Touch & Listen

Introductory video (1:29)

Welcome to a new way of experiencing the Teach Yourself languages range – one
that has all of the familiarity of a book but which also integrates vital listening
exercises and convenient features. There’s no need to listen to a CD or download
audio files. All you need to do is touch and listen.

You will find playback bars just like the example one here located at each
dialogue.

Sample Dialogue (00:26)

Just touch the play button to listen to native speakers conversing on scores of
current topics. You can pause, rewind or replay the dialogue at any time. And
because the audio is part of the book, you don’t need to interrupt your progress.

To use other great features, such as highlighting, copying, making notes or using a
dictionary, simply hold your finger down on a word until you get a pop-up menu.
You will also find a search function here that allows you to identify where your
highlighted word appears throughout the book as well as on Google or Wikipedia.
To navigate easily throughout the book, bookmark pages or change the font,
simply tap the top of the book to reveal the navigation and options.

Enjoy the convenience of a full language course at home or on the move, and let
the No. 1 brand in language learning guide you every step of the way.
www.hodder.co.uk
All the course audio and extra resources you need to be a successful language
hacker are available online for you to download.

Just go to www.teachyourself.com/languagehacking

Speak French – with actual people – right from the start!

Share your missions, connect with native speakers and meet like-minded learners
in the bespoke #LanguageHacking community, developed with italki, an online
community of over 2 million learners and 3000 teachers.

Simply go to www.italki.com/languagehacking

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
YOUR MISSIONS

AUDIO TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
A note from Benny
How to use this course
What you’ll find inside
What you’ll find online
The Language Hacker contract
Pronunciation guide

UNIT 1: TALKING ABOUT ME

CONVERSATION 1: The first words you’ll use in every conversation
You’ll learn ça va ? for greetings, je m’appelle… et toi ? for introducing
yourself
CONVERSATION 2: Describing your interests
You’ll learn j’aime le / la… for saying what you like (or don’t like)
#languagehack: get a head-start with words you already know
CONVERSATION 3: Why are you learning French?
You’ll learn pourquoi ? and parce que je veux… for saying ‘why’
Your Mission: say your name, where you’re from, where you live, why
you’re learning French.

UNIT 2: ASKING ABOUT YOU

CONVERSATION 1: Words you need to ask questions
You’ll learn tu parles pas?… and je parle bien… for asking and answering
questions
#languagehack: learn vocab faster with memory hooks
CONVERSATION 2: How long have you been learning French?
You’ll learn depuis quand for asking ‘since when’, depuis… for saying how
long
 CONVERSATION 3: Sharing your opinions
You’ll learn je pense que, je dois and c’est vrai for expressing your opinion
Your Mission: say which languages you speak, how long you’ve been
learning French.

UNIT 3: SOLVING COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS

CONVERSATION 1: Having an online chat
You’ll learn comment tu t’appelles ?… for talking to someone new
CONVERSATION 2: I don’t understand
You’ll learn je suis désolé(e) and je comprends pas for getting clarification
CONVERSATION 3: Can you hear me now?
You’ll learn J’ai besoin de le réinitialiser… for talking online
#languagehack: learn word genders with the word-endings trick
Your Mission: use survival phrases in conversation; say where you’re from
or where you work.

UNIT 4: DESCRIBING YOUR FUTURE PLANS

CONVERSATION 1: Excuse me, do you speak French?
You’ll learn ça vous dérange si… ? for striking up new conversations
CONVERSATION 2: Where are you going?
You’ll learn tu voyages beaucoup ? and pendant quelques mois for talking
about plans
CONVERSATION 3: How are you spending the weekend?
You’ll learn pour commencer, ensuite and je vais + verb for describing what
you’ll do
#languagehack: say exponentially more with these five booster verbs
Your Mission: say where you plan to go, how you’ll get there, what you’ll
see and do.

UNIT 5: TALKING ABOUT FAMILY AND FRIENDS

CONVERSATION 1: What do you have planned?
You’ll learn elle est… and on prévoit… for describing your relationships
#languagehack: pronounce words you haven’t even learned yet
CONVERSATION 2: Who do you live with?
You’ll learn je connais and on se ressemble… to talk about people you know
CONVERSATION 3: There are four of us
You’ll learn ils s’appellent and ils sont for describing your family
Your Mission: say how you know someone, where they live and work,
what they like to do.
UNIT 6: HAVE SOME FOOD, DRINK AND CONVERSATION
CONVERSATION 1: For me…
You’ll learn on prend, je voudrais… and et encore de… for ordering in
restaurants
CONVERSATION 2: In my opinion…
You’ll learn à mon avis… and je la trouve… for explaining your point of
view
CONVERSATION 3: What do you recommend?
You’ll learn dis-moi… and tu peux me recommander… for asking someone’s
opinion
#languagehack: sound more fluent with conversation connectors
Your Mission: give your opinions and recommendations; say which food
and drinks you like.

UNIT 7: TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY… LAST WEEK… A LONG

TIME AGO
CONVERSATION 1: What did you do last weekend?
You’ll learn je suis allé(e)… and on a parlé… for saying what you did
CONVERSATION 2: Did you study French this week?
You’ll learn j’ai commencé… and il y a seulement quelques mois for
describing the past
CONVERSATION 3: Did you know …?
You’ll learn tu savais ?, je pensais que… and j’étais… for saying how you
used to be
#languagehack: time travel – talk about the past and future using the present
tense
Your Mission: tell a story about your past; say what you thought and
where you went.

UNIT 8: IT’S BEEN A WHILE!

CONVERSATION 1: It’s been a while!
You’ll learn ça fait longtemps ! and je vois que… for catching up with
someone
CONVERSATION 2: Your daily routine
You’ll learn d’habitude… and de temps en temps… for saying ‘how often’
CONVERSATION 3: Going out at night
You’ll learn j’aimerais bien… and ça serait… for saying what you ‘would’
like to do
 #languagehack: the rephrasing technique for talking your way through
complicated sentences
Your Mission: say how you spend your time, how you spend your day;
make plans.

UNIT 9: DESCRIBE IT!

CONVERSATION 1: Describing the city
You’ll learn il fait chaud and il y a beaucoup d’arbres for describing your
surroundings
CONVERSATION 2: Describing personalities
You’ll learn Il est jeune and mes parents sont… for describing people you
know
CONVERSATION 3: It looks like …
You’ll learn a l’air de, celui-ci and le rouge for conveying an item you have
in mind
#languagehack: use your hidden moments to get French immersion for the
long term
Your Mission: say what’s nearby, what something looks like; describe
personalities.

UNIT 10: HAVING YOUR FIRST CONVERSATION

#languagehack: develop a cheat sheet to go into ‘autopilot’ during your first
conversation
Your Mission: have a one-on-one conversation with a native French
speaker

ADDITIONAL AUDIO

TRANSCRIPTS

ANSWER KEY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

NEW SPELLING REFORM

AUDIO TABLE OF CONTENTS

00.00 (00:33)
00.01 (01:52)
00.02 (00:58)
00.03 (00:45)
01.01 (00:49)
01.02 (00:32)
01.03 (00:19)
01.04 (02:35)
01.05 (00:36)
01.06 (00:40)
01.07 (00:34)
01.08 (00:12)
01.09 (00:08)
01.10 (00:41)
01.11 (00:32)
01.12 (01:05)
01.13 (01:09)
02.01 (00:52)
02.02 (00:39)
02.03 (00:40)
02.04 (00:25)
02.05 (00:39)
02.06 (00:40)
02.07 (00:38)
02.08 (00:47)
02.09 (00:29)
02.10 (00:24)
02.11 (00:23)
02.12 (00:48)
02.13 (00:47)
02.14 (01:33)
03.01 (00:50)
03.02 (00:36)
03.03 (00:20)
03.04 (00:35)
03.05 (00:23)
03.06 (00:23)
03.07 (00:52)
03.08 (00:42)
03.09 (01:07)
03.10 (00:54)
03.11 (01:19)
04.01 (00:49)
04.02 (00:42)
04.03 (00:27)
04.04 (01:00)
04.05 (00:34)
04.06 (01:19)
04.07 (00:42)
04.08 (01:07)
05.01 (01:09)
05.02 (00:51)
05.03 (01:12)
05.04 (01:38)
05.05 (00:28)
05.06 (00:56)
05.07 (00:46)
05.08 (00:53)
05.09 (00:38)
05.10 (02:04)
06.01 (01:08)
06.02 (00:50)
06.03 (01:32)
06.04 (00:52)
06.05 (01:08)
06.06 (00:25)
06.07 (00:37)
06.08 (00:28)
06.09 (00:34)
06.10 (01:07)
07.01 (01:10)
07.02 (00:52)
07.03 (00:52)
07.04 (00:45)
07.05 (00:59)
07.06 (00:38)
07.07 (00:39)
07.08 (00:25)
08.01 (01:09)
08.02 (00:44)
08.03 (01:00)
08.04 (00:47)
08.05 (01:03)
08.06 (00:47)
08.07 (00:31)
08.08 (00:24)
09.01 (01:31)
09.02 (00:52)
09.03 (01:37)
09.04 (00:51)
09.05 (00:59)
09.06 (00:42)
09.07 (00:33)
09.08 (00:46)
09.09 (00:34)
10.01 (01:08)
10.02 (01:00)
10.03 (01:07)
10.04 (01:05)
Alphabet (00:35)
Days (00:12)
Months (00:18)
Numbers 0–09 (00:16)
Numbers 10–19 (00:16)
Numbers 100–110 (00:18)
Numbers 20–29 (00:17)
Numbers 30–39 (00:16)
Numbers 40–49 (00:17)
Numbers 50–59 (00:19)
Numbers 60–69 (00:19)
Numbers 70–79 (00:20)
Numbers 80–89 (00:19)
Numbers 90–99 (00:19)
Seasons (00:09)
A NOTE FROM BENNY

00.00

It’s true that some people spend years studying French before they finally get
around to speaking the language.

But I have a better idea. Let’s skip the years of studying and jump right to the
speaking part.

Sound crazy? No, it’s language hacking.

#LanguageHacking is a completely different approach to learning a new language.

It’s not magic. It’s not something only ‘other people’ can do. It’s simply about
being smart with how you learn: learning what’s indispensable, skipping what’s
not and using what you’ve learned to have real conversations in French right
away.

As a language hacker, I find shortcuts to learning new languages – tricks and

techniques to crack the language code and make learning simple so I can get
fluent faster. When it comes to learning new languages, I focus on getting the
biggest bang for my buck.

There’s no need to learn every word and grammar rule before you start using the
language. You just need to know the most common and the most versatile phrases
you’ll need in most situations, and how to ‘speak around’ the problem when
there’s something you don’t understand or know how to say yet.
#LanguageHacking isn’t just a course. It’s a new way of thinking about language
learning. It shows you how to learn a language as well as giving you all the
language you need – and none of what you don’t. You can use it on your own or
with any other book to start speaking languages faster.

I’d like to show you how it’s done. See you on the inside.

Benny Lewis, Language Hacker

HOW TO USE THIS COURSE

The most common complaint I hear from language learners is:

‘I studied French for years in school. I can understand a few words when I see
them, and even sometimes when I hear them, but I still can’t speak the language.’

#LanguageHacking isn’t like traditional courses. It’s a conversation course, which

means you will focus on building the language skills you need to have
meaningful, real-life conversations with other people in French – right away. By
the end of this course, you’ll be able to introduce yourself and ask and answer
hundreds of typical questions in French. You’ll know how to find and connect
with other French speakers no matter where you live. And you will gain the skills
and strategies to have countless conversations entirely in French – as well as the
confidence to keep them going.

#LanguageHacking can be used either on its own or alongside any other language
course – whether written, online, or in the classroom.
WHAT YOU’LL FIND INSIDE

This course will challenge you to speak from day one by completing ten missions,
which will grow your conversational abilities in French. To keep that promise, I
invite you to become a part of the language hacking community, built with this
course in mind, that gives you a safe and fun place to communicate with other
like-minded and determined learners. You can complete the missions on your
own, but you’ll progress much faster if you use the language with real people, so I
encourage you to submit your missions to the #LanguageHacking online
community www.teachyourself.com/languagehacking for feedback (and secret
mini-missions!).
SPEAKING FROM DAY 1

You can’t learn to play the piano until you sit down and put your fingers on the
keys. You can’t play tennis until you pick up the racquet. And you can’t learn a
language if you don’t speak it. By speaking from day one, you will:

pick up expressions and language from others

notice the expression gaps in your language you need to fill
become aware of how other people say things
get feedback from others
improve your pronunciation and fluency
conquer the fear of speaking a new language
feel motivated by hearing your own progress.
BUILD YOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS

Build language through typical conversations

Each unit takes you through three conversations in French that show you how the
language is used in common, everyday contexts. The conversations build on each
other to grow your vocabulary and prepare you for your mission. Treat each
conversation like a lesson, and make sure you understand everything before you
move on to the next conversation.

Figure it out exercises

You’ll read each conversation and listen to the audio, then I’ll help you Figure it
Out. These exercises train you to start understanding French on your own –
through context, recognizing patterns and applying other language learning
strategies – without relying on translations. By figuring out language for yourself,
you’ll internalize it better and recall it faster when you need it.

Notice exercises

Every conversation is followed by a phrase list with the key phrases, expressions
and vocab to know from that conversation, with English translations and
pronunciation to help you. Notice exercises get you thinking about the new
language and noticing how the language works, so you’re gaining an intuitive
understanding of French.

Practice exercises

Practice exercises reinforce what you learn. You’ll piece together different parts
of what you know to figure out how to create new French phrases on your own.

Put it together
Finally, you’ll take everything you’ve learned and Put it Together to create your
own repertoire in French. I’ll help you prepare ‘me-specific’ language you can use
in real-life conversations that’s actually relevant to you.
SUPPORT, TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES

In language hacking, your ability to have conversations in French is not limited by

the number of words you know.

#LanguageHacks

As you go along, you may develop your own shortcuts for making learning
simple. If you do, share them with others and me, and use the hashtag
#languagehacking.

You’ll learn unconventional shortcuts to boost your language abilities

exponentially. I reveal the different patterns, rules and tools to help you crack the
code and get fluent faster. Each of the ten hacks equips you with techniques you
can use in this course and throughout the rest of your learning journey.

Conversation strategies

You’ll learn essential conversation strategies, like conversation connectors, filler

words, and survival phrases to strike up conversations and keep them flowing.

Grammar & pronunciation

You don’t need to learn all the grammar. A lot of the time you can learn
language in ‘chunks’ – the same way you learned your native language. You
learned to say ‘there it is’ before you ever understood what each individual
word meant on its own… and you still got your point across.

We’ll cover the foundation of the grammar you need to know, but I won’t
overload you with what’s not essential to communication. I’ll help you understand
the important parts of French pronunciation and share techniques to help you get
them right.
Side notes

I’ll share more insights as we go along – like culture tips about French speakers
and French-speaking countries, vocab tips on how to get creative with new
phrases and mini-hacks for better learning.

Progress you can see

You will see your progress build steadily throughout this course. Before you finish
each unit, you’ll check your understanding with audio practice that acts as a
‘virtual conversation partner’. This practice gives you time to collect your
thoughts and speak at your own pace. Before you move on to your mission, you’ll
do a self assessment checklist to make sure you’re prepared and to keep a visual
record of the progress you’re making.
MISSIONS

Each unit ends with three tasks that you’ll complete as your final mission.

STEP 1: build your script

To get ready for spoken practice with other people, you’ll build ‘me-specific’
scripts with the language you need to talk about your life. These scripts make sure
you’re learning useful French phrases that are truly relevant to you.

STEP 2: speak French with other people… online.

Speaking from day one is the best way I’ve found to quickly reach fluency. I’ll
help you implement this strategy, no matter where you live, with the missions
you’ll complete as part of the language hacking community. You’ll record
yourself speaking your scripts aloud in French and upload them to the community
where you’ll get feedback from other learners and keep the conversation going.
This is the best practice you can get – aside from one-to-one conversations with a
native speaker. By speaking in front of others you’ll become more confident using
French in the real world.

STEP 3: learn from other learners

When you share your missions with other learners, you’ll get more comfortable
speaking French – and more importantly, you’ll get comfortable speaking the
imperfect beginner’s French that everyone must use on the road to fluency. You’ll
gain insight into how conversations flow in French, and you’ll learn where the
‘expression gaps’ are in your scripts that you need to fill to expand your
conversation skills.

In other words, you’ll have everything you need to genuinely start having
conversations with other people in French. After all, isn’t that the point?

Let’s get started.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND ONLINE

Go to www.teachyourself.com/languagehacking to:

Submit your missions

Download or stream the course audio
Find an up-to-date list of the best free online resources to support your
learning
Review transcripts for the audio
Discover additional materials to help you on your learning journey
Find out more about Language Hacking and Benny Lewis

Check back frequently as we add new language hacks.

THE LANGUAGE HACKER CONTRACT

In this course you will:

get shortcuts (#languagehacks) to learn a new langue fast

learn the words and les phrases you need to have real conversations
immediately
gain the confidence to start speaking le français from day one
have access to a communauté of like-minded language learners

That’s my side of the bargain. It’s what I’m giving you.

Now here’s your side of the contract. I recommend you read it every day so it
embeds in your memory and becomes part of who you are.

I will speak French today and every day – if only a little. It will feel awkward
and uncomfortable at times. And that’s okay.

I will accept that the only way to speak perfectly is to first make mistakes. The
only way to overcome my fear is to face it. The only thing preventing me from
speaking French is… speaking French.

I will embrace my inner Tarzan. I will say things in French like ‘I Benny. Me
writer. I Ireland.’ I’ll do this because I’m still learning, and because I don’t take
myself too seriously. I will communicate effectively instead of perfectly. Over time,
I will make massive leaps.

I will build ‘me-specific’ scripts – mini monologues about myself. I will

memorize these scripts and rely on them whenever I’m asked questions. I will
discover time and time again that I can manage the most common situations I
come across in a new language. I will quickly feel my confidence build as I equip
myself with the language I need.

I will speak at every opportunity and be an active participant in the language

hacking community. I will learn from giving and getting feedback.

I will build my skills, day by day, piece by piece.

I will learn smarter. I will be self-sufficient. I will make learning French part of
my daily routine. I will become fluent faster than I ever imagined possible.

I am a language hacker.
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

French words will usually follow the rules outlined here, but there are exceptions
(which will be pointed out throughout the book as needed). While we will try to
draw some parallels with English for all sounds, I highly recommend you listen to
the audio samples as a priority, and try to mimic them as best as you can.
VOWELS

00.01

Seen Represented
Explanation Examples
in by
deux,
bleu, je
eu, e Similar to the sound you’d make when hesitating uh veux, un
peu,
demain
où, jour,
ou Like in ‘food’ oo
nous
beaucoup,
eau,
Like the ‘o’ in ‘no’ or ‘go’, but cut short oh mot,
o
bientôt
je donne,
o Like the ‘o’ in ‘pot’ or ‘hop’ o
dehors
é Like the ‘ay’ in ‘tray’, but cut short ay café, bébé
e, ê, merci,
Like in ‘head’ eh
è tête, très
i, y Like in ‘free’, but cut short ee il, ici
oi Like ‘wa’ in ‘wag’ wa fois, moi
oreille,
eille ay-uh
mireille
Form your lips to say ‘oo’ but say ‘ee’ instead. A menu,
u ew
close approximation is the ‘ew’ sound in ‘dew’ culture, tu
ui Take the ‘ew’ from above, and add the ‘ee’ sound ew-wee puis, nuit,
(also above) to the end huit
CONSONANTS

00.02

Seen Represented
Explanation Examples
in by
The French ‘r’ sounds more like an English ‘h’,
and could even be compared to the English ‘k’
r R après, rien
sound. Until you get it right, a strongly aspirated
‘h’ works well – but never an English r!
This sound is similar to the ‘s’ sound in
je veux,
‘measure’, ‘usual’ and ‘version’, or the ‘g’
j zh jeune,
sound in ‘mirage’ or ‘beige’ – never
garage
pronounced like the ‘j’ in jam
h Not pronounced – hôtel, huit
Always pronounced like the soft ‘sh’ in ‘shop’ – champagne,
ch sh
never like ‘chat’ acheter
ç Always pronounced as an ‘s’ s français, ça
NASALS

00.03

Seen Represented
Explanation Examples
in by
fin, pain,
in,
These sounds don’t have any true parallels in plein,
ain,
English. Listen to the audio and try to mimic ahN simple,
ein,
them as best as you can un, lundi,
un
brun
an,
camp,
am, This is the ‘o’ sound in ‘not’ nasalized, or like
awN grand,
en, the end of ‘long’, cut short
enfant
em
on, Somewhat like the [awN] sound, but brought bon, nom,
ohN
om forward in your mouth long
1 TALKING ABOUT ME

Mission
Imagine this – you’ve arrived in France. You step up to get your passport checked,
and the agent asks you about yourself.

Your mission is to convince the agent to let you through. Be brave and say
Bonjour. Then have a basic exchange – entirely in French – for 30 seconds. Be
prepared to say your name, where you’re from, where you live, why you’re
coming to France, and especially why you’re learning French.

This mission will prepare you for the inevitable questions you’ll be asked in any
first conversation you have in French.

Mission prep
Learn basic phrases for talking about yourself: je…
Create simple sentences to talk about your likes and wants using je veux,
j’aime
Develop a conversation strategy: turn the tables by asking, et toi ?
Learn the words for countries, nationalities, professions and interests
Use the connector words parce que, et, mais.
#LanguageHack: Get a head-start with words you already know
BUILDING SCRIPTS

Most first conversations in a new language are predictable. As a beginner, this is

great news for you. We’re going to start by building your first ‘script’ to help you
prepare for what you’ll need to say most, right away. We’ll start slow and build as
we move on.

If you’ve studied French before, some of the words in this unit may be familiar to
you. But we’ll be doing much more than just learning words in each unit: we’re
going to start building scripts. Once you learn a script, you can customize it to
your needs. This will help you build your language so you can use it from the
start.
CONVERSATION 1
The first words you’ll use in every conversation

Let’s follow the story of Lauren, an author and French learner who just arrived in
Paris to spend the summer immersing herself in French while doing research for
her book. She decides to attend a French lesson at a local brasserie. Today she’s
meeting her teacher, Pierre, for the first time.

01.01 This is a typical introductory conversation. Listen to the conversation and

pay attention to the way Lauren asks et toi ?

Lauren : Bonjour. Je m’appelle Lauren, et toi ?

Pierre : Bonjour! Je m’appelle Pierre. Ça va ?
Lauren : Ça va. Et toi ?
Pierre : Ça va, merci. Alors, parle-moi de toi !
Ben, je suis américaine. Mais j’habite ici à Paris. Et je suis auteur. Et
Lauren :
toi ?
Pierre : Moi, je suis de France, bien sûr ! Et j’habite ici, à Paris.

As a beginner, your first step is building a basic introductory conversation.

After an initial greeting, a typical first conversation usually turns towards
topics about where you live and what you do.

When you see or hear new French words for the first time, they are going to seem
like random noise. But if you train yourself to look and listen a little closer, you’ll
realize that there’s a lot you can figure out based on the context of the
conversation and how the words relate to English. The key is to try to notice the
language for yourself.

Time to think about the conversation you just heard! Notice how French sentence
structure differs from English. The more you actively think about the different
ways French uses word order and expressions, the faster you’ll learn.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Based on the context of the conversation, what does je suis mean?

2 What are the two different ways ‘I’ is written in the conversation?
Highlight them and write them here.

3 What phrase does Lauren use to bounce the question back to Pierre?

4 Find the French word that answers each question, and write it out.

Example: Where is Pierre from? France

a What’s Lauren’s job?

b What nationality is she?

c Where does Lauren live?

While you may not be able to figure out what a word means in isolation, the
words around it give you clues you can combine with what you already know
to deduce the meaning. You can figure out the answers to all these questions
even if you don’t know a word of French, thanks to context. Pretty cool,
huh?

5 Find the two uses of ça va in the conversation. What is this phrase used for
in each instance?
01.02 Ça va is a power phrase and has lots of meanings. Listen to the audio to
hear how ça va is used in different ways. Pay attention to how the intonation of
the words creates new meaning.

Ça va !
Ça va… ?
Ça va ? Ça va. (It/he/she is, they
(How is…?)
are…)
How are you I’m … la famille ? (your
Ça va, ça va. (fine)
doing? fine. family?)
… Paris ? (your time in
How are you? OK. Ça va super ! (great!)
Paris?)
Not Sandra, ça va ! (she’s
How are things? … Sandra ? (Sandra?)
bad. good!)
How have you … ton régime ? (your
Good! Ça va pas… (not well)
been? diet?)
PRONUNCIATION: questions and answers

Learn questions and answers together. In French, you’ll rely on intonation to tell
you whether a phrase is a question or a statement.

All you need to do is change your intonation upwards for a question and
↗
downwards for an answer, while using the same words: Ça va ? Ça va. ↘

1 01.03 Listen to the audio and repeat to mimic the speaker. Use intonation to
determine whether you are hearing a question or a statement, then highlight the
answer.

a Ça va ? Ça va.

b Et toi ? Et toi.
NOTICE

01.04 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Bonjour is the most famous go-to greeting you can use in French, especially
early in the day. An alternative in more casual situations would be Salut !
(Hi!)

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

bonjour hello bohN-zhooR
my name is
je m’appelle… zhuh mah-pehl
(I myself call)
ça va ? how’s it going? sah vah
ça va. I’m fine. sah vah
et toi ? and you? ay twa
alors… so… ah-loR
parle-moi de tell me about yourself (speak-me
pahRl mwa duh twa
toi of you)
ben… well… bawN
je suis zhuh sew-wee zah-may-Ree-
I’m American
américaine kehn
j’habite ici à
I live here in Paris zhah-beet ee-see ah pah-Ree
Paris
I’m an author
je suis auteur zhuh sew-wee zoh-tuhR
(I am author)
moi me mwa
 je suis de
I’m from France zhuh sew-wee duh fRawNs
France

1 The French phrase for ‘I’m an author’ doesn’t translate word-for-word

from English. Which English word does the French phrase omit?

2 Translate these phrases into French:

a I am
b I live in (city)
c I’m from Paris.
d I’m from France.

You’ll notice the different ways je is spelled. French uses an apostrophe to blend
word sounds together if the next word starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or usually
with an h. But don’t worry – if you say ‘je habite’ instead of j’habite, French
people will understand you. Perfectionism is never your goal – communication is!

3 Decide whether to use je or j’.

a ________________ aime (I like)

b ________________danse (I dance)
c ________________ habite (I live)
d ________________ parle (I speak)
e ________________ étudie (I study)
f ________________ pense (I think)
PRACTICE

Though some of this language may be familiar, you should still pronounce these
words out loud now to start building muscle memory. This will help you develop
your French accent right away. Make sure you understand the conversation before
moving on.

01.05 Here’s some new vocab to help you keep building your language script.
Listen to the audio and study the table.

When you meet a new vocab list (like this one), don’t try to memorize all the
words – just the ones you can imagine yourself needing in your own
conversations. In fact, as you go through this list, give yourself the pleasure
of striking out any words you can’t imagine yourself using in the next month
or so.

Countries Nationalities Professions Interests

les États-Unis américain dentiste la danse
le Canada canadien médecin la photographie
l’Italie italien pilote la musique, le piano
la Chine chinois artiste la cuisine
l’Australie australien journaliste la télévision
la Russie russe programmeur le cinéma, le théâtre
la France français photographe le shopping
le Mexique mexicain ingénieur le jogging
le Japon japonais vétérinaire faire du codage
l’Irlande irlandais blogueur les langues
If you don’t already have one, find a good French dictionary. This will help you
build vocabulary that’s what I call ‘me-specific’. As we go along, you’ll need to
look up your own words that apply to your life to make your script more useful.
Let’s start now.

1 What are the professions and interests of the people in your life? What
countries are they from?

a Look for any professions, interests and nationalities of people you know in
the table and highlight them.

b Add three new words to each category (use words that are specific to you
or people close to you).

2 Use a dictionary to help you create four phrases starting with je suis to
describe yourself.

Example: Je suis Benny. Je suis végétarien. Je suis blogueur.

3 Now, answer these questions in French. How do you…

Example: … say your name Je m’appelle…

a …say where you’re from?

b …say your profession?

c …tell someone what city you live in?

Cover up the translations in the phrase list and see if you can remember what
the French expressions mean.
PUT IT TOGETHER

I’ve listed some good free online dictionaries and apps in our Resources
section. You can also use a good learner-friendly ink-and-paper dictionary.

Parle-moi de toi ! Now let’s keep building your script. Use the conversation as a
model, as well as the vocab and ‘me-specific’ words you just looked up, to create
four of your own sentences about yourself. Write out in French:

your name
where you’re from
where you live
what you do for a living

Throughout this course, I’ll help you keep building this script. You’ll draw on this
again and again as you start having your first conversations in French with actual
people.
CONVERSATION 2
Describing your interests

As part of their first conversation, Pierre asks Lauren about her interests.

01.06 Listen for familiar-sounding words to see if you can understand the gist of
what the speakers are saying.

There’s so much French you already know thanks to cognates – words that
are the same, or nearly the same, in both English and French. Almost half of
French words in the dictionary look and mean nearly the same in English!

Pierre : Alors, qu’est-ce que tu aimes ?

J’aime mes amis, j’aime le cinéma, j’adore voyager. J’aime la pizza !
Lauren :
Mais, je déteste les spaghettis. Et toi ?
Moi, j’adore mon travail comme professeur. J’aime visiter les musées,
Pierre :
et j’adore le tennis. Le tennis, mais pas le tennis de table !
FIGURE IT OUT

When you talk to someone for the first time, you’ll often get a question like,
‘So, what do you like to do?’

1 What phrase does Pierre use to ask Lauren what she likes?

2 What does the word mais mean?

3 What does Lauren not like? Highlight the phrase she uses to say what she
doesn’t like.

4 What things do the speakers like? Highlight the two words they use to
describe things they like.
NOTICE

01.07 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

qu’est-ce que tu aimes ? what do you like? kehs kuh tew ehm
j’aime… I like… zhehm
mes amis my friends may-zah-mee
lah pee-zah / luh
la pizza / le cinéma pizza / cinema
see-nay-mah
mais but meh
je déteste… I hate… zhuh day-tehst
les spaghettis spaghetti lay spah-gay-tee
mon travail my job mohN tRahvah-ee
j’adore… I love… zhah-doR
voyager to travel vwa-yah-zhay
visiter les musées to visit museums vee-zee-tay lay mew-zay
le tennis tennis luh tay-nees

1 Notice the question phrase from the list above, and complete the sentence:

What do you like? → _______________ tu aimes?

#LANGUAGEHACK: get a head start with words you
already know
I’ve already introduced you to a lot of cognates in this unit. Here are some simple
tips to help you use them to quickly build up your vocabulary.

Can you guess the English meaning of these French cognates (or near cognates)?

pizza télévision voyage

culture personne langue
acteur moderne France

English has borrowed many words from French and, more recently, French has
borrowed many words from English. Sometimes the spelling of these words is the
same in both languages, and sometimes there are slight changes.

Luckily, you can follow straightforward patterns to guess when a word is likely to
be a (near) cognate in French, so you can use something like the English word you
know already. It’s a safe bet to guess with cognates when you’re talking about…

Professions, concepts, technical

pilote, beauté, trigonométrie, cohésion
vocabulary or scientific words
admiration, association, instruction, option,
Words ending in -tion
lotion (with different pronunciation)
Any nouns that end in -tude, -or, - altitude, acteur, optimiste, arrogance,
ist, -nce, -ty in English université (with slight spelling alterations)
Expert tip: words that are formal in English are more likely to be similar in
French. For instance, if you forget how to say ‘country’ in French, you could say
nation instead. This is a slightly more formal word that ends in -tion, so you can
use this cognate to get your point across, without needing to learn a new word!

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

1 You’ll internalize this #languagehack much better if you try it out yourself
now. So let’s get you using this technique right away.

01.08 Practise pronouncing the French cognates from the first table and notice
how differently they sound from English. Repeat each word to try to mimic the
speaker.

2 Go back through Conversations 1 and 2 and find six cognates. Write them
in the cheat sheet.
Now practise guessing three new cognates – using the rules you just learned – and
add them to the cheat sheet. Use your French dictionary to check your answers.
Example: mathematics les mathématiques
PRACTICE

1 01.09 Practise your French accent! Say each of the French cognates below
aloud to yourself, then play the audio to see if you got it right. Repeat each
word to try to mimic the speaker.

animal tradition statue géographie machine message

2 Next, cover up the translations in the phrase list, and see if you can
remember what the French expressions mean.
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: combining verbs and nouns

The sentence structure introduced in this conversation is the verb + noun form. It
uses action words (verbs) followed by a person, place or thing (noun) – the same
way we do it in English.

Because of that, this sentence structure will be simple for you to learn and use.
You’ll just need to decide which verb you want to use, followed by the thing you
want to talk about. So j’adore le cappuccino is ‘I love cappuccino’. The only
difference from English is that French adds the word ‘the’ (le, la, or les) before
the noun. We’ll discuss the differences between these three ‘the’ words later.

Example:
J’adore le cappuccino. J’aime les croissants. Je déteste les spaghettis.
I + verb + noun I + verb + noun I + verb + noun

1 What things do you like, love or dislike? Complete the sentences with the
nouns from the box, or use your dictionary to find some ‘me-specific’
words. Make the sentences true for you!

la pizza les spaghettis le café la bière la télévision

a J’adore (I love/adore)

b Je déteste (I hate/detest)

c J’aime (I like)
PUT IT TOGETHER

Now it’s time to use this form to talk about your own likes and dislikes. Use your
dict ionary to look up new words that describe yourself, then:

create three new sentences about things you like

and two sentences about things you don’t like.

Now read your script over and over again until you feel comfortable saying it. Try
to memorize it too!
CONVERSATION 3
Why are you learning French?

One question you’ll need to learn to answer right away is simply, ‘Why are you
learning French?’ You’ll almost definitely get this question when you have your
first conversation in French, so let’s prepare your answer now.

01.10 Listen to the conversation. Pierre wants to know why Lauren is learning
French. Pay attention to the way Lauren forms her answer. How does she say
‘because’?

Pierre : Alors, pourquoi tu veux apprendre le français ?

Bon, je veux apprendre le français parce que je veux parler une belle
Lauren : langue et je veux comprendre la culture française. Je veux habiter en
France et je pense que le français est très intéressant !
FIGURE IT OUT

1 What words do the speakers use to ask a question (why?) and to give a
reason (because)? Find these in the conversation.

2 What do you think the phrase la culture française means?

3 Find one word in the conversation that you don’t understand and highlight
it. Now take a closer look to see if you can infer the word’s meaning.
When you think you may know what it means, look the word up in a
dictionary to see if you’re right!
NOTICE

01.11 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

pourquoi why pooR-kwa
tu veux apprendre le do you want to learn tew vuh zah-pRawNd luh
français ? French? fRawN-seh
je veux apprendre I want to learn zhuh vuh zahpRawNd
parce que … because … pahRs kuh
je veux parler une I want to speak a zhuh vuh pahr-lay ewn behl
belle langue beautiful language lawNg
comprendre la culture to understand French kohN-pRawNd lah kewl-tewR
française culture fRawN-sehz
habiter en France to live in France ah-bee-tay awN fRawNs
je pense que… I think that… zhuh pawNs kuh
le français est très French is very luh fRawN-seh eh tReh zahN-
intéressant ! interesting! tay-Ray-sawN

1 What words in French correspond to the following English words?

a well … bon
b so …
c and …
d because …
2 Look at the conversation again. What four verbs follow the expression je
veux? Underline the verbs and write them out.

3 Look for the cognates. What are the French words for the following?

a language
b culture
c beautiful
d interesting
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION:combining two verbs

In Conversation 3, you saw a new sentence structure that combines two forms of
French verbs – the ‘I form’ and the ‘dictionary form’.

We call this the ‘dictionary form’ because it’s the way the verb looks when
you find it in a dictionary. You can also think of it as the ‘to-form’ (parler is
‘to speak’), and language teachers call it the ‘infinitive’. This form will
always end in -er, -re or -ir in French.

Here are two set phrases that use both of these verb types, and that can help you
avoid more complicated phrases in French.
Je veux + verb (dictionary form) J’aime + verb (dictionary form)
I want + to … (do something) I like + to … (do something)
Example:
Je veux parler (I want to speak)
J’aime visiter (I like to visit / I like visiting)

You can use these combinations in nearly endless ways.

PRACTICE

1 Use Conversation 3 and the verb list to figure out how you’d say in
French:

a I love to speak French.

b I hate visiting museums.
c I like learning languages.
d I want to visit France.

In English, you might want to say ‘I like visiting museums’ instead of ‘I like
to visit museums’. In French, both are the same. Keep this in mind when
using –ing words after ‘want’ or ‘like’.

01.12 Listen to the audio and study the table. Pay careful attention to the
pronunciation of the words – especially their endings.

Common verbs

dictionary
je form dictionary form je form
form
aimer (to like) j’aime (I like) apprendre (to learn) j’apprends (I learn)
adorer (to j’adore (I
étudier (to study) j’étudie (I study
love) love)
détester (to je déteste (I
voyager (to travel) je voyage (I travel
hate) hate)
vouloir (to je veux (I
visiter (to visit) je visite (I visit
want) want)
habiter (to j’habite (I comprendre (to je comprends (I
live) live) understand) understand)
penser (to je pense (I
aider (to help) j’aide (I help)
think) think)
parler (to je parle (I
espérer (to hope) j’espère (I hope)
speak) speak)

2 Use the prompts given to answer the questions in French.

Pourquoi tu apprends le français ?

a ____________ cette langue est fascinante.
(I think that this language is fascinating.)
b ____________ en France ! (I want to live in France!)
c ____________ des nouvelles langues !
(I like learning new languages!)
d ____________ la France bientôt. (I am visiting France soon.)

Pourquoi tu es ici en France ?

e ____________ rencontrer les Français.
(I want to meet French people.)
f ____________ la cuisine française ! (I love the French cuisine.)
g ____________ ici. (I want to study here.)
h ____________ la culture française.
(I want to understand French culture.)
PUT IT TOGETHER

Pourquoi tu veux apprendre le français ? It’s time for you to use this sentence
structure yourself! Create four sentences in French that combine ‘I’ forms with
dictionary forms of verbs to say things that are true for you. Look up new words
in your dictionary to form sentences you think you’ll want to use early on.

Example: I hope to understand French. → J’espère comprendre le

français.
COMPLETING UNIT 1
Check your understanding

01.13 Go back and reread the conversations. Then when you’re feeling confident:

listen to the audio rehearsal, which will ask you questions in French
pause or replay the audio as often as necessary to understand the questions
repeat after the speaker until the pronunciation feels and sounds natural
answer the questions in French (in complete sentences).

Each unit will build on the previous one, helping you to review as you move
ahead. Pause or replay the audio as often as necessary to understand the questions.
Do your best to answer out loud in complete sentences.

Show what you know …

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item on the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.

Introduce yourself. Je m’appelle Benny !

Say where you’re from.
Give three French–English cognates.
Ask the question, ‘Why are you learning French?’
Give a reason why you’re learning French, ‘Because…’
Give the French connector words for ‘and’, ‘because’ and ‘but’.
Give a phrase you can use to bounce a question back to someone else.
Describe your interests using different sentence structures:
 I like…
I want to…

COMPLETE YOUR MISSION

It’s time to complete your mission: convincing the airport agent to let you through
the gates, so your French adventure can begin! To do this, you’ll need to prepare
your answers to the questions you’ll most likely be asked. Please visit
www.italki.com/languagehacking
STEP 1: build your script

Use connector words along the way to help your sentences flow better!

Start your script with the phrases you learned in this unit, combined with ‘me-
specific’ vocabulary, to answer common questions about yourself.

say your name and occupation using je…

say where you’re from and where you live using j’habite à…
say why you’re learning French or visiting France.

Write down your script, then repeat it until you feel confident.
STEP 2: real language hackers speak from day one… online

If you’re feeling good about your script, it’s time to complete your mission and
share a recording of you speaking your script with the community. Go online, find
the mission for Unit 1 and give it your best shot.

You’ll find some bonus missions too, for serious French hacking!
STEP 3: learn from other learners

How well can you understand someone else’s introduction? After you’ve
uploaded your clip, check out what others in the community have to say about
themselves. Would you let them past security?

Your task is to ask a follow-up question in French to at least three

different people.
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned

What did you find easy or difficult about this unit? Did you learn any new words
or phrases in the community space? After every script you write or conversation
you have, you’ll gain a lot of insight for what ‘gaps’ you need to fill in your script.
Always write them down!
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, LOOK AT YOU GO!

You’ve only just started on the new path to language hacking, and you’ve already
learned so much. You’ve taken the first crucial steps, and started to interact with
others using French. This is something other students don’t do even after years of
studying, so you should be truly proud of yourself.

Bon courage !
2 ASKING ABOUT YOU

Mission
Imagine this – your friend brings you to your first soirée. You want to blend in
and not rely on English.

Your mission is to trick someone into thinking you’re a high-level French speaker
for at least 30 seconds.

Be prepared to strike up a conversation and talk about how long you’ve been
living in your current location, what you like to do and the languages you speak
or want to learn. After the 30 seconds have passed, reveal to the other person how
long you’ve been learning French and dazzle them! To avoid arousing suspicion,
keep the other person talking by asking casual questions to show your interest.

This mission will give you the confidence to initiate conversations with new
people.

Mission prep
Use the question and answer words est-ce que, qu’est-ce que, depuis and
depuis quand
Ask and respond to questions using the tu form
Negate sentences using pas
Develop a conversation strategy using the filler words ben, alors and
c’est-à-dire to create conversational flow
Pronounce new French sounds (the French u; the French r).
#LanguageHack: Learn vocab faster with memory hooks
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR ASKING QUESTIONS

Let’s build on the simple (but effective!) technique of bouncing back a question
with et toi, and learn to form more specific questions using several new sentence
structures.
CONVERSATION 1
Words you need to ask questions

A week into her stay in Paris, Lauren attends a language learners’ meet-up near
her house. There, she meets Jacques, a Parisian. After the initial introductions,
they start to talk about their language skills.

No matter where you live in the world, there are other French learners
nearby who want to speak French with you. You can also find native
speakers to help you learn. See our Resources for how to connect with other
French learners and speakers.

02.01 Notice the different ways Jacques asks questions and how Lauren answers
them.

Jacques : Alors, Lauren, est-ce que tu aimes habiter ici, à Paris ?

Oui, bien sûr. J’adore. J’adore la ville et les parcs. Surtout le jardin des
Lauren :
Tuileries. Et j’apprends beaucoup de français.
Jacques : Bravo ! Tu parles d’autres langues ?
Lauren : Non, je parle seulement anglais et un peu français. Et toi ?
Jacques : Oui ! Je parle bien italien et je parle un peu russe.
Lauren : Vraiment ?
Jacques : Oui, vraiment !
Lauren : Tu parles pas anglais ?
Jacques : Pas encore. J’espère pratiquer un peu mon anglais ici aujourd’hui.
In the film Pirates of the Caribbean, Elizabeth Swann invokes the right of
‘parlay’ and demands to speak to the captain of the Black Pearl. This comes
from the French word parler, meaning ‘to speak’ and you can use the
association to help you remember the meaning of the word if you like!
Figure it out

1 Answer the questions with oui (yes) or non (no).

a Est-ce que Lauren aime habiter à Paris ? oui / non

b Est-ce que Lauren parle trois langues ? oui / non
c Est-ce que Jacques parle anglais ? oui / non

2 Are the statements about the conversation vrai (true) or faux (false)?

a Jacques speaks Italian. vrai / faux

b Lauren speaks Russian. vrai / faux

3 What word makes the difference between saying ‘I like’ and ‘I don’t like’
in French? Highlight it in the conversation.

4 How would you say ‘I don’t want’ and ‘I don’t live’ in French?

a je veux (I want) →
b tu habites (you live) →
NOTICE

02.02 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

est-ce que tu
do you like… ehs kuh tew ehm
aimes…
…habiter ici ? …living here? ah-bee-tay ee-see
oui, bien sûr yes, of course wee bee-ahN sewR
j’adore I love it zhah-doR
j’apprends
zhah-pRawN boh-koo
beaucoup de I’m learning a lot of French
duh fRawN-seh
français
tu parles d’autres do you speak any other languages?
tew pahRl doht lawNg
langues ? (you speak of-other languages?)
je parle… I speak… zhuh pahRl
…seulement
…only English suhl-mawN awN-gleh
anglais
…un peu
…a little bit of French ahN puh fRawN-seh
français
…bien italien …Italian well bee-ahN nee-tah-lee-ahN
vraiment ? really? vReh-mawN
tu parles pas tew pahRl pah zawN-
don’t you speak English?
anglais ? gleh
pas encore not yet pah zawN-koR
j’espère I hope to practise today zheh-spehR pRah-tee-
 pratiquer kay oh-zhooR-dew-wee
aujourd’hui

Ici means ‘here’. To remember this word, try imagining a mother whose
children run out onto an icy road, and their mother yells, Viens ICI ! (Come
HERE!)

1 What are the two phrases Jacques uses to describe how well he
speaks Russian and Italian? Highlight them in the phrase list, then
write them out.

2 Notice the difference in word order between Je parle bien italien in French
and ‘I speak Italian well’ in English. Based on this, how would you say the
following in French?

a I speak English well. Je parle

b I want to speak French well. Je veux parler

3 How does Jacques ask the question, ‘Do you like?’? Highlight it in the
phrase list. Using the same question form, how would you ask:

a Do you love (aimes)… ?

b Do you want (veux)… ?
c Do you live (habites)… ?
d Don’t you speak (parles)… ?

4 What question form does Jacques use to ask if Lauren speaks other
languages? Underline it in the phrase list, then write it out.
Grammar explanation: asking questions

There are three ways to ask questions in French with an expected ‘yes’ or ‘no’
answer:

Add est-ce que before a statement. Est-ce que tu aimes voyager en train ?
Simply use a statement, but raise your intonation to show curiosity.
Tu aimes voyager en train ? (vs Tu aimes voyager en train.)
Swap the verb and subject: Aimes-tu voyager en train ? (This is more
formal.)

I like to stick with the first two forms in casual conversations. Just be sure to raise
your intonation at the end to make it clear that it’s a question – you know what I
mean?
PRACTICE

1 Fill in the sentences with the missing word(s) in French.

a Je parle _____________________ anglais. (I speak only English.)

b _____________________ russe.
(I’m learning a little bit of Russian.)
c _____________________ ! Je parle _____________________ !
(Really! I don’t speak Italian!)
d _____________________, j’ _____________________ le français !
(Today, I’m studying French!)
e Je veux parler _____________________ français,
_____________________ !
(I want to speak a lot of French, of course!)

2 02.03 Practise recognizing the difference in sound between questions and

statements in French. Listen to the audio and say whether you hear a
question or a statement.

a question / statement
b question / statement
c question / statement
d question / statement
e question / statement

3 02.04 Change these statements to questions. Then say them out loud and
check your answers against the audio.

a Alex habite à Paris. _____________________ (est-ce que)

b Tu parles italien. _____________________ (invert)
c Marc apprend le français. _____________________ (intonation)
PUT IT TOGETHER

1 Use your dictionary to look up the French translations for the languages
given. Then add, in French, two more languages you would like to learn.

a German l’ _____________________
b Spanish l’ _____________________
c Chinese le _____________________
d _____________________
e _____________________

2 How would you answer the questions in French? If you speak other
languages, say whether you speak them ‘well’ or ‘a little bit’. If you want
to learn other languages, say which ones. Then repeat them out loud.

a Tu parles d’autres langues ? Non / Oui, je parle _____________________

b Est-ce que tu veux apprendre d’autres langues ? Non / Oui, je veux
_____________________
#LANGUAGEHACK: learn vocab faster with
memory hooks
The trick I use for remembering vocab is mnemonics, or memory hooks.

A mnemonic is a learning tool that helps you remember a lot more words and
phrases. I’ve already given you two mnemonics so far.
the story about Elizabeth Swann claiming ‘parlay’
the story about the mother yelling Viens ICI ! to kids on an icy ici
road.

These associations act like glue for your memory. The key to a good mnemonic is
to think about an image or sound that connects the word to its meaning, then try to
make it silly, dramatic or shocking – make it memorable! The easiest way to do
this is through sound association. Simply say the French word out loud until you
can think of an English word that sounds like it. It may even be similar in
meaning.

Examples:

the word for ‘house’, la maison [meh-zohN], sounds like ‘mansion’.

the word for ‘sea’, la mer [mehR], sounds like ‘marine’ (or
submarine).

If you can’t think of a similar-sounding word, then try to use a powerful image to
hook the French word and its meaning to a familiar word in an interesting way.

Examples:
 to remember that écrivain [ay-kRee-vahN] means ‘writer’, imagine
Keanu ‘Reeves’ in The Matrix, writing a novel while the world falls
apart behind him…

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

02.05 Listen to the audio to hear the pronunciation of each word. Then use sound
association or image association to create your own mnemonics. Repeat the words
to mimic the speakers.
a la lumière (light)
b la rue (street)
c cher (expensive)
d la chose (thing)
e le livre (book)

I’ll occasionally hint at tricks you can use to remember new vocab. For now,
you should get used to creating new mnemonics yourself.
CONVERSATION 2
How long have you been learning French?

Another ‘first question’ you can expect when you speak French with someone
new is ‘How long have you been learning French?’ Let’s learn to recognize and
respond to that question now.

02.06 Can you identify how Jacques asks Lauren ‘how long…?’

Jacques : Depuis quand tu apprends le français ?

Lauren : J’apprends le français depuis deux semaines.
Jacques : Seulement deux semaines ? Tu parles très bien le français !
Lauren : Non, c’est pas vrai … mais c’est gentil. Merci.
Jacques : De rien.
Lauren : Combien de langues tu veux apprendre encore, Jacques ?
Ben, un jour j’espère apprendre trois langues : le japonais, l’arabe et
Jacques :
l’anglais.

As in English, the phrase ‘it’s’ in French combines ‘it’ with ‘is’ using an
apostrophe. So ce (meaning ‘it’, ‘this’ or ‘that’) with est becomes c’est.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Use context along with what you learned in Unit 1 to figure out:

a How long has Lauren been learning French? Select the correct answer,
then write it out here in French. one day / only two weeks
b How many languages does Jacques hope to learn? Highlight the relevant
words in the conversation.

2 Highlight the French forms for:

a only
b true
c languages
d yet
e You speak French very well!
f I hope to learn…

3 Write out the French phrases that are used in Conversation 2 to …

a say ‘you’re welcome’

b ask ‘how long’ or ‘since when’
c ask ‘how many’
NOTICE

02.07 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

how long…
depuis quand… duh-pew-wee kawN
(since when)
have you been learning
tu apprends le français tew ah-pRawN luh fRawN-
French?
? seh
(you learn the French)
j’apprends le I’ve been learning
zhah-pRawN luh fRawN-seh
français… French…
for two weeks
depuis deux semaines duh-pew-wee duh suh-mehn
(since two weeks)
tu parles très bien le you speak French very tew pahRl tReh bee-ahN luh
français ! well! fRawN-seh
non, c’est pas vrai… no, that’s not true… nohN seh pah vReh
mais c’est gentil but that’s nice meh seh zhawN-tee
merci thank you mehR-see
de rien you’re welcome duh Ree-ahN
combien de langues… how many (how-many of) kohN-bee-ahN duh lawNg
encore ? more languages…? awN-koR
un jour j’espère
one day I hope to learn ahN zhooR zhehs-pehR ah-
apprendre trois
three languages pRawNd tRwa lawNg
langues
1 Underline the phrase that means ‘(for) how long’ in the phrase list. What
does the word quand mean on its own?

2 Write out details about the conversation in French:

a How long has Lauren been learning French? Lauren apprend le français …
b Which languages does Jacques hope to learn? Jacques espère …

3 Notice how the speakers form their answers to questions starting with
Combien and Depuis quand. Fill in the gaps with the corresponding
question/answer words.

a ______________ de langues tu apprends ? J’apprends deux langues.

b Depuis quand tu apprends l’italien ? J’apprends l’italien
______________ deux jours.
c Combien de langues tu parles ? Je parle deux ______________.
d ______________ tu parles français ? Je parle français depuis deux jours.

4 The word encore was used in Conversation 1 to mean ‘yet’. Look at the
way encore is used in the phrase list. How does the meaning of the word
differ in the context of this conversation?

Encore is an extremely versatile word in French. Though it technically

means ‘yet’, you’ll see it used in different ways. You may already recognize
the word as it is used in English to eagerly request another performance. This
is because it also means ‘again’.
CONVERSATION STRATEGY: filler words

You’ll see some occasional ‘filler words’ used in French. While they don’t add
meaning to the conversation, just as we say ‘well …’, ‘so …’, ‘y’know …’ in
English, in French you’ll hear filler words used in natural conversations. When
you need to hesitate, use filler words to make your conversations feel more
natural!

02.08 Listen to the audio, which first plays a speaker talking without using filler
words. Then you’ll hear the phrases repeated, but with filler words added. Notice
how the filler words change the flow of the language.

ben alors c’est-à-dire

PRACTICE

Here’s some new vocab to help you keep adding to your ‘me-specific’ script.

02.09 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Numbers (0–10) and time periods

0-5 6-10
zéro zero zay-Ro six six sees
un(e) one ahN/ewn sept seven seht
deux two duh huit eight ew-weet
trois three tRwa neuf nine nuhf
quatre four kaht dix ten dees
cinq five sahNk

un jour a day ahN zhooR

une semaine a week ewn suhmehn
un mois a month ahN mwa
un an a year ahN nawN

For jour, think of a daily journal. For semaine, think of the ‘same men’ you
see every week on your favourite show. For mois, think of the sound people
make when they kiss (‘mwah!’) the money coming out of their account after
they get paid every month. For an, think of the word ‘annual’.
1 Translate the following phrases into French.

a five days

b three years

c eight months

d four weeks

e I have been living in France since my last birthday. (mon dernier

anniversaire)

f I have been learning French for nine weeks.

2 Fill in the blanks with the missing French words.

How many days are you here? ______________ de ______________ est-
ce que tu es ______________?

3 Think of some interesting mnemonics for the following words.

(Remember: focus on the pronunciation, rather than the spelling.)

a quatre
b cinq
c sept
PUT IT TOGETHER

Create a cheat sheet with vocab in French that’s immediately relevant to you.

Numbers and times of year cheat sheet

Look up other important numbers or dates in your life – the month you were
born, the ages of your children, how many cats you have… whatever is
meaningful to you – and add them to your cheat sheet.

1 Quel est ton numéro de téléphone ? Write it into the cheat sheet.

2 Quel âge as-tu ? Look up the number in French that corresponds to your
age and add it to the cheat sheet. Then use the following phrase to say how
old you are.
Example: J’ai vingt-sept ans. (I’m 27 years old.)

Examples:J’ai ______________ ans.

3 Now look up the month you started learning French, and use depuis to
answer the question: Depuis quand tu apprends le français ?

Example: J’apprends le français depuis janvier.

Examples:J’apprends le français

If someone asked you when you started learning French and this were
August, you’d use depuis to say either depuis mai ‘since May’, or depuis
trois mois ‘for three months’ … whichever is easier for you to remember!

4 Someone asks you how long you’ve been learning French. You answer,
and then you want to continue the conversation by asking your own
question. How would you ask the following in French?

a How long have you been living in France? (tu habites)

b How long have you been working as a teacher? (tu travailles comme
professeur)
PRONUNCIATION EXPLANATION: u and r

The French u

Remember: the French u sound (as in tu) sounds similar to the sound in the
English word ‘dew’. To produce it more accurately, shape your lips as if you were
about to say ‘oo’ (as in ‘food’), but actually attempt to say ‘ee’ (as in ‘easy’),
without changing your lip position. That’s it!

1 02.10 Here are some words you’ve already seen that use the French u
sound. Listen to the audio and repeat, trying your best to mimic
the speaker.

Getting French pronunciation just right takes practice, so don’t worry if you
don’t get it at first. And don’t be afraid to really go for it! Go ahead and
purse those lips out as you’re speaking French. It may feel strange (or even
mocking), but it’s not. That’s how French people actually speak! Embrace it.

a tu (you)

b j’étudie (I study)

c culture (culture)

The French r
Remember: the French r is nothing like the English ‘r’, and in fact it comes from
another part of your mouth – it’s actually closer to an English ‘k’!

To produce this sound, position your throat as if you were going to gargle
mouthwash, then attempt to say a ‘k’ sound, but make it softer, and it will sound
like a French r. Try to get feedback from a native speaker and you will soon get
this!

1 02.11 Here are some words you’ve already seen that use the r sound.
Listen to the audio and repeat, trying your best to mimic the speaker.

a alors (so / then)

b après (after)

c de rien (you’re welcome)

CONVERSATION 3
Sharing your opinions

Lauren and Jacques start to chat about how best to learn a new language.

02.12 Can you understand Lauren’s method of learning French?

Jacques : Lauren, qu’est-ce que tu fais pour apprendre le français ?

Lauren : Ben … j’étudie le vocabulaire et je vais en classe chaque semaine.
Jacques : Eh bien … Je pense que c’est une mauvaise idée.
Lauren : Vraiment ?
Jacques : Oui. Pour apprendre l’italien, je préfère aller en classe chaque jour.
Lauren : Oh là là ! Comment tu le fais ?
C’est-à-dire … je vais en classe chez moi, sur Internet. C’est simple, tu
Jacques :
sais ?
Lauren : Très intéressant. Je dois faire ça !
Jacques : Tu aimes lire beaucoup de livres, non ? Ça aide !
Lauren : Oui, c’est vrai. Je suis d’accord !

Oh là là ! It sounds cliché, but the French really do say this!

FIGURE IT OUT

1 What does qu’est-ce que mean?

2 Find the phrases meaning ‘every week’ and ‘every day’ in the
conversation.

3 Answer these two questions in French.

a How often does Lauren have a French class?

b How often does Jacques have an Italian class?

4 Highlight three cognates or near cognates in the conversation.

5 Vrai ou faux ? Jacques prefers to have his Italian classes at home, on the
Internet.
NOTICE

02.13 Listen to the audio and study the table. Pay special attention to the way
Jacques pronounces the question qu’est-ce que tu fais ?

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

qu’est-ce que tu fais… what are you doing… kehs kuh tew feh
to learn French?
pour apprendre le pooR ah-pRawNd luh fRawN-
(for to-learn the
français ? seh
French)
ben… j’étudie le well… I study bawN zhay-tew-dee luh vo-
vocabulaire vocabulary kah-bew-lehR
je vais en classe… I go to class… zhuh veh zawN klahs
chaque semaine every week shahk suh-mehn
chaque jour every day shahk zhooR
je pense que… I think that… zhuh pawNs kuh
je préfère aller… I prefer to go… zhuh pRay-fehR ah-lay
comment tu le fais ? how do you do that? koh-mawN tew luh feh
c’est-à-dire… that is to say… seh-tah-deeR
c’est simple, it’s easy, seh sahNpluh
tu sais ? you know? tew seh
je dois faire ça ! I should do that! zhuh dwa fehR sah
tu aimes lire beaucoup you like to read a lot tew ehm leeR boh-koo duh
de livres ? of books? leev
c’est vrai that’s true seh vReh
je suis d’accord ! I agree! zhuh sew-wee da-koR

To remember je pense, think of the English word ‘pensive’.

Since you’ve already learned the word pas, you’ve practically doubled your
vocabulary with a shortcut to saying opposites. Imagine that you want to say
to your French partner, ‘this is hard’, but you haven’t learned the word ‘hard’
yet. You can simply say it’s ‘not easy’. C’est pas simple.

1 Find one new question word and two new filler words in the phrase list
and circle them. Then write them here.

a How?
b well…
c that is to say…

2 Write out the five phrases the speakers use to give their opinions.

a I think that
b I prefer
c I should
d I agree
e That helps!
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: je (I) and tu (you)

In Conversation 3, you met a lot of new verbs used in different ways. Now you
need to know how to change them into different forms.

Let’s start with the most common verbs for now: verbs that end in -er in the
dictionary form.

Changing a verb from its dictionary form - like ‘to like’ (aimer) - to other
forms like ‘I like’ (j’aime) or ‘you like’ (tu aimes) is what language teachers
typically refer to as conjugating the verb.

Dictionary form verbs ending in -er

Step 1: Drop the -er

Step 2: Add an -e for je; add -es for tu

Examples: aimer (to like) → j’aime, tu aimes

habiter (to live) → j’habite, tu habites
parler (to speak) → je parle, tu parles

You can see that the rule of changing je to j’ doesn’t apply to tu.

For other verbs with different endings, just remember for now that most of the
time, you’ll use the same forms for both je and tu:

vouloir (to want) → je veux, tu veux

faire (to do/to make) → je fais, tu fais

Exceptions
In this course, we don’t have a lot of verbs that don’t fit these patterns, but one
you’ve seen so far is ‘to go’, which has the dictionary form aller, but the very
different je form of je vais and the non-matching tu form of tu vas.

Other verbs like these are savoir (to know), devoir (should), lire (to read), pouvoir
(to be able to) and dire (to say). Learn the forms of these top irregular verbs for
now:

aller savoir devoir lire pouvoir (to be dire

(to go) (to know) (should) (to read) able to) (to say)
je vais je sais je dois je lis je peux je dis
tu vas tu sais tu dois tu lis tu peux tu dis

1 Practise changing these -er verbs into the je and tu forms.

a étudier (to study) → j’ ______________ → tu

b penser (to think) → je ______________ → tu
c demander (to ask) → je ______________ → tu
d commencer (to start) → je ______________ → tu

2 Practise changing these other common verbs into the tu forms.

a savoir (to know) → je sais → tu

b devoir (should) → je dois → tu
c lire (to read) → je lis → tu
d pouvoir (to be able to) → je peux → tu
e dire (to say) → je dis → tu
PRACTICE

1 Complete the sentences with the missing word(s) in French.

a ______________ tu aimes ______________? (What do you like to

read?)
b ______________ beaucoup de ______________ chez moi. (I read a lot of
books at my house.)
c Est-ce que ______________ que je suis Français ? (Do you know that
I’m French?)
d ______________ ______________ ______________ ça va
______________ bien. (I know that things are going very well.)

2 Practise what you know by translating these full sentences into

French.

a I prefer to speak French.

b You should say that you like pizza.
c You know that I have been learning French for two weeks.
d I think that French is simple!
PUT IT TOGETHER

Now it’s time for you to use what you’ve learned to create sentences about
yourself in French.

Qu’est-ce que tu penses ? Write four sentences that each do one of

the following:

Use je veux to say something you want to do one day.

Use je vais to talk about somewhere you like to go every so often.
Use je dois to say something you should do.
Use je pense que to express an opinion.
COMPLETING UNIT 2
Check your understanding

02.14 Go back and reread the conversations. When you’re feeling confident:

listen to the audio rehearsal, which will ask you questions in French
pause or replay the audio as often as necessary to understand the questions
repeat after the speaker until the pronunciation feels and sounds natural to
you
answer the questions in French (in complete sentences).

Show what you know …

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item on the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.

Ask a ‘yes or no’ question. Tu habites à Paris ?

Give the je and tu verb forms (e.g. apprendre).
Ask the question, ‘How long have you been learning French?’
Say how long you’ve been learning French.
Say what other languages you speak or want to learn.
Negate a sentence using pas (e.g. C’est vrai !).
Give three filler words.
Pronounce the French u and r:
Tu étudies le français ?
Bien sûr ! J’adore la culture !
COMPLETE YOUR MISSION
It’s time to complete your mission: fool someone into thinking you speak French
for at least 30 seconds. To do this, you’ll need to prepare to initiate a conversation
by asking questions and replying with your own answers. Please visit
www.italki.com/languagehacking
STEP 1: build your script

Keep building your script by writing out some ‘me-specific’ sentences along with
some common questions you might ask someone else. Be sure to:

ask a question using depuis quand ? or combien ?

ask a question using est-ce que ? or qu’est-ce que ?
say whether you speak other languages and how well you speak them.
say how you are learning French.
say what other languages you want / hope to learn.
say how long you’ve been learning French using depuis.

Write down your script, then repeat it until you feel confident.
STEP 2: all the cool kids are doing it … online

You’ve put the time into preparing your script; now it’s time to complete your
mission and share your recording with the community. Go online to find the
mission for Unit 2, and use the French you’ve learned right now!

Momentum is a powerful tool. Once you get started, it’s so much easier to
keep going.
STEP 3: learn from other learners

How well can you understand someone else’s script? Your task is to listen to at
least two clips uploaded by other learners. How long have they been learning
French? Do they speak any other languages? Leave a comment in French saying
which words you were able to understand and answering a question they ask at the
end of their video. And ask them one of the questions you’ve prepared.
STEP 4: reflect on what you learned

What new phrases did you learn in the online community? Always write them
down!
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH
YOU CAN ALREADY SAY?

After only two missions, you’ve learned so many words and phrases you can use
in real conversations. Don’t forget that you can mix and match words and
sentences to create endless combinations. Get creative!

In the next few units, you’ll learn more about how to have conversations in French
– even if you have a limited vocabulary or haven’t been learning for very long.

Magnifique !
3 SOLVING COMMUNICATION
PROBLEMS

Your mission
Imagine this – you’re having a great time at your soirée when someone decides
it’s time to play a party game – describe something without saying the word itself!

Your mission is to use your limited language and win the game. Be prepared to
use ‘Tarzan French’ and other conversation strategies to describe a person,
place or thing of your choosing in French.

This mission will help you overcome the fear of imperfection and show you how,
with a powerful technique, you can make yourself understood.

Mission prep
Use phrases for meeting new people: salut, ça va bien, enchanté(e)
Use survival phrases to ask for help with your French: Tu peux répéter ça
?
Talk about what you have and what you need with j’ai and j’ai besoin de
Use the French liaison and the CaReFuL mnemonic to improve your
pronunciation.
Develop a new conversation strategy: use ‘Tarzan French’ to fill the gaps
in your vocabulary with personne, lieu, chose.
#LanguageHack: Power-learn word genders with the word-endings trick
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR … MEETING SOMEONE NEW

Practising your French with a tutor or teacher online, especially when you don’t
live in a French-speaking country, is one of the most effective (and affordable)
ways to learn French quickly. In this unit you’ll learn strategic survival phrases
you can use whenever there’s something you don’t understand, and you’ll use
‘Tarzan French’ to communicate with limited language or grammar. Strategies
like these help you become comfortable making mistakes when speaking, and
help you have meaningful conversations despite being a beginner.
CONVERSATION 1
Having an online chat

Lauren has decided to take Jacques’ advice and have an online French lesson from
home. She’s about to have her first online conversation with Antoine, her new
teacher. Since this is her first time meeting Antoine, she needs to introduce
herself.

It’s easy to have conversations with other French speakers online. I’ve done
this for all the languages I’ve learned. These days I schedule online chats
from home to maintain my strongest languages, including French. See our
Resources online to learn how!

03.01 How does Antoine greet Lauren, and how does she reply to Ça va?

Antoine : Salut ! Ça va ?
Lauren : Salut ! Tout va bien. Merci beaucoup de m’apprendre le français.
Antoine : De rien ! Pas de problème.
Lauren : Comment tu t’appelles ?
Antoine : Je m’appelle Antoine. Et toi ?
Lauren : Je m’appelle Lauren.
Antoine : Tu as un joli nom ! Enchanté Lauren !
Lauren : Merci, c’est gentil. Enchantée !
Antoine : Alors, où est-ce que tu es aujourd’hui ?
Lauren : Euh, plus lentement, s’il te plait.
Antoine : Aujourd’hui, tu es où ?
Lauren : Ah, oui. Maintenant, je suis à Paris.
If you know someone well, a fun way to start a conversation is to say coucou
! instead. Inspired by the sound of a cuckoo clock, and initially like a
‘peekaboo’ said to children, it’s now used by adults as a casual and fun
‘hey!’.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Use context to figure out the gist of the conversation. Which of the
following is the false statement?

a Lauren asks Antoine to repeat himself more slowly.

b Antoine wants to know why Lauren is learning French.

c Antoine asks where Lauren is today.

2 How do you say the following in French?

a thank you
b please

c you’re welcome

3 How do you ask, ‘What’s your name?’ in French?

4 What does pas de problème mean in English?

5 What question does Antoine ask Lauren at the end of the conversation?
NOTICE

03.02 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

salut ! ça va ? hi! how are you? sah-lew sah vah
tout va bien everything’s good too vah bee-ahN
thank you very much
merci beaucoup mehR-see boh-koo
(thank-you a-lot)
… for teaching me French
… de m’apprendre le duh mah-pRawNd luh fRawN-
(of me-to-learn the
français seh
French)
comment tu t’appelles what’s your name?
koh-mawN tew tah-pehl
? (how you yourself-call?)
pas de problème not a problem pah duh pRo-blehm
tu as un joli nom ! you have a pretty name! tew ah ahN zho-lee nohN
enchanté(e) ! nice to meet you! awN-shawN-tay
où est-ce que tu es oo ehs kuh tew eh
where are you today?
aujourd’hui ? oh-zhooR-dew-wee
plus lentement more slowly plew lawN-tuh-mawN
s’il te plait please seel tuh pleh
tu es où ? where are you? tew eh oo
maintenant, je suis à mahN-tuh-nawN zhuh sew-
now, I’m in Paris
Paris wee zah pah-Ree
Note that Comment tu t’appelles ? isn’t exactly the same as ‘What’s your
name?’, but more like ‘How do you call yourself?’

1 What phrase can you use when someone is speaking too fast?

2 Find examples in the phrase list of the different ways you can form the
question ‘Where are you?’

3 How do you say the following in French?

a Nice to meet you.

b Everything’s good.

c I’m in London now. (London = Londres)

4 Write the English meaning of the French verb forms:

a je suis
b tu as
c tu es
PRACTICE

1 03.03 Look again at the phrase list, and replay the audio to check your
pronunciation of these five words and phrases.

beaucoup comment aujourd’hui s’il te plait maintenant

Aujourd’hui is another French word that you should learn as an entire

chunk. Don’t worry about the apostrophe – think of it as a single word that
simply means ‘today’.

2 Match the English question with its correct form in French.

a What’s your name? 1 Comment tu apprends le français ?

b Where are you? 2 Tu habites en France ?
c Do you live in France? 3 Comment tu étudies le français ?
d How do you study French? 4 Comment tu t’appelles ?
e How do you travel? 5 Je dois parler plus lentement ?
f How are you learning French? 6 Où es-tu ?
g Should I speak more slowly? 7 Comment tu voyages ?

The question word ‘do’ is almost never directly translated to French. Instead
of ‘Do you like pizza?’, simply ask Tu aimes la pizza ? ‘You like pizza?’

3 Fill in the blanks with the missing word(s) in French.

a J’ai ________________ de travail ________________. (I have a lot of

work today.)
b ________________ ________________ le temps occupé
________________! (It’s busy all the time here!)

c Tu travailles ________________ ________________? (Where are you

working now?) (lit., You are working where now?)

d Tu ________________ m’ ________________ comment cuisiner. (You

should teach me how to cook.)
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: word order with objects

In Conversation 1, you saw a new French sentence structure in action.

‘I love you’ in French is je t’aime, literally ‘I you love’. That’s another

example of this French sentence structure in use!

When Lauren said, Merci beaucoup de m’apprendre le français, you may have
noticed that French uses a different word order from how we’d say it in English.

Example: English: You help me. French: Tu m’aides. (lit., ‘ You me help’)

Here’s some vocab to help you better understand this sentence structure.

03.04 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Word order with objects

Dictionary Dictionary
Example Meaning Example Meaning
form form
je te
aimer je t’aime I love you donner I give you
donne
je t’entends I can’t hear
entendre demander I ask you
pas you
voir je le vois I see it expliquer I explain it
you help
dire tu me dis you tell me aider
me
appeler je t’appelle I call you
 While in English we’d say ‘I’m calling you’ instead of ‘I call you’, in French
both phrases are translated the same way: je t’appelle.

Simply put, the object of a sentence – the person or thing being talked about – will
appear before the verb in French, instead of after the verb, as in English. These are
words like ‘me’, ‘you’, ‘it’, ‘him’, ‘her’ and ‘them’.

je te donne = I give you

tu me donnes = you give me
Examples:
je veux te donner = I want to give you
Je peux le donner ? = Can I give it?

1 Complete the sentences with the correct object word in French.

a I’m giving you je ________________ donne

b I can’t see it. Je ________________ vois pas.
c Can I help you? Je peux ________________ aider ?

2 Complete these sentences with the correct verb form in French.

Example: Can you help me? Tu peux m’aider ?

a I hear it. Je l’ ________________.
b Can you write that? Tu peux l’ ________________?
c (Do) you see me? Tu me ________________ ?
d I want to tell you. Je veux te ________________.

In this situation, the word for ‘that’ is the same as the French word for ‘it’.

3 Now put the words in the correct order to make complete sentences.

a entends/tu/l’ ________________ ? (Do you hear it?)

b dire/me/tu peux ________________ ? (Can you tell me?)
c envoyer/l’/je veux ________________. (I want to send it.)

4 The table is incomplete! Fill in the empty spaces using the correct object
sentence structure.
PUT IT TOGETHER

Où est-ce que tu es aujourd’hui ? Use the words you’ve just learned to write
sentences in French about your life.

Use maintenant to write two sentences about where you are or what
you’re doing now.
Use aujourd’hui to write two sentences about what you’re doing or where
you’re going today.
Use your dictionary to look up new words that you need.
PRONUNCIATION EXPLANATION 1: final consonants

French pronunciation can seem frustrating at first. You’ll notice that much of the
time, the consonant at the end of a word is silent (as in Paris). But other times, it
isn’t (as in Tour Eiffel). Luckily, there’s an easy trick for knowing when to
pronounce the final consonant – just remember the mnemonic CaReFuL!
Usually, the only consonants you pronounce at the end of a word are C, R, F and
L.

There are some exceptions, but most of the time this will be the case. One
common exception to keep in mind is dictionary-form verbs which end in -
er, like manger. In these verbs, the ending is pronounced ‘ay’.

If you’re not sure how to pronounce a word, just guess and say it anyway!
You can’t learn French by keeping your mouth shut. Saying a word wrong
and getting corrected is much better than saying nothing at all. Don’t avoid
making mistakes – embrace it. You’ll learn French much faster if you do.

03.05 Listen to the audio to hear the way the final consonants are pronounced.
Repeat the words to try to mimic the speaker.

petit pour vais parc deux seulement neuf étudiants

1 Say these words aloud. Would you pronounce the last consonant?

a bonjour
b combien
c depuis
d avec
e quand
f avril
g créatif
h manger
PRONUNCIATION EXPLANATION 2: the liaison

While you may recognize a word when it’s spoken alone, some words when
spoken together blur into a liaison. Luckily this only happens with specific letters,
and you can learn them quickly.

Generally, the letters s, z, n, d, m, t, x are silent at the end of words. For example,
les garçons (lay gahR-sohN), and chez Pierre (shay pee-ehR).

Notice that these letters fall outside of the CaReFuL mnemonic.

But here’s how the liaison changes things. If the word after begins with a vowel
(a, e, i, o, u) or a silent h, the sound will change.

1 03.06 Listen to the audio to hear how the sound changes. Repeat out loud,
trying your best to mimic the speakers.

s, x, and z all make a ‘z’ sound

d and t both create a ‘t’ sound

m and n create a nasalized sound

CONVERSATION 2
I don’t understand …

As Lauren continues her online class, she starts having trouble understanding
what Antoine is saying, so she needs to ask him for help.

03.07 How does Antoine rephrase his words when Lauren asks for help?

Pourquoi tu dis que tu es à Paris ‘maintenant’. Tu habites dans une

Pierre :
autre ville ?
Lauren : Je suis désolée. Je comprends pas.
Pierre : Pourquoi – pour quelle raison – tu es à Paris ?
Lauren : Ah, je comprends. Je suis ici pour apprendre le français !
Antoine : C’est vrai ? Très intéressant !
Lauren : Et toi ? Tu es où ?
Antoine : Je suis en France, à Toulouse. Je travaille ici.
Lauren : Tu peux répéter ça, s’il te plait ?
Antoine : J’habite à Toulouse, alors, je suis en France.
Lauren : Un instant … Je t’entends pas bien.

Maintenant is an extremely common word that you’ll use all the time. Try to
think of an association with ‘maintaining’ something now to help you
remember.

The verb ‘to work’ travailler is tricky because it sounds so similar to the
word ‘travel’. I suggest you try to remember it by thinking of your worst
morning commute and how travelling to work was already lots of work.
Remember, you’d only use this in casual situations when talking to a single
person. Otherwise, use s’il vous plait in formal situations or with more than
one person.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Are the following statements vrai or faux?

a Pierre asks Lauren why she’s in Paris. vrai / faux

b Lauren says she’s in Paris for work. vrai / faux
c Antoine lives in Paris. vrai / faux

2 03.07 There are five liaisons in this conversation. Can you hear them?
Listen to the audio again, then highlight them when you hear them.

3 Several of the French words in the conversation sound similar to their

English counterparts. Can you guess their meaning?

a intéressant

b répéter

c raison

d comprends

4 What is the meaning of these phrases?

a Tu habites dans une autre ville ?

b Tu peux répéter ça ?
c Un instant … Je t’entends pas bien.
NOTICE

03.08 Listen to the audio and study the table. Repeat the phrases, and pay special
attention to je suis désolée, je comprends and je travaille.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

pourquoi tu dis
why do you say that… pooR-kwa tew dee kuh
que…
tu habites dans tew ah-beet dawN
do you live in another city?
une autre ville ? zewn oht veel
zhuh sew-wee day-zo-
je suis désolée I’m sorry
lay
zhuh kohN-pRawN
je comprends pas I don’t understand
pah
pour quelle raison for what reason are you in Paris? (for pooR kehl Reh-zohN
tu es à Paris ? which reason you are at Paris) tew eh zah pah-Ree
j’habite … I live … zhah-beet
zhuh tRah-vay-uh ee-
je travaille ici I work here
see
Tu peux répéter tew puh Ray-pay-tay
Can you repeat that?
ça ? sah
un instant… one moment… ahN nahNs-tawN
je t’entends pas zhuh tawN-tawN pah
I can’t hear you well
bien bee-ahN
 You’ll start to notice that sometimes words are written differently depending
on whether the speaker is male or female – like enchanté(e) and desolé(e).
The same applies in English with the word ‘fiancé’, which is written
‘fiancée’ if you’re speaking about a woman, but ‘fiancé’ if you’re speaking
about a man.

Convey whether or not you understand with je comprends and je

comprends pas. Comprendre (to understand) is similar to the more formal
word in English ‘comprehend’.

1 Find examples of the following language in the phrase list, and write them
out.

a The je and tu forms of habiter (to live) ________ ________

b The je and tu forms of être (to be) ________ ________
c The tu form of pouvoir (to be able to/can) and dire (to say) ________
________
d The je form of travailler (to work) and entendre (to hear) ________
________
e The je form of comprendre (to understand) and its negative form ________
________

2 You’ve seen several ‘survival phrases’ that Lauren uses to tell Antoine
she’s having trouble with her French. Write them in the cheat sheet.

Survival phrases are your secret weapon for ‘surviving’ any conversation in
French, even when you’re having trouble understanding. Learn these phrases,
and you’ll never have an excuse to switch back to English.

Your survival phrases cheat sheet

French Meaning
Comment dire … ? How do you say…?
More slowly, please.
I’m sorry.
 I don’t understand.
Can you repeat that?
One moment.
I can’t hear you well.
PRACTICE

1 Combine French words you know in different ways to say:

a Where do you live?

b What are you saying?
c Where do you want to live?
d I understand that you’re working.

2 You have now seen all of the main question words used in French! Use
your dictionary to look up how to ask ‘who?’ in French, then fill in the
French translations in the table.

Did you notice that most of the ‘wh-’ question words in English have ‘qu-’
equivalents in French?

Question words

French Meaning French Meaning

Why? Which?
What? When?
How? How many?
Where? Est-ce que Do…?
Who? Can you?

3 What question words would you ask in French to get the following
answers?

a Samedi.
b 14.
c Pierre.
d La gare. (the train station)
e Parce que je veux …
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: how to say ‘in’ in French

The way you say ‘in’ in French changes depending on what you’re describing.

Situation Word for ‘in’ Example

a country Je veux voyager en Italie.
en
(usually ending in e) (I want to travel in Italy.)
a city à Je suis à Dublin. (I’m in Dublin.)
Je travaille dans un hôpital.
‘the’/’a’ dans
(I work in a hospital.)
other places, with no ‘the’/’a’ en Je suis en classe. (I’m in class.)

For now, try to recognize the meanings of these words when you see them,
but don’t worry about getting this right. In truth, you can mix these words up
all you like, and French people will still understand you. Dans is the most
common form, though, so when in doubt, guess dans.
PUT IT TOGETHER

1 Create two of your own survival phrases by combining tu peux (can you)
with object words like me, te and le.

Tu peux m’aider, s’il te plait ?

Example:
(Can you help me, please?)

Add these new survival phrases to your survival phrase cheat sheet.

2 Now let’s keep building your script. Use what you’ve learned in
Conversations 1 and 2, as well as new ‘me-specific’ vocabulary to create
new sentences that describe:

Where you’re from, but also where you live now (use mais and
maintenant)
How long you’ve lived there (use depuis)
Where you work (use travaille + dans un/une)
How long you’ve worked there (use depuis)
CONVERSATION 3
Can you hear me now?

The French get an unfair reputation for being impatient with foreign visitors.
Outside of the touristy city centres (and sometimes even in them!), you’ll find the
French to be extremely patient and friendly. Rest assured that you can speak
broken French with native speakers and they will be happy to help you. Try it!

I’ve had wonderful experiences learning French with native speakers. They’ll
often compliment you for doing such a good job, even if you’re a beginner.

03.09 Lauren and Antoine are having Internet connection problems. Which word
does Lauren use to tell Antoine that her connection is bad?

Have you noticed that every time we write in French, there’s a space before
the exclamation and question marks? This isn’t a typo - it’s how you do it in
French! C’est vrai ? Oui !

Lauren : Je pense que j’ai une mauvaise connexion. Je suis désolée !

Antoine : Pas de problème. Est-ce que tu veux désactiver ta webcam ?
C’est pas ma webcam. J’ai un problème avec … tu sais … ouf …
Lauren :
j’oublie le mot ! Ma chose Internet !
Antoine : Ton wifi ? Ton ordinateur ?
Lauren : Oui, c’est ça – mon ordinateur ! J’ai besoin de le réinitialiser.
Antoine : Ça marche, si tu penses que c’est une bonne idée.
Lauren : Peut-être … Tu m’entends maintenant ?
Antoine : Pas bien.
Lauren : Je suis désolée. J’ai un vieil ordinateur. Je peux t’appeler la semaine
prochaine ?
Antoine : Pas de souci ! Tu veux reparler quand ? Samedi ?
Lauren : Ça marche ! À bientôt !
Antoine : À la prochaine !

There are many ways to sign off or say goodbye to someone. You could say
salut (the same word as for ‘hi’), ciao, à la prochaine (until the next time), à
plus (until later) or just à + day/time (like à demain ! for ‘see you
tomorrow!’). Any of these are preferable to the overly formal au revoir.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 There are several French words in the conversation that are the same as or
similar to their English counterparts. Can you guess their meaning?

a désactiver

b réinitialiser

c connexion

2 Use words you know along with context to figure out which of the
following statements is not true.

a Lauren has a bad connection.

b Lauren and Antoine agree to talk another time.

c The problem is with Lauren’s webcam.

d Antoine can’t hear Lauren well.

3 Answer the following questions in French.

a What is the phrase Lauren uses when she can’t remember the
word for ‘computer’?
b How do you apologize in French? Je

c What are two ways of saying goodbye in French?

4 Highlight the word meaning ‘week’. Is it masculine or feminine? How do

you know?

5 What do you think the words ma and mon mean? Ta and ton?
CONVERSATION STRATEGY 1: use ‘Tarzan French’ to
communicate with limited words

As a beginner, you won’t always know how to say exactly what you want. Instead
of feeling frustrated, focus on getting your point across, rather than speaking
eloquently. This means getting comfortable making mistakes.

Mistakes are a necessary part of the process – you can’t learn French without
making lots of them. Mistakes aren’t just inevitable, they are important for
making progress. In games like chess, players are advised to lose 50 games
as soon as possible. Get them out of your system sooner, and you can
improve so much faster!

That’s why I recommend you embrace ‘Tarzan French’. Find ways to convey your
ideas that are understandable, even if your grammar or word choice isn’t beautiful.
You can still get your meaning across if you know just the key words.

For example, if you want to say ‘Could you tell me where the bank is?’ you could
convey the same meaning with only two words, ‘Bank … where?’, just like
Tarzan.

Tu peux me dire où est la banque ? → Banque … où ?

Try out your ‘Tarzan French’! Look at these sentences. Isolate the key words, then
use ‘Tarzan French’ to convey the same meaning (even if less elegantly).

I call the fear of making mistakes ‘perfectionist paralysis’. Perfectionism is

your enemy because it will hold you back from actually communicating. If
you wait to say everything perfectly, you’ll never say anything at all!

Example: Je te comprends pas. Tu peux répéter ça, s’il te plait ?

Répéter, s’il te plait ?

a Je suis désolée, mais ça te dérange de parler plus lentement ?

b Peux-tu me dire combien ça coute ?

c Pardon, tu sais où est le supermarché ?

CONVERSATION STRATEGY 2: use the power nouns personne,
endroit, chose

These words are power nouns. By definition, they encapsulate pretty much all
other nouns, so you can use them in a huge number of situations when you want to
describe something but don’t know the French word:

personne (person), endroit (place), chose (thing)

Simply use this formula:

(power noun) + de + (any word related to the thing in question)

For example, if you can’t remember the words for:

‘train station’ (la gare), try ‘train place’: endroit de train

‘bed’ (le lit), try ‘sleep thing’: chose de dormir

Try it out. How could you convey your meaning using power nouns?

In Conversation 3, Lauren uses this trick when she forgets the word for
‘computer´.

Example: Pen? → (‘writing thing’) → chose d´écrire

a Library? → (‘book place’) → ___________

b Waitress? → (‘restaurant person’) → ___________
NOTICE

03.10 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

je pense que j’ai… I think that I have… zhuh pawNs kuh zhay
pas de problème no problem pah duh pRo-blehm
j’ai besoin de … I need (I have need of) … zhay buh-zwahN duh
j’oublie le mot ! I forget the word! zhoo-blee luh mo
ton wifi ? tohN wee-fee tohN noR-dee-
your wifi? your computer?
Ton ordinateur ? nah-tuhR
c’est ça that’s it say sah
ça marche that works sah mahRsh
si tu penses que … If you think that … see tew pawNs kuh
c’est une bonne
It’s a good idea seh tewn bon ee-day
idée.
peut-être maybe puh teht
can you hear me? (do you
tu m’entends ? tew mawN-tawN
hear me?)
je peux t’appeler … can I call you … zhuh puh tah-play
… la semaine
… next week? lah suh-mehn pRo-shehn
prochaine ?
pas de souci ! no worries! pah duh soo-see
à bientôt ! see you later! ah bee-ahN-toh
à la prochaine ! see you next time! ah lah pRo-shehn
If you need to access someone’s wifi, just ask for their mot de passe
(password).

You should recognize this phrase, as it’s used in French to tell someone your
name. But keep in mind that it literally means ‘to call you’.

1 Fill in the gaps with the missing verb forms.

a avoir (to have) → _____________ (I have) → tu as (you have)

b penser (to think) → je pense (I think) → _____________ (you think)

c pouvoir (to be able to) → _____________ (I can) → tu peux (you can)

d entendre (to hear) → je t’entends (I hear you) → _____________ (you

hear me)

e _____________ (to call) → je m’appelle (I call myself) → tu t’appelles

(you call yourself)

2 How would you say ‘you need’ in French?

3 Notice the connector words in the phrase list. If someone says, je suis
désolé(e), and you want to tell them ‘it’s OK’, you could use two phrases
from the phrase list. One is given here -- find the other.

pas de problème

4 ‘That works’ is an extremely versatile connector phrase. Write it out in

French.
5 Lauren also uses the new survival phrase ‘I forget the word!’ Find it in the
phrase list, then add it to your survival phrase cheat sheet.
PRACTICE

1 Practise combining new verbs with other words you know.

a I have + a computer _____________

You have + a webcam _____________

b I think that + it works _____________

I think that + you have _____________
You think that + I can _____________

c I can + to say _____________

You can + to have _____________

d I need + another computer _____________

I need + to work _____________
You need + to be _____________

2 Fill in the missing words in French.

a Tu _____________réinitialiser ton (Can you restart

_____________ ? your computer?)

b _____________ tu _____________, je (If you want, I can

_____________ t’ _____________. help you.)

c La _____________fois, j’ _____________ une meilleure

_____________ connexion.
(Next time, I hope to have a better
connection.)
#LANGUAGEHACK: learn word genders with the
word-endings trick
French words are all either masculine or feminine. The gender affects whether the
word is prefaced with le or la (both meaning ‘the’), and un or une (both meaning
‘a’).

Feminine: la conversation (the conversation) une femme (a woman)

Masculine: le train (the train) un homme (a man)

But why is ‘conversation’ feminine? At first, it can seem like genders are assigned
at random. For instance, masculinité is feminine, and féminisme is masculine!

Word gender has nothing to do with whether the concept of the word is masculine
or feminine. It’s actually the spelling, in particular the word’s ending, that
determines its gender – which means you can guess a word’s gender from its
spelling:

If a word ends in a consonant in its singular form, it’s probably masculine.

Examples: le poulet (the chicken), le chocolat (the chocolate), un amateur (an

amateur)

If a word ends in -e or -ion in its singular form, it’s probably feminine.

Also, guess feminine for the endings -ée, -ité, -ie, -ue, -ance, -ence, -lle, -
ule, -ure, -ette.

Examples: une idée (an idea), la différence (the difference), la culture (the
culture), la nation (the nation), la pollution (pollution), une université (a
university)
Exception: the endings -age, -ège, -isme, -ème and -ment are usually masculine.

There are always exceptions, but this trick works most of the time. This is
another situation where guessing is your friend. Don’t avoid using words
you know just because you’re unsure of the genders. In fact, you could say le
for everything, and it would almost never cause a communication problem!

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

1 So, why is masculinité feminine and féminisme masculine?

English once used word genders, too! We lost them over time, but sailors
still refer to the ocean and boats as ‘she’ – a modern remnant of old
English word genders.

2 Un or une? Select the correct gender.

a un/une village
b un/une ordinateur
c un/une café
d un/une baguette
e un/une éducation
f un/une ville
g un/une appartement
h un/une privilège
i un/une vin (wine)
j un/une poème
k un/une comédie
l un/une différence
m un/une famille
n un/une camping
o un/une action

The words for ‘my’ and ‘your’ also change depending on whether a word is
masculine or feminine.

Example:

une maison (f.) (a house) → ma maison (my house) → ta maison (your

house)
un chien (m.) (a dog) → mon chien (my dog) → ton chien (your dog)
3 Select the correct forms of mon/ma and ton/ta.

a un travail (a job) → mon/ma travail (my job) → ton/ta travail (your job)
b une femme (a wife) → mon/ma femme (my wife) → ton/ta femme (your
wife)
PUT IT TOGETHER

Qu’est-ce que tu as ? Tu as besoin de quoi ? Keep building your script. Look up

new ‘me-specific’ words in your dictionary so that you’re practising phrases that
you’ll use in real conversations. Create three sentences about yourself in French in
which you describe:

your opinion of the newest smartphone on the market (use je pense que)
what technology you have now (use j’ai)
some things you need or would like to buy (use j’ai besoin de).
COMPLETING UNIT 3
Check your understanding.

03.11 Review the conversations from this unit, and when you’re feeling confident:

listen to the audio and write down what you hear

feel free to pause or replay the audio as often as you need to

Show what you know …

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item in the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.

Say ‘hello’ and ‘nice to meet you’.

Give two phrases for saying goodbye.
Say ‘I understand’ and ‘I don’t understand’.
Say something that you have and something that you need.
Use the survival phrases ‘Can you repeat that?’ and ‘More slowly,
please’.
Use French object words in the right word order, e.g. ‘Can you help me?’.
Give the French words for ‘person’, ‘place’ and ‘thing’.
Pronounce the French liaison: je vais aller.
COMPLETE YOUR MISSION
It’s time to complete your mission: use ‘Tarzan French’ to play (and win!) the
word game. To do this, you’ll need to prepare phrases for describing a French
person, place or thing that other people could guess – without knowing the word
itself. Please visit www.italki.com/languagehacking
STEP 1: build your script

Let’s practise embracing ‘imperfectionism’ with today’s script.

If you get stuck, you’re probably struggling with perfectionist paralysis. Take
a step back, and remind yourself that your script is supposed to be imperfect
today!

Use your ‘Tarzan French’ and the unit conversation strategies to…

say whether you’re describing a person, place or thing

for a person, describe him/her with any words you know (What is his/her
travail? Where is he/she maintenant?)
for a thing, describe whether it’s something you have (j’ai), need (j’ai
besoin), like or dislike
for a place, describe what types of people live there or things associated
with it.

For example, you could say:

J’imagine … une personne célèbre … travailler … dans le cinéma …

Pirate … absurde … dire beaucoup … ‘où est le rhum ?’

Write down your script, then repeat it until you feel confident.

Really! The more time you spend on a task, the better you will get! (Studies
show that you will be 30% better than your peers who don’t practise their
speaking regularly.)
STEP 2: practice makes perfect … online

Getting over the embarrassment of ‘looking silly’ is part of language learning. Use
your ‘Tarzan French’ to help you overcome these fears! Upload your clip to the
community area, and you’ll be surprised at how much encouragement you get. Go
online to find your mission for Unit 3 and see how far you can get with your
‘Tarzan French’.
STEP 3: learn from other learners

After you’ve uploaded your own clip, get inspiration from how others use ‘Tarzan
French’. Your task is to play the game and try to guess the words other people
describe. Take note of the clever ways they use the conversation strategies from
the unit, and stash them into a mental note to try later on your own.
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned

Did you learn about new places and people from the community? Write down
anything interesting that you might want to look into later – a famous actor you
might want to look up, or a film you may want to see. What gaps did you identify
in your own language when carrying out your mission? What words do you reach
for over and over again? What words do you hear frequently, but don’t
understand? Note them here!
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, YOU’RE ON A ROLL!

By working around a limited vocabulary, you really can speak French with people
quickly. It’s not about learning all the words and grammar. It’s about
communicating – sometimes creatively. By finishing this mission, you’ve learned
valuable skills that you’ll use again and again in the real world. Next, you’ll learn
to talk about your plans for the future.

Fantastique !
4 DESCRIBING YOUR FUTURE PLANS

Your mission
Imagine this – you want to spend a few weeks exploring Europe, but you can only
afford the trip if your French-speaking friend comes with you and splits the cost.

Your mission is to make them an offer they can’t refuse! Describe the trip of
your dreams and convince a friend to take the trip with you. Use on va … to
draw the person in and say all the wonderful things you’ll do together. Be
prepared to explain how you’ll get there and how you’ll spend your time.

This mission will help you expand your conversation skills by talking about your
future plans and combining new sequencing phrases for better French flow.

Mission prep
Develop a conversation strategy for breaking the ice: Ça vous dérange si
…
Talk about your future travel plans using je vais + dictionary form
Describe your plans in a sequence: pour commencer, après, ensuite …
Learn essential travel vocabulary: tu peux prendre un train
Use on as the informal ‘we’ form
Memorize a script that you’re likely to say often.
#LanguageHack: Say exponentially more with these five booster verbs
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR STRIKING UP A
CONVERSATION

It takes a bit of courage to get started practising your French. But preparing ‘ice
breakers’ in advance helps a lot! In this unit, you’ll build a ready-made script you
can use to start any conversation. You’ll learn how to make conversations with
French speakers more casual, and hopefully even make a new friend or two!
CONVERSATION 1
Excuse me, do you speak French?

Lauren is back at her local language group. She’s been practising her French for a
few weeks now and chatting regularly with Jacques, but today, she wants to build
up her confidence to approach someone new and strike up a conversation.

04.01 What phrases does Lauren use to approach someone new?

Lauren : Excusez-moi, parlez-vous français ?

Julie : Oui ! Je suis belge.
Lauren : Chouette ! Ça vous dérange si je pratique mon français avec vous ?
Julie : Pas de problème – avec plaisir !
Lauren : Je m’appelle Lauren. On peut se tutoyer ?
Julie : Si tu veux – pourquoi pas ? Je m’appelle Julie.
Lauren : Parfait ! Je suis encore débutante.
Julie : Mais tu peux dire tellement déjà !
Lauren : Merci, mais j’ai besoin de pratiquer encore avec des francophones.
Julie : Je suis très patiente – alors, on parle !

There are many ways to say ‘cool’ in French. You can actually use the
English word ‘cool’ if you like (though never to refer to temperature) or
super, or génial which means ‘genius-like’. My favourite though is
chouette, which literally means ‘owl’.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Vrai ou faux ?

a Julie is from Belgium. vrai / faux

b Lauren asks Julie to go to a café with her. vrai / faux
c Lauren thinks Julie is impatient. vrai / faux

2 Find and underline the phrases in which:

a Julie tells Lauren where she’s from.

b Lauren asks Julie if she speaks French.
c Lauren asks to practise French with Julie.
d Julie says ‘let’s talk’.

3 Now find and highlight the words:

a perfect
b patient
c beginner

4 How can you reply to requests? Write out the following phrases.

a If you like
b With pleasure!
c Why not?
d No problem!
e Great!
NOTICE

04.02 Listen to the audio and study the table. Pay special attention to the way
Lauren pronounces ça vous dérange si and on peut se tutoyer.

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

excusez-moi excuse me (formal) ehk-skew-zay mwa
do you speak French?
parlez-vous français ? pahR-lay voo fRawN-seh
(formal)
chouette ! cool! shweht
do you mind if …
ça vous dérange si … sah voo day-RawN-zh see
(formal)
…je pratique mon …I practise my French zhuh pRa-teek mohN
français avec vous ? with you? (formal) fRawN-seh ah-vehk voo
avec plaisir ! with pleasure! ah-vehk play-zeeR
on peut se tutoyer ? can we use ‘tu’? ohN puh suh tew-twa-yay
si tu veux if you like see tew vuh
zhuh sew-wee zawN-koR
je suis encore débutante I’m still a beginner
day-bew-tawNt
tu peux dire tellement you can say so much tew puh deeR tehl-mawN
déjà ! already! day-zhah
j’ai besoin de pratiquer zhay buh-zwahN duh pRah-
I need to practise more
encore tee-kay awN-koR
alors, on parle ! so let’s talk! ah-loR ohN paRl
 To remember that tellement means ‘so much’, think about the different TV
shows you like and that there is so much on the ‘telly’.

On is also used in expressions like ‘let’s go’ - on y va. You can also use the
slang, on y go !

1 What phrase might you say first to get a French speaker’s attention?

2 How do you confirm that someone speaks French?

3 Which question should you ask when you want to say ‘Do you mind if …
‘?

4 Do you see the difference between formal and casual phrases in French?
Match the forms in the box to the correct phrase, formal or casual.

avec toi excuse-moi avec vous

tu parles vous parlez excusez-moi

a you speak formal ___________ casual ___________

b excuse me formal ___________ casual ___________
c with you formal ___________ casual ___________

5 Complete the sentences using déjà, encore or tellement.

a I’m still speaking Je parle ___________.

b I’m already speaking Je parle ___________.
c I’m speaking so much Je parle ___________.
d I still know Je sais ___________.
e I already know Je sais ___________.
f I know so much Je sais ___________.
CONVERSATION STRATEGY 1: keep it simple with on and tu

Using on instead of nous

Your dictionary will tell you that the word for ‘we’ is nous. But there’s an easier
and more commonly used word in conversational French: on (literally ‘one’, as in
‘one is not amused!’).

You can use on instead of nous as a casual way of saying ‘we’. This makes life
easier for beginners, because you don’t need to learn a completely different verb
form. You can say on parle, on pratique, on aime (we speak, we practise, we like).
For -er verbs, the on form usually looks the same as the je form.

Using tu instead of vous

Likewise, you can keep conversations in the informal tu form whenever possible
to avoid having to learn the vous forms for now. The vous form is used in formal
situations, as well as when you’re addressing more than one person.

Having said that, if you meet a stranger and see an opportunity to practise, it’s
safer to introduce yourself using the formal (polite) form, vous, at first. But here’s
a handy tip: open the discussion with a set phrase like parlez-vous français ?
Then quickly ask on peut se tutoyer ? If the other person is about the same age as
you and the situation isn’t formal, they’ll nearly always say oui.

In fact, it’s such a common transition that French has this special word for
using the tu form.
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION:forming verbs with on

When the dictionary form of a verb ends in -er, then the on form is exactly the
same as the je form. For example:

dictionary form je form on form

parler je parle on parle
écouter j’écoute on écoute

Otherwise, you can sometimes recognize on forms as ending with a t. The good
news is that even when the spelling changes slightly, on forms are still
pronounced the same as je (and tu) forms.

04.03 Listen to the audio and practise the pronunciation.

dictionary form je form on form

savoir (to know) je sais on sait
dire (to say) je dis on dit
pouvoir (to be able to/can) je peux on peut
apprendre (to learn) j’apprends on apprend

1 If je pense is the je form of penser, what is the on form?

2 Translate the following phrases using the on form.

a we work

b we study

3 Based on how je veux changes to on veut, how do you think ‘we can’ is
translated into French, given that ‘I can’ is je peux?
PRACTICE

1 The phrase je suis encore débutant(e) is a useful phrase that can be

modified to say countless other phrases. Use the base of this phrase to
create new sentences by replacing suis with the given verb.

Example: I am still young. → Je suis encore jeune.

a I’m still living in Europe. (habite / en Europe)

b Are you still working at the bank? (travailles / à la banque)

c I am still going to class! (vais / en classe)

d Can we still practise? (peut / pratiquer)

2 Fill in the blanks with the missing words in French.

a J’achète _________ mon billet. (I’m already buying my ticket.)

b ______ ______ ______, ______ ______ utiliser mon téléphone. (If you
want, you can use my phone.)

c Est-ce que tu sais __________ ______ ‘airport’ en français ? (Do you

know how to say ‘airport’ in French?)

d C’est ______________ d’être _________ ! (It’s cool to be here!)

e J’ai __________ tellement à __________ avant de voyager. (I still have so
much more to do before travelling.)

f ______ ______ ______ ______ je pose une question ?

(Do you (formal) mind if I ask a question?)
CONVERSATION STRATEGY 2: memorize a regularly used script

A lot of people get nervous speaking to someone new for the first time –
especially in another language. But when you plan out what you’ll say in advance,
you have less to worry about. Luckily, many conversations take a similar pattern,
and you can use this to your advantage.

Learn set phrases

Just because you don’t know the grammar behind a phrase, it doesn’t mean you
can’t use it. You can simply memorize full phrases as chunks, so you can use
them whenever you need to – even if you don’t fully understand all the individual
words.

You can ride a bike without understanding aerodynamics, you can use a
computer even if you don’t know the physics of how circuits work … and
you can use French phrases at the right time, even if you don’t understand
each word and why they go together the way they do!

Try this with the very useful power phrase, Ça vous dérange si …, which can be
used in a variety of situations and conversation topics.

Memorize a script

When you learn set phrases that are specific to you and combine them together,
you create a personal ‘script’ you can use over and over again.

While travelling, I’m frequently asked, ‘Why are you learning this language?’ and
about my work as a writer, which isn’t easy to explain as a beginner. But because I
know these questions are coming, I craft a solid response in advance so I can
speak confidently when the question inevitably comes up.

You may be asked about your upcoming travels or the personal reasons you’re
learning French. Ultimately, if you know you’ll need to give an explanation or
mini-story frequently, memorize it as a well-crafted script to have ready when
the subject comes up. Here’s how to do this:

Decide what you want to say. Make it personal to you.

Then simplify it as much as possible to remove complicated expressions.
If possible, try to do this in French from the start by jotting down key
words and phrases – you can fill in the script later. If you find this tricky,
start your script in English and then try to translate it into French.
Finally, when you have your final script, recite it as often as you can
until you commit it to memory.

You can even have a native speaker review your script and refine your
French. It’s fine to speak spontaneously with mistakes, but you may as well
get it right if you’re memorizing it in advance. It’s easy and free when you
know where to look. See our Resources online to find out how.
PUT IT TOGETHER

1 When might you ask the question ça vous dérange si …? Use this phrase
along with your dictionary to create sentences you could imagine yourself
using abroad, such as:

at a social event (e.g. ‘… if I speak with you?’)

in a park (e.g. ‘… if I touch your dog?’)
at a café (e.g. ‘… if I take this seat?’)
at someone’s house (e.g. ‘… if I open a window?’).

2 Pick one of the following situations, and prepare a short script you can use
without having to think on the spot.

Situation 1: Someone finds out that you’re learning French and they also
happen to speak French. (For this, I like to prepare some phrases like ‘Ah,
you speak French!’, ‘I’m still a beginner’ or ‘I’ve only been learning for
…’)
Phrases like these are great to have in your back pocket. You’ll use them a
ton. You may know a few already, but it’s good to have a go-to answer for
these questions.

Situation 2: Someone asks you to give a mini life story, or asks why you
are learning French. (For this you might say something like ‘I think the
language is beautiful!’ or ‘One day I hope to go to France.’)

Situation 3: You need to interrupt someone on the street to ask a question

in French. (Politeness goes a long way here, so be sure to include ‘excuse
me’ or ‘I’m sorry’, then add something like ‘Do you mind if I ask you a
question?’).
CONVERSATION 2
Where are you going?

Since Lauren and Julie are both visitors to Paris, travel is a natural conversation
topic. In fact, as you learn any new language, you’ll likely be asked (or want to
ask someone else) about travelling to different places.

04.04 What phrase does Julie use to ask ‘Do you travel a lot?’

Julie : Alors, tu es à Paris depuis quand ? Tu voyages beaucoup ?

Depuis longtemps … Je suis à Paris pendant quelques mois et après je
Lauren :
vais au Québec.
Tu dois visiter mon pays, la Belgique. Tu peux prendre un train pour
Julie :
venir le weekend.
C’est une bonne idée ! Ce weekend j’ai pas beaucoup d’heures. Peut-
Lauren :
être le weekend prochain.
Julie : Tu veux dire que t’as pas ‘beaucoup de temps’ ?
Lauren : Exactement, oui. Merci !
Je dois voyager plus, moi-même. Je veux voir les autres villes en
Julie :
France comme Toulouse et Strasbourg. C’est maintenant ou jamais !
Lauren : C’est vrai, mais il y a beaucoup à faire ici, à Paris !

Pendant means ‘during’ or ‘for’ (a certain period of time). Think of a

pendulum swinging as time passes.

Several anglicisms have made it into French that you’ll recognize, such as
weekend, cash (for how you pay), OK, brainstorming, email, cool and many
others, especially in technology and business. If you hear a French person
use these words, try it yourself with a French twang.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Use context along with words you know to answer the questions.

a Where does Julie suggest that Lauren visit?

b Where is Lauren going after Paris?

2 Highlight the following phrases and write them out here in French.

a since when have you been in Paris?

b for a few months
c exactly

3 Is the word pays masculine or feminine?

4 Match the French words with their meanings.

comme jamais alors pendant plus moi-même autre

a more __________

b other __________

c during __________

d then/after __________

e like __________
f myself __________

g never __________
NOTICE

04.05 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

tu voyages beaucoup ? do you travel a lot? tew vwa-yah-zh boh-koo
for a few months (during
pendant quelques mois pawN-dawN kehl-kuh mwa
some months)
you should visit my tew dwa vee-zee-tay mohN
tu dois visiter mon pays
country pay-ee
tu peux prendre un train you could take a train to tew puh pRawNd ahN
pour venir… come… tRahN pooR vuh-neeR
you mean… (you want
tu veux dire que… tew vuh deeR kuh
to-say that…)
t’as pas ‘beaucoup de you don’t have ‘a lot of
tah pah boh-koo duh tawN
temps’ ? time’?
moi-même myself (me-same) mwa mehm
je veux voir les autres I want to see other towns zhuh vuh vwaR lay zoht veel
villes, comme… / cities, like… kohm
c’est maintenant ou seh mahN-tuh-nawN oo
it’s now or never!
jamais ! zhah-meh
il y a beaucoup à faire ! there’s so much to do! eel ee ah boh-koo ah fehR
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: au, aux, du and des

French has a few ways of shortening ways of saying ‘to’ and ‘of’ that you may
start to recognize:
Je vais au supermarché. I’m going to the supermarket.
Je donne le jeu aux enfants. I’m giving the game to the children.
une photo du train a photo of the train
le livre des étudiants the students’ book (lit., the book of the students)

This doesn’t happen with la: je vais à la maison (I’m going to the house).

You saw that à can mean ‘in’ when used before cities. It can also mean ‘to’ a
city, depending on the context. So Je vais à Dublin is ‘I’m going to Dublin’.
When not talking about cities, it almost always means ‘to’.

For now, don’t worry about getting these right, but do try to recognize the words
au(x) and du/des when you see them.

1 What phrases could you use to:

a recommend a place someone should visit?

b correct yourself in French by saying ‘I mean … ’?

c ask ‘Do you mean … ?’

2 Take a closer look at the literal translations of pendant and moi-même.

a Now use pendant to say in French …

during the film ____________ le ____________

 for the month ____________ le ____________

b How do you think you’d say in French …

the same thing la ___________ ___________

yourself ___________ - ___________

3 Match the French phrases with the correct English translations.

a tu travailles 1 you should visit

b je vais dire 2 you can take
c tu dois visiter 3 you travel
d je veux voir 4 you work
e tu voyages 5 I’m going to say
f je dois voyager plus 6 I want to see
g tu peux prendre 7 I should travel more

Travel vocab

Here’s some additional vocabulary you can use to talk about your own travel
plans.

French Meaning French Meaning

prendre… to take… aller en… to go by…
le train the train train train
le bus the bus camion truck
un taxi a taxi métro metro / underground
l’avion the plane (to fly) voiture car (to drive)
l’aéroglisseur the hovercraft
PRACTICE

1 Notice the verb meaning ‘to take’ in French. How would you say ‘I take’
and ‘you take’ in French?

a to take

b I take

c you take

2 Now use what you know about different verb forms to practise using this
vocab in different ways.

a I’m taking the train

b I’m driving

c I’m going by car

d I’m flying

3 Fill in the correct forms for each of the following phrases.

a ___________ weekend (the weekend)

b ___________ weekend (this weekend)

c le weekend ___________ (next weekend)

d ___________ weekend (each weekend)

4 Fill in the blanks with the missing words in French.

a Tu dois ___________la tour Eiffel ___________ ___________tout Paris.

(You should visit the Eiffel Tower in order to see all of Paris.)

b Tu fais le tour de France ___________ ___________?

(Are you going around France by car?)

c Je veux ___________dans des villes ___________ Antibes

___________Lannion !
(I want to go to towns like Antibes and Lannion!)

d ___________ ___________en Italie, ___________ ___________ aller en

avion.
(In order to go to Italy, you should fly.)

e Tu peux ___________ ___________ mais tu peux aussi ___________

___________ ___________.
(You can fly, but you can also take the train.)

f ___________ ___________ ___________ tellement de ___________de

conduire.
(There are so many reasons to drive.)

g Je reste ___________longtemps dans un seul ___________!

(I never stay in just one place long!)
PUT IT TOGETHER

Read the following questions, then write answers that are true for you.

a Est-ce que tu voyages beaucoup ? (Ou … un peu ? Ou … jamais ?)

Je voyage _________________________________

b Tu vas où pour ton prochain voyage ?

Je vais à/en ________________________________

c Pour combien de temps tu vas à/en … ? (Pendant quelques

jours/semaines/mois ?)

Je vais à/en … ___________ pendant ___________________________

d Tu vas en France quand ? (Cette semaine ? Le mois prochain ? L’an

prochain ?)

Je vais en France __________________________________

e Comment tu vas voyager ? (Tu prends la voiture, l’avion ou le train ?)

Je _____________________________________
CONVERSATION 3
How are you spending the weekend ?

Lauren and Julie start talking about their plans for the weekend.

04.06 Notice how the phrases je vais and tu vas are used to talk about future plans.
How does Julie ask, ‘What are you going to do’?

Julie : Alors, qu’est-ce que tu vas faire à Paris ?

Ben, pour commencer je vais voir la cathédrale Notre-Dame. Après, je
vais au Café les Deux Magots pour boire un verre où Hemingway,
Lauren : Picasso et James Joyce allaient. Ensuite, je vais visiter le troisième
arrondissement pour les restaurants spectaculaires. Et je parle français
avec tout le monde, bien sûr !
Incroyable ! Tu vas être occupée ! Je veux faire les mêmes choses – je
Julie :
peux t’accompagner ?
Avec plaisir ! Je suis contente de me faire des amis ! On peut découvrir
Lauren :
la ville ensemble !
Je pense que je suis libre demain mais je sais pas encore. Je peux
Julie :
t’envoyer un email ?
Oui, voilà mon adresse email. T’as besoin de mon numéro de téléphone
Lauren :
aussi ?
Julie : Oui, s’il te plait. Je vais t’appeler ce soir.
Lauren : D’accord. Le voilà !
Julie : Cool. Salut !

Don’t worry about understanding the use of allaient. We won’t be covering it

in this course, but Lauren uses it here to show that understanding the
grammar of every word isn’t important if you can prepare something to say
in advance.

The word même works both to say ‘even’ as in tu peux même aller en voiture
‘you can even go by car’, and ‘same’ as in la même voiture - (the same car).
CULTURE EXPLANATION: arrondissements

Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements (neighbourhoods). Each one works like a

little world of its own.

The 3rd arrondissement is posh and expensive.

The 5th is the one with famous universities, including La Sorbonne.
The 13th has a more modern urban landscape.

Every Parisian has their own favourite, so expect to be asked (or plan to ask!) the
question, Quel arrondissement tu préfères ?
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Vrai ou faux ? Select the correct answer.

vrai /
faux
a The first thing Lauren will do is see Notre-Dame. vrai /
b Then she is going to a café. faux
c Next she is going to visit the third district vrai /
(arrondissement). faux
d Lauren thinks she is free tomorrow, but she is not sure yet. vrai /
e Julie is going to text Lauren tonight. faux
vrai /
faux

2 Now answer the following questions in French, starting with the given
phrase.

a Why is Lauren going to the café? (In order to …)

b Why is Lauren going to le troisième arrondissement? (For …)

3 What is the meaning of the phrase T’as besoin de mon numéro de

téléphone aussi ?

4 Find and highlight these phrases in the conversation. Then write them out.

a What are you going to do in Paris?

b I want to do the same things.

NOTICE

04.07 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

qu’est-ce que tu vas what are you going to
[kehs-kuh tew vah fehR]
faire ? do?
pour commencer, je
first, I will go … pooR koh-mawN-say zhuh veh
vais …
then / afterwards, I’m
après, je vais voir … ahpReh zhuh veh vwaR
going to see …
ensuite, je vais visiter awN-sew-eet zhuh veh vee-zee-
next, I’ll visit …
… tay
pour boire un verre to drink (a glass) pooR bwaR ahN vehR
tu vas être occupée ! you will be busy! tew vah zeht ohk-ew-pay
je veux faire les I want to do the same
zhuh vuh fehR lay mehm shohz
mêmes choses things
je peux t’accompagner
can I join you? zhuh puh tah-kohN-pah-nyay
?
on peut découvrir la we can discover the ohN puh day-koo-vReeR lah
ville ensemble ! city together! veel awN-sawNb-luh
je suis libre demain I am free tomorrow zhuh sew-wee leeb duh-mahN
voilà mon adresse here’s my email vwa-lah mohN nah-dRehs ee-
email address mehl
mon numéro de mohN new-may-Roh duh tay-
my phone number
téléphone lay-fon
je vais t’appeler ce soir I’ll call you tonight zhuh veh tah-play suh swaR
d’accord OK dah-koR

Do you remember je suis d’accord (I agree) from Unit 2? The word

d’accord also means ‘OK’.

You may have heard of an ensuite bathroom – a bathroom that’s attached or

next to the main room.

1 Find the words or phrases for ‘first’, ‘then’ and ‘next’ and write them.

a first ___________

b then ___________

c next ___________

2 Match the English phrases with their French translations

a Can you email me? 1 Je peux t’appeler ?

b Can I text you? 2 Je peux t’envoyer un texto ?
c Can I call you? 3 Tu peux m’appeler ?
d Can you call me? 4 Tu peux m’envoyer un email ?
#LANGUAGEHACK: say exponentially more with
these five booster verbs
You can see that saying things right in French means learning how to form verbs
differently (je, tu, on and so on). And that’s even before you start changing from
present tense to future or past … which is when things can really start to get
messy!

But don’t panic! You will eventually learn to handle even the messiest of those
verb forms, but for now, here’s a handy trick you can use to press the snooze
button on learning conjugations. Learn just these five ‘booster’ verbs and their
forms, and they can do the heavy lifting for you. Simply follow them up with the
dictionary form of any other verb you may want to use.

booster verb + dictionary form

Aimer for interests

Imagine that you wanted to say ‘I go out every weekend’ but you didn’t know the
je form of the verb sortir (to go out).

You could just use j’aime as a booster verb. In this case, if you know that ‘to go
out’ in its dictionary form is sortir, you can combine it with j’aime to express the
same idea.

J’aime + sortir + chaque weekend.

(I like) + (to go out) + (every weekend.)
booster verb + dictionary form

Do you remember back in your first mission, when you used j’aime + verb to
describe your interests?
Aller for future plans
To talk about the near future, you can say as you would in English:
Je vais … (I am going to …) Tu vas … (You are going to …)
To use this ‘future’ form on your own, again you simply put the dictionary form
of the verb after je vais, tu vas or on va.

Examples:
Je vais manger. I will eat./I am going to eat.
Je vais comprendre. I will understand./I am going to understand.
On va travailler. We will work./We are going to work.
Tu vas pas étudier. You will not study./You aren’t going to study.

When using two verbs one after the other, if you want to negate the sentence
using pas, put pas just after the first verb.

Vouloir for intentions

You can talk about your intentions using je veux.
Je veux voir le film demain. I want to see the film tomorrow.
Devoir for obligations
This handy verb can be used to say you ‘have to’ or ‘must’ do something. For
example, instead of ‘I’m working tomorrow’, why not say:
Je dois travailler demain. I have to work tomorrow.
Pouvoir for possibility
Use this verb to clarify that you ‘can’ or ‘are able to’ do something. For instance,
the verb recevoir (to receive) can be quite tricky to get right, so you could say:
Je peux recevoir la lettre ici. I can receive the letter here.

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

1 Use je vais + verb to create these sentences in the future tense.

a I will be busy!

b I’m going to do a lot.

c Will you call me tomorrow?

d Are you going to the restaurant?

e I’m not going to travel to Lyon.

2 Combine the booster verbs you’ve just learned with the verb given in its
dictionary form to create French sentences from the English translations
provided.

a Je ___________ ___________ dans la mer. (nager = to swim) (I swim in

the sea.)
b On ___________ ___________ le français ensemble. (apprendre) (We
learn French together.)
c Tu ___________ ___________ du café brésilien ? (boire = to drink) (Do
you drink Brazilian coffee?)
PRACTICE

1 Translate the following into French.

a You are not very busy.

b You are going to be very busy.
c You will speak French.
d We are going to travel to Paris.
e Pierre is going to Ireland.
f Lauren will not visit Berlin.

2 Fill in the gaps with the missing French words.

a _________ _________, je vais _________ _________ mon _________

_________ _________. (One moment, I’m going to give you my phone
number.)

b _________ _________, je vais _________ _________ mais _________

_________ _________ _________! (Tonight I’m going to be busy, but I
am free tomorrow!)

c Je le _________pas _________… attends … _________ _________ ! (I

don’t see it yet … wait… here it is!)

d Je sais pas _________je vais _________.

(I don’t know if I’m going to be able to.)

e Je vais au café _________ Nadine _________ _________ un verre !

Tu veux m’ _________?
(I’m going with Nadine to the café to drink (a glass)! Do you want to join
(accompany) me?)
f On va _________le bus _________, _________ ?
(We’ll take the bus together, OK?)
PUT IT TOGETHER

1 You’ve already learned to talk about your travel plans. Now, use what
you’ve learned in Conversation 3 to write about what you’re going to do
when you get there. Try to include …

what you’ll do first (pour commencer, je vais …) and next (Ensuite …)

which sites you are going to visit (Je vais visiter …)
where you plan to go to eat or to drink (Pour manger / boire, je vais …)
something you want to see (Je veux voir …)

2 Now imagine that you’ve met someone you’d like to hang out with later.

give them your contact details (Voilà …)

ask them to call, text or email tomorrow (Tu peux…).
COMPLETING UNIT 4
Check your understanding

04.08 You know the drill! Listen to this audio rehearsal, which will ask you
questions in French. Use what you’ve learned to answer the questions in French
with details about yourself.

To check that you’re understanding the audio, don’t forget that you can
always look at the transcript at the end of the book or online.

Show what you know…

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item in the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.

Give three phrases for politely starting a conversation (using vous).

Ask a polite question using ‘Do you mind if …’?
Use je vais + dictionary form to say something you will do tomorrow, this
weekend or next year.
Use pendant to say how long you’ll do something for.
Give three methods of travel in French.
Give the three French words to say ‘first’, ‘then’ and ‘next’.
Give the informal phrase that means ‘we can’.
COMPLETE YOUR MISSION
It’s time to complete your mission: convince your friend to go with you on your
dream holiday. To do this, you’ll need to describe the trip of your dreams, using
the on form to say how you and your friend would spend your time. Please visit
www.italki.com/languagehacking

Travel is a popular topic among language learners, so this is a script you’ll

want to make sure you have down solid.
STEP 1: build your script

Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire en France ?

Create a script you can use to tell other language hackers about your travel plans.
Incorporate as many new words or phrases from this unit as possible – déjà,
encore, peut-être, etc. Be sure to say:

where you’re going and what you plan to do when you get there (for
example, you could name popular monuments or tourist attractions, what
you will eat or drink, etc.)
what you want to see first (what are you most excited to explore?)
when you’d like to go and how long you’d like to be there
how you will get there and how you’ll get around once you’re there
who you plan to travel with.

Give recommendations to other language hackers for things to do at this

destination! Write down your script, then repeat it until you feel confident.
STEP 2: feedback promotes learning … online

Give and get feedback from other learners – it will massively improve your
French!

When the opportunity presents itself in real life, you won’t always have notes at
the ready, so let’s emulate this by having you speak your script from memory.
Make sure to revise it well!

This time, when you make your recording, you’re not allowed to read your script!
Instead, speak your phrases to the camera relying on very brief notes or, even
better, say your script from memory.
STEP 3: learn from other learners

Your language partners can be a great resource for tips and stories on travel
and culture! Plus, travel aspirations are a great conversation starter.

How do other language hackers describe their travel plans and dreams? After
you’ve uploaded your clip, your task is to listen and choose the holiday you’d
most like to go on. Say why you think the place and plans sound good.
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned

After this mission, you’ll have seen and heard so many useful new words and
phrases, and you’ll know more about new and different places to visit. What
would you like to add to your script next? Your travel plans?
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, LOOK AT EVERYTHING YOU’VE
JUST SAID!

Isn’t it so much easier when you already know what you want to say? A lot of
language learning involves repeatable and sometimes predictable conversations. If
you take advantage of this and prepare answers you typically give often, you can
be extremely confident in what you say!

Now, let’s build new phrases in your script that you can use to talk about your
friends and family.

Superbe !
5 TALKING ABOUT FAMILY AND
FRIENDS

Your mission
Imagine this - your good friend develops a serious crush on your French ami(e)
and asks you to play matchmaker.

Your mission is to casually talk up your friend and spark the interest of your
ami(e) français(e) to get those two out on a date! Be prepared to describe your
relationship with your friend - how you met, where he or she lives and works,
and the kinds of things he or she likes to do.

This mission will get you comfortable talking about other people and using new
verb forms as well as descriptive language.

Mission prep
Talk about ‘he’ and ‘she’ using il/elle forms
Talk about ‘they’ using ils/elles forms
Use phrases to describe things you do with other people: je passe du
temps, on, ensemble …
Learn essential family vocabulary: le mari, la sœur …
Use the two forms of ‘to know’: savoir and connaitre.
#LanguageHack: Pronounce words you haven’t even learned yet
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR DESCRIBING YOUR
RELATIONSHIPS

Until now, our conversations have focused mostly on describing je, tu and on.
We’ll build on that now with vocabulary you can use to talk about anyone else.
CONVERSATION 1
What do you have planned?

Lauren has been taking online French classes for a few weeks. Today she’s
practising with Mariam, a French tutor from Tunisia. Lauren is excited to talk
about the new friend she made at her language group.

05.01 Notice how Mariam greets Lauren. Which phrase means ‘what’s new’?

Mariam : Salut Lauren, mon étudiante préférée ! Quoi de neuf ?

Tout va bien ! En fait, cette semaine, je passe du temps avec une
Lauren :
nouvelle amie.
C’est formidable ! Je suis contente d’apprendre ça ! Elle s’appelle
Mariam :
comment ?
Elle s’appelle Julie. Elle est belge. Elle travaille comme ingénieur. Je
Lauren :
la connais tout juste.
D’accord. Elle est à Paris depuis quand ? Qu’est-ce que vous avez
Mariam :
prévu ?
Elle est à Paris depuis seulement une semaine. Demain, on prévoit
d’aller au restaurant. Après ça, on va passer la semaine ensemble, pour
Lauren :
découvrir la ville. Et le weekend prochain, je pense que je vais la voir
en Belgique.
Mariam : Mon mari est belge. Il adore – on visite sa ville chaque été.

While in English we might say we’re happy to hear something, the French
say they are happy ‘to learn’ it, or literally ‘happy of to-learn’.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 What is the meaning of the phrase:

Elle s’appelle comment ?

2 Vrai ou faux ? Three of the following statements are faux. Select the
correct answer and correct the false statements.

a Lauren is spending time with a new friend next week. vrai / faux
b Julie works as a lawyer. vrai / faux
c Julie has been in Paris for only a week. vrai / faux
d Tomorrow, Lauren and Julie are going to a restaurant. vrai / faux
e This weekend, Lauren is going to see Julie in Belgium. vrai / faux

3 You’ve learned a lot of words that tell you when something is happening.
Highlight these words and write the French translations.

a this week

b next weekend

c tomorrow

d after that

e every summer

4 Write the phrases in French.

a What’s new?

b Who?

c in fact

d my favourite student

e I’m happy to …
NOTICE

05.02 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

mohN nay-tew-dee-awNt
mon étudiante préférée ! my favourite student!
pRay-fay-Ray
quoi de neuf ? what’s new? kwah duh nuhf
je passe du temps avec I’m spending time with zhuh pahs dew tawN zah-vehk
une nouvelle amie a new friend (f.) ewn noo-vehl ah-mee
je suis contente zhuh sew-wee kohN-tawNt
I’m happy to hear that!
d’apprendre ça ! dah-pRawNd sah
elle s’appelle comment
what is her name? ehl sah-pehl koh-mawN
?
elle est belge she’s Belgian ehl eh behlzh
elle travaille comme … she works as … ehl tRah-vah-ee kohm
je la connais I know her zhuh lah koh-neh
qu’est-ce que vous avez what do you (pl.) have kehs kuh voo zah-vay pRay-
prévu ? planned ? vew
on prévoit d’aller au we plan to go to a ohN pRay-vwa dah-lay oh
restaurant restaurant Rehs-to-RawN
après ça … after that … ah-pReh sah
on va passer la semaine we’ll spend the week ohN vah pah-say lah suh-mehn
ensemble together awN-sawN-bluh
je vais la voir I will see her zhuh veh lah vwaR
mon mari est … my husband is … mohN mah-Ree eh
 il adore he loves it (he adores) eel ah-doR
on visite sa ville chaque we visit his hometown ohN vee-zeet sah veel shahk
été every summer ay-tay

1 Je suis content(e) de (I am happy to) is another power expression. Use this

expression in different ways by combining it with the following verbs.
Example: to know → Je suis content(e) de savoir

a to see

b to be

c to say

2 This conversation introduces forms for talking about ‘he’ and ‘she’ in
French. Find each of the following in the phrase list and highlight them.

a three instances of ‘she’ in French

b two instances of ‘her’ in French
c one instance of ‘he’ in French

3 Notice the new verb forms used in this conversation. Find the following
sets of related verbs and write them out.

a I’m spending time

b we’ll spend the weekend

c he is

d she is
e we’re going

f we’re planning

g we visit

4 Match the French with their English equivalents.

a on prévoit d’aller 1 we are going to spend time

b on va passer du temps
2 we are planning to go

5 Look at the phrases Je la connais and Je vais la voir in the phrase list and
answer these questions.

a How is the word order different from English?

b Using the same sentence structure, how would you say ‘I see her’ in
French?
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: using objects le, la and les (‘him’,
‘her’ and ‘them’)

In Unit 3 you learned to use me and te as objects of a sentence in French. The

same works with le (him), la (her) and les (them). So you can say:
Je l’aime. I love him/her.
Tu le vois dans le parc ? Do you see him in the park?
Tu aimes la nouvelle actrice ? Do you like the new actress?
Non, je la déteste ! No, I hate her!
Je vais les voir. I’m going to see them.

You can see that ‘it’ depends on the gender of the word being discussed.

Interestingly, the verb adorer is a bit of an exception. You’d expect ‘I love it’
to be je l’adore. To say you love something, simply say J’adore! ‘It’ is
implied.
PRACTICE

1 05.03 Here’s some new vocab you can use to talk about your family.
Listen to the audio and study the table. Repeat the words as you hear them.

La famille

French Meaning French Meaning

les parents parents le fils son
la mère (maman) mother (mum) la fille daughter
le père (papa) father (dad) les enfants children
le frère brother la tante aunt
la sœur sister l’oncle uncle
le/la meilleur(e) ami(e) best friend le cousin cousin (m)
le mari husband la cousine cousin (f)
la femme wife le/la coloc roommate/flatmate
le copain boyfriend le chien dog
la copine girlfriend le chat cat
je suis célibataire I’m single panda panda
c’est compliqué It’s complicated
Notice that grammatical genders (le or la) for people tend to be the same as
the person’s gender.

2 What are some other words for family members (or pets!) you have? Add
them to the list.

3 Fill in the gaps with the missing words in French.

a Est-ce que ___________ ___________ des ___________ ou des

___________ ? (Do you have any brothers or sisters?)

b ___________ est mon ___________ ___________ et je ___________ vois

pas assez ! (He is my favourite nephew, and I don’t see him enough!)

c ___________ êtes proches ? (Are you (pl.) close?)

d Mon ___________ Jim et moi, ___________ ___________ de monter une

affaire ___________. (My friend Jim and I, we are planning to start a
business together.)

e Ma ___________ travaille ___________ médecin. ___________

___________ à l’hôpital. (My mum works as a doctor. She works at a
hospital.)

f J’adore ___________ ___________ ___________ avec mes ___________.

(I love spending time with my children.)

g Je parle tout le temps avec ___________ ___________ et je ___________

___________ souvent. (I speak with my brother all the time, and I see
him often.)

h ___________ ___________ où ? (Where does he study?)

i ___________ ___________ fait du jogging ___________ ___________.
___________ adore. (My girlfriend jogs every day. She loves it.)

You can see that the plural for ‘my’ (mes) looks similar to the plural for ‘the’
(les).

4 Answer the questions and practise creating sentences about your family
members.

a Ton / ta meilleur(e) ami(e) s’appelle comment ?

b Tu le / la connais depuis quand ?

c Qu’est-ce qu’il / elle fait comme travail ?

5 Describe who you’re spending time with this weekend and your plans
together. Use the phrases:

je passe du temps avec … ‘I’m spending time with …’

on prévoit de … ‘we’re planning to …’

a Avec qui tu passes du temps ce weekend ? Ce weekend, je …

b Qu’est-ce que vous avez prévu ? On …

GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: il, elle and ils / elles

So far your scripts have relied mostly on the je and tu forms of verbs. Now let’s
look at the forms for il/elle (he/she), as well as ils/elles (they).

il/elle/on – ‘he / she / we (informal)’

Good news! You’ve already seen the verb form for on, and it works exactly the
same for il and elle, as well as for people’s names.

That’s right - il, elle and on always have the same verb form. This is one
reason I prefer to use on over nous for ‘we’ – the conjugation is much easier.
It’s also more commonly heard in casual French!

For verbs ending in -er, il/elle/on forms are the same as the je form:

j’habite à Paris
elle habite à Paris Pierre habite à Paris on habite à Paris

For many verbs (especially those ending in –ir), the il/elle/on form usually
ends with a t:

sortir lire pouvoir vouloir

je sors je lis je peux je veux
tu sors tu lis tu peux tu veux
il sort il lit il peut il veut
elle sort elle lit elle peut elle veut
on sort on lit on peut on veut

ils/elles – ‘they’
When you want to talk about François et Marie and what they are doing, you’ll
need to use a new form: ils/elles, which usually ends in -ent:
parler (to speak) je parle ils/elles parlent
appeler (to call) je m’appelle ils/elles s’appellent

1 Fill in the gaps with the right verb form for the given verb.

a Ils ___________ le cinéma. (aimer)

b Étienne ___________ la Belgique chaque été. (visiter)

c On ___________ ici pour pratiquer. (être)

d Elles ___________ dans un hôpital. (travailler)

e Julien et Paul ___________ beaucoup. (danser)

#LANGUAGEHACK: pronounce words you haven’t
even learned yet
I know that seeing all these different verb forms may feel overwhelming. So
here’s some good news for you: even though they look very different, many of
the these forms sound exactly the same.

This means that in many cases, you already know how to pronounce these new
verb forms, even if you haven’t learned them yet! It also means that you can
safely guess how to pronounce these verb forms when you use them in
conversation, and you’ll have a good chance of guessing correctly!
je/tu/il/elle/on: with the exception of être and avoir, the forms for all
verbs sound exactly the same for je, tu and il/elle/on. So, even though
the spelling may change, as long as you know how to pronounce one of
these, you can say the rest!
ils/elles (for -er verbs): here’s a great surprise – the -ent ending for
ils/elles is actually silent for -er verbs! Because of this, the same
pronunciation trick applies. Luckily, this includes most of the verbs
you’ve come across so far.

05.04 Carefully listen to the audio to hear how the pronunciation of ‘they’
(ils/elles) verb forms differs from – or is similar to – the other forms. Repeat the
words and try to mimic the speakers.

je visite, elle visite, ils visitent, tu passes, on passe, elles passent

je suis, tu es, il est, ils sont, j’ai, tu as, il a, ils ont
je veux, il veut, ils veulent, je peux, tu peux, ils peuvent
je parle, ils parlent, je m’appelle, ils s’appellent
j’aime, ils aiment, je voyage, ils voyagent
j’apprends, tu apprends, il apprend, ils apprennent
je sors, tu sors, il sort, ils sortent, je finis, tu finis, il finit, ils finissent
Pronunciation: -re/-ir verbs

While the pronunciation shortcut for je/tu/il/elle/on will work fine for these verbs,
and -ent is also silent for them, there are other sound changes that take place for
ils/elles with -re and -ir verbs. The good news is that even if you incorrectly use
the je pronunciation for these verbs, people will still be able to understand you.
This is something you can perfect later.

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

05.05 Using the pronunciation shortcut, say the following phrases out loud. Then
listen to the audio to see if you got them right.

a Ils volent depuis cinq heures. (They’ve been flying for five hours.)
b Elles dorment à l’hôtel aujourd’hui ? (Are they (f.) sleeping in the hotel
today?)
c Marc et les enfants arrivent à l’aéroport. (Marc and the children are
arriving at the airport.)
PUT IT TOGETHER

Qui est ta personne préférée ?

Who do you spend your time with? Describe someone close to you, using your
dictionary to look up any new vocabulary you need. Try to answer the following
questions:

What is his/her name?

Where does he/she live? Who does he/she live with?
What does he/she do for a living?
What does he/she like to do?

You might be tempted to talk about where you ‘met’ someone, but we
haven’t learned how to talk about things that happened (past tense) yet. It’s
coming up in Unit 7. In the meantime, practise rephrasing sentences so you
can convey the same idea using phrases you know now. This is an
invaluable skill in language learning.
CONVERSATION 2
Who do you live with?

The conversation continues as Lauren and Mariam talk about their families.

05.06 How does Lauren ask ‘how long’ Mariam has been married?

Lauren : Tu es mariée ?
Mariam : Oui ! Je suis mariée.
Lauren : Depuis combien de temps vous êtes ensemble ?
On est ensemble depuis longtemps. Je connais sa famille depuis vingt
Mariam :
ans. Et toi ?
Lauren : Non. Je suis pas mariée. J’ai même pas de copain. Je suis célibataire.
Mariam : Avec qui tu habites ?
Tu veux dire aux États-Unis ? À mon retour, je vais habiter dans la
Lauren :
maison de ma sœur.
Mariam : Tu es très indépendante.
Ma sœur dit toujours que je suis trop indépendante. Elle voyage
Lauren :
jamais.
Mariam : Est-ce que vous êtes très différentes ?
Pas trop. En fait, on se ressemble beaucoup. Par exemple, elle parle
Lauren :
français aussi !

To describe a person’s possessions in French, use de (‘of’). e.g., la maison

de ma sœur (the house of my sister).
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Find these words in the conversation and highlight them.

a married

b single

c boyfriend

2 Is the word famille masculine or feminine?

3 What do you think is the meaning of the phrase Est-ce que vous êtes très
différentes ?

4 Complete these sentences in French about the conversation.

a Is Lauren married or single? Elle ___________ ___________.

b At whose house is Lauren planning to live?

Elle va habiter dans ___________ ___________ ___________
___________ ___________.

c Mariam est avec son mari depuis ___________ ___________.

d Lauren va habiter avec sa sœur à son retour aux ___________

___________.
5 How do you say the following in French?

a when I get back

b Do you mean to say …?

c for example
NOTICE

05.07 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

tu es mariée ? are you married? tew eh mah-Ree-ay
depuis combien de duh-pew-wee kohN-bee-ahN
how long have you been
temps vous êtes duh tawN voo zeht awN-
together?
ensemble ? sawN-bluh
on est ensemble we have been together for ohN neh awN-sawN-bluh
depuis longtemps a long time duh-pew-wee lohN-tawN
je connais sa famille I have known his family zhuh ko-neh sah fah-mee-yuh
depuis vingt ans for 20 years duh-pew-wee vahN tawN
I don’t even have a
j’ai même pas de
boyfriend (I’ve even not of zhay mehm pah duh ko-pahN
copain
boyfriend)
avec qui tu habites ? who do you live with? ah-vehk kee tew ah-beet
once I’m back (lit., at my
à mon retour ah mawN ruh-tooR
return)
… je vais habiter
… I’ll be living at my zhuh veh zah-bee-tay dawN
dans la maison de ma
sister’s house lah meh-zohN duh mah suhR
sœur
ma sœur dit toujours
my sister always says … mah suhR dee too-zhooR
…
elle voyage jamais she never travels ehl vwa-yahzh zhah-meh
est-ce que vous êtes are you (pl.) very ehs kuh voo zeht tReh dee-
très différentes ? different? fay-RawNt
 on se ressemble ohN suh Ruh-sawN-bluh boh-
we’re a lot alike
beaucoup koo
elle parle le français ehl pahRl luh fRawN-seh oh-
she speaks French too!
aussi ! see

The most common way to say ‘boyfriend’ is copain, which looks similar to
companion. ‘Girlfriend’ is copine. You may also hear petit-ami for
‘boyfriend’ or petite-amie for ‘girlfriend’, though these are much less
commonly used by adults.

1 Find the five il/elle/on verb examples in French. Underline them.

2 In Unit 4, you learned to use the French word même to mean ‘same’.
Notice how même is used differently here. Write out in French:

a the same thing

b I don’t even have a car.

3 Notice the phrases used to say what people are doing ‘together’. How can
you use depuis with these phrases to ask and answer questions about ‘how
long’?

a you’re (pl.) together …?

b we’re together …?

c You’ve (pl.) been together since …

d We’ve been together since …

4 Using the French phrase for ‘my sister’s house’ as a model, how would
you say ‘my brother’s dog’ in French? And ‘my friend’s father’?
VOCABULARY EXPLANATION: savoir and connaitre

French has two ways of saying ‘to know’. Most of the time you’ll use savoir,
which implies that you know a piece of information or how to do something. The
other form, connaitre, implies that you’re familiar with something, or that you
know a person.

Generally, you’ll use connaitre instead of savoir if you can replace the word
‘know’ with ‘know of’ or ‘be familiar with’. For example, you can’t really say ‘I
know of how to drive’, but you can say ‘I am familiar with Paris’ (Je connais
Paris) or ‘I know of him’ (Je le connais).

Je sais que tu es français. I know that you are French.

Example:
Je connais cette chanson ! I know this song!

Choose between savoir and connaitre according to the context.

a Je connais/sais ce livre.

b Tu connais/sais à quelle heure le concert commence ?

c On connait/sait Pierre.

d Elle connait/sait nager ? (to swim)

PRACTICE

1 Practise answering questions about your relationships with other people.

a Est-ce que tu as des frères ou des

Oui, j’ai… sœurs / frères Non, j’ai
sœurs ? pas…

b Est-ce que tu es marié(e), célibataire ou tu as un copain/une copine ?

J’ai / J’ai pas…

c Tu as des enfants ? Combien ? Oui, j’ai … enfants / Non, j’ai pas

d’enfants.

d Avec qui tu habites ?

J’ habite avec … / J’habite seul. (I live alone.)

2 To ask ‘who do you live with?’ Mariam says avec qui tu habites ? which
uses a different word order from English. Practise using this word order to
form questions.

Example: Who are you giving to? À qui tu donnes ça ?

a Where are you coming from?

b What (quoi) are you writing with?

c What time (quelle heure) does the class start?

3 A useful phrase to know in French is je veux dire, which translates as ‘I
mean’. Use this phrase to say the following.

a Do you mean … ?

b he means

c she means

d we mean

4 Fill in the blanks with the missing words in French.

a ___________ ___________, ___________ ___________ et moi,

___________ ___________ ___________ pas la télé. (In fact, my
girlfriend and I, we don’t even watch TV.)

b Je ___________ mon meilleur ___________ depuis ___________.

___________ ___________ ___________ ___________.
(I have known my best friend for a long time. We’re a lot alike.)

c Aujourd’hui c’est l’anniversaire ___________ ___________

___________. (Today is my mother’s birthday.)

d ___________ allez ___________ ___________ avec nous ? (Are you

two going to Canada with us?)

Use the present tense with the word depuis – so you’d say ‘I know …’ rather
than ‘I have known …’.
PUT IT TOGETHER

Build on the script you wrote from Conversation 1. Write four or five sentences
about someone close to you, in which you describe things like …

how long you’ve known him/her (connaitre + depuis)

how long you’ve been together or married (ensemble + depuis)
what you plan to do together (on est, on va, on fait, on veut).
CONVERSATION 3
There are four of us

The conversation gets a bit more detailed now, as Lauren tries to describe the
people she has met.

05.08 How do you say ‘they are not …’ in French?

Lauren : Est-ce que vous avez des enfants ?

Mariam : Oui, on est quatre. On a deux enfants. Ils s’appellent Sarah et Aziz.
Lauren : Oh, j’adore leurs noms. Ils sont vraiment jolis.
Mariam : Tu penses que tu vas jamais avoir une famille ?
Lauren : J’en suis pas sûre. Peut-être un jour.
Et si tu rencontres un Français charmant à Paris ? Alors, vous allez
Mariam :
rester en France pour toujours ?
Tu es drôle. Je rencontre beaucoup de Français, mais ils sont pas
Lauren :
souvent … comment dire en français … ‘my type’.
Ils sont pas ton ‘genre’. Oui, je comprends. On sait jamais ! Tout est
Mariam :
possible !

You can use the phrase on est … or ‘we are (number)’ to say how many of
you there are in a group. It’s a useful phrase in a lot of scenarios, from
describing your family to telling a waiter in a restaurant how big a table you
need.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Use context to answer the questions, and highlight the relevant words in
the conversation.

a How many people are in Mariam’s family?

b Does Lauren ever want to have a family?

c How do you say in French ‘they are not “my type”’?

2 What do the following phrases mean?

a On a deux enfants.

b Comment dire en français … ?

c un Français charmant

3 Find and underline these phrases and write them in French.

a Their names are …

b I love their names.

c Anything’s possible!
NOTICE

05.09 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

est-ce que vous avez do you (pl.) have ehs kuh voo zah-vay day zawN-
des enfants ? children? fawN
yes, there are four of
oui, on est quatre wee ohN neh kaht
us
on a deux enfants we have two children ohN nah duh zawN-fawN
ils s’appellent … their names are … eel sah-pehl
ils sont vraiment jolis they’re really pretty eel sawN vReh-mawN zho-lee
will you ever have a
family?
tu vas jamais avoir une tew vah zhah-meh zah-vwaR
famille ? (You go never to-have ewn fah-mee-yuh
a family)

j’en suis pas sûre I’m not sure zhawN sew-wee pah sewR
vous allez rester en will you (pl.) stay in voo zah-lay Rehs-tay awN
France … France … frawNs

pour toujours? forever? (for always) pooR too-zhooR

ils sont pas souvent … they are often not … eel sohN pah soo-vawN
comment dire en how do you say in koh-mawN deeR awN fRawN-
français … French … seh
on sait jamais ! you never know! ohN seh zhah-meh

1 How would you ask the following questions in French?

a Do you think you will ever … ?

b Do you (pl.) have … ?

2 How would you say ‘I’m sure!’ in French?

3 Notice the literal translations of the following words, and write them out in
French.

a forever
b ever

4 Match the French phrases with the correct English translations.

1 we are

2 you (pl.) are

3 they are

4 we are going

5 you are (pl.) going

6 they are going

7 we know

a ___________on va

b ___________vous allez

c ___________ils vont

d ___________on est

e ___________ils sont

f ___________on sait

g ___________vous êtes
PRACTICE

1 Fill in the gaps for each question-answer pair.

a Martin et Marie, vous êtes ensemble depuis longtemps ?

Non, ___________ ___________ ensemble depuis seulement quelques

jours !

b Ton frère est étudiant ? Non, ___________ ___________ auteur !

c Tes parents sont au travail ? Non, ___________ ___________ en

vacances !

d Vous avez un chien ?

Marc et moi ? Non, ___________ ___________ un chat, bien sûr !

e Ton amie va voyager avec toi ?

Non, ___________ ___________ voyager avec ma cousine !

f Tes sœurs vont lire un livre ?

Non, ___________ ___________ regarder la télé.

PUT IT TOGETHER

You should now have most of the ‘me-specific’ vocab you need to talk about
your family or group of friends!

1 Create a script of four to six sentences to describe people you know. Use
the new forms you learned for il/elle/on and ils/elles to talk about:

your parents, children or other family members – their names, ages, where
they live or what they like
your friends – how you know them, what they do and what they like
your co-workers – what they say, what you are working on together
your pets, people you admire, or anyone else you want to describe!

2 Create four different questions in French using the phrase ‘Do you think
you will ever …?’ as a base, but change the phrase in each sentence to do
the following:

incorporate at least four of the verbs: avoir, vouloir, aller, habiter, savoir,
parler, rester or dire
use four different verb conjugations with tu, il, elle, on, ils or elles
COMPLETING UNIT 5
Check your understanding

05.10 Listen to this audio rehearsal, which asks questions in French, followed by a
short answer.

Combine the answer with the verb in the question to give the full answer.
Feel free to pause or replay the audio as often as you need.

Example: Avec qui John habite ? Sa mère. → Il habite avec sa mère.

Show what you know …

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item in the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.

Give the French phrases for ‘my mother’ and ‘my father’, and another
family member of your choice.
Give two phrases you can use to express how you ‘spend time’ or what
you ‘plan’ to do.
Give one sentence each using:
the il verb form to describe what someone (male) you know works as
the ils/elles verb form to describe what some friends of yours are doing
right now.
Say something you plan to do with another person using on and
ensemble.
 Use connaitre to say you ‘know’ (are familiar with) something or
someone.

COMPLETE YOUR MISSION

It’s time to complete your mission: talk up your friend to spark an interest in ton
ami(e) français(e). To do this, you’ll need to prepare a description of your friend
and explain the story of how you met and all the good things about him or her.
Please visit www.italki.com/languagehacking
STEP 1: build your script

Qui est la personne la plus importante dans ta vie ? Use the phrases you’ve
learned so far and ‘me-specific’ vocabulary to build scripts about your favourite
person. Be sure to:

say who it is (mon ami(e), mon frère …)

explain why the person is so important to you (il, elle)
describe things you do together (on and ensemble)
say how long you’ve known each other (connaitre + depuis)
describe their characteristics, jobs, family, etc. (son, sa)

Include connector words and other vocab you learned in Units 1–5 as much
as possible.

Write down your script, then rehearse it until you feel confident!
STEP 2: keep it real … online

This is a script you’ll use over and over to talk in French about your nearest and
dearest. Start using it right away! Go online, find the mission for Unit 5 and share
your recording with the community.

Use your language to communicate with real people! You need to speak
and use a language for it to start to take hold in your long-term memory. And
it’s the best way to see and feel your progress.
STEP 3: learn from other learners

Your task is to ask a follow-up question in French to at least three different

people, to inspire them to build on their scripts just a little bit more.

Remember, your missions help you, but also help others expand their
vocabulary.
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned

What new words or phrases do you need to start filling your gaps?
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, YOU’RE OVER HALFWAY
THERE!

You have successfully overcome one of the biggest challenges in language

learning: getting started and keeping it up. Momentum goes a long way toward
learning quickly, so you should feel good about how far you’ve come. Always
focus on what you can do today that you couldn’t do yesterday.

Next up: let’s get ready for conversations at the French dinner table.

Bravo !
6 HAVE SOME FOOD, DRINK AND
CONVERSATION

Your mission
Imagine this – you’ve discovered an incredible restaurant near your appartement,
so you invite a new French friend to join you there. You feel très chic and au
courant. But it turns out (to your horror) that your friend has heard bad things
about it. Bah, he says, c’est ennuyeux!

Your mission is to convince your friend to come with you to the restaurant. Be
prepared to give your opinion and say why you disagree. Back it up with details
of why the place is so magnifique – describe food you like and why you like it.

This mission will help you become comfortable agreeing or disagreeing and
explaining your point of view, as well as talking about food and restaurants – a
very important topic.

Mission prep
Learn phrases and etiquette for dining out: je prends, je voudrais
Use food and drink vocabulary: de l’eau, un verre de vin
Use expressions for giving opinions and recommendations: à mon avis
Use du/de la/de l’/des to mean ‘some’
Make comparisons using plus, moins, meilleur.
#LanguageHack: Sound more fluent with conversation connectors
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR FRENCH DINNER
CONVERSATION

Having a long meal filled with fun discussion is a key part of French culture – and
sharing both agreements and disagreements makes for much more interesting
conversations. To blend in, it’s important to be able to proudly share your
opinions. A lot of your conversations will take place in cafés or restaurants, so
let’s make sure you also understand the different ways you’ll interact with waiters,
as well as your dinner companions!
CONVERSATION 1
For me…

06.01 Lauren and her friend Julie sit down to eat at a café in Paris. What phrase
does the waiter use to ask ‘Are you ready to order?’

Lauren : J’ai faim ! Ah, voilà le restaurant !

Waiter : Bonsoir, mesdames. Une table pour deux ?
Julie : Bonsoir, monsieur. Oui, on est deux.
Waiter : Voilà votre table. Et voilà la carte.
Très bien. On prend une carafe d’eau pour maintenant. Merci
Julie :
beaucoup.
Waiter : Merci à vous !
Waiter : Avez-vous choisi ?
Julie : Oui ! On sait déjà.
Waiter : Je vous écoute.
Lauren : Euh… pour moi, une ratatouille, s’il vous plait.
Julie : Et moi, je prends la salade au chèvre chaud.
Waiter : Et à boire ?
Julie : Tu vas boire quelque chose ?
Lauren : Je voudrais du vin rouge. Et toi, Julie ? Tu vas boire quelque chose ?
Julie : Du vin blanc pour moi, et encore de l’eau.
Waiter : Tout de suite !

You may recognize ratatouille as a famous French dish. La salade au chèvre

chaud is another common dish that’s easy on the wallet (and a personal
favourite of mine!).
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Look back at the conversation and answer the questions.

a What does Lauren order to eat? And to drink? Find the words in the
conversation and highlight them.
b Which forms in the conversation are formal or plural? Highlight them.

2 What does the phrase on sait déjà mean?

3 Find the phrases Sarah and Julia use to order:

a une ratatouille
b la salade au chèvre chaud
c du vin rouge

4 Each of these translations from the conversation is incorrect. Determine

what makes each translation wrong and correct it.

a bonsoir good day

b s’il vous plait ! please (informal)
c monsieur waiter
d mesdames madam
e Avez vous choisi ? Have you eaten? (formal)
f Voilà une table. Here’s your table.

5 Write out the following phrases in French.

a And to drink?
b Are you going to drink something?
c we already know
CULTURE EXPLANATION: Garçon ! Menu !

Contrary to what you may have heard, nobody ever calls a waiter over with
Garçon ! You’re more likely to get someone’s attention with eye contact or by
raising your hand subtly and saying s’il vous plait or monsieur/madame.

When browsing French restaurants, you will see the words menu and entrée quite
often – but be careful! A French menu is not the full selection of food to choose
from, like you may be used to (that’s la carte). Un menu is a set menu of multiple
courses for a prix fixe (fixed price). And a French entrée is actually a starter or
appetizer! For the main course, look for le plat principal.

There’s a certain way to order in French restaurants that’s different from what you
might be used to. When interacting with waiters, or any professional in public that
you don’t know, you’ll need to use formal French, with the vous form.
NOTICE

06.02 Listen to the audio and study the table. Pay special attention to the way the
waiter pronounces the phrase tout de suite and how Julie says encore de l’eau.

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

I’m hungry!
j’ai faim ! zhay fahN
(I-have hunger)
bonsoir mesdames / good evening bohN-swaR may-dahm muh-
monsieur ladies / sir see-uhR
voilà la carte here’s the menu vwah-lah lah kahRt
on prend une carafe we’ll have (take) a jug of ohN pRawN ewn kah-Rahf
d’eau water doh
merci à vous thank you (pl.) mehR-see ah voo
avez-vous choisi ? have you (pl.) decided? ah-vay voo shwah-zee
On sait déjà. We know already. ohN seh day-zhah
what would you (pl.) like?
je vous écoute. zhuh voo zay-koot
(I you (pl.) listen)
pour moi, une
for me, a ratatouille, pooR mwah ewn Rah-tah-
ratatouille, s’il vous
please too-ee-uh seel voo pleh
plait
je prends la salade I’ll have (take) the salad zhuh pRawN lah sah-lahd
et à boire ? and to drink? ay ah bwaR
tu vas boire quelque are you going to drink tew vah bwaR kehl-kuh
chose ? something? shohz
je voudrais… I would like… zhuh voo-dReh
du vin rouge / du vin some red wine / some dew vahN Roozh/dew vahN
blanc white wine blawN
et encore de l’eau and some more water ay awN-koR duh loh
tout de suite ! right away! toot sew-weet

You’ve seen the word encore used to mean ‘again’ or, literally, ‘yet’. In
French, when you want to order more of the same, think of this use of encore
de l’eau as either ‘water again’ or ‘yet more water’.

1 Look at the phrase j’ai faim. How does English express this feeling
differently?

2 Which phrases from the phrase list are used to do the following?

a order a jug of water

b order more water

3 06.02 Find the four phrases used to place an order, and highlight them.
Then replay the audio to practise your pronunciation.

a I’ll have…

b We’ll have…

c For me…

d I would like…
4 Notice which words the speakers use to say ‘how much’ or ‘how many’ of
something. Do they say ‘a’ or ‘some’? Then write in the missing French
word from the phrase list.

a ___________ vin rouge

b ___________ table

c ___________ carafe d’eau

d ___________ l’eau

5 What do these phrases and questions mean? Write the English.

a je sais
b je voudrais
c je prends
d je vais boire
e on sait
f on a choisi
g on prend
h Tu sais… ?
i Tu prends…?
j Tu voudrais…?
k Vous avez choisi ?
l Tu vas boire…?
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: du / de la / des (some)

You may have noticed an occasional du, de la or des appearing in some

conversations, as in Est-ce que vous avez des enfants ? (Do you have (some)
children?). This common feature of French is easiest to understand as a translation
of ‘some’.

Can you count it?

You’ll usually add des when you talk about a multiple amount of something that
you can count (like people, houses, cars), but don’t specify the number.

✔ Je vois des enfants.

Example: I see (some) children.
✘ Je vois enfants.

This is true even when you wouldn’t necessarily specify ‘some’ in English.

✔ Je suis ici depuis des

I’ve been here for (some)
Example: heures.
hours.
✘ Je suis ici depuis heures.

When you can’t count it…

For things you can’t count – especially liquids or intangible things (like la
musique) – you should use du (masculine), de la (feminine) or de l’ (before
vowels).

✔ Je voudrais de l’eau.
Example: I would like (some) water.
✘ Je voudrais eau.

✔ Je voudrais de la glace. I would like (some) ice cream.

✔ Je voudrais du chocolat. I would like (some) chocolate.
In English, you cannot count water, ice cream or chocolate, so you say ‘some
water/ice cream/ chocolate’. It’s the same way in French!

1 Imagine you are going through your grocery list, adding each item one by
one. Use the appropriate form of du, de la, de l’ or des before each noun in
the table (depending on whether or not it is countable or liquid).

French Meaning du/de la/de l’/des

l’œuf (m) egg des œufs
le jambon ham
le poisson fish
la viande meat
le café coffee
le lait milk
la bière beer
le vin wine
PRACTICE

1 Tu vas… quelque chose ? (Are you going to… something?) is a power

phrase. You can modify it in endless ways for different situations.
Complete the questions with the appropriate verb. Use the given response
to choose the best verb.

a Tu vas ___________ quelque chose ? Oui, du café !

b Tu vas ___________ quelque chose ? Oui, du poisson !
c Tu vas ___________ quelque chose ? Oui, des souvenirs !

2 Fill in the blanks with the missing words in French.

a ___________ ___________choisi. (We’ve decided.)

b ___________du ___________s’il vous plait ! (Some more wine please!)
c Je prends du vin ___________ et ___________ ___________
du ______________________.
(I’ll have some red wine, and she’ll have some white wine.)
d ___________ ___________ce qu’ ___________ ___________manger.
(We know what we want to eat.)
e Tu as ___________ ___________? (Are you already hungry?)

Here’s some more important vocab related to eating and drinking to give you a
solid base. Before you head to a French restaurant, it’s a good idea to learn the
names of your favourite dishes in advance.

I’d suggest you also bring a pocket dictionary or use one of the dictionary
apps/sites recommended in our Resources on your phone. You may want to
try something on the specials board! It’s OK to order a dish even if you don’t
know what it is - be adventurous!

Eating and drinking vocab

 French Meaning French Meaning
avoir faim (j’ai to be hungry
le repas meal
faim) (I’m hungry)
avoir soif (j’ai to be thirsty
l’alimentation (f) food
soif) (I’m thirsty)
prendre (je to take (to have food)
manger to eat
prends) (I’m having)
to drink (I
boire (je bois) le petit déjeuner breakfast
drink)
to cook / je prends mon
cuisiner I’m having breakfast
prepare petit déjeuner
avec / sans with / without le déjeuner lunch
le poulet chicken déjeuner to have lunch
le bœuf beef le diner dinner
le porc pork diner to have dinner
le poisson fish des fruits fruit
le légume vegetable le verre glass
je suis I’m a
du jus d’orange orange juice
végétarien(ne) vegetarian
je suis allergique I’m allergic to
aux cacahuètes peanuts

3 Add four more food or drink items you would order in French to the table.
PUT IT TOGETHER

1 Role-play ordering your favourite foods and drinks in French at a

restaurant. Take inspiration from what you’ve learned in this unit (and use
your dictionary). You’ll order a starter, a main course, two drinks and a
dessert.

Tu as faim et soif aujourd’hui !

Luckily, you’ve already seen la carte and it conveniently has all your
favourite foods on it.

Alors, qu’est-ce que tu veux cuisiner et qu’est-ce que tu dois acheter pour le
faire ?

Le
Alors, avez vous déjà choisi votre entrée ?
serveur :
Toi : ___________
Le
Ah, excellent choix ! Et comme plat principal ?
serveur :
Toi : ___________
Le Je vois que vous avez faim aujourd’hui !
serveur : Et à boire ?
Toi : ___________ et ___________.
Le
Tout de suite !
serveur :
(30 minutes plus tard.)
Toi : (Call the waiter over.) ___________
Le
Déjà fini ?
serveur :
Toi : (Say yes, and that you have already chosen your dessert.)
 ___________
Le
Je vous écoute !
serveur :
Toi : ________________
Le
… Voilà votre dessert ! Bon appétit !
serveur :

2 Use the vocab you’ve learned to describe your own upcoming mealtime
plans. Try to include:

what you’re planning to eat (manger, prendre)

how you plan to prepare it (préparer, faire)
what you’re planning to drink (boire).
CONVERSATION 2
In my opinion…

Dinner conversation is important to the French. A meal is meant to be enjoyed

with friends, with interesting discussions and usually with interesting debates.

A French friend once said that a dinner without an argument is a dinner

wasted.

06.03 Lauren and Julie discover they don’t quite see eye to eye on where they
should go in Paris. Pay special attention to the way Julie pronounces il y a.

Julie : Alors, on va à quel musée demain ?

Lauren : Naturellement, on doit visiter le Louvre.
Non… il y a tellement de musées à Paris et tu choisis le plus touristique
Julie :
!
Lauren : Je sais qu’il y a beaucoup de touristes, mais il faut le voir !
Je suis pas d’accord. À mon avis, le Centre Pompidou est mieux. On
Julie :
peut voir de l’art moderne et normalement il y a moins de gens.
Lauren : Oui, il y a moins de gens, mais c’est pas aussi intéressant !
Julie : C’est pas vrai ! Son architecture est incroyable. C’est unique au monde.
Je suis d’accord… l’architecture est intéressante, mais je la trouve pas
Lauren :
belle.
Tu sais que beaucoup de Parisiens trouvent la tour Eiffel pas belle et tu
Julie :
veux la visiter quand même.
Lauren : Ben…, on peut faire des compromis. Si tu penses que le Centre
Pompidou est mieux que le Louvre, on peut aller à Pompidou demain,
 pour l’architecture. Et on attend lundi, quand il y a moins de touristes,
pour aller au Louvre et voir de l’art !
Julie : Tu as raison – d’accord !

Plus (more) and moins (less) look a lot like ‘plus’ and ‘minus’.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Find the details in the conversation and write them out.

a What are the names of the two museums being discussed?

b Which one does Lauren think they should visit?

c What is Lauren’s opinion of the Pompidou Centre?

d What phrase shows that Lauren and Julie will make a compromise?

2 Highlight these phrases.

a the most touristy

b if you think that

3 Write the French phrases for:

a I agree
b I don’t agree
c naturally

4 Use context to deduce the meaning of the words in bold. Julie dit que…

b le Centre Pompidou est mieux que le Louvre.

c le Centre Pompidou a moins de gens que le Louvre.
d beaucoup de Parisiens trouvent la tour Eiffel pas belle.
NOTICE

06.04 Listen to the audio and study the table. Pay special attention to the way tu
choisis and d’accord are pronounced.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

naturellement, on nah-tew-Rehl-mawN ohN
naturally we need to visit…
doit visiter… dwa vee-zee-tay
tu choisis le plus tew shwa-zee luh plew too-
you choose the most touristy!
touristique ! Rees-teek
il faut le voir ! it has to be seen! eel foh luh vwaR
je suis pas d’accord
I disagree! zhuh sew-wee pah dah-koR
!
à mon avis… in my opinion… ah mohN nah-vee
voir de l’art to see some art vwahR duh lahR
eel ee ah mwahN
il y a moins de gens there are fewer people
duh zhawN
c’est unique au there’s nothing like it (it’s
say ew-neek oh mawNd
monde unique to-the world)
je suis d’accord I agree zhuh sew-wee dah-koR
je la trouve… I find it… zhuh lah tRoov
ils trouvent… they think / find… eel tRoov
quand même anyway kawN mehm
on peut faire des ohN puh fehR day kohN-
we can compromise
compromis pRo-mee
si tu penses que… if you think that… see tew pawNs kuh
c’est mieux que it’s better than say mee-uh kuh
you’re right
tu as raison tew ah Reh-zohN
(you have reason)
d’accord ! OK! dah-koR

Trouver means ‘to find’ (imagine pirates trying to find a treasure trove). Just
like in English, you can use it to discuss finding objects in places (Tu peux
trouver le restaurant ?), as well as to discuss your opinions (Je trouve le film
fantastique !)

1 Find the phrase for ‘you are right’. How does this phrase translate literally
into English? What expression from Conversation 1 also uses avoir in
French instead of ‘to be’ as you would in English?

2 Find the words used for comparison and highlight them. Then write them
out.

a the most

b better

c less / fewer

3 How would you write the following in French?

a I find it…

b I find the Louvre…

c They find it…

d They find the Louvre…

e I know that…

f You know that…

g We know that there are…

h You know that there are…

i There is nothing like it…

4 Each of these phrases is useful for expressing your opinion in French.

Match the French phrase to its English counterpart.

a à mon avis
b je suis pas d’accord
c tu as raison
d je suis d’accord
e je trouve
f je voudrais
g je pense que
1 I agree
2 you’re right
3 in my opinion
4 I don’t agree
5 I would like
6 I think that
7 I find
CULTURE EXPLANATION: debates

French speakers aren’t afraid to raise controversial subjects in conversation. No

offence is intended, and after a heated debate, people go back to being the best of
friends. Know that if a tricky-to-discuss topic comes up, this means that the other
person is very interested in hearing your opinion and learning more about you.

If you aren’t comfortable talking about the topic, feel free to mention this, but if
possible, try to offer at least a basic opinion to get some interesting practice time!
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: comparisons

French makes it easy to compare things. You can describe something as ‘more’ or
‘less’, ‘bigger’ or ‘smaller’, plus a range of other comparisons using plus and
moins:

plus + adjective for ‘more/-er’ → plus grand (bigger)

moins + adjective for ‘less’ → moins beau (less handsome)
le plus (or la/les plus) + adjective for ‘the most/-est’ → le plus grand (the
biggest)
le moins (or la/les moins) + adjective for ‘the least/-est’ → le moins beau
(the least handsome).

le plus/le
Description Example Example
moins
plus + Ta ville est plus grande le plus + Ta ville est la plus grande du
grand que ma ville. (Your city is grand pays. (Your city is the
(bigger) bigger than my city.) (biggest) biggest in the country.)
Ce film est le plus
plus + Je trouve ce musée plus le plus +
intéressant que je connais.
intéressant intéressant. (I find this intéressant
(The film is the most
(more museum more (most
interesting (one) that I
interesting) interesting.) interesting)
know.)
Ce resto est moins cher
moins + Voilà le moins cher
que l’autre. (This le moins +
cher supermarché de la ville
restaurant is less cher (least
(less (That’s the least expensive
expensive than the other expensive)
expensive) supermarket in town.)
one.)

You can use plus que ‘more than’ and moins que ‘less than’ to compare people
and things:
J’aime déjeuner dans le parc plus que dans la brasserie.
Example:
(I like to have lunch in the park more than in the brasserie.)
And to compare amounts, you can use plus de and moins de:
Je vois moins de touristes aujourd’hui.
Example:
(I see fewer tourists today.)

There’s one major exception within comparisons:

when you want to talk about ‘better’ and ‘best’ or ‘worse’ and ‘worst’.

adjective/adverb -er form -est form

meiIleur(e) / mieux le / la meiIleur(e) / mieux
bon (good) / bien (well)
(better) (best)
mauvais (bad) / mal
pire (worse) le / la pire (worst)
(worse)

Je pense que ce restaurant a le meilleur vin du monde !

Example:
I think that this restaurant has the best wine in the world!

Practise using the different forms of plus, moins, plus de, moins de, meilleur or
pire using the given phrases.

Example: a smaller city (petite ville) → une plus petite ville

a nicer (sympa)
b more charming (charmant)
c more books
d most famous (célèbre)
e the best restaurant
f a younger man (homme)
g less difficult
h fewer days
i least expensive (cher)
j the worst film (film)
PRACTICE

1 Combine il y a with the sentence endings given to form new sentences in

French:

There are not… (enough days in the weekend).

Example:
Il y a pas assez de jours dans le weekend !

a Are there… (only three students here)?

b There are some… (books at my house).

c I find that there are… (fewer dogs in the park today).

2 How would you translate the following into French?

a Paris is bigger than Toulouse.

b I find this restaurant too small.
c What address do you see?
d During the week, you have to work / it’s necessary to work.
PUT IT TOGETHER

1 Quel est ton endroit préféré à visiter dans le monde ?

Recommend to a friend what to do in a city you know or would like to
visit. Try to include:

the places you would like to visit (je voudrais)

the sites or experiences you think would be the best (meilleur)
what for you is a ‘must see’ (il faut le voir)
phrases for comparison (plus, moins)
phrases for expressing your opinion (à mon avis).
CONVERSATION 3
What do you recommend?

06.05 Lauren and Julie are sharing their opinions on music and books. What
phrase does Lauren use to say ‘tell me’?

Another important dinner topic in France is culture. You don’t need to quote
Descartes, but it’s good to learn some phrases to contribute to conversations
and give your opinion about books, music, art or politics.

Dis-moi Julie. Je voudrais en savoir plus sur la musique française.

Lauren :
Qu’est-ce que tu recommandes ?
C’est une bonne question ! À mon avis, la meilleure musique en
Julie :
français c’est Jacques Brel. J’aime ça plus que la musique moderne.
Ah oui ! Il chante, ‘Ne me quitte pas’, non ? Je voudrais apprendre les
Lauren :
paroles de ses chansons.
Tu dois en savoir plus sur musique française. Je te donne des chansons
Julie : à écouter. En échange, tu peux me recommander un bon livre en anglais
?
Absolument ! Je lis tout le temps. Demain, je te donne le livre que je lis
Lauren :
maintenant. Je suis sûre que tu vas adorer !
Julie : Merci.
Lauren : Merci à toi !
Alors, le serveur est où ? Je vais demander l’addition. Monsieur ?
Julie :
L’addition, s’il vous plait !
Literally ‘thanks to you,’ this is like saying ‘no, thank you!’ as a reply to
merci.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Answer the questions with a short phrase in French.

a What does Julie think is the best music in French?

b Which music does she not like as much?
c What is Lauren going to give Julie?

2 Deduce the meaning of the phrases.

a en échange
b absolument

3 Highlight the French translations of these questions and phrases.

a Where is the waiter?

b The bill, please!
c in my opinion
d I like that more than…
e What do you recommend?
NOTICE

06.07 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

dis-moi… tell me… dee mwa
je voudrais en savoir I would like to know zhuh voo-dReh ohN
plus sur… more about… sah-vwaR plews sewR
qu’est-ce que tu what do you
kehs kuh tew Ruh-ko-mawNd
recommandes ? recommend?
c’est une bonne
that’s a good question! seh tewn bohNn kehs-tyohN
question !
la meilleure musique
the best music is… lah meh-yuhR mew-zeek say
c’est…
plus que la musique more than modern plews kuh lah mew-zeek mo-
moderne music dehRn
tu dois en savoir plus you should know more tew dwah zohN sa-vwaR plews
sur… about… sewR
je te donne des
I’ll give you some songs zhuh tuh don day shawN-sohN
chansons
tu peux me you can recommend…to tew puh muh Ruh-ko-mawN-
recommander… me day
je suis sûr(e) que tu zhuh sew-wee sewR kuh tew
I’m sure you will love it
vas adorer vah zah-do-Ray
je vais demander I’m going to ask for the zhuh veh duh-mawN-day lah-
l’addition bill dee-see-ohN
You may be tempted to translate ‘ask for’ as ‘demander pour’, but the ‘for’ is
implied. No need for it! Think of it as the way we use the word ‘request’ in
English. The same works for attendre, which means both ‘to wait’ and ‘to
wait for’: je t’attends (I’m waiting for you).

Also be aware that in French, you don’t ‘ask’ a question, you ‘pose’ a
question – poser une question!

1 Say in French:

a you’re going to love it

b I’d like …

c I’ll give you …

2 Match the French phrases with the correct English translations.

a je te donne 1 I like it more

b je suis sûr que 2 I’ll give you
c j’aime ça plus 3 I’m sure that
d je voudrais apprendre 4 I’m going to ask
e je vais demander 5 I’d like to learn

3 Notice which phrases can be used to ask for recommendations. Write them
out in French.

a Tell me…
b What do you recommend?
c Can you recommend to me…?
PRACTICE

1 You can adapt power phrases to use in a variety of different situations.

a Power phrase: Je vais demander… (I’m going to ask for…)

… some water
… a taxi
… more time
… another drink

b Power phrase: Je voudrais en savoir plus sur… (quelque chose)

What would you like to know more about? Use this power phrase to write
two different sentences referring to your own interests.

2 Fill in the blanks with the missing words in French.

a J’adore ___________ classique. ___________ ___________

___________ ___________ ___________ moderne. (I love classic art. I
like that more than modern art.)

b ___________ ______________________, quel livre ___________

___________ intéressant ? (In your opinion, which book is more
interesting?)

c Un instant, ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________

___________ adresse ! (Hold on a minute, I should give you our
address!)
#LANGUAGEHACK: sound more fluent with
conversation connectors
As a beginner, when you’re asked a question in French, you may be tempted to
give single word answers. Do you like this book? Oui. How is your food? Bien.

You can train yourself to give longer replies by learning versatile phrases to use
between oui, non or other brief answers. Conversation connectors are power
phrases that you can tack on to nearly anything you say to give your French a bit
more weight. Learn them once, and you can use them in countless situations. For
example, in Conversation 3, Lauren uses the conversation connector c’est une
bonne question during her discussion with Julie. Conversation connectors improve
your flow and make conversations feel a lot less one-sided.

How to use conversation connectors

Good connectors should be versatile. They don’t add extra information to the
sentence, but expand it. For example, if someone asks you Tu aimes ce restaurant
? you could reply with, oui, j’aime, or:

Merci de me poser la question, oui, j’aime ce restaurant, et toi ?

Here are some examples of conversation connectors to get you started.

for adding your opinion

franchement (frankly speaking)
à vrai dire (to tell you the truth)
à mon avis (in my opinion)
entre nous (between us)
si je comprends bien (if I understand correctly)
malheureusement (unfortunately)
j’ai l’impression que (it seems to me that)
de plus en plus (more and more)
for elaborating on an idea
c’est-à-dire (that is to say)
c’est pourquoi (and that is why)
for changing a subject
d’autre part (on the other hand)
à propos (by the way)

If someone asks, Tu as quel âge ? (How old are you?), you could say: j’ai
41 ans, or Alors… entre nous… malheureusement, j’ai déjà 41 ans !
If someone asks, Pourquoi tu apprends le français ?
you could say: parce que j’aime la culture française, or
À vrai dire… j’aime la culture française ! Et c’est pourquoi j’apprends
le français !

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

As you can see, conversation connectors help you expand on your answers,
and give them a much chattier feel! This technique will help you develop a
conversational flow even if you have too few words to keep your side of the
conversation very interesting for now. For beginners, momentum helps
conversations stay alive better than more words.

1 06.08 Practise getting more familiar with the sound and pronunciation of
conversation connectors. Listen to the audio, and repeat each connector
phrase to mimic the speaker.

malheureusement c’est-à-dire à mon avis

franchement si je comprends bien c’est pourquoi

2 06.09 Now practise recognizing the phrases. Listen to the audio, and write
down the connector phrase you hear in French.

a
b
c
d
e
f

3 Use conversation connectors to give longer replies.

Example: Est-ce que, cette maison est trop petite ?
 À vrai dire, je pense que, franchement, cette maison est pas trop
petite !

a Ton diner est bon ?

b Tu habites où ?

c Tu veux quelque chose du supermarché ?

d Est-ce que tu bois du café ?

PUT IT TOGETHER

Imagine you have a friend who wants to have a culture-filled weekend and asks
you to recommend some worthwhile cultural endeavours. Prepare phrases you
could use during French dinner conversations, with culture as a central topic.
Create ‘me-specific’ sentences in which you:

describe music, art or books that you love

offer your opinion (à mon avis, j’aime ça)
include power phrases (je voudrais en savoir plus sur…)
use conversation connectors (franchement, entre nous…)
use comparisons (plus, moins, meilleur), mieux, pire.
COMPLETING UNIT 6
Check your understanding

06.10 Listen to the audio recording, which will play sets of two statements in
French. The first statement gives information about someone. The second
statement attempts to summarize that information. Based on what you understand,
select vrai if the summary is correct or faux if it’s wrong.

Example: Marie trouve cette ville très jolie.

Summary: Elle aime la ville → / faux

a vrai / faux

b vrai / faux

c vrai / faux

d vrai / faux

e vrai / faux

Show what you know…

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item in the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.

Ask for a specific food item using ‘I’ll have’.

Ask for a specific drink using ‘I would like’.
Use phrases for formal situations: ‘good evening’, ‘please’ (formal),
‘thanks‘ (formal).
Talk about unspecified amounts and plurals:
some water
eggs
there are some croissants here
Say ‘I agree’, ‘I disagree’ and ‘in my opinion’.
Give one phrase each for giving and asking for recommendations.
Give the comparison words ‘more than’, ‘less than’, ‘most’
and ‘better than’.
Give two examples of conversation connectors.

COMPLETE YOUR MISSION

It’s time to complete your mission: convince your friend to try out your favourite
restaurant. To do this, you’ll need to prepare phrases for giving your opinions and
explaining why you agree or disagree. Either describe a restaurant you know and
love, or research some restaurants in a French-speaking country you want to visit.
Please visit www.italki.com/languagehacking

Read restaurant reviews in French online to help you form your argument.
You can see how French speakers in real life describe their own favourite (or
least favourite) restaurant experiences by reading their own words … online!
Get more details by going online to the #LanguageHacking community.
STEP 1: build your script

Keep building your script using opinion phrases:

describe your favourite restaurant. What type of food and drinks do they
serve? Why do you like it so much? Which are your favourites and why?
convince a friend to try it out by saying what makes it better than other
restaurants in town (use comparisons!)
give or ask for recommendations
include power phrases and conversation connectors.

Write down your script, then repeat it until you feel confident.
STEP 2: it’s all about me! … online

Yes, it is! Personalize your language to talk about yourself and what’s
important to you! Learning a language is easier when you can talk about
things that are meaningful.

When you feel good about your script, go online and share your recording with
the community. This time, as you’re speaking, use conversation connectors
between phrases and while you’re thinking to help your French flow better. By
using these phrases right away, you’ll also start burning them into your muscle
memory, so they are on the tip of your tongue when you need them!
STEP 3: learn from other learners

Test out your debating skills with other language hackers! Your task is to reply in
French to at least three different people to tell them whether you agree or
disagree with the argument they made and why.

You could use the phrases tu recommandes … or à ton avis … to let them
know that you understand their point of view.
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned

What did you find easy or difficult about this unit? Did you learn any new words
or phrases in the community space? After every script you write or conversation
you have, you’ll gain insight into what gaps you need to fill in your script.
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, LOOK AT YOU GO!

Now you can share opinions, talk about food, make comparisons and keep the
conversation flowing – you’ve come a long way. Things can only improve from
here!

Next, let’s make a huge leap forward with the range of conversations you can have
– by starting to talk about the past.

Chouette !
7 Talking about yesterday …last week …
a long time ago

Your mission
Imagine this – you just joined a French meet-up group and you have to introduce
yourself by sharing personal stories, but with a twist – your story can be true or
completely made up.

Your mission is to tell a true, but possibly unbelievable story or one completely
made-up story in as convincing a way as possible so that the others can’t guess if
it’s true or false. Be prepared to describe a personal story or a life lesson you’ve
learned from your past experiences, whether in learning a new language,
moving to a new place or taking a big risk.

This mission will help you expand the range of conversation topics you can
confidently contribute to in casual situations and allow you to start using
anecdotes to spice up your French répertoire!

Mission prep
Talk about the past in just two steps: j’ai + parlé
Answer questions about the past: Qu’est-ce que tu as fait hier ?/Je suis
allé(e) …
Say how long ago something happened using il y a
Use the past tense to talk about your progress in French: J’ai bien
prononcé ce mot
 #LanguageHack: Time travel – talk about the past and future using the
present tense
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR RICHER CONVERSATIONS

Until now, your conversations in French have focused on what’s happening now
or in the future. By the end of this unit, you’ll be able to give detailed descriptions
of things you did in the past, which will help you have much richer conversations.
CONVERSATION 1
What did you do last weekend?

Lauren is talking again with Antoine, one of her tutors, and tells him about her
time with her friend Julie.

07.01 How does Antoine ask ‘What did you do last weekend?’

As you speak French with the same people more regularly, a big question is
often ‘What am I going to talk about?’ Being able to use and understand
the French past tense is a great solution to this problem. You can use it to
describe personal stories about your life, which makes for endless topics of
conversation.

Coucou Lauren ! Quoi de neuf ? Qu’est-ce que tu as fait le weekend

Antoine :
dernier ?
Je suis allée au restaurant avec Julie, et on a parlé de nos projets pour
Lauren : le weekend. Puis hier, on est allé au Centre Pompidou et on a visité
beaucoup des sites touristiques de Paris !
Pourquoi vous avez décidé de visiter Pompidou ? Pourquoi pas le
Antoine :
Louvre ?
C’est un des musées préférés de Julie. Je me suis amusée ! En fait, on
Lauren :
va au Louvre demain !
Antoine : Tu as rencontré Julie il y a juste une semaine, non ?
Lauren : Oui, c’est ça.
Antoine : J’ai visité Pompidou une fois il y a quatre ans.
Lauren : Ça t’a plu ? Comment tu as trouvé ça ?
Antoine : Pas mal. Mais j’ai préféré le café du coin où j’ai mangé une glace
 délicieuse !

More often than not, you speak ‘of’ (de) things rather than ‘about’ them in
French.
FIGURE IT OUT

1 What is Antoine’s opinion of le Centre Pompidou?

a It’s fun.

b It’s not bad.

c It’s one of his favourite museums.

2 Highlight the phrases in the conversation for:

a last weekend

b How did you find it?

c We talked about our plans

3 What do you think the phrase pourquoi vous avez décidé de visiter means?

4 Vrai ou faux ? Select the correct answer.

a Julie read about a restaurant she’d like to go to. vrai / faux

b Lauren spoke with Julie. vrai / faux

c Yesterday, Lauren went to the Louvre. vrai / faux

d Lauren met Julie one week ago. vrai / faux

NOTICE

07.02 Listen to the audio and study the table. Try to mimic the speakers.

Pay special attention to the way Lauren pronounces the phrases: je suis allée;
on a parlé; on est allé; on a visité.

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

qu’est-ce que tu as fait what did you do last kehs kuh tew ah feh luh
le weekend dernier ? weekend? week-ehnd dehR-nee-ay
je suis allée / on est allé zhuh sew-wee / ohN neh ah-
I went / we went to the …
au … lay oh
ohN nah pahR-lay duh noh
on a parlé de nos projets we talked about our plans
pRoh-zhay
puis hier … then yesterday … pew-wee ee-yehR
on a visité beaucoup ohN nah vee-zee-tay boh-
we visited a lot of sites
de sites koo day seet
pourquoi vous avez why did you decide to pooR-kwa voo zah-vay day-
décidé de … ? …? see-day duh
c’est un des musées it’s one of Julie’s seh tahN day mew-zay
préférés de Julie favourite museums pRay-fay-Ray duh zhew-lee
I had fun! (I am myself zhuh muh sew-wee zah-
je me suis amusée !
amused) mew-say
tu as rencontré … you met … tew ah RawN-kohN-tRay
il y a une semaine a week ago eel ee ah ewn suh-mehn
j’ai visité Pompidou une I visited the Pompidou zhay vee-zeetay pohN-pee-
 fois once doo ewn fwah
ça t’a plu ? did you like it? sah tah plew
comment tu as trouvé ça what did you think? (how koh-mawN tew ah tRoo-vay
? you have found that) sah
j’ai préféré … I preferred … zhay pRay-fay-Ray
j’ai mangé … I ate … zhay mawN-zhay

1 Highlight the following phrases in French in the phrase list. Then write
them out.

a What did you do?

Qu’est-ce que ___________?

b I preferred j’ ___________

c I ate j’ ___________

d I went je ___________

e we went on ___________

f we talked on ___________

g I visited j’ ___________

h we visited on ___________

i you (pl.) decided to

vous___________
2 Write the French translations.

a ago

b last (previous)

c once

d the café on the corner

GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: past verb forms

Saying something in the past in French is quite simple. You don’t need to learn a
unique past form for every verb. You usually just need to make an easy and
predictable modification using avoir + past form.

Step 1: Most verbs in the past start with the present form of the verb avoir (to
have), which by now you know well:

j’ai vous avez tu as ils/elles ont il/elle/on a

Step 2: Add the verb you want to use, but modify it slightly to become the past
form, which is usually predictable. For most verbs, just replace the last two letters
of the dictionary form as follows:

Dictionary ending -er verbs -ir verbs

Past form ending -é -i
Example j’ai mangé (I ate) tu as fini (you finished)

For -re verbs, some may use -u as their past form ending, but most -re verbs
follow other patterns. We’ll cover the most important of these shortly.

Word-for-word, j’ai mangé means ‘I’ve eaten’, but this is actually how you
say ‘I ate’ in French.

1 Try it yourself!

a First, write out ‘I have’.

b Write out the past form of parler.

c Now put them together to form ‘I talked’.
Using être for movement

The two steps you just learned are all you’ll need to use to form the past tense
most of the time. But when you say something in the past with a verb involving
movement, such as:

aller arriver entrer sortir retourner venir

then you’ll use être (to be) instead of avoir. Just follow the same two steps to
translate ‘Marc arrived yesterday’: using être + past form.

(1) Marc est … + (2) arrivé → Marc est arrivé hier.

One other difference: you’ll see an e added for females and an s for multiple
people when être is used (but not when avoir is used). That’s why Lauren says je
suis allée. Luckily, for both, the pronunciation is usually the same! Et voilà !
(That’s it!)

2 Fill in the gaps using the past form of the given verbs with avoir.

a J’ ________ ______________la télé hier. (regarder)

b Il ________ ______________le français ce matin (étudier)
c Tu ________ ______________le restaurant ? (choisir)
d Elle ________ ______________quelque chose. (demander)

3 Select the correct answer in French to form the past tense:

a Je suis / J’ai sorti avec mes amis. (I went out with my friends.)
b Je suis / J’ai choisi ce musée. (I chose this museum.)
c Antoine a regardé / regardi / regardu le film (Antoine watched the film
le weekend dernier. last weekend.)
PRACTICE

1 Use il y a to say how long ago you met your best friend or partner.

J’ai rencontré mon/ma …

2 Now practise creating full sentences in French.

a You should go to the restaurant where I ate two days ago.

b We liked the film!

c She visited (Hint: she went to see) her brother in Dublin.

3 Fill in the gaps, using avoir or être.

a ______________ ______________ ______________trois mois,

______________ ______________ ______________au Canada.

(Three months ago, I went to Canada.)

b ______________ ______________le musée très intéressant ! (I found

the museum very interesting.)

c Ce matin, ______________ ______________ ______________en métro.

(This morning I arrived by metro.)
PUT IT TOGETHER

Let’s use the past tense forms you’ve just learned to create ‘me-specific’ sentences
that you could use in real conversations.

1 First, practise answering a common question in the past tense.

Quoi de neuf ? Qu’est-ce que tu as fait hier/le weekend dernier ?

Answer this question with real details about your life. You might include details
about:

where you went

what you did
who you talked to
what you talked about

2 Now use the past tense to describe the details of a trip you took to another
city. Draw from your own experiences to create sentences that are true for
you, and be sure to answer these questions:
 Tu es allé(e) où ? (Je suis allé(e) / j’ai visité … une fois …)
Il y a combien de temps ? (Il y a …)
Pourquoi tu as décidé d’aller à … ? (j’ai décidé d’aller à … parce que …)
Ça t’a plu ? Pourquoi ? (Ça m’a plu / ça m’a pas plu, parce que j’ai / je
suis …)
Comment tu as trouvé ça ? (J’ai trouvé ça …)

‘To decide to’ in French is décider de. You’ve seen that you can follow verbs
with prepositions like à, de, que or nothing. You’ll get used to this, but for
now, don’t worry about getting it exactly right.
CONVERSATION 2
Did you study French this week?

Another great way to expand the scope of your French conversations is to learn to
talk about your French progress, in French! Now that Lauren and Antoine have
caught up, they start discussing what Lauren has been doing to improve her
French.

People will definitely ask you these questions, so let’s prepare you to answer
them in French.

07.03 How does Antoine ask ‘Did you have time to study this week?’

Antoine : Alors, est-ce que tu as étudié le français cette semaine ?

Oui, j’ai étudié un peu. J’ai appris quelques nouveaux mots et j’ai
Lauren :
pratiqué quelques phrases avec Julie.
Antoine : Excellent ! Tu as fait tes devoirs ?
Lauren : Oui, je les ais ici.
Je dois dire que tu es une étudiante excellente. Quand est-ce que tu as
Antoine :
commencé à apprendre le français ?
J’ai commencé il y a seulement quelques mois. L’été dernier, j’ai
Lauren : décidé de voyager pendant un an alors j’ai acheté un billet et j’ai pris
l’avion jusqu’à Paris !
Antoine : C’est vrai, j’ai oublié – tu m’as déjà dit ça !
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Vrai ou faux ? Select the correct answer.

a Lauren studied French this week. vrai / faux

b Lauren practised some phrases alone. vrai / faux
c Lauren started learning French one year ago. vrai / faux

2 Answer the questions in French.

a What did Lauren do with Julie to improve her French this week?

b When (how long ago) did Lauren start learning French?

3 What is the meaning of the phrase j’ai oublié – tu m’as déjà dit ça ?

4 There are at least 10 occurrences of the past tense in the conversation. Find
them all and circle them.
NOTICE

07.04 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

did you study
est-ce que tu as étudié ehs kuh tew ah zay-tew-dee-ay
French this
le français cette semaine ? luh fRawN-seh seht suh-mehn
week?
j’ai étudié un peu I studied a little zhay ay-tew-dee-ay ahN puh
j’ai appris … I learned … zhay ah-pRee
quelques nouveaux mots some new words kehl-kuh noo-voh moh
j’ai pratiqué … I practised … zhay pRah-tee-kay
quelques phrases some phrases kehl-kuh fRahz
excellent ! excellent! ehk-say-lawN
did you do your
tu as fait tes devoirs ? tew ah feh tay duh-vwaR
homework?
quand est-ce que tu as when did you kawN ehs kuh tew ah koh-mawN-
commencé à … ? start …? say ah
j’ai commencé il y a … I started … ago zhay koh-mawN-say eel ee ah
j’ai décidé de … I decided … zhay day-see-day duh
to travel for a vwa-yah-zhay pawN-dawN ahN
voyager pendant un an
year nawN
j’ai acheté … I bought … zhay ahsh-tay
un billet (d’avion) a (plane) ticket ahN bee-yeh (dah-vee-ohN)
je suis arrivée à Paris ! I arrived in Paris! zhuh sew-wee zah-Ree-vay ah
 pah-Ree
j’ai oublié ! I forgot! zhay oo-blee-ay
you told me that
tu m’as déjà dit ça ! tew mah day-zhah dee sah
already!

1 Match the English to the correct French phrases.

a I learned 1 tu as fait

b you did 2 tu m’as dit

c you told me 3 j’ai appris

You may notice that these three past forms do not fit the rule you learned
after Conversation 1. You’ll discover why shortly.

2 Highlight the following past tense phrases in the phrase list. Then fill in
the French translations in section 1 of the past tense cheat sheet. Leave the
rest of the cheat sheet blank for now.

a I studied

b I learned

c I practised

d I started

e I decided to
 f I bought

g I forgot

Past tense cheat sheet

1. Regular Past 2. Irregular Past 3. ‘Me-specific’ All

verbs form verbs form verbs forms
I studied J’ai I said
I practised J’ai I learned
I started J’ai I did
I decided to J’ai
I bought J’ai
I forgot J’ai
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: three easy patterns for the top
‘irregular’ past verbs

In Conversation 1 you learned a simple rule for forming past sentences. As you
saw in Conversation 2, there are many exceptions to the rule.

Luckily, the vast majority of these exceptions follow patterns. Learn this list of the
three main patterns for irregular past verb forms, and then you’ll be able to
confidently use the most important verbs in the past tense.

1 Change the verb ending -ire to -it

2 Change the verb endings -prendre and -mettre to -pris and -mis
 3 Some single-syllable verbs replace several letters with -u

While this list may seem intimidating, it is ultimately just three rules that you can
learn, to handle almost any other verb in the past tense. I’ll point out any
important irregular forms that don’t fit these rules, but with this small list you
have most verbs covered.

1 Following the three rules you’ve just learned, complete the table with the
missing French translations.

French Meaning
we made / we did
I read
he saw
she understood

2 Refer back to your past tense cheat sheet, and:

a fill in the correct past tense forms for the verbs in Section 2 of the cheat
sheet
b review the past tense verb forms you’ve learned to find any ‘me-specific’
verbs you think you’ll need to use. Add them to Section 3 of the cheat
sheet.
PRACTICE

1 Practise rephrasing French sentences using the past tense. The following
sentences use depuis in the present tense. Change them to the past using il
y a (ago), while maintaining the same general meaning.

Example: Je suis à Paris depuis une semaine.

Je suis arrivé à Paris il y a une semaine. (arriver)

a Je mange ici depuis neuf mois.

J’ai ____________ ce restaurant ____________ neuf mois. (trouver)

b J’étudie le français depuis trois ans.

J’ai ____________ à apprendre le français _________________.
(commencer)

c Il me connait depuis une semaine.

Il m’a _____________________________. (rencontrer)

2 How would you say the following in French?

a I am watching the film.

b I’m going to watch the film tomorrow.
c I watched the film last week.

3 Fill in the blanks with the missing phrases in French.

a Ça prend _______ _______ _______donc _______ _______d’habiter ici

_______l’automne.
(That takes too much time, so I’ve decided to live here until autumn).
b ______________, j’ai _______ _______ jusqu’au Canada tout seul.
(Once, I flew (took the plane) to Canada by myself.)

c ______________, j’ai pris le train _______l’Espagne _______ en Italie.

(Last summer, I took the train from Spain to Italy.)

d Est-ce que _______ _______ _______du dictionnaire ? _______

______________. (Do you need the dictionary? I have it here.)

e _______ _______ _______que le livre est _______ _______à lire cette

fois que la ______________.
(I have to say that the book is easier to read this time than last time.)
PUT IT TOGETHER

Imagine you’re having a conversation with someone in French. When you

casually mention something you once did or somewhere you went, the other
person says, Chouette ! Qu’est-ce que tu as fait exactement ? (Cool! What did you
do exactly?)

Create sentences in French about somewhere you went, a movie you saw, or
anything else – but try to use new verbs you haven’t used before. Be as detailed as
you can. Include:

specific details of what happened – who did what? (Ils ont appris …)
specific details of conversations – who said what? (La fille a dit …)
details about where you went, when you returned (Je suis allé(e) …)
several past tense verbs in various forms.
CONVERSATION 3
Did you know …?

07.05 Lauren and Antoine continue discussing Lauren’s progress in French. Pay
attention to which words and phrases you recognize. What phrase does Lauren use
to ask ‘Did you know’?

Lauren : En fait, j’ai appris le français à l’école pendant un an. Tu savais ?

Antoine : Vraiment ? Je pensais que tu étais débutante.
J’ai oublié tout ce que j’ai appris, donc je pense que je suis toujours
Lauren :
débutante.
Antoine : Pourquoi tu as rien appris ?
Mon professeur a seulement enseigné la grammaire. On a jamais
Lauren :
vraiment parlé français.
Antoine : Je pense qu’il faut parler le plus possible.
Je pensais que ma prononciation était si terrible ! J’étais nerveuse de
Lauren :
parler.
Tu as pas un accent très fort ! Tu parles bien et tu peux dire tellement
Antoine :
de choses maintenant !
Lauren : Merci, c’est gentil !

Luckily, you don’t have to learn a complicated new structure to say ‘as much
as possible’. Le plus possible does the trick!

To avoid overusing très, use other intensifiers. An easy one is tellement (so).
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Highlight the following cognates (and near cognates) in the conversation.

a my pronunciation
b accent
c grammar

2 Vrai ou faux ? Select the correct answer.

vrai /
a Lauren studied French in school for one year. faux

b They spoke French often in her class. vrai /

faux

c Lauren’s school teacher said her pronunciation was

terrible. vrai /
faux
NOTICE

07.06 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

j’ai appris … I learned … zhay ah-pRee
tu savais ? did you know? tew sah-veh
je pensais que … I thought that … zhuh pawN-seh kuh
tu étais débutante you were a beginner tew ay-teh day-bew-tawNt
j’ai oublié … I forgot … zhay oo-blee-yay
tout ce que j’ai appris everything I learned toos kuh zheh ah-pRee
pourquoi tu as rien why didn’t you learn pooR-kwa tew ah Ree-ahN nah-
appris ? anything? pRee
mon professeur … mohN pRo-fay-suhR ah
my teacher …
a seulement enseigné suhl-mawN awN-seh-ny-eh lah
only taught grammar
la grammaire gRah-mehR
je pensais que … I used to think that … zhuh pawN-seh kuh
ma prononciation my pronunciation was mah pRo-nohN-see-ah-see-ohN
était si terrible ! so terrible! ay-teh see tay-Reebl
j’étais nerveuse I was nervous zhay-teh nehR-vuhz
tu as pas un accent you don’t have a very tew ah pah zuhN ahk-sawN tRay
très fort strong accent foR

The past tense of savoir (to know) is generally not used in the avoir past
form we learned in this unit. More on that soon!
The following phrases can be adapted for a variety of different conversational
situations. Write them out in French.
a Did you know that
b I thought that
c I wanted
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION:the habitual past

As you advance in French, you will learn to use the ‘habitual past’ in all situations
you may need it. This is used to describe something that happened in the past not
in a single moment, but over a longer period and is preferred for states of mind or
being. For instance, ‘I thought’, ‘I knew’, ‘I wanted’, and the like.

penser vouloir savoir être avoir

je/tu pensais je/tu voulais je/tu savais j’étais/tu étais j’avais/tu avais
il/elle/on il/elle/on il/elle/on
il/elle/on était il/elle/on avait
pensait voulait savait

While it is possible to use these verbs in the past form you’ve already learned with
avoir or être, you are more likely to hear them in the habitual past forms shown
above. So I suggest you just try to recognize these forms for now.
PRACTICE

1 How would you say the following in French?

a I thought that you were busy.

b Did you think that she was here?
c Cécile had the book
d We didn’t know.
e I wanted to eat with you.

Hint: just as French doesn’t directly translate ‘do’ in present tense questions,
you also won’t directly translate ‘did’ if there is another main verb.

2 Use what you’ve learned to complete the dialogues in French.

a Tu peux me dire quelle est la différence entre ces ______________

______________? (Can you tell me what the difference is between these
two words?)
b ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ si
vite ! Qu’est-ce que ça ______________ ______________?
(You said that so fast! What does that mean?)
c Est-ce que tu ______________ ______________? (Did you understand?)
d Ma ______________ est ______________ ? ______________ bien
______________ ce ______________ ?
(How is my pronunciation? Did I say that word right?)
e Je voulais dire l’ ______________ ______________. (I meant to say the
other word.)
f L’autre jour, ______________ ______________à mon prof, ‘
______________ ______________ ______________ ______________?’
et ______________ ______________ ______________ ‘pas mal’.
(The other day, I asked my teacher ‘how is my accent?’ and she said ‘not
bad’.)
g ______________ ______________ ma ______________ toute la semaine.
(I practised my grammar all week.)
h ______________ ______________quelques ______________. Tu peux
les vérifier et ______________ ______________ si elles sont correctes ?
(I wrote some phrases. Can you check them and tell me if they are
correct?)
i ______________ ______________ beaucoup ______________. Merci !
(You helped me a lot. Thank you!)
#LANGUAGEHACK: time travel – talk about the
past and future using the present tense
Language learning is a process, and as a beginner French learner, it’s important to
remember that you don’t need to learn everything at once!

For example, you just learned how to form the past tense, and it’s a good idea for
you to solidly learn the common past tense phrases you’d likely say most often,
such as:

je suis allé (I went) j’ai vu (I saw)

j’étais (I was) tu as dit (you said)

But one of the truly fun aspects of languages is how flexible, fluid and creative
they can be! When you come across any exceptions that are tricky to learn, you
shouldn’t be restricted in the kinds of conversations you can have right now.

For everything else you may want to say in the past tense in French? Hack it!

I like to focus on whatever my main priority is right now. If it’s that you
don’t know enough words, focus on learning new words. If it’s that your
teacher can’t understand your pronunciation, focus on that. Don’t worry
about solving every problem – just solve the biggest ones first.
Time travel with the present tense

Have you ever told a story that went something like this?

‘So, the other day, there I am … minding my own business, when someone
comes up to me, and you’ll never guess what happens … ’

What’s unique about this· form of storytelling is although it’s clearly an anecdote
about something that happened in the past, the entire sentence is actually told in
the present tense - ‘there I am’, ‘someone comes up to me’.

You can do the same thing in French! The key to this #languagehack is to use
time indicators – words or phrases that specify a particular time period – along
with what you’re describing in the present tense.

time indicator + present tense

Alors, la semaine dernière, je lis au parc, et …

(So last week, I’m reading in the park, and …)

Time indicators

Specific days
Past Future
(past and future)
hier (yesterday) demain (tomorrow) lundi (Monday)
la semaine dernière la semaine prochaine
mardi (Tuesday)
(last week) (next week)
mercredi
le mois dernier (last month) le mois prochain (next month)
(Wednesday)
l’an dernier (last year) l’an prochain (next year) jeudi (Thursday)
mercredi / l’été dernier (last novembre/le weekend prochain
vendredi (Friday)
Wednesday/summer) (next November/weekend)
une fois (once, one time) un jour (one day) samedi (Saturday)
il y a deux semaines dans deux semaines (in two dimanche
(two weeks ago) weeks) (Sunday)
The time indicator is what transports the sentence backwards or even forwards
through time. As in English, you could also say something like:
J’appelle mes parents dans deux heures. (I’m calling my parents in two hours.)

Here are a few more examples of how to ‘time travel’ in your conversations:

Par exemple, un matin il y a neuf mois, je suis chez moi et je vois quelqu’un
dehors … (For example, one morning nine months ago, I’m at home and
see someone outside …)

Alors, un jour, je décide de devenir enseignant …

(So, one day, I decide to become a teacher …)

Une fois, il y a longtemps, je suis au Méxique en vacances …

(One time, I’m in Mexico on holiday …)

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

While this hack is very powerful, you only need to use it if you can’t think of
the past form introduced in this unit. Use it as a crutch until you are confident
using these past forms!

1 Unscramble the sentences and use time indicators to describe past and
future actions, while using the present tense.

Example: Samedi/au cinéma/aller/je → Samedi, je vais au cinéma.

a Demain/du ski/faire/je

b Lundi prochain/une omelette/manger/on

c La semaine dernière/un chat/chercher/ils

d Il y a trois jours/un nouveau mot en français/apprendre/je

2 Now create ‘me-specific’ sentences in which you describe things you did
at different time periods. Say what you did:

a a week ago

b last Saturday

c two years ago

d yesterday

3 Now say what you are going to do:

a next Wednesday

b in one year
PUT IT TOGETHER

Think about a time you got nervous trying to speak French with someone. (Maybe
you were even nervous before one of your earlier missions!)

Use what you’ve learned in this unit to describe those moments – what you were
thinking, doing, or saying. Use your dictionary and be sure to include:

at least three of the following verbs: penser, vouloir, savoir, être, avoir in
the past.
a specific time indicator (Lundi dernier, …)
describe what you did to overcome your nerves (J’ai décidé de parler de
mon weekend …).
COMPLETING UNIT 7
Check your understanding

1 07.07 Listen to this audio rehearsal first, in which a French speaker

describes what he did this morning. Feel free to take notes or listen to it
multiple times.

2 07.08 Now listen to the second audio, which will ask you questions about
the speaker. Answer them out loud in French.

Show what you know …

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item in the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.

Say the past tense phrases:

‘I thought’ and ‘I said’
‘I went’ and ‘I decided to’
‘I was’ and ‘I learned’.
Give a sentence using il y a to say how long ago you did something.
Give time indicators for:
‘one time’ and ‘yesterday’
‘last week’ and ‘tomorrow’.

COMPLETE YOUR MISSION

It’s time to complete your mission: put on your poker face and start your story.
Try to impress the language hacking community as best you can. Please visit
www.italki.com/languagehacking
STEP 1: build your script

je pensais … je suis allé … j’ai appris …

Expand on your scripts by talking about the past. Use ‘me-specific’ vocab plus the
past tense phrases you’ve learned to describe an important life lesson you gained
from a past experience – perhaps about an embarrassing situation when you used
the wrong word in French, or a time when you overcame a personal struggle and
felt really encouraged. Be sure to include:

time indicators to describe when this happened (il y a …)

several past tense verbs in various forms to describe what you thought,
what you wanted, what you’ve learned and more
as many details as possible! (use the time travel #languagehack if you get
stuck).

Write down your script, then repeat it until you feel confident.
STEP 2: don’t be a wallflower! Use language in real social contexts
… online

Research in learning emphasizes the importance of social context in

facilitating language learning.

If you’re feeling good about your script, it’s time to complete your mission! Go
online to find your mission for Unit 7, and share your recording.
STEP 3: learn from other learners

What words of wisdom do the other language hackers have to offer? Which
stories are true and which ones are made up?

Your task is to watch at least two video clips uploaded by other hackers. Then
ask three follow-up questions in French to see if they can keep the conversation
going, to help them fill the gaps in their script and to find out whether what they
say is true or false. Make your guess.
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, SEE HOW THINGS HAVE
CHANGED?

You’ve just learned how to talk about anything in the past! Now you can
reminisce on the long-forgotten days when you couldn’t speak French.

Next, you’ll add even more detail to your conversations by describing the specific
parts of your daily routine.
Pas mal fait, félicitations!
8 IT’S BEEN A WHILE!

Your mission
Imagine this: one of your French-speaking friends writes a blog about the daily
routines of highly productive people – like you! – and you’ve been asked to
contribute an article.

Your mission is to prepare your best productivity advice – in French – for the
blog. Be prepared to describe your daily routine from your first morning
beverage to your bedtime. Talk about what works well and what you’d like to be
different.

This mission will broaden your ability to discuss your daily life, and help you
become comfortable with small talk in French.

Mission prep
Talk about your hobbies, routines and daily life
Use versatile phrases to express your opinions and perceptions – c’est
important de, je suis content(e) de, je vois que
Use phrases for seeing people you know again – ça fait longtemps!
Use expressions with faire, like faire du sport
Build upon modes of transport – prendre le métro
Talk about what you would potentially do – je pourrais.
#LanguageHack: The rephrasing technique for talking your way through
complicated sentences
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR DESCRIBING YOUR DAILY LIFE

As a beginner French learner, it’s difficult to be detailed when you speak, but
you’re quickly becoming an upper-beginner French learner! So it’s time to learn
some tricks for adding more detail to your conversations – without a huge amount
of new vocab. In this unit, we’ll break a typical conversation into its component
parts to develop a more complex strategy for helping each part flow well.
CONVERSATION 1
It’s been a while!

When a conversation has passed the point of the usual pleasantries, where should
you go from there? You don’t have to think it up on the spot – instead, prepare for
these situations by learning strategic phrases you can use to initiate, warm up and
continue any conversation.

08.01 Lauren and Jacques are meeting for lunch at a café. Since they already
know each other, they can’t rely on the usual meet-and-greet expressions. What
phrases do Jacques and Lauren use to ‘warm up’ the conversation?

Jacques : Bonjour Lauren ! Je suis content de te revoir !

Lauren : Oui, ça fait longtemps !
Et je vois que tu fais des progrès en français. Alors, dis-moi, quoi de
Jacques :
neuf ?
Ben, je suis très occupée en ce moment. Récemment, j’ai commencé à
Lauren :
faire la cuisine. Je prends des cours !
Jacques : Vraiment ? Et tu as appris quoi jusqu’à maintenant ?
La dernière fois, on a appris à faire le coq au vin. Mais, quand j’essaie
Lauren :
de le faire chez moi, ça marche jamais.
Jacques : C’est pas grave, continue comme ça. C’est important de pratiquer.
Je sais ! Tu as raison. Je vais vite faire des progrès ! Aujourd’hui, par
Lauren :
exemple, j’espère apprendre à faire une mousse au chocolat !

As well as ‘to do’, faire also means ‘to make’. Handy!

FIGURE IT OUT

1 Use your understanding of the conversation to fill in the rest of the

sentences. Underline the corresponding French phrases.

a Jacques thinks that Lauren’s French is ______________.

b Lauren started taking a cooking class ______________.

c At her last class, Lauren learned to make ______________.

2 How do you say ‘I’m happy to see you again!’ in French?

3 Answer these questions in French.

a Qu’est-ce que Lauren a commencé à faire récemment ?

b Lauren va faire quoi aujourd’hui ?

4 Highlight the following phrases in French.

a What’s new?

b It’s been a while.

c at the moment / these days

5 What does c’est important de pratiquer mean in English?

NOTICE

08.02 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

je suis content(e) de zhuh sew-wee kohN-tawN(t)
it’s great to see you again!
te revoir ! duh tuh Ruh-vwaR
oui, ça fait
yes, it’s been a while! wee sah feh lohN-tawN
longtemps !
je vois que… I see that… zhuh vwa kuh
dis-moi tell me dee mwah
je suis très occupée I’m very busy at the zhuh sew-wee tReh zoh-kew-
en ce moment moment (in this moment) pay awN suh mo-mawN
récemment, j’ai Ray-sah-mawN zhay koh-
commencé à… recently I started… mawN-say ah
prendre des cours taking cooking classes pRawNd day kooR duh kew-
de cuisine wee-zeen
tu as appris quoi…
what have you learned… tew ah zah-pRee kwah zhews-
jusqu’à maintenant
so far? (until now) kah mahN-tuh-nawN
?
la dernière fois,
last time lah dehR-nee-ehR fwa ohN
on a appris à
we learned how to make… nah ah-pRee ah fehR
faire…
quand j’essaie de le when I try to make it
kawN zhay-seh duh luh fehR
faire (when I try of it to-make)
don’t worry about it
c’est pas grave say pah gRahv
(it’s not serious)
continue comme ça keep trying! (continue like kohN-tee-new kohm sah
! that!)
je vais vite faire des I will make progress zhuh veh veet fehR day
progrès quickly. pRoh-gReh
j’espère apprendre I hope to learn how to
zhuh spehR ah-prawNd ah fehR
à faire… make…

1 Look at the literal translations of these phrases and notice how they are
expressed differently in French. Write them out.

a Keep trying!
b When I try to …

2 Fill in the gaps in each expression.

a ______________ longtemps ! (It’s been a while!)

b Tu as appris ______________ ? (What have you learned so far?)

c Je vais ______________ faire des progrès ! (I will make progress

quickly!)

d J’espère apprendre ______________ … (I hope to learn how to make …)

CONVERSATION STRATEGY: learn set phrases for each ‘stage’ of
a conversation

All typical conversations follow a familiar structure, and when you understand
that structure, you can break it down into component parts and prepare phrases to
use at each stage to keep the discussion flowing. This way, you’re never stuck
wondering what to say next.

A lot of people get nervous about what to say during a conversation. If

you’re meeting someone for the first time, it’s easy – just introduce yourself.
But if you’ve talked before, or you’ve finished your greetings, you’ll need to
keep the conversation going !

Warm up the conversation

During the first few seconds of a conversation, use some longer pleasantries to
give yourself more time to collect your thoughts. For example:
Ça fait longtemps ! (It’s been a while!)
Je suis content(e) de te revoir ! (I’m happy to see you again!)

Get the conversation started

Set a conversation topic into motion! Prepare phrases to get the other person
talking for a few minutes:
Dis-donc, quoi de neuf ? (Tell me, what’s new with you?)
Je vois que … (tu n’as pas changé …) (I see that… you haven’t changed.)

Lead the conversation yourself

When it’s again your turn to talk, think of some phrases you can use to lead the
discussion on your own and introduce a new topic of conversation.
Ben, récemment, j’ai commencé à … (Well, recently I started to …)
(e.g. … travailler comme secrétaire / prendre des cours de cuisine, etc.)
 Dernièrement, je … (Lately I have been …)

Extend the conversation

You can show your interest with filler words like intéressant ! or vraiment ? But a
slightly more detailed question, prepared in advance, will urge the other person to
expand on the topic, and therefore extend the conversation. For example:
Alors, ça te plait ? (So, do you like it?)
Et tu trouves ça comment ? (And how do you find it?)

Add detail to your conversation

Remember – you can get more out of a conversation by expanding on a simple

topic with details about when, where or how something happened. In
Conversation 1, Lauren describes her hobby, cooking: J’ai commencé à faire la
cuisine. But then she elaborates by adding descriptive details (When? What?):
La dernière fois (when) j’ai appris … coq au vin (what).
Quand j’essaie … (how) … chez moi (where?).
Aujourd’hui (when) j’espère … mousse au chocolat (what).

Study the table and see how a conversation can flow:

Language hacker A Language hacker B

Conversation warmers Conversation warmers
Ça fait longtemps !
Merci beaucoup pour… !
Je suis content de te revoir !
Conversation starters Conversation leads
Dis-donc, quoi de neuf ? Ben, récemment, j’ai commencé à…
Je vois que… (tu as pas changé / tu as
En ce moment, je…
une copine maintenant…)
Parle-moi de toi La dernière fois qu’on a parlé …
… travailler comme secrétaire / …
Alors, dis-donc tout !
prendre des cours de cuisine, etc.
Starting replies Conversation details
pas grand-chose La dernière fois (When?) j’ai appris…
 coq au vin (What?)
Quand j’essaie… (How?)… chez moi
Je fais… comme d’habitude
(Where?)
Aujourd’hui (When?) j’espère… mousse
Conversation extensions
au chocolat (What?)
Alors, ça te plait ?
Et tu ça trouves comment ?
PRACTICE

1 Look back at the phrase list. Highlight the following conversation

components:

a two conversation warmers

b two conversation starters

c two conversation leads

d one conversation extension

2 Create conversation starters using the verbs savoir, connaitre or voir in the
correct form.

a I know that …
b Do you know that …?
c Have you seen …?

3 What is your hobby? Pick a hobby that you would likely discuss in a
conversation. Then use the phrases Récemment, j’ai commencé à … or En
ce moment, je … to create two conversation leads.

4 Rephrase the questions to show how they’d sound in casual speech (using
the word quoi).

Example: Qu’est-ce que tu apprends ? → Tu apprends quoi ?

Qu’est-ce que tu dis ? → Tu dis quoi ?

a Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?

b Qu’est-ce que tu vas boire ?
PUT IT TOGETHER

Create a script in which you describe your hobby to a friend. Start with a
conversation lead, but then add details about the same topic. Include:

details of why / when you started it (récemment, commencer, il y a)

details of what you do (la dernière fois, quand j’essaie de …)
info about what you’ve learned or achieved so far (jusqu’à maintenant
pour le moment)
details about what you hope to learn or achieve (j’espère)
C’est … de or je suis … de (intéressant / content, etc.) somewhere in your
description.
CONVERSATION 2
Your daily routine

What do you normally do in a day? In a week? Lauren and Jacques talk about the
things they do on a regular basis.

08.03 How does Lauren say ‘it was strange at first’?

Jacques : Il me semble que tout va bien pour toi à Paris !

Oui, merci. C’était bizarre au début mais maintenant, j’ai une routine.
Lauren :
Le matin, avant le travail, je me promène à travers la ville.
Moi aussi. D’habitude, je promène mon chien le matin dans le quartier.
Jacques :
De temps en temps, je fais du vélo.
Lauren : Je fais du vélo partout ! Je prends pas le métro.
Jacques : Moi non plus, ou rarement, car je vais souvent au travail en voiture.
Et à midi, je mange toujours au même resto – c’est là qu’on mange la
Lauren :
meilleure soupe à l’ognon.
Parfois, je viens ici pour déjeuner, mais normalement je fais la cuisine
Jacques :
chez moi.
Lauren : Je suis jamais venue dans ce café. Tu veux manger quelque chose ?
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Correct the faux statements to make them vrai.

a Lauren prend le métro.

b Jacques va rarement au travail en voiture.
c Lauren va au restaurant où on mange la pire soupe à l’ognon.
d Jacques mange normalement dans un café.

‘To drive’ can be conduire when you talk about driving in general, but when
you want to talk about the mode of transport to get you somewhere, you have
to say aller en voiture (go by car).

2 Is everything going well for Lauren in Paris? Fill in the blanks.

At first it was ____________,
but now ____________.

3 Which phrase means ‘It seems to me that …’? Highlight it. Would you use
this as a conversation lead, a warmer or an extension?

4 Find and highlight each of the following.

a two sets of opposite phrases:

me too / me neither rarely / normally

b two different modes of transport

NOTICE

08.04 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

it seems (to me
il me semble que… eel muh sawN-bluh kuh
that…)
c’était bizarre au début, it was strange at say-teh bee-zahR oh day-bew meh
mais maintenant… first, but now… mahN-tuh-nawN
avant le travail before work ah-vawN luh trah-vah-ee
je me promène I go for a walk zhuh muh pRo-mehn
en ville around the city awN veel
partout everywhere pahR-too
d’habitude je promène I usually walk my dah-bee-tewd zhuh pRo-mehn
mon chien dog mawN shee-awN
From time to
De temps en temps… duh tawN zawN tawN
time…
je fais du vélo l ride my bike zhuh feh dew vay-loh
I don’t take the
je prends pas le métro zhuh pRawN pah luh may-tRoh
metro
moi non plus me neither mwa nohN plew
rarement rarely RahR-mawN
car je vais au travail because I often go kahR zhuh veh zoh tRah-vah-yuh
souvent en voiture to work by car soo-vawN awN vwa-tewR
in the afternoons /
l’après-midi / le matin lah-pReh mee-dee / luh mah-tahN
mornings
 je mange toujours au I always eat at the zhuh mawNzh too-zhooR oh mehm
même resto same restaurant Rehs-to
sometimes I come
je viens ici parfois zhuh vee-ahN ee-see pahR-fwa
here
je suis jamais venu dans I’ve never come to zhuh sew-wee zhah-meh vuh-new
ce café avant this café before dawN suh kah-fay ah-vawN

1 Notice how the phrases in this conversation build on descriptions of

routines and activities by adding details. Use what you’ve seen so far, and
the following table to help you to provide the requested details in French.

Example: Jacques walks his dog. le matin, d’habitude, dans le quartier

__________________________(When?) (How often?) (Where?)

Conversation details

When ? How often? Why? / How?

in the morning in town 10 usually by car
1 le matin 5 _________ d’habitude 17 _________
before work in the neighbourhood from time to time for lunch
2 _________ 6 dans le quartier 11 _________ 18 _________
in the afternoon everywhere rarely
3 _________ 7 _________ 12 _________
before the same (place) often
4 _________ 8 _________ 13 _________
at home always
9 _________ 14 _________
sometimes
15 _________
never
16 _________
2 Now use the conversation to fill in the table with ‘detail phrases’ you
could use to answer the questions: When? How often? Why / How?
Where?
VOCAB EXPLANATION: using faire to describe what you do

The verb faire means ‘to do’ or ‘to make’, and there are many situations in which
faire works differently from its equivalents in English. This is actually good news
– because faire is so versatile, you can use faire + noun to describe a lot of
activities, and you’ll have fewer new verbs to learn. Here are some common
expressions using faire:

Activities, hobbies and getting around

French Meaning French Meaning

to go cycling / ride a
faire attention to pay attention faire du vélo
bike
faire du sport to play sports 1 _________ to go for a walk
to kiss hello /
faire le bisou 2 _________ to cook
goodbye
to queue / stand in faire des
faire la queue to make videos
line vidéos
faire du
to go shopping
shopping

Fill in the Activities table with missing phrases using faire.

PRACTICE

1 Translate the following to French.

a I play sports often.

b Yesterday at 3 p.m. (15 h) I went shopping.

c Here’s my friend, Julie.

d The concert starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m.

2 Tu aimes faire quoi ? What hobbies do you have? What activities do you
enjoy? Do you build things? Jog every day? Sing, dance, code or do
bodybuilding? Look up these ‘me-specific’ verbs and add them into the
Activities table.

a Now choose one or two of your hobbies as a ‘base’ to add details to.

Example: Je joue du violon. J’ai commencé quand j’avais 10 ans …

b Then use the phrase c’était … au début, mais maintenant … to describe it.
(c’était difficile au début, mais maintenant je m’amuse beaucoup !)

c Ton endroit préféré est où ? Now write a simple sentence about one of
your favourite places.
(J’aime aller à la bibliothèque.)

d Then use the phrase Je vais à … pour … to say why you go there and how
often.
 (Je vais souvent à la bibliothèque pour lire beaucoup de livres !)

e Now use the phrase Je suis jamais allé à … to say somewhere you’ve
never been before, but would like to go one day.
(Je suis jamais allé au théâtre à Broadway !)
PUT IT TOGETHER

Write a script describing your normal routine. Think about how you can build on
your basic routine by adding details. You might include:

information about how you get to work / school every day

a list of what makes up your daily routine
your hobbies, interests or other activities
details of how often, when, where, why or how.
CONVERSATION 3
Going out at night

As your conversation comes to an end, you’ll want to have phrases prepared to

make plans for next time!

08.05 Lauren and Jacques start talking about what they could do this evening.
How does Jacques ask ‘What are you doing after this?’

Tu fais quoi plus tard ? J’espère aller au parc avec des copains pour
Jacques :
jouer au foot. Tu veux venir ?
J’aimerais bien mais malheureusement, j’ai déjà prévu de faire du
Lauren : shopping avec quelqu’un et puis mon cours de cuisine commence à
16h. J’ai du temps libre après si tu veux !
Ça serait génial. Je fais une soirée chez moi.
Jacques :
Tu es invitée !
Lauren : Cool ! Qu’est-ce que j’amène ? Et à quelle heure ?
À 21h. Un dessert serait parfait. La mousse au chocolat que tu vas
Jacques :
préparer cet après-midi, par exemple, non ?
Lauren : Bonne idée ! Et tu habites où ?
Jacques : Mon appartement est à coté de la gare.
Lauren : Tu peux m’écrire l’adresse ?
Jacques : Bien sûr ! Et si tu as ton portable, je peux te montrer sur le plan !

You can say jouer au football, but it’s usually shortened to jouer au foot in
French. It’s quite confusing, but foot in French may not be what you initially
think!
To play it safe, try to remember to use mon or le before copain for
‘boyfriend’ (this makes it clear it’s a specific person), and un for ‘a friend’ or
des for ‘some friends’. The same applies to copine – ma / la copine (my / the
girlfriend), une copine (a friend, who happens to be a girl).
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Vrai ou faux ? Select the correct answer.

vrai /
a After this, Jacques is going to get a drink with his brother.
faux
b Jacques invites Lauren to play football with him, and then to a vrai /
get-together. faux
vrai /
c Lauren has already planned to go shopping with someone.
faux
vrai /
d Lauren’s French class starts at 4 p.m.
faux

2 Find the following conversation components.

a First highlight the sentence in which Jacques describes his plans to go to

the park.
b Now circle the details (Why? With who?). Write them out.
c Highlight the phrase Lauren gives about going shopping.
d Now circle the detail (With who?). Write it out.

3 If you know what je voudrais means, what do you think j’aimerais bien
means?
NOTICE

08.06 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

what are you doing later
tu fais quoi plus tard ? tew feh kwa plew taR
on?
aller au parc avec des going to the park with ah-lay oh pahRk ah-vehk day
copains… pour jouer au some friends … to play ko-pahN pooR zhoo-ay oh
foot football foot
tu veux venir ? would you like to come? tew vuh vuh-neeR
j’aimerais bien, mais I’d love to, but zheh-muh-Reh bee-ahN meh
malheureusement… unfortunately… mahl-uh-Ruh-zuh-mawN
j’ai déjà prévu de faire I already have plans to go zhay day-zhah pRay-vew
du shopping shopping duh fehR dew sho-ping
j’ai du temps libre plus zhay dew tawN leeb plew
I have free time later
tard tahR
ça serait génial ! that would be great! sah suh-Reh zhay-nee-ahl
je fais une soirée I’m having a get-together zhuh feh ewn swa-Ray
tu es invitée you’re invited tew eh zahN-vee-tay
qu’est-ce que j’amène ? what do I bring? kehs kuh zhah-mehn
et à quelle heure ? and at what time? ay ah kehl uhR
ahN day-sehR suh-Reh
un dessert serait parfait a dessert would be perfect
pahR-feh
mon appartement est à my apartment is next to mohN nah-pahR-tuh-mawN
côté de la gare the train station eh ah koh-tay duh lah gahR
 tu peux m’écrire could you write down the tew puh may-kReeR lah-
l’adresse ? address for me? dRehs
je peux te montrer sur I can show you on the zhuh puh tuh mohN-tRay
le plan ! map! sewR luh plawN

1 Find and highlight the French phrases in the conversation that mean the
following:

a What should I bring?

b At what time?

c Can you write the address for me?

d I can show it to you on the map.

GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: conditionals

When talking about a possible future (what you would do) in French, you’ll see
the ending -ais for je / tu and -ait for on / il / elle. To use them yourself, simply
add these word endings directly to the dictionary form of -er / -ir verbs, and to -re
verbs after removing the -e. (Happily, in all these cases, the pronunciation is the
same: [eh].) Let’s see it in action:
Je sortirais ce soir, mais je suis fatigué ! (I would go out tonight, but I’m tired!)
On parlerait français ou anglais ? (Would we speak French or English?)
Tu le vendrais pour 50 € ? (Would you sell it for €50?)

There are a few important verbs that don’t follow this pattern, and that take a new
‘stem’ to replace the beginning of the word instead. You’ll learn these with time,
but here are a few essentials to keep in mind:

Dictionary form → conditional stem → Example

être ser- je serais (I would be)
pouvoir pourr- on pourrait (we could)
vouloir voudr- je voudrais (I would like)

Fill in the gaps to form the conditional in the following phrases.

a J’ ______________ habiter en France ! (adorer)

b On ______________ content de voir le film. (être)

c Elle ______________ venir ce soir. (vouloir)

PRACTICE

1 Now, use these phrases as templates to mix and match vocab to create new
sentences in French.

a What should I wear? (to wear = mettre)

b What time does it end? (to end = finir)

c Do you know the address?

d Where is the get-together?

e When should I arrive?

f Can I bring some wine? (du vin)

Mettre means both ‘to put’ and ‘to wear’ (‘to put on’).

2 This conversation is all about making plans. Mix and match the English
suggestions given to complete each French sentence in different ways.

Example: On mange au resto chinois (this evening) (Monday) (soon) (at 7

p.m.) (next week) ?
On mange au resto chinois lundi ?
On mange au resto chinois ce soir ?

a Tu fais quoi (later) (at 5 p.m.) (tonight) (tomorrow) ?

b J’ai du temps libre (later) (at 5 p.m.) (tonight) (tomorrow) pour le concert.
Tu viens ?

3 Now mix and match phrases for accepting or turning down an invitation.

a Ça serait (cool) (perfect) (impossible) (too late).

b J’aimerais bien mais (unfortunately…) (I already have plans) (I’m busy).

4 How would you say the following in French?

a Could you ask me next time?

b I’d go out (sortir), but it’s too late.

5 Practise recognizing the meaning of conditional verbs as you see them.

Write the English meaning of the following French phrases.

a tu préparerais

b ce serait

c je voyagerais

d il dirait

e tu pourrais
PUT IT TOGETHER

1 A French friend has come to visit you in your hometown, and he’s eager to
pick your brain. Tell him what an ideal day would look like for him to get
the best out of his visit. Try to include:

the first thing that he would do (pour commencer tu pourrais …)

places you would visit and why (moi, je visiterais …)
activities you would do together (on prendrait un taxi pour aller …)
other insider tips (le meilleur musée serait …).

2 Imagine that someone has invited you to go on an exotic adventure (think

kayaking down the Amazon, hiking the Inca trail or climbing Mount
Everest). You’d have a lot of questions! Create a French script using
phrases and questions to discuss an invitation like this. Use your dictionary
as often as you need.

Say when you’d have free time and when you could go (Je pourrais
aller…)
Ask for details of the trip – where it is, when it starts, when it ends (Le
voyage va commencer quand ?)
Ask about things you should bring (Est-ce que je dois amener …?)
Describe how you think it would be (Je pense que ça serait …).
#LANGUAGEHACK: the rephrasing technique for
talking your way through complicated sentences
You’re used to expressing yourself with a lot of complexity and nuance when you
speak in your native language, but when you’re learning a new language, you
can’t do this right away. Getting used to (and comfortable with) this shift is a big
part of language learning. So how do you convey your more complex thoughts
and feelings when you are still only working with the very basics of the language?

Hope is not lost! Expressing yourself will just require a little rephrasing – putting
your ideas into simpler sentences using words and phrases you’re more
comfortable with.

Here’s how to break it down.

First, recognize that the rules of expressing yourself as an eloquent

native do not (usually) apply to you. The nuanced language you search
for in your head and the desire to convey the right tone and courtesy …
Sometimes, you have to just let that go.

‘Excuse me … I’m sorry … I just overheard you speaking French …

I’ve actually been studying it for a while … do you mind if I practise a
few phrases with you? … I hope I’m not bothering you …’

Next, figure out the one core idea you’re most trying to express.
‘You speak French? Me too! Let’s talk.’
Finally, ‘piggy-back’ your idea on to another expression that works just
as well.

Example: Parlez-vous français ? Moi aussi ! On parle ?

Back to the basics

The gist of what you’re trying to say is very often quite simple. For example:

Instead of trying to say ‘Would you like to dance with me?’ you can say
‘Dance with me!’ – Danse avec moi !
Instead of trying to say ‘I should avoid eating fish as much as possible due
to a medical condition that I have’, you can say, ‘I can’t eat fish because I
have an allergy’ (or in ‘Tarzan French’, ‘fish… no!’ – poisson … non !).
Instead of trying to say ‘I’m looking for a flatmate that speaks French and
wants to rent the room for at least 12 months’, you can say something like
J’ai besoin d’un coloc. 12 mois. On va parler français ensemble ! (I need a
flatmate. 12 months. We’ll speak French together !)

Phrases you’re not sure about

In French, there are a handful of unique phrases that, although common, can be
challenging to put into use at first. For example, when getting an invitation
somewhere, you may want to say something like ‘I’m happy that…’ to describe
your emotions.

However, this is a more complicated phrase using a verb form you haven’t seen
yet (Je suis content que … [subjunctive]). Instead of learning this new grammar
right now, you could simply use the conditional phrase you’ve already learned, Je
voudrais bien ! and your friend will surely know you’re psyched to tag along!

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

1 Practise this rephrasing skill now. For each of the lines given, write an
alternative (shorter) translation in French that conveys a similar meaning
as the original, but avoids any complicated grammar. There may be a
variety of ways to say each one – just try to get the idea across as best and
as simply as you can.

Remember, this is a skill, which means that practice is the key to getting
better.

I’m probably not going to be able to go out with you.

Examples:
Je peux pas sortir avec toi. (I can’t go out with you.)

a I’m not sure if they will be able to win (gagner).

b I’m so happy that we were able to come to the restaurant together.

c I would really love it if you would be willing to dance with me.

d I’d rather go to the supermarket later.

COMPLETING UNIT 8
Check your understanding

1 08.07 Listen to the audio rehearsal, in which a French speaker describes

her routine as well as things she wishes she could do. Feel free to take
notes or listen to it again.

2 08.08 Now listen to questions about what you’ve just heard and answer
them out loud in French.

Show what you know …

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item in the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.

Write two short phrases that describe your hobbies using faire.
Write a sentence that describes a hobby and gives two different details
about it.
Give three phrases that describe your normal routine using:
‘often’
‘usually’
‘sometimes’
 Say ‘I would be’ and ‘I could’ in French.

COMPLETE YOUR MISSION

It’s time to complete your mission: give your best productivity advice to be
published on your friend’s blog. To do this, you might need to observe yourself
and keep track of the things you do regularly. You could even read some French
blogs about productivity and mindfulness to help you. Please visit
www.italki.com/languagehacking

To complete this mission, try searching online for productivité, or être plus
productif. Go online to the #LanguageHacking community for help finding
them!
STEP 1: build your script

Keep building your script by using the phrases you’ve learned in this unit
combined with ‘me-specific’ vocabulary to answer common questions about
yourself. Be sure to:

talk about different parts of your life and weekly routine

describe where you go, how you get there, what you do
include details of how often, when, where, why or how
describe something else you would love to do, but haven’t done yet
describe what you like about your routines, and what could be better.

Write down your script, then repeat it until you feel confident.
STEP 2: learn from your mistakes, and others’… online

When learning a new language, mistakes are inevitable. Part of the charm of
speaking a second language is realizing that people are much less critical
than you imagine!

The key is that if you’re making mistakes, you’re learning. And if you speak, you
can even notice them better and fix them yourself. Added bonus: you can learn
from the mistakes of other language hackers too. So look at the corrections and
comments people leave – you’ll find that your common mistakes are most likely
shared.

It’s time to complete your mission. Share your productivity advice with the rest of
the community! And in return, enjoy some free advice about how you can be more
effective in your life. So, go online to find your mission for Unit 8, and use the
community space to find out perhaps how you can make learning French part of
your daily routine.
STEP 3: learn from other learners

What productivity tips can you gain from other language hackers? After you’ve
uploaded your own clip, check out what the other people in the community have
to say about their routines. Your task is to let at least three different people
know what you thought was most useful about their routine. This time,
incorporate conversation starters, leads or extensions to help get the conversation
flowing. E.g. Je vois que tu … (I see that you …)
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, YOU’RE ALMOST THERE!

In this unit we talked a lot about the strategy behind preparing for the kinds of
conversations you’re likely to have. All the scripts you’ve been building are
preparing you for this ultimate goal.

With the strategies you’ll learn next in Missions 9 and 10, you will be amazed at
how well your first conversation goes …
Formidable !
9 DESCRIBE IT!

Your mission
Imagine this … you’re applying to be a tour guide in a French-speaking city. You
have to prove your ability to describe a place in detail and give recommendations
for where to hang out and what to do.

Your mission is to pass for a local by describing a city that you know (or want to
know!) well. Be prepared to do your research and give a short description of the
highlights of what to do and see. But here’s the twist – don’t say the name of the
city. See if people can guess! Describe the best places, explain their
characteristics and say how the city might suit different personalities.

This mission will enable you to communicate more creatively by describing the
people, places and things in the world around you in more detail.

Mission prep
Describe places, landscapes and where you live – j’habite à la campagne
Say what you miss using the verb manquer
Describe the weather and environment – il fait chaud
Describe people and their personalities – elle est aventureuse
Describe what someone or something looks like – avoir l’air de
Learn important phrases for shopping – le moins cher, payer en cash
#LanguageHack: Use your hidden moments to get French immersion for
the long term
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR DESCRIBING THE WORLD
AROUND YOU

You’re getting closer to your first conversation in French! You know how to say
who the important people are in your life and what they do, but now you’ll
describe their personalities and characteristics as well. With this new vocab, you
can express your thoughts more creatively in French – when you can’t think of a
word you need, just describe it instead!
CONVERSATION 1
Describing the city

People from other countries will be interested to hear where you’re from, and how
it’s different from where they’re from. Let’s prepare you for these conversation
topics now by building your script for describing different places.

09.01 Lauren is getting ready to fly back to the United States, and she’s thinking
about what she misses about home. She describes her hometown to Jacques as
they’re hanging out by the Seine on a sunny day. What word does Lauren use to
say she’s ‘going back’ to the United States?

Je vais rentrer aux États-Unis bientôt. C’est ma dernière semaine à

Lauren :
Paris, quoi !
Jacques : C’est dommage ! Tu es prête à rentrer ?
J’adore Paris mais tu sais que normalement, j’habite à la campagne.
Lauren : Les montagnes me manquent, le lac et la forêt proche de chez moi
aussi. Mais Paris va me manquer beaucoup aussi !
Tu sais … Pourquoi pas ramener beaucoup de cadeaux pour ta famille
Jacques :
et pour te rappeler ton séjour en France ?
Très bonne idée ! J’adore faire du shopping ! Hmmm … je dois les
Lauren :
acheter où ?
Euh … ça dépend, quoi. Tu es déjà allée aux Champs-Élysées ? C’est
Jacques : un peu plus sympa que les centres commerciaux. L’avenue est longue
et large et il y a beaucoup de choses à voir !
Je sais pas … il fait super chaud aujourd’hui. Je vais avoir trop chaud
Lauren :
si je passe l’après-midi au soleil.
En fait, il y a beaucoup d’arbres donc tu peux rester au frais. Et puis tu
Jacques :
vas être dans les magasins en tout cas !
Lauren : En ce cas, oui ! On y va !
FIGURE IT OUT

By now you have a great base of French vocabulary, so it’s even more
important for you to actively fill in your gaps. It’s a good idea to highlight
any new words you come across, and make a note to yourself to add them to
your script or your study materials.

1 Each of these sentences is faux. Underline the word(s) that make them
incorrect, then write the correct word(s) in French.

a It’s Lauren’s last day in Paris.

b Lauren and Jacques are planning to go dancing.

c There are a lot of things to eat on the avenue.

2 Use context to figure out the meaning of these phrases.

a Je vais rentrer aux États-Unis bientôt.

b C’est dommage !

c Ça dépend, quoi.

You will recognize quoi in questions, meaning ‘what’, but it can be put at the
end of statements as a filler word too, in order to add emphasis. Listen for
this word in casual conversations. It’s similar to the way ‘y’know’ is used in
English.
3 Write out in French:

a in the countryside

b the mountains

c the lake and the forest

d near my house

e under the sun

NOTICE

09.02 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 1

French Meaning Pronunciation

je vais rentrer aux I’m going back to the United zhuh veh RawN-tRay oh zay-
États-Unis bientôt States soon tah zew-nee bee-ahN-toh
c’est dommage ! that’s a pity! seh doh-mahzh
tu es prêt(e) à tew eh pReh(t) ah RawN-
are you ready to go home?
rentrer ? tRay
à la campagne in the countryside ah lah kawN-pah-nyuh
les montagnes me I miss the mountains (the lay mohN-tah-nyuh muh
manquent mountains to-me are-missing) mawNk
le lac et la forêt the lake and the forest close to luh lahk ay lah fo-Reh pRosh
proche de chez moi my home duh shay mwa
Paris va me I’ll miss Paris too! (Paris goes pah-Ree vah muh mawN-kay
manquer aussi ! to-me to-be-missed also!) oh-see
ramener beaucoup rah-mehn-ay boh-koo duh
to bring back lots of gifts
de cadeaux kah-doh
pour te rappeler pooR tuh Rah-puh-lay tohN
to remind you of your stay
ton séjour say-zhooR
je dois les acheter
where should I buy them? zhuh dwa lay zahsh-tay oo
où ?
c’est un peu plus say ahN puh plew sahN-pah
it’s a bit nicer than …
sympa que … kuh
beaucoup de a lot (of things) to see boh-koo duh shohz ah vwaR
 choses à voir
il fait super chaud It’s really hot eel feh sew-pehR sho
je vais avoir I’ll be too hot (I go to-have zhuh veh zah-vwaR
trop chaud too hot) troh shoh
au soleil in the sun oh soh-lay-uh
il y a beaucoup
there are a lot of trees eel ee yah boh-koo dahRb
d’arbres
donc tu peux rester dohNk tew puh Rehs-tay oh
so you can stay cool
au frais fReh
en ce cas, oui ! in that case, yes! awN suh kah wee

1 Review the phrase list to answer questions in French about the

conversation.

Example: Quelles choses manquent à Lauren ?

Les montagnes, le lac et la forêt manquent à Lauren.

a Quand est-ce que Lauren va rentrer aux États-Unis ?

Lauren va

b Qu’est-ce que Lauren va ramener pour sa famille ?

Lauren va

c Lauren va les acheter où ?

Lauren va
2 How would you say each of the following in French? Complete each
sentence.

a Tu peux _____________________…
? (Can you remind me… ?)

b Je vais _____________________
(I’m going to remind you about
quelque chose.
something.)

c Il _____________________ mon
(He reminded me of my
rendez-vous.
appointment.)

3 It’s good to know how to rephrase your words to more easily convey your
thoughts. Match the French phrases to the English expressions which are
closest in meaning.

a je suis prêt(e) 1 I’m not sure

b en ce cas 2 there are two ways to look at it

c désolé ! 3 I’m ready

d j’en suis pas sûr 4 that’s a shame

e c’est dommage 5 when you put it that way

f ça dépend 6 I’m sorry to hear that

 4 A good memory technique is to learn vocabulary in ‘clusters’ – learning
words of a similar category together. Fill in this vocab cluster for words
dealing with nature and landscape.

Landscape and nature vocab

French Meaning French Meaning

the countryside the forest
the mountains the trees
the lake the sun
la ville the city

5 Conversation 1 also uses a lot of prepositions – words that describe where

something is (e.g. ‘near’, ‘on’, ‘under’, ‘in’). Use prepositions to answer
questions about yourself in French.

a Do you live in the countryside or in a city?

J’habite

b Do you prefer to stay in the sun or under the trees?

Je préfère rester

c Is the climate better near the lake, the forest or the mountains?
Le climat est meilleur
PRACTICE

1 Look up new words you’d need to describe where you live and the
landscape in your area. Do you live near the ocean? In the suburbs? In a
cramped studio apartment? Add your ‘me-specific’ vocab to the landscape
and nature cheat sheet.

2 Practise describing where you live. Create sentences in French that are true
for you.

I live … Near my house, there is/there are …

3 Now do the same about a family member or friend.

He/She lives … Near his/her house, there is/are …

GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: using manquer for ‘to miss’

Conversation 1 uses two examples of the verb ‘to miss’:

Les montagnes me manquent. Paris va me manquer.

Notice the word order in these sentences. The French verb for ‘to miss’ uses a
construction that’s very different from English. To say ‘I miss the mountains’ in
French, you reverse the subject and the object:

Example:

Les montagnes me manquent. (lit., ‘ the mountains to-me are-missed’.)

That’s why we use manquent with the -ent ending (‘they’ form) in this sentence.
It’s ‘the mountains’ that are missed, not ‘me’.

Les montagnes te manquent. (You miss the mountains.)

Les montagnes nous manquent. (We miss the mountains.)
Je te manque ? (Do you miss me?)
Je manque à Alison. (Alison misses me.)

Use the verb manquer to write each sentence in French.

a I miss you.

b I miss them.

c We miss her.

d Antoine misses me.

e I will miss my brother.

f Do you miss your girlfriend?

VOCAB EXPLANATION: describing the weather

Quel temps fait-il ? (What’s the weather like?)

When you want to describe the weather, use the verb faire. Most of the time,
you’ll simply need to say il fait + description.

Il fait … (It’s … (lit., it does

beau (nice), mauvais (bad)
…))
chaud (hot), froid (cold), frais (cool)
nuageux (cloudy), du soleil (sunny), du vent
(windy)

Two common exceptions are: il pleut (it’s raining) and il neige (it’s snowing).

Comment est le climat ? (What’s the climate like?)

When you want to compare general or typical weather patterns, you also use the
expression il fait …. temps:
Il fait beau temps en été. (The weather is nice in the summer.)
Il fait meilleur temps à la mer. (The weather is better by the seaside.)

1 Practise creating new sentences in French to describe the weather.

a It’s nice today.

b The weather is bad. What a pity!

c Are you not cold? You know that it’s cold on the coast. (la côte)

2 Use il fait or il to give two sentences describing the weather where you are
right now.
GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: changing gender and number for
adjectives

In French, adjectives tend to ‘agree’ with the nouns they describe. When the thing
being described is feminine (la montagne), any accompanying adjectives will also
be in their feminine forms (la grande montagne). The same is true for plurals (les
grandes montagnes).

Think of the masculine form of an adjective as being its ‘base’ form, and from
there you can modify it for feminine and plural words as follows:

Adjective endings

Masculine Feminine Masculine or mixed Feminine

singular singular plural plural
consonant or -é -e -s -es
vertes /
vert / fatigué verte / fatiguée verts / fatigués
fatiguées

J’adore son vélo vert (m.). (I love his green bike!)

Et regarde – sa maison est verte (f.) aussi ! (And look – his house is green too!)
Pourquoi il a tellement de choses vertes (f.pl.)? (Why does he have so many
green things?)
Et si on achète des t-shirts bleus (m.pl.) pour lui ? (What if we bought him some
blue t-shirts?)
Most adjectives follow this process, but sometimes there are a few adjustments.
Consider the following examples:
gris (grey) ends in an -s already, so its plural (m.) is the same – gris. Ex:
un chat gris, des chats gris, but une voiture grise, des voitures grises.
rouge (red) already ends in an -e, so its feminine is the same – rouge. Ex:
un vin rouge, une tomate rouge. Any plural would be rouges.
long (wide) would change its pronunciation (adding [zh]) if an -e were
added, so to prevent this, -u is added as a silent buffer. Ex:cette avenue est
 longue.

Some important exceptions are: beau (m) and belle (f), both meaning
‘beautiful’, blanc (m) and blanche (f), both meaning ‘white’, and nouveau
(m) and nouvelle (f), both meaning ‘new’.

There are of course exceptions to these rules, but if you are ever in doubt, you can
look up the word in your dictionary to see both the masculine and feminine forms.

Write the adjectives in their masculine (singular) and feminine (singular) forms.

a ready____________________(m) ____________________(f)

b tall_____________________(m) _____________________(f)

c hot_____________________(m) _____________________(f)

d tired____________________(m) _____________________(f)
PUT IT TOGETHER

You now have a greater ability to talk about your environment, so let’s put that
into action! Describe where you live, or a place that you love to visit, in as much
detail as possible. Include descriptive words (adjectives and nouns) and answer
the questions:

What is the landscape like?

What is the weather usually like? Sometimes like?
What would you miss if you were to leave?
CONVERSATION 2
Describing personalities

Now let’s focus on a whole new set of descriptive words you can use to talk about
people and their personalities.

09.03 Lauren and Jacques have made it to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to
begin shopping, and they discuss what gifts Lauren should get for her family.
What words does Lauren use to describe her sister, brother and parents?

Lauren : Cette avenue est impressionnante ! Il y a tellement de magasins !

Jacques : Tu sais déjà ce que tu veux acheter ?
Je vois beaucoup de choses que je voudrais acheter pour moi mais pour
Lauren :
ma famille, je sais pas !
Jacques : Alors raconte, elle est comment ta famille ?
C’est pas facile à dire – par exemple, ma sœur est aventureuse et elle
Lauren : veut vraiment venir en France un jour. Peut-être un souvenir typique de
Paris pour elle ?
Pourquoi pas acheter un béret classique ? Je suis certain qu’elle
Jacques :
aimerait ça.
Bien sûr ! Ensuite, mon frère. Il est jeune donc je pense qu’il trouverait
Lauren : un souvenir super ennuyeux. Qu’est-ce que je peux acheter pour
quelqu’un qui aime seulement les jeux vidéos ?
Tu peux trouver un accessoire pour ses jeux ! Tu sais que la
Jacques :
technologie est moins chère ici.
Ah oui, ça me rappelle – il a besoin d’un nouveau casque. Et enfin,
Lauren : mes parents sont plus traditionnels. Ils m’ont déjà demandé de ramener
des chocolats français.
Jacques : Ils ont bon gout ! Et moi, je vais t’acheter une deuxième boite de
chocolats pour les gouter avant !
FIGURE IT OUT

1 Vrai ou faux ? Select the correct answer.

a Lauren finds it easy to think of presents for her family. vrai / faux
b Lauren’s brother doesn’t like souvenirs. vrai / faux
c Lauren doesn’t like to buy things for herself. vrai / faux

2 Answer these questions in French.

a What is Lauren going to get her sister? Un

b How does Lauren describe her? Elle est
c How does Lauren describe her brother? Il est
d How do Lauren and Jacques describe Lauren’s parents?
Ils sont _____________________ et ils ont
e What does Jacques say about technology in France? C’est

3 Find the adjectives in the conversation and highlight them.

a impressive
b adventurous
c typical
d classic
e young
f boring
g new
h traditional
i not easy

4 Find the following phrases and highlight them. Write out the bold words in
French.
a that reminds me
b she really wants
c he would find a souvenir
d and finally
e they already asked me
NOTICE

09.04 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 2

French Meaning Pronunciation

cette avenue est this avenue is seht ah-vuh-new eh ahN-pRay-
impressionante ! impressive! syoh-nawNt
il y a tellement de there are so many eel ee ah tehl-mawN duh mah-
magasins ! shops! gah-zahN
Elle est comment ta What’s your family
ehl eh ko-mawN tah famee-yuh
famille ? like?
c’est pas facile à dire it’s not easy to say say pah fa-seel ah deeR
ma sœur est my sister is
mah suhR eh tah-vawN-tew-Ruhz
aventureuse adventurous
un souvenir typique a typical souvenir ahN soo-vuh-neeR tee-peek
un béret classique a classic beret ahN bay-Reh klah-seek
mon frère est jeune my brother is young mohN fRehR eh zhuhn
super ennuyeux really boring sew-pehR uh-new-yuh
Qu’est-ce que je peux
what can I buy? kess-kuh zhuh puh ash-tay
acheter ?
un nouveau casque a new headset ahN noo-voh kahsk
la technologie est technology is lah tehk-no-lo-zhee eh mwahN
moins chère ici cheaper here shehR ee-see
ça me rappelle that reminds me sah muh Rah-pehl
il a besoin d’un he needs a new…
eel ah buh-zwahN dahN noo-voh
nouveau… one!
 et enfin and finally ay awN-fahN
mes parents sont plus my parents are more may pah-rawN sawN plew tRah-
traditionnels traditional dee-see-ohn-ehl
une deuxième boite a second box ahN duh-zee-ehm bwat
They’ve got good
Ils ont bon gout eel zawN bawN goo
taste.

You may know how to form many masculine and feminine adjectives, but
when you’re speaking spontaneously, you shouldn’t stress over getting
these forms right. If you use whichever form you remember, the person
you’re speaking to will understand you.

1 Write out the following phrases in French.

a What should I buy?

b My parents are more traditional.

c that reminds me

d really boring

2 Another effective memory technique is to learn words in pairs with their

opposites. Use the adjectives from the phrase list, or a dictionary, to
complete the sentences.

a C’est pas_____________________, c’est_____________________. (It’s

not easy, it’s hard.)

b C’est pas _____________________, c’est _____________________. (It’s

not unique, it’s typical.)
 c Ils sont pas _____________________, ils sont _____________________.
(They aren’t stupid, they are intelligent.)

d Ils sont pas _____________________, ils sont _____________________.

(They aren’t modern, they are traditional.)

e Elle est pas _____________________, elle est _____________________.

(She’s not adventurous, she is shy.)
f Il est pas _____________________, il est _____________________. (He’s
not old, he’s young.)

3 Use the forms below to create phrases describing people and things. Be
sure to use the correct word order and gender/plural agreement.

grand grande grands grandes

ouvert ouverte ouverts ouvertes

a my big brother

b my big brothers

c my big sister

d my big sisters

e The shop was open.

f The bakery (la boulangerie) was open.

g The shops are open.

h The bakeries are open.
PRACTICE

1 How would you say ‘it’s the cheapest’ in French?

2 Practise forming adjectives according to gender. The words in the table are
grouped according to opposites. Fill in the missing words, including both
the masculine and feminine forms (if they are different).

Describing people

French (m. / f.) Meaning French (m. / f.) Meaning

shy / timid aventureux / aventureuse
ugly beau / belle
vieux / vieille young
bizarre typical
unpleasant sympa
pessimistic optimiste
proud modeste
funny sérieux / sérieuse

3 Create new sentences with words that are true for you. Be sure to use the
correct gender, and look up words in your dictionary if you need to.

a Je suis_____________________.
b Mon travail est_____________________.
c Mon père/ami/frère est _____________________.
d Sa maison est _____________________.
 e Ma mère/cousine/soeur est _____________________.

4 Create four phrases that describe different people in your life, using the
following word order:

Not quite the same as a geek in English, this borrowed word has taken on a
new meaning in French, and simply implies ‘techie’. Funny how it can be
close, but still not quite the same!

Example: mon père geek (my techie father)

PUT IT TOGETHER

Create a script that describes the personalities of two important people in your
life. Look up any new descriptive words you might need now, so you’ll have them
ready to use during your conversations.

Use adjectives to describe their personalities.

Be sure that your adjectives agree with the person in gender and number.
Use different word orders.
CONVERSATION 3
It looks like …

You’ve learned to describe people and places – now let’s build some new vocab
you can use to describe things.

By knowing how to describe things in French, you’ll have a handy new trick
up your sleeve to use in French conversations. When you can’t think of a
particular word for something, you can just describe it instead!

09.05 Lauren is looking for a headset for her brother and asks Jacques for advice.
Which phrase does Lauren use to ask ‘Is this one OK?’

Lauren : Regarde, on vend des casques dans ce magasin et il a l’air pas cher.
Jacques : Ton frère utilise son casque pour quel genre de jeux ?
Lauren : Pour les jeux en ligne … Comment tu trouves celui-ci, ça va ?
Non, ça va pas. – le rouge, c’est bon pour faire du jogging mais pour
Jacques :
ton frère, le mieux serait le vert. C’est de la qualité supérieure.
Lauren : Comment tu sais ça ?
Jacques : Je reconnais la marque.
C’est un peu cher mais il va l’adorer ! À ce prix-là, je peux pas payer
Lauren :
cash – je dois l’acheter avec ma carte de crédit.
Pas de problème, on passe à la caisse ? Ton frère va penser que tu es la
Jacques :
sœur la plus chouette du monde !
FIGURE IT OUT

1 The following statements are faux. Highlight the word(s) that make each
one incorrect, and write the correct phrase in French.

a Lauren’s brother needs a new headset to listen to music.

b The headset is not expensive.

c Lauren is going to pay in cash.

2 Highlight the two possible ways of paying mentioned. What does à ce

prix-là mean?

3 Answer the questions in French.

a Which headset is better for jogging? Le

b Which headset is better for Lauren’s brother? Le

4 In the context of the conversation, which of the following does C’est de la

qualité supérieure mean?

a it is a superior quality

b it’s better quality

c it’s not better quality

5 Find the translation of ‘would be’ and highlight it.

NOTICE

09.06 Listen to the audio and study the table.

Essential phrases for Conversation 3

French Meaning Pronunciation

ce magasin a l’air this shop looks like it’s suh mah-gah-zahN ah lehR
pas cher inexpensive pah shehR
ton frère utilise son what kind of games does tohN fRehR ew-tee-leez
casque pour quel genre your brother use his sawN kahsk pooR kehl jawN
de jeux ? headset for? duh zhuh
pooR lay zhuh zawN lee-
pour les jeux en ligne for online games
nyuh
celui-ci, ça va ? is this one OK? suh-lew-wee see sah-vah
le rouge the red one luh roozh
c’est de la qualité say duh lah kah-lee-tay sew-
it is better quality
supérieure pay-Ree-uhR
je reconnais la marque I recognize the brand zhuh Ruh-ko-neh lah mahRk
c’est un peu cher it’s a little expensive seh tahN puh shehR
à ce prix at that price ah suh pRee
je peux pas payer cash I can’t pay cash zhuh puh pah peh-yay kahsh
acheter avec ma carte ash-tay ah-vehk mah kahRt
to buy with my credit card
de crédit duh kRay-dee
shall we go to the
on passe à la caisse ? ohN pahs ah lah kehs
checkout?
tu es la sœur la plus tew ay lah suhR lah plew
you are the coolest sister
chouette shweht
The best way to ask if something is ‘OK’ is to ask ‘how it is going’ – celui-ci
ça va ?

Whenever you want to say things like ‘the big one’, ‘the blue one’ or ‘the
small ones’ in French you don’t need to translate ‘one’. Simply use le/la/les
before the adjective: le rouge (the red one).

1 What phrases could you use to…

a say what something looks like?

b ask ‘what type?’

2 If you needed to describe an item to a shopkeeper, you could use the

following phrases. Write them out here in French.

a this one

b the black

c the small one

d the new one

3 How would you say the following expressions related to purchases?

a a little expensive
b pay in cash

c a brand

d the checkout

4 If you don’t know the word for an item, you could also just say the name
of the brand. What international brands could you use to ask the following
questions:

You’ll recognize a lot of familiar brands in France, and you can use this to
your advantage when you’re trying to describe what you want.

a Vous vendez _____________________? (shoe brand)

b Je voudrais un _____________________. (tissue brand)

c Je prends un _____________________. (cola brand)

d Je veux acheter un _____________________. (computer brand)

PRACTICE

1 Fill in the blanks with the word or phrase that works best in the sentence.

a l’air dormir a l’air d’être

a Aujourd’hui, ton frère _____________________ fatigué.

b Ton chat a l’air de _____________________.

c Cette voiture _____________________ vieille !

2 Create new questions you can use to ask about things in French when
shopping.

a How much does this one (f.) cost (couter)?

b Is it good quality?

c Can I use this now?

d Do you accept credit cards?

e I can only pay in cash.

3 Fill in the gaps with the missing words in French.

 a Je peux voir _____________________? (Can I see the red ones?)

b Je connais pas _____________________. (I don’t know the brand.)

c Je vais payer _____________________. (I’ll pay at the cash register.)

d J’aime _____________________ sur la gauche. (I like the big one (f) on

the left).

4 Fill in the missing translations in the table.

Describing things

Adjective Meaning Colour Meaning

long(ue) jaune yellow
court(e) rouge red
wide bleu blue
léger / légère blanc / blanche white
lourd(e) vert(e) green
noir black
CONVERSATION STRATEGY: use the set phrase ‘the … one!’

You can adapt this set phrase in countless ways to communicate what you’re
describing without saying its name!

09.07 Listen to the audio and repeat the phrases you hear. Write the missing
phrases in the table.

The … one(s)!

French Meaning French Meaning

celui-ci this one that one
le noir the black one the black ones
le petit the small one the big one
le nouveau the new one the old ones
le moins cher the less expensive one the more expensive ones
l’autre the other one not this one, that one!
PUT IT TOGETHER

Qu’est-ce que tu cherches ? (What are you looking for?)

Describe something you want to buy, something you’re looking for, or something
you’ve lost -- without using the word. You might include:

what it looks like or what you use it for

what brand it is
what colour it is
‘this one’, ‘that one’ or ‘the … one’
other descriptive adjectives that you know!

Add any new adjectives you look up into the Describing things table.
#LANGUAGEHACK: use your hidden moments
to get French immersion for the long term
Rather than thinking about how many months or years it may take to learn French,
an incredibly effective learning strategy is to focus instead on the minutes that it
takes.

Don’t overlook the value of these short periods of time. They really add up
and, more importantly, they’re a great way to consistently keep up
momentum in your learning.

The minutes you put into your language every day are what truly count. Not
everyone has a few hours every day to devote to French. But everyone has a few
minutes. Even if you live a busy lifestyle, you can still find ‘hidden moments’
throughout your day for French practice. Standing in line in the supermarket,
waiting for the lift, sitting on a bus, train or taxi, waiting for a tardy friend … all
of these are wasted moments in our days. These moments are perfect for
squeezing French practice into your daily life. Instead of making a distinction
between ‘study blocks’ of French, why not blend it into your life to make
language learning a habit?
French immersion – from anywhere

As you’ve followed Lauren’s story, perhaps you thought, ‘well she’s quite lucky
to go to France to improve her French through immersion!’ But in fact, thanks to
technology, you can create a French immersion environment from anywhere in the
world, no matter where you live. You can create an at-home immersion
environment in lots of different ways:

connect with other learners (like you’ve been doing in our online
community!) to get practice through regular video/audio calls
listen to live streaming radio or watch streaming video from France (or
another French-speaking country) online
play des jeux vidéos ! You can change the language settings on your
games to French!
You can also change the language of websites you use often or even your
computer and smartphone operating system to French.

You’ll see it’s not that bad, and you can always change it back if you find it
too hard. Usually, you’ll just need to look for ‘Langues or Paramètres
linguistiques under Paramètres’.

_____________________
YOUR TURN: use the hack

1 Look at the apps and online resources we recommend at

(www.teachyourself.com/languagehacking). Pick a few to add to your
computer or smartphone so they’re ready and waiting during your hidden
moments.

2 Look at the websites, apps, games, browsers and even the operating
system you use the most, and see if they have an option to change the
language to French. Since you’re already used to the interface and know
where to click or tap, why not go ahead and change the language?
COMPLETING UNIT 9
Check your understanding

1 09.08 Listen to this audio rehearsal, which has someone describing their
environment and people around them. Feel free to take notes or listen to it
multiple times.

2 09.09 Now listen to the questions about the audio rehearsal you just heard.
Answer the questions out loud in French.

Show what you know …

Here’s what you’ve just learned. Write or say an example for each item in the list.
Then tick off the ones you know.
Say something you miss using manquer.
Give two sentences describing where you live.
Say ‘it’s hot’, ‘it’s cold’ and ‘it’s raining’.
Give a sentence that uses an adjective to describe a family member’s
personality. Put the adjective in the right word order and gender.
Use three different adjectives to describe your favourite clothes in French.
Put the adjectives in the right word order and gender.
Ask the questions:
‘Can I pay in cash?’
‘Can I pay with a credit card?’
COMPLETE YOUR MISSION
It’s time to complete your mission: pass for a local and use your descriptive
language to point out the best places in town to a foreigner. To do this, you’ll need
to describe the details and characteristics of different places, people and things.
Please visit www.italki.com/languagehacking
STEP 1: build your script

Build a script you can use to give more detailed descriptions of places, people and
things. Be sure to:

Challenge yourself: make sure you incorporate new verbs you’ve learned
(manquer, rentrer, acheter, utiliser) and try to match adjectives to the
gender and number of the objects they describe.

say what the weather is usually like or what type of landscape is nearby
explain what the houses, apartments or neighbourhoods look like
describe the personalities of the people living there

Write down your script, then repeat it until you feel confident.

This is your last dress rehearsal before you speak one-on-one with a native
speaker!
STEP 2: a little goes a long way … online

If you’re feeling good about your script, go ahead and give it another go! Go
online, find your Unit 9 mission and share your recording with the community for
feedback and encouragement.
STEP 3: learn from other learners

How did other language hackers describe their city? After you’ve uploaded your
own clip, check out what the other people in the community have to say. What
city are they describing? Would you hire them as a tour guide? Your task is to
ask them two more questions about their city.
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned

Did you learn any new words or phrases in the community space? Did you find a
new place to add to your bucket list? What did you learn about the gaps in your
scripts?
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, ARE YOU READY?

You’ve just learned how to describe pretty much anything, as well as how to work
around any gaps you may have in your French. I know you’re ready for the
ultimate mission – aren’t you?
Tu es prêt(e) ? On y va !
10 HAVING YOUR FIRST CONVERSATION

Your mission
You’ve worked hard. You’ve kept at it. And now, you’re armed with a solid base
in the French language. More importantly, you know how to use clever
#languagehacks and conversation strategies to make the French phrases you know
stretch even further for you.

Your mission is to have a one-on-one conversation – online with video

activated – with a native French speaker.

This mission will set you up with the phrases, the confidence and an insider look
at how to have your first conversation in French – even if you don’t think you’re
ready.

Mission prep
Apply what you’ve learned in the context of a first conversation.
Prepare the essential phrases you need to have a conversation.
Develop the mindset: overcome nerves; don’t worry about the grammar.
Find a language partner and schedule your first conversation!
#LanguageHack: Develop a cheat sheet to go into ‘autopilot’ during your
first conversation
BUILDING LANGUAGE FOR HAVING A CONVERSATION

Here’s where all of the vocabulary and – just as importantly – all of the
conversation strategies you’ve learned over the past nine units come into play.
You’re going to have your first ‘face-to-face’ conversation with another French
speaker!

One-on-one conversations with a native can be intimidating, and that’s why I like
to cheat – by having my first few conversations in a new language with a partner
online. This takes off the pressure, and you have the added luxury of being able to
quickly search for words or phrases with online translators and dictionaries. Let’s
take a look at how you can strategize your own first conversations!
YOUR FIRST CONVERSATION
Listen to this sample ‘first’ conversation between a language hacker (LH) and his
French conversation partner, Cécile.

10.01 As you listen, underline any words or phrases you’d like to use in your own
first conversation with a native speaker.

Cécile : Salut !
LH : Salut, comment tu t’appelles ?
Cécile : Je m’appelle Cécile. Et toi ?
LH : Je m’appelle Benny.
Cécile : Enchantée, Benny. Dis-moi, tu habites où ?
LH : Je suis irlandais mais maintenant j’habite à New York.
Ah, très intéressant. L’Irlande. Je suis jamais allée en Ireland mais j’ai
Cécile : visité New York une fois, quand j’avais vingt ans. Tu es déjà venu en
France ?
Non … pas encore. Un jour, j’espère …. Je suis désolé – j’ai commencé
LH : à apprendre le français seulement il y a quelques semaines. Tu peux
parler plus lentement ?
Cécile : Oh, bien sûr ! Pardon.
Tu es très patiente ! Merci de parler avec moi. Alors, depuis combien
LH :
de temps tu enseignes le français … ?

I suggest you use this phrase even if you already know the name of your
language partner in advance. After all, the point of this conversation is to
practise using the phrases you know!

You haven’t learned how to say ‘Thank you for being patient with me’ yet.
Notice how this is rephrased by the language hacker.
Put your conversation strategies into action

Every conversation has a certain ‘formula’ – phrases that you can expect the
conversation to include. We’ve talked a lot about this throughout this book. You
can use the expected nature of conversations to your advantage.

10.02 Imagine that you’re talking with a native French speaker, Cécile, for your
own first conversation in French. In this case, the conversation will flow in a
slightly different way. Use the prompts given to practise applying the phrases you
know, and fill in the gaps in the conversation.

Cécile : Bonjour, enchantée.

 Language
hacker :
(Greet your language partner.)
Cécile : Je m’appelle Cécile. Et vous ?
Language
hacker :
(Give your name and ask if you can speak in the tu form.)
Cécile : Bien sûr, si tu préfères !
Language
hacker :
(Thank her for talking with you today.)
Pas de problème – c’est un plaisir. Alors, pourquoi tu apprends le
Cécile :
français ?
Language
hacker :
(Answer her question about why you’re learning French.)
Cécile : Très bien ! Tu parles d’autres langues ?
Language
hacker :
(Say whether or not you speak any other languages.)
Cécile : Mon étudiant canadien m’a dit que cette langue est hyper difficile !
Language
hacker :
(Say that you didn’t understand and ask her to repeat slowly.)
Naturellement. J’ai dit que mon étudiant, Eric – du Canada – il m’a
Cécile :
dit que cette langue est très difficile.

Don’t take corrections personally. Your language partner knows the reason
you’re there is to improve your French. By correcting you, they’re helping
you do that!

Now that you’ve seen two examples of a first conversation in action, let’s start
preparing you for the real thing.
#LANGUAGEHACK: develop a cheat sheet to go into
‘autopilot’ during your first conversation
Here’s how I know you can handle this conversation, even if you think you’re not
ready: because you’re going to ‘cheat’, so to speak.

There is no shame in ‘cheating’ here. This isn’t an exam. This is a conversation.

Consider your cheat sheet as stabilizers / training wheels. It will help you make
the transition from studying French to speaking French. Using a cheat sheet now
gives you momentum so you become experienced at speaking over less time.

The way I like to prepare for my conversations online is to make up a cheat sheet
of the words and phrases I plan to use during the conversation – and because I’m
having my first conversation online, I can have my cheat sheet right in front of me
(on paper, open in another window or on another device) the whole time.

We’ll do the same thing for you. You’re going to have your own phrases ready,
planned out and written out in front of you, so you’ll be able to glance at them
while you’re speaking French. This way, it doesn’t matter if your mind goes
blank. You’ll just take a breath, and look at your cheat sheet.

Let’s get to work preparing your cheat sheet. I like to separate mine into four
parts:
1 Essential phrases

2 Survival phrases

3 Questions I plan to ask

4 ‘Me-specific’ phrases
_____________________
ESSENTIAL PHRASES
My essential phrases are the words and phrases I know I’ll need to use in every
conversation. These are usually greetings and sign-off words, as well as questions
I expect to be asked and my planned answers.

I’ve started you off with some suggestions. Write out the ones you plan to use in
French, and then add some new ones of your own.

Essential phrases
(Refer to Units 1–3 for inspiration)
Don’t worry about thinking up every possible word or phrase you might
need. Instead, let the language tell you what you need to learn. Use the
language you know now in natural conversation – however much or little it
may be – and you’ll quickly learn the ‘me-specific’ phrases that you haven’t
(yet!) added to your script.

(Refer to Units 1–6 for inspiration)

SURVIVAL PHRASES FOR WHEN I NEED HELP
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes in French. Instead, expect them. Prepare for
them. Have a plan for dealing with difficult moments. Even if you forget every
word you know or can’t understand a single word the other person is saying, you
can still have a conversation if you’ve prepared your survival phrases.

I’ve started you off with some suggestions. Add some new ones of your own.

Survival phrases
(Refer to Unit 6 for inspiration)
In the heat of the moment, there’s a lot to think about. Don’t worry about
saying single words to get your point across. You can always add a s’il te
plait at the end to make sure your partner knows you don’t mean to be
impolite!
QUESTIONS I PLAN TO ASK
Plan out a few questions that you can ask the other person. You can use them to
take the pressure off you, while the other person talks for a while. And they are
great to have ready for when there’s a lull in the conversation.

Speaking French with a new person gives you an opportunity to learn about
that person’s life, language and culture! I make sure to prepare in advance if
there’s anything in particular I’m curious to know.

I’ve started you off with a few good options, but make sure you add more of your
own. For example,

questions about life in the other person’s country (Il fait froid en Suisse
maintenant ?)
questions about the French language (Ce mot ‘quotidien’ – ça veut dire
quoi ?)
questions about the other person’s life, work or hobbies (Tu aimes faire
quoi le weekend ?)

Prepared questions
(Refer to Units 2–9 for inspiration)
‘ME-SPECIFIC’ PHRASES I WANT TO PRACTISE
These are the conversation topics specific to me that I want to practise talking
about. Things like my interests, what I’ve been doing lately, what my upcoming
plans are and the people in my life.

In your first conversation, if you’ve practised your essential phrases and your
survival phrases, everything from there is just a bonus!

In my online conversations, I like to create a goal of a few new phrases I want to

practise during each conversation. But keep it to just a few (between two and five
phrases), which is plenty to accomplish in your first conversation. You could
prepare to talk about:

what you’re interested in (J’adore la science-fiction !)

what you’ve been doing today or lately (J’ai lu un article sur les trains
en France.)
what your upcoming plans are (Je veux danser ce weekend.)
the people in your life (Ma copine parle un peu italien.).

‘Me-specific’ phrases
GETTING READY FOR YOUR FIRST
CONVERSATION
I strongly suggest having your first few conversations online with video enabled.
Technology really is your friend in this situation. In an online chat, you can easily
refer to your notes, and you can even look up words on the spot or put phrases you
need into an online translator – right in the middle of the conversation.

An automatic translation isn’t a replacement for language learning, but it can

be used as a crutch at a pinch.

Know this: if all else fails, you can have an entire conversation in French even if
you only know these three phrases: Je comprends pas. Écris-le s’il te plait. Un
moment.

Don’t believe me? Envision it. Worst-case scenario:

Your conversation partner says bonjour, you say bonjour (success!). But
then she says, @yego^3*8ham#3pt9ane1& ? And your mind goes blank
You reply with Je comprends pas. Écris-le, s’il te plait.
She types out what she said and sends it to you via chat. You select what
she wrote, copy it and paste it and quickly find a translation. Ah, you
think, I understand! But now it’s your turn to respond, and your mind,
again, goes blank
You say, Un moment. She waits patiently while you type what you want
to say in English into your online translator. You hit enter and get a
translation in French. You read out the words in your best French accent.
Rinse and repeat.

Is this scenario ideal? No. But is it better than not having a conversation at all?
Absolutely.

In fact, you’d be surprised by how much you’d learn even in this worst-case
scenario. Even if you forgot every single phrase you learned in French
 except these three, you could have a conversation (of sorts) in French with
another person. And you would learn loads of French by the end of it.

Luckily, you’ve already been preparing for this moment for the past nine
missions. So you’re ready – even if you think you’re not. Trust me on this.

Here’s how I suggest you set yourself up for your conversation.

Open up your cheat sheet and keep it within easy view

Have your translation tool ready (See our Resources!)
Get ready to connect the call
Just before your conversation, practise listening to and repeating some
French audio (we’ll give you a great one in this unit).

This will get your ears and your tongue ‘warmed up’ for the conversation.
I’ve provided one for you at the end of this unit. Additional audio resources
are recommended in our Resources online.
What to expect

The first conversation is always the hardest, and it’s always the most nerve-
racking. But it’s a completely crucial first step to becoming comfortable as a
beginner French learner. Beginners make mistakes. And as a beginner French
learner, you shouldn’t expect yourself to know all (or most) of the words. You
should expect the opposite.

The purpose of your first conversation isn’t to prove to your language partner
how great at French you are. It’s to learn, practise and gain confidence. If you
remember that these are your goals, there is simply no way to fail! You’ll
have plenty of time to improve and perfect your skills in later conversations.

Don’t focus on saying things perfectly, just focus on getting your point across.
Being understood – communicating with another human being – is the main goal
here. Don’t stress about knowing all the grammar, using precisely the right word
or having a perfect accent.

Let’s review some of the skills you’ve learned throughout this book. They’ll come
in handy in your first conversation!

Rephrasing – Remember, you’ll need to take many of the phrases you

want to say and rephrase them so that they’re much more basic (but still
convey the same idea). Rephrasing your thoughts into simpler forms is an
essential skill for language hackers.
‘Tarzan French’ – Don’t be afraid to speak in ‘Tarzan French’! If you
know how to say something right, say it right. But if you know how to say
something kind-of wrong, then say it wrong! Your language partner will
help you figure out the wording you need.
Learn from your gaps. Despite rephrasing, you’ll realize that there’s still
a lot you don’t yet know how to say. And as you talk, you’ll realize you’ve
been pronouncing some words wrong. Your partner may correct you.
Good! This is valuable information. Take note of the phrases you wish you
knew. You can learn them for next time.
 When in doubt, guess! Finally, if you’re not sure what your conversation
partner just said, guess! Use context – facial expressions in the video feed
and whatever words you do understand – to infer the meaning of the entire
phrase.

Talking one-on-one with another person is the best language practice you can get.
If there’s one secret to #languagehacking, this is it.

Enjoy your first conversation, and the many others to come after that!
COMPLETING UNIT 10
Check your understanding

One mission left to go! Review the phrases and conversation strategies from the
unit one more time. When you’re feeling confident, listen to the audio rehearsal,
which will help you practise your listening, pronunciation and speaking skills.

Don’t take corrections personally. Your language partner knows the reason
you’re there is to improve your French. By correcting you, they’re helping
you do that!

1 Practise answering common questions.

10.03 Listen to the audio rehearsal, which will ask questions in French.

Practise answering the questions in French with responses that are

true for you.
Pause or replay the audio as often as you need.

2 10.04 In this audio rehearsal, a French speaker talks casually about herself.
Listen to the audio, and after each clip, use what you understand (or can infer) to
answer questions about the speaker.

This is exactly what you’ll be doing in your first conversation – listening

to your partner’s end of the conversation and using a combination of your
 new #languagehacking skills and context to help you even through the tricky
parts.

What is her name?

Where does she live?
How long has she been teaching French?
Does she speak any other languages? If so, which ones?
What does she like to do in her free time?

Show what you know …

Are you ready for your final mission? Before you move on, make sure that you:

Write up the essential phrases you’ll need into your cheat sheet.
Write up survival phrases and add them to your cheat sheet.
Prepare two to five ‘me-specific’ phrases you want to practise. Add them
to your cheat sheet.
Prepare at least three questions you plan to ask. Add them to your cheat
sheet.
What are your goals?

One more thing. It helps to know before you set up your first chat what you want
to accomplish or what phrases you’d like to practise. Be realistic but ambitious!
And be flexible – you never know where a conversation will take you, and that’s a
very good thing for language learners.

My partner Lauren likes to set up a ‘conversation bingo’ for herself when

she’s practising a language online. She writes out a few phrases she wants to
practise during the call (either by speaking them or hearing them), and tries
to cross off as many as she can.

Write out a few notes on what you want to practise during your first conversation.
Then, find your language partner.

COMPLETE YOUR MISSION

It’s time to complete your mission: having a one-on-one conversation with a
native … online. To do this, you’ll need to prepare to:

say hello and use essential greeting vocab

say goodbye or set up a time to talk again
ask at least three questions
give your answers to commonly asked questions
use survival phrases when you can’t understand or need help. Please visit
www.italki.com/languagehacking
STEP 1: find your conversation partner and schedule your first
conversation

Follow our Resource guide to find a conversation partner online and schedule
your first chat with him or her now.

When you’re setting up your first conversation online, send out a few messages to
the exchange partners or teachers who look like a good fit for you. Break the ice
and send them a message (in French of course!) to set up your first chat. A good
icebreaker tells the other person:

your name
your language level
what you’d like to practise or discuss during the conversation.

Example:

Salut ! Je m’appelle Lauren. Je voudrais parler français avec vous. On

peut se tutoyer ? Je veux pratiquer des phrases simples. Par exemple,
mon nom et mon pays. Je suis débutante – merci d’être patiente avec
moi !

Be friendly, and give a short intro to yourself and what you want to practise – but
don’t say too much. Save some phrases for the conversation! Write out your own
icebreaker now.
STEP 2: go all the way … online

The first time might be scary, but it will get easier! So go online and have your
first conversation in French for an authentic and good time!

Remember, your first conversation is just that – a first conversation. The

only way to get to your 50th conversation is to get the first one out of the
way, then keep going from there.

Here’s what to do during your conversation:

Practise rephrasing your thoughts into simple forms.

Speak ‘Tarzan French’ if you have to – it’s better than nothing!
Take note of any ‘gaps’ in your French vocabulary.
Write down any phrases or words you want to say, but don’t know yet.
Write down new words or phrases you want to review later.
STEP 3: learn from other learners, and share your experience!

Tell the community how it went! (Or, if you’re nervous – head over to see how
other people’s first conversations went.) Your task is to ask or answer at least
three questions from other learners:

Were you nervous? How did you handle your nerves?

What was your teacher or exchange partner like?
What went well, and what didn’t? What would you do differently next
time?
STEP 4: reflect on what you’ve learned

After your first conversation, it’s easy to focus on the words you didn’t know or
the things you couldn’t say. But it’s much more productive to focus on your
successes instead. Were you ‘only’ able to give your name, your job and say that
you live with your cat? Those are huge wins! Don’t overlook those achievements.

As for those things you didn’t know, this is one of the major benefits of
having real conversations right away! You learn very quickly where the gaps
are in your script, so you can work on filling them.

What were your wins? What phrases were you able to say or understand?
Review the notes you took during your conversation. What words did you
need that you didn’t know yet? What new words did you learn?
HEY, LANGUAGE HACKER, YOU JUST HAD A
CONVERSATION IN FRENCH!

… or at least you should have!

You just broke one of the biggest barriers in language learning! Now that you’ve
crossed that threshold, you are on a fast-track to fluency in French that most
people only ever dream about. Enjoy this milestone. And remember – your second
conversation will be even better than your first. Your third will be even better than
that. Schedule your next spoken lesson now. Don’t put it off – that ticking clock is
a powerful motivator for language hackers.

Your next mission: Continue comme ça ! Keep it up!

ADDITIONAL AUDIO

Alphabet

Days

Months

Seasons

Numbers 0-9
Numbers 10-19

Numbers 20-29

Number 30-39

Numbers 40-49

Numbers 50-59

Numbers 60-69

Numbers 70-79
Numbers 80-89

Numbers 90-99

Numbers 100-110
TRANSCRIPTS

01.13

a Bonjour, je suis Pierre, et toi ?

b Je suis Français, et toi ?

c Je suis pilote, et toi ?

d J’habite à Paris, et toi ?

e J’aime faire du ski, et toi ?

f Pourquoi tu veux apprendre le français ?

02.03

a Lauren habite ici.

b Tu parles français.
c Tu parles français ?
d Lauren habite ici ?
e Jacques parle bien italien ?
02.14

a Est-ce que tu aimes la culture française ?

b Tu habites en Europe ?

c Tu parles bien anglais ?

d Est-ce que tu parles un peu de français ?

e Est-ce que tu sais que je suis Français ?

f Tu veux apprendre d’autres langues ?

g Depuis quand tu apprends le français ?

h Tu étudies le vocabulaire français ?

i Pourquoi tu apprends le français ?

j Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire ?

03.11

a Comment tu t’appelles ?

b Tu as un ordinateur ?

c Tu habites où maintenant ?

d Je t’entends pas bien.

 e Depuis combien de jours tu apprends le français ?

f Ton anniversaire est quand ?

g Tu vas où aujourd’hui ?

h Tu habites avec qui ?

i Qu’est-ce que tu penses ?

j Tu peux le répéter, plus lentement ?

04.08

a Tu voyages beaucoup ?

b Comment tu voyages ?

c Pour combien de temps tu prends des vacances ?

d Comment tu vas au travail ?

e Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire demain ?

f Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire ce week-end ?

g Tu peux me donner ton adresse email ?

h Tu peux me donner ton numéro de téléphone ?

05.10
 a Vous allez où ? À l’hôpital.

b Ta fille s’appelle comment ? Anna.

c À quelle heure est-ce que Jacques arrive ? À neuf heures.

d Vous allez rencontrer qui demain ? Mathieu.

e Qu’est-ce que François et Marie vont lire ? Le Petit Prince.

f Quand est-ce que ta soeur travaille ? Demain.

g Est-ce que tes parents aiment cette ville ? Non.

h Est-ce que vous visitez la France souvent ? Oui, chaque été.

i Combien d’enfants a ton cousin ? Quatre.

j Depuis quand Léa connait ta famille ? On se connait depuis toujours.

06.08

a malheureusement

b c’est-à-dire

c à mon avis

d franchement

e si je comprends bien

f c’est pourquoi
06.10

a J’ai faim. / Il veut de l’eau.

b Je peux pas rester à la maison. / Il faut sortir.
c À mon avis, Rome est mieux que Paris. / Elle préfère Paris.
d Ma cousine lit chaque jour. / Elle lit souvent.
e À ton avis, l’architecture française est belle ? / Je la trouve belle ! / Ils sont
d’accord.

07.07

Hier matin, j’ai regardé dehors et j’ai vu un chien. J’avais un chien quand j’étais
enfant, donc j’ai décidé d’aller le voir. Il avait faim, alors j’ai trouvé un peu de
viande dans ma cuisine.

Le chien a commencé à manger la nourriture, et une femme est sortie de sa

maison. C’était ma dentiste ! Elle habite dans ma rue avec son chien maintenant !

07.08

a Qu’est-ce qu’il a vu hier matin ?

b Est-ce qu’il a un chien ?

c Qu’est-ce qu’il a donné au chien ?

08.07

Malheureusement, c’est dangereux de faire du vélo dans cette ville, donc je prends
souvent le métro. Quand je travaille pas, je sors de temps en temps mais je
préférerais habiter près d’un parc. Je me promènerais tous les dimanches.

08.08

a Qu’est-ce qui est dangereux dans cette ville ?

b Est-ce qu’elle habite près d’un parc maintenant ?

c Quand est-ce qu’elle se promènerait ?

09.08

J’habite près d’un lac, à la campagne. Il fait toujours beau ici ! J’habitais avant à
New York et cette ville-là me manque pas ! Avec ma femme, on trouve que c’est
plus sympa ici. On préfère être seuls ! Ma femme est une personne très
aventureuse et ouverte. Pour son anniversaire, je vais acheter un ordinateur. Celui
que j’ai choisi pour elle est très moderne. Elle va l’utiliser pour regarder des
vidéos en ligne.
09.09

a Cet homme habite où ?

b Est-ce que New York manque à l’homme qui parle ?

c Comment est-ce qu’il décrit sa femme ?

d Elle va utiliser un ordinateur pour faire quoi ?

10.03

a Salut ! Ça va ?

b Comment tu t’appelles ?

c Tu habites où ?

d Et tu travailles où ?

e Pourquoi tu apprends le français ?

f Depuis combien de temps tu apprends le français ?

g Tu parles d’autres langues ?

h Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire ?

10.04
a Salut !

b Ça va bien, merci ! Tu t’appelles comment ?

c Je m’appelle Léa, enchantée.

d Tu connais Versailles ? C’est là que j’habite.

e J’enseigne le français depuis 8 mois.

f Je parle aussi un peu italien. J’adore les langues !

g Quand je travaille pas, j’aime lire. Mon auteur préféré est Dumas.
ANSWER KEY

UNIT 1

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 I am 2 je, j’ 3 Et toi ? 4 a auteur b américaine c Paris 5 How

are you?/I’m fine.

Pronunciation: questions and answers a Ça va b Et toi ?

Notice 1 an 2 a Je suis b J’habite à (city) c Je suis de Paris. d Je suis de France.

3 a j’ b je c j’ d je e j’ f je

Practice 3 a Je suis de (city/country)/Je suis (nationality) b Je suis (profession) c

J’habite à (city).

Put it together Example: Je m’appelle Lauren. Je suis des États-Unis. J’habite à

Paris. Je suis auteur.
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 Qu’est-ce que tu aimes ? 2 but 3 Je déteste les spaghettis. 4

Lauren: her friends, the cinema, travelling, pizza. Pierre: his job as a teacher,
visiting museums, tennis. j’aime/j’adore

Notice 1 Qu’est-ce que

Your turn: use the hack 2 américaine, auteur, Paris, France, cinéma, voyager,
pizza, spaghettis, musées, tennis

Grammar explanation: Combining verbs and nouns 1 Example: a J’adore les

chats. b Je déteste les spaghettis. Je déteste la mayonnaise ! c J’aime les animaux.
J’aime la cuisine.

Put it together Example: 1 J’aime le fromage. J’adore mes nouveaux amis

français ! J’aime la tour Eiffel. J’aime pas le vin. Je déteste les grèves.
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 why = pourquoi; because = parce que 2 French culture

Notice 1 a bon b alors c et d parce que 2 apprendre, comprendre, parler, habiter

3 a langue b culture c belle d intéressant

Practice 1 a J’adore parler français. b Je déteste visiter les musées. c J’aime

apprendre les langues. d Je veux visiter la France.

Put it together Example: Je veux habiter en France. J’aime parler des languages
étrangères. J’espère visiter Paris. Je veux voyager dans le monde entier !
MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

Salut, je m’appelle John. Ça va ? Bon, je suis canadien mais j’habite à Sydney. Je

suis écrivain. J’aime les animaux et j’adore voyager mais je déteste le froid.
J’apprends le français parce que je veux visiter la France. Et toi ?
UNIT 2

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 a oui b non c non 2 a vrai b faux 3 pas 4 a je veux pas (or je
ne veux pas) b tu habites pas (or tu n’habites pas)

Notice 1 Je parle bien/Je parle un peu 2 a bien anglais b bien le français 3 a

Est-ce que tu aimes … ? b Est-ce que tu veux … ? c Est-ce que tu habites … ? d
Est-ce que tu parles pas … ? 4 Tu parles d’autres langues ?

Practice 1 a seulement b Je parle un peu de c Vraiment; pas; italien d

Aujourd’hui; étudie e beaucoup de; bien sûr 2 a S b S c Q d Q e Q 3 a Est-ce
qu’Alex / que Alex habite à Paris ? b Parles-tu italien ? c Marc apprend le français
?

Put it together 1 a l’allemand b l’espagnol c le chinois Examples: d le japonais

e le polonais 2 Examples: a Oui, je parle d’autres langues. Je parle bien le
portugais et un peu italien./Non, je (ne) parle pas d’autres langues. b Oui, je veux
apprendre encore deux langues, le polonais et le russe./Non, je (ne) veux pas
apprendre d’autres langues. Seulement le français !
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 a seulement deux semaines b J’espère apprendre trois langues (le
japonais, l’arabe et l’anglais) 2 a seulement b vrai c langues d encore e Tu parles
très bien le français ! f J’espère apprendre… 3 a de rien b depuis quand c
combien

Notice 1 depuis quand; when 2 a Lauren apprend le français depuis deux

semaines. b Jacques espère apprendre le japonais, l’arabe et l’anglais. 3 a
Combien b depuis c parles d Depuis quand 4 more

Practice 1 a cinq jours b trois ans c huit mois d quatre semaines e J’habite en
France depuis mon dernier anniversaire. f J’apprends le français depuis neuf
semaines. 2 Combien; jours; ici

Put it together 4 a Depuis quand tu habites en France ? b Depuis quand tu

travailles comme professeur ?
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 what 2 chaque semaine / chaque jour 3 a (Lauren va en classe)

chaque semaine. b (Jacques va en classe) chaque jour. 4 vocabulaire; idée;
préfère; simple; Internet 5 vrai

Notice 1 a Comment ? b ben c c’est-à-dire 2 a Je pense que b Je préfère c Je

dois d Je suis d’accord e Ça aide !

Grammar explanation: je (I) and tu (you) verb forms 1 a étudie/étudies b

pense/penses c demande/demandes d commence/commences 2 a sais b dois c lis
d peux e dis

Practice 1 a Qu’est-ce que, lire ? b Je lis, livres. c tu sais d Je sais que, très bien.
2 a Je préfère parler français. b Tu dois dire que tu aimes la pizza. c Tu sais que
j’apprends le français depuis deux semaines. d Je pense que le français est simple
!

Put it together Example: Je veux apprendre le chinois un jour. Je vais à la piscine

de temps en temps. Je dois apprendre la guitare. Je pense que la France est un
beau pays.
MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

J’apprends le français depuis un mois. J’apprends le vocabulaire et j’étudie

chaque semaine. Je parle seulement l’anglais et un peu de français. J’espère
apprendre l’allemand un jour. Et toi ? Combien de langues tu parles ? Depuis
quand tu enseignes le français ? Qu’est-ce que je dois faire pour apprendre le
français ?
UNIT 3

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 b 2 a merci b s’il te plait c de rien 3 Comment tu t’appelles ?

4 not a problem/no problem 5 Tu es où ? (Where are you?)

Notice 1 plus lentement (s’il te plait) 2 Où est-ce que tu es ?; Tu es où ? 3 a

Enchanté(e). b Tout va bien. c Maintenant, je suis à Londres. 4 a I am b you
have c you are

Practice 2 1 f 2 c 3 d 4 a 5 g 6 b 7 e 3 a beaucoup; aujourd’hui b C’est; tout; ici

c où; maintenant d dois; apprendre

Grammar explanation: word order with objects 1 a te b le c m’ t’ 2 a

entends b écrire c vois d dire 3 a Tu l’entends ? b Tu peux me dire ? c Je veux
l’envoyer. 4 (top to bottom) je te demande, je l’explique, tu m’aides

Put it together Example: Maintenant, je suis à la bibliothèque. Maintenant,

j’étudie le français. Aujourd’hui, je vais au restaurant. Aujourd’hui, je regarde la
télévision.

Pronunciation explanation 1: final consonants 1 a oui b non c non d oui e non

f oui g oui h non
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 a vrai b faux c faux 2 dans une, suis ici, suis en, un instant, très
intéressant 3 a interesting b to repeat c reason d (you) understand 4 a Do you
live in another city? b Can you repeat that? c One moment … I can’t/don’t hear
you well.

Notice 1 a j’habite; tu habites b je suis; tu es c tu peux; tu dis d je travaille;

j’entends e je comprends; je comprends pas 2 Comment dire…? Plus lentement,
s’il te plait. Je suis désolé. Je comprends pas. (Est-ce que) tu peux répéter ça ? Un
moment. Je t’entends pas bien.

Practice 1 a Tu habites où ? b Qu’est-ce que tu dis ? c Tu veux habiter où ? d Je

comprends que tu travailles. 2 pourquoi/qu’est-ce
que/comment/où/qui/quel(le)/quand/combien (est-ce que)/ tu peux 3 a Quand ? b
Combien ? c Qui ? d Où ? e Pourquoi ?

Put it together 2 Example: Je suis de Londres mais maintenant, j’habite à

Liverpool. J’habite ici depuis trois ou quatre mois. Je travaille dans un restaurant.
Je suis chef. Je travaille ici depuis février !
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 a deactivate b reset c connection 2 a vrai b vrai c faux d vrai 3

a J’oublie le mot. b Je suis désolé(e). c À bientôt; À la prochaine 4 semaine; The
‘la’ before the word tells you that it’s feminine. 5 ma/mon = my; ta/ton = your

Conversation strategy: use ‘Tarzan French’ to communicate with limited

words a Plus lentement ? b Combien ? c le supermarché, où ?

Conversation strategy: use the power nouns personne, endroit, chose a livre …
endroit ? b restaurant … personne ?

Notice 1 a j’ai b tu penses c je peux d tu m’entends e appeler 2 tu as besoin 3

pas de souci 4 ça marche 5 J’oublie le mot !

Practice 1 a J’ai un ordinateur; Tu as une webcam b Je pense que ça marche; Je

pense que tu as; Tu penses que je peux c Je peux dire; Tu peux avoir d J’ai besoin
d’un autre ordinateur; J’ai besoin de travailler; Tu as besoin d’être 2 a peux;
ordinateur b Si; veux; peux; aider c prochaine; espère; avoir

Your turn: use the hack 1 Because masculinité ends in -ité, a feminine ending,
and feminisme ends in -isme, a masculine ending 2 a un b un c un d une e une f
une g un h un i un j un k une l une m une n un o une 3 a mon travail; ton travail
b ma femme; ta femme

Put it together Je pense que le nouveau smartphone est fantastique ! J’ai

seulement la version 3 mais elle est lente et j’ai besoin d’acheter un chargeur.
MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

Aujourd’hui, je travaille dans un supermarché. Maintenant, je suis chez moi. J’ai

un ordinateur mais j’aime pas. J’ai besoin d’un autre ordinateur.
UNIT 4

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 a vrai b faux c faux 2 a Je suis belge. b Excusez-moi, parlez-

vous français ? c Ça vous dérange si je pratique mon français avec vous ? d On
parle ! 3 parfait; patiente; débutante 4 a Si tu veux b Avec plaisir ! c Pourquoi
pas ? d Pas de problème ! e Chouette !

Notice 1 Excusez-moi 2 Parlez-vous français ? 3 Ça vous dérange si…? 4 a

vous parlez; tu parles b excusez-moi; excuse-moi c avec vous; avec toi 5 a
encore b déjà c tellement d encore e déjà f tellement

Grammar explanation: verb forms for on 1 on pense 2 a on travaille b on

étudie 3 on peut

Practice 1 a J’habite encore en Europe. b Tu travailles encore à la banque ? c Je

vais encore en classe ! d On peut encore pratiquer ? 2 a déjà b Si tu veux; tu
peux c comment dire d chouette; ici e encore; faire f Ça vous dérange si

Put it together 1 Ça vous dérange si je parle avec vous ? Ça vous dérange si je

caresse votre chien ? Ça vous dérange si je m’assieds sur cette chaise ? Ça vous
dérange si j’ouvre la fenêtre ? 2 Situation 1 Ah, vous parlez français !; Je suis
encore débutant(e).; J’apprends le français depuis quelques semaines seulement.
Situation 2 Je pense que cette langue est très belle.; Un jour, j’irai en France.

Situation 3 Excusez-moi/Je suis désolé(e)…; Ça vous dérange si je vous pose une

question ?
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 a la Belgique/Belgium b au Québec/to Quebec 2 a Tu es à Paris

depuis quand ? b pendant quelques mois c exactement 3 masculine 4 a plus b
autre c pendant d alors e comme f moi-même g jamais

Notice 1 a Tu dois visiter b Je veux dire que c Tu veux dire que … ? 2 a

pendant le film; pendant le mois b la même chose; toi-même 3 a 4 b 5 c 1 d 6 e 3
f7g2

Practice 1 a prendre b je prends c tu prends 2 a je prends le train b je conduis c

je vais en voiture d je prends l’avion 3 a le b ce c prochain d chaque 4 a visiter;
pour voir b en voiture c aller; comme; et d Pour aller; tu dois e prendre l’avion;
prendre le train f Il y a; raisons g jamais; endroit

Put it together Examples: a Je voyage seulement un peu. b Je vais à Lille/en

Irlande. c Je vais à Lille pendant quelques jours. d Je vais en France le mois
prochain. e Je vais prendre le train ou la voiture.
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 a vrai b vrai c vrai d faux e faux 2 a Pour boire un verre (où
Hemingway, Picasso et James Joyce allaient) b Pour les restaurants spectaculaires
3 Do you also need my phone number ? 4 a Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire à Paris ?
b Je veux faire les mêmes choses.

Notice 1 a pour commencer b après c ensuite 2 a 4 b 2 c 1 d 3

Your turn: use the hack 1 a Je vais être occupé(e) ! b Je vais faire beaucoup. c
(Est-ce que) tu vas m’appeler demain ? d (Est-ce que) tu vas au restaurant ? e Je
vais pas voyager à Lyon. 2 Examples: a Je peux nager dans la mer. b On va
apprendre le français ensemble. c Tu veux boire du café brésilien ?

Practice 1 a Tu es pas très occupé(e). b Tu vas être très occupé(e). c Tu vas

parler français. d On va voyager à Paris. e Pierre va aller en Irlande. f Lauren va
pas visiter Berlin. 2 a Un moment; te donner; numéro de téléphone b Ce soir;
être occupé(e); je suis libre demain c vois; encore; le voilà d si; pouvoir e avec;
pour boire; accompagner f prendre; ensemble; d’accord ?

Put it together 1 Example: Je vais cet été pendant trois semaines au Canada. Je
sais déjà que je veux aller au Québec. Pour commencer, je vais prendre l’avion
pour Montréal où je vais manger de la poutine et je vais aller au musée des Beaux-
Arts. Et après, je vais prendre le train pour la ville de Québec. Je veux voir le
festival Saint Jean ! 2 Voilà mon numéro et voilà mon adresse email. Tu peux
m’appeler ou tu peux m’envoyer un texto demain, si tu veux !
MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

Je veux aller à Strasbourg en décembre. Je connais déjà ma priorité – les marchés

de Noël ! Je vais passer une semaine en ville avec ma copine et on va peut-être
réserver un hôtel au centre ville. La ville est très belle et elle est à seulement
quelques heures de train.
UNIT 5

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 What’s her name/What’s she called? 2 a faux (cette semaine,
this weekend) b faux (ingénieur, engineer) c vrai d vrai e faux (le weekend
prochain next weekend) 3 a cette semaine b le weekend prochain c demain d
après ça e chaque été 4 a Quoi de neuf ? b Qui ? c en fait d mon étudiant(e)
préféré(e) e Je suis content(e) de/d’ …

Notice 1 a Je suis content(e) de voir b Je suis content(e) d’être c Je suis

content(e) de dire 2 a Elle s’appelle; Elle est belge; Elle travaille comme b Je la
connais; Je vais la voir c Il adore. 3 a Je passe du temps b on va passer le
weekend c il est d elle est e on va f on prévoit de g on visite 4 a 2 b 1 5 a ‘la’
comes before the verb in French, but ‘her’ comes after it in English. b Je la vois.

Practice 2 Examples: le beau père - step father, la belle mère - step mother, les
grands-parents - grandparents 3 a tu as; frères; sœurs b Il/C’; neveu préféré; le c
Vous d ami; on prévoit; ensemble e mère; comme; Elle travaille f passer du temps;
enfants g mon frère; le vois h Il étudie i Ma copine; chaque jour; Elle 4 a
Mon/ma meilleur(e) ami(e) s’appelle (Example: Benoît/Florence). b Je le/la
connais depuis (Example: dix ans). c Il/elle travaille comme (Example: pilote) 5
Example: Ce weekend, je passe du temps avec mes parents et mon amie Émilie.; b
Example: On prévoit d’aller au cinéma.

Grammar explanation : il, elle and ils/elles 1 a aiment b visite c est d

travaillent e dansent

Put it together Example: Je passe la plupart de mon temps avec mon amie,
Stephanie. Je la connais depuis toute petite. Elle vient de Baltimore mais elle
habite maintenant en Virginie avec son copain, Bill. Bill travaille comme
ingénieur chimiste et Stephanie travaille comme infirmière. Le weekend, elle va
toujours à des concerts de métal. Elle adore cette musique
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 a mariée b célibataire c copain 2 feminine 3 Are you

(two/plural) very different? 4 a Elle est célibataire. b Elle va habiter dans la
maison de sa soeur. c Mariam est avec son mari depuis vingt ans/longtemps. d
Lauren va habiter avec sa soeur à son retour aux États-Unis. 5 a À mon retour b
Tu veux dire … ? c par exemple

Notice 1 on est, ma soeur dit, elle voyage, on se ressemble, elle parle 2 a la

même chose b J’ai même pas de voiture. 3 a Depuis combien de temps vous êtes
ensemble ? b Depuis combien de temps on est ensemble ? c Vous êtes ensemble
depuis … d On est ensemble depuis… 4 le chien de mon frère ; le père de mon
ami

Vocabulary explanation: savoir and connaitre a connais b sais c connait d sait

Practice 1 Examples a Oui j’ai deux sœurs. b J’ai pas de copain. c Non, j’ai pas
d’enfants. d J’habite seule. 2 a D’où tu viens ? b Avec quoi tu écris ? c À quelle
heure commence la classe ? 3 a Tu veux dire … ? b il veut dire … c elle veut
dire … d on veut dire … 4 a En fait, ma copine et moi, on regarde même pas la
télé. b Je connais mon meilleur ami depuis longtemps. On se ressemble beaucoup.
c Aujourd’hui c’est l’anniversaire de ma mère. d Vous allez au Canada avec nous
?

Put it together Example: J’ai un copain, et on habite ensemble. Je le connais

depuis deux ans et on est ensemble depuis deux ans. On prévoit d’être mariés dans
quelques mois à Dublin et on veut habiter à New York un jour. On travaille
ensemble chez nous, donc naturellement, j’aime notre travail !
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 a 4 (on est quatre) b She’s not sure (J’en suis pas sûre) c Ils sont
pas mon genre. 2 a We have two children. b How do you say in French … ? c a
charming Frenchman 3 a Ils s’appellent … b J’adore leurs noms. c Tout est
possible !

Notice 1 a Tu penses que tu vas jamais … ? b Est-ce que vous avez … ? 2 J’en
suis sûr(e) ! 3 a pour toujours, ‘for always’ b jamais, ‘never’. 4 a 4 b 5 c 6 d 1 e
3f7g2

Practice 1 a Non, on est ensemble depuis seulement quelques jours ! b Non, il

est auteur ! c Non, ils sont en vacances ! d Marc et moi ? Non, on a un chat, bien
sûr ! e Non, elle va voyager avec ma cousine ! f Non, elles vont regarder la télé.

Put it together 1 Example: J’ai beaucoup de nièces et neveux. Ils habitent

partout dans le monde. Mes parents habitent à la montagne, près de ma ville. Je
les vois souvent. Mes meilleures amies s’appellent Stephanie et Alexandria. Elles
adorent voyager ! 2 Example: Est-ce que tu penses que tu vas jamais habiter en
France ?
COMPLETING UNIT 5

1 Ils vont à l’hôpital. Sa fille s’appelle Anna. Jacques arrive à neuf (9) heures. Ils
vont rencontrer Mathieu demain. François et Marie vont lire le petit prince. Sa
sœur travaille demain. Ses parents aiment pas cette ville. Oui, ils visitent la France
chaque été. Son cousin a quatre (4) enfants. Elle connait sa famille depuis
toujours.
MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

Aujourd’hui, je veux parler de mes personnes préférées. Alors, j’habite avec mon
copain. Je le connais et on est ensemble depuis deux ans. On travaille ensemble
sur Internet. L’an prochain, on prévoit de se marier à Dublin. Toute sa famille va
être là. Dans quelques mois, mon copain et moi, on va voir mes parents chez eux,
à la montagne. Ils vont faire une soirée avec mes frères, ma soeur, ma famille et
beaucoup de mes amis. Je vais être contente de les voir. Surtout mes meilleures
amies, Stephanie et Alex. Je les connais depuis notre enfance. Mais maintenant,
elles habitent trop loin.
UNIT 6

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 a Ratatouille and red wine (du vin rouge) b votre table. Merci à
vous ! Avez-vous choisi ? Je vous écoute. s’il vous plait. 2 We already know. 3
a Pour moi … s’il vous plait. b Je prends … c Je voudrais … 4 a good evening b
please (formal) c sir d ladies e Have you decided/chosen? (formal) f Here’s a
table. 5 a Et à boire ? b Tu vas boire quelque chose ? c on sait déjà

Notice 1 I’m hungry (French uses avoir, ‘I have hunger’, whereas, and English
uses ‘to be’, ‘I am hungry’.) 2 a On prend une carafe d’eau. b Je voudrais encore
de l’eau 3 a je prends b on prend c pour moi d je voudrais … 4 a du vin rouge b
une table c une carafe d’eau d de l’eau 5 a I know b I would like c I’ll have (lit.,
‘I take’) d I’m going to drink / I will drink e We know f We have decided (lit., ‘we
have chosen’) g We’ll have / take (lit., ‘We take’) h (Do) you know…? i You’ll
take…? (lit., ‘you take?’) j Would you like… ? k Have you (pl./formal) decided?
(lit., ‘you (pl./formal) have chosen’) l Are you going to drink…? / Will you
drink…?

Grammar explanation : du/de la/des (some)

1 des œufs, du jambon, du poisson, de la viande, du café, du lait, de la bière, du

vin

Practice 1 a boire b manger c acheter 2 a On a choisi. b Encore du vin, s’il

vous plait ! c Je prends du vin rouge et elle prend du vin blanc. d On sait ce qu’on
veut manger. e Tu as déjà faim ?

Put it together 1 Example: Oui, je vais prendre les oeufs mayonnaise. En plat
principal, je choisis le boeuf bourguignon. Je voudrais boire du vin rouge et de
l’eau. Monsieur, s’il vous plait. Oui, j’ai déjà choisi mon dessert. Alors, en
dessert, je vais manger une salade de fruits. 2 Example: J’adore l’omelette
espagnole ! J’apprends comment la faire avec des amis espagnols quand je vais
chez eux et on on mange souvent au déjeuner, comme ce weekend par exemple !
Pour la préparer, je vais acheter des pommes de terre et des œufs. On va boire de
la sangria avec l’omelette !
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 a le Louvre and le Pompidou (Centre) b the Louvre c it’s not as
interesting d on peut faire des compromis 2 a le plus touristique b si tu penses
que 3 a je suis d’accord b je suis pas d’accord c naturellement 4 a better than b
fewer/less c think/find

Notice 1 Tu as raison (lit., You have reason); J’ai faim. 2 a le plus b mieux c
moins 3 a Je le/la trouve… b Je trouve le Louvre … c Ils le/la trouvent … d Ils
trouvent le Louvre … e Je sais que … f Tu sais que … g On sait qu’il y a … h Tu
sais qu’il y a … i C’est unique au monde. 4 a 3 b 4 c 2 d 1 e 7 f 5 g 6

Grammar explanation: comparisons a plus sympa b plus charmant c plus de

livres d le/ la plus célèbre e le meilleur restaurant f un plus jeune homme g moins
difficile h moins de jours i le moins cher j le pire film

Practice 1 a (Est-ce qu’) il y a seulement trois étudiants ici ? b Il y a des livres

chez moi. c Je trouve qu’il y a moins de chiens dans le parc aujourd’hui. 2 a
Paris est plus grande que Toulouse. b Je trouve ce restaurant trop petit. c Tu vois
quelle adresse ? / Quelle adresse est-ce que tu vois ? d Il faut travailler pendant la
semaine.

Put it together 1 Example: Il y a tellement d’endroits à Toulouse que je voudrais

visiter… L’endroit le plus important de la ville est la place du Capitole.
L’architecture est très unique ! Après ça, à mon avis il faut voir le jardin japonais !
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 a la musique de Jacques Brel b la musique moderne c le livre

qu’elle lit maintenant 2 a in exchange b absolutely 3 a Le serveur est où ? b
L’addition, s’il vous plait ! c à mon avis d J’aime ça plus que … e Qu’est-ce que
tu recommandes ?

Notice 1 a tu vas adorer b je voudrais c je te donne 2 a 2 b 3 c 1 d 5 e 4 3 a

Dis-moi … b Qu’est-ce que tu recommandes ? c Tu peux me recommander … ?

Practice 1 a de l’eau, un taxi, plus/encore de temps, un autre verre b Example:

Je voudrais en savoir plus sur l’architecture. Je voudrais en savoir plus sur la
culture de ton pays. 2 a J’adore l’art classique. J’aime ça plus que l’art moderne.
b À ton avis, quel livre est plus intéressant ? c Un instant, je dois te donner notre
adresse !

Your turn: use the hack 2 Malheureusement, si je comprends bien, c’est à dire,
à propos, j’ai l’impression que, franchement 3 Examples: a Bon, non.
Malheureusement, mon diner est trop froid. b J’habite ici, c’est-à-dire, Paris est
ma ville ! c Oui, j’ai l’impression qu’on a pas du lait d Franchement, je peux pas
vivre sans café !

Put it together Example: Je pense qu’il faut lire ‘Le tour du monde en 80 jours’
de Jules Verne. Je le lis parce que je voudrais en savoir plus sur le monde à cette
époque. Franchement, les livres de Jules Verne sont mieux que les livres modernes
parce qu’il est plus descriptif dans ses histoires.

Check your understanding a faux b vrai c faux d vrai e vrai

MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

Example: J’adore le resto Luigi’s proche de chez moi ! Quand j’ai faim c’est mon
premier choix pour les pizzas vraiment italiennes. Entre nous, on mange la
meilleure pizza du monde dans ce resto ! Il faut gouter la napolitana si tu y vas !
UNIT 7

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 b It’s not bad (C’est pas mal) 2 a le weekend dernier b
Comment tu as trouvé ça ? c On a parlé de nos projets. 3 Why did you decide to
go to …? 4 a faux b vrai c faux d vrai

Notice 1 a Qu’est-ce que tu as fait ? b j’ai préféré c j’ai mangé d je suis allé(e) e
on est allé f on a parlé g j’ai visité h on a visité i vous avez décidé de 2 a il y a b
dernier c une fois d le café du coin

Grammar explanation: past verb forms 1 a j’ai b parlé c j’ai parlé 2 a J’ai
regardé la télé hier. b Il a étudié le français ce matin. c Tu as choisi le restaurant ?
d Elle a demandé quelque chose. 3 a Je suis sorti avec mes amis. b J’ai choisi ce
musée. c Antoine a regardé le film le weekend dernier.

Practice 1 Example J’ai rencontré ma femme il ya 20 ans 2 a Tu dois aller au

restaurant où j’ai mangé il y a deux jours. b On a aimé le film ! (Le film nous a
plu !) c Elle est allée voir son frère à Dublin. 3 a Il y a trois mois, je suis allé au
Canada. b J’ai trouvé le musée très intéressant ! c Ce matin, je suis arrivé en
métro.

Put it together 1 Example: Hier, je suis allé chez mes parents. On a parlé de ma
copine et de comment elle va. Le weekend dernier, j’ai mangé une pizza avec elle.
2 Example: J’ai visité Londres il y a un mois. J’ai décidé d’aller à cette ville pour
visiter une ville typiquement anglaise avec ma famille. Ça m’a plu parce que j’ai
vu tellement de choses très britanniques. J’ai trouvé ça très intéressant.
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 a vrai b faux c faux 2 a Elle a appris quelques nouveaux mots et
ella a pratiqué quelques phrases avec Julie. b (Elle a commencé) il y a seulement
quelques mois 3 I forgot! You told me that (said that to me) already! 4 tu as
étudié; j’ai étudié; j’ai appris; j’ai pratiqué, tu as fait; tu as commencé; j’ai
commencé; j‘ai décidé; j’ai acheté; j’ai oublié; tu m’as dit

Notice 1 a 3 b 1 c 2 2 a j’ai étudié b j’ai appris c j’ai pratiqué d j’ai commencé

e j’ai décidé de f j’ai acheté g j’ai oublié

Grammar explanation: three easy patterns for the top ‘irregular’ past verbs

French Meaning
on a fait we made – we did
j’ai lu I read
il a vu he saw
elle a compris she understood

Practice 1 a J’ai trouvé ce restaurant il y a neuf mois. b J’ai commencé à

apprendre le français il y a trois ans. c Il m’a rencontré il y a une semaine. 2 a Je
vois le film. b Je vais voir le film demain. c J’ai vu le film la semaine dernière. 3
a Ça prend trop de temps donc j’ai décidé d’habiter ici jusqu’à l’automne. b Une
fois, j’ai pris l’avion jusqu’au Canada tout seul. c L’été dernier, j’ai pris le train
depuis l’Espagne jusqu’en Italie. d Est-ce que tu as besoin du dictionnaire ? Je l’ai
ici. e Je dois dire que le livre est plus facile à lire cette fois que la dernière fois.

Put it together Example: Je suis allé au mariage de mon cousin à la montagne il y

deux jours. On a bu des cocktails et on a dansé ! J’ai vu toute ma famille ! J’ai dit
à mon cousin: “on a passé un moment extraordaire”. C’était vraiment génial ! Je
suis rentré hier.
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 a ma prononciation b accent c grammaire 2 a vrai b faux c faux

Notice a Tu savais que b Je pensais que c Je voulais

Practice 1 a Je pensais que tu étais occupé(e). b Tu pensais qu’elle était ici ? c

Cécile avait le livre. d On savait pas. e Je voulais manger avec toi. 2 a Tu peux
me dire quelle est la différence entre ces deux mots ? b Tu as dit ça si vite !
Qu’est-ce que ça veut dire ? c Est-ce que tu as compris ? d Ma prononciation est
comment ? J’ai bien dit ce mot ? e Je voulais dire l’autre mot. f L’autre jour, j’ai
demandé à mon prof, ‘comment est mon accent ?/mon accent est comment ?’ et
elle a dit ‘pas mal.’ g J’ai pratiqué ma grammaire toute la semaine. h J’ai écrit
quelques phrases. Tu peux les vérifier et me dire si elles sont correctes ? i Tu m’as
beaucoup aidé. Merci !

Your turn: use the hack 1 a Demain, je fais du ski. b Lundi prochain, on mange
une omelette. c La semaine dernière, ils ‘cherchent’ un chat. d Il y a trois jours,
j’apprends un nouveau mot en français.

Put it together Example: L’an dernier, j’avais peur de parler français. Je pensais
que mon accent était trop fort et je voulais arrêter et parler en anglais seulement.
Mais je trouve que le français est une langue sympa alors j’ai décidé de parler de
mon weekend sans penser à mon niveau de français. Maintenant, c’est plus
simple !
COMPLETING UNIT 7

1 un chien 2 non 3 un peu de viande

MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

Example: Il y a vingt ans, je suis arrivé à la Gare de l’Est pendant la nuit. Je

pensais : ‘comment est-ce que je vais trouver mon hôtel dans cette grande ville ?’
J’avais pas de plan et je parlais très peu français. Mais j’ai trouvé un taxi et le
chauffeur de taxi était très sympa. Il m’a amené jusqu’à l’hôtel. On a parlé et il
m’a dit que mon français était très correct. Une très bonne première soirée !
UNIT 8

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 a improving (tu fais des progrès) b recently (récemment) c le coq
au vin 2 Je suis content(e) de te revoir! 3 a Récemment, Lauren a commencé à
faire la cuisine. (Elle prend des cours.) b Lauren va faire une mousse au chocolat.
4 a quoi de neuf b ça fait longtemps c en ce moment 5 It’s important to practise.

Notice 1 a Continue comme ça !, ‘continue like that!’ b Quand j’essaie de…,

‘when I try of it to-make’ 2 a Ça fait b quoi jusqu’à maintenant ? c vite d à faire

Practice 1 a Ça fait longtemps !; Je suis content(e) de te revoir ! b Je vois que…;

Dis-donc, quoi de neuf ? c Ben, en ce moment…; Recemment, j’ai commencé …
d Et tu as appris quoi ? 2 a Je sais que… b Tu sais que … ? c Tu as vu … ? 3
Example: Récemment, j’ai commencé à prendre des cours de danse. En ce
moment, je cherche un nouveau travail. 4 a Tu fais quoi ? b Tu vas boire quoi ?

Put it together Example: Récemment, j’ai commencé à lire un roman chaque

weekend. C’est intéressant de me perdre dans l’histoire ! La dernière fois, c’était
un livre d’espionnage. J’ai lu trois livres pour le moment et j’espère en lire vingt
cet été !
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 a Faux. Lauren prend pas le métro. b Faux. Jacques va souvent
au travail en voiture. c Faux. Lauren va au restaurant où on mange la meilleure
soupe à l’ognon. d Faux. Jacques prend parfois son déjeuner dans un café. Il
déjeune normalement à la maison (chez moi). 2 At first it was strange (bizarre),
but now she has a routine (elle a une routine). 3 Il me semble que …
Conversation lead 4 a moi aussi/moi non plus; rarement/ normalement b je me
promène; je fais du vélo/je prends pas le métro; je vais en voiture

Notice 1 le matin, 2 avant le travail, 3 l’après-midi, 4 avant, 5 en ville, 6

dans le quartier, 7 partout, 8 le même, 9 à la maison, 11 de temps en temps,
12 rarement, 13 souvent, 14 toujours, 15 parfois, 16 jamais, 17 en voiture,
18 pour le déjeuner

Vocab explanation: using faire to describe what you do 1 faire une promenade
2 faire la cuisine

Practice 1 a Je fais souvent du sport. b Hier, à 15h, j’ai fait du shopping. c Voilà
mon amie, Julie. d Le concert commence à 18h et finit à 20h.

Put it together Example: Chaque jour, je me lève à 7h et je prends le bus à 8h

pour aller au travail. Après le travail, j’adore faire du sport et lire des articles sur
Internet. Je joue souvent au tennis le weekend et je lis un blog sur les voyages le
lundi parce que je veux voyager en Europe un jour !
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 a faux b vrai c vrai d faux 2 a J’espère aller au parc b pour
jouer au foot; avec des copains c J’ai déjà prévu de faire du shopping d avec
quelqu’un 3 I’d love to

Notice 1 a Qu’est-ce que j’amène ? b À quelle heure ? c Tu peux m’écrire

l’adresse ? d Je peux te montrer sur le plan.

Grammar explanation: conditionals a J’adorerais b On serait c Elle voudrait

Practice 1 a Je dois mettre quoi ? b Ça finit à quelle heure ? / Ça va finir à

quelle heure ? / À quelle heure ça va finir ? c Tu connais l’adresse ? d Le rendez-
vous / la soirée est où ? e Je dois arriver quand / à quelle heure ? f Je peux amener
du vin ? 2 Example: a Tu fais quoi plus tard ? b J’ai du temps libre plus tard pour
le concert. Tu viens ? 3 Example: a Ça serait amusant /parfait /impossible. b
J’aimerais bien mais je suis occupé(e) (e). 4 a Tu pourrais me demander la
prochaine fois ? b Je sortirais mais il est trop tard. 5 a you would prepare b it
would be c I would travel d he would say e you could

Put it together 1 Example: Ah, l’été. À ta place (if I were you), je prendrais le
soleil et je passerais tout mon temps sur la plage ! Je mangerais du poisson et je
boirais des cocktails. Je devrais pas travailler, comme ça j’aurais le temps de lire
des romans. Comme la plage est proche d’ici, je voudrais aller en vélo. 2
Example: Je pourrais voyager le mois prochain mais on va partir d’où et à quelle
heure notre le samedi ? Tu sais que je préfère dormir tard le weekend ! Comme on
passe tout notre weekend en montagne, je dois amener une tente ? Je pense que ça
serait amusant de dormir sous la tente, non ?

Your turn: use the hack 1 a Je pense qu’ils vont pas gagner. b On va au
restaurant ensemble ! C’est génial ! c Alors, on danse ? d Supermarché plus tard ?
COMPLETING UNIT 8

1 faire du vélo 2 non 3 le dimanche

MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

Example: J’habite tout près de la mer. Tous les jours, avant le petit déjeuner, je
fais du jogging sur la plage. Après je mange des oeufs, du pain et des fruits. Je
travaille toujours jusqu’à midi et puis je mange avec ma femme. On mange
beaucoup de poisson et de légumes. L’après-midi, je travaille encore. Je suis
traducteur et j’adore mon travail. J’aimerais apprendre encore beaucoup de
langues et visiter beaucoup de pays. Mais je suis content de ma vie. Le soir, on lit
un livre ou on regarde un film et le vendredi, on sort avec des amis. On prend
jamais la voiture, on va partout toujours à pied.
UNIT 9

CONVERSATION 1

Figure it out 1 a It’s Lauren’s last week (semaine) in Paris. b Lauren and
Jacques are planning to go shopping (faire du shopping). c There are a lot of
things to see (à voir) on the avenue. 2 a I’m going back (returning) to the United
States soon. b That’s a pity ! c That depends, y’know. 3 a à la campagne b les
montagnes c le lac et la forêt d proche de chez moi e sous le soleil

Notice 1 a Lauren va rentrer aux États-Unis bientôt. b Lauren va ramener

beaucoup de cadeaux pour sa famille c Lauren va les acheter sur l’avenue des
Champs-Élysées 2 a me rappeler b te rappeler c m’a rappelé 3 a 3 b 5 c 6 d 1 e
4 f 2 4 la campagne, les montagnes, le lac, la forêt, les arbres, le soleil 5
Example: a J’habite à la campagne/en ville. b Je préfère rester au soleil/sous les
arbres. c Le climat est meilleur près du lac.
PRACTICE

2 J’habite dans une petite ville. Près de chez moi, il y a des champs avec des
vaches. 3 Mon amie Florence habite à Paris dans un tout petit appartement. Près
de chez elle, il y a une boulangerie et un magasin de chaussures.

Grammar explanation: using manquer for ‘to miss’ a Tu me manques. b

Ils/Elles me manquent. c Elle nous manque. d Je manque à Antoine. e Mon frère
va me manquer. f Ta copine te manque ?

Vocab explanation: describing the weather 1 a Il fait beau aujourd’hui. b Il

fait mauvais. C’est dommage ! c Tu as pas froid ? Tu sais qu’il fait froid sur la
côte. 2 Example: En Angleterre, il fait gris et il fait froid. Il pleut pas
aujourd’hui, on a de la chance !

Grammar explanation: changing gender and number for adjectives a (m) prêt
(f) prête b (m) grand (f) grande c (m) chaud (f) chaude d (m) fatigué (f) fatiguée

Put it together Example: J’adore aller voir ma famille en Irlande. Quand je

prends le bus à ma ville, je vois beaucoup de collines vertes. On les appelle les
‘drumlins’. Dans ma région, il y a beaucoup de lacs aussi ! En été, il fait pas
chaud mais il pleut pas trop. Quand on peut, on nage dans les lacs. Ça me manque
beaucoup !
CONVERSATION 2

Figure it out 1 a faux b vrai c faux 2 a un souvenir typique de Paris (un béret
classique) b Elle est aventureuse. c Il est jeune. d Ils sont plus traditionnels et ils
ont bon gout. e C’est moins cher. 3 a impressionnante b aventureuse c typique d
classique e jeune f ennuyeux g nouveaux h traditionnels i pas facile 4 a rappelle
b vraiment c trouverait d enfin e déjà

Notice 1 a Je dois acheter quoi ? b Mes parents sont plus traditionnels. c ça me

rappelle d super ennuyeux 2 a simple/facile, dur /difficile b unique, typique c
stupides/nuls, intelligents d modernes, traditionnels e aventureuse, timide f vieux,
jeune 3 a Mon grand frère. b Mes grands frères. c Ma grande sœur. d Mes
grandes sœurs. e Le magasin était ouvert. f La boulangerie était ouverte. g Les
magasins sont ouverts. h Les boulangeries sont ouvertes.

Practice 1 C’est le moins cher./C’est la moins chère. 2 Column 1: timide,

laid/laide, désagréable, pessimiste, fier/fière, drôle. Column 2: old, odd. Column
3: jeune, typique. Column 4: adventurous, handsome/pretty, nice, optimistic,
modest, serious 3 Examples: a Je suis aventureuse. b Mon travail est fascinant. c
Mon père est drôle. d Sa maison est spacieuse. e Ma mère est courageuse.

Put it together Example: Alors, ma cousine est très intéressante ! Elle est super
active car elle fait du ski et elle adore aller partout en vélo. Elle est aussi très
intelligente ! Mon père est plus timide. Il vient chez nous le weekend et il regarde
la télé. Il est sympa et patient.
CONVERSATION 3

Figure it out 1 a Lauren’s brother needs a new headset to play video games.
(pour jouer aux jeux en ligne) b The headset is a little bit expensive. (un peu cher)
c Lauren is going to pay with her debit card (avec sa carte de crédit) 2 payer
cash; avec sa carte de crédit; at that price (à ce prix-là) 3 a le rouge b le vert 4 b
5 serait

Notice 1 a ça a l’air b quel genre de …? 2 a celui-ci/celle-là b le noir/la noire c

le petit/la petite d le nouveau/la nouvelle 3 a un peu cher b payer en cash c la
marque d la caisse 4 a des Adidas b un Kleenex c un Pepsi d un Mac

Practice 1 a a l’air d’être b dormir c a l’air 2 a Combien coute celle-ci ? b

C’est de la bonne qualité ? c Je peux l’utiliser maintenant ? d Vous acceptez les
cartes de crédit ? e Je peux payer seulement en cash. 3 a les rouges b la marque c
à la caisse d la grande 4 large; long; short; light; heavy

Conversation strategy: use the set phrase celle-là, les noirs/noires, le grand/la
grande, les vieux/vieilles, les plus chers/chères, Pas celui-ci, celui-là ! / Pas celle-
ci, celle-là !

Put it together Example: Je cherche des nouvelles chaussures de sport. Je veux

faire du footing très souvent alors je dois choisir une bonne marque. J’aime les
jaunes. Oui, celles-ci ont l’air solides et de bonne qualité. Je peux payer avec ma
carte de crédit ?
COMPLETING UNIT 9

1 près d’un lac, à la campagne 2 non 3 aventureuse et ouverte 4 pour regarder des
vidéos en ligne
MISSION SCRIPT – MODEL

Example: Dans ma ville préférée, il fait toujours beau temps. C’est entre la mer et
la montagne. À la mer, on peut nager. À la montagne, on peut faire du ski. La ville
est grande mais il y a beaucoup de parcs avec des arbres. On prend le métro ou le
vélo. On a pas besoin de voiture. Il y a des grandes avenues avec des bâtiments
historiques et aussi des quartiers modernes avec des gratte-ciels immenses. Les
gens dans cette ville sourient beaucoup et sont jamais stressés. Ma ville préférée
me manque tellement !
UNIT 10

PUT YOUR CONVERSATION STRATEGIES INTO ACTION

Example: Enchanté. Je m’appelle David. On peut se tutoyer ? Merci de parler

avec moi aujourd’hui. J’apprendre le français parce que j’adore. Oui, je parle
espagnol aussi. Pardon, je n’ai pas compris. Tu peux répéter lentement, s’il te plait
?
COMPLETING UNIT 10

2 Léa, Versailles, huit mois/8 months, italien/Italian, lire

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Though my name and face may be on the cover, there are so many people whose
voices and ideas are in these pages.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my French teacher Léa Tiralarc who helped me

maintain my French over the past several years, and who I consulted with for this
course to ensure that the conversation flowed naturally, with modern, relevant
French. My québecoise flatmate Marie-Ève also played a big role in pushing my
French to the next level over a summer of telling jokes and organizing events in
French.

There aren’t enough praises I can sing about my editor Sarah Cole, who first
reached out to me with the exciting prospect of collaborating with Teach Yourself.
She worked with me over two years with unwavering support and passion for my
vision of a modern language course. I cannot imagine that any other publisher
could have brought so much life to these courses.

Melissa Baker worked behind the scenes to juggle timetables and perform more
than a few miracles to ensure all the pieces of this publishing puzzle came
together. Eric Zuarino and Eleni Yiannoulidou worked with me over many
months to make large and small improvements to each chapter, and Matthew
Duffy kept the project moving forward. I am grateful to the rest of the Teach
Yourself team in both the UK and US, who showed incredible enthusiasm in
creating a totally new kind of language course.

I owe a huge thank-you to the brilliant people at Team FI3M: Bálint, David,
Kittichai, Dávid, Joe, Ingo, Joseph, Adam, Holly and LC, who kept my
website, Fluent in 3 Months, running while I was busy writing these courses and
made sure we continued to do innovative work. Thank you all.

Finally, my partner Lauren, without whom this course never could have come to
light. She is the Pepper Potts to my Tony Stark - she makes sure my crazy ideas
run smoothly and professionally, and she came up with many of the cleverest
concepts that you see in these pages. Her perfectionism and academic background
turned my ideas for a good course into a truly great one.
NEW SPELLING REFORM
A set of changes to French spelling rules came into effect in 2016, as
recommended by the Académie Française. Officially, both traditional and new
spellings are acceptable but all school materials will now reflect the new rules.

In this book, we have resolutely followed the new spelling convention. Here’s a
brief overview of the main changes:

Traditional
Spelling rule New way
way
aout August
maitresse
school
août
teacher
1 The accent circonflexe is no longer required on the maîtresse
le gouter
vowels i and u. le goûter
afternoon
connaître
snack
connaitre to
know
This change doesn’t apply where it is necessary to
mur wall mur
distinguish between two words that sound the same but
mûr(e) ripe mûr(e)
mean different things.
piquenique
picnic
pique-nique
tirebouchon
tire-
corkscrew
bouchon
weekend
2 The hyphen (trait d’union) inside words disappears. week-end
deux-cents
deux cents
200
trente et
trente-et-
unième
unième
31st
A dash is now inserted between all the words that make
up a number.
ognon
3 ‘Silent’ letters get deleted. oignon
onion

There’s a little more to this reform, but the main idea is to respond to ‘the natural
evolution of the French language, to make it more regular and easier to learn, and
to simplify antiquated ways of spelling’.

This is music to a language hacker’s ears because even French natives find it very
difficult to spell things right!
Ouf ! Phew!
Culture Tip
1 TALKING ABOUT ME

Conversation 2 - NOTICE

tu or vous
French has two ways of saying ‘you’: one is informal, tu / toi, and the other is
formal, vous. For this book, we’re sticking with the informal form, because
honestly, that’s the form you’ll use most when you’re casually chatting with
people your age.
Back to page
2 ASKING ABOUT YOU

Conversation 2 - NOTICE

‘that’s nice’
Once I was on a train in France when I saw a hat on the ground, picked it up and
returned it to its owner. He thanked me by saying, c’est gentil, or ‘that’s nice’. It
sounds weird in English, but in French it’s a common way to acknowledge a nice
thing someone says or does.
Back to page
Conversation 3

opinions
In France you’ll find that they are not afraid to be direct when they disagree with
you on something, so don’t be alarmed if your new French friends start to
challenge you on an opinion. It’s all in a friendly spirit!
Back to page
4 DESCRIBING YOUR FUTURE PLANS

Conversation 1

la Francophonie
Many people think of France when it comes to the French language, but most
people who speak French actually live outside of France. French is spoken in
Belgique (Belgium), Suisse (Switzerland), Luxembourg (Luxembourg), 21 pays
d’Afrique (African countries), Haïti (Haiti) and Canada (Canada), with about 170
million speakers across five continents, collectively known as la Francophonie
(the French speaking world). Think of French as your passport to an incredibly
large pool of fascinating people!
Back to page
Completing Unit 4 - STEP 1: build your script

know before you go!

This is a good time to expand on your script with some of your own research!
There are many beautiful cities in France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Tunisia,
and any of the other French-speaking regions around the world. Look into what
sights there are to see and what you can do when you get there. If you can, talk to
someone who lives there to get the inside scoop.
Back to page
6 HAVE SOME FOOD, DRINK AND
CONVERSATION

Conversation 1 - NOTICE

au restaurant
The French dining experience is a unique one! You’ll enjoy it even more if you
learn the lingo:
Bonjour/Bonsoir: around 6 p.m. in France, everyone’s greeting changes
from bonjour (good day) to bonsoir (good evening).
Mesdames/Messieurs: you’ve learned that the plural of mon/ma is mes.
Similarly, the plural of madame (lit., ‘my-lady’) is mesdames (my-ladies),
and monsieur becomes messieurs for gentlemen. You’ll be greeted with
this in many restaurants and other establishments in France.
Une carafe d’eau: if you just ask for de l’eau (water), you may get a
pricy bottle that you’d have to pay for. But you can request a carafe d’eau,
a (free) jug of tap water, which is very safe to drink in France.
Je vous écoute: waiters don’t ask the equivalent of ‘What would you
like?’ but say Je vous écoute (I’m listening (to you)). You can reply with
je prends… (I’ll take …) and the waiter will likely respond with tout de
suite !
Back to page
8 IT’S BEEN A WHILE!

Conversation 2

frigo, resto and other shortened words As in English, you can shorten some
French words (frigo ‘fridge’ instead of réfrigérateur and télé ‘TV’ for télévision).
This also works for words we wouldn’t think to shorten in English, like resto for
restaurant.
Back to page
Conversation 2 - PRACTICE

the 24-hour system

The 24-hour system is used in most French-speaking countries. If you aren’t used
to it, just remember these two rules: a) the number is the same as for the 12-hour
system in the morning, and b) just add 12 to the number for the afternoon and
evening equivalents. The terms a.m., p.m. and o’clock are usually written as h and
spoken as heures, so 15h is 3 p.m., 19h is 7 p.m., etc.
Back to page
Conversation 3 - NOTICE

what to bring
If you are invited to a French person’s house for dinner or an evening hang-out,
bring a gift to show your appreciation! If the event includes a meal or snacks,
avoid bringing food or wine (unless requested)– the host may have special plans
in mind for the meal. It’s always a good idea to get some chocolate, flowers or an
interesting gift from home. If all else fails, politely ask your host what they might
like you to bring.
Back to page
€
Currency symbols usually come after the number in French. As well as this,
commas and decimals get swapped, so ‘€2,200.22’ would be 2.200,22 € in
French!
Back to page
9 DESCRIBE IT!

Conversation 2

haggling and street markets

While the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is gorgeous to visit, my favourite spot for
shopping is actually the marché aux puces (flea market) at Clignancourt. I love to
marchander (haggle) to get a good deal there. It’s more fun than when you know
the price is standard, and excellent for French practice!
Back to page
Strategies and Hacks
1 TALKING ABOUT ME

Conversation 1

CONVERSATION STRATEGY: et toi ?

If you’re uncomfortable doing a lot of talking at first, a trick I like to use is to
simply bounce the question back to the other person, so I can listen for a while. In
French, it’s easy to do, with a simple et toi ?
Back to page
Conversation 1 - FIGURE IT OUT

POWER PHRASE =
a phrase you can use in a variety of different ways and situations.
Back to page
Conversation 1 - NOTICE

LEARNING STRATEGY:
word-for-word translations
Use the translations you see in brackets to help you understand how the French
phrases translate word-for-word to English. This will help you gain an intuitive
understanding of how French works, without actively studying the grammar for
now.
Back to page
Conversation 1 - PRACTICE

SPEAKING: take a risk!

Something I hear all the time from French learners is, ‘Benny, I’ve studied French
for years, but I still can’t speak it!’ This happens when you spend all your time
reading, listening or studying French, but not actually speaking it. Whatever you
do, don’t study French in silence. You have to use the language, even if it feels
weird or silly, and even if your accent is terrible at first. It will only get better with
use!
Back to page
Conversation 2

HACK IT: word chunks

It helps to learn words in chunks rather than understanding each part of every
word. Qu’est-ce que is a great example. Learn this as a whole chunk. It simply
means ‘what?’
Back to page
Conversation 3 - NOTICE

CONVERSATION STRATEGY: smooth out your sentences with connector

words
Speaking in short, simple sentences doesn’t sound very natural, but when you’re a
beginner in French, it gets the job done. You can start smoothing out your French
sentences by adding in connector words. Words like parce que, et, mais and ou
(‘because’, ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘or’) help you connect your thoughts to sound more
natural.

Example:
I want to learn French because I want to learn a beautiful language, and I want to
understand French culture.
Back to page
Completing Unit 1

LEARNING STRATEGY:
active listening
When you do a listening exercise, make sure you actively pay attention to the
audio. A common mistake is to listen to French audio in the background, thinking
it will still ‘sink in’. The truth is, there’s a huge difference between hearing a
language and listening to a language. Make sure 100% of your attention is on the
audio while it plays!
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2 ASKING ABOUT YOU

Conversation 1

CONVERSATION STRATEGY: anticipate common questions

When you start speaking French, a common conversation topic is language
learning itself. It makes sense – if you’re learning French, people will ask if you
speak other languages. Have your answer prepared!
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Conversation 2 - PUT IT TOGETHER

HACK IT: learn vocab strategically

Remember, you don’t need to memorize all of the numbers or other types of vocab
in French right away. Start by thinking about what you’ll need to say most often,
and learn that first. The rest will come with time, and conversation!
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3 SOLVING COMMUNICATION
PROBLEMS

Completing Unit 3

HACK IT: change your search preferences to français

Did you know that many major websites automatically detect your language from
your browser settings, and adjust accordingly? You can change these settings to
français, and you’ll instantly notice your search engine, social networking sites
and video searches will automatically change to French! You can also simply go
to google.fr (and click français) to search French-language websites around the
world … then be sure to type your keywords in French!
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5 TALKING ABOUT FAMILY AND
FRIENDS

Conversation 1 - YOUR TURN: use the hack

LEARNING STRATEGY:
focus on your key verbs
Which ‘me-specific’ verbs would you need to talk about the people close to you?
Figure out what they are, then learn those first, in all their conjugations. You
might include verbs you can use to talk about where they live, what they do for a
living, their age, hobbies, etc. Think about:

where you or your family live

what you and your girlfriend/partner like to do or do for a living
what your friends or children like to do
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Conversation 3

CONVERSATION STRATEGY:
substitutions
When you can’t think of the word you want, substitute a similar word you already
know. For instance, we could use peut-être (maybe) in place of ‘probably’ in this
conversation.
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Conversation 3 - FIGURE IT OUT

CONVERSATION STRATEGY: learn j’en suis pas sûr(e) as a set expression

This expression means ‘I am not sure’, or literally, ‘I of-that am not sure’. We
don’t need to get into the technical details of how the en works like this in this
course, but I do recommend you learn this as a set expression. This is the correct
form, whereas ‘je suis pas sûr’ would be incorrect by itself. Don’t worry if you
don’t fully understand the structure of the sentence yet. Some expressions are
worth using as soon as possible!
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7 TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY … LAST
WEEK … A LONG TIME AGO

Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: past verb forms

CONVERSATION STRATEGY: guess when you’re not sure!

There are other situations that use être, but you can absolutely learn these later.
You can always fall back to ‘Tarzan French’, and just use the avoir form – people
will understand you. Even though ‘j’ai allé’ is a mistake, people will recognize
that you’re learning and know exactly what you mean. For now, just try to be
confident with verbs you know you’ll use often. If you’re ever in doubt, your
dictionary will also indicate whether the verb takes être or avoir in the past tense.
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8 IT’S BEEN A WHILE!

Conversation 3

LEARNING STRATEGY: break it down

Whenever you see a word that’s quite long, try to see if you understand parts of it.
Here you may recognize mal (badly), heureux / heureuse (happy) and -ment (-
ly). You could guess this means unhappily, which is quite close, given the context,
to its true meaning of ‘unfortunately’.
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9 DESCRIBE IT!

Conversation 1 - VOCAB EXPLANATION: describing the weather

HACK IT: recognizable words with ê, î, ô, û

Whenever you see the ^ accent above a vowel, imagine what the word would look
like with an ‘-s’ after that vowel. More often than not, they’ll look like the English
word! With that in mind, see if you recognize these words: forêt, hôpital, côte.
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Conversation 1 - VOCAB EXPLANATION: describing the weather

HACK IT: rewording to fill the gaps in your vocabulary

There is no easy way to translate ‘cheap’ into French with a single word, although
your dictionary may suggest bon marché (‘good deal’). That phrase works fine,
but it’s more common to say ‘less expensive’ (moins cher/chère) instead.
Rewording can make complex sentences much easier. More on this in this unit’s
#languagehack.
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Conversation 3 - PUT IT TOGETHER

LEARNING STRATEGY: study on the go

When I’m learning a new language, I always use a vocabulary study app and other
tools designed for use on-the-go, and pull them out whenever I’m waiting around.
Since my smartphone is with me anyway, I use it to learn what I can, when I can,
even if it’s just a word or two.
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10 HAVING YOUR FIRST
CONVERSATION

YOUR FIRST CONVERSATION

HACK IT: ‘groundhog-day’ your way to fluency

Through the beauty of the Internet, you can have the same ‘first conversation’
over again with different language partners until you feel comfortable with it.
Then start speaking with the same people again and again to push yourself into
new territories.
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CONVERSATION STRATEGY: on peut se tutoyer ?
If your language partner is the same age as you, he or she will likely speak to you
in tu form. If not, don’t forget that you can quickly ask on peut se tutoyer ?
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GETTING READY FOR YOUR FIRST CONVERSATION

CONVERSATION STRATEGY: handling your nerves

handling your nerves It’s typical for a beginner to expect to be judged by the other
speaker. If you find yourself staring at the screen, afraid to push that Call button –
and we’ve all been there – have a friend nearby to boost your confidence (and
maybe give you that extra push to get started!). Don’t worry! The other person is
probably just as nervous as you! If you’re doing a language exchange and plan to
also help your partner with their English, he or she may be worried more about
how their English sounds than how you sound speaking French! And if you are
starting with a new teacher, he or she may be hoping to make a good first
impression!
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COMPLETING UNIT 10

CONVERSATION STRATEGY: warm up before your first conversation!

Practising with audio is one of the best ways to prepare for a conversation. An
hour or two before your French conversation begins, come back to these exercises
and replay them to help you get into the flow of French.
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HACK IT: time pressure is your friend
Schedule it for tomorrow or the earliest possible slot. Don’t give yourself a long
window to get ready – overthinking this step can lead to procrastination later.
Make a request for the next time slot, and don’t look back!
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Pronunciation
1 TALKING ABOUT ME

Conversation 1

ça va ?
With ça va we meet a brand new letter – ç. This cédille is like a ‘c’ with a tail on
it. When you see the tail, pronounce it as an ‘s’.
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Conversation 1 - NOTICE

j
The French j doesn’t sound like ‘j’ in ‘jam’. It has a softer sound, like the middle
sound in ‘measure’. Keep that in mind whenever you see it.
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2 ASKING ABOUT YOU

Conversation 3 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: je (I) and tu (you)

the silent s
Even though an -es is added for verbs with tu, the last -s is silent. So the
pronunciation is exactly the same for je parle and tu parles.
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4 DESCRIBING YOUR FUTURE PLANS

Conversation 2 - NOTICE

tu
If the next word after tu starts with a vowel (or silent h), in casual conversations
you can shorten it to t’. This leads to the much easier-to-pronounce t’es [tay] for
‘you are’ and t’as [tah] for ‘you have’, and even t’habites for ‘you live’. This is
akin to ‘y’know’ in English. Use this trick if you are still working on your u
pronunciation!
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5 TALKING ABOUT FAMILY AND
FRIENDS

Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: using objects le, la

and les (‘him’, ‘her’ and ‘them’)

the silent -re

You may have noticed that many words ending in -re don’t have those letters
pronounced.
For instance, quatre (four) is pronounced [kat], comprendre (to understand) is
pronounced [kohN-pRawN], and être (to be) is pronounced [eht]. In casual
French, people tend to skip this sound entirely if it comes after a consonant. This
is handy to keep in mind if you are still finding it tricky pronouncing the French r.
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Conversation 1 - #LANGUAGEHACK: pronounce words you
haven’t even learned yet

silent e
e isn’t always pronounced, such as the first one in appeler [ahp-lay]. You may
notice this whenever there’s just one consonant before and after the e. It also
works in samedi [sam-dee] and tellement [tel-mawN] but not in vendredi [vawN-
druh-dee] because of dr before the e.
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6 HAVE SOME FOOD, DRINK AND
CONVERSATION

Conversation 1

tout de suite !
While you would expect to pronounce this word [too-duh sew-weet], it’s a
common phrase with a slight pronunciation change that sounds more like [toot
sew-weet].
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Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: du / de la / des
(some)

how to hear plurals

Des is also sometimes used as a way to make a plural clear in spoken French,
especially since s at the end of words is often silent. That way des voitures [day
vwa-tewR] (some cars), for instance, is clearly distinguished from just voiture
[vwa-tewR] (‘car’).
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Conversation 3

je suis

06.06 In very casual situations, you can replace the je + s sound with a ‘sh’ sound.
This gives us [shwee] for je suis and [shay pah] for je sais pas. This is the French
version of ‘I dunno’. Listen to the audio to hear the difference between the
standard and the casual ways of saying je suis.
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7 TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY … LAST
WEEK … A LONG TIME AGO

Conversation 1 - PUT IT TOGETHER

quoi de neuf ?
Sound like a native! You will very likely only come across this expression in
casual conversations. Because of this, it even has a casual pronunciation. As well
as [kwah duh nuf], it can be shortened to [kwahd nuf].
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9 DESCRIBE IT!

Conversation 1

gn
In French, gn is pronounced like the ‘ny’ in ‘canyon’. Keep this in mind for words
like campagne, Espagne, montagne, and ognon (onion).
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Grammer tips
1 TALKING ABOUT ME

Conversation 1 - Notice

spelling
Some words change in French depending on whether they refer to a man or
woman. For instance, If this were a male speaking, he would say je suis
américain - without an ‘e’ at the end.
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le and la
Le and la roughly translate to ‘the’ in English, but le is for masculine nouns and la
is for feminine nouns. Some nouns may take either one, such as the professions
you see here without an article. More on this later in Unit 3!
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Conversation 2

understanding the terminology

In this book, I’ll avoid using overly technical grammar terms, but there are a few
worth knowing. Here, we talk about nouns – people, places and things (like
cinéma, étudiants, auteur, France); and verbs – action words (like suis, habite,
aime that you’ve seen follow je/j’). These are the building blocks of all sentences.
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2 ASKING ABOUT YOU

Conversation 1 - PRACTICE

l’ before a vowel
Whenever a word starts with a vowel or usually with an h, le or la changes to l’.
For example: le anglais → l’anglais; le italien → l’italien; le hôtel → l’hôtel.
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‘I learn’ and ‘I’m learning’
Remember, don’t be tempted to translate English -ing words into a French
equivalent. French doesn’t work this way. In French, ‘I learn French’ and ‘I am
learning French’ are said the same way: j’apprends le français.
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Conversation 2 - PRACTICE

un / une
The word for ‘one’ is either un or une, depending on whether the word is
masculine or feminine. (More on this in Unit 3.)
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plurals
Just like in English, to make a word plural, you’ll usually add an s. So we can say
deux semaines, deux ans and deux jours. What if the word already ends in an s? It
stays the same: un mois, deux mois.
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3 SOLVING COMMUNICATION
PROBLEMS

Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: word order with

objects

verb + verb
Remember that when you combine two verbs, the second verb is put into the
dictionary form. The same is true when you use this sentence structure. In this
sentence structure, the object will always go between two verbs, as you can see in
the examples.
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5 TALKING ABOUT FAMILY AND
FRIENDS

Conversation 1

vous for ‘you two’

Remember that vous is not only used in formal situations with strangers, but also
for plural ‘you’, regardless of the level of formality. Similar to ‘you two/three’ or
‘all of you’ in English.
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Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: il, elle and ils / elles

exceptions
Être and aller are two common verbs that don’t follow any patterns we’ve seen,
so learn them independently as je suis, tu es, il/elle/on est and je vais, tu vas,
il/elle/on va.
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Conversation 2

gender and number

Add an s to the noun when talking about multiple people (frère – frères). French
also adds an s to any adjectives that come before a plural noun (les jolies sœurs).
You’ll also notice an e because it’s describing a feminine word, as with
différentes.
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Conversation 2 - FIGURE IT OUT

sa famille
You’ve already seen how to use mon/ton for masculine and ma/ta for feminine
nouns. Similarly, you’ll use son for masculine nouns and sa for feminine nouns –
son and sa can both mean ‘his’, ‘her’ and ‘its’. So, son père can mean ‘his father’
or ‘her father’, while sa mère means ‘his mother’ or ‘her mother’.
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Conversation 2 - PRACTICE

prepositions at the start

French sentences can’t end in prepositions (words like à, après, avec, dans, en, à).
But it’s easy to change your word order if you imagine a more formal way of
saying the sentence in English: Avec qui tu habites ? (with whom do you live?)
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‘in’ and ‘to’ with countries
In French, there are generally three ways to say ‘in’ and ‘to’ with countries.
Here’s a quick rule of thumb to get it right most of the time:

If the country name in French ends in e, use en.

Ex: Je veux aller en Espagne. Tu travailles en Belgique. J’habite en Irlande.

If it ends in an s, use aux.

Ex: Il habite aux États-Unis. On prévoit d’aller aux Pays-Bas (Netherlands).

In all other cases, use au.

Ex: Elle veut étudier au Canada. Je passe les vacances au Brésil.

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6 HAVE SOME FOOD, DRINK AND
CONVERSATION

Conversation 1 - NOTICE

de, d’, du and des for ‘some’

In French, as in English, you’ll use un/une when you want a defined amount of
food or drink (one glass, two bottles). But you’ll use de/d’/du/des when you want
an undefined amount (some water).
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Conversation 2

quel/quelle/quels/quelles (which)
The French word quel (which) is used much more frequently than we use its
counterpart in English. You’ll see it used in Quelle heure est-il ? (What time is
it?).
Quel also changes according to gender and number. Use:
quel before masculine words
quelle before feminine words
quels before plurals (masculine or mixed) and
quelles before feminine plurals.
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7 TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY … LAST
WEEK … A LONG TIME AGO

Conversation 1 - NOTICE

de (of) for possession

Notice the word order here. This is an example of the possessive de you saw in
Unit 5, and is necessary when someone is referenced like this by name (otherwise
we’d use ses ‘her’).
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Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: past verb forms

work around the grammar!

Some verbs don’t follow this rule, and there is another kind of past tense in
French. But instead of trying to learn even more grammar, we’ll find a work-
around so that you can use the past form you’ve already learned in most
situations, rather than learning an entirely new form. #languagehacking at its
finest!
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9 DESCRIBE IT!

Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: using manquer for

‘to miss’

the mountains are missed by …

When you want to say ‘me’, ‘you’ or ‘us’, use me, te and nous. Otherwise, use à
followed by a person’s name (e.g., à Lauren).
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Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: changing gender
and number for adjectives

put grand(e) before the noun

Grand is one of a few adjectives in French that you’ll see before the noun. Others
include petit, jeune (young), vieux (old), beau (beautiful) and nouveau (new).
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Conversation 3

celui-ci – ‘this one’

There are several ways to say ‘this’ or ‘that’ in French: use ce or cette before
masculine/feminine nouns (ce livre and cette fille) and celui or celle when it’s just
‘this’ or ‘that’ by itself. These words can mean both ‘this’ or ‘that’ depending on
the context, but when you’re pointing or trying to clarify what you’re referring to,
add -ci for ‘this’ and -là for ‘that’.
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Vocab Notes
2 ASKING ABOUT YOU

Conversation 1 - NOTICE

ne…pas
You may have learned in school French to use both ne and pas to negate a
sentence, as in je ne parle pas. This is technically the right way to make a
negative sentence, but in casual conversations people often just use pas. Je parle
pas works just fine.
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Conversation 2

depuis for ‘since’ or ‘for’

English uses the phrase ‘have been’ in expressions like ‘I have been learning
French for two weeks’, whereas the French would say ‘I learn French since two
weeks’. You ’ll use the word depuis in situations like this. It’s a useful word for
asking and answering the question ‘how long?’ In questions, depuis quand can
mean ‘since when?’ or ‘for how long?’ In answers, depuis can mean both ‘since’
and ‘for’.
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-ment
In Conversation 1, you saw the words seulement (‘only’) and vraiment (‘really’
or ‘truly’). In French, the ending -ment corresponds to the English ending ‘-ly’.
So on its own, vrai simply means ‘true’.
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Conversation 2 - PUT IT TOGETHER

j’ai ‘I have’
In French, to say your age, you literally say ‘I have (number) years.’ Remember –
a lot of the time you can’t translate word-for-word from English!
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Conversation 3 - NOTICE

vocabulaire technique
French words about political, technical and scientific topics tend to contain a lot
of English cognates. Because of that, you are actually even more likely to come
across familiar words in complex conversations than you are in simple
conversations!
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que as ‘that’
Here we introduce que, which is used as ‘that’ to connect phrases, such as ’I know
that you are French’.
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3 SOLVING COMMUNICATION
PROBLEMS

Conversation 1

question words
You can use question words at the start or end of a statement. Où est-ce que tu es
? and Tu es où ? Both mean ‘Where are you?’ The second form is more casual.
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apprendre
Apprendre is one of those handy words you can use to say two different things.
As well as ‘to learn’, it also means ‘to teach’ when another person is indicated:
Marie m’apprend la guitare (Marie is teaching me the guitar).
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Conversation 1 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: word order with
objects

If me, te, le or la come before a word starting with a vowel, they shorten to
become m’, t’, l’.
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Conversation 3

avoir besoin de - ‘to have need of’

To express ‘I need’ in French you literally say ‘I have need of’ then follow this
with a noun or a verb, e.g.: J’ai besoin d’aide (I need help).
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4 DESCRIBING YOUR FUTURE PLANS

Conversation 2

il y a
The French phrase il y a (pronounced eel ee ya) is very useful because it means
both ‘there is’ and ‘there are’ – it doesn’t change. So you could say il y a un livre
(there is a book), or il y a trois livres (there are three books). Learn il y a as a
chunk.
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Conversation 2 - NOTICE

you mean …?
In French, the way to say ‘you mean …’ is tu veux dire … (literally ‘you want to-
say‘). You may hear this as you’re learning and being corrected by others. You can
also say je veux dire to clarify something you’ve said.
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Conversation 2 - GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: au, aux, du and des

pour as ‘in order to’

Whenever you want to say ‘to do’ something in French, if you can replace the ‘to’
in English with ‘in order to’ – such as ‘I’m here (in order) to meet French people’
– then remember to put the word pour in front of it in French: Je suis ici pour
rencontrer des Français.
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Conversation 3

voilà
Voilà essentially means ‘Here is …’ or ‘There is …’ If you say ‘Here it is’ just
keep in mind that the le goes first – le voilà. You can even say Me voilà ! for
‘Here I am!’
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5 TALKING ABOUT FAMILY AND
FRIENDS

Conversation 1

sa ville
In French, ‘his hometown’ is translated simply as sa ville (his town). Où est ta
ville ?
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Conversation 1 - NOTICE

who you ‘know’

Connais is another way to say ‘know’ in French. In this case, it means ‘know a
person’. More on this in Conversation 2!
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Conversation 3 - NOTICE

on as ‘one’ or ‘people in general’

As well as being used commonly for ‘we’, on also means ‘one’ when used to
mean ‘people in general’.
On sait jamais (one never knows).
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6 HAVE SOME FOOD, DRINK AND
CONVERSATION

Conversation 1 - NOTICE

quelque…
Given that chose means ‘thing’, and quelque is the ‘some’ in ‘something’, you
can now more easily recognize the following: quelqu’un (someone) quelque part
(somewhere) quelquefois (sometimes)
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je voudrais
You know how to use je veux for ‘I want’, but another, softer option is je voudrais
for ‘I would like’, which works better in formal situations.
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Conversation 2 - NOTICE

il faut
‘it is necessary’
Il faut is a useful expression, which means ‘it is necessary…’. In this
conversation, il faut le voir means ‘It must be seen!’ or ‘I have to see it!’ Since
the next verb will be in the dictionary form, you can use it to express anything that
‘needs’ to happen. For example: Il faut boire du vin français ! (You really should
drink French wine!)
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7 TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY … LAST
WEEK … A LONG TIME AGO

Conversation 1 - NOTICE

I like it
While you may expect j’aime ça for ‘I like it’, another way to say this is ça me
plait, or literally ‘that me pleases’. In this conversation, plaire (to please) is in the
past tense. You will recognize this verb from s’il te/vous plait (‘please’ or,
literally, ‘if-it you pleases’).
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Conversation 1 - PUT IT TOGETHER

using il y a
The phrase il y a means both ‘there is / there are’ and ‘ago’ depending on context.
When used to mean ‘ago’, the order is different from English, since it comes
before the time – not after. Il y a trois jours (three days ago).
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Conversation 2

les devoirs
Remember that devoir means ‘to have to’. Devoirs literally means ‘duties /
obligations’. This means that the French word for ‘homework’ is plural. When
you refer to it, you’ll use les (they) rather than le (it). You never have a little
homework, you always have a lot!
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‘until’
When you’re talking about a long journey like a flight, you have to say ‘I flew
‘until’ Paris’, using the word jusqu’à: J’ai pris l’avion jusqu’à Paris.
It works the same when you’re coming from a long distance – using depuis
instead of de: ‘from Rome to Berlin’ is depuis Rome jusqu’à Berlin.
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Conversation 3 - NOTICE

ce que – ‘everything that’

Tout ce que (everything that) in French has the extra ce in the sentence. You will
see many expressions before a que require ce, which isn’t translated in English.
This also happens for phrases like C’est ce que j’avais … (It’s what I had …). No
need to worry about this for now. Remember this phrase as a word chunk, and
now you’ll recognize it when you see or hear it.
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8 IT’S BEEN A WHILE!

Conversation 1

re-
French actually uses the prefix re- much more than we do in English to imply
‘again’. While we can’t ‘re-see’ in English, you can revoir in French (hence au
revoir (goodbye) is more or less ‘until-the re-seeing!’). You even see this used as
reparler in unit 3 (to ‘re-speak’ or ‘speak again’). Similarly, you can say revenir
(come back), rentrer (return home – from ‘re-enter’), and rappeler (recall or
remember).
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quoi as ‘what’
You’ve seen that question words can appear at the end of a sentence (Tu vas où
?).
The same is true for qu’est-ce que (what), but instead of putting que at the end,
you’d use quoi:
Que’est-ce que Jacques étudie ? / Jacques étudie quoi ?
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Conversation 2

se promener – ‘to walk oneself’

In French, you can’t just walk … you have to walk someone! The verb promener
always has to have an object. This means that you can walk yourself (te
promener), or you can walk your dog (promener ton chien)… as long as you’re
walking someone!
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car – ‘because’ Car is another French word for ‘because’. To make things simple,
use parce que most of the time, but try to be aware of car and its meaning when
you hear it.
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Conversation 2 - NOTICE

how often?
You can express repetition using words like chaque (each) followed by a singular
version of the word, or tous / toutes les (every) followed by a plural: chaque jour
(each day) and toutes les semaines (every week).
You can also use any number + fois (times) to describe ‘how often’. Example: une
fois, deux fois, bien souvent (lit., well often)
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Conversation 3 - NOTICE

le soir and la soirée

There are two ways to say ‘evening’ – le soir and la soirée. Usually, le soir means
evenings in general, but la soirée can be an event that you throw in the evening.
You can also say Bonne soirée ! to wish someone a nice evening.
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9 DESCRIBE IT!

Conversation 1

grand as ‘big’ and ‘tall’

While the word grand usually means ‘big’ in French, there are cases where its use
differs. When you describe people as grand, for example, it will always mean
‘tall’, unless you’re referring to your grand frère or grande sœur (big
brother/sister). To avoid confusion, try to use more specific adjectives, as Jacques
does here to describe this iconic avenue in Paris.
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fait as ‘fact’
Fait is not only a form of the verb faire – it’s also the noun for ‘fact’. So, just like
in English, en fait means ‘in fact’.
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Conversation 1 - NOTICE

sympa ‘nice’
Sympa (nice) can describe enjoyable places and events or friendly and likeable
people. It’s used mostly in casual situations, as it’s the shortened form of
sympathique. Shortened adjectives like this don’t usually change between
masculine and feminine.
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using avoir
for describing feelings You’ve seen some cases where French uses avoir (to have)
when we would say ‘to be’ in English, like j’ai faim and tu as raison. Here, avoir
chaud means ‘to be hot’. What’s the common link? You’ll often use avoir to
describe how you feel:
j’ai peur

(I’m scared)
j’ai froid (I’m cold)
j’ai mal à la tête

(I have a headache)
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Conversation 2 - NOTICE

dur as ‘hard’
As well as pas facile / difficile, you can also say something is dur to imply that
it’s hard to do. Dur can also describe something physically hard, like a rock.
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Conversation 3 - NOTICE

saying what something ‘looks like’

This useful expression in French, ‘to have the air of’, is how you would describe
what something ‘seems to be’, or what ‘it looks like’. The word regarder, on the
other hand, is only used when someone is actually looking at someone or
something. So, cette bouteille de vin a l’air vieille (this wine bottle looks old) but
je regarde cette vieille bouteille de vin (I’m looking at this old wine bottle).
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Published in Great Britain in 2017 by Hodder & Stoughton
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Copyright © Brendan Lewis 2016

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