Lesson 39: Time words & telling a story
Il y a deux jours — time words and telling a story · A1 → A2 · A2 · Part 1 — Talking About the Past
You will place past events in time and join them into a real story. You will use hier, avant-hier, la semaine dernière, il y a + time, and the sequencing words d'abord, ensuite, puis, après, enfin — then tell a short story about your own week.
In this lesson
- past time markers
- il y a
- sequencing words
- a short story in the past
Vocabulary
| French | Meaning | Say it | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| avant-hier | the day before yesterday | a-von-tee-yair اوںتیئیر | Liaison is compulsory: 'avant' + 'hier' = a-von-tee-yair. |
| la semaine dernière | last week | la suh-men dair-nyair لا سُومین ڈیئرنیئر | This week = cette semaine. Next week = la semaine prochaine. |
| le mois dernier | last month | luh mwa dair-nyay لُو موا ڈیئرنیے | l'année dernière = last year. Same pattern every time. |
| il y a deux jours | two days ago | eel-ya dü zhoor ایل یا دُو ژور | Careful: 'il y a' also means 'there is'. With a time word after it, it means 'ago'. |
| d'abord | first / at first | da-bor دابور | The classic story opener. 'D'abord, j'ai…' |
| ensuite | then / next | on-sweet اون سوئیت | Links two past actions. Never use it for the future. |
| puis | then | pwee پوئی | Shorter than ensuite and very common in speech. |
| après | after / afterwards | a-pray اپرے | après + noun = after something. après + nothing = afterwards. |
| enfin | finally / at last | on-fan اون فاں | Closes a story. Nasal 'fan' — no hard n. |
| quand j'étais petit | when I was little | kon zhay-tay pee-tee کون ژے تے پیتی | 'j'étais' is the imperfect — it describes a state, not a single event. You will study it properly later; here it is only a phrase. |
| toute la journée | all day | toot la zhur-nay توت لا ژورنے | toute la journée / toute la soirée / toute la matinée — all day, all evening, all morning. |
| enfin de compte | in the end / all things considered | on-fan duh kont اون فاں دُو کونٹ | A natural way to close a story in everyday French. |
Pronunciation
| Word | Sounds like | Slowly | How to make the sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| avant-hier | a-von-tee-yair | a ... von ... tee ... yair | Compulsory liaison. Never 'a-von. ee-yair'. |
| il y a | eel-ya | eel ... ya | Three written words, one spoken block. 'eel-ya', not 'eel ee ya'. |
| enfin | on-fan | on ... fan | Both syllables nasal. No hard n at the end. |
| un mois | un mwa | un ... mwa | 'un' is nasal, not 'uhn'. The s of mois is silent. |
| d'abord | da-bor | da ... bor | Flat 'or'. Do not round it towards 'oor'. |
| vingt minutes | van mee-nüt | van ... mee ... nüt | The g and the t are both silent in vingt. |
Watch two things: the liaison in 'avant-hier' and 'il y a', and the nasal sounds in 'enfin', 'un mois' and 'vingt'. Nasal vowels are the last big sound a learner masters — slow down and let the air out through the nose.
Grammar
Putting an event in time
Time words can go at the start of a sentence (with a comma) or at the end. Where you put it changes the emphasis, never the grammar.
Sequencing: the spine of every story
Use these five words in this order and your story will always sound organised. You do not need more than these at A2.
Examples
| French | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| D'abord, je suis allé au marché. Ensuite, j'ai acheté des légumes. | First I went to the market. Then I bought vegetables. | da-bor, zhuh swee-za-lay o mar-shay. on-sweet, zhay ash-tay day lay-güm |
| Il y a trois jours, j'ai vu un film formidable. | Three days ago I saw a wonderful film. | eel-ya trwa zhoor, zhay vü un feelm for-mee-dabl |
| Avant-hier, il a plu toute la journée. | The day before yesterday it rained all day. | a-von-tee-yair, eel a plü toot la zhur-nay |
| La semaine dernière, nous sommes allés à la montagne. | Last week we went to the mountains. | la suh-men dair-nyair, noo som-ta-lay a la mon-tan-y |
| Puis j'ai attendu le bus pendant vingt minutes. | Then I waited for the bus for twenty minutes. | pwee zhay a-ton-dü luh büs pon-don van mee-nüt |
| Après, nous avons mangé ensemble. | Afterwards, we ate together. | a-pray, noo-za-von mon-zhay on-sombl |
| Enfin, je suis rentré chez moi à minuit. | Finally, I got home at midnight. | on-fan, zhuh swee ron-tray shay mwa a mee-nwee |
| Il y a un mois, elle est partie en France. | A month ago she left for France. | eel-ya un mwa, el ay par-tee on frons |
| Qu'est-ce que tu as fait la semaine dernière ? | What did you do last week? | kes-kuh tü a fay la suh-men dair-nyair ↗ |
| Enfin de compte, c'était une bonne journée. | In the end, it was a good day. | on-fan duh kont, say-tay tün bon zhur-nay |
Dialogue: Monday lunch: telling the whole weekend in order
Listen for the five sequencing words — they land at the start of each sentence, like stepping stones. Read the story aloud once without the translation, then check yourself.
| French | English | Say it | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Alors, raconte ! Qu'est-ce que tu as fait ce week-end ? | So, tell me! What did you do this weekend? | a-lor, ra-kont. kes-kuh tü a fay suh wee-kend ↗ |
| B | D'abord, samedi matin, j'ai fait le ménage. | First, on Saturday morning, I did the housework. | da-bor, sam-dee ma-tan, zhay fay luh may-nazh |
| A | Ensuite ? | Then? | on-sweet ↗ |
| B | Ensuite, je suis sorti avec mon frère. Nous avons déjeuné au marché. | Then I went out with my brother. We had lunch at the market. | on-sweet, zhuh swee-sor-tee a-vek mon frehr. noo-za-von day-zhuh-nay o mar-shay |
| A | Puis ? | Then? | pwee ↗ |
| B | Puis nous sommes rentrés. Après, j'ai écouté de la musique. | Then we came home. Afterwards I listened to some music. | pwee noo som ron-tray. a-pray, zhay ay-koo-tay duh la mü-zeek |
| A | Et dimanche ? Rien du tout ? | And Sunday? Nothing at all? | ay dee-monsh ↗ ryan dü too ↗ |
| B | Si ! Dimanche, je suis allé chez mes parents. Et enfin, le soir, j'ai dormi pendant douze heures. | Yes I did! On Sunday I went to my parents' place. And finally, in the evening, I slept for twelve hours. | see. dee-monsh, zhuh swee-za-lay shay may pa-ron. ay on-fan, luh swar, zhay dor-mee pon-don dooz ur |
Say it out loud
- D'abord, je suis allé au marché. — First I went to the market. Start flat and confident. 'da-bor' anchors the story.
- Ensuite, j'ai acheté des légumes. — Then I bought vegetables. 'ensuite' is one smooth word: on-sweet.
- Puis, je suis rentré à la maison. — Then I came home. Short 'pwee'. Do not drag it out.
- Après, j'ai mangé avec ma famille. — Afterwards I ate with my family. 'après' = a-pray, with a soft r.
- Enfin, j'ai regardé un film. — Finally I watched a film. Nasal 'on-fan'. No hard n.
- Il y a deux jours, j'ai vu un film formidable. — Two days ago I saw a wonderful film. 'il y a' + time = ago. Say it as one block.
Listening practice: Omar's Saturday, from morning to midnight
Samedi, je me suis levé tard. D'abord, j'ai pris un grand café. Ensuite, il y a deux heures de ça, je suis allé au marché avec ma sœur. Puis nous avons déjeuné dans un petit restaurant. Après, j'ai fait mes devoirs pendant deux heures. Et enfin, le soir, je suis sorti avec mes amis — je suis rentré à minuit !
On Saturday I got up late. First I had a big coffee. Then, about two hours later, I went to the market with my sister. Then we had lunch in a small restaurant. Afterwards I did my homework for two hours. And finally, in the evening, I went out with my friends — I got home at midnight!
Questions
- When did Omar get up? Early / Late / At noon → Late
- What did he do first? Had a coffee / Went to the market / Did homework → Had a coffee
- Who did he go to the market with? His brother / His sister / His friends → His sister
- How long did he do homework? One hour / Two hours / Three hours → Two hours
- What time did he get home? Ten o'clock / Midnight / Two in the morning → Midnight
Remember this
- Past time words: hier, avant-hier, hier soir, ce matin, il y a + time, la semaine dernière, le mois dernier, l'année dernière.
- il y a + time = ago. dans + time = in (future). Never mix them.
- Sequencing spine: d'abord → ensuite → puis → après → enfin.
- Time words go at the start (with a comma) or at the end — never in the middle alone.
- 'il y a deux jours' is one spoken block: eel-ya dü zhoor.
- Liaison in avant-hier: a-von-tee-yair.
- Nasal sounds to watch: enfin (on-fan), un mois (un mwa), vingt (van).
- A good A2 story = time word + passé composé, five times over.
- Use avoir or être correctly inside the story — the sequencing words never change that.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Say | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Il y a deux jours, je vais au marché. | Il y a deux jours, je suis allé au marché. | 'Il y a + time' points to the past, so the verb must be in the past too. |
| Dans deux jours, j'ai mangé. | Il y a deux jours, j'ai mangé. | 'dans' looks forward, 'il y a' looks back. Mixing them makes the sentence impossible. |
| Enfin, d'abord, j'ai travaillé. | D'abord, j'ai travaillé … et enfin, j'ai dormi. | Sequencing words have a fixed order. You cannot open with 'enfin'. |
| La semaine dernière je suis aller au marché. | La semaine dernière, je suis allé au marché. | The participle keeps -é, and a short comma after a time phrase helps the reader. |
Practice questions
- How do you say 'two days ago'? il y a deux jours / dans deux jours / deux jours / avant deux jours — il y a deux jours
- Which word starts a story? Enfin / D'abord / Après / Puis — D'abord
- Which word CLOSES a story? D'abord / Ensuite / Enfin / Puis — Enfin
- Complete: '___ semaine dernière, j'ai vu Marie.' Le / La / Les / L' — La
- What does 'avant-hier' mean? Yesterday / The day before yesterday / Tomorrow / This morning — The day before yesterday
- Which sentence is correct? Il y a trois jours, j'ai vu. / Il y a trois jours, j'ai vu un film. / Il y a trois jours je voir un film. / Je vu il y a trois jours. — Il y a trois jours, j'ai vu un film.
- Put in order: après / d'abord / enfin enfin, d'abord, après / d'abord, après, enfin / après, enfin, d'abord / d'abord, enfin, après — d'abord, après, enfin
- How do you say 'last month'? le mois dernier / la mois dernière / le mois prochain / il y a un mois dernier — le mois dernier
Homework (35 minutes)
1) Write your last weekend as a five-sentence story using d'abord, ensuite, puis, après, enfin. 2) Read it aloud three times, then record it. 3) Rewrite the same story but starting with 'Il y a deux jours…'. 4) Then re-read the warm-up words at the top of this lesson — can you still remember all of them?
Lesson 39 of 45 · A2 · Part 1 — Talking About the Past · See the full A0 → A2 roadmap · Français A0 → A2