Learn french lesson 7

36. To Take, Eat or Drink

Prendre-to take, eat or drink /pʀɑ̃dʀ/				Boire-to drink /bwaʀ/
prends	/pʀɑ̃/	prenons	/prənɔ̃/	bois	/bwa/	buvons	/buvɔ̃/
prends	/pʀɑ̃/	prenez	/prəne/	bois	/bwa/	buvez	/buve/
prend	/pʀɑ̃/	prennent	/pʀɛn/	boit	/bwa/	boivent	/bwav/

Other verbs that are conjugated like prendre:  apprendre /apʀɑ̃dʀ/ - to learn, comprendre /kɔ̃pʀɑ̃dʀ/ - to understand and surprendre /syʀpʀɑ̃dʀ/ - to surprise
When you want to say "I am having wine," the French translation is "Je prends du vin."  You must use de and le, la, l', or les and the proper contractions (called partitives) because in French you must always express some.  So "je prends de la bière" literally means "I am having some beer" even though in English we would usually only say I am having beer.  
Manger is a regular verb meaning "to eat," but manger is used in a general sense, such as Je mange du poulet tous les samedis.  I eat chicken every Saturday.  Boire is literally the verb to drink and is also used in a general sense only. Je bois du vin tout le temps.  I drink wine all the time.

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37. Quantities

assez de	enough (of)	un morceau de	a piece of	une douzaine de	a dozen of
une assiette de	a plate of	un peu de	a little (bit) of	un paquet de	a packet of
beaucoup de	a lot of	une tasse de	a cup of	un panier de	a basket of
une boîte de	a box of	une tranche de	a slice of	une poignée de	a handful of
une bouteille de	a bottle of	trop de	too much, many	plus de	more
un kilo de	a kilo of	un verre de	a glass of	un bouquet de	a bunch of

With quantities and negatives, you never use partitives.  The construction is always de or d' + noun.

Je voudrais prendre du fromage, mais pas de fruit.  I would like to have some cheese, but no fruit.
Il prend de la viande.  He is eating some meat.
Nous prenons du riz et des brocolis.  We are having some rice and broccoli.
Il y a trop de lait dans la tasse.  There is too much milk in the cup.
Je voudrais un morceau de tarte.  I would like one piece of pie.
Est-ce que je peux prendre un verre de vin ?  May I have a glass of wine?
Je prends du vin.  I'm drinking some wine.
Je ne prends pas de vin.  I am not drinking any wine.

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38. Commands

Use the vous, tu and nous forms for commands.
Vous form	Polite and Plural	Same as verb form	Restez !	Stay!
Tu form	Familiar	Same as verb form, but drop -s for -er verbs	Regarde !	Watch!
Nous form	Let's...	Same as verb form	Allons-y !	Let's go!

When using pronominal verbs as commands, the pronoun is placed after the verb connected by a hyphen.  Tu te dépêches becomes Dépêche-toi !  
And in negative commands, the pronoun precedes the verb, as in Ne nous reposons pas.

Irregular Command Forms
être (be)			avoir (have)			savoir (know)
tu	sois	/swa/	tu	aie	/ɛ/	tu	sache	/saʃ/
nous	soyons	/swajɔ̃/	nous	ayons	/ajɔ̃/	nous	sachons	/saʃɔ̃/
vous	soyez	/swaje/	vous	ayez	/aje/	vous	sachez	/saʃe/

Ne sois pas méchant avec ta sœur !  Don't be mean to your sister!
N'ayez pas peur ! Don't be afraid!
Sachez que j'apprécie votre aide. Know that I appreciate your help.

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39. More Negatives

ne...plus	/nə...ply/	no longer
ne...jamais	/nə...ʒamɛ/	never
ne...rien	/nə...ʀjɛ̃/	nothing
ne...aucun(e)	/nə...okœ̃/ /yn/	not a single one
ne...que	/nə...kə/	only
ne...personne	/nə...pɛʀsɔn/	nobody
ne...ni...ni	/nə...ni...ni/	neither...nor
ne...nulle part	/nə...nyl paʀ/	nowhere

The que in ne...que is placed directly before the noun it limits.  Rien and personne may be used as subjects:  Personne n'est ici.  Aucun(e) by definition is singular, so the verb and nouns must also be changed to the singular.  With ni...ni, all articles are dropped except definite articles.  Je n'ai ni caméra ni caméscope, but Je n'aime ni les chats ni les chiens.
Il n'aime plus travailler.  He no longer likes to work.  (Or: He doesn't like to work anymore)
Nous ne voulons faire des achats que lundi.  We want to go shopping only on Monday.
Elle ne déteste personne.  She hates no one.  (Or: She doesn't hate anyone.)
Negatives with Passé Composé
1. Ne...pas, ne...plus, ne...jamais, and ne...rien
Ne comes before auxiliary verb, and the other part is between auxiliary and past participle.
Nous n'avons rien fait. We did nothing.
Vous ne vous êtes pas ennuyés. You were not bored.
2. Ne...personne, ne...aucun, ne...ni...ni, ne...nulle part, and ne... que
Ne comes before the auxiliary verb, but the other part is after the past participle.
Il n'a écouté personne. He listened to no one.
Il n'a fait aucune faute. He made not a single mistake.
* Use of ne ... pas de:  In negative sentences, the partitives and indefinite articles become de before the noun (unless the verb is être, then nothing changes.)

Partitive:  Je prends du pain et du beurre.  I'm having some bread and butter.
Negative:  Je ne prends pas de pain ou de beurre.  I am not having any bread or butter.

Indefinite:  J'ai un chien.  I have a dog.
Negative:  Je n'ai pas de chien.  I don't have a dog.

Verb is être:  C'est une chatte brune. It's a brown cat.
Negative:  Ce n'est pas une chatte brune.  It's not a brown cat.

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40. Holiday Phrases

Merry Christmas	Joyeux Noël
Happy New Year	Bonne Année
Happy Thanksgiving	Joyeux Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving (Canada)	Bonne Action de grâces
Happy Easter	Joyeuses Pâques
Happy Halloween	Bonne fête d'Halloween
Happy Valentine's Day	Joyeuse Saint-Valentin
Happy Birthday	Bon Anniversaire Joyeux Anniversaire
Happy Saint Day	Bonne Fête
Happy Holidays	Joyeuses Fêtes
Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve dinner	le Réveillon
New Year's Eve	la Saint-Sylvestre