This is a very important French verb as it means to make/to do and as it is used in many idiomatic expressions.
1/ Conjugation (present)
| je fais tu fais il fait elle fait on fait | nous faisons vous faites ils font elles font |
2/ To make/to do
Je fais le ménage. = I’m doing the housework.
Qu’est-ce que tu fais ici ? = What are you doing here?
Je fais un gâteau. = I’m making a cake.
Je fais des projets. = I’m making plans.
It is also used for sports and many activities:
– Est-ce que vous faites du sport ? = Do you play sports?
– Oui, je fais du tennis. = Yes, I play tennis.
Other examples:
faire de la natation = to swim
faire du jogging = to go jogging
faire de la danse = to dance
——
faire la cuisine / à manger = to cook
faire la vaisselle = to clean the dishes
faire la lessive = to do the laundry
faire les vitres = to clean the windows
faire le lit = to make the bed
Note!
When the English “to make” is followed by an adjective, the French language uses the verb “rendre”:
E.g.: Ça me rend triste. = That makes me sad.
3/ Expressions
About the weather:
Il fait beau. = it’s sunny.
Il fait mauvais. = it’s rainy.
Il fait nuageux. = it’s cloudy.
Il fait frais. = it’s chilly.
Il fait chaud. = it’s hot.
Il fait froid. = it’s cold.
Il fait bon. = it’s mild.
Typically French expressions:
Faire la fête = to party
Faire attention (à…) = to be careful/to pay attention to
Faire la grasse matinée = to lay around in in the morning (literally, it means “to do the fat morning”)
Faire la sourde oreille = to turn a deaf ear
Faire des économies = to save money
Faire la bise = to greet by kissing (French greetings: one, two, three or even four kisses on each cheek!)
