Foreign Language French - Basic flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Bonjour / Bonsoir

Standard daytime and evening greetings. Bonjour is used from morning until early evening; Bonsoir replaces it after roughly 18h and when leaving in the evening. Salut is informal for both hello and goodbye.

S'il vous plaît

Polite 'please' using the formal vous form. Use s'il te plaît with people you address as tu, such as friends, family and children. Both can close a request: Un café, s'il vous plaît.

Je voudrais + noun

The standard polite way to order or request: Je voudrais un billet, s'il vous plaît. It is more courteous than Je veux and functions as the conditional of vouloir, softened for service situations.

C'est combien ?

Everyday question asking the price: 'How much is it?' The answer often uses Ça fait: Ça fait douze euros. In a restaurant, ask L'addition, s'il vous plaît to request the bill.

Où est la gare ?

Basic way to ask for a location. Typical replies use tout droit, à gauche, à droite, au bout de la rue, en face de la mairie. Add s'il vous plaît to keep the request polite.

Pouvez-vous répéter ?

Formal request to repeat something you did not catch. Alternatives: Pardon ? Comment ? Vous pouvez parler plus lentement ? Use Peux-tu répéter ? with someone you address as tu.

Prendre rendez-vous

To make an appointment, used for doctors, administrations and services. Typical exchange: Je voudrais prendre rendez-vous, s'il vous plaît. - Vous êtes disponible mardi à quinze heures ?

Tu or vous?

Vouvoiement (vous) is standard with strangers, elders, colleagues and shop staff; tutoiement (tu) with friends, family and children. Wait for an adult to propose On se tutoie ? before switching.

La bise

Customary cheek kisses among friends and family, usually two in most of France but varying by region from one to four. A handshake is the norm in professional and formal introductions.

La laïcité

French principle of state secularism rooted in the 1905 law separating churches and the state. Public schools and offices are neutral; visible religious symbols are banned in state schools since 2004.

Le 14 juillet

France's national holiday, commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille. Marked by military parades, fireworks and balls. Other public holidays include 1er mai, 8 mai, 11 novembre and 25 décembre.

Service compris

Mention on French restaurant bills meaning the service charge is already included in the price. A tip is therefore optional; rounding up or leaving small change is common but not required.

La mairie

The town hall, the local administrative centre. It registers births, marriages and deaths, issues certificates and the livret de famille, and provides information on local services and elections.

Passé composé with être

Compound past formed with être plus past participle for movement and change-of-state verbs such as aller, venir, partir, arriver, entrer, sortir, naître, mourir, rester, tomber. The participle agrees: elle est allée.

Partitive articles

du, de la, de l' and des express an unspecified quantity of a mass noun: du pain, de l'eau, des légumes. After a negation they become de: Je ne bois pas de café.

aller + infinitive

The near future: Je vais partir means 'I am going to leave'. Formed with the present tense of aller plus the infinitive. Contrast the recent past: venir de + infinitive, Je viens d'arriver.

Negation ne… pas

Standard negation wraps the conjugated verb: Je ne parle pas anglais. With an infinitive both parts precede it: Ne pas fumer. Rien, jamais, plus and personne replace pas: Il ne vient jamais.

Adjective position

Most adjectives follow the noun: une voiture rouge. Short common adjectives precede it: beau, joli, grand, petit, bon, mauvais, jeune, vieux, nouveau. Adjectives agree in gender and number: grands, grande.

Object pronouns le, lui

Direct object pronouns are le, la, les; indirect are lui and leur. They go before the verb: Je le vois, Je lui parle. In the passé composé they precede the auxiliary: Je l'ai vu.

Quel / quelle agreement

Interrogative adjective meaning 'which' or 'what'. It agrees with the noun: quel jour, quelle heure, quels livres, quelles villes. Used in questions such as Quelle heure est-il ?

Silent final consonants

Most final consonants are not pronounced: petit, grand, vous, trop. They reappear through liaison before a vowel: les amis, vous avez, un homme. This is central to understanding spoken French.

Nasal vowels

French contrasts four nasal vowels: bon, vin, vent and brun, though many speakers merge brun and vin. They distinguish words such as beau/bon and pas/pont, so listening practice targets minimal pairs.

Numbers 70 to 99

Seventy is soixante-dix, eighty quatre-vingts, ninety quatre-vingt-dix. Forms combine: 71 soixante-et-onze, 80 quatre-vingts, 81 quatre-vingt-un, 91 quatre-vingt-onze, 99 quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.

Telling time in French

12h15 is douze heures quinze; 12h45 is treize heures moins le quart. Add heures, not 'hour'. Transport and official schedules use the 24-hour clock: le train de dix-huit heures trente.

Liaison and elision

Liaison links a silent final consonant to a following vowel: les amis, vous avez. Elision drops a vowel before another vowel: j'ai, l'ami, c'est. Contractions: du, des, au, aux.

Il parle / ils parlent

These sound identical because the third-person plural ending -ent is silent. Only the subject pronoun or context shows number, so listening depends on catching il, elle, ils or elles.

SORTIE / ENTRÉE

Common public signs: SORTIE means exit, ENTRÉE means entrance. Related signs include POUSSER (push), TIRER (pull), and SERRER on some doors. Recognise them before reading full sentences.

Défense de fumer

Formal prohibition sign meaning 'no smoking'. Parallel forms: Interdit de…, Prière de ne pas…, and Être prié de… for requests. Negation and prohibition words reverse the meaning of a notice.

Horaires d'ouverture

Opening hours. Typical wording: ouvert du lundi au vendredi, fermé le dimanche, 8h–12h et 14h–18h. The midday closure is common in small shops; dernière séance marks the last showing.

Form vocabulary: nom, prénom

Nom means surname or family name; prénom means first name. Related fields: date de naissance, lieu de naissance, nationalité, adresse, code postal and signature. Fill them in block capitals on French forms.

Formal letter closing

Standard polite ending: Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, mes salutations distinguées. For an informal message use Bises, À bientôt or À plus. Keep tu or vous consistent throughout.

Invitation formula

Je t'invite à… or Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à… followed by le plus date, à plus hour, and the place. Add RSVP avant le plus date to request a reply.