Lesson 4 Flashcards
In this deck, you will learn about the gerund and the present progressive. You will also learn the basic colors and vocabulary terms dealing with the household.
Translate to French:
My house is near the high school
Ma maison est près du lycée
near - près. Note that when près is followed by a noun, you must add de between it and the noun. In this case, de le is of course replaced by du.
Translate to French:
The classroom is full
La salle est pleine
full - plein. Note that if you want to say “I am full (from eating),” it is incorrect to say Je suis plein. Instead, say J’ai trop mangé.
Translate to French:
There are many kids in the house
Il y a plein d’enfants dans la maison
many, lots of - plein de. This construction is an informal alternative to beaucoup de.
Translate to French:
The school is empty
L’école est vide
empty - vide
Translate to French:
Our teacher’s classroom is almost full
La salle de classe de notre enseignant est presque pleine
almost, nearly - presque, quasiment. Note that an alternative is pratiquement, which means “practically” or “virtually.”
Translate to French:
My car is almost entirely empty
Ma voiture est presque entièrement vide
totally, entirely - totalement, entièrement. These adverbs are formed from the adjectives total and entier, respectively.
Translate to French:
Marie is entirely pleased. Julie is entirely happy
Marie est toute contente. Julie est tout heureuse
entirely - tout. Tout can be used as an adverb. Adverbs are normally invariable, but tout is an exception. It agrees with feminine adjectives that begin with a consonant (as in the first sentence). The feminine adjective in the second sentence starts with a vowel sound, however, so tout is unchanged.
Translate to French:
Marie and Claire are entirely tired. Jean and Paul are entirely tired
Marie et Claire sont toutes fatiguées. Jean et Paul sont tout fatigués
entirely - tout. Tout is irregular as an adverb in that it agrees with feminine adjectives (unless they begin with a vowel sound). With masculine adjectives, however, it is invariable (as in the second sentence).
Translate to French:
My middle school is very near/close to Sophia’s house
Mon collège est tout près de chez Sophia
very - tout (adv.). Tout takes on this added meaning when it’s used to modify other adverbs (in this case, près).
Translate to French:
I leave tomorrow for Paris
Je pars demain pour Paris
to leave - partir. This is an irregular -IR verb that conveys leaving for or from somewhere. You can use the verb quitter to say that you are leaving someone or someplace, but it must take a direct object.
Translate to French:
Are we going out tonight?
Sortons-nous ce soir?
to go out - sortir. Note that this is an irregular -IR verb.
Translate to French:
They leave the house
Ils quittent la maison
to leave - quitter. Note that quitter is used specifically to signify leaving someone or something. If you want to say that you are leaving in general, use partir.
Translate to French:
I have to leave
Je dois partir
to have to - devoir. This irregular verb is often followed by an infinitive. It can also mean “to owe.” Its present-tense conjugations are je dois, tu dois, il/elle/on doit, nous devons, vous devez, ils/elles doivent.
What is a present participle, and how is it formed in French?
A present participle is the equivalent of the “-ing” verb form in English, when referring to a verb in progress. To form it, drop the conjugation ending from the nous form of the present tense and add -ant. For example, for the verb chanter, the present participle is chantant.
Translate to French:
Do you see the woman writing the book?
Est-ce que tu vois la femme écrivant le livre?
Note how the present participle is used here to modify a noun (la femme).
Translate to French:
The boys who come from Paris are smart
Les garçons qui viennent de Paris sont intelligents. Les garçons venant de Paris sont intelligents
Note the two French translations of this sentence. The first is the more literal translation. The second employs the present participle venant to replace the clause qui viennent.
Translate to French:
I think while walking
Je pense en marchant
When the present participle describes an action related to the main verb, it is called a gerund. It almost always follows the preposition en, in which case it means “while/upon ___-ing.” Here, the action en marchant is related to the central action, pense.
Translate to French:
By walking, you lose weight
En marchant, vous maigrissez
Note that the gerund can be used to explain the cause or effect of something. When it serves this purpose, it is translated as “by ___-ing.”
Translate to French:
I love dancing
J’adore danser
English verb + English present participle = French verb + French infinitive. When a second verb directly follows a first, conjugated verb, the second verb’s infinitive is used. J’adore dansant would be incorrect. In general, when you want to express a verb in its noun form (“I love dancing”), you use its infinitive (J’adore danser).
Translate to French:
Seeing is believing
Voir, c’est croire
In English, the present participle (“seeing”) is used as a noun. In French, however, the infinitive (voir) is used. Using the French present participle – Voyant, c’est croire – would be wrong.
Translate to French:
She’s leaving the room
Elle quitte la pièce
a room - une pièce. Pièce is used to refer to a room in general. You can also use salle, often to refer to a room with a specific purpose.
Translate to French:
You clean everything
Tu nettoies tout
to clean - nettoyer. In the present, the stem of this verb changes from nettoi- to nettoy- in the nous and vous forms: nous nettoyons.
Translate to French:
I am cleaning the house
Je suis en train de nettoyer la maison
to be ___-ing - être en train de + infinitive. The present progressive, or present continuous, denotes that you are in the process of doing something. The present tense could also work here: Je nettoie la maison. The construction Je suis nettoyant is NOT an acceptable translation of “I am cleaning.”
Translate to French:
The child cleans his bedroom too often
L’enfant nettoie sa chambre trop souvent
a bedroom - une chambre