ONE-FLIGHT MINI-COURSE🇫🇷 French Français
Close to English word order, but spelling and sound diverge — greetings, key phrases, numbers, and the être/avoir + verb basics to build your own sentences.
The idea. A small, high-frequency core plus plug-and-play sentence templates. Learn words inside the patterns, not as flashcards.
The catch to know early. French is written very differently from how it's said — silent endings, nasal vowels, liaisons. Start with the sounds section, then it clicks.
0 Sounds & spelling
French hides sounds you'd expect to hear. These few rules unlock most of it.
The big ones
final consonants
usually silent — Paris = pah-REE
an / en / on / in
nasal vowels — hum through the nose (bon, vin)
u
tight “ee” with rounded lips
r
soft gargle in the throat
j / g(e,i)
“zh” — je = zhuh
liaison
a silent final consonant links to the next vowel: vous‿avez
Stress is light and lands on the last syllable — French sounds flatter and smoother than English.
1 Survival phrases
Say these on day one.
Bonjour (bohn-ZHOOR)
Hello / good day
Bonsoir (bohn-SWAHR)
Good evening
S'il vous plaît (seel voo PLEH)
Please
Merci (mair-SEE)
Thank you
Pardon / Désolé(e)
Excuse me / Sorry
Comment allez-vous?
How are you? (polite)
Comment vous appelez-vous?
What's your name?
Je m'appelle ___
My name is ___
Je ne comprends pas
I don't understand
Parlez-vous anglais?
Do you speak English?
C'est combien?
How much is it?
2 Pronouns & “my / your”
vous is both polite-singular and plural — use it with strangers. Possessives: mon / ton / son (+ ma / ta / sa before feminine nouns).
tu / vous
you (casual / polite)
mon / ton / son
my / your / his·her
3 Question words
quoi / que what
qui who
où where
quand when
pourquoi why
comment how
combien how much
quel which
Easiest question = a statement + rising tone, or put “Est-ce que” in front.
4 Core verbs
Infinitives end in -er / -ir / -re. (See §9+ to conjugate.)
5 Numbers
1un
2deux
3trois
4quatre
5cinq
6six
7sept
8huit
9neuf
10dix
20vingt
50cinquante
100cent
1kmille
6 Essential nouns
People
mère / père
mother / father
Places
gare / hôtel
station / hotel
toilettes / rue
toilet / street
Things & time
nourriture / café
food / coffee
7 Adjectives (opposite pairs)
Adjectives agree (add -e for feminine) and most follow the noun.
beaucoup / peu
a lot / a little
cher / pas cher
expensive / cheap
8 Glue words
et and
ou or
mais but
parce que because
donc so
aujourd'hui today
demain tomorrow
hier yesterday
maintenant now
ici here
très very
aussi also
9 7 rules for sentences
1
Word order = Subject–Verb–Object, like English.
Je mange du pain = I eat bread.
2
Nouns have gender: le (m) / la (f), plural les. Adjectives agree and usually follow the noun.
un chat noir = a black cat
3
être (to be) & avoir (to have) are everywhere and irregular (§9+). Note: French “has” age & hunger:
J'ai faim = I'm hungry (lit. I have hunger) · J'ai 30 ans = I'm 30
4
Regular -er verbs conjugate predictably (§9+). Pronoun stays.
je parle · tu parles · nous parlons
5
Negation wraps the verb: ne … pas. (In speech the “ne” is often dropped.)
Je ne parle pas anglais = I don't speak English.
6
Three ways to ask: rising tone (Tu parles anglais?), “Est-ce que …?” in front, or invert (Parlez-vous …?).
Est-ce que tu parles anglais? = Do you speak English?
7
Possession / “of” = de
.le livre de Marie = Marie's book
9+ Conjugation cheat-sheet
Two must-knows: être & avoir (used constantly), and regular -er verbs (the biggest group).
A · être (to be) & avoir (to have)
être — to be
je suis · tu es · il/elle est · nous sommes · vous êtes · ils sont
avoir — to have
j'ai · tu as · il a · nous avons · vous avez · ils ont
B · Regular -er verbs (most verbs)
Recipe: drop -er, add -e · -es · -e · -ons · -ez · -ent. Tip: -e, -es and -ent all sound the same — only nous/vous change the sound.
parler (to speak)
je parle · tu parles · il parle · nous parlons · vous parlez · ils parlent
aimer (to like)
j'aime · tu aimes · nous aimons · ils aiment
This one present tense covers “I speak / I'm speaking / I do speak.”
10 Sentence-building machine
Memorize the frame, swap the ___ for any core word.
Je voudrais ___
= I'd like ___ (polite).
un café · de l'eau
Je veux ___
= I want ___.
aller · manger
Où est ___?
= Where is ___?
la gare · l'hôtel · les toilettes
Qu'est-ce que c'est?
= What is this?
point + ask
Pouvez-vous ___?
= Can you ___?
m'aider · répéter
J'aime ___
= I like ___.
le café · Paris
C'est combien?
= How much is it?
ça · le café
Je viens de ___
= I'm from ___.
Londres · Angleterre
11 Your turn — practice
Write the French. Answers below.
- Greet someone and give your name:
- Ask “Where is the market?”:
- Say “I'd like a coffee”:
- Say “I don't understand”:
- Count 1 to 5:
- Ask “How much is it?”:
Check yourself: 1) Bonjour, je m'appelle ___. 2) Où est le marché? 3) Je voudrais un café. 4) Je ne comprends pas. 5) un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq. 6) C'est combien?
12 A 2-week plan
15–20 min a day, out loud. Spend extra time on the sounds — French rewards it.
Week 1 — Sounds & survival
- Days 1–2: the sounds section + survival phrases.
- Day 3: numbers 1–10.
- Day 4: pronouns.
- Day 5: question words.
- Days 6–7: review, no notes.
Week 2 — Build sentences
- Day 8: core verbs.
- Day 9: nouns.
- Day 10: adjectives + glue words.
- Days 11–12: the 7 rules + être/avoir + -er verbs.
- Days 13–14: sentence machine + practice.
Where this grows next
Next: the past (passé composé, which uses avoir/être), more irregular verbs, and liaison practice. This core already handles everyday travel.
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