Verbs & tenses · A2 · 5 min read
The passé composé, without the guesswork
Two parts: a helper verb and a past participle. Learn the pattern, then build a sentence of your own.
Nous avons regardé le film.
Also in Verbs & tenses
The journal.
Clear answers to French questions, with examples and a little practice on the page.
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All 2420 pages
Words & expressionsPicture sceneA2
Déchets or ordures? Explore French rubbish vocabulary
Explore a courtyard to learn déchets, ordures and poubelle. Compare household rubbish, food waste and containers, then test four everyday expressions.
Grammar & usageVerb drillA1
French address order: build a delivery label
Put French address details in the right order: name, number, street, building, postcode, town. Rebuild five delivery labels and check your answers.
Grammar & usageArticleB1
Lire aide à comprendre: make an action the subject in French
Use an infinitive as a French subject, find the conjugated main verb and practise singular agreement even when the action has a plural object.
Words & expressionsCheat sheetA2
Haut or élevé: a quick sheet for height, position and levels
Use haut for a high shelf and élevé for a high value. Compare agreeing adjectives with adverbial haut, explore picture cards and practise four choices.
DELF, DALF & examsDialogueA2
DELF A2 speaking: plan a shared dinner in French
Practise a meal-planning dialogue: suggest vegetable pasta, agree on an €18 shopping limit and decide who buys what, with picture cards and role prompts.
Quick practice
Verbs & tensesSpot the mistakeA2
Spot the mistake: avoir or être in the passé composé
Words & expressionsGap-fillA2
Jour or journée: practise “every day” and “all day”
Culture & registerMatching gameB1
French colour idioms: rire jaune, voir rouge, être blanc comme un linge
DELF, DALF & examsGap-fillA1
DELF A1 speaking: describe a visit plan and something you’d like to do
Read and listen
Reading & writingTimelineA1
A French morning with one bathroom for three people
Everyday FrenchText conversationA2
Telling your child's teacher they're ill, in French
Culture & registerReal documentA2
Read a French wedding invitation and reply
DELF, DALF & examsReadingB1
Main point or example? Read a French argument about cycling
Words and rules
Verbs & tensesConjugation tableA2
Savoir conjugation: common tenses, savoir vs connaître and sachant
Everyday FrenchPhrasebookB1
Not sure? Say what you know at a French consultation
Pronunciation & listeningCheat sheetA1
Silent -ent in French verbs: parlent, aiment and prennent
Culture & registerCommon mistakesB1
Je suis crevé or épuisé? Tiredness and other meanings of crever
Puzzle corner · A2
Which phrase names a container?
La poubelle is the bin. Les ordures ménagères and les déchets alimentaires name its possible contents. The whole page
Myth or fact?
Because they understand the figures, they agree on the proposal.
The library in figures
- Articles
- 228
- Verb drills
- 227
- Cheat sheets
- 199
- Dialogues
- 189
- Phrasebooks
- 173
- Gap-fill exercises
- 159
2420 pages, from A1 to C2
Inside the pages
30 kinds of page, each built for one way of learningGraded storyA2
A2 French story: the missing attachment arrives in a second email
TimelineB1
From the franc to the euro: a French money timeline
Practical guideA1
How to check a French noun’s gender when the article hides it
Verb drillA1
French alphabet drill: spell names aloud
Picture sceneA1
French bedroom vocabulary: explore a bedside corner
DialogueB1
French remote work dialogue: propose one day at home each week
Conjugation tableB1
Résoudre conjugation: résous, résolvons and résolu
Myth or factC1
A French study summary: no difference found is not proof of equality
From the picture desk
Pages you learn by looking
Cheat sheetC1
“That is not my position”: correct a French discussion summary
DialogueB2
“Where are you really from?” Responding in French
Common mistakesA2
12 common French grammar mistakes English speakers make
ReadingC1
A C1 French report on inequality: distinguish average and distribution
ArticleC1
À cela près que: "except that", one difference
Practise, look up, read
Search everythingLearn and look up
- B1 French writing: turn an experience into a reflectionPractical guide · B1
- Boulot, pote, fric: nine familiar French words in everyday sentencesVocabulary list · B1
- Sujet or thème: the topic of a discussion and the theme of a storyArticle · B1
- Merci quand même: how to say “thanks anyway” in FrenchPhrasebook · A2
- French infinitive or conjugated verb? Six patterns to fixCommon mistakes · B1
Practise
- A2 French gap-fill story: the green chair comes homeGap-fill · A2
- French infinitives, gérondifs and participles: 10 mixed questionsQuiz · B2
- C2 French editorial task: readers vote, editors set the shortlistExam practice · C2
- French bread vocabulary: loaves, rolls and slices in picturesFlashcards · A1
- A French sentence nested three clauses deep: find each finite verbSentence builder · C1
Play with words
- When exactly? French time words from tout de suite to un de ces joursWord scale · B1
- Commencer à or finir de? Sort verbs by their prepositionSorting game · B1
- Myth or fact: French grammar rules learners believeMyth or fact · B1
- Odd one out: French connectorsOdd one out · B1
- Vers, pile and presque: approximate times in FrenchClock · A2
Read real French
- B1 French reading: building a cardboard bridgeReading · B1
- Track time in a French literary passage: events, background and flashbackGraded story · C1
- A French ethics dossier: evidence cannot choose the value criterionReal document · C2
- How to ask for a turn to speak in a French meetingDialogue · B2
- A2 French story: a work placement changes a study planGraded story · A2
By level
The same six notebooks as the course.
Contents · 8 subjects
All topics- 1Grammar & usageNegation, agreement, sentence patterns
- 2Words & expressionsBon or bien, word distinctions, everyday expressions
- 3Verbs & tensesPassé composé, avoir or être, past participles
- 4Pronunciation & listeningFrench sounds, liaison, listening
- 5Everyday FrenchTravel, conversations, at work
- 6Reading & writingFriendly emails, reading practice, writing clearly
- 7DELF, DALF & examsWriting tasks, DELF, DALF
- 8Culture & registerFormal or informal, regional French