The French present tense, told as a series. First five working days in five French lives, then one week in a seaside village where an old fishing notebook, a goldfish and a waiter who cannot keep quiet carry you from nous to the near future. The grammar arrives inside a story you would actually want to read.
Mon vocabulaire
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Coffee at seven, clients all morning, flats all afternoon. Her day gives you the first and largest family of French verbs, the ones in -er.
He repairs books from 1830 and works on purpose slowly. His day gives you the second family, the verbs in -ir, and the verbs of slow change: vieillir, jaunir, ralentir.
An Englishman from Cambridge, a rod, a cold morning by the water and not one fish. His morning gives you the verbs that follow no pattern: prendre, venir, partir, faire, voir, vouloir, pouvoir.
She opens her dining room at midday, wears green and gold, and already knows what you did not catch. Her lunch gives you the other three persons of the singular, the polite vous, and savoir, connaître, ouvrir, offrir, servir, sortir.
The bill comes, the phone goes missing, and the boy who cannot keep quiet is the one who finds it. Their search gives you the nine prepositions of place, the possessives mon, ma, mes, and the four sentences that pay for a meal anywhere in France.
Two estate agents from Lyon on a long weekend by the sea, who speak as one. They give you nous, notre and the on that every French conversation uses instead.
Calm, quick, and the only person in the village who can make Théo stop talking. Her bakery gives you ils and elles, the silent -ent, and the verbs that change their vowel.
Véronique’s grandfather, heard only through his fishing notebook. His diary gives you aller, and a riddle about a black rock that the whole village tries to solve.
The best fisherman in the village, who answers every question with one word. His dawn gives you je me lève, tu te lèves, and the finale gives Marc his fish.
Is this course for you?
It is written for English speakers who are beginners in French. Every rule is explained in English, every text is translated, and every sentence has its pronunciation. Adults only in one sense: the stories are about work, time and craft, not about coloured pencils. If you have already met être, you are ready.
New to French? Meet the verb être first in French A1: Je suis.
French A1: Je suis. → Browse all courses →