All 24 chapters, and the pronunciation point each
one teaches. Read the sound column down the page and it is a system for decoding
written French — which is the part most courses leave to the end.
Part One · DemainA letter arrives about the village Colette grew up in. She decides, and plans — in the tense Book Two promised her on its last page.
- 1
Demain, je partirai
Tomorrow, I'll leave
· sound: the mute e, and the syllable it does or does not add
- 2
Je serai, j'aurai, j'irai
I'll be, I'll have, I'll go
· sound: the r you write twice and say once, and what it does to the e in front of it
- 3
Quand j'arriverai
When I arrive
· sound: the t that appears out of nowhere, and the vowel it has to hear rather than see
- 4
S'il pleut, je prendrai le train
If it rains, I'll take the train
· sound: two words, one syllable — and the one small word that refuses
- 5
Avant de partir, après avoir téléphoné
Before leaving, after phoning
· sound: the z inside après avoir, and the seam avant de has not got
- 6
Révision 1
Demain
· sound: Part One by ear — inside a word, and between two words
Part Two · Si je pouvaisClaire says a woman of sixty-eight does not go that far alone. The argument, the asking, and the regret that settles it.
- 7
Je partirais, si je pouvais
I would leave, if I could
· sound: *je partirai* against *je partirais* — one person of six
- 8
Pourriez-vous m'aider ?
Could you help me?
· sound: *pourriez-vous* — one word, and how many beats it has
- 9
Si j'avais le temps, je partirais
If I had the time, I would leave
· sound: *si j'avais le temps, je partirais* — two halves, and where the voice turns
- 10
À ta place, je prendrais le train
In your place, I'd take the train
· sound: *tu dois*, *tu devras*, *tu devrais* — one beat, and then two
- 11
J'aurais dû partir plus tôt
I should have left sooner
· sound: *j'ai dû*, *j'aurais dû* — the difference is in the middle
- 12
Révision 2
Si je pouvais
· sound: Part Two by ear — five things to listen for, and how far each of them goes
Part Three · Là-basThe journey, and a village she half-remembers — which is the best reason there is to learn how French refers to a thing twice.
- 13
La femme qui a écrit la lettre
The woman who wrote the letter
· sound: *qui*, *qu'il*, *qu'elle* — the one that keeps its own beat
- 14
Le village où je suis née
The village where I was born
· sound: *dont* and *donc* — the whole difference is one consonant
- 15
Ceux qui sont restés
The ones who stayed
· sound: *celui*, *celle*, *ceux* — and the third one lands on a respelling you already own
- 16
J'y vais, j'en ai deux
I'm going there, I've got two
· sound: *j'y* and *j'en* — two sounds you already make, and one letter that wakes up
- 17
Je lui en ai parlé
I talked to him about it
· sound: *il n'y en a pas* — count the beats, not the words
- 18
Révision 3
Là-bas
· sound: Part Three by ear — *celle*, *celles*, and the plural that makes no sound
Part Four · Elle m'a dit queHome, and telling Claire all of it — which needs every tense in three books and the joins to hold them together.
- 19
Elle a dit qu'elle était fatiguée
She said she was tired
· sound: *elle* and *qu'elle* — the subject that arrives twice
- 20
Il a dit qu'il viendrait
He said he would come
· sound: A reported question keeps the statement's tune
- 21
On dit que le village a changé
They say the village has changed
· sound: *on a*, *on est* — the n that appears out of nowhere
- 22
Parce que, grâce à, en arrivant
Because, thanks to, on arriving
· sound: *parce que*, *puisque* — the e on the end that is not there
- 23
Pourtant, à mon avis
And yet, in my opinion
· sound: The tune of an argument — two groups, and only one of them settles
- 24
Révision 4
French on Your Own
· sound: Three books of listening, on one page
Cocoon