Two levers finish the unit: est-ce que turns any statement into a yes/no question (Est-ce que tu as un chat ?), and ce n’est pas denies things (Ce n’est pas un chien). You also get the melody shortcut — a rising voice makes a question with no extra words at all.
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Est-ce que… ? | turns a statement into a question | ess kuh |
| Est-ce que tu as un chat ? | Do you have a cat? | ess kuh tew ah uh(n) SHAH |
| Oui, j’ai un chat. | Yes, I have a cat. | wee, zhay uh(n) SHAH |
| Ce n’est pas…the full ne…pas system is drilled in Module 2 | It is not… | suh neh PAH |
| Ce n’est pas un chien. | It is not a dog. | suh neh pah zuh(n) SHYA(n) |
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.
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
Melody: Tu as un chat ? (voice up). Est-ce que: Est-ce que tu as un chat ? Both are correct everyday French; the est-ce que version is the one you can always reach for in writing.
Ask a question, answer it, deny something false, and describe a person and an animal with agreement — Unit Check 4 in the workbook. On paper: three questions, three answers, one ce n’est pas.
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.
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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