📖LearnModule 13 · Lesson 5 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, first halfUnit 1 · La mise en relief
Insister sans appuyer
Module 13 of the free French course (CEFR C2, first half), lesson 5 of 30: Four small words carry emphasis without any construction at all. 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 5.
The words
French
English
Say it
même lui a compris
even he understood
mehm lwee ah koh(n)-PREE
c'est justement le problème
that is precisely the problem
seh zhews-tuh-mah(n) luh proh-BLEHM
je l'avais bien dit
I did tell you so
zhuh lah-veh bya(n) DEE
mais si
yes I am (contradicting)
meh SEE
contredire un négatif
to contradict a negative
koh(n)-truh-deer uh(n) nay-gah-TEEF
appuyer
to press (a point)
ah-pwee-YAY
subtil
subtle
sewb-TEEL
discrètement
unobtrusively
dees-kreht-MAH(n)
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 small words carry emphasis without any construction at all. Même: même lui a compris. Justement: c'est justement le problème. Bien: je l'avais bien dit. Si: mais si, je viens!
Et aussi · And also
Bien and si are the subtle ones. Je l'avais bien dit means I told you so, and the bien is doing all of it; si contradicts a negative, which no single English word does.
Attention · Watch out
mais si contradicts a negative — the one thing no single English word does. je l'avais bien dit means I told you so, and the bien is doing all of it.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with même lui a compris.
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 5 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.