Lesson 6 — Question de mode · A2

0

Goals

What you'll be able to do

👗 Describe an item of clothing
👍👎 Give an opinion about a fashion choice
📚 Master adjective placement (before vs after the noun)
👉 Use demonstrative pronouns with -ci / -là ("this one / that one")
🎨 Describe colours, materials and styles
🎵 Convey sincerity or doubt through intonation

1

Discover

A street fashion poll

📍 HSBC street poll: a bank stops passers-by and asks them to judge clothing items: cool or not cool?

👞

chaussures noires

black dress shoes
cool

👟

baskets

trainers / sneakers
pas cool

🥾

bottes hautes

tall boots
cool

👡

tongs

flip-flops
pas cool

Dialogue · In front of the shop window

Léa and Théo are looking at a boutique window. They share their opinions on what they see.

Léa — Regarde cette belle robe rouge ! Celle-là, elle est super, non ?
Look at that gorgeous red dress! That one's amazing, right?

Théo — Mouais… Je préfère celle-ci, la noire. Elle est plus élégante.
Meh… I prefer this one, the black one. It's more elegant.

Léa — Ah, et les chaussures noires, là ? Tu les trouves comment ?
Oh, what about those black shoes? What do you think of them?

Théo — Très belles ! C'est une vraie chaussure pour aller au bureau. Mais celles-ci, les baskets blanches… non, pas pour le travail.
Very nice! That's a proper shoe for the office. But these — the white sneakers — no, not for work.

Léa — Je suis d'accord. Et ce pantalon court, là ? Il est cool ?
Agreed. What about those short trousers? Cool or not?

Théo — Bof… le pantalon n'est pas mal, mais c'est cette chemise rose que je n'aime pas du tout !
Eh… the trousers are alright, but it's that pink shirt I really can't stand!

💡 Notes

"Cool" / "pas cool" — borrowed straight from English; absolutely standard in spoken French to judge people or things (= nice / not nice).
Mouais — informal interjection that mixes "yeah" with a shrug. Lukewarm agreement.
Bof — even more lukewarm than mouais: a verbal shrug, "meh".
Pas mal — looks negative ("not bad") but in French it actually means quite good — exactly like English "not bad".

2

Vocabulary

Words to remember

French	Type	English
la mode	n.f.	fashion
un vêtement	n.m.	item of clothing
une robe	n.f.	dress
une jupe	n.f.	skirt
un pantalon	n.m.	trousers / pants (singular in French!)
une chemise	n.f.	shirt (button-down)
un tee-shirt	n.m.	t-shirt
une veste	n.f.	jacket; suit jacket
un manteau	n.m.	coat (long, heavy)
les chaussures	n.f.pl.	shoes
les baskets	n.f.pl.	trainers / sneakers
les bottes	n.f.pl.	boots
les tongs	n.f.pl.	flip-flops
court / courte	adj.	short
long / longue	adj.	long
élégant / élégante	adj.	elegant, smart
chic	adj.	chic, classy (invariable)
cool (fam.)	adj. inv.	cool
pas mal	phrase	not bad (= quite good)
bof	interj.	meh; eh
une vitrine	n.f.	shop window
une boutique	n.f.	shop, boutique
juger	v.	to judge, to rate
un avis	n.m.	opinion
donner son avis	v. phrase	to give one's opinion
un sondage	n.m.	poll, survey

3

Grammar

How French works

① Adjective placement Before or after the noun?

In French, the position of the adjective (before or after the noun) follows real rules. Most adjectives go after the noun — that's the opposite of English.

BEFORE the noun (the BAGS group)

A small set of short, frequent adjectives

Beauty: beau, joli
Age: jeune, vieux, nouveau
Goodness: bon, mauvais
Size: grand, petit, gros, court, long

📌 une belle robe, un petit pantalon, une jeune fille

AFTER the noun (the majority)

Default position for most adjectives

Colours: rouge, noir, blanc
Shape: rond, carré
Nationality: français, chinois, américain
Religion / origin: catholique, urbain
Long adjectives: élégant, magnifique, intéressant

📌 une robe rouge, un pantalon élégant, des chaussures chinoises

⚠️ Two adjectives together: each one keeps its own slot: une belle robe rouge.

⚠️ Big anglophone trap: in English every adjective sits before the noun ("a red dress, an elegant shirt, a Chinese car"). In French only the BAGS group does — everything else goes after. Saying "une rouge robe" or "une chinoise voiture" sounds as wrong to a French ear as "a dress red" sounds to an English one. Default to AFTER, then memorise the BAGS exceptions.

② Demonstrative pronouns with -ci / -là "this one / that one"

You met celui, celle, ceux, celles in Lesson 5. To contrast two items ("this one" vs "that one"), add the suffix -ci (close, here) or -là (further, there):

	Singular	Plural
Masculine	celui-ci · celui-là	ceux-ci · ceux-là
Feminine	celle-ci · celle-là	celles-ci · celles-là

📌 J'aime cette robe-ci, mais pas celle-là. "I like this dress, but not that one."
📌 Quel pantalon préfères-tu ? Celui-ci ou celui-là ? "Which trousers do you prefer? This pair or that one?"
📌 Ces chaussures sont jolies, mais je préfère celles-ci. "Those shoes are pretty, but I prefer these."

💡 You can also stick -ci / -là straight onto a noun (using a hyphen) for the same effect — this works as an adjective, not a pronoun:
• Cette chemise-ci est cool. "This shirt is cool."
• Ce pantalon-là n'est pas mal. "Those trousers aren't bad."

💡 In practice: spoken French often blurs the -ci/-là distinction and uses -là for both ("this one" and "that one"). But for clear contrast — like comparing two items in a shop — you'll hear the full celui-ci / celui-là pair.

4

How to say it

Useful chunks

👍 Giving a positive opinion

C'est cool ! "That's cool!"
C'est super / chic / élégant.
C'est pas mal. "Not bad" (= pretty good).
J'adore ! "I love it!"

👎 Giving a negative opinion

C'est pas cool. "Not cool."
Bof… "Meh…"
Mouais… "Yeah, I guess…"
Je n'aime pas du tout. "I don't like it at all."
C'est démodé. "It's out of fashion / dated."

🎨 Describing a piece of clothing

C'est une belle robe rouge. (BAGS adj before, colour after)
C'est un petit pantalon noir.
Une nouvelle veste chic.
Des chaussures élégantes et chères.

5

Practice

Try it out

Exercise 1 · Adjective placement

Put the adjective in the right slot. Remember: BAGS = before; everything else = after.

Model: une robe (rouge) → une robe rouge.

une robe (belle) →
un pantalon (noir) →
une fille (jeune) →
une chemise (élégante) →
des chaussures (petites) →
un livre (intéressant) →
une voiture (chinoise) →
un manteau (long) →

Exercise 2 · Two adjectives at once

Put both adjectives in the right slots.

une robe (rouge / belle) →
un pantalon (noir / petit) →
une chemise (chic / blanche) →
des baskets (chères / nouvelles) →

Exercise 3 · -ci or -là?

Fill in with celui-ci, celle-ci, ceux-ci, celles-ci, celui-là…

Quelle robe préfères-tu ? (close) or (further)?
Ces chaussures sont chères. Préfères-tu ou ?
Ce livre est super, mais est ennuyeux.
J'aime ces tableaux, surtout .

Exercise 4 · Listening comprehension

Listen to the Léa/Théo dialogue again and answer.

Which dress does Théo prefer? → la robe
What does Théo think of the white sneakers?
What does Théo think of the short trousers? →
And of the pink shirt? →

6

Communicate

Real-world tasks

👗 Fashion poll

Pair work. Pull up 5 outfits (online or from a magazine) and ask your partner: cool or not cool? Why? Use adjectives in both positions and demonstrative pronouns.

🎭 In the boutique

Role play in pairs: one of you is shopping for a wedding outfit, the other is the salesperson. Use ce…-ci, celui-ci, celle-là, and give your opinion. At least 10 exchanges.

7

Pronunciation

Saying "no" with intonation

How sincere is that non? All in the intonation

Spoken non can carry many shades: blunt refusal, doubt, surprise, sarcasm. The word stays the same — what changes is the intonation.

Non. ↘ — plain, neutral refusal.
Non ! 🔥 — categorical, emphatic.
Nooon ? ↗ — surprise, "no way?"
Non… ↘↗ — doubt, hesitation.
Mais nooon ! — annoyed: "oh come on!"

💡 Tip for English speakers: English does the same thing ("nooo?" vs "no!"), but French speakers tend to exaggerate the melody more. Don't be afraid to overdo the rise/fall — it sounds natural in French.