French Foundations: Lessons 1–10 and TCF/TEF Canada Preparation

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering grammar rules, test formats, and core vocabulary from Lessons 1 to 10 of the French Beginner TCF/TEF Canada pathway.

TCF Canada and TEF Canada

French language proficiency tests accepted for Canadian Express Entry that evaluate four skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking.

NCLC 7

The Canadian language benchmark level in all four French skills that can award an applicant 25 or 50 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points depending on their English test results.

Beginner Study Pathway (October to May)

A 20–25 hour-per-week study plan totaling 550–800 planned hours, progressing from Foundations (Oct), A1 (Nov–Dec), A2 (Jan–Feb), targeted exam tasks (Mar–Apr), to official practice and test-taking in May.

Lessons 1–10 Recall Exam Format

A classroom recall test consisting of 60 questions worth 70 marks total, taken in 75–90 minutes written plus approximately 5 minutes of recorded speaking across Sections A to F.

je / tu / il / elle

Singular French subject pronouns meaning: je = I; tu = you (one familiar person); il = he / it; elle = she / it.

nous / vous / ils / elles

Plural French subject pronouns meaning: nous = we; vous = you (formal singular or plural); ils = they (masculine or mixed group); elles = they (all feminine).

être (present tense)

To be: je suis (I am), tu es (you are), il/elle est (he/she is), nous sommes (we are), vous êtes (you are), ils/elles sont (they are).

être (imparfait)

Past state or description ('was / were'): j’étais (I was), tu étais (you were), il/elle était (he/she was), nous étions (we were), vous étiez (you were), ils/elles étaient (they were).

avoir (present tense)

To have: j’ai (I have), tu as (you have), il/elle a (he/she has), nous avons (we have), vous avez (you have), ils/elles ont (they have).

aller (present tense)

To go (used to form the near future): je vais (I am going), tu vas (you are going), il/elle va (he/she is going), nous allons (we are going), vous allez (you are going), ils/elles vont (they are going).

Near Future Construction (aller + infinitive)

A grammatical pattern formed by combining a conjugated present-tense form of aller with an unchanged dictionary-form infinitive (e.g., 'Je vais visiter le musée demain').

Passé Composé with avoir

A compound past tense used for completed actions, formed using the present tense of avoir followed by a past participle ending in -é for regular -er verbs (e.g., visiter → visité).

un / une / des

Indefinite articles meaning: un = a/an before masculine singular nouns; une = a/an before feminine singular nouns; des = some before plural nouns.

le / la / l’ / les

Definite articles meaning 'the': le = masculine singular; la = feminine singular; l’ = singular before a vowel sound; les = plural.

des (dual meaning)

A French word that can either serve as an indefinite plural article meaning 'some' (e.g., 'des fleurs') or as a contraction of de + les meaning 'of the' or 'from the' (e.g., 'la porte des bureaux').

ce / cet / cette / ces

Demonstrative adjectives meaning 'this / that' or 'these / those': ce (masculine consonant), cet (masculine vowel/silent h), cette (feminine singular), ces (any plural).

son / sa / ses

Possessive adjectives meaning 'his / her': son = before a masculine singular noun (or feminine noun starting with a vowel); sa = before a feminine singular noun; ses = before plural nouns.

nos

A possessive adjective meaning 'our' used before plural nouns (e.g., 'nos amis' = our friends).

Prepositions with places (à / en / au / aux)

Geographic prepositions meaning 'in/to': à before cities; en before Ontario and feminine countries; au before masculine countries; aux before plural countries.

en ville vs. dans la maison

'En ville' is a set expression meaning 'in the city / downtown', whereas 'dans' denotes physically being inside a specific space like 'dans la maison' (inside the house).

près de / loin de / à côté de

Prepositional phrases indicating position: près de = near; loin de = far from; à côté de = next to. Note: de + le becomes du, and de + les becomes des.

ne … pas

The standard French negation structure placed around a conjugated verb; before a vowel, 'ne' contracts to 'n’', and indefinite articles (un/une/des) change to 'de' after negative avoir.

Est-ce que / Est-ce qu’

A phrase placed at the beginning of a statement to turn it into a yes/no question without inverting the subject and verb.

French Question Words

Interrogative words: où (where), quand (when), qui (who), pourquoi (why), comment (how), qu’est-ce que (what).

Connectors: et / mais / parce que

Conjunctions used to link clauses and ideas: et = and; mais = but; parce que = because.

Je voudrais

A polite phrase meaning 'I would like', commonly paired with a noun or an infinitive to make polite requests or order items.

pouvoir (present: je peux / Pouvez-vous)

To be able to / can; used in polite inquiries such as 'Est-ce que je peux…?' (Can I…?) or 'Pouvez-vous…?' (Can you…?).

s’il vous plaît

A polite expression meaning 'please' (formal or plural).

en espèces / par carte

Payment expressions: 'en espèces' means 'in cash'; 'par carte' means 'by card'.

bonjour / bonsoir / salut / au revoir

Basic greetings and farewells: bonjour = hello / good morning; bonsoir = good evening; salut = hi (informal); au revoir = goodbye.

Comment ça va ? / Ça va bien

Everyday greeting exchange: 'Comment ça va ?' = How are you?; 'Ça va bien' (or 'Je vais bien, merci') = I am doing well / fine, thank you.

un voisin / des voisins

A neighbor / neighbors.

un enfant / des enfants

A child / children.

un étudiant / une étudiante

A male student / a female student.

un débutant / une débutante

A male beginner / a female beginner.

une amie / un ami

A female friend / a male friend.

une famille

A family.

une gare

A train station.

un arrêt de bus

A bus stop.

un quartier

A neighborhood.

un village

A village.

la campagne

The countryside.

une pharmacie

A pharmacy.

une banque

A bank.

un musée

A museum.

un marché

A market.

un bureau

An office or a desk.

un passeport

A passport.

un appareil photo

A camera.

un sac à dos

A backpack.

une valise

A suitcase.

une clé / des clés

A key / some keys.

un billet de train

A train ticket.

un arbre / des arbres

A tree / some trees.

un journal / des journaux

A newspaper / some newspapers.

un gâteau

A cake.

une pomme

An apple.

du pain

Some bread.

des légumes

Vegetables / some vegetables.

un manteau

A coat.

une chemise

A shirt.

une jupe

A skirt.

des chaussures

Shoes.

calme

Calm or quiet.

ouvert / ouverte / ouverts / ouvertes

Open; agrees in gender and number: ouvert (masculine singular), ouverte (feminine singular), ouverts (masculine plural), ouvertes (feminine plural).

occupé / occupée

Busy (masculine / feminine).

disponible

Available.

neuf / neuve

New (masculine / feminine).

chaud / chaude

Warm (masculine / feminine).

hier / aujourd’hui / maintenant / demain

Key time adverbs: hier = yesterday; aujourd’hui = today; maintenant = now; demain = tomorrow.

ce soir / bientôt / la semaine prochaine

Time phrases: ce soir = tonight; bientôt = soon; la semaine prochaine = next week.

parler / habiter / aimer

Core regular -er verbs: parler = to speak; habiter = to live; aimer = to like / love.

visiter / acheter / préparer

Everyday action verbs: visiter = to visit; acheter = to buy; préparer = to prepare.

regarder / écouter / étudier / chercher

Everyday verbs: regarder = to watch / look at; écouter = to listen; étudier = to study; chercher = to look for.

payer / prendre / répéter

Verbs used for errands and polite interactions: payer = to pay; prendre = to take; répéter = to repeat.

arriver / apprendre / manger / venir

Useful verbs: arriver = to arrive; apprendre = to learn; manger = to eat; venir = to come.

j’ai faim

An everyday expression meaning 'I am hungry' (literally, 'I have hunger').

un rendez-vous

An appointment or meeting.