Yunhai Xiang 项云海

Learning French Part I

I’m learning french. Here’s some notes I wrote to help myself learn. We focus on grammar today.

Letters

• Latin Letters: a/A “ah”, b/B “bay”, c/C “say”, d/D “day”, e/E “uh”, f/F “ehf”, g/G “zhay”, h/H “ash”, i/I “ee”, j/J “zhee”, k/K “kah”, l/L “ehl”, m/M “ehm”, n/N “ehn”, o/O “oh”, p/P “pay”, q/Q “koo”, r/R “ehrRR”, s/S “ehs”, t/T “tay”, u/U “ü”, v/V “vay”, w/W “doo-bluh-vay”, x/X “eeks”, y/Y “ee-grek”, z/Z “zed”
• Accute Accents: é/É “ay”
• Grave Accents: à/À “ah”, è/È “eh”, ù/Ù “ü”
• Circumflexes: â/Â “aah”, ê/Ê “eh”, î/Î “ee”, ô/Ô “ooh”, û/Û “ü”
• Tréma (Indicating Vowel Hiatus): ë/Ë “eh”, ï/Ï “ee”, ü/Ü “ü”
• Cedilla: ç/Ç “ss”
• Ligature: œ/Œ “euh”, æ/Æ “ay”

Pronouns

Subject Pronouns

• Singular:
  • je/j’ (sg.) = I
  • tu (sg.) = you
  • il (m.sg.) = he
  • elle (f.sg.) = she
• Plural:
  • nous (pl.) = we
  • vous (pl.) = you (pl.)
  • ils (m.pl.), elles (f.pl.) = they

Object Pronouns

• Clitic (Before Verbs Unless in Positive Affirmative Commands):
  • me/m’ (sg.) = (to +) me
  • te/t’ (sg.infm.), vous (sg.form.) = (to +) you
  • vous (pl.) = (to +) you (pl.)
  • se/s’ (ref.) = (to +) himself, (to +) herself, (to +) itself, (to +) themelves
  • nous (pl.) = (to +) us
  • le/l’ (m.sg.) = him, it
  • la/l’ (f.sg.) = her, it
  • les (pl.) = them
  • lui (sg.) = to him, to her
  • leur (pl.) = to them
  • y = à + thing(s) = there, to it, to them, about it, about them
  • en = de + thing(s) = some, any, of it, of them, from it, from them
• Tonic (After Prepositions and with Stress):
  • moi (sg.) = me
  • toi (sg.) = you
  • lui (m.sg.) = him
  • elle (f.sg.) = her
  • nous (pl.) = us
  • vous (pl.) = you (pl.)
  • eux (m.pl.), elles (f.pl.) = them
  • soi (sg.ref.) = oneself, itself
  • -même = -self
• Important Notes:
  1. Positive affirmative commands do not follow the usual rules above, instead, pronouns comes after the verb connected with a hyphen, e.g. “Regarde-moi”, “Vas-y”, “Montre-la-leur”, and “Levons-nous”. In negatative affirmative commands, they revert to the usual order, e.g. “Ne parle pas” and “Ne t’en va pas”.
  2. Clitics must be ordered as (me / te / se / nous /vous) + (le / la / les) + (lui / leur) + y + en, e.g. “Je te le donne”, but you don’t need to worry about the order of two pronouns in the same slot.
  3. Three or more clitics together is very rare and usually only occur in certain combos such as “Il m’y en a laissé”, so avoid three or more clitics together.

Possessive Pronouns

• 1st Person Singular Owner:
  • le mien (m.sg.), la mienne (f.sg.), les miens (m.pl.), les miennes (f.pl.) = mine
• 2nd Person Singular Owner:
  • le tien (m.sg.), la tienne (f.sg.), les tiens (m.pl.), les tiennes (f.pl.) = yours
• 3rd Person Singular Owner:
  • le sien (m.sg.), la sienne (f.sg.), les siens (m.pl.), les siennes (f.pl.) = his, hers
• 1st Person Plural Owner:
  • le nôtre (m.sg.), la nôtre (f.sg.), les nôtres (pl.) = ours
• 2nd Person Plural Owner:
  • le vôtre (m.sg.), la vôtre (f.sg.), les vôtres (pl.) = yours (pl.)
• 3rd Person Plural Owner:
  • le leur (m.sg.), la leur (f.sg.), les leurs (pl.) = theirs

Interrogative and Exclamative Pronouns

• Interrogative Pronouns
  • qui = who
  • que/qu’ (direct), quoi (indirect) = what
  • lequel (m.sg.), laquelle (f.sg.), lesquels (m.pl.), lesquelles (f.pl.) = which
  • qui est-ce qui = who (subject)
  • qui est-ce que = whom (direct object)
  • qu’est-ce qui = what (subject)
  • qu’est-ce que = what (direct object)
• Exclamative Pronouns
  • quel (m.sg.), quelle (f.sg.), quels (m.pl.), quelles (f.pl.) = which, what

Determiners

Articles

• Definite Articles:
  • le/l’ (m.sg.), la/l’ (f.sg.), les (pl.) = the
• Indefinite Articles:
  • un (m.sg.), une (f.sg.) = a
  • des (pl.) = some
• Partitive Articles:
  • du/de l’ (m.sg.), de la/de l’ (f.sg.), des (pl.) = some of

Possessive Determiners

• 1st Person Singular Owner:
  • mon (m.sg.), ma (f.sg.), mes (pl.) = my
• 2nd Person Singular Owner:
  • ton (m.sg.infm.), ta (f.sg.infm.), tes (pl.infm.), votre (sg.form.), vos (pl.form.) = your
• 3rd Person Singular Owner:
  • son (m.sg.), sa (f.sg.), ses (pl.) = his, her
• 1st Person Plural Owner:
  • notre (sg.), nos (pl.) = our
• 2nd Person Plural Owner:
  • votre (sg.), vos (pl.) = your (pl.)
• 3rd Person Plural Owner:
  • leur (sg.), leurs (pl.) = their
• Exception: When the noun is feminine with a singular owner, and the very next word to the possessive determiner starts with a vowel or silent h, we use the masculine possessive determiner instead, e.g. “mon amie”, “ton autre idée”, and “son hache”.

Demonstrative Determiners

• Simple Demonstrative Determiners:
  • ce/cet (m.sg.), cette (f.sg.) = this
  • ces (pl.) = these
• Contractions:
  • c’est (cont.) = ce + est = this is

Quantifiers

• Definite Quantifiers: un = one, deux = two, trois = three, etc
• Indefinite Quantity:
  • quelques (pl.) = some
  • plusieurs (pl.) = several
  • divers (m.pl.), diverses (f.pl.) = various
  • différents (m.pl.), différentes (f.pl.) = different
  • maint (m.sg.), mainte (f.sg.), maints (m.pl.), maintes (f.pl.) = many
• Vague Identity:
  • quelque (sg.) = some
  • certain (m.sg.), certaine (f.sg.), certains (m.pl.), certaines (f.pl.) = some of
• Absence and Negation:
  • aucun (m.sg.), aucune (f.sg.) = no
  • nul (m.sg.), nulle (f.sg.) = none
• Totality and Enumeration:
  • chaque (sg.) = each
  • tout (m.sg.), toute (f.sg.), tous (m.pl.), toutes (f.pl.) = all
• Invariable Adverbial Indefinite Quantifier + de (+ Noun Phrase or Pronoun Phrase):
  • assez de = enough
  • autant de = as much, as many
  • beaucoup de = a lot, many
  • combien de = how much, how many
  • moins de = less, fewer
  • plus de = more
  • peu de = little, few
  • tant de = so much, so many
  • tellement de (infm.) = so much, so many
  • trop de = too much, too many
• Indefinite Quantifier + de (+ Full Noun Phrase or Pronoun Phrase):
  • certains de (m.pl.), certaines de (m.pl.) = some of
  • plusieurs de (pl.) = several of
  • quelques-uns de (m.pl.), quelques-unes de (f.pl.) = a few of
  • chacun de (m.sg.), chacune de (f.sg.) = each of
  • aucun de (m.sg.), aucune de (f.sg) = not any of
  • nul de (m.sg.), nulle de (f.sg.) = none of
• Quantifying Noun Phrases + de (+ Noun Phrase or Pronoun Phrase):
  • un peu de = a little of
  • un tas de = a lot of
  • une quantité de = a quantity of
  • une foule de = a crowd of
  • etc (incomplete list)
• Partitive Noun Phrases + de (+ Full Noun Phrase or Pronoun Phrase):
  • la plupart de = the most of
  • la majorité de = the majority of
  • une minorité de = a minority of
  • une partie de = a part of
  • la moitié de = half the
  • un tiers de = a third of
  • le reste de = the rest of
  • etc (incomplete list)
• Note: the last two categories are technically not determiners but noun phrases whose combination with de are functionally identical to determiners.

Interrogative Determiners

• Simple Interrogative Determiners:
  • quel (m.sg.), quelle (f.sg.), quels (m.pl.), quelles (f.pl.) = which, what
• Interrogative Determiner Locution
  • combien de = how much, how many

Prepositions

• Simple Prepositions (and Contractions):
  • à = to, at, in (destination, place, time, indirect object)
  • au (cont.) = à + le
  • aux (cont.) = à + les
  • de = of, from (origin, possession, content)
  • du (cont.) = de + le
  • des (cont.) = de + les
  • dans = in (time from now until event), inside (specific location or space)
  • en = in (time duration, general timeframe, general location or space), of (material)
  • sur = on, on top of, about (topic)
  • sous = under
  • avec = with (accompaniment, instrument)
  • sans = without
  • pour = for, in order to
  • par = through, by, per, cause
  • chez = at (someone’s place), in (someone’s “domain”)
  • entre = between, among
  • parmi = among (group)
  • contre = against, leaning on, in exchange for
  • vers = towards, around (time)
  • après = after (time, sequence)
  • avant = before (time, order)
  • depuis = since, for (duration up to now)
  • pendant = during, for (limited duration)
  • durant (form.) = during
  • dès = as soon as, from (starting point)
  • devant = in front of (literal or figurative)
  • derrière = behind
  • selon = according to, depending on
  • suivant = according to, following
  • envers = towards (attitude)
  • malgré = despite, in spite of
  • hors = outside (of), except
  • sauf, excepté, hormis (form.) = except
  • via = via, through
  • outre = besides, beyond
• X + de (+ Noun Phrase):
  • à cause de = because of (negative/neutral cause)
  • grâce à = thanks to (positive cause)
  • près de = near
  • loin de = far from
  • à côté de = next to
  • au milieu de = in the middle of
  • autour de = around
  • en face de = opposite
  • à propos de, au sujet de = about, regarding
  • en raison de (form.) = due to
  • en vue de (form.) = with a view to, in order to
  • en dépit de (form.) = in spite of
  • en cas de = in case of
  • etc (incomplete list)
• X + à (+ Noun Phrase or Pronoun Phrase):
  • quant à = as for
  • face à = faced with, in front of, vis-à-vis
  • par rapport à = in relation to, compared to
  • à partir de = starting from (time, space)
  • à l’égard de (form.) = with regard to
  • au lieu de = instead of
  • etc (incomplete list)
• With Infinitives:
  • avant de + infinitif. = before ()-ing
  • après + infinitif. passé. = after ()-ing
  • sans + infinitif. = without ()-ing
  • pour + infinitif. = in order to ()
  • afin de + infinitif. (form.) = in order to ()
  • à + infinitif. = for () to be done
  • etc (incomplete list)
• With Clauses:
  • avant que + subj. = before ()
  • après que + indicatif. = after ()
  • à condition que + subj. = provided that ()
  • à moins que + subj. = unless ()
  • etc (incomplete list)

Nouns

Gender

• Tendencies by Ending:
  • Masculine: -age, -ment, -isme, -oir, -eur, consonant endings
  • Feminine: -tion / -sion, -té, -ure, -ette, -esse, -ance / -ence, -rice
• Feminization:
  • Regular: +e
  • Irregular: (-eur → -euse, -rice), (-teur → -trice), (-er, -ier → -ère, -ière)
  • Irregular (Doubling): (-en → -enne), (-on → -onne), (-an → -anne), (-in → -inne), (-el → -elle), (-eil → -eille), (-il → -ille), (-et → -ette), (-ot → -otte), (-as → -asse), (-os → -osse), (-ais / -ois → -aisse / -oisse)
  • Invariant: journaliste, secrétaire, architecte, élève, etc
  • Exceptions: (époux → épouse), (roi → reine), (gars → fille), (homme → femme)

Number

• Pluralization:
  • Regular: → +s
  • Irregular: (-al, -ail → -aux), (-eu, -eau, -au, -ou, -eu → +x)
  • Invariant: -s, -x, -z → invariant
  • Exceptions: (œil → yeux), (ciel → cieux), (Monsieur → Messieurs), (Madame → Mesdames), (Mademoiselle → Mesdemoiselles)

Derivation

• From Verbs: -tion / -sion, -age, -ment
• From Adjectives: -té, -eur / -rice

Adjectives

• Pluralization:
  • Regular: → +s
  • Invariant: -s, -x, -z → invariant
• Feminization:
  • Regular: → +e
  • Irregular: (-eux → -euse), (-if → -ive), (-er → -ère), (-el → -elle), (-il → -ille), (-en → -enne), (-on → -onne), (-as → -asse), (-os → -osse), (-et → -ette), (-c → -que), (-g → -gue)
  • Invariant: -e → invariant
  • Exceptions: (bon → bonne), (blanc → blanche), (fou → folle), (beau → belle), (nouveau → nouvelle), (vieux → vieille), (sec → sèche)
• Substantivization: With a determiner, adj. becomes noun phrase, e.g. les riches, les pauvres, un jeune (garçon), une jeune (fille), les jeunes, les vieux.
• Comparatives and Superlatives:
  • Comparatives: (plus / aussi / moins) + adj + que
  • Irregular Comparatives: (bon → meilleur(e)), (bien → mieux), (mauvais → pire / plus mauvais)
  • Superlatives: (le / la / les) + (plus / moins) + adj
  • Irregular Superlatives: bon → (le / la / les) + meilleur(e)(s)
• Past Participles as Adjectives: Fully adjectival past participle can be treated same as adjectives.

Adverbs

Simple Adverbs and Derived Adverbs

• Simple Adverbs:
  • bien, mal, vite, très, peu, déjà, souvent, toujours, bientôt, hier, demain, ici, là, partout, ailleurs, tôt, tard, encore, alors, donc, enfin, peut-être, etc.
• Adverbs Derived from Adjectives:
  • If the adjective has a distinct feminine form → use the feminine as the base + ment: lent → lente → lentement
  • Irregulars: (-ant → -amment), (-ent → -emment)
  • A small group with -ément: bref → brièvement, énorme → énormément, profond → profondément, précis → précisément.

Interrogative and Negative Adverbs

• Simple Interrogative Adverbs:
  • comment = how, in what way
  • où = where
  • quand = when
  • pourquoi = why
  • combien = how much, how many
• Locutional Interrogative Adverbs: built on simple interrogative adverbs with prepositions.
• Negative Adverbs (ne … X):
  • pas, plus, jamais, guère, point, rien, personne (rien & personne are pronoun-like but function as negative adverbials in “ne … rien / ne … personne”).

Verbs

Verbs carry and conjugate according to person (1,2,3), number (sg.pl.), tense (present, future, etc), and mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive, etc), where the first two need to agree with subject. Every verb has four non-finite forms: Infinitive, Past participle, Present participle (-ant), Gérondif (en + present participle). They are categoriesed into three groups: 1. -er (except aller), 2. -ir, 3. all others. These are complicated and will be an entire new post.