Identity, work, languages and spelling

In French, you often ask for information with quel and quelle. Use quel with a masculine noun and quelle with a feminine noun. For example: Quel est votre nom ? and Quelle langue vous parlez ? At A1 level, the spoken pattern Quelles langues vous parlez ? is very useful.

For identity and profession, French usually has no article after être: Je suis ingénieur / Je suis ingénieure. The same idea works for nationality in this module: Je suis allemand / Je suis allemande, but in the story the learner says Je suis d'Allemagne because that is simpler and very common.

For speaking a language, both Je parle français and Je parle le français are natural. The shorter form is especially useful in everyday introductions. With aimer or étudier, use the language as a noun with its article: J’aime le français, j’étudie le français.

When you spell, you can simply say the letters one by one: B, E, C, K, E, R. French names for letters exist, but in beginner material we usually just present the letters clearly.

• — Quel est votre nom de famille ? — Becker.— What is your surname? — Becker.

• — Quelles langues vous parlez ? — L'allemand et l'anglais.— Which languages do you speak? — German and English.

• Je suis ingénieur.I am an engineer.

  Je suis ingénieure.I am an engineer.

• Je parle anglais.I speak English.

• Je suis d'Allemagne.I am from Germany.

• Mon nom de famille, c'est Becker.My surname is Becker.

• Je parle un peu de français.I speak a little French.

• B, E, C, K, E, R.B, E, C, K, E, R.

The alphabet for spelling

Use the whole alphabet when spelling a name: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z. Accents and ç keep the underlying letter; when a name has a mark, say the letter and describe the mark. Ask Lettre par lettre, s’il vous plaît when you want a word spelled. Repeat the learner’s name: B, E, C, K, E, R.