French/Lessons/Youth

Grammar: Imperfect - Imparfait
The imparfait is used to "set the tone" of a past situation. An example in English being: "We were singing when Dad came home." It tells what was going on when a particular action or event occurred. In French, the above example would be: "Nous chantions quand papa est rentré."

In order to conjugate the imperfect,


 * take the 1st person plural of the verb you want to conjugate:


 * Remove the -ons ending to find the stem, and add these endings:


 * Verbs ending -cer and -ger are semi-irregular, as shown below. The irregular forms are in bold.


 * Note: The only verb that has an irregular stem (one not derived from the nous form of the present indicative) is être. The imperfect endings are added to ét___. Every other verb uses the nous form of the present indicative as its root.

Grammar: Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns replace possessive article + noun sets.


 * Vous avez votre voiture? - You have your car?
 * Oui, nous avons la nôtre. - Yes, we have ours.

À + a stress pronoun is used when the noun replaced is also the subject of the sentence. This usually occurs in sentences with être.
 * Elle est ta voiture? - Is that your car?
 * Oui, elle est à moi. - Yes, it is mine.

-exer Verbs
-exer are regular -er verbs, but also are stem changing. The stem change applies to all forms except nous and vous in the present and all forms of the future simple. The stem change involves adding a grave accent ( ` ) over the e in the stem.

acheter lever
 * Tenses affected by this rule: Present, Future Simple

-éxer Verbs
Like -exer verbs, the accent acute above the e ( é ) changes to an accent grave ( è ) in all forms except nous and vous in the present. However, unlike similar stem changes, this does not affect the Future Simple.

suggérer préférer
 * Tenses affected by this rule: Present

-yer Verbs
-yer verbs are regular -er verbs. However, in all forms except nous and vous in the present and all forms of the future simple, the "y" changes to an "i".

essayer nettoyer
 * Tenses affected by this rule: Present, Future Simple

Appeler
All forms except nous and vous in the present and all forms of the future simple have the l doubled.


 * Tenses affected by this rule: Present, Future Simple

-cer Verbs
The last c in the verb changes to ç in the nous form of the present and all forms except the "nous" and "vous" forms of the imperfect.

commencer lancer
 * Tenses affected by this rule: Present, Imperfect

-ger Verbs
An e is added after the g in the nous form of the present and all forms except the "nous" and "vous" forms of the imperfect.

changer manger
 * Tenses affected by this rule: Present, Imperfect

Vocabulary: Children's Games and Toys

 * un hochet
 * un cheval de bois
 * une poupée
 * une dinette
 * un train électrique
 * des légos
 * un ours en peluche
 * une console de jeu (une nintendo, une gameboy, une ps2)
 * des jeux de société : le monopoly, le cluedo, la bonne paye
 * des "transformers"

Vocabulary: The Carnival
 See List of Party Words

Petit Papa Noël
Author : Raymond Vincy (1946)

Composer : Henri Martinet

Long version in italics

C'est la belle nuit de Noël

La neige étend son manteau blanc

Et les yeux levés vers le ciel A genoux

les petits enfants

Avant de fermer les paupières

Font une dernière prière 

{Refrain:}

Petit Papa Noël

Quand tu descendras du ciel

Avec des jouets par milliers

N'oublie pas mon petit soulier

Mais, avant de partir

Il faudra bien te couvrir

Dehors tu vas avoir si froid

C'est un peu à cause de moi

Il me tarde tant que le jour se lève

Pour voir si tu m'as apporté

Tous les beaux joujoux que je vois en rêve

Et que je t'ai commandés

{Refrain}

Le marchand de sable est passé

Les enfants vont faire dodo

Et tu vas pouvoir commencer

Avec ta hotte sur le dos

Au son des cloches des églises

Ta distribution de surprises 

Et quand tu seras sur ton beau nuage

Viens d'abord sur notre maison

Je n'ai pas été tous les jours très sage

Mais j'en demande pardon

{Refrain}

Petit Papa Noël