📖LearnModule 5 · Lesson 12 of 30Basic User · CEFR A2 mastery + the B1 bridgeUnit 3 · The two pasts, mastered
The story frame
Module 5 of the free French course (CEFR A2 mastery + the B1 bridge), lesson 12 of 30: Every A2 story runs on one frame: scene (imparfait), event (passé composé). 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 12.
The words
French
English
Say it
il pleuvait
it was raining
eel pluh-VEH
soudain
suddenly
soo-DA(n)
mon oncle est arrivé
my uncle arrived
moh(n) noh(n)-kl eh tah-ree-VAY
la surprise
the surprise
lah sewr-PREEZ
une super surprise
a great surprise
ewn sew-pehr sewr-PREEZ
d'abord
first
dah-BOR
ensuite
next
ah(n)-SWEET
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
Every A2 story runs on one frame: scene (imparfait), event (passé composé), reaction (c'était + adjective). C'était samedi. Il pleuvait. Nous étions à la maison. Soudain, mon oncle est arrivé avec un chien! C'était une super surprise.
Et aussi · And also
Write your own using the frame — a true small moment from last week.
Attention · Watch out
il pleuvait is the scene; mon oncle est arrivé is the event. Do not write il a plu for the background rain — that would turn the weather into an event.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with il pleuvait.
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 12 in Module 5 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.