Welcome/Bienvenue
Thank you for attending the second meeting of Café Français.
The objective is to provide an opportunity for parents of French immersion students to practice their conversational French. A set topic will be discussed every week. The experience level will be from basic to advanced. The next meeting will be held on April 13th.
· General rules
o Don’t worry about making mistakes. We all make mistakes sometimes.
o Try to speak mostly in French unless you get stuck, then use English or equivalent.
o Practice
o Be patient with yourself and other participants
· General information
o Free French websites (please refer to Café Francais-Feb 16)
o French Camps (please refer to Café Francais-Feb 16)
· Some basic French Verbs (the following are commonly used verbs and their conjugation in the present tense; see table)
o Être (to be)
o Avoir (to have)
o Aller (to go)
· This week’s topic: People & Places
o Objective to find places and recognize common questions.
| | Être | (to be) | Avoir | (to have) | Aller | (to go) |
| Je (I) | suis | am | (j’ai) | have | vais | go |
| Tu (You) | es | are | As | have | vas | go |
| Il/Elle/On (He/She/We[1]) | est | is | A | has | va | go |
| Nous (We) | sommes | are | avons | have | allons | go |
| Vous[2] (You/They/Them) | êtes | are | Avez | have | allez | go |
| Ils/Elles (They/Them[3]) | sont | are | Ont | have | vont | go |
| Q: Qu’est-ce que c’est ton occupation\métier\profession? | What is your occupation\job\profession? |
| A : Je suis | I am a… |
| Professeur | Teacher |
| Médecin,Docteur\Doctoresse | Doctor |
| Avocat\Avocate | Lawyer |
| Directeur de,Chef de | Manager of |
| Fermier\Fermière | Farmer |
| Scientifique (m\f) | Scientist |
| Infirmière (f) | Nurse |
| Mécanicien (m) | Mechanic |
| Programmeur\Programmeuse | Programmer |
| Assistant\Assistante (Vendeur\Vendeuse) | Assistant (Shop Assistant) |
| Artiste (m\f) | Artist |
| Cuisinier\Cuisinière | Cook |
| Dessinateur\Dessinatrice | Designer |
| | |
| | |
| Q : Où est ton travail? | Where do you work? (place of work) |
| A : Je travail dans … | I work in … |
| L’école | School |
| L’université | University |
| Le college | College |
| L’usine | Factory |
| Le bureau | Office |
| L’hôpital | Hospital |
| La banque | Bank |
| La bibliothèque | Library |
| La piscine | Pool |
| Le restaurant | Restaurant |
| Centre commercial | Shopping Center |
| Le magasin | Store |
| | |
| Q : Où est-ce qu’il y a le/la …? | Where is the …? |
| Q : Pouvez-vous m’indiquer sur la carte … ? | Can you show me on the map …? |
| Q : Où puis-je acheter …? | Where can I buy … ? |
| Q: Je cherche ... ? | I’m looking for … ? |
| Le coiffeur | Barber shop |
| Le coiffeur | Hair Salon |
| Le supermarché | Supermarket |
| Le dépanneur | Convienence Store |
| La boulangerie-pâtisserie | Bakery |
| Le boucherie | Butcher |
| La cour de récréation | Playground |
| La patinoire | Skating Rink |
| Le lave-auto | Car wash |
| La station d’essence | Gas Station |
| | |
| Q: C’est loin? | How far is it? |
| En bus | By bus |
| À pied | On foot |
| En auto | By car |
| En train | By train |
| | |
| C’est … | It’s … |
| À droite | Right |
| À gauche | Left |
| À cote de | Beside |
| À l’est | East |
| À l’ouest | West |
| Au nord | North |
| Au sud | South |
| Derrière | Behind |
| Devant | In Front of |
| Ici | Here |
| Là | There |
| Loin d’ici | Far away |
| Au coin | On the corner |
| Près d’ici | Near here |
| Tout droit | Straight ahead |
| | |
· The end/Fin
[1] The use of “on” in French is equivalent to “we” or everyone in English. For example, everyone goes to school (in English), On va á l’ecole (in French)
[2] The use of “vous” in French is also used to in place of “you” in English in a formal context instead of “tu” for “you” which is less formal.
[3] The use of “ils” or “elles” in French refers to groups of people and distinguishes their gender. For example, groups of males for “ils” or groups of females for “elles”.
[4] CORRECTION: When specifying your own occupation or profession “un/une” are not used. For example: Je suis professeur.
