Learn how to use partitive articles, such as "some," to indicate an indefinite quantity
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| Introduction |
| Virginie: Bonjour à tous! |
| Eric: Hello, Eric here. The best French house you will ever visit. |
| Virginie: Hi, this is Virginie, and I am with Eric. |
| Eric: How are you, Virginie? |
| Virginie: I am good. How are you, Eric? |
| Eric: I am great. So what are we gonna be looking at out here? |
| Virginie: In this lesson you will learn about how to express quantities. |
| Eric: We are gonna be using the French partitive article. |
| Virginie: In this lesson’s dialog Joe meets his parents’ friends and they are talking about their families. |
| Eric: Let’s have a listen. |
| Dialogue |
| Épouse : Bonjour Joe ! Et bienvenue chez nous ! |
| Joe : Bonjour ! |
| Épouse : Je suis Catherine. Et voici Yves, mon mari. |
| Joe : Enfin je vous rencontre ! |
| Mari : Entre, fais comme chez toi. Tu veux boire quelque chose ? |
| Joe : Oui, s'il vous plaît. |
| Épouse : Je vais apporter du jus d'orange. |
| Joe : Cette maison est jolie. C'est une photo de famille ? |
| Mari : Oui, c'est notre fils, et nos deux filles. Ils habitent tous à Strasbourg. |
| Épouse : Ahh...nos bébés ! Joe, comment vont tes parents ? Et ton frère et ta soeur ? |
| Joe : Ils vont bien. Ils disent bonjour. |
| Eric: One more time, a little more slowly. |
| Virginie: Encore une fois, plus lentement. |
| Épouse : Bonjour Joe ! Et bienvenue chez nous ! |
| Joe : Bonjour ! |
| Épouse : Je suis Catherine. Et voici Yves, mon mari. |
| Joe : Enfin je vous rencontre ! |
| Mari : Entre, fais comme chez toi. Tu veux boire quelque chose ? |
| Joe : Oui, s'il vous plaît. |
| Épouse : Je vais apporter du jus d'orange. |
| Joe : Cette maison est jolie. C'est une photo de famille ? |
| Mari : Oui, c'est notre fils, et nos deux filles. Ils habitent tous à Strasbourg. |
| Épouse : Ahh...nos bébés ! Joe, comment vont tes parents ? Et ton frère et ta soeur ? |
| Joe : Ils vont bien. Ils disent bonjour. |
| Eric: One more time, with the translation. |
| Épouse : Bonjour Joe ! Et bienvenue chez nous ! |
| Eric: Hello, Joe! And welcome to our place! |
| Joe : Bonjour ! |
| Eric: Hello! |
| Épouse : Je suis Catherine. Et voici Yves, mon mari. |
| Eric: I'm Catherine. And this is Yves, my husband. |
| Joe : Enfin je vous rencontre ! |
| Eric: I finally meet you! |
| Mari : Entre, fais comme chez toi. Tu veux boire quelque chose ? |
| Eric: Come in, make yourself at home. Do you want something to drink? |
| Joe : Oui, s'il vous plaît. |
| Eric: Yes, please. |
| Épouse : Je vais apporter du jus d'orange. |
| Eric: I'll bring some orange juice. |
| Joe : Cette maison est jolie. C'est une photo de famille ? |
| Eric: This is a pretty house. Is this a family picture? |
| Mari : Oui, c'est notre fils, et nos deux filles. Ils habitent tous à Strasbourg. |
| Eric: Yes, this is our son, and our two daughters. They all live in Strasbourg. |
| Épouse : Ahh...nos bébés ! Joe, comment vont tes parents ? Et ton frère et ta soeur ? |
| Eric: Oh...our babies! Joe, how are your parents? And your brother and sister? |
| Joe : Ils vont bien. Ils disent bonjour. |
| Eric: They're good. They say hello. |
| Post Conversation Banter |
| Virginie: Even Catherine's children don’t live with them, they live in Strasbourg. |
| Eric: So is that pretty common for students? |
| Virginie: Yeah, they probably study in Strasbourg and they have to leave their city, just like in the US, I guess. |
| Eric: Right. So they went away to school? |
| Virginie: Yeah, exactly. But it’s also very usual, especially when you live in a big city with your parents to stay with your parents during your studies. |
| Eric: So you could live at home while you go to college too? |
| Virginie: Exactly. Although French students want to be apart from their parents, they can’t, that’s the thing. |
| Eric: Oh, rough, ok. |
| Virginie: I know. |
| Eric: So I guess French colleges don’t have sort of like the campus field with dorms and all that? |
| Virginie: Not really. We have dorms but they are usually spread out around the cities. Like in Paris, there is the Cité universitaire internationale, the International Universitary Campus. |
| Eric: Got you. But these are like a series of apartments for students? |
| Virginie: Yeah, exactly. |
| Eric: I don’t think in France they will usually share rooms either? |
| Virginie: No, no, no. Not at all. |
| Eric: That’s usually what happens in America when you are a freshman in college. |
| Virginie: That’s true. When we watch movie, you are a French kid and you watch American movies and you see all the students sharing rooms – it sounds like a lot of fun. We don’t have this. |
| Eric: Jealous, I guess. |
| Virginie: Yeah, we study better though. No, that is not true. So yes, that’s what usually happens, children staying with their parents during their studies. |
| Eric: Ok. So let’s get into a little vocabulary. |
| Vocab List |
| Virginie: bienvenu(e) [natural native speed] |
| Eric: welcome |
| Virginie: bienvenu(e) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: bienvenu(e) [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: nous [natural native speed] |
| Eric: us |
| Virginie: nous [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: nous [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: voici [natural native speed] |
| Eric: here is, this is |
| Virginie: voici [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: voici [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: un mari [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a husband |
| Virginie: un mari [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: un mari [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: enfin [natural native speed] |
| Eric: finally |
| Virginie: enfin [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: enfin [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: vous [natural native speed] |
| Eric: you (formal) |
| Virginie: vous [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: vous [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: rencontrer [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to meet |
| Virginie: rencontrer [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: rencontrer [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: entrer [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to enter |
| Virginie: entrer [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: entrer [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: comme [natural native speed] |
| Eric: as, like |
| Virginie: comme [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: comme [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: vouloir [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to want |
| Virginie: vouloir [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: vouloir [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: boire [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to drink |
| Virginie: boire [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: boire [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: quelque chose [natural native speed] |
| Eric: something |
| Virginie: quelque chose [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: quelque chose [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: apporter [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to bring |
| Virginie: apporter [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: apporter [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: du/de la/de l' [natural native speed] |
| Eric: some |
| Virginie: du/de la/de l' [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: du/de la/de l' [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: le jus d'orange [natural native speed] |
| Eric: orange juice |
| Virginie: le jus d'orange [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: le jus d'orange [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: cette [natural native speed] |
| Eric: this, that |
| Virginie: cette [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: cette [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: une maison [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a house |
| Virginie: une maison [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: une maison [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: très [natural native speed] |
| Eric: very |
| Virginie: très [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: très [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: joli(e) [natural native speed] |
| Eric: pretty |
| Virginie: joli(e) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: joli(e) [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: une famille [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a family |
| Virginie: une famille [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: une famille [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: notre [natural native speed] |
| Eric: our |
| Virginie: notre [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: notre [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: un fils [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a son |
| Virginie: un fils [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: un fils [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: nos [natural native speed] |
| Eric: our (with plural nouns) |
| Virginie: nos [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: nos [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: une fille [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a daughter |
| Virginie: une fille [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: une fille [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: habiter [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to reside, to live |
| Virginie: habiter [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: habiter [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: tous [natural native speed] |
| Eric: all, every |
| Virginie: tous [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: tous [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: un bébé [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a baby |
| Virginie: un bébé [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: un bébé [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: un frère [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a brother |
| Virginie: un frère [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: un frère [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: une soeur [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a sister |
| Virginie: une soeur [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: une soeur [natural native speed] |
| Virginie: dire [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to say |
| Virginie: dire [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: dire [natural native speed] |
| Vocab and Phrase Usage |
| Virginie: So, let's start with "bienvenue". |
| Eric: That's what Catherine tells joe when he comes in |
| Virginie: Yes she says "bienvenu chez nous!! |
| Eric: And that's welcome to our place. |
| Virginie: So bienvenue is welcome. |
| Eric: Yes and the way to say "at our place in French is "chez nous". |
| Virginie: Yes, chez being at when referring to someone 's place. |
| Eric: And nous is "us. |
| Virginie: Literally that's "at us" |
| Eric: You also probably saw restaurants called chez Julie for example |
| Virginie: Yes, at Julie's |
| Eric: At Virginie's would be chez Virginie. |
| Virginie: So again, welcome to our place is bienvenue chez nous. |
| Eric: Let's take a look at another politeness phrase, make yourself at home. |
| Virginie: Catherine says "fais comme chez toi" |
| Eric: Let's break it down |
| Virginie: Yes. First, we have the imperative of the verb faire, to do, and that's FAIs |
| Eric: Then, and I think it's a new word for us, we have the word comme, |
| Virginie: Comme in this context means "like", it's a comparative adverb |
| Eric: Then we have chez toi |
| Virginie: So, remember chez nous is at our place, eh bien, well, chez toi is at your place |
| Eric: So literally we have "make like at your place. |
| Virginie: Fais - comme- chez - toi. |
| Eric: Make yourself home. So in French to say "home" you always say chez followed by the person's name or a pronoun? |
| Virginie: Yes. But if it's "at my place", you can say chez moi AND you can say "a la maison" |
| Eric: Oh, a la masion. And that means the person who talks refers to his/her own place. |
| Virginie: Yes, maison means house, and in this case "home" |
| Eric: So even if I live in an apartment I will say " a la maison" literally at the house. |
| Virginie: Exactly, oui. |
| Eric: OK. So remember, here we have chez moi. |
| Virginie: At my place, or at home |
| Eric: Then we have chez toi |
| Virginie: At your place |
| Eric: And finally chez nous |
| Virginie: No let's do some grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: What's our focus for this lesson? |
| Virginie: Expressing quantities with the partitive article. |
| Eric: Ew, what's that, the partitive article? |
| Virginie: Well. It's the article we use to talk about quantified that you can't count. |
| Eric: Like for water for example? |
| Virginie: Exactly. You can't say one water, two waters, three waters, right? |
| Eric: Right, it's just water, or some water. |
| Virginie: Yes and that's when you will need the partitive article. |
| Eric: OK I see. And what does it look like? |
| Virginie: Ok let's start with the masculine, obviously used with masculine quantities. |
| Eric: OK |
| Virginie: It's actually in our dialogue. |
| Eric: Where? |
| Virginie: Catherine says "je vais chercher du jus d'orange." |
| Eric: I am going to get some orange juice. |
| Virginie: Right, we already know le jus d'orange. |
| Eric: That's orange juice |
| Virginie: Yes. It's a non-countable thing and it's masculine. Therefore you will use the article "du" |
| Eric: Du. We could almost translate it by "some. |
| Virginie: Absolutely. Whenever you say "some", use the partitive. |
| Eric: OK now what is the feminine partitive article? |
| Virginie: OK. Let's take the word la confiture. |
| Eric: That's gelee. |
| Virginie: You can't count it |
| Eric: And it;s feminine. So how do you say for example "I want some gelee" |
| Virginie: Je veux de la confiture |
| Eric: OK so here the partitive article is "de la" |
| Virginie: YEs |
| Eric: Alright. Now the article is modified when before a vowel, right? |
| Virginie: Yes, so no matter if the noun is masculine or feminine, in case of noun starting with a vowel, you'll have de l’. |
| Eric: Like with water, eau. |
| Virginie: Oui. Je veux de l'eau. |
| Eric: Alright. So, again, we have... |
| Virginie: du |
| Eric: masculine |
| Virginie: De la |
| Eric: Feminine |
| Virginie: and de l' |
| Eric: nouns starting with a vowel, |
| Virginie: OK now we need to give the plural partitive article. |
| Eric: Right |
| Virginie: The partitive plural is "des” and you will use it when you talk about, multiple things. |
| Eric: Countable or not, it doesn't matter. |
| Virginie: But when the quantity is vague, you don't exactly know the amount. |
| Eric: For example? |
| Virginie: Yes. "je veux des pommes" |
| Eric: I want some apples. |
| Virginie: See? You can count apples, but here you don't how many you want, you just want some apples. |
Outro |
| Virginie: Ok, I think that's it for our lesson. Thank you! |
| Eric: Thank you. |
| Virginie: Merci, Eric. Bye-bye! |
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