Learn French

[atra201]

Hello all i thought that maybe we could teach each other the French language and like post some vocabulary.
for example i'll start with the numbers (i don't have the time now but i would later post some audio files or links for audio files)
here goes and tell me if u think this thread should continue.

[atra201]

source :http://www.languageguide.org/im/num/fr/
check out this site to learn the french numbers

[HibyPrime]

http://french.about.com They have:

Listings of multinational french teaching companies (ie. you can find a class with most of them almost anywhere in the world).

A very well developed audio library

A massive selection of lessons, vocab lists, and just abou everything else.

They also have support forums for any level of french. If you have been learning french for 2 days or 20 years, they will still help you.

http://www.research.att.com/~ttsweb/tts/demo.php

Pronounces anything you type in a realistic voice, in any language (according to aFrenchie: Juliette is the most realistic french speaker there).

http://lepatron.tapor.ualberta.ca/

Checks french sentences/paragraphs for grammatical errors, and tells you where they are. It does not fix them for you (not that it should, you are supposed to be learning). According to aFrenchie, again, this site picks up most errors, but not all errors.

http://www.frenchpodclass.com/

61 (and growing weekly) pod casts teaching french. I belive brad first posted this.

If you have a few dollars (I think it is ~$20), buy Rapid French (Volume 1) from iTunes, it is very effective, but does not teach enough to use it as a sole learning source. This was also first posted by brad.

[brad]

yeah I would highly recommend Rapid French. It is just very basic stuff, but it is easy to listen to over and over again, and I pick up on a lot of small things now that I never did before. I think it is a perfect introduction.

I will post the numbers lesson from rapid french here in a few, it is pretty cool.

[Cooney]

If you are seriously looking to buckle down and learn French, I recommend the software known as "Rosetta Stone." It's available for a lot of different languages, and is designed to quickly develop a usable base for a person who is going to be in a country that speaks that language. It's the same program used by the US State Department for its diplomats, and by the US military for its soldiers.

It is, unfortunately, very expensive. The complete 2 level course (100+ hours) is around $350USD, but it's good stuff. I'm saving up for it so I can refresh my abilities.


Thanks for the Podcast link above! I actually was lying in bed dreaming about moi-alizee.us podcasts last night. I would love to do a series of podcasts covering Alizée's songs, translations and interpretations of them, and talking about Alizée related material. I was even thinking how much I'd like to do a couple in French, translating the English version songs back to French for comparison against the originals :-D Ah well, I need to get an IPod first. More stuff to save for!

[brad]

I uploaded a few samples from Rapid French. The first one is numbers (simple stuff like 1 thru 10 and how to tell time). And the second one is a short lesson on 'je voudrais'

Again this is very basic stuff, and it isnt meant to teach you French. It is in a kind of song format, so after you listen to it 15 times or so, you can kind of sing along in your head and anticipate the translation.

I can make out a lot of 'words' Alizee is saying now, like je voudrais for example, I hear it all the time now. And recently I was watching the JPVA Eiffel tower video again, and when she read the numbers on the screen I was suprised to pick out a few when she said it ... lol

You can buy it on iTunes search for "Rapid French"

I agree on the Rosetta Stone suggestion, I know one person that has used the Spanish one and was able to take a test to get college credit for her Spanish requirement without ever taking a class.

[brad]

But, can you conjugate voudrais?

I don't even know the infinitive.. dictionary time.

hell no I can't lol .. that is kind of the point of Rapid French. I don't think I am ready to dive in and really spend 3 years studying the language in depth, but it is fun knowing different expressions and very basic stuff.

Something I can shout to Alizee from the crowd lol ..

"ALIZEE!! I WANT A CUP OF COFFEE!!!"

[HibyPrime]

but, can you conjugate voudrais? (vouloir)

I can't, I even had to look up the infinitive..

hell no I can't lol .. that is kind of the point of Rapid French. I don't think I am ready to dive in and really spend 3 years studying the language in depth, but it is fun knowing different expressions and very basic stuff.

Something I can shout to Alizee from the crowd lol ..

"ALIZEE!! I WANT A CUP OF COFFEE!!!"

I deleted the post instead of editing, opps.

Je voudrais................. un café

I'm at about 6 months of non-intensive study. I already have diven (is this a word?) in. 3 years? good luck learning it in 3 years without living in a francophone area.

[Twitch]

Verb conjugations are simpler than they look, most are pronounced the same so in speech its not that big of a problem, and for writing all reputable French only dictionary's will have all the most common verbs conjugated in the grammar section. For a more detailed list just buy a verb conjugation book, I have one (although at one time I almost knew them all including the exceptions) and I would think that even native Francophones worried about their grammar use them as well.

[aFrenchie]

For a more detailed list just buy a verb conjugation book, I have one (although at one time I almost knew them all including the exceptions) and I would think that even native Francophones worried about their grammar use them as well.
If you're interested, I use this tiny program myself sometimes:
http://perso.orange.fr/herve.echelard/download/dicoverb.zip
(Only a .exe and a readme, no install)
Use the "Tableaux des conjugaisons" button to go faster into it...

[HibyPrime]

Only a .exe

@#$% you..

[atra201]

wow more than expected
and i was talking on behalf of cheap ppl ,like we could teach each other.
lol :D

[HibyPrime]

wow more than expected
and i was talking on behalf of cheap ppl ,like we could teach each other.
lol :D

Use the sources I posted then (other than Rapid French)

[aFrenchie]

Only a .exe@#$% you..
Are you an unfortunate Mac user or something? :confused:

EDIT: Yes you are, found it in the "Computer stuff" thread...
I'm sorry for you :D :p

Someone tried DicoVerb (http://perso.orange.fr/herve.echelard/download/dicoverb.zip)?

[Cooney]

Hmm, here's a question pertaining to learning French.

There's a dictionary called the "Oxford English Dictionary," which is widely considered the most complete, most authoritative, most important dictionary for the English language. All other English dictionaries are inferior when compared to the unabridged OED.

Is there an equivalent dictionary for French? A dictionary considered to be the ultimate authority on French language?

I love reference books, and would be delighted to pick up a high powered true French dictionary - not just a French-English one.

[Twitch]

Hiby also probably doesn't like .exe files because of how many viruses come packaged that way, but Darwine (http://darwine.opendarwin.org/index.php) is supposed to allow .exe and other native Windows files to open on a Mac, at least certain ones anyway. But I have never used it so no idea if it works, but there are other .exe wrappers as well to let Mac users run them, but again I haven't used any and some only work with intel based Macs.

[Twitch]

I love reference books, and would be delighted to pick up a high powered true French dictionary - not just a French-English one.
The easiest to get would no doubt be one by Larousse, but I find the Petit Robert slightly more useful as it contains phonetic spellings for all the words, petit Larousse only contains them for the words that do not follow traditional French pronunciation rules. The petit Robert has also slightly more detailed definitions of each word, but the petit Larousse is packed with tons of colourful illustrations. There is also the Grand Robert, which is an insanely huge French dictionary, similar to the complete unabridged multi volume Oxford dictionaries.
LeRobert (http://www.lerobert.com/)
Larousse (http://www.larousse.fr/)
I assume since you are looking for a French only dictionary you can navigate these sites.
But Le Petit Robert, and Le Petit Larousse illustré are their most popular dictionaries. Petit Larousse illustré also includes a section with proper names and information on history and culture as well. Le Robert publishes theirs in a separate dictionary.
If not here are two English articles about the major French dictionaries http://french.about.com/library/reviews/aatp-monolingualdicos.htm
and if you prefer electronic dictionaries http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/tp/softwaredicos.htm
For the record I have a petit Larousse illustré I bought back when I was 10, and am planning on buying a Petit Robert (which costs well over twice that of the Larousse), for the more detailed and useful descriptions, at the expense of the illustrations and mini encyclopedia included in the Larousse. The new Larousses, especially after the 2005 centenary edition, are so colourful I was almost tempted to buy a new one.
But aFrenchie has access to more French dictionaries than we do in Canada, and can probably give you a more informed decision about what is out there.

[NANAKI]

I don't need it I am taking French so I could put down words and their meaningbut that is about it.

[aFrenchie]

Hiby also probably doesn't like .exe files because of how many viruses come packaged that way
Of course, I can certify that this one has no virus.

[alantas]

je t'aime alizee!!

i love alizee.. right?

[HibyPrime]

Hiby also probably doesn't like .exe files because of how many viruses come packaged that way,

Naw, it's the mac thing.

but Darwine (http://darwine.opendarwin.org/index.php) is supposed to allow .exe and other native Windows files to open on a Mac, at least certain ones anyway. But I have never used it so no idea if it works, but there are other .exe wrappers as well to let Mac users run them, but again I haven't used any and some only work with intel based Macs.

Darwine is slightly inferior to CrossOver (http://www.codeweavers.com/). Also, neither of the two will work (properly) on a non intel-mac. My laptop is a intel-mac but if I'm going to be using either of them (crossover is installed, and it's very buggy), I may as well install windows (http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/) on it.

The wine project ports the win32 API over to linux and osx, which is basically like rewriting the windows OS, it takes years to perfect. I can run CS 1.6 on crossover, and I've heard of people being able to run HL2 (I've never even tried), so it definately has potential.

Of course, I can certify that this one has no virus.

That you know of.

Back on topic:

I bought a $2.99 english-french, french-english dictionary, and while it does not have everything, it's more than enough. The odd time it does not have something, I'll ask someone.

je t'aime alizee!!

i love alizee.. right?

Right! Remember the accent though ééééééé

[Twitch]

je t'aime alizee!!

i love alizee.. right?

Technically it's "I love you Alizée"

"J'aime Alizée" would be "I love Alizée"

EDIT: For the record I was responding to Atlantas not trying to correct Hiby, but is it really that hard to type an é for Alizée?

[HibyPrime]

EDIT: For the record I was responding to Atlantas not trying to correct Hiby

How dare you correct me, the all mighty master of the french language!

I can't make a mistake, noobies never make mistakes!

[bt_bird_90]

correct... Hiby?:eek:

that's not a very good idea... we're still trying to figure out what happened to the guy that did that last time (http://www.neatorama.com/images/2005-12/black-hole-house.jpg)

[aFrenchie]

Of course, I can certify that this one has no virus.That you know of.
I use it since years and scanned it again with Kaspersky yesterday...

[HibyPrime]

I use it since years and scanned it again with Kaspersky yesterday...

I was joking.

[Cooney]

The easiest to get would no doubt be one by Larousse, but I find the Petit Robert slightly more useful as it contains phonetic spellings for all the words, petit Larousse only contains them for the words that do not follow traditional French pronunciation rules. The petit Robert has also slightly more detailed definitions of each word, but the petit Larousse is packed with tons of colourful illustrations. There is also the Grand Robert, which is an insanely huge French dictionary, similar to the complete unabridged multi volume Oxford dictionaries.
LeRobert (http://www.lerobert.com/)
Larousse (http://www.larousse.fr/)
I assume since you are looking for a French only dictionary you can navigate these sites.
But Le Petit Robert, and Le Petit Larousse illustré are their most popular dictionaries. Petit Larousse illustré also includes a section with proper names and information on history and culture as well. Le Robert publishes theirs in a separate dictionary.
If not here are two English articles about the major French dictionaries http://french.about.com/library/reviews/aatp-monolingualdicos.htm
and if you prefer electronic dictionaries http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/tp/softwaredicos.htm
For the record I have a petit Larousse illustré I bought back when I was 10, and am planning on buying a Petit Robert (which costs well over twice that of the Larousse), for the more detailed and useful descriptions, at the expense of the illustrations and mini encyclopedia included in the Larousse. The new Larousses, especially after the 2005 centenary edition, are so colourful I was almost tempted to buy a new one.
But aFrenchie has access to more French dictionaries than we do in Canada, and can probably give you a more informed decision about what is out there.

Thanks for the pile of information Twitch - that's exactly what I was looking for. I'll have to investigate those dictionaries and see which one to go for. My French-English dictionary a Larousse, and has served me quite well, though it does, of course, lack certain recent slang (it's a 1994 edition) and some alternate uses.

I'm very tempted by the section on cultural history and proper names, as that is one place where I need loads of help - language classes don't teach that stuff, so I need a good source of background information.

As you suggest, I'll be interested to hear if aFrenchie has an opinion on this one.

[rwd716]

If you are seriously looking to buckle down and learn French, I recommend the software known as "Rosetta Stone." It's available for a lot of different languages, and is designed to quickly develop a usable base for a person who is going to be in a country that speaks that language. It's the same program used by the US State Department for its diplomats, and by the US military for its soldiers.

It is, unfortunately, very expensive. The complete 2 level course (100+ hours) is around $350USD, but it's good stuff. I'm saving up for it so I can refresh my abilities.

Yeah, this program is pretty sweet!

[MaiFromSanFrancisco]

here goes nothing

Jamapelle Peter
Yo tengo diesi siete anos..

thats all i know XD ne1 wanna translate it ^^

http://www.jump-gate.com/languages/french/

This site is good too, they teach you the basic vowels and basic numbers and as well as pronunciation.

[Twitch]

I was looking at the 2007 40th anniversary boxed set by Le Robert, it has the Le Petit Robert (69,50 €), and the Le Petit Robert des noms propres (58 €) which would still give you information in the history and culture section included in the Larousse, while still having the more detailed descriptions of Le Robert (it is listed at 116 €, a Larouse is only 34,50 € or 44,50 € for the version with an included CD-Rom, but I haven't seen those sold in Canada). The electronic version of the current Grand Robert is listed at 250 €, I don't know if you can still purchase an actual printed version of it but would probably cost quite a lot more.

If you are interested in word origins and what not your better off with a Le Robert. But I have used my Larouse for the last 17 years and am quite satisfied with it, being that they usually sell for about half of what just the Le Petit Robert sells for I think it is a great dictionary. Only major complaint is if your learning French there are no phonetical spellings to help you with proper pronunciations except for words that don't follow the standard pronuncitation rules, like the English words. But both sites I believe show actual pages from both the Petit Robert and Petit Larouse so you can see which style you prefer.

And I would recommend getting a good French only dictionary to all those who are seriously trying to learn French, and have moved beyond the basics. They are a lot more useful than the English/French dictionaries, and contain a lot more words. And you get the actual French definition, and not just a bunch of closely related English words.

[atra201]

well since no one is gonna check those sites me included i'll try to put some lessons starting now. :)

[atra201]

nouns in French are devided into categories

1. Noms propres:like names and cities .Must start by a capital letter(majuscule). e.g. Paris,Alizée.

2.Noms Communs:words that do not refer to a particular something and they can be plural. e.g. arbre(a tree),fleur(a flower).
such nouns are pluralized by adding an s to the end e.g. arbres(trees),fleur(flowers).
but words ending with (eu,au) are pluralized with x instead of s except the pneu(a tire) is pluralized with s pneus (tires) e.g. cadeau (a gift),cadeaus(gifts).
however the words that end with ou are pluralized with s e.g.
trou(a hole ) ,trous(holes). clou(a nail) clous(nails).
with few exeptions such as
bijou (a jewel) ,bijoux
genou((a knee), genoux
hibo(an owl),hiboux.
that's it for now.

[HibyPrime]

nouns in French are devided into categories

1. Noms propres:like names and cities .Must start by a capital letter(majuscule). e.g. Paris,Alizée.

2.Noms Communs:words that do not refer to a particular something and they can be plural. e.g. arbre(a tree),fleur(a flower).
such nouns are pluralized by adding an s to the end e.g. arbres(trees),fleur(flowers).
but words ending with (eu,au) are pluralized with x instead of s except the pneu(a tire) is pluralized with s pneus (tires) e.g. cadeau (a gift),cadeaus(gifts).
however the words that end with ou are pluralized with s e.g.
trou(a hole ) ,trous(holes). clou(a nail) clous(nails).
with few exeptions such as
bijou (a jewel) ,bijoux
genou((a knee), genoux
hibo(an owl),hiboux.
that's it for now.

I don't know where you got that from, but the translations are mostly wrong. You have the word 'a' infront of most of the english translations but there is no 'un' or 'une' infront of any of the french words - unless I missed something, the 'a' should not be there in any of these translations.

[garçoncanadien]

corrections:

1. Noms propres:like names and cities .Must start by a capital letter(majuscule). e.g. Paris,Alizée.

2.Noms Communs:words that do not refer to a particular something and they can be plural. e.g. un arbre(a tree),une fleur(a flower).
such nouns are pluralized by adding an s to the end e.g. arbres(trees),fleurs (flowers).
but words ending with (eu,au) are pluralized with x instead of s except the pneu(a tire) is pluralized with s pneus (tires) e.g. un cadeau (a gift),cadeaux(gifts).
however the words that end with ou are pluralized with s e.g.
un trou(a hole ) ,trous(holes). un clou(a nail) clous(nails).
with few exeptions such as
un bijou (a jewel) ,bijoux
un genou((a knee), genoux
un hibou(an owl),hiboux.

[atra201]

I don't know where you got that from, but the translations are mostly wrong. You have the word 'a' infront of most of the english translations but there is no 'un' or 'une' infront of any of the french words - unless I missed something, the 'a' should not be there in any of these translations.

corrections:

1. Noms propres:like names and cities .Must start by a capital letter(majuscule). e.g. Paris,Alizée.

2.Noms Communs:words that do not refer to a particular something and they can be plural. e.g. un arbre(a tree),une fleur(a flower).
such nouns are pluralized by adding an s to the end e.g. arbres(trees),fleurs (flowers).
but words ending with (eu,au) are pluralized with x instead of s except the pneu(a tire) is pluralized with s pneus (tires) e.g. un cadeau (a gift),cadeaux(gifts).
however the words that end with ou are pluralized with s e.g.
un trou(a hole ) ,trous(holes). un clou(a nail) clous(nails).
with few exeptions such as
un bijou (a jewel) ,bijoux
un genou((a knee), genoux
un hibou(an owl),hiboux.

yeah sorry i was in a hurry and did not check back .

[bt_bird_90]

That's it, I've done it, today was the day. :eek: I've finally gone frenchie. This morning it was freezing cold, but you know when you just don't feel like putting on pants so you just decide to make a half-naked mad dash into the shower? It was one of those mornings. Except I ran into my mom in the kitchen, she teased me about finally being awake, I asked her why it was so freezing, she said something, but I kept running and when the dog was in the way of the bathroom door I just threw up an arm and yelled "J'en Ai Marre!". I didn't stick around, but I could feel awkward glances at the back of my neck.

[HibyPrime]

That's it, I've done it, today was the day. :eek: I've finally gone frenchie. This morning it was freezing cold, but you know when you just don't feel like putting on pants so you just decide to make a half-naked mad dash into the shower? It was one of those mornings. Except I ran into my mom in the kitchen, she teased me about finally being awake, I asked her why it was so freezing, she said something, but I kept running and when the dog was in the way of the bathroom door I just threw up an arm and yelled "J'en Ai Marre!". I didn't stick around, but I could feel awkward glances at the back of my neck.

EL OH EL

10 char limit

[atra201]

I just threw up an arm and yelled "J'en Ai Marre!". I didn't stick around, but I could feel awkward glances at the back of my neck.

me too. :mad:

[neoteny]

oh man, i think i might fail again. i might even pass with a C- this time. last time i got lucky. voulez vous couche avec moi, ce coir. forget i said anything.

[garçoncanadien]

it is voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir :D

[Cooney]

Here's a question for our native speakers -

When verbally spelling a word that contains accents, how would one speak them? Say Alizée was spelling her name to somebody for example, would she say "A L I Z E aigu E," or spell her name and add the accent notations at the end, or what? I don't know why, but I suddenly though about that earlier, and realized that with the vast number of accents in French, there must be a standard and simple way of handling it.

[garçoncanadien]

i was taught in primary school to say ah el i zey e accent aigu e

[SupaKrupa]

Sigh... I just finished school forever and now I'm learning again... :S

But it's actually something I enjoy so yay for me. All those links are very helpful.

Merci tout beaucoup (Don't think this is right, but hey, I'm learning!)

[garçoncanadien]

you mean to say Thanks a lot everybody? That is merci beaucoup tout le monde :D

[HibyPrime]

you mean to say Thanks a lot everybody? That is merci beaucoup tout le monde :D

What happens when humans start to colonize on the moon?

[SupaKrupa]

you mean to say Thanks a lot everybody? That is merci beaucoup tout le monde :D

I was trying to say: Thank you all very much.

I'm not sure because I realise in almost all languages you can't translate it directly ie. thank you - merci, all - tout, and very much - beaucoup, to become merci tout beaucoup haha

[garçoncanadien]

in this case it is merci beaucoup à tous :D

[Seapaddler]

Hmm "thanks very much to all". I get it. :D

[garçoncanadien]

What happens when humans start to colonize on the moon?

hmmmm je ne sais pas. Peut-être qu'il va falloir dire merci beaucoup toute la lune :D

[HibyPrime]

hmmmm je ne sais pas. Peut-être qu'il va falloir dire merci beaucoup toute la lune :D

merci beaucoup tout le univers should cover us for the next few billion years

But what if there are parallel universes? Ugh

[rwd716]

hmmmm je ne sais pas. Peut-être qu'il va falloir dire merci beaucoup toute la lune :D

As a help to those of us who are trying to grasp French, could you translate. About all I can understand is: I don't something Blah blah blah...thanks very much moon-men. LOL

[Seapaddler]

Peut-être means perhaps
qu'il means that it or that he
va means go
falloir means needed (i think)
dire means to say

"perhaps that it is going to be needed to say"

[HibyPrime]

As a help to those of us who are trying to grasp French, could you translate. About all I can understand is: I don't something Blah blah blah...thanks very much moon-men. LOL

hmmmm je ne sais pas. Peut-être qu'il va falloir dire merci beaucoup toute la lune

I dont know. Perhaps it will be necessary to say thank you very much moon-men (lol moon-men)

[rwd716]

So sais means know? Thanks Sea and Hiby. Now that I think about it i prolly coulda looked this up, but I'm currently trapped on this site :p

[garçoncanadien]

merci beaucoup tout le univers should cover us for the next few billion years


no that should say tout l'univers

As a help to those of us who are trying to grasp French, could you translate. About all I can understand is: I don't something Blah blah blah...thanks very much moon-men. LOL

Perhaps it will be necessary to say thank you very much moon-men

That translation is exactly right :D in the beginning, I said "I don't know".

So sais means know? Thanks Sea and Hiby. Now that I think about it i prolly coulda looked this up, but I'm currently trapped on this site

That is exactly right, it is the Je conjugation of savoir, to know.

[aFrenchie]

When verbally spelling a word that contains accents, how would one speak them?
When spelling a "é" you say "e accent aigu" and sometimes just "é" (sounds a bit like "ay"). It's the exception, all others are always said "the letter + accent type".
- è : "e accent grave"
- ï : "i trémas"
- û : "u accent circonflexe"
- ç : "c cédille"

[Cooney]

Ok, so you actually say the word "accent" when spelling it. Fair enough :-)

I'd never ceen a circumflex (circonflexe) referred to with the word "accent" on it, I've always heard it just by itself. I'm glad you used that example! :-)

The trémas is fairly rare in French, isn't it? I'd completely forgotten it existed in French at all until a couple days ago when I saw a word with it and it surprised me.

--------------

For those who were working on:
"hmmmm je ne sais pas. Peut-être qu'il va falloir dire merci beaucoup toute la lune"

"Hmmm, I don't know. Maybe it'll be necessary to say thanks very much all-the-moon"

"Toute la lune" is hard to translate literally. "Toute la monde" literally translates as "all the world," but it means "everybody" in speech. To say "toute la lune" would be unnecessary, I think, though it might be usable in jest, or in a nationalistic (planetalistic?) sense - all moonpeople.

[garçoncanadien]

mdrrrrr Cooney c'était une blague!! je ne sais pas si l'on a vraiment cette phrase en français. :D je l'ai inventée.

[Rocket]

'i' before 'e' except after 'c'. Except for words like THEIR then it all goes out the window.

[RMJ]

The trémas is fairly rare in French, isn't it? I'd completely forgotten it existed in French at all until a couple days ago when I saw a word with it and it
Rare maybe, but common enough that even I know words with trémas. And my vocabulary isn't good. :)

Noël
Naïve
Loïc (name)

[Twitch]

My understanding is a tréma is used for pronunciation. It shows that the letter it is on is pronounced separately (ie ma-ïs, as opposed to mais). But it has been dropped for common usage on e's now except for some historical names, like Noël, and now a ligature (œ) is used when the vowel sound run together and it is not used (oe) when they are separate. But that ligature is not always typed, but in formal writing it would be.

[HibyPrime]

'i' before 'e' except after 'c'. Except for words like THEIR then it all goes out the window.

It's a guideline, not a rule.. :confused:

[Seapaddler]

Mon, Ton, Son and Ma, Ta, Sa and Mes, Tes, Ses all are forms of Moi. No wonder the French have such good food. They spend their time eating instead of talking because talking causes brain tumors he-he. When I start speaking French fluently I'm going to sound like a genius! :D

[aFrenchie]

Mon, Ton, Son and Ma, Ta, Sa and Mes, Tes, Ses all are forms of Moi.
...of "my" :)
"Moi" is "me" (and sometimes "I")

[Cooney]

Technically, of "My," "Your," and "His/Her/Their/Its." If you're going to include those, one also needs "Notre" and "Nos" (our) and "Votre" and "Vos" (your for groups, or politely).

They're just the possessive pronouns - the difference between French and English being the gender issue, of course, which we don't have, and the addition of a plural "You." While English doesn't change the pronoun itself for plurals, it does change the auxilliary verb and more, when present (for example: "This is my..." for singular, "These are my..." for plural), which I don't believe French does ("Voici mon..." for singular, "Voici mes..." for plural).

Mon/Ma/Mes = my
Ton/Ta/Tes = your
Son/Sa/Ses = his/her/their/its
Notre/Nos = our
Votre/Vos = your (plural or respectful)

[aFrenchie]

While English doesn't change the pronoun itself for plurals, it does change the auxilliary verb and more, when present (for example: "This is my..." for singular, "These are my..." for plural), which I don't believe French does ("Voici mon..." for singular, "Voici mes..." for plural).
Yes it does! :) Since your example actually is:
Ceci est mon... (singular)
Ceux-ci sont mes... (plural)

Mon/Ma/Mes = my
Ton/Ta/Tes = your
Son/Sa/Ses = his/her/their/its
Notre/Nos = our
Votre/Vos = your (plural or respectful)
You forgot the last line:
Leur/Leurs = their

[Seapaddler]

I picked up a nice hard cover French verb book, I was hoping it would help but I'm more confused.

English Indicative has Present Past and Future. Why does French have 1 extra and what is the point? Présent (Present), Imparfait (imperfect past?), Passé Simple (simple past) and Futur Simple. Isn't "imperfect" the same as "simple"? Isn't J'étais the same as J'etis or Je fus. :confused: :confused:

My book says Passé Simple for être is Je fus, Tu fus, il fut etc. But other online conjugation sites say j'etis, tu etis, il etit etc. Which is correct and why the discrepancy? :blink:

Thanks guys.

[garçoncanadien]

the usage of Passé Simple is reserved for literature, like science textbooks and novels and such. You don't speak Passé Simple unless you need to be extra extra formal :)

Passé Simple has exactly the same meaning as the Passé Composé.

And Passé Simple conjugation is indeed Je fus, tu fus. Etis is not a word :)

[Seapaddler]

Tremendous help, thanks.

Maybe its a very old form. It's not in my French dictionary anyway.
http://verbix.easycgi.com/cache/webverbix%5C3%5Cetre.shtml

[garçoncanadien]

wow!! :eek: There are toooooo many mistakes on that webpage. Here are the correct conjugations for the verb être

Passé Simple

Je fus
Tu fus
Il/Elle/On fut
Nous fûmes
Vous fûtes
Ils/Elles furent

Passé Composé
J’ai été

Imparfait

J’étais
Tu étais
Il/Elle/On était
Nous étions
Vous étiez
Ils/Elles étaient

Plus-que-parfait
J’avais été

Futur

Je serai
Tu seras
Il/Elle/On sera
Nous serons
Vous serez
Ils/Elles seront

Futur antérieur

J’aurai été
Tu auras été
Il/Elle/On aura été
Nous aurons été
Vous aurez été
Ils/Elles auront été

Conditionnel Présent
Je serais
Tu serais
Il/Elle/On serait
Nous serions
Vous seriez
Ils/Elles seraient

Conditionnel Passé
J’aurais été
Tu aurais été
Il/Elle/On aurait été
Nous aurions été
Vous auriez été
Ils/Elles auraient été

Subjonctif Présent

Que je sois
Que tu sois
Qu’il/elle/on soit
Que nous soyons
Que vous soyez
Qu’ils/elles soient

Subjonctif Passé

Que j’aie été
Que tu aies été
Qu’il/elle/on ait été
Que nous ayons été
Que vous ayez été
Qu’ils/elles aient été

Subjonctif imparfait (qui s’appartient à la langue littéraire)

Que je fusse
Que tu fusses
Qu’il/elle/on fût
Que nous fussions
Que vous fussiez
Qu’ils/elles fussent

[Seapaddler]

What you have written is exactly what's in my verb book.

I just noticed that page has Je ets and not Je suis. lol wtf, can't trust the internet.

[garçoncanadien]

yeh trust your verb book instead :)

[aFrenchie]

What you have written is exactly what's in my verb book.

I just noticed that page has Je ets and not Je suis. lol wtf, can't trust the internet.
Maybe that site isn't that bad. Look at the little white frame at the top of the page. It says that the verb "etre" doesn't exist (you just forgot the ê accent). You're suggested to click on "être (http://verbix.easycgi.com/webverbix/go.php?D1=3&H1=103&T1=%EAtre)" and told that accents are important... If you click it, you then have the good conjugation. The only weird thing is that the engine tried to conjugate a verb unknown in the database! :blink: The result couldn't be better than that because of this very particular verb (être).

[Seapaddler]

Good eye, I didn't notice that.

[Seapaddler]

y and là both mean there, :blink: how so? Please explain obi won :)

[aFrenchie]

y and là both mean there, :blink: how so? Please explain obi won :)
"y" is used before the verb; "là" (or "ici" (here)) after the verb:
"J'y vais"
"Je vais là(/ici)"

[Zack -Alizee Lover-]

great im trying to learn french im hoping i can do it in 1 year

[Zack -Alizee Lover-]

wow numbers are pretty easy maybe cuze i related em to spanish :)
my next goal after learning french will be portugese

[garçoncanadien]

aFrenchie, Twitch, Cooney, and myself will be glad to help you :)

[Zack -Alizee Lover-]

yey merci :)