Comments

Notes:

The numbers 1 through 19 are easy enough, right?

For 20 through 69, counting is almost just like in English: the tens word (twenty, thirty, forty, etc.) followed by the ones word (un, deux, trois). The only difference is that for 21, 31, etc., the word "et" is introduced between the tens word and one: vingt-et-un, trente-et-un, quarante-et-un, etc.

70 to 79 is trickier. In French, 70 is soixante-dix, literally "sixty-ten." 71 is soixante-onze (sixty-eleven), 72 is soixante-douze (sixty-twelve), and so on, up to 79.

80 is quatre-vingts, literally four-twenties (think four-score). 81 is quatre-vingt-un (four-twenty-one), 82 is quatre-vingt-deux (four-twenty-two), and so on, all the way up to 90. 90 is quatre-vingt-dix (four-twenty-ten), 91 is quatre-vingt-onze (four-twenty-eleven), etc.

100+ are self-explanatory.

Telling Time in French - L'Heure

For inversion, place y first, then invert >il and a. Because you will end up with two vowels side by side, you must add a t between them in order to maintain the fluidity that the French language is known for.

Il y a can also be used with interrogative words:

Qu'est-ce qu'il y a ? and Qu'y a-t-il ? mean What's wrong?

Il y a is used to mean ago (not to be confused with depuis)

Il y a is made up of three words

1. il - the subject it
2. y - the pronoun there
3. a - the third person singular present tense of avoir (to have)

In order to use il y a in another tense, simply conjugate avoir into that tense:

C'est vs Il est

The French expressions c'est and il est are extremely important impersonal expressions. They can mean things like this is, that is, it is, they are, etc.

C'est and il est are the root forms, used for impersonal expressions and general comments: It's interesting, It's nice, It's fortunate, It's too bad, etc.

When talking about specific people, things, or ideas, c'est and il est may change. C'est becomes ce sont when followed by a plural noun. In spoken French, though, c'est is often used anyway. Il est becomes elle est, ils sont, or elles sont, as appropriate depending on the gender and number of the noun that it is replacing or modifying.

Despite their similar meanings, the expressions c'est and il est are not interchangeable - there are rules for using each one. The following table summarizes the different things that can be used after each of them. Click the links in the red box below for detailed information about each of these uses of c'est and il est.