Lesson 23

Dialogue

Macha est en stage dans une université française. Elle parle avec son amie française Pauline.

Dear Friends,

Starting with this lesson, we do not give English translations of the dialogues and texts. Use the lesson vocabulary and, if necessary, your own dictionary.

Vocabulary

Exercise 1. Read and translate the dialogue. Determine if the following statements fit its content. Answer Oui or Non:

Exercise 2. Listen to the recording of the dialogue several times. Fill in the blanks in the sentences by recalling what you have heard:

1. Je ne suis pas encore habituée à .
2. Ce n’est pas étonnant, parce que tu .
3. Les cours commencent à ou à du matin. Je dois à six heures et demie ou à sept heures.
4. Moi, j’habite près de la faculté, mais je aussi à six heures et demie.
5. Pourquoi est-ce que tu si tôt ?

6. Tu sais, quand je me réveille, je ne pas tout de suite.
7. Après je me lève, je ma gymnastique pendant vingt minutes ou une demi-heures, je prends ma douche et je le petit déjeuner.
8. Pour les Français prennent un jus de fruit, du café avec du pain et de la confiture et c’est tout.
9. Moi, je ne fais , parce que je n’ai pas le temps.
10. Je n’ai pas de douche dans la chambre et je à l’étage.
11. Je et je descends à la cafétéria pour prendre le petit déjeuner.
12. Pour aller à la fac je prends le bus et j’arrive juste avant .
13. Je ne suis en retard.
14. Le n’est pas très cher, mais assez copieux : un hors-d’œuvre, un plat et un dessert.
15. Et le soir ? Est-ce qu’on peut aussi au resto-U ? 16. Bien sûr. Mais tu peux rentrer chez toi et le dîner dans une petite cuisine à l’étage.
17. Oui, mais j’ le restaurant universitaire : après le dîner rester en ville et aller au théâtre ou au cinéma.
18. Mais tu sais, le théâtre du campus. Les spectacles commencent à du soir et finissent à .
19. Après le spectacle je peux revoir mes devoirs et je peux à minuit ou un peu plus tard.
20. Entendu, je t’attends à huit heures du théâtre du campus.

Grammar

Passé immédiat / Passé récent (Recent Past)

The recent past tense — le passé immédiat or le passé récent is used to talk about completed actions that have just happened.

The recent past tense of all verbs is conjugated according to the following model:

For example:

The English construction “(have) just done something” is used when translating the French recent past tense, for example:

Je viens d’arriver. — I just arrived.
Nous venons de rencontre Michel. — We have just met Michel.

Note that an unstressed personal pronoun as a direct object, referring to the verb in the recent past tense, is placed directly before the main verb, for example:

Je viens de le voir. — I just saw it.
Ce sont ses lettres. Nous venons de les lire. — These are her letters. We have just read them.

Exercise 3. Change the sentences by using the verbs in the recent past tense.

Example: J’arrive de Paris. — Je viens d’arriver de Paris.

Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are verbs that indicate that the subject of the verb is performing the action on him/her/itself, rather than on someone or something else. In English, we use the pronoun oneself for this purpose, e.g. to wash myself. In French, reflexive verbs require a reflexive pronoun which is an unstressed personal pronoun used as an object that goes before the verb, for example:

You can see that the unstressed personal pronoun-object as part of the French reflexive verb is in the same person and number as the subject pronoun. For example, if the subject is the 2^nd person singular pronoun tu (you), then the object has the same characteristics: te (you) — is also the 2^nd person singular pronoun. The same “adjustment” of the French reflexive verb to the subject also occurs when the reflexive verb is in the infinitive form of another verb, have a look:

Je veux me laver à l’eau chaude. — I want to wash myself with hot water.
Nous ne pouvons pas nous laver à l’eau froide ! — We can’t wash ourselves in cold water!
Voulez-vous vous laver à l’eau chaude ? — Do you want to wash yourselves in warm water?

In the negative and interrogative forms of the reflexive verb, the pronoun-object invariably comes directly before the verb:

As you see, in the interrogative form of a reflexive verb (except in the 1^st person singular) the subject pronoun is placed after the verb and the pronoun-object (me, te, se etc.) comes first, for example: Te laves-tu ? — Are you washing up? The interrogative form of the 1^st person singular is formed in a special way - with the expression est-ce que.

Pay attention! If a French reflexive verb appears in an infinitive form with another verb and conveys a negative meaning, then both negative particles are placed before the verb in the infinitive form:

Ils décident de ne pas se laver. — They decide not to wash themselves.
Nous pouvons de ne pas s’arrêter. — We may not stop.

In the affirmative form of the reflexive verb in the imperative mood, the pronoun-object is placed after the verb and is written with a hypen with it, the form te changes into toi:

Lave-toi à l’eau froide ! — Wash yourself with cold water!
Arrête-toi ! — Stop!
Lavons-nous à l’eau chaude ! — Let’s wash with warm water!
Lavez-vous à l’eau chaude ! — Wash with hot water!

In the negative form of the reflexive verb in the imperative mood, the pronoun-object comes before the verb:

Ne te lave pas à l’eau froide ! — Don’t wash yourself with cold water!
Ne t’arrête pas ! — Don’t stop!
Ne nous lavons pas à l’eau chaude ! — Let’s not wash in warm water!
Ne vous lavez pas à l’eau chaude ! — Don’t wash in hot water!

Exercise 4. Write out the sentences from the dialogue that contain reflexive verbs.

Negation with words rien, jamais, personne

In addition to the negative construction ne... pas that you know well already, in French, there are other negative constructions: ne... rien, ne... personne, ne... jamais and some others. Unlike the particle pas that does not have its own meaning, rien means nothing, not … anything, personne — nobody, no one, not … anyone, jamais — never. Let’s look at some examples:

Il fait très sombre et je ne vois rien. — It is very dark, and I do not see anything.
Macha n’est jamais en retard. — Masha is never late.
Personne ne vient. — No one is coming.
Elle vient d’arriver et ne connaît personne. — She has just arrived and doesn’t know anyone.

When the negative pronoun is the subject, the main negative word goes first, followed by ne and then the verb. (the third example above)

Remember! If the words rien, jamais, personne are used in negation, the particle pas is not used.

Exercise 5. Give negative answers to the questions by using verbs in the negative form (use the construction ne... pas).

1. Je me lève très tôt le matin. Et Paul ?
   
2. Je dois me lever à six heures. Et vous ?
   
3. Le dimanche nous nous réveillons à midi. Et toi ?
   
4. Pierre se couche très tard. Et ses enfants ?
   
5. Nous nous réveillons avec le réveil. Et Catherine ?
   

Exercise 6. Make sentences with the opposite meaning by using the negative constructions ne... jamais, ne... rien, ne... personne.

1. Je fais de la gymnastique chaque matin (ne... jamais).
   
2. Il voit son ami dans la rue (ne... personne).
   
3. Vous restez à la maison le dimanche (ne... jamais).
   
4. Nous faisons un travail difficile cet après-midi (ne... rien).
   
5. Je veux parler avec Paul (ne... personne).
   

Time

In French, the expression il est (in questions — est-il) is used to denote time. The word heure is translated as time in the question and o’clock in the answer, but literally it is hour. For example:

The word minute (in English also minute) is usually not used, for example:

Numbers denoting minutes from half an hour to some hour are used with the word moins (which means minus but translated to English as to), for example:

The English a quarter to will be translated into French as moins le quart, for example:

When we need to say that it is a quarter of some hour, we use the expression et quart (lit.: and quarter), for example:

When indicating half an hour, use the expression et demie (lit.: and half), for example:

The time span from midnight to noon is the morning (le matin), from five p.m. to twelve a.m. is the evening (le soir). The expression de l’après-midi is used denote the time period from twelve to five in the afternoon. For example:

Note also the following expressions:

The preposition à is used when indicating at what hour the event takes place, e.g:

The expression il y a is used as the English “ago” when denoting time, for example:

Il y a une heure. — One hour ago.
Il y a un quart d’heure. — A quarter of an hour ago.
Il y a une demi-heure. — Half an hour ago.

The preposition dans is used in its literal meaning, for example:

Dans une heure. — In one/an hour.
Dans un quart d’heure. — In a quarter of an hour.
Dans une demi-heure. — In half an hour.
Dans une minute. — In a minute.
Dans une seconde [səgɔ̃:nd]. — In a second.

Learn the expressions referring to the accuracy of the watch and note that the word montre (watch) is a feminine singular noun:

Compare it with what they say about a person:

Il est en retard. — He’s late.
Il est en avance. — He’s early.

Exercise 7. Look at the pictures and write in French what time it is, using words rather than numbers:

Counting from 100 to 1 000 000

When numbers over 100 are denoted by words, the conjunction is not used after the names of hundreds and thousands.

When several hundreds are indicated, the word cent (hundred) is in the plural form; but if we need to indicate hundreds plus so tens or units, the word cent is used in the singular form.

The word mille (thousand) is used in the singular for several thousands. The word cent is also used in the singular when referring to hundreds of thousands.

For example:

Exercise 8. Write numbers in words. Of course, in writing we mostly use digits, but you must learn to read French numbers — that’s what writing in words is for!

Dates

You already know how to answer in French what day it is (for those who have forgotten, see lesson 21). When a date needs to be translated accurately in French, namely with the year, the word year itself is not translated. For example:

It’s May 14, 2006. — Nous sommes le quatorze mai deux mil/mille six.

Note that when referring to dates the word mille (thousand) may appear in the short form mil, but this is an archaic form, use the full form mille.
If only the year is given and the number and month are not specified, the preposition en precedes the number, for example:

It’s 2023. — Nous sommes en deux mille vingt-trois.
In 1999. — En mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf or En dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf.

Remember that there are two ways to designate years from before 2000:

1) as a full number, reading the thousands + hundreds + tens + units:

1983 — mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-trois;

2) reading the hundreds + tens + units:

1983 — dix-neuf cent quatre-vingt-trois.

Look at how the date of birth is indicated on the form:

Né (female form — née) le 11 décembre 1983. — Born on December 11, 1983.

Exercise 9. Translate the dates by writing the numbers in words:

Mastering the language subtleties

I. The French, like the English, eat three meals a day. The morning meal in France is called le petit déjeuner — breakfast. From 12 to 14 o’clock all institutions and stores become empty: the French have lunch. This meal is called le déjeuner. The evening meal at 20.00—20.30 is called le dîner (dinner).

In rare instances, the fourth meal is possible, le souper — a late supper with soup. This happens late in the evening, for example after returning from an evening event.

In the afternoon, young children drink cocoa and eat buns. This is called le goûter — an afternoon snack.

II. There are many abbreviations in French. For example, the word fac is an abbreviation of the word faculté, the combination resto-U is an abbreviation of restaurant universitaire. Both words are widely used in student speech.

III. The preposition chez is formed from the Latin word casa (home, house). The prepositional combinations with nouns and pronouns are translated as at someone’s home; to someone’s home: chez Pauline (at/to Pauline’s), chez elle (at/to her house).

Exercise 10. Let’s see how well you have learned the vocabulary and grammar of this lesson. Translate:

1. Masha has just arrived and she doesn’t know her schedule yet.
   
2. She lives on the university campus, far from the center.
   
3. She has to get up at 7 o’clock in the morning.
   
4. Pauline lives near the college, but she also gets up early.
   
5. She takes a shower and makes herself breakfast.
   
6. At midday the two students eat at the university restaurant.
   

7. The lunch is not expensive, but quite substantial.
   
8. Dinner can be prepared in a small kitchen upstairs. (or: You can prepare...)
   
9. Today we are going to the campus theater.
   
10. The show starts at half past eight in the evening.
    
11. After the show we come back and prepare the homework.
    
12. We go to bed at midnight or later.
    

Let’s laugh and enrich our vocabulary

Text I. L’emploi du temps

A quelle heure prend-il le petit déjeuner ?

Vocabulary

Exercise 11. Read and translate Text I. Answer the question at the end of the text. Choose the statements that fit the text (write Oui, Non or Je ne sais pas):

Text II. Le lever et le coucher du soleil

Vocabulary

Exercise 12. Read and translate Text II. Determine if the following statements fit its content and write Précisément ! (Precisely!) or Pas du tout ! (Not at all!):

Text III. Quand on ne se parle pas, on s’écrit

Vocabulary

Exercise 13. Read and translate Text III. Choose the statements that fit its content and write C’est juste (It’s right) or C’est faux (It’s wrong):

Etes-vous attentif (attentive) ?

Exercise 14. Read and translate the text and find the contradiction in it:

La journée de Nina

Vocabulary