Basics 1 is the second skill in the French language tree. It consists of three lessons. In this skill, you learn how to construct basic sentences in French using singular nouns, adjectives, and verbs.
Grammar Tips
Edit
GenderEdit
French nouns are separated into two groups: masculine and feminine. Masculine nouns are accompanied by masculine modifiers (articles, adjectives, etc.). Feminine nouns are accompanied by feminine modifiers. In general, words that refer to males are masculine while words that refer to females are feminine.
A different set of definite and indefinite articles are used with each gender:
| Definite | Indefinite | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | le | un |
| Feminine | la | une |
L'Edit
Whenever a word begins with a vowel sound, the singular definite article (le/la) loses its vowel and attaches itself to the word with an apostrophe:
- le + homme = l'homme
This phenomenon is known as l'elision in French (and is also an example!).
AdjectivesEdit
This lesson shows the usual word order of articles, adjectives, and nouns within a noun phrase:
- un chat noir
- le garçon calme
- la fille calme
The article (determiner) comes first and adjectives (modifiers) usually come after the noun. We will see later that certain adjectives are often placed before the noun. Note, calme is used with both masculine and feminine nouns. We will see later (in Adjectives 1) that adjectives usually change to agree in gender.
Pronunciation: es, est, etEdit
French has a lot of words that are pronounced the same. You will have to depend on context to understand which word was said. This unit introduced es, est, and et, all of which are pronounced /e/ (like "eh").
- Tu es une fille.
- Il est un garçon.
- Le garçon et la fille.
LessonsEdit
Lesson 1Edit
- la fille = girl
- le garçon = boy
- la femme = woman
- l'homme (m.) = man
- un/une = a/an
- le/la = the
- je suis = I am
Lesson 2Edit
- tu es = you are
- je mange = I eat
- la pomme = apple
Lesson 3Edit
- le chat = cat
- calme = quiet
- noir = black
- et = and
- il/elle a = he/she has
ReferencesEdit
Duolingo Lesson:www.duolingo.com/skill/fr/Basics-1
