Focus: Enrich vocabulary and expressions to make your daily life easier

Lesson 1 - Descriptive & possessive adjectives

1. Descriptive adjectives

Already included:

• grand / petit → tall / small, masc

• grande / petite → tall / small, fem

• beau / belle → nice, masc / fem

• chaud / froid → hot / cold, masc

• chaude / froide → hot / cold, fem

• facile / difficile → easy / difficult

🔑 Extra Essential Adjectives

• bon / bonne → good

• mauvais / mauvaise → bad

• joli / jolie → pretty, nice-looking

• vieux / vieille → old

• jeune → young

• nouveau / nouvelle → new

• gros / grosse → big, thick (for people or objects)

• long / longue → long

• court / courte → short (length)

• cher / chère → expensive, dear

• pauvre → poor

• content / contente → happy, glad

• triste → sad

• rapide / lent(e) → fast / slow

Pronunciation reminder

• Final consonants are mostly silent (99% of the time).

• A final e (without accent) makes the preceding consonant pronounced.

Example:

• petit (masc) → /PETI/ (t silent)

• petite (fem) → /PETITT/ (t pronounced)

Examples

• La maison est grande. → The house is big

• Le café est chaud. → The coffee is hot

• Un bon café. → A good coffee

• C’est un mauvais film. → This is a bad movie

• Une jolie ville. → A pretty town

• Un vieux livre. → An old book

• Une nouvelle voiture. → A new car

• Il est gros. → He is big

• Un long voyage. → A long trip

• Une rue courte. → A short street

• Ce pantalon est cher. → These pants are expensive

• Le pauvre enfant. → The poor child

• Je suis content(e). → I am happy

• Elle est triste. → She is sad

• Le train est rapide. → The train is fast

• Le service est lent. → The service is slow

Short adjectives before the noun

Normally, descriptive adjectives come after the noun in French:

• une maison grande ❌

• une maison grande sounds unnatural.

• une maison grande → actually, not used. Correct is une grande maison. ✅

Why? Because some short, very common adjectives go before the noun:

• un grand homme = a tall man (or a great man, depending on context) /1GRANTOM/

• un petit chien = a small dog

• un beau jardin = a beautiful garden

• un bon café = a good coffee

👉 Think of it like this: If the adjective is short, simple, and very common (grand, petit, beau, bon, mauvais, vieux, jeune, joli, nouveau), it usually goes before the noun.

Short adjectives for emphasis

Some adjectives can move before the noun to give more impact or emotion. This is common in French when you want to sound expressive.

Example:

• C’est un excellent restaurant !→ This is an excellent restaurant!

Here, putting excellent before restaurant emphasizes quality. It sounds stronger and more natural than saying un restaurant excellent, which is correct but less common in everyday French.

So remember: when you want to stress excellence, beauty, or intensity, you’ll often see the adjective before the noun. Use these adjectives: excellent(e), magnifique, délicieux / délicieuse.

Simple rule:

• Most adjectives → go after the noun.

• Short, common adjectives (size, beauty, goodness, age) → go before the noun.

2. Possessive adjectives

• mon / ma / mes → my

• ton / ta / tes → your

• son / sa / ses → his / her

• notre / nos → our

• votre / vos → your (formal or plural)

• leur / leurs → their

1. Use mon, ton, son before a masculine noun (e.g., mon livre) and ma, ta, sa before a feminine noun (ex, ta voiture).

2. Always use mes, tes, ses for plural nouns, regardless of their gender (ex, mes livres, mes tables).

Examples:

• C’est mon livre. → This is my book

• Elle a perdu sa clé. → She lost her key

How to master possessive adjectives in French

In French, the possessive adjective agrees in gender and number with the object being possessed, not with the gender of the person who owns it. This is the opposite of how it works in English.

For example, you say "son père" (his/her father) whether the person is a man or a woman, because the noun "père" (father) is masculine. Similarly, you use "sa mère" (his/her mother) for both a man and a woman, because "mère" (mother) is a feminine noun.

For plural nouns, you always use "ses", as in "ses parents" (his/her parents), no matter who the parents belong to.

Practice tips:

• Describe things around you using adjectives: Le chat est petit et noir.

• Say whose things they are: C’est ton stylo ? Oui, c’est mon stylo.

Lesson 2 - Prepositions, colors, weather & seasons

1. Prepositions of location

• sur → on

• sous → under

• à côté de → next to

• dans → in

• devant → in front of

• derrière → behind

• en face de → facing / across from

• entre → between

• au-dessus de → above

• au-dessous de → below

• près de → near

• loin de → far from

• autour de → around

Examples:

• Le livre est sur la table. → The book is on the table

• Le chat est sous la chaise. → The cat is under the chair

En dessous vs au-dessous, kind of confusing...

• En dessous (de) is the most common and often implies that something is directly underneath something else, sometimes in contact with it. It's the equivalent of "underneath" or "on the underside."

  • Example: "Le chat, il est en dessous du lit." (The cat is directly under the bed, probably on the floor).

• Au-dessous (de) is more formal and generally means "below" or "at a lower level." It doesn't necessarily imply direct contact.

  • Example: "La température en montagne est souvent plus basse au-dessous de 0°C." (The temperature in the mountains is often below 0°C.) Formal.

In everyday conversation, you will hear "en dessous" much more frequently.

To summarize:

• en dessous de = everyday French, most common, often physical, concrete. (Le chat est en dessous du lit.)

• au-dessous de = more formal, less common, often abstract or spatial. (L’avion vole au-dessous des nuages.)

• Forget au-dessous, just use en dessous in daily life.

2. Colors

• rouge, bleu, vert, jaune, gris, rose, noir, blanc → red, blue, green, yellow, grey, pink, black, white

• Clair: light.

• Foncé: dark.

Example: vert foncé (dark green); bleu clair (light blue)

Exceptions:

• bleu marine = navy blue

• bleu nuit = midnight blue

• bleu ciel = sky blue

Examples:

• J’ai un pull bleu. → I have a blue sweater

Quick Tips

• In French, the color usually comes after the noun: une voiture rouge = a red car.

• Colors agree in gender and number: une chemise bleue = a blue shirt, des fleurs rouges = red flowers.

• Some colors never change because they are nouns: orange, marron, turquoise. Example: des pantalons marron.

3. Weather & seasons

• Il fait chaud / froid / beau / mauvais → It’s hot / cold / nice / bad

• Printemps, été, automne, hiver → Spring, summer, autumn, winter

Note: Don’t say je suis chaud for temperature. Say j’ai chaud (I feel hot).
For the weather, don’t say c’est chaud. Say il fait chaud. Here, il is impersonal, like “it” in English.

Practice tips:

• Talk about your environment: Il fait froid aujourd’hui.

• Describe objects with color and location: Le pull rouge est dans l’armoire.

Lesson 3 - Market essentials & connectors

1. Fruits & vegetables (market essentials)

• la pomme, la banane, la tomate, la carotte, la salade → apple, banana, tomato, carrot, lettuce

• Quantities: un kilo, une pièce, une bouteille → one kilo, one piece, one bottle

Examples:

• Je voudrais deux pommes et une tomate. → I would like two apples and one tomato

• Combien coûte une bouteille d’eau ? → How much is a bottle of water?

2. Supermarket essentials – les rayons

• Boulangerie → bread, pastries

  • le pain, la baguette, les croissants

• Produits laitiers / Crèmerie → dairy

  • le lait, le beurre, le fromage, les œufs

• Épicerie / Pâtes & riz → dry goods

  • les pâtes, le riz, le sucre, l’huile

• Boissons → drinks

  • l’eau, le jus, le café, le thé

• Fruits & légumes → fruits & vegetables

  • la pomme, la tomate, la carotte, la salade

3. Connectors

• et → and

• et puis → and then

• mais → but

• parce que → because

• donc / alors / du coup → so

Examples:

• Je prends des pommes et des bananes. → I take apples and bananas

• Je viens, mais je suis un peu en retard. → I’m coming, but I’m a little late

• Je reste à la maison parce qu’il fait froid. → I stay home because it’s cold

Practice tips:

• Combine sentences using connectors: Le café est chaud et le thé est froid.

• Practice asking at the market: Je voudrais une carotte et une salade, s’il vous plaît.

Lesson 4 - Tell the time

How to ask:

Il est quelle heure ? (standard) Quelle heure il est ? / T'as quelle heure ? / Quelle heure c'est ?(informal) Quelle heure est-il ? Vous auriez l'heure, s'il vous plaît ? (formal)

How to build the sentence to respond:

Il est + the time.

How to tell the time:

7h: sept heures /SETTEUR/ (du matin / du soir).

• Le matin = morning.

• Midi = noon, midday.

• L'après-midi = afternoon.

• Le soir = evening.

• La nuit = night.

Sometimes French people say "du mat'", for example: il est 2h du mat'. (It's 2AM)

8h: huit heures /UITEUR/

9h: neuf heures /NEUVEUR/, because of the liaison, neuf becomes /NEUV/

10h: dix heures /DIZEUR/, not /DISSEUR/ or /DIXEUR/

11h: onze heures /ONZEUR/

12h: midi or douze heures /DOOZEUR/ (not /DUZEUR/)

13h: treize heures /TREZEUR/ or une heure (de l'après-midi, not du soir, of course). Après-midi = afternoon.

14h: quatorze heures /KATORZEUR/ or deux heures /DEUZEUR/ because of the liaison (not /DOOZEUR/)

15h: quinze heures /K1ZEUR/ (not /KINNZEUR/) or trois heures /TROAZEUR/

16h: seize heures /SEZEUR/ (NOT /SIZEUR/ ATTENTION) or quatre heures /KATREUR/

17h: dix-sept heures /DISETTEUR/ or cinq heures /S1KEUR/

18h: dix-huit heures /DIZUITTEUR/ or six heures /SIZEUR/ (NOT /SEZEUR/)

19h: dix-neuf heures /DIZNEUVEUR/ or sept heures /SETTEUR/

20h: vingt heures /V1TEUR/ or huit heures /UITEUR/

21h: vingt et une heure /V1TéUNEUR/ or neuf heures /NEUVEUR/ (du soir)

22h: vingt-deux heures /V1T2ZEUR/ or dix heures /DIZEUR/ (du soir)

23h: vingt-trois heures /V1TTROAZEUR/ or onze heures /ONZEUR/ (du soir)

00h: minuit /MINUI/

00':

• Il est 10h: il est /ILé/ dix heures /DIZEUR/ (normal way): it's 10AM

• Il est 10h pile: "pile" means exactly 10:00, not 10:02 or 10:05

• Il est 10h du soir: il est dix heures du soir (traditional way): it's 10PM

• Il est 22h: il est vingt-deux heures (normal way): it's 10PM

05':

• Il est 8h05: il est huit heures cinq (du matin): it's 8:05AM

10':

• Same: just say: il est 7 heures dix / il est 19 heures dix.

20':

• Same: just add vingt: il est 7 heures vingt / il est 19 heures vingt

30':

• Il est 11h30: il est onze heures trente: it's 11:30AM

• Il est 11h30: il est onze heures et demi /é2MI/ or /EDMI/: it's 11:30AM

• Il est 12h30: il est midi / douze heures trente (normal way): it's 12:30AM

• Il est 12h30: il est midi et demi (traditional way): it's 12:30AM. Midi = noontime

35':

• Il est 17h35: il est six heures moins vingt cinq (traditional way): it's 17:35PM

  moins = less. 18 becomes 6, like 6PM. 17:35 = 6PM - 25 (minutes)

• Il est 17h35: il est dix-sept / cinq heures trente cinq (normal way): it's 17:35PM

40':

• Il est 12h40: il est une heure moins vingt (traditional way): it's 12:40AM

  moins = less. 13 becomes 1, like 1PM. 12:40 = 1PM - 20 (minutes)

• Il est 12h40: il est douze heures quarante / midi quarante (normal way): it's 12:40AM

• Il est 7h moins le quart: il est sept heures moins le quart (traditional way): it's 6:45PM

45':

• Il est 7h moins le quart: il est sept heures moins le quart (traditional way): it's 6:45PM

  le quart = quarter, 1/4.

• Il est 18h45: il est dix-huit heures / six heures quarante cinq (normal way): it's 6:45PM

50':

• Il est 4h moins dix: il est quatre heures moins dix (traditional way): it's 3:50PM

• Il est 16h50: il est seize heures / quatre heures cinquante (normal way): it's 3:50PM

55':

• Il est 9h moins cinq: il est neuf heures moins cinq (traditional way): it's 8:55PM

Il est 20h55: il est vingt heures cinquante cinq (normal way): it's 8:55PM

Practice tipz:

• Practice telling the time, repeat it five times, write it down, and say it aloud.

• Do it several times a day to really assimilate it.

• Remember, this course isn't just about learning; it's also about effectively internalizing French.

Lesson 5 – Numbers Beyond 100

• 100 → cent

• 200 → deux cents

• 1 000 → mille

• 2 000 → deux mille

• 70 → soixante-dix (sixty-ten)

• 80 → quatre-vingts (four-twenties)

• 90 → quatre-vingt-dix (four-twenty-ten)

Examples:

• J’ai cent euros. → I have 100 euros.

• Mon appartement est au quatre-vingt-dixième étage. → My apartment is on the 90th floor.

👉 Tip: French numbers are logical but long. Quatre-vingt-treize = 4 × 20 + 13.

Lesson 6 – Basic Question Words

• qui ? → who

• quoi ? / que ? → what

• où ? → where

• quand ? → when

• pourquoi ? → why

• comment ? → how

• combien ? → how much / how many

Examples:

• Où est la gare ? → Where is the train station?

• Combien ça coûte ? → How much does it cost?

• Tu fais quoi ? → What are you doing?

Lesson 7 - Survival Verbs

Three essential verbs for daily life:

• vouloir → to want

• pouvoir → to be able to / can

• devoir → to have to / must

Examples:

• Je veux un café. → I want a coffee.

• Tu peux m’aider ? → Can you help me?

• Je dois partir. → I have to leave.

👉 Even if you don’t conjugate them perfectly yet, knowing the basic forms (je veux, tu peux, je dois) already lets you ask for things and survive in daily life.

Lesson 8 - How to Ask for Help in an Emergency (hope you won't need it)

Emergencies can happen anywhere. Here are the essential French phrases you need to get help quickly and clearly.

1. General Phrases

• Au secours ! → Help! (classic emergency cry)

• À l’aide ! → Help! (also common)

• J’ai besoin d’aide ! → I need help!

• Appelez la police ! → Call the police!

• Appelez une ambulance ! → Call an ambulance!

• Appelez les pompiers ! → Call the fire department!

2. In Case of Medical Emergency

• J’ai mal… → I’m in pain…

• Je ne me sens pas bien. → I don’t feel well.

• C’est urgent ! → It’s urgent!

• Appelez un médecin ! → Call a doctor!

3. At the Police or in the Street

• On m’a volé ! → I’ve been robbed!

• On m’a agressé ! → I’ve been attacked!

• J’ai perdu mon passeport. → I lost my passport.

• Pouvez-vous m’aider, s’il vous plaît ? → Can you help me, please?

4. Important Numbers in France

• 15 → le SAMU (ambulance, medical emergencies)

• 17 → La police

• 18 → Les pompiers: Fire department

• 112 → European emergency number (works everywhere in the EU)

5. Mini Dialogue

— À l’aide ! Appelez une ambulance !
(Help! Call an ambulance!)

— Qu’est-ce qui se passe ?
(What’s happening?)

— Il ne respire pas ! Appelez le 15 !
(He’s not breathing! Call 15!)

6. Practice Tips

• Repeat Au secours ! and À l’aide ! out loud, in an emergency, you won’t have time to think.

• Memorize 112 → this number works anywhere in Europe.

• Practice short sentences: Appelez la police !, C’est urgent !

Toujours motivé(e) ? T'es sûr ? Fais une pause, non ? Bon, d'accord, rendez-vous à la prochaine leçon !