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G: The verb avoir

"Avoir" can be translated as "to have".

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Formation

j'	ai	zjay
tu	as	ah
il/elle/on	a	ah
nous	avons	noozahvoh
vous	avez	voozahvay
ils/elles	ont

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Examples

J'ai deux stylos.	I have two pens.
Tu as trois frères.	You have three brothers.
Il a une idée.	He has an idea.

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Expressing Age

Avoir is used to express age.

• Tu as quel âge? - How old are you?
• J'ai trente ans. - I'm thirty (years old).

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There is/are - Il y a

The expression il y a means there is or there are.

• Il y a un livre. - There is a book.
• Il y a des livres. - There are books.

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V: The Family

French Table|Vocabulary|The Family|La Famille|1245|4>

Immediate Family		Extended Family
ma famille	my family	ma famille éloignée	my extended family
les parents	parents	les grand-parents	grandparents
la mère	mother	la grand-mère	grandmother
le père	father	le grand-père	grandfather
la femme	wife	les petits-enfants	grandchildren
le mari	husband	le petit-fils	grandson
la soeur	sister	la petite-fille	granddaughter
le frère	brother	l'oncle, tonton	uncle
l'enfant	child (m or f)	la tante, tati	aunt
les enfants	children	le neveu	nephew
la fille	daughter	la nièce	niece
le fils	son	le/la cousin(e)	cousin (m or f)
Step Family
la belle-mère	stepmother	la demi-soeur	half sister
le beau-père	stepfather	le demi-frère	half brother

To speak about more complex family relations, such as "my grandmother's cousin", you must use the de mon/ma/mes form - "le cousin de ma grandmère".

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G: Direct Object Pronouns le, la, and les

le, la, and les are called direct object pronouns, because they are pronouns that are, you guessed it, used as direct objects. A direct object is a noun that is acted upon by a verb.

• Il lance la balle. - He throws the ball.

In the above sentence la balle is the direct object.

You have learned earlier that names and regular nouns can be replaced by the subject pronouns (je, tu...). Similary, direct objects, such as "la balle", can be replaced by pronouns.

• le - replaces a masculine singular direct object
• la - replaces a feminine singular direct object
• l' - replaces le and la if they come before a vowel
• les - replaces plural direct objects, both masculine and feminine

The direct object pronouns come before the verb they are linked to.

• Il la lance. - He throws it.
• Il les lance. - He throws them.

Le, la, and les can replace either people or inanimate objects.