Lesson 6: Le temps (time)

Lesson 6: Le temps (time)

• Quelle heure est-il? (what time is it?)
• Les jours de la semaine (the days of the week)
• Les mois de l’année (the months of the year)
 Les jours de la semaine
The French calendar begins on a Monday as the first day of the week. Unlike English, the days of the week
are not capitalized in French:
✓ lundi (luhN-dee) (Monday) ✓ mardi (mahr-dee) (Tuesday)
✓ mercredi (mehr-kruh-dee) (Wednesday) ✓ jeudi (zhuh-dee) (Thursday)
✓ vendredi (vahN-druh-dee) (Friday) ✓ samedi (sahm-dee) (Saturday)
✓ dimanche (dee-mahNnsh) (Sunday)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA5jSbKd5cM
Les mois de l’année (the months of the year)
Just like the days of the week, the months of the year are not capitalized in French. Here are the months in
French:
✓ janvier (zhahN-vyey) (January) ✓ février (fey-vryey) (February)
✓ mars (mahrs) (March) ✓ avril (ah-vreel) (April)
✓ mai (meh) (May) ✓ juin (zhwaN) (June)
✓ juillet (zhwee-yeh) (July) ✓ août (ooht) (August)
✓ septembre (sehp-tahN-bruh) (September) ✓ octobre (ohk-toh-bruh) (October)
✓ novembre (noh-vahN-bruh) (November) ✓ décembre (dey-sahN-bruh) (December)
How to announce an event
• To say that something is happening in a certain month, you use the
preposition en (ahN) (in) in front of the month. Here are some
examples:
• Mon anniversaire est en décembre. (mohN-nah-nee-vehr-sehr eht-
ahN dey-sahN-bruh.) (My birthday is in December.)
• En janvier, je pars pour la Martinique. (ahN zhaN-vyey, zhuh pahr
poohr lah mahr-tee-neek.) (In January, I leave for Martinique.)
• Je reviens en avril. (zhuh ruh-vyaN ahN-nah-vreel).
• (I am coming back in April.)
Setting specific dates
• When expressing a specific date, use the following construction:
• Le + cardinal number + month + year
• You use this formula to express all dates, except for the first of the
month, when you use the ordinal number. Here are a couple of
examples:
• C’est le 6 avril 2000. (seh luh see-zah-vreel duh meel.) (It’s the sixth of
April 2000.)
• C’est le premier mai. (seh luh pruh-myey meh.) (It’s the first of May.)
• The following are some important dates in some French-speaking
countries:
Important dates in some French-speaking countries

• The following are some important dates in some French-speaking

countries:
• le 14 juillet (luh kah-tohrz zhwee-yeh) (July14): The French national holiday
• le premier août (luh pruh-myey ooht) (August 1): The Swiss national
holiday
• le 17 juillet (luh dee-seht zhwee-yeh) (July 17): The Belgian national holiday
• le 30 juin (luh trahNt zhyaN) (June 30): The D.R. Congo Independence Day
• le premier juillet (luh pruh-myey zhwee-yeh) (July 1): The Canadian
national holiday
Les saisons de l’année (the seasons)
• The seasons in French are masculine and, unlike in English, require
the definite article:
• ✓ le printemps (luh praN-tahN) (spring)
• ✓ l’été (ley-tey) (summer)
• ✓ l’automne (loh-tohn) (fall)
• ✓ l’hiver (lee-vehr) (winter)
Les saisons de l’année (the seasons)
• To express in the spring, for example, use au (oh) before a consonant
sound and use en (ahN) before a vowel sound:
• au printemps (oh praN-tahN) (in the spring),
• en été (ahN-ney-tey) (in the summer),
• en automne (ahN-noh-tohn) (in the fall), and
• en hiver (ahN-nee-vehr) (in the winter).
• Example: J’aime voyager en été.
Dialogue:Juliette is talking to her friend Corinne about her sister’s upcoming wedding.

• Juliette: Ma soeur va se marier • Juliette: Le 6 avril.

au printemps. • luh see-zah-vreel.
• mah suhr vah suh mah-ryey oh • April 6.
praN-tahN.
• Corinne: C’est quel jour?
• My sister is getting married in the
spring. • seh kehl zhoohr?
• What day is it?
• Corinne: Ah oui. Quand
exactement? • Juliette: C’est un samedi.
• ah wee. kahN-tehg-zah-ktuh- • seh-tuhN sahm-dee.
mahN? • It’s a Saturday.
• Oh yes. When exactly?