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Contents

Module 1: French Greetings – Les Salutations Leçons de vocabulaire

Les Présentations - Qui suis-je ? – How to introduce yourself Les Présentations (2) – Qui est-ce ? – How to introduce somebody Les Descriptions physiques– Comment sont-ils ? – How to describe somebody (Intro) Les Vêtements et les couleurs – Qu’est-ce que tu portes ? – Talking about what you are wearing

Leçons de grammaire

L’Emploi de TU et VOUS – Forms of address with TU or VOUS Les Articles et le genre – Introducing the French articles and gender Les Noms et les Nombres – Sais-tu compter ? Introducing French nouns and numbers La Négation avec « ne…pas » – How to construct the negation with « ne…pas »

Leçons de conjugaison

L’Auxiliaire ÊTRE in the present – Conjugating the auxiliary verb ÊTRE (to be) S’APPELER – Conjugating the verb S’APPELER (to be called)

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« TU » or « VOUS »? –Which ‘You’ To Use? WHY IT MATTERS:

Unless you deliberately want to be perceived as being rude by a native French speaker you’ve just met or insult them by using the wrong “you”, (I beg you) never mix up “tu” and “vous” when addressing them. As far as I know, this advice will be especially important to my dear English speakers because in the English language, the 2nd person subject pronoun “you” will never change no matter how many people are contained in this “you” (i. e. sing vs. plur.), or whether you know them well enough or not (formal vs. informal). In French, however, addressing somebody with “TU” or “VOUS” is so important that we even invented two verbs specifically for that: 

Tutoyer = To address somebody using “tu” (informal)



Vouvoyer= To address somebody using “vous” (formal)

Now that you know how important this is to know, let’s learn the various contexts in which one can use “TU” or “VOUS”.

Use “TU” when talking to…



A friend



A child



A peer / classmate / colleague



A Pet



Parents and other family members

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Use “VOUS” when speaking to…



An authority figure



Somebody you don’t know quite well



Any person you want to show respect to

R EMEMBER T HIS: As a rule of thumb, to err on the safe side of caution, I always urge my students to use “VOUS” every time their instinct tells them that the interlocutor in front of them may feel uncomfortable or even insulted for being seen as a peer. In such moments of doubts, it is always better being perceived as polite rather than rude. Use “VOUS” even if your interlocutor (usually in a position of authority) uses “TU” to address you. And if your interlocutor doesn’t see the need to be addressed as “VOUS”, then he or she will suggest that you use “TU” by saying “On pourrait se tutoyer?” OR “On pourrait se dire ‘TU’” (Could we address each other with “TU”?)

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LET’S PRACTICE!

Would you say “TU” or “VOUS” when talking to the following people? PEOPLE (or ANIMALS) 1) Your doctor 2) Your brother 3) Your older brother 4) Your dentist 5) Your son’s dentist 6) A classmate 7) Your dad 8) Your friend’s dad 9) Your friend’s dog 10) A bank teller 11) Your coworker 12) Your supervisor 13) A passerby on the street 14) Your teacher 15) Your wife or husband 16) A bus driver 17) Your grandpa 18) Your best friend’s cat 19) Your supervisor’s cat 20) A cashier at a shop

TU

VOUS

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LET’S PRACTICE! [Answer Key]

Would you say “TU” or “VOUS” when talking to the following people? PEOPLE (or ANIMALS)

TU

1) Your doctor

VOUS X

2) Your brother

X

3) Your older brother

X

4) Your dentist

X

5) Your son’s dentist

X

6) A classmate

X

7) Your dad

X

8) Your friend’s dad 9) Your friend’s dog

X X

10) A bank teller 11) Your coworker

X X

12) Your supervisor

X

13) A passerby on the street

X

14) Your teacher

X

15) Your wife or husband

X

16) A bus driver

X

17) Your grandpa

X

18) Your best friend’s cat

X

19) Your supervisor’s cat

X

20) A cashier at a shop

X