In the grammar part of lesson 8,  we will learn in details possesive ant demonstrative adjectives. Then we will start the conjugation of the third group verbs which is the more difficult one, including for the French people. But don’t worry, we’ll proceed step by step.

 

Première partie : grammaire/First part : Grammar

 

Demonstrative adjectives

As in English, demonstrative adjective is used to indicate someone or something. But in French, it must agree in gender and in number with the noun it modify.

J’aime ce professeur. I like this/that teacher

Cette histoire est intéressante. This/that story is interesting.

Cet éléphant est très vieux. This/that elephant is very old.

Cette élection est truquée. This election is rigged.

As you can see in the belowing example, for one singular form in English, we find 3 different forms in French.

Ce is for the masculine noun. It can be removed by the definite article you know : LE

Cet is for the masculine noun beginning by a voyel. It can be removed by the definite article: L’

Cette is used for the feminine noun (beginning by a voyel or not)

Don’t worry, it’s easier for the plural : just one form for masculine and feminine nouns as in English.

Ces enfants ne mangent pas assez. These/Those children don’t eat enough.

 

In English, you have This or That to make a difference and be explicite with the demonstrative adjectives.

In French, you can mark this difference too but your listener can usually understand by the context which you mean, but if you want to stress one or the other, you can use the suffixes -ci (meaning here) or -là (meaning there).

Ce livre-ci est intéressant. This book is interesting.

Cette rose-là est magnifique. That rose is magnificent.

Ces enfants-ci sont plus sages que ces enfants-là. These children are wiser than those children.

But keep in mind, we use those forms in French only if the context is not clear or to compare two different people or things. But we’ll this in a future lesson, not now.

 

Possesive adjectives

 

Here is a great tab to sum up the different form of possesive adjectives in French

 

Singular                                                                                                   Plural

English             Masculine             Feminine            Before vowel
My                           Mon                       Ma                      Mon                     Mes
Your (tu form)        Ton                        Ta                       Ton                      Tes
His,her,its                Son                         Sa                        Son                     Ses
Our                          Notre                    Notre                   Notre                  Nos
Your (vous form)   Votre                    Votre                   Votre                   Vos
their                           leur                      leur                      leur                    Leurs

 

Now, you have to notice 2 points:

1. An important difference between French and English is that in French it is the gender of the noun that determines which form to use, not the gender of the subject.

A man would say ma voiture (my car) when talking about a car, and a woman would also say ma voiture : the car is femine in French.

 It doesn’t matter whether the owner of the car is male or female

Likewise, both men and women would say mon vélo (my bike) because vélo is masculine.

 

2. If you want describ 2 or more singular nouns in French, use a possessive adjective in front of each one:

Son père et sa mère His father and mother.

Votre fils et votre fille. Your daughter and son

 

Notice that to describ 2 or more plural nouns, you have the choice :

Ses frères et ses soeurs  OR Ses frères et soeurs. His brothers and sisters.

Tes neveux et tes nièces OR Tes neveux et nièces. Your nephews and nieces.

 

Seconde partie : Conjugaison /Second part : conjugation

The third group verbs are irregular. But don’t panic, we’ll learn them step by step.

Third group verbs 

You studied the second group verbs ending by -ir. It’s not the same here. Be careful.

1. The “partir” form

Partir (to leave)

Je pars

Tu pars

Il,elle, on part

Nous partons

Vous partez

Ils, elles partent

 

The others verbs like PARTIR:

sentir (to smell)
consentir (to grant)
pressentir (to have a premonition about something)
ressentir (to feel)
mentir (to lie)
démentir (to deny)
départir (to desist)
repartir (to leave again)
se repentir (to repent)
sortir (to go out)
ressortir (to go out again)

 

2. The “prendre” form

Prendre (to take)

Je prends

Tu prends

Il, elle, on prend

Nous prenons

Vous prenez

Ils, elles prennent

The other verbs like PRENDRE
apprendre (to learn)
comprendre (to understand)
détendre (to relax)
désapprendre (to unlearn)
entreprendre (to undertake, to begin)
s’éprendre (to become passionate)
se méprendre (to misunderstand)
réapprendre (to learn again)
reprendre (to resume, to continue)
surprendre (to surprise)

We’ll continue with others forms in the next lesson.