Kilo Lingo

French · Chapter 1

Introduction to French

2 grammar primers, 1 story milestone.

  1. Lesson 1 · Introduction

    Introduction to French

    Read this first. The orientation: how French works, what it costs in hours, what the apps get wrong, and how to use this curriculum.

  2. Lesson 2 · Vocabulary

    First words for sentences

    A pronoun, a few verbs, the things they act on. Enough to build a real French sentence by the end.

    2jeIpronoun
    9tuyou (informal singular)pronoun
    14êtreto beverb
    16faireto do, to makeverb
    44toutall, every, quite, everythingdeterminer
    66icihereadverb
    89chosethingnoun
    90bongood, right, okay (adjective and interjection)adjective
    94trèsveryadverb
    100voirto seeverb

  3. Lesson 3 · Grammar primer

    Word order in French

    Subject, verb, object - and the moments French bends the English order.

  4. Lesson 4 · Vocabulary

    More people, more words

    Subject pronouns for everyone else, plus the rest of the vocabulary you need for your first story.

    14ilhe, it (masculine)pronoun
    15avoirto haveverb
    19direto say, to tellverb
    33nouswe, uspronoun
    34elleshe, her, it (feminine)pronoun
    62commelike, as, such as, howconjunction
    97aussialso, too, as well, as (comparison)adverb

  5. Lesson 5 · Read a story

    Your first story in French

    Every word in this story comes from the lessons you've just finished. No lookups required.

  6. Lesson 6 · Vocabulary

    French articles

    The definite, indefinite, and partitive articles in one place: le / la / un / des / du / de. The next lesson covers when to use which, including the partitive that English doesn't have.

    1lethe (masculine singular)definite-article
    4una, an (masculine)indefinite-article
    6dusome, any (masculine); of thepartitive-article
    7lathe (feminine singular)definite-article
    8deof, frompreposition
    29dessome, of the (plural indefinite and partitive article; also contraction of de + les)indefinite-article

  7. Lesson 7 · Grammar primer

    French articles: when to use which

    Definite vs indefinite vs partitive - including du / de la / des, the article English speakers consistently drop and shouldn't. Plus the elision rules (l'eau, d'un) that make the difference between French that sounds native and French that sounds wrong.