Lesson 4: Countries, Nationalities & the French R

Vous êtes d'où ? — Countries, Nationalities & the French R · A0 → A1 · Part 0 · Absolute Start

You will ask where someone is from and answer for yourself. You will name countries, use the right nationality for a man or a woman, and say which city you come from. Most importantly, you will learn the French R — a soft sound from the back of the throat that is completely different from the English and Urdu r.

In this lesson

• countries
• nationalities masculine / feminine
• je viens de
• the French R

Vocabulary

Pronunciation

Grammar

de, du, d', des — the small word in front of a country

To say where you come from, French uses je viens de… but de changes shape depending on the country. Feminine countries take de (de France). Masculine countries take du, which is de + le (du Pakistan). Countries beginning with a vowel take d' (d'Inde). Plural countries take des (des États-Unis). Cities are simpler: they always take de (de Karachi, de Lahore). There is no way to know the gender by looking — it must be learned with the country name, which is why every country in this lesson is given with le or la or l'.

Nationalities: add an -e for a woman

A nationality is an adjective, and in French adjectives agree with the person. The masculine form is the base form. For a woman you normally add a final -e. Sometimes the ending changes more: indien becomes indienne, with a doubled n. Note two spelling traps: the masculine forms pakistanais, français and anglais end with a silent s, but the feminine forms pakistanaise, française and anglaise sound that s as a z. Also, nationalities are written with a small letter in French — français, not Français.

Examples

Dialogue: A language meet-up in Paris

Say it out loud

• Je viens du Pakistan. — I come from Pakistan. Nasal en, tight ü, nasal final an.
• Je viens de France. — I come from France. Feminine country → de.
• Je viens d'Inde. — I come from India. d' before a vowel, one smooth sound.
• Je suis de Karachi. — I am from Karachi. Cities take de.
• Je suis pakistanais. — I am Pakistani. (man) Final s silent.
• Je suis pakistanaise. — I am Pakistani. (woman) Feminine: hear the z.
• Vous êtes d'où ? — Where are you from? (formal) Link voo-zet-doo, then rise.
• Je parle français et anglais. — I speak French and English. Throat r in parl, nasal an in français.
• Paris, merci, France. — Paris, thank you, France. Three different r sounds — all throat r, all light.

Listening practice: At a language exchange table

Remember this

• Vous êtes d'où ? = where are you from (formal). Tu es d'où ? = informal.
• je viens de / du / d' + country. je suis de + city.
• Feminine country → de (de France). Masculine country → du (du Pakistan). Vowel start → d' (d'Inde).
• Cities always take de: de Karachi, de Lahore.
• Learn every country with its article: le Pakistan, la France, l'Inde, le Canada.
• Nationality feminine usually adds -e: pakistanais → pakistanaise, français → française, anglais → anglaise.
• Some feminine forms change more: indien → indienne, canadien → canadienne.
• [object Object]
• The French R: back of the throat, tongue tip DOWN behind the lower teeth, soft and light. English and Urdu r are wrong.
• [object Object]
• Recycled from lessons 1-3: bonjour, salut, je m'appelle, enchanté, et toi, au revoir.

Common mistakes

Practice questions

• How do you say I come from Pakistan? Je viens de Pakistan. / Je viens du Pakistan. / Je viens le Pakistan. / Je suis Pakistan. — Je viens du Pakistan.
• How do you say I come from France? Je viens du France. / Je viens de France. / Je viens d'France. / Je viens la France. — Je viens de France.
• Which is correct for India? de Inde / du Inde / d'Inde / des Inde — d'Inde
• A woman says she is Indian. Which form is correct? indien / indienne / indiennes / indiena — indienne
• How do you say I am from Lahore? Je viens du Lahore. / Je suis de Lahore. / Je suis du Lahore. / Je viens le Lahore. — Je suis de Lahore.
• Where is the French R made? With the tongue tip curled up / At the back of the throat, tongue tip down / With the lips / With the teeth — At the back of the throat, tongue tip down
• Which of these is a correct feminine nationality? français / française / françaice / françaie — française
• What does un pays mean? a city / a country / a language / a friend — a country
• How is d'où pronounced? de-oo (two syllables) / doo (one syllable) / dow / doo-oo — doo (one syllable)
• In French, nationalities are written: With a capital letter / With a small letter / Always in capitals / With a hyphen — With a small letter

Homework (15 minutes)

1) Say these five words out loud twenty times each, with the tongue tip down behind your lower teeth: Paris, merci, France, anglais, une rue. 2) Write four sentences about yourself: where you come from (country), your city, your nationality and one language you speak. 3) Choose five countries from the lesson, write whether each is masculine or feminine, and then write je viens… for each one. 4) Record yourself saying Je viens du Pakistan and listen for the three nasal/ü sounds.

Lesson 4 of 45 · Part 0 · Absolute Start · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2