September 27, 2003
Negation
You don't have any!? Using negation in French.
You have to pay close attention when using French negations. Remember that the formula in French is:
SUBJECT + NE + VERB + PAS + DE + NOUN (Singular or Plural)
Now let's put our formula into practice:
J'ai un livre. I have a book.
Je n'ai pas de livre. I don't have a book.
J'ai des livres. I have some books.
Je n'ai pas de livres. I don't have any books.
Did you follow? Let's try a feminine noun:
J'ai une lampe. I have a lamp.
Je n'ai pas de lampe. I don't have a lamp.
J'ai des lampes. I have some lamps.
Je n'ai pas de lampes. I don't have any lamps.
Shall we do one more?
J'ai une affiche. I have a poster.
Je n'ai pas d'affiche. I don't have a poster.
J'ai des affiches. I have some posters.
Je n'ai pas d'affiches. I don't have any posters.
Remember: 'PAS DE' sometimes comes out sounding like 'PAD' on the CD.
Plurals
Did you say 'le chat' or 'les chats'?
If you have noticed yet, the French /s/ put on the end of the noun to make it plural is present, but it doesn't make a sound! That's right. In most cases the singular and the plural noun sound exactly the same when you are speaking! The only time you can tell the difference is when you are writing. That is why it is of utmost importance that you pronounce the definite articles 'le', 'la', and 'les' correctly.
Notice the singular and the plural of some of the nouns that we have gone over in class:
| Singulier |
Pluriel |
le cahier
(the notebook) |
les cahiers
(the notebooks) |
le chat
(the cat) |
les chats
(the cats) |
l'étudiant
(the male student) |
les étudiants
(the female student) |
l'étudiante
(the female student) |
les éstudiants
(the female students) |
la voiture
(the car) |
les voitures
(the cars) |
la date
(the date) |
les dates
(the dates) |
The Definite Article:
Is it 'le' or 'la'?
French grammar, like many other grammars, assigns gender to every one of its nouns. Often, the assignment is completely arbitrary. However, there are several ways you can learn to remember the gender of a noun. For now we will focus on the way I think is most effective.
The best way to remember the definite article is to learn the article along with the noun. So, when you learn the word for house — maison — don't just think of the word as maison. Think of the word as la maison. When you learn a noun in this way, if you ever make a mistake, it will sound 'wrong' even to your newly-trained ears.
La grammaire! OO la la!!!!!
Planète Française's grammar page will reinforce the grammar we are learning in class. I will add some additional instruction here when class time does not permit.
I encourage you to send an E-mail asking questions you have about French grammar.
*This is the first step toward THE One World Language.
Steps A & B: *The imperative is soothed by the interrogative.
Planète Française is ruled by Dr. Todd Alden Marshall, professor of Russian and Slavic Linguistics at the University of Central Arkansas. An independent entity in the CornDancer consortium of planets, Planète Française is dedicated to the study and exploration of the French language. CornDancer is a developmental website for the mind and spirit maintained by webmistress Freddie A. Bowles of the Planet Earth. Submissions are invited.
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