All About me

mon nom

My name

Comment tu t'appelles?
What are you called?

je m'appelle.........
I am called.......

Tu t'appelles Comment?
What are you called?

Comment vous-appelez vous?
What are you called?

Notice the words tu and vous. These both mean you. Vous is the formal way to address someone if you don't know them. It is also the plural form of you if you are addressing a group. Tu is the familiar form of you and is used between children and people who know each other.

Comment t'appelles-tu?
What are you called?

You can see that there are lots of ways to ask such a simple question! You choose the one you prefer but it is important to know that the word order can be changed in questions so that you recognise the question when it is being asked in a slightly different way.

French for Families 1 NA - Lesson 2 - PowerLanguage Courses

mon âge

My age

J'ai dix ans.
I am ten years old.

Quel âge as-tu?
What age are you?

Quel âge tu-as?
What age are you?

J'ai is used when saying your age this means I have. In French we say I have a certain number of years not I am a certain number of years.

Again, you can see the order of the question can be changed. Here is another example, tu as quel âge? And of course if you are asking someone you don't know vous avez quel âge?

French for Families 1 NA - Lesson 5 - PowerLanguage Courses

mon anniversaire

My birthday

C'est quand ton anniversaire?
When is your birthdaY?

Mon anniversaire est le ....
My birthday is the .......

Mon anniversaire est le cinq mars
Mon anniversaire est le vingt deux fevrier
C'est le dix septembre

Dates in French are easy because they don't use cardinal numbers except for the 1st- le premier
After this it is just numbers-
le deux, le trois, le quatre...

Quelle est le date de ton anniversaire?
What date is your birthday?

où j'habite

where i live

J'habite..........
I live...........

Où habites-tu?
Where do you live?

There are two ways to say in in French- à or en/au/aux
à is used when saying which village or town you live in. en/au/aux is used to say which country you live in.

Tu habites où?
Where do you live?

J'habite à Glasgow.
I live in Glasgow.

J'habite à Glasgow en Ecosse.

J'habite en Ecosse.
I live in Scotland.

Handy tip: when to use en or au
Use en with all feminine countries ending in e- you will discover that in French most countries end in e
au is for the countries which are masculine and don't end in e
aux is for plural countries (e.g U.S.A- Les Etats Unis)

..but guess what there are a few exceptions! le Mexique, le Belize, le Cambodge, le Zimbabwe, le Suriname and le Zaire are masculine.

French for Families 1 NA - Lesson 3 - PowerLanguage Courses

BBC Two - Virtually There, France, Let me introduce myself

Ma nationalité

My Nationality

Quelle est ta nationalité?
What is your nationality?

Je suis........
I am...........

Je suis écossaise

Quelle est votre nationalité?
What is your nationality?

Adding an e sometimes changes the pronunciation.
Here are some different nationalities:
anglais/e English
irlandais/e Irish
gallois/e Welsh
français/e French
italien/ne Italian
espagnol/e Spanish
allemand/e German

Notice écossais/écossaise. If you are female you need to add an e to the end of your nationality to make it feminine.

Je suis écossais

Notice nationality doesn't have a capital letter in French unless it is a proper noun. For example-Les Français (The French people)

French for Families 1 NA - Lesson 4 - PowerLanguage Courses

J'aime/je n'aime pas..

I like/I don't like...

Tu aimes.......?
Do you like....?

J'aime........
i love/like....

Vous-aimez.....?
Do you like....?

Est-ce que tu-aimes......?
Do you like...?

Je n'aime pas......
I don't like........

You may hear Tu aimes bien...? in French. This means like while the verb aimer on it's own conveys something stronger so you really like or love something! J'adore... is also a very clear way of expressing this!

Tu aimes bien.....?
Do you like...?

J'aime les fruits.
I like fruit.

J'aime le football.
I like football.

Je n'aime pas les legumes.
I don't like vegetables.

J'adore.....
I adore/love......

J'aime bien le rouge.
I like red.

BBC Two - Virtually There, France, My favourite hobby

To provide extension when talking about sports. you can say which sports you play or do.

Je joue/je fais

I play/ i do

Tu fais du sport ?

To say that you play or do a sport, you use jouer à (to play), if it’s a ball sport or faire de ‎‎(to do) if it’s any other sport. The good news is that ball sports are masculine so they take the form je joue au..... (The only exception- la pétanque- French bowls).

Handy: Most sports are the same or similar to English.

Qu'est-ce que tu fais comme sport?
What sports do you play?

Est-ce que tu fais du sport ?
Do you do any sports?

However,for faire de you need to agree with the noun: je fais de la... or je fais du... or je fais de l'... if the noun begins with a vowel.

Je joue au badminton.
I play badminton.

Je joue au footlall.
I play football.

Je fais de la danse.
I dance.

je fais du ski.
I ski.

Je fais de la natation.
I swim

je fais du vélo.
I cycle.

Je fais de l'athlétisme.
I do athletics

Two very important verbs for talking about yourself...

être et avoir

To be and to have

Lets look at what you can say about your self using these two verbs.

J'ai dix ans.

Je suis écossaise.
I am 10 years old.

Important for talking about your feelings, personality and your health.

Je suis...-I am...... J'ai....- I have.......

Je suis timide.
I am shy.

Je suis contente.
I am happy.

J'ai mal à la tête.
I have a sore head.

To talk about your physical appearance and your family and pets.

Je suis grande.
I am tall.

J'ai deux frères
I have two brothers.

J'ai un chat.
I have a cat.