Au café et au marché
Ordering food is the first thing most people actually do in French. It rewards clear pronunciation more than long sentences.
Part of your national curriculum
- Speaking: Speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation
Key learning points
- • Ordering politely
- • Some of something: du, de la, des
- • Sounds to get right
This lesson at a glance
- 25 minutes
- 19 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 19
Watch first
Au café et au marché
A café table: the shortest route into real spoken French.
In a nutshell
Speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 19
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Ordering politely
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 19
Learn
Ordering politely
Je voudrais un croissant, s'il vous plaît. Pour moi, un jus d'orange. C'est combien ? L'addition, s'il vous plaît (the bill). Je voudrais is a polite conditional — much better than 'je veux', which sounds blunt.
Reset break
Part 4 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 19
Learn
Some of something: du, de la, des
du pain (some bread, masculine), de la confiture (some jam, feminine), de l'eau (before a vowel), des fraises (some strawberries, plural). English often drops 'some'; French never does.
Quick check
Part 6 of 19
Quick check
Part 7 of 19
Reset break
Part 8 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 19
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Sounds to get right
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 19
Learn
Sounds to get right
The French r comes from the back of the throat, not the tongue tip. Final consonants are usually silent: croissant sounds like 'crwa-sson'. The u in jus is made with rounded lips and the tongue high and forward — practise 'tu' and 'tout' side by side to hear the difference.
Quick check
Part 11 of 19
Reset break
Part 12 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 19
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 19
Worked example
Model role play
Serveur : Bonjour, vous désirez ? Client : Bonjour, je voudrais un chocolat chaud et une part de tarte aux pommes, s'il vous plaît. Serveur : Autre chose ? Client : Non merci. C'est combien ? Serveur : Six euros cinquante.
Challenge round
Part 15 of 19
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 16 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 19
Game · Recall cards
In 'croissant', the final -t is...
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 18 of 19
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Au café et au marché
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. In 'croissant', the final -t is...
2. How can a statement become a question in spoken French?
3. French vowels are best described as...
4. 'Je m'appelle Léa, j'ai treize ans' means...
Lesson round-up
Part 19 of 19
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
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Ask LunaPart 1 of 19 · Watch & discover
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Speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation