📖LearnModule 13 · Lesson 25 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, first halfUnit 5 · Les figures de style
La gradation
Module 13 of the free French course (CEFR C2, first half), lesson 25 of 30: French argument likes to climb. 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 25.
The words
French
English
Say it
non seulement... mais encore
not only... but also
noh(n) suhl-mah(n) meh zah(n)-KOR
mais surtout
but above all
meh sewr-TOO
au fond
at bottom
oh FOH(n)
la gradation
the escalation
lah grah-dah-SYOH(n)
faire monter les enchères
to raise the stakes
fehr moh(n)-tay lay zah(n)-SHEHR
le rythme
the rhythm
luh REETM
la chute du paragraphe
the fall at the end
lah shewt dew pah-rah-GRAHF
ne rien changer
to change nothing
nuh rya(n) shah(n)-ZHAY
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
French argument likes to climb. Non seulement... mais encore... mais surtout... Each step raises the stakes, and the last one carries the point.
Et aussi · And also
Its opposite is deflation for effect — et, au fond, cela ne change rien. A C2 writer uses both, and the rhythm of a paragraph is usually one climb and one drop.
Attention · Watch out
non seulement... mais encore... mais surtout climbs; au fond deflates. A paragraph usually holds one climb and one drop — not three climbs.
faire, subjonctif passé — the table
je aie fait · tu aies fait · il/elle ait fait · nous ayons fait · vous ayez fait · ils/elles aient fait
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with non seulement... mais encore.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out faire, subjonctif passé 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.