📖LearnModule 4 · Lesson 15 of 30Basic User · CEFR A2, completedUnit 3 · L'imparfait — the way things were
Raconter — telling a small story
Module 4 of the free French course (CEFR A2, completed), lesson 15 of 30: The unit's exit: one small true story in the two pasts. On this page: 6 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 15.
The words
French
English
Say it
raconter
to tell (a story)
rah-koh(n)-TAY
il faisait froid
it was cold
eel fuh-zeh FRWAH
nous étions à la maison
we were at home
noo zay-tyoh(n) ah lah meh-ZOH(n)
ma sœur a fait un gâteau
my sister made a cake
mah suhr ah feh uh(n) gah-TOH
du monde
of the world (after a superlative)
dew MOH(n)D
le meilleur gâteau du monde
the best cake in the world
luh may-yuhr gah-toh dew MOH(n)D
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
The unit's exit: one small true story in the two pasts. C'était dimanche. Il faisait froid. Nous étions à la maison. Ma sœur a fait un gâteau. C'était le meilleur gâteau du monde!
Et aussi · And also
Scene (imparfait), event (passé composé), opinion (c'était + adjective). That is how French stories breathe.
Attention · Watch out
le meilleur gâteau du monde: the superlative takes de, not dans — le meilleur du monde, la meilleure de l'année.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 6 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with raconter.
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 15 in Module 4 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.