UNIT 01 - INTRODUCTION TO BASICS OF FRENCH LANGUAGE

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Oliver

Unit 01 introduces the foundational elements of the French language, focusing on core learning objectives such as pronunciation, accents, subject pronouns, and French verb knowledge including conjugation. It covers the French alphabet with sound guidance, vowel and consonant overview, pronunciation rules for C and G, silent-letter patterns, gender-related spelling changes, elision, and common punctuation conventions. It also explains les accents (acute and grave), the cédille, tréma, circonflexe, hyphenation, and apostrophe usage.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages92

Reading Time3 h 52 min

AccessFree to download

UNIT: 01 INTRODUCTION TO BASICS OF FRENCH LANGUAGE

1.1 Objectives

1.2 The Alphabet and Their Pronunciation

1.3 Les Accents

1.4 Pronoms Sujets

1.5 Change of Gender

1.6 Les Verbes

1.7 Les Nombres

1.8 How to Tell Time in French?

1.9 Formules De Politesse

1.10 Poids Et Mesures

1.11 Glossary

1.12 Reference / Bibliography / Suggested Readings

1.13 Terminal Questions

| UNIT: 01
INTRODUCTION TO BASICS OF FRENCH LANGUAGE | | --- | | Structure:
1.1 Objectives
1.2 The Alphabet and Their Pronunciation
1.3 Les Accents (The Accents)
1.4 Pronoms Sujets (Subject Pronouns)
1.5 Change of Gender
1.6 Les Verbes (The Verbs)
1.7 Les Nombres (The Numbers): Cardinal – Ordinal
1.8 How to Tell Time in French?
1.9 Formules De Politesse (Basic Greetings)
1.10 Poids Et Mesures (Weights and Measures)
1.11 Glossary
1.12 Reference / Bibliography/Suggested Readings
1.13 Terminal Questions | | 1.1 Objective | | After reading this unit you should be able to:
1. To learn the pronunciation and the accents in French.
2. To understand the Subject Pronouns and French verbs and their conjugations.
3. To know about French numbers and time
4. To know common greetings and able to express weight and measures in French. | | 1.2 The Alphabet and Their Pronunciation | | The French Alphabet | | L'alphabet français
(Pronunciation) | | --- | --- | --- | | A | a | A | | B | b | Bé | | C | c | Cé | | D | d | Dé | | E | e | E | | F | f | Ef | | --- | --- | --- | | G | g | Jé | | H | h | Ash | | I | i | I | | J | j | Ji | | K | k | Ka | | L | l | El | | M | m | Emm | | N | n | Enn | | O | o | O | | P | p | Pé | | Q | q | Ky | | R | r | Err | | S | s | Es | | T | t | Té | | U | u | Eu | | V | v | Vé | | W | w | Double vé | | X | x | Iks | | Y | y | I-grek | | Z | z | Zéd | VOWELS:( Les voyelles) -There are six Vowels in French Language – a, e, i, o, u, y. „h‟ is the vowel mute. ‗H‘ in not pronounced in French and normally silent. It is usually followed by another vowel. Example :hôtel (hotel) [ O-T-E] CONSONANTS-There are nineteen consonants in French LanguageB, C ,D, F ,G ,J ,K, L, M, N, P, Q ,R, S, T, V ,W ,X, Z. 􀁸 If French alphabet ‗C‘is followed by a,o,u ; it is pronounced as (KA,KU) . 􀁸 If French alphabet ‗C‘is followed by e,i,y, ; it is pronounced as (SI) . Example: Commencer ( C-O-M-A-N-S-E) 􀁸 If French alphabet ‗G‘is followed by a,o,u ; it is pronounced as (GA, GU) 􀁸 If French alphabet ‗G‘is followed by e,i,y ; it is pronounced as (JE,JI) . Example: Garçon ( G-A-R-S-O)( Here ‗C‘ is pronounced as ‗S‘ due to assent La cédille ‗ç‘on ‗c‘. Silent letters: In French certain letters are not pronounced depending on their position in the words: 􀁸 If a French word is ending with consonant and that consonant is preceded by a vowel, then that consonant is not pronounced. Example: Tabac (T-A-B-A) ; Assez( A-S-E) 􀁸 When masculine nouns and adjectives are converted to feminine by adding an-e the preceding consonant will be sounded/pronounced. Example: étudiant [E-T-U-D-I-A],---étudiante [E-T-U-D-I-A-T] ( Student) Petit ( P-E-T-I), Petite ( P-E-T-I-T),(small) 􀁸 In French the word ‗ille‘ combinedly pronounced as ‗EE‘Example:Mille (M-E-E) 􀁸 All the nouns in French language are either masculine or feminine. Thereis no neutral gender. Normally a French noun ending with ‗e‘ is feminine. This is not universally applicable. Some exceptions do exist. Two French feminine nouns are given below: Example: Actrice (actress); Maison (House) ÉLISION(Elision): Usually when a word ends with a vowel and the next word begins with vowel, then last vowel of first word is dropped (elided) and it is replaced by an apostrophe. Example: Le homme (the man) : e is dropped or elided = L‘homme La heure (the hour ) : a is elided = L‘heure Si il (if he) : I is elided = S‘il LES SIGNES DE PUNCTUATION (PUNCTUATION MARKS) Punctuation marks in the French language are used in a similar way of English language, but the dash or ‗tiret‘ commonly serves to denote a change in the speaker ina written dialogue……. For example: -C‘est vous (It is you) -rien (nothing) . The following punctuation marks are used in dictation practice: ( . ) - le point (the full-stop) (,)– la virgule (the comma) (;)– le point et virgule (the semi-colon) (:)– les deux points (the colon)

FAQs

What should a learner achieve after completing UNIT 01?

The unit aims to help learners understand French pronunciation and accents, subject pronouns, French verbs and their conjugations, French numbers and how to tell time, and common greetings and expressions for weight and measures.

How are vowels and consonants described in this unit?

The unit states that French has six vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y) and discusses mute h plus nineteen consonants. It also provides pronunciation rules for certain consonant cases such as C and G.

Which French orthographic signs and accent marks are covered?

It explains les accents (aigu and grave) and other orthographic signs including cédille (ç), tréma, circonflexe, the hyphen (trait d’union), and the apostrophe (omission of a vowel).

What rules for elision and punctuation are included?

The unit gives elision rules where a final vowel is dropped before a word starting with a vowel, replacing it with an apostrophe, with examples. It also lists common punctuation marks and their French names used in dictation practice.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Oliver