Learn French together

Writing the letters, the vowels that change with an accent, and the first words.

1. A to F, and the vowel with three hats: e, é, è
2. G to M: the soft g, the silent h
3. N to S: the nasal n, the two r sounds
4. Checkpoint: The French Alphabet
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

The last letters, the letter pairs French reads as one sound, and the endings nobody pronounces.

1. T to Z, and the letters that fall silent at the end
2. Letter pairs: ou, oi, ai, eu, au
3. Nasal vowels, and the pairs ch, gn, ill, ph
4. Checkpoint: Sounds and First Words
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

The French alphabet as a system: accents, silent letters, liaison, and why French is read by rules.

1. The alphabet and the accents
2. Silent letters and final consonants
3. Liaison, elision and the rhythm of French
4. Checkpoint: Sounds and Spelling
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Bonjour, ça va, je m’appelle – meeting people and the tu/vous choice.

1. Bonjour, salut: greetings by time and register
2. Je m’appelle: introducing yourself
3. Tu or vous? Countries and nationalities
4. Checkpoint: Greetings and Introductions
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

The two verbs everything is built on, and the article that tells you a noun’s gender.

1. The verb être: je suis, tu es, il est
2. Le, la, les, un, une, des: nouns have a gender
3. Avoir: j’ai, tu as, il a – age, possession and il y a
4. Checkpoint: être, avoir and gender
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Counting to a hundred, telling the time, and saying when.

1. Numbers 0 to 69: counting in French
2. From 70 to 1000, and telling the time
3. Days, months and the date
4. Checkpoint: numbers, time and dates
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Ma famille, mon père, ta sœur – the people around you and whose they are.

1. Ma famille: the family words
2. Mon, ma, mes: the possessive adjectives
3. Il est comment ? Describing people: age, looks, character
4. Checkpoint: family and possession
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Parler, habiter, aimer – the -er verbs that make up most of French, and how to say no.

1. -er verbs in the present: je parle, nous parlons
2. Aimer + noun, aimer + infinitive: likes and dislikes
3. Ne… pas, ne… jamais: saying no
4. Checkpoint: regular verbs and negation
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Où est la gare ? Je vais au cinéma – places, movement and the way there.

1. Aller and the contracted articles: au, à la, aux
2. Où est… ? Prepositions of place
3. Asking the way and getting around
4. Checkpoint: the city, aller and directions
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Du pain, de la confiture, un café s’il vous plaît – the partitive and the table.

1. Du, de la, des: the partitive article
2. At the café: ordering
3. Meals of the day and the verbs of eating
4. Checkpoint: Food, Drink and the Café
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Est-ce que, qui, quoi, où, quand – the three ways to ask in French.

1. Three ways to ask a yes/no question
2. Question words: qui, que, quoi, où, quand
3. Quel, quelle: which one? And the weather
4. Checkpoint: Asking Questions
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Je me lève, je me douche – the day from morning to night, and faire.

1. Se lever, se laver: reflexive verbs
2. Faire: chores, sport and cooking
3. The week, the routine and how often
4. Checkpoint: daily life and reflexive verbs
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Sortir, acheter, choisir – free time, the shops and the -ir verbs.

1. -ir verbs: finir, choisir, dormir, sortir
2. Clothes, colours and sizes
3. Ce, cette, ces and the price
4. Checkpoint: leisure, shopping and clothes
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

J’ai mangé, je suis allé – the past tense of everyday speech.

1. Avoir + participle: j’ai parlé, j’ai fini
2. The irregular participles: eu, été, fait, pris, vu
3. Être + participle: je suis allé(e)
4. Checkpoint: the passé composé
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Il faisait beau, quand j’étais petit – background, habit, and the pair with the passé composé.

1. Forms: je parlais, nous parlions
2. Quand j’étais petit: habits and background
3. Imparfait or passé composé? The story and its frame
4. Checkpoint: the imparfait and the past in contrast
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Je ferai, tu viendras – planning, promising and predicting.

1. Futur simple: the forms
2. Futur proche or futur simple?
3. Si + present, future: real conditions
4. Checkpoint: the future
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Je le vois, je lui parle, j’y vais, j’en veux – replacing what was already said.

1. Le, la, les: direct object pronouns
2. Lui, leur: indirect object pronouns
3. Y and en
4. Checkpoint: object pronouns
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Plus grand que, le meilleur, aussi bien que – comparing people, places and habits.

1. Comparing: plus, moins, aussi… que
2. The superlative: le plus, le moins
3. Describing places: the city and the countryside
4. Checkpoint: comparing and describing places
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Écoute, prenez, ne t’inquiète pas – telling, asking and advising.

1. Forms: écoute, écoutons, écoutez
2. Pronouns with the imperative: lève-toi, prends-le
3. Advice and instructions: il faut, devoir, recipes
4. Checkpoint: the imperative and advice
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

La ville où je suis né, l’ami qui parle français – joining two sentences into one.

1. Qui and que: joining two sentences
2. Où: the place and the moment
3. C’est… qui, c’est… que: emphasis and definitions
4. Checkpoint: the relatives qui, que, où
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Un appartement à louer, une chambre lumineuse – rooms, furniture and the ad.

1. Rooms, furniture and prepositions
2. Renting and the small ad
3. Chores and repairs: qui fait quoi ?
4. Checkpoint: Home and Housing
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

À la gare, à l’hôtel, en vacances – moving around the French-speaking world.

1. At the station and the airport
2. At the hotel
3. Holiday stories in the past
4. Checkpoint: travel and holidays
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Il faut que tu viennes, je veux que tu saches – the mood of wanting, needing and feeling.

1. Forms: que je parle, que nous finissions
2. Il faut que, je veux que: necessity and will
3. Je suis content que: feeling and doubt
4. Checkpoint: The Present Subjunctive
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Plus-que-parfait, and the tenses of a story – what happened before, during and after.

1. The plus-que-parfait: j’avais déjà mangé
2. The three past tenses together
3. Reporting facts: news and faits divers
4. Checkpoint: Narrating in the Past
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Si j’avais le temps, je voyagerais – wishes, polite requests and the unreal present.

1. Conditionnel présent: forms and politeness
2. Si + imparfait, conditionnel: the unreal present
3. Wishes, regrets and suggestions
4. Checkpoint: The Conditional and Hypothesis
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Il a dit qu’il viendrait, elle m’a demandé si… – repeating what others said.

1. Il dit que: reporting in the present
2. Il a dit qu’il viendrait: the tense shift
3. Reporting orders and requests
4. Checkpoint: Reported Speech
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Le pont a été construit en 1900, on dit que, il s’agit de – when the doer does not matter.

1. The passive: être + participle
2. On, se, and the impersonal il
3. Faire faire and se faire faire
4. Checkpoint: The Passive and Impersonal Forms
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

À mon avis, je trouve que, par contre – saying what you think and why.

1. Giving an opinion
2. Cause and consequence
3. Opposition and concession
4. Checkpoint: Opinion and Argument
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

En travaillant, avant de partir, après avoir mangé – the verb forms that compress a clause.

1. En + present participle: the gérondif
2. Infinitive constructions: avant de, après avoir, sans, pour
3. The participe présent as an adjective and in writing
4. Checkpoint: Participle, Gerund and Infinitive
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Le CV, la lettre de motivation, l’entretien – professional French and its register.

1. The CV and the application letter
2. The job interview and vous
3. University and studies in France
4. Checkpoint: Work, Studies and Formal Contact
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Ça marche, c’est pas grave, avoir la flemme – the French that people actually speak.

1. Spoken French: what changes
2. Idioms with the body and with food
3. Cultural codes: la bise, l’apéro, les repas
4. Checkpoint: Everyday Culture and Idioms
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Bien qu’il ait plu, je suis content que tu sois venu – the subjunctive with a past and the language of concession.

1. The past subjunctive: que j’aie fait
2. Concession: bien que, quoique, malgré, avoir beau
3. Choosing the mood: indicative, subjunctive or infinitive
4. Checkpoint: the past subjunctive and concession
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Si j’avais su, je serais venu – unreal past, reproach and regret.

1. The conditionnel passé: j’aurais fait, je serais venu
2. Si + plus-que-parfait, conditionnel passé: the unreal past
3. Reproach and regret: j’aurais dû, tu aurais pu
4. Checkpoint: the past conditional and regret
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Quand tu auras fini, dès que je serai arrivé – ordering the future and the whole system of time clauses.

1. The futur antérieur: j’aurai fini
2. Time clauses: quand, lorsque, dès que, tant que
3. Talking about the future of society
4. Checkpoint: the futur antérieur and time clauses
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

La fermeture de l’usine, la baisse des prix – how written French turns verbs into nouns.

1. From verb to noun: -tion, -ment, -age, -ure
2. From adjective to noun, and the register of the written
3. Formal prose: press and administration
4. Checkpoint: nominalisation and the formal register
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

C’est ce que je disais, celui-ci, en revanche – keeping a text together and pointing at what matters.

1. Mise en relief: c’est… qui and the neutral pronouns
2. Celui, le mien, chacun: the pronouns that replace a noun
3. Holding a text together: anaphora and connectors
4. Checkpoint: emphasis, pronouns and cohesion
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Il entra, elle sourit, ils partirent – the written past of stories, news and history.

1. Forms: il parla, il finit, il eut, il fut
2. Reading the passé simple: tales, novels, history
3. Writing a story: point of view and rhythm
4. Checkpoint: The Passé Simple and Literary Narration
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Faute de temps, de peur que, si bien que – the fine print of logical links.

1. Cause: à force de, étant donné que, sous prétexte que
2. Purpose: pour que, afin de, de peur que, en vue de
3. Consequence: si bien que, au point de, tellement… que
4. Checkpoint: cause, purpose and consequence
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

La thèse, les arguments, la nuance – building and answering an argument.

1. Building an argued text: the plan
2. Conceding, refuting, hedging
3. Debate: taking the floor and interrupting politely
4. Checkpoint: Argumentative Writing
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Il se peut, il doit y avoir, tu aurais tort de – shades of certainty and attitude.

1. Devoir, pouvoir, falloir: two readings of one verb
2. The subjunctive as a choice, not a rule
3. Marking your attitude: apparemment, franchement, soi-disant
4. Checkpoint: Mood and Modality in Depth
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Soutenu, courant, familier – one meaning, several French, and the Frenches of the world.

1. Three registers, one meaning
2. Regional French: Québec, Belgium, Switzerland
3. French in Africa and the Caribbean
4. Checkpoint: Registers and Varieties
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Style indirect libre, la focalisation, l’ironie – who is speaking, and how you know.

1. The voice of the novel: le style indirect libre
2. Irony and what is left unsaid: l’ironie et l’implicite
3. Quoting and attributing: citer et attribuer
4. Checkpoint: the voices of a text
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Ledit, ce faisant, à cet égard – the long sentence and the tightly bound paragraph.

1. Pointing back without repeating
2. Word order and the long sentence
3. Punctuation and typography of French
4. Checkpoint: Cohesion and Word Order
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Passé simple, passé antérieur, and the tenses of a well-written page.

1. Writing with the passé simple: all persons
2. Passé antérieur and the full past system
3. Description and rhythm in literary prose
4. Checkpoint: Producing the Literary Past
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Mettre la main à la pâte, un froid glacial, dé-, re-, -âtre – the word at its finest grain.

1. Collocations: the words that keep company
2. Prefixes and suffixes: reading a word you have never met
3. Proverbs and the images French thinks with
4. Checkpoint: collocations, word formation and proverbs
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

L’exorde, la question rhétorique, l’anaphore – speaking to convince.

1. The parts of a speech
2. Figures of speech in argument
3. The oral presentation: structure and delivery
4. Checkpoint: Rhetoric and Public Speaking
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Les participiales, la subordination multiple, l’infinitive – French at full syntactic stretch.

1. Participial and absolute constructions
2. Infinitive clauses and perception verbs
3. Nested subordinates and how to untangle them
4. Checkpoint: Complex Syntax
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

From Latin through Old French to the Académie – why French looks and sounds as it does.

1. From Latin to Old French
2. Middle French to the classical norm
3. Modern French: the Revolution, the school, the reforms
4. Checkpoint: History of the French Language
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Montaigne to Annie Ernaux – the canon read for its language.

1. The classics: Montaigne, Molière, La Fontaine
2. The nineteenth century: Hugo, Flaubert, Baudelaire, Zola
3. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries
4. Checkpoint: reading French literature
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Ce que l’on dit sans le dire – politeness, face, and the unspoken rules of French conversation.

1. Politeness strategies in French
2. Conversation: turn-taking, fillers and repairs
3. Cultural pragmatics: criticism, praise, invitations
4. Checkpoint: Pragmatics and the Implicit
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Traduire, c’est trahir ? – rendering meaning between French and another language.

1. Translation procedures
2. Untranslatables and cultural references
3. Interpreting: reformulating on the spot
4. Checkpoint: translating and interpreting
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Le bon usage against the living language – deciding what is “correct”.

1. The grammar of doubts: agreements and pitfalls
2. Sociolinguistic variation
3. Inclusive writing and the debate on gender
4. Checkpoint: norm, usage and variation
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions

Reading, writing and speaking like an educated native – the last mile.

1. Reading a demanding text
2. Writing with style: variety and voice
3. Speaking at C2: the improvised argument
4. Checkpoint: The Summit – mastery in practice
5. Reading, listening and 10 questions