Conversation
You can use the question quel jour with the verb être to ask about any event or activity, as long as you know the names of the activities. Just be careful! The form of être will change when you ask about more than one activity or more than one day. It’s like changing from speaking about one person such as he or she to speaking about more than one person with they.
For example:
Il est petit. (He is small.)
Ils sont petits. (They are small.)
If you are asking about more than one day, you use sont. Take a look at the example below.
For example:
Quel jour est le concert? (What day is the concert?)
Quels jours sont les concerts? (What days are the concerts?)
Let's Listen
As a high school student, you might want to talk about school, what subjects you or your friend's study, what classes you have on each day, or what activities you do. Luckily, many of the names of school subjects in French are cognates. (Remember, cognates are super similar words in English and French.) The most important cognate you will need to know for this activity is cours.
French speakers use cours to talk about courses you take in school. They also sometimes use the word class.
For example, what does the following question mean?
Quel jour est le cours de géographie?
What day is geography class?
In the next activity, Johnathan, an American student, has just moved to Montréal in Québec, Canada with his family. He is looking at his schedule at the beginning of the school year. His new French-speaking québécois friend David wants to discuss his schedule. Help Johnathan answer David’s questions by looking at his weekly schedule.
| CLASS TIMETABLE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | 9:00 - 9:30 | 9:30 - 10:30 | 11:00 - 1:00 | 1:30 - 2:30 |
| MON | Sport | Maths | Literature | Art |
| TUE | Sport | Literature | English | History |
| WED | Sport | Science | Computing | Music |
| THU | Sport | English | History | Art |
| FRI | Sport | Science | Computing | Geography |
Quel jour est le cours de musique? (What day is music class?)
- lundi
- vendredi
- mercredi
Music class is on Wednesday.
Music class is on Wednesday.
Music class is on Wednesday.
Quels jours sont les cours de science? (What days are science class?)
- mercredi et vendredi
- lundi et mardi
- mardi et jeudi
Science classes are on Wednesday and Friday.
Science classes are on Wednesday and Friday.
Science classes are on Wednesday and Friday.
Quels jours sont les cours d’art?
- mardi et vendredi
- lundi et dimanche
- lundi et jeudi
Art classes are on Monday and Thursday.
Art classes are on Monday and Thursday.
Art classes are on Monday and Thursday.
Quel jour est le cours de géographie?
- mercredi
- mardi
- vendredi
Geography class is on Friday.
Geography class is on Friday.
Geography class is on Friday.
Summary
Questions answered correctly:
Questions answered incorrectly:
Next, read a statement about Johnathan’s classes and decide whether it is vrai (true) or faux (false).
How do you say true or false in French?
vrai (true)
faux (false)
Give it a shot!
Read the statement. Then, type in vrai or faux if the statement is true or false according to Johnathan’s schedule. Then, check your answers.
| CLASS TIMETABLE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | 9:00 - 9:30 | 9:30 - 10:30 | 11:00 - 1:00 | 1:30 - 2:30 |
| MON | Sport | Maths | Literature | Art |
| TUE | Sport | Literature | English | History |
| WED | Sport | Science | Computing | Music |
| THU | Sport | English | History | Art |
| FRI | Sport | Science | Computing | Geography |
Le cours de musique est mercredi.
Les cours d’art sont mardi et vendredi.
Le cours de géographie est vendredi.
Les cours de science sont vendredi et mercredi.
Le cours de maths est mardi.
Les cours de sports sont tous (all) les jours
| Your Responses | Sample Answers |
|---|---|
| Vrai | |
| Faux | |
| vrai | |
| vrai | |
| Faux. | |
| Vrai | |
Fantastique! Not only are you practicing the days of the week, but you are reading French sentences and learning some school vocabulary.
Question
Which expression means every day in French?
tous les jours
