French Lesson Review Flashcards

Leçon A: Au stade (At the Stadium)

  • Vocabulary:
    • Le football (soccer)
    • Un ballon de foot (soccer ball)
    • Les joueurs (m.) (players) portent… (wear…)
      • Le blason (team logo/crest)
      • Un maillot (jersey)
      • Un short (shorts)
      • Des chaussettes (f.) (socks)
      • Des chaussures (f.) (shoes)
    • Une équipe (team)
    • Les supporters (m.) (fans) portent… (wear…)
      • Une casquette (cap)
      • Une écharpe (scarf)
      • Un blouson (jacket)
    • Un abonnement (season tickets)
    • Un club (club/association)
    • Des gants (m.) (gloves)
    • Un siège (seat)
    • Un supporter (fan)
    • Un survêtement (track suit)
    • Le vestiaire (locker room)
  • Example: Le footballeur Antoine Griezmann joue au foot pour l'équipe Club Atlético, contre Levante. Il marque un but! Est-ce que son équipe va gagner ou perdre? (The soccer player Antoine Griezmann plays soccer for the team Club Atlético, against Levante. He scores a goal! Will his team win or lose?)
    *FIFA.com mention

En ville (In the City)

  • Vocabulary:
    • Une bouche de métro (subway entrance)
    • Un ticket de métro (subway ticket)
  • Pour la conversation (For conversation):
    • How do I give a reason?
      • Je vais soutenir Marseille parce qu'ils sont les meilleurs. (I'm going to support Marseille because they're the best.)
    • How do I set a time and place to meet someone?
      • Rendez-vous à 3h00 devant la bouche du métro. (Let's meet at 3:00 in front of the subway entrance.)
    • How do I suggest a different time?
      • Disons 3h15. (Let's say 3:15.)
  • Et si je voulais dire…? (What if I wanted to say…?):
    • Un abonnement (season tickets)
    • Un club (soccer association/club)
    • Des gants (m.) (gloves)
    • Un siège (seat)
    • Un supporter (fan)
    • Un survêtement (track suit)
    • Le vestiaire (locker room)

Points de départ: Le football en France (Soccer in France)

  • Soccer (le football, also known as le foot) has been the most popular sport in France since 1880.
  • It is still the most practiced sport by more than two million licensed players in 18,000 soccer clubs.
  • It is the most watched sport during national televised competitions.
  • The French national soccer team is called l'équipe de France, referred to as les Bleus (the Blues).
  • Professional soccer clubs are in major cities, including Paris, Lille, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, and also in the principality of Monaco.
  • Amateur soccer and women's soccer are practiced in smaller cities.
  • Young players can begin playing in competitions at age 14.
  • Le Parc des Princes est le stade du PSG à Paris. (Le Parc des Princes is the stadium of PSG in Paris.)
  • La Coupe du monde de football (World Cup) is an international soccer competition organized every four years by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association).
  • Le Championnat d'Europe des Nations is a more recent competition (1960) organized among European soccer teams in the UEFA (Union des Associations Européennes de Football). It takes place in even years, every four years, alternating with the World Cup.
  • En France, le sport est obligatoire (mandatory) au collège et au lycée pour tous les élèves. (In France, sport is mandatory in middle and high school for all students.)
  • Il y a aussi des associations sportives au lycée, pour ceux (those) qui veulent faire plus de sport. (There are also sports associations in high school for those who want to do more sport.)
  • Two local soccer clubs have marked the history of French soccer: Marseille (l'OM) and Saint-Étienne (les Verts).
  • Today, the team of the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) includes international star players from South America, Germany, and Italy.
  • The various French national teams compete during la Coupe de France. (The various French national teams compete during the French Cup.)
  • PSG has been leading French soccer for the last few years, succeeding the Olympique de Lyon (l'OL) which was the dominant team for ten years.

Les meilleurs joueurs de foot (The Best Soccer Players)

  • L'équipe de France (les Bleus) won the World Cup in 1998 and 2018, and the European Cup in 1984 and 2000.
  • They were the world runner-up in 2006 and the European runner-up in 2016.
  • The team's most famous players have been Michel Platini, Eric Cantona, Zinédine Zidane, Thierry Henry, and, today, Franck Ribéry, Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kanté, Kylian Mbappé, and Antoine Griezmann.
  • Paul Pogba also plays for the Manchester United team at the local level. In 2016, his 104-million euro transfer from Juventus to Manchester United was the most expensive in history.

Structure de la langue: Aller + INFINITIVE (To go + Infinitive)

  • To say what you are going to do in the near future, use a present tense form of aller followed by an infinitive.
    • Je vais soutenir le PSG. (I am going to support PSG.)
    • Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire? (What are you going to do?)
    • Je vais aller au match. (I'm going to go to the game.)
    • Et vous, Karim et Nayah, qu'est-ce que vous allez faire? (And you, Karim and Nayah, what are you going to do?)
    • Nous allons regarder le match à la télé. (We are going to watch the game on TV.)
    • Karim va gagner le match? (Will Karim win the game?)
  • To say what you are not going to do, put ne (n') before the form of aller and pas after it.
    • Xavier ne va pas porter le maillot vert, parce qu'il est supporter du PSG. (Xavier isn't going to wear the green jersey, because he is a PSG fan.)
    • Sarah va porter un blouson. (Sarah is going to wear a jacket.)

Forming Questions

  • n'est-ce pas (isn't that so)
    • One way to ask a question in spoken French is to add the expression n'est-ce pas to the end of a sentence.
    • It is usually used in a question that can be answered by saying oui or non.
      • C'est toujours un peu cher, n'est-ce pas? (It's still a bit expensive, isn't it?)
      • On aime beaucoup les soldes, n'est-ce pas? (We like sales a lot, don't we?)
  • Inversion
    • A more formal way to ask a question in French, especially in writing, is to invert, or reverse the order of, the verb and its subject pronoun.
      • verb - subject pronoun
        • Fait-il mauvais aujourd'hui? (Is the weather bad today?)
      • Note that a hyphen connects the verb and its subject pronoun.
      • Inverting the subject pronoun je and its verb is not common. Instead, to form a question with je, use est-ce que, or raise your voice at the end of the sentence.
        • Est-ce que j'ai besoin d'un ticket? (Do I need a ticket?)
      • When il, elle, or on is the subject of a question and the verb form ends in a vowel, add a t between the verb and its subject pronoun. This t is pronounced.
        • Quand porte-t-il le blason? (When does he wear the team logo?)
      • Inversion only occurs with pronouns. If the subject of the sentence is a noun, add the appropriate pronoun after the verb. This pronoun corresponds with the subject noun in gender and in number.
        • Les footballeurs portent-ils le maillot bleu pour le match? (Do the soccer players wear the blue jersey for the game?)
        • Sonia va-t-elle acheter un ballon de foot? (Is Sonia going to buy a soccer ball?)
        • Marcel va-t-il marquer un but? (Is Marcel going to score a goal?)

Leçon B: Au café (At the Cafe)

  • Vocabulary:
    • Avoir faim (to be hungry)
      • J'ai faim! (I'm hungry!)
    • Un croque-monsieur (grilled ham and cheese sandwich)
    • Un sandwich au fromage (cheese sandwich)
    • Un sandwich au jambon (ham sandwich)
    • Une omelette (omelet)
    • Une quiche (quiche)
    • Un steak-frites (steak and fries)
    • Les desserts (desserts)
      • Une glace à la vanille (vanilla ice cream)
      • Une glace au chocolat (chocolate ice cream)
      • Une crêpe (crepe)
    • Avoir soif (to be thirsty)
      • J'ai soif! (I'm thirsty!)
    • Les boissons (drinks)
      • Un jus d'orange (orange juice)
      • Une limonade (lemonade)
      • Un coca (coke)
      • Un café (coffee)
      • Une eau minérale (mineral water)
      • Un café au lait (coffee with milk)
      • Un citron pressé (freshly squeezed lemonade)
      • Un lait au chocolat (chocolate milk)
      • Une menthe à l'eau (mint-flavored syrup)
      • Un Orangina (orange soda)
      • Un thé (tea)
    • Un croque-madame (croque-monsieur with egg on top)
    • Un sandwich au pâté (pâté sandwich)
  • Les nombres de 100 à 1 000 (Numbers from 100 to 1,000):
    • 100: cent
    • 1,000: mille
    • 101: cent un
    • 102: cent deux
    • 200: deux cents
    • 201: deux cent un
    • 202: deux cent deux
    • 300: trois cents
    • 400: quatre cents
    • 500: cinq cents
    • 600: six cents
    • 700: sept cents
    • 800: huit cents
    • 900: neuf cents
  • Pour la conversation (For conversation):
    • What will the server ask?
      • Vous désirez? (What would you like?)
      • Et comme boisson? (And to drink?)
      • Vous avez choisi? (Have you decided?)
    • How do I order in a café or restaurant?
      • Donnez-moi la spécialité du jour. (Give me the daily special.)
      • Je vais prendre le menu fixe. (I'll take the fixed-price menu.)
    • How do I ask for the bill?
      • L'addition, s'il vous plaît. (The check, please.)

Points de départ: Les cafés et les bistros (Cafes and Bistros)

  • At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 500,000 cafés and bistros in France. Today about 29,000 remain.
  • The French still think of the corner café as a place where regulars gather to talk about what's going on in the neighborhood and where friends meet to catch up on each other's lives.
  • Today's cafés and bistros are geared to a different clientele: friends watch their favorite sporting events (rugby, soccer); couples enjoy quality cuisine at affordable prices; students read books, use the café's wifi, or even organize debates; and families with young children enjoy the ambiance of specialized cafés.
  • Traditional sandwicheries are places where one can purchase a sandwich or light meal.
  • Today a new generation is attracted to places combining café and restaurant services: McCafé, Starbucks, Brioche Dorée, and Paul.
  • In order to survive modern expansion, bistros in small villages now have diversified offerings such as postal service, magazines, and games. Some even provide home meal delivery for elderly people.
  • Croissants are served in many French cafés. Similar in shape to an American crescent roll, it is a buttery, flaky bread or pastry.
  • The word croissant first appeared in a dictionary in 1863, and the first recipe was published in 1891, but it is unclear when the croissant was invented.
  • Many Parisian cafés have become famous over the years by authors who frequented them. In the 18th century, philosophers such as Voltaire would gather at Le Procope.
  • Later, existentialists such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir would meet at the Café de Flore or at Les Deux Magots in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood. Surrealists like André Breton assembled at the Café de la Place Blanche on the right bank, while the Dadaists chose the Café Certa.
  • In 1927, painters from the École de Paris decorated the columns of La Coupole, the café where American writers Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald met.
  • Le prix Goncourt delivers its literary awards every year at Drouant. Since the 1990s, some cafés have become spaces for discussion on philosophy, science, ethnology, news, and women's groups. The city of Montpellier has approximately 30 different theme-based cafés.
  • American writers Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein also met at La Coupole.

La nouvelle restauration rapide (The New Fast Food)

  • Fast food is often referred to as la malbouffe, a slang term for junk food that literally means "bad food."
  • Some of the first fast food restaurants were le McDo (McDonald's), Quick, KFC, and Pizza Hut, but other fast food chains multiplied rapidly.
  • Today much emphasis is placed on quality food, healthy produce guidelines, and tasteful fusion cuisines. As a result, popular fast food restaurants now provide healthier options: sushi kiosks, soup bars, juice bars, food trucks, boulangeries-traiteurs (deli-bakeries), and sandwicheries gastronomiques (shops selling high-quality and nutritious sandwiches).
  • The fast food industry has been considerably broadened with foods like crêpes garnies (crepes or wraps), bols (bowls), and boules de poisson ou de viande (fish or meat balls).
  • The sandwich le plus populaire en France est le sandwich au jambon. (The most popular sandwich in France is the ham sandwich.)
  • On le fait avec une demi-baguette, du jambon, des cornichons (pickles) et du beurre. (It is made with half a baguette, ham, pickles and butter.)
  • Les Français préfèrent le beurre à la mayonnaise dans leurs sandwichs. (The French prefer butter to mayonnaise in their sandwiches.)

Structure de la langue: Present Tense of the Irregular Verb prendre

  • The verb prendre means to take and is irregular.
  • Prendre can also mean to have when referring to having something to eat or drink.
  • Conjugation:
    • je prends
    • tu prends
    • il/elle/on prend
    • nous prenons
    • vous prenez
    • ils/elles prennent
  • Justine prend la robe rouge ou la robe bleue? (Is Justine taking the red dress or the blue dress?)
  • Qu'est-ce que tu prends? (What are you taking? What are you having?)
  • Je prends mon cahier d'histoire. (I'm taking my history notebook.)
  • The d is pronounced [t] in the inverted forms of il/elle/on: Prend-on une glace? (Are we having ice cream?)
  • Other verbs that follow the pattern of prendre include apprendre (to learn) and comprendre (to understand).

Leçon C: Au cinéma (At the Cinema)

  • Vocabulary:
    • Les genres (m.) des films (m.) (film genres)
      • Une comédie (comedy)
      • Une comédie romantique (romantic comedy)
      • Un film musical (musical film)
      • Un film d'aventures (adventure film)
      • Un film d'action (action film)
      • Un documentaire (documentary)
      • Un drame (drama)
      • Un film policier (police/detective film)
      • Un film de science-fiction (science fiction film)
      • Un thriller (thriller)
      • Un film d'horreur (horror film)
    • Le guichet (ticket window)
    • En avance (early)
    • À l'heure (on time)
    • En retard (late)
    • Un acteur (actor)
    • Une actrice (actress)
    • L'écran (m.) (screen)
    • Un billet de cinéma (movie ticket)
    • Chialer (to cry - slang)
    • Un navet (bad movie)
    • Le stand (concession stand)
      *Example: Jean Dujardin est un acteur et aussi un réalisateur. Lea Seydoux joue le rôle de l'amie de James Bond dans 007 Spectre. (Jean Dujardin is an actor and also a director. Lea Seydoux plays the role of James Bond's friend in 007 Spectre.)
  • Pour la conversation (For conversation):
    • How do I make a prediction?
      • Tu vas aimer ça. (You're going to like it.)
      • Tu vas rire. (You're going to laugh.)
      • Tu vas pleurer. (You're going to cry.)
    • How do I respond to a prediction?
      • Peut-être. (Maybe.)
      • On va voir. (We'll see.)

Points de départ: Le cinéma en France (Cinema in France)

  • The French film industry began at the end of the 19th century.
  • Today, studios such as Pathé and Gaumont produce about 220 films a year and distribute them to some 4,400 screens around France.
  • Every year, movie theaters sell more than 200 million tickets, approximately 85 million of them for movies produced in France.
  • The French film industry has managed to thrive over the years thanks in part to the financing it receives from private investments and the French government.
  • Money earned from taxes on private television channels and from the sale of movie tickets and DVDs are given back to the film industry to help pay for new productions.
  • Two events celebrate this success each year: les Césars, which primarily celebrates achievements in French cinema, is the French equivalent of the Academy Awards held in February; and the Cannes Film Festival, which celebrates international achievements, held on the Riviera in May.
  • Yet Paris remains the favorite city for moviegoers, with its arthouse cinemas, numerous film libraries, and organized events with moviemakers from around the world.
  • Some 450 movies are shown in Paris each week in 40 different languages.
  • Comedy is the most important genre in French cinema.
    *Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu? This comedy from film director Philippe de Chauveron came out in 2014 and brought in 175 million euros from all over the world. This movie about racial prejudices tells the story of a conservative notary father who, much to his dismay, must walk three of his daughters down the aisle to marry an Asian, Jewish, and Middle Eastern man. Then his last daughter announces she is marrying a good Catholic, who also happens to be black. The movie has been very successful in France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria.

Structure de la langue: Present Tense of the Irregular Verb voir

  • The verb voir (to see) is irregular.
  • Conjugation:
    • je vois
    • tu vois
    • il/elle/on voit
    • nous voyons
    • vous voyez
    • ils/elles voient
  • The shaded area shows the verb forms that all sound the same.
  • Spelling Tip: In the nous and vous forms, the i from the infinitive changes to y.
  • Quel film voyez-vous? (What film are you seeing?)
  • Nous voyons une comédie romantique. (We are seeing a romantic comedy.)
  • In France, les films dans les salles de cinéma sont classés en quatre catégories:
    *A. Tout public (everyone)
    *B. Interdit (unauthorized) aux moins de 12 ans
    *C. Interdit aux moins de 16 ans
    *D. Interdit aux moins de 18 ans