Basic possession and ability | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Basic possession and ability to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

J'ai celui-ci.

zhay suh-lwee-SEE. I have this one.

Je ne l'ai pas.

zhuh nuh lay PAH. I do not have it.

Je peux le faire.

zhuh puh luh FEHR. I can do it.

Je ne peux pas le faire.

zhuh nuh puh PAH luh FEHR. I cannot do it.

Est-ce que tu peux m'aider ?

ess-kuh tew puh meh-DAY? Can you help me?

Est-ce que tu peux faire ça ?

ess-kuh tew puh fehr SAH? Can you do this?

Word by Word

J'ai “J'ai” means “I have” here, referring to the selected item. It combines je and ai, with je shortened before the vowel in ai. A common reuse is J'ai followed by the thing you have, as in “J'ai celui-ci.”

celui-ci “Celui-ci” means “this one” here and replaces the name of the selected item. It is useful when choosing or identifying one item among several. You can reuse it after J'ai when saying which item you have, as in “J'ai celui-ci.”

Je “Je” means “I” and shows that the speaker is the subject of the sentence. It comes before the verb in these statements, such as “Je peux le faire.” Use it when speaking about your own action, ability, or possession.

ne In “Je ne l'ai pas”, “ne” is the first marker of the negative meaning; “pas” completes the negation. It comes before the conjugated verb. This placement is reusable when saying that you do not have or do not do something.

l'ai In “Je ne l'ai pas”, “l'ai” means “have it”. The l' is the object pronoun for “it”, placed before ai, the form of avoir used here. Use this pattern when referring to a specific thing that is already understood, including when saying that you have or do not have it.

pas In “Je ne l'ai pas”, “pas” completes the negative meaning of the sentence and means “not”. It comes after the verb while ne comes before it. Use this position to say that an action or possession does not apply.

peux “Peux” means “can” or “am able to” in these sentences. It is the form of pouvoir used with je here, followed by an action such as le faire. Use it to state your ability or ask whether someone can do something.

le In “Je peux le faire”, “le” means “it” and refers to the task or action being discussed. It is placed before the infinitive faire. This lets you refer to an understood task without repeating its name.

faire “Faire” means “do” in “le faire” and “faire ça”. It names the action that follows peux in the first expression and takes the object ça in the second. Use it when talking about doing a task, such as asking whether someone can do the indicated task.

Est-ce que “Est-ce que” is a question marker that turns the following clause into a yes-or-no question. In this construction, Est-ce introduces the question frame and que links it to the clause that follows. A common reuse is placing it before a subject and verb, as in “Est-ce que tu peux...”.

tu “Tu” means “you” when speaking directly to one person in these questions. It is the subject placed after “Est-ce que” and before the verb. Use it when asking one person, such as a friend or another person you address with tu.

m'aider “M'aider” means “help me” in “Est-ce que tu peux m'aider ?”. It contains aider, “to help”, with m' meaning “me” before the vowel in aider. Use it after peux when asking someone directly for help.

ça “Ça” means “this” here and refers to an indicated task or thing. In “faire ça”, it is the object of faire and identifies what the person is being asked to do. Use it when the task or thing is clear from the situation or has just been mentioned.

Grammar Points

Est-ce que + sujet + verbe

Est-ce que tu peux faire ça ?

ess-kuh tew puh fehr SAH?

Can you do this?

Est-ce que introduces a yes/no question and keeps the normal subject–verb order.

pouvoir + infinitif

Je peux le faire.

zhuh puh luh FEHR.

I can do it.

After a form of pouvoir, use the infinitive form of the second verb: peux + faire.

French Vocabulary

ça pron

SAH this; that

Est-ce que tu peux faire ça ?

celui-ci pron

suh-lwee-SEE this one

J'ai celui-ci.

Est-ce que phrase

ess-kuh question marker

Est-ce que tu peux m'aider ?

faire verb

FEHR do; make

Je peux le faire.

j'ai verb

zhay have J'ai

J'ai celui-ci.

l' pron

lay it

Je ne l'ai pas.

le pron

luh it

Je peux le faire.

m'aider phrase

meh-DAY help me

Est-ce que tu peux m'aider ?

pas adv

PAH not

Je ne l'ai pas.

peux verb

puh can; be able to

Je peux le faire.

tu pron

tew you

Est-ce que tu peux m'aider ?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I have this one.

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J'ai celui-ci.

I do not have it.

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Je ne l'ai pas.

I can do it.

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Je peux le faire.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

can; be able to

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peux

do; make

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faire

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you

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