1000 Most Common French Words & Conjugation Reference

Getting Started

This lesson is a working reference for the grammatical backbone of French: the pronouns that stand in for people and things, the articles that mark gender and number, and the numbers you need for prices, times, and quantities. These three groups appear in almost every sentence you will hear on the TEF or TCF, so making them automatic — not just recognisable — is worth more than memorising rare vocabulary.

Each entry gives two example sentences, usually present tense plus passé composé or futur proche. Verb type codes used elsewhere on the site: [ER] = regular -er, [IR] = regular -ir, [RE] = regular -re, [IRR] = irregular.

A note on the Gurmukhi column: it is a speaking aid, not a transcription. Gurmukhi has no letter for the rounded French “u” (/y/) or some nasal vowels, so a few respellings are the closest approximation available — confirm fine detail against real audio (Radio-Canada, RFI).

1. 🔤 Pronouns & Determiners

2. 📰 Articles

3. 🔢 Numbers & Quantities

How the Grammar Works

Why “du” and “au” Exist — the Same Contraction Twice

French does not allow de + le or à + le to stand as two words. They contract, and the pattern is grammatical, not stylistic — “à le bureau” is not “slightly off,” it’s unparseable.

This explains two rows above: du café is de + le café, and des amis is de + les amis. The choice depends only on the gender and number of the noun after it: le café → du café, la soupe → de la soupe, l’eau → de l’eau.

⚠️ TEF trap: examiners test à and de contractions in the same task — both follow one rule with two prepositions.

Why “Je l’ai vue,” Not “Je l’ai vu”

Look again at the “la” row in the pronoun table: Je la vois becomes Je l’ai vue — with an extra -e. Not a typo: when a direct object pronoun (le, la, les) comes before an avoir verb in the passé composé, the past participle agrees with it in gender and number, like an adjective agreeing with a noun.

• la maison → Je l’ai vue. (feminine)
• le film → Je l’ai vu. (no change — masculine)
• les photos → Je les ai vues. (feminine plural)

This only happens when the object comes before the verb. Without a pronoun — J’ai vu la maison — there is no agreement, since la maison now follows the verb. Position, not meaning, decides the change.

Register and Canadian Usage

• tu vs. vous is a register choice, not a grammar rule: tu signals familiarity; vous is the safe default with strangers, officials, and landlords. Switching to tu is usually invited by the other person, not assumed by you.
• on for nous, flagged above as a casual substitute, is actually the form most French speakers use in ordinary conversation, saving nous for writing and formal TEF/TCF speaking. Verbs still conjugate as il/elle: on mange, not on mangeons.
• Numbers stay standard in Canadian French. Belgium and Switzerland use septante (70) and nonante (90); Quebec French does not — it uses the same soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix series as Metropolitan French.

Sounds You Will Get Wrong

1. tu vs. tout — /y/ vs /u/. tu is /ty/: round your lips like “oo” while keeping your tongue at “ee”. tout is /u/, a plain “oo” — not the same vowel. Gurmukhi has no letter for /y/, so ਤੂ for tu is the closest guide, not the real sound. Say tu es and tout est side by side — the hardest contrast in this lesson.

2. Nasal vowels are not “vowel + n.” on /ɔ̃/, un /ɛ̃/, en /ɑ̃/, and the “im” in important /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.tɑ̃/ are single sounds made with air escaping through the nose — no separate “n” consonant follows. A real “n” (as in English “on”) turns on into something closer to “own,” which a French listener won’t parse as the pronoun.

3. Liaison consonants disappear if you don’t add them. Nous avons is not “nou avons” — the silent “s” of nous becomes /z/ before a vowel: /nu.z‿a.vɔ̃/. Same in ils arrivent, des amis, and six heures (the “h” is silent, so the vowel triggers it). Drop these and nous avons can sound identical to nous starting a new sentence.

Real Conversations

Premier jour au travail (First day at work) — formal register, colleagues meeting for the first time.

• Bonjour ! Vous êtes la nouvelle collègue ? (Hello! Are you the new colleague?)
• Oui, c’est moi. Je m’appelle Amrit. Et vous ? (Yes — Amrit. And you?)
• Moi, c’est Marc. Vous êtes d’où ? (Marc. Where are you from?)
• Je suis du Punjab, mais j’habite à Montréal maintenant. (From Punjab, living in Montreal now.)
• Vous parlez très bien français ! Depuis quand ? (You speak very well! Since when?)
• Depuis six mois seulement. On apprend vite, non ? (Only six months. Fast learner, right?)
• Oui ! Vous avez des questions pour moi ? (Yes! Any questions for me?)
• Oui — où est le bureau du directeur ? (Where’s the director’s office?)

À la boulangerie (At the bakery) — informal register, two friends.

• Salut ! Tu vas où ? (Hi! Where are you going?)
• Je vais à la boulangerie. Tu viens ? (I’m going to the bakery. Coming?)
• Oui, j’ai faim. Qu’est-ce que tu prends ? (Yes, I’m hungry. What are you getting?)
• Je prends deux croissants et une baguette. Et toi ? (Two croissants and a baguette. And you?)
• Un pain au chocolat. Ça coûte combien ? (A pain au chocolat. How much is that?)
• Le tout fait huit dollars. (The whole thing is eight dollars.)
• Tu as de la monnaie ? J’ai seulement un billet de vingt. (Got change? I only have a twenty.)
• Oui, j’en ai. On y va ? (Yes, I have some. Shall we go?)

Practice

Level 1 — Spot the Error

Each sentence has one mistake. Name the rule before opening the answer.

1. Je vais à le bureau.
2. Nous a un rendez-vous.
3. J’ai vu la maison. Je l’ai vu hier.
4. J’ai un idée.
5. Ils sont arrivé à midi.

Level 2 — Production

Write the French. These require producing the sentence, not just picking one.

1. “We have a meeting.” (use avoir + une réunion)
2. Fill the blank: Je vais ___ bureau. (à + le)
3. Fill the blank: C’est ___ idée. (a/an, feminine)
4. “I saw her yesterday.” (talking about une amie — use l’ai)
5. Fill the blank: Il y a ___ jours dans une semaine. (the number)
6. “They (feminine) arrived at noon.”

Level 3 — Exam Simulation

Listening task. Read the transcript once, then answer.

Transcript: “Bonjour, ici Amrit. Je suis en retard — j’arrive dans cinq minutes. On a rendez-vous à neuf heures, non ? Le bureau, c’est bien au troisième étage ? D’accord, j’y vais tout de suite. À tout de suite !”

1. What time is the meeting?
2. How soon does the speaker say they will arrive?
3. Which floor is the office on?

Speaking task. Introduce yourself in 60–90 words: your name, where you’re from, what you do, and since when you’ve been in Canada. Use at least one contraction (au/aux/du/des) and one passé composé verb.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ❌ à le bureau → ✅ au bureau — à + le always contracts.
• ❌ un idée → ✅ une idée — idée is feminine; un/une changes for gender, not the next word’s sound.
• ❌ Nous a une réunion → ✅ Nous avons une réunion — avoir conjugates with its subject.
• ❌ Je l’ai vu (about la maison) → ✅ Je l’ai vue — the participle agrees with a preceding direct object pronoun.
• ❌ Using tu with a landlord or officer → ✅ vous — tu is for people you already know well.
• ❌ Dropping the liaison in “ils arrivent” or “nous avons” → ✅ pronounce the hidden /z/ — it isn’t optional.

What’s Next

Put these pronouns and articles to work in full sentences: Être and Avoir Present Tense, Present Tense -er Verbs, French Articles: le, la, les, and Numbers, Dates and Time for the full 0–1000 series.