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Unit 3: Building Your Grammar Toolbox (La Boîte à Outils)

Welcome to your grammar toolbox! In this unit, we’re going to give you some essential tools that will help you build more complex and correct French sentences. We’ll tackle grammatical gender, how to say “no,” how to ask questions, and unlock a whole new world of verbs!

Lesson 7: Is it a ‘he’ or a ‘she’? (Le masculin et le féminin)

Thoughts: This is a big one for English speakers, as English doesn’t have grammatical gender for inanimate objects. But good news for you, as a Czech speaker, you already deal with this concept daily! We’ll learn the little words that go with nouns to tell you their gender and whether they are “a/an” or “the.”

Casual Introduction: Every noun in French (yes, even a table or a book!) is either masculine (“he”) or feminine (“she”). It doesn’t always make logical sense to us – why is a table feminine (la table) but a book masculine (le livre)? There’s usually no rhyme or reason, unfortunately. The secret? Always learn a noun with its article! Think of the article as part of the noun’s name, like its first name telling you its gender.

Indefinite Articles: A / An (Un / Une)

These are like “a” or “an” in English. They tell you a noun is singular and introduce its gender.

Czech Connection: Just like in Czech you say jeden stůl (one table - masc.) or jedna židle (one chair - fem.), French uses un and une to denote gender with “a/an.” You’re already used to nouns having gender, even if the specific gender for a given noun might be different from Czech!

Definite Articles: The (Le / La / L’ / Les)

These are like “the” in English. They tell you a noun is specific, and they also indicate its gender and number (singular or plural).

Vocabulary Box:

French Article + Noun English Translation Gender Note
un livre a book Masculine
une voiture a car Feminine
un homme a man Masculine (silent ‘h’)
une femme a woman Feminine
le chat the cat Masculine
la table the table Feminine
l’hôtel the hotel Masculine (starts ‘h’)
l’orange the orange Feminine
l’ami the friend (m) Masculine (starts ‘a’)
l’amie the friend (f) Feminine (starts ‘a’)
les livres the books Plural
les voitures the cars Plural
les amis / les amies the friends (m/f) Plural

Grammar Spotlight: How to Know the Gender?

This is the tricky part! For most nouns, there are no easy rules.

Don’t get bogged down by these patterns yet. Just focus on associating the article with the noun.

Cultural Note: Grammatical Gender in Use

French speakers don’t consciously think “this is masculine, this is feminine” for every word. It’s intuitive to them. The articles are part of the word itself. For instance, you’d never hear someone say “table” without thinking of “la table.” This is why learning them together is so vital for you!

Exercises/Quiz:

  1. Fill in the blank with the correct indefinite article (un or une):
    • a) __ maison (house - feminine)
    • b) __ crayon (pencil - masculine)
    • c) __ pomme (apple - feminine, starts with vowel)
    • d) __ étudiant (student - masculine)
  2. Fill in the blank with the correct definite article (le, la, l’, or les):
    • a) __ fille (girl - feminine)
    • b) __ garçon (boy - masculine)
    • c) __ école (school - feminine, starts with vowel)
    • d) __ enfants (children - plural)
    • e) __ professeur (teacher - masculine)
  3. Identify the gender of the noun:
    • a) un café (coffee) - masculine or feminine?
    • b) la chaise (chair) - masculine or feminine?
    • c) l’ordinateur (computer - masculine) - masculine or feminine?

Solutions:

  1. a) une, b) un, c) une (even though it starts with a vowel, the indefinite article une doesn’t change!), d) un
  2. a) la, b) le, c) l’, d) les, e) le
  3. a) masculine, b) feminine, c) masculine

Lesson 8: Saying “No” and Asking Questions (La négation et l’interrogation)

Thoughts: Now that you can form basic sentences like “I am Anna” or “You have a car,” let’s learn how to tell someone “no, I’m not” or “I don’t have.” We’ll also explore the different ways to ask questions, from super casual to more formal.

Casual Introduction: Imagine you’re chatting in French, and someone asks, “Are you hungry?” You might want to say “No, I’m not.” Or you might want to ask them, “Are you fine?” Just like in Czech, where you add “ne-“ for negation (e.g., jsem -> nejsem) or change your voice for questions, French has its own methods. Let’s make sure you can express both “no” and “tell me more!”

Grammar Spotlight: Saying “No” (La négation) - Ne…pas

In French, to make a sentence negative, you usually put ne before the verb and pas after the verb. Think of it as a “negation sandwich” with the verb as the filling!

Structure: Subject + ne + VERB + pas + rest of sentence

Important Note on ‘Ne’ and Vowels (Elision!): Just like with le/la turning into l’, if the verb starts with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u, or silent h), ne becomes n’.

Informal Spoken French: In very casual, everyday spoken French, especially among friends, the ne is often dropped!

Czech Connection: You already use “ne-“ for negation in Czech (e.g., jsem vs. nejsem, mám vs. nemám). French ne...pas is a bit different because it’s two parts, but the concept of adding something to negate is familiar.

Grammar Spotlight: Asking Questions (L’interrogation)

There are three main ways to ask questions in French, from super casual to more formal:

1. Intonation (The easiest way!)

Just like in English or Czech, you can make a statement and make it a question by simply raising your voice at the end. This is very common in everyday spoken French.

2. Using “Est-ce que…?” (Is it that…?)

This is a very common and safe way to form questions, especially for beginners. You just put Est-ce que (Es-kuh) before your statement. The word order of your statement doesn’t change!

Cultural Note: Est-ce que is a versatile and polite way to ask a question. It’s often preferred in conversation over more formal inversion.

3. Inversion (The more formal way)

This is more common in formal settings, writing, or when you want to sound very elegant. You invert the subject pronoun and the verb, connecting them with a hyphen.

Important Inversion Note: If the verb ends in a vowel and the pronoun starts with a vowel (like a and il/elle/on), you add a -t- between them for smoother pronunciation.

Comparison (Example with “He is French”):

Vocabulary Box:

French Phrase English Translation Notes
ne…pas not Negation sandwich around the verb
Est-ce que…? Is it that…? / Do you…? Common way to start a question
français / française French (m/f)  
Comment ? How? A useful question word
Où ? Where?  
Qui ? Who?  

Exercises/Quiz:

  1. Make these sentences negative using ne…pas (remember elision!):
    • a) Je suis étudiant.
    • b) Tu as froid.
    • c) Elle est de Paris.
    • d) Nous avons faim.
  2. Form a question using the Est-ce que method:
    • a) Vous parlez anglais. (You speak English.)
    • b) Il a un chien. (He has a dog.)
    • c) Elles sont grandes. (They are tall - feminine.)
  3. Form a question using the Inversion method:
    • a) Tu es prêt. (You are ready.)
    • b) Il est français. (He is French.)
    • c) Vous avez soif. (You are thirsty.)

Solutions:

  1. a) Je ne suis pas étudiant. b) Tu n’as pas froid. c) Elle n’est pas de Paris. d) Nous n’avons pas faim.
  2. a) Est-ce que vous parlez anglais ? b) Est-ce qu’il a un chien ? c) Est-ce qu’elles sont grandes ?
  3. a) Es-tu prêt ? b) Est-il français ? c) Avez-vous soif ?

Lesson 9: Your First Verb Pattern: The -er Verbs (Les verbes en -er)

Thoughts: Get ready to unlock hundreds of new French verbs! The vast majority of French verbs end in -er in their infinitive form (the “to do something” form, like “to speak” or “to eat”). And the best part? They follow a super consistent pattern in the present tense.

Casual Introduction: We’ve already met two very special verbs, être (to be) and avoir (to have). They’re irregular, which means they don’t follow neat rules. But now for some great news: most French verbs are like a well-behaved army! They follow predictable patterns. The biggest group are the -er verbs, and once you learn their rhythm, you’ll be able to conjugate (change the verb ending to match the subject) hundreds of them! This is a massive boost to your conversational abilities.

Grammar Spotlight: The Regular -ER Verbs (Les verbes en -er réguliers)

Regular -er verbs are the most common type of verb in French. Their conjugation in the present tense is very straightforward.

How to Conjugate a Regular -ER Verb:

  1. Take the verb in its infinitive form (e.g., parler - to speak, aimer - to like/love, habiter - to live).
  2. Drop the -er ending. What’s left is called the stem.
    • parler -> stem: parl-
    • aimer -> stem: aim-
    • habiter -> stem: habit-
  3. Add the correct ending to the stem, depending on the subject pronoun:

Regular -ER Verb Endings (Present Tense)

Subject Pronoun Ending Example: Parler (to speak) Pronunciation Notes
Je -e Je parle The ‘e’ is often silent (like “parl”)
Tu -es Tu parles The ‘es’ is silent (like “parl”)
Il / Elle / On -e Il parle / Elle parle / On parle The ‘e’ is often silent (like “parl”)
Nous -ons Nous parlons The ‘ons’ sounds like nasal ‘on’ (from Unit 1!)
Vous -ez Vous parlez The ‘ez’ sounds like “ay” (like “parlay”)
Ils / Elles -ent Ils parlent / Elles parlent The ‘ent’ is silent (like “parl”)

Notice a pattern? The je, tu, il/elle/on, ils/elles forms often sound the same because their endings are silent! You’ll rely on the subject pronoun (je, tu, il, etc.) to know who is doing the action. Only nous and vous have distinctly pronounced endings.

Let’s try another one: Aimer (to like / to love)

And one more: Habiter (to live)

Czech Connection: Just like in Czech you have patterns for verbs (e.g., dělám, děláš, dělá), French also has these predictable patterns. Once you know the pattern for -er verbs, you can apply it to hundreds of new verbs!

Vocabulary Box:

French Verb (Infinitive) English Translation Notes
parler to speak  
aimer to like / to love Used for people and things
habiter to live Where you reside
manger to eat  
écouter to listen  
regarder to look / to watch  
travailler to work  
chercher to look for / to search  
trouver to find  

Example Sentences:

Exercises/Quiz:

  1. Conjugate the verb manger (to eat) for the following pronouns:
    • a) Je __
    • b) Nous __
    • c) Ils __
    • d) Tu __
    • e) Vous __
  2. Translate the following sentences into French:
    • a) We live in Unhošť (use nous).
    • b) She works a lot.
    • c) Do you (informal) like French? (Hint: Use Est-ce que… and aimer)
    • d) They (masculine) watch TV.
  3. Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb in parentheses:
    • a) Je __ (parler) anglais.
    • b) Nous __ (écouter) la radio.
    • c) Vous __ (aimer) le café.

Solutions:

  1. a) mange, b) mangeons, c) mangent, d) manges, e) mangez
  2. a) Nous habitons à Unhošť. b) Elle travaille beaucoup. (Note: beaucoup means “a lot”) c) Est-ce que tu aimes le français ? d) Ils regardent la télé.
  3. a) parle, b) écoutons, c) aimez

Key Takeaways for Unit 3: Building Your Grammar Toolbox

You’ve just added some heavy-duty tools to your French grammar toolbox! You can now talk about genders, negate sentences, ask questions in different ways, and use a huge chunk of French verbs. This unit significantly boosts your ability to construct more varied sentences. Keep practicing!