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CEFR A1 · 49 lessons · 6 units

A1 Beginner

Greet people, introduce yourself, and handle simple everyday situations.

Unit 1

Getting started

  1. 1GreetingsCommunicationSay hello, goodbye, please, and thank you.
  2. 2The alphabet and accentsVocabularyName the letters, read French accents, and spell words aloud.
  3. 3Introducing yourselfCommunicationSay your name, ask someone else's, and introduce a friend.
  4. 4Subject pronounsGrammarLearn the French words for I, you, he, she, we and they, and when to use tu or vous.
  5. 5The verb êtreGrammarUse 'to be' to say who you are, where you are, and how you are.
  6. 6Numbers 0–20VocabularyCount from zero to twenty, read out a phone number, and say your age.
  7. 7Countries and nationalitiesVocabularySay what nationality you are, name common countries, and say which city you live in.
  8. 8Politeness and la biseCultureGreet shopkeepers the French way, use monsieur and madame, handle la bise, and know when to switch from vous to tu.
  9. 9Review: Getting startedReviewBring the whole first unit together by writing a short introduction of yourself.

Unit 2

People and things

  1. 10Gender and le, la, lesGrammarMeet the definite articles and learn why every noun has a gender.
  2. 11un, une, desGrammarSay 'a' and 'some' in French, and name things with c'est un and ce sont des.
  3. 12Plural nounsGrammarMake nouns plural with -s, -x and -aux, and learn why you usually can't hear the difference.
  4. 13FamilyVocabularyName the people in your family and say whose relative someone is.
  5. 14The verb avoirGrammarSay what you have, how old you are, and what there is, with avoir and il y a.
  6. 15mon, ma, mesGrammarSay my, your, his, her, our and their, and learn why the owner doesn't decide the form.
  7. 16Describing peopleVocabularyDescribe someone's height, hair, eyes and personality with être and avoir.
  8. 17Adjective agreement and positionGrammarMatch adjectives to their nouns, and learn which ones go before the noun.
  9. 18Review: People and thingsReviewBring the unit together by writing a short paragraph about your family.

Unit 3

Everyday life

  1. 19Regular -er verbsGrammarConjugate the biggest group of French verbs, and learn which endings are silent.
  2. 20Likes and dislikesCommunicationSay what you love, like and hate, using the right article or an infinitive.
  3. 21Negation with ne…pasGrammarSay what isn't so with ne…pas, and learn when un, une and des change to de.
  4. 22Regular -ir and -re verbsGrammarLearn the two smaller regular verb families and how they compare with -er verbs.
  5. 23Numbers 21–100VocabularyCount to a hundred, including the French way of saying 70, 80 and 90.
  6. 24Days, months and datesVocabularyName the days and months, give the date, and talk about birthdays.
  7. 25Telling the timeCommunicationAsk and tell the time, on the clock and in 24-hour style.
  8. 26Daily routine and reflexive verbsGrammarDescribe your day with verbs like se lever and se coucher, and use reflexive pronouns.
  9. 27Review: Everyday lifeReviewBring the unit together by writing about your typical day and week.

Unit 4

Free time

  1. 28Faire and allerGrammarLearn two key irregular verbs: faire (to do, to make) and aller (to go).
  2. 29à and de with articlesGrammarCombine à and de with le and les: au, aux, du, des.
  3. 30Hobbies and sportsVocabularyTalk about sports, instruments and free-time activities with jouer and faire.
  4. 31Yes/no questionsGrammarAsk yes/no questions three ways, and learn when to answer si instead of oui.
  5. 32Question wordsGrammarAsk where, when, how, why, how many, who and what.
  6. 33Weather and seasonsVocabularyTalk about the weather and name the four seasons.
  7. 34Review: Free timeReviewBring the unit together with an interview about free time, in questions and answers.

Unit 5

Food and shopping

  1. 35Food and drinkVocabularyName meals, everyday foods, drinks, fruit and vegetables.
  2. 36du, de la, desGrammarSay 'some' in French, and choose between le pain and du pain.
  3. 37Ordering at a caféCommunicationOrder food and drink politely, and ask for the bill.
  4. 38French meals and mealtimesCultureWhen the French eat, the order of a meal, the place of bread, and the apéro.
  5. 39Clothes, colours and pricesCommunicationName clothes and colours, give your size, and ask how much something costs.
  6. 40ce, cet, cette, cesGrammarSay this, that, these and those, and point things out with -ci and -là.
  7. 41Review: Food and shoppingReviewBring the unit together by writing a café dialogue and a shopping dialogue.

Unit 6

Getting around

  1. 42Places in townVocabularyName shops, buildings and transport stops, and say what there is in your town.
  2. 43Prepositions of placeGrammarSay where things are: on, under, in front of, behind, next to, near and far.
  3. 44Asking for directionsCommunicationAsk how to get somewhere, and understand the answer.
  4. 45The imperativeGrammarGive commands, instructions and suggestions with tu, nous and vous forms.
  5. 46The near future (aller + infinitive)GrammarTalk about what you're going to do, with aller and an infinitive.
  6. 47pouvoir, vouloir, devoirGrammarSay what you can, want to and have to do, and ask for permission.
  7. 48Writing a short messageCommunicationWrite a text message, a postcard, and a simple plan with a friend.
  8. 49A1 final reviewReviewLook back over the whole of A1 and check what you can now do in French.