Unit 1: Les Premiers Pas

1. Les Salutations (Greetings)

Greetings in French vary based on formality and the time of day.

Salutations (Saying Hello)

Demander des nouvelles (Asking "How are you?")

Formules de politesse (Taking Leave)

2. Les pronoms sujets (Subject Pronouns)

Subject pronouns replace a noun that is the subject of a verb.

In-Depth: Tu ou Vous?

Choosing between tu and vous is crucial for politeness. This is called tutoiement (using tu) and vouvoyerment (using vous).

Use Tu (Informal "you"):

• To a single person.
• With friends, family members, children, and peers.
• When someone invites you to use it by saying, "On peut se tutoyer." (We can use "tu").

Example: Salut Marie, comment vas-**tu** ? (Hi Marie, how are you?)

Use Vous (Formal "you" / Plural "you"):

• To a single person you don't know, an elder, or someone in a position of authority (e.g., a professor, a police officer, a shopkeeper). This is a sign of respect.
• To address any group of two or more people, regardless of formality.

Example (Formal Singular): Bonjour Monsieur, comment allez-**vous** ? (Hello Sir, how are you?)
Example (Plural): Bonjour les enfants, comment allez-**vous** ? (Hello children, how are you?)

3. Le pronom ‘on’

'On' is a 3rd person singular pronoun but has multiple meanings. It is extremely common in spoken French. The verb is always conjugated in the 3rd person singular (like il or elle).

1. Informal replacement for "nous" (we)
   This is the most common use in everyday conversation.

   • Formal: Nous allons au cinéma. (We are going to the cinema.)
   • Spoken/Informal: **On** va au cinéma. (We are going to the cinema.)

2. Indefinite pronoun ("one", "people", "they")
   Used to make general statements about people in general.

   • Example: En France, **on** mange beaucoup de fromage. (In France, people eat a lot of cheese.)

3. Passive voice substitute
   Used when the agent performing the action is unknown or unimportant.

   • Example: **On** m'a volé mon portefeuille. (Someone stole my wallet / My wallet was stolen.)

4. S’appeler (To be called/named)

S'appeler is a pronominal verb. This means it has a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, etc.) that agrees with the subject. It literally translates to "to call oneself".

Conjugaison au Présent de l'Indicatif (Present Tense Conjugation)

Notice the doubling of the 'l' in all forms except for nous and vous.

je      m'appelle      (I am called)
tu      t'appelles     (you are called)
il/elle/on s'appelle   (he/she/one is called)
nous    nous appelons  (we are called)
vous    vous appelez   (you are called)
ils/elles s'appellent  (they are called)

Usage in Sentences

• To state your name: Je m'appelle David. (My name is David.)
• To ask for someone's name (informal): Comment tu t'appelles ? (What is your name?)
• To ask for someone's name (formal): Comment vous appelez-vous ? (What is your name?)
• To state someone else's name: Il s'appelle Marc. (His name is Marc.) / Elle s'appelle Sophie. (Her name is Sophie.)

5. Les Accents

French has five accent marks that can change the pronunciation of a letter or distinguish between words.

6. L'Alphabet (The Alphabet)

The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as English, but their names are pronounced differently.

7. Les Nombres (Numbers)

Nombres de 0 à 19

Nombres de 20 à 100

8. Écouter (Listening Skills)

When listening to native French speakers, focus on these details.

Des audios sur les alphabets

• Distinguishing similar sounds: Pay close attention to letters that sound similar to an English speaker.
  • G (jé) vs. J (jee): Very similar, focus on the slight difference in the initial consonant sound.
  • E (euh) vs. I (ee): E is a short, soft sound. I is a sharp, high-pitched sound.
  • U vs. OU: The French U has no English equivalent. To make the sound, shape your lips as if you're whistling and try to say "ee". OU sounds like "oo" in the English word "food".
• Listen for liaisons: When a word ends in a consonant and the next begins with a vowel, the sounds are often linked. For example, les amis is pronounced lez-ami.

Des audios sur les nombres

• Distinguishing six and dix: The final 's' in six sounds like an 's', while the 'x' in dix sounds like an 's'. The vowel sound is the key difference.
• Distinguishing -ante and -ente: The endings of cinquante and soixante sound different from trente.
• Identifying complex numbers (70-99): Listen for the base number. If you hear soixante, the number is between 60-79. If you hear quatre-vingt, the number is between 80-99. Then listen for the number that follows (e.g., in soixante-quinze, listen for soixante and then quinze).

9. Parler (Speaking Practice)

Use the vocabulary and grammar from this unit to practice speaking.

Décrivez les alphabets (Spelling)

To ask how something is spelled, you can say:

• Comment ça s'écrit ? (How is that written?)
• Pouvez-vous épeler, s'il vous plaît ? (Can you spell, please?)

Practice: Spell your first name, last name, and city.

• Question: Comment tu t'appelles ?
• Answer: Je m'appelle Sophie. S - O - P - H - I - E.
• Question: Comment ça s'écrit, "Bonjour" ?
• Answer: B - O - N - J - O - U - R.

Décrivez les nombres (Using Numbers)

Use numbers in basic conversational contexts.

• Stating your age:

  • Question: Quel âge as-tu ? (informal) or Quel âge avez-vous ? (formal)
  • Answer: J'ai [number] ans. (I am [number] years old.)
  • Example: J'ai vingt-cinq ans. (I am 25 years old.)

• Giving a phone number:

  • Question: Quel est ton/votre numéro de téléphone ?
  • Answer: Mon numéro est le... (My number is...)
  • Example: Mon numéro est le zéro six, quarante-deux, cinquante-trois, soixante-dix-huit, quatre-vingt-un. (06-42-53-78-81). Note that phone numbers in France are typically read out in pairs of two digits.