32) Using question words

Reflexive verbs are used much more frequently in French than in English. Below you’ll find a list of the most common ones. s'amuser (to enjoy oneself) s'appeler (to be called) se baigner (to bathe) se brosser (to brush) se coucher (to go to bed) se dépêcher (to be in a hurry) s'entendre (to get on) se faire mal (to hurt oneself) s'habiller (to get dressed) s’amuser To enjoy oneself Je m’amuse I’m enjoying myself Il s’amuse He’s enjoying himself Elle s’amuse She’s enjoying herself Nous nous amusons We’re enjoying ourselves Vous vous amusez You’re enjoying yourself Ils s’amusent They’re enjoying themselves Amusez-vous Enjoy yourself (imperative) Se laver To wash oneself Je me lave I wash myself Je vais me laver I’m going to wash myself Je me laverai I will wash myself Je me suis lave I washed myself Je me lavais I was washing myself Se coucher To take onself to bed Il se couche He’s puts himself to bed Il va se coucher He’s going to put himself to bed Il se couchera He will put himself to bed Il s’est couche He put himself to bed Il se couchait He was putting himself to bed Se baigner to bathe oneself Elle se baigne She bathes herself Elle va se baigner She’s going to bathe herself Elle se baignera She will bathe herself Elle s’est baigne She bathed herself Elle bagnait She was bathing herself S’habiller to dress oneself Nous nous habillons we get ourselves dressed Nous allons nous habiller We’re going to get dressed Nous nous habillerons We will get dressed Nous nous sommes habilles  We got dressed Nous nous habillions We were getting dressed Habillons-nous Lets get ourselves dressed Se lever To get onself up Vous vous levez You get yourself up Vous allez vous lever You’re going to get yourself up Vous vous leverez You will get yourself up Vous vous etes leve You got yourself up Vous vous leviez You were getting yourself up Levez-vous Get yourself up Se faire mal to hurt oneself Ils se font mal They hurt themselves Ils vont se fair mal They are going to hurt themselves Ils se feront mal They will hurt themselves Ils se sont fait mal They hurt themselves Ils se faisaient mal They were hurting themselves There are some reflexive verbs in French which we wouldn’t necesarily expect. For example, se trouver means to be situated (literally to find oneself) and se demander means to wonder (literally to ask oneself)

Lundi Monday Je joue au foot lundi I’m playing football on Monday Mardi Tuesday Il parle francais mardi He’s speaking French on Tuesday Mercredi Wednesday Elle travaille a l’ecole mercredi She’s working at the school on Wednesday Jeudi Thursday Vous regardez la television jeudi You’re watching television on Thursday Vendredi Friday Nous vendons la voiture vendredi We’re selling the car on Friday Samedi Saturday Ils aident ma grandmere samedi They’re helping my grandma on Satruday Dimanche Sunday Je vais a l’eglise dimanche I’m going to church on Sunday Le lundi On Mondays Je joue au foot le lundi I play football on Mondays Le mardi On Tuesdays Il parle francais le mardi He speaks French on Tuesdays Le mercredi On wednesdays Elle travaille a l’ecole le mercredi She works at the school on Wednesdays Le jeudi On thursdays Vous regardez la television le jeudi You watch television on Thursdays Le vendredi On Fridays Nous vendons les voitures le vendredi We sell cars on Fridays Le samedi On Saturdays Ils aident ma grandmere le samedi They help my grandma on Saturdays Le dimanche On Sundays Je vais a l’eglise le dimanche I go to church on Sundays

Where we always use the verb ‘to be’ in English, the French occasionally use the verb ‘to have’. So instead of saying ‘John is hungry’, you say ‘John has hunger’. The adjectives that use ‘avoir’ rather than ‘etre’ are below: To be hungry To be thirsty To be sleepy To be warm To be cold To be right To be wrong ‘Avoir’ is used when talking about your age. Rather than say ‘I am 7 years old’, you say ‘I have 7 years’. Faim Hungry J’ai faim I’m hungry Il a faim He is hungry Elle a faim She is hungry Nous avons faim We are hungry Vous avez faim You are hungry Ils ont faim They are hungry Soif Thirsty J’ai soif I am thirsty Il a le sommeil He’s sleepy Elle a chaud She’s warm Nous avons froid We’re cold Vous avez raison You are right Ils ont tort They are wrong J’avais soif I was thirsty Je vais avoir soif I’m going to be thirsty J’aurai soif demain I will be thirsty tomorrow Sommeil Sleepy Il avait le sommeil he was sleepy Il va avoir le sommeil He’s going to be sleepy Il aura le sommeil ce soir He will be sleepy this evening Chaud Warm Elle avait chaud She was warm Elle va avoir chaud She’s going to be warm Elle aura chaud ce soir She’ll be warm tonight Froid Cold Nous avions froid We were cold Nous allons avoir froid We’re going to be cold Nous aurons froid ce soir We’ll be cold this evening Raison Right Vous aviez raison You were right Vous allez avoir raison You’re going to be right Vous aurez raison la semaine prochaine You’ll be right next week Tort Wrong Ils avaient tort They were wrong Ils vont avoir tort They’re going to be wrong Ils auront tort demain matin They’ll be wrong tomorrow morning

La boulangerie The bakery Je vais a la boulangerie I’m going to the bakery Je suis a la boulangerie I’m at the bakers Le marche The market Je vais au marche I’m going to the market (note how a le contracts to au) Vous etes au marche You’re at the market Les magasins The shops Je vais aux magasins I’m going to the shops (note aux) Ils sont aux magasins They’re at the shops La boucherie The butchers Il va a la boucherie He’s going to the butchers Vous etes a la boucherie You’re at the butchers La tabac Tabacconis Il va au tabac He’s going to the Tabacconis Vous etes a la tabac You are at the Tabacconis Le grand magasin Shopping centre Il va aller au magasins He’s going to go to the shopping centre Vous etes au magasins You’re at the shopping centre Le supermarche The supermarket J’etais au supermarche I was at the supermarket Je serai au supermarche I will be at the supermarket Je vais etre au supermarche I’m going to be at the supemarket de Je suis d’angleterre I’m from England Il est de la France He’s from France Elle est d’allemagne She’s from Germany Nous sommes d’Italie We’re from Italy Vous etes d’Espagne You’re from Spain Ils sont du Russie They’re from Russia (from) Je voudrais I would like Kilo Kilo Je voudrais deux kilos de pommes I would like 2 kilos of apples Je voudrais un kilo de bananes I would like a kilo of bananas (of) En Je serai en anglettere I will be in England Il etais en France He was in France Elle va etre en allemagne She’s going to be in Germany Nous sommes en Italie We are in Italy Vous habitiez en espagne You lived in Spain Ils habitaient en Russie They lived in Russia J’habitais en angleterre I lived in England Avec With J’habitais en angleterre avec ma soeur et ma mere I lived in england with my sister and my mother

Mike est grand. Mike is tall. Mike est plus grand. Mike is taller. Mike est plus grand que Oli Mike is taller than Oli Oli est petit. Oli is small. Oli est plus petit. Oli is smaller. Oli est plus petit que Mike. Oli is smaller than Mike Graham est fatigue Graham is tired Graham est mois fatigue Graham is less tired Graham est mois fatigue que Anya Graham is less tired than Anya Anya est vite. Anya is fast. Anya est plus vite. Anya is faster. Anya est plus vite que Graham. Anya is faster than Graham Je suis I am Je suis aussi rapide I am as fast Je suis aussi rapide que vous I am as fast as you Je ne suis pas aussi rapide que vous I am not as fast as you Vous etiez You were Vous etiez aussie bien You were as good as Vous etiez aussi bien que lui You were as good as him Ils etaient They were Ils etaient plus petits They were shorter Ils etaient plus petits que nous They were shorter than us Ils etaient They were Ils etaient moins bien They were less good Ils etaient moins bien que nous They were less good than us Vous allez You are Vous allez etre plus lent You are going to be more slow Vous allez etre plus lent que moi You are going to be slower than me Je vais I’m going Je vais etre plus gros I’m going to be more fat Je vais etre plus gros que vous I’m going to be fatter than you Ils seront They will be Ils seront plus grands They will be taller Ils seront plus grands que moi They’ll be taller than me Vous seriez You will be Vous seriez plus fatigue You will be more tired Vous seriez plus fatigue que lui You’ll be more tired than him

Finissez  Finish Finissons Let’s finish Finissons vite Let’s finish quickly Maintenant Now Finissons maintenant Let’s finish now Finissons-le maintenant Let’s finish it now (pronoun coming after) Ne le finissons pas maintenant Let’s not finish it now (pronoun before – same as usual) Attendez wait Attendons Let’s wait Attendons ici Let’s wait here Attendons-moi Let’s wait for me Attendez-moi Wait for me Attendez-nous Wait for us Ne nous attendez pas Don’t wait for us When the imperative pushes the pronoun to the end of the sentence, me becomes moi Ecouter To listen Ecoutez Listen Ecoutons Let’s listen Ecoutez-moi Listen to me Ne m’ecoutez pas Don’t listen to me Ne l’ecoutez pas Don’t listen to him There are four verbs that are irregular in the imperative: avoir, etre, savoir and vouloir. When giving orders, etre is the most common of these, so let’s learn that one know and we’ll look at the others later. Soyez vite Be quick Soyons vite Let’s be quick Ne soyez pas vite Don’t be quick Ne soyons pas vite Let’s not be quick

The good news is that the French tell the time in almost exactly the same way as us. Quelle heure? What time? Est it? Is it? Quelle heure est-il? What time is it? Vous avez You have L’heure The hour / time Vous avez l’heure You have the time Il est It is Une heure One hour Du matin The morning Il est une heure du matin It is one o’clock (am) Il est it is Quatre heures Four hours De l’apres-midi In the afternoon Il est quatre heures de l’apres midi It is four in the afternoon Il est It is Sept heures Seven hours Du soir The evening Il est sept heures du soir It is seven o’clock (pm) Il est It is Onze heures Eleven hours De la nuit The evening Il est onze heures de la nuit It is eleven o’clock (pm) Il est minuit It is midnight Il est midi. It is midday. Il est sept heures et quart. It is 7 and a quarter. Il est sept heures et demi. It is 7 and a half. Il est huit heures moins le quart. It is a quarter to 8. Il est huit heures moins vingt. It is 20 to 8. Il est cinq heures et quart It is quarter past five. Il est six heures et demi It is half past six. Il est neuf heures moins le quart It is a quarter to nine. Il est onze heures dix It is ten past eleven. Il est dix heures moins cinq It is five to ten. Occasional use of 24 hour clock Il est dix huit heures It is 6 pm Il est dix sept heures vingt It is 5:20pm Il est vingt et un heures quinze 9:15pm

Il faut It is necessary / One must Manger To eat Il faut manger tous les jours. It is necessary to eat every day. Il faut It is necessary / One must Visiter To visit Il faut visiter la Chine. It is necessary to visit China. Il faut It is necessary / One must Aller To go Il faut aller a la gare. It is necessary to go to the station. Il faut It is necessary / One must Travailler To work Il faut travailler. It is necessary to work. Il faut It is necessary / One must Regarder To watch Il faut regarder le foot. It is necessary to watch the football. Il faut It is necessary / One must Partir To leave Il faut partir demain. It is necessary to leave tomorrow. Il faut It is necessary / One must Acheter To buy Il faut acheter un billet. It is neccessary to buy a ticket. Il faut It is necessary / One must Jouer To play Il faut jouer au tennis. It is necessary to play tennis. Est-ce qu’il faut Is it necessary? Habiter To live Est-ce qu’il faut habiter a londres? Is it necessary to live in London? Est-ce qu’il faut Is it necessary? Arriver To arrive Est-ce qu’il faut arriver demain matin? Is it necessary to arrive tomorrow morning? Est-ce qu’il faut Is it necessary? Partir To leave Est-ce qu’il faut partir ce soir? Is it necessary to leave this evening?

Ou Where Vous allez You are going Vous allez ou ? You are going where? Ou allez-vous ? Where go you? Ou est-ce que vous allez ? Where is it that you are going? Combien How much / How many Ils mangent They are eating Combien de pommes mangent-ils? How many apples are they eating? Combien de pommes ont-ils mange? How many apples have they eaten? Combien de pommes vont-ils manger? How many apples are they going to eat? Comment How Allez-vous Go you Comment allez-vous How go you? Comment allez-vous a la gare? How go you to the station? Comment est-ce que vous allez a la gare? How is that you’re going to the station? Vous allez comment? You go how? Quoi What Ils mangeaient They were eating Ils mangeaient quoi ? They were eating what? Qu’est-ce que What is it that? Qu’est-ce qu’il mangerai? What is it that they were eating? Quoi What Nous regardersons We will watch Nous regarderons quoi ? We will watch what? Qu’est-ce que nous regarderons? What is it that we will watch? Quand When Partez-vous Do you leave Quand partez-vous? When do you leave? Quand est-ce que vous partez? When is it that you leave? Vous partez quand? You leave when? Quand est-ce qu’il est parti? When did he leave? Qui Who Est la femme Is the lady Qui est la femme? Who is the lady? Qui est-ce que la femme. Who is the lady? Qui est le papa? Who’s the Daddy? Pourquoi Why Est-ce que vous l’avez fait? Is it that you’ve done it? Pourqoui est-ce que vous l’avez pas fait? Why have you done it? Pourquoi Why Il va a l’eglise He goes to church. Il va a l’eglise pourquoi? He goes to church why? Pourquoi est-ce qu’il va a l’eglise? Why is that he goes to church?

Je jouais au tennis I played tennis Il jouait au foot He played football Nous jouions au hockey We played hockey Vous jouiez au golf. You played golf. Ils joueaient au rugby. They played rugby. Marcher To walk Vous marchez You walk Vous marchiez You used to walk Vous marchiez tous les jours You used to walk every day Elle marchait vite She used to walk quickly Ils marchaient au travail They used to walk to work Rester – To Stay Je reste I stay Je restais I stayed Dans In Je restais dans la chambre I stayed in the bedroom Ma mere restait dans la cuisine My Mother stayed in the kitchen Mes souers restaient dans la voiture My sisters stayed in the car Habiter – To live Il habite He lives Mon frere habitait My brother lived Avec With Mon frere habitait avec mon pere My brother lived with my Father J’habitais a Paris  I lived in Paris Nous habitions dans une grande maison We lived in a big house The Only irregular one - Etre Je suis I am J’etais a Paris I was in Paris Il etait a Paris He was in Paris Nous etions a Paris We were in Paris Vous etiez a Paris You were in Paris Ils etaient a Paris They were in Paris