Food is at the heart of French culture, and this lesson is all about mealtimes! You'll learn the names of France's three daily meals, plus verbs for eating and drinking. Along the way, you'll discover a second family of regular verbs — the -ir verbs — which follow their own clean pattern. Camille and Lucas head to the canteen for lunch and then prepare dinner at home. Bon appétit!
Learning tips
- French has three main meals: le petit déjeuner (breakfast), le déjeuner (lunch), and le dîner (dinner). The verb matches the noun: déjeuner means both 'to have lunch' and 'lunch'; dîner means both 'to dine' and 'dinner'.
- Avoir faim (to be hungry) and avoir soif (to be thirsty) literally mean 'to have hunger' and 'to have thirst'. French uses avoir (to have) where English uses 'to be'. Never say *je suis faim — always j'ai faim.
- Boire (to drink) is irregular: je bois, tu bois, il boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils boivent. The nous/vous/ils forms look very different from the stem — worth memorising as a set.
- Regular -ir verbs add -iss- in the plural forms: finissons, finissez, finissent. This -iss- infix is a reliable marker that a verb belongs to the -ir group (versus irregular -ir verbs like dormir, which do not add -iss-).
- Ensemble (together) is an adverb and never changes form. It typically comes at the end of a clause: On mange ensemble ? (Shall we eat together?)
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| arriver | to arrive |
| rentrer | to go back home |
| parler | to speak |
| écouter | to listen |
| regarder | to watch |
| commencer | to start |
| terminer | to finish |
| l'après-midi | the afternoon |
| le soir | the evening |
| toujours | always |
Dialog
Camille and Lucas meet at the canteen at noon, then later prepare dinner at home. The dialog uses all ten active words naturally — listen for avoir faim / avoir soif as common conversational expressions.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| déjeuner | /de.ʒœ.ne/ | to have lunch; lunch (noun) | Both verb and noun — je déjeune à midi / le déjeuner est à midi |
| dîner | /di.ne/ | to have dinner; dinner (noun) | Both verb and noun — je dîne à huit heures / le dîner est servi |
| manger | /mɑ̃.ʒe/ | to eat | Regular -er verb with spelling change: nous mangeons (extra e to keep the soft g) |
| boire | /bwaʁ/ | to drink | Irregular verb — je bois, tu bois, il boit, nous buvons, vous buvez, ils boivent |
| le déjeuner | /lə de.ʒœ.ne/ | lunch | Noun form of déjeuner — le déjeuner est à midi |
| le dîner | /lə di.ne/ | dinner | Noun form of dîner — le dîner est délicieux |
| le repas | /lə ʁə.pɑ/ | meal | Le repas is the general word for any meal — un repas délicieux |
| la nourriture | /la nu.ʁi.tyʁ/ | food | La nourriture refers to food in general — la nourriture française est délicieuse |
| avoir faim | /a.vwaʁ fɛ̃/ | to be hungry (lit. to have hunger) | Always use avoir, never être — j'ai faim, il a faim |
| avoir soif | /a.vwaʁ swaf/ | to be thirsty (lit. to have thirst) | Always use avoir — j'ai soif, tu as soif |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| le goûter | /lə ɡu.te/ | ||
| le casse-croûte | /lə kɑs.kʁut/ | ||
| la cantine | /la kɑ̃.tin/ | ||
| le restaurant | /lə ʁɛs.to.ʁɑ̃/ | ||
| délicieux | /de.li.sjø/ | ||
| ensemble | /ɑ̃.sɑ̃bl/ |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| j'ai faim | I'm hungry |
| j'ai soif | I'm thirsty |
| c'est l'heure du déjeuner | it's lunchtime |
Grammar: Regular -ir verbs in present tense
| Pronom | finir | choisir | réussir |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | finis | choisis | réussis |
| tu | finis | choisis | réussis |
| il/elle | finit | choisit | réussit |
| nous | finissons | choisissons | réussissons |
| vous | finissez | choisissez | réussissez |
| ils/elles | finissent | choisissent | réussissent |
The second major group of regular French verbs are those ending in -ir. To conjugate them, remove the -ir to get the stem, then add: je → -is, tu → -is, il/elle → -it, nous → -issons, vous → -issez, ils/elles → -issent. Notice the -iss- that appears in the nous, vous, and ils/elles forms — this is the defining feature of this verb group. For example, finir (to finish): je finis, tu finis, il finit, nous finissons, vous finissez, ils finissent. Similarly, choisir (to choose): je choisis, tu choisis, il choisit, nous choisissons, vous choisissez, ils choisissent. The singular forms (je, tu, il/elle) have a short, clipped sound ending in /i/, while the plural forms have the fuller -issons/-issez/-issent sound. Important warning: not all -ir verbs follow this pattern. Irregular -ir verbs like dormir, partir, and sortir do NOT add -iss- and behave quite differently — you will learn those separately. When you see the -iss- in the plural, you know the verb is a regular -ir verb.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct conjugated form of the verb in parentheses.
- À midi, nous à la cantine. (déjeuner)(déjeuner, nous — regular -er verb, -ons ending)
- Le soir, je à huit heures. (dîner)(dîner, je — regular -er verb)
- Tu de l'eau quand tu as soif ? (boire)(boire, tu — irregular: tu bois)
- Elle un croissant le matin. (manger)(manger, elle — regular -er verb, 3rd person singular)
- J' — le repas est à midi ! (avoir faim)(avoir faim, je — j'ai faim: avoir verb)
Grammar Application
Conjugate each regular -ir verb with the subject given.
- Conjuguez : je / finir → (je + finir — singular -ir ending: -is)
- Conjuguez : tu / choisir → (tu + choisir — singular -ir ending: -is)
- Conjuguez : elle / finir → (elle + finir — singular -ir ending: -it)
- Conjuguez : nous / choisir → (nous + choisir — plural -ir, add -iss-: -issons)
- Conjuguez : ils / finir → (ils + finir — plural -ir, add -iss-: -issent)
Translate into French
Translate each sentence into French using the vocabulary and verbs from this lesson.
- I'm hungry, I'm eating at noon.
- We have dinner at a restaurant in the evening.
- He's drinking water because he's thirsty.
- The meal is delicious.
- She has lunch at the canteen.
Build Your Own Sentence
Write 1–3 sentences in French about your own eating habits. Use at least one meal word (le déjeuner, le dîner, le petit déjeuner), one verb from this lesson, and mention where or when you eat.
Takeaway
Regular -ir verbs add -iss- in their plural forms (nous finissons, ils finissent) — that distinctive double-s sound is your cue that you're dealing with this verb family.