Inviting and

Replying with

Verbs and

Prepositions

MASTER THESE SKILLS

•

Using verbs to extend invitations

•

Using prepositions to join your thoughts

•

Using stress pronouns to extend

invitations

•

Accepting, refusing, and showing

indifference and indecision

In this chapter you’ll learn how to extend,

accept, and tactfully refuse an invitation to

a variety of interesting and popular tourist

attractions and sights.

VERBS FOR INVITATIONS

You may use the verb

vouloir

(to want) to extend an invitation:

vouloir

, to want

je veux I want

tu veux you want

il, elle, on veut he, she, one wants

nous voulons we want

vous voulez you want

ils, elles veulent they want

Special Uses of

Vouloir

Vouloir

usually expresses strong will and is similar to a command:

Elle

ne veut pas venir

. (She doesn’t want to come./She will not come.)

•

Use the conditional of

vouloir

to be more courteous:

Je voudrais

venir.

(I would like to come.)

•

Use the command form—

veuillez

+ infinitive—to express a polite

command:

Veuillez venir avec nous

. (Please come with us.)

•

The phrase

vouloir bien

means “to be willing, to be good enough to”:

Tu veux bien venir avec nous?

(Would you like to come with us?)

Or you may use the verb

pouvoir

(to be able to, can) to ask whether

someone is available:

pouvoir

, to be able to, can

je peux I am able to, can

tu peux you are able to, can

il, elle, on peut he, she, one is able to, can

nous pouvons we are able to, can

vous pouvez you are able to, can

ils, elles peuvent they are able to, can

Special Uses of

Pouvoir

Pouvoir

can be used as follows:

•

To express ability:

Tu peux jouer du piano

. (You can play piano.)

•

To express permissibility or possibility:

Tu peux venir.

(You may

come.)

Il peut venir demain.

(He is able to come tomorrow.)

•

The conditional of

pouvoir

means “might, could”:

Nous pourrions

venir demain.

(We could [might] come tomorrow.)

•

Pouvoir

may be used idiomatically in the following expressions:

n’y pouvoir rien (to be beyond one’s control):

Je n’y peux rien. I can’t do anything about it./

NOTE

It’s beyond my control.

n’en pouvoir plus (to be exhausted, worn out):

Je n’en peux plus. I’m exhausted./I’m worn out.

To extend an invitation, you use the verbs discussed in this section, plus

an infinitive:

Do you want to go . . . ? Vous voulez aller . . . ? Tu veux aller . . . ?

Can you go out . . . ? Vous pouvez sortir . . . ? Tu peux sortir . . . ?

To be very polite, use the conditional of the verb vouloir or pouvoir to

extend your invitation:

Would you like to go . . . ? Voudriez-vous aller . . . ?

Could you go out . . . ? Pourrais-tu sortir . . . ?

PREPOSITIONS

You can use the prepositions below to show the relation of a noun to

another word in a sentence. Prepositions come in handy when you’re

extending an invitation, as well as in common everyday situations.

about de behind derrière

according to selon between entre

after après by, through par

against contre despite malgré

among parmi during pendant

at the house of chez except sauf

before avant for pour

from de to à

in dans, en, à toward vers

in front of devant under sous

of de with avec

on sur without sans

since depuis

Compound Prepositions

about, à propos de, far from loin de

concerning au sujet de

above, over au-dessus de

in order to afin de

across à travers

in the middle of au milieu de

around autour de

instead of au lieu de

at the bottom of au bas de

near près de

at the end of au bout de

next to à côté de

because of à cause de

opposite en face de

beginning with à partir de

to the left (of) à gauche (de)

below, beneath au-dessous de

to the right (of) à droite (de)

Some prepositions require special attention. The selection of the correct

word for

in

, when referring to a place, may present some difficulty. The

following explanations should help eliminate any problems:

Dans

,

À

, and

En

•

Dans

means “inside, within an enclosed or specific place”:

J’habite dans un petit appartement

. (I live in a small apartment.)

•

À

+ definite article refers to a general location where specific

boundaries are not suggested or implied.

À

+ definite article must

be used when the place named is an institution, such as a museum,

church, or college, unless “inside the building” is meant:

Nous

allons au musée

. (We are going to the museum.)

•

En

is usually used instead of

à

+ definite article in the following

expressions:

en ville

(downtown, in the city);

en mer

(at sea);

en prison

(in jail);

Nous dînons en ville.

(We are dining out

[in the city, downtown].)

NOTE

Dans is usually used with an indefinite article (un, une, des), whereas à is

usually used with a definite article (le, la, l’, les):

Il habite dans une maison. He lives in a house.

Il est à la maison. He is at home.

À

and

De

As seen above, the prepositions

à

(to) and

de

(from) are used when referring

to

places

other

than

countries.

It

is

important

to

contract

à

and

de

with the definite article (

the

), as shown below, before a masculine singular

or any plural noun.

À

and

de

do not contract with

la

or

l’

:

à + le = au Ils vont au café. They are going to the café.

à + les = aux Elle va aux magasins. She is going to the stores.

de + le = du Il parle du match. He talks about the match.

de + les = des Elle parle des nouvelles. She speaks about the news.

PLACES

If you are a traveler, student, or businessperson in the French-speaking

world, or if you happen to meet a French speaker who needs assistance

in your own hometown, you will find the names of the places listed

below quite useful.

amusement le parc mall le centre

park d’attractions commercial

beach la plage movies le cinéma

castle le château museum le musée

cathedral la cathédrale nightclub la boîte de nuit

church l’église (f.) park le parc

club la discothèque restaurant le restaurant

fountain la fontaine square la place

garden le jardin theater le théâtre

library la bibliotheque zoo le zoo

STRESS PRONOUNS

Stress pronouns are so named because they are pronouns that you use to

emphasize a certain fact, and they may highlight or replace certain nouns

or pronouns. Stress pronouns are also used after prepositions. In many

cases, stress pronouns are useful for extending an invitation.

SUBJECT STRESS PRONOUN MEANING

je moi I, me

tu toi you (familiar)

il lui he, him

elle elle she

on soi oneself

nous nous we, us

vous vous you (polite)

ils eux they, them

elles elles they, them

NOTE

The stress pronoun soi is used with an indefinite subject such as on (one),

chacun (each one), and tout le monde (everyone): On pense à soi.

(One thinks of oneself.)

You can use stress pronouns in situations where you would like to extend

an invitation, or in other everyday conversations as follows:

•

In situations where you want to stress the subject:

Moi, je voudrais

aller au cinéma. Et toi, tu veux venir?

(Me, I’d like to go to the

movies. And you, do you want to come?)

•

When the pronoun has no verb:

Qui veut aller au musée? —Moi

.

(Who wants to go to the museum? —Me.)

•

After prepositions when referring to a person or persons:

Vous

voulez aller chez lui?

(Do you want to go to his house?)

•

After

c’est

:

C’est elle qui voudrait aller au cirque

. (She [is the one

who] would like to go to the movies.)

NOTE

Although c’est means “it is,” c’est is popularly used before plural stress

pronouns, rather than the more grammatical ce sont (they are):

C’est nous. (It’s us.) C’est eux. (It’s them.)

•

After the following verbs:

avoir affaire à to have business with

être à to belong to

faire attention à to pay attention to

penser à to think about (of)

se fier à to trust

s’intéresser à to be interested in

Ce stylo est à moi. This pen belongs to me.

•

In compound subjects:

Lucien et lui vont au centre commercial.

(Lucien and he go to the mall.)

If

moi

or

toi

is one of the stress pronouns in a compound subject,

the subject pronoun

nous

or

vous

, respectively, may be used in summary

(someone

+

me

=

we;

someone

+

you

[singular]

=

you

[plural]),

but

it

is

not

required:

Luc et moi, nous allons Luc and I are going

au restaurant./Luc et

to the restaurant.

moi allons au restaurant.

Anne et toi, vous allez Anne and you are

au café./Anne et toi going to the café.

allez au café.

•

With

-même

(

s

) to reinforce the subject:

Jean est allé lui-même à la

plage

. (John himself went to the beach.)

EXTENDING AN INVITATION

By combining all the elements presented so far in this chapter, you can

now try to extend your own invitation.

1. Start with a verb in its polite or familiar form:

Vous voulez Tu veux Do you want . . . ?

Vous pouvez Tu peux Can you . . . ?

Vous désirez Tu désires Do you wish . . . ?

Vous avez envie de (d’) Tu as envie de (d’) Do you feel like . . . ?

2. Add an infinitive:

aller

(to go),

sortir

(to go out),

venir

(to come).

3. Use the correct form of the

à

+ definite article followed by the name

of a place:

au café

(to the café),

à la plage

(to the beach),

à l’église

(to the church),

aux fontaines

(to the fountains).

4. Add a preposition + a stress pronoun:

avec moi

(with me),

avec nous

(with us).

Your final product should look and sound something like this example:

Vous voulez aller au cinéma avec nous?

(Do you want to go to the

movies with us?)

ACCEPTING AN INVITATION

Perhaps you receive an invitation that intrigues you. Saying yes is easy.

Just nod your head and use the word

oui

to show your eager acceptance.

You may also use any of the phrases listed below:

And how!/You bet! Et comment!

Gladly! Volontiers!

Great! Chouette!

If you want to. Si tu veux./Si vous voulez.

OK./I agree. D’accord.

Of course. Bien entendu./Bien sûr.

Thank you. Merci.

I thank you. Je vous (te) remercie.

Thank you very much. Merci beaucoup.

That’s a good idea. C’est une bonne idée.

There’s no doubt about it. Il n’y a pas de doute.

Why not? Pourquoi pas?

With pleasure. Avec plaisir.

To express the phrase “You’re welcome,” you can use any of these

phrases:

De rien.

Il n’y a pas de quoi.

Je vous en prie.

REFUSING AN INVITATION

Refusing is another story because you must remain tactful. An invitation

can be cordially and politely refused by expressing regrets and giving a

valid excuse. The phrases you may need to use in both formal and informal

situations

are:

Unfortunately . . . Malheureusement . . .

I can’t. Je ne peux pas.

I don’t feel like it. Je n’ai pas envie.

I don’t have the money. Je n’ai pas l’argent.

I don’t have the time. Je n’ai pas le temps.

I don’t want to. Je ne veux pas.

I’m busy. Je suis occupé(e).

I’m not free. Je ne suis pas libre.

I’m sorry. Je regrette./Je suis désolé.

I’m tired. Je suis fatigué(e).

It’s impossible. C’est impossible.

It’s too late. C’est trop tard.

Not again! Encore!

Perhaps some other time. Une autre fois peut-être.

EXPRESSING INDECISION AND INDIFFERENCE

If you receive an invitation and are at a loss as to what to do, express

your indecision or indifference by using the phrases below:

I don’t have any preference. Je n’ai pas de préférence.

I really don’t know. Je ne sais vraiment pas.

It depends. Ça dépend.

It’s all the same to me. Ça m’est égal.

Perhaps./Maybe. Peut-être.

Whatever you want. Ce que tu préfères (vous préférez).

NO

The simplest of all the French negatives is

ne

. . .

pas

, which expresses

“not.” In simple and compound tenses,

ne

precedes the conjugated verb

(in compound tenses, the helping verb) and

pas

follows it:

SIMPLE COMPOUND

Je ne finis pas mon travail. Je n’ai pas fini mon travail.

(I’m not finishing my work.) (I didn’t finish my work.)

at a particular, specific moment in time:

Je ne finissais pas mon travail. Je n’avais pas fini mon travail . . .

(I wasn’t finishing my work.) (I hadn’t finished my work . . . )

in general—at no specific moment:

Je ne finirai pas mon travail. Je n’aurai pas fini mon travail . . .

(I will not finish my work.) (I will not have finished my work . . . )

Je ne finirais pas mon travail. Je n’aurais pas fini mon travail.

(I wouldn’t finish my work.) (I wouldn’t have finished my work.)

When a sentence has two verbs, you need to remember that

ne . . . pas

goes around the conjugated verb:

Je ne veux pas aller au parc

. (I don’t

want to go to the park.)

Nous ne pouvons pas sortir

. (We can’t go out.)

NE . . . PAS

WITH REFLEXIVE VERBS

In simple and compound tenses, the

ne

precedes the reflexive pronoun

and the

pas

follows the conjugated verb (in compound tenses, the helping

verb

être

):

SIMPLE COMPOUND

Je ne me rase pas. Nous ne nous sommes pas rasés.

(I don’t shave.) (We didn’t shave.)

Tu ne te rasais pas. Vous ne vous étiez pas rasé(s).

(You weren’t shaving.) (You hadn’t shaved.)

Il ne se rasera pas. Ils ne se seront pas rasés.

(He will not shave.) (They will not have shaved.)

Vous ne vous raseriez pas. Vous ne vous seriez pas rasés.

(You wouldn’t shave.) (You wouldn’t have shaved.)

When an infinitive is negated, both

ne

and

pas

precede the infinitive:

Il a décidé de ne pas venir. He decided not to come.

Il a décidé de ne pas se raser. He decided not to shave.

TIME’S UP!

You’ve done a good job with this lesson if you can do the following without

looking back:

1. Extend an invitation to a new acquaintance to go to a restaurant

with you.

2. Extend an invitation to a friend to go to the museum with you and

your family.

3. Accept an invitation to a nightclub.

4. Accept an invitation to visit a cathedral.

5. Refuse an invitation to the beach.

6. Refuse an invitation to the mall.

7. Give an excuse why you can’t go to the zoo.

8. Give an excuse why you can’t go to the gardens.

9. Show indifference about going to the movies.

10. Show indecision about going to see the fountains.

Working with

Numbers

MASTER THESE SKILLS

•

Using cardinal numbers

•

Using ordinal numbers

•

Expressing days, months, seasons,

and dates

•

Telling time

In this lesson you’ll learn the essentials

for making plans: numbers, and how they

are used to express the date and tell time,

and how to combine all these elements

in the chapter to plan an outing.

CARDINAL NUMBERS

The French write two numbers differently from how we do. The number

one has a little hook on top, like a typewritten number: 1. In order to

distinguish a one with a hook on top from the number seven, the French

put a line through the seven when they write it: 7

–

.

In numerals and decimals, where English speakers use commas the

French use periods, and vice versa:

English: 3,000 .75 $18.95

French: 3.000 0,7

–

5 $18,95

Carefully study the French cardinal numbers presented below:

CARDINAL FRENCH CARDINAL FRENCH

0 zéro 21 vingt et un

1 un 22 vingt-deux

2 deux 30 trente

3 trois 40 quarante

4 quatre 50 cinquante

5 cinq 60 soixante

6 six 70 soixante-dix

7 sept 71 soixante et onze

8 huit 72 soixante-douze

9 neuf 73 soixante-treize

10 dix 74 soixante-quatorze

11 onze 75 soixante-quinze

12 douze 76 soixante-seize

13 treize 77 soixante-dix-sept

14 quatorze 78 soixante-dix-huit

15 quinze 79 soixante-dix-neuf

16 seize 80 quatre-vingts

17 dix-sept 81 quatre-vingt-un

18 dix-huit 82 quatre-vingt-deux

19 dix-neuf 90 quatre-vingt-dix

20 vingt 91 quatre-vingt-onze

92 quatre-vingt-douze 2,000 deux mille

100 cent 1,000,000 un million

101 cent un 2,000,000 deux millions

200 deux cents 1,000,000,000 un milliard

201 deux cent un 2,000,000,000 deux milliards

1,000 mille

Note the following about French numbers:

•

To express your age, use the idiomatic expression

avoir . . . ans

,

given in Chapter 22:00:

J’ai vingt-six ans

. (I’m twenty-six years old.)

•

To express numbers between 1,000 and 10,000 in words, you can

avoid using

mille

and simply use

cent

: 1,100 =

mille cent

or

onze

cents

; 1,900 =

mille neuf cents

or

dix-neuf cents.

•

The conjunction

et

(and) is used only for the numbers 21, 31, 41,

51, 61, and 71. In all other compound numbers through 99, a

hyphen is used.

•

Before a feminine noun,

un

becomes

une

:

vingt et un hommes

,

vingt

et une femmes.

•

To form 70–79, use:

soixante

+

dix

,

onze

,

douze

, etc.

•

To form 90–99, use:

quatre-vingt

+

dix

,

onze

,

douze

, etc.

•

When using

quatre-vingts

(80) or the plural of

cent

(100), drop the

s

before another number, but not before a noun:

quatre-vingt-quinze

francs

,

quatre-vingts francs

;

deux cent cinquante dollars

,

deux cents

dollars.

•

Un

is not used before

cent

(100) or

mille

(1,000):

cent hommes

,

mille femmes

.

•

Mille

doesn’t take s in the plural:

deux mille dollars.

•

Mille

is sometimes written

mil

in dates:

Je suis né en mil neuf cent

soixante-quatre

.

NOUNS OF NUMBER

Certain numbers are used as collective nouns to express a round number:

une dizaine about ten une centaine about a hundred

une douzaine a dozen un millier about a thousand

une quinzaine about fifteen un million a million

une vingtaine about twenty un milliard a billion

une cinquantaine about fifty

These numbers are followed by

de

(

d’

) before another noun. In the

plural, add

s

to these numbers:

une centaine de familles about a hundred families

deux douzaines d’oeufs two dozen eggs

des milliers de gens thousands of people

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

When numbers are used before plural nouns beginning with a vowel

or vowel sound, the pronunciation of the numbers changes to allow for

elision:

BEFORE A BEFORE

CONSONANT PRONUNCIATION A VOWEL PRONUNCIATION

deux valises duh vah-leez deux enfants duh zahN-fahN

trois dollars trwah doh-lahr trois hommes trwah zohm

quatre garçons kahtr gahr-sohN quatre années kaht rah-nay

cinq femmes saNk fahm cinq ans saN kahN

six francs see frahN six artistes see zahr-teest

sept dames seht dahm sept heures seh tuhr

huit familles wee fah-mee-y huit acteurs wee tahk-tuhr

neuf personnes nuhf pehr-sohn neuf autos nuh fo-to

dix phrases dee frahz dix oranges dee zoh-rahNzh

ORDINAL NUMBERS

Ordinal numbers are very important when you are in an elevator building,

such

as

an

apartment

building

or

a

department

store.

Note

that

le

sous-sol

is the basement,

le rez-de-chaussée

is the ground or main floor,

and

le premier étage

is the first floor above ground level.

ORDINAL FRENCH ORDINAL FRENCH

1st premier (première) 7th septième

2nd deuxième, second(e) 8th huitième

3rd troisième 9th neuvième

4th quatrième 10th dixièmee

5th cinquième 11th onzième

6th sixième 12th douzième

20th vingtième 72nd soixante-douzième

21st vingt et unième 100th centième

Note the following about ordinal numbers:

•

Ordinal numbers agree in number with the nouns they describe.

Premier

(

première

) and

second

(

seconde

) are the only ordinal numbers

that

have

a

feminine

form:

le

premier

garçon

(the first boy),

la première fille

(the first girl),

les premières années

(the first years).

•

Second

(

e

) is generally used in a series of two. In a series with more

than two items, use

deuxième

.

•

Except for

premier

and

second

, ordinal numbers are formed by

adding

-ième

to the cardinal number. Silent

e

is dropped before

-ième

:

quatrième

,

onzième

, etc.

•

A

u

is added in

cinquième

, and a

v

replaces the

f

in

neuvième

.

•

Use

le

or

la

before

huit/huitième

and

onze/onzième

. There is no

elision necessary:

le huitième anniversaire

(the 8th anniversary),

le onze juillet

(July 11th).

•

In French, cardinal numbers precede ordinal numbers:

Les quatre

premières personnes

(the first four people).

•

In dates,

premier

is the only ordinal number that is used. For all

other days of the month, use the cardinal number:

le premier mai

(May 1st),

le sept mai

(May 7th).

•

Premier

is used only for the first in a series. For 21 through 71,

unième

is added after the conjunction

et

to express “first” with the

noun it modifies:

le cinquante et unième match

(the 51st match).

DAYS, MONTHS, AND SEASONS

Days of the Week

ENGLISH FRENCH ENGLISH FRENCH

Monday lundi Friday vendredi

Tuesday mardi Saturday samedi

Wednesday mercredi Sunday dimanche

Thursday jeudi

To express “on a certain day,” the French use the definite article

le

, as

explained in Chapter 23:00:

Le dimanche je lave la voiture

. (On

Sunday[s] I wash the car.)

Months of the Year

ENGLISH FRENCH ENGLISH FRENCH

January janvier July juillet

February février August août

March mars September septembre

April avril October octobre

May mai November novembre

June juin December décembre

All months, days of the week, and seasons in French are masculine and

are not capitalized unless they are used at the beginning of a sentence.

The Four Seasons

ENGLISH FRENCH ENGLISH FRENCH

summer l’été (m.) winter l’hiver (m.)

fall, autumn l’automne (m.) spring le printemps

Use the preposition

en

to express “in” with months and seasons, except

with

printemps

, when

au

is used:

en juillet (in July) en été (in the summer)

en septembre (in September) en automne (in the fall)

en décembre (in December) en hiver (in the winter)

en mai (in May) au printemps (in the spring)

An important fact to remember if you have a lot of appointments in a

French-speaking country is that French calendars start with Monday as

the first day of the week.

Time Expressions

ENGLISH FRENCH ENGLISH FRENCH

a day un jour eve la veille

a week une semaine day before avant-hier

yesterday

a month un mois

yesterday hier

a year un an/une année

in dans/en tomorrow demain

ago il y a day after après-demain

per par

tomorrow

during pendant

next day le lendemain

next prochain(e)

from dès

last dernier (dernière)

a week from d’aujourd’hui

past passé(e)

today en huit

today aujourd’hui

two weeks de demain

from tomorrow en quinze

Dates in French can be expressed in several ways:

lundi onze juillet 2000 lundi le onze juillet 2000 le lundi onze juillet 2000

Note the following when expressing a date:

•

The first of each month is expressed by

premier

. Cardinal numbers

are used for all other days:

le premier avril

(April 1st),

le deux août

(August 2nd).

•

Years are usually expressed in hundreds, just like in English:

dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

(1999), but

mille (mil) neuf

cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf

(1999) can also be used. To express

“in the year 2000” say:

en l’an deux mil

. The year 2001 (and

so forth) would be expressed

deux mil(le)un

.

•

When writing the date in numbers, the French follow the sequence:

day + month + year:

le

22

janvier

2004, or 22/1/04 (January 22,

2004, or 1/22/04).

•

The word for year,

an

, is used with ordinal numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)

unless an adjective is used to describe the word

year

. In that case,

the word

année

is used. Sometimes either word is acceptable:

un an a year

une année a year

trois bonnes années three good years

quelques années a few years

l’an dernier last year

l’année dernière last year

•

The English words

on

and

of

are not expressed in French dates:

J’arrive le vingt-deux avril

. (I’m arriving on April 22nd.)

Il part le

douze juin

. (He’s leaving on the 12th of June.)

To get information about the day or the date of an event, you will need

the following questions and answers:

What day is today? Quel jour est-ce (aujourd’hui)?

Today is . . . C’est aujourd’hui . . .

What day is today? Quel jour sommes-nous (aujourd’hui)?

Today is . . . Nous sommes (aujourd’hui) . . .

What’s today’s date? Quelle est la date d’aujourd’hui?

Today is . . . C’est aujourd’hui . . .

What is the date of the . . . ? Quelle est la date du (de la, de l’, des) . . . ?

Remember that the adjective

ouvert

or

fermé

must agree in number and

gender with the noun it modifies (see Chapter 19:00):

Le musée est fermé

quels jours?

(The museum is closed on what days?)

Les bibliothèques

sont ouvertes quels jours?

(What days are the libraries open?)

TELLING TIME

When making plans, you need to know at what time you will meet and

when an event is going to take place.

What time is it? Quelle heure est-il?

—It is . . . —Il est . . .

At what time does . . . start? À quelle heure commence(nt) . . . ?

—At . . . —À . . .

At what times does . . . end? À quelle heure finit (finissent) . . . ?

—At . . . — À . . .

At what time shall we meet? À quelle heure on se rejoint?

—At . . . — À . . .

1:00 une heure 7:35 huit heures moins vingt-cinq

2:05 deux heures cinq 8:40 neuf heures moins vingt

3:10 trois heures dix 9:45 dix heures moins le quart

4:15 quatre heures et quart 10:50 onze heures moins dix

5:20 cinq heures vingt 11:55 midi moins cinq

6:25 six heures vingt-cinq midnight minuit

7:30 sept heures et demie noon midi

To express time properly, remember the following:

•

To express time after the hour, the number of minutes is added.

Et

(and) is used only with

quart

(quarter) and

demi

(

e

) (half).

•

Moins

(less, minus) is used to express time before the hour.

•

Moins le

is used before

quart

.

NOTE

Because midi (noon) and minuit (midnight) are masculine, to say

“half past,” use et demi: J’arrive à midi et demi. (I arrive at 12:30

[in the afternoon].)

When making plans, you will need to know how to form a variety of

questions. Look at the phrases below. You may mix and match any of

the elements in the columns to get a correct sentence. Use the forms

shown here when you know the person well. To be formal, use the

vous

form, as shown in Chapter 17:00:

Tu veux sortir quand?

(When do you

want to go out?)

Tu peux partir à quelle heure?

(At what time can you

leave?)

Tu veux Do you want aller (to) go

Tu peux Can you sortir (to) go out

Tu as envie de Do you feel like partir (to) leave, leaving

Tu désires Do you want revenir (to) return, come back

Tu dois Do you have to rentrer (to) come back (in)

à quelle heure? at what time? quand? when?

More Time Expressions

ENGLISH FRENCH

a second une seconde

a minute une minute

an hour une heure

in the morning,

A

.

M

. du matin

in the afternoon,

P

.

M

. de l’après-midi

in the evening,

P

.

M

. du soir

at exactly midnight à minuit précis

at exactly 1:00 à une heure precise

at exactly 2:00 à deux heures précises

at about 2:00 vers deux heures

a quarter of an hour un quart d’heure

a half hour une demi-heure

in an hour dans une heure

until 2:00 jusqu’à deux heures

before 3:00 avant trois heures

after 3:00 après trois heures

since what time? depuis quelle heure?

an hour ago il y a une heure

early tôt, de bonne heure

late tard

late in arriving en retard

NOTE

1. The f sound in neuf becomes a v sound when liaison is made

with heures (hours, o’clock) and ans (years): Il est neuf heures

(eel eh nuh vuhr). Il a neuf ans (eel a nuh vahN).

2. In public announcements, such as timetables, the official twenty-fourhour

system

is

commonly

used,

with midnight as the zero hour:

0 h 40 = 12:40

A

.

M

.; 16 heures = 4:00

P

.

M

.; 21 h 45 = 9:45

P

.

M

.

TIME’S UP!

If you’ve got the numbers, times, dates, and seasons down pat, you should

be able to perform the following tasks in French without looking back:

1. Tell how old you are.

2. Ask for today’s date.

3. Express your birth date.

4. Ask what days the museum is closed.

5. Express the season we are in.

6. Give today’s date.

7. Ask your friend when he/she wants to go out.

8. Say what time it is.

9. Ask at what time we’ll be getting back together.

10. Say when le film begins.