Basics 2 · 5c4555b81e26dfb866ee9d304127d6ee
Comment tu t'appelles ?
To ask someone’s name in French, you’d say Comment tu t’appelles ? That literally means How do you call yourself?
Comment tu t’appelles ?What’s your name?
Je m’appelle Louis.
My name is Louis.
Verbs
Remember that French verbs have different endings depending on the person (whether it’s je, tu, elle, etc.).
| parler to speak |
|
|---|---|
| je I |
parle speak |
| tu you (informal) |
parles speak |
| il / elle he / she |
parle speaks |
The s in parles is silent, so all these forms of parler are pronounced the same!
Gender
In French, the ending of adjectives depends on the gender of what they describe. Normally, feminine adjectives end in e.
Gabriel est espagnol.
Gabriel is Spanish.
Sarah est espagnole.
Sarah is Spanish.
Sometimes the extra e changes the pronunciation of the adjective.
Tom est américain.
Tom is American.
Sarah est américaine.
Sarah is American.
French Sounds
Many French sounds can be spelled in different ways, and a combination of letters can make the same sound as a letter!
| Sound | Other Spellings |
|---|---|
| è très as in set |
anglais |
| in vin a nasal eh |
américain |