Module 3 of the free French course (CEFR A2, first half), lesson 20 of 30: "To the" fuses with the article: à + le becomes au (au parc). On this page: 7 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 20.
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| au | to the (m) | oh |
| à la | to the (f) | ah LAH |
| à l' | to the (before a vowel) | ahl |
| je vais au marché | I am going to the market | zhuh veh oh mahr-SHAY |
| tu vas à la piscine? | are you going to the pool? | tew vah ah lah pee-SEEN |
| on va à l'école | we are going to school | oh(n) vah ah lay-KOHL |
| rester | to stay | rehs-TAY |
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.
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
"To the" fuses with the article: à + le becomes au (au parc), à + les becomes aux; à la and à l' stay as they are.
Je vais au marché. Tu vas à la piscine? On va à l'école. The pattern rides every trip you will ever describe.
à + le always fuses to au, and à + les to aux — never à le, never à les. à la and à l' stay as they are.
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.
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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