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"She sings" is "Elle chante" in French.singing girl image by Daria Miroshnikova from Fotolia.com
Memorize the basic French subject pronouns that form the basis of all verb conjugations. The subject pronouns replace noun subjects when describing actions. For example, "he sings" becomes "il chante" in French. Write the French version of English pronouns on flash cards to memorize the translations. Listen to instruction tapes to form correct pronunciation habits from the start. Forming poor accent and voice inflection habits means incorrect translation from English to French in many cases.
je-I
tu-you
il-he
elle-she
on-one, we, you, they
nous-we
vous-you plural
ils-they (masculine ending when referring to males)
ont- they (feminine ending when referring to females) - 2). Learn and memorize some basic French verbs in order to translate commonly used English verbs to French. Look up verbs in the English-to-French dictionary and choose several that are used in everyday communications. You can learn to translate simple sentences such as "I speak French" by understanding how verb endings change when combined with specific pronouns. Many French verbs end in "er." However, the endings always change depending on the pronoun being used. For example, the English word, "speak" translates to "parler" in French. However, the "er" ending is always dropped and replaced with specific pronoun endings. Make note cards indicating the conjugated verb endings for "er" verbs. Use the verb conjugation for "speak" (parler) as an example of how to conjugate the appropriate verb endings.
(singular pronouns)
je-e "parle"- I speak
tu-es "parles"-you speak
il-e "parle"-he speaks
elle-e "parle"-she speaks
on-e "parle"-one sings
(plural pronouns)
nous-ons "parlons"-we speak
vous-ez "parlez"-you speak
ils-ent "parlent"-they speak (masculine)
elles-ent "parlent"-they speak (feminine) - 3). Listen to French tapes on a regular basis to make a habit of proper verb conjugation. Master the accents of subject pronouns and verb endings before learning verb tenses. Become comfortable with listening to French language instruction tapes, and use good-quality headphones to hear small inflections on French words that indicate which gender is speaking. Inflections have a large impact on the meaning of most French words. Practice speaking as often as possible and learn new concepts gradually, as French is a language that builds on itself and requires a thorough comprehension of verb conjugation from the start.
- 4). Learn common greeting phrases that are typically used in English and can be easily translated to French. For example, "How are you?" translates to "Comment-allez-vous?" and "Thank you," translates to "Merci." Practice asking a friend how things are going. For example, "How's it going?" translates to "Ça va?" The appropriate response for "It's going well," translates in French to "Ça va bien."
Spend time becoming accustomed to responding in French whenever possible, as it boosts confidence with the language and encourages more learning.
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