La nourriture et le marché (Food and the market)
Primary 5 · French
La nourriture et le marché (Food and the market)
Lesson 3 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
The beans are on the plate. Ishimwe eats his happily, fast, with a piece of bread.
Beside him, his little sister pushes each bean to the edge of her plate, one by one, as though the beans had done something to her.
Same food. Two completely different faces. Today you learn how to say, in French, which face is yours — and it only takes three words.
The French verb for to like is aimer. When you use it about yourself, it becomes j'aime.
Why not je aime? Because aime begins with a vowel, and French will not let je crash into it. The e of je is knocked out, and an apostrophe stands where it used to be: j'aime. Say it ZHEM — one short sound, not two.
J'aime les bananes. — I like bananas.
Look at that sentence again, very closely. In English you say I like bananas — no the anywhere. But the French sentence keeps les, and it must:
Which little word do you use? Exactly the one you learned in the food lesson — it never changes just because you like something:
You are not stuck with one word for everything you feel:
Look at that last one. Je déteste keeps its e — nothing is knocked out. That is because déteste begins with the consonant d, so there is no crash for French to avoid. Only vowels cause the squeeze.
English has one word for not. French has two, and they sit on either side of the verb, like two hands holding it: ne in front, pas behind.
Watch Umutoni turn a sentence around, one step at a time. She likes onions in this sentence. By the end, she will not.
Now do exactly the same thing with détester, and one whole step disappears:
Déteste begins with a consonant, so ne stays whole. That is the only difference between the two sentences — and it is the only thing you have to think about.
Now notice what did not change. Les oignons is still les oignons. Le poisson is still le poisson. Saying no does not touch the food's little word at all.
| Yes | No |
|---|---|
| j'aime | je n'aime pas |
| tu aimes | tu n'aimes pas |
| il aime, elle aime | il n'aime pas, elle n'aime pas |
| nous aimons | nous n'aimons pas |
| vous aimez | vous n'aimez pas |
| ils aiment, elles aiment | ils n'aiment pas, elles n'aiment pas |
Every single form of aimer begins with the ai- sound, so ne becomes n' every single time. Nothing to decide.
The -s of tu aimes and the -nt of ils aiment are both silent. Tu aimes, il aime and ils aiment all sound the same out loud — only your pen can tell them apart.
This is the easiest question in French. Say the sentence, and lift your voice at the end.
Tu aimes le poisson ? — Do you like fish?
Oui, j'aime le poisson. — Yes, I like fish.
Non, je n'aime pas le poisson. — No, I don't like fish.
Make sure your oui or non agrees with the rest of your sentence. « Oui, je n'aime pas… » says yes and no in the same breath, and the person listening will simply be confused.
You can join a yes and a no with mais (but):
J'adore les mangues, mais je n'aime pas les oignons.
I love mangoes, but I don't like onions.
Tip
Two hands around the verb. Ne goes in front, pas goes behind, and the verb is squeezed in the middle.
Then look at the first letter of the verb. Is it a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)? Then ne becomes n'. Is it a consonant? Then ne stays whole.
That is why it is je n'aime pas but je ne déteste pas.
Write each sentence first, then check the answer.
Say I like rice.
Answer: J'aime le riz. (Le, because riz is masculine — and never leave it out.)
Turn J'aime les tomates into a no sentence.
Answer: Je n'aime pas les tomates. (Two hands round the verb; aime starts with a vowel, so ne becomes n'. Les stays.)
Keza hates onions. Write it in French.
Answer: Keza déteste les oignons.
Turn Je déteste le lait into I don't hate milk.
Answer: Je ne déteste pas le lait. (Déteste starts with a consonant, so ne stays whole.)
Answer this question with a no: « Tu aimes le poisson ? »
Answer: Non, je n'aime pas le poisson.
Say: I love mangoes, but I don't like onions.
Answer: J'adore les mangues, mais je n'aime pas les oignons.
What you learned today
Quick check
Which sentence means I like bananas?
