LearnModule 6 · Lesson 19 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, first halfUnit 4 · Sentences that breathe

dont — the one you talk about

Module 6 of the free French course (CEFR B1, first half), lesson 19 of 30: . 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 19.

The words

French	English	Say it
dont	about which, whose	doh(n)
le livre dont je parle	the book I am talking about	luh leevr doh(n) zhuh PAHRL
l'ami dont je t'ai parlé	the friend I told you about	lah-mee doh(n) zhuh tay pahr-LAY
avoir besoin de	to need	ah-vwahr buh-ZWA(n) duh
j'ai besoin de toi	I need you	zhay buh-zwa(n) duh TWAH
le besoin	the need	luh buh-ZWA(n)
rêver de	to dream of	reh-VAY duh

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

Dont replaces de plus a thing: le livre dont je parle (the book I am talking about — parler DE), l'ami dont j'ai besoin (avoir besoin DE).

Et aussi · And also

Dont is a true B1 badge — le film dont tout le monde parle, the film everyone is talking about. If the verb takes de, the pronoun is dont.

Attention · Watch out

dont replaces de plus a thing: parler de gives le livre dont je parle. If the verb takes de, the pronoun is dont — de qui is possible only for a person, and dont is always better.

Do it now — on paper

Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with dont.
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 19 in Module 6 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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