French Course Part 1

The aim of this book is to provide an introduction to the study of the French
language based largely on an aural-oral approach.
For the student commencing the study of a foreign language, very little pleasure, and in many cases little benefit, is derived from translating into French whole sets of sentences and grammatical exercises. Hence this aspect of language work occupies only a minor place in this book which breaks with the traditional grammar and translation approach. The principal objectives are to get the student to understand the simple spoken word, to be able to say simple things with a reasonably good accent, and to comprehend what he reads.
The lessons afford ample opportunity for practising oral techniques. The passages of French have been written to illustrate grammatical points, and questions in French bearing on these passages test the student’s comprehension of the text and ability to give simple answers in French.
Each lesson contains a dictée which consolidates the grammatical material presented. Common class-room commands and questions have been included so that as much French as possible may be used in the course of each lesson. Exercices de prononciation, which, it is hoped, will help students acquire a reasonably good accent, are included in the book. The various positions of the organs of speech for the production of the vowel sounds have been described briefly and as simply as possible.

R. S. Horan
J. R. Wheeler
French Course Part 1 Horan & Wheeler – Kindle Edition ©2020

CONTENTS
1. Definite Article. Qu’est-ce que c’est? C’est le stylo.
2. Indefinite Article.
3. Plural of Nouns. Numbers 0-10. Où est . . . ? Voici, voilà.
4. Common Prepositions. Comment vous appelez-vous?Pronouns: il, elle, ils, elles. It is: c’est, il est, elle est.
5. Adjectives of colour: agreement and position. De quelle couleur est..?
6. Possessive Case. Qui est . . . ?
7. Asking questions with est-ce que • • • ? The negative ne • • • pas. Use of n’est-ce pas? Days of the week. Quel jour est-ce aujourd’hui?
8. Present Tense of -er verbs (third person). Negative and Interrogative.
9. Adjectives preceding the noun. Comment est . . . ?
10. The Partitive Article. Use of il y a and voilà. Est-ce qu’il y a . . . ?
Qu’est-ce qu’il y a . . . ? Present Tense of avoir. Tu and vous.
Numbers 11-20. Quel âge avez-vous?
11. Present Tense of -er verbs (full conjugation). Negative. Qu’est-ce que vous faites?
12. Use of à and contractions. Present Tense of aller. Use of aller with the infinitive.
13. Present Tense of être. Interrogative of être, avoir, aller. Interrogative of -er verbs. Y a-t-il . . . ? Que faites-vous?
14. Quelle heure est-il? Numbers 21-30. Present Tense of faire.
Phrases: faire un pique-nique,. faire une promenade, etc.
15. Possessive Adjectives. Use of aller+infinitive: to go and.
16. Direct Pronoun Objects.
17. Demonstrative Adjective ce. Imperative Mood.
18. Numbers 31-60. Months of the year. Quel est le premier mois? Ordinals: lst-12th. Quelle est la date aujourd’hui?
19. Indirect Pronoun Objects.
20. Les saisons. Quel temps fait-il? En été, en janvier, etc.
Other Books in the French Course:

• French Course Part 2
• French Course Part 3
• French Course Part 4
• French Course Part 5
• French Course Part 6 – A French Vocabulary