The second and third parts of this chapter contain important words and expressions
of common usuage. If you follow carefully the instructions for pronunciation practice,
you will acquire many of these without difficulty. Do not try to memorize all of them at
this point as they will appear again in later chapters when you will have the opportunity
to learn them thoroughly.

Some Useful Words and Expressions for the Traveler

A. Practice the French aloud. Stress slightly the key syllables in heavy type.

1. Pardon (par-dawñ)   2. S'il vous plaît (seel voo pleh)   3. Monsieur (muh-syeu); Madame       (ma-dam); Mademoiselle mad-mwa-zehl)   4. Où est l'hôtel...? (oo eh loh-tehl)   5. Combien coûte le livre? (kawñ-byañ       koot luh leevr)   6. Je voudrais... (zhuh voo-dreh)   7. Merci beaucoup (mehr-see boh-koo)   8. Il n'y a pas de quoi (eel nee-ya pah duh       kwah)   9. C'est trop cher (seh troh shehr). Très       cher (treh shehr) 10. bon marché (bawñ mar-shay)       meilleur marché   (meh-yeur mar-shay)

1. I beg your pardon.   2. Please; if you please.   3. Mr., sir; Mrs.,madam;       Miss, young lady.   4. Where is the hotel...?   5. How much does the book cost?   6. I would like...   7. Thank you very much.   8. Don't mention it. or You are welcome.   9. it's too expensive. very expensive. 10. cheap       cheaper

Combien coûte...? (kawñ-byañ koot...?)

B. Read each heading aloud, completing it with words listed under it. Thus:

Combien coûte le chapeau? Combien coûte la chemise? etc.

1. le chapeau (luh sha-poh) the hat   2. la chemise (la shuh-meez) the shirt   3. la blouse (la blooz) the smock   4. le corsage (le kur-sazh) the blouse   5. la robe (la rub) dress		6. la montre (la mawñtr) the watch   7. le parapluie (luh pa-ra-plüee) the umbrella   8. le parfum (luh par-feuñ) the pefume   9. la cravate (la kra-vat) the necktie 10. l'automobile (lu-tu-mu-beel) the automobile

Pardon, monsieur. Où est..., s'il vous plaît?
(par-dawñ, muh-syeu. oo eh..., seel voo pleh?)

1. la rue Drouot (la rü droo-oh) Drouot       Street 2. l'avenue de la République (lav-nü       duh la ray-pü-bleek) Republic Avenue 3. la place de la Concorde (la plas duh       la kawñ-kurd) Concord Place 4. la gare du Nord (la gar dü nur) the       North Station 5. L'Hôtel Albert (loh-tehl al-behr) the       Albert Hotel		6. le boulevard Saint Michel (luh bool-var       sañ mee-shehl) Saint Michel Boulevard   7. le bureau de poste (luh bü-roh duh pust)       the post office   8. la salle d'attente (la sal da-tahñt) the       waiting room   9. la toilette (lah twah-leht) the washroom

Je Voudrais... (zhuh voo-dreh...)

1. une chambre avec bain (ün shañbr     a-vehk bañ) a room with a bath 2. de l'eau chaude (duh loh shohd)     some hot water 3. des serviettes de bain (day sehr-     vyeht duh bañ) some bath towels 4. la carte (la kart) the menu 5. l'addition (la dee-syawñ) the bill		6. la revue (la ruh-vü) the magazine   7. le journal (luh zhoor-nal)the       newspaper   8. du savon (dü sa-vawñ) some soap   9. téléphoner (tay-lay-fu-nay) to       telephone 10. changer de l'argent (shahñ-zhay duh       lar-zhahñ) to change money

C. Practice aloud many times the numbers 1 to 21.

1. un (euñ), une (ün)     2. deux (deu) 3. trois (trwah) 4. quatre (katr) 5. cinq (sañk) 6. six (sees) 7. sept (seht)	8. huit (üeet)   9. neuf (neuf) 10. dix (dees) 11. onze (awñz) 12. douze (dooz) 13. treize (trehz) 14. quatorze (ka-turz)	15. quinze (kañz) 16. seize (sehz) 17. dix-sept (deez-seht) 18. dix-huit (deez-üeet) 19. dix-neuf (deez-neuf) 20. vingt (vañ) 21. vingt et une (vañ tay euñ)

TROISIÈME PARTIE (trwah-zyehm par-tee) THIRD PART

Liaison (lee-eh-zawñ) Linking
    The final consonant of a french word is generally silent. However, when the next word
begins with a vowel or h (mute), the final consonant is usually pronounced and linked
to the next word unless there is a natural pause.

Final s and x, when linked, are pronounced like z; final f like v in neuf ans (neu vahñ)
and neuf heures (neu veur); and final d like t.

Comment allez-vous?     (ku-mahñ ta-lay-voo) How are you?	Beaux-arts     (boh zar) fine arts	trois ans (trwah zahñ)     three years	neuf ans (neu vañ)     nine years	le grand homme (luh grahñ tum) the great man

Élision (ay-lee-zyawñ) Elision
The letters e and a of the words le, la, je, me, te, se, de, ne, que are dropped
before words beginning with a vowel or an h (mute) and are replaced by an apostrophe.
This process is called elision. Thus:

le + oncle becomes l'onckle (lawñkl) the uncle
le + hôtel becomes l'hôtel (loh-tehl) the hotel
la + école becomes l'école (lay-kul) the school
je + ai becomes j'ai (zhay) I have
que + est-ce que c'est? becomes qu'est-ce que c'est? (kehs kuh seh) What is that?

The Stress in French Words and Sentences

1. In French all the syllables of a word are spoken with equal force except the last. The last
syllable of the word is stressed (emphasized) slightly.

général(zhay-nay-ral) répéter (ray-pay-tay)	madame (ma-dam)	chauffer (shoh-feur)

2. In short sentences all the syllables are spoken with equal force except the last. Only the   
last syllable of the sentence is stressed.

La leçon est difficile. (la luh-sawñ eh dee-fee-seel) The lesson is difficult.

3. In longer sentences, the last syllable of clauses and other groups of words that make       
sense together is also stressed.

Dialogue 1 (dya-lug)

Directions for Study.
1. Read the french text silently, sentence by sentence, using the English translation
to get the meaning.
2. Read the whole french text aloud three or more times, using the pronunciation key
as an aid. Stress lightly the key syllables in heavy type.

Comment allez-vous (ku-mahñ ta-lay-voo)? How are you?

1. —Bonjour, monsieur Picard. Comment     allez-vous? (Bawñ-zhoor, muh-syeu     pee-kar. Ku-mahñ ta-lay-voo?) 2. —Très bien, merci. Et vous? (Treh byañ,     mehr-see. Ay voo?) 3. —Très bien, merci. (Treh byañ, mehr-     see) 4. —Au revoir, monsieur Picard. (Oh ruh-     vwar, muh-syeu pee-kar) 5. —Au revoir, Phillipe. (Oh ruh-vwar,     fee-leep)		1. Good day, Mr. Picard. How are you? 2. Very well, thank you. And you? 3. Very well, thank you. 4. Goodbye, Mr. Picard. 5. Goodbye, Phillipe.

Dialogue 2

Parlez-vous français? (Par-lay-voo frahñ-seh) Do you speak French?

1. —Parlez-vous français, Marie? (Par-     lay-voo frahñ-seh, ma-ree?) 2. —Oui, monsieur, je parle français!     (Wee muh-syeu, zhuh parl frahñ-seh) 3. —Est-ce que Charles parle français?     (Ehs-kuh sharl parl frahñ-seh?) 4. —Oui, madame, il parle bien le     français! (Wee, ma-dam, eel parl byañ     luh frahñ-seh) 5. —Est-ce que Louise parle français?     (Ehs-kuh loo-eez parl frahñ-seh?) 6. —Non, madame, elle parle anglais.     (Nawñ, ma-dam, ehl parl ahñ-gleh)		1. Do you speak French, Marie? 2. Yes, sir, I speak French. 3. Does Charles speak French? (Literally:     Is it that Charles speaks French?) 4. Yes, madam, he speaks French? 5. Does Louise speak French? 6. No, madam, she speaks English.

Note 1. The definite article "le" is not used before the name of a language when the
name of the language follows immediately the verb parler or the preposition en.
Il parle bien le français, but, Est-ce que Louise parle français?
                         Dites-le en français.

Dialogue 3

Les jours de la semaine (lay zhoor duh la suh-mehn) The days of the week

1. —Écoutez, Thomas! Combien de jours     y a-t-il dans une semaine? (Ay-koo-tay     tu-mah! Kawñ-byañ duh zhoor ya-teel     dahñ zün suh-mehn?) 2. —Il y a sept jours dans une semaine.     (Eel ya seht zhoor dahñ zün suh-mehn) 3. —Bien. Donnez-moi les noms des sept     jours de la semaine, s'il vous plaît?     (Byañ. Du-nay-mwa lay nawñ day seht     zhoor duh la suh-mehn, seel voo pleh) 4. —Dimanche, lundi, mardi, mercredi,     jeudi, vendredi, samedi. (Dee-mahñsh,     leuñ-dee, mar-dee, mehr-kruh-dee,     zheu-dee, vahñ-druh-dee, sam-dee) 5. —Très bien. Écoutez, Georges! Quel     jour de la semaine sommes-nous? (Treh     byañ. Ay-koo-tay zhurzh! Kehlz hoor     duh la suh-mehn sum-noo?) 6. —C'est aujourd'hui lundi. (Seh toh-     zhoor-düee leuñ-dee) 7. —Très bien, Georges. (Treh byañ     zhurzh)		1. Listen, Thomas! How many days are     there in a week? 2. There are seven days in a week. 3. Good. Give me the names of the seven     days of the week, please. 4. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,     Thursday, Friday, Saturday. 5. Very good. Listen, George! What day of     the week is it today? Lit. What day     of the week are we?) 6. Today is Monday. 7. Very Good, George.