Goals What you'll be able to do
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to…
- 🚂 Tell a memory, an encounter, a travel story.
- ⏱️ Use chronological markers (d'abord, puis, ensuite, enfin, quand, au moment où…).
- 📅 Express duration with en, depuis, pendant, pour and bare number + time unit.
- 📰 Read a reader's letter published in a magazine.
- 🔊 Tell apart the nasal vowels [œ̃] (un, brun) and [ɛ̃] (vin, pain, fin).
Discover 🚂 First contact
A French magazine asks its readers to send in their travel stories. The prize: a one-year free subscription. Below is the letter from C. Hinault, a reader from Avignon. It's a real love story that begins… on a train.
Avignon → Nîmes
C'était entre Avignon et Nîmes, juste après les fêtes de Noël. Je rentrais des sports d'hiver pour retrouver mon travail, à l'hôpital. J'étais seule dans le compartiment mais, au moment où le train quittait la gare, deux messieurs sont entrés. L'un était plus jeune, l'autre plus âgé. Le premier a commencé à me parler. Des questions banales d'abord, puis plus personnelles. Un peu énervée par ses questions, je répondais à chaque fois de manière très vague.
À un moment, pour arrêter la discussion, j'ai sorti un livre de mon sac. Le plus âgé m'a alors demandé le titre du livre, son sujet. Cette question moins personnelle m'a détendue, je suis devenue plus bavarde et je lui ai même proposé de lire un passage du livre. Puis le train s'est arrêté à Nîmes.
À ma grande surprise, il a pris le livre dans son sac et est descendu du train sans explication. Je n'arrivais pas à le croire !
Un mois plus tard, je l'ai vu apparaître sur mon lieu de travail. Un de ses amis était à l'hôpital. Il m'a reconnue, a sorti mon livre de sa poche. Pourquoi avait-il mon livre sur lui ? Je ne le sais toujours pas. Nous avons parlé pendant une minute ou deux. Il m'a redonné mon livre et nous nous sommes quittés.
Quelques mois plus tard, je suis retournée en Haute-Savoie et, dans le train, je l'ai vu réapparaître ! Nous avons profité de ce voyage pour mieux nous connaître… Deux ans plus tard, nous nous sommes mariés.
Depuis cette rencontre, nous n'avons jamais arrêté de prendre le train ensemble…
📅 The timeline of the story
📖 English translation
"I remember…"
It was between Avignon and Nîmes, just after the Christmas holidays. I was coming back from a ski holiday to get back to work at the hospital. I was alone in the compartment, but just as the train was leaving the station, two men came in. One was younger, the other older. The younger one started talking to me. Small-talk first, then more personal questions. Slightly irritated, I gave very vague answers each time.
At some point, to end the conversation, I pulled a book out of my bag. The older man asked me the title and what it was about. That less personal question relaxed me; I became more talkative and even offered to read him a passage. Then the train stopped at Nîmes.
To my great surprise, he put the book into his own bag and got off the train without explanation. I couldn't believe it!
A month later, he showed up at my workplace — one of his friends was in hospital. He recognised me and pulled my book out of his pocket. Why was he carrying my book? I still don't know. We chatted for a minute or two. He gave it back and we parted.
A few months later, I went back to Haute-Savoie and saw him reappear in the train! We took advantage of that trip to get to know each other better… Two years later, we got married.
Since that first meeting, we have never stopped taking the train together…
Exercise 1 — How did it happen? Reading comprehension
Imagine you are C. Hinault. Answer the following questions in French.
- When exactly did the two men come into the compartment?
→ - What kinds of questions did the younger man ask?
→ - How long after the train journey did she see the older man again?
→ - How long did they talk for at that moment?
→ - When did she see him again after that?
→ - Do they still take the train together?
→
🎙️ The conversation on the train (audio)
Exercise 2 — What do they talk about? Listening comprehension
Tick the topics they actually discuss.
Vocabulary Words to remember
🚂 The train & the journey
👥 People & attitudes
💬 Actions & reactions
Grammar — Chronology & duration Time markers and "for/since/in"
📅 1. Chronological markers
To tell a story, French uses chronological markers that signal the order of events. These map fairly cleanly onto their English equivalents (first, then, next, finally, when, while…) — but watch out for the difference between quand (when, more general) and au moment où (just as, a precise instant). Here are the most useful ones at A2:
| Family | Markers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Succession step by step |
d'abord puis ensuite enfin | Elle est allée d'abord chez le médecin, puis au magasin, et enfin à la librairie. ("first… then… and finally…") |
| Earlier "before" |
avant-hier la veille avant (de) | Le train est arrivé avant l'heure. Le café fermait avant minuit. ("the day before yesterday", "the day before", "before…") |
| Later "after" |
après plus tard bientôt prochainement | Nous en reparlerons après. Deux ans plus tard, ils se sont mariés. ("two years later, they got married") |
| Simultaneity "at the same time" |
au moment où quand pendant que | Au moment où le train partait, deux messieurs sont entrés. ("just as…") Pendant que je préparais le café, il faisait la vaisselle. ("while…") |
| Precise moment | à à un moment à ce moment-là en en ce moment | À midi, à 8 heures, au printemps… À un moment, j'ai sorti un livre. ("at one point…") Elle a fini ses études en 2008. (years take "en") |
⏳ 2. Expressing duration
To answer the question "How long?" French uses 4 main prepositions. Each has a slightly different meaning — and the English mapping is tricky because for, since, and in don't line up neatly with depuis, pendant, pour, en. This is one of the classic A2 traps for English speakers.
| Structure | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| number + time (no preposition) |
Bare duration, no nuance. "How long did the action last?" | On travaille huit heures par jour. ("eight hours a day") Nous sommes restés un mois dans ce village. |
| en + duration | Total time it takes to complete an action ("in how long?"). English "in": I did it in ten minutes. | J'ai fait ma lettre en dix minutes. 50 % des conducteurs décrochent en moins de deux secondes. |
| depuis + duration or date |
Started in the past, still going on today. English for / since + present perfect. ⚠️ French uses the present tense, not the perfect! | Il neige depuis deux jours. ("It has been snowing for two days.") Depuis cette rencontre, nous n'avons jamais arrêté de prendre le train. |
| pendant + duration | Duration of a finished or bounded action. English for (action over) or during. | Nous ne l'avons pas vu pendant plusieurs jours. Nous avons parlé pendant une minute. |
| pour + duration | Planned/intended duration (looking to the future). English for (a planned stay). | Il est à Montréal pour un mois. ("He's in Montreal for a month.") Elle est partie pour combien de temps ? |
💡 The critical distinction: depuis vs pendant vs pour
English crams three different French ideas into the single word for. Compare:
- Depuis 3 ans, j'apprends le français. → "I have been learning French for 3 years" (and I still am). Present tense in French, present perfect continuous in English.
- J'ai appris le français pendant 3 ans. → "I learned French for 3 years" (and then stopped). Closed, finished period.
- Je vais à Lyon pour 3 jours. → "I'm going to Lyon for 3 days" (planned stay, future).
⚠️ The depuis + present construction is the single biggest grammar trap for English speakers. Resist saying "j'ai appris depuis 3 ans" — that's word-for-word from English and it's wrong.
Practice Try it out
Exercise 3 — Why? Answer using en / pendant / depuis
Answer the questions using en, pendant or depuis.
🎯 Example: — Tu as acheté ton billet rapidement ?
→ — Oui, je l'ai acheté en deux minutes à la gare.
- Vous êtes restés longtemps à Nîmes ?
→ - Il y a longtemps que tu es allé aux sports d'hiver ?
→ - Elle a trouvé facilement un hôtel en arrivant à Èze ?
→ - Le train est arrêté combien de temps dans cette gare ?
→ - Depuis quand vas-tu en Haute-Savoie à Noël ?
→
Exercise 4 — Gare de Nîmes 🚉 Pick the right marker
Choose the right answer for each sentence.
- J'ai sorti mon livre… … pour arrêter la discussion.
- J'ai attendu un peu et je suis monté dans le train.
- Le train est arrivé 2 heures à Nîmes.
- Il s'est endormi le train a quitté la gare.
- Nous nous sommes mariés Noël.
Exercise 5 — A memory 💭 Fill in the blanks
Fill in with: pendant · au moment où · à · depuis · d'abord · un moment · dans · après. Each word is used once.
Nous avons parlé de théâtre, de cinéma et de musique, parce qu'il aime ça le train est arrivé à Chambéry. Il m'a laissé son numéro de téléphone. Quelques jours plus tard, je lui ai téléphoné et nous avons décidé de prendre un verre ensemble. Nous nous sommes vus un mois et, un moment, nous nous sommes disputés un café… le serveur nous a dit que le café fermait. Nous nous sommes quittés ce jour, je ne l'ai jamais revu .
Exercise 6 — My travel memory 📓 Free writing
Tell us a travel memory (100-150 words). It can be real or invented: a meeting, an adventure, a funny moment, a disaster… Use at least 4 chronological markers and 2 duration expressions. The AI will mark your work 🤖.
Communicate Real-world tasks
💑 7. Reunion · role-play
Re-read C. Hinault's letter, then imagine the dialogue between the older man and C. Hinault when they meet again a few months later on the train (the famous reappearance scene). Act it out with a partner.
📋 Include in your dialogue:
- The surprise of meeting again ("Ça alors… ! Vous… ?!").
- An apology for the book ("Pardonnez-moi pour…").
- An explanation (why did he take the book?).
- A suggestion to share the journey (have a coffee, talk…).
- A mix of chronological markers ("la dernière fois", "ce jour-là", "maintenant"…).
🗣️ 8. Travel memory · speaking
Tell your partner an amusing, weird, awful or wonderful story that happened to you on a trip. Pay attention to chronology and intonation!
Pronunciation · [œ̃] vs [ɛ̃] Two French nasal vowels
French has 4 nasal vowels: [ɑ̃] (an, en), [ɔ̃] (on), [ɛ̃] (in, ain, ein), and [œ̃] (un, brun, parfum). For English speakers, the whole nasal-vowel system is new — English has none, which is why a French accent in English often "leaks" nasal vowels into syllables like "can't" or "important". In modern spoken French, many speakers actually merge [œ̃] into [ɛ̃] — so un sounds the same as in. But in writing, you still need to spell them apart!
📚 Typical words
[œ̃] · un, brun, parfum
- un ami
- brune (brun → brune)
- parfum
- lundi
- chacun, aucun
[ɛ̃] · in, ain, ein, en (after i, é)
- vin, pain, main, plein
- cinq, cinquième
- matin, jardin
- train, frein
- européen, mexicain
Which sound do you hear? [œ̃] or [ɛ̃]?
For each word below, write whether the nasal vowel is [œ̃] or [ɛ̃].
- un
- train
- parfum
- matin
- brun
- plein
Trains in France 🚂 Cultural snapshot
🚄 SNCF — a national institution
The SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français, the French national railway company), founded in 1938, runs the French rail network. Its main services:
- 🚄 TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) — up to 320 km/h (200 mph). Paris-Lyon in 2h, Paris-Marseille in 3h15. Think Eurostar, but inside France.
- 🚆 Intercités — medium-distance trains between major cities.
- 🚇 TER (Transport Express Régional) — regional commuter trains.
- 🌍 Eurostar (Paris-London in 2h15) and Thalys (Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam).
- 🌙 Night trains — relaunched in 2021 (Paris-Nice, Paris-Hendaye, etc.) as a green alternative to short-haul flights.
✈️ Train vs. plane
Since 2023, France has banned short domestic flights under 2h30 when a direct train covers the same route — a uniquely strict environmental measure in Europe. So if you're flying from Paris to Bordeaux or Lyon, you'll often find no plane option at all.
📊 The rail network in numbers
🇬🇧 🇺🇸 vs 🇫🇷
In the UK, train travel is common but expensive and famously unreliable; the high-speed network is much smaller (only HS1 from London to the Channel). In the US, intercity rail is basically irrelevant outside the Northeast Corridor (Amtrak's Acela tops out around 240 km/h on short segments). France, by contrast, runs one of the world's densest and fastest networks, and the train is also a social space: people chat in the bar car, work, snooze, have flirty exchanges (see the C. Hinault story above!). Booking tip: French train tickets can be remarkably cheap if booked early on SNCF Connect — Paris to Marseille for 19 €, 3 months ahead, is realistic.