French · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 5 of 12
Family and friends
La famille et les amis
Talk about your family in French, say “my” and “your” with mon, ma and mes, and give ages with avoir.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Name the people in your family
- Say “my”, “your”, “his” and “her” correctly
- Ask and say how old someone is
Listen
In a café in Toulouse, Sarah shows her friend Karim a photo on her phone. They're friends, so they use tu. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Karim
C'est ta famille, sur la photo ?
Is that your family in the photo?
Sarah
Oui. Là, c'est mon père, et là, c'est ma mère.
Yes. That's my father there, and that's my mother.
Karim
Et le garçon, c'est ton frère ?
And the boy, is that your brother?
Sarah
Oui, c'est mon frère Lucas. Il a seize ans.
Yes, that's my brother Lucas. He's sixteen.
Karim
Et elle, c'est ta sœur ?
And her, is that your sister?
Sarah
Non, c'est ma cousine Emma. Et toi, tu as des frères et sœurs ?
No, that's my cousin Emma. And you, do you have any brothers and sisters?
Karim
Oui, j'ai deux sœurs, Nadia et Yasmina.
Yes, I have two sisters, Nadia and Yasmina.
Sarah
Elles ont quel âge ?
How old are they?
Karim
Nadia a trente-deux ans et Yasmina a vingt-huit ans.
Nadia is thirty-two and Yasmina is twenty-eight.
Understand
My, your, his, her: mon, ma, mes…
The word for “my” matches the person or thing you're talking about, not the owner. A man and a woman both say (masculine) and (feminine). For more than one, use . Before a vowel, use , and even with a feminine noun, so the words flow: .
, and mean both “his” and “her”. They also match the noun, not the owner: is “his mother” or “her mother”, and Sarah's brother is .
, and go with ; and go with . (our), and (their) are the same for masculine and feminine. In the s makes a liaison: “may-za-mee”.
| English | masculine | feminine | plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | |||
| your (with ) | |||
| his, her | |||
| our | |||
| your (with ) | |||
| their |
Avoir: to have, and saying your age
(to have) is the second key verb of French, after . It's irregular too, so learn the forms in the table. Before , becomes j': (I have two sisters).
French also uses for age: you don't say you “are” an age, you “have” it: (literally “I have thirty years”). Never leave out (years).
starts with a vowel, so the number before it often makes a liaison: sounds like “duh-zan”, like “van-tan”, and like “nuh-van”.
| (to have) | English |
|---|---|
| I have | |
| you have (to a friend) | |
| / | he / she has |
| we have | |
| you have (polite or plural) | |
| / | they have |
- Tu as quel âge ? — J'ai vingt-cinq ans.How old are you? — I'm twenty-five.
- Vous avez quel âge ?How old are you? (polite)
- Il a seize ans.He's sixteen.
C'est and ce sont
To point at someone and say who they are, use (this is, that is, it's) for one person and (these are, those are) for several. To talk about them again, remember (they) for men or a mixed group and for women only:
- C'est ma sœur.This is my sister.
- Ce sont mes parents.These are my parents.
More in the grammar: Être and avoir: to be and to have · Possessives: mon, ma, mes and more · The French alphabet and pronunciation
New words
- la famillefamily
- la photophoto
- làthere
- le pèrefather
- la mèremother
- le garçonboy
- le frèrebrother
- avoir… ansto be… years old
- la sœursister · œu sounds like the “u” in “fur”, with rounded lips
- la cousine / le cousincousin (woman / man)
- les frères et sœursbrothers and sisters
- quel âge ?how old?
- les parentsparents
Practise
1.How do you say “my father”?
2.Complete the sentence: “She's twenty.”
She's twenty.
3.Write the word for “my”.
My friend Julie is thirty.
4.How do you ask a friend how old they are?
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.I have two sisters and a brother.
6.Match the family words.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
C'est ma famille.
This is my family.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.