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A1

French A1: Beginner

At this level the language covers everything the first few days ask for: your name, where you are from, what you do, your family, numbers, the time, food and drink.

Sentences are short and stand on their own. Anyone who gets this far can say what is, what they have and what they want — not yet what happened yesterday.

Alphabet and pronunciation5

Alphabet and pronunciation

5

A1The alphabetThe same 26 letters as English, with different names.A1VowelsA u is not an “oo”, and two letters are often one sound.A1Nasal vowelsBefore n or m the vowel goes through the nose, and the n disappears.A1Consonants: ch, j, qu, rFamiliar letters, a few unfamiliar sounds — and h is always silent.A1StressThe stress falls on the last syllable you can hear.

Tenses and if-sentences8

The present tense

5

A1Present tense: -er verbsThe largest set, and almost without exceptions.A1Present tense: -ir verbsThe group with -iss- in the plural.A1Present tense: -re verbsThe smallest group — and the verbs in it take no preposition.A1Irregular verbs in the presentThe verbs that follow no rule — and you need them most.A1Reflexive verbs: se laver, s'appelerThe pronoun changes with the person — and goes before the verb.

The past

2

A1Passé composé with avoirThe shape of «I have spoken», the job of «I spoke».A1Irregular past participlesYou already know how to learn a list like this.

The future

1

A1Near future: aller + infinitive«Going to», with the same verb and the same emptiness.

Verbs: modals, subjunctive6

être, avoir and there is

4

A1être — to beName, origin, job, quality, place.A1avoir — to havePossession, age, and everything that happens to you.A1Expressions with avoirWhere English says «be», French says «have».A1il y a — there is, there areOne form for the singular and the plural.

Requests and commands

1

A1Imperative: the three formsOne English form becomes three, and one of them is «let’s».

Can, must, want

1

A1pouvoir and vouloir: can, wantOrdinary verbs where English has defective ones.

Articles, nouns and pronouns10

The articles

4

A1Definite article: le, la, lesThe definite article — and what it tells you about the word.A1Indefinite article: un, uneAnd the plural of «a», which English does not have.A1Partitive article: du, de laIn front of anything you cannot count.A1Contractions: au, du, aux, desTwo prepositions that fuse with le and les.

The nouns

2

A1Masculine or feminineA category English simply does not have.A1The pluralThe same -s as in English, except that nobody says it.

The adjectives

2

A1Adjective agreementAn -e for the feminine, an -s for the plural.A1Where the adjective goesAfter is the rule, and the exception is a short list.

The pronouns

1

A1Possessives: mon, ma, mesIt agrees with the thing, so «his» and «her» become one word.

Prepositions

1

A1Prepositions à and deTwo words that fuse, where English never fuses anything.

Spelling, sound and style3

Spelling and sound

3

A1The silent endingsIn English silent letters are accidents; here they carry the grammar.A1Elision: l’, j’, qu’An apostrophe means the opposite of what it means in English.A1Accents: é, è, êThe circumflex marks a lost s — and English usually still has it.

Sentence structure3

Questions and negation

3

A1Negation: ne … pasTwo words, with the verb in between — and no «do».A1Asking with est-ce queA fixed phrase in front, doing the job English gives to «do».A1The question words«What» splits into three, and one of them is an adjective.

Word lists at level A1

Lists: 13 · words: 702

Reading texts at level A1

Sentences from this level’s topics

Tu peux épeler ton nom, s’il te plaît ?Can you spell your name, please?

Il pleut aujourd’hui.It is raining today.

J’ai faim, je voudrais du pain.I am hungry, I would like some bread.

Le chat cherche le chien.The cat is looking for the dog.

Practise level A1 only