Letter(s) A AI AU

LKL a ay o

English Sound father pain taupe

Examples quatre, un ami le lait, frais chaud, mauvais

buy

bonbons, bas

k s

can cell faade champagne

caf, sec cerise, nice a va, caleon chaud, anchois

CH

s sh

dad

la date, mardi

E, EU , , EI EAU

eu ay eh o

de trop fianc bte noire eau de toilette

le, un feu t, gnial exprs, une tte beau, eau

fat

faim, neuf

g zh

gag mirage

gant, une bague il gle, aubergine

hour (always silent)

hiver, un hpital

I, ,

ee

nave

dix, un lit

zh

dj vu

le jambon, djeuner

kit

un kiosque, le ski

(rare in French)

like

fleurs, mille

m (n)

mom (nasal vowel)

Madame, comment le parfum, embouteillage

n (n)

no (nasal vowel)

neuf, noir un, le pain

O OI OU

o wa u

solo foie gras soup

le dos, rose boire, trois douze, nous

P PH

p f

pie phone

un pre, la soupe une pharmacie, tlphoner

pique

quinze, la banque

rouge, une ceinture (similar to Spanish J, Arabic KH)

S SC

s sk s

so scold science

le sucre, un poisson une escale les sciences

T TH TI

t t s

toe [tea] [silly]

la tarte, la tte le th, le thtre attention

U UE UI

u weh wee

[food]* suede* cuisine*

tu, une jupe saluer, la Suisse une nuit, fruit

*Approximation - see lesson on U

vat

vert, un avion

v (rare in French)

un wagon

ks gz

express exit

exprimer, taxe le xrs, un exemplaire

yes

le yaourt, les yeux

zone

la zone, la zizanie

There are four French accents for vowels and one accent for a consonant. For specific information on what the accents do to change the pronunciation of the letters they modify, please see the appropriate letter pages. The accent aigu (acute accent) can only be on an E. At the beginning of a word, it often indicates that an S used to follow that vowel, e.g., tudiant (student). The accent grave ` (grave accent) can be found on an A, E, or U. On the A and U, it usually serves to distinguish between words that would otherwise be homographs; e.g., ou (or) vs o (where). The accent circonflexe (circumflex) can be on an A, E, I, O, or U. The circumflex usually indicates that an S used to follow that vowel, e.g., fort (forest). It also serves to distinguish between homographs; e.g., du (contraction of de + le) vs d (past participle of devoir). The accent trma (dieresis or umlaut) can be on an E, I, or U. It is used when two vowels are next to each other and both must be pronounced, e.g., nave, Sal. The cdille (cedilla) is found only on the letter C. It changes a hard C sound (like K) into a soft C sound (like S), e.g., garon. The cedilla is never placed in front of E or I, because C always sounds like an S in front of these vowels. It is essential to put accents in their proper places - an incorrect or missing accent is a spelling mistake just as an incorrect or missing letter would be. The only exception to this is capital letters, which are often left unaccented - learn more.

You may not realize it, but French accents have a purpose. While some accents just signify that an S used to follow that vowel in Old French (e.g., tudiant used to be spelled estudiant), most French accents indicate the correct pronunciation of the letter they modify. In addition, there are dozens of French word pairs which are spelled (though not always pronounced) the same other than accents. To avoid confusion, you should always distinguish between these words by using the correct accents.* a - third person singular of avoir (to have) - (preposition) to, at, in acre - acre cre - (adjective) acrid, pungent ge - age g - (adjective) old aie - first person singular subjunctive and second person singular imperative of avoir

ae - (interjection) ouch arrir - (adjective) overdue, backward; (noun) backlog, arrears arrire - back, stern, rear, aft bronze - bronze object bronz - past participle of bronzer (to tan, bronze) a - (indefinite demonstrative pronoun) that, it et l - here and there colle - glue coll - past participle of coller (to glue) congres - eels congrs - conference, congress cote cot cte ct quotation, quoted value, rating highly thought of / rated (past participle of cter) rib, slope, coastline side

cure - cure, treatment cur - priest; past participle of curer (to clean out) crpe - crepe (thin pancake), crepe paper crp - past participle of crper (to backcomb, crimp) de - (preposition) of, from d - thimble, die des - (indefinite article, partitive article) some; contraction of de + les ds - (preposition) from diffrent - different diffrent - third person plural conjugation of diffrer (to differ) du - contraction of de + le d - past participle of devoir (to have to) -e vs At the end of -er verbs, the accent is the difference between the first and third person singular present tense and the past participle -e - tudie, parle, visite - - tudi, parl, visit entre - (preposition) between entr - past participle of entrer (to enter) es - second person singular of tre (to be) s - contraction of en + les tes - second person plural of tre ts - summers eut - third person singular pass simple of avoir et - third person singular imperfect subjunctive of avoir ferme - farm ferm - past participle of fermer (to close) fut - third person singular pass simple of tre ft - third person singular imperfect subjunctive of tre

gne - gene gne - trouble, bother, embarrassment gn - (adjective) short of, embarrassed; past participle of gner (to bother) grade - rank, degree grad - officer haler - to haul in hler - to tan illustre - illustrious, renowned illustr - illustrated infecte - (fem adjective) revolting, filthy, obnoxious infect - infected, contaminated interne (adj) internal, inner; (noun) boarder, intern intern - inmate (of a mental hospital), internee (politics) jeune - (adjective) young jene - fasting juge - judge jug - past participle of juger (to judge) More accent homographs: A to J | L to V | Quiz *It is grammatically acceptable to leave accents off capital letters. However, since missing accents may cause confusion in pronunciation and meaning and are technically spelling mistakes, I feel that one should always write with accents.

De is a very important and versatile preposition with many different meanings and uses in French. As a preposition, it can express or indicate all of the following:

I. Possession or belonging (learn more) le livre de Paul - Paul's book la bibliothque de l'universit - the university library

II. Starting point or origin (learn more) partir de Nice - to leave from (out of) Nice Je suis de Bruxelles - I'm from Brussels

III. Contents / description of something une tasse de th - cup of tea

un roman d'amour - love story (story of/about love)

IV. Defining feature le march de gros - wholesale market une salle de classe - classroom le jus d'orange - orange juice

V. Cause mourir de faim - to die of / from hunger fatigu du voyage - tired from the trip

VI. Means / manner of doing something crire de la main gauche - to write with one's left hand rpter de mmoire - to recite from memory

Note: When followed by the definite articles le and les, de contracts with them into a single word: For example de + le de + les = = du des du salon des villes

But de does not contract with la or l' de + la de + l' = = de la de l' de la femme de l'homme

In addition, de does not contract with le and les when they are direct objects.

Note-Definite article:
The French definite article corresponds to "the" in English. There are four forms of the French definite article: 1. 2. 3. 4. le la l' les masculine singular feminine singular m or f in front of a vowel or h muet m or f plural

Which definite article to use depends on three things: the noun's gender, number, and first letter:

If the noun is plural, use les If it's a singular noun starting with a vowel or h muet, use l' If it's singular and starts with a consonant or h aspir, use le for a masculine noun and la for a feminine noun

Meaning and usage of the French definite article The definite article indicates a specific noun. Je vais la banque. I'm going to the bank. Voici le livre que j'ai lu. Here is the book I read. The definite article is also used in French to indicate the general sense of a noun. This can be confusing, as definite articles are not used in this way in English. J'aime la glace. I like ice cream. C'est la vie ! That's life! More uses of the definite article

Definite article contractions The definite article changes when preceded by the preposition or de - the preposition and article contract into a single word: learn more A Note: When followed by the definite articles le and les, contracts with them into a single word: For example + le + les = = au aux au magasin aux maisons

But does not contract with la or l' + la + l' = = la l' la banque l'hpital

In addition, does not contract with le and les when they are direct objects

 is a very important French preposition, despite its tiny size. Its many different meanings and uses in French include all of the following:

I. Location or destination (learn more) J'habite Paris - I live in Paris Je vais Rome - I'm going to Rome Je suis la banque - I'm at the bank

II. Distance in time or space J'habite 10 mtres de lui - I live 10 meters from him Il est 5 minutes de moi - He is 5 minutes from me

III. Point in time Nous arrivons 5h00 - We arrive at 5:00 Il est mort 92 ans - He died at the age of 92

IV. Manner, style, or characteristic Il habite la franaise - He lives in the French style un enfant aux yeux bleus - blue-eyed child / child with blue eyes fait la main - made by hand aller pied - to go on / by foot

V. Possession (learn more) un ami moi - a friend of mine Ce livre est Jean - This is Jean's book

VI. Measurement acheter au kilo - to buy by the kilogram

payer la semaine - to pay by the week

VII. Purpose or use une tasse th - teacup / cup for tea un sac dos - backpack / pack for the back

VIII. In the passive infinitive louer - for rent Je n'ai rien lire - I have nothing to read

H MUTE Most French H's are mute - that is, they are not pronounced and the word acts as if it begins with a vowel. This means that contractions and liaisons are required. For example, le + homme contracts to l'homme - you can't say "le homme." And les hommes is pronounced with a liaison: [lay zuhm]. Here are the most common French words that begin with H muet. For nouns, the gender is provided (in parentheses): habile skillful fitness

habilit (f) habiller

to dress clothes

habits (m) habiter

to live in habit hacker Hades hajj hadron

habitude (f) hacker (m) Hads (m) hadj (m)

hadron (m)

hagard Hati (m)

distraught Haiti breath Halloween

haleine (f)

Halloween (f) halluciner

to hallucinate

halo- (prefix) harmonica (m) harmonie (f) harpagon (m) Hawa (m) harmonica harmony skinflint, Scrooge

Hawaii weekly lodging

hebdomadaire

hbergement (m) hberger hbter to house

to daze, stupefy Hebrew hectare

hbreu (m) hectare (m) hectique

hectic hedonism hegemony helicopter

hdonisme (m) hgmonie (f) hlicoptre (m) hlium hlix helium helix Helsinki

Helsinki

hmatome (m) hmisphre (m) hmophile

hematoma hemisphere

hemophiliac hemorrhage hemorrhoid

hmorragie (f) hmorrode (f)

hpatite (f) herbage (m) herbe (f)

hepatitis pasture

grass heredity

hrdit (f) hriter

to inherit heroin, heroine herpes

hrone (f) herps (m) hsiter

to hesitate heterosexuel

htrosexuel heure (f) heureux

hour happy hexagon

hexagone (m) hiberner

hibernate hibiscus

hibiscus (m) hier hilare

yesterday beaming the Himalayas

Himalaya (m) hindou Hindu

hip-hop (m)

hip-hop racetrack hippopotamus

hippodrome (m) hippopotame (m) hirondelle (f) hirsute

swallow

hairy, shaggy story, history winter

histoire (f) hiver (m)

holo- (prefix) hologramme (m) hologram

homopathie (f) homicide (m) hommage (m) homme (m) homo- (prefix) honnte honest

homeopathy

homicide tribute man

honneur (m) honorer

honor

to honor hospital schedule, timetable horizon clock hormone horoscope

hpital (m) horaire (m) horizon (m) horloge (f) hormone (f)

horoscope (m) horreur (f) horrible horrifier

horror

horrible to horrify horticulture hospitality

horticulture (f) hospitalit (f) hostile hte (m) huile (f) hutre (f) hostile host oil oyster

humain (m) humble

human

humble mood

humeur (f) humide

humid hyacinth

hyacinthe (f)

hybride (m) hydr- (prefix) hydraulique

hybrid

hydraulic hydrogen

hydrogne (m) hygine (f)

hygiene

hyper- (prefix) hypo- (prefix) hystrie (f) hysteria

Note: The other type of French H is the H aspir H- ASPIRE H's in French words borrowed from other languages are usually aspirate. Though the H aspir is not pronounced, it acts like a consonant; that is, contractions are not permitted with it and liaisons are not made in front of it. For example, le + hockey does not contract to "l'hockey" but remains le hockey. And les hros (the heroes) is pronounced [lay ay ro]. If you were to pronounce this with a liaison, [lay zay ro], you would be saying les zros (the zeros). Here are the most common French words that begin with H aspir. hbleur la hache hacher boaster axe to chop hashish haddock

le hachisch le haddock la haie le haku le haillon la haine har

hedge haiku rag hatred

to hate detestable

hassable halal le hle halal

suntan

haleter le hall la halle le hallier le halo la halte le hamac

to pant hall market thicket, brush halo break hammock hamburger

le hamburger le hameau le hammam la hampe le hamster la hanche le hand-ball le handicap le hangar hanter happer harangue harasser harceler la harde harder hardi

hamlet hammam

pole hamster hip handball handicap shed

to haunt to snatch, grab harangue to exhaust to harass herd to leash daring herring spiteful anger bean to harness

le hareng la hargne le haricot harnacher

le harpail la harpe le harpon le hasard la hte hter haut

herd harp harpoon luck, chance

haste to hasten high height haven to haul wretch, young stag hedgehog hernia heron hero hearse, harrow beech tree to strike hiatus owl

la hauteur le havre hercher le hre

le hrisson la hernie le hron le hros la herse le htre heurter le hiatus le hibou le hic

snag hickory

le hickory hideux

hideous hierarchy hieroglyphe

la hirarchie le hiroglyphe hippie hisser hippie

to hoist, heave, hall

le hobby hocher

hobby to nod hockey Holland lobster Hong Kong Hungary shame hiccup

le hockey la Hollande le homard Hong-Kong la Hongrie la honte le hoquet hors

outside hoe coal swell stormy hooligan tuft to scold cover to cover holly porthole chest, trunk

la houe la houille la houle houleux

le hooligan la houppe houspiller la housse housser le houx le hublot la huche huer

to boo Huguenot

le huguenot huit eight

hululer humer hurler

to hoot to smell to shriek

Prpositions - French Prepositions

Prepositions are words which link two related parts of a sentence. They are placed in front of nouns in order to indicate a relationship between that noun and the verb, adjective, or noun that precedes it. These pages will help you to understand French prepositions. Click on the underlined prepositions for specific information about meaning, usage, and more. (If this seems too complicated, take a look at my lesson on prepositions for beginners)

ct de aprs au sujet de avant avec chez contre dans d'aprs de depuis derrire devant durant en en dehors de en face de entre envers environ hors de jusque loin de malgr par parmi pendant pour

to, at, in next to, beside after about, on the subject of before with at the home/office of, among against in according to from, of, about since, for in back of, behind in front of during, while in, on, to outside of facing, across from between toward approximately outside of until, up to, even far from despite by, through among during for

prs de quant sans selon sous suivant sur vers

near as for, regarding without according to under according to on toward

Grammatical note: the noun that follows the preposition can be replaced by an object pronoun.

Deciding which French preposition to use with countries, cities, and other geographical names can be somewhat confusing, at least until now! This lesson will explain which prepositions to use and why. Like all French nouns, geographical names like countries, states, and provinces have a gender. Knowing the gender of each geographical name is the first step in determining which preposition to use. As a general guideline, geographical names which end in e are feminine, while those that end in any other letter are masculine. There are, of course, exceptions which simply have to be memorized. See the individual lessons for explanations of the gender of each geographical name. In English, we use three different prepositions with geographical names, depending on what we are trying to say. 1. I'm going to France - Je vais en France 2. I'm in France - Je suis en France 3. I'm from France - Je suis de France However, in French numbers 1 and 2 take the same preposition. Whether you are going to France or you are in France, the same preposition is used. Thus in French there are only two prepositions to choose from for each type of geographical name. The difficulty lies in knowing which preposition to use for a city vs a state vs a country.

When trying to determine which preposition to use with a country or continent, the only difficulty is in knowing its gender. Nearly all countries that end in e are feminine and the rest are masculine. There are just a few exceptions:

le le le le le le

Belize Cambodge Mexique Mozambique Zare Zimbabwe

All continents end in e and all are feminine.

Once you know the gender, it is a simple matter to decide which preposition to use.* 1. Masculine and plural countries take or de plus the appropriate definite article. *Except for masculine countries that begin with a vowel, which take en to mean to/in. 2. Feminine countries and continents take en or de with no article.

Country is: masculine and starts with consonant masculine and starts with vowel feminine plural
Examples:

To or In From au en en aux du de l' de / d' des

Masculine country Feminine country Plural country Je vais au Togo. Je suis au Togo. Je suis du Togo. Elle va en Chine. Elle est en Chine. Elle est de Chine. Il va aux Fidji. Il est aux Fidji. Il est des Fidji.

Continent Tu vas en Asie. Tu es en Asie. Tu es d'Asie.

*Islands follow their own rules.

In order to decide which preposition to use with an American state or Canadian province, you must first determine its gender, which is a matter of memorization: all but nine states and five provinces/territories are masculine (see my list of states and list of provinces to find out which are feminine). 1. Masculine states and provinces can be preceded by either dans le or au to mean to/in, and du to mean from unless they start with a vowel (see 2, below). Exceptions: dans/de l'tat de New York, dans/de l'tat de Washington: these are said this way to distinguish between the cities and the states by the same name. 2. Masculine states/provinces that start with a vowel can take either en or dans l' for to/in, and d' or de l' to mean from. 3. All feminine states/provinces take en (to, in) and de or de la (from).

Meaning State/Province is: To or In From du

masculine and starts with consonant dans le / au masculine and starts with vowel feminine
Examples:

dans l' / en de l' / d' en de

Masculine Je vais dans le Nevada. Il est du Qubec.

Feminine Je suis en Floride. Elle est de Gorgie.

Exceptions Je travaille dans l'tat de New York. Il est de l'tat de Washington.

Nous sommes en Illinois. Es-tu d'Arizona ?

Note: Islands follow their own rules.

Unlike most geographical names, the gender of an island (whether it's a state, province, or country) or a city does not affect which preposition must be used. The prepositions and de (or d') are always used with cities and singular islands, while aux and des are used with plural islands.

To / In From city or singular island plural islands

Examples:

aux

de / d' des

City J'habite Paris. Je suis de Paris.

Singular Island Je vais Hawa. Je suis d'Hawa.

Plural Islands Je vais aux les Cook. Je suis des les Cook.