Hello again, on a French Friday morning. Or, should I say, Bon matin (Good morning)! Do you have ten minutes in your homeschooling schedule to squeeze in a bit of French? Oui? (Yes?) Très bien, alors! (Very well, then!)

Have you always wanted to learn French but never knew where to start? Wonder no more. Here are the Top 10 most frequently used French words, according to Gougenheim 2.00 – Fréquences orales et de production. Please find the pronunciation guide within [ ] and the English translation after the equal sign.

1. le [luh], la [lah], l’ [l], les [lay] = the (definite article)

Can you believe French has four words where English only has one? That’s because French nouns are masculine (le), feminine (la), begin with a vowel (which makes le/la drop their own vowels and become l’), or need a plural article when they are in the plural form (les).

2. être [eh-tr] = to be (verb)

3. avoir [ah-vwahr] = to have (verb)

4. de [duh] = of, from (preposition)

5. un [uhn], une [yewn], des [day] = a, an, some (indefinite article) Masculine nouns in French require “un”, feminine nouns require “une” and plurals call for “des.”

6. je [zhuh] = I (subject pronoun)

7. il/ils [eel] = he, it / they (subject pronouns)

8. ce [suh] = this (indefinite demonstrative pronoun)

9. pas [pah] = not (negative adverb)

10. à [ah] = to, in (preposition)

Please let me know what kind of resources would best work for your French-learning needs in your homeschool. For more French Friday lessons, click here. À bientôt! (See you soon!)

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