Lesson 2 Flashcards Preview

Je chante mal

badly - mal. Recall that when an adverb modifies a conjugated verb, it immediately follows the verb.

J'adore la pizza

to love (something) - adorer. There are two ways to say "to love" in French: adorer and aimer. Adorer is used to describe fondness for an object, activity, event, celebrity, or friend (but not for a romantic lover).

Vous détestez les bonbons

to hate - détester. In the second-person plural of the present tense, verbs with infinitives ending in -ER adopt the ending -ez.

• j'arrive
• tu arrives
• il/elle/on arrive
• nous arrivons
• vous arrivez
• ils/elles arrivent

This is a regular -ER verb.

J'adore ma maison

my (singular) - mon/ma. These are the possessive adjectives for je when referring to singular nouns. Possessive adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun: they agree with what is possessed, not with the possessor.

Mes copains sont riches

my (plural) - mes. This is the possessive adjective for je when referring to plural nouns, regardless of gender. Note how it agrees in number with the noun.

J'adore ma vie

life - la vie

Ton ami a faim

your (singular) - ton/ta. Ton and ta are the possessive adjectives for tu when referring to singular nouns.

Tes étudiantes sont brillantes

your (plural) - tes. This is the possessive adjective for tu when referring to plural nouns, regardless of gender.

J'ai sa table

his/her (singular) - son/sa. These are the possessive adjectives for il/elle/on when referring to singular nouns.

Nous avons ses bonbons

his/her (plural) - ses. This is the possessive adjective for il/elle/on when referring to plural nouns.

J'aime les bonbons

to like - aimer. This verb means "to like" when applied to things. When applied to people, it means "to love (romantically)."

Il aime sa petite amie

to love (someone) - aimer. Recall that generally, when dealing with objects instead of people, aimer means "to like."

Elle est amoureuse de Paul

in love (with) - amoureux (de). Amoureux can be used without the preposition de to mean "romantic."

Nous gagnons toujours

to win - gagner. Note that gagner de l'argent means "to earn money."

J'aime notre maison

our - notre/nos. Notre is the possessive adjective for nous when referring to a singular noun, regardless of gender. Nos is the possessive adjective for nous when referring to a plural noun.

Il aime la musique

music - la musique

Tu joues du piano

to play - jouer. Note that piano is a masculine noun. Also note that jouer de refers to playing a musical instrument, whereas jouer à refers to playing a game or a sport.

Marcel joue de la guitare

a guitar - une guitare

Nous jouons au basket aussi

also, as well, too - aussi. The word for "basketball" is le basket-ball, often shortened to le basket. Note how à le is contracted to au.

Vous aimez votre maison, non?

your (plural/formal) - votre/vos. These are the possessive adjectives for vous.

Les filles aiment leurs petits amis

their - leur/leurs. These are the possessive adjectives for ils/elles.

Ils écoutent de la musique pop

to listen - écouter

Mon amie parle beaucoup

Note that ma changes to mon when the (feminine) noun begins with a vowel sound. The same applies to ta and sa: they change to ton and son, respectively.

Elle a une petite voiture

a car - une voiture

Ils ont nos clés

a key - une clé/clef. Both spellings are pronounced the same way and are entirely interchangeable.

La voiture marche très bien

to function, to work - marcher. Note this second meaning of the verb marcher, in addition to the meaning "to walk."

J'aime beaucoup son cabriolet

a convertible - un cabriolet. The French here translates more directly to "I like her convertible a lot."

Ils sont dans la voiture

in - dans. The preposition dans can also mean "within" or "into."

Je pense beaucoup

to think - penser. This verb is conjugated in the present as follows: je pense, tu penses, il/elle/on pense, nous pensons, vous pensez, ils/elles pensent.