Café, restaurant, amateur, boutique, bureau—the list of French words that you already know is surprisingly extensive. You see, you really do know a lot of French. You don't realize it yet, but your vocabulary is filled with French words and phrases. And there are plenty of French words and expressions that you will find very easy to use and understand with a minimal amount of effort. By the end of this chapter, you will be well on your way to producing intelligent but simple sentences that will allow you to express feelings, thoughts, and opinions.
What You Already Know
There is absolutely nothing on television. After watching the news in French on a local cable station, my husband (who has no French blood coursing through his veins) takes
off for the local video rental store to choose some entertainment for the evening. An hour later he returns with a wide grin on his face and cheerfully exclaims: “Oiseau ([wah-zo] that's French for bird, his term of endearment for me), I've got a surprise for you.” I wait in eager anticipation to hear that he rented a hot, new release fresh from the theater. Instead, he informs me that he picked out the latest French film.
As a francophile, I should be jumping for joy, but he can read the disappointment on my face. Truth be told, I find French movies lacking in adventure, and I don't love character studies. The subtitles are extremely distracting. He, on the other hand, can't wait to get the film into the VCR, and I can't understand why. It's true that he had two years of college French, but that was over 30 years ago, and I did all his homework. The Cs he passed with were certainly not an indication of a love affair with the language. So why French films? He likes exotic movies, he loves to hear the language, and, believe it or not, he can understand what the actors and actresses are saying. How can that be?
He never listened as a student. How does the man do it?
The simple answer is cognates. What are they? Quite simply, a cognate is a word that is spelled exactly the same, or almost the same, as a word in English and that has the same meaning. Sometimes we've actually borrowed the word from the French, letter for letter, and have incorporated it into our own vocabulary. Sure, the cognates are pronounced differently in each language, but the meaning of the French word is quite obvious to anyone who speaks English.
Perfect Cognates
Below is a list of some cognates that are exactly the same in both French and English. Take your time pronouncing the French words and compare them to their English equivalents. Your goal is to sound French.
Adjectives Nouns
Le La L'
blond ballet blouse accident
blohN bah-leh blooz ahk-see-dahN
capable bureau boutique accord
kah-pahbl bew-ro boo-teek ah-kohr
certain chef date ambulance
sehr-taN shehf daht ahN-bew-lahNs
content client dispute animal
kohN-tahN klee-yahN dees-pewt ah-nee-mahl
grave guide note olive
grahv geed noht oh-leev
horrible hamburger permission omelette
oh-reebl ahm-bewr-gehr pehr-mee-syohN ohm-leht
immense journal photo orange soda
ee-mahNs zhoor-nah foh-to oh-rahnzh soh-dah
orange sandwich route possible
oh-rahnzh sahNdweesh root poh-seebl
permanent service signification
pehr-mah-nahN sehr-vees see-nyee-fee-kah-syohN
How Much Do You Understand Already?
I'd venture to guess that, by now, you're in the same league as my husband. The sentences below should be a snap to understand, and the pronunciation should present no problem if you patiently follow the key. Don't be shy! Give it your best effort.
Read the following sentences in French. What are you saying? (Est expresses is in French.)
1. La blouse est orange.
lah blooz eh toh-rahNzh
2. Le service est horrible.
luh sehr-vees eh toh-reebl
3. L'excursion est impossible.
lehk-skewr-zyohN eh taN-pohseebl
4. Le guide est capable.
luh geed eh kah-pahbl
5. Le client est certain.
luh klee-yahN eh sehr-taN
Verb Cognates
There are many French verbs (words that show action or a state of being) that are so similar to their English counterparts that you will recognize their meaning almost immediately. The majority of French verbs fall into one of three families: the er family, the ir family, and the re family. This concept is foreign to us, since English has borrowed so much from so many different languages that no “verb families” exist. For now, you will see that the largest French family, by far, is the er family. Any verbs belonging to a family are considered regular, while those that do not belong to a family are designated as irregular. Each family has its own set of rules, which will be explained in Chapter 7. All irregular verbs must be memorized. Look at the three major families and see if you can determine the meanings of the verbs presented below :
The ER Family
accompagner ah-kohN-pah-nyay inviter aN-vee-tay
adorer ah-doh-ray marcher mahr-shay
aider eh-day modifier moh-dee-fyay
blâmer blah-may observer ohb-sehr-vay
changer shahN-zhay pardonner pahr-doh-nay
chanter shahN-tay passer pah-say
commander koh-mahN-day payer peh-yay
commencer koh-mahN-say persuader pehr-swah-day
danser dahN-say porter pohr-tay
décider day-see-day préférer pray-fay-ray
déclarer day-klah-ray préparer pray-pah-ray
demander duh-mahN-day présenter pray-zahN-tay
désirer day-zee-ray prouver proo-vay
dîner dee-nay recommander ruh-koh-mahN-day
échanger ay-shahN-zhay refuser ruh-few-zay
embrasser ahN-brah-say regarder ruh-gahr-day
entrer ahN-tray regretter ruh-greh-tay
envelopper ahN-vloh-pay remarquer ruh-mahr-kay
hésiter ay-zee-tay réparer ray-pah-ray
ignorer ee-nyoh-ray réserver ray-zehr-vay
signer see-nyay vérifier vay-ree-fyay
tourner toor-nay
The IR Family The RE Family
accomplir ah-kohn-pleer défendre day-fah-Ndr
applaudir ah-plo-deer répondre ray-pohNdr
finir fee-neer vendre vahNdr
This Is Easy
As a matter of fact, this is so easy that you can easily read and understand these sentences without any problem at all:
1. Le serveur aide le touriste.
luh sehr-vuhr ehd luh too-reest
2. Maman prépare de la soupe et de la salade.
mah-mahN pray-pahr duh lah soop ay duh lah sah-lahd
3. Le mécanicien répare le moteur.
luh may-kah-nee-syaN ray-pahr luh moh-tuhr
4. Le bébé regarde la télévision.
luh bay-bay ruh-gahrd lah tay-lay-vee-zyohN
5. Le touriste réserve la chambre.
luh too-reest ray-sehrv lah shahNbr
6. Le guide recommande le café.
luh geed ruh-koh-mahNd luh kah-fay
7. L'employé vend la marchandise.
l'ahN-plwah-yay vahN lah mahr-shahN-deez
8. L'enfant adore la musique moderne.
lahN-fahN ah-dohr lah mew-zeek moh-dehrn
9. L'acteur préfère l'opéra italien.
lahk-tuhr pray-fehr l'oh-pay-rah ee-tah-lyaN
10. La famille désire l'hôtel confortable.
lah fah-mee-y day-zeer lo-tehl kohN-fohr-tahbl
Some special tricks on pronunciation have already been mentioned in chapter 2. When you look bwlow, you will see how adding an s after an accent circonflexe (^) and how substituting an s for an é or adding one after it will help you figure out the meanings of many words.
accent (^) English é English
arrêter (ah-ruh-tay) to arrest écarlate (ay-kahr-laht) scarlet
bête (beht) beast échapper (ay-shah-pay) to escape
conquête (kohN-keht) conquest école (ay-kohl) school
coûter (koo-tay) to cost épars (ay-pahr) sparse
croûte (kroot) crust épellation (ay-puh-lah-syohN) spelling
fête (feht) feast épice (ay-pees) spice
forêt (foh-reh) forest épier (ay-pyay) to spy
hôpital (o-pee-tahl) hospital éponge (ay-pohNzh) sponge
hôte (ot) host épouser (ay-poo-zay) to espouse
