
un ami à moi > a friend of mine
Ce livre est à Jean > This is Jean's book
6. Measur­ement
acheter au kilo > to buy by the kilogram
payer à la semaine > to pay by the week
 

Demons­­tr­ative Adjectives

Demons­trative adjectives are used to indicate a specific noun or nouns. In French, they must agree with the noun(s) in number and sometimes gender
 
Masc
Fem
Before vowels
this/that
ce
cette
cet
these/­those
ces
ces
ces
Add -ci (here) to the end of nouns for close
Ce prof-ci parle trop
This teacher talks too much
Cet étudia­nt-ci comprend
This student unders­tands
Add -là (there) to the end of nouns for far
Ce prof-là est sympa
That teacher is nice
Cette fille-là est perdue
That girl is lost

Demons­trative Pronouns

Demons­trative pronouns replace a specific noun that was mentioned previously. In French, they must agree with the noun(s) in number and gender
 
Masc
Fem
this one, that one
celui
celle
these, those
ceux
celles
Les oranges de Californie coûtent moins cher que celles de Floride
Oranges from California are cheaper than the ones from Florida
Ce roman est trop court, et celui-là est trop long
This novel is too short, and that one is too long
Demons­trative adjective + noun = Demons­trative pronoun

Possessive Adjectives

Adjective
Fem
Masc
Plural
my
ma
mon
mes
your (tu)
ta
ton
tes
his/he­r/its
sa
son
ses
our
notre
notre
nos
your (vous)
votre
votre
vos
their
leur
leur
leurs
use mon, ton, son with feminine singular nouns in front of vowels and h

Before a singular word beginning with a vowel, whether it is masculine or feminine, the possessive pronoun will be masculine. This does not apply to plural words beginning with a vowel

Possessive Pronouns

Pronoun
Fem
Masc
mine
la mienne
le mien
yours
la tienne
le tien
his/hers
la sienne
le sien
ours
la nôtre
le nôtre
yours
la vôtre
le vôtre
theirs
la leur
le leur
add s to the end of the pronouns for plural form and use les instead of la, le

en is used in phrases with de to avoid repeating the same word
y is used in phrases with à to avoid repeating the same word

Personal Pronouns

 
Singular
Plural
I
je / moi
nous
you
tu / te /toi
vous
he/it
il
ils /eux
she/it
elle
elles
him/it
le
les / eux
her/it
la
to him/her/it
lui
leur
oneself
soi
-self
-même
-mêmes
je changes to j' in front of vowels and most h and the word y, same with me and te.

on can be used to mean we, someone, you, they, one or people in general

Indirect Object Pronouns

Indirect objects are the objects in a sentence to or for whom/what* the action of the verb occurs
me / m'
me
te / t'
you
lui
him, her
nous
us
vous
you
leur
them
When deciding between direct and indirect objects, the general rule is that if the person or thing is preceded by the prepos­ition à or pour, that person­/thing is an indirect object. If it's not preceded by a prepos­ition, it is a direct object
Je lui parle
I'm talking to him
Il leur achète des livres
He buys books for them
Je vous donne le pain
I'm giving the bread to you
Elle m'a écrit
She wrote to me
1) Me and te change to m' and t', respec­tively, in front of a vowel or mute H

Direct Object Pronouns

Direct objects are the people or things in a sentence that receive the action of the verb.
Me / m'
Me
Te / t'
You
Le / l'
him, it
La / l'
her, it
Nous
us
Vous
you
Les
them
Me and te change to m' and t', respec­tively, in front of a vowel or mute 'H'. Le and la both change to l'.
Like indirect object pronouns, French direct object pronouns are placed in front of the verb.
Je le mange. –> I'm eating it
Il la voit. –> He sees her
Je t'aime. –> I love you
Tu m'aimes. –> You love me

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are a special kind of French pronoun which can only be used with pronominal verbs
me / m'
me, myself
te / t' / toi
you, yourself
se / s'
him(self), her(self), it(self), them(s­elves)
nous
us, ourselves
vous
you, yourself, yourselves
Reflexive pronouns are placed directly in front of the verb in nearly all tenses and moods
Nous nous parlons
We're talking to each other
Ils ne s'habi­llent pas
They aren't getting dressed
Reflexive pronouns always have to agree with their subjects, in all tenses and moods — including the infinitive and the present participle
Je me lèverai
I will get up
Nous nous sommes couchés
We went to bed
Vas-tu te raser ?
Are you going to shave?
En me levant, j'ai vu...
While getting up, I saw...
1) Me, te, and se change to m', t', and s', respec­tively, in front of a vowel or mute H. Te changes to toi in the imperative

Stressed Pronouns

Stressed pronouns, also known as disjun­ctive pronouns, are used to emphasize a noun or pronoun that refers to a person
moi
me
toi
you
lui
him
elle
her
soi
oneself
nous
us
vous
you
eux
them (Masc)
elles
them (Fem)
Soi is equivalent to "­one­" or "­one­sel­f," but in English, we usually say "­eve­ryo­ne" instead