1 - A Start to French This guide helps Beginners with speaking French. It covers basic conversation, verbs and adjectives.

1.1F – Basic Conversation This section covers an example short conversation in French

Basic Conversation When two people meet in the street, they often say ‘Bonjour’. This is a commonly used greeting when you don’t know the person well. New Word: Bonjour – Good Day or Hello (a commonly used greeting) Bonjour

Basic Conversation However if the two people are good friends, they may say ‘Salut!’ instead. This is less formal, like ‘Hi’ in the English language. Salut! New Word: Salut – Hi (a less formal greeting used between friends)

Basic Conversation In an extended conversation, people may say ‘Ça va?’. This phrase has a variety of meanings. It can be used as a question and as a response. New Word: Ca va? – How are you? New Word: Ca va bien merci – I’m fine, thanks Salut! Ça va? Ça va bien merci

Basic Conversation To finish a conversation, the French use the word Au revoir to say goodbye. New Word: Au revoir – Goodbye Au revoir!

Review New Word: Bonjour – Good Day or Hello (a commonly used greeting) New Word: Salut – Hi (a less formal greeting used between friends) New Word: Ca va? – How are you? New Word: Ca va bien merci – I’m fine, thanks New Word: Au revoir – Goodbye New Word: Bonsoir – Good Evening (used in the afternoon and evening) In the evening, the French say ‘Bonsoir’ Directly translated (word for word) Ça va means ‘it goes’ Activities 1.Practice saying these words out loud. Your teacher will help you with pronunciation. 2.In your exercise books, write out a conversation between two people, and practice reading it and memorising it.