文/羊生生
Meet my family, friends, and neighbors
Salut! C'est Sophie. ?a va? Je voudrais présenter ma famille. Nous avons une petite famille aimable. Mon père s'appelle Bertrand et ma mère s'appelle Hélène. Ils ont trente-huit ans tous les deux et ils sont gentils, mais un peu sévères. J'ai un frère, Jean0Luc, qui a seize ans. il est intelligent mais parfois pénible! Mes grands-parents habitent dans la banlieue (suburb) de Paris, pas très loin de chez nous. La s?ur de mon père est ma tante Fran?oise. C'est une jeune femme superbe qui habite à Nice au sud de la France. Elle a vingt-huit ans et j'adore lui rendre visite. Ma meilleure copine s'appelle Lucie. C'est une petite fille formidable---- elle est toujours optimiste et amusante! J'ai un petit chien Max. C'est un teckel (dachsund) qui est curieux s'appelle Filou. Nos voisins, les Leblanc, sont de bons amis avec mes parents. Ils ont deux filles jumelles de quatre ans, Marie et Chantal. De temps en temps je fais du baby-sitting chez eux.
Vocabulaire
La famille
la femme , woman, wife
la mère, mother
le jumelle, twin (girl)
la cousine, cousin (girl)
le jumeau , twin (boy)
le cousin, cousin (boy)
Les amis, friends
l'aime, friend (girl)
l'ami, friend (boy)
la copine, close friend (girl)
le copain, close friend (boy)
la camarade de class, classmate (girl)
le camarade de classe , classmate (boy)
la voisine , neighbor (female)
le voisin, neighbor (male)

Les bêtes, pets
le chien, dog
le chat, cat
l'oiseau, bird
le poisson rouge, goldfish
le hamster, hamster
le cochon d'inde, guinea pig

Miscellanées, miscellaneous
un peau, a little
s'appelle, is called
de temps en temps, sometimes
la banlieue, suburb
bon/bonne, good
le/la meilleur/e, best
petit/e, short, small
grand/e, tall, large
vieux/vieille, old
jeune, young

Note that the plural form of the articles le, la, or l' is always les, and the plural form of un or une is always des

Here are some additional nouns, naming familiar objects or places, to give you practice writing phrases based on what you have learned so far:
le stylo , the pen
le cahier, the notebook
la tablette, the tablet
un livre, a book
un portable, a cell phone
une école, a school
les stylos, the pens
les cahiers, the notebooks
les tablettes, the tablets
les livres, some books
des portables, some cell phones
des écoles, some school

son frère= his brother or her brother
sa s?ur= his sister or her sister
The possessive adjectives agree with the object, person, or animal that follows---- that is, with what is possessed, not with the "owner", or possessor, as in English.

Using some of the nouns you already know, this chart shows how the plural forms of the possessive adjectives are spelled
my, mon, ma, plural: mon stylo, my pen, ma chaise, my chair
mes: mes stylos, my pens, mes chaises, my chairs

your, ton , ta, ton cahier, your notebook; ta s?ur, your sister
tes, tes cahiers, your notebook, tes s?urs, your sisters
his/her/its, son, sa, sa frère, his/her brother; sa s?ur, his /her sister
ses: ses frères, his/her brothers, ses s?urs, his /her sisters
our: notre, notre; notre stylo: our pen, notre chaise, our chair
nos: nos stylos, our pens, nos chaises, our chairs
your (pl.) votre, votre, votre cahier, your notebook; votre cousine, your cousin (f)
vos: vos cahiers, your notebooks, vos cousines, your cousins (f)
their, leur, leur, leur livre their book, leur maison, their house
leurs: leurs livres, their books
leurs maisons, their houses

Attention!
The plural forms of the possessive printed in bold in the chart do not change their form to modify a masculine or feminine noun. But these possessive forms must agree with the nouns they modify, not with the "owner" as in English.
his house or her house= sa maison
his book or her book= son livre
mais (but)
his houses or her houses= ses maisons
his books or her books= ses livres

In English we place adjectives in front of the noun, "an old cat", "a fantastic girl", but in French the placement of the adjective is generally after the noun: une fille formidable. In Sophie's description of her family and friends, you may have noticed that the adjectives bon, petit, and vieux were placed in front of th enoun (un vieux chat), and other adjectives such as péniible and formidable, followed the nouns. The majority of French adjectives follow the noun; however, a few adjectives almost always precede the nound. If you learn that BAGS (beauty, age, goodness, size) adjectives precede or go in front of the noun, it's easier simply to place the other adjectives after the noun.
Beauty: joli/e (pretty), beau/belle (handsome, beautiful)
Age: jeune (young), vieux/vieille (old), nouveau/nouvelle (new)
Goodness: bon/ne (good), mauvais/e (bad), meilleur/e (better)
Size: petit/e (short, small), grand/e (tall/big), gros/grosse (fat, big), large (wide: for things, long/longue (long)

When referring to people, the adjective has the first meaning; the second meaning is used when referring to objects: un gros homme, a fat man; la grosse pomme, the big apple.

Some adjectives can be placed in either position; then their meaning changes: un pauvre chien, a poor, pitiful dog; un gar?on pauvre; a poor boy, one without money.

Proverbe: didier dit
Tout nouveau, tout beau. A new broom sweeps clean. ( literally: all new, all beautiful)

Répète après moi!
The French r sound is distinctive, and its correct pronunciation is an important part of a good accent. Try saying "ga ga" like a baby, and place two fingers at the base of your throat.

For plural nouns, ce sont and ils/elles sont are used:
Ce sont mes mousines jumelles. They are my twin cousins.

Elles sont identiques.
They are identical.

des couleurs (colors)
rose, pink
rouge, red
jaune, yellow
beige, beige
chatain, chestnut
foncé, dark
clair, light
vert/e, green
bleu/e, blue
noir/e, black
gris/e, gray
violet/te, purple
blanc/he, white
marron, brown
orange, orange
brun/e, brown
J'ai les cheveux chatain foncé et les yeux bleu clair. I have dark chestnut hair and light blue eyes.

La parole est d'argent, le silence est d'or.
Speech is silver, but silence is golden.

Learning French will help you with your English. If you know that jaune means yellow in French, then jaudice is the illness whose sympotoms include yellow skin. Rouge is used to mean blush or makeup that turns your cheeks red. A film noir is a movie with a dark twist; noir means black. Do you know the color of a verdant field (green)? What color paper is blank? (white) blanc/blanche

Info
Les mariages fran?ais
French weddings are both similar and different compared with American weddings. A wedding is an important social event in France. There are generally two wedding ceremonies. The first one is the official wedding held at the town hall. The mayor, wearing a tricolor sash, officiates in his or her office in front of a picture of the French president. The ceremony is not long, but the wedding party signs multiple legal forms in front of their guests. The town hall may have several weddings booked for the same day, so each wedding has a color scheme. The cars all have matching ribbons to identify the wedding party and to help guests find each other. From the town hall the brightly decorated cars proceed to a church where the second ceremony is held.

This ceremony is very similar to an American ceremony, except that although her father accompanies the bride down the aisle, the groom's mother also accompanies her son to the alter. After the religious ceremony the wedding party is greeted with crepe paper hears and perhaps birdseed as they leave the church. After extensive picture taking in a picturesque setting, the reception can last all night long. The bride and groom and their guests change into evening clothes for this event. The reception hall may be decorated according to the color scheme. There are many courses of food and there is also a wedding cake. The cake may look very different. A pièce montée is a traditional cake that consists of a large pyramid of cream puffs held together by caramel. The reception is a joyous event that includes much laughter, singing , and dancing.

A réfléchir
Le Québec
The French language came to the Americas with some of the first explorers. Jacques Cartier descended the Saint Lawrence River in 1543 and tried to persuade France to establish colonies on subsequent journeys. The harsh winters and tense relationships with the Indians (called amérindiens by the Canadians) discouraged colonization, and it was Samuel Champlain who succeeded in 1604 in establishing Port-Royal, then Quebec, in 1608. The fur trade, especially beaver skins used in the fabrication of the popular hats of the time, flourished, and French explorers such as Louis Jolliet, Cavalier de la Salle, and Father Marquette pushed farther inland to explore the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River all the way to Louisiana.
Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City

Wars with England and America changed the makeup of the French holdings. By 1763 France accepted England's domination of nearly all of the province of Quebec. The French Canadians maintained their language and cultural heritage throughout the rule of the English and continue to promote their unique cultural heritage on a continent where they are surrounded by English-speaking neighbors. The province of Quebec remains the largest of the ten provinces of Canada. It's three times the size of France, and Montreal is the second largest French -speaking city in the world (after Paris) . Today the province of Quebec is a center of industry (especially lumber products and hydroelectric energy), tourism, culture, ethnic diversity, and innovation. French Canadians are eager to share their country with visitors and love to enjoy la joie de vivre of their country.

Une carte postale de Québec
Postcard from Quebec
Salut mon ami,
Je visite la belle province de Québec. Il fait frais et les érables (maple trees) ont déjà changé de couleur. Il y a des montagnes magnifiques couvertes de ces arbres jaunes, rouges, et même orange. Les gens d'ici parlent fran?ais avec un accent un peu différent, mais tout à fait charmant. Ils sont accueillants et enthousiastes quand je parle fran?ais. J'ai visité un village huron près de Québec. Là j'ai vu un village recrée du passé par les amérindiens de la région---- les Hurons-Wendat. Ils font partie des Premières nations du groupe des Premières nations des régions boisées. Il y a six groupes qui habitent les six régions géographiques du Canada.

 J'adore la nourriture québécois. Pour le petit déjeuner (breakfast) les québécois disent le déjeuner. Pour le déjeuner (lunch) ils disent le d?ner et pour le d?ner (dinner) ils disent le souper! J'ai go?té du sirop d'érable (mable syrup) fabriqué au printemps, et de la tarte aux bluets (blueberry pie). Ce soir je vais assister à un concert de musique folklorique. 

A bient?t, Sophie
For more information on the First Nations see:
https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/fra