📖LearnModule 6 · Lesson 5 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, first halfUnit 1 · Raconter — telling the past
Your story — the full frame
Module 6 of the free French course (CEFR B1, first half), lesson 5 of 30: The whole machine at once: scene in the imparfait, background in the plus-que-parfait. 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 5.
The words
French
English
Say it
il était une fois
once upon a time
eel ay-teh ewn FWAH
se passer
to happen
suh pah-SAY
qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?
what happened?
kess kee seh pah-SAY
le souvenir
the memory
luh soo-vuh-NEER
je me souviens
I remember
zhuh muh soo-VYA(n)
incroyable
unbelievable
a(n)-krwah-YAHBL
drôle
funny
drohl
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 whole machine at once: scene in the imparfait, background in the plus-que-parfait, events in the passé composé, markers to hold the line. Il était une fois... works too.
Et aussi · And also
Tell one true story from last month — six sentences, out loud and then on paper. Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé? (what happened?) is the question every page of this unit answers.
Attention · Watch out
il était une fois (once upon a time) is fixed: it takes the imparfait and never changes. And se passer is what HAPPENS; passer alone is to pass.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 7 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with il était une fois.
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 5 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.