French Grammar: Irregular Past Participles

… Identify: French Grammar: Irregular Past Participles la grammaire française: le participe passé des verbes irréguliers Connect: LEAF French Grammar: The Past Participle Study: The past participle is the general equivalent of using [-ED] in English. It can be used in a variety of functions, including compound tenses and as adjectives with the verb ‘ÊTRE’. Click here to learn about the […]

French Grammar: Relative Pronouns – [QUI] and [QUE]

… Identify: French Grammar: Relative Pronouns – [QUI] and [QUE] la grammaire française: les pronoms relatifs – [qui] et [que] Study: In French as well as in English, a relative clause describes a person or thing introduced in the main clause. A relative pronoun connects a relative clause to that person or thing. The person […]

French Grammar: Relative Pronoun – [LEQUEL]

… Identify: French Grammar: Relative Pronoun – [LEQUEL] la grammaire française: le pronom relatif – [lequel] Study: In French as well as in English, a relative clause describes a person or thing introduced in the main clause. A relative pronoun connects a relative clause to that person or thing. The person or thing that precedes […]

French Grammar: More about Adjective Placement

… Identify: French Grammar: More about Adjective Placement la grammaire française: la disposition des adjectifs – suite In French, the position of adjectives (adjective placement) is very important.  Most French adjectives go after the nouns they qualify. A few adjectives go before the nouns they modify.  And some adjectives can go either before OR after […]

French Grammar: More about Negation

… Identify: French Grammar: More about Negation la grammaire française: la négation – suite Negation lets us say “no” to things in French! It also lets us express that things are NOT a certain way. Review: LEAF French Grammar: Basic Negation Study: Negative constructions include the following: ne … aucun(e) : no / none / […]

French Grammar: The Causative Construction – [FAIRE] + Infinitive

… Identify: French Grammar: The Causative Construction – [FAIRE] + Infinitive la grammaire française: le causatif – [FAIRE] + l’infinitif Study: The causative construction, as its name implies, is used to express the idea that one person (or thing) gets, has, makes, or causes another action to take place.  A causative construction is made up […]

French Vocabulary: Idioms Related to the Life Cycle

… Identify: French Vocabulary: Idioms Related to the Life Cycle le vocabulaire français: des expressions idiomatiques reliées au cycle de vie Idioms are fixed expressions with a figurative meaning. Learn to use idioms related to the life cycle to sound more like a native speaker of French. Study: avoir le démon de midi to have […]

French Grammar: Unit of Time vs. Length of Time

… Identify: French Grammar: Unit of Time vs. Length of Time la grammaire française: matin/matinée, soir/soirée, jour/journée, an/année The words Matin/Matinée, Soir/Soirée, Jour/Journée, An/Année all refer to times. The difference between the words in each pair is a matter of Unit of Time vs. Length of Time. Study: Both words in the above pairs have the […]

French Grammar: The Past Infinitive

… Identify: French Grammar: The Past Infinitive la grammaire française: l’infinitif passé The infinitive form of a verb conveys the basic meaning of that verb. The infinitive AVOIR or ÊTRE + Past Participle of Main Verb = the PAST INFINITIVE form. Study: The infinitive form of a French verb is the form that ends with [-ER], [-IR], […]

French Grammar: The Infinitive with [AVANT DE]

… Identify: French Grammar: The Infinitive with [AVANT DE] la grammaire française: l’infinitif avec [avant de] The infinitive form of a verb conveys the basic meaning of that verb. AVANT DE + INFINITIVE = before … (doing something) or prior to … (doing something). Study: The infinitive form of a French verb is the form that ends […]