All the French 1 lessons on one page, chapter by chapter: each lesson explains the grammar and vocabulary in English, with examples in French. Back to the French 1 overview.
French 1 lessons by chapter
French 1 Lessons
Clear grammar and vocabulary lessons in English, every French example translated.
Saying hello, introducing yourself and spelling names
French greetings change with the time of day and the relationship: bonjour by day, bonsoir at night, salut with friends, au revoir to leave. Use tu…
Counting to 100, telling your age, phone numbers
French numbers from 0 to 100 are regular up to 69. After that, French counts in twenties: soixante-dix is 60 + 10 and quatre-vingts is 4…
Who is who: pronouns, être, nationalities and jobs
French has nine subject pronouns: je, tu, il, elle, on, nous, vous, ils, elles. The verb être (to be) is irregular: je suis, tu es, il…
Le, la, un, une: gender and school supplies
Every French noun is masculine or feminine, and its article shows which: le, un for masculine; la, une for feminine; les, des for plurals; l' before…
Counting things in plural and il y a
Most French nouns form the plural by adding -s, and that -s is silent, so un livre becomes des livres. Nouns in -eau and -eu take…
Talking about likes with -er verbs
Regular -er verbs form the present by dropping -er and adding -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent: je parle, nous parlons, ils parlent. Before a vowel…
Saying no with ne and pas
To make a French sentence negative, put ne before the conjugated verb and pas after it: Je ne parle pas allemand. Before a vowel or silent…
How to ask questions in French
French has four ways to ask a yes/no question: raise your voice (Tu parles français ?), add est-ce que, invert the verb and pronoun (Parles-tu français…
Having, needing and feeling with avoir
Avoir means "to have." It is irregular: j'ai, tu as, il/elle/on a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont. French also uses avoir, not être, for many…
Painting a portrait with French adjectives
French adjectives agree with the noun they describe in gender and number: add -e for feminine and -s for plural (grand, grande, grands, grandes). Most adjectives…
Introducing your family with mon, ma and mes
French possessive adjectives agree with the noun that is owned, not with the owner: mon/ma/mes (my), ton/ta/tes (your), son/sa/ses (his, her), notre/nos (our), votre/vos (your) and…
Going places and making plans in French
The verb aller (to go) is irregular: je vais, tu vas, il va, nous allons, vous allez, ils vont. Use it with à plus a place…
What time is it? clocks and schedules
Ask the time with Quelle heure est-il ? and answer with Il est + number + heure(s): Il est trois heures. Add et quart, et demie,…
Dates, seasons and the weather report
In French, days and months are written in lowercase: lundi, mardi, janvier, février. Give the date with le + number + month (le 12 mars) and…
Faire, sports and free-time activities
Faire means to do or to make: je fais, tu fais, il fait, nous faisons, vous faites, ils font. For sports and hobbies, use faire with…
Eating well: partitive articles and meals
The partitive article means some and shows an unspecified amount of food: du pain (masculine), de la soupe (feminine), de l'eau (vowel), des pâtes (plural). After…
Ordering politely at the café
Prendre (to take, to have) is conjugated je prends, nous prenons, ils prennent; apprendre and comprendre follow it. Boire (to drink) is je bois, nous buvons,…
Classes, timetables and favorite subjects
French school subjects take a definite article: le français, la musique, les maths. To give an opinion, use j'aime, je déteste or je préfère followed by…
Finishing, choosing and waiting: -ir and -re verbs
Regular -ir verbs like finir drop -ir and add -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent. Regular -re verbs like vendre drop -re and add -s, -s,…
Shopping for clothes with ce, cet, cette, ces
French demonstrative adjectives mean this, that, these and those: ce (masculine), cet (masculine before a vowel), cette (feminine) and ces (plural). Colors follow the noun and…