First sentence frames: I have, I want, I would like
You stop collecting words this week and start combining them. Almost no new vocabulary — reuse Weeks 1 to 3 inside these frames.
The three core verbs
Present tense, first person. These three carry an astonishing amount of everyday French.
| Meaning | French | Built from words you already know |
|---|---|---|
| I have | J'ai | J'ai un fils. · J'ai soixante ans. · J'ai faim. |
| I want | Je veux | Je veux un café. · Je veux du pain. |
| I would like | Je voudrais | Je voudrais l'addition. · Je voudrais un thé. |
Useful phrases, learned whole
French says I have hunger where English says I am hungry. Do not translate the machinery — take the phrase as one piece.
- [J'ai faim]I'm hungry
Literally: I have hunger.
- [J'ai soif]I'm thirsty
- [J'ai froid]I'm cold
- [J'ai chaud]I'm hot
- Je voudrais réserverI would like to book
A table or a room. Two verbs in a row — the second stays in its plain form.
What the colours above mean
10 of 10 colours so farA thing, a person or a place.
An action or a state — what is happening.
Stands in for a noun — I, you, he, it.
the / a / some — and possessives like mon, ma.
Links words together — to, in, of, for.
Describes a noun.
Modifies a verb or an adjective.
Joins two parts of a sentence.
Opens a question — where, when, how, why.
Learn it whole. Do not take it apart.
The full palette is now live. Because you met one or two colours a week, none of it should feel new.
Sentence frames
- 1
J'ai noun / age.
I have ___ / I am ___.
- 2
Je veux noun.
I want ___.
Direct. Fine with family, blunt with a waiter.
- 3
Je voudrais noun, [s'il vous plaît].
I would like ___, please.
Substitution drill — ordering
Chunking plus interleaving. Rotate the object through the frame and say each one aloud three times.
Je voudrais un café, [s'il vous plaît].
I would like ___, please.
Substitution drill — about me
Then switch straight to this one without a break. The switching is what builds flexibility.
J'ai un fils.
I have ___ / I am ___.
Daily mini-tasks
Listening this week
Coffee Break French or Alexa — at full speed
Wherever you listened in Week 1
Play it at normal speed for the first time. The point of this exercise is to notice how much more you catch than you did four weeks ago.
The gear icon in the player sets the speed — 0.75× is the one to start with. Nothing from YouTube loads until you press play.
Milestone
By the end of this week you should be able to:
- 01Greet, thank, apologise, and count to twenty.
- 02Introduce yourself — name, age, town, family, retirement — in four or five sentences.
- 03Name thirty-plus everyday home and food objects, with their gender.
- 04Order a drink or a meal politely with Je voudrais, and ask for the bill.
What stuck?
Check it before you close the page.
Up to 10 of this week's words and frames. Say each one out loud before you look, and say whether you think you have it. Guessing first and then checking is what makes it stick — reading the answer feels better and does less.