Unit 6: Les Déplacements et les Descriptions

1. Les verbes irréguliers : aller et prendre au présent

These are two of the most common and essential irregular verbs in French. Their conjugation in the present tense does not follow regular patterns and must be memorized.

Le verbe Aller (to go)

Aller is used to talk about movement, going to a place, and also to ask how someone is doing (Comment vas-tu ?). It is the key verb for forming the near future tense (le futur proche), though here we focus on its present tense meaning.

Conjugaison au présent de l'indicatif :

Note on prepositions with aller:
The verb aller is almost always followed by a preposition indicating direction, most commonly à (to). This preposition contracts with the definite articles le and les:

• à + le → au (e.g., Je vais au supermarché.)
• à + la → à la (e.g., Tu vas à la boulangerie.)
• à + l' → à l' (e.g., Il va à l'école.)
• à + les → aux (e.g., Nous allons aux États-Unis.)

Le verbe Prendre (to take)

Prendre has multiple meanings, including "to take" (an object, transportation), "to have" (a meal or drink), and "to get".

Conjugaison au présent de l'indicatif :

Important Note: The plural forms nous, vous, and ils/elles show unique spelling changes. Nous and vous use a single 'n', while ils/elles doubles the 'n' to prennent.

2. Nous parlons la même langue: Les modes de déplacement (Modes of Transportation)

This vocabulary is essential for discussing travel and daily commutes. It's important to learn the gender of each noun.

3. La négation (Negation)

The most common way to make a sentence negative in French is by using the two-part structure ne ... pas.

Structure:
The negative words ne and pas wrap around the conjugated verb.

Sujet + ne + verbe conjugué + pas + reste de la phrase

Examples:

• Affirmative: Je parle anglais. (I speak English.)

• Negative: Je ne parle pas anglais. (I do not speak English.)

• Affirmative: Vous prenez le train. (You take the train.)

• Negative: Vous ne prenez pas le train. (You do not take the train.)

Negation with verbs starting with a vowel or silent 'h':
If the verb begins with a vowel sound, ne contracts to n'.

Sujet + n' + verbe conjugué (commence par une voyelle) + pas + ...

Examples:

• Affirmative: Il aime le chocolat. (He likes chocolate.)

• Negative: Il n'aime pas le chocolat. (He does not like chocolate.)

• Affirmative: Nous allons à Paris. (We are going to Paris.)

• Negative: Nous n'allons pas à Paris. (We are not going to Paris.)

4. Les adjectifs démonstratifs (Demonstrative Adjectives)

Demonstrative adjectives correspond to "this," "that," "these," and "those" in English. They must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.

Rules for use:

1. ce: Used before a masculine singular noun that starts with a consonant.

   • Exemple: ce garçon (this/that boy), ce train (this/that train)

2. cet: Used before a masculine singular noun that starts with a vowel or a silent 'h'. The 't' is added for ease of pronunciation (liaison).

   • Exemple: cet aéroport (this/that airport), cet homme (this/that man)

3. cette: Used before any feminine singular noun.

   • Exemple: cette voiture (this/that car), cette école (this/that school)

4. ces: Used before any plural noun, regardless of gender.

   • Exemple: ces garçons (these/those boys), ces voitures (these/those cars), ces hommes (these/those men)

5. Les adjectifs qualificatifs (Qualifying Adjectives)

Qualifying adjectives are words that describe a noun (a person, place, or thing). In French, they are crucial because they must agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they describe.

General Placement:
Unlike in English, most French adjectives are placed AFTER the noun.

• Exemple: une voiture rouge (a red car)
• Exemple: un livre intéressant (an interesting book)

A small number of common adjectives (related to Beauty, Age, Goodness, and Size - "BAGS") are placed before the noun (e.g., un beau garçon, une petite maison), but the general rule is to place them after.

6. Le masculin, le féminin et le pluriel des adjectifs qualificatifs

This section details the rules for making adjectives agree with their nouns.

A. Formation of the Feminine

B. Formation of the Plural

C. Summary Table of Agreement

7. Parler : Décrivez les noms des pays et les modes de déplacement

Let's combine everything we've learned to form descriptive sentences about travel.

A. Describing Countries

To say you are going to a country, you use prepositions en, au, aux.

• en + feminine countries (most countries ending in -e, e.g., la France, l'Italie, l'Espagne)
• au + masculine countries (most others, e.g., le Canada, le Japon, le Portugal)
• aux + plural countries (e.g., les États-Unis, les Pays-Bas)

Example Sentences (Description + Travel):

• La France est un beau pays. Je vais en France en avion.
  (France is a beautiful country. I am going to France by plane.)
• Le Canada est grand et froid. Nous allons au Canada en train.
  (Canada is big and cold. We are going to Canada by train.)
• Les États-Unis sont modernes. Elles vont aux États-Unis.
  (The United States are modern. They are going to the United States.)
• L'Italie est historique et belle. Tu vas en Italie avec cette voiture ?
  (Italy is historic and beautiful. Are you going to Italy with this car?)

B. Talking About How You Travel

There are two main structures to talk about the mode of transportation you use.

1. Aller + en / à

• Use en for modes of transport you get inside of.
  • en voiture, en bus, en train, en métro, en avion, en bateau
• Use à for modes of transport you get on top of, or for human-powered motion.
  • à vélo, à moto, à pied

Exemples:

• Je vais au travail en bus. (I go to work by bus.)
• Elle va à l'école à pied. (She goes to school on foot.)
• Nous n'allons pas à la plage en voiture, nous allons à vélo. (We are not going to the beach by car, we are going by bike.)

2. Prendre + le / la / l' / les

• This structure is simpler and very common. It literally means "to take the...". You must use the correct definite article (le, la, l').

Exemples:

• Je prends le train tous les jours. (I take the train every day.)
• Pour aller à Londres, vous prenez l'avion ou le bateau ? (To go to London, are you taking the plane or the boat?)
• On prend le métro parce que c'est rapide. (We take the metro because it is fast.)