If you haven’t done so already, read over the introductory lesson on gender in French grammar.  Once you get the basic principal of all nouns having gender and start to memorize the various French words vocabulary for ‘the’ and ‘a,’ you’ll be ready to move on to…

… Gendered pronouns!  Get ready folks, ‘my,’ ‘your,’ ‘his,’ and ‘her’ all have gender in French, but they have nothing to do with the person in question!

• My
• Your (informal)
• His/her

My:

When we talk about possession in French, the gender always matches the object, not the possessor.

mon (masc. sing.)

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• e.g. - mon livre [my book]

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I am a woman, but a book (livre) is masculine, so (no matter who is speaking), ‘my book’ is always ‘mon livre.’

ma (fem. sing.)

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• e.g. - ma calculatrice [my calculator]

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Again, calculatrice is feminine, so no matter who possesses it, that person alway says ‘ma calculatrice.’

mes (m. or f. plur.)

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• e.g. - mes amis (m. pl.) [my friends]

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• e.g. - mes clefs (f. pl.) [my keys]

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NOTE: mon is used before nouns of either gender that begin with a vowel.  This rule is based purely in sound.

• e.g. - mon amie (f.) [my friend]

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Your (informal):

Same rules as with ‘my.’

ton (masc. sing. informal)

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• e.g. - ton stylo [your pen]

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Doesn’t matter if the owner is a man or a woman, it is always ton stylo.

ta (fem. sing. informal)

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• e.g. - ta bouteille [your bottle]

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‘Bottle’ is feminine, and so must the possessive pronoun be.

tes (m. or f. plur. informal)

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• e.g. - tes chaises (f. pl.) [your chairs]

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• e.g. - tes crayons (m. pl.) [your pencils]

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NOTE: As with mon, ton is always used in front of a noun starting with a vowel.

• e.g. - ton idée (f.) [your idea]

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His/her:

In French, when talking about third person possessive pronouns, gender refers to the object, not the possessor.

This is one of the hardest things for English-speakers to wrap their heads around when speaking French.  Forget about ‘his’ and ‘her,’ because those words refer to the gender of the possessor.

son (masc. sing.)

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• e.g. - son livre [his/her book]

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Whether it’s Jane’s book or John’s book, it’s always son livre.

sa (fem. sing.)

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• e.g. - sa banque [his/her bank]

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ses (m. or f. plur.)

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• e.g. - ses clefs (f. pl.) [his/her keys]

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• e.g. - ses stylos (m. pl.) [his/her pens]

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As with mon and ton, son is always used in front of a singular noun that starts with a vowel, whether the noun is masculine or feminine.

• e.g. - son idée (f.) [his/her idea]

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Related Posts:

• Introduction to masculine and feminine in French
• Gender exceptions: pronouns ‘your,’ ‘our’ and ‘their’
• ‘Le’ and ‘la’ with ‘de’ and ‘à’

Okay, last one on grammar for a while.  If you haven’t already, go ahead and read an introduction to masculine and feminine, so you have a firm understanding of le, la and les.

This is the last lesson in a short series on gender in French.  Once you understand that every noun is either masculine or feminine, you’ll want to know how to apply this knowledge within a sentence.

The prepositions à and de (meaning ‘to’/'at’ and ‘of’/'from’ respectively) are two of the most common you’ll encounter in French.  Let’s make sure you know how to use them correctly with their companions, le, la, and les.

• ‘To’ and ‘at’
• ‘Of’ and ‘from’
• ‘Some’

‘To’ and ‘at’:

à

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à + la = à la

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• e.g. - Je vais à la banque.  [I'm going to the bank.]

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Because ‘bank’ is feminine (la banque), à la is used.

à + le = au

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• e.g. - Il est au parc. [He is at the park.]

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Because ‘park’ is masculine (le parc), au is used.

à + l’ + à l’

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• e.g. - Elle travaille à l’usine.  [She works at the factory.]

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Remember, before a vowel, both le and la become l’.

à + les = aux

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• e.g. - La maîtresse parle aux élèves. [The teacher speaks to the students.]

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In the case of plural nouns, gender no longer applies to the article (les).

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‘Of and ‘from’:

de

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de + la = de la

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• e.g. - C’est le sac de la prof. [It's the professor's bag. (Lit. It's the bag of the professor.)]

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In French, there is no equivalent to our ‘apostrophe s,’ so you must say, ‘it is the [blank] of [someone/something].’  In this case, we see that the professor (la prof) is feminine.

de + le = du

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• e.g. - Il vient du Canada. [He comes from Canada.]

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In French, all countries take an article (le or la).  Canada is masculine (le Canada), so we use du in this example.

de + l’ = de l’

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• e.g. - Elle vient de l’Angleterre. [She comes from England.]

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Again, any noun (masculine or feminine) that begins with a vowel changes the le or la to l’.

de + les = des

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• Ils viennent des États-Unis. [They come from the United States.]

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As in English, the ‘United States’ are plural in French (les États-Unis), so with de, it becomes des.

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‘Some’:

In the introduction to masculine and feminine, I went over le, la and les (all words for ‘the’), as well as un and une (the masculine and feminine for ‘a’).

What I didn’t go over was ’some,’ the plural of ‘a.’

In French, the word ’some’ is same as ‘of the’ and ‘from the’: de la, du, de l’, and des.  As I’ve already gone over construction above, I will simply give examples here.

• e.g. - Je voudrais du fromage.  [I would like some cheese.]

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• e.g. - Il a des fraises.  [He has some strawberries.]

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• e.g. - Elle achète de la farine. [She's buying some flour.]

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• e.g. - Tu veux de l’oignon?  [Do you want some onion?]

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Related Posts:

• Introduction to masculine and feminine in French
• Gendered pronouns: ‘my,’ ‘your,’ ‘his’ and ‘her’
• Gender exceptions: pronouns ‘your,’ ‘our,’ and ‘their’

If you haven’t done so already, take a quick look at the lessons on gender in French grammar and gendered French pronouns.

Most pronouns are gendered to match the nouns they accompany or replace.  There are a few, however, that remain the same for nouns of either gender (hooray!), and change only in plural form.

• Your
• Our
• Their

Your (formal or plural):

votre (masc. or fem. sing. formal)

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• e.g. - votre stylo (m.) [your pen]

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• e.g. - votre chaise (f.) [your chair]

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vos (m. or f. plural formal)

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• e.g. - vos idées (f. pl.) [your ideas]

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• e.g. - vos crayons (m. pl.) [your pencils]

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NOTE: votre and vos are used when addressing someone in a formal situation OR when addressing more than one person.  See previous lesson for rules on ‘your’ (informal).

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Our:

notre (m. or f. sing.)

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• e.g. - notre stylo (m.) [our pen]

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• e.g. - notre chaise (f.) [our chair]

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nos (m. or f. plural)

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• e.g. - nos idées (f. pl.) [our ideas]

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• e.g. - nos crayons (m. pl.) [our pencils]

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Their:

leur (m. or f. sing.)

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• e.g. - leur stylo (m.) [their pen]

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• e.g. - leur chaise (f.) [their chair]

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leurs (m. or f. plur.)

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• e.g. - leurs idées (f. pl.) [their ideas]

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• e.g. - leurs crayons (m. pl.) [their pencils]

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Related Posts:

• Introduction to masculine and feminine in French
• Gendered pronouns: ‘my, ‘your,’ ‘his,’ and ‘her’
• ‘Le’ and ‘la’ with ‘de’ and ‘à’

What on earth is ‘ben’?

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Or ban or bin or bink, depending on whom you ask or what you read. Ben is a filler word; it is ‘um,’ ‘er,’ ‘well,’ ‘hmm,’ and ‘but’ all rolled together. In short, ben is what you say when you’re not yet sure what to say, or when what follows is obvious.

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You’ll hear ‘ben oui’ and ‘ben non’ all over the place, which seem to be variations on ‘mais oui,’ and ‘mais non’ (‘but of course,’ ‘but of course not’).

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‘Ben je pas’ is another favorite—short for ‘je ne sais pas’ (I don’t know).

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As with any slang term, ben was invented by speakers (who knows who said it first, though I’m sure many claim to be the originator), thus its lack of clear spelling. You won’t learn it in your French textbook, though it may pop up in dictionaries in a year or two.

Of course, the French are very proud of their language and reluctant to amend it without serious consideration. So, for now, ben lives on in oral exchange, and now you don’t have to feel like a dunce when you hear it.

Okay, I know, grammar (to people who aren’t nerds, like me) is not very exciting, but there are some distinct differences between English and French grammar that must be addressed.

All nouns in French (and their associated pronouns, articles, and adjectives) have a gender.

That is to say, every person, place or thing is either masculine or feminine.

People are easy: females are feminine, males are masculine (speaking strictly in terms of grammar).

It’s the places and things that can cause a bit of a headache, but for now, we’ll just look at the gendered articles that must match the noun in question:

• The
• A/an

The:

le (masculine singular)

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• e.g. - le robinet [the faucet]

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la (feminine singular)

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• e.g. - la vache [the cow]

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l’ (m. or f. sing. in front of a vowel and most words beginning with h*)

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• e.g. - l’usine (f.) [the factory]

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• e.g. - l’hôpital (m.) [the hospital]

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les (m. or f. plural)

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• e.g. - les parcs (m.pl.) [the parks]

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• e.g. - les banques (f.pl.) [the banks]

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*This is a tricky rule that can’t really predicted.  As you see here, ‘hôpital’ takes ‘l”, but sometimes a glottal sound is given to the h, as in le hockey.

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A/an:

un (masc.)

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• e.g. - un œuf [an egg]

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une (fem.)

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• e.g. - une banane [a banana]

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Related Posts:

• Gendered pronouns: ‘my,’ ‘your,’ ‘his’ and ‘her’
• Gender exceptions: ‘your,’ ‘our’ and ‘their’
• ‘Le’ and ‘la’ with ‘de’ and ‘à’

“Nous sommes mercredi.”
“We are Wednesday.”

This is the way I learned to announce the day of the week in French class; according tomy middle school text book, in France, we are the day of the week.I have never actually heard anyone say it this way.

“C’est mercredi,” is the most common way to say, “It is Wednesday.”  “Nous sommes..,” plus the day of the week,  is also listed in my trusty French dictionary as a correct translation, but it doesn’t seem to be used much.  And really, how often do you go around announcing the day of the week, anyway?

What you should know is how to say each of the days of the week, in French.   This will help in lessons to come, and in your general ability to communicate and make plans!

Le Jour The Day

*In France, the calendar week starts on Monday.None of the days of the week are capitalized,and they are all masculine (and so take le and un as articles).

Vocabulaire                  Vocabulary

A shortie but a goodie!  You’ll want to refer back to this list when we start talking about finding accommodation.

A la prochaine!

(Until next time!)

When Americans think of suburbs, we tend to envision rows of look-alike houses, white picket fences, and sprawling lawns where 2.5 children play as their adoring parents look on. Er, well, that’s what we would have envisioned in the 1950s with the introductions of places like Levittown. In any case, we still picture a place for families outside the hustle and bustle of the big city with good schools a grocery store on every third corner.

The suburbs (les banlieues) of Paris more closely resemble the suburbs of Dickens’ London (the frequent subject of his writing and reality of the day): areas of sequestered poverty, largely cut off by lack of transport from the city center.

Whereas U.S. cities tend to feature inner-city areas of high poverty and crime rates—people who can afford it may live outside the city and commute—Paris has kept its inner city pristine.

In mid-20th-century Paris, there was a concerted effort to rid the city of any impoverished areas. Low-income housing was demolished and its residents forced out into the banlieues. Paris, after all, has a certain image of wonder and enchantment to maintain, and the powers-that-be (or were) decided that poor people were not part of that esthetic.

The result? The banlieues continue to exist as places to hide the unwanted. Institutional racism is an ongoing problem in France, and many immigrants are more or less forced (due to discriminatory housing laws) to live in areas with limited access to the city, itself.

The RER serves some of the banlieues—you’ll certainly always get a reliable ride to l’Aéroport Charles de Gaulle

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—but other areas on the outskirts of the city have no RER service. The people that live there, often without cars of their own, are completely cut off. The RER lines that do serve poor banlieues are notoriously late, unmonitored, and at times, dangerous.

Don’t get me wrong, people take the RER to work every day, but even those people don’t always feel safe (I read numerous articles while in France featuring interviews with RER-commuters).

Even The City of Light has its darker side. The Parisian suburbs are just one example of how France doesn’t quite have it all worked out just yet.

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Les Rues de Paris: Partie Deux – The Streets of Paris: Part Two

“Demander son chemin”

-

“To ask for directions”

You’ve arrived in France and made it to your hotel.  You’re jetlagged, but determined!  With a copy of Paris Arrondissments in hand (you picked one up at an outdoor presse on the way to the hotel), you have all the tools you need to start your Parisian adventure.

You have a plan.  You hop on the métro, using the réseau page to lay out your journey, and get ready to begin a day of sight-seeing in one of the most fantastic cities in the world.  You are soaking in the sounds all around you—the French language, the music, the métro performers.  You notice the graffiti fly by on the interior walls of the tunnels you as you speed past and wonder how someone even got there to tag that wall and—you’ve missed you’re stop.

This, of course, is where the real adventure begins.  You had a plan, but that’s just gone out the window.  When things don’t go as predicted (and they often don’t), you’d best have your wits about you—and a few handy French phrases.

Read on to pair new vocabulary and phrases with terms from Part One.

Try putting some sentences together on your own, and soon, you’ll be able to get yourself out of any sticky situation.

(I’ve provided some dialogue samples below.)

Vocabulaire                    Vocabulary

Phrases/Questions

Réponses                                          Responses

Par Exemple                                   For Example

No need to fear getting lost in a strange city!  You now have the tools to get yourself out of

(almost) any bind… and probably to get yourself into a few, as well!

“Une chambre, deux lits”
“One room, two beds”

When my boyfriend and his brother were traveling by bike through the south of France, this was the phrase they lived by.  It was simple, to the point, and got them what they needed as far as accommodation was concerned.

At the end of a long day of cycling, all they wanted was one room, two beds, and a big, French dinner to fill them up.  Of course, they didn’t know how to ask for that last part, but I’m sure a good deal of gesticulating got them a square meal.

The point is, you don’t need much to get by, but if you’re standards are a bit higher, you might want a few more phrases in your French arsenal.

Booking a hotel in a foreign language can be intimidating, but most of it can be done online these days.  Once you get to the hotel, however, it’s always good to ask a few clarifying questions.

Pharses/Questions                        Pharses/Questions

a/the                         Vocabulaire                    Vocabulary

*The French have taken to using the phrase “check out,” as well.

Throw it in with a French accent, and they’ll totally get it.

Pharses/Questions            Pharses/Questions