LearnModule 15 · Lesson 7 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C2 mastery — the capstoneUnit 2 · Le point de vue argumenté

L'antithèse la plus forte

Module 15 of the free French course (CEFR C2 mastery — the capstone), lesson 7 of 30: Write the counter-argument as its best advocate would. 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
l'avocat de la thèse adverse	the advocate for the other side	lah-voh-kah duh lah tehz ahd-VEHRS
facile à démolir	easy to demolish	fah-seel ah day-moh-LEER
défendre	to defend	day-FAH(n)DR
la thèse adverse	the opposing case	lah tehz ahd-VEHRS
améliorer	to improve	ah-may-lyoh-RAY
gâcher	to waste	gah-SHAY
en une ligne	in a single line	ah(n) newn LEENY
la meilleure version	the best version	lah meh-yuhr vehr-SYOH(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

Write the counter-argument as its best advocate would. If your part two is easy to knock down, you have wasted it, and an examiner will say so in one line.

Et aussi · And also

The test: show part two to someone who disagrees with you. If they say "yes, that is what I think", the essay is working. If they improve it, you had the wrong version.

Attention · Watch out

Write the counter-argument as its best advocate would: facile à démolir means you wasted it. l'avocat de la thèse adverse is the advocate for the other side — the same word as lawyer, and as avocado; context settles it.

Do it now — on paper

Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with l'avocat de la thèse adverse.
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 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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