Module 4 of 10
Your day, in order
The verbs that need a little word in front, and why.
Some French verbs come with a small word attached: je me lève, je me couche, je me douche. The me is doing roughly what English does with myself, and the verb does not work without it — je lève means I lift something, not I get up. The word changes with the person: je me, tu te, il se, nous nous, vous vous, ils se. At A1 you only need a handful of these verbs, and they are nearly all about the start and end of a day, so learn them as a block with the day rather than as a grammar topic.
The other half of describing a day is the joining words. D'abord, ensuite, après, enfin — four words that turn a list of actions into an account of a day, and the difference between the two is most of what a reviewer is reading for. A learner who writes je me lève, je déjeune, je rentre has produced a correct list. A learner who writes d'abord je me lève, ensuite je vais à la fac, et après je rentre has produced French.
Played by your device’s own French voice. It is a synthetic voice, not a recording of a teacher — close enough to learn the shape of a word, not close enough to copy exactly.
- Je me lève à sept heuresI get up at seven
- Je me doucheI have a shower
- Je prends le petit-déjeunerI have breakfast
- Je vais à la facI go to uni — fac is what students say
- Je déjeune à midiI have lunch at noon
- Je rentre à six heuresI get home at six
- Je me couche tardI go to bed late
- D'abord, ensuite, après, enfinFirst, then, after that, finally — the words that order a day
The me is part of the verb, not decoration. D'abord, ensuite, après, enfin are what turn a list into an account.