Lesson 34 — Projets d'avenir · A1

0

Goals

What you'll be able to do

📞 Understand a phone conversation
🎯 Talk about your intentions and plans
📅 Locate things in future time
📚 Distinguish 3 ways to express the future
📞 Make and end a phone call in French
🎵 Pronounce consonant + [ʁ] (the French "r")

1

Discover

Dialogue

Dialogue · On the phone

Justine has just passed her bac (the French school-leaving exam, taken at 18). She calls her best friend Sophie to share the news… and to talk about her plans for the year ahead.

Sophie's mum — Allô !
Hello!

Justine — Bonjour madame, c'est Justine. Est-ce que Sophie est là ? Je peux lui parler ?
Hello, ma'am, it's Justine. Is Sophie there? Can I speak to her?

Mum — Oui, bien sûr… Sophie ! C'est Justine ! Elle arrive tout de suite.
Yes, of course… Sophie! It's Justine! She's coming right away.

Justine — Allô ! Sophie ? J'ai eu mon bac !
Hi! Sophie? I passed my bac!

Sophie — Salut Justine ! Bravo pour ton bac ! Toutes mes félicitations !
Hi Justine! Well done on your bac! Congratulations!

Justine — Merci ! Et toi ? Qu'est-ce que tu vas faire ? Tu as des projets ?
Thanks! What about you? What are you going to do? Got any plans?

Sophie — Ah oui ! Je vais d'abord me reposer ! Je pars en vacances au Maroc : deux semaines à Casablanca avec mon copain Marc.
Oh yeah! First I'm going to rest! I'm leaving on holiday to Morocco — two weeks in Casablanca with my boyfriend Marc.

Justine — Au Maroc ! Ben, ce n'est pas comme ici. Là-bas, tu es sûre de trouver du soleil !
Morocco! Well, that's not like here — over there you're guaranteed sunshine!

Sophie — Après, et puis… j'essayerai de trouver un travail. Ce n'est pas facile ! Peut-être en Corse pour commencer. Mon frère ouvrira une crêperie en Corse, dans deux mois… Enfin, je ne sais pas. On verra !
After that… I'll try to find a job. It's not easy! Maybe in Corsica to start. My brother is opening a crêperie in Corsica in two months… Well, I don't know. We'll see!

Justine — Eh bien, moi, je n'ai pas d'argent, donc je ne prendrai pas de vacances ! Enfin, peut-être tout de suite, oui ! Et j'ai trouvé un boulot pour l'été. Je vais donner des cours de tennis au club Océan.
Well, me, I have no money, so I won't be taking a holiday! Well, maybe right now, yes! And I've found a summer job. I'm going to give tennis lessons at the Océan club.

Sophie — Et puis, en octobre, j'entrerai à la fac. Je serai à la maison.
And then in October I'll start uni. I'll be at home.

Justine — Et peut-être on se reverra en septembre ? Je serai à la maison.
Maybe we'll see each other again in September? I'll be home too.

Sophie — Bon, alors, d'accord. On s'appelle, alors !
OK then, deal! Let's stay in touch!

Justine — Moi aussi. On se rappelle bientôt !
Me too. Talk soon!

Sophie — Je t'embrasse.
Hugs / love you. (lit. "I kiss you")

💡 Notes

Allô ! "Hello!" — used only on the phone, never face-to-face. (Different from English: in English we say "hello" both on the phone and in person.)
Le bac = le baccalauréat — the French national school-leaving exam taken at 18, roughly equivalent to the British A-levels or American high-school diploma + SAT. Required to enter university.
"Toutes mes félicitations !" "Congratulations!" — formal. Between friends, use "Bravo !" or "Génial !".
Un boulot "a job" (informal). The neutral word is un travail. Boulot ≈ English "gig" or "a job" (casual).
"On verra !" "We'll see!" — typical phrase for delayed decisions. The title of Unit 9!
"Je t'embrasse" literally "I kiss you" — but it's just a friendly closing in messages, calls, emails between friends/family. Don't translate it as "I kiss you" in English — closer to "love" / "hugs" / "take care". Even close male friends use it without it being romantic.
La fac = la faculté = university. Casual short form. "Entrer à la fac" = "to start uni".

2

Vocabulary

Words to remember

French	Type	English
allô !	interj.	hello! (on the phone only)
appeler	v.	to call (someone)
s'appeler	v. pron.	to call each other; to be named
l'avenir	n.m.	the future
le bac (baccalauréat)	n.m.	French school-leaving exam (≈ A-levels)
un boulot (fam.)	n.m.	job (informal)
commencer à faire qch	v.	to start doing sth
la Corse	n.pr.	Corsica (French Mediterranean island)
une crêperie	n.f.	crêpe restaurant
embrasser	v.	to kiss; to hug
s'embrasser	v. pron.	to kiss each other
essayer (de + inf.)	v.	to try (to do sth)
facile	adj.	easy
les félicitations	n.f.pl.	congratulations
longtemps	adv.	for a long time
le Maroc	n.pr.	Morocco
l'océan	n.m.	ocean
ouvrir	v.	to open
un projet	n.m.	plan; project
rappeler	v.	to call back / call again
se rappeler	v. pron.	to call each other again
tout de suite	phrase	right away, immediately
voir	v.	to see
se revoir	v. pron.	to meet again

3

Grammar

How French works

① 3 ways to express the future three tenses, three flavours

French has three ways to express a future action, depending on distance and certainty. English has roughly two ("I leave tomorrow", "I'm going to leave", "I will leave"), and French maps onto those reasonably well:

① Présent

very near, certain, scheduled action

Elle arrive demain à Paris.

Je pars samedi.

Le train part à 8 h.

📌 ≈ English present: "She arrives tomorrow", "The train leaves at 8". For something certain and very near.

② Futur proche

near future, planned, intention

Tu vas visiter le musée ce soir ?

Je vais lire ce livre.

On va dîner avec eux.

📌 aller + infinitive. = English "going to". For intentions and near-future actions.

③ Futur simple

more distant future or prediction

J'essaierai de trouver un travail.

Demain, il pleuvra.

Ils partiront en juillet.

📌 infinitive + endings. = English "will". For predictions or a more distant future.

💬 Tip for English speakers: the boundary is roughly:

Je vais partir ≈ "I'm going to leave" (decided, near, casual)
Je partirai ≈ "I will leave" (more distant, or more formal/predictive)

In everyday speech, the futur proche (going-to) wins. The futur simple shows up in writing, weather forecasts, predictions, formal contexts, and for genuinely distant futures ("in 10 years…").

📌 In real-world spoken French, the futur proche is by far the most common!

② Phone French scripted exchanges

Step	Phrase
① Pick up	Allô ? Allô, oui ?
② Identify yourself	Bonjour, c'est Justine. · C'est Marc à l'appareil. ("Marc speaking")
③ Ask for someone	Est-ce que Sophie est là ? Je peux lui parler ?
④ Ask them to hold	Oui, ne quittez pas. Je vous la passe. ("Hold on, I'll put her on")
⑤ When the person isn't there	Elle n'est pas là. Vous voulez laisser un message ?
⑥ Wrap up	On s'appelle. À bientôt. Je t'embrasse.
⑦ Hang up	Au revoir.

📌 Important: in French, "allô?" is for the phone ONLY. If you bump into someone on the street and say "allô?" they'll think you've lost your mind. On the street, it's "bonjour"!

💬 "Je t'embrasse" / "Bisous" as phone/email sign-offs are not romantic in French — they're standard between friends, family, and even between male friends. The closest English equivalent is "love" or "take care" or just an x at the end of a text. Don't translate literally.

4

How to say it

Useful chunks

🎯 Talking about intentions and plans

Je vais me reposer. "I'm going to rest."
J'essayerai de trouver un travail. "I'll try to find a job."
Je partirai en vacances au Maroc. "I'll go on holiday to Morocco."
Mon frère ouvrira une crêperie. "My brother will open a crêperie."
On verra ! "We'll see!"

📅 Locating things in time

D'abord je vais me reposer. "First…"
Ensuite / puis, je chercherai un travail. "Then…"
Je commencerai la semaine prochaine. "next week"
Mon frère ouvrira sa crêperie dans deux mois. "in two months"
Peut-être on se reverra en septembre. "in September"
Plus tard, je voyagerai dans le monde. "Later, I'll travel…"
Pour l'année prochaine, je n'ai pas de projets. "For next year, I have no plans."

📞 On the phone

Allô ? Bonjour, c'est… "Hello? Hi, this is…"
Est-ce que… est là ? "Is … there?"
Ne quittez pas, je vous le/la passe. "Hold on, I'll put him/her on."
On s'appelle ! "Let's stay in touch!"
Je t'embrasse. "Take care / love" (informal sign-off)

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Practice

Try it out

Exercise 1 · When?

Fill in with cet été · ce week-end · l'année prochaine · demain · la semaine prochaine · dans 2 mois. Several answers may work.

Madame, M. Garnier n'est pas là aujourd'hui. Vous pouvez rappeler ?
Je suis désolé, je n'ai pas le temps. Nous serons libres .
Ne t'inquiète pas, j' bientôt. (arriver, futur simple)
Excuse-moi, madame, j' tout de suite. (arriver, present)

Exercise 2 · Which tense fits best?

Match each action to its best formulation.

Sophie is going on holiday to Morocco next week.
→ (very certain, near)
Justine will give tennis lessons this summer.
→ (near intention)
Sophie will start uni in October.
→ (more distant)

Exercise 3 · Conjugate in the right tense

Choose between present / futur proche / futur simple.

Demain, à 17 h, j' 18 ans. (avoir)
Bonjour, vous (lire) ce livre ?
Quand est-ce que tu (rentrer) ?
Demain, je (commencer) mes études à Paris.
Dans 10 ans, ils (habiter) à Marseille. (distant future)

Exercise 4 · Phone call order

Put the lines in the right order.

1. Bonjour, c'est Justine. Est-ce que Sophie est là ?
2. Oui, ne quittez pas, je vous la passe.
3. Allô ?
4. Allô ? Salut Justine !
5. Bonjour ! Tu vas bien ?

Logical order →

Exercise 5 · Will you be around?

Listen to the dialogue and answer.

What do Pierre and Philippe want to do? →
Why can't they meet sooner? →

💡 No auto-correction — compare your answers with a partner.

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Communicate

Real-world tasks

📞 Your turn! What are your plans?

With a partner, talk about your plans:

For the rest of the week? (tonight, tomorrow morning…)
For the weekend? (Saturday, Sunday)
For your next holiday? (summer, Christmas, spring break…)
For next year? (studies, travel, work…)

💡 Mix all 3 ways of expressing the future!

🎭 Role-play · On the phone

With a partner, act out the scene:

You call your best friend to:

① share good news (passing an exam, a wedding, moving…)
② talk about your plans for the next holiday
③ propose meeting up soon

Don't forget: Allô · Bonjour · Est-ce que… · Je suis · Je t'embrasse · Au revoir.

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Pronunciation

Sound focus

Consonant + [ʁ] (the French "r") tricky cluster for English speakers

The French [ʁ] (spelled "r") is a uvular consonant — produced at the very back of the mouth, near the uvula. It's completely different from the English [r] (which is alveolar, made with the tip of the tongue near the gum ridge).

When the French r follows another consonant (clusters like pr, tr, kr, br, dr, gr, fr, vr), pronounce both consonants together, no schwa between.

Voiceless consonant + [ʁ]

prendre, projet, problème
train, trois, trouver
croire, croissant, écrire
frère, Français, froid

Voiced consonant + [ʁ]

briller, Brésil
vendredi, droit
grave, grand, Grèce
livre, vrai, ouvrir

👂 Listen and contrast: peur / pleure · roi / loi · croire / cloître.

💬 Tip for English speakers: the French [ʁ] is uvular. To produce it:

Put the tip of your tongue against the back of your bottom teeth.
Raise the back of your tongue toward the uvula (the dangly bit).
Let air pass — it makes a soft gargling sound.

⚠️ Avoid the English/American r (which curls the tongue back) — it's nothing like the French [ʁ]. The closest English-language reference is the German "ach" sound (Bach, Loch) — but voiced. If yours sounds like a Scottish trill, that's actually closer to old-fashioned French — modern French is uvular fricative.