Crépieux, G. Massé, O. Rousse, J. (2013) Interactions 1: Méthode De Français (Course material for Français langue étrangère at Lycée d’Adultes, Paris)
Vowel sounds
i – as in ici [isi]. | y – as in unique [ynik]. | u – as in ouverte [uvɛʁt]. |
e – as in été [ete]. | ø – as in Europe [øʁɔp]. | o – as in aucune [okyn]. |
ɛ – as in elle [ɛl]. | œ – as in œil [œːj]. | ɔ – as in homme [ɔm]. |
a – as in année [ane]. |
The main point of the vowel sounds chart is to make you aware of and practice the different sounds in French vowels. Especially the placement and movement of the tongue, lips and movement of the mouth.
Meeting someone (formal)
Person speaking | French | English |
John | Bonsoir Madame. | Good evening, Madam. |
Jane | Bonsoir Monsieur. | Good evening, Sir. |
John | Je m’appelle John Doe. Et vous, comment vous appellez-vous? | My name is John Doe. And what is your name? |
Jane | Moi, c’est Jane Doe. Enchantée. | I am Jane Doe. It is a pleasure to meet you. |
Note the formality of the above conversation with the use Bonsoir, Madame, Monsieur and vous.
Meeting someone (informal)
Person speaking | French | English |
John | Salut. Tu t’appelles comment? | Hello. What is your name? |
Jane | Jane. Et toi? | Jane. And yours? |
John | Moi, c’est John. | Mine is John. |
Jane | Tu habites où, John? | Where do you live, John? |
In the informal conversation John uses salut for the greeting and toi instead of vous.
Asking someone’s name
You might also ask for somebody else’s name.
Person speaking | French | English |
John | Comment elle s’appelle? | What is her name? |
Jane | Elle s’appelle Charlotte. | Her name is, Charlotte. |
Here, you would be asking for a third persons name. As is is a female you use elle. If it was a man you would use il. For instance,
Person speaking | French | English |
Jane | Il s’appelle comment? | What is his name? |
John | Il s’appelle Thibault. | His name is, Thibault. |
Jane | Et il habite où? | And where does he live? |
John | Il habite à côté de Paris. | He lives near Paris. |
Other words and phrases
French | English | Formal | Informal | Feminine | Masculine |
Vous vous appelles comment? | What is your name? | x | |||
Je | I | ||||
Moi | Me | ||||
Toi | You | x | |||
Vous | You | x | |||
Lui | Him | x | |||
Elle | Her | x | |||
Ils | They | x | |||
Elles | They | x | |||
J’habite à Paris. | I live in Paris. | ||||
Il est nouveau dans le class. | He’s new in the class. | x |
Puncuation
Punctuation | French | English |
. | Point | Full stop |
, | Virgule | Comma |
? | Point d’interrogation | Question mark |
! | Point d’exclamation | Exclamation mark |
: | Deux points | Colon |
; | Point virgule | Semi colon |
– | Tiret | Dash |
_ | Tiret bas | Underscore |
These notes are from Interactions 1 Méthode de Française A1.1 and where copyrighted work is used it is done so under the New Zealand Copyright Act 1994.