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1.7. Les mois et les jours

Months of the Year and Days of the Week

1.7.1. The Main Idea

To talk about dates, schedules, birthdays, classes, and plans, you need the months of the year and the days of the week.

lundi	Monday
mardi	Tuesday
janvier	January
février	February

In French, days and months are usually not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

1.7.2. Days of the Week

lundi	Monday
mardi	Tuesday
mercredi	Wednesday
jeudi	Thursday
vendredi	Friday
samedi	Saturday
dimanche	Sunday

1.7.3. Using Days in Sentences

Aujourd’hui, c’est lundi.	Today is Monday.
Demain, c’est mardi.	Tomorrow is Tuesday.
J’ai un cours lundi.	I have a class on Monday.
Je travaille vendredi.	I work on Friday.
Je vais sortir samedi.	I am going to go out on Saturday.

Use the day alone for on Monday / on Tuesday.

lundi	on Monday
vendredi	on Friday

1.7.4. Repeated Days

Use le + day to mean on Mondays / every Monday.

Je travaille lundi.	I work on Monday. one specific Monday
Je travaille le lundi.	I work on Mondays. / I work every Monday.
J’ai français mardi.	I have French on Tuesday.
J’ai français le mardi.	I have French on Tuesdays.

Tiny calendar gremlin: lundi is one Monday, but le lundi is the Monday parade that keeps returning.

1.7.5. Months of the Year

janvier	January
février	February
mars	March
avril	April
mai	May
juin	June
juillet	July
août	August
septembre	September
octobre	October
novembre	November
décembre	December

1.7.6. Seasons of the Year

To talk about weather, school terms, travel, and plans, you also need the seasons of the year.

une saison	a season
le printemps	spring
l’été	summer
l’automne	fall / autumn
l’hiver	winter

In French, seasons are usually not capitalized.

Use en with most seasons:

en été	in summer
en automne	in fall / in autumn
en hiver	in winter

For spring, French usually uses au:

au printemps

in spring

Examples:

Il fait beau au printemps.	The weather is nice in spring.
Il fait chaud en été.	It is hot in summer.
Il fait frais en automne.	It is cool in fall.
Il fait froid en hiver.	It is cold in winter.

Tiny season compass: en works for été, automne, and hiver, but spring gets its own little doorway: au printemps.

1.7.7. Using Months and Seasons in Sentences

Use en + month to say in January / in February.

Mon anniversaire est en janvier.	My birthday is in January.
Le semestre commence en septembre.	The semester starts in September.
Je voyage en juillet.	I travel in July.
Il fait froid en décembre.	It is cold in December.

Use en with most seasons, but use au printemps for spring.

Je voyage en été.	I travel in summer.
Il fait froid en hiver.	It is cold in winter.
Les cours commencent en automne.	Classes start in fall.
Il fait beau au printemps.	The weather is nice in spring.

1.7.8. Using Months in Sentences

Use en + month to say in January / in February.

Mon anniversaire est en janvier.	My birthday is in January.
Le semestre commence en septembre.	The semester starts in September.
Je voyage en juillet.	I travel in July.
Il fait froid en décembre.	It is cold in December.

1.7.9. Asking About Dates

Quel jour sommes-nous ?	What day is it?
On est quel jour ?	What day is it? conversational
C’est quel jour ?	What day is it?
C’est en quel mois ?	What month is it in?
Ton anniversaire est en quel mois ?	What month is your birthday in? informal
Votre anniversaire est en quel mois ?	What month is your birthday in? formal

1.7.10. Saying Today, Tomorrow, and Yesterday

aujourd’hui	today
demain	tomorrow
hier	yesterday
ce matin	this morning
cet après-midi	this afternoon
ce soir	this evening / tonight
cette semaine	this week
le week-end	the weekend

Examples:

Aujourd’hui, c’est mercredi.	Today is Wednesday.
Demain, c’est jeudi.	Tomorrow is Thursday.
Hier, c’était mardi.	Yesterday was Tuesday.
Ce soir, je vais étudier.	Tonight, I am going to study.
Ce week-end, je vais sortir.	This weekend, I am going to go out.

1.7.11. Dates with Le

For a full date, use le + number + month.

le 1er janvier	January 1st
le 2 février	February 2nd
le 14 juillet	July 14th
le 25 décembre	December 25th

For the first day of the month, use le premier or le 1er.

le premier janvier	January 1st
le 1er janvier	January 1st

1.7.12. Birthdays

un anniversaire	a birthday
mon anniversaire	my birthday
ton anniversaire	your birthday, informal
votre anniversaire	your birthday, formal
Mon anniversaire est en mai.	My birthday is in May.
Mon anniversaire est le 10 mai.	My birthday is May 10th.
C’est quand, ton anniversaire ?	When is your birthday? informal
C’est quand, votre anniversaire ?	When is your birthday? formal

1.7.13. Useful Schedule Words

un jour	a day
une semaine	a week
un mois	a month
une année	a year
un cours	a class / course
un examen	an exam
un rendez-vous	an appointment
un semestre	a semester
un horaire	a schedule
un calendrier	a calendar

1.7.14. Core Patterns

Aujourd’hui, c’est ___.	Today is ___.
Demain, c’est ___.	Tomorrow is ___.
J’ai un cours lundi.	I have a class on Monday.
Je travaille le lundi.	I work on Mondays.
en + month	in + month
Mon anniversaire est en ___.	My birthday is in ___.
le + number + month	on + date
C’est quand, ton anniversaire ?	When is your birthday?

en été	in summer
en automne	in fall / in autumn
en hiver	in winter
au printemps	in spring

1.7.15. Practice

Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Sunday
January
April
August
December
Today is Monday.
I have a class on Tuesday.
I work on Mondays.
My birthday is in May.
My birthday is May 10th.

spring

summer

fall / autumn

winter

in spring

in summer

It is cold in winter.

The weather is nice in spring.

1.7.16. Answers

Monday	lundi
Wednesday	mercredi
Friday	vendredi
Sunday	dimanche
January	janvier
April	avril
August	août
December	décembre
Today is Monday.	Aujourd’hui, c’est lundi.
I have a class on Tuesday.	J’ai un cours mardi.
I work on Mondays.	Je travaille le lundi.
My birthday is in May.	Mon anniversaire est en mai.
My birthday is May 10th.	Mon anniversaire est le 10 mai.

spring	le printemps
summer	l’été
fall / autumn	l’automne
winter	l’hiver
in spring	au printemps
in summer	en été
It is cold in winter.	Il fait froid en hiver.
The weather is nice in spring.	Il fait beau au printemps.

1.7.17. Short Dialogue

A : On est quel jour ?	A: What day is it?
B : Aujourd’hui, c’est mercredi.	B: Today is Wednesday.
A : Tu as un cours aujourd’hui ?	A: Do you have a class today?
B : Oui, j’ai un cours mercredi. Et toi ?	B: Yes, I have a class on Wednesday. And you?
A : Moi, je travaille le vendredi.	A: Me, I work on Fridays.
B : C’est quand, ton anniversaire ?	B: When is your birthday?
A : Mon anniversaire est en mai.	A: My birthday is in May.

1.7.18. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to say the days of the week, months of the year, and seasons, ask what day it is, talk about today, tomorrow, and yesterday, use en + month, use en / au with seasons, use le + date, and talk about birthdays and simple schedules.

1.7.19. Try It Out

Try saying this in French:

Today is Monday.

My birthday is in May.

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Possible answer:

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