In this lesson, you will learn to describe people and things and to specify their location. You will also learn basic phrases used in giving directions.
closed é, closed o
Il y a vs. voilà
Review of the contractions au, aux, du, and des
Demonstratives: ce, cet, cette, and ces
Descriptive adjectives: agreement and position
Common prepositions
Décrire en utilisant des adjectifs
Préciser l’objet auquel on veut faire allusion
Demander des consignes d’orientation
Préciser la position des objets
é fermé, o fermé
Il y a et voilà
Les contractions: au, aux, du et des
Les adjectifs démonstratifs: ce, cet, cette et ces
Les adjectifs descriptifs - position et accord
Les prépositions
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1. |
In France, as in other European countries, people are required to carry various official documents, including their national identity card, which has a photo and gives their name, address, profession, etc.
The three friends are at a café near the Gare St. Lazare in northwestern Paris. The rue de Turenne is a street in the seventh arrondissement of Paris, to the east of the train station. The route 29 bus connects the Gare St. Lazare and the rue de Turenne.
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The Office de tourisme-syndicat d’initiative (OTSI) is a network of national tourist offices sponsored by the French government. There are three thousand OTSI in France, which means that foreign visitors are never far from tourist information. The OTSI offer innumerable brochures on tourist attractions, entertainment in the city or region, recreational activities, and information on transportation and accommodations. The OTSI can help you reserve tickets or a hotel and are usually staffed with multilingual personnel. The first OTSI opened in 1889. At present, the network of OTSI serves over 35,000,000 tourists each year. In everyday speech, either Office de tourisme or Syndicat d’initiative is used to refer to these offices.
The full name of the tobacconist’s, or smoke shop, in France is the bureau de tabac. Traditionally controlled by a government monopoly, cigarettes, cigars, and tobacco were sold primarily in the bureaux de tabac that also sell stamps, postcards, chocolates, and other sweets. Sometimes the bureau de tabac is part of a café, indicated by a sign that reads “Café-Tabac.” The symbol for the bureau de tabac is a red, carrot-shaped cylinder that hangs outside the shop. The carrot-like shape recalls a stage in tobacco history when leaves of tobacco were rolled up, pressed together, and tied with a string to be sold as a “carotte.”
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Although voilà and il y a are both translated as there isor there are, they are not interchangeable. Voilà is used to point something out. Its English equivalent is usually stressed on the word there. It is often (but not always) followed by the definite article.
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Voilà la cathédrale. |
There’s the cathedral. |
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Voilà la station de métro. |
There’s the subway station. |
Il y a refers to the existence of something. It is most commonly followed by the indefinite articles.
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Il y a un journal sur la table. |
There’s a newspaper on the table. |
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Il y a des musées dans cette ville. |
There are museums in this city. |
Il y a has a negative form: il n’y a pas. Voilà has no negative form. The indefinite articles change to de after il n’y a pas.
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Il n’y a pas de journal sur la table. |
There isn’t any newspaper on the table. |
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Il n’y a pas de musées dans cette ville. |
There are no museums in this city. |
You have also seen the phrase Qu’est-ce qu’il y a?, What’s wrong?; What’s the matter?. Note the following idiomatic expressions with il y a and le monde:
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Il y a du monde aujourd’hui! |
There are a lot of people (here) today! |
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Il y a beaucoup de monde. |
It’s crowded. |
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Il y a peu de monde. |
It’s not crowded. There are few people. |
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The prepositions à, to; at; in, and de, from, of, contract with the definite articles le and les.
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à + le |
au |
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à + les |
aux |
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de + le |
du |
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de + les |
des |
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à + le théatre |
au théâtre |
at/to the theater |
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à + le cinéma |
au cinéma |
at/to the movies |
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à + les monuments |
aux monuments |
at/to the monuments |
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à + les arrêts |
aux arrêts |
at/to the bus stops |
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de + le professeur |
du professeur |
of the teacher, the teacher’s |
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de + le musée |
du musée |
of/from the museum |
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de + les monuments |
des monuments |
of/from the monuments |
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de + les arrêts |
des arrêts |
of/from the bus stops |
The prepositions à and de do not contract with la or l’.
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à la bibliothèque |
at/to the library |
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à l’église |
at/to church |
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de la fille |
of the girl, the girl’s |
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de l’église |
of/from the church |
When à or de is part of another preposition, contractions are formed in the same way.
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à côté de |
next to |
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de l’autre côté de |
on the other side of |
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en face de |
across from, opposite |
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loin de |
far from |
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près de |
near |
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Il y a une station de métro à côté du stade. |
There’s a subway stop next to the stadium. |
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Notre maison est loin du centre. |
Our house is far from downtown. |
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La bibliothèque est près du lycée. |
The library is near the high school. |
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Demonstratives are special adjectives that focus on a particular noun. The demonstrative adjectives in English are this and that (these and those with plural nouns). French does not distinguish between this and that; the same demonstrative is used for both. French uses the demonstrative ce before masculine singular nouns and cette before feminine singular nouns.
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Ils sont dans ce restaurant. |
They’re in this (that) restaurant. |
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Le restaurant est dans cette rue. |
The restaurant is on this (that) street. |
Now look at the following phrases and repeat them after the speaker:
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cet immeuble |
this (that) apartment house |
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cet aéroport |
this (that) airport |
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cet exercice |
this (that) exercise |
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cette église |
this (that) church |
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cette adresse |
this (that) address |
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cette école |
this (that) school |
When is the demonstrative cet used?
Is there any difference in pronunciation between cet and cette?
The demonstrative article ces is used before all plural nouns. If the noun begins with a vowel, the s of ces is pronounced like the z in English zebra and as the first consonant of the word that follows it:
ces rues
ces avenues
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Adjectives are words that can describe a noun or another adjective. Look at the following sentences:
The museum is interesting.
There’s an old neighborhood in this city.
He has a blue briefcase.
Marie is delightful.
He is a pleasant boy.
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What are the adjectives in the above sentences? What are the nouns that each of the adjectives describes? In which sentences are the nouns and adjectives adjacent? In these sentences, where is the adjective placed in relation to the noun it describes? |
Now look at the French equivalents of the above sentences:
Le musée est intéressant.
Il y a un quartier ancien dans cette ville.
Il a un cartable bleu.
Marie est charmante.
C’est un garçon agréable.
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What are the adjectives in the above sentences? What are the nouns that each of the adjectives describes? In which sentences are the nouns and adjectives adjacent? In these sentences, where is the adjective placed in relation to the noun it describes? |
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Some common French adjectives usually come before the noun. Study the following phrases as you repeat them after the speaker.
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une grande ville |
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une petite rue |
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un joli quartier |
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un bon restaurant |
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une mauvaise idée |
What are the adjectives that come before their nouns?
What are the masculine and feminine forms of these adjectives?
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You have seen with the adjectives of nationality that French adjectives agree in gender and number with the nouns to which they refer. Listen to these phrases and repeat them after the speaker.
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un quartier intéressant |
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une ville intéressante |
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des quartiers intéressants |
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des villes intéressantes |
Listen to and repeat the above phrases several times. How many distinct forms of the adjective are there in speech?
How many distinct forms of the adjective intéressantare there in written French?
Most adjectives that end in a consonant work like intéressant: they have four written forms. In speech, the feminine form ends in a consonant that is dropped to form the masculine. Compare the following phrases:
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un sac vert |
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une serviette verte |
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des sacs verts |
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des serviettes vertes |
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L’immeuble est grand. |
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La maison est grande. |
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Les immeubles sont grands. |
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Les maisons sont grandes. |
Now listen to these phrases containing the adjective sympathique and repeat them after the speaker:
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un garçon sympathique |
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une fille sympathique |
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des garçons sympathiques |
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des filles sympathiques |
Listen to and repeat the above phrases several times.
1. How many distinct forms of the adjective sympathique are there in speech?
2. How many distinct forms of the adjective sympathique are there in written French?
Now listen to these phrases containing the adjective cultivé and repeat them after the speaker:
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un garçon cultivé |
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une fille cultivée |
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des garçons cultivés |
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des filles cultivées |
Listen to and repeat the above phrases several times.
How many distinct forms of the adjective cultivé are there in speech?
How many distinct forms of the adjective cultivé are there in written French?
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12. |
Oral Exercise 13 |
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Oral Exercise 14 |
Prepositions are words that connect words and phrases. Prepositions include at, in, after, and through. A preposition and the noun that follows it form a prepositional phrase: in the city, on the table, behind the apartment house.
You have learned the following prepositions in French:
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à |
in, at, to |
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de |
of, from, about |
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dans |
in |
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avec |
with |
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sans |
without |
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entre |
between, among |
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sur |
on |
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sous |
under |
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devant |
in front of |
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derrière |
in back of |
Since the above French prepositions consist of a single word, they are called simple prepositions. Some prepositional relationships are expressed by commonly understood phrases. These are called compound prepositions. You have learned the following compound prepositions in French:
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en face de |
across from, opposite |
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à côté de |
next to |
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de l'autre côté de |
on the other side of |
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près de |
near |
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loin de |
far from |
Remember that in these compound prepositions the word de contracts with the definite articles le and les:
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à côté du stade |
next to the stadium |
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près des magasins |
near the stores |
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12. |
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13. |
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14. |