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Putting It All Together

From individual words to flowing stories

Ready for your first story!

This final page brings everything together. You'll learn the connecting words that string sentences together, common story expressions, and the most essential words that appear in almost every French story.

After this page, you'll have all the tools to confidently read your first French story. Remember: you don't need to understand every word - focus on the main plot and enjoy the adventure!

Chapter 13

Connecting Words

The glue between sentences

These small words make the difference between isolated sentences and a flowing story. They show relationships between events and ideas.

Basic connecting words

et → and
Marc et Anne - Marc and Anne
mais → but
Petit mais fort - Small but strong
ou → or
Thé ou café? - Tea or coffee?
parce que → because
Parce qu'il pleut - Because it's raining
quand → when
Quand j'Ă©tais jeune - When I was young
pendant que → while
Pendant que je mangeais - While I was eating
si → if
Si tu veux - If you want
comme → like/as
Comme toi - Like you
oĂč → where
LĂ  oĂč j'habite - Where I live
que → that
Je sais que c'est vrai - I know that it's true

Indicating sequence & time

d'abord → first
D'abord, je mange - First, I eat
puis → then
Puis je sors - Then I go out
ensuite → next/then
Ensuite, nous partons - Then, we leave
aprùs → after
AprÚs le déjeuner - After lunch
enfin → finally
Enfin, j'arrive - Finally, I arrive
finalement → finally/eventually
Finalement, il accepte - Finally, he accepts
pendant ce temps → meanwhile
Pendant ce temps, il pleut - Meanwhile, it rains
tout de suite → immediately
Je viens tout de suite - I'm coming immediately
soudain → suddenly
Soudain, un bruit - Suddenly, a noise
tout à coup → all of a sudden
Tout Ă  coup, je comprends - All of a sudden, I understand

Contrast & nuance

mais → but
C'est cher, mais c'est bon - It's expensive, but it's good
cependant → however
Cependant, je continue - However, I continue
pourtant → yet/however
Pourtant c'est vrai - Yet it's true
nĂ©anmoins → nevertheless
NĂ©anmoins, j'essaie - Nevertheless, I try
au contraire → on the contrary
Au contraire, j'aime ça - On the contrary, I like it
par contre → on the other hand
Lui, par contre, non - He, on the other hand, doesn't
mĂȘme si → even if
MĂȘme s'il pleut - Even if it rains
malgrĂ© → despite
Malgré tout - Despite everything
bien que → although
Bien qu'il soit tard - Although it's late

Reason & consequence

donc → so/therefore
Donc nous partons - So we leave
alors → then/so
Alors, qu'est-ce qu'on fait? - So, what do we do?
par consĂ©quent → consequently
Par conséquent, je reste - Consequently, I stay
c'est pourquoi → that's why
C'est pourquoi je suis ici - That's why I'm here
puisque → since/as
Puisque tu insistes - Since you insist
comme → as/since
Comme il pleut, je reste - As it's raining, I'll stay
car → for/because
Je reste car il pleut - I stay because it's raining
grñce à → thanks to
GrĂące Ă  toi - Thanks to you
à cause de → because of
À cause de la pluie - Because of the rain

Adding & listing

aussi → also/too
Moi aussi - Me too
Ă©galement → also/as well
Il vient Ă©galement - He's coming as well
de plus → moreover
De plus, c'est cher - Moreover, it's expensive
en plus → in addition
En plus, il pleut - In addition, it's raining
d'ailleurs → besides/by the way
D'ailleurs, tu as raison - Besides, you're right
non plus → neither/either
Moi non plus - Me neither
ni...ni → neither...nor
Ni lui ni elle - Neither he nor she
et...et → both...and
Et Marc et Anne - Both Marc and Anne
soit...soit → either...or
Soit aujourd'hui, soit demain - Either today or tomorrow
Chapter 14

Story Expressions

Typical phrases in stories

These expressions appear constantly in French stories. They help set the mood and describe events.

Starting the story

Il Ă©tait une fois → Once upon a time (Classic fairy tale beginning)
Un jour → One day (General story beginning)
Il y a longtemps → A long time ago (Distant past)
Un matin → One morning (Specific time)
C'Ă©tait une belle journĂ©e → It was a beautiful day (Setting the mood)
Dans un petit village → In a small village (Place setting)
Voici l'histoire de → This is the story of (Introduction)
Autrefois → In the old days (Past times)
À cette Ă©poque → At that time (Time reference)

Emotions & reactions

ĂȘtre heureux → to be happy
Il Ă©tait trĂšs heureux - He was very happy
ĂȘtre triste → to be sad
Elle devient triste - She becomes sad
avoir peur → to be afraid
J'ai peur du noir - I'm afraid of the dark
se fñcher → to get angry
Il se fĂąche toujours - He always gets angry
sourire → to smile
Elle sourit gentiment - She smiles kindly
pleurer → to cry
Il pleure de joie - He cries with joy
rire → to laugh
Ils rient ensemble - They laugh together
s'inquiĂ©ter → to worry
Elle s'inquiĂšte pour tout - She worries about everything
s'Ă©tonner → to be surprised
Il s'Ă©tonne - He is surprised
avoir honte → to be ashamed
J'ai honte - I'm ashamed
ĂȘtre fier → to be proud
Elle est fiĂšre de lui - She is proud of him
se sentir → to feel
Je me sens bien - I feel good

Weather & atmosphere

Il fait beau → The weather is nice
Il fait mauvais → The weather is bad
Il pleut → It's raining
Il neige → It's snowing
Le soleil brille → The sun is shining
Il y a du brouillard → It's foggy
Le vent souffle → The wind is blowing
C'est nuageux → It's cloudy
Il fait froid → It's cold
Il fait chaud → It's hot
Il fait lourd → It's muggy
Le ciel est clair → The sky is clear
Il fait doux → It's mild
Il gùle → It's freezing
Il y a de l'orage → There's a storm

Movement & action

s'en aller → to go away
Il s'en va - He goes away
revenir → to come back
Elle revient demain - She comes back tomorrow
s'approcher → to approach
Il s'approche lentement - He approaches slowly
s'Ă©loigner → to move away
Elle s'Ă©loigne - She moves away
s'arrĂȘter → to stop
Il s'arrĂȘte soudain - He stops suddenly
courir → to run
Ils courent vite - They run fast
sauter → to jump
Elle saute de joie - She jumps for joy
tomber → to fall
Il tombe par terre - He falls to the ground
se lever → to get up
Je me lĂšve tĂŽt - I get up early
s'asseoir → to sit down
Asseyez-vous - Sit down
se dĂ©pĂȘcher → to hurry
DĂ©pĂȘche-toi! - Hurry up!
se promener → to take a walk
Nous nous promenons - We take a walk

Story transitions

Pendant ce temps → Meanwhile (Parallel event)
Le lendemain → The next day (Time transition)
Ce soir-là → That evening (Specific moment)
Peu aprùs → Shortly after (Quick succession)
Des annĂ©es plus tard → Years later (Big time jump)
À ce moment-là → At that moment (Precise time)
Juste alors → Just then (Crucial moment)
Tout à coup → Suddenly (Unexpected event)
Au bout d'un moment → After a while (Time passes)
Plus tard → Later (Time advance)
Finalement → Finally (Conclusion)
Et voilà → And there you have it (Result/closing)
Depuis ce jour → Since that day (Consequence)

Descriptive phrases

Il y avait → There was/were
Il y avait un chĂąteau - There was a castle
On pouvait voir → One could see
On pouvait voir la mer - One could see the sea
Cela ressemblait à → It looked like
Cela ressemblait Ă  un rĂȘve - It looked like a dream
Avoir l'air de → To look/seem
Il a l'air fatigué - He looks tired
Se trouver → To be located
La maison se trouve prĂšs du lac - The house is located near the lake
Il s'agit de → It's about
Il s'agit d'une histoire vraie - It's about a true story
Chapter 15

Your First Story Toolkit

The 100 most essential words

These words form the backbone of every French story. If you know these, you'll understand the main plot of most simple texts.

Top 50 most frequent words

These 50 words make up about 50% of any French text:

Rang Woorden
1-10 le/la/les, de, un/une, ĂȘtre, et, Ă , il, avoir, ne, je
11-20 son/sa, que, se, qui, ce, dans, du, elle, au, pour
21-30 pas, plus, pouvoir, par, je, avec, tout, faire, mais, aller
31-40 dire, lui, nous, comme, ou, si, leur, y, deux, mĂȘme
41-50 prendre, autre, venir, aprĂšs, vouloir, voir, bon, oĂč, bien, sans

Essential story words

Categorie Belangrijke woorden
People homme, femme, garçon, fille, enfant, personne, gens, ami, famille, nom
Places maison, rue, ville, pays, monde, place, terre, mer, montagne, jardin
Time temps, jour, an, heure, matin, soir, nuit, moment, fois, vie
Actions aller, venir, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, savoir, penser, croire, voir, dire
Things chose, main, Ɠil, partie, eau, porte, voix, mot, livre, histoire
Qualities bon, nouveau, premier, dernier, petit, grand, jeune, vieux, beau, vrai

False friends - WATCH OUT!

These words look like Dutch/English but mean something different:

actuellement ≈ actually
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
currently
✗ NIET
actually (= en fait)
attendre ≈ attend
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
to wait
✗ NIET
to attend (= assister Ă )
blesser ≈ bless
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
to wound/hurt
✗ NIET
to bless (= bénir)
car ≈ car
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
because
✗ NIET
car (= voiture)
chance ≈ chance
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
luck
✗ NIET
chance (= hasard)
coin ≈ coin
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
corner
✗ NIET
coin (= piĂšce de monnaie)
demander ≈ demand
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
to ask
✗ NIET
to demand (= exiger)
librairie ≈ library
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
bookstore
✗ NIET
library (= bibliothĂšque)
location ≈ location
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
rental
✗ NIET
location (= endroit)
magasin ≈ magazine
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
store
✗ NIET
magazine (= revue)
rester ≈ rest
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
to stay
✗ NIET
to rest (= se reposer)
sensible ≈ sensible
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
sensitive
✗ NIET
sensible (= raisonnable)
stage ≈ stage
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
internship
✗ NIET
stage (= scĂšne)
terrible ≈ terrible
✓ Betekent eigenlijk
great (informal)
✗ NIET
terrible (= affreux)

Quick reference for reading

  • ‱ Focus on verbs: They tell what's happening
  • ‱ Watch for signal words: mais, cependant, alors show important turns
  • ‱ Recognize time markers: aprĂšs, avant, pendant help understand sequence
  • ‱ Skip unknown adjectives: They're often not crucial for the story
  • ‱ Use context: Guess meanings from the situation
  • ‱ Look for cognates: Words that look like Dutch/English
  • ‱ Watch for repetition: Important words come back often
  • ‱ Read through: Don't stop at every unknown word
  • ‱ Remember liaisons: Words connect in speech: les‿amis
  • ‱ Note silent letters: Many endings aren't pronounced

Key pronunciation reminders

Final consonants → Usually silent except C, R, F, L
Nasal vowels → an, on, in, un - through the nose
The French R → From the throat, not rolled
The French U → Say "ie" with rounded lips
Silent H → Never pronounced: homme = "om"
Liaison → Connect words: vous‿avez = "voo-za-vay"
É vs È → Ă© = "ay", Ăš/ĂȘ = "eh"
Final -ent → Silent in verbs: parlent = "parl"

Practice story - Test yourself!

Try to understand this short story with everything you've learned:

Het Verhaal:

Il était une fois un garçon qui s'appelait Pierre.

→ Once upon a time there was a boy named Pierre.

Pierre habitait dans une petite maison prĂšs de la mer.

→ Pierre lived in a small house near the sea.

Chaque matin, il allait sur la plage pour voir le soleil.

→ Every morning, he went to the beach to see the sun.

Un jour, pendant qu'il marchait, il a trouvé quelque chose dans le sable.

→ One day, while he was walking, he found something in the sand.

C'Ă©tait une bouteille avec un message dedans!

→ It was a bottle with a message inside!

Pierre Ă©tait trĂšs curieux.

→ Pierre was very curious.

Il a ouvert la bouteille et a lu:

→ He opened the bottle and read:

"Celui qui trouve ce message trouvera aussi un trésor."

→ "Whoever finds this message will also find a treasure."

"Cherchez sous la grande pierre prĂšs du vieux chĂȘne."

→ "Look under the big stone near the old oak tree."

Pierre connaissait cet endroit!

→ Pierre knew this place!

C'Ă©tait dans le jardin de sa grand-mĂšre.

→ It was in his grandmother's garden.

Il a couru tout de suite chez elle.

→ He ran immediately to her place.

Grand-mĂšre a souri et a dit:

→ Grandmother smiled and said:

"Ah, enfin! J'ai mis ce message il y a des années, quand j'étais jeune."

→ "Ah, finally! I put that message years ago, when I was young."

Ensemble, ils ont creusé sous la pierre.

→ Together, they dug under the stone.

Et qu'est-ce qu'ils ont trouvé?

→ And what did they find?

Une boĂźte pleine de photos de famille!

→ A box full of family photos!

Le vrai trésor n'était pas de l'or, mais les souvenirs précieux de leur famille.

→ The real treasure wasn't gold, but the precious memories of their family.

Pierre Ă©tait heureux.

→ Pierre was happy.

Il avait découvert que les vrais trésors sont ceux qu'on partage.

→ He had discovered that real treasures are those we share.

Hulp vocabulaire:

plage = beach
sable = sand
bouteille = bottle
dedans = inside
trésor = treasure
pierre = stone
chĂȘne = oak tree
creuser = to dig
boĂźte = box
or = gold
souvenirs = memories
partager = to share

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