Lesson - Section 3: Avoir/Etre, articles, and Food

[garçoncanadien]

PART 1: PRESENT TENSE VERBS

Section 3: Avoir/Être, Basic Articles, and Vocabulary Module 1 - Food

Avoir (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/avoir.wav) and Être (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/etre.wav) are the two most important irregular verbs that you will encounter in all of the French Language. Avoir means to have, and Être means to be. Let's get straight to the conjugations!

For Être,

Je suis
Tu es
Il est
Elle est
Nous sommes
Vous êtes
Ils sont
Elles sont

hear it conjugated (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/etreconjuge.wav)

For Avoir,

J'ai
Tu as
Il a
Elle a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils ont
Elles ont

hear it conjugated (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/avoirconjuge.wav)

a very important idiomatic expression you must know with avoir is avoir besoin de (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/avoirbesoinde.wav). That means to need. You simply conjugate avoir, then you have I need, you need, etc.

That's about it for present tense avoir and être! Go and copy these two conjugations out many many times.

French Articles

Articles are used much much much more commonly in French than in English. In fact, if the noun is in a sentence, pretty much the article is obligatory. The article can only be left out for "stand alone" words. There are, like in English, the definite article, the partitive article and the indefinite article.

L'article défini (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/larticledefini.wav) - le (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/le.wav), la (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/la.wav), l', les (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/les.wav) (the). Le is masculin singulier (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/masculinsingulier.wav) (masculine singular), la is féminin singulier (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/femininsingulier.wav) (feminine singular), l' is the élision (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/elision.wav) of le or la when the noun immediately following begins with a vowel or a silent h (h muet (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/hmuet.wav)), and les is masculin/féminin pluriel (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/pluriel.wav) (plural).

L'article partitif (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/larticlepartitif.wav) - du (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/du.wav), de la (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/dela.wav), de l' (some, any). These articles are used to say "some of" something. For example, you say "Je mange du pain (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/jemangedupain.wav)" to indicate that I am eating some bread. Otherwise, you might imply that you are eating the entire loaf at once ;) Du is formed from a contraction of de and le.

L'article indéfini (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/larticleindefini.wav) - un (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/un.wav), une (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/une.wav), des (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/des.wav) (a, an, one, any, some, several). These articles are used to speak about a noun, but nonspecifically. For example, a book is translated in French un livre (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unlivre.wav) - but not specifically his book.

When you encounter à (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/a.wav) (to) or de before le or les, and the noun immediately following does not begin by a h muet or voyelle (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/voyelle.wav) (vowel), you shall contract the à/de and le/les into one word by the following rules:

à + le = au
à + les = aux
de + le = du
de + les = des

Examples:

de la pluie (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/delapluie.wav) (some rain)
de l'idée (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/delidee.wav) (of the idea)
du savon (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/dusavon.wav) (some soap)
à l'hôpital (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/alhopital.wav) (to the hospital)
des pommes de terre (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/despommesdeterre.wav) (some potatoes)
au lycée (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/aulycee.wav) (to school)
aux amis (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/auxamis.wav) (to friends)

Please see the attached table for a summary of the articles.

And before we get into vocabulary in full swing, I must note an important concept that exists in French nouns. Each noun has a gender, masculin or féminin. This gender is as important to the word as its spelling - for it determines whether you use le/la, un/une, de la/du, and most importantly - the agreement with other words in the sentence that refer to it. Therefore, it is imperative that you memorize the gender of the noun as well as its spelling. Try to memorize the noun with un/une - that way you will facilitate this process. Le, un, du, indicate that the noun immediately after is masculin, while la, une, and de la indicate that the noun immediately after is féminin. However, le and la become l' in most cases where the noun begins with a vowel. That is why I try to use un/une when that is the case to show you the gender of the noun. Two general rules: If the noun ends in E, -SON or -TION, it is most probably féminin. However, if the noun ends in anything else, it is most probably masculin. Words pertaining to grammar are usually masculin even though they might end in -E.

Vocabulary Module 1 - The words of Food - La nourriture (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lanourriture.wav)

French Food is known throughout the world for its stylishness, its art, its uniqueness, and above all how good it tastes! For the French, the look of the food is just as important as the taste of the food - and in France the training of chefs and the making of food is a very important affair. To illustrate how important that is, note that Charles de Gaulle (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/charlesdegaulle.wav) (a previous president of France) said: "How can you govern a country that has 246 different varieties of cheese?" Here I illustrate some basic vocabulary concerning food and where food is found.

Le pain (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lepain.wav) - Bread

la baguette (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/labaguette.wav) - a baguette, the long stick-shaped bread.

une boulangerie (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/uneboulangerie.wav) - a store where bread is sold. In French, different types of stores are called different things depending on what they sell.

la farine (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lafarine.wav) - flour.

la levure (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lalevure.wav) - yeast.

Les fruits (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lesfruits.wav) – fruit

http://www.leos.fr/pamplemousse/image/pamp3.jpg
un pamplemousse (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unpamplemousse.wav) - (yes you read that right this noun is masculin) - a grapefruit. How do you remember that? Grapefruits are bitter and women are not ;)

http://science-citoyen.u-strasbg.fr/dossiers/additifs/images/bouffe/pomme.jpg
une pomme (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unepomme.wav)

http://membres.lycos.fr/cigale76/picto/photos%20aliments/banane.jpg
une banane (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unebanane.wav)

http://www.freephotosbank.com/photographers/photos/5/med_bb124s2577.jpg
une orange (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/uneorange.wav)

http://www.nutritionaute.fr/nutrition/pix/aliPix/fraise-25.jpg
une fraise (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unefraise.wav)

http://www.linternaute.com/femmes/cuisine/magazine/image/diaporama/fruits/framboise.jpg
une framboise (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/uneframboise.wav)

http://www.snv.jussieu.fr/bmedia/Fruits/image/raisin-noir.jpg
un raisin (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unraisin.wav) (you would say des raisins for more than one grape)

http://www.ica.se/vardagshjalpen/lib_img/mat_ao_bilder/ananas.jpg
un ananas (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unananas.wav)

http://www.delhaize.be/food/season/fruit/_images/img_nectarines.jpg
une pêche (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unepeche.wav) not to be confused with pêcher – to fish, and pécher – to sin. :D

http://www2.toulouse.iufm.fr/pe/PE/F/Frimages/images/poire.JPG
une poire (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unepoire.wav)

http://www.csdm.qc.ca/stejarc/dictionnaire/imagesdicolm/mangue.jpg
une mangue (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unemangue.wav)

http://www.passeportsante.net/DocumentsProteus/images/fruit_passion_nu-1.jpg
un fruit de la Passion (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unfruitdelapassion.wav)

http://www.passeportsante.net/DocumentsProteus/images/papaye_nu-1.jpg
une papaye (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unepapaye.wav)

Les légumes (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/leslegumes.wav) - vegetables

Note that legumes means beans in English - however, légumes means vegetables in general in French.

http://www.ernestopauli.ch/Essen/Kochtips/Tomate%201.jpg
une tomate (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unetomate.wav)

http://www.picardieresto.com/gastronomie/gastronomie_1002.jpg
une pomme de terre (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unepommedeterre.wav)

http://www.homeviewsenegal.com/images/oignon.jpg
un oignon (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unoignon.wav)

http://www.blog-appetit.com/_content/px3_appetit/fr/produits/images/041212_chou_frise.jpg
un chou (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unchou.wav)

http://www.saveursdumonde.net/imagesup/ingredient/5_culture.jpg
un ail (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unail.wav)

http://www.alfa-food.cz/images/foto/pepr.jpg
un poivre (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unpoivre.wav)

http://www.remcomp.fr/asmanet/allergenes/images/poivron.jpg
un poivron/piment doux (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unpoivronpimentdoux.wav)

http://www.primeale.fr/UserFiles/Image/radis.jpg
un radis (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unradis.wav)

http://www.snv.jussieu.fr/bmedia/Fruits/image/haricot-ext.jpg
un haricot vert (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unharicotvert.wav)

Les produits laitiers (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lesproduitslaitiers.wav) - Dairy Products

http://www.food-info.net/images/cheese5.jpg
un fromage (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unfromage.wav)

la crème (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lacreme.wav) - cream

le lait (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lelait.wav) - milk

un yaourt (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unyaourt.wav) - a yoghurt

un mélange protidique (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unmelangeprotidique.wav) - casein

La cuisine française (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lacuisinefrancaise.wav) - French Food


What you've all been waiting for - famous French dishes! Here are the names of some familiar French foods. Try not to get hungry after reading this lesson;) .

http://www.shopflagstaffhouse.com/images/Food/filet%20mignon%20big.jpg
un filet mignon (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unfiletmignon.wav) - (literally, cute fillet)

http://www.oneseasonatathyme.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/bouillabaisse.jpg
une bouillabaisse (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unebouillabaisse.wav) - a seafood stew

http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/images/ratatouille_lg.jpg
une ratatouille (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/uneratatouille.wav) - a type of vegetable stew

http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/food/spirited/images/coq_au_vin.jpg
un coq au vin (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/uncoqauvin.wav) - a bird (rooster, chicken) cooked in wine

http://pics13.webs-tv.net/6/userfile/s/spoon/blog/c5b2e2f2.jpg
une crême brulée (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unecremebrulee.wav) - a "burnt cream" dessert.

http://classweb.gmu.edu/bhawk/susie/steak-au-poivre-sm.jpg
un steak au poivre (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unsteakaupoivre.wav) - pepper steak.

http://www.mediterrasian.com/graphics/recipe%20pics/salade.jpg
Une salade niçoise (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unesaladenicoise.wav) – a Nice-style salad.

Les boissons (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/lesboissons.wav) - Drinks


http://le-cognac.com/images/ll_btle_alize.jpg
un vin (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unvin.wav)

http://www.virtualbay.co.nz/totallyroasted/pics/cappucino---new.jpg
un café (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/uncafe.wav)

http://www.futura-sciences.com/comprendre/d/images/618/eau_062a.jpg
de l’eau (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/deleau.wav)– (nom féminin)

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j72/tea-voices/Articles/The_berbres-gfdl.jpg
un thé (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unthe.wav) – a tea

un jus (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unjus.wav) de/d’______ - ______ juice (insert fruit/vegetable in the blank)

http://www.universonline.it/_sessoesalute/salute/img/bibite_con_caffeina/bibite_con_caffeina.jpg
un soda/ une boisson gazeuse (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/unsodauneboissongazeuse.wav)

Finally, I'm hungry = J'ai faim (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/jaifaim.wav). I'm thirsty = J'ai soif (http://moi-alizee.us/share/Part1Lesson3EtreAvoirArticleFood/jaisoif.wav).

All photographs courtesy of their respective websites.

-garçoncanadien

[aFrenchie]

Wow, that's some work garçoncanadien! Very good :)

I only found 3 little mistakes. They're all about gender, I know it must be a pain for foreigners:
- Les produits laitières: should be "laitiers" (produit is masculine)
- une mélange protidique: should be un mélange (masculine)
- de l’eau – (nom masculin) – some water: "de l'eau" is correct but you should say (in brackets) that it's feminine.

[Twitch]

Wow, great job! You are really putting a lot of work into these. Ones like une orange used to always trick me because of the double vowel. And for those of you confused by des raisins being grapes:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Raisins.jpg/200px-Raisins.jpg
un raisin sec (a raisin; you would say des raisins secs for more than one raisin)

The French can also say une boisson gazeuse instead of un soda for a soft drink.

[garçoncanadien]

thank you everybody!! The notes were incorporated and the mistakes were corrected. By the way aFrenchie, je pense que tu dois corriger wordreference.com parce qu'ils n'ont pas le vrai genre pour le mot "mélange protidique".

[brad]

i just increased the picture limit to 50 if you want to edit it. if it needs more let me know

[aFrenchie]

By the way aFrenchie, je pense que tu dois corriger wordreference.com parce qu'ils n'ont pas le vrai genre pour le mot "mélange protidique".
That's quite a serious mistake for an online dictionary indeed :eek: :blink:

[lobowolf14]

Yum... I mean good work. you put a lot of visuals into this one. I'm going to go eat now. :)

[garçoncanadien]

I want you all to think in French - so I show you the picture instead of the English translation, to encourage you to associate the object directly with the French word :)

[garçoncanadien]

Here are your test questions:

1. There are three girls eating yoghurt. How do you say "They are eating some yoghurt".
2. How do you say "I am drinking some water"?
3. How do you say "I have an orange"?
4. How do you say "You have a pineapple"?
5. The following is the conjugation for boire (to drink).

Je bois
Tu bois
Il/Elle boit
Nous buvons
Vous buvez
Ils/Elles boivent
How would you say They are drinking some apple juice?

6. How would you say I drink coffee?
7. How do you say we drink some wine?
8. How do you say we are eating pears?
9. Tell which of the following is not a correct match:

A: poivron - sweet pepper.
B: poivre - pepper (spice).
C: pomme - apple
D: pamplemousse - orange.

10. Tell which of the following is not a correct match:

A: ananas - pineapple.
B: banana - banane.
C: de l'eau - wine.
D: café - coffee shop.

11. Tell which of the following is not a correct match:

A: pomme - pear.
B: poire - pear.
C: framboise - raspberry.
D: fraise - strawberry.

12. Tell which of the following is not a correct match:

A: food - nourriture.
B: food - cuisine.
C: de la - some
D: à la - which.

13. Tell which of the following is not a correct match:

A: du - some
B: à les - aux
C: je suis - you are
D: ils ont - they have

14. Tell which of the following is not a correct match:

A: Il est - he is
B: Elle est - they are
C: Coq au vin - chicken/rooster cooked in wine
D: steak au poivre - pepper steak

15. Tell which of the following is not a correct match:

A: J'ai - I have
B: Tu as - You have
C: Ratatouille - Seafood stew
D: Je suis - I am

16. Translate "he has an idea".
17. Translate "we have some drinks".
18. Translate "she has a mango".
19. Translate "you (plural) love French cuisine"; the verb for love is aimer and it is conjugated in the regular fashion.
20. Translate "I am eating 3 fruits: a banana, a pear, and a

grapefruit". The word for 3 is trois, and the word for and is et.

[jeroh]

nice one garçoncanadien!
too much information , ma tête va exploser!!!!

[garçoncanadien]

That's why I pick a small amount of topics at one time :) If you teach me Spanish, I would want the same thing from you :)

[Twitch]

Since we're on the subject of food, I was wondering how a native French speaker prefers to use poivron and piment for peppers. I have generally used poivrons only for sweet peppers and piments for hot, but I know that you can also use piments doux for sweet peppers.

[garçoncanadien]

Thank you for the addition Twitch! I have added that word in. Why not translate piment as chili instead of pepper?

[Twitch]

I thought about that but was told that piment reffered to all peppers, including sweet peppers (because of piment doux), and you used piment fort when you wanted to refer to only hot peppers. Although in my travels I have almost always seen sweet peppers called poivrons, if not they were called piments doux, but never just piments. And chili and other hot peppers were always called piments, with piment fort being used only when someone wanted to stress the importance of getting a really hot pepper. Why I asked for the clarification.

EDIT: I read on Wiki that piment doux and piment fort are used mostly in Québec, and poivrons, for sweet peppers, and piments, for hot/chili peppers, seems to be the norm in France.

[HibyPrime]

I thought about that but was told that piment reffered to all peppers, including sweet peppers (because of piment doux), and you used piment fort when you wanted to refer to only hot peppers. Although in my travels I have almost always seen sweet peppers called poivrons, if not they were called piments doux, but never just piments. And chili and other hot peppers were always called piments, with piment fort being used only when someone wanted to stress the importance of getting a really hot pepper. Why I asked for the clarification.

EDIT: I read on Wiki that piment doux and piment fort are used mostly in Québec, and poivrons, for sweet peppers, and piments, for hot/chili peppers, seems to be the norm in France.

Red hot chili peppers?

[Twitch]

French: un yaourt
British: a yoghurt
American: a yogurt
Canadian En/Fr: a/un yogourt

I thought of this while at the grocery store but almost all of the yoghurt sold in Canada is labeled yogourt. It might not be the most popular spelling in French or English (outside of Canada) but it is a spelling that is understood by both the French and the English, and is an alternate spelling in both languages. So by using it companies only need to put, in this case, Plain Yogourt nature (nature = plain in this context) on their labels and not both yaourt nature and Plain Yoghurt. And on a side note before this thread I would not have known yaourt to mean yoghurt.
http://www.astro.ca/images/i_plain.jpg
Spellings like this are a byproduct of Canadian bilingual labels (I've also seen syrop, syrup/sirop). But since Alizée is French, she would know it as yaourt and IMO that is the best spelling for an Alizée fan learning French, I was just bored with nothing else to do. :)

[aFrenchie]

EDIT: I read on Wiki that piment doux and piment fort are used mostly in Québec, and poivrons, for sweet peppers, and piments, for hot/chili peppers, seems to be the norm in France.
What Wiki said :)

[Cooney]

Thanks for the lesson garçon :-) I knew a lot of the foods, but not all of them! I'll see if I can do the lesson and send my attempt at answers to you.

I'm stoked, I just received my French Rosetta Stone software today. Lessons start tommorrow.

[neoteny]

te toi...deposhez vous? il est tres comprend something or rather?

[garçoncanadien]

audio is now linked to this lesson - each French word is linked only one time so you have to remember the 1st time and hear it in your head the second time :D. Click on the word to hear its pronounciation.