Day 15 · A1 · Lesson 15
Checkpoint 1: introduce yourself
No new grammar today. A full review of Days 1 to 14 on one page, the mistakes that catch everyone, and the goal: introduce yourself in six correct sentences, and answer questions about yourself.
Cold guess
A cold check on Days 1 to 14: no peeking back. Whatever you miss tells you which lesson to revisit. Your score is private. You'll get a fresh set at the end to compare.
___ maison
the house
I'm 19.
She's Canadian.
I don't have a car.
nous ___
(parler)
Does he speak English? (formal)
What's your name? (with quel)
a red car
___ est la gare ?
Where is the station?
Your new boss on day one
six amis: the x is…
un journal → des ___
Score: / 12
Why it matters
Fourteen days in, you’ve met a lot of French: sounds, accents, greetings, two pillar verbs, gender, plurals, numbers, adjectives, negatives, the -er engine and three ways to ask a question. That’s more than it feels like. But knowledge you don’t revisit fades, and things you’ve only read aren’t yet things you can say.
Today has no new grammar. It has two jobs:
Pulling something back out of your memory is what makes it stick. The warm-up, the practice and the quick check mix everything together on purpose, so you can't lean on "this is the -er lesson, so the answer is -er".
Introduce yourself in six correct sentences, then handle the questions that come back. That single skill uses almost every lesson so far, and it's how nearly every French conversation, and every French speaking exam, begins.
Do the warm-up cold. Every question you miss points to a lesson: revisit that one before you move on to Day 16.
Fourteen days on one page
Each lesson in one line: the single thing you must remember, with an example. Click any title to go back to the full lesson.
| Day | Lesson | The one thing to remember | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The sounds of French | Final consonants are usually silent, except c, r, f, l (but -er says "ay") | petit, parler · but sac, chef |
| 2 | Accents | Accents change sound or meaning; languages and nationalities are lowercase | a / à · ou / où · le français |
| 3 | Greetings, tu and vous | Vous for strangers, officials and any group; say bonjour when you walk in | Bonjour madame, comment allez-vous ? |
| 4 | Subject pronouns and être | Nine pronouns, no word for "it"; c'est + un/une, il est + job or adjective | Elle est médecin. C'est un médecin. |
| 5 | Le or la? | Learn every noun with its article; endings give strong clues | la nation (-tion), le fromage (-age) |
| 6 | Un, une, des and plurals | A noun never stands alone; the plural -s is silent | J'aime les chats. J'ai des chats. |
| 7 | Numbers 0–20 | Six, dix, huit change their sound with the next word | six (sees) · six jours (see) · six amis (seez) |
| 8 | Avoir, and saying your age | Age, hunger, thirst, heat, cold, fear and being right use avoir | J'ai vingt ans. J'ai faim. |
| 9 | Introduce yourself | No article before a job; nationalities change for women | Je suis infirmière. Elle est canadienne. |
| 10 | Adjectives that agree | Adjectives agree and usually go after the noun; BAGS go before | une robe noire · une petite maison |
| 11 | Saying no | Ne + verb + pas; un/une/des become de; si answers a negative question | Je n'ai pas de voiture. |
| 12 | The -ER engine | Stem + -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent; four endings sound the same | je parle, ils parlent (both "parl") |
| 13 | Asking questions three ways | Intonation, est-ce que, inversion; -t- between two vowels | Parle-t-elle anglais ? |
| 14 | Question words | "What is your…?" = quel est; quoi at the end, que at the start | Quel est ton nom ? Tu fais quoi ? |
How the pieces fit together
Look at one ordinary sentence and count the lessons inside it:
Je suis canadienne, j'habite à Montréal et je n'ai pas de voiture.
Je suis (Lesson 4) · canadienne agrees (Lessons 9 and 10) and is lowercase (Lesson 2) · j'habite: -er verb with j' (Lessons 1 and 12) · à Montréal: à + city (Lesson 9) · n'ai pas de: avoir + negation shrinking une to de (Lessons 8 and 11).
That’s the point of a checkpoint: the lessons stop being separate boxes and start working as one language.
The six-sentence introduction
Here’s the skeleton you’ll build on. Each line is one sentence, and each sentence uses specific lessons:
| Line | Pattern | Lessons |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greeting and name | Bonjour ! Je m'appelle… | 3 |
| 2. Age | J'ai … ans. | 7, 8 |
| 3. Nationality and city | Je suis + nationality, et j'habite à + city. | 2, 4, 9, 10, 12 |
| 4. Job (and one negative) | Je suis + job. / Je ne travaille pas. | 9, 11, 12 |
| 5. Languages | Je parle … et un peu français. | 9, 12 |
| 6. A question back | Et vous, comment vous appelez-vous ? / Et toi, tu viens d'où ? | 3, 13, 14 |
And when they ask questions back
An introduction is a conversation, so be ready to answer. These are the questions you’ll hear most, with the lesson that helps you understand each one:
| You hear | It means | You answer |
|---|---|---|
| Comment vous appelez-vous ? / Tu t'appelles comment ? | What's your name? | Je m'appelle… |
| Vous venez d'où ? / D'où venez-vous ? | Where are you from? | Je viens de… |
| Où est-ce que vous habitez ? | Where do you live? | J'habite à… |
| Qu'est-ce que vous faites dans la vie ? | What do you do? | Je suis… |
| Vous parlez anglais ? | Do you speak English? | Oui, je parle anglais. / Non, je ne parle pas anglais. |
| Vous n'êtes pas française ? | Aren't you French? | Si ! / Non, je suis canadienne. |
Examples
A model introduction, sentence by sentence, then a short conversation. Listen to each line and repeat it.
- Bonjour ! Je m'appelle Alex.Hello! My name is Alex. (Lesson 3)
- J'ai vingt ans.I'm twenty. (Lessons 7 and 8: avoir + ans)
- Je suis canadienne et j'habite à Montréal.I'm Canadian and I live in Montréal. (Lessons 4, 9, 12)
- Je suis étudiante, mais je ne travaille pas.I'm a student, but I don't work. (Lessons 9 and 11)
- Je parle anglais et un peu français.I speak English and a little French. (Lessons 9 and 12)
- Et vous, comment vous appelez-vous ?And you, what's your name? (Lessons 3 and 13)
- Moi, c'est Karim. Je viens d'Ottawa.I'm Karim. I'm from Ottawa. (Lesson 9: d' before a vowel)
- Qu'est-ce que vous faites dans la vie ?What do you do for a living? (Lesson 14)
- Je suis infirmier. Je travaille dans un grand hôpital.I'm a nurse. I work in a big hospital. (Lessons 9, 10, 12)
- Vous n'avez pas d'enfants ? Si, j'ai deux filles !Don't you have children? Yes, I have two daughters! (Lessons 8 and 11)
- Quel est votre numéro de téléphone ?What's your phone number? (Lesson 14: quel est)
- C'est le six un trois, cinq cinq cinq, zéro un neuf huit.It's 613 555-0198. (Lesson 7: digit by digit)
- Enchantée ! Bonne journée !Nice to meet you! Have a good day! (Lesson 3)
Memory tricks
The best of the first fourteen days, all in one place:
Un bon vin blancAll four nasal vowels in four words. (Lesson 1)
The hat where the s used to beForêt = forest, hôpital = hospital, fête = feast. (Lesson 2)
Vous is for VIPs and crowdsStrangers, officials, and anything with more than one person. (Lesson 3)
Je suis sounds like "Swiss"I am Swiss: je suis. (Lesson 4)
English -ty means French laLiberty, society, university: la liberté, la société, l'université. (Lesson 5)
Your body owns its feelingsYou have hunger, cold, fear and years: j'ai faim, j'ai froid, j'ai peur, j'ai vingt ans. (Lesson 8)
BAGS go in frontBeauty, Age, Goodness, Size: une belle maison, un petit café. Everything else after. (Lesson 10)
The no sandwichNe and pas are the bread, the verb is the filling: je ne parle pas. (Lesson 11)
Write six, say threeFour -er endings are silent. Spelling is hard; speaking is easy. (Lesson 12)
Que leads, quoi trailsQue fais-tu ? Tu fais quoi ? Never the other way round. (Lesson 14)
Don’t get French fried
The mistakes that catch almost every learner in the first two weeks. If you can avoid these eight, your introduction will already sound natural.
Mixed review
Twenty questions from all fourteen days, in no particular order. Each answer says which lesson to revisit if you missed it.
parler: the final r is…
Lesson 1: -er drops its r. Par-lay.
Il ___ un chat.
He has a cat.
Lesson 2: a = has. If avait fits, no accent.
Two friends at once: tu or vous?
Lesson 3: vous is also the plural.
Léa et Marc → ___ sont là.
Lesson 4: a mixed group is ils.
___ problème
Lesson 5: -ème words are masculine, despite the -e.
I have friends in Montréal.
Lesson 6: English drops 'some'; French needs des.
huit jours: the t is…
Lesson 7: huit loses its t before a consonant.
I'm cold.
Lesson 8: cold, hot, hungry, thirsty all use avoir.
He's a nurse.
Lesson 9: no article before a job after il est.
un ___ hôtel
(beautiful)
Lesson 10: beau → bel before a masculine vowel.
Ce n'est pas ___ problème.
Lesson 11: after être, the article doesn't shrink.
ils parlent sounds like…
Lesson 12: -ent is silent in verbs.
I'm looking for my keys.
Lesson 12: chercher already means look for.
___ il travaille ici ?
Lesson 13: qu' before a vowel.
Tu fais ___ ?
What are you doing? (casual)
Lesson 14: at the end, what = quoi.
Tu n'as pas faim ? — ___ !
Yes I am!
Lesson 11: si contradicts a negative question.
Elle est ___.
(Italian)
Lesson 9: -ien → -ienne.
Je viens ___ Ottawa.
Lesson 9: de → d' before a vowel.
Combien ___ frères as-tu ?
Lesson 14: combien de, no article.
Nous ___ au restaurant.
(manger)
Lesson 12: -ger keeps its e before -ons.
Score: / 20
The whole lesson on one card
| Sounds | silent endings, except CaReFuL (c, r, f, l) · -er says "ay" · liaison: les‿amis · un bon vin blanc = the four nasals |
|---|---|
| Accents and capitals | é "ay", è/ê "eh" · a/à, ou/où, la/là · circumflex = lost s · lowercase languages, nationalities, days, months |
| Greetings | bonjour / bonsoir / salut · tu for friends, vous for strangers and groups · Comment allez-vous ? → Je vais bien |
| être and avoir | je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont · j'ai, tu as, il a, nous avons, vous avez, ils ont · age, hunger, cold = avoir |
| Nouns and articles | le / la / l' / les · un / une / des · plurals: silent -s, -eau → -eaux, -al → -aux · learn every noun with un or une |
| Numbers 0–20 | onze to seize end in -ze · dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf · six, dix, huit drop their last sound before a consonant |
| Describing | adjectives agree and usually go after: une voiture rouge · BAGS before: un petit café · jobs and nationalities: no article |
| Saying no | ne + verb + pas · pas de (except after être and le/la/les) · si = yes to a negative question |
| -er verbs | -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent · four endings sound the same · one tense for I speak / I'm speaking |
| Questions | intonation · est-ce que · inversion (a-t-il) · qui, quoi, où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien, quel |
Your turn to talk
Now record your own six sentences: name, age, nationality and city, job, one negative, languages. End with a question back. Play it back and check it against the cheat sheet, line by line.
Did it stick?
A fresh set. Each answer tells you why.
___ fleur
the flower
Lesson 5: an -eur exception, feminine.
a beautiful house
Lesson 10: beauty adjectives go before (BAGS).
She's a lawyer.
Lesson 9: no article.
We're hungry.
Lesson 8: avoir faim, and on takes the il form.
They have two children.
Lesson 8: ont (z sound) = have.
Vous ___ anglais ?
(parler)
Lesson 12: vous → -ez.
I don't like coffee.
Lesson 11: le never shrinks.
Where do you live? (everyday)
Lesson 13: after est-ce que, normal word order.
___ heure est-il ?
Lesson 14: heure is feminine.
un gâteau → des ___
Lesson 6: -eau → -eaux.
neuf heures sounds like…
Lesson 7: neuf → 'neuv' before heures and ans.
I'm French. (a woman)
Lesson 2 and 9: the adjective is lowercase.
Arriving at a dinner at 8 p.m.
Lesson 3: bonne nuit is only for bedtime.
Who are you going with?
Lesson 14: the little word stays in front.
C'est ___ bon médecin.
Lesson 9: with c'est, or with an adjective, the article comes back.
Score: / 15