All the French 4 lessons on one page, chapter by chapter: each lesson explains the grammar and vocabulary in English, with examples in French. Back to the French 4 overview.
French 4 lessons by chapter
French 4 Lessons
Clear grammar and vocabulary lessons in English, every French example translated.
Would have, could have, should have in French
The French past conditional (conditionnel passé) names an action that would have happened but did not. Build it with the conditional of avoir or être plus…
Will have done: future perfect made clear
The French future perfect (futur antérieur) names an action that will be completed before another future moment. Form it with the future of avoir or être…
Past subjunctive: feelings about earlier events
The French past subjunctive (subjonctif passé) is used when a subjunctive trigger refers to an action that is already finished. Form it with the subjunctive of…
Mood choice after common conjunctions
French conjunctions fall into two camps. Those expressing purpose, concession, a limit, or something not yet real (bien que, pour que, avant que, à moins que,…
Lequel, auquel, duquel after prepositions
Compound relative pronouns (lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles) follow a preposition and agree with the noun they replace: le stylo avec lequel j'écris. With à they contract…
Retelling what was said in the past
When the introducing verb is in the past (il a dit que, elle a demandé si), French shifts the tenses back: présent becomes imparfait, passé composé…
Reading stories told in the passé simple
The passé simple is a literary past tense that narrates finished actions in novels, fairy tales and history books. French speakers almost never use it in…
Having things done with faire and laisser
Causative faire means having something done or making someone do something: faire + infinitive. The subject does not perform the action; it causes it. Pronouns go…
Linking ideas to build your argument
Argument connectors link ideas so a French text reads as logic, not as a list. Use cependant, pourtant and en revanche to contrast, d'ailleurs to add…
Writing polite formal letters and emails
A formal French letter follows a fixed order: sender, recipient, place and date, subject line, greeting, body, closing formula and signature. Address the reader with vous,…
Building a clear French essay
A French essay has three blocks: an introduction, a body of two or three paragraphs and a conclusion. The introduction moves from a hook (l'accroche) to…
Describing paintings and analyzing poems
To describe a painting in French, name the work, then place elements with au premier plan, à l'arrière-plan, à gauche and à droite, and add colors…
Everyday French idioms and what they really mean
French idioms are fixed expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the separate words. Avoir le cafard means to feel down, poser un lapin means to…
Formal, casual and slang: choosing your register
French has three main registers: soutenu (formal, for letters and ceremonies), courant (standard, for school, shops and daily life) and familier (casual, for friends and family).…
Négritude: three poets and the words of identity
Négritude was a literary and cultural movement started in Paris in the 1930s by Black francophone students, mainly Aimé Césaire from Martinique, Léopold Sédar Senghor from…
Reviewing films and nuanced opinions
A French film review (une critique) names the film, summarizes the plot without spoiling the ending, then weighs strengths against weaknesses with connectors like certes… mais,…
Debating society's big questions politely
To debate a social issue in French, state your position with je pense que + indicative or je ne pense pas que + subjunctive, back it…
Winning an audience with words
A persuasive French presentation opens with a hook, often a rhetorical question, announces its plan, develops arguments with d'abord, ensuite, enfin, and ends with a call…
Putting two cultures side by side
To compare cultures in French, use a comparative (plus… que, moins… que, aussi… que, autant de… que), a contrast connector (alors que, tandis que, contrairement à,…
Reading between the lines in French
To analyze a French text, skim the title, find the main idea (l'idée principale), name the tone (le ton) and the author's purpose (informer, raconter, décrire,…