Ready to tell stories from your life? In this lesson we'll practice short, useful frames for talking about past experiences. Keep it relaxed — imagine you're chatting with a friend.
Listen, repeat, then try to use these phrases in your own short stories.
Level B1: Lesson 66 focuses on telling short personal stories and asking about others' experiences. You'll practice frames like “Quand j'étais plus jeune, je ___.” and “Tu as déjà ___ ?” to say what you used to do, what you've already done, and how events happened. This CEFR-aligned set helps you narrate, react, and ask follow-up questions in real conversations.
After this lesson you'll be able to:
Use B1-friendly frames to describe past habits and single events.
Ask and answer questions about whether someone has had an experience.
Tell when things happened and summarize how you felt about them.
Ready? Let's go!
When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.
1. Reading + Listening Practice
Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.
Quand j'étais plus jeune, je ___.
I used to ___ when I was younger.
Meaning: I used to ___ when I was younger.
When to use: Use this to talk about repeated past habits or things you did regularly when you were younger; the verb is usually in the imparfait (je jouais, j'allais).
Tip: Beginners sometimes use a past participle instead of the imparfait (e.g., 'je joué' instead of 'je jouais').
Quand j'étais plus jeune, je jouais au foot tous les week-ends.
When I was younger, I used to play football every weekend.
Quand j'étais plus jeune, je passais mes vacances chez mes grands-parents.
When I was younger, I spent my holidays with my grandparents.
Je suis déjà allé à ___.
I’ve been to ___ before.
Meaning: I’ve been to ___ before.
When to use: Say this to tell someone you have visited a place before; adjust gender/preposition when needed (allé/allée; en/au/aux).
Je suis déjà allé à Paris l'année dernière.
I've already been to Paris last year.
Je suis déjà allé à Montréal pour le travail.
I've been to Montreal for work before.
Tu as déjà ___ ?
Have you ever ___?
Meaning: Have you ever ___?
When to use: Use this to ask if someone has had a particular experience; follow with a past participle after 'déjà' (e.g., 'Tu as déjà visité Paris ?').
Tu as déjà goûté la cuisine marocaine ?
Have you ever tasted Moroccan food?
Tu as déjà participé à un marathon ?
Have you ever taken part in a marathon?
C'est arrivé quand j'étais ___.
That happened when I was ___.
Meaning: That happened when I was ___.
When to use: Use this to place an event in time; for age use 'quand j'avais ___ ans'.
C'est arrivé quand j'avais dix ans.
That happened when I was ten years old.
C'est arrivé quand j'étais étudiant à l'université.
That happened when I was a university student.
La première fois que j'ai ___, c'était ___.
The first time I ___ was ___.
Meaning: The first time I ___ was ___.
When to use: Use this to introduce the first time you did something; often follows with a past participle or auxiliary (je suis allé, j'ai vu).
La première fois que j'ai voyagé seul, c'était en Espagne.
The first time I traveled alone was in Spain.
La première fois que j'ai rencontré Marie, c'était à une fête.
The first time I met Marie was at a party.
Je n'avais jamais ___ avant.
I had never ___ before.
Meaning: I had never ___ before.
When to use: Use this to say that an experience was new up to that point in the past; common with a past participle after 'jamais'.
Tip: Don't forget the auxiliary agreement when needed with être (some verbs change with gender/number).
Je n'avais jamais vu la mer avant ce voyage.
I had never seen the sea before that trip.
Je n'avais jamais essayé le ski avant cet hiver.
I had never tried skiing before this winter.
Je ne m'attendais pas à ___.
I didn’t expect to ___.
Meaning: I didn’t expect to ___.
When to use: Use this to describe an unexpected result; usually followed by an infinitive after 'à' (e.g., 'Je ne m'attendais pas à gagner').
Je ne m'attendais pas à rencontrer autant de monde.
I didn't expect to meet so many people.
Je ne m'attendais pas à rester si longtemps.
I didn't expect to stay so long.
Après ça, j'ai ___.
After that, I ___.
Meaning: After that, I ___.
When to use: Use this to continue a story and say what happened next; often followed by a past tense (j'ai + past participle).
Après ça, j'ai pris le train pour rentrer chez moi.
After that, I took the train to go home.
Après ça, j'ai commencé à apprendre la guitare.
After that, I started learning the guitar.
Je me souviens de ___.
I remember ___.
Meaning: I remember ___.
When to use: Use this to recall a memory; with a full clause you can say 'Je me souviens que ___'.
Je me souviens de la première fois que j'ai mangé des sushis.
I remember the first time I ate sushi.
Je me souviens que la ville était très bruyante cette nuit-là.
I remember that the city was very noisy that night.
C'était un des meilleurs ___ de ma vie.
It was one of the best ___ I’ve ever had.
Meaning: It was one of the best ___ I’ve ever had.
When to use: Use this to summarize the emotional value of a past experience; adjust gender/plural for the noun (un des meilleurs / une des meilleures).
C'était un des meilleurs voyages de ma vie.
It was one of the best trips of my life.
C'était une des meilleures soirées que j'aie eues.
It was one of the best evenings I've had.
Il y a quelques années, j'ai ___.
A few years ago, I ___.
Meaning: A few years ago, I ___.
When to use: Use this to introduce a past experience with a simple time marker; often followed by a past participle (j'ai + pp).
Il y a quelques années, j'ai changé de travail.
A few years ago, I changed jobs.
Il y a quelques années, j'ai déménagé à l'étranger.
A few years ago, I moved abroad.
Une fois, j'ai ___.
I once ___.
Meaning: I once ___.
When to use: Use this to mention a single, notable past experience; commonly used in spoken stories.
Une fois, j'ai perdu mon passeport en voyage.
Once, I lost my passport while traveling.
Une fois, j'ai dormi sur un ferry par erreur.
Once, I slept on a ferry by mistake.
J'ai fini par ___.
I ended up ___.
Meaning: I ended up ___.
When to use: Use this with an infinitive to explain an unexpected final outcome (e.g., 'J'ai fini par accepter', 'J'ai fini par partir').
J'ai fini par accepter l'invitation.
I ended up accepting the invitation.
Au bout du voyage, j'ai fini par rentrer plus tôt que prévu.
By the end of the trip, I ended up returning earlier than planned.
2. Conversational Listening Practice
Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.
Anna and David trade short travel memories
Who says they visited Italy a few years ago?
Anna
Il y a quelques années, j'ai visité l'Italie.
A few years ago, I visited Italy.
David
Tu as déjà visité Rome ?
Have you ever visited Rome?
Anna
La première fois que j'ai visité Rome, c'était incroyable.
The first time I visited Rome, it was amazing.
David
Quand j'étais plus jeune, je rêvais d'y aller.
When I was younger, I used to dream of going there.
Anna
Je me souviens de la nourriture — c'était un des meilleurs voyages de ma vie.
I remember the food — it was one of the best trips of my life.
David
Je ne m'attendais pas à tomber amoureux de la ville.
I didn't expect to fall in love with the city.
3. Guided Practice
Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.
Which sentence means 'Have you ever ___?'
How do you say 'A few years ago, I ___'?
Which phrase means 'I didn't expect to ___.'?
How do you say 'It was one of the best ___ of my life.'?
When I was younger, I used to play in the park every Saturday.
Quand j'étais plus jeune, je ___ au parc tous les samedis.
Have you ever visited Japan?
Tu as déjà ___ au Japon ?
It was one of the best trips of my life.
C'était un des meilleurs ___ de ma vie.
Match the core phrases
Match the extra phrases
4. Speaking Practice
Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).
Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.
