Learn French sentence by sentence

The course consists of a sequence of ordered lessons with each lesson containing groups of sentences with audio.

Each lesson contains French phrases with an English translation, and notes explaining key points.

The French Course

The Surface languages French course is for beginners. It gives an outline of the structure of the French language through using simple sentences. This will provide a basis for further progression in French, and provide a foundation for later and more advanced learning.

A few points before starting

The French language has both formal and informal forms of speech. Only the informal or tu form is used here.

Gender.French nouns are either masculine or feminine. The majority of nouns referring to men and boys are masculine. The majority of nouns which refer to woman and girls are feminine.

Most French nouns ending in a consonant are masculine, and most nouns ending in e are feminine, e.g. table 'table'. There are many exceptions which need to be learnt. For example, site 'site' or sable 'sand' despite ending with e are masculine.

Adjectives. Adjectives agree with nouns. This means that the ending of the adjective changes depending on whether the noun is singular, plural, masculine or feminine.

The French sentences in this course do not use complicated grammatical constructions, but still demonstrate many important concepts of basic French grammar.

For example, Lesson 11 illustrates negation and de 'the partitive article' in negative sentences.

Or Lesson 23 illustrating the basic use of Quand 'when' and Pourquoi 'why'.

Greetings and specific situations are covered within French phrases.

French Grammar. Resources

Lesson on French prepositions and articles - french.about.com