📖LearnModule 7 · Lesson 29 of 30Independent User · CEFR B1, completedUnit 6 · Lire et écrire au niveau B1
Raconter un problème
Module 7 of the free French course (CEFR B1, completed), lesson 29 of 30: The complaint is the most useful letter in any language. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 29.
The words
French
English
Say it
la réclamation
the complaint
lah ray-klah-mah-SYOH(n)
le lave-linge
the washing machine
luh lahv-LA(n)ZH
fonctionner
to work properly
foh(n)k-syoh-NAY
le remboursement
the refund
luh rah(n)-boors-MAH(n)
je souhaiterais
I would like (formal)
zhuh sweh-tuh-REH
la garantie
the warranty
lah gah-rah(n)-TEE
le service client
customer service
luh sehr-vees klee-AH(n)
la facture
the invoice
lah fahk-TEWR
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 complaint is the most useful letter in any language, and French has a firm, polite register for it. State the facts in the passé composé, the circumstances in the imparfait, and the request in the conditional.
Et aussi · And also
J'ai acheté un lave-linge le 3 mars. Il ne fonctionne plus depuis une semaine. Je souhaiterais un remboursement. Facts, problem, request — no anger required, and none helps.
Attention · Watch out
je souhaiterais is the formal I would like, one register up from je voudrais. fonctionner is to work for a machine; travailler is to work for a person.
devoir — the table
je dois · tu dois · il/elle doit · nous devons · vous devez · ils/elles doivent
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with la réclamation.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write out devoir in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
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.