GCSE
French

This was done in Year 7 and will no doubt turn up in your GCSE exam in one way or another.  

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Bonjour, je m'appelle Bob. J'ai 14 ans. J'habite à Clynderwen. J'ai une soeur, un frère et un chien.

OK, step 1 only gets you so far.  And now it is time to pause and learn verbs (doing words).  Once this step 'done', you will not be able to do much more instantly. But, in the long term, this is key to success.  In red , those you need to know English to French and French to English.  The others, from French to English only

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• aimer > to like, to love

• chanter  > to sing

• commencer > to begin

• danser > to dance

• détester  > to hate

• donner  > to give

• écouter > to listen to

• étudier   > to stud

• jouer > to play

• laver  > to wash

• manger  > to eat

• nager  > to swim

• parler  > to talk, to speak

• porter  > to wear, to carry

• travailler  > to work

• trouver  > to find

• voler  > to fly, to steal

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Each verb has three spellings: one for the present, one for the past and one for the future.  Some of you know that this is a lie but, for now, let's keep things easy so that we can make easy progress...

For the present tense, change the verb chanter (to sing, for example) to Je chante (I sing or I am singing).  Here are the others and, as you will see, learn the pattern and your grand mother can do it (get rid of the last 'r'):

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• chanter  > to sing.             Je chante = I sing (or: I am singing)

• danser > to dance             Je danse  = I danse (or:I am dancing)

• détester  > to hate             Je déteste = I hate (or...) 

• écouter > to listen to.       Je écoute  = I listen

• étudier   > to study           Je étudie = I study

• jouer > to play                   Je joue= I play

• manger  > to eat                Je mange = I eat

• nager  > to swim               Je nage = I swim

• parler  > to speak              Je parle= I speak

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OK, good to know.  When you learn another language, you learn to think differently.  This means that it is not about translating each word into another.  Write a sentence in English, translate each word into French and you get...  nothing!  Computers still cannot beat humans.

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Past tense now.  This is also the time to change the basic spelling but this time, we also add a tiddly word in front of it.  There is no point asking why.  It is what it is because French people think differently.  Feels weird to us (well, you) but it is normal for us (I mean us Frenchies).

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• chanter  > to sing.             J'ai chanté = I sing (or: I am singing)

• danser > to dance             J'ai dans​é  = I danse (or:I am dancing)

• détester  > to hate             J'ai détesté = I hate (or...) 

• écouter > to listen to.       J'ai écouté  = I listen

• étudier   > to study           J'ai étudié = I study

• jouer > to play                   J'ai joué= I play

• manger  > to eat                J'ai mangé = I eat

• nager  > to swim               J'ai nagé = I swim

• parler  > to speak              J'ai parlé= I speak

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Note: a Telephone is, in French, Téléphone.

Frankly, if you forget the accents in the middle of a word, no one cares.

However:

Forget the é at the end of a verb and this matters very much.

How much?

Get everything right in the GCSE exam and forget the é at the end of a verb and your maximum grade will be D.

So, when you do forget the é, expect your teacher to have a heart attack, hit the roof, lose his/her rag and then, finally, go apoplectic just before going ballistic.

Now that you are happy changing the last letter and adding a little word, the Future tense is straight forward:

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• chanter  > to sing.        Je vais chanter= I am going to sing (similar to I will sing)

• danser > to dance        Je vais dans​er  = I am going to danse (similar to I will danse)

• détester  > to hate        Je vais détester = I am going to hate (or...) 

• écouter > to listen to.  Je vais écouter = I am going to listen

• étudier   > to study      Je vais étudier = I am going to study

• jouer > to play              Je vais jouer= I am going to play

• manger  > to eat           Je vais manger = I am going to eat

• nager  > to swim          Je vais nager = I am going to swim

• parler  > to speak         Je vais parler= I am going to speak

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So:

1) You can introduce yourself but after that, you are in the dark

and:

2) you have started to learn some verbs. Some from English to French and French to English, others just from French to English (for reading and listening).  Having said that, they are not much use unless you know how to change the endings.  There are three options...

3) In the present, get rid of  the r and write je parle (I speak)

This works for all the verbs we have learnt

4) In the past, change 'je' into 'j'ai" and change the -er into -é to do: J'ai parlé (I spoke)

This works for all the verbs we have learnt

5) In the future, change je into 'je vais' and keep the -er at the end: Je vais parler (I am going to speak)

This works for all the verbs we... well, you get it.

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Have you noticed:

* So far we can only talk about ourselves (good enough for now)

* In French, I eat or I am eating has pretty much the same answer.

* We have not done 'I will' for the future but we have learnt 'I am going to (whatever)'.  Again, good enough!

my father = mon pere

my mother= ma mere

my grand father= mon grand'pere

my grand mother = ma grand'mere

my brother= mon frere

my sister= ma soeur

my uncle= mon oncle

my aunt = ma tante

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Have you noticed that there are 2 ways of saying 'My' in French. Why is that?

Now you are reaching the stage of knowing quite a lot of words but you struggle to put them together in a sentence.

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You need connectives to connect (!) words!

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because= car or parce que

but= mais

when = quand

therefore= donc

as= comme

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If you have not started to write your essay (see instructions at the top of the page), now is a good time.

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Using the content of the last 10 steps, how many sentences can you come up with?  

In French, at the start, you do not write or speak about what you want, you write or speak about what you can.  At the start, you will not have much to say.  At this stage, it is OK to be boring.  Builders do not start with huge buildings, they start with itty bitty walls.

Adjectives (words that describe).

Most adjectives have 2 spellings.  One way if it describes a male word. 1 if it describes a female word.

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Tall = grand

Bob is tall= Bob est grand (no change, Bob is male)

Sarah is tall= Sarah est grande (add an e as Sarah is female)

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small/short= petit

blue= bleu

red= rouge

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OK, you can now write about yourself in the three tenses.

Je parle= I speak

J'ai parlé = I spoke

Je vais parler= I am ging to speak

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If you want to write about someone else (he or she= il or elle), it is slightly different in the past and future

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il/elle parle = he/she speaks

il/elle a parlé= he/she spoke

il/elle va parler= he/she is going to speak

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If you talk about Bob, then just replace the word il with Bob

Bob parle= Bob speaks

In French, at the start, you do not write or speak about what you want, you write or speak about what you can.  At the start, you will not have much to say.  At this stage, it is OK to be boring.  Builders do not start with huge buildings, they start with itty bitty walls.

In French, at the start, you do not write or speak about what you want, you write or speak about what you can.  At the start, you will not have much to say.  At this stage, it is OK to be boring.  Builders do not start with huge buildings, they start with itty bitty walls.

It is quite easy to stretch your sentences using likes and dislike

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to like= aimer

to love= adorer

to hate= detester

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Using the steps before you should be able to write:

I like

he likes

Bob likes

I love

Bob loves

I hate

Bob hates

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Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

You already know that there are 2 ways of writing an adjective.  A male and a female version.  Normally, just add an extra 'e' if the word describes a female word.

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But actually, it also depends of numbers.  It depends of singular or plural.  When it describes one thing, then use the normal male/ female system.  If you describe more than one thing (plural) just add an extra 's'.  Simple!

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Subjects: Le Francais, l'Anglais, le Gallois

Key word: La matiere, le Bac, le stress

Key adjective: stressant

Key verbs: reviser, etudier, reviser

Key expression: j'apprends

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Write an essay about yourself and your friends, technology and media, health and fitness, entertainment, food and drink and festivals and celebrations.  3 sentences per sub topic per topic.

As you have by now noticed, some describing words behave weirdly.

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!

Ready to go to intermediate stage?  Actually, this is not a challenge as you have effectively done the hardest in French.  The intermediate and advanced stage are all about vocab and a bit more grammar.  But the hard bit is behind us!