Free 7-Lesson Starter Pack.

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Though we have a growing number of Lessons on all sorts of topics at Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels, the 7 lessons in our Starter Pack cover a number of key things you should know before you start to learn French. Think of them as being a kind of grammar snapshot which provides a framework on which to build the vocabulary and expressions you'll be acquiring in our other lessons.

Lesson 1: nouns and indefinite articles In this lesson, we talk about nouns and their gender (that is, whether they are masculine or feminine) and number (whether they are singular or plural). We also talk about indefinite articles ('a' and 'an', in English) and see why they are so important.

Lesson 2: nouns and definite articles In this lesson, we introduce definite articles ('the', in English). We'll see how to put them into action when generalising about things (saying, for example, 'J'aime le sport' (= I like sport (in general)).

Lesson 3: adjectives and agreement with nouns Whether we are talking about four red cards, or one red dress, adjectives are straightforward in English. The same cannot be said for adjectives in French, however, as they must agree with the nouns to which they are referring. Adjectives – and how to make them agree with nouns – that's the subject of this lesson.

Lesson 4: '1st Group' verbs (in the Present Tense) Our lives are determined by the actions we take. In the context of language-learning, verbs allow us to articulate these actions. In this lesson, we look at '1st Group' verbs, those that end in '–er'. There are many of them in French so it's important to know how they work!

Lesson 5: '2nd Group' verbs (in the Present Tense) '2nd Group' verbs are those that end in '–ir'. In this short lesson, we take a look at how this set of verbs works.

Lesson 6: the negative Our Starter Pack lessons so far have provided examples in the affirmative, that is, saying that something is so. But what about saying 'I don't smoke', or 'He doesn't work' – in other words, expressing ourselves in the negative? That's the subject of this lesson.

Lesson 7: reflexive verbs 'Reflexive' verbs or, more technically, 'pronominal' verbs, are very common in French. They involve the use of 'reflexive' pronouns, like in the expression 'Je m'appelle Jean'. This lesson provides a brief introduction to a category of verb which we'll meet very frequently in our French studies.

Don't forget that there are Sample Guides, too, that you can download and examine before you consider purchasing Download Credits.