By the end of this lesson you'll be able to plan a trip in French: how you'll get there, where you'll stay, and who you'll invite along.
What you've learned
This unit has been about travel and plans. Skim this list, and go back to anything that feels shaky.
- Get around. You know the words and en or à, from the lesson on travel and transport.
- Name places. You can use à, en, au, aux and the words for "from", from the lesson on prepositions.
- Talk about the future. You know the futur simple and its four irregular stems, from the lesson on the futur simple.
- Book a room. You can reserve and complain, from the lesson on booking a hotel.
- Invite people. You can accept and decline, from the lesson on invitations.
- Know the French-speaking world. You can name places, from the lesson on the francophone world.
A few new words
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| à l'étranger | ah lay-trahn-ZHAY | abroad |
| le séjour | luh say-ZHOOR | the stay |
| le voyage | luh vwah-YAHZH | the trip, the journey |
| un itinéraire | uh-nee-tee-nay-REHR | a route |
A model plan
Here's Inès, planning a trip and writing to a friend.
J'adore voyager à l'étranger.
I love travelling abroad.
L'été prochain, je ferai un voyage au Québec.
Next summer, I'll take a trip to Québec.
Je prendrai l'avion et je serai à Montréal en juillet.
I'll take the plane and I'll be in Montréal in July.
Voici mon itinéraire : Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Québec.
Here's my route: Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Québec.
Je voudrais réserver une chambre du 3 au 10 juillet.
I'd like to book a room from 3 to 10 July.
Mon séjour sera très court, mais il y aura beaucoup de choses à voir.
My stay will be very short, but there will be a lot of things to see.
Tu es libre en juillet ? Tu veux venir avec moi ?
Are you free in July? Do you want to come with me?
And a reply:
Avec plaisir ! Je viens du Canada, et je connais bien le Québec.
With pleasure! I come from Canada, and I know Québec well.
Putting the plan in order
A travel plan is easiest to follow if it goes step by step: where, how, when, where you'll stay, and who's coming. Notice how the model does that. It names the place first, with the right preposition. Then it gives the transport and the date, followed by the booking. Only at the end does it turn to the friend, with a simple invitation in the present. The futur simple carries the plan, and the present handles the invitation.
Your turn
Write a short plan on paper or in a notes app. It can be real or invented. Aim for eight sentences or so, and include:
- where you'll go, with the right preposition for a country and a city
- how you'll get there, with en or à
- two verbs in the futur simple, including one with an irregular stem
- how long you'll stay, and a booking request with je voudrais
- an invitation to a friend, with Ça te dit de… or Tu veux venir…
Then write the friend's reply, accepting or politely declining.
Check your work
Go through your plan once for each question below.
- Did you use à for cities, en for feminine countries, au for masculine ones and aux for plural ones?
- Is your transport right: en voiture, but à pied?
- Does each futur simple have the right stem and the sound of an r before the ending?
- Is your refusal polite, with thanks and a reason?
What's next
The next unit is about comparing and describing. It starts with the lesson on comparatives.