French course

Lesson 149 of 240

New here? This is lesson 149 of a free 240-lesson French course.

Start hereHow this works

What happened to it in French

Rain hits rue des Tilleuls and Sam walks into Café des Tilleuls already soaked. Claire is at a table with news: her meeting was cancelled.

Karim comes in without the cargo bike. Gaspard's long coat drips from every pocket.

By the end, you'll say what happened to a bike, a bag, a meeting, and you after the rain.

You'll also name a repair that did not hold, and a trick you fell for.

By the end of this lesson

Say what happened to someone or something, including theft, rain, and a repair.

  • On m'a volé mon vélo.My bike was stolen.
  • Je me suis fait voler le sac.I had my bag stolen.
  • Il a été réparé ce matin.It was repaired this morning.
  • J'ai été trempé jusqu'aux os.I got soaked to the skin.
  • Ma réunion a été annulée.My meeting was cancelled.
  • Je me suis fait avoir.I got taken in.

Scene — a wet door

A hard shower on rue des Tilleuls. Sam pushes the café door, dripping onto the zinc.

Odile watches from the counter. Claire is already at a round table with her laptop.

Gaspard sits on two chairs by the window table, café crème untouched, his long coat dark with rain.

Karim's cargo bike is not at the curb.

Sam drips in the café doorway onto the zinc while Odile looks up from the counter and Claire sits at a round table in the morning rain.

Learn — what happened to it

Six lines cover theft, a repair, a cancelled meeting, and getting soaked.

You'll also get a short way to say you were tricked.

  1. Karim stands alone in the hard rain, staring at the empty wet curb where a cargo bike should be.

    On m'a volé mon vélo.

    My bike was stolen.

    When to use it: Say this when someone stole your bike and you do not name who.

    On plus me tells what happened to you, without naming the person.

    Say it: m'a is me plus a, said as one short beat.

  2. Karim holds an empty bag open just inside the café door and looks down into it.

    Je me suis fait voler le sac.

    I had my bag stolen.

    When to use it: Say this when a bag was stolen from you.

    Se faire plus a verb puts you as the one it happened to.

    Say it: The final s in suis is silent.

  3. Odile and Karim face each other at the zinc as Karim holds out a lock that has already failed.

    Il a été réparé ce matin.

    It was repaired this morning.

    When to use it: Say this when something was fixed this morning, and you skip who did it.

    Put the thing first and skip who did the repair.

  4. Over Odile's shoulder, Sam drips onto the zinc at the counter.

    J'ai été trempé jusqu'aux os.

    I got soaked to the skin.

    When to use it: Say this after hard rain when you are wet through.

    A woman says trempée here; Sam is a man, so this line uses trempé.

    Say it: The em in trempé is a nasal sound.

  5. Claire sits in profile at a round table, closing a laptop after a cancelled meeting.

    Ma réunion a été annulée.

    My meeting was cancelled.

    When to use it: Say this when your meeting is called off.

    Annulée takes the feminine form to match réunion.

  6. Gaspard stands by the window table and lifts a coat as water runs from every pocket.

    Je me suis fait avoir.

    I got taken in.

    When to use it: Say this when someone tricked you or a deal was a cheat.

    Same se faire pattern, here with avoir for a trick.

Story — the bike is gone

Watch a wet morning at the café. A meeting dies, a bike is gone, and a coat drips from every pocket.

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

  1. Rain drums on the folded awning. Odile looks up from the zinc.
  2. OdileIl pleut.It's raining.
  3. SamJ'ai un problème.I've got a problem.
  4. OdileQu'est-ce qui se passe ?What's going on?
  5. SamJ'ai été trempé jusqu'aux os.I got soaked to the skin.
  6. Claire closes her laptop and looks at Sam's wet sleeves.
  7. ClaireMa réunion a été annulée.My meeting was cancelled.
  8. Karim pushes the door. His cargo bike is not behind him.
  9. KarimOn m'a volé mon vélo.My bike was stolen.
  10. OdileEt le sac, mon grand ?And the bag, dear?
  11. KarimJe me suis fait voler le sac.I had my bag stolen.
  12. OdileLe cadenas ?The lock?
  13. KarimIl a été réparé ce matin.It was repaired this morning.
  14. OdileC'est cassé.It's broken.
  15. KarimJe me suis fait avoir.I got taken in.
  16. Gaspard lifts his camel coat. Water runs from every pocket. He does not sit at the window table.
  17. GaspardBon, il y a de l'eau dans chaque poche.Right, there is water in every pocket.

Practice — stolen, soaked, cancelled

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

They stay tiny, so the round moves fast.

0 of 11 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. Match the pairs

    French

    On m'a volé mon vélo.Drop the English here
    J'ai été trempé jusqu'aux os.Drop the English here
    Ma réunion a été annulée.Drop the English here

    English

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

  3. What do you say?

    You push the café door, dripping after the rain.

  4. Fill the gap

    My meeting was cancelled.

    Ma réunion a été ____.

  5. What does it mean?

    Il a été réparé ce matin.

  6. Swap the word

    The locksmith cheated you. Say you got taken in.

    Je me suis fait ____.

  7. Build the line

    I had my bag stolen.

    .

    Tap the words in order.

  8. Pick the reply

    Odile says:

    Qu'est-ce qui se passe, mon grand ?

    What's going on, dear?

    And you reply with:

  9. True or false?

    This means the bike was stolen.

  10. Find the mistake

  11. What do you say?

    You look at the lock. It still does not work.

Say it — say what happened

Now you're Sam on this wet morning. 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. OdileIl pleut.It's raining.
  2. Sam (you)Tell her you got soaked to the skin.

    J'ai été trempé jusqu'aux os.

    I got soaked to the skin.

0 of 5 said

Recap — what you can say now

FrenchEnglish
On m'a volé mon vélo.My bike was stolen.
Je me suis fait voler le sac.I had my bag stolen.
Il a été réparé ce matin.It was repaired this morning.
J'ai été trempé jusqu'aux os.I got soaked to the skin.
Ma réunion a été annulée.My meeting was cancelled.
Je me suis fait avoir.I got taken in.
Next: lesson 150Understood, found, finished

Save your progress — it’s free

Keep your place in the course and see which lines you’ve learned.

Want the next lesson in your inbox?

Get the next lesson by email, one a day.

Where should we start?
Join the newsletter

Daily lesson emails are coming soon. Newsletter subscribers get them first.

Keep practicing with Yak Cards

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

A quick round with the Yak Cards each day keeps these what-happened lines ready.

Open Yak Cards