Free French guides

Plain-English answers to the questions you actually ask.

How do you reply to merci? Why is it mon amie and not ma amie? Is French even hard? Every guide answers one real question properly — with pronunciation you can read aloud, no jargon, and no fluff before the answer.

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Everyday phrases

French words explained

You met the word somewhere — a film, a song, a sign, a message. Here is what it actually means, how to say it, and what French speakers do with it.

Core vocabulary

Verb tables

Every form of the verbs you will use most, with audio on each one. The tables are generated from the same rules engine the Club runs on, so they cannot drift.

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French verb conjugation

Three regular families, four irregulars that matter, and the order to learn the tenses in.

How verbs work →
Verb tables

Être conjugation

To be — the most irregular verb in French, and the agreement rule that follows it.

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Verb tables

Avoir conjugation

To have — plus why “I am hungry” and “I am 30” both use it.

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Verb tables

Aller conjugation

To go — and how French says what is about to happen.

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Verb tables

Faire conjugation

To do and to make — plus the weather, the sport and the housework.

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Verb tables

Venir conjugation

To come — and venir de, the two words that say something has just happened.

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Verb tables

Pouvoir conjugation

Can, may, to be able to — and the one French verb you cannot give an order with.

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Verb tables

Vouloir conjugation

To want — and why je voudrais is the form to use in a café.

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Verb tables

Devoir conjugation

Must, ought to and to owe — one verb doing three jobs, plus the circumflex on dû.

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Verb tables

Savoir conjugation

To know a fact and to know how — and where connaître takes over.

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Verb tables

Prendre conjugation

To take — including your coffee and your train, and the d that disappears.

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Verb tables

Comprendre conjugation

To understand — and the phrases to have ready when you don’t.

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Verb tables

Mettre conjugation

To put — clothes on, time taken, and getting started.

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Verb tables

Partir conjugation

To leave — and which of the four French verbs for it you actually want.

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Verb tables

Sortir conjugation

To go out — and the rule that switches its past between être and avoir.

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Verb tables

Dormir conjugation

To sleep — but not to fall asleep or to go to bed, which are different verbs.

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Verb tables

Voir conjugation

To see — the verr- future, and why watching a film is a different verb.

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Verb tables

Dire conjugation

To say and to tell — plus vous dites, one of only three verbs that break the rule.

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Verb tables

Lire conjugation

To read — and the s that turns up only in the plural.

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Verb tables

Écrire conjugation

To write — the v from nowhere, and how to write to someone.

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Verb tables

Boire conjugation

To drink — three stems in six forms, and how French actually orders a drink.

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Verb tables

Ouvrir conjugation

To open — an -ir verb that takes -er endings, and the participle ouvert.

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Verb tables

Parler conjugation

To speak — the model -er verb, and the four endings you never pronounce.

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Verb tables

Finir conjugation

To finish — the model -ir verb, and the -iss- that marks its family.

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Verb tables

Vendre conjugation

To sell — the model -re verb, and the one form that takes no ending at all.

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Verb tables

Acheter conjugation

To buy — and the accent that appears exactly where you can hear the vowel.

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Verb tables

Appeler conjugation

To call — the doubled L, and je m’appelle, which is how French says your name.

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Verb tables

Manger conjugation

To eat — and the silent e that stops the g going hard.

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Verb tables

Commencer conjugation

To start — the cedilla under the c, and what it is doing there.

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Verb tables

Envoyer conjugation

To send — a regular verb with one completely irregular tense.

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Verb tables

Essayer conjugation

To try — one of the few French verbs where two spellings are both correct.

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Verb tables

Payer conjugation

To pay — and the “for” that French simply does not say.

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Verb tables

Aimer conjugation

To love — plus the small word that downgrades it to “I like you”.

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Verb tables

Jouer conjugation

To play — à for a sport, de for an instrument.

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Verb tables

Donner conjugation

To give — and why the person you give to is never le.

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Verb tables

Regarder conjugation

To watch — and the “at” that is already inside the verb.

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Verb tables

Penser conjugation

To think — penser à and penser de are not the same thought.

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Verb tables

Travailler conjugation

To work — and the double L that is really a y sound.

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Verb tables

Arriver conjugation

To arrive — takes être, and also means “to manage to”.

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Verb tables

Rester conjugation

To stay — one of French’s most reliable false friends.

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Verb tables

Monter conjugation

To go up — and the object that switches which helper it takes.

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Verb tables

Attendre conjugation

To wait — with no word for “for”, and s’attendre à for expecting.

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Verb tables

Entendre conjugation

To hear — and s’entendre bien, which is about getting on.

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Verb tables

Répondre conjugation

To answer — French answers to things, which changes the pronoun.

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Verb tables

Perdre conjugation

To lose — and se perdre, for when it is you that is lost.

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Verb tables

Descendre conjugation

To go down — the helper switch, and how to get off a train.

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Verb tables

Choisir conjugation

To choose — entre two things, parmi more than two.

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Verb tables

Réussir conjugation

To succeed — and why passer un examen does not mean passing it.

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The grammar that actually confuses people

Learning French, honestly

Beyond reading

Guides explain. Stories teach.

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About these guides

Quick answers

What the guides are and how to use them.

Are the guides free?+
Yes — free to read, no account needed. They pair with the free video lessons on YouTube and the Club itself.
Who writes them?+
Cocoon French — the team behind the Cocoon French Club and YouTube channel, which teach total beginners through slow, visual stories.
Do they include pronunciation?+
Yes. Every French word comes with a plain-English pronunciation you can read aloud, stressed syllable in capitals.