📖LearnModule 13 · Lesson 18 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, first halfUnit 4 · La pensée et l'éthique
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Module 13 of the free French course (CEFR C2, first half), lesson 18 of 30: Four adjectives carry most of the judgment in French public argument. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 18.
The words
French
English
Say it
légitime
rightful
lay-zhee-TEEM
arbitraire
arbitrary
ahr-bee-TREHR
équitable
fair
ay-kee-TAHBL
abusif
unfair and unlawful
ah-bew-ZEEF
la clause
the clause (in a contract)
lah KLOHZ
nul
void
newl
la conséquence juridique
the legal consequence
lah koh(n)-say-kah(n)s zhew-ree-DEEK
excessif
excessive
ehk-seh-SEEF
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
Four adjectives carry most of the judgment in French public argument. Légitime (rightful), arbitraire (without reason), équitable (fair in the balanced sense), abusif (excessive, and often illegal).
Et aussi · And also
Abusif is the one to watch: une clause abusive in a contract is not merely unfair, it is void. French moves from moral judgment to legal consequence in a single adjective more often than English does.
Attention · Watch out
abusif is not merely unfair: une clause abusive is void in law. équitable is fair in the balanced sense; légitime is rightful. Each adjective carries a legal weight.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with légitime.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 18 in Module 13 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.