Has your child just started learning French? I'll show you how easy it is to remember the days of the week in French, as well as learn the months, seasons and everything in a fun way. Where do children learn information ideally from? That's right, from cartoons and songs. This is what we will supplement the main classes. 
- Days of the week
- Months
- Seasons
Hello dear readers. In previous articles, we have sorted out cartoons and children's songs, which perfectly complement French classes, on the topics:
Today we will talk about temporary concepts. Of course, if you start learning a language from scratch with a baby, then you should not teach him the days of the week and the names of the months. If the previous topics did not have age restrictions, then here you need to understand that children are able to learn this information from about 3 years old.
If your child is of the right age for the topic, I repeat that it is easier to remember words when watching cartoons. And there are no age restrictions! If you are learning French with a child, then you will be able to master the basics precisely by working with these materials. Children's cartoons are well voiced by native speakers. The word is written in them, pronounced and supplemented with a picture. There is an opportunity to repeat the words yourself. So, let's begin .
We will start with the slowest version without additional words. This is the singer Alain, already familiar to us from previous topics. At a slow pace, with a clear intonation, he sings the names of the days of the week. In the middle of the video there is an opportunity to sing yourself. This song is ideal for beginners learning French from scratch.
Les jours de la semaine
We already know the company Monde des Titounis, which presents a training video with subtitles. It is suitable for learners of French language 0 - 1 level. The days of the week are listed first, followed by questions to check.
Les jours de la semaine
For those who are at level 1 in learning French, that is, they already know elementary words, these videos are suitable.
In the first one, not only the days of the week are sung in French, but also what can be done on these days. Let me remind you that children remember words with a motive better. Try to learn the song and the material will be learned.
Chanson – La chanson des jours de la semaine
The second video will help parents. For students of the first level, download the figures of the train, print it out and you will have educational material on your wall. With its brightness, it will attract both boys and girls, and the days of the week will be quickly remembered.
Le petit train des jours de la semaine en français
The third is an educational cartoon, but very short. About how a girl teaches her bird the days of the week. Suitable for students of levels 1-2.
Toui Toui apprend les jours de la semaine
And the last video, which is made in the form of a home theater. This is a complete children's song in French about a prince who traveled with his parents on the days of the week. There are subtitles, which makes it possible to understand the song, make out unfamiliar words and learn by heart. Suitable for level 1-2 students.
Lundi matin - l'empereur, sa femme et le p'tit prince
But for adults, I found a French lesson for beginners from scratch, from which you can learn not only the names of the days of the week, but also their use in different cases. Everything is clearly shown, at the end there are sentences with examples. If you are learning a language with your child, then I advise you to subscribe to this channel.
Children's poem with days of the week
And a small poem about mice that will help children remember the days of the week.
Les 7 souris de la semaine
La souris du lundi
A mis un chapeau gris.
La souris du mardi
A croque deux radis.
La souris du mercredi
A danse toute la nuit.
La souris du jeudi
A lave son tapis.
La souris du vendredi
A dormi sous son tipi.
La souris du samedi
A ouvert son parapluie.
Et la souris du dimanche
A cueilli mille pervenches.
French lessons: Days of the week
Months in French
We have passed the days of the week, now it will be logical to continue the months in French. In order to learn how to pronounce 12 months correctly, we will need to listen to a video from a French teacher. This is level zero. A man pronounces each word several times, while doing it almost syllable by syllable and gives you the opportunity to repeat after him. More suitable for adults than children.
Les mois de l'annee
And for children, the video from Monde des Titounis is more suitable. Which once again shows that although the design is for the smallest, but the questions are given for children who know the seasons and the order of the months. The questions ask:
- what is the last month of the year?
- what month does spring start?
Apprendre les mois de l'annee
And finally, for those who remember better by studying songs, months in French from the singer Alain. The motive is light. The pronunciation is clear and slow. Don't forget to sing along.
Les mois de l'annee
Seasons, seasons in French
First I will put a lesson for those who study French on their own from scratch. The season is pronounced, then a sentence about what it is. Subtitles in English. After each word or sentence, an opportunity is given to repeat what was said. The voice is pleasant, the pronunciation is clear.
Les saisons
Video from Monde des Titounis where the seasons are shown first, with their name in French and a picture of the season itself. then questions are asked.
If we want to ask in French what date it is today, then several options are possible:
- Quelle date sommes-nous aujourd'hui? (the most common variant, using the verb être)
- Quelle date avons-nous aujourd'hui?
- Quel jour (du mois) avons-nous (=sommes-nous)?
- Le combien sommes-nous? (this option is most often found in colloquial speech)
Unlike the Russian language in French language dates use quantitative (rather than ordinal) numbers with a definite article, which is placed before the date. For example,
- Aujourd'hui nous sommes le deux mai- today is the second of May
- Aujourd'hui nous sommes letrois septembre- today is the third of September
Attention! For the first day of the month, a non-cardinal number is used, such as deux, trois, cinq, six, and the adjective premier. For example, le premierSeptember- the first of September.
Remember also two rules:
- When using the numerals 11 and 8 - onze, huit - the vowel in the article is not omitted (there is no elision, the article remains unchanged): le onze mai,le huit mai
- Before the name of the month, the numerals 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 are pronounced as independent, isolated. For example, le cinq mars, le dix septembre, le huit mai(the last letter at the end of the numeral is pronounced, unlike the case when after the numeral there is a noun with a consonant letter (in this case, the last letter of the numeral is not pronounced)). For example, in the words – cinq maisons, six Cahiers, dix livres- the last underlined letters in numerals are not pronounced.
The years are read in the following way:
- the numeral is preceded by the preposition EN,
- the word YEAR (l'an) is usually not used,
- thousand is usually written mil(but not mille)
For example, " in 1966" will be - en(l'an)mil neuf cent soixante-six OR en(l'an)dix-neufcentsoixante-six. Both options are correct, either one can be used.
If we want to say “now we have 1995”, then we use the following construction: nous sommesen
1995
(mil neuf cent quatre-vingt quinze). Preposition EN must be used in this case.
But the preposition EN is omitted when we say the day and the month together with the year. For example, " today May 2, 1995" will be in French: Aujourd'hui nous sommes le deux mai 1995.
Note that in questions like "what year, what year" we will use the word «
annee».
For example, En quelle annee sommes-nous?
(What year is it now).
And here are the names of the months in French (les mois de l'année). They are all masculine, but are usually used without an article.
- Janvier- January
- Fevrier - February
- Mars – March
- Avril- April
- Mai- May
- Juin- June
- Juillet– July
- Aoyt– August
- September - September
- October - October
- Novembre- november
- Decembre - December
And these are the names of the seasons (les saisons de l'année):
- L'hiver- winter
- Le printemps- Spring
- L'éte — summer
- L'automne- autumn
Remember the expressions:
- What is our month? - En quel mois sommes-nous?
- Now November - Nous sommes en novembre (= au mois de novembre)
- What season is it now? - En quelle saison sommes-nous?
- Now autumn (summer, winter) - Nous sommes en automne (en eté, en hiver)
- Spring is now - nous sommes au printemps(The expression with the word spring - le printemps - differs from the rest by using the continuous article "au" instead of the preposition "en").
And in phrases like “this year, this winter, this week”, the preposition is not used. For example, cette annee ( can be translated like this year And How this year), ce printemps (this spring or this spring),cette semaine (this week or this week).
In this lesson, you will learn the names of the days of the week, months and learn how to name the date. First, let's get acquainted with the names of the days of the week.
Days of the week
Everything is standard here, each day has its own name: Lundi- Monday, Mardi- Tuesday, Mercredi- Wednesday, Jeudi- Thursday, Vendredi- Friday, Samedi- Saturday, Dimanche- Sunday.
Prepositions are not used with days of the week: Je vais au cinema samedi. I'm going to the cinema on Saturday.
To say "on" some days, use the definite article "le": Le dimanche je suis libre.- I'm free on Sundays.
To say a date (other than the first number), use cardinal numbers with the definite article: Aujourd'hui, c'est dimanche, le cinq juin. Today is Sunday, the fifth of June.
The first number is denoted by an ordinal number: C'est le premier juin, Mercredi.— First of June, Wednesday.
Before numerals huit and onze truncation of the article does not occur: le huit, le onze.
Months
As for the months, everything is also standard here: four seasons and twelve months. All months in French are masculine. Their names are given in the table:
Season
To say "summer", "autumn" or "winter", you need a preposition en: en eté, en autumne, en hiver- but for spring, use the preposition "au": au prentemps.
Of the year
So, after getting acquainted with the months and days of the week, it's time to find out how the years are called in French. They do it the same way as in Russian - with thousands, hundreds and tens.
Interestingly, the word “year” itself is not indicated when reading:
April 12, 2015 - le douze avril deux mille quinze.
If you only need to specify the year, a preposition is required "en": en deux mille quinze je ai vecu a Paris. In 2015 I lived in Paris.
In French, dates are written in the order "day month year" without commas, and the names of the months are written with a small letter.
Tasks for the lesson
Exercise 1. Write the dates in words.
February 24, 1982
January 18, Saturday
November 29, 2006
August 1, Thursday
in 1983
March 14, 2012
December 8, 1999
Answer 1.
vingt-quatre février mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-deux
dix-huit janvier, samedi
ving-neuf novembre deux mille six
le premiere août, jeudi
en mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-trois
quatorze mars deux mille douze
huit decembre mille neuf cent quatre-vingt-dix-neuf
Some schoolchildren who learn the basics of the French language claim that the names of the days of the week are very difficult to remember and there is constant confusion with the translation. In such cases, experienced teachers give a hint key for quick memorization and the ability to distinguish in translation where which day is mentioned.
To do this, it is necessary to tell the student the history of the emergence of names - the parallels of associations drawn will help to easily navigate the names of the days of the week.
Days of the week: transcription in Russian
The table below shows how the names sound in French in the Russian interpretation of spelling.
Monday | landy |
mardi |
|
mercredi |
|
Judy |
|
vandredi |
|
Samedi |
|
Sunday | dimanche |
When pronouncing, it is worth remembering that the stress falls on the last syllable of the word.
Features of the construction of phrases and pronunciation
The phonetics and sound of the names of the days of the week in French have several nuances:
- When writing and pronouncing the days of the week, prepositions are not used.
- If the sentence is about actions on a specific day of the week, you need to use the definite article “le” (I work on Saturdays - Le samedi zho svi travay).
- When pronouncing Samedi(Saturday) try to smooth out the “e” sound as much as possible, making it almost unpronounceable.
The history of the names of the days of the week
In French, as in some other European countries, it was customary to name the days of the week after the planets of the solar system:
- Monday ( landy) - this day was patronized by the Moon, therefore the name of the day was very consonant. By the way, in English the same story: Moon in English moon: Monday is a lunar day.
- Tuesday ( mardi) is the day of Mars. It is noteworthy that in the above English the name of the god of war (an analogue of the Greek god Mars) sounds like Tiu, and Tuesday - Tuesday.
- The system of names in honor of the gods undergoes minor corrections, but does not deviate from the essence.
- Wednesday ( merkedi) is a day dedicated to the planet Mercury.
- Thursday ( Judy) is the planet Jupiter. Slavic languages denoted this day in a simpler way: the fourth in a row in a week.
- Friday ( vandredi) is the day of Venus, the planet and the goddess.
- Saturday ( Samedi) is the day of Saturn. In English, the spelling more clearly traces the influence of this planet on the name: Saturday.
- Sunday ( dimanche) - if in all the first six names of the days of the week in French the relationship was traced, then Sunday goes beyond the usual: the translation sounds like “God's day”. This is also seen in Italian and Spanish.
Children very quickly memorize associative pictures, therefore, having imagined a planet or a god on the same day, they will easily orient themselves in translation, and there will be no more problems with the names of the days of the week in French.