- Say the French numbers from one through ten and apply the stated liaison patterns.
- Use c’est for descriptions, identification, emphasis, and people described with nouns.
- Conjugate aller in the present and build the near future with an infinitive.
- Choose location prepositions for countries, cities, and ordinary place nouns.
- Read the lesson’s practice sentences with the indicated word connections.
- Recognition of the French subject pronouns je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, and elles.
- Basic familiarity with indefinite and definite articles and with noun gender.
Numbers 1–10: Sounds and Liaisons
Learn each number in order, including the final letters that become audible or change sound before a vowel.
French numbers require attention to both the number word and the sound it makes beside the following word. A liaison occurs when a final consonant connects to a next word that begins with a vowel sound.
- Unmeans 1 and is also the indefinite articleun.
- Deuxmeans 2. Its finalxis silent alone, but it becomes azsound before a vowel:deux amis.
- Troismeans 3. The endingsis normally silent and changes to azliaison introis amis.
- Quatremeans 4. The lettersquproduce a hardksound; theuafterqis not pronounced separately.
- Cinqmeans 5. Its finalqusually sounds likek. It may be silent before a consonant, especially incinq minutes, though pronouncing it is generally understandable.
- Sixmeans 6. Thexsounds likess, but it becomeszbefore a vowel, as insix amis.
- Septmeans 7. Ignore the writtenpwhen saying the word.
- Huitmeans 8.
- Neufmeans 9. Itsfcan rarely turn into avliaison before certain vowel-initial words, includingneuf ansandneuf heures.
- Dixmeans 10. Likesix, itsxsounds likessalone and likezin a liaison:dix amis.
Say the complete sequence aloud:un, deux, deux amis, trois, trois amis, quatre, cinq, six, six amis, sept, huit, neuf, neuf heures, dix, dix amis.
Why might a language use linking sounds, and what do they do for connected French speech?
They join neighboring words in spoken French, including cases where an otherwise silent final consonant becomes audible before a vowel.
Using “C’est”
Use c’est to say “it is,” identify something, add emphasis, or describe a person with a noun and an indefinite article.
- Usec’estwith an adjective:C’est bon !means “It’s good!” andC’est mauvais !means “It’s bad!” Here,bonandmauvaisusually concern taste;bienandmalcan address larger ideas such as good and evil.
- Use it to identify a person or thing:Qui est-ce ? — C’est Jean.andQu’est-ce que c’est ? — C’est un gâteau.
- Use it for emphasis:C’est du maïs ! C’est la plus belle des choses !
- Use it for a person described by a noun with an indefinite article:C’est un hommeorC’est une ingénieure.
Withil estorelle est, a profession appears without an indefinite article:Elle est ingénieure. Withc’est, include the article:C’est une ingénieure.
“Aller” and the Near Future
Memorize the irregular present forms of aller, then place an unchanged infinitive after them to express an upcoming action.
Allermeans “to go.” Although its infinitive ends in-er, it is irregular, so its present-tense forms must be learned individually.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| je | vais |
| tu | vas |
| il/elle | va |
| nous | allons |
| vous | allez |
| ils/elles | vont |
- Je vais manger— I’m going to eat.
- Elle va parler— She is going to speak.
- Je vais aller à la piscine— I’m going to go to the swimming pool.
- Nous allons aller à la piscine— We are going to go to the swimming pool.
Choosing Location Prepositions
The required preposition depends on whether the place is a country, a city, or an ordinary location noun.
For countries, French distinguishes masculine, feminine, and plural names. This classification determines the form used for movement, position, or origin.
Countries
| Country type | Preposition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | au | Je vais au Canada. Elle est au Canada. |
| Feminine | en | Je vais en France. Elle est en France. |
| Plural | aux | Je vais aux États-Unis. Elle est aux États-Unis. |
| Country type | Preposition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | du | Je suis du Canada. |
| Feminine | de | Je suis de France. |
| Plural | des | Je suis des États-Unis. |
Cities
A city takesàfor “to” or “in” anddefor “from.” The city’s gender does not change these choices.
- Je vais à Paris.
- Je suis à New-York.
- Je suis de Paris.
Ordinary Place Nouns
For a place expressed as an ordinary noun, combineàwith its definite article. The combinationsà leandà lesare replaced by contracted forms.
| Article | Combined form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| le | au | to/at the, masculine singular |
| la | à la | to/at the, feminine singular |
| l’ | à l’ | to/at the, before a vowel |
| les | aux | to/at the, plural |
- Je vais au supermarchéusesaubecausele supermarchéis masculine.
- Nous allons à la piscineusesà lawith the feminine nounla piscine.
- Ils vont au restaurantusesauwithle restaurant.
- Je vais aux pucesusesauxbecauseles pucesis plural.
Practice Across the Lesson
Read each sentence aloud and notice the relevant liaison, verb form, or location expression.
- J’ai deux amis.Link the final letter ofdeuxto the vowel inamiswith azsound.
- C’est un homme.Thetconnects beforeun.
- Le gâteau, c’est bon !No special liaison is indicated here.
- Je vais aller au supermarché.The finalsinvaislinks toallerasz, andauis one sound.
- Nous allons à la piscine.Thesinnousbecomes a linkingz.
- Ils vont manger au restaurant.No liaison followsilsbecausevontbegins with a consonant.
- Ils vont au restaurant.
- Je suis de France.No liaison is needed.
- Je suis en France.The finalsofsuislinks toenasz.
- Elle est du Canada.No liaison is indicated.
- Elle est au Canada.The formauis a single syllable.
- Vous êtes à New-York.The finalsofêteslinks beforeàasz.
- Vous êtes de New-York.The samezliaison followsêtes.
- Nous parlons anglais des États-Unis.The finalsofdesbecomes azbeforeÉtats-Unis.
Common misconceptions
Watch out: A profession must always appear without an article.
Instead: The article is omitted after il est or elle est, as in Elle est ingénieure. After c’est, use an indefinite article: C’est une ingénieure.
Watch out: Use à le and à les before ordinary location nouns.
Instead: French replaces à le with au and à les with aux: Je vais au supermarché and Je vais aux puces.
Lesson recap
- Numbers two, three, six, and ten use a z liaison before a vowel; neuf can use a v liaison in the examples given.
- C’est handles “it is,” identification, emphasis, and person nouns introduced by an indefinite article.
- The present forms are vais, vas, va, allons, allez, and vont; adding an infinitive creates the near future.
- Country prepositions depend on gender and number, while cities use à for “to/in” and de for “from.”
- With ordinary places, à combines with articles as au, à la, à l’, or aux.