Learning French....what's with the Z's? (movies, university, gated)

[Northman]

Sorry if this isn't the correct forum for this topic, and will have no problem if the mods move it, but.....

I just....I mean JUST.....started learning French, and one thing I've noticed right off the bat is that some versions of words I see have Z's on the end of them, while other versions of the same word do not. For example, the online tutorial I'm using spells "translate" as "traduisez", while the French dictionary I have spells it "traduire". Another example is "respond", which the tutorial has as "re'pondez", while the dictionary is "re'pondre". I realize the apostrophe is supposed to be above the "e" in these words, but have not figured out how to type it yet.

Anyway, can anyone shed light on this? I am learning French to broaden my horizons and become more educated, but I have also wanted to travel to Quebec and would very much like to be able to communicate with the people when I go there. Not sure if the "z" thing is a dialect or regional issue, or both......or something else altogether. Thanks to any and all who respond.

[Acajack]

All French verbs in their infinitive form (the equivalent to "to X" in English") end in either "er", "re" or "ir". So "traduire" is actually the equivalent of "to translate".

"ez" is generally the ending for verbs conjugated using the pronoun "vous", as in "vous traduisez", "vous marchez", etc. Vous is used for either the plural of "you" if there is more than one person being addressed, or if speaking to a single person that you want to be especially polite to (usually a stranger or an older person).

These basic rules are the same everywhere in the world where people speak French.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by Acajack

All French verbs in their infinitive form (the equivalent to "to X" in English") end in either "er", "re" or "ir". So "traduire" is actually the equivalent of "to translate".

"ez" is generally the ending for verbs conjugated using the pronoun "vous", as in "vous traduisez", "vous marchez", etc. Vous is used for either the plural of "you" if there is more than one person being addressed, or if speaking to a single person that you want to be especially polite to (usually a stranger or an older person).

These basic rules are the same everywhere in the world where people speak French.

It can also be the imperative form of the verb.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Jaggy001

It can also be the imperative form of the verb.

Good point. I had forgotten about that.

Except that in the imperative form, the "vous" (or any other pronoun) does not appear and is understood/omitted. Much like you can omit the "yo" and other pronouns in Spanish when it's obvious who is doing the action based on the verb ending.

[Kristan]

Originally Posted by Northman

Another example is "respond", which the tutorial has as "re'pondez", while the dictionary is "re'pondre". I realize the apostrophe is supposed to be above the "e" in these words, but have not figured out how to type it yet.

Anyway, can anyone shed light on this?

I've been studying French for about two years, and I'll start upper division classes at Humboldt State University in about a month... so I understand how confusing French can be when you first begin studying it.

Anyway... here's an answer to the part of your question dealing with accent marks: If you're on a computer using Windows, you can type out the special French characters by pressing the ALT key and holding it down while you type out the code for a character.

Here's the full list, along with their codes:

à 0224 â 0226 ç 0231 è 0232 é 0233 ê 0234 ë 0235 î 0238 ï 0239 œ 0156 ô 0244 ù 0249 û 0251

À 0192  0194 Ç 0199 È 0200 É 0201 Ê 0202 Ë 0203 Î 0206 Ï 0207 Œ 0140 Ô 0212 Ù 0217 Û 0219

Hope that helps.

[Kristan]

Originally Posted by Northman

I just....I mean JUST.....started learning French, and one thing I've noticed right off the bat is that some versions of words I see have Z's on the end of them, while other versions of the same word do not. For example, the online tutorial I'm using spells "translate" as "traduisez", while the French dictionary I have spells it "traduire". Another example is "respond", which the tutorial has as "re'pondez", while the dictionary is "re'pondre".

By the way... I should add that trying to learn French out of a book (without hearing someone speak the words), for a brand new beginning learner, will be really really difficult.

I say this, because from the perspective of a native English speaker learning French from scratch, French spelling and French pronunciation will seem to have zero relation to each other when you first start.

For example, "traduisez" is pronounced sort of like "Trahh dwee say", and
"répondez" is pronounced sort of like "Ray pawn day".

So... you should really look for some sort of tapes or CDs (or web sites) that have French speakers saying the words to go along with the book, to get you started.

Good luck.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Kristan

By the way... I should add that trying to learn French out of a book (without hearing someone speak the words), for a brand new beginning learner, will be really really difficult.

I say this, because from the perspective of a native English speaker learning French from scratch, French spelling and French pronunciation will seem to have zero relation to each other when you first start.

For example, "traduisez" is pronounced sort of like "Trahh dwee say", and
"répondez" is pronounced sort of like "Ray pawn day".

So... you should really look for some sort of tapes or CDs (or web sites) that have French speakers saying the words to go along with the book, to get you started.

Good luck.

Or watch DVDs in French with the English subtitles on. I believe that even in the States a lot of DVDs come with English, French and Spanish audio, right?

[Northman]

Hey, thanks everyone for taking time out of your days to post that stuff. Very helpful.

Kristan, the tutorial I'm using is indeed online, and it does have the audible demonstration with it. I have a French to English, English to French dictionary that I've been using as well, which is where I noticed some of the discrepancies that brought about this thread. I also have a lot of French movies that I like to pop in......just to be able to hear the language spoken consistently for a couple hours at a time. What can it hurt, ya know? I don't know a single person that speaks French, so I have to do what I can to be able to hear it on any kind of routine basis.

Hopefully I'll be on par with you guys in French one day! Merci encore une fois de Michigan! (Don't hesitate to let me know if I got that wrong)

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by Acajack

All French verbs in their infinitive form (the equivalent to "to X" in English") end in either "er", "re" or "ir". So "traduire" is actually the equivalent of "to translate".

"ez" is generally the ending for verbs conjugated using the pronoun "vous", as in "vous traduisez", "vous marchez", etc. Vous is used for either the plural of "you" if there is more than one person being addressed, or if speaking to a single person that you want to be especially polite to (usually a stranger or an older person).

These basic rules are the same everywhere in the world where people speak French.

Spanish applies these rules as well. Example, let's say, a verb like to know is Conocer in it's infinitive form...conjugate it for all the different subjects (me, you, us etc) and you get a very different word. Yo conozco, tu conoces, el/ella/ud conoce, nosotros conocemos, vosotros conoceis and uds/ellas/ellos conocen...etc. etc. It's essentially the same thing but you apply the endings differently depending on who you are speaking about.

I assume italian and most of the romance languages are this way.

[Fred Derf]

Originally Posted by Kristan

I've been studying French for about two years, and I'll start upper division classes at Humboldt State University in about a month... so I understand how confusing French can be when you first begin studying it.

Anyway... here's an answer to the part of your question dealing with accent marks: If you're on a computer using Windows, you can type out the special French characters by pressing the ALT key and holding it down while you type out the code for a character.

Here's the full list, along with their codes:

à 0224 â 0226 ç 0231 è 0232 é 0233 ê 0234 ë 0235 î 0238 ï 0239 œ 0156 ô 0244 ù 0249 û 0251

À 0192  0194 Ç 0199 È 0200 É 0201 Ê 0202 Ë 0203 Î 0206 Ï 0207 Œ 0140 Ô 0212 Ù 0217 Û 0219

Hope that helps.

I find it easier to use the English-International keyboard (in Windows). It allows me to type the accents without imperiling my ability to type in English. The French keyboard layout causes too much interference (too many keys moved around).