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CEFR A2 · 56 lessons · 8 units

A2 Elementary

Talk about the past, your plans, and routine tasks in familiar settings.

Unit 1

Talking about the past

  1. 1Common irregular verbsGrammarLearn the present of eleven everyday irregular verbs, grouped by pattern.
  2. 2Passé composé with avoirGrammarTalk about what you did, using avoir and a past participle.
  3. 3Irregular past participlesGrammarLearn the irregular past participles of the most common French verbs.
  4. 4Passé composé with êtreGrammarUse être in the past with verbs of movement and change, and make the participle agree.
  5. 5Numbers over 100, ordinals and yearsVocabularyCount past a hundred, say years and dates of birth, and use first, second and third.
  6. 6Time expressions for the pastVocabularySay when something happened, and use déjà and pas encore with the passé composé.
  7. 7ne…jamais, rien, personne, plusGrammarSay never, nothing, nobody and no longer, in the present and the passé composé.
  8. 8Talking about your weekendCommunicationTell someone what you did at the weekend, and ask about theirs.
  9. 9Review: Talking about the pastReviewBring the unit together by writing about last weekend and your last holiday.

Unit 2

Health and the body

  1. 10The body and healthVocabularyName parts of the body, say what hurts, and talk about common illnesses.
  2. 11At the doctor and pharmacyCommunicationMake an appointment, describe your symptoms and understand instructions.
  3. 12Reflexive verbs in the passé composéGrammarSay what you did with reflexive verbs, with être and the right agreement.
  4. 13Il faut and giving simple adviceGrammarSay what's necessary with il faut and devoir, and tell people what they mustn't do.
  5. 14AdverbsGrammarMake adverbs from adjectives, and use words like bien, souvent, très and trop.
  6. 15Review: Health and the bodyReviewBring the unit together by explaining an injury and getting advice.

Unit 3

Memories and childhood

  1. 16The imparfaitGrammarForm the imparfait and use it for habits and descriptions in the past.
  2. 17Childhood memoriesCommunicationTalk about when you were little, and ask other people about their childhood.
  3. 18Passé composé or imparfait?GrammarChoose the right past tense: background and habits, or single events.
  4. 19Telling a simple storyCommunicationTell a short story from beginning to end, with connectors and both past tenses.
  5. 20The French school systemCultureHow French schooling is organized, from nursery school to the bac.
  6. 21Review: Memories and childhoodReviewBring the unit together by writing a childhood story that mixes both past tenses.

Unit 4

Work and studies

  1. 22Jobs and the workplaceVocabularyName jobs for men and women, say where you work, and ask about someone's job.
  2. 23C'est or il est?GrammarChoose between c'est and il est or elle est, by looking at what comes next.
  3. 24Savoir and connaîtreGrammarTwo French verbs mean 'to know'. Learn which one to use.
  4. 25depuis, pendant, il y aGrammarSay how long something has lasted, how long it lasted, and how long ago it happened.
  5. 26Recent past and actions in progressGrammarSay what you've just done, and what you're in the middle of doing.
  6. 27Phone calls and messagesCommunicationAnswer the phone, ask for someone, leave a message, and spell names and numbers.
  7. 28Review: Work and studiesReviewBring the unit together by describing your job or studies and your history with them.

Unit 5

Pronouns in action

  1. 29Stressed pronounsGrammarUse moi, toi, lui, eux and the others after prepositions, on their own and for emphasis.
  2. 30Direct object pronounsGrammarReplace a noun with le, la, l', les, me, te, nous or vous, and put it in the right place.
  3. 31Indirect object pronounsGrammarReplace à + a person with lui, leur, me, te, nous or vous.
  4. 32The pronoun yGrammarUse y to replace à + a place or a thing, and say J'y vais.
  5. 33Expressions of quantityVocabularySay how much or how many, using beaucoup de, un kilo de and similar expressions.
  6. 34The pronoun enGrammarUse en to replace partitives, numbers and quantities, and with verbs that take de.
  7. 35Pronouns in the passé composéGrammarPut pronouns in the right place in the past, and make the participle agree.
  8. 36Review: Pronouns in actionReviewBring the unit together by rewriting short texts with pronouns in place of nouns.

Unit 6

Travel and plans

  1. 37Travel and transportVocabularyTalk about trains, planes and tickets, and say how you're travelling.
  2. 38Prepositions: countries, cities and moreGrammarSay where you are, where you're going and where you come from, and use dans, chez, avec, sans and pour.
  3. 39The futur simpleGrammarForm the futur simple, and see how it compares with the near future.
  4. 40Booking a hotelCommunicationBook a room, ask about the hotel, and deal with problems at check-in.
  5. 41Invitations: accepting and decliningCommunicationInvite someone, accept with pleasure, and turn an invitation down politely.
  6. 42The francophone worldCultureWhere French is spoken around the world, and how it varies from place to place.
  7. 43Review: Travel and plansReviewBring the unit together by planning a trip in writing.

Unit 7

Comparing and describing

  1. 44ComparativesGrammarCompare people, things and actions with plus, moins, aussi, autant, meilleur and mieux.
  2. 45SuperlativesGrammarSay the biggest, the most interesting and the best, and get the word order right.
  3. 46Home and household choresVocabularyName rooms and furniture, and talk about jobs around the house.
  4. 47Relative pronouns qui, que, oùGrammarJoin two sentences with qui, que and où, and make the participle agree after que.
  5. 48Describing where you liveCommunicationDescribe your home, your neighbourhood and your town, and compare places you've lived.
  6. 49Review: Comparing and describingReviewBring the unit together by comparing two cities or two homes in a paragraph.

Unit 8

Everyday interactions

  1. 50Emotions and feelingsVocabularySay how you and other people feel, and ask someone what's wrong.
  2. 51The imperative with pronounsGrammarGive commands with pronouns: Regarde-le, Vas-y, Ne le fais pas, Lève-toi.
  3. 52Verbs + à / de + infinitiveGrammarLearn which verbs take à, which take de and which go straight to an infinitive.
  4. 53Polite requestsCommunicationAsk for things and for help politely, and choose the right level of politeness.
  5. 54Writing an informal emailCommunicationWrite a friendly email with news, plans and a question for the other person.
  6. 55Holidays and festivalsCultureFind out how the French celebrate through the year, and what to say on each occasion.
  7. 56A2 final reviewReviewLook back over the whole of A2 and check what you can now do in French.