French Foundations

A year with Colette and Filou, in 24 chapters. Every chapter teaches one piece of grammar and one piece of pronunciation, with the sound written out in plain English under every French line — and not one French word appears before the book has taught it.

126 pages · 24 chapters

323 words, taught in order

Exercises with worked answers

Printable PDF, A4 — nothing to install

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Every chapter

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 · BonjourColette introduces herself, her dog, and her town. From nothing to naming things.

1 Bonjour, je m'appelle Colette
Hello, my name is Colette · sound: the French r
2 Filou et moi
Filou and me · sound: the letters you do not say
3 Un chat, une tarte
A cat, a tart · sound: un versus une
4 Le chat de Colette
Colette's cat · sound: ou versus u
5 J'ai un chien
I have a dog · sound: the nasals on and an
6 Révision 1
Naming the world · sound: everything so far, in one place

Part Two · Ma journéeHer day, hour by hour. Verbs arrive, and with them the ability to say what you do.

7 Un café, s'il vous plaît
A coffee, please · sound: é versus è
8 Tu aimes le café ?
Do you like coffee? · sound: liaison, part one
9 Non, pas du tout
No, not at all · sound: the ne that natives drop
10 Quelle heure est-il ?
What time is it? · sound: eu
11 Où est la boulangerie ?
Where is the bakery? · sound: oi
12 Révision 2
A day in the town · sound: the whole system, so far

Part Three · Les gensHer family, her neighbours, the man at the bakery. Describing people, and the last two verb groups.

13 Ma famille
My family · sound: gn
14 Elle est grande et gentille
She is tall and kind · sound: the endings you can hear
15 Je finis, je pars
I finish, I leave · sound: ill
16 Je fais, je vais
I do, I go · sound: ai and ei
17 Je vais chercher Filou
I'm going to fetch Filou · sound: rhythm, and why French has no stress
18 Révision 3
People and plans · sound: everything, and the one that matters most

Part Four · Le monde autourWeather, money, the road out of town. By the end she can be left alone in France, and so can you.

19 Du pain et de la confiture
Bread and jam · sound: the e you do not say
20 Combien ça coûte ?
How much is it? · sound: numbers, and where liaison is forbidden
21 Il fait froid
It's cold · sound: ch and j
22 Je peux, je veux, je dois
I can, I want, I must · sound: open and closed eu
23 Prends la première rue
Take the first street · sound: connected speech
24 Révision 4
You can be left in France · sound: the whole decoding system

Inside the book

Real pages, straight from the PDF. Every exercise carries an instruction and a worked first item, and every answer explains why — which is what separates this from a printout of vocabulary.

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