French II Review Guide: Chapters 7A and 8B

Chapter 8B – À Paris

Excusing Yourself

• Formal Excuse: Excusez-moi. (Used when addressing someone formally or multiple people).

• Informal Excuse: Excuse-moi. (Used when addressing a peer or someone you know well).

Talking About Past Events

• Consuming Coffee: J'ai fini mon café. (I finished my coffee).

• The First Day Activity: Le premier jour, j'ai mangé des croissants. (The first day, I ate croissants).

• The Fourth Day Activity: Le quatrième jour, nous avons vu la Tour Eiffel. (The fourth day, we saw the Eiffel Tower).

Paris Vocabulary: Locations and Landmarks

Comprehensive French Verb List

• cacher: to hide

• louer: to rent

• voler: to steal / to fly

• vider: to empty

• sembler: to seem

• mériter: to deserve

• casser: to break

• allumer: to turn on

• jurer: to swear

• échouer: to fail

• ajouter: to add

• causer: to cause

• gâter: to spoil

• sauver: to save

• rêver: to dream

• éviter: to avoid

• déchirer: to tear

• attraper: to catch

• blâmer: to blame

• ramasser: to pick up

• tirer: to pull

• oser: to dare

• briller: to shine

• prêter: to lend

• empêcher: to prevent

• dépenser: to spend

• emprunter: to borrow

• soigner: to care for

Famous Paris Monuments

Notre-Dame de Paris

• Construction Duration: It took approximately $182$ years to build, with construction spanning from $1163$ to $1345$.

• Annual Tourism: Traditionally attracted about $12$ to $13$ million visitors annually before the $2019$ fire.

• Literary Figures: The cathedral is the residence of the fictional character Quasimodo.

• Author: Victor Hugo wrote the famous novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris).

Eiffel Tower

• Global Recognition: Regarded as the universal symbol of Paris.

• Construction Timeline: It took exactly $2$ years, $2$ months, and $5$ days to build.

• Maintenance: The tower is repainted approximately every $7$ years.

• Material Specifics: The painting process requires approximately $60$ tons of paint.

• Inauguration Year: It was built in $1889$.

Arc de Triomphe

• Location: This monument stands at the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle.

French Past Tense: Le Passé Composé

Composition

• The tense is structured using three components: Subject + Helping Verb (Auxiliary) + Past Participle.

Formation of Past Participles

• -ER Verbs: Formed by using avoir + past participle ending in -é. Example: parler becomes parlé; manger becomes mangé.

• -IR Verbs: Formed by using avoir + past participle ending in -i. Example: finir becomes fini; grandir becomes grandi.

• -RE Verbs: Formed by using avoir + past participle ending in -u. Example: perdre becomes perdu; vendre becomes vendu.

Verb Conjugation Tables (Passé Composé)

Fouetter (to whip)

Grandir (to grow)

Perdre (to lose)

Translation Practice

• I talked to my mom: J'ai parlé à ma mère.

• They ate some pie: Ils ont mangé de la tarte.

• We played cards: Nous avons joué aux cartes.

• People finished their homework: On a fini ses devoirs.

• You all gained weight: Vous avez grossi.

• She blushed: Elle a rougi.

• You lost the game? Tu as perdu le match ?

• Me, I defended the house: Moi, j'ai défendu la maison.

• Madame, you returned the books: Madame, vous avez rendu les livres.

Negative Passé Composé

• To make the passé composé negative, place ne… pas around the helping/auxiliary verb.

• Ils ont attendu le bus. → Ils n'ont pas attendu le bus.

• Est-ce que tu as présenté ton ami ? → Est-ce que tu n'as pas présenté ton ami ?

• Vous avez prétendu à lire. → Vous n'avez pas prétendu lire.

• Il a bleui après la piscine. → Il n'a pas bleui après la piscine.

Irregular Past Participles Table

Adjectives: The B.A.G.S Rules

What is B.A.G.S.?

• Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size.

• Unlike most French adjectives, B.A.G.S. adjectives usually go before the noun.

• Exception: The adjective sympa(tique) (nice/friendly) describes a person's goodness but is positioned after the noun.

Irregular Forms Before a Vowel

When a masculine singular noun starts with a vowel or a silent 'h', special forms are used:

• beau becomes bel

• nouveau becomes nouvel

• vieux becomes vieil

Adjective Chart: Agreement and Spelling

Phrase Translations

• An old kitchen sink: un vieil évier de cuisine

• A new pillow: un nouvel oreiller

• The beautiful rugs: les beaux tapis

• The mean dogs: les méchants chiens

• The small shelves: les petites étagères

• The nice dryer: le gentil sèche-linge (or le bon sèche-linge)

• The cute chairs: les chaises mignonnes (Note: While mignon is listed as B.A.G.S, placement can vary, but here it is noted after the noun in the translation provided).

Chapter 7A – La Maison

Key Expressions

• At the end of the hallway is my room: Au bout du couloir se trouve ma chambre.

• I live in an apartment: J'habite dans un appartement.

• Where do you live? Où habites-tu ?

• I live in an apartment building: J'habite dans un immeuble.

• The bathroom is next to the living room: La salle de bains est à côté du salon.

• I don't think so: Je ne pense pas.

Ordinal Numbers

• Standard Rule: Add the suffix -ième to the number.

Irregular Ordinals and Specific Rules

• 1st: premier (masculine) / première (feminine).

• 5th: cinquième (an 'u' is added after the 'q').

• 9th: neuvième (the 'f' in neuf drops and is replaced by 'v').

List of Ordinals

• tenth: dixième

• first: premier / première

• seventh: septième

• twentieth: vingtième

• forty-second: quarante-deuxième

• sixty-ninth: soixante-neuvième

Cultural Comparison: Building Floors

• In France, the ground floor is called the rez-de-chaussée.

• The first floor above the ground floor is the premier étage.

• Therefore, an $18$-floor American building equals the $17^{e}$ étage in France.

Responding to Negative Questions

• In French, you do not use oui to answer "yes" to a question phrased in the negative.

• Si: Use this specifically to mean "yes" in response to a negative question.

Examples

• As-tu un jardin ? (Positive question) → Oui.

• Nous allons au théâtre ce week-end ? (Positive question) → Oui.

• Vous n'allez pas au concert ? (Negative question: "You aren't going to the concert?") → Si. (Yes, we are).

• Est-ce qu'il n'a pas d'amis ? (Negative question: "Doesn't he have friends?") → Si. (Yes, he does).

• Ose-t-elle venir ? (Positive question) → Oui.