The original French text, with the English definition of each word in a tip box, a page vocabulary, and notes by Susan Rhoads. The French chapter is from Contes et Legendes, Ire Partie; par H. A. Guerber; New York: American Book Company; 1895; pp. 15-23.
How To Use This Page
ALL THE FRENCH WORDS are defined and conjugated — every one, every time. Each word on this page will show its meaning in English in its context in that phrase, in a Tip Box when your mouse hovers over it.
In addition, the first time the word is used in that way, outside of the headers, it will be in darker blue. Clicking on the first use of the word will take you to the Page Vocabulary at the bottom of the page. All the forms and meanings of that word used on this page only will be listed.
Afterward, when you have reached the word in the Vocabulary, click on the underlined word, and you will return to the first time the word was used in that way in the text.
If the word is blue, and not underlined, it will take you its entry in the Complete Vocabulary for more about that word. There, if it is underlined, it will take you to the first time that word was used in the entire text by Guerber.
In the following stories, if the word is in red, it is a Tricky Word ! It is a new meaning and function for a word with the same spelling that has been used before with a different meaning. Or it is a word that looks like an English word but means something totally different in French. Then it will be clickable, and take you to the dictionary below. The Tip Box will also clue you in.
All the words and their variant meanings and forms used in the entire book are in the Complete Vocabulary at the end of the book.
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IL y avait une fois une petite fille. Cette petite fille demeurait dans une jolie petite maison avec sa mère et sa sœur. La petite fille, Claire, était bonne et très jolie. La sœur de la petite fille, Laure, était méchante et laide. La mère était aussi méchante et laide. La mère aimait Laure, mais elle n’aimait pas Claire.
Un jour la méchante fille dit à sa mère : “Ma mère, envoyez Claire à la forêt cueillir des violettes.” La mère répondit: “Des violettes, dans cette saison ! 16 C’est impossible, ma fille, dans la forêt il y a seulement de la neige et de la glace.”
Mais la méchante fille insista, et la mère dit à Claire: “Allez à la forêt cueillir un bouquet de violettes pour votre sœur.” Claire regarda sa mère avec surprise, et répondit: “Ma mère, c’est impossible! Dans cette saison il y a seulement de la neige et de la glace dans la forêt.” Mais la mère insista, et la pauvre Claire partit.
Elle alla à la forêt, chercha les violettes, et trouva seulement de la neige et de la glace. La pauvre fille dit : “J’ai froid; où y a-t-il du feu ?” Elle regarda à droite, elle regarda à gauche, et elle vit un grand feu à une grande distance. Elle alla à ce feu, et vit douze hommes assis autour du feu.
Trois hommes avaient de longues barbes blanches et de longues robes blanches; trois hommes avaient de longues barbes blondes et de longues robes vertes; trois hommes avaient de longues barbes brunes et de longues robes jaunes, et trois hommes avaient de longues barbes noires et de longues robes violettes.
La petite fille s’approcha en silence, et elle vit qu’un des hommes à barbe blanche avait un bâton à la main. Cet homme se tourna et dit : “Petite fille, que cherchez-vous dans la forêt ?” La petite fille répondit: “Monsieur, je cherche des violettes.” L’homme à barbe blanche dit : “Ma pauvre petite fille, n’est pas la saison des violettes, c’est la saison de la neige et de la glace.” “Oui,” dit la petite fille, “mais ma 17 mère a dit: ‘Allez à la forêt cueillir un bouquet de violettes pour votre sœur,’ et je suis forcèe d’obéir.”
L’homme à barbe blanche regarda la petite fille un instant, et dit : “Chauffez-vous, ma pauvre enfant.” Alors il prit son bâton, se tourna vers un des hommes à barbe blonde, lui donna le bâton et dit : “Frère Mai, toujours les violettes sont votre affaire. Voulez-vous aider cette petite fille ?”
“Certainement,” répondit Frère Mai. Il prit le bâton et attisa le feu. En un instant la glace disparut, et la neige aussi. La petite fille n’avait plus froid, elle avait chaud. Un instant après elle vit l’herbe était verte, et bientôt elle vit beaucoup de violettes dans l’herbe.
Alors Frère Mai se tourna vers elle et dit : “Ma chère petite fille, cueillez un bouquet de violettes, aussi vite que possible, et partez.” La petite fille cueillit un bouquet de violettes, dit : “Merci, mon bon monsieur Mai,” et partit.
Frère Mai donna le bâton à l’homme à barbe blanche, il attisa le feu, et en un instant les violettes et l’herbe avaient disparu, et la glace et la neige étaient là comme avant.
La petite fille alla à la maison et frappa à la porte. La mère ouvrit la porte et dit : “Avez-vous les violettes ?” “Oui, ma mère,” répondit Claire, et elle donna les violettes à sa mère. “Où avez-vous trouvé ces violettes ?” dit la mère. “Dans la forêt,” répondit 18 Claire, il y avait beaucoup de violettes dans l’herbe.” La mère de Claire était très surprise, mais elle ne dit rien.
Le lendemain la méchante fille dit à sa mère : “Ma mère, envoyez Claire à la forêt cueillir des fraises.” “Des fraises, dans cette saison, c’est impossible, ma fille,” répondit la mère. Mais Laure insista, et la mère dit à Claire: “Allez à la forêt cueillir des fraises pour votre sœur.” Claire regarda sa mère avec surprise, et dit : “Ma mère, c’est impossible! Dans cette saison il y a de la glace et de la neige dans la forêt mais pas de fraises.” Mais la mère insista, et la pauvre Claire partit.
Elle alla à la forêt, chercha les fraises, et trouva seulement de la neige et de la glace. La pauvre fille dit : “J’ai froid! y a-t-il du feu ?” Elle regarda à droite et à gauche, et elle vit un grand feu à une grande distance. Elle s’approcha de ce feu et vit les douze hommes.
Trois hommes avaient des barbes blanches et des robes blanches; trois hommes avaient des barbes blondes et des robes vertes; trois hommes avaient des barbes brunes et des robes jaunes, et trois hommes avaient des barbes noires et des robes violettes.
La petite fille s’approcha et dit à homme à barbe blanche qui avait un bâton à la main: “Monsieur, j’ai froid, voulez-vous me permettre de me chauffer à votre feu ?” “Certainement,” répondit l’homme. “Mon enfant, que cherchez-vous dans la forêt dans cette saison ?” 19 “Des fraises, monsieur.” “Des fraises,” répéta l’homme avec surprise, “ce n’est pas la saison des fraises. C’est la saison de la glace et de la neige.” La petite fille répondit: “Ma mère a dit: ‘Allez à la forêt cueillir des fraises pour votre sœur,’ et je suis forcèe d’obéir.”
Alors l’homme à barbe blanche donna son bâton, à un des hommes à barbe brune, et dit : “Frère Juin, les fraises sont votre affaire. Voulez-vous aider cette petite fille ?”
“Avec le plus grand plaisir,” répondit Frère Juin. Il prit le bâton et attisa le feu. En un instant toute la neige et toute la glace avaient disparu. La petite fille n’avait plus froid, elle avait chaud. Elle vit l’herbe verte, et quelques minutes après elle vit beaucoup de fraises dans l’herbe.
Alors Frère Juin se tourna vers elle et dit : “Ma chère petite fille, cueillez vos fraises, vite, vite, et partez.” La petite fille cueillit les fraises, dit : “Merci, mon bon monsieur Juin,” et partit.
Frère Juin donna le bâton à Frère Janvier. Il attisa le feu et en un instant les fraises avaient disparu, et la neige et la glace étaient là comme avant.
La petite fille retourna à la maison et frappa à la porte. La mère ouvrit la porte et demanda: “Où sont les fraises ?” Claire donna les fraises à sa mère. “Où avez-vous trouvé ces fraises ?” demanda la mère. “Dans la forêt,” répondit la petite fille, “il y avait 20 beaucoup de fraises dans l’herbe.” La mère était très surprise. Elle donna les fraises à la méchante fille, qui les mangea toutes.
Le lendemain la méchante fille dit à sa mère : “Ma mère, envoyez Claire à la forêt cueillir des pommes.” La mère dit : “Ma fille, il n’y a pas de pommes dans la forêt dans cette saison.” Mais la méchante fille insista, et la mère dit à Claire: “Ma fille, allez dans la forêt cueillir des pommes pour votre sœur.” Claire regarda sa mère avec surprise, et dit : “Mais, ma mère, il n’y a pas de pommes dans la forêt dans cette saison.” La mère insista, et Claire partit.
Elle regarda à droite et à gauche, mais elle ne trouva pas de pommes. Elle avait froid, et dit : “Où y a-t-il du feu ?” Dans un instant elle vit le même feu et les mêmes hommes.
Elle s’approcha et dit à homme à barbe blanche qui avait le bâton à la main: “Mon bon monsieur, voulez-vous me permettre de me chauffer à votre feu ?” L’homme répondit : “Certainement, ma pauvre enfant; que cherchez-vous dans la forêt dans cette saison ?” “Je cherche des pommes, monsieur.” “C’est la saison de la neige et de la glace, ma pauvre enfant, ce n’est pas la saison des pommes.”
“Oui, monsieur, mais ma a dit: ‘Allez chercher des pommes,’ et je suis forcèe d̵ éir,” dit Claire.
Alors l’homme à barbe blanche prit son bâton, se tourna vers un des hommes à barbe noire et dit : 21 “Frère Septembre, les pommes sont votre affaire. Voulez-vous aider cette pauvre petite fille ?”
“Certainement,” répondit Frère Septembre. Il prit le bâton, attisa le feu, et dans un instant la petite fille vit un pommier, tout couvert de pommes. Alors Frère Septembre se tourna vers la petite fille, et dit : “Ma chère petite fille, cueillez deux pommes, vite, vite, et partez.” La petite fille cueillit deux pommes rouges, dit : “Merci, mon bon monsieur,” et partit.
Frère Septembre donna le bâton à Frère Janvier, qui attisa le feu, et à l’instant le pommier disparut, et les pommes rouges aussi, et la neige et la glace étaient là comme avant.
La petite fille retourna à la maison, elle frappa à la porte. La mère ouvrit la porte et demanda: “Avez-vous les pommes ?” “Oui, ma mère,” répondit la petite fille. Elle donna les pommes à sa mère et entra dans la maison. La mère donna les pommes à la méchante fille. La méchante fille mangea les deux pommes, et demanda à Claire: “Ma sœur, où trouvé ces grosses pommes rouges ?” “Dans la forêt, il y avait un grand pommier tout couvert de pommes rouges,” répondit Claire.
La méchante fille dit à sa mère le lendemain : “Ma mère, donnez-moi mon manteau et mon capuchon. Je vais à la forêt cueillir beaucoup de violettes, de fraises, et de pommes.” La mère donna le manteau et le capuchon à Laure, qui partit.
22Elle alla dans la forêt, elle vit de la glace et de la neige, mais elle ne vit pas de violettes. Elle ne vit pas de fraises, et elle ne vit pas de pommes. Elle chercha à droite, elle chercha à gauche, en vain. Alors elle dit : “J’ai froid, où y a-t-il du feu ?” Elle regarda à droite et à gauche, et vit le grand feu et les douze hommes, assis en silence autour du feu.
Laure s’approcha, et l’homme qui avait le bâton dit : “Mon enfant, que cherchez-vous dans la forêt dans cette saison ?” “Rien,” dit la méchante fille, qui était aussi très impolie.
Frère Janvier prit son bâton, attisa le feu, et dans un instant la neige commença à tomber. La méchante fille partit pour aller à la maison, mais en route elle tomba dans la neige et périt.
La mère dit : “Où est Laure ?” Un moment après la mère prit son manteau et son capuchon et partit pour chercher Laure. Elle chercha dans la forêt, elle arriva aussi au grand feu et vit les douze hommes.
Frère Janvier dit : “Ma bonne femme, que cherchez-vous dans la forêt dans cette saison ?” “Rien,” répondit la mère, qui était aussi impolie.
Frère Janvier prit son bâton, attisa le feu, et à l’instant la neige commença à tomber. La mère partit pour aller à la maison, mais en route elle tomba dans la neige et périt aussi.
La bonne fille était seule dans la maison, mais douze fois par an elle recevait la visite d’un des douze hommes. 23 Décembre, Janvier, et Février apportaient de la glace et de la neige; Mars, Avril, et Mai apportaient des violettes; Juin, Juillet, et Août apportaient de petits fruits; et Septembre, Octobre, et Novembre apportaient beaucoup de pommes. La petite fille était toujours très polie, et les douze mois étaient ses bons amis.
1 This is one of the most popular of the Bohemian folk stories. It has been translated into many languages, and an elaborate version of it can be found in Laboulaye’s “Fairy Book.”
Vocabulaire
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
ALL THE FRENCH WORDS in the entire book, are defined and conjugated — every one, every time. Each word will be listed, with its meaning in English in every form it is used in this text.
Each main word entry that is underlined is a link. Click on it to be taken to the first time this word was used in the story — in that exact form, or by that exact definition.
If the main entry has not been used in this exact way, it is the main form of the word, and it is not underlined. In that case, the form of the word which is used in the book will be in an underlined subheading below it.
The resources used can be found in Comments* below.
If the meaning used at the time the book was written is significantly different in today’s French, that is noted. The modern definition may be included.
About types of verbs : to Toynbee, an older grammarian, verbs are classified as active, neuter, and reflective. In modern dictionaries transitive, intransitive and reflexive are used. (I think reflective makes much more sense, though, since it better explains that the action of the verb “reflects” onto the subject.)
Toynbee’s classification is used in this Vocabulary, (because it was written at the same period as this book). Except for reflective, which has been changed to reflexive. If the verb is not used in his dictionary and is only found in Modern French dictionaries, and then those classifications are used.
The past tense is variously called the Definite Past, or the Simple Past, or the Historic Past, or the Narrative Past. The term Definite Past is used here. This is a little less confusing and makes it clear that the action expressed is definitely over, or in the past — e.g., dansai: I danced.
The definite past is rarely used in modern French, unless in text books or historical accounts. Which makes it a very good reason to only read history and fairy tales, since this form is so easy to translate.
On the other hand, the Imperfect Past (called the Perfect in older books) is used all the time today, even in cases where the past tense is appropriate. It expresses an action that was not completed, or was habitual, or even was just considered or intended but not really done — e.g., dansais can mean : I was dancing, or I did dance, or I used to dance, or I thought about dancing.
So just to confuse things for everybody, in modern French the Imperfect is regularly translated like the Definite Past, so dansais can also mean I danced.
A : preposition or verb (from the verb avoir: have) :
NOTE !!! In modern French this word, used as a preposition, has a grave accent (the reverse of an acute accent): à. This is not always so in older French texts.
There is an ancient example of the use of “a” in a 15th century French text on this site, used as the preposition, à, without the accent.
NOTE !!! Often, When the word, à is capitalized, the accent is not included. In that case, differentiating between the preposition and the verb has to be determined by the context.
Here is a modern example of the use of capital “A” on this page, as the preposition, à, without the accent.
(1) à : preposition — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. :
(a) à : .
(b) à : .
(c) à : .
(d) à : .
(e) Au : contraction; masculine; singular of the preposition à + the definite article Le. .
For other forms, meanings and uses, see the Main Vocabulary entry for the word “A”.
(2) a : verb — active indicative present; third person singular, from the verb avoir: have or be, an irregular verb. ; or .
(a) a : used as an auxiliary (helping) verb with other verbs to make the perfect tense.
(i) a dit : verb — active indicative past perfect (or indefinite past); third person; masculine or feminine; singular. From this form of the irregular verb avoir: have; and the past participle; masculine, singular of the verb dire: say or tell. .
Affaire : feminine noun — singular. .
Ai : verb — active indicative present; first person singular, from the irregular verb avoir: have or be, an irregular verb. ; or .
(i) J’ai froid : idiomatic expression. Although, it could mean I have cold, this uses this form of the verb avoir with the meaning of , and the feminine singular noun froid : cold, or chilliness. It is translated as : .
Aider : verb — active infinitive. .
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for aider.
Aimait : verb — active indicative imperfect; third person singular, from the verb aimer: like, or love. .
Alla : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the irregular verb aller: go. .
Aller : irregular verb — active infinitive. .
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for aller.
Allez ! : verb — active imperative; second person plural, from the irregular verb aller: go. This is a command, or direct order.
NOTE !!! With the imperative, the object pronoun (Vous) is usually not used.
In formal speech, the imperative second person plural is used as a command to either one person (you), or for more than one person (you all). In familiar speech between family and friends the first person imperative of alle is used.
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for aller.
Alors : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Amis : masculine noun — plural of ami. .
An : masculine noun — singular. .
Anglaise : feminine adjective — singular, or plural from anglais. .
This adjective is modifying Texte, which is a feminine noun. In this use of anglaise as an adjective, it is not capitalized — unless it is at the beginning of a sentence, or in a title.
For other uses, meanings and forms of this word, see the Main Vocabulary entry for anglais.
Août : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Août and Frère are capitalized. Frère Août = Brother August. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of août. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Approchèrent : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person plural, from the transitive use of the verb approcher: bring nearer, or move nearer. .
Se Approchèrent : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person plural, from the reflexive form — with the elided reflexive object pronoun Se: himself, herself, or itself — used in the intransitive sense of the verb se approcher: approach near. .
Apportaient : verb — active indicative imperfect; third person plural, from the verb apporter: bring. .
ApprochaAprès : preposition — masculine or feminine, singular or plural. .
Arriva : verb — active indicative past (definite); first person plural, from the verb arriver: arrive, or reach. .
Assis : verb — past participle; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. Here it is used with the transitive sense of the verb asseoir: sit down, or seat. .
NOTE !!! This is not the same as the reflexive, or intransitive form of the verb se asseoir : to seat oneself, or to sit oneself down, which is used in the story before this one. This shows that a verb can be both transitive or intransitive (reflexive) depending on the inclusion of the reflexive pronouns : me, te, se, nous, or vous.
Assis, can also be the conjugation for the past (definite), first person, singular. The meaning is determined by the context of the verb. The use in the context of twelve men means that the past participle is meant in this case.
Attisa : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb attiser: poke, or kindle. .
Au : contraction of à + Le. In this case, it means ; .
Here, it is the contraction of A, the preposition (masculine or feminine; singular or plural) and Le, the definite article, (masculine; plural).
For other meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for Au.
Aussi : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. :
(2) Aussi : As an adverb of comparison.
(a) Aussi. . . que : expression of comparison.
(i) Aussi vite que possible : expression of comparison using Aussi, an adverb, and Que as a conjunction of comparison.
Autour du : expression Autour is an adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. Combined with De, Du, or Des, it means : .
Avaient : verb — active indicative imperfect; third person plural, from the irregular verb avoir: have; or be, an irregular verb. ; or .
(1) avaient : used as an auxiliary (helping) verb with other verbs to make the pluperfect tense.
(a) avaient disparu : verb — active indicative pluperfect; third person; masculine or feminine; plural. From this form of the irregular verb avoir: have; and the past participle; masculine or feminine, singular or plural of the verb disparaître: disappear or vanish. .
Avait : verb — active indicative imperfect; third person singular, from the irregular verb avoir: have (or be), an irregular verb. ; or .
(a) J’avait chaud : idiomatic expression. Although, it could mean (He, she, or it had heat, or (he, she, or it had warmth, this uses this form of the verb avoir with the meaning of , and the feminine singular noun froid : cold, or chilliness. It is translated as : .
(b) J’avait froid : idiomatic expression. Although, it could mean (He, she, or it had heat, or (he, she, or it had warmth, this uses this form of the verb avoir with the meaning of , and the feminine singular noun froid : heat, or warmth. It is translated as : .
Avant : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Avec : preposition — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Avez-Vous ? : Interrogative form of the verb (used for a question) — active indicative present; second person plural, from the verb avoir: have; or be, an irregular verb. or or or
NOTE !!! The meaning of avez can be singular or plural. Vous is used both for one or more than one person in formal or polite conversation. In familiar conversation between friends and family the second person singular may be used : As-tu?
(1) Avez-vous trouvé ? : verb — interrogative form of the active indicative past perfect (or indefinite past); second person; masculine or feminine; plural. From this form of the irregular verb avoir: have; and the past participle; masculine, singular of the verb trouver: find. .
NOTE !!! Because the vous, although the formal second person plural pronoun, is being used to address only one person, the singular form of the participle is used.
Avril : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Avril and Frère are capitalized. Frère Avril = Brother April. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of avril. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Barbe : feminine noun — singular.
Barbes : feminine noun — plural of barbe. .
Bâton : masculine noun — singular. .
Beaucoup : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. Used with the adverb ne; or n’ to mean : .
Bientôt : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Blanche : feminine adjective — singular from blanc. .
Blanches : feminine adjective — plural; from blanc. .
Blonde : feminine adjective — singular, from blond. .
Blondes : feminine adjective — plural; from blond. .
Bon : masculine adjective — singular. .
Bonne : feminine adjective — singular; from bon. .
Bons : masculine adjective — plural; from bon. .
Bouquet : masculine noun — singular. .
Brune : feminine adjective — singular of brun. .
Brunes : feminine adjective — plural; from brun. .
C’ : demonstrative adjective — masculine; singular. This is the elided form of Ce, used before words beginning with a vowel or mute ‘h’ .
Capuchon : masculine noun — singular. .
Ce : demonstrative adjective — masculine; singular. .
(1) C’ : demonstrative adjective — masculine; singular. This is the elided form of Ce, used before words beginning with a vowel or mute ‘h’ .
(2) Cet : demonstrative adjective — masculine; singular, from ce. This is the form used before words beginning with a vowel or mute H. .
In French, besides elision as a method to avoide the sounds of two vowels running together, they also use the “Harmonious T.”, to create euphony, or “prettier”, sounds. Instead of using ce, which ends in a vowel, before a word that begins with a vowel — which sounds so ugly to the French ear and looks so ugly to the French eye, a is tossed at the end of ce, yielding cet.
For another example of the Harmonious T see a-t-il above.
(3) Ces : demonstrative adjective — masculine or feminine; plural, from ce. .
(4) Cette : demonstrative adjective — feminine; singular, from ce. .
Certainement : conjunction — masculine or feminine; singular or singular. .
Ces : demonstrative adjective — masculine or feminine; plural, from ce. .
Cet : demonstrative adjective — masculine; singular, from ce. This is the form used before words beginning with a vowel or mute H. .
Cette : demonstrative adjective — feminine; singular, from ce. .
Chaud : masculine noun — singular. .
Note !!! that when used in this way, Chaud is a masculine noun. Here, used with avait, literally it means She had heat (warmth), and not as the adjective meaning hot or warm, although in English it is used as an adjective in the sentence, "She was hot." This is why, in French, it is expressed as the girl avait chaud, instead of the girl avait chaude.
To see this word used as an adjective, see chaude.
(a) avait chaud; : idiomatic expression. Although, it could mean (He, she, it) had heat, or (he, she or it had warmth, this uses the meaning of avait, the active imperfect; third person singular form of the verb avoir in the sense of be, and the noun chaud : heat, or warmth. It is translated as : .
Chauffer : verb — active infinitive. .
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for chauffer.
Chauffez-Vous ! : Imperative form of the reflexive verb — active indicative present; second person plural, from the reflexive form of the verb — se chauffer: warm (one)self (up); or heat (one)self (up) for. or or
NOTE !!! The active indicative second plural present form is spelled the same way. The difference is the command format. The reflexive pronoun is always used in commands using reflexive verbs.
NOTE !!! The meaning of chauffez can be singular or plural. Vous is used both for one or more than one person in formal or polite conversation. In familiar conversation between friends and family the second person singular may be used : Chauffes-te!
Chercha : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb chercher: seek, or look for. .
Cherche : verb — active indicative present; first person singular, from the verb chercher: seek; or look for, an irregular verb. ; or or .
Chercher : verb — active infinitive. .
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for chercher.
Cherchez-Vous ? : Interrogative form of the verb (used for a question) — active indicative present; second person plural, from the verb chercher: seek; or look for. or or or
NOTE !!! The imperative form is spelled the same way. The difference is the question format. The personal pronoun is always used in the question, but not used in the command (unless the verb is used reflexively).
NOTE !!! The meaning of cherchez can be singular or plural. Vous is used both for one or more than one person in formal or polite conversation. In familiar conversation between friends and family the second person singular may be used : Cherches-tu?
Chère : feminine adjective — singular; from cher. !
Claire : feminine proper noun; singular. .
NOTE!! Some proper names in French do have a gender, but the definite article, La or Le is rarely, if ever, used. Countries, yes, but cities, and individuals, no. La France is correct occasionally, but never Le Paris. L’Allemagne is used, but not Le Bertrand. For more on this see the only book online that addresses this subject intelligently and clearly: French Grammar, by R. Labutte.
Also note that when the article is used with a proper name, it may or not be capitalized, depending on the way in which the name is used: La France when it is the subject noun, but la France, it is the object noun.
NOTE!! In the present text, the article is never used before proper nouns of countries, like France, or proper names of individuals: Robert Canolle [p. 126].
Also, in proper names, like Bertrand du Guesclin and Charles de Bloys, the de and du are not capitalized. But if the definite article is included in the title, it is capitalized: Eustache de La Houssoye; le roi Edoard de l’Angleterre. [p. 44].
The titles of Sir, Count, King, Duchesse, Castle, etc., in proper names are not capitalized and use the article before the title: le roy Charles de France, le chastel Josselin, duc de Lancastre, le duc Charles, messire Guillame Boitel, etc. However, exceptions do occur, as usual, and include: Le Begue , Le Moyne de Betavy [p.126], and Le Baston [p. 115].
See also, the webpage by Prof. T. Daniel Seely, on Notes on Nouns and Noun Phrases. He is less clear on the gender of proper nouns, but more clear on the difference between a proper noun and a proper name. A proper noun is a specific place, person or thing. A proper name is a specific person, place or thing but made up of more than one word, like University of Alaska Southwest. He also points out that a definite article may be a part of a proper name, and capitalized, his example being The Hague, in English, or an example in this text: La Mote de Bron, in French.
Comme : conjunction — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Commença : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb commencer: commence, or begin (to), or start (to). .
NOTE !!! Since commencer is an example of a verb that ends in cer in the infinitive, it shows the rule that when such verbs are conjugated a ç is used, instead of c, before adding endings that begin with a or o. This is to preserve the soft sound of the c in the word. Elementary French, p. 294.
Contes : masculine noun — plural of conte. .
Couvert : masculine adjective — singular; from the irregular verb couvrir: cover .
Cueillez ! : verb — active imperative; second person plural, from the verb cueiller: go. This is a command, or direct order.
NOTE !!! With the imperative, the object pronoun (Vous) is usually not used.
In formal speech, the imperative second person plural is used as a command to either one person (you), or for more than one person (you all). In familiar speech between family and friends the first person imperative of cueille is used.
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for cueiller.
Cueillir : verb — active infinitive. .
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for cueillir.
Cueillit : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb cueillir: collect, or gather. .
De : This is the elided form of De, in all its nefarious roles. It is used before a vowel or a word beginning with mute ‘h’. :
(1) D’ : as a connecting preposition, or a coupling preposition; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. It is used between a verb and an infinitive verb, emphasizing the form of the infinitive. This is the elided form of De, used before a vowel or mute ‘h’. It means. .
(2) D’ : as a (genitive) preposition; masculine or feminine; singular. .
Donnez-moi DuDans : preposition — masculine or feminine, singular or plural. .
De : This is a very important (and confusing) word, with very different uses, and meanings :
(1) De : preposition — masculine or feminine; singular — usually — but sometimes plural. :
(a) D’ : as a connecting preposition, or a coupling preposition; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. It is used between a verb and an infinitive verb, emphasizing the form of the infinitive. This is the elided form of de, used before a vowel or mute ‘h’ It means. .
(b) De : In this form it is almost always singular..
(c) De : .
(c) Du : contraction of De + Le; masculine; singular. .
(i) Des : contraction of de + les; masculine or feminine; plural, from de. .
(1) De : partitive article — masculine or feminine; singular, usually — but sometimes plural. :
(a) De partitive article — masculine or feminine; singular, usually. .
(i) Des : partitive article — masculine or feminine; plural of de. .
Décembre : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Décembre and Frère are capitalized. Frère Décembre = Brother December. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of décembre. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Demanda : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb demander: ask; or go ask for. .
NOTE !!! Demander does not have the stronger meaning of command or order, like the verb demand does in English. It is quite mild and polite in its meaning.
Demeurait : verb — active indicative imperfect; third person singular, from the verb demeurer: live, or dwell. .
DES here tooDeux : cardinal number — masculine or feminine; plural only. .
Disparu : verb — past participle; masculine or feminine; singular or plural, from the irregular verb disparaître: disappear; or vanish. .
(1) avaient disparu : verb — active indicative pluperfect; third person; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
From avaient, the active indicative imperfect; third person plural, (masculine or feminine) form of the auxiliary (helping) irregular verb avoir: have; and disparu, the masculine past participle; singular, of the verb disparaître: vanish, or disappear.
Disparut : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the irregular verb disparaître: disappear; or vanish. .
Distance : feminine noun — singular. .
Dit : verb. From the irregular verb dire: say, or tell. :
(1) dit : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the irregular verb dire: say, or tell. .
(2) dit : past participle; masculine or feminine; singular, or plural from the irregular verb dire: say, or tell. .
(a) a dit : verb — active indicative past perfect; third person; masculine; singular. .
From a, the active indicative present; third person singular, (masculine or feminine) form of the auxiliary (helping) irregular verb avoir: have; and dit, the masculine past participle; singular, of the verb dire: say, or tell.
Donna : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb donner: give. .
Donnez ! : verb — active imperative; second person plural, from the verb donner: give. This is a command, or direct order.
NOTE !!! With the imperative, the object pronoun (Vous) is usually not used.
In formal speech, the imperative second person plural is used as a command to either one person (you), or for more than one person (you all). In familiar speech between family and friends the first person imperative of donne is used.
Douze : cardinal number — masculine or feminine; plural only. .
Droite : feminine noun — singular. .
Elle : personal pronoun (subject) — third person singular; femnine;. .
Elle is a conjunctive subject personal pronoun. This means that it is used as the subject of the verb being used in a phrase, or sentence. Example : Elle est fatiguée, : she is tired.
“Personal pronouns are divided into two classes, conjunctive and disjunctive.
“Conjunctive pronouns are used as subject, direct object, and indirect object of a verb expressed. In all other cases the personal pronoun has the disjunctive form.” Elementary French, p. 192.
En : preposition — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Enfant : feminine or masculine noun; singular. .
Entra : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb entrer: enter, or come in. .
Envoyez ! : verb — active imperative; second person plural, from the irregular verb envoyer: send. This is a command, or direct order.
NOTE !!! With the imperative, the object pronoun (Vous) is usually not used.
In formal speech, the imperative second person plural is used as a command to either one person (you), or for more than one person (you all). In familiar speech between family and friends the first person imperative of envoie is used.
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for envoyer.
Est : verb — active indicative present; third person singular, from the verb être: be, an irregular verb. ; or .
Et : conjunction — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
For the first time et is used in this story outside of the page titles see this text entry for et.
Étaient : verb — active indicative imperfect; third person plural, from the irregular verb être: be, an irregular verb. .
Était : verb — active indicative imperfect; third person singular, from the irregular verb être: be, an irregular verb. ; or .
Femme : feminine noun — singular. .
Feu : masculine noun — singular. .
Frévrier : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Frévrier and Frère are capitalized. Frère Frévrier = Brother February. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of frévrier. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Fille : feminine noun — singular. .
Fois : feminine noun — singular or plural. .
Une Fois : expression. .
Forcée : verb — past participle; feminine; singular, from the verb forcer: force. As a participle it is translated as : .
(1) suis forcée : verb — passive present; first person; feminine; singular. .
From suis, the passive indicative present; first person singular, (masculine or feminine) form of the auxiliary (helping) irregular verb être: be; [or have]; and forcée, the feminine past participle; singular of the verb forcer: force.
Forêt : feminine noun — singular. .
Fraises : feminine noun — plural of fraise. .
Française : feminine adjective — singular, or plural, from français. .
This adjective is modifying Texte, which is a feminine noun. In this use of française as an adjective, it is not capitalized — unless it is at the beginning of a sentence, or in a title.
For other uses, meanings and forms of this word, see the Main Vocabulary entry for français.
Frappa : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb frapper: rap; or knock; or strike; hit. .
Frère : masculine noun — singular. .
In this story, frère is capitalized, as the title of a specific person. Example: Frère Mai = Brother May. Mai is capitalized because it is his proper name and title here, since he is a personification of the month of mai. Neither word is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Froid : masculine noun — singular. .
Note !!! that when used in this way, Froid is a masculine noun. Here, used with ai, literally it means I have cold (coolness), and not as the adjective meaning cold or chilly or cool, although in English it is used as an adjective in the sentence, "I am cold." This is why, it is expressed in French as the girl ai froid, instead of the girl ai froide.
To see this word used as an adjective, see froide.
(a) j’ai froid; : idiomatic expression. Although, it could mean (I) have cold, or (I) have chilliness, this uses the meaning of ai, the present indicative; first person singular form of the verb avoir in the sense of be, and the noun froid : cold, or chilliness. It is translated as : .
(b) avait froid; : idiomatic expression. Although, it could mean (He, she, it) had cold, or (he, she or it had chilliness, this uses the meaning of avait, the active indicative imperfect; third person singular form of the verb avoir in the sense of be, and the noun froid : cold, or chilliness. It is translated as : .
Fruits : masculine noun — plural of fruit. .
There is a typo in the printed text, and that has petites fruits, which is wrong since fruit is masculine. The online text has been corrected to the correct form: petits fruits.
Gauche : feminine noun — singular. .
Glace : feminine noun — singular. .
Grand : masculine adjective — singular. .
Grande : feminine adjective — singular; from grand. .
Grosses : feminine adjective — plural; from gros. .
Herbe : feminine noun — singular. .
Homme : masculine noun — singular.
Hommes : masculine noun — plural of homme. .
Il : personal pronoun (subject) — third person singular; masculine;. .
Il is a conjunctive subject personal pronoun. This means that it is used as the subject of the verb being used in a phrase, or sentence. Example : Il est fatigué : he is tired.
“Personal pronouns are divided into two classes, conjunctive and disjunctive.
“Conjunctive pronouns are used as subject, direct object, and indirect object of a verb expressed. In all other cases the personal pronoun has the disjunctive form.” Elementary French* p. 192.
Il y a : idiomatic expression. .
Il, in this phrase is an impersonal pronoun, third singular; masculine or feminine, and means .
Y, is an object pronoun and is usually translated as .
A is from the verb avoir: have or be, and is the present indicative, third person singular, and means . Here it is used with the meaning: .
So then, literally, the translation of the phrase il y avait means . It is usually translated as or There are.
The singular Il is used even when the subject is plural, but the usual translation changes the tense to the commonly used . Example: Il y a trois dindes. . . — literally : — or more idiomatically translated : .
Il y avait : idiomatic expression. .
Il, is the personal pronoun; third singular, and means .
Y, is an object pronoun and is usually translated as .
Avait is from the verb avoir: have or be, and is the indicative imperfect, third singular, and means . Here it is used with the meaning: .
So then, literally, the translation of the phrase il y avait means . It is usually translated as . The longer phrase, Il y avait une fois, means which is commonly translated as: .
The singular Il is used even when the subject is plural, but the usual translation changes the tense to the commonly used . Example: Il y avait trois dindes. . . — literally : — or more idiomatically translated : .
Impolie : feminine adjective — singular, of impoli. .
Impossible : masculine, or feminine adjective; singular. .
Insista : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb insister: insist, or be insistent. .
Instant : masculine adjective — singular. .
Ire : abbreviation for the ordinal number; feminine or plural. .
This notation of I plus re makes this the ordinal number abbreviation, for first. In French, the full word is première. Just as in English, we use 1, or I, plus st, to make 1st, or Ist, as an abbreviation for first.
J’ : personal pronoun (subject) — first person singular; masculine or feminine. This is the elided (shortened) form of Je. .
Elision, occurs when a word, (usually a two letter word,) that ends in a vowel comes before a word that starts with a vowel. The French then drop that end vowel from the first word and join it with an apostrophe to the following word. This is done because the sound is felt to be more harmonious, or euphonious to the ear. It is also frequently done in other languages, like Greek and Italian.
In modern writing, there is no space between the elided word, with its apostrophe and the word following it. This can vary in older texts, and in other languages.
J’ is a conjunctive subject personal pronoun. This means that it is used as the subject of the verb being used in a phrase, or sentence. Example : J’ ai faim : I am hungry.
“Personal pronouns are divided into two classes, conjunctive and disjunctive.
“Conjunctive pronouns are used as subject, direct object, and indirect object of a verb expressed. In all other cases the personal pronoun has the disjunctive form.” Elementary French* p. 192.
Janvier : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Janvier and Frère are capitalized. Frère Janvier = Brother January. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of janvier. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Jaunes : masculine, or feminine adjective; plural; from jaune. .
Je : personal pronoun (subject) — first person singular; masculine or feminine; . .
Je is a conjunctive subject personal pronoun. This means that it is used as the subject of the verb being used in a phrase, or sentence. Example : Je suis fatiguée : I am tired.
“Personal pronouns are divided into two classes, conjunctive and disjunctive.
“Conjunctive pronouns are used as subject, direct object, and indirect object of a verb expressed. In all other cases the personal pronoun has the disjunctive form.” Elementary French* p. 192.
Jolie : feminine adjective — singular; from joli. .
Jour : masculine noun — singular. .
Juillet : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Juillet and Frère are capitalized. Frère Juillet = Brother July. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of juillet. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Juin : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Juin and Frère are capitalized. Frère Juin = Brother June. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of juin. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
L’ : definite article — masculine or feminine; singular. It is the elided or shortened form for either La, or Le. The gender it represents is determined by the gender of the noun it is modifying. The meaning doesn’t change, it always means : .
(1) L’ : elision of the feminine, singular definite article La. .
(2) L’ : elision of the masculine, singular definite article Le. .
Whether feminine or masculine, the meaning doesn’t change — it always means The, since common nouns in English are neuter — so there is no distinction in translation between masculine and feminine forms of either articles or nouns in French.
For all the possible forms, uses and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for Le.
NOTE !!! Although this shortened form of Le, or La may be feminine or masculine, depending on the noun it modifies, it is always singular.
In L’, the vowel, e or a is dropped. This happens when the word is followed by a noun beginning with a vowel or a silent h. This is done because the French, like some other nations, didn’t like to say 2 vowels together, thinking it sounded awkward and ugly. The word for this process is called elision.
When pronouncing the word, then, you would say both together — Le-di-tion, for L’Édition, etc.
The French adore elision, and do it in all sorts of places, which makes oral French really, really hard to understand to beginning listeners trying to learn the lingo. Practically every word in the language sounds like it starts with L.
Also, the article, whether la, le, les, un, une, or unes, etc., is regularly used in French, not like in English, where it is often omitted.
La : definite article — feminine; singular of Le. .
This word is singular only, never plural. In Spanish, “las” is the feminine plural, but not in French. Les is the plural for both genders in French.
La with a grave accent: Là, is a different word entirely !!! When the accent on this word is omitted when the whole word is capitalized in a title, the meaning must be determined from the context.
(1) Les : definite article; masculine, or feminine; plural of La or Le. .
Là : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural . .
La without a grave accent: La, is a different word entirely !!! When the accent on this word is omitted when the whole word is capitalized in a title, the meaning must be determined from the context.
Laide : feminine adjective — singular of laid. .
Laure : feminine proper noun; singular. .
NOTE!! Some proper names in French do have a gender, but the definite article, La or Le is rarely, if ever, used. Countries, yes, but cities, and individuals, no. La France is correct occasionally, but never Le Paris. L’Allemagne is used, but not Le Bertrand. For more on this see the only book online that addresses this subject intelligently and clearly: French Grammar, by R. Labutte.
Also note that when the article is used with a proper name, it may or not be capitalized, depending on the way in which the name is used: La France when it is the subject noun, but la France, it is the object noun.
NOTE!! In the present text, the article is never used before proper nouns of countries, like France, or proper names of individuals: Robert Canolle [p. 126].
Also, in proper names, like Bertrand du Guesclin and Charles de Bloys, the de and du are not capitalized. But if the definite article is included in the title, it is capitalized: Eustache de La Houssoye; le roi Edoard de l’Angleterre. [p. 44].
The titles of Sir, Count, King, Duchesse, Castle, etc., in proper names are not capitalized and use the article before the title: le roy Charles de France, le chastel Josselin, duc de Lancastre, le duc Charles, messire Guillame Boitel, etc. However, exceptions do occur, as usual, and include: Le Begue , Le Moyne de Betavy [p.126], and Le Baston [p. 115].
See also, the webpage by Prof. T. Daniel Seely, on Notes on Nouns and Noun Phrases. He is less clear on the gender of proper nouns, but more clear on the difference between a proper noun and a proper name. A proper noun is a specific place, person or thing. A proper name is a specific person, place or thing but made up of more than one word, like University of Alaska Southwest. He also points out that a definite article may be a part of a proper name, and capitalized, his example being The Hague, in English, or an example in this text: La Mote de Bron, in French.
Le : indefinite article — masculine; singular. .
(1) La : feminine definite article; singular of Le. .
This word is singular only, never plural. In Spanish, las is the feminine plural, but not in French. Les is the plural for both genders in French.
(2) Les : definite article; masculine, or feminine; plural of La or Le. .
Legendes : feminine noun — plural of legende. .
Lendemain : masculine noun — singular. .
Les : definite article — masculine or feminine, definite article; plural of Le or La.
les as pronounLongues : feminine adjective — plural; from long. .
LuiMa : possessive adjective; first person singular; ,masculine or feminine, from mon. This is used before singular nouns. .
The gender of the subject cannot be determined from the use of this adjective. The gender is determined by the noun it is modifying. If you are a guy, and want to say I ate my soup, in French, it would be Je mangea ma soupe, not Je mangea mon soupe. This becomes a big problem when the subject has not been identified before, either as a male or a female.
This is also true in English, though, since our possessive adjective My, also is genderless. It just seems more confusing in French because of the gender forms applied to almost every other word in the sentence but this.
An example of this linguistic quirk in the French language is in the text on this site, the Chronicle of Du Guesclin. In the Preface by the anonymous author, starting with the phrase “En ma pensées” (In my thoughts), he or she uses ma and mon throughout it, depending on the noun modified. It is impossible to determine whether the author was a man or a woman because he never tells us his name.
This is one of the two letter words that is never elided. M’ is a different word entirely.
Mar : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Mai and Frère are capitalized. Frère Mai = Brother May. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of mai. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Main : masculine noun — singular. .
Mais : conjunction — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Maison : masculine noun — singular. .
Mangea : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the irregular verb manger: eat. .
NOTE !!! Since manger is an example of a verb that ends in ger in the infinitive, it shows the rule that when such verbs are conjugated a e is added after the g, before the endings are added. This is to preserve the soft sound of the g in the word. Elementary French, p. 294.
Manteau : masculine noun — singular. .
Mars : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Mars and Frère are capitalized. Frère Mars = Brother March. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of mars. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Méchante : feminine adjective — singular of méchant. .
Même : masculine, or feminine adjective; singular. .
Mêmes : masculine, or feminine adjective; plural; from même. .
Merci : Exclamation [interjection]; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Mère : feminine noun — singular. .
Minutes : feminine noun — singular; from minute . .
MeMois : masculine noun — singular, or plural. .
The correct meaning of this word is determined by the context, and in this case by the plural definite article: Les, before Mois, tells us that months is meant here.
Moment : masculine adjective — singular. .
Mon : possessive adjective; first person singular; masculine or feminine. This is used before singular nouns. .
NOTE !!! In most cases, Mon is used before singular masculine nouns. But . . . since Ma, the feminine form, is never used before a singular feminine noun starting with a vowel or mute ‘h’, then Mon is used in this case.
The gender of the subject cannot be determined from the use of this adjective. The gender is determined by the noun it is modifying. If you are a guy, and say I ate my soup, in French, it would be Je mangea ma soupe, not Je mangea mon soupe. This becomes a big problem when the subject has not been identified before, either as a male or a female.
This is also true in English, though, since our possessive adjective My, also is genderless. It just seems more confusing in French because of the gender forms applied to almost every other word in the sentence but this.
An example of this quirk in the French language is in the text on this site, the Chronicle of Du Guesclin. In the Preface by the anonymous author, starting with the phrase “En ma pensées” (In my thoughts), he or she uses ma and mon throughout it, depending on the noun modified. It is impossible to determine whether the author was a man or a woman because he never tells us his name.
Monsieur : masculine noun — singular. A title of respect, or polite address. .
NOTE !!!! Usually this word, like other titles of rank, is not capitalized unless it is at the beginning of a sentence or in the title of a book.
N’ : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. The elided form of Ne. This is a word of negation. It means No, or Not. It is only used with a verb. It is never used alone, usually. Two words of negation are usually necessary to make a negative statement when a verb is in the phrase. The words commonly used with ne to make negation are: pas, jamais, plus, que, point, guère, rien, personne. The meaning changes with each combination. All the other words, except que can be used, without Ne, only if there is no verb in the sentence, and still imply negation. (Elementary French, pp. 183-4.). See below. .
(1) N’ . . . pas : Pas is an adverb of negation, too. When combined with n’ in a phrase, it means : .
(a) N’est pas : N’, Ne and Pas are adverbs of negation. Both are usually necessary with a verb, to make a statement of negation. When used in a phrase together, it means : . When combined with the est, the active indicative present; third person singular, from the irregular verb être : to be, it means : .
Ne : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. It is only used with a verb. It means No, or Not. It is never used alone, usually. Two words of negation are usually necessary to make a negative statement when a verb is in the phrase. The words commonly used with ne to make negation are: pas, jamais, plus, que, point, guère, rien, personne. The meaning changes with each combination. All the other words, except que can be used, without Ne, only if there is no verb in the sentence, and still imply negation. (Elementary French, pp. 183-4.). See below. .
(1) Ne . . . pas : Pas is an adverb of negation, too. When combined with ne in a phrase, with a verb, it means : .
(1) Ne . . . rien : Rien is an adverb of negation, too. When combined with ne in a phrase, with a verb, it means : .
Neige : feminine noun — singular. .
Noire : feminine adjective — singular, from noir. .
Noires : feminine adjective — plural; from noir. .
Novembre : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Novembre and Frère are capitalized. Frère Novembre = Brother November. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of novembre. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Obéir : verb — active infinitive. .
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for obéir.
Octobre : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Octobre and Frère are capitalized. Frère Octobre = Brother October. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of octobre. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Où : indefinite pronoun; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Ou, without a grave accent: Ou, is a different word entirely !!! When the accent on this word is omitted when the whole word is capitalized in a title, the meaning must be determined from the context.
Oui : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Ouvrit : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the irregular verb ouvrir: open. .
Par : preposition — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. :
Partie : feminine noun — singular. .
Partez ! : verb — active imperative; second person plural, from the verb partir: leave, or depart. This is a command, or direct order.
NOTE !!! With the imperative, the object pronoun (Vous) is usually not used.
In formal speech, the imperative second person plural is used as a command to either one person (you), or for more than one person (you all). In familiar speech between family and friends the first person imperative of partis is used.
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for partir.
Partit : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb partir: depart, or leave. .
Pas : adverb of negation; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. With a verb is must be used with the adverb ne; or n’. If a verb is not used in the phrase, it can be used alone to make a negative statement. It means : .
(1) N’ . . . pas : N̵ is an adverb of negation, too. When combined with n’, (the elided form of ne)in a phrase, with a verb, it means : .
(1) N’ . . . pas : N̵ is an adverb of negation, too. When combined with ne;, in a phrase, with a verb, it means : .
Pauvre. : masculine or feminine adjective; singular. .
Périt : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb périr: perish, or die. .
Permettre : verb — active infinitive. .
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for permettre.
Petite : feminine adjective — singular; from petit. .
Petits : masculine adjective — plural. .
Plaisir : masculine noun — singular. .
Plus : adverb of comparison; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Polie : feminine adjective — singular, of poli. .
Pommes : feminine noun — plural of pomme. .
Pommier : masculine noun — singular. .
Porte : feminine noun — singular. .
Possible : masculine, or feminine adjective; singular. .
Pour : preposition — masculine or feminine, singular or plural. .
Précédent : feminine adjective — singular; from precedent. .
Prit : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the irregular verb prendre: take or get. .
Projet : masculine noun — singular. .
In the headers and footers of the pages, this refers to the general site plan of this website: Elfinspell.
Quatre : cardinal number — masculine or feminine; plural only. .
Que : interrogative pronoun, or conjunction, or adverb, or relative pronoun. All of which are masculine or feminine; single or plural.
(1) Que : As an interrogative pronoun — subject or object. In a question it means :
(2) Que : As an adverb of comparison.
(a) Aussi. . . que : expression of comparison.
(a) Aussi vite que que possible : expression of comparison using Aussi, an adverb, and Que as a conjunction of comparison.
Quelques : indefinite adjective; masculine or feminine; plural from quelque. .
Qui : interrogative pronoun, or relative pronoun. Both forms are masculine or feminine; single or plural.
(1) Qui : As a relative subject pronoun of a verb or preposition. .
Recevait : irregular verb — active indicative imperfect; third person singular, from the verb recevoir: receive, or get. .
Regarda : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb regarder: look, or look at, look upon; or regard; to watch. .
Répéta : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb répéter: ask; or say again. .
Répondit : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the irregular verb répondre: answer, or reply. .
Retourna : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb retourner: return; or go back. .
Rien : indefinite pronoun; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
(1) Ne . . . rien : Ne is an adverb of negation, too. When combined with rien in a phrase, with a verb, it means : .
Robes : feminine noun — plural of robe. .
Rouges : masculine, or feminine adjective; plural; from longue. .
Route : feminine noun — singular. .
En route : expression. .
S’ : reflexive pronoun (object) — third person; masculine or feminine; singular or p;ural. This is the elided (shortened) form of Se. .
A reflexive pronoun is an personal (object) pronoun that is used with a reflexive (or pronominal) verb. It tells you that object of the action of a reflexive verb is the subject. The subject pronoun is still used with the reflexive pronoun, but it is always before the object or reflexive pronoun. Example : Il S’assit, He seated (himself), or he sat (himself) down. See Elementary French, p. 273).
Although se is third person singular or plural, the conjugation of the reflexive verb and the subject pronoun, if included, will often tell you how many individuals are meant by the se. Example : Ils s’assirent : They seated (themselves).
Elision, occurs when a word, (usually a two letter word,) that ends in a vowel comes before a word that starts with a vowel. The French then drop that end vowel from the first word and join it with an apostrophe to the following word. This is done because the sound is felt to be more harmonious, or euphonious to the ear. It is also frequently done in other languages, like Greek and Italian.
In modern writing, there is no space between the elided word, with its apostrophe and the word following it. This can vary in older texts, and in other languages.
S’ is never an elided form of Sa, which is one of the two letter words that is never elided. It is a different word entirely.
Sa : possessive adjective; third person singular; feminine, from son. This is used before singular nouns. .
NOTE !!! This is used before singular nouns. Ses used before plural nouns. It is still one person (him, her, or it) that possesses the noun.
Son : NOTE !!! Sa is never used before a singular feminine noun starting with a vowel or mute ‘h’, because it is not a happy sound to the French ear. In this case, as with assiette in the story above, Son, which is usually used with masculine singular nouns, is used here instead. It still means His, her, or its.
The gender of the subject cannot be determined from the use of this adjective. The gender is determined by the noun it is modifying. So to say Bertrand eats his soup, in French, would be Bertrand mange sa soupe, not Bertran mange son soupe. This becomes a big problem when the subject has not been identified before, either as a male or a female.
This is also true in English, though, since our possessive adjective My, also is genderless. It just seems more confusing in French because of the gender forms applied to almost every other word in the sentence but this.
An example of this quirk in the French language is in the text on this site, the Chronicle of Du Guesclin. In the Preface by the anonymous author, starting with the phrase “En ma pensées” (In my thoughts), he or she uses ma and mon throughout it, depending on the noun modified. It is impossible to determine whether the author was a man or a woman because he never tells us his name.
Sa is one of the two letter words that is never elided. S’ is a different word entirely.
Saison : feminine noun — singular. .
Saisons : feminine noun — plural of saison. .
Se : reflexive pronoun (object) — third person; masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
A reflexive pronoun is an personal (object) pronoun that is used with a reflexive (or pronominal) verb. It tells you that object of the action of a reflexive verb is the subject. The subject pronoun is still used with the reflexive pronoun, but it is always before the object or reflexive pronoun. Example : Il S’assit, He seated (himself), or he sat (himself) down. — Elementary French, p. 273).
Although se is third person singular or plural, the conjugation of the reflexive verb and the subject pronoun, if included, will often tell you how many individuals are meant by the se. Example : Ils s’assirent : (They) seated (themselves).
Septembre : masculine noun — singular. .
NOTE !!! In this story, both Septembre and Frère are capitalized. Frère Septembre = Brother September. Both words are capitalized here because it is his proper name and title. Here, he is a person, being the personification of the month of septembre. Neither frère nor the month is capitalized normally. The months, and the days of the week, are not capitalized in French.
Ses : possessive adjective; third person singular; masculine or feminine,, from son. This is used before plural nouns. .
NOTE !!! This is used before plural nouns. Son and Sa are used before singular nouns. It is still one person (him, her, or it) that possesses the noun.
The gender of the subject cannot be determined from the use of this adjective. The gender is determined by the noun it is modifying. So to say Bertrand eats his soup, in French, would be Bertrand mange sa soupe, not Bertran mange son soupe. This becomes a big problem when the gender of the subject has not been identified before, as either a male or a female.
This is also true in English, though, since our possessive adjective My, also is genderless. It just seems more confusing in French because of the gender forms applied to almost every other word in the sentence but this.
An example of this quirk in the French language is in the text on this site, the Chronicle of Du Guesclin. In the Preface by the anonymous author, starting with the phrase “En ma pensées” (In my thoughts), he or she uses ma and mon throughout it, depending on the noun modified. It is impossible to determine whether the author was a man or a woman because he never tells us his name.
Seule : feminine adjective — singular, of seul. .
Seulement : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Silence : masculine noun — singular. .
Sœur : feminine noun — singular. .
Son : possessive adjective; third person singular; masculine or feminine,. This is used before singular nouns. .
NOTE !!! This is used before singular nouns nouns. Ses used before plural nouns. It is still one person (him, her, or it) that possesses the noun.
NOTE !!! In most cases, Son is used with masculine singular nouns. But . . . since Sa, the feminine form, is never used before a word starting with a vowel or mute ‘h’, then Son is used in this case.
The gender of the subject cannot be determined from the use of this adjective. The gender is determined by the noun it is modifying. So to say Bertrand eats his soup, in French, would be Bertrand mange sa soupe, not Bertran mange son soupe. This becomes a big problem when the gender of the subject has not been identified before, as either a male or a female.
This is also true in English, though, since our possessive adjective My, also is genderless. It just seems more confusing in French because of the gender forms applied to almost every other word in the sentence but this.
An example of this quirk in the French language is in the text on this site, the Chronicle of Du Guesclin. In the Preface by the anonymous author, starting with the phrase “En ma pensées” (In my thoughts), he or she uses ma and mon throughout it, depending on the noun modified. It is impossible to determine whether the author was a man or a woman because he never tells us his name.
Sont : verb — active indicative present; third person plural, from the verb être: be, an irregular verb. ; or .
Suis : verb — active indicative present; first person singular, from the verb être: be; [or have], an irregular verb. ; or .
(1) suis forcée : verb — passive present; first person; feminine; singular. .
From suis, the passive indicative present; first person singular, (masculine or feminine) form of the auxiliary (helping) irregular verb être: be; [or have]; and forcée, the feminine past participle; singular of the verb forcer: tire somebody; to force.
Suivante : feminine adjective — singular; from suivant. .
Surprise : feminine noun — singular. .
Texte : feminine noun — singular. .
Tomba : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb tomber: fall. .
Tomber : verb — active infinitive. .
For more uses, forms and meanings, see the Main Vocabulary entry for tomber.
Toujours : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Tourna : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb tourner: turn; or go back. .
Se Tourna : reflexive use of the verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb se tourner: turn oneself. .
Toute : feminine adjective — singular from tout. .
NOTE !!! This is an irregular adjective. It is placed before the article, possessive adjective, and/or the noun in a phrase, instead of afterwards, as in toute ma soupe : all my soup.
NOTE !!! It is also irregularly conjugated in the plural: (tous, as in Tous les ours : All the bears; or every bear.
Très : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Trois : cardinal number — masculine or feminine; plural only. .
Trouva : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the verb trouver: find. .
Trouvé : past participle; masculine or feminine; singular, or plural from the verb trouver: find. .
(a) Avez-vous trouve ? : interrogative form of the — active indicative past perfect (indefinite past); third person; masculine; singular.
NOTE !!! Because the vous, although the formal second person plural pronoun, is being used to address only one person, the singular form of the participle is used.
Un : indefinite article or cardinal number; masculine; singular. This word has two meanings, which are often used interchangeably : .
In a list of numbered items, it is easy to see that the number Un, or one, is meant; the rest of the time it can mean either a, or an.
This word is singular only, never plural.
(1) Un : indefinite article; masculine; singular. .
(2) Un : cardinal number — masculine; singular. .
Une : indefinite article, or cardinal number; feminine; singular from Un. This word has two meanings, which are often used interchangeably : .
In a list of numbered items, it is easy to see that the number Un, or one, is meant; the rest of the time it can mean either a, or an.
This word is singular only, never plural.
(1) Une : indefinite article; feminine; singular; of Un. .
(2) Une : cardinal number — masculine; singular; of Un. .
(a) Une Fois : expression. .
Vain : masculine adjective — singular. .
Vais : verb — active indicative present; first person singular, from the verb aller: go, an irregular verb. ; or ; or.
Vers : preposition — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. .
Verte : feminine adjective — singular, from vert. .
Vertes : feminine adjective — plural; from verte. .
Violettes : noun or adjective — feminine; plural of from violet. :
(1) Feminine noun; plural, of violette :
(2) feminine adjective; plural, from violet :
Visite : feminine noun — singular. .
Vit : verb — active indicative past (definite); third person singular, from the irregular verb voir: see. .
Vite : adverb — masculine or feminine; singular or plural. Used with the adverb ne; or n’ to mean : .
Vocabulaire : masculine noun — singular. .
In French, the word is not used in the sense of a word list with definitions, as in this book by Guerber and other English books. In French, this would be called a Lexique, or Glossaire.
Here, this link at the top of the page will take you to the Main Vocabulary, with all the French words translated into English, for the entire book. There is a smaller vocabulary list for only the words used for each story at the bottom of its page.
Vos : possessive adjective; second person plural; masculine or feminine, from mon. This is used before plural nouns .
Note !!! The second person plural is used, before plural nouns, in formal (or unfriendly) conversation, even though it may be referring to one person only, as in pour votre sœur, above. In informal conversation between friends only, you can use ta, the second person singular, for your.
The gender of the subject cannot be determined from the use of this adjective. The gender is determined by the noun it is modifying. If you are a guy, and want to say I ate my soup, in French, it would be Je mangea ma soupe, not Je mangea mon soupe. This becomes a big problem when the subject has not been identified before, either as a male or a female.
This is also true in English, though, since our possessive adjective We, also is genderless. It just seems more confusing in French because of the gender forms applied to almost every other word in the sentence but this.
An example of this linguistic quirk in the French language is in the text on this site, the Chronicle of Du Guesclin. In the Preface by the anonymous author, starting with the phrase “En ma pensées” (In my thoughts), he or she uses ma and mon throughout it, depending on the noun modified. It is impossible to determine whether the author was a man or a woman because he never tells us his name.
Votre : possessive adjective; second person singular; masculine or feminine, from mon. This is used before singular nouns . .
Note !!! The second person plural is used, before singular nouns, in formal (or unfriendly) conversation, even though it may be referring to one person only, as in pour votre sœur, above. In informal conversation between friends only, you can use ta, the second person singular, for your.
The gender of the subject cannot be determined from the use of this adjective. The gender is determined by the noun it is modifying. If you are a guy, and want to say I ate my soup, in French, it would be Je mangea ma soupe, not Je mangea mon soupe. This becomes a big problem when the subject has not been identified before, either as a male or a female.
This is also true in English, though, since our possessive adjective We, also is genderless. It just seems more confusing in French because of the gender forms applied to almost every other word in the sentence but this.
An example of this linguistic quirk in the French language is in the text on this site, the Chronicle of Du Guesclin. In the Preface by the anonymous author, starting with the phrase “En ma pensées” (In my thoughts), he or she uses ma and mon throughout it, depending on the noun modified. It is impossible to determine whether the author was a man or a woman because he never tells us his name.
Voulez-Vous ? : Interrogative form of the verb (used for a question) — active indicative present; second person plural, from the irregular verb Vouloir: want; or wish, or be willing. or or or
NOTE !!! The meaning of Voulez can be singular or plural. Vous is used both for one or more than one person in formal or polite conversation. In familiar conversation between friends and family the second person singular may be used : Veux-tu?
Copyright © by Susan Rhoads, Elfinspell 2008