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3.3. Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?

Talking About Daily Activities

3.3.1. The Main Idea

To talk about daily activities in French, you can use common -er verbs.

étudier	to study
travailler	to work
parler	to speak / to talk
écouter	to listen
regarder	to watch / to look at
manger	to eat
aimer	to like / to love

Many beginner French verbs end in -er. These verbs follow a regular pattern in the present tense.

3.3.2. Asking What Someone Is Doing

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?	What are you doing? informal
Qu’est-ce que vous faites ?	What are you doing? formal or plural
Tu fais quoi ?	What are you doing? casual
Vous faites quoi ?	What are you doing? formal or plural, casual structure

3.3.3. Basic Activity Answers

J’étudie.	I am studying. / I study.
Je travaille.	I am working. / I work.
Je parle français.	I speak French. / I am speaking French.
J’écoute de la musique.	I am listening to music. / I listen to music.
Je regarde une vidéo.	I am watching a video. / I watch a video.
Je mange.	I am eating. / I eat.

3.3.4. Regular -er Verb Pattern

To conjugate a regular -er verb, remove -er and add the correct ending.

parler	to speak
parl-	verb stem

je parle	I speak
tu parles	you speak, informal
il parle	he speaks
elle parle	she speaks
nous parlons	we speak
vous parlez	you speak, formal or plural
ils parlent	they speak, masculine or mixed
elles parlent	they speak, feminine

3.3.5. Common -er Verbs

étudier	to study
travailler	to work
parler	to speak / to talk
écouter	to listen
regarder	to watch / to look at
manger	to eat
aimer	to like / to love
adorer	to love / to really like
détester	to hate
habiter	to live
jouer	to play
préférer	to prefer

3.3.6. Examples with Je

J’étudie le français.	I study French. / I am studying French.
Je travaille.	I work. / I am working.
Je parle anglais.	I speak English.
J’écoute un podcast.	I listen to a podcast. / I am listening to a podcast.
Je regarde un film.	I watch a movie. / I am watching a movie.
Je mange un sandwich.	I eat a sandwich. / I am eating a sandwich.
J’aime le français.	I like French.
J’adore la musique.	I love music.
Je déteste les examens.	I hate exams.
J’habite à Calgary.	I live in Calgary.

3.3.7. Examples with Other Subjects

Tu étudies le français.	You study French.
Il travaille.	He works.
Elle parle français.	She speaks French.
Nous regardons un film.	We watch a movie.
Vous écoutez de la musique.	You listen to music.
Ils mangent.	They eat.
Elles aiment le cours.	They like the class.

3.3.8. Daily Activity Vocabulary

le matin	the morning
l’après-midi	the afternoon
le soir	the evening
aujourd’hui	today
demain	tomorrow
maintenant	now
souvent	often
toujours	always
parfois	sometimes
rarement	rarely
à la maison	at home
à l’université	at university
en classe	in class

3.3.9. Time Expressions with Activities

Le matin, j’étudie.	In the morning, I study.
L’après-midi, je travaille.	In the afternoon, I work.
Le soir, je regarde une vidéo.	In the evening, I watch a video.
Aujourd’hui, je parle français.	Today, I speak French.
Maintenant, j’écoute de la musique.	Now, I am listening to music.
Souvent, je mange à la maison.	Often, I eat at home.

3.3.10. Core Patterns

Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?	What are you doing?
Je + verb.	I am ___ing. / I ___.
J’étudie.	I am studying. / I study.
Je travaille.	I am working. / I work.
Je parle français.	I speak French.
Le matin, je ___ .	In the morning, I ___.
Le soir, je ___ .	In the evening, I ___.

3.3.11. Practice

What are you doing? informal |

I am studying. |

I am working. |

I speak French. |

I am listening to music. |

I am watching a movie. |

I eat at home. |

In the morning, I study. |

In the evening, I work. |

3.3.12. Answers

What are you doing? informal	Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?
I am studying.	J’étudie.
I am working.	Je travaille.
I speak French.	Je parle français.
I am listening to music.	J’écoute de la musique.
I am watching a movie.	Je regarde un film.
I eat at home.	Je mange à la maison.
In the morning, I study.	Le matin, j’étudie.
In the evening, I work.	Le soir, je travaille.

3.3.13. Short Dialogue

A : Qu’est-ce que tu fais ?	A: What are you doing?
B : J’étudie le français. Et toi ?	B: I am studying French. And you?
A : Je travaille.	A: I am working.
B : D’accord. À plus !	B: Okay. See you later!

3.3.14. Checkpoint

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to talk about basic daily activities, ask what someone is doing, use common regular -er verbs, and connect activities with simple time expressions such as le matin, l’après-midi, le soir, aujourd’hui, and maintenant.

3.3.15. Try It Out

Try saying this in French:

What are you doing?

I am studying French.

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Possible answer:

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