French Grammar Explained /
Introduction to the French language
That's it, you've finally decided to learn French, one of the most romantic language on Earth (so people say). Before we start learning grammar and conjugations, let's talk about the language itself a little.
Le français is a Romance language which takes its root from Latin. It was shaped to become the French spoken now in France by the Roman and German invasions the country faced in its early years.
Did you know?
Le saviez-vous ?
→ There are 300 million French speaking people in the world.
→ French is the 5th most spoken language worldwide.
→ 132 million people learn or study in the French language.
→ French is the 4th most popular language on the Internet.
→ French is one of the official language of many international organisations such as the Olympic Games, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, and many more.
What should you know about French before learning it?
- Bonjour is a very important word! French people like politeness, so remember to say bonjour in shops and restaurants, to your colleagues and friends, and even to strangers in the street before you talk to them.
Note that bonjour is only said once a day! If you see a person twice in the same day, you don't need to greet them again.
Adieu (meaning "to God") is rarely used nowadays. It means you will never be seeing a person again and it’s pretty hard to be sure of this. The French prefer to say au revoir (meaning "until the next time we see each other").
- There are two genders in French: feminine and masculine. There is no neutral gender.
- Letters can combine to create sounds (for instance, the sound O can be written AU, EAU and O).
- There are 3 verb forms in French: 2 regular ones (ER and IR) and 1 irregular one. All verbs have different conjugations for all persons.
- Unlike in English, the French language has 2 different subjects for you:
- tu: is used as the singular form when addressing one person.
- vous: is used as the formal (polite) form when addressing one person.
vous: is also used as the plural form when addressing a group of people. - All adjectives agree in gender (masculine, feminine) and number (singular, plural).
- Many English words are also used in French day-to-day vocabulary. For instance:
bye
cheese!
speed
chewing-gum
(ham)burger
weekend
after-work
business
too much
has-been
...
The French language is the official language of 29 countries worldwide! Obviously, this means that you'll encounter many different accents and regional words when practicing French.
Et voilà ! Now you're ready to grab the bull by the horns. Above all, don’t worry, all this exciting knowledge is going to be explained and illustrated over the many Live Lessons you will take.
Bonne leçon !