Grammar points to watch out for in spoken french

French grammar can be difficult and it is often a mental block for language learners who can worry constantly about getting everything correct. In truth, while grammar plays an important

role in communication, it should definitely not be a reason to stop you speaking French. THINK BACK TO YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES Whenever you are worried about your French grammar, you should

think back to a time when you have spoken to someone who has English as their second language. Have you ever judged them for little mistakes here and there? I doubt it. Can you still

understand the gist of what they want to say? Almost always. Do not let grammar stress you out or get to your head - it is simply not worth it. However, there are a few things that can help

you out when you are chatting to someone in French. Here are some grammar points to keep in mind for your next conversation. DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS This is one that can get

people in a pickle when they have to think about it on the spot. The role of direct and indirect object pronouns is to replace the direct and indirect objects in the sentence. Direct object

pronouns are: * _Me_ (first person, singular) * _Te_ (second person, singular) * _Le/la_ (third person, singular) * _Nous_ (first person, plural) * _Vous_ (second person, plural) * _Les_

(third person, plural Indirect object pronouns are: * _Me_ * _Te_ * _Lui_ * _Nous_ * _Vous_ * _Leur_ The direct object directly receives the action of the verb. In the sentence _je vois mon

papa_ (I see my dad) where the direct object pronoun is _mon papa_, it becomes _je le vois _(I see him). Meanwhile in the phrase_ elle parle à ses cousins_ (she talks to her cousins), _ses

cousins_ is the indirect object. It then becomes _elle leur parle_ (she talks to them). If there is no preposition in front of the noun, the noun is a direct object. Indirect object pronouns

are used with verbs followed by _à quelqu’un_ - ie. an animate noun. For example _conseiller à quelqu’un _ (advise someone); _apprendre à quelqu’un_ (to teach someone); _manquer à

quelqu’un_ (to miss someone). There are some in particular to watch out for: * _Écouter_ While English people say listen to someone or something, the French _écouter_ is directly followed by

the noun. It has to be replaced by a direct object pronoun. Example: _j’écoute ma maman_ (I listen to my mum) becomes_ je l’écoute_ (I listen to her). * _Téléphoner à quelqu’un_ There is no

preposition in English following the verb to telephone. However, in French, the conjugation is _téléphoner à quelqu’un_. Example: _Il a téléphoné à son frère_ (He phoned his brother)

becomes_ il lui a téléphoné_ (he phoned him). Learning to use direct and indirect object pronouns correctly is really a matter of practice and will become more natural the more you hear and

speak. READ ALSO: HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED WITH YOUR FRENCH LANGUAGE LEARNING ADJECTIVE PLACEMENT Like any good French grammar rule, there are some exceptions to this one. Normally in French,

the adjective comes AFTER the noun; for example_ le vélo rouge_ (the red bike), _la chaise cassée_ (the broken chair), _un esprit ouvert_ (an open spirit). However, in some cases the

adjective comes before the noun: * When describing goodness or badness: _C’est un bon ami_ (he/she is a good friend); _l__a gentille dame _(the kind lady); _le mauvais restaurant _(bad

restaurant). * When describing size: _un grand jardin mais une petite maison _(a big garden but a small house). * When describing age: _une jeune fille_ (a young girl); _un vieux monsieur_

(an old guy); _le nouvel étudiant_ (the new student). * When describing beauty: _un beau pays_ (a beautiful country); _l__es jolies chaussures_ (the nice shoes). VERBS THAT USE _ÊTRE_ Some

verbs take _avoir_ and some take _être_. Knowing which ones are which is really just a case of learning the list. However there are some tactics to help you. Generally speaking, most verbs

take _avoir_ and the exceptions take _être_. Verbs taking _être_ are reflexive verbs, for example, _se laver_ (to wash);_ s’abonne__r_ (to subscribe); _s’adapter_ (to adapt); _s’attendre à_

(to expect something); _se doucher _(to shower). Reflexive verbs are something you will pick up throughout the process of learning French, or you can simply learn them as a list if you

prefer. Other verbs that usually take _être_ are verbs of motion. This is a list of 14 verbs: When conjugating these verbs in the _passé composé_, they normally take _être_ and agree with

the subject. This is not the case for verbs that take _avoir_. For example, in _elles ont mangé_, manger does not agree despite the fact _elles_ is both feminine and plural. However, in

_elles sont allées au cinéma _(they went to the cinema), _aller_ does agree because the verb takes _être_. There are some exceptions to this rule - largely in the instances when these verbs

are used with a direct object without a preposition. In this case, they sometimes take _avoir_. You may sometimes see _sortir_ used with _avoir_ - this means took something/someone out. For

example,_ j’ai sorti le chien_ (I took the dog out) or _tu as sorti les valises ?_ (Have you taken out the suitcases?) With _entrer_, if the subject of the sentence is entering somewhere,_

entrer_ takes _être_; _elle est entrée par la porte_ (She entered by the door). However if the subject of a sentence is entering something else, _avoir_ is used -_ j’ai entré mon code de

carte bleue_ (I entered my credit card number). _Monter_ uses _être_ when the verb is used to describe movement, but _avoir_ is used for other contexts. For example, _Loïc est monté se

coucher_ (Loïc has gone upstairs to sleep), but _il a monté le son_ (he raised the volume). Finally with _passer, avoir_ is used when there is a direct object without a preposition; _Jacques

est passé me voir hier soir_ (Jacques popped by to see me yesterday evening) but _j’ai passé quelques semaines à Paris en été_ (I spent a few weeks in Paris in the summer). RELATED ARTICLES

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