French for Beginners

1. Read sound symbols, not English spellings

Learning goal: Distinguish /y/ from /u/ and explain the limits of text.

French spelling is not an English pronunciation guide. IPA uses symbols for sounds, rather than ordinary spelling. Slashes mark a broad sound transcription; the dot in these word examples separates syllables. These are reference forms, not a claim that all accents sound identical (S2, S14–S17).

For /i/, keep the tongue towards the front and lips unrounded. For /y/, keep the tongue towards the front but round the lips. For /u/, round the lips and move the tongue towards the back. Hold the vowel steady rather than adding an English-style glide (S3).

In the last two words, /ʒ/ is the sound written j in the chart, /ɛ/ is an open e sound, /ʁ/ represents a French r, and the tilde in /ɔ̃/ marks a nasal vowel (S2). Do not simply add an English n after a nasal vowel. This small lesson does not train the r or nasal vowels fully. Text cannot let you hear the contrast or check your mouth.

Worked example

Enter the IPA symbol for the rounded back vowel here. Do not add slashes.

1. Rounded lips alone do not distinguish /y/ and /u/; /u/ has a back tongue position.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. u is the rounded back vowel (S3).

Mental model: IPA makes a contrast visible; hearing and feedback make it usable.

Common trap: Treating French u as English "oo", or expecting text to assess pronunciation.

2. Greet someone and close an exchange

Learning goal: Choose a greeting, say thanks and recognise a name introduction.

Learn a few complete chunks before analysing every word. This table adapts S1, PDF p.18. Use the name introduction as a memorised chunk; this course does not teach its reflexive grammar.

Original miniature exchange, with fictional names: Bonjour. Je m'appelle Alice. / Bonjour. Je m'appelle Paul. / Au revoir. (Hello. My name is Alice. / Hello. My name is Paul. / Goodbye). The IPA of two words appeared in lesson 1; the other phrases have no whole-phrase pronunciation transcription here. Reading this script does not show that you can follow a real conversation.

Worked example

Type the French chunk for goodbye, without punctuation.

1. The purpose is closing the exchange, so use the goodbye chunk.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. Au revoir means goodbye (S1).

Mental model: Connect a chunk to what it does in an exchange.

Common trap: Confusing a greeting with a closing, or treating a script as conversational mastery.

3. Learn nouns with their articles

Learning goal: Choose articles by gender and number, and make a regular plural.

French nouns have grammatical gender, masculine or feminine. This is a noun class, not a claim that objects have biological sex. Learn the article with the noun (S5). Un introduces a non-specific masculine singular; une a feminine singular; des a non-specific plural. Le, la and les often identify a specific noun, but their uses are wider than English the (S6–S7).

Regular noun plurals usually add written -s (S5). The article changes too. Le and la become l' before a vowel or silent h, hiding but not removing gender. Les does not become an apostrophe form; its final s links as /z/ before a vowel sound (S6). Some h-initial words block elision and liaison. Not every final consonant is silent and not every word boundary permits liaison.

Worked example

Complete "___ table" for a table. Type only the article.

1. The noun table is feminine, singular and non-specific; select une.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. une table is feminine singular (S5, S7).

Mental model: Change the article and regular noun ending together when number changes.

Common trap: Treating l' as a gender, or assuming every noun has a regular plural.

4. Choose a subject: I, you, we and they

Learning goal: Match subject pronouns to participants and distinguish tu from vous.

A subject tells you who or what a clause is about. In the simple clauses here, use a noun subject or subject pronoun; do not omit it just because an ending gives a clue (S4). The table adapts S4.

Tu addresses one person informally. Vous addresses a group or one person politely. Context matters; polite address is a useful starting point when the relationship is uncertain. On often means we in speech but takes the same verb form as il and elle. Je is capitalised only at the start of a sentence. Il and elle can also refer to things according to noun gender (S4).

Worked example

Type the explicit plural subject pronoun for we, not the colloquial on.

1. Nous includes the speaker and at least one other person; on is grammatically a different form.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. nous is the explicit we pronoun (S4).

Mental model: Choose the subject for meaning and verb agreement.

Common trap: Using tu for a group, or putting a nous verb form after on.

5. Use être: be in the present

Learning goal: Recall the present forms of être and match them to subjects.

être means to be. Its present forms are irregular: learn them rather than adding regular endings (S8).

Original examples with fictional names: Je suis Alice. (I am Alice), Nous sommes Paul et Alice. (We are Paul and Alice). In vous êtes, the pronoun s links as /z/ before the vowel in the verb (S8). Liaison changes the sound link, not the spelling. It does not mean every written s is pronounced.

Worked example

Complete "Vous ___ Paul." Type only the verb, with the accent.

1. Vous selects êtes whether its meaning is singular polite or plural.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. Vous êtes Paul. Use êtes even for one politely addressed person (S4, S8).

Mental model: Irregular forms are a subject-to-verb map.

Common trap: Using sont with nous or removing the accent from êtes.

6. Use avoir: possession and age

Learning goal: Match avoir to its subject and read an age with twenty.

avoir means to have; its present forms are irregular (S9).

Je becomes j' before ai. Original possession example: J'ai un livre. (I have a book). French uses avoir for age: J'ai vingt ans. means I am twenty years old. Ans means years in that expression (S9). Do not use être for the taught age pattern.

This is a small number set from S1 p.19, not a complete number lesson. No claims about prices, phone numbers or all number pronunciations are made. In nous avons, vous avez and ils ont, the pronoun s links as /z/ (S9).

Worked example

Complete "Nous ___ un livre." Type only the verb.

1. Nous requires avons, not ont.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. Nous avons un livre (S9).

Mental model: Avoir has its own irregular map; the age pattern uses it too.

Common trap: Writing je ai without elision, or using être for age.

7. Build a regular present verb: parler

Learning goal: Use the present endings of regular -er verbs with parler.

parler means to speak. For this regular -er verb, remove -er to get the stem parl-, then add the subject ending: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent (S10). A stem is the part an ending attaches to.

For parler, -e, -es and -ent are silent; the nous ending -ons and vous ending -ez are pronounced (S10). You cannot always recover the written ending from hearing the verb alone. Je parle français. means I speak French. This is an original practice sentence using S10. Do not insert another French verb to imitate English am speaking. Not every verb ending in -er follows this exact spelling pattern; exceptions and spelling changes need further study.

Worked example

Complete "Vous ___ français." Type only the verb.

1. The subject vous selects -ez; parl- plus -ez makes parlez.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. Vous parlez français (S10).

Mental model: A regular verb is stem plus a subject ending; written endings can be silent.

Common trap: Using the infinitive after a subject or pronouncing the verb ending -ent.

8. Ask a yes/no question

Learning goal: Turn a simple statement into a question with est-ce que.

Place est-ce que before a simple statement to make a yes/no question. Keep the subject and its verb form together. Source example: Est-ce que vous parlez français? (Do you speak French?). oui means yes, non means no (S11). French does not insert a word-for-word translation of English do into this frame.

The possession lines are original practice combinations. The question frame does not change avez into an infinitive. Before a following vowel, que elides to qu': Est-ce qu'il a un livre? (Does he have a book?) (S18). In speech, a statement-shaped question can also use rising intonation (S11). Text alone cannot teach that tune. Inversion is not practised here.

Worked example

Complete "Est-ce que vous ___ français?" with the present form of parler. Type only the verb.

1. The question frame does not change agreement; vous still selects parlez.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. Est-ce que vous parlez français? (S10–S11).

Mental model: Question frame plus an intact clause gives a yes/no question.

Common trap: Translating English do word for word, or putting an infinitive in the clause.

9. Say no with ne...pas

Learning goal: Negate a simple present clause and apply de in negative possession.

For basic written negation, put ne before the conjugated verb and pas after it. Before a vowel, ne becomes n' (S12). These are original practice sentences:

With basic negative possession, the indefinite article becomes de or d' (S7):

Je does not elide before n', because the next word no longer begins with a vowel. After être, indefinite articles do not undergo this same replacement (S7). Definite articles also do not follow the indefinite-article replacement rule. The lesson does not cover contrastive negatives, all exceptions, other negative words or multi-verb sentences.

Worked example

Complete "Je ne parle ___ français." Type the missing negative word.

1. The two-part frame surrounds parle; pas follows it.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. Je ne parle pas français (S12).

Mental model: Build the frame first, then check the article in this possession pattern.

Common trap: Writing j'n'ai, or assuming every negative article becomes de.

10. Read and rebuild a short exchange

Learning goal: Combine greetings, questions, possession and negation in a script.

This is an original teaching exchange, not an authentic conversation transcript. Names are fictional. The grammar is limited to the taught forms (S1, S7, S9–S12). The question about speaking French is the attested S11 example; other lines combine the taught patterns. Read the French first, then check meaning.

If you can read this exchange, that shows recognition of a small script, not listening skill, free conversation, pronunciation accuracy or a CEFR level. Next study needs real speech and feedback, more vocabulary, broader sentence patterns and repeated practice. Native-speaker review is advisable.

Worked example

Complete "Oui. Je ___ français." with the present je form of parler. Type only the verb.

1. Je selects -e: parl- plus -e makes parle.
2. Apply the pattern to the requested subject or purpose.
3. Oui. Je parle français (S10).

Mental model: Recall parts, build a clause, and keep ability claims proportionate.

Common trap: Mistaking recognition of a script for conversational proficiency.