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Grammar Lessons

Prepositions with Islands and Cities

French prepositions with islands and citiesFrench prepositions with islands and cities are easier than with other geographical names because gender plays no role. You just need to think about number (singular vs plural) and whether you're coming or going.

   

Expressions

Tel quel

À vendre tel quel
Learn how to use the French expression tel quel as is as well as in its different forms.

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Grammar Lessons

Connectives

French connectivesConnectives are links: they combine words, phrases, or sentences. Connectives do not constitute a single part of speech, but rather a category of terms including all conjunctions and prepositions as well as certain types of adverbs and pronouns used in this way.

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Vocabulary Lists

Weather

French weather vocabulary
Understanding French weather terms is useful for deciding what to wear, planning what to do, and, of course, making small talk.

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Grammar Lessons

French Essentials for Dummies, 2nd ed.

French Essentials for DummiesMy 9th book covers essential French grammar. There's no pronunciation, very little vocabulary, and no exercises. It's a reference book that you can dip into to get an overview of or a reminder about verb conjugations, adverbial pronouns, or whatever other intermediate-ish grammar you need to learn or brush up on.

Listening Practice

Marcel Marceau

Mime
Learn about the famous mime Marcel Marceau while improving your French listening skills with this upper-intermediate audio article.

   

Vocabulary Lists

Emergencies and Disasters

French emergency vocabulary
While this isn't the most cheerful of French vocabulary lists, it's an important one. Learn how to talk about any kind of personal or public emergency that you'll hopefully never encounter.

   

Pronunciation Guides

Accents à fond

While French uses the same 26-letter alphabet as English, it decorates half a dozen of them with diacritical marks, aka accents. The purpose of these accents varies, but they are always required when writing and typing. Take an in-depth look at accents: what they mean, how to use them, and how to type them on any computer, tablet, or phone.