🇫🇷Free learning path

The French Learning Path

A clear, free roadmap from your first French word to confident fluency. Each stage tells you exactly what to study, gives you a free lesson and download, and points you to the book that covers it in depth — A1 to C2, in order.

Start at A1 Reader's Room

The ladder:A1A2B1B2C1–C2

Step by step

Five stages, in order.

Don't know where you are? Start at A1 and move up only when each stage feels easy. Skipping ahead is the most common reason learners stall.

01A1

Absolute beginner

Build a real foundation: pronounce French, form simple sentences, and survive a first conversation.

≈ 6–10 weeks

By the end you can

Introduce yourself and ask basic questions
Use articles (le / la / un / une) with confidence
Conjugate être, avoir, and regular -er verbs in the present
Read short texts and order food, ask directions

What to study

Pronunciation: nasal vowels, silent letters, liaison
Gender of nouns and the article system
Present tense of être, avoir, and -er verbs
Negation (ne… pas) and yes/no questions

Free for this stage

French A1 Grammar Cheat Sheet Language Learning Roadmap: A1 to B2

Full course for this stage

Learn French Grammar Fast

Details Buy on Amazon

02A2

Advanced beginner

Talk about the past and future, handle everyday situations, and stop translating word-for-word.

≈ 8–12 weeks

By the end you can

Tell a simple story in the past tense
Talk about plans using the near future (futur proche)
Use the most common irregular verbs naturally
Hold short everyday conversations without freezing

What to study

Passé composé: forming and using it
Futur proche (aller + infinitive)
Reflexive verbs and pronouns
Comparatives and common connectors

Free for this stage

Passé Composé vs Imparfait: The French Pas…French A1 Grammar Cheat Sheet Language Learning Roadmap: A1 to B2

Full course for this stage

French Grammar Unlocked: Level 2

Details Buy on Amazon

03B1

Intermediate

Move past survival French into real sentence-building, richer tenses, and natural flow.

≈ 3–5 months

By the end you can

Choose correctly between passé composé and imparfait
Express opinions, hopes, and hypotheticals
Use object and relative pronouns to link ideas
Follow most everyday spoken and written French

What to study

Passé composé vs imparfait in real narration
Imperfect, conditional, and the start of the subjunctive
Relative pronouns (qui, que, dont, où)
Direct and indirect object pronouns

Free for this stage

Passé Composé vs Imparfait: The French Pas…Language Learning Roadmap: A1 to B2

Full course for this stage

French Grammar Unlocked: Level 2

Details Buy on Amazon

04B2

Upper intermediate

Leave textbook French behind: control register, nuance, and longer-form expression.

≈ 4–6 months

By the end you can

Use the subjunctive where French actually requires it
Argue a point and structure an extended explanation
Adjust your tone between formal and informal registers
Read articles and watch films without subtitles

What to study

Subjunctive mood in depth
Complex sentence patterns and connectors
Register: formal vs informal French
Sophisticated tense choices in writing

Free for this stage

Language Learning Roadmap: A1 to B2

Full course for this stage

French Grammar Unlocked: Level 3

Details Buy on Amazon

05C1–C2

Advanced

Refine and master: nuance, idiom, and the grammar that separates fluent from near-native.

Ongoing

By the end you can

Express fine shades of meaning and emotion
Use advanced tenses and literary forms with control
Understand idiom, irony, and cultural reference
Write and speak with deliberate, native-like style

What to study

Advanced and literary tenses
Idiomatic and figurative language
Stylistic precision and rhetorical structure
Polishing accuracy under real-time pressure

Free for this stage

Language Learning Roadmap: A1 to B2

Full course for this stage

French Grammar Unlocked: Level 4

Details

Pocket reference

French you can use today.

No download, no sign-up. These are the building blocks you'll reach for from your very first conversation. Bookmark this page and come back to it.

Greetings & politeness

The phrases that open (and smooth) every interaction. Master these before anything else.

BonjourHello / Good morning

BonsoirGood evening

SalutHi / Byeinformal

S'il vous plaîtPleaseformal

Merci (beaucoup)Thank you (very much)

De rienYou're welcome

Excusez-moiExcuse me

Au revoirGoodbye

Numbers 0–20 (and the tens)

French counting is regular until 70. Learn 0–20, then the tens, and you can say almost any number.

0–5zéro · un · deux · trois · quatre · cinq

6–10six · sept · huit · neuf · dix

11–15onze · douze · treize · quatorze · quinze

16–20seize · dix-sept · dix-huit · dix-neuf · vingt

Tens30 trente · 40 quarante · 50 cinquante · 60 soixante

70 / 80 / 90soixante-dix · quatre-vingts · quatre-vingt-dixthe tricky ones

Days & months

Note: French does not capitalise days or months mid-sentence.

Dayslundi · mardi · mercredi · jeudi · vendredi · samedi · dimanche

Months (1–6)janvier · février · mars · avril · mai · juin

Months (7–12)juillet · août · septembre · octobre · novembre · décembre

20 verbs you'll use daily

Learn these infinitives first. Most of your early sentences are built from them.

être · avoirto be · to have

faire · allerto do/make · to go

dire · voirto say · to see

pouvoir · vouloir · devoircan · to want · must

savoir · venir · prendreto know · to come · to take

parler · manger · aimerto speak · to eat · to like/love

comprendre · finir · habiterto understand · to finish · to live

Question words

The eight words that turn a statement into a question.

Qui ?Who?

Que / Quoi ?What?

Quand ?When?

Où ?Where?

Pourquoi ?Why?

Comment ?How?

Combien ?How much / many?

Quel(le) ?Which / What?

Survival phrases

Seven sentences that get you through a trip even before you've finished A1.

Je voudrais…I would like…

Où est… ?Where is…?

Combien ça coûte ?How much is it?

Je ne comprends pas.I don't understand.

Parlez-vous anglais ?Do you speak English?

Pouvez-vous m'aider ?Can you help me?

L'addition, s'il vous plaît.The bill, please.

Exclusive bonus material

The Reader's Room — French

Bonus material that goes deeper than the free lessons: quick references, the mistakes that trip up English speakers, a pronunciation cheat sheet, and a 90-day plan that ties the whole path together. Open to everyone for now.

Open access — for now

The two verbs everything depends on

Être and avoir power the past tense, descriptions, and most fixed expressions. Memorise these two cold before anything else.

je suis · j'aiI am · I have

tu es · tu asyou are · you have

il/elle est · il/elle ahe/she is · he/she has

nous sommes · nous avonswe are · we have

vous êtes · vous avezyou are · you haveformal / plural

ils/elles sont · ils/elles ontthey are · they have

12 mistakes English speakers make in French

Most early errors come from translating English directly. Catch these now and you'll sound a level higher immediately.

Saying « je suis 30 ans » — French uses avoir for age: j'ai 30 ans.
Forgetting gender: it's la table, le livre — learn the article with the noun.
Dropping liaison: « les amis » sounds like “lay-zami”, not “lay ami”.
Using « je suis bon » for skill — say je suis doué or je suis fort en…
Translating “I miss you” literally — French flips it: tu me manques.
Over-using « très » where French prefers a stronger adjective.
Saying « visiter » for visiting people — use rendre visite à for people.
Confusing an / année, jour / journée — the -ée forms stress duration.
Putting adjectives before the noun by default — most go after (une voiture rouge).
Forgetting the second half of negation: ne … pas, not just pas.
Using « bon » when you mean bien (good vs well).
Saying « c'est » when agreement needs il/elle est for professions.

Pronunciation quick-start

French spelling looks scary but is highly regular once you know the rules. Start with these.

French is pronounced from a small set of consistent rules. The hard parts for English speakers are the nasal vowels and knowing which final letters stay silent.

on / omnasal “oh(n)”bon, nom — air through the nose, no hard N

an / en / am / emnasal “ah(n)”enfant, temps

in / ain / einnasal “a(n)”vin, pain, plein

utight “ew”round your lips for ee — tu, rue

rsoft throat rfrom the back of the throat, not rolled

final e, s, t, d, xusually silentpetit → “puh-tee”, except in liaison

Your first 90 days

A realistic plan that ties the free lessons, downloads, and books together. 20–30 minutes a day beats a weekend cram.

Days 1–10 — Pronunciation + the article system. Read the cheat sheet daily; drill être and avoir until automatic.
Days 11–30 — Present tense of -er verbs and negation. Build 5 sentences a day out loud. Start Learn French Grammar Fast (A1).
Days 31–55 — Passé composé. Narrate your day in the past every evening. Add the most common irregular verbs.
Days 56–75 — Futur proche + reflexive verbs. Move into French Grammar Unlocked Level 2 (A2–B1).
Days 76–90 — Passé composé vs imparfait. Read the free lesson, then write a short past-tense story and check it against the book's answer key.

For readers of French Grammar Unlocked: Level 2

The complete Level 2 answer key

Every page drill and every end-of-chapter translation, fully worked, all 25 chapters. The full guide the book points you to, free on the site.

Open the answer key

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Exclusive lessons, drills, and printables built only for members
Early access to new books and learning paths
A direct line to request the topics you want covered next

Go deeper

The path is free. The books are the full course.

Every stage above maps to a Vega book with sequenced chapters, exercises, and answer keys. Read a free sample before you decide.

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