Spanish lesson 1: NOUNS
Nouns are the naming words in a language; such as man, waiter, hotel,
house, girl, flower. The important thing to remember about Spanish nouns
is that they are either masculine or feminine (male or female). In other
words, each Spanish noun falls into one of these two 'gender' categories.
MASCULINE NOUNS
i.e. el hombre (the man)
i.e. los hombres (the men)
NOTES ON MASCULINE NOUNS
In the singular, 'el' means 'the'
In the plural, 'los' means 'the'
The 's' on the noun (hombres) in the second example makes it plural
FEMININE NOUNS
i.e. la casa (the house)
i.e. las casas (the houses)
NOTES ON FEMININE NOUNS
In the singular, 'la' means 'the'
In the plural, 'las' means 'the'
The 's' on the noun (casas) in the second example makes it plural
NOTES ON ALL NOUNS
If the noun ends in a consonant, add 'es' in the plural.
EXAMPLES:
The hotel/s ... el hotel - los hoteles (masculine)
The flower/s ... la flor - las flores (feminine)
Homework: MAKE THESE NOUNS PLURAL!
The dog ... el perro
The book ... el libro
The teacher ... el profesor
The hospital ... el hospital
The rose ... la rosa
The shop ... la tienda
The woman ... la mujer
The beer ... la cerveza
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
The dogs ... los perros
The books ... los libros
The teachers ... los profesores
The hospitals ... los hospitales
The roses ... las rosas
The shops ... las tiendas
The women ... las mujeres
The beers ... las cervezas
So, how did you get on?
*** *** ***
ADJECTIVES are the describing words in a language; such as red, big,
attractive, new.
The important thing to remember about Spanish adjectives is that they
MUST AGREE with the nouns they describe. If the noun is masculine, so
must its describing adjective. Similarly, if the noun is singular, so
must the adjective be.
Let's use the nouns from last time to illustrate this.
MASCULINE NOUNS PLUS ADJECTIVES
i.e. el hombre grande (the big man)
i.e. los hombres grandes (the big men)
i.e. el hospital nuevo (the new hospital)
i.e. los hospitales nuevos (the new hospitals)
FEMININE NOUNS PLUS ADJECTIVES
i.e. la casa roja (the red house)
i.e. las casas rojas (the red houses)
i.e. la tienda nueva (the new shop)
i.e. las tiendas nuevas (the new shops)
NOTES ON ADJECTIVES
put your adjective after the noun (in English we do it the other way
round)
add 's' to make your adjective plural
change the 'o' on the end of the adjective to an 'a' to make it feminine
Homework: MAKE THESE NOUN + ADJECTIVE COMBINATIONS PLURAL!
The big dog ... el perro grande
The new book ... el libro nuevo
The good teacher ... el profesor bueno
The red rose ... la rosa roja
The new shop ... la tienda nueva
The attractive woman ... la mujer guapa
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked
The big dogs ... los perros grandes
The new books ... los libros nuevos
The good teachers ... los profesores buenos
The red roses ... las rosas rojas
The new shops ... las tiendas nuevas
The attractive women ... las mujeres guapas
How did you do?
*** *** ***
VERBS are the 'doing' or 'action' words in a language; such as eat,
drink, do, think, jump.
Verbs in Spanish fall into the Irregular or Regular categories.
Irregular verbs do not 'behave', but regular ones follow a standard
formula. It's these we'll have a look at now.
There are 3 Groups of regular verbs, those which end in -ar, -er, and -ir.
Given that -ir verbs are less common in Spanish, we'll focus on -ar and -
er.
Here's an example of a common -ar verb: HABLAR (to speak). It goes like
this:
hablo - I speak
hablas - You speak
habla - He/She/It speaks
hablamos - We speak
hablaís - You speak (plural)
hablan - They speak
So, the trick is this. Take only the 'stem' of the verb (all except the
last two letters) and add the following endings: o, as, a, amos, aís, an
Here's another example. FUMAR (to smoke)
fumo - I smoke
fumas - You smoke
fuma - He/She/It smokes
fumamos - We smoke
fumaís - You smoke (plural)
fuman - They smoke
Check out the endings! Just like the HABLAR example.
-er verbs are almost identical. Just alter the -a after the verb stem to
an -e. Like this:
COMER (to eat)
como - I eat
comes - You eat
come - He/She/It eats
comemos - We eat
comeís - You eat (plural)
comen - They eat
Hey, we're just about ready to make sentences now, so hang on until the
next free class. Meanwhile, here's this week's homework. It shouldn't
present you with any difficulties, as long as you follow the pattern.
Good luck.
According to the examples given above, write out in full the following 5
verbs:
We now know that VERBS are the 'doing' or 'action' words in a language;
such as eat, drink, do, think, jump.
We also know that verbs in Spanish fall into an Irregular or Regular
category.
Time now to see what happens to IRREGULAR verbs.
We'll look at the verb SER as a first example because it's the most
important verb in Spanish (so many of the irregular verbs are those most
commonly used in a language).
Trouble is, these verbs do not behave as we might hope - hence the tag
'irregular'. Just look what happens to this one:
SER 'To be'
Soy - I am
Eres - You are
Es - He is
Somos - We are
Sois - You are (plural)
Son - They are
You've got to memorise all the forms of these irregulars when you come
across them because they contain little or no pattern to help you (unlike
the formulaic regular verbs).
Anyway, SER is used to talk about origin and characteristics:
Soy de Londres (I am from London)
Soy inglés (I am English)
Have a look at this:
Eres inglés - You are English
Eres inglés? - Are you English?
No eres ingles - You are not English
No eres ingles? - Aren't you English?
Eres ingles, no? - You are English, aren't you?
See how it works? If in doubt, look again - the patterns are simple
(linguistically speaking!) and logical.
So, now to the homework - short sentences in English to be translated
into Spanish. First, some adjectives: irlandés (irish), escocés (scottish).
Use the model above to make your answers.
1. You are Scottish
2. Is he English?
3. You are not Irish
4. She is English, isn't she?
5. Aren't you (plural) Scottish?
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
5. Aren't you (plural) Scottish?
No sois escoceses?
How did you do?
*** *** ***
In the last edition I introduced SER (to be) as the key irregular verb in
the Spanish language. Now to an irregular verb which is not only common;
it is also used in a nice grammatical formula to express the future.
IR (to go)
Voy - I go
Vas - You go
Va - He/She/It goes
Vamos - We go
Vais - You go (plural)
Van - They go
It's an unusual looking verb alright, but try to get used to it because
it'll enable you to talk about future events in Spanish, not just things
happening in what's called the Present Simple tense (that's the one we've
seen so far).
Before we see the Future in action, you might recognise 'Vamos!' ('Let's
go!) They often use that one in the Western movies.
Look at this: Voy a hablar español - I am going to to speak Spanish. NOW
WE ARE INTO THE FUTURE!!
It's all about following this formula: IR + A + INFINITIVE OF VERB (in
the above example 'to speak')
Here's another example: Vas a comer patatas fritas? - Are you going to
eat chips?
Returning to Vamos for a moment, check this one out: Vamos a tomar una
cerveza! - We are going to drink a beer, or Let's drink a beer!
Homework time now. Translate these into Spanish:
1. She is not going to travel
2. I am going to work in the house
3. Are you (plural) going to learn Spanish?
4. We are going to drink beer in the bar
5. Let's eat!
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
1. She is not going to travel No va a viajar
2. I am going to work in the house Voy a trabajar en la casa
3. Are you (plural) going to learn Spanish? ¿Vaís a aprender español?
4. We are going to drink beer in the bar Vamos a beber cerveza en el bar
5. Let's eat! Vamos a comer!
How did you do?
*** *** ***
Last time we looked at a new tense - the future. You should now be in
position to do more with verbs.
Communicating in a foreign language is often about Question and Answer,
so let's check out how to form some common questions. We've already seen
how easy it is to form basic questions in Spanish - just add a question
mark and speak your sentence in the style of a question. For example:
Estás bien - you are well ... ¿Estás bien? - are you well?
Here now are some of the common 'question words' (and how to pronounce
them) used to start sentences in Spanish:
¿Cómo? komo how
¿Qué? kay what
¿Por qué? pour kay why
¿Cuál? kwal which
¿Cuándo? kwando when
¿Cuánto? kwanto how much
¿Cuántos? kwantoss how many
¿Quién? key-en who ¿Dónde? donday where
Here are a few in action:
¿Dónde estás? where are you?
¿Quién es? who is it?
¿Cuánto es? how much is it?
¿Cómo están? how are they?
By the way, do you like the upside-down ¿question mark? The Spanish
language uses ¿ to denote where the question begins and ? to show where
it ends. For example, "Buenós días, ¿Cómo estás?" Hello, how are you?
To do the upside-down question mark press ALT 168 on your keyboard.
Now for the homework. Translate these from English-Spanish, or
Spanish-English, as appropriate
1. What is it?
2. Who are they?
3. Why do you live in England?
4. ¿Qué es un libro?
5. ¿Cuántas personas viven en la casa?
6. ¿Cuándo vas a beber el agua?
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
1. What is it? ¿Qué es?
2. Who are they? ¿Quiénes son?
3. Why do you live in England? ¿Por qué vives en Inglaterra?
4. ¿Qué es un libro? What is a book?
5. ¿Cuántas personas viven en la casa? How many people live in the house?
6. ¿Cuándo vas a beber el agua? When are you going to drink the water?
*****
How did you get on with those?
Notice how in Question 6. the future tense is used. I hope you'll
remember that we covered the Future in Lesson 5.
To complete the picture, we'll look now at what is technically called the
'preterite' or 'past simple' tense. It's enough to call this more
strightforwardly the Past Tense if you prefer. If you have been following
the lessons carefully (and I know some of you have!) you should now be
able to express yourself in the present and future tenses. So it's time
to learn how to speak Spanish in the Past.
Is that difficult? Not really, but once again you have to learn the
formula to apply to the verbs.
Here we go with a regular -ar verb, our old friend 'HABLAR', 'to speak':
Hablé - I spoke
Hablaste - You spoke
Habló - He/She/It spoke
Hablamos - We spoke
Hablasteís - You spoke (plural)
Hablaron - They spoke
NB Yes, the 1st person plural 'we' form looks exactly like the present
'we speak'
Now an -er verb in the preterite: Comer - to eat
Comí - I ate
Comiste - You ate
Comió - He/She/It ate
Comimos - We ate
Comisteís - You ate (plural)
Comieron - They ate
Although the verb 'to eat' is irregular in English (we do not say 'eated')
it is regular in Spanish. BUT - there's always a 'but' isn't there! -
once again there are the irregular verbs in Spanish with forms all of
their own in the preterite. Interestingly both SER and IR, two verbs
we've explored previously, have exactly the same form in the preterite;
one worth learning:
Fuí - I went/ I was
Fuiste - You went / You were
Fue - He/She/It went / was
Fuimos - We went / were
Fuisteís - You went / were (plural)
Fueron - They went / were
Here are some sentences to translate for this week's homework:
1. I spoke Spanish
2. Did he speak Italian?
3. They went because they didn't eat.
4. Why did you go?
5. We talked, we ate, we went (!)
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
1. I spoke Spanish Hablé español.
2. Did he speak Italian? ¿Habló italiano?
3. They went because they didn't eat. Fueron porque no comieron.
4. Why did you go? ¿Por qué fuiste?
5. We talked, we ate, we went (!) Hablamos, comemos, fuimos.
*****
How did you get on?
A proper sentence (in English or Spanish, by the way) should have a
subject, object and verb.
Here's that old favourite, oft quoted as an example: "The cat sat on the
mat." The Verb (sat) pertains to the Subject (cat) and does to the Object
(mat).
A pronoun is a substitute for a noun (the prefix 'pro' hailing from the
Latin for 'instead of') so if we were to re-write the above example with
a subject pronoun, it would look like this: "It sat on the mat."
Here are the corresponding subject pronouns in Spanish:
I - yo (pronounced 'yoh')
You - tú (pronounced 'too')
He - él
She - ella (pronounced 'eh-ya')
It - él/ella
We - Nosotros/Nosotros (pronounced 'nos-o-tross')
You (plural) - Vosotros/Vosotras (pronounced 'vos-o-tros')
They - Ellos/Ellas (pronounced 'eh-yos')
NB 'It' in Spanish is effectively he/she because all Spanish nouns are
masculine or feminine. We, You (plural) and They could be used in the
masculine or feminine, depending on the gender of the subject.
When speaking Spanish, then, put your subject pronoun in front of the
verb. For example: Yo hablo español - I speak Spanish.
Why have we not seen this combination before? Because 'Hablo español' is
enough. Cleverly, Spanish verb forms contain the subject already. When I
look at the word 'Hablo' I can see from the ending on the verb that the
subject of the sentence is 'I'.
Some straightforward homework now to end on. Just add in the appropriate
pronouns to these Spanish sentences; then translate them into English.
Example: ¿Eres inglés? - ¿Tú eres inglés? - Are you English?
1. We speak Spanish.
2. He doesn't work.
3. They are Italian.
4. I drink water in the house.
5. She isn't English; she's Spanish.
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
1. We speak Spanish - Hablamos español - Nosotros hablamos español
2. He doesn't work - No trabaja - El no trabaja
3. They are Italian - Son italianos - Ellos son italianos
4. I drink water in the house - Bebo agua en la casa - Yo bebo agua en la
casa
5. She isn't English; she's Spanish - No es inglesa - Ella no es inglesa
*****
How did you get on?
As said in the last issue, a proper sentence (in English or Spanish)
should have a subject, object and verb:
"I eat apples."
Apples is the object of the sentence
If we were to replace the word apples with an OBJECT PRONOUN the sentence
would look like this:
"I eat them"
Here are the corresponding object pronouns in Spanish:
Me - me (pronounced 'meh')
You - te ('teh')
Him - le ('leh')
Her - la
Us - nos
You - os
Them - les, las (feminine)
Here are some object pronouns in action:
1. I eat them - los como
NOTE: THE OBJECT PRONOUN MUST PRECEDE THE VERB
2. You talk to me in Spanish - me hablas en español
3. You drink it (beer) in the house - la bebes en la casa
Got the idea? In English the object pronoun comes after the verb. It's
the reverse in Spanish.
Try these for homework:
1. You speak to him
2. They eat it (el pan - bread).
3. She smokes them (los cigarrillos - cigarettes) in the house.
4. Are you going to learn it (español)?
5. We are going to speak it (inglés)
Please do not return your answers to us to be marked.
3. She smokes them (los cigarrillos - cigarettes) in the house.
Los fuma en la casa.
4. Are you going to learn it (español)?
Lo vas a aprender.
5. We are going to speak it (inglés)
Lo vamos a hablar.
*****
So we come to the end of this little Spanish learning experience. ):
It's been our aim to introduce you to some of the basics of grammar which
can give you the grounding you'll need to go on and speak Spanish. A
sound grammatical structure is crucial if you want to become a fluent
speaker. Fluency really can be achieved quicker than you might think,
especially if you have a good grasp of the technical 'building bricks'.
To make speedy progress, try our intensive tuition. One of our private
teachers will guide you and get the best out of your language learning
ability.
*****
Let's RECAP now on what's been learnt in the nine Spanish lessons to
date.
1. Nouns - the naming words in a language.
NB: Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine in gender.
2. Nouns with adjectives - adjectives describe nouns.
NB: Spanish adjectives must 'agree' with the nouns they describe, and are
placed after rather than before the noun.
3. Regular verbs (present tense) - verbs are the 'doing' words in a
language.
NB: Regular verbs have a familiar pattern which needs to be learned
quickly!
4. Irregular verbs (present tense).
NB: Their pattern is not predictable. They must be learned individually.
5. All verbs: the future tense
NB: The formula is IR + A + INFINITIVE
6. Question words
NB: These are the words which begin sentences asking questions, such as
where? (dónde)
7. All verbs: the past tense
NB: This particular past tense (there are several) is known as the
preterite.
8. Subject Pronouns - pronouns are substitutes for nouns
NB: The use of Spanish subject pronouns is optional
9. Object Pronouns
NB: Spanish object pronouns, almost without exception, are to be found
directly in front of the verb.
In this lesson you will learn some greetings and useful everyday phrases.
The lesson also introduces:
the word order
the German word for 'the'
some nouns and their plurals
Guten Tag! - this is the greeting most frequently used during the day
'Good day'.
Guten Morgen! - good morning
Guten Abend! - good evening
Wie geht es Ihnen? - How are you doing? [polite]
Danke, gut. or Gut, Danke - thanks, fine/good or fine/good, thanks.
Auf Wiedersehen - good bye
Tschu? - bye
There are three different words for 'the':
der - masculine
die - feminine
das - neuter
When we talk about masculine, feminine or neuter we are talking about the
gender of a word. Whenever we learn a new noun, we must also learn the
gender or if you prefer which 'the' goes with it, for example:
der Junge [the boy] is masculine
die Tante [the aunt] is feminine
das Kind [the child] is neuter
15 nouns are listed below. For your homework, place der, die or das in
front of the word, depending on whether it is masculine, feminine or
neuter:
Mann [m] - man/husband
Frau [f] - woman/wife
Mädchen [n] - girl
Fenster [n] - window
Bruder [m] - brother
Schwester [f] - sister
Tisch [m] - table
Zeitung [f] - newspaper
Wasser [n] - water
Katze [f] - cat
Hund [ m] - dog
Buch [n] - book
On the whole a native English speaker will find German easier to
pronounce than say French as there are few sounds in the German language
which are unfamiliar. Thankfully, there is far greater consistency
between spelling and pronunciation in German than exists in English!
However, be careful as some German letters require a different
pronunciation to their English counterparts.
The German alphabet contains all the 26 letters of the English alphabet.
In addition three of the vowels appear with an umlaut a/A, o/O, u/U : ä/Ä,
ö/Ö, ü/Ü. The vowels with an umlaut represent completely different
sounds.
There is also a symbol for a double ss : ß. This never occurs at the
beginning of a word.
Here are the letters of the alphabet and their imitated pronunciation:
A - ah B - beh C - tseh D - deh E - eh
F - ef G - geh H - hah I - ee J - yot
K - kah L - el M - em N - en O - oh
P - peh Q - koo R - eer S - es T - teh
U - oo V - fow W - veh X - iks Y - uepsilon
Z - tset
Vowel sounds
Long 'a' like father = Bahn. Short 'a' like track = Bann
Long 'e' like drape = Beet. Short 'e' like get = Bett
Long 'i' like keen = ihm. Short 'i' like fit = im.
Long 'o' like home = Hof. Short 'o' like shot = hoff.
Long 'u' like moon = Ruhm. Short 'u' like put = Rum.
Long 'ä' leg = käme. Short 'ä' exactly like the short German 'e' = Kämme.
Long 'ö' is like a long German 'e' said while rounding and protruding the
lips = Höhle. Short 'ö' is produced in the same way Hölle.
Long 'ü' is like German i[e] while rounding and protruding the lips =
Wüste. Short 'ü' is like the German short 'i' while rounding and
protruding the lips = wüßte.
Vowel combinations:
Ai/ei like bribe or guide = Mai, Kleid
Au like cow/mouth = Haus, Haut
Äu/eu like annoyed = läuft, neun
I haven't translated these words as I have chosen them more for their
usefulness as a pronunciation aid! It would be a good exercise to look
them up in your dictionary though! Just call it Hausaufgaben [homework].
As pronunciation can really only be taught effectively face-to-face, so
the learner can get feedback from the teacher, I am not going to deal
with consonants today - they are not nearly as complex as vowels though!
I will do a short piece on consonants in the next lesson.
Meanwhile practice the above sounds for a couple of minutes out loud
every day.
Here are the answers to last week's Hausaufgaben:
der Mann; die Frau; das Mädchen; das Fenster; der Bruder; die Schwester;
der Tisch; die Zeitung; das Wasser; die Katze; der Hund; das Buch.
How did you get on?
What about if you want to say 'a man' instead of 'the man'?
der becomes 'ein' zum Beispiel [for example] ein Mann
die becomes 'eine' zum Beispiel eine Frau
das becomes 'ein' zum Beispiel ein Mädchen
So the masculine and the neuter word for 'a' are the same. Hmmmm.
Now let's make some sentences:
Da = there; das = that [as well as neuter the] and ist = is.
So if you wanted to say 'there is a man' in German, how would you say it?
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.Da ist ein Man!
Sehr gut!
Now try using all the words you found the gender for in last times
homework to write short sentences using either 'there is the man' or
'that is a man'. Make sure you check whether it should be ein or eine.
'ch' - whisper Hugo or human forcefully and with the initial sound you
will achieve the right sound - such as Blech, Reich
'ch' - after a, au, o, u: is more like the Scottish pronunciation of
loch, for example auch, Bach
'l' - there is only type of German 'l' and it is akin to English 'clean'
or 'leek' for example lieb, leben
'r' - difficult! It is not similar to any English sounds and comes from
the back of the throat for example rund, Gruß.
Pronouns
ich - I
du - you [informal]
er - he
sie - she
es - it
wir - we
ihr - you [friendly plural]
Sie - you [polite singular and plural]
sie - they
You will immediately notice that there are four different ways of saying
you! What are they?
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du, ihr, Sie and Sie.
This is always a bit tricky as in English we just say you. Germans in
general are polite so to be on the safe side use 'Sie', but if you are
talking to children or family members or very close friends use 'du'.
Verbs
Here are three [fairly] regular yet indispensable ones:
sein - to be; haben - to have; machen - to make.
sein - to be
ich bin - I am
du bist - you are
er ist - he is
sie ist - she is
es ist - it is
wir sind - we are
ihr seid - you are
sie sind - you are
Sie sind - they are
haben - to have
ich habe - I have
du hast - you have
er hat - he has
sie hat - she has
es hat - it has
wir haben - we have
ihr habt - you have
Sie haben - you have
sie haben - they have
machen - to make or to do
ich mache - I make/do
du machst - you make/do
er macht - he makes/does
sie macht - she makes/does
es macht - it makes/does
wir machen - we make/do
ihr macht - you make/do
Sie machen - you make/do
sie machen - you make/do
Verbs are not difficult but need to be memorised! Notice there are 9
different pronouns but not 9 different verbs changes. He she and it are
the same; we, you and they are the same leaving only I and you
[informal]! Come on you can do it learn them!
Try these sentences - ideally once you've had a go at learning the verbs
by heart!
1. He is a man.
2. She is a girl.
3. They are happy [glucklich].
4. We are here [hier].
5. They make bread [Brot].
6. You [informal] do sport.
7. We have a cat.
8. He has a book.
9. You [polite] have the newspaper.
10. I have a brother and a sister.
Answers in the next newsletter! Viel Gluck!
And here are the answers to last time's homework:
Da ist ein/der Mann.
Da ist eine/die Frau.
Da ist ein/das Mädchen.
Da ist ein/das Fenster.
Da ist ein/der Bruder.
Da ist eine/die Schwester.
Da ist ein/der Tisch.
Da ist eine/die Zeitung.
Da ist ein/das Wasser.
Da ist eine/die Katze.
Da ist ein/der Hund.
Da ist ein/das Buch.
In the last newsletter we learnt how to make simple sentences using sein,
machen and haben. Today we are going to learn how to construct questions.
It is not necessary to use "do" like in English. For example: 'Do you
make bread?' In German would be translated directly as 'Make you bread?'
- Machst du Brot?
Again the importance of learning your verbs can not be stressed enough!
Try these ones on your own:
Are you [polite] happy?
Is he here?
What do you [informal] do?
Has she a brother?
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Sind Sie glucklich?
Ist er hier?
Was machst du?
Hat sie einen Bruder?
More Verbs - LEARN THEM
lieben - to love; rufen - to call; kaufen - to buy; kommen - to come;
trinken - to drink
lieben - to love
ich liebe - I love
du liebst - you love
er liebt - he loves
sie liebt - she loves
es liebt - it loves
wir lieben - we love
ihr liebt - you love
sie lieben - you love
Sie lieben - they love
Ich liebe dich! - I love you.
rufen - to call
ich rufe - I call
du rufst - you call
er ruft - he calls
sie ruft - she calls
es ruft - it calls
wir rufen - we call
ihr ruft - you call
Sie rufen - you call
sie rufen - they call
Now take the stem of the verb and add the endings yourself to make the
following verbs:
kaufen - to buy
ich ….e - I buy
du ….st - you buy
er ….t - he buys
sie ….t - she buys
es ….t - it buys
wir ….en - we buy
ihr ….t - you buy
Sie ….en - you buy
sie ….en - you buy
kommen - to come
ich ….e - I come
du ….st - you come
er ….t - he comes
sie ….t - she comes
es ….t - it comes
wir ….en - we come
ihr ….t - you come
Sie ….en - you come
sie ….en - you come
trinken - to drink
ich
du
er
sie
es
wir
ihr
Sie
sie
Verbs are not difficult but need to be memorised! Notice there are 9
different pronouns but not 9 different verb changes. He she and it are
the same; we, you and they are the same leaving only I and you
[informal]! Come on you can do it learn them!
Where do you come from? is 'Woher kommst du [friendly]?' And the answer
is 'Ich komme aus England'.
Try the following for homework - remember 'kommen aus' means to come
from:
Where does he come from?
He comes from Germany.
Where do you come from?
I come from France.
Where do they come from?
They come from Spain?
Do they drink beer?
Yes they love beer!
Answers in the next newsletter! Viel Gluck!
Here are the answers to last times homework:
1. He is a man. Er ist ein Mann.
2. She is a girl. Sie ist ein Mädchen.
3. They are happy [glucklich]. Sie sind glucklich.
4. We are here [hier]. Wir sind hier.
5. They make bread [Brot]. Sie machen Brot.
6. You [informal] do sport. Du machst Sport.
7. We have a cat. Wir haben eine Katze.
8. He has a book. Er hat ein Buch.
9. You [polite] have the newspaper. Sie haben eine Zeitung.
10. I have a brother and a sister. Ich habe einen Bruder und eine
Schwester.
Wer ist das?
Wie heißt er/sie?
Woher kommt er?
Kommt sie aus Italien?
Wo wohnt sie?
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Only wer and wohnt are new here, meaning 'who' and 'live' respectively.
Who is that?
What's he/she called?
Where does he come from?
Does she come from Italy?
Where does she live?
Here are the details of some international students make the above
questions and answer them - in German of course!
Ronald Brooke from USA lives in Atlanta
For example, your answer should look like this:
Wie heißt er? Er heißt Ronald Brooke.
Woher kommt er? Er kommt aus USA.
Kommt er aus Italien? Nein, er kommt aus Amerika [USA].
Wo wohnt er? Er wohnt in Atlanta.
1. Lucienne Destree from France lives in Marseille.
2. Levent Ergok from Turkey lives in Izmir.
3. Linda Salt from Great Britain lives in Bristol.
4. Yasmin Yung from Korea lives in Seoul.
5. Vasquez Jimemez from Peru lives in Lima.
Have a go at conjugating the whole of the verb wohnen - just like the
verbs below.
Now answer the following:
1. Kommen Yasmin und Vasquez aus Peru?
2. Kommt Lucienne aus Spanien?
3. Wohnt Linda in Birmingham?
4. Wie heißt Levent mit Familienname?
5. Wer wohnt in Seoul?
6. Wer wohnt in Marseille?
7. Wohnt Yasmin in Lima?
8. Kommen Levent und Vasquez aus China?
9. Wo wohnen Linda und Levent?
10. Wo wohnst du?
Answers in the next newsletter! Viel Gluck!
Recap of the Verbs - Have you learnt them yet?
lieben - to love; rufen - to call; kaufen - to buy; kommen - to come;
trinken - to drink
lieben - to love
ich liebe - I love
du liebst - you love [informal singular]
er liebt - he loves
sie liebt - she loves
es liebt - it loves
wir lieben - we love
ihr liebt - you love [informal plural]
sie lieben - you love [polite singular and plural]
Sie lieben - they love
Ich liebe dich! - I love you.
rufen - to call
ich rufe - I call
du rufst - you call
er ruft - he calls
sie ruft - she calls
es ruft - it calls
wir rufen - we call
ihr ruft - you call
Sie rufen - you call
sie rufen - they call
Now take the stem of the verb and add the endings yourself to make the
following verbs:
kaufen - to buy
ich kaufe - I buy
du kaufst - you buy
er kauft - he buys
sie kauft - she buys
es kauft - it buys
wir kaufen - we buy
ihr kauft - you buy
Sie kaufen - you buy
sie kaufen - you buy
kommen - to come
ich komme - I come
du kommst - you come
er kommt - he comes
sie kommt - she comes
es kommt - it comes
wir kommen - we come
ihr kommt - you come
Sie kommen - you come
sie kommen - you come
trinken - to drink
ich trinke - I drink
du trinkst - you drink
er trinkt - he drinks
sie trinkt - she drinks
es trinkt - it drinks
wir trinken - we drink
ihr trinkt - you drink [informal plural]
Sie trinken - you drink [polite]
sie trinken - they drink
Verbs are not difficult but need to be memorised! Notice there are 9
different pronouns but not 9 different verb changes. He, she and it are
the same; we, you and they are the same leaving only I and you
[informal]!
Here are the answers to your last homework:
Where does he come from? - Woher kommt er?
He comes from Germany. - Er kommt aus Deutschland
Where do you come from? - Woher kommst du? Or Woher kommt ihr? Or Woher
kommen Sie? All correct depending on who you are talking to [du for one
person who is a friend or younger than you; ihr used in the same way but
for more than one person; Sie for when you are being polite singular and
plural!]
I come from France. - Ich komme aus Frankreich.
Where do they come from? - Woher kommen sie? [Note the small 's'
otherwise it would mean you].
They come from Spain? - Kommen sie aus Spanien?
Do they drink beer? - Trinken sie Bier?
Yes they love beer! - Ja, sie lieben Bier!
Please do not email your answers to us; the answers will be included in
the next edition of Talking Languages.
Remember last time we were practising questions; how did you get on with
the following?
1. Lucienne Destree from France lives in Marseille.
Wie heißt sie? Sie heißt Lucienne Destree.
Woher kommt sie? Sie kommt aus Frankreich.
Wo wohnt sie? Sie wohnt in Marseille.
2. Levent Ergok from Turkey lives in Izmir.
Wie heißt er? Er heißt Levent Ergok.
Woher kommt er? Er kommt aus der Turkei.
Wo wohnt er? Er wohnt in Izmir.
3. Linda Salt from Great Britain lives in Bristol.
Wie heißt sie? Sie heißt Linda Salt.
Wo wohnt sie? Sie wohnt in Bristol.
Woher kommt sie? Sie kommt aus Großbritanien.
4. Yasmin Yung from Korea lives in Seoul.
Wie heißt sie? Sie heißt Yasmin Yung.
Wo wohnt sie? Sie wohnt in Seoul.
Woher kommt sie? Sie kommt aus Korea.
5. Vasquez Jimemez from Peru lives in Lima.
Wie heißt er? Er heißt Vasquez Jimemez.
Woher kommt er? Er kommt aus Peru.
Wo wohnt er? Er wohnt in Lima.
Here is the verb wohnen:
ich wohne - I live
du wohnst - you live
er wohnt - he lives
sie wohnt - she lives
wir wohnen - we live
ihr wohnt - you[friendly singular]
Sie wohnen - you [polite] live
sie wohnen - they live
Here are the answers to your homework:
1. Lucienne Destree from France lives in Marseille.
2. Levent Ergok from Turkey lives in Izmir.
3. Linda Salt from Great Britain lives in Bristol.
4. Yasmin Yung from Korea lives in Seoul.
5. Vasquez Jimemez from Peru lives in Lima.
1. Kommen Yasmin und Vasquez aus Peru?
Nein, Yasmin kommt aus Korea aber Vasquez kommt aus Peru.
2. Kommt Lucienne aus Spanien?
Nein Lucienne kommt nicht aus Spanien, sie kommt aus Frankreich.
3. Wohnt Linda in Birmingham?
Nein Linda wohnt nicht in Birmingham, Linda wohnt in Bristol.
4. Wie heißt Levent mit Familienname?
Levent heißt Ergok mit Familienname.
5. Wer wohnt in Seoul?
Yasmin wohnt in Seoul.
6. Wer wohnt in Marseille?
Lucienne wohnt in Marseille.
7. Wohnt Yasmin in Lima?
Nein, Yasmin wohnt in Lima.
8. Kommen Levent und Vasquez aus China?
Nein, Levent kommt aus der Turkei und Vazques kommt aus Peru.
9. Wo wohnen Linda und Levent?
Linda wohnt in Bristol und Levent wohnt in Izmir.
10. Wo wohnst du?
Ich wohne in London.
No homework this week. Lots more in the next newsletter!
After your holiday, time to get back into it - here's a mini dialogue for
you to translate:
· Hallo
· Hallo!
· Wer ist da?
· Ich!
· Wer - ich?
· Mein Gott - ich!
· Wer sind Sie denn?
· Meier!
· Wie bitte?
· Ich heiße Meier!
· Ach so!
· Und Sie?
· Wie bitte?
· Und wer sind Sie?
· Meier.
· Ich verstehe nicht!
· Ich heiße auch Meier.
· Ach so. Ja dann Guten Tag!
· Guten Tag, Herr Meier!
And who said the Germans didn't have a sense of humour??
When talking about your job in German you make it either masculine or
feminine [depending on your gender or the gender of the person you are
talking about]. For example:
Der Bäcker means the male baker.
What do you think the female baker would be?
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Ja, gut.
Die Bäckerin
Just add -in and make it die
Try making the following feminine:
Der Student - the student
Der Mechaniker - the mechanic
Der Bauer - the farmer
Der Ingenieur - the engineer
Der Programmierer - the programmer
Der Grafiker - the graphic designer
Der Lehrer - the teacher
Here are some question and answers for you to try, the first one is done
for you:
Klaus Henkel - Ingeniuer
Was macht Klaus Henkel?
Klaus ist Ingenieur. [notice it isn't necessary to put a or 'ein' in
front of the job].
Jan van Groot - Programmier
Anton Becker - Kaufmann
Rita Kurz - Sekretärin
Jochen Pelz - Lehrer
Paul Schäfer - Mechaniker
Margot Schulz - Telefonistin
Here is a typical conversation between a new employee and his colleague:
Guten Tag, ist hier noch frei?
>Ja, bitte.
Sind Sie neu hier?
>Ja, ich arbeite erst drei Tage hier.
Ach so, und was machen Sie?
>Ich bin Mechaniker. Und Sie?
Ich bin Programmierer.
>Ich heiße Jan van Groot…..
Now translate into English.
Answers next time.
Viel Gluck!
A useful phrase based on Saturday's football result:
Endlich haben wir gewonnen! - Finally we have won!
More practice on giving and receiving personal information.
Here's the mini dialogue from last time translated:
· Hallo Hello
· Hallo!
· Wer ist da? Who's there?
· Ich! Me.
· Wer - ich? Who - me?
· Mein Gott - ich! My God - me!
· Wer sind Sie denn? Who are you then?
· Meier! Meier!
· Wie bitte? Pardon?
· Ich heiße Meier! I am called Meier!
· Ach so! Ah!
· Und Sie? And you?
· Wie bitte? Pardon?
· Und wer sind Sie? And who are you?
· Meier. Meier.
· Ich verstehe nicht! I don't understand!
· Ich heiße auch Meier. I'm also called Meier.
· Ach so. Ja dann Guten Tag! Ah, well that's good then, hello!
· Guten Tag, Herr Meier! Good day, Mr Meier.
Wie gehts? How did you get on?
Here are the feminine forms of the following masculine jobs:
Der Student - the student die Studentin
Der Mechaniker - the mechanic die Mechanikerin
Der Bauer - the farmer die Bauerin
Der Ingenieur - the engineer die Ingenieurin
Der Programmierer - the programmer die Programmiererin
Der Grafiker - the graphic designer die Grafikerin
Der Lehrer - the teacher die Lehrerin
Here are the answers to exercise from the last newsletter:
Klaus Henkel - Ingeniuer
Was macht Klaus Henkel?
Klaus ist Ingenieur. [notice it isn't necessary to put a or 'ein' in
front of the job].
Jan van Groot - Programmier
Was macht Jan van Groot?
Jan ist Programmierer.
Anton Becker - Kaufmann
Was macht Anton Becker?
Anton ist Kaufman.
Rita Kurz - Sekretärin
Was macht Rita Kurz?
Rita ist Sekretarin.
Jochen Pelz - Lehrer
Was macht Jochen Pelz?
Jochen ist Lehrer.
Paul Schäfer - Mechaniker
Was macht Paul Schafer?
Paul ist Mechaniker.
Margot Schulz - Telefonistin
Was macht Margot Schulz?
Margot ist Telefonistin.
Wie gehts?
Here is a typical conversation between a new employee and his colleague
and the translation:
Guten Tag, ist hier noch frei? Hello, is this place free?
>Ja, bitte. Yes, please [sit down].
Sind Sie neu hier? Are you new here?
>Ja, ich arbeite erst drei Tage hier. Yes, I've been working here for 3
days.
Ach so, und was machen Sie? Ah, and what do you do?
>Ich bin Mechaniker. Und Sie? I'm a mechanic, and you?
Ich bin Programmierer. I'm a programer.
>Ich heiße Jan van Groot….. I'm called Jan van Groot…
Wie gehts?
Here is a short dialogue followed by some questions, read the dialogue
and try to answer the questions - before looking at the answers!
Das ist Lore Sommer. Sie ist Deutsche und lebt in Hamburg. Sie ist
verheiratet und hat zwei Kinder. Sie ist Grafikerin.
Wie heisst sie?
Woher kommt sie?
Wo wohnt sie?
Ist sie verheiratet? [married]
Hat sie Kinder?
Was macht sie?
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Sie heisst Lore Sommer.
Sie Kommt aus Deutschland.
Sie wohnt in Hamburg.
Sie ist verheiratet.
Sie hat zwei Kinder.
Sie ist Grafikerin.
Now try to make questions and answers to the following 2 dialogues:
Peter-Maria Gluck, Schasteller, wohnt im Wohnwagen. Er ist heute in
Stuttgart, morgen in Heidelberg und uebermorgen in Mannheim. Er hat fuenf
Kinder.
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Hint! Name? Job? Where lives? Children?
Das ist Klaus Henkel. Er ist Chemiker und arbeitet bei Siemens in Wein.
Er ist ledig und wohnt allein. Er ist vierzig Jahre Alt.
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Hint! Name? Job? Where works? Married? Age?
Remember the verb 'trinken' from lesson 5? Well here is the verb 'essen'
-
to eat:
Ich esse - I eat
Du ißt - you eat
Er/sie/es ißt - he/she/it eats
Wir essen - we eat
Sie essen - you eat [polite]
sie essen - they eat
Some new food and drink vocabulary:
Essen und Trinken
Das Obst fruit
Der Käse cheese
Die Wurst sausage
Die Kartoffeln potatoes
Der Salat salad
Die Milch milk
Das Gemüse vegetable
Der Reis rice
Das Brötchen bread roll
Die Pizza pizza
Der Hamburger hamburger
Die Cola coke
Das Hähnchen chicken
Der Fisch fish
Das Fleisch meat
Das Bier beer
Der Wein wine
Die Suppe soup
Das Wasser water
Das Brot bread
Die Butter butter
Das Ei egg
Der Kuchen cake
Was ißt Franz Kaiser? Was trinkt Franz?
For breakfast: bread and butter and a glass of milk
For lunch: hamburger and coke
For dinner: pizza, salad and beer
More vocabulary:
Zum Frühstuck for breakfast
Zum Mittagessen for lunch
Zum Abendessen for dinner
Was ißt Clara Mai? Was trinkt sie?
Breakfast: bread roll, egg, water
Lunch: fish, potatoes and salad
Dinner: soup, chicken, vegetables and beer
Wie gehts?
Answers next time.
Here are the answers to last week's homework:
Peter-Maria Gluck, Schausteller, wohnt im Wohnwagen. Er ist heute in
Stuttgart, morgen in Heidelberg und übermorgen in Mannheim. Er hat fünf
Kinder.
Wie heißt er?
Wo wohnt er?
Ist er verheiratet?
Hat er Kinder?
Was macht er?
Er heißt Peter-Maria Gluck.
Er wohnt im Wohnwagen [caravan].
Ich weiß nicht.
Er hat fünf Kinder.
Er ist Schausteller.
Das ist Klaus Henkel. Er ist Chemiker und arbeitet bei Siemens in Wein.
Er ist ledig und wohnt allein. Er ist vierzig Jahre Alt.
Wie heißt er?
Wo arbeitet er?
Ist er verheiratet?
Wie Alt ist er?
Was macht er?
Er heißt Klaus Henkel.
Er arbeitetbei Siemens in Wien.
Nein, er ist nicht verheiratet, er ist ledig.
Nein, er ist nicht verheiratet, er wohnt allein und er ist ledig
[single].
Er ist Chemiker.
The last German lesson will appear in the next bulletin
This is the last German lesson, the following exercise is a recap of
everything we've learnt so far….. Viel Glück!
1. Essen Sie gern Fisch?
a. Nein, ich habe noch genug.
b. Ja, aber Kartoffeln.
c. Ja, sehr gern.
2. Ist sie Grieche?
a. Ja, ich bin Grieche.
b. Ja, aus Griechenland.
c. Ja, sie ist aus Griechenland.
3. Lernen Sie Portugiesisch?
a. Nein, ich spreche Deutsch.
b. Nein, Spanisch.
c. Ja, ich bin Französin.
4. Wo wohnen Sie?
a. In Mailand.
b. Aus Belgien.
c. Mechaniker.
5. Was machst du?
a. Ich bin Mechaniker.
b. Ich möchte doch Biologie studieren.
c. Ich lerne hier Deutsch.
6. Guten Tag. Mein Name ist Kurz.
a. Guten Tag. Ich bin Luisa Tendera.
b. Guten Tag. Ich komme aus Spanien.
c. Guten Tag. Kommt sie aus Holland?
7. Was machst du hier?
a. Ich lerne hier Englisch.
b. Ich bin Bäcker.
c. Ich wohne in Bonn.
8. Sprechen Sie Norwegisch?
a. Nein, lieber Schwedisch.
b. Nein, ich spreche Schwedisch.
c. Ja, ich lerne Schwedisch.
9. Wie alt is Frau Brecht?
a. Sie ist schon 38.
b. Er ist schon 38.
c. Sie ist schon 38 Jahre hier.
10. Was macht Frau Beier?
a. Sie ist Mechanikerin.
b. Er ist Ingenieur.
c. Er arbeitet hier schon fünf Monate.
Which answer has the same meaning?
11. Woher kommt sie?
a. Woher kommen Sie?
b. Woher ist sie?
c. Woher sind Sie?
12. Kommt er aus England?
a. Er kommt aus England.
b. Woher kommt er?
c. Ist er aus England?
13. Wer ist aus Köln?
a. Wer kommt aus Köln?
b. Kommt er aus Köln?
c. Woher kommt er?
14. Heißt sie Anne Sommer?
a. Ist das Anne Sommer?
b. Wie heißt sie?
c. Wer ist Anne Sommer?
15. Ich heiße Luisa Tendera.
a. Ich komme aus Izmir.
b. Ich bin aus der Turkei.
c. Mein Name ist Luisa Tendera.
16. Sind Sie neu hier?
a. Nein, ich bin hier neu.
b. Ja, ich bin schon zwei Monaten.
c. Nein, ich bin schon vier Jahren hier.
17. Kommen Sie aus Spanien?
a. Arbeiten Sie in Spanien?
b. Kommt sie aus Spanien.
c. Sind Sie Spanierin?
d. Woher kommen Sie?
18. Woher sind Sie?
a. Wo wohnst du?
b. Woher bist Du?
c. Wo wohnen Sie?
d. Woher kommen Sie?
19. Ich komme aus Wien.
a. Ich studiere in Wien.
b. Ich bin aus Wien.
c. Ich möchte in Wien wohnen.
d. Ich arbeite in Wien.
20. Was machst du?
a. Was bist du von Beruf?
b. Was machst du hier?
c. Was machen Sie?
d. Was sind Sie von Beruf?
Answers are below…….
Was ißt Franz Kaiser? Was trinkt Franz?
For breakfast: bread and butter and a glass of milk
For lunch: hamburger and coke
For dinner: pizza, salad and beer
More vocabulary:
Zum Frühstuck for breakfast
Zum Mittagessen for lunch
Zum Abendessen for dinner
Zum Frühstuck ißt er Brot, Butter und ein Glas Milch.
Zum Mittagessen ißt er einen Hamburger und eine Cola.
Zum Abendessen ißt er eine Pizza, einen Salat und ein Bier.
Was ißt Clara Mai? Was trinkt sie?
Breakfast: bread roll, egg, water
Lunch: fish, potatoes and salad
Dinner: soup, chicken, vegetables and beer
Zum Frühstuck ißt sie ein Brötchen, ein Ei und ein Glas Wasser.
Zum Mittagessen ißt sie einen Fisch, Kartoffeln und einen Salat.
Zum Abendessen ißt sie eine Suppe, ein Hähnchen, Gemüse und ein Bier.
Wie gehts?
Answers to the Revision test:
1. C
2. A
3. B
4. A
5. A
6. A
7. A
8. B
9. A
10. A
11. B
12. C
13. A
14. A
15. C
16. C
17. C
18. D
19. B
20. A
ah must always be pronounced very short and sharp
ng [italics] must never be pronounced; these letters merely indicate that
the preceding vowel has a nasal sound
r [italics] must never be pronounced; we insert it to ensure the correct
pronunciation of the preceding vowel
sh [bold type] always sounds like s in leisure
er is the sound of u in fur
EE or E represents the sound of the French u, the exact sound does not
exist in English. Say tree with the lips rounded.
Consonants
c before e, i or y sounds like s or like k
ç always sounds like s
g before e, i or y sounds like s in measure, otherwise like g in go
h is generally silent
j always sounds like s in measure
r is stronger than in English
s between two vowel sounds like z
Vowels are nearly always pronounced short unless there is a circumflex
accent [â] over them and will be dealt with in detail next time.
Nouns
A or an is translated un before a masculine noun and une before a
feminine noun:
A ticket un billet
A mother une mere
Most names of things are masculine in French, except those ending in -e,
most of which are feminine [also those ending in -te, -eur, -ion and
-son].
The is translated le before a masculine singular noun and la before a
feminine singular noun:
The day le jour
The woman la dame
Before a vowel or H use l':
The friend l'ami
The man l'homme
Try the following exercise:
1. A brother [frere]
2. A sister [soeur]
3. A ticket
4. A mother
5. A day
6. A door [porte]
7. An hotel
8. A railway station [gare]
9. A friend
10. The book [livre]
Answers next week.
Some conversational sentences:
Où est la gare?
La gare est là.
Qui est à la porte.
Un homme est à la porte.
Qui a le livre?
Le frère a le livre.
What do you think they mean?
Scroll down for answers..
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Answers:
Where is the station?
The railway station is there.
Who is at the door?
A man is at the door.
Who has the book?
The brother has the book.
Vowels are nearly always pronounced short unless there is a circumflex
accent [â] over them and will be dealt with in detail next time.
A is like 'ah'
E in the middle of a syllable is like 'ai' in fair
E at the end of a syllable is like 'u' in fur
E is mute at the end of a word
É [acute accent] is like the interjection 'eh'!
È [grave accent] and ê [circumflex] are like 'ay'
I or y is like 'ee' in seen if long or like 'I' in ill if short
O is like 'o' in not
u is the tricky 'ee' pronounced with rounded lips
ai, ei are both simlar to 'ay'
au, eau are like 'oh'
eu, oeu are like 'u' in fur
oi is like 'wah'
ou is like 'oo'
Nouns
Answers to last week's exercises:
1. A brother [frere] un frere
2. A sister [soeur] une soeur
3. A ticket un billet
4. A mother une mere
5. A day un jour
6. A door [porte] une porte
7. An hotel un hotel
8. A railway station [gare] une gare
9. A friend un ami
10. The book [livre] le livre
Plurals
THE must always be translated as les if followed by a plural noun. The
's' which forms the plural is silent unless it is followed by a noun
beginning with 'h' or a vowel.
The sisters les soeurs
The friends les amis
The days les jours
The churches les eglises
Homework:
1. The books
2. The fathers
3. The tables
4. The suitcases
5. The hotels
6. The addresses
7. The tickets
8. The hours
1. The books les livres
2. The fathers les peres
3. The tables les tables
4. The suitcases les valises
5. The hotels les hotels
6. The addresses les adresses
7. The tickets les billets
8. The hours les heures
How did you get on? Ça va?
This week we're going to have a look at a verb - to have - avoir
I have j'ai
You have tu as [friendly you]
He/she has il a / elle a
We have nous avons
You have vous avez [polite you]
They have ils ont / elles ont
How do you say?
1. He has a car
2. We have two suitcases
3. They have a letter
4. The brother and the sister have a dog
5. I have two parcels
6. You have the passports
7. She has a TV
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1. Il a une voiture
2. Nous avons deux valises
3. Elles ont une lettre
4. Le frere et la soeur ont un chien
5. J'ai deux paquets
6. Vous avez les passeports
7. Elle a une television
Possessive Adjectives
Notre - our [singluar]
Nos - our [plural]
Votre - your [singluar]
Vos - your [plural]
Leur - their [singluar]
Leurs - their [plural]
Conversational sentences
Ou est votre voiture? Where is your car?
Notre voiture est ici. Our car is here.
Qui a les passeports? Who has the passports?
J'ai les passeports I have the passports
Qui a les lettres? Who has the letters?
Ils ont les paquets et les
lettres They have the parcels and the letters.
Notre pere a une voiture Our father has a car and a TV
et une television
Learn the above and then complete the exercises below. Answers next week:
1. He has our brothers
2. They have our sister
3. We have 2 dogs
4. You [friendly] have our car
5. You [polite] have your friends
6. They have our letters
7. We have their parcels
8. Your sisters have the passports
9. Who has the book?
10. She has the book
1. Il a nos freres
2. Ils ont notre souer
3. Nous avons deux chien
4. Tu as notre voiture
5. Vous avez vos amis
6. Ils ont nos lettres
7. Nous avons leurs paquets
8. Vos soeurs ont les passeports
9. Qui a le livre?
10. Elle a le livre.
How did you get on? Ça va?
Plurals
The plural of most French nouns is formed by adding 's', as in English.
This 's' is not pronounced. There are a few exceptions:
· Words ending in -s, -x, -z do not change in the plural
Un mois a month deux mois 2 months
Un prix a price deux prix 2 prices
Le nez the nose les nez the noses
· Words ending in -au, -eu add x
Un chapeau a hat deux chapeaux 2 hats
Un neveu a nephew deux neveux 2 nephews
· Most words ending in -al change to aux
Un animal an animal deux animaux 2 animals
Try these for homework - make them plural:
1. A knife couteau [m]
2. An arm bras [m]
3. The newspaper journal [m]
4. The voice voix [f]
5. The fire feu [m]
6. The son fils [m]
Remember we looked at the verb avoir last time?
What did it mean?
That's right 'to have'.
Since it's Christmas and the newsletter is on holiday try these tag
questions, they will make you sound tres French!
Have I?
Have you?
Has he?
Has she?
Have we?
Have you?
Have they?
1. Il a nos freres
2. Ils ont notre souer
3. Nous avons deux chien
4. Tu as notre voiture
5. Vous avez vos amis
6. Ils ont nos lettres
7. Nous avons leurs paquets
8. Vos soeurs ont les passeports
9. Qui a le livre?
10. Elle a le livre.
Possessive Adjectives
My - mon [masculine]
ma [feminine]
mes [plural]
His, her, its son [masculine]
sa [feminine]
ses [plural]
Your [familiar form] ton [masculine]
ta [feminine]
tes [plural]
What do you think the following mean?
Mon frere
Ma soeur
Sa soeur
Son frere
Mes freres
Ses soeurs
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That's right - Tres bien!
My brother
My sister
His or her sister
His or her brother
My brothers
His or her sisters
How can "sa soeur" mean his and her sister?
Because these words always take the gender of the noun that follows.
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
1. My book
2. His father
3. My hat
4. Her mother
5. My arms
6. His shirts
7. My room
8. His mother
9. Her handbag
10. Her family
11. His family
12. Her hats
1. My book mon livre
2. His father son pere
3. My hat mon chapeau
4. Her mother sa mere
5. My arms mes bras
6. His shirts ses chemises
7. My room ma chambre
8. His mother sa mere
9. Her handbag son sac a main
10. Her family sa famille
11. His family sa famille
12. Her hats ses chapeaux
More Possessive Adjectives
mon, ton, son are all used before words beginning with a vowel or a H
mute - EVEN IF THE NOUN IS FEMININE.
my friend mon ami
her address son adresse
Try the following:
her handwriting [ecriture, f]
his school [ecole, f]
his room
her uncle
his street [rue, f]
his shoulder [epaule, f]
her shoulder
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That's right - Tres bien!
son ecriture
son ecole
sa chambre
son oncle
sa rue
son epaule
son epaule
Not is translated by 2 words "ne...pas" - pas always occupies the same
place in the sentence as the English word not and ne always precedes the
verb.
je n'ai pas I have not
tu n'ais pas you have not
il n'a pas he has not
nous n'avons pas we have not
vous n'avez pas you have not
ils n'ont pas they have not
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
Haven't you got my book?
He hasn't seen her handwriting [seen - vu]
We haven't the gloves
Haven't they written to your friends? [written - ecrit]
I haven't read this letter [read - lu]
1. My book mon livre
2. His father son pere
3. My hat mon chapeau
4. Her mother sa mere
5. My arms mes bras
6. His shirts ses chemises
7. My room ma chambre
8. His mother sa mere
9. Her handbag son sac a main
10. Her family sa famille
11. His family sa famille
12. Her hats ses chapeaux
Question words
Which? What? What a are all translated:
Singular masculine quel [kell]; feminine quelle [kell]
Plural masculine quels [kell]; feminine quelles [kell]
Which street? Quelle rue?
Which hats? Quels chapeaux?
Try the following for homework:
1. Which school?
2. What months?
3. Which rooms?
4. What a man!
5. What voices?
6. Which family?
7. What station?
This, that are translated:
Singular masculine: ce [ser]; feminine cette [set]
Plural - these, those - ces [say]
For example:
this or that book - ce livre
these or those books - ces livres
that or this street - cette rue
those or those streets - ces rues
"cet" is used instead of ce if the next word begins with a vowel or an H
muted, for example:
this or that friend - cet ami
that or this man - cet homme
cet is never used instead of cette or ces
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
1. This car
2. That flower fleur, f
3. These knives
4. Those forks fourchette, f
5. This child enfant, m
6. That restaurant
7. This hour
8. Those days
9. This hotel
10. These gardens
11. This shop magasin, m
Bonne Chance!
That's all until next time…!
Au revoir!
1. This car cette voiture
2. That flower cette fleur
3. These knives ces couteaux
4. Those forks ces fourchettes
5. This child cet enfant
6. That restaurant ce restaurant
7. This hour cette heure
8. Those days ces jours
9. This hotel cet hotel
10. These gardens ces jardins
This shop ce magasin
Possessive sentences must be changed like this:
My father's hat à the hat of my father
Your sister's husband à the husband of your sister
Try these:
1. My sister's husband
2. Your father's car
3. This flower's colour
4. My sister's address
5. Which girl's dress
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Answers
Le mari de ma soeur
La voiture de votre pere
La coleur de cette fleur
L'adresse de ma soeur
La robe de quelle fille?
The Verb "to be"
I am je suis
You are te es
He is il est
She is elle est
We are nous sommes
You are vous etes
They are ils sont [m]
They are elles sont [f]
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
1. Who is there?
2. Where are our friends?
3. I am very tired
4. He is very rich
5. She is at the church
6. We are at his hotel
7. You are late
8. The book is on the table
9. Who are these men?
10. Where are our newspapers?
Bonne Chance!
That's all until next time!
Au revoir!
1. Who is there? Qui est la?
2. Where are our friends? Ou sont nos amis?
3. I am very tired Je suis tres fatigue.
4. He is very rich Il est tres riche.
5. She is at the church Elle est a l'eglise.
6. We are at his hotel Nous sommes a son hotel.
7. You are late Vous etes en retard.
8. The book is on the table Le livre est sur la table.
9. Who are these men? Qui sont ces hommes?
10. Where are our newspapers? Ou sont nos journaux?
Adjectives
Adjectives need to agree with the noun they are describing [in number and
gender]. Adjectives generally form the feminine by adding 'e'; 's' is
generally added in the plural.
Masculine
Singular Plural
right droit droits
left gauche gauches
large grand grands
small petit petits
Feminine
Singular Plural
droite droites
gauche gauches
grande grandes
petite petites
Try these:
1. The man is tall
2. The woman is tall
3. The men are tall
4. The women are tall
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Answers
L'homme est grand
La dame est grande
Les hommes sont grands
Les dames sont grandes
Recap of the Verb "to be"
Did you spot the mistake in Newsletter 8?
It should of course be tu es [not te es as printed in Newsletter 8].
I am je suis
You are tu es
He is il est
She is elle est
We are nous sommes
You are vous etes
They are ils sont [m]
They are elles sont [f]
Thank you to all newsletter readers who spotted this and let me know.
Here is some vocabulary to help you with this week's homework:
absent - absent; water - eau; too - trop; hot - chaud; apple - pomme; bad
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mauvais; kind - aimable; ill - malade; cold - froid.
Try these for homework - answers as always next time!
1. Our friends are absent.
2. These men are rich.
3. His house is too small.
4. We are tired.
5. The water is hot.
6. That apple is bad.
7. You are very kind.
8. I am ill.
9. This room is very cold.
10. My car is very small.
1. Our friends are absent. Nos amis sont absents.
2. These men are rich. Ces hommes sont riches.
3. His house is too small. Sa maison est trop petite.
4. We are tired. Nous sommes fatigues.
5. The water is hot. Cette eau est chaude.
6. That apple is bad. Cette pomme est mauvaise.
7. You are very kind. Vous etes tres aimable.
8. I am ill. Je suis malade.
9. This room is very cold. Cette chambre est tres froide.
10. My car is very small. Ma voiture est tres petite.
