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B1
Le dîner qui s'éternise
Intermediate
You manage on your own: telling stories, explaining, giving your opinion, handling the unexpected. You follow a group conversation and hold your own on topics that matter to you.
What the European framework says
- You understand the main points of a clear exchange on familiar topics: work, studies, leisure.
- You can handle most situations you meet when travelling.
- You can tell about an event, an experience or a plan, and briefly explain your reasons and opinions.
Source: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), Council of Europe
Possible lessons
30 lessonsWe don't work through a textbook page by page: together we choose the lessons that are useful to you, in the order that suits you. Open a lesson to see what we work on.
Telling stories, expressing feelings, arguing
Telling a memorable memoryYou can tell a memory and say what had happened before.
- Grammar
- the plus-que-parfait; passé composé, imparfait or plus-que-parfait
- Vocabulary
- memories, trips, encounters
- Activity
- telling « le jour où… »; rebuilding the timeline of a story
Telling a story preciselyYou can link the stages of a story in time.
- Grammar
- la veille, le lendemain, ce jour-là, à ce moment-là; quand, pendant que, dès que, avant de + infinitive
- Vocabulary
- news stories, the unexpected
- Activity
- rewriting a news story from notes; telling an unforgettable day
Saying what has to be done and what you wantYou can express an obligation, a wish or a request to someone.
- Grammar
- the present subjunctive (formation, irregular verbs); il faut que, je veux que, j'aimerais que
- Vocabulary
- flat-sharing, shared chores
- Pronunciation
- qu'il prenne / qu'ils prennent, hearing the subjunctive
- Activity
- drafting house rules for a flat-share; negotiating chores in pairs
Expressing your feelingsYou can say how you feel and react to news.
- Grammar
- être content, triste, surpris que + subjunctive; être… de + infinitive; the past subjunctive (je suis ravi que tu sois venu)
- Vocabulary
- feelings and emotions
- Pronunciation
- the intonation of joy, surprise and disappointment
- Activity
- reacting to good and bad news; writing a message of congratulations or support
Giving a nuanced opinionYou can express an opinion, a doubt or a certainty.
- Grammar
- je pense que + indicative / je ne pense pas que + subjunctive; il est important, possible, évident que
- Vocabulary
- opinions and reactions
- Activity
- an opinion poll on everyday topics; reacting to other people's opinions
Acting for the environmentYou can express a goal and suggest solutions.
- Grammar
- pour, afin de + infinitive; pour que, afin que + subjunctive
- Vocabulary
- the environment, everyday ecology
- Activity
- presenting an eco-friendly habit and its purpose; a list of solutions for your neighbourhood
Explaining causes and consequencesYou can explain why a situation exists and what it leads to.
- Grammar
- cause (puisque, étant donné que, comme); consequence (donc, c'est pourquoi, si bien que)
- Vocabulary
- current affairs, social tensions
- Activity
- analysing a short article; commenting on a cause-and-effect diagram
Weighing the pros and consYou can contrast two ideas and acknowledge an opposing argument.
- Grammar
- mais, pourtant, cependant, alors que; bien que + subjunctive; même si
- Vocabulary
- town and country, life choices
- Activity
- debate in pairs « ville ou campagne ? »
Structuring what you sayYou can organise an oral or written presentation.
- Grammar
- d'abord, ensuite, de plus, par ailleurs, en revanche, enfin, en conclusion; et, ou, donc, car, or, ni
- Vocabulary
- logical connectors
- Pronunciation
- pauses and rhythm in a presentation
- Activity
- preparing and giving a two-minute presentation
Dreaming and regrettingYou can imagine another life and express a regret.
- Grammar
- si + imparfait, present conditional; the past conditional (j'aurais dû, j'aurais aimé)
- Vocabulary
- dreams, regrets, life choices
- Pronunciation
- j'aurais / j'aurai, hearing the difference
- Activity
- « Si j'avais vingt ans… »; telling a regret and what you would do differently
Keeping informed, working, getting involved
Looking aheadYou can talk about an action that will be finished before another one in the future.
- Grammar
- the futur antérieur (quand j'aurai fini, dès que je serai arrivé); futur simple or conditional
- Vocabulary
- professional and personal plans
- Activity
- planning a project step by step; « Dans cinq ans, j'aurai… »
Talking about a place that matters to youYou can describe a place and add details without repeating yourself.
- Grammar
- relative pronouns où and dont; reminder of qui and que
- Vocabulary
- housing, the neighbourhood, heritage
- Activity
- presenting a place from your childhood; guessing a place from definitions
Talking about this and thatYou can talk about people and things without naming them precisely.
- Grammar
- quelqu'un, quelque chose, personne, rien, chacun, plusieurs; tout, tous, toute, toutes
- Vocabulary
- social life, associations
- Pronunciation
- tous, pronounced [tu] or [tus]
- Activity
- « Trouvez quelqu'un qui… » questionnaire; describing the life of an association
Reporting a conversationYou can report in the past what someone said or asked.
- Grammar
- reported speech in the past; sequence of tenses (il a dit qu'il viendrait); dire, expliquer, affirmer, répondre
- Vocabulary
- the press, interviews
- Activity
- reporting an interview; a game of Chinese whispers in the past
Reading and understanding the pressYou can understand headlines and follow a newspaper article.
- Grammar
- the passive voice; nominalisation (manifester → la manifestation)
- Vocabulary
- the press, current affairs, newspaper sections
- Activity
- turning sentences into headlines; summarising a short article
Talking about your workYou can describe your tasks and talk with colleagues without repeating yourself.
- Grammar
- double pronouns (je le lui donne, je vous l'envoie); pronoun position with the infinitive
- Vocabulary
- work, meetings, tasks
- Activity
- team meeting role play; sharing out tasks by email
Presenting your career pathYou can present your path in order and highlight your experience.
- Grammar
- the past infinitive (après avoir étudié, après être parti); avant de + infinitive; the gérondif (reminder)
- Vocabulary
- career, studies, the CV
- Activity
- preparing a presentation of your path; mock interview
Getting involved in a causeYou can present a commitment and stress what matters.
- Grammar
- emphasis (c'est… qui, c'est… que); moi-même, eux-mêmes
- Vocabulary
- associations, volunteering, commitment
- Pronunciation
- emphatic stress
- Activity
- presenting an association; persuading someone to volunteer
Celebrations and traditionsYou can explain a tradition and its rules.
- Grammar
- impersonal phrases (il est d'usage de, il s'agit de, il est interdit de); indefinite on
- Vocabulary
- celebrations, traditions, customs
- Activity
- comparing a French celebration and one from your country
School and educationYou can compare education systems and talk about change.
- Grammar
- de plus en plus, de moins en moins, plus… plus; ne… que, ni… ni, ne… aucun
- Vocabulary
- the school world, studies, education
- Activity
- comparing school in France and in your country; listening to a testimony and summarising it
Adding nuance, debating, writing, reviewing
Setting your conditionsYou can negotiate by setting a condition or considering the unexpected.
- Grammar
- à condition de / que, au cas où + conditional, sauf si, à moins que
- Vocabulary
- justice, rules, contracts
- Activity
- negotiating a rental agreement; writing the rules of a game
Consuming differentlyYou can advise someone and suggest other habits.
- Grammar
- il vaudrait mieux, je te conseille de, et si on… ?; il faudrait que + subjunctive
- Vocabulary
- consumption, budget, the circular economy
- Activity
- tips for consuming less; debate on online shopping
Discovering heritage and historyYou can present a monument or a historical event.
- Grammar
- the tenses of historical narrative (plus-que-parfait, past passive); dates and centuries
- Vocabulary
- history, power, heritage
- Activity
- preparing a guided tour of a monument; commenting on a timeline
Building wordsYou can guess the meaning of a new word from its form.
- Grammar
- suffixes (-tion, -ment, -eur, -able, -ité); nominalisation (reminder)
- Vocabulary
- word families
- Activity
- word family games; enriching a text with derived words
Avoiding false friendsYou can spot the most common false friends between French and your language.
- Vocabulary
- false friends depending on the learner's language (English, Spanish, German, Portuguese): actuellement, éventuellement, sensible, librairie…
- Activity
- spotting mistakes in a tricky text; building your own list of false friends
Expressing doubt and certaintyYou can say whether you are sure, think something is likely, or have doubts.
- Grammar
- sans doute, peut-être que; il est possible que + subjunctive; je suis sûr que + indicative; je doute que + subjunctive
- Vocabulary
- rumours, information, fake news
- Activity
- true or fake news?; commenting on surprising information
Debating politelyYou can take the floor, interrupt and respond in a discussion.
- Grammar
- the polite conditional (je dirais plutôt que); rephrasing (autrement dit, ce que je veux dire, c'est que)
- Vocabulary
- agreeing, disagreeing, adding nuance
- Pronunciation
- the intonation of agreement and disagreement
- Activity
- a debate in pairs on a social issue
Writing a formal letterYou can write a request or a complaint in a formal register.
- Grammar
- opening and closing formulas; formal or informal register
- Vocabulary
- administration, services, complaints
- Activity
- writing a complaint, then commented correction
Review: the never-ending dinnerYou can hold a long conversation at the table: telling, reacting, arguing.
- Grammar
- review of the subjunctive, hypotheses, relative pronouns and reported speech
- Vocabulary
- review of the level's topics
- Pronunciation
- review
- Activity
- free conversation on several topics, with detailed feedback
Speaking like in everyday lifeYou can understand and use about ten common B1-level expressions.
- Grammar
- expressions with y and en (s'en aller, en avoir marre, y tenir)
- Vocabulary
- colourful and informal everyday expressions
- Activity
- guessing what the expressions mean; using them in mini-dialogues
By the end of the level, you can
- Tell a story or a memory using several past tenses
- Express your feelings, wishes, doubts and regrets
- Argue: give a goal, a cause, a consequence, a contrast
- Understand the main points of an article and report what someone said
- Hold a long conversation and write a simple formal letter
Alongside the lessons
- Listening: testimonies and reports on current affairs
- Reading: press articles and texts about heritage
- Words not to mix up (penser à / penser de, rappeler / se rappeler / se souvenir)
- The most common mistakes at B1
- Regular writing practice: email, letter, argued opinion