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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

FrenchEnglishSay it
raconterto tell (a story)rah-koh(n)-TAY
il faisait froidit was coldeel fuh-zeh FRWAH
nous étions à la maisonwe were at homenoo zay-tyoh(n) ah lah meh-ZOH(n)
ma sœur a fait un gâteaumy sister made a cakemah suhr ah feh uh(n) gah-TOH
du mondeof the world (after a superlative)dew MOH(n)D
le meilleur gâteau du mondethe best cake in the worldluh 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

  1. Say all 6 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with raconter.
  2. Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
  3. 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.

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