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Culture · Art in France

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Grammar · Regular -re verbs · Les verbes en -re

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The third category of regular verbs is made up of -re verbs. Relative to -er verbs, -re verbs are not very common. Many common verbs ending in -re , such as prendre , mettre , and connaître , have irregular conjugations.

Formation

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To conjugate, drop the -re to find the "stem" or "root". Add endings to the root based on the subject and tense, as demonstrated below for the present tense.

attendreto wait /a.tɑ̃dʁ/
Pronoun Ending Verb Pronunciation
je (j') -s attends About this sound /a.tɑ̃/
tu -s attends About this sound /a.tɑ̃/
il/elle - attend About this sound /a.tɑ̃/
nous -ons attendons About this sound /a.tɑ̃.dɔ̃/
vous -ez attendez About this sound /a.tɑ̃.de/
ils/elles -ent attendent About this sound /a.tɑ̃d/

Supplementary vocabulary · Example -re verbs

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vendre About this sound /vɑ̃dʁ(ə)/ to sell
attendre About this sound /a.tɑ̃dʁ/ to wait J’attends mon cousin à la gare. I am waiting for my cousin at the station.
descendre About this sound /de.sɑ̃dʁ/ to go down, to put down
rendre About this sound /ʁɑ̃dʁ/ to give back, to return
perdre About this sound /pɛʁdʁ/ to lose
mordre About this sound /mɔʁdʁ/ to bite

Vocabulary · Music · La musique

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écouter de la musique to listen to music
la chanson About this sound /ʃɑ̃.sɔ̃/ song
des paroles About this sound /pa.ʁɔl/ lyrics la parole means word les paroles d'une chanson the lyrics of a song
Composing
le musicien
la musicienne
About this sound /my.zi.sjɛ̃/
About this sound /my.zi.sjɛn/
musician
le compositeur
la compositrice
About this sound /kɔ̃.po.zi.tœʁ/
About this sound /kɔ̃.po.zi.tʁis/
composer C’est un savant compositeur. This is a clever composer.
l’auteur (des paroles) About this sound /o.tœ:r/ (lyrics) writer
Instruments
l'instrument (de musique) (m) About this sound /ɛ̃s.tʁy.mɑ̃ də my.zik/ instrument
la clarinette About this sound /kla.ʁi.nɛt/ clarinet
le violon About this sound /vjɔ.lɔ̃/ violin
la harpe About this sound /aʁp/ harp
la guitare (basse, électrique, acoustique) About this sound /ɡi.taʁ bɑs/
About this sound /gi.ta.ʁ‿e.lɛk.tʁik/
(bass, electric, acoustic) guitar
le piano About this sound /pja.nɔ/ piano
la flûte About this sound /flyt/ flute

Vocabulary · Museums · Les musées

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le musée About this sound /my.ze/ museum
l'exposition (artistique, d'art) About this sound /ɛk.spɔ.zi.sjɔ̃/ (art) exhibit
la galerie About this sound /ɡal.ʁi/ gallery
le/la portraitiste About this sound /pɔʁ.tʁe.tist/ portraitist
le portrait About this sound /pɔʁ.tʁɛ/ portrait
le tableau
la peinture
About this sound /ta.blɔ/
About this sound /pɛ̃.tyʁ/
painting Il y a de belles peintures dans ce palais. There are beautiful paintings in this palace.
le sculpteur (en marbre, en bois)
la sculptrice
About this sound /skyl.tœʁ/
About this sound /skyl.tʁis/
(marble, wood) sculptor
la sculpture About this sound /skyl.tyʁ/ sculpture p is not pronounced
l'œuvre d’art (f) work of art
admirer About this sound /ad.mi.ʁe/ to admire J'admire sa magnificence. I admire its magnificence.
visiter About this sound /vizite/ to visit
la visite About this sound /vi.zit/ visit

Usage notes · Visiter and rendre

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Visiter /vizite/, meaning to visit, is used for places (and not for people) :

Tu dois visiter Paris un jour.You must visit Paris one day.
Je vais visiter mon frère. is not a correct sentence in french. It's a common (but understanble) mistake made by foreign people.

Rendre /ʁɑ̃dʁ/ or rendre visite (à) /ʁɑ̃dʁ vi.zit/, meaning to pay a visit (to), is used for people:

Je rends visite à mon père à Paris.I'm visiting my father in Paris.
Amour viens rendre à mon âme.Love comes to pay a visit to my soul.

Rendre has other meanings, such as to produce, to express, to make, and to give back:

Tu me rends malade.You make me ill.

Grammar · Beautiful, new, and old · Beau, nouveau, et vieux

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Formation

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Masc. consonant Masc. vowel Fem. sing. (all)
Beau Singular un beau garçon un bel individu une belle fillette
Plural de beaux garçons de beauxzindividus de belles fillettes
Nouveau Singular un nouveau camion un nouvel ordre une nouvelle idée
Plural de nouveaux camions de nouveauxzordres de nouvelles idées
Vieux Singular un vieux camion un vieil ordre une vieille idée
Plural de vieux camions de vieuxzordres de vieilles idées

Sentences placement

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Most adjectives come after the noun they modify in French:

un homme intelligentan intelligent man
des hommes intelligentsintelligent men

Beau, nouveau, and vieux, as well as some other common French adjectives, precede the noun:

une jolie voiturea pretty car

Des is replaced with de when an adjective comes before the noun:

de jolies voiturespretty cars

In informal speech, des is often used in place of de.

Vocabulary · Plays · Les pièces

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At the theater
le théâtre About this sound /te.atʁ/ theater
la pièce (de théâtre) About this sound /pjɛs/ (theatrical) play
l'acte (f)
la scène
l'entracte (m)
About this sound /akt/
About this sound /sɛn/
act
scene
intermission
chanter
le (la) chanteur (-euse)
About this sound /ʃɑ̃.te/
About this sound /ʃɑ̃.tøʁ/
About this sound /ʃɑ̃.tøz/
to sing
singer
danser
le (la) danseur (-euse)
About this sound /dɑ̃.se/ to dance
dancer
Play genres
le ballet About this sound /balɛ/ ballet
la comédie About this sound /kɔ.me.di/ comedy
la comédie musicale musical comedy
le drame About this sound /dʁam/ drama Macbeth est un drame de William Shakespeare. Macbeth is a drama of William Shakespeare.
la tragédie About this sound /tʁa.ʒe.di/ tragedy Cet acteur est admirable dans la tragédie. This actor is admirable in the tragedy.

Dialogue

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Exercises

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