Lesson 10: Communication

-aître Verbs

Formation

French Verb • Communication connaître to know (personally)
past participle: connu
	Singular			Plural
first person	je connais	jeuh cohnay	I know	nous connaissons	noo cohnehssohn	we know
second person	tu connais	too cohnay	you know	vous connaissez	voo cohnehssay	you know
third person	il connaît	eel cohnay	he knows	ils connaissent	eel cohnesse	they know (masc. or mixed)
	elle connaît	ell cohnay	she knows
	on connaît	ohn cohnay	one knows	elles connaissent	ell cohnesse	they know (fem.)

Other -aître verbs

• apparaître – to appear
• connaître – to know
• disparaître – to disappear
• naître – to be born¹

¹Naître has an irregular past participle (né) and takes être as its helping verb in perfect tenses.

Connaître & Savoir

Connaître is used to say that you know someone. Savoir is used to say that you know a fact or piece of information.

French Verb • Communication savoir to know (as a fact)
past participle: su
	Singular			Plural
first person	je sais	jeuh say	I know	nous savons	noo sahvohn	we know
second person	tu sais	too say	you know	vous savez	voo sahvay	you know
third person	il sait	eel say	he knows	ils savent	eel sahve	they know (masc. or mized)
	elle sait	ell say	she knows
	on sait	ohn say	one knows	elles savent	ell sahve	they know (fem.)

Calling Others

Téléphoner (à) is used to say that you are calling (to) someone. In French, you call to someone, so the verb is used with indirect, and not direct, objects.

• Je téléphone à Jacques. – I’m calling Jacques.

Appeler

Appeler is used to say what your name is. Je m’appelle… literally means I call myself.., but in English you would say My name is... Appeler is a regular -er verb, but, as you may have noticed, is also stem changing. In the present indicative, it is conjuagted as follows:

French Verb • Communication appeler to call
past participle: appelé
	Singular			Plural
first person	j’ appelle	jahhpell	I call	nous appelons	newzahh pell ohn	we call
second person	tu appelles	too ahhpell	you call	vous appelez	voozahh pellay	you call
third person	il appelle	eel ahhpell	he calls	ils appellent	eel ahhpell	they call (masc. or mized)
	elle appelle	ell ahhpell	she calls
	on appelle	ohn ahhpell	one calls	elles appellent	ell ahhpell	they call (fem.)

Dire

French Verb • Communication dire to say
past participle: dit
	Singular			Plural
first person	je dis	jeuh dee	I say	nous disons	noo deezohn	we say
second person	tu dis	too dee	you say	vous dites	voo deet	you say
third person	il dit	eel dee	he says	ils disent	eel deez	they say (masc. or mized)
	elle dit	ell dee	she says
	on dit	ohn dee	one says	elles disent	ell deez	they say (fem.)

Mail

• le poste
• le courier
• le lettre
• la boîte aux lettres
• envoyer
• recevoir

Envoyer & Recevoir

French Verb • Communication envoyer to send
past participle: envoyé
	Singular			Plural
first person	j’ envoie	jahnvwah	I send	nous envoyons	newzahnvwahyohn	we send
second person	tu envoies	too ahnvwah	you send	vous envoyez	voozahnvwahyay	you send
third person	il envoie	eel ahnvwah	he sends	ils envoient	eelzahnvwah	they send (masc. or mized)
	elle envoie	ell ahnvwah	she sends
	on envoie	ohn ahnvwah	one sends	elles envoient	ellzahnvwah	they send (fem.)

French Verb • Communication recevoir to receive
past participle: reçu
	Singular			Plural
first person	je reçois	jeuh rehswah	I receive	nous recevons	newzay rehsevohn	we receive
second person	tu reçois	too rehswah	you receive	vous recevez	voo resehvay	you receive
third person	il reçoit	eel rehswah	he receives	ils reçoivent	eel rehswahve	they receive (masc. or mized)
	elle reçoit	ell rehswah	she receives
	on reçoit	ohn rehswah	one receives	elles reçoivent	ell rehswahve	they receive (fem.)

Computers & the Internet

French Vocabulary • Communication Technology La technologie
Computer Hardware		Computer Software
le hardware	hardware	le software	software
l’ordinateur (m)	computer	l’information	information
l’écran (m)	monitor	le logiciel	software (program)
le clavier	keyboard	le programme la programmation	program programming (adj)
la souris	mouse	le document	document
l’imprimante (f)	printer	le fichier	file
le CD-ROM	CD-ROM	The Internet
la disquette	floppy disk	aller sur Internet	to go on the Internet
Computer Use		le modem	modem
utiliser	to use	la connexion	connection
taper (un texte)	to type (a text)	connecter être connecté	to connect to be connected
sauvegarder (un fichier)	to save (a file)	le site	site
exécuter	to run, carry out	l’e-mail (m)	e-mail
stocker (des données)	to store (data)	naviguer (sur Internet)	to navigate (the Internet)
cliquer	to click	télécharger	to download
allumer	to turn on	transmettre	to transmit
éteindre	to turn off (to extinguish)

French fact: the name of the company Logitech comes from the French term logiciel technolgie.