The near future, and joining sentences together
Aller plus a verb gets you the future for almost no effort. Connectors then turn a list of sentences into a story.
Colours live this week
10 of 10 in playA thing, a person or a place.
An action or a state — what is happening.
Describes a noun.
Modifies a verb or an adjective.
the / a / some — and possessives like mon, ma.
Stands in for a noun — I, you, he, it.
Links words together — to, in, of, for.
Joins two parts of a sentence.
Opens a question — where, when, how, why.
Learn it whole. Do not take it apart.
Teal conjunctions and gold sequence adverbs do the heavy lifting this week. Adverbs also carry a dotted underline, so you can pick them out at a glance.
The easiest tense in French
To say what you are going to do, take aller in the present and follow it with a verb in its dictionary form. No new endings, no participles. If you can say je vais, you can already talk about the future.
Aller plus an infinitive
| Subject | aller | In a sentence | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Je | vais | Je vais manger. | I'm going to eat. |
| Vous | allez | Vous allez visiter le musée ? | Are you going to visit the museum? |
| Nous | allons | Nous allons réserver une table. | We're going to book a table. |
| Il / Elle | va | Il va appeler. | He's going to call. |
Connectors
Teal joins two ideas inside one sentence.
- etandJ'ai mangé et j'ai bu.I ate and I drank.
- maisbut[C'est] bon mais cher.It's good but expensive.
- parce quebecause…parce que je suis à la retraite.…because I'm retired.
- alorsso / thenAlors, je vais rester.So, I'm going to stay.
- doncso, therefore
Slightly firmer than alors — it draws a conclusion.
Sequence words
Gold puts your events in order. Four of these turn a heap of sentences into a narrative.
- d'abordfirstD'abord, j'ai pris un café.First, I had a coffee.
- puisthenPuis, je suis allé au parc.Then I went to the park.
- aprèsafterwardsAprès, j'ai vu mon fils.Afterwards, I saw my son.
- enfinfinallyEnfin, je suis rentré.Finally, I went home.
Sentence frames
- 1
Je vais infinitive.
I'm going to ___.
- 2
clause, mais / parce que / alors, clause
…, but / because / so, …
Any two clauses you already know, joined.
- 3
D'abord … puis … après … enfin …
First … then … afterwards … finally …
The story spine. Hang anything you like on it.
A five-sentence story
Past, future and connectors together. Read it aloud, then rebuild it with your own day.
D'abord, j'ai pris un café.
Puis, je suis allé au parc.
Après, j'ai vu mon fils.
Enfin, je suis rentré à la maison.
Demain, je vais réserver une table.
Before you read the translation
- 1How many different tenses are at work here?
- 2Which four gold words carry the whole shape of the story?
First I had a coffee. Then I went to the park. Afterwards I saw my son. Finally I went home. Tomorrow I'm going to book a table.
One more time on agreement
The story above is in the masculine speaker form — allé, rentré. If you are female, use allée and rentrée. It is the same bold-and-slanted cue from Week 7, and it applies every time you use être in the past.
Daily mini-tasks
Two card types for this phase
Conjugation, for recall: front "you can (vous) — pouvoir", back vous pouvez. Sentence, for production: front "Where is the station?", back Où est la gare ? The rules do not change — three to five new cards a day, the daily load rule, and the same chair each morning.
Listening this week
InnerFrench or Coffee Break French — a narrative episode
Podcast apps
Find someone recounting a day or a trip, and listen for the d'abord … puis … après … enfin skeleton underneath it.
Milestone
By the end of this week you should be able to:
- 01Conjugate high-frequency verbs in the present for je, vous, il/on and nous — and recognise the tu and ils forms.
- 02Ask for directions, prices and times using the question words.
- 03Recount yesterday in the passé composé, with both avoir and être.
- 04Talk about near-future plans using aller plus an infinitive.
- 05Tell a short connected story using et, mais, parce que, alors, and d'abord / puis / après / enfin.