MFLE French Reference Grammar

Introduction
'Grammar is the way that words make sense. It is a code or set of rules
accepted by any community who share a language.' (Language into
Languages Teaching, University of Glasgow, Scottish Executive Education
Department, 2001)

What follows is an attempt to set out the rules of grammar for the structures
which are often used in the teaching of French for P6 and P7.

It is not intended for use by pupils, unless perhaps as a spell-check for the
months of the year, for example.

Why use this resource?

It is appreciated that a number of teachers who have completed their MLPS

training may feel a little insecure in their knowledge of basic French grammar.
This is understandable, and this reference grammar attempts to be a resource
to help. It is by definition very restricted, but closely tied to the requirements of
teachers offering French in the primary school.

The fact that it has been produced does not mean that primary school
teachers will now be expected to teach grammar formally as it is laid out in
this booklet. There is no expectation that pupils should work through this
grammar resource. As noted above, it is a reference resource for teachers, to
try to make them more comfortable with the rules behind the communicative
language which they are offering in class.

It is felt that a degree of security about the rules of grammar will make
teachers more comfortable in their use of French.

How should I use this resource?

As will be seen throughout the course, we do not shy away from explaining
simple rules of grammar to the pupils. However, such explanations should be
done in a sensitive way. There is nothing to be gained in foreign language
teaching from leaving pupils unsure and insecure when a simple explanation,
where possible drawing analogies with English, would remove doubts and
make the picture clearer.

Any explanation of grammar given to pupils should not be taken directly from
this resource and projected on the whiteboard. Instead, teachers can use the
resource to find out the correct form before going on to explain, in their own
words, any basic rules of grammar. These explanations will vary according to
the needs of the pupils, some of whom will benefit from a sharper exposure to
grammar.
Verb forms
Introduction

'Verbs are used to assert or state what is happening, or what is the case.
They are sometimes called ‘doing words’ or ‘action words’, but they do not
always show action: if we say ‘he is bone idle’ or ‘he has stopped’ there is not
much action going on.

Verbs also show the time when things are happening: this is called the tense
of the verb.' (Language into Languages Teaching, University of Glasgow,
Scottish Executive Education Department, 2001)

The subject pronouns are

je - I nous - we
tu - you vous - you
il/elle - he/she ils/elles - they
on - one

'Je', 'tu' and 'il/elle/on' are first, second and third persons singular respectively.

'Nous', 'vous' and 'ils/elles' are first, second and third persons plural
respectively.

Notes on the subject pronouns

• 'Tu' is traditionally used to address close friends, members of the

immediate family, close relatives, children and animals and
pets. Otherwise its use can be considered condescending.
• 'Vous', although strictly speaking second person plural, is the polite
form of address to another person when the speakers are not closely
acquainted. It is the formal mode of address to a single person. It is
also the plural mode of address used when speaking to more than one
close friend, member of the immediate family etc and to more than one
person who is not closely acquainted.

In school, teachers would address individual pupils by 'tu', and groups of

pupils by 'vous'.

Pupils should address the teacher by 'vous'.

• 'On', which is translated here as 'one', is used much more frequently in

French than in English, and does not carry the hint of a certain social
stratum as it does in English. It is used to express 'we', or 'you' when
that 'you' is being used in a very general sense, and also 'they' in a
 general sense. It can even be used to express 'I'. However, young
children should be encouraged to use it in its restricted meaning of
'we'. 'On' can be used to indicate one or several people.

The present tense

Some English tenses have various forms to represent the single French
tense. One of the most striking is the present tense, which can have three
different forms in English, but always only one form in French.

Affirmative

I watch the television

Je regarde la télévision
I am watching the television
Oui, je regarde la télévision tous les Yes, I do watch television every
soirs. evening.

Negative

I’m not watching television.

Je ne regarde pas la télévision.
I don’t watch television

Interrogative

Are you watching television?

Est-ce que tu regardes la télévision?
Do you watch television?

Form of the present tense of verbs ending in -er

The present tense form of verbs whose infinitive ends in -er is given below.
(The infinitive form of a verb is the one which appears in a dictionary, and
which is indicated in English by the use of the word to in front. Thus, 'to look'
is an infinitive in English. The French form is 'regarder'. Infinitives in French
end in -er, -ir or -re.)

Structurally and analytically, to form the present tense of an -er verb:

• take the infinitive

• remove the ending -er
• add the first, second and third person endings, singular and plural.

These endings are:

Je e nous ons
Tu es vous ez
il/elle/on e ils/elles ent

So, the full present tense of the verb 'regarder' is:

je regarde nous regardons

tu regardes vous regardez
il/elle/on regarde ils/elles regardent

This is called the paradigm of the present tense.

• Note: the endings -e, -es, -e and -ent are silent. The only endings in the
present tense of -er verbs which can be heard are the first and second
persons plural (-ons and -ez).

Form of the present tense verbs ending in -ir

The present tense form of verbs whose infinitive ends in -ir is given below.
(The infinitive form of a verb is the one which appears in a dictionary, and
which is indicated in English by the use of the word to in front. Thus, 'to finish'
is an infinitive in English. The French form is 'finir'. Infinitives in French end in
-er, -ir or -re.)

Structurally and analytically, to form the present tense of an -ir verb:

• take the infinitive

• remove the ending -ir
• add the first, second and third person endings, singular and plural.

These endings are:

je is nous issons
tu is vous issez
il/elle/on it ils/elles issent

So, the full present tense of the verb 'finir' is:

je finis nous finissons

tu finis vous finissez
il/elle/on finit ils/elles finissent

• Note: the endings -is, -is, -it are all pronounced without sounding the
final consonant. Their pronunciation is like that of the English letter E.
As in -er verbs, the ending -ent is silent, and the third person plural
ending sounds like 'eece' in English (like fleece without the first two
letters).
Form of the present tense of verbs ending in -re

The present tense form of verbs whose infinitive ends in -re is given below.
(The infinitive form of a verb is the one which appears in a dictionary, and
which is indicated in English by the use of the word to in front. Thus, to sell is
an infinitive in English. The French form is vendre. Infinitives in French end in
-er, -ir or -re.)

Structurally and analytically, to form the present tense of an -re verb:

• take the infinitive

• remove the ending -re
• add the first, second and third person endings, singular and plural.

These endings are:

je s nous ons
tu s vous ez
il/elle/on - ils/elles ent

So, the full present tense of the verb 'vendre' is:

je vends nous vendons

tu vends vous vendez
il/elle/on vend ils/elles vendent

• Note: the endings -s, -s, and -ent are silent. The only endings in the
present tense of -re verbs which can be heard are the first and second
persons plural (-ons and -ez).

Irregular verbs

Unfortunately, a number of verbs are irregular, and, equally unfortunately,

they tend to be ones which are commonly used. This is not a case of French
being awkward - it’s the same in all languages. Think of the present tense of
the verb 'to be' in English, for example.

This section gives the full present tense of the irregular verbs which appear in
the MLPS course outline. In most cases, teachers will not actually be using
the full present tense, but they are included for reference - and for security!

aller: to go
je vais nous allons
tu vas vous allez
il/elle/on va ils/elles vont
appeler: to call
j'appelle nous appelons
tu appelles vous appelez
il/elle/on appelle ils/elles appellent

avoir: to have
j'ai nous avons
tu as vous avez
il/elle/on a ils/elles ont

commencer: to begin, to start, to

commence
je commence nous commençons
tu commences vous commencez
il/elle/on commence ils/elles commencent

écrire: to write
j’écris nous écrivons
tu écris vous écrivez
il/elle/on écrit ils/elles écrivent

enlever: to take off

j’enlève nous enlevons
tu enlèves vous enlevez
il/elle/on enlève ils/elles enlèvent

faire: to do, to make (also used in third

person singular for some weather
expressions)
je fais nous faisons
tu fais vous faites
il/elle/on fait ils/elles font

lire: to read
je lis nous lisons
tu lis vous lisez
il/elle/on lit ils/elles lisent

mettre: to put, to place

je mets nous mettons
tu mets vous mettez
il/elle/on met ils/elles mettent
ouvrir: to open
j’ouvre nous ouvrons
tu ouvres vous ouvrez
il/elle/on ouvre ils/elles ouvrent

pouvoir: to be able (and therefore

expresses ‘can’, ie being physically able
to)
je peux nous pouvons
tu peux vous pouvez
il/elle/on peut ils/elles peuvent

préférer: to prefer
je préfère nous préférons
tu préfères vous préférez
il/elle/on préfère ils/elles préfèrent

venir: to come
je viens nous venons
tu viens vous venez
il/elle/on vient ils/elles viennent

voir: to see
je vois nous voyons
tu vois vous voyez
il/elle/on voit ils/elles voient

'geler': to freeze

Generally used in the third person singular, 'il gèle': 'it’s freezing'.

The interrogative (question form)

There are three ways to construct a question:

• use 'est-ce que' before the affirmative form

• invert the subject and the verb, ie turn subject and verb around so that
the verb comes first
• use a raised intonation at the end of the statement, thus turning it into a
question.
The interrogative by using est-ce que

Literally, this expression means ‘is it that?’ This formula can be used in
English, though it is a bit clumsy. 'Is it that the sun is a vast cloud of
hydrogen?' is a perfectly understandable question, though one not likely to be
encountered often!

In French, the simplest and very frequently used way of formulating a

question is to put 'est-ce que' in front of the verb form. For example: 'Est-ce
que tu regardes le livre, Michel?': 'Are you looking at the book, Michael?'

• *Remember: in front of a vowel, the expression will be abbreviated:

'Est-ce qu’il pleut?': 'Is it raining?'

The interrogative by using inversion

This can also be done in English.

'Stands the church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea?'

Inversion in French can only be used when the subject is a pronoun. When
that is the case, simply invert the verb - put the subject pronoun after the
verb.

'Regardes-tu le livre, Michel?': 'Are you looking at the book, Michael?'

'Regardez-vous les livres, les enfants?': 'Are you looking at your books,
children?'

• However, you cannot invert the first person singular form. You must
always use 'est-ce que' with 'je'.

For example, 'Est-ce que je signe ici?': 'Do I sign here?'

• Note also, with 'il', 'elle' and 'on' you must insert the letter 't' for ease of
pronunciation. It also stays in the written form.
o 'Regarde-t-il?'
o 'Regarde-t-elle?'
o 'Regarde-t-on?'

The interrogative by intonation

This formula for asking a question is also very frequently used. It is only
applicable in spoken form, though it will appear in dialogue in novels. It simply
means that a normal statement is turned into a question by raising the voice
at the end.

Note that raising the voice does not mean increasing the volume; it is an
upturn in the stress pattern of the sentence which turns the statement into a
question.
The negative

To make a verb negative, the particles 'ne' and 'pas' are placed around the
verb. For example:

'Je ne vais pas en ville': 'I’m not going into town'

Nothing can come between the verb and 'pas' except a subject pronoun when
the verb is in the interrogative form. For example,

'Ne regardez-vous pas le match de football?': 'Aren’t you watching the football
match?'

• In speech the 'ne' is often elided or omitted completely, particularly by

younger people and children. It is never omitted formally.

Remember that 'ne' will be shortened to 'n’ before a vowel.

The immediate future

This tense is so called because it implies that something is going to be done

or is going to happen in the near future, rather than at some indeterminate
point in the future.

'I’m going to wash the dishes' is more immediate than 'I will wash the dishes'.

Nonetheless, it can be used with reference to events which are a long way
away: 'At Christmas I’m going to Canada.'

In English, and in French, the immediate future is formed by using the present
tense of the verb 'to go' - 'aller' - followed immediately by an infinitive.

'Je vais regarder la télévision.': 'I’m going to watch television.'

'Nous allons aller en France.': 'We’re going to go to France.'

In this construction, the infinitive never changes.

Note that the present tense can be used to express futurity if it is

accompanied by an appropriate adverb or adverbial expression.

If, for example, you are travelling by train, it is 5 pm, and you say 'on arrive à
six heures', you are expressing futurity although you are using the present
tense.
The imperative mood (commands)

The imperative exists basically in three forms - second person singular and
plural, and first person plural -though the latter might be considered an
exhortation rather than a command.

To form the imperative, take the second person singular and plural forms of
the present tense and omit the 'tu' and the 'vous'. Do likewise with the first
person plural form, omitting the 'nous'.

Some examples

'vous allez' - 'you are going'

'allez!' - 'go!'

'vous regardez' - 'you are looking at'

'regardez!' - 'look at...!'

Note: in addition, in the written form, omit the final 's' of the second person
singular of -er verbs, or verbs which are conjugated like -er verbs. Thus: the
present tense form is 'tu regardes': 'you are looking at'; the imperative is
'regarde!': 'look at!'

'nous regardons' - 'we are looking at...'

'regardons!' - 'let’s look at...!'

Some useful imperative forms

Singular form Plural form

colorie: colour (in) coloriez: colour (in)
dessine: draw dessinez: draw
écoute: listen écoutez: listen
écris: write écrivez: write
enlève: take off enlevez: take off
ferme: close, shut fermez: close, shut
mets: put mettez: put
montre: show montrez: show
montre-moi: show me montrez-moi: show me
ouvre: open ouvrez: open
pose: put, place posez: put, place
regarde: look (at) regardez: look (at)
sois: be soyez: be
sois sage: be good soyez sages: be good
Nouns, articles and adjectives
Nouns

'Nouns are the types of words which give the names of things, people, places,
happenings and ideas … Nouns can be singular (referring to one thing) or
plural (referring to many). (Language into Languages Teaching, University of
Glasgow, Scottish Executive Education Department, 2001)

All nouns in French are either masculine or feminine. In some other

languages, including English, nouns can also be neuter.

In English the situation has more or less resolved itself into the use of the
masculine for male humans or animals, feminine for female humans or
animals, and neuter for objects or things. But things are not quite as simple as
they seem. For example, in English we readily say:

'Look at that child. It’s going to run across the road.'

'The ship is on time. She will arrive at noon.'

In French, nouns which refer to objects or things are either masculine or

feminine.

Nouns which refer to male humans or animals are, as in English, masculine;

nouns which refer to female humans or animals are feminine.

Some exceptions

• Even though a teacher may be a woman, the correct term is 'le

professeur'. There is some debate about whether or not a female
doctor should be referred to as 'Madame le médecin'. If a woman is
elected mayor ('mayoress'?), the traditional form of address is
'Madame le Maire'. Many nouns denoting occupations or
characteristics originally associated with men are still masculine even
when applied to women, though, as you might expect, some sections
of modern French society are not happy with that situation.
• Note: when referring to the gender of nouns, the correct grammatical
terms must be used. They are masculine and feminine. It is not correct
to refer to nouns as male and female, which are terms from biology,
botany and zoology, not grammar.

Plurals

The general rule is to add an 's', as in English. There are, however,

exceptions. Some words which have irregular plurals are:

animal animaux
armoire de pharmacie armoires de pharmacie
armoire de toilette armoires de toilette
bureau bureaux
cheval chevaux
gâteau gâteaux
genou genoux
grand-mère grands-mères (recommended thus by the Académie)
grand-père grands-pères
hôpital hôpitaux
lave-vaisselle lave-vaisselle (invariable)
Madame Mesdames
Mademoiselle Mesdemoiselles
Monsieur Messieurs
nez nez (invariable)
nom de famille noms de famille
rendezvous rendezvous (invariable)
rez de chaussée rez de chaussée (invariable)
salle à manger salles à manger
salle de bains salles de bains
salle de séjour salles de séjour
table de nuit tables de nuit
taille-crayon taille-crayons
taureau taureaux
terrain de football terrains de football
terrain de golf terrains de golf
veau veaux

Are there any rules?

It can be observed that there are certain rules, but it is not necessary to
develop the rules fully at this stage.

Some, simply stated, are:

• nouns ending in -s, -x or -z in the singular do not change in the plural

• nouns ending in -al in the singular change to -aux in the plural
• nouns ending in -au, -eau or -eu in the singular take an 'x' in the plural.

Articles

“ ‘The’ and ‘a’ are … called the definite article (the) and the indefinite article
(a, an). In modern grammar, both are called determiners.' (Language into
Languages Teaching, University of Glasgow, Scottish Executive Education
Department, 2001)

The definite article is the word 'the' in English.

In French, the definite article is 'le' if the noun is masculine and 'la' if the noun
is feminine.

Both of these are shortened to 'l’ if the noun begins with a vowel, to make
pronunciation easier.

'Le', 'la' and 'l’ all become 'les' if the noun is plural.

The contracted forms of the definite article

In French, you cannot use 'à' together with the definite article 'le' or 'les'.
Instead, the two words contract to form 'au' ('à' + 'le') and 'aux' ('à' + 'les'), both
meaning 'to the'.

Similarly, you cannot use de together with the definite article 'le' or 'les'.
Instead, the two words contract to form 'du' ('de' + 'le') and 'des' ('de' + 'les'),
both meaning 'of the'.

The indefinite article

The indefinite article in English is 'a', 'an' or 'some'.

In French, the indefinite article is 'un' if the noun is masculine and 'une' if the
noun is feminine.

'Un' and 'une' become 'des' if the noun is plural.

• However, if the plural noun is preceded by an adjective, 'des' is

shortened to 'de'. For example, 'un jardin' becomes 'des jardins' in the
plural.

If there is an adjective, 'un beau jardin' becomes 'de beaux jardins' in the
plural.

Non-omission of the article

The article can be omitted in English. For example, we can say 'I love cakes'.
In French, the article cannot normally be omitted. Therefore, if we wish to
express in French the sentence 'I love cakes', we have to decide whether the
speaker means 'I love (all) cakes' or 'I love (some) cakes'. If we agree that the
statement is a general statement referring to 'all cakes', then in French we
would use the definite article and the sentence becomes: 'J'adore les
gâteaux'.
If we were to say: 'J’adore des gâteaux', it would mean that the speaker loves
some, but not all, cakes.

• Note that, in expressions such as 'beaucoup de', the 'de' is invariable,

and an article is not used. Therefore, we say 'beaucoup de crayons'.

Adjectives

'Adjectives qualify nouns, that is give us more detail about them. A noun such
as ‘man’ is nondescript, but if we add words (to) the noun, a transformation
occurs.' (Language into Languages Teaching, University of Glasgow, Scottish
Executive Education Department, 2001)

Adjectives are used to describe, or in grammatical terms to qualify, nouns and

other expressions.

In English, adjectives precede the noun unless for special effects.

In French, the general rule is that most adjectives follow the noun.

However, the commonly used and generally short adjectives precede nouns.
Adjectives which precede the noun are:

• beau/belle
• bon/bonne
• ce/cette/ces
• grand
• gros/grosse
• joli/jolie
• mauvais/mauvaise
• petit/petite
• quel/quelle
• vieux/vieille

In addition, all of the possessive adjectives such as 'mon/ma/mes' naturally

precede the noun.

Agreement of the adjective

Adjectives agree with the noun which they qualify. If a noun is feminine
singular, the adjective which qualifies it must be made feminine singular. If a
noun is masculine plural, any adjective in agreement must also be masculine
plural.

The form of the adjective which appears in a dictionary is the masculine

singular form. If an adjective has an irregularly formed feminine, that is usually
given too - hence, 'beau/belle' above.
To make the adjective feminine, add 'e' to the masculine singular. If the
masculine singular already ends in -e, do not add anything. 'Adorable' is both
the masculine singular and the feminine singular form.

To make the adjective masculine plural, add -s to the masculine singular. (But
note the comments on forming plurals earlier.)

To make the adjective feminine plural, add -es to the masculine singular.

Irregular adjectives

Here are some adjectives which have irregular feminines:

Masculine singular Feminine singular

actif active
beau belle
blanc blanche
bon bonne
ce cette
gros grosse
mignon mignonne
paresseux paresseuse
quel quelle
quel quelle
vieux vieille

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are the words 'my', 'your', 'his/her' etc in English. In
French they too have to agree with the noun. They are arranged here as first,
second and third person, singular and plural.

• Note that the plural forms are both masculine and feminine.

Masculine singular Feminine singular Plural English translation

mon ma mes my
ton ta tes your
son sa ses his, her, one’s
notre notre nos our
votre votre vos your
leur leur leurs their
Date, numbers and weather
Days of the week

The days of the week are all masculine.

They are:

dimanche Sunday
lundi Monday
mardi Tuesday
mercredi Wednesday
jeudi Thursday
vendredi Friday
samedi Saturday

• Note that they do not start with a capital letter unless they appear at the
beginning of a sentence.

To say 'on Sunday', you do not use a preposition in French. 'On Sunday' is
'dimanche'.

'Every Sunday' is 'tous les dimanches'.

Months of the year

The months of the year are all masculine.

They are:

janvier January
février February
mars March
avril April
mai May
juin June
juillet July
août August
septembre September
octobre October
novembre November
décembre December
 • Note that they do not start with a capital letter unless they appear at the
beginning of a sentence.

To say 'in' with a month, you use the expression 'au mois de' - literally, 'in the
month of'. Therefore, 'in January' is 'au mois de janvier'. You can also use 'en',
and so you can say 'en janvier'.

The date

Apart from 'le premier' ('the first'), ordinal numbers* are not used for dates.
Instead, cardinal numbers are used. There is no word for 'of' when giving the
date in French. Thus:

'le premier mars'

'le deux mars'

'le dix-sept mars'

'le trente mars' etc.

To say 'on' with a date, simply use the forms given above. French does not
use a word for 'on' in expressions which give the date. Thus, 'le premier avril'
can also mean 'on the first of April'.

* Note: Cardinal numbers are 'one', 'two', three', etc. Ordinal numbers are
'first', 'second', 'third, etc.
Numbers

Numbers are of two kinds:

• cardinal - giving the number of articles in question (one, two, three, etc)
• ordinal - giving the place of each article in numerical order (first,
second, third, etc)

Cardinal numbers

zero - 0 dix - 10 vingt - 20 trente - 30

un/une – 1 onze - 11 vingt et un - 21 trente et un - 31
deux - 2 douze - 12 vingt-deux - 22 trente-deux - 32
trois - 3 treize - 13 vingt-trois - 23 quarante etc - 40
quatre - 4 quatorze - 14 vingt-quatre - 24 cinquante etc - 50
cinq - 5 quinze - 15 vingt-cinq - 25 soixante etc - 60
six - 6 seize - 16 vingt-six - 26 soixante-six - 66
sept - 7 dix-sept - 17 vingt-sept - 27
huit - 8 dix-huit - 18 vingt-huit - 28
neuf - 9 dix-neuf - 19 vingt-neuf - 29

soixante-dix - 70 quatre-vingts - 80
soixante et onze - 71 quatre-vingt-un - 81
soixante-douze - 72 quatre-vingt-deux - 82
soixante-treize - 73 quatre-vingt-trois - 83
soixante-quatorze - 74 quatre-vingt-quatre - 84
soixante-quinze - 75 quatre-vingt-cinq - 85
soixante-seize - 76 quatre-vingt-six - 86
soixante-dix-sept - 77 quatre-vingt-sept - 87
soixante-dix-huit - 78 quatre-vingt-huit - 88
soixante-dix-neuf - 79 quatre-vingt-neuf - 89
quatre-vingt-dix - 90 cent - 100
quatre-vingt-onze - 91 cent un - 101
quatre-vingt-douze - 92 cent deux etc - 102 etc
quatre-vingt-treize - 93 mille - 1000
quatre-vingt-quatorze - 94 mille un - 1001
quatre-vingt-quinze - 95 mille cinq cents - 1500
quatre-vingt-seize - 96 mille cinq cent dix-neuf - 1519
quatre-vingt-dix-sept - 97 deux mille - 2000
quatre-vingt-dix-huit - 98 un million - 1 000 000
quatre-vingt-dix-neuf - 99

Ordinal numbers (from 1st - 10th)

premier/premiere (can be abbreviated to '1er/1ère') - first

deuxième (2e) - second

troisième (3e) - third

quatrième (4e) - fourth

cinquième (5e) - fifth

septième (7e) - seventh

huitième (8e) - eighth

neuvième (9e) - ninth

dixième (10e) - tenth

Notes on numbers

• A hyphen is used between the numbers when they are used to build up
in the teens, twenties etc, but not for 21, 31, 41, 51, 61 and 71.
• In these numbers the word 'et' without hyphens joins the two numbers;
thus: 'vingt et un', 'trente et un', 'quarante et un', 'cinquante et un',
'soixante et un' and 'soixante et onze'.
 • From 60, the numbers 1 to 19 are used to build up from 61 to 79, and
from 80 they are used to build up from 81 to 99.
• 'Quatre-vingts' is 80, and has a final 's' - just like 'four twenties'.
• From then on, when 'quatre-vingt' is followed by another number in the
building up process, there is no 's', nor is there an 'et' at 81 or 91. Thus,
'quatre-vingt-un', 'quatre-vingt-cing', 'quatre-vingt-dix', 'quatre-vingt-
onze', 'quatre-vingt-douze'.
• From 100, there is no hyphen or 'et' between the word 'cent' and the
next number, but the previous rules still hold with the numbers used to
build up from the hundred. Thus, 'cent', 'cent un', 'cent deux', 'cent dix-
huit', 'cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf'.
• 200, 300, 400, etc have an 's' on the 'cent', thus 'deux cents', 'trois
cents' etc, but there is no 's' if another number follows. Thus, 'deux
cents', but 'deux cent un'.
• 'Mille' meaning 'thousand' never has an 's'. Thus, 'deux mille'. If you
add an 's' and write 'deux milles', it means 'two miles'.
• The ordinal number most likely to be needed is 'first', which is
premier/première. It is used in dates.
• Relax: how often do you ever need to write the numbers out in full?

Weather

The verb used with general weather statements is 'faire' in the third person
singular.

Il fait beau. It’s fine weather, it’s lovely weather.

Il fait mauvais. It’s bad weather.
Il fait chaud. It’s warm.
Il fait très chaud. It’s hot.
Il fait froid. It’s cold.
Il fait frais. It’s cool.
Il fait du soleil. It’s sunny.
Il fait du brouillard. It’s foggy.
Il fait du vent. It’s windy.
Il fait de la tempête. It’s blowing a gale.
Il fait de l’orage. It’s a thunderstorm.

Some verbs are used in their own right:

Il gèle. It’s freezing.

Il neige. It’s snowing.
Il pleut. It’s raining.