Vowels

French vowelsIn English, we say that the vowels are "a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y." The last couple of words hint at one of the keys to understanding pronunciation: a vowel is not so much a letter as the sound represented by a letter or combination of letters.

   

   

   

Daily Practice Ideas

Daily French practice ideasPractice is the key to improving your French, and just 15 minutes a day on some kind of French activity can make a huge difference. Check out these ideas and draw up your own schedule.

   

Speaking Tips

French speaking tipsOf the four language skills, many people find that speaking is the most difficult. Here are tips and resources to help you overcome these obstacles in order to practice French as much as you like.

Jouer

Jouer - to playJouer is a regular -er French verb that can be a bit confusing when it comes time to decide which preposition should follow. Here's everything you need to know.

   

   

Lessons by Level

French lessons by levelThe French lessons and comprehension exercises on this site are ranked according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which describes six levels of language proficiency.

Terroir

Terroir en France
Listen and learn about the notion of "terroir" as it relates to food and drink produced in France.

   

Liaisons

French liaisonsWhen a word ending in a normally silent consonant is followed by a vowel or h muet, that consonant might be transferred onto the next word. This is called a liaison and it's one of the aspects of French pronunciation that can make it difficult to determine where one word ends and the next begins.

   

Aller à fond

Aller - French verbAller is one of the most common and important French verbs. It generally means "to go," is key to the near future construction, and is also found in many expressions. This issue of Lawless French à fond takes an in-depth look at going everywhere with aller.

   

   

French Open à fond

The French Open is one of the most important tennis events of the year. Not only is it one of the four tournois du Grand Chelem (Grand Slam tournaments), Roland-Garros is the only tournament played on clay courts. But first things first: What is this tournament actually called?