Learn how to use the French verbs and avoir in the negative form
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Jason: Don’t Give up the French Cat Just Yet! C’est Jason. Jason here! |
| Ingrid: Bonjour à tous, Ingrid here! |
| Jason: In this lesson, you’re going to learn how to use the verbs “être” and “avoir” in the negative form. |
| After this lesson, you will be able to say that “you are not” or that “you don’t have something”. |
| You will see what kinds of word you can use after these negative forms in order to use them properly. |
| Ingrid: Yes, and this lesson will also be the opportunity to review “être” and “avoir” verbs in the present tense, as this is what we’ll hear in this conversation. |
| Jason: And where does our conversation take place? |
| Ingrid: It’s after high school. Two teenagers, Cécile and Louis, are having a very interesting conversation, you will see! Of course, they are talking informal French. |
| Jason: Yes indeed, they are playing “devinettes” which is the French word for “riddles” or “guessing games.” |
| Ingrid: Yes, and you know how kind teenagers can be to each other! (laugh) Okay, let's now listen to this conversation! |
| DIALOGUE |
| Cécile : J'ai une idée, on va jouer aux devinettes, tu devines qui je suis, d'accord? |
| Louis: D'accord! Alors, première question: Es-tu une femme? |
| Cécile: Non je ne suis pas une femme! |
| Louis : Alors, est-ce que tu es un homme ? |
| Cécile : Et bien oui, forcément ! |
| Louis : Es-tu un homme séduisant alors? |
| Cécile : Non pas du tout et je n'ai pas de succès avec les filles! |
| Louis : Est-ce que tu es célèbre? |
| Cécile : Non je ne suis pas célèbre et je n'ai pas d'argent! |
| Louis : Si tu n’es pas célèbre, je ne peux pas trouver! Je donne ma langue au chat ! |
| Cécile : Idiot, mais je suis toi! |
| (1 time slowly) |
| Cécile : J'ai une idée, on va jouer aux devinettes, tu devines qui je suis, d'accord? |
| Louis: D'accord! Alors, première question: Es-tu une femme? |
| Cécile: Non je ne suis pas une femme! |
| Louis : Alors, est-ce que tu es un homme ? |
| Cécile : Et bien oui, forcément ! |
| Louis : Es-tu un homme séduisant alors? |
| Cécile : Non pas du tout et je n'ai pas de succès avec les filles! |
| Louis : Est-ce que tu es célèbre? |
| Cécile : Non je ne suis pas célèbre et je n'ai pas d'argent! |
| Louis : Si tu n’es pas célèbre, je ne peux pas trouver! Je donne ma langue au chat ! |
| Cécile : Idiot, mais je suis toi! |
| . |
| (1 time natural native speed with the translation) |
| Cécile: J'ai une idée, on va jouer aux devinettes, tu devines qui je suis, d'accord |
| I have an idea! Let’s play a guessing game! You have to guess who I am, alright? |
| Louis : D'accord! Alors, première question: Es-tu une femme? |
| Ok! So first question: Are you a woman? |
| Cécile: Non je ne suis pas une femme! |
| No I’m not! |
| Louis: Alors, est-ce que tu es un homme ? |
| So, you are a man? |
| Cécile: Et bien oui, forcément ! |
| Yes, obviously I am! |
| Louis: Es-tu un homme séduisant alors? |
| So are you an attractive man? |
| Cécile : Non pas du tout et je n'ai pas de succès avec les filles! |
| Not at all! And I’m not popular at all among women. |
| Louis: Est-ce que tu es célèbre? |
| And are you famous? |
| Cécile: Non je ne suis pas célèbre et je n'ai pas d'argent! |
| No I’m not famous and I have no money. |
| Louis: Si tu n’es pas célèbre, je ne peux pas trouver! Je donne ma langue au chat ! |
| If you are not famous, I cannot find! I give in! |
| Cécile: Idiot, mais je suis toi! |
| Idiot! I’m you! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Jason: : This reminds me so much of high school! Always making fun of friends, even if it’s not always kind to them. |
| Ingrid: Yes that’s true, and I guess it’s the same for teenagers from all over the world! |
| Jason: If think you’re right. But can you tell us a bit more about French teens? Do they have a kind of specialty or something? |
| Ingrid: : Yes, indeed I think we can talk about French teens in general as teens really belong to specific groups in France. |
| Jason: : Really? And what are these groups? |
| Ingrid: : First, you have to know that these groups change very often according to fashion and music styles. So for example some years ago, you had the “Tecktonik” group, which was really famous in France, but only for 6 months! These guys were between 13 and 18. You could easily recognize them as they were wearing very colorful clothes, even fluorescent ones. They only listened to electronic or techno music and created a very special dance, a quite “dislocated” dance I’d say! They even danced everywhere in the streets. |
| Jason: : And are there other popular groups now ? |
| Ingrid: : Yes, today another group called “Emo” is quite popular among young French people. These teens are entirely dressed in black with some touches of pink. They have dyed hair and are always wearing a lot of make-up with black eye shadow. They listen to some romantic rock but also to electronic music. They are pacifists as they hate conflicts. But their looks often scary people! |
| Jason: : And both boys and girls adopt this look? |
| Ingrid: : Yes! They even get together each weekend in a specific district of Paris. So if you want to know more about France’s teen groups, please check our lessons notes! |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Okay, so now, let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| The first expression we shall see is: |
| Avoir une idée [natural native speed] |
| Meaning “to have an idea” |
| Avoir une idée [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Avoir une idée [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Jouer [natural native speed] |
| Meaning “to play” |
| Jouer [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Jouer [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Deviner [natural native speed] |
| Meaning “to guess” |
| Deviner [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Deviner [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Séduisant [natural native speed] |
| Meaning “attractive, good-looking” |
| Séduisant [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Séduisant [natural native speed] |
| Être célèbre[natural native speed] |
| Meaning “to be famous” |
| Être célèbre [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Être célèbre [natural native speed] |
| Trouver [natural native speed] |
| Meaning “To find” |
| Trouver [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Trouver [natural native speed] |
| Je donne ma langue au chat [natural native speed] |
| Meaning “I don’t know”/ “I give in” |
| Je donne ma langue au chat [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Je donne ma langue au chat [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jason: The first expression we’ll look at is “Avoir une idée” which means “To have an idea”. |
| This expression works with the verb “avoir”. It’s often used to introduce one’s idea to another person isn’t it? |
| Ingrid: Yes, as in English, you can launch a conversation by saying “Hé, j’ai une idée!”as in “Hey, I have an idea!” It’s a dynamic way to suggest something, for example “J’ai une idée, et si on allait au restaurant ce soir?”which means “I have an idea, what about going to a restaurant tonight?”. |
| Jason: Yeah, but just be careful, as in our conversation, it’s an expression you can only use with friends, persons you know very well. Otherwise, I think it’s going to sound quite familiar! |
| Ingrid: That’s true, it’s really direct as it is difficult for the person to refuse this strong suggestion! |
| Jason: Okay, so what would we use to be more delicate? |
| Ingrid: Well, you can say “Nous pourrions aller au restaurant, qu’en pensez-vous?” which means “We could go to a restaurant, what do you think ? “. |
| Jason: Definitely more suitable when you’re talking to someone you don’t know very well or to your boss for example. [Pause] |
| Great! Let’s move on to next word. |
| Ingrid: Yes, the next one is “deviner” which means “to guess”. |
| Jason: Yes in our conversation, we also have the related word “devinettes” which is a noun meaning “riddles”. Could you say it again please? |
| Ingrid: [Natural speed] Devinettes |
| Jason: So next expression is? |
| Ingrid: “Etre célèbre” which means to be famous. We usually use this word for talking about celebrities who are well known by everybody. For example when you are talking about a famous actress, you can say “c’est une actrice célèbre”. |
| Jason: Yes, and you can also use it for places or objects? |
| Ingrid: Of course, you can say “Ce restaurant est très célèbre pour son poisson”, which means “this restaurant is very famous for seafood”. |
| Jason: Great! Could you repeat this word slowly please? |
| Ingrid: [slowly] “Célèbre” |
| Jason: And again at natural speed. |
| Ingrid: [natural speed] ”Célèbre” |
| Jason: So this time it’s an expression with an “être” verb, isn’t it? |
| Ingrid: Exactly, so you can say « Je suis célèbre », « Tu es célèbre » etc. |
| Jason: We heard another expression quite similar in our conversation, which was “Avoir du succès”, does it mean the exactly the same thing? |
| Ingrid: It’s really close but it means “to be successful” in general. For example, you can be successful in your favorite sport, not only in the star system. Also, you could say “Il a beaucoup de succès auprès des filles” to talk about an attractive man who is “is very popular among women”. Note that this expression is always used with an “avoir” verb. |
| Jason: Okay, so last but not least is the French expression “Je donne ma langue au chat”. And listeners, this is a quite strange expression because if you translate it directly, it means “I give my tongue to the cat”! |
| Ingrid: Yes, you’re right, it’s quite strange! This is a really popular expression in France to say that you really don’t know something, or that you are fed up with looking for the answer. |
| Jason: So if you’re playing to riddles, you often use “Je donne ma langue au chat”? |
| Ingrid: Yes it means “I give in, please tell me the correct answer”. |
| Jason: Could you say it slowly? |
| Ingrid: (slowly) “Je donne ma langue au chat” |
| Jason: And again at natural speed. |
| Ingrid: (natural speed) “Je donne ma langue au chat”. |
| Jason: A really nice expression! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Jason: So today’s grammar point is how to use the negative form of “être” and “avoir” verbs in the present tense. |
| Ingrid: Yes, it’s really important to express that you are not or you don’t have. I think it’s a form you will use every day. |
| Jason: So, first let’s take a look at “être” verb in the negative, which is “Je ne suis pas” in first person singular. In our conversation we heard “Je ne suis pas une femme”, which means “I’m not a woman”. |
| Ingrid: Yes, imagine that someone is asking you something like “Etes-vous Madame Smith?” you can answer “Je ne suis pas Madame Smith”. This was “Are you Mrs Smith?”, “No I’m not Mrs Smith”. |
| Jason: Could you give us another example this time with an adjective after “être” verb at negative? |
| Ingrid: Yes for example, you want to say that you’re not tired, you will say "Non je ne suis pas fatiguée”. |
| Jason: So what do you have to do to switch from affirmative to negative form in this case? |
| Ingrid: You have to add the negation word “ne” before “être” verb at present and add the negation word “pas” after the verb. |
| Jason: So add the word “ne” before verb “être” and add the word “pas” after the verb. This is quite simple, could you tell us once again? |
| Ingrid: Ne+verb “être”+ pas as in “Je ne suis pas”. Of course, you can add a noun, an adjective, a complement or an adverb at the end to make a more complex sentence, as in “Je ne suis pas fatiguée” or “Cécile n’est pas là” which means “Cécile is not here”. |
| Jason: Okay, great so now you can say that you are not or that someone is not, very useful! Now take a look at the other negative form we want to learn, this time with “avoir” verb. In that way, you’ll be also able to say « you don’t have ». |
| Ingrid: It’s “Je n’ai pas” in 1st person. The pattern is the same as with the “être” verb: you just have to add the negation word “n’ ” or “ne” before the “avoir” verb and add “pas” after the verb. |
| Jason: Could you give us more examples, from different person perspectives? |
| Ingrid: Sure! For example, imagine someone is asking you “Avez-vous du temps?” which means “Do you have time ?” you can answer “ Non, je n’ai pas de temps, désolé” means “No, I don’t have time, I’m sorry” |
| Jason: Can you repeat this example once again slowly please? |
| Ingrid: [slowly] “Non? Je n’ai pas de temps, désolée” |
| Jason: And again at natural speed. |
| Ingrid: (natural speed) “Non, je n’ai pas de temps, désolée”. |
| Jason: Great, so basically, negative form is similar for both verbs “être” and “avoir”? |
| Ingrid: Yes it is, you just have to use negative words « ne » or « n’ » before the verb and add the negative word « pas » after the verb. |
| Jason: Can you give us other examples with other persons? Is it working too? |
| Ingrid: Of course it is. You can say “Tu n’as pas de voiture” which means “You don’t have a car” or “Nous n’avons pas froid” that means “We are not cold”. |
| Jason: And if you want more details about this negative pattern, please refer to our lesson notes where you will find many examples of what you can use or not! |
| Ingrid: That’s right! And you will also find more explanations about negation words such as “n’” or “ne”. |
Outro |
| Ingrid: So listeners, see you soon, à bientôt! |
| Jason: Yes, see you next time! A bientôt! |
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