📖LearnModule 13 · Lesson 2 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, first halfUnit 1 · La mise en relief
Ce qui... c'est
Module 13 of the free French course (CEFR C2, first half), lesson 2 of 30: To put a whole idea in the spotlight, French frames it. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 2.
The words
French
English
Say it
ce qui me frappe
what strikes me
suh kee muh FRAHP
ce que je retiens
what I take away
suh kuh zhuh ruh-TYA(n)
ce dont il s'agit
what it is about
suh doh(n) teel sah-ZHEE
frapper
to strike (impress)
frah-PAY
retenir
to take away (from something)
ruh-tuh-NEER
le cadre
the frame
luh KAHDR
la virgule
the comma
lah veer-GEWL
essentiel
essential
eh-sah(n)-SYEHL
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
To put a whole idea in the spotlight, French frames it. Ce qui me frappe, c'est le silence. Ce que je retiens, c'est la méthode. Ce dont il s'agit, c'est de confiance.
Et aussi · And also
The comma and the repeated c'est are not optional — they are the frame. Written without them the sentence loses exactly the emphasis it was built to carry.
Attention · Watch out
ce qui me frappe, c'est le silence: the comma and the repeated c'est are the frame, not decoration. ce dont il s'agit takes dont because s'agir takes de.
retenir — the table
je retiens · tu retiens · il/elle retient · nous retenons · vous retenez · ils/elles retiennent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with ce qui me frappe.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out retenir in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
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.