6 SIMPLE STEPS ON HOW TO MAKE FRENCH CONVERSATION IN 6 DAYS (1)
So, do you think you can make French conversation in 6 days?
If you have spent months or even years trying to use French in conversation, wondering why it’s so much easier to understand it than to speak it, then you are in the right place.
Read the article to see what you have to do in the next 6 days to get yourself moving on the conversation front, and watch the video for some French that will make you laugh.
(This week: verb RIRE – to laugh)
I have great news for you.
You can, with the vocabulary you have and the grammar you know, start to speak French in only 6 days.
I have not-so-great news for you.
You have to give up the compulsion to keep learning vocabulary and grammar for a lil’ while. Funnily enough, this may be more challenging than starting to make conversation 🙂
1
How to use DE, DE LA, DE L’, DU, DES in conversation
Examples:
« Je mange de la viande. »
« Tu bois de l’eau. »
« Il mange du fromage. » (du = de + le)
« Elle mange des pommes. » (des = de + les)
TIP: Avoid translating DE = SOME.
The most common translation is no translation at all. Here’s an example:
« Je mange la viande. » = I eat the meat.
« Il mange de la viande. » = He eats meat.
2
All about GENDERS in French conversation
In French, there are 2 genders – compared with 3 genders in German, Latin, Romanian (feminine, masculine, neutral).
The masculine nouns are preceded by « le » = the, or « un » = a.
The feminine nouns are preceded by « la » = the, or « une » = a.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no rule as to which nouns are feminine or masculine. If you learned that most of the nouns ending in a consonant are masculine, you may get confused by the exceptions, which are commonly used words – hence, get you in a lot of trouble. So, the “rule” is to learn the nouns with their genders, as if the French nouns would be made out of 2 words.
The reason the gender of the nouns matters is because the adjectives and some verbs agree to the gender in writing and pronunciation, and here are the ways that the adjectives can change for the feminine nouns:
« Un tricot vert, une robe verte »
« Le tricot gris, la robe grise »
« Un tricot brun, une robe brune »
« Le tricot noir, la robe noire »
« Un tricot bleu, une robe bleue »
« Le tricot jaune, la robe jaune »
« Un tricot blanc, une robe blanche »
3
Best way to express the FUTURE in French conversation
When we are beginners, we use the verbs in the present tense, but that doesn’t make it for a great story, right? So, the tense that is the easiest to use for an Anglophone is le futur proche.
FUTUR PROCHE
aller (présent) + infinitif
I am going to sing = je vais chanter
Easy to translate, being the direct translation of the English present continuous – use it in conversation, while you practice le futur simple.
If you want to get more sophisticated
(and le passé composé is too difficult for you), try this next tense, which is not exactly a past tense, but it can do the trick – and it’s so much easier to create:
PASSÉ RÉCENT
venir (présent) de + infinitif
je viens de manger = I just ate
In French there is no tense that translates to the English “I’m doing” for instance, and the closest tense that expresses that you are doing something right that moment, is this:
PRÉSENT ACTUEL (PROGRESSIVE)
être (présent) en train de + infinitif
je suis en train de manger = I am in the middle of eating
je viens de dormir —> je suis en train de manger —> je vais chanter
These 3 steps and the next 3, which I’ll talk about next, are part of the 6-Day Parisian French Conversation Challenge, where I’m challenging myself to give you all you need to start making conversation in less than a week. The Challenge is a series of 6 videos where I explain all these steps with examples, and I give you homework. In day 6, I’ll give away all the 6 videos to each person who contacts me here. All you need to do is to send me a short background so that I can give you advice that works for you and only you.
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Write in the comments below, what is your biggest challenge in conversation?
Let me guess.
Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?
Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.
Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French on Skype and BREAK your language barrier!
…and now, please SHARE this article with your friends. They’ll love you for it! : )
Always in your corner,
Llyane
Photo credit: Marc Nouss, A.G. Photographe
