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Vocabulary
Objective: Name metric units, express quantities of weight, volume, and length, and complete commercial and culinary measurements using the correct prepositions.
| Measurement | Unit | Abbreviation | Common context |
|---|---|---|---|
| weight | le gramme | g | small packages |
| weight | le kilo | kg | market and grocery |
| volume | le litre | L | drinks, fuel |
| volume | le centilitre | cl | bottles, wine |
| length | le mètre | m | furniture, fabric |
| length | le centimètre | cm | clothing, small objects |
| length | le kilomètre | km |
After a measurement expression such as un kilo or deux litres, the preposition de appears alone, with no article before the noun.
The noun longueur already carries the idea of measurement, so de long would be redundant. The adjectives long, large, and haut are the standard forms after faire in everyday speech.
The measurement expression takes de alone before the noun. Pommes is plural because the quantity exceeds one.
The vowel-initial eau triggers the elision of de to d'. The noun stays singular.
Faire expresses dimension, and the adjectives long and large stay in the masculine form after the measurement.
Haut is fixed in the masculine singular form in the expression X mètres de haut, regardless of the noun it describes.
Height is expressed as metres followed by centimetres without the word centimètres. The verb mesurer takes the height as a direct object.
6 exercises · about 9 minutes
| roads, distances |
| surface | le mètre carré | m² | apartments, land |
Height is expressed as metres followed by centimetres without the word centimètres. The number quatre-vingts already implies centimetres.
Un litre is a measurement expression, so de appears alone. The partitive du would be used without the measurement, as in je voudrais du lait.
The measurement cinq cents grammes is followed by de alone. The number cinq cents takes an -s because it means five hundred.
Au kilo means per kilogram and contracts à and le. The price itself is introduced by de.
Mètres carrés is the standard unit for surface area. The adjective carrés agrees in number with mètres.