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Lesson 51 of 240

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Months and dates in French

Sam needs the keys. Monsieur Lefebvre is already on the stairs, brief as ever, and will say the date once.

Then Inès, two floors below, turns a date into a birthday.

By the end, you'll ask the date, name a day in a month, and say next month or next year.

You'll also ask a friend when their birthday is.

By the end of this lesson

Say the month, day, and date, and ask when.

  • C'est quelle date ?What's the date?
  • C'est le quatorze octobre.It's the 14th of October.
  • En janvier.In January.
  • Le mois prochain.Next month.
  • L'année prochaine.Next year.
  • C'est quand, ton anniversaire ?When's your birthday?

Scene — the keys on the stairs

Sam is on the wooden stairs of his walk-up. Monsieur Lefebvre stands on the landing with a heavy ring of keys.

Inès lives two floors below. Her door is open a crack.

The street is quiet. No café, no yak, just the stairs and the date for the keys.

A wide stairwell view with Sam small on the wooden stairs, Monsieur Lefebvre small on the landing with a heavy ring of keys, and Inès just visible at a door open a crack farther down the well.

Learn — months and dates

Six short lines cover the date, a month, next month, and next year.

January here stands in for the other months, from February to December too.

  1. Sam stands on the wooden stairs looking up toward the landing, one hand lifted from the banister as if asking the date.

    C'est quelle date ?

    What's the date?

    When to use it: Ask this when you need the day and the month.

    Learn it as one piece to ask the date.

  2. A close view of the heavy ring of keys held out on the landing, with Monsieur Lefebvre’s other hand on the newel post.

    C'est le quatorze octobre.

    It's the 14th of October.

    When to use it: Say this to give the day and the month.

    Learn it as one piece for a full date.

    Say it: The last e in quatorze is silent.

  3. From the landing, the view looks down past Monsieur Lefebvre at Sam on the stairs, one finger raised as if the keys were for next month.

    En janvier.

    In January.

    When to use it: Say this for something that happens in January.

    Learn it as one piece for the month January.

    Say it: The En here is a nasal sound.

  4. Monsieur Lefebvre leans on the banister with the keys hanging at one side and one palm pushed forward as if the day were already here.

    Le mois prochain.

    Next month.

    When to use it: Say this for the month after this one.

    Learn it as one piece for the month after now.

    Say it: The s in mois is silent.

  5. Sam leans on the stair rail in profile with a small shrug, the keys now in hand, looking toward the empty landing.

    L'année prochaine.

    Next year.

    When to use it: Say this for the year after this one.

    Learn it as one piece for the year after now.

    Say it: The apostrophe marks a dropped vowel before année.

  6. Inès leans into the stairwell from a door open a crack, looking upward, while Sam pauses on the stairs above with the keys.

    C'est quand, ton anniversaire ?

    When's your birthday?

    When to use it: Ask this of a friend, not of the landlord.

    Learn it as one piece with a friend.

    Say it: The last d in quand is silent.

Story — he says it once

Watch Sam ask the date on the stairs. Lefebvre answers once, then goes.

The highlighted words are the lines you just learned. Turn on Show English if you need it.

  1. Lefebvre is already on the landing. The keys are in his hand.
  2. Monsieur LefebvreBonjour.Hello.
  3. SamBonjour. C'est quelle date ?Hello. What's the date?
  4. Sam thought the keys were for later. Lefebvre does not fill the pause.
  5. SamLe mois prochain.Next month.
  6. Monsieur LefebvreC'est le quatorze octobre.It's the 14th of October.
  7. He puts the keys in Sam's hand and starts down the stairs.
  8. Two floors below, Inès is on the landing. Her door is open.
  9. InèsSalut.Hi.
  10. SamC'est quand, ton anniversaire ?When's your birthday?
  11. InèsEn janvier.In January.
  12. SamL'année prochaine.Next year.

Practice — day month year

Eleven quick exercises wait here. You'll listen, pick, match, fill a gap, and swap a word.

They stay tiny, so the round moves fast.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. What do you say?

    You need the date for the keys. Lefebvre is already on the stairs.

  3. Match the pairs

    French

    C'est quelle date ?Drop the English here
    C'est le quatorze octobre.Drop the English here
    En janvier.Drop the English here
    Le mois prochain.Drop the English here
    L'année prochaine.Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its French, or tap one and then the other.

  4. What does it mean?

    En janvier.

  5. Fill the gap

    It's the 14th of October.

    C'est le ____ octobre.

  6. What do you say?

    You meet Monsieur Lefebvre on the stairs in the morning.

  7. Swap the word

    You mean the month after this one, not last month.

    Le mois ____.

  8. Build the line

    It's the 14th of October.

    .

    Tap the words in order.

  9. Fill the gap

    Next year.

    L'année ____.

  10. True or false?

    You ask Monsieur Lefebvre this.

  11. What do you say?

    Inès steps onto the landing in the morning. Give her a casual hi.

Say it — ask the date

Now you're Sam on the stairs. When it's your turn, tap the microphone and speak the line.

Tap ▶ first if you want to hear the line. Your recording stays on your device.

  1. Monsieur LefebvreBonjour.Hello.
  2. Sam (you)Ask him what the date is.

    C'est quelle date ?

    What's the date?

0 of 4 said

Recap — what you can say now

FrenchEnglish
C'est quelle date ?What's the date?
C'est le quatorze octobre.It's the 14th of October.
En janvier.In January.
Le mois prochain.Next month.
L'année prochaine.Next year.
C'est quand, ton anniversaire ?When's your birthday?
Next: lesson 52Colours and sizes

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Want to keep these dates handy? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A quick round with the Yak Cards each day keeps the months ready for the stairs.

Open Yak Cards