Learn how to use the French definite and indefinite articles
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam: Bonjour à tous. Hi, everybody. |
| Céline : Bonjour, Sam. Bonjour, Sylvain. |
| Sylvain: Bonjour à tous les deux. Hello to you both. |
| Sam: Nice, joli! |
| Céline : Très joli! Really nice. |
| Sylvain: Thank you! You were speaking about me? My new hair cut? |
| Sam: No, sorry. I think Céline thought that I was talking about the mic. |
| Céline : Yeah, when we do podcasts, we do them well, and actually I prefer to talk to mic not into the mic. |
| Sylvain: Who is Mike? Who is Mike? Who is Mike? |
| Sam: No, not Mike. The mic. The microphone. The one in front of you, you know? Articles are important, and that's the point of today's lesson. |
| Céline : Ah, so, Sylvain, you'll be Julie right? |
| Sam: Céline, why don't you be Julie, and Sylvain, you can be Robert. |
| Sylvain: Ok. |
| Sam: In today's lesson, Robert and Julie are at the Rodin museum and they're talking about the statues in the museum. By now, Julie and Robert are friends, so they'll use informal French. If you want to hear the formal version, go to FrenchPod101.com. Are you guys ready? |
| Céline : Yes! |
| Sam: Let's go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Sylvain: Oh, magnifique! |
| Céline : Merci. |
| Sylvain: Non pas toi, elle, elle est magnifique! |
| Céline : Hein? |
| Sylvain: Le baiser! La statue de Rodin! |
| Sam: Let's try that again, slowly. |
| Sylvain: Oh, magnifique! |
| Céline : Merci. |
| Sylvain: Non pas toi, elle, elle est magnifique! |
| Céline : Hein? |
| Sylvain: Le baiser! La statue de Rodin! |
| Sam: Now let's try that with the English. |
| Sylvain: Oh, magnifique! Wow, gorgeous! |
| Céline : Merci. Thank you. |
| Sylvain: Non pas toi, elle est magnifique! No, not you! She is gorgeous. |
| Céline : Hein? Huh? |
| Sylvain: Le baiser! La statue de Rodin! The Kiss, the Rodin’s statue! The Kiss, Rodin’s statue! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sylvain: Tu es allé au musée Rodin, Sam? Have you been to the Rodin museum, Sam? |
| Sam: Non pas encore. Not yet. |
| Céline : Oh! And what museum do you know in Paris? |
| Sam: I know the Louvre, and I also know the Orsay, and the Picasso. |
| Sylvain: They are the most famous, but do you know that to really enjoy museums in Paris and in France, you should go-- For example, for the Louvre, you should go at night. |
| Sam: At night? What do you mean? |
| Sylvain: Le nocturnes. The late show. |
| Sam: The late show? |
| Sylvain: No, I mean the late opening time. |
| Sam: What days? |
| Sylvain: C’est mercredi et vendredi. |
| Sam: Wednesdays and Fridays? |
| Sylvain: Oui, de neuf heures à dix heures du soir. |
| Sam: Oh wow! From 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM. |
| Sylvain: Ouais. Then you can enjoy the Louvre without the crowd. |
| Sam: Really? |
| Sylvain : Yep. |
| Sam: Wow! I see. Should I start at the top or bottom of the Louvre? |
| Céline : I think you should start at the top because the bottom is really crowded. |
| Sam: Oh, ok. |
| Céline : Yeah, so you should start at the top and then go down. |
| Sylvain: You enter the pyramid. You, have then to go down, and what usually, the tourists they never get to the top floors. |
| Sam: They all stay at the bottom? |
| Sylvain: Yeah. |
| Sam: It gets really crowded. Wow. |
| Céline : Yeah, that's why. |
| Sylvain: And at the top, there is less people. |
| Sam: C’est fatigant. That can be annoying. |
| Céline: Yeah, yeah that’s true. |
| Sam: Guys, have you seen the Da Vinci code? |
| Céline : Of, course! Bien sûr. |
| Sylvain: Bien sûr. |
| Sam: Do you remember there's a question in the movie? |
| Céline : What question? |
| Sam: Do you like the Louvre? |
| Sylvain: Est-ce qu’on aime le Louvre? |
| Céline : Yeah, yeah. Of course we do! |
| Sylvain: We love it. Usually. |
| Sam: Does everybody love it? |
| Céline : Come on! It's Louvre! It's the best museum. |
| Sam: In the world? |
| Céline : Of course! Bien sûr! Sam! |
| Sam: What about the museums in-- never mind. |
| Céline : Ok, guys. Let's concentrate on the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: Ok, let's look at some words and phrases. |
| Céline : Actually only words today, Sam. |
| Sam: Oh, ok. Sorry. How about the first word, Sylvain? |
| Sylvain: Magnifique. |
| Sam: Gorgeous. |
| Sylvain: Magnifique. Magnifique. |
| Sam: Next word, please, Céline . |
| Céline : Merci! |
| Sam: Thank you! |
| Céline : Merci. Merci! |
| Sam: Next word. |
| Sylvain: Baiser. |
| Sam: Kiss. |
| Sylvain: Baiser. Baiser. |
| Sam: Next word. |
| Céline : Statue. |
| Sam: Statue. |
| Céline : Statue. Statue. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sam: So let's look at the word "magnifique." |
| Sylvain: You have to note that the "g" is not pronounced in French. There are some words like this in French. An example, Céline ? |
| Céline : Un sculpteur. A sculptor, like Rodin. Les sculptures de Rodin sont magnifiques. |
| Sam: The Rodin sculptures are gorgeous. Just like you, Céline. |
| Céline : Oh! Merci! |
| Sylvain: We can intensify by saying "beaucoup" at the end. Merci beaucoup. |
| Sam: You are so... |
| Céline : Ah, merci. Merci beaucoup. |
| Sylvain: Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm still in the room, guys. Je suis encore dans la pièce. Well, let's jump to the next thing, "baiser." Oops. Ok, I will make a little grammar explanation. The article is vital in French, because some words can be verbs and nouns at the same time. The article tells us if it is a noun or a verb. |
| Céline : Yeah. |
| Sylvain: Je voudrais dîner. Le dîner est servi. |
| Sam: I see. I would like to eat supper. Supper is served. |
| Sylvain: In this example, souper , "to supper," it is the verb; "the supper," le souper, it is the noun. |
| Sam: Ok. I see. |
| Sylvain: Same writing, same pronunciation. The only difference is the article. |
| Céline : Yep. Ok, if it's not clear let's see another example. |
| Sylvain: Je voudrais un baiser. I would like a kiss. |
| Céline : Oh, ok. Ok. I see what you're trying to teach, dirty man. I think, on FrenchPod101.com, we have to keep it clean. Don't say the word “baiser” without the article. It changes the meaning. Really. |
| Sylvain: Completely. |
| Sam: Ah. Je voudrais bai… |
| Sylvain: No, no, no, no. |
| Céline : Stop. Stop. Sam, Sam, Sam. You have to be really carefully. If you use the word without the article, I can't say in English, but it’s the worst word in English. |
| Sam: Like saying... |
| Sylvain: No, no, no, no. |
| Céline : You can't. |
| Sam: Ok. |
| Céline: Even in English. I mean, don't say that to a beautiful woman. She will kill you. |
| Sylvain: Not at the first time, anyway. |
| Céline: No, no! |
| Sylvain: Like this: “je voudrais…” No, no, no, no, no! |
| Céline : Ok, let's see our last example. |
| Sylvain: Ok, Sam, la statue de Rodin est belle. |
| Sam: The Rodin statue is beautiful. |
| Céline : Ok and this will be the end of the vocab part. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Céline : So guys, in the previous lesson, we talked about articles. Let's have another look at this grammar point. There are two types of articles in French as well as in English, definite articles and indefinite articles. |
| Sam: Each type of article has its own function. The indefinite articles are used in front of nouns referring to things or persons in general. When a thing or person is named for the first time, indefinite articles are used. Then, when speakers are referring to the same thing or person again, definite articles are used. Can we see some examples of this? Céline, why don't you start? |
| Céline : Ok. C’est un musée parisien. |
| Sam: It's a Parisian museum. |
| Céline : Ok, so you see, "un musée." |
| Sam: Un museum. |
| Céline : It’s the indefinite article. Dans le musée. |
| Sam: In the museum. |
| Céline : Il y a une boutique de souvenirs. |
| Sam: There's a souvenir shop. |
| Céline : So see, "le musée." |
| Sam: The museum. |
| Céline : Definite article. Une boutique de souvenirs. |
| Sam: A souvenir shop. |
| Céline : Une. Indefinite article. Yeah? So, Sylvain, an example? |
| Sylvain: About the Louvre? |
| Céline : Yeah, yeah. That's a good example. THE Louvre. We never say "a Louvre." |
| Sam: Because there's only one Louvre. |
| Céline : Bien sûr. Of course. Donc, Sylvain, un exemple? |
| Sam: Sylvain, another example? |
| Sylvain: Il y a un micro devant moi. Un micro. |
| Sam: There's a microphone in front of me. |
| Sylvain: Le micro est neuf. |
| Sam: The microphone is new. |
| Sylvain: Then in the first sentence I used "un micro" |
| Sam: A microphone. |
| Sylvain: Article indefinite. |
| Sam: Indefinite article. |
| Sylvain: Indefinite article. And in the second sentence, I used "le micro." |
| Sam: The microphone. |
| Sylvain: Definite article. |
| Céline : Ok, yeah, you said "le micro," "the mic," because we know about the mic, right? Because you were talking about this microphone before. |
| Sylvain: It has been introduced. |
Outro |
| Céline : Ok, I think this is the end of today's lesson. We hope you enjoyed it. |
| Sam: Yeah, we sure do. |
| Céline : Merci beaucoup! À bientôt! |
| Sylvain: À bientôt. |
| Sam: À bientôt. See you! |
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