LearnModule 15 · Lesson 20 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2 mastery — the capstoneUnit 4 · La maîtrise du registre

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Module 15 of the free French course (CEFR C2 mastery — the capstone), lesson 20 of 30: Four moments decide how you are read: the first email to someone new. 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 20.

The words

French	English	Say it
mes sincères condoléances	my sincere condolences	may sa(n)-sehr koh(n)-doh-lay-AH(n)S
le refus	the refusal	luh ruh-FEW
adresser	to convey	ah-dreh-SAY
l'improvisationfeminine — the article elides to l'	improvisation	la(n)-proh-vee-zah-SYOH(n)
le premier courriel	the first email	luh pruh-myay koo-RYEHL
sans variation	with no variation	sah(n) vah-ryah-SYOH(n)
rien sur soi	nothing about yourself	rya(n) sewr SWAH
le moment décisif	the decisive moment	luh moh-mah(n) day-see-ZEEF

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 moments decide how you are read: the first email to someone new, a complaint, a refusal, and condolences. Each has a fixed French shape and none forgives improvisation.

Et aussi · And also

Learn one sentence for each and keep it. For condolences: je vous adresse mes sincères condoléances — no more, no variation, and nothing about yourself.

Attention · Watch out

For condolences the sentence is fixed: je vous adresse mes sincères condoléances — nothing more, nothing about yourself. adresser here is to convey; le refus is the refusal; le premier courriel is the first email.

Do it now — on paper

Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with mes sincères condoléances.
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 20 in Module 15 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.

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