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French Language: Most Popular Articles

These articles are the most popular over the last month.
French Proficiency Test
Test your French with this beginning-level French proficiency test.
French Verb Conjugator
Use this French verb conjugator to conjugate more than 1,200 French verbs.
French Numbers
Learn to count in French with French cardinal numbers.
Top 100 French Words
What are the most common French words?
French Past Tenses
During the first year of French study, every student becomes aware of the troublesome relationship between the two main past tenses: imperfect and passé composé. This lesson compares and contrasts the usage of these two French verb tenses.
Type French Accents
You don't need software or a special keyboard to type French accents - everything you need to know is right here.
French Halloween Vocabulary
Quiz on French vocabulary related to Halloween.: sans serif font vocabulary quiz document url body background halloween quiz
French Greetings - Learn how to greet people in French
Beginning French: test yourself on French greetings.
Avoir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate avoir, an irregular -ir French verb.
French audio dictionary
French Audio Dictionary with 2,500 French words and expressions.
French names
There are hundreds of common French first names. Some of them look just like their English counterparts, others are fairly similar, and still others seem completely unique. Here are more than 200 of the most popular French names, along with their pronunciation and English equivalents.
Mot du Jour - Learn a French Word a Day
A new French word posted every weekday, with pronunciation, examples of usage, and related words.
Say I Love You in French
A step-by-step lesson on saying "I love you" in French, the language of love.
French Mistake of the Week
Test on common French mistakes featured as the mistake of the week.
Learn French
This section of the Learn French at About site includes hundreds of pages to help you learn French. Whether you're just beginning to learn French or picking it up again after a long absence, you'll find everything you need right here: pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, tips, and more.
Y and En - French Adverbial Pronouns Y and En - Pronoms adverbiaux
Lesson and quiz on the French adverbial pronouns y and en
French Alphabet
French for beginners: learn the French alphabet
French Direct Object Pronouns - Pronoms objets directs
Quiz on French direct objects: direct object pronouns sans serif font document url french test body background
Aller - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate aller, an irregular -er French verb.
French Subjunctive - Le Subjonctif
Master the ever tricky French subjunctive - conjugations of regular verbs
Faire - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate faire, an irregular -re French verb.
French Indirect Object Pronouns - Pronoms objets indirects
Quiz on French indirect objects: indirect object pronouns sans serif font document url french test body background
Imperfect
The French imperfect (imparfait) is a descriptive past tense which indicates an ongoing state of being or a repeated or incomplete action.
French Greetings
Learn how to say hello, hi, how are you, and other ways to greet people in French.
French Colors - Beginning French Test
French for beginners: test on French colors: sans serif font french test document url body background background color
French Audio Lab - Pronunciation and Listening Skills
An online French audio lab to help you work on your French pronunciation and listening skills.
Survival French - French for Beginners
Test on basic French vocabulary and phrases like do you speak English, yes, no, and I don't know.
French Possessive Adjectives - Adjectifs possessifs
Test on French possessive adjectives: mon, ma, mes, ton, ta tes, etc.
Pouvoir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate pouvoir, an irregular -ir French verb.
Parts of the Body - French Vocabulary
French for beginners: the body: sans serif font french vocabulary document url french test body background
French Gender Quiz
See how well you've mastered the gender of basic French nouns.
Top French Verbs
Test on conjugations for the top 10 French verbs.: sans serif font french verb conjugations french verbs document url body background
French Calendar Vocabulary - French for Beginners
French for beginners: test on French calendar: sans serif font french calendar document url french test body background
Beginning French Pronunciation - Basics of French Pronunciation
French, like English, can be very difficult in terms of pronunciation, due to intricacies like silent letters, multiple sounds for a single letter, and endless exceptions to whatever rules you find. This simplified pronunciation chart can help you get a good idea about how to pronounce new words.
Prendre - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate prendre, an irregular -re French verb.
French Numbers - Listen and Repeat
Practice with French numbers: script src http french numbers french number random series hundreds thousands
French Games
Practice your French with crossword puzzles, Concentration, and other games.
Quiz on Confusing French Pairs
Test yourself on confusing French pairs.: sans serif font confusing french pairs document url body background background color
French Food Vocabulary - French Test
French for beginners: test on French food: sans serif font food vocabulary french test document url french food
Venir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate venir, an irregular pronominal French verb.
French Colors - French for Beginners
French for beginners: learn how to say the colors in French
French Numbers Quiz
Learn to count in French with French cardinal numbers.
Free French Dictionary - Online English French Dictionary
Free online French dictionary, with 120,000 translations.
French Clothing Vocabulary
French for beginners: test on French clothing: sans serif font clothing vocabulary french clothing document url french test
French Future Tense
The future is, in my opinion, one of the simplest French tenses. There is only one set of endings for all verbs, and most of them - even many which are irregular in the present tense - use their infinitive as the root.
Vouloir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugation vouloir, an irregular -ir French verb.
Food - French Vocabulary
French for beginners: food: food vocabulary french vocabulary food quiz fruit vegetables french food
Special Occasions
Learn how to say happy birthday in French, and other vocabulary for special occasions.
De vs Du, De la, Des - French Prepositions and Articles
Test yourself on using de by itself vs when to use du, de la, or des.
Regular -ER Verbs
Regular -er verbs, that is, verbs that end in -er, are the largest category of French verbs. Thousands of regular French -er verbs are conjugated according to the same pattern, so once you've learned the rules of conjugation for regular -er verbs, you'll be able to conjugate all of them.
Position of French Adjectives - Position des adjectifs
Quiz on placement of French adjectives: sans serif font french adjectives document url body background background color
French Adjectives - Les Adjectifs
French for beginners: test on French adjectives: sans serif font french adjectives document url french test body background
Comprendre expressions
Learn some idiomatic expressions with the French verb comprendre
C'est vs Il est
Test yourself on the difference between c'est and il est
French Articles
French articles are sometimes confusing for language students, because they have to agree with the nouns they modify and because they don't always correspond to articles in other languages. As a general rule, if you have a noun in French, there is virtually always an article in front of it, unless you use some other type of determiner such as a possessive or demonstrative adjective.
Past Participle
The participe passé is the French equivalent of the -ed form of English verbs. It is used in compound tenses, in the passive voice, and as an adjective.
Christmas in France
Christmas in France is a time for family and for generosity, marked by family reunions, gifts and candy for children, gifts for the poor, Midnight Mass, and le Réveillon.
Accents
What are the French accents and how do you use them?
Voir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugation voir, an irregular -ir French verb.
French Love Language
If French is the language of love, what better language is there to express your love? Here are some key French words and phrases related to love, friendship, and special occasions, as well as some French terms of endearment, with sound files.
French Audio Dictionary - French Terms Starting With A
More than 2,000 French terms, each with sound file, English translation, and links to additional or related information.
Telling Time in French
Test on telling time in French: telling time in french sans serif font document url french test body background
French conditional
The conditional is, in my opinion, one of the simplest French tenses. There is only one set of endings for all verbs, and most of them - even many which are irregular in the present tense - use their infinitive as the root.
Tout - Tous - Toute - Toutes
Test on the French word tout.: sans serif font document url body background background color pairs
Mettre - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate mettre, an irregular -re French verb.
Daily French
One surefire way to improve your French is to work on it as often as possible. The Learn French at About site includes several daily and weekly French features as well as tips on incorporating French into your daily life.
Savoir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugation savoir, an irregular -ir French verb.
Y and En
The French adverbial pronouns y and en are so tiny that one might think their role in a sentence is not very important, but in fact quite the opposite is true. They are both extremely important in French.
French in English
The English language has been shaped by a number of other languages over the centuries, and most English speakers know that Latin and German were two of the most important. What a lot of people don't realize is how much the French language has influenced English. This article is an attempt to introduce this reciprocal relationship to anyone interested in English and/or French linguistics.
Devoir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate devoir, an irregular -ir French verb.
Halloween in France
What is Halloween? Where did it come from? Why and how is Halloween celebrated in France?
Pronominal verbs
Pronominal verbs, including reflexive verbs, need a reflexive pronoun to indicate that the subject is performing the action of the verb upon itself.
Regular -IR Verbs
Regular -IR verbs, that is, verbs that end in -IR, are the second largest category of French verbs. Hundreds of regular French -IR verbs are conjugated according to the same pattern, so once you've learned the rules of conjugation for regular -IR verbs, you'll be able to conjugate all of them.
French Adjectives
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun by describing it in some way: shape, color, size, nationality, etc. French adjectives are very different from English adjectives in two ways.
"What" in French
French learners often have trouble deciding how to translate "what" into French. Should it be que or quoi, or maybe that pesky quel? Understanding the difference between these terms is critical to knowing how to use them correctly.
French Past Perfect
The French past perfect, or pluperfect, is used to indicate an action in the past that occurred before another action in the past
French Relative Pronouns
Like its English counterpart, a French relative pronoun links a dependent/relative clause to a main clause. Que, qui, lequel, dont, and où are the French relative pronouns, and there's no one-to-one equivalent for these words - depending on context, the English translation may be who, whom, that, which, whose, where, or when.
Dire - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate dire, an irregular -re French verb.
French Business Letters - Correspondance commerciale
Tips and formulas to help you write all kinds of business letters in French.
Introductions - How to introduce yourself in French
Test on introducing yourself in French.: sans serif font document url french test body background background color
French Family Vocabulary - Beginning French Test
French for beginners: test on French family vocabulary.
French Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives are the words used in place of articles to indicate to whom or to what something belongs. French possessive adjectives are used similarly to English possessive adjectives, but there are some differences in form.
Dictionary of French Expressions - French Dictionary of Expressions and Phrasal Verbs
Alphabetical list of more than 2,000 French expressions and phrasal verbs.
Imperative
Learn how to give commands with the French imperative.
French Family Vocabulary - La Famille - Learn French
French Family Vocabulary - La Famille Lesson | Test Learn French vocabulary related to members of the
Regular -RE Verbs
Regular -RE verbs, that is, verbs that end in -RE, are a small category of French verbs which are conjugated according to the same pattern. Once you've learned the rules of conjugation for regular -RE verbs, you'll be able to conjugate all of them.
French Alphabet - French for Kids - Teaching Resources
A lesson on the French alphabet for kids, with sound files and graphics.
French Pronouns - Les Pronoms
Pronouns are words that substitute for nouns. There are a lot of different kinds of pronouns, which can make it very confusing to try to figure out what's what. This summary will give you an idea of the different kinds of French pronouns, then you can follow the links for lessons and quizzes.
Present Tense
The French present tense, called le présent or le présent de l'indicatif, is quite similar in usage to the English present tense.
French Subject Pronouns - Pronoms sujets
Test on French vocabulary related to stores and subjectpronouns.
French Verbs
The French Verb Encyclopedia - conjugations for and information about hundreds of French verbs.
Asking Questions in French - Les Questions
Did you know that there are four different structures to use when asking questions in French?
Amical - Mot du Jour
What does the French word amical mean? How is it pronounced and used?
French Parts of Speech
Learning French is hard, and it's even harder if you don't understand the basics of grammar in your own language. If your mind boggles when people start talking about nouns, adjectives, and other parts of speech, this lesson is for you.
Weather - French for Beginners
Weather - Le Temps Learn to talk about the weather in French. Click on the links to hear that word or
Online French Dictionary and Thesaurus - Ultralingua
This free monolingual French dictionary provides over 200,000 definitions, inlcuding thousands of idiomatic expressions and a complete French thesaurus.
French Gestures ~ Understanding and Using French Gestures
If you've ever been to France or watched French movies, you've undoubtedly seen French people performing some familiar gestures as well as a few unfamiliar ones. It is as essential to understand this French sign language as it is any vocabulary. These pages include photos, explanations, and register ratings for 45 gestures..
Acheter - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate acheter, a stem-changing French verb.
French Restaurant Vocabulary - French Test
French for beginners: test on French restaurant vocabulary
Partir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate partir, an irregular -ir French verb.
Pays du monde - Countries of the World
A list of the countries of the world in English and French.
2009 French Calendar
If you'd like to get that extra little bit of French practice by using a French calendar, here's one for you to print out.
Recevoir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate recevoir, an irregular -ir French verb.
Pluperfect - Plus-que-parfait - French Pluperfect Past Perfect
Quiz on the French pluperfect: sans serif font french verb conjugations pluperfect document url body background
Faire un temps de Toussaint
What does the idiomatic French expression faire un temps de Toussaint mean and how is it used?
French Directions - French for Beginners
Test on giving and understanding French directions.
Direct Objects
Direct objects are the people or things in a sentence which receive the action of the verb. To find the direct object in a sentence, ask the question Who? or What?
Lire - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate lire, an irregular -re French verb.
French Audio Dictionary - French Terms Starting With C
More than 2,000 French terms, each with sound file, English translation, and links to additional or related information.
Dormir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate dormir, an irregular -ir French verb.
Devenir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate devenir, an irregular pronominal French verb.
Sortir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate sortir, an irregular -ir French verb.
Indirect Objects
Indirect objects are the people in a sentence to or for whom the action of the verb occurs. In French, indirect object pronouns can only refer to people, and they usually precede the verb.
French Restaurant Vocabulary
French for beginners: restaurant vocabulary: french vocabulary vocabulary lesson lesson test chef cook carte menu
Comprendre - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate comprendre, an irregular -re French verb.
Boire - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate boire, an irregular -re French verb.
Finir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate finir, a regular -ir French verb.
Learn French Fast
There is no magic formula for learning French - it requires time, energy, and patience. There are, however, some techniques which will make your language study more efficient and thus help you to learn French more quickly.
French Words and Expressions in English
The English language has borrowed many words and expressions from French. Some have been completely absorbed by English, while other have retained their Frenchness - a certain 'je ne sais quoi' which speakers tend to be much more aware of. Here is a list of French terms commonly used in English.
Free French Dictionary - Online French English Dictionary
The online version of the Collins French-English dictionary, with 120,000 translations.
Apprendre - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate apprendre, an irregular -re French verb.
French Nouns with Two Genders
There are a number of French nouns which have different meanings depending on whether they are masculine or feminine.
French Expression of the Week
Test on idiomatic French expressions featured as the expression of the week.
Bon vs Bien - Mauvais vs Mal
Test yourself on the difference between the French words bon and bien, mauvais and mal.
Manger - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate manger, a spelling change French verb.
French Lesson of the Day
There are so many lessons on my site that you might never find them all. Would you like to brush up on grammar concepts or vocabulary lists that you learned long ago... or do you just like surprises? Visit this page - every day will link to a different lesson for you to study.
French Verb Conjugation
Conjugation refers to the five possible inflections of a verb: Person, Number, Mood, Tense, and Voice. Once you've made a choice from each of these five, you have a conjugation or inflection.
Si Clauses - French if-then clauses
Learn all about French si clauses, called if clauses or conditionals in English..
French Verbs - French for Beginners
French for beginners: introduction to French verbs
Attendre - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate attendre, a regular -re French verb.
French Verb Timeline
A timeline of the French verb tenses with links to lessons.
Gratitude - French Expressions of Thanks
There are many different ways to express gratitude in French, from simple thank yous to ultra-polite expressions of appreciation.
Yes in French
Saying yes is pretty simple, but there are quite a few synonyms and precisions to be aware of. Check out this lesson to learn how to say yes, yeah, sure, and more.
French School Vocabulary
French for beginners: school vocabulary: sans serif font school vocabulary document url french school french test
Choisir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate choisir, a regular -ir French verb.
National French Week
Organized by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), National French Week is an annual celebration of French language and francophone cultures. AATF organizations, Alliance française branches, and French departments across the country will join in promoting French and everything that goes along with it with assorted activities and events.
French Furniture Vocabulary
French for beginners: test on French furniture: sans serif font french furniture document url french test body background
French Class Phrases
To help students use as much French as possible in the classroom, here is a list of essential words and phrases related to comprehension and typical classroom requests, with sound files.
What is French?
How many French speakers are there? Where is French spoken? How many French-speaking countries are there? In which international organizations is French an official language? Read this introduction to some facts and figures about the French language.
French Interrogative Pronouns
As interrogative pronouns, qui and que mean who and what, respectively, and can be used on their own or in larger constructions.
French Vocabulary - Hobbies, Sports, Games
Learn vocabulary for hobbies, sports, and games in French.
Courir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate courir, an irregular -ir French verb.
French Adverbs - Les Adverbes
French for beginners: test on introduction French adverbs
Envoyer - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate envoyer, a stem-changing French verb.
Ouvrir - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate ouvrir, an irregular -ir French verb.
French Politeness - French for Beginners
French for beginners: politeness: french politeness vocabulary quiz listening exercise exercise 3 exercise 2
Croire - French Verb
Learn how to conjugate croire, an irregular -re French verb.
Dates in French - French for Beginners
French for beginners: talking about the date: mbre ordinal number english speakers cardinal number definite article
French Verb Deconjugator
Use this French verb deconjugator to figure out the infinitive from any given conjugation.
French Listening Comprehension - A Moi Paris
Improve your French listening comprehension with the online French audio book A Moi Paris.
Explore French Language
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