garçoncanadien
04-15-2007, 11:49 AM
PART 2: PAST TENSE VERBS
Lesson - Section 4:
Imperfect Past Tense
Le Français Quotidien Partie 1 (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/lefrancaisquotidien.wav)
The Vocabulary of the Computer and its Peripherals
In French there are several past tenses to express different shades of meaning of things that happened in the past, just like in English. In English, there is a clear difference between these sentences:
I played tennis
I used to play tennis
You have just learned the Passé Composé. This indeed is used to express ideas that happened in the past. However, the Passé Composé is only usable when at least one of the following conditions applies:
1. You are describing a single short action, that happened in the past. I know, "short" is a judgment call, but I am referring to things like:
I ate an apple.
I brushed my teeth.
She purchased a book.
We cooked some Teriyaki.
I hope you get a French idea of what "short" is for the purposes of choosing between Passé Composé and Imparfait. Feel free to write PMs if you are not clear on this point.
2. Several single short actions that happened in the past.
3. An action that went on for some duration, but only for a short while.
4. A repeated action, but that was repeated only a couple of times.
This summarizes the usage of Passé Composé. The usage criteria of the Imparfait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/imparfait.wav)are quite different:
1. Describing a habit.
2. Actions that progressed over a long period of time.
3. Describing the environment in the past.
4. Describing what you used to do.
Also, you can use these two tenses within the same sentence. This is when:
1. A sudden action (passé composé) then a description of the environment (imparfait).
2. A habit (imparfait) and then a sudden action (passé composé).
Now, what does the imparfait look like? Although this tense is harder to use correctly, you *might* (I hope :D) be happy to hear that this tense is conjugated with significantly less irregular verbs than the passé composé and the present tense. Although that doesn't mean you still don't have verbs to learn ;).
Je/Tu __________ais
Il/Elle/On __________ait
Nous __________ions
Vous __________iez
Ils/Elles __________aient
To conjugate a verb in the Imparfait, remove the -ER, -RE, or -IR ending and replace it with the desired ending.
NB = ais, ait, and aient are both pronounced exactly the same way as the letter é.
NB = "used to" is a typical "by the book" translation of the Imparfait, but the -ed ending (English past tense) is equally correct.
Je buv (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/jebuvais.wav)ais = I used to drink/ I drank.
Nous ri (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nousriions.wav)ions = We used to laugh.
Nous écriv (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nousecrivions.wav)ions = We used to write. Notice the liaison.
Elles attend (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ellesattendaient.wav)aient = They waited. Notice the liaison.
Now for the exceptions.
If you were to conjugate a -CER verb in the Imparfait, and find yourself writing ca (which would mean for je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, and elles), you must change it to ça.
However, the nous and vous conjugations are done normally.
je commen (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/jecommencais.wav)çais NOT je commencais
BUT nous commen (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nouscommencions.wav)cions
If you were to conjugate a -GER verb in the Imparfait, and find yourself writing ga (which would mean for je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, and elles), you must change it to gea.
However, the nous and vous conjugations are done normally.
je voya (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/jevoyageais.wav)geais NOT je voyagais
BUT
vous voya (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/vousvoyagiez.wav)giez
For -IER verbs, you will find yourself writing double i's while conjugating for nous and vous. This is CORRECT. That distinguishes between imparfait and present tense.
For most -IR verbs, they are conjugated by removing the -IR, replacing with -ISS, then continuing with the -ais, -ait, etc. Irregular verbs can be found on any good verb table.
Avoir is conjugated by the regular way, except you must remove the "o" as well before you start conjugating. J'avais (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/javais.wav), tu avais (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/tuavais.wav), etc. Note that the nous conjugation for avoir is "avions" - do not confuse with the noun "avion" for airplane!
Etre is conjugated by adding those conjugations listed above to the stem ét____.
Here are some miscellaneous irregular verbs in the Imparfait:
Il pleuvait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilpleuvait.wav) = It was raining
Il fallait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilfallait.wav) = It was necessary to
Je lisais (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/jelisais.wav) = I was reading
Il faisait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilfaisait.wav) = He was making
Nous voyions (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nousvoyions.wav) = We were seeing
Nous riions (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nousriions.wav) = we were laughing
Adverbs and Conjunctions Typically used with Imparfait
This part is self explanatory I think :D Their usages are exactly the same as the English usages.
<TABLE CELLPADDING="2"><TR><TD>autrefois (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/autrefois.wav)</TD><TD>formerly</TD><TD>souvent (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/souvent.wav)</TD><TD>often</TD></TR><TR><TD>à l'époque (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/alepoque.wav)</TD><TD>in those days</TD><TD>toujours (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/toujours.wav)</TD><TD>always</TD></TR><TR><TD>le dimanche (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ledimanche.wav)</TD><TD>on Sundays</TD><TD>de temps en temps (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/detempsentemps.wav)</TD><TD>from time to time</TD></TR><TR><TD>tous les jours (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/touslesjours.wav)</TD><TD>every day</TD><TD>quelquefois (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/quelquefois.wav)</TD><TD>sometimes</TD></TR><TR><TD>parfois (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/parfois.wav)</TD><TD>sometimes</TD><TD>généralement (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/generalement.wav)</TD><TD>generally</TD></TR><TR><TD>rarement (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/rarement.wav)</TD><TD>rarely</TD><TD>d'habitude (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/dhabitude.wav)</TD><TD>usually</TD></TR></TABLE>
pendant que (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/pendantque.wav) = while
quand/lorsque(formal version) (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/quand.wav) = when
tandis que/alors que (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/tandisque.wav) = whearas
examples of usage:
A l'époque, je jouais au tennis avec Jeanette tous les jours. (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/alepoquejejouais.wav)
In those days, I played tennis with Jeanette everyday.
Souvent, je rêvais de jouer au foot avec Alizée (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/souventjerevais.wav) :D
Often, I dreamt of playing soccer with Alizée.
Parfois, je passais par là-bas. (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/parfoisjepassais.wav)
Sometimes, I passed by over there.
Other interesting grammar points
haha I know interesting grammar is an oxymoron but hey, I tried ;) Here are several usages of imparfait with other words, that change their meaning.
Si + imparfait = used to ask a question. It means "What if____________", or "how about __________"
Si nous allions au fête ce soir? (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/sinousallionsaufetecesoir.wav) = How about we went to the party tonight?
Si vous vous dépêchiez un peu? (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/sivousvousdepechiez.wav) = What if you hurried up a bit?
Depuis quand + imparfait is used to say that an action happened in the past, and went on all the way until an interruptions. It means "How long _______" in English.
Depuis quand est-ce que vous (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/depuisquand.wav) lisiez ton roman quand tu as entendu le son dans le buisson?
How long had you been reading when you heard the sound in the bush?
Il y avait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilyavait.wav) ______que ___________ and Ça faisait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/cafaisait.wav) ________ que________ are used to mean the equivalent thing. That equivalent thing is "Its been ____ since ______". For example: Ça faisait longtemps que je n'etais pas venu chez RMJ ;). It's been a long time since I went to RMJ's house.
Le Français Quotidien Partie 1
This is a brand new section in my series of lessons that will teach you some daily, commonplace French that you would use on the street with your friends. It comprises slang, greetings, etc - what you would want handy in your mind. Here goes!
The following are some typical beginnings of conversations in French. These people are greeting each other, and beginning to get to know each other. Your homework is to translate the remainder of the dialogue that I didn't translate yet. ;)
1.
Aline: Bonjour, Francine!
Francine: Comment ça va, Aline?
Aline: Ça va très bien, Francine. Et toi?
Francine: Très bien. A très bientôt, eh?
Aline: A demain.
2.
Jean: Bonsoir professeur!
Pr Dujon: Bonsoir. Comment tu t'appelles?
Jean: Je m'appelle Jean. Et vous?
Pr Dujon: Je m'appelle Michel Dujon.
Jean: Un plaisir de vous avoir recontré.
3.
Jeanette: Salut, Maria!
Maria: Salut, Jeanette!
Jeanette: Tu es d'où?
Maria: Je viens de Venezuela. Et toi?
Jeanette: Je viens de Nantes.
Les autres expressions
Bonjour - Good morning /Good afternoon. In French, we actually do not say "good afternoon" very much. You say Bonjour when it is light, and Bonsoir when it is dark. If you insist, you can say bon après-midi but this less common.
Salut (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/salut.wav) - Hi!
Bonsoir (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/bonsoir.wav) - Good evening.
Monsieur (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/monsieur.wav) - Mr.
Madame (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/madame.wav) - Madam
Madamoiselle (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/madamoiselle.wav) - Ms.
Merci - Thank you
Merci beaucoup - Thank you very much
De rien (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/derien.wav), il n'y a pas de quoi (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilnyapasdequoi.wav) - You are welcome. (The first phrase is recommended for formal occasions).
S'il (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/silvousplait.wav) vous plaît - Please (formal)
S'il (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/silteplait.wav) te plaît - Please (informal)
Pardonn (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/pardonne-moi.wav)e-moi - Excuse me (informal)
Pardonn (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/pardonnez-moi.wav)ez-moi - Excuse me (formal)
That's all for this session of Français Quotidien. Will meet you next show, same time, same channel :D
The Vocabulary of the Computer/Le vocobulaire de l'ordinateur
The staple of today's youth is the computer. Ask today's teen to live a day without a computer - and it will be torture I guarantee you that :D They just don't understand what it was like to grow up with 5 1/4 inch floppy disks, when pacman was a good game, when you were dying to play Space Invaders when you got to recess at primary school lunch hour, when you used stones for lab notebooks ahahahah I won't continue ;) Now is the era of the computer. Here goes!
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6386&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=001ff23a597c4c276a90c29b503cb553
un écran (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/unecran.wav)
le disque compact (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ledisquecompact.wav)
la disquette (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ladisquette.wav)
le clavier (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/leclavier.wav)
la souris (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/lasouris.wav)
un haut-parleur (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/unhautparleur.wav)
http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50288450/Headphone.jpg
un casque (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/uncasque.wav)
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/inkjet-printer3.jpg
une imprimante (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/uneimprimante.wav)
http://www.rpimaging.com/rpi/images/scanner_calibration3.jpg
un scanner (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/unscanner.wav) (yes you heard that right the word is exactly the same :D)
That's it!
Now for your homework questions.
Please PM me the answers to the following questions:
1. Please tell me the all the rules that help you choose between Imparfait and Passé Composé. And then please avoir and être for me in the Imparfait.
2. Please tell me which tense should I choose in this case: I want to describe my childhood. Now please tell me something abuot your childhood in the appropriate tenses :)
3. Please tell me which tense should I choose in this case: I want to describe my sandwich I ate yesterday. Now please describe your sandwich to me.
4. Please tell me which tense should I choose in this case: We want to describe our travel around the world.
5. Please conjugate completely in the imparfait, the verb parler.
6. Please conjugate completely in the imparfait, the verb se souvenir, using correct forms of the reflexive. This is an exception - do not add -ISS-.
7. Please conjugate completely in the imparfait, the verb finir. Do add -ISS-.
8. Please conjugate completely in the imparfait, the verb comprendre. Remove the -DRE then conjugate.
9. How do you say loudspeaker in French?
10. How do you say headphone in French?
11. How do you say hard disk in French?
12. Write me a short conversation of your choice, where two students greet each other and say goodbye.
13. Please translate this sentence into French: I used to need to scan (verb = scanner, an ER verb) 20 pages a day (a day = chaque jour).
14. Please translate this sentence into French: They (ils) used to pass by the old Triage Lavoir, but unfortunately now it has been renovated (has been = a été; translate renovated as passé composé).
15. Now you are at the level of French that you can read small stories. Below is a short story that I have written for you. Please translate it into English, and summarize what happened in this story.
Aline et Bryan sont copain et copine depuis longtemps et ils se sont proposés hier d'aller au ciné. Aline est allée au ciné avec Bryan dans le XVIième, où ils ont vu le film Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain. Ils se sont bien amusés, et puis il sont allés au Pont Neuf dans le XVIIème où ils ont regardé l'image de la lune sur la Seine pendant la nuit. Il faisait très très beau. La neige était sur les toits partout, et la faible lueur de la lune dansait sur la rivière. Il se sont dit bonsoir, et ils ont décidé de se rencontrer demain au parc.
New Vocabulary -
faible lueur - dim glow (nf)
se proposer - propose an idea of
puis - then
pont - bridge
lune - moon
rencontrer - to meet
copain et copine - boyfriend and girlfriend
Lesson - Section 4:
Imperfect Past Tense
Le Français Quotidien Partie 1 (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/lefrancaisquotidien.wav)
The Vocabulary of the Computer and its Peripherals
In French there are several past tenses to express different shades of meaning of things that happened in the past, just like in English. In English, there is a clear difference between these sentences:
I played tennis
I used to play tennis
You have just learned the Passé Composé. This indeed is used to express ideas that happened in the past. However, the Passé Composé is only usable when at least one of the following conditions applies:
1. You are describing a single short action, that happened in the past. I know, "short" is a judgment call, but I am referring to things like:
I ate an apple.
I brushed my teeth.
She purchased a book.
We cooked some Teriyaki.
I hope you get a French idea of what "short" is for the purposes of choosing between Passé Composé and Imparfait. Feel free to write PMs if you are not clear on this point.
2. Several single short actions that happened in the past.
3. An action that went on for some duration, but only for a short while.
4. A repeated action, but that was repeated only a couple of times.
This summarizes the usage of Passé Composé. The usage criteria of the Imparfait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/imparfait.wav)are quite different:
1. Describing a habit.
2. Actions that progressed over a long period of time.
3. Describing the environment in the past.
4. Describing what you used to do.
Also, you can use these two tenses within the same sentence. This is when:
1. A sudden action (passé composé) then a description of the environment (imparfait).
2. A habit (imparfait) and then a sudden action (passé composé).
Now, what does the imparfait look like? Although this tense is harder to use correctly, you *might* (I hope :D) be happy to hear that this tense is conjugated with significantly less irregular verbs than the passé composé and the present tense. Although that doesn't mean you still don't have verbs to learn ;).
Je/Tu __________ais
Il/Elle/On __________ait
Nous __________ions
Vous __________iez
Ils/Elles __________aient
To conjugate a verb in the Imparfait, remove the -ER, -RE, or -IR ending and replace it with the desired ending.
NB = ais, ait, and aient are both pronounced exactly the same way as the letter é.
NB = "used to" is a typical "by the book" translation of the Imparfait, but the -ed ending (English past tense) is equally correct.
Je buv (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/jebuvais.wav)ais = I used to drink/ I drank.
Nous ri (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nousriions.wav)ions = We used to laugh.
Nous écriv (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nousecrivions.wav)ions = We used to write. Notice the liaison.
Elles attend (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ellesattendaient.wav)aient = They waited. Notice the liaison.
Now for the exceptions.
If you were to conjugate a -CER verb in the Imparfait, and find yourself writing ca (which would mean for je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, and elles), you must change it to ça.
However, the nous and vous conjugations are done normally.
je commen (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/jecommencais.wav)çais NOT je commencais
BUT nous commen (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nouscommencions.wav)cions
If you were to conjugate a -GER verb in the Imparfait, and find yourself writing ga (which would mean for je, tu, il, elle, on, ils, and elles), you must change it to gea.
However, the nous and vous conjugations are done normally.
je voya (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/jevoyageais.wav)geais NOT je voyagais
BUT
vous voya (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/vousvoyagiez.wav)giez
For -IER verbs, you will find yourself writing double i's while conjugating for nous and vous. This is CORRECT. That distinguishes between imparfait and present tense.
For most -IR verbs, they are conjugated by removing the -IR, replacing with -ISS, then continuing with the -ais, -ait, etc. Irregular verbs can be found on any good verb table.
Avoir is conjugated by the regular way, except you must remove the "o" as well before you start conjugating. J'avais (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/javais.wav), tu avais (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/tuavais.wav), etc. Note that the nous conjugation for avoir is "avions" - do not confuse with the noun "avion" for airplane!
Etre is conjugated by adding those conjugations listed above to the stem ét____.
Here are some miscellaneous irregular verbs in the Imparfait:
Il pleuvait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilpleuvait.wav) = It was raining
Il fallait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilfallait.wav) = It was necessary to
Je lisais (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/jelisais.wav) = I was reading
Il faisait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilfaisait.wav) = He was making
Nous voyions (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nousvoyions.wav) = We were seeing
Nous riions (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/nousriions.wav) = we were laughing
Adverbs and Conjunctions Typically used with Imparfait
This part is self explanatory I think :D Their usages are exactly the same as the English usages.
<TABLE CELLPADDING="2"><TR><TD>autrefois (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/autrefois.wav)</TD><TD>formerly</TD><TD>souvent (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/souvent.wav)</TD><TD>often</TD></TR><TR><TD>à l'époque (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/alepoque.wav)</TD><TD>in those days</TD><TD>toujours (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/toujours.wav)</TD><TD>always</TD></TR><TR><TD>le dimanche (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ledimanche.wav)</TD><TD>on Sundays</TD><TD>de temps en temps (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/detempsentemps.wav)</TD><TD>from time to time</TD></TR><TR><TD>tous les jours (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/touslesjours.wav)</TD><TD>every day</TD><TD>quelquefois (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/quelquefois.wav)</TD><TD>sometimes</TD></TR><TR><TD>parfois (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/parfois.wav)</TD><TD>sometimes</TD><TD>généralement (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/generalement.wav)</TD><TD>generally</TD></TR><TR><TD>rarement (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/rarement.wav)</TD><TD>rarely</TD><TD>d'habitude (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/dhabitude.wav)</TD><TD>usually</TD></TR></TABLE>
pendant que (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/pendantque.wav) = while
quand/lorsque(formal version) (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/quand.wav) = when
tandis que/alors que (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/tandisque.wav) = whearas
examples of usage:
A l'époque, je jouais au tennis avec Jeanette tous les jours. (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/alepoquejejouais.wav)
In those days, I played tennis with Jeanette everyday.
Souvent, je rêvais de jouer au foot avec Alizée (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/souventjerevais.wav) :D
Often, I dreamt of playing soccer with Alizée.
Parfois, je passais par là-bas. (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/parfoisjepassais.wav)
Sometimes, I passed by over there.
Other interesting grammar points
haha I know interesting grammar is an oxymoron but hey, I tried ;) Here are several usages of imparfait with other words, that change their meaning.
Si + imparfait = used to ask a question. It means "What if____________", or "how about __________"
Si nous allions au fête ce soir? (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/sinousallionsaufetecesoir.wav) = How about we went to the party tonight?
Si vous vous dépêchiez un peu? (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/sivousvousdepechiez.wav) = What if you hurried up a bit?
Depuis quand + imparfait is used to say that an action happened in the past, and went on all the way until an interruptions. It means "How long _______" in English.
Depuis quand est-ce que vous (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/depuisquand.wav) lisiez ton roman quand tu as entendu le son dans le buisson?
How long had you been reading when you heard the sound in the bush?
Il y avait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilyavait.wav) ______que ___________ and Ça faisait (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/cafaisait.wav) ________ que________ are used to mean the equivalent thing. That equivalent thing is "Its been ____ since ______". For example: Ça faisait longtemps que je n'etais pas venu chez RMJ ;). It's been a long time since I went to RMJ's house.
Le Français Quotidien Partie 1
This is a brand new section in my series of lessons that will teach you some daily, commonplace French that you would use on the street with your friends. It comprises slang, greetings, etc - what you would want handy in your mind. Here goes!
The following are some typical beginnings of conversations in French. These people are greeting each other, and beginning to get to know each other. Your homework is to translate the remainder of the dialogue that I didn't translate yet. ;)
1.
Aline: Bonjour, Francine!
Francine: Comment ça va, Aline?
Aline: Ça va très bien, Francine. Et toi?
Francine: Très bien. A très bientôt, eh?
Aline: A demain.
2.
Jean: Bonsoir professeur!
Pr Dujon: Bonsoir. Comment tu t'appelles?
Jean: Je m'appelle Jean. Et vous?
Pr Dujon: Je m'appelle Michel Dujon.
Jean: Un plaisir de vous avoir recontré.
3.
Jeanette: Salut, Maria!
Maria: Salut, Jeanette!
Jeanette: Tu es d'où?
Maria: Je viens de Venezuela. Et toi?
Jeanette: Je viens de Nantes.
Les autres expressions
Bonjour - Good morning /Good afternoon. In French, we actually do not say "good afternoon" very much. You say Bonjour when it is light, and Bonsoir when it is dark. If you insist, you can say bon après-midi but this less common.
Salut (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/salut.wav) - Hi!
Bonsoir (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/bonsoir.wav) - Good evening.
Monsieur (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/monsieur.wav) - Mr.
Madame (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/madame.wav) - Madam
Madamoiselle (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/madamoiselle.wav) - Ms.
Merci - Thank you
Merci beaucoup - Thank you very much
De rien (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/derien.wav), il n'y a pas de quoi (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ilnyapasdequoi.wav) - You are welcome. (The first phrase is recommended for formal occasions).
S'il (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/silvousplait.wav) vous plaît - Please (formal)
S'il (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/silteplait.wav) te plaît - Please (informal)
Pardonn (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/pardonne-moi.wav)e-moi - Excuse me (informal)
Pardonn (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/pardonnez-moi.wav)ez-moi - Excuse me (formal)
That's all for this session of Français Quotidien. Will meet you next show, same time, same channel :D
The Vocabulary of the Computer/Le vocobulaire de l'ordinateur
The staple of today's youth is the computer. Ask today's teen to live a day without a computer - and it will be torture I guarantee you that :D They just don't understand what it was like to grow up with 5 1/4 inch floppy disks, when pacman was a good game, when you were dying to play Space Invaders when you got to recess at primary school lunch hour, when you used stones for lab notebooks ahahahah I won't continue ;) Now is the era of the computer. Here goes!
http://moi-alizee.us/forums/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=6386&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=001ff23a597c4c276a90c29b503cb553
un écran (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/unecran.wav)
le disque compact (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ledisquecompact.wav)
la disquette (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/ladisquette.wav)
le clavier (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/leclavier.wav)
la souris (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/lasouris.wav)
un haut-parleur (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/unhautparleur.wav)
http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50288450/Headphone.jpg
un casque (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/uncasque.wav)
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/inkjet-printer3.jpg
une imprimante (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/uneimprimante.wav)
http://www.rpimaging.com/rpi/images/scanner_calibration3.jpg
un scanner (http://moi-alizee.us/~garcon/Part2Lesson4Imparfait/unscanner.wav) (yes you heard that right the word is exactly the same :D)
That's it!
Now for your homework questions.
Please PM me the answers to the following questions:
1. Please tell me the all the rules that help you choose between Imparfait and Passé Composé. And then please avoir and être for me in the Imparfait.
2. Please tell me which tense should I choose in this case: I want to describe my childhood. Now please tell me something abuot your childhood in the appropriate tenses :)
3. Please tell me which tense should I choose in this case: I want to describe my sandwich I ate yesterday. Now please describe your sandwich to me.
4. Please tell me which tense should I choose in this case: We want to describe our travel around the world.
5. Please conjugate completely in the imparfait, the verb parler.
6. Please conjugate completely in the imparfait, the verb se souvenir, using correct forms of the reflexive. This is an exception - do not add -ISS-.
7. Please conjugate completely in the imparfait, the verb finir. Do add -ISS-.
8. Please conjugate completely in the imparfait, the verb comprendre. Remove the -DRE then conjugate.
9. How do you say loudspeaker in French?
10. How do you say headphone in French?
11. How do you say hard disk in French?
12. Write me a short conversation of your choice, where two students greet each other and say goodbye.
13. Please translate this sentence into French: I used to need to scan (verb = scanner, an ER verb) 20 pages a day (a day = chaque jour).
14. Please translate this sentence into French: They (ils) used to pass by the old Triage Lavoir, but unfortunately now it has been renovated (has been = a été; translate renovated as passé composé).
15. Now you are at the level of French that you can read small stories. Below is a short story that I have written for you. Please translate it into English, and summarize what happened in this story.
Aline et Bryan sont copain et copine depuis longtemps et ils se sont proposés hier d'aller au ciné. Aline est allée au ciné avec Bryan dans le XVIième, où ils ont vu le film Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain. Ils se sont bien amusés, et puis il sont allés au Pont Neuf dans le XVIIème où ils ont regardé l'image de la lune sur la Seine pendant la nuit. Il faisait très très beau. La neige était sur les toits partout, et la faible lueur de la lune dansait sur la rivière. Il se sont dit bonsoir, et ils ont décidé de se rencontrer demain au parc.
New Vocabulary -
faible lueur - dim glow (nf)
se proposer - propose an idea of
puis - then
pont - bridge
lune - moon
rencontrer - to meet
copain et copine - boyfriend and girlfriend