French course

Lesson 236 of 240

New here? This is lesson 236 of a free 240-lesson French course.

Start hereHow this works

Retelling the year in French

Sam leans on the zinc counter and tries to tell the year in one short story. Odile wipes a glass and waits for the point.

Gaspard sits on two chairs by the window table, café crème still full.

You will open a year that was packed, then land on what stayed: the people, the terrace, this café.

Keep the story short, with a point, not a speech.

By the end of this lesson

Tell the story of your year with a point.

  • Cette année, il s'est passé un paquet de choses.This year a huge amount has happened.
  • En arrivant, je ne comprenais pas grand-chose.When I arrived, I didn't understand much.
  • Petit à petit, le quartier m'a adopté.Little by little, the neighbourhood took me in.
  • Ce qui m'a le plus marqué, c'est les gens.What struck me most was the people.
  • Si je n'en gardais qu'une image, c'est la terrasse.If I kept only one image, it's the terrace.
  • Le fil rouge, c'est ce café.The thread running through it is this café.

Scene — the year at the counter

Late afternoon at Café des Tilleuls. Sam leans on the zinc counter. Odile has a cloth in her hand.

Gaspard sits at the table next to the window table, on two chairs, café crème untouched. The blank brass sign is still on the empty two-top.

Wide late-afternoon interior of Café des Tilleuls with Sam leaning on the zinc, Odile holding a cloth, and Gaspard on two chairs beside the empty window table.

Learn — a year with a point

Six lines help you tell a year with a point: a packed start, arriving lost, then the neighbourhood, the people, one image, and the café as the thread.

  1. Close-up of Sam at the zinc counter, elbows planted, looking down as if taking stock of the year.

    Cette année, il s'est passé un paquet de choses.

    This year a huge amount has happened.

    When to use it: Use this to open a year in review before you pick the point.

    Un paquet de choses is a casual pile, not a counted list.

  2. Profile of Sam half-turned from the counter toward the café door, as if remembering first walking in.

    En arrivant, je ne comprenais pas grand-chose.

    When I arrived, I didn't understand much.

    When to use it: Start here when the year began in a fog.

    After pas, grand-chose means not much at all.

    Say it: The d in grand is silent before chose.

  3. Sam in the café doorway looking down the street while someone walks past on the pavement.

    Petit à petit, le quartier m'a adopté.

    Little by little, the neighbourhood took me in.

    When to use it: Use this for slow belonging, not a sudden welcome.

    The neighbourhood is the one doing the adopting.

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

  4. Over Odile’s shoulder toward Sam at the counter, Sam looking at Odile while a customer sits further along the bar.

    Ce qui m'a le plus marqué, c'est les gens.

    What struck me most was the people.

    When to use it: Name what hit you hardest after you set the year.

    People still say c'est les gens here, even with a plural.

    Say it: The s in plus is silent before marqué.

  5. The empty terrace in late light, with Sam soft in the window looking out.

    Si je n'en gardais qu'une image, c'est la terrasse.

    If I kept only one image, it's the terrace.

    When to use it: Pick one picture when you want the year to land.

    N'en and qu'une work together to mean only one of them.

    Say it: qu'une is que plus une in one beat.

  6. High view of Sam taking in the café, with Odile at the zinc and Gaspard on two chairs beside the empty two-top.

    Le fil rouge, c'est ce café.

    The thread running through it is this café.

    When to use it: End on the thread that holds the year together.

    Fil rouge is the running thread, not a colour you point to.

Story — he still doesn't finish

Watch Sam tell the year at the counter. He keeps it short, and Gaspard listens without finishing his drink.

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

  1. Late light on the zinc. Odile looks at Sam, waiting for more than an order.
  2. OdileAllez, mon grand. Cette année, tu me la racontes ?Come on, dear. Are you going to tell me this year?
  3. SamCette année, il s'est passé un paquet de choses.This year a huge amount has happened.
  4. GaspardUn paquet, ça. Moi, je t'écoute.A huge amount, yes. I'm listening.
  5. SamEn arrivant, je ne comprenais pas grand-chose.When I arrived, I didn't understand much.
  6. OdileÇa, je m'en souviens. Tu cherchais encore les mots.I remember that. You were still hunting for the words.
  7. SamAu début, j'étais un peu stressé.At first I was a bit stressed.
  8. OdileEt après ? Le quartier, il t'a laissé une chance ?And after that? Did the neighbourhood give you a chance?
  9. SamPetit à petit, le quartier m'a adopté.Little by little, the neighbourhood took me in.
  10. GaspardAdopté, oui. Tu as une chaise, maintenant.Took you in, yes. You've got a chair now.
  11. SamCe qui m'a le plus marqué, c'est les gens.What struck me most was the people.
  12. OdileLes gens. Pas le boulot, pas les marches. Les gens.The people. Not the job, not the stairs. The people.
  13. SamPlus tard, ça s'est bien passé.Later on, it went well.
  14. GaspardC'est une longue histoire.It's a long story.
  15. OdileUne image, alors. Juste une.One image, then. Just one.
  16. SamSi je n'en gardais qu'une image, c'est la terrasse.If I kept only one image, it's the terrace.
  17. Gaspard glances at the empty window table, then down at his full cup.
  18. GaspardLa terrasse, d'accord. Et le fil, dans tout ça ?The terrace, fair enough. And the thread, in all that?
  19. SamLe fil rouge, c'est ce café.The thread running through it is this café.
  20. OdileVoilà. Tu as un point, maintenant. C'est mieux.There. You've got a point now. That's better.
  21. GaspardBon. Moi, je n'ai toujours pas fini.Right. I still haven't finished.

Practice — packed, then a point

Ten quick exercises wait here. You'll listen, fill a gap, swap a word, and build a line.

They stay short, so the round moves fast.

0 of 10 done

  1. What did you hear?

  2. What does it mean?

    En arrivant, je ne comprenais pas grand-chose.

  3. What do you say?

    You tell Odile how belonging happened slowly, not all at once.

  4. Fill the gap

    What struck me most was the people.

    Ce qui m'a le plus marqué, c'est les ____.

  5. Swap the word

    If you kept only one image of the year, it is the café terrace.

    Si je n'en gardais qu'une image, c'est la ____.

  6. Build the line

    The thread running through it is this café.

    , .

    Tap the words in order.

  7. True or false?

    Sam is talking about how calm he felt on day one.

  8. What do you say?

    You skip the messy middle and say how it went later on.

  9. Pick the reply

    Gaspard says:

    Alors, c'est une histoire courte ?

    So it's a short story?

    And you reply with:

  10. Match the pairs

    French

    Cette année, il s'est passé un paquet de choses.Drop the English here
    Petit à petit, le quartier m'a adopté.Drop the English here
    Si je n'en gardais qu'une image, c'est la terrasse.Drop the English here

    English

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

Say it — tell it back

Now you're Sam at the zinc counter, telling the year. 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. OdileAllez, mon grand. Cette année ?Come on, dear. This year?
  2. Sam (you)Open the year: a huge amount has happened.

    Cette année, il s'est passé un paquet de choses.

    This year a huge amount has happened.

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

FrenchEnglish
Cette année, il s'est passé un paquet de choses.This year a huge amount has happened.
En arrivant, je ne comprenais pas grand-chose.When I arrived, I didn't understand much.
Petit à petit, le quartier m'a adopté.Little by little, the neighbourhood took me in.
Ce qui m'a le plus marqué, c'est les gens.What struck me most was the people.
Si je n'en gardais qu'une image, c'est la terrasse.If I kept only one image, it's the terrace.
Le fil rouge, c'est ce café.The thread running through it is this café.
Next: lesson 237The Lyon story, told properly

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 this year's lines handy? Grab the Yak Cards for this lesson and review them anywhere.

A quick round with the Yak Cards keeps the year ready when someone asks.

Open Yak Cards