Holiday Vocabulary: Celebrations & Traditions

Holiday Vocabulary

• Types of holidays: birthday, Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter, national holiday, wedding, religious holiday, family reunion
• Objects and decorations: a gift, balloons, a garland, a Christmas tree, a costume, fireworks
• Foods and drinks: a cake, candy, champagne, a festive meal
• Actions:
  • To celebrate: "We are celebrating my brother's birthday with a big meal."
  • To organize: "She is organizing an evening to celebrate the new year."
  • To offer: "I am offering a gift to my best friend for his birthday."
  • To blow out the candles: "He blows out the candles on his cake before making a wish."
  • To dance: "We dance all night during the party."
  • To sing: "The guests sing "Happy Birthday" before cutting the cake."
  • To invite: "They invite all their friends to the party."
  • To receive: "I receive a lot of gifts for my birthday."
  • To eat: "We eat a delicious chocolate cake."
  • To drink: "Adults drink champagne to celebrate."
  • Have fun: "Everyone has a lot of fun during the evening."

Numbers up to 30

• 1: un
• 2: deux
• 3: trois
• 4: quatre
• 5: cinq
• 6: six
• 7: sept
• 8: huit
• 9: neuf
• 10: dix
• 11: onze
• 12: douze
• 13: treize
• 14: quatorze
• 15: quinze
• 16: seize
• 17: dix-sept
• 18: dix-huit
• 19: dix-neuf
• 20: vingt
• 21: vingt et un
• 22: vingt-deux
• 23: vingt-trois
• 24: vingt-quatre
• 25: vingt-cinq
• 26: vingt-six
• 27: vingt-sept
• 28: vingt-huit
• 29: vingt-neuf
• 30: trente

Days and Months

• Days of the week: lundi (Monday), mardi (Tuesday), mercredi (Wednesday), jeudi (Thursday), vendredi (Friday), samedi (Saturday), dimanche (Sunday)
• Months of the year: janvier (January), février (February), mars (March), avril (April), mai (May), juin (June), juillet (July), août (August), septembre (September), octobre (October), novembre (November), décembre (December)

Describing an occasion in the past

• "Last year, I celebrated my birthday with my friends."
• "We decorated the house with garlands and balloons."
• "There was a big cake and everyone sang."
• "We danced and we had a good time."

Passé Composé (Compound Past)

• Formation: Auxiliary verb "avoir" or "être" in the present tense + past participle.
• Verbs with "avoir" (actions):
  • "I celebrated, you organized, he received, we invited, you danced, they offered."
• Verbs with "être" (movement and change of state):
  • The 14 verbs that take "être" in the past tense:
    • Aller (to go) → "I went"
    • Venir (to come) → "You came"
    • Arriver (to arrive) → "He arrived"
    • Partir (to leave) → "We left"
    • Entrer (to enter) → "You entered"
    • Sortir (to exit) → "They exited"
    • Monter (to go up) → "I went up"
    • Descendre (to go down) → "You went down"
    • Naître (to be born) → "He was born"
    • Mourir (to die) → "We died"
    • Rester (to stay) → "You stayed"
    • Tomber (to fall) → "They fell"
    • Retourner (to return) → "I returned"
    • Revenir (to come back) → "You came back"
• Agreement with "être":
  • "She went to the party."
  • "We came with gifts."

Present Tense of 1st Group Verbs (-er)

• Parler (to speak):
  • Je parle (I speak)
  • Tu parles (You speak)
  • Il/elle/on parle (He/she/one speaks)
  • Nous parlons (We speak)
  • Vous parlez (You speak - formal/plural)
  • Ils/elles parlent (They speak)
• Chanter (to sing):
  • Je chante (I sings)
  • Tu chantes (You sing)
  • Il/elle/on chante (He/she/one sings)
  • Nous chantons (We sing)
  • Vous chantez (You sing - formal/plural)
  • Ils/elles chantent (They sing)

Irregular Verbs

• Avoir (to have):
  • J'ai (I have)
  • Tu as (You have)
  • Il/elle/on a (He/she/one has)
  • Nous avons (We have)
  • Vous avez (You have - formal/plural)
  • Ils/elles ont (They have)
• Être (to be):
  • Je suis (I am)
  • Tu es (You are)
  • Il/elle/on est (He/she/one is)
  • Nous sommes (We are)
  • Vous êtes (You are - formal/plural)
  • Ils/elles sont (They are)
• Aller (to go):
  • Je vais (I go)
  • Tu vas (You go)
  • Il/elle/on va (He/she/one goes)
  • Nous allons (We go)
  • Vous allez (You go - formal/plural)
  • Ils/elles vont (They go)
• Faire (to do/make):
  • Je fais (I do/make)
  • Tu fais (You do/make)
  • Il/elle/on fait (He/she/one does/makes)
  • Nous faisons (We do/make)
  • Vous faites (You do/make - formal/plural)
  • Ils/elles font (They do/make)