Your own life: hobbies, health and opinions
Phase 3 stops teaching structures and starts using them. This week gives you the vocabulary to talk about yourself — which is most of what conversation actually is.
Colours live this week
10 of 10 in playA thing, a person or a place.
An action or a state — what is happening.
Describes a noun.
Modifies a verb or an adjective.
the / a / some — and possessives like mon, ma.
Stands in for a noun — I, you, he, it.
Links words together — to, in, of, for.
Joins two parts of a sentence.
Opens a question — where, when, how, why.
Learn it whole. Do not take it apart.
Possessives — mon, ma, mes — behave like articles: grey, with the gender style. Adverbs of degree such as très, bien and mal are gold.
Hobbies and interests
Pick the five that are actually true of you and drill only those. The others are here so you recognise them when someone else says them.
- le sportsportJ'aime le sport.I like sport.
- la musiquemusicJ'aime la musique.I like music.
- la lecturereadingJ'aime lire.I like to read.
The verb is far more natural here than the noun.
- le jardinagegardening
- la cuisinecookingJ'aime cuisiner.I like to cook.
The same word as kitchen, from Week 3. Context decides.
- le voyagetravel
- la photographiephotography
- le cinémacinema, film
- la téléTVJe regarde la télé.I watch TV.
- la promenadea walkJe fais une promenade.I go for a walk.
French makes a walk rather than going for one.
In French you like the thing
Always keep the article: j'aime le sport, never j'aime sport. It feels redundant in English and it is not optional in French. For activities like reading and cooking, though, the verb is more natural than the noun — j'aime lire, j'aime cuisiner.
The four liking verbs
Between them these cover almost every opinion you will need about almost anything.
| Verb | jereviewed | vous | il / elle / on | nous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aimerto like or love | aime | aimez | aime | aimons |
| adorerto adore | adore | adorez | adore | adorons |
| détesterto hate | déteste | détestez | déteste | détestons |
| préférerto prefer | préfère | préférez | préfère | préférons |
Only the je column becomes a review card. The rest are there to be recognised, not produced — which is what keeps a day inside its fifteen minutes.
Health
- Je vais bienI feel wellJe vais bien, merci.I'm well, thank you.
The same aller as to go. French uses it for how you are.
- Je vais malI feel unwell
- [avoir mal à …]to have a pain in…J'ai [mal à] la tête.I have a headache.
- le médecinthe doctor
Masculine whoever the doctor is.
- malade / maladeillJe suis malade.I am ill.
Spelled the same either way — only the style differs here, to remind you it is still agreeing.
- fatigué / fatiguéetiredJe suis fatigué.I am tired.
- [je me repose]I'm resting
One grey chunk. The me belongs to the verb, and reflexive verbs are a topic for later.
Where it hurts
Learn each body part with its preposition already attached — the contraction is the hard part, not the noun.
- à la tête…in the head
- à la main…in the hand
- à la jambe…in the leg
- au ventre…in the stomach
au = à + le
- au dos…in the back
- au bras…in the arm
- aux dents…in the teeth
aux = à + les, so both words take the plural underline.
Opinions
- [je pense que…]I think that…[Je pense que] le voyage est intéressant.I think travel is interesting.
- [je trouve que…]I find that…[Je trouve que] la cuisine est bonne.I find the food good.
- [à mon avis]in my opinion[À mon avis,] [c'est] bien.In my opinion, it's good.
- le problèmethe problem
Masculine, despite the -e ending. One to remember.
When the adjective agrees, and when it does not
After c'est, the adjective stays masculine by default — c'est intéressant, c'est bon, c'est cher — because it is not describing any particular noun. But when it describes a feminine noun directly, it agrees: la cuisine est bonne, la musique est intéressante. Purple plus slanted, and the noun in front of it slanted too.
Sentence frames
- 1
J'aime / adore / déteste / préfère le sport.
I like / adore / hate / prefer ___.
- 2
J'ai [mal à] la tête.
I have a headache.
- 3
[À mon avis,] [c'est] intéressant.
In my opinion, it's interesting.
Substitution drill — what you like
Rotate the object through the frame. Say each one aloud three times, then say the true one twice more.
J'aime le sport.
I like ___.
Daily mini-tasks
Listening this week
Easy French — street interviews about hobbies
YouTube
Real speech at real speed, with French subtitles. Pick an episode about what people like doing. Do not expect to catch everything — catch the hobbies.