French I, Semester I; L'Heure

Sections:

Introduction  |   Section 1  |   Section 2  |   Section 3   |  Dictionaries

Section One:

Part A  |   Part B  |   Part C  |   Part D  |   Part E  |   Part F

Section One - Part B Canada Canada is the second largest country in the world, after Russia. It is made up of 10 provinces and three territories. Parts of the Yukon have been inhabited for 10,000 to 15,000 years. In 1001 AD, Lief Ericsson, a Viking, explored the coasts of Labrador, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia on the eastern seaboard. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Europeans started looking for a western route to China and India because the Ottoman Turks had blocked the overland route through their capture of Constantinople. François 1er, a very powerful French king of that time, financed Giovanni da Verrazano to explore the east coast of North America. Then, Jacques Cartier was commissioned to explore the New World and in 1534 took possession of what is now Canada for the King of France. The next year, he sailed up the Saint Lawrence River to an island called Hochelaga. He called it Montréal (Royal Mountain). The name "Québec" comes from the Algoquine word for "where the river narrows." The British crown was interested in what was now being called New France. New France was a vast territory with a very small population. As the British navy grew more powerful, it became harder and harder to protect New France against their advances. On September 13, 1759, there was a battle between the British and the French on the Plains of Abraham. Québec fell to the British. La lecture Read the following passage and then answer the questions that follow. After you have answered the questions, click on each question to see the answer. Again, when you see words that you do not know yet, first try to guess at their meaning. Je m'appelle Sylvain Dupont. J'habite à Montréal. J'aime Montréal parce que c'est une grande ville. J'aime étudier l'anglais parce que j'aime parler anglais. J'écris et j'écoute beaucoup dans la classe d'anglais. Le samedi, je n'étudie pas parce qu'il n'y a pas de classe. Le samedi, j'aime me promener au jardin public et manger au café avec mes amis. Maisonneuve est un jardin public à Montréal. J'aime faire du vélo dans ce parc. Qui parle? C'est Sylvain. Où habite Sylvain? Sylvain habite à Montréal. Pourquoi est-ce qu'il aime Montréal? Il aime Montréal parce que c'est une grande ville. Qu'est-ce qu'il aime étudier ? Il aime étudier l'anglais. Quand est-ce qu'il n'y a pas classe? Il n'y a pas classe le samedi. Quand est-ce qu'il aime se promener dans le jardin public et manger avec ses amis? Il aime se promener dans le jardin public et manger avec ses amis le samedi. Qui habite à Montréal ? Sylvain habite à Montréal. The words in bold in the question are called interrogatives, or question words. They are words that we use to ask questions to get information--who?, when?, why?, where?, how?, what? Some of them you already know from previous lessons. Où? and Comment? are not new to you. There are, however, other question words that you have not officially learned. Try your hand at guessing their meanings. Click on the question word to see if you have accurately guessed its meaning. Qui? Who? Comment? How? / What? Quand? When? Où? Where? Pourquoi? Why? Que? What?   Asking "yes/no" Questions There are two ways to ask questions that receive yes/no answers in French: With est-ce que and the same word order: Est-ce que tu joues de la guitare? Reversing the word order (i.e. putting the verb in front of the subject): Joues-tu de la guitare? While the second looks easier, it actually has more complicated rules and sounds really formal. So, for our purposes, it's easier to use the first and recognize the second. All you have to do is learn the word combination: est-ce que. Listen to how it's pronounced and practice it because it's very common! Est-ce que Est-ce que tu joues de la guitare? However, if we want to ask a question to get information (who, when, where, why, how, etc.), we have an additional step. We insert the question word we are asking, then either use est-ce que or reverse the order of the subject and verb. Où est-ce que tu habites? Où habites-tu? Again, it looks easier to reverse the word order, but here's a complication you'll see: Où habite-t-elle? Notice that in front of il, elle, ils and elles, because the verb ends in a -e and the pronoun begins with a vowel, you have to add -t-. You can use either one. With people's names, though, it's easier to reverse: Où habite Paul? Au travail! Write this exercise in your notebook. Do it first before clicking to see the answer and correcting your work. Make these yes/no questions into information questions using the question word suggested. Où / habiter / tu Où est-ce que tu habites? / Où habites-tu? Où / habiter / elle Où est-ce qu'elle habite? / Où habite-t-elle? Pourquoi / étudier / nous / le français Pourquoi est-ce que nous étudions le français? / Pourquoi étudions-nous le français? Quand / danser / ils Quand est-ce qu'ils dansent? / Quand dansent-ils? Que / manger / vous Qu'est-ce que vous mangez? / Que mangez-vous? Qui / parler / anglais Qui parle anglais? (you will learn how to use qui est-ce qui later on) Comment / patiner / tu Comment est-ce que tu patines? / Comment patines-tu?   Practice Activity Word Web Go to Discussion 1b and make up 2 questions for your classmates, asking for information. Respond to two questions. If there are no other posts at this time, return to the discussion board to respond at a later time. Use French that you have learned in this course. This assignment is worth 16 points. Va à 1c.

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