📖LearnModule 14 · Lesson 7 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2, continuedUnit 2 · Les expressions figées
Les animaux
Module 14 of the free French course (CEFR C2, continued), lesson 7 of 30: Animals carry another whole set. 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 7.
The words
French
English
Say it
poser un lapin
to stand someone up
poh-zay uh(n) lah-PA(n)
avoir d'autres chats à fouetter
to have better things to do
ah-vwahr dohtr shah ah fweh-TAY
il n'y a pas un chat
there is not a soul about
eel nyah pah zuh(n) SHAH
le lapin
the rabbit
luh lah-PA(n)
sans rapport
unrelated
sah(n) rah-POR
le sens figuré
the figurative meaning
luh sah(n)s fee-gew-RAY
deux fois
twice
duh FWAH
échouer à deviner
to fail to guess
ay-shoo-ay ah duh-vee-NAY
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
Animals carry another whole set. Poser un lapin (to stand someone up), avoir d'autres chats à fouetter (to have better things to do), il n'y a pas un chat (there is nobody about).
Et aussi · And also
Notice that the cat appears twice with two unrelated meanings. That is normal in fixed expressions, and it is why guessing from the noun fails.
Attention · Watch out
il n'y a pas un chat means nobody is about — it says nothing about cats. And poser un lapin is to stand someone up: there is no rabbit, and it is not a compliment.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with poser un lapin.
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 7 in Module 14 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.