Getting to class by bike or bus | Learn French in English

French lesson set in a contemporary Paris everyday setting: In a language classroom, two adults talk about living nearby and getting to class by bike or bus in different weather..

EN → FR / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Getting to class by bike or bus to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Où habites-tu ?

oo ah-BEET-tyoo Where do you live?
B

J'habite tout près.

zhah-BEET too PRAY I live nearby.
A

Comment viens-tu ici ?

koh-MAHN vyen-tyoo ee-SEE How do you get here?
B

Je fais du vélo les jours ensoleillés.

zhuh FEH dyoo vay-LOH lay zhoor ahn-soh-lay-YAY I ride my bike on sunny days.
A

Et les jours de pluie ?

ay lay zhoor duh plwee What about rainy days?
B

Je prends le bus quand il pleut.

zhuh PRAHN luh byoos kahn-TEEL pluh I take the bus when it rains.

Word by Word

Où Où means “where” in the question Où habites-tu ? It asks for the place where someone lives. It commonly comes at the beginning of a question when asking about a location.
habites Habites means “live” in Où habites-tu ? and is the form used with tu. It comes from the verb habiter, “to live,” and appears before tu in this question because French uses the inverted order habites-tu. Use this form when asking one person where they live.
tu Tu means “you” when speaking to one person in Où habites-tu ? It identifies the person being asked about their home. In this question, it follows the verb in habites-tu.
J'habite J'habite means “I live” in J'habite tout près. It combines je, “I,” with habite, and the vowel in je changes to j' before habite. Use it to state where you live, followed by a place or location expression.
tout Tout strengthens près in J'habite tout près, giving the meaning “right nearby” or “very close.” Its meaning here comes from the expression tout près as a whole, not from tout alone. This pattern can be used to emphasize that a place is very close.
près Près means “near” or “nearby” in J'habite tout près. Together with tout, it describes the speaker’s home as very close. It is commonly used after a verb such as habiter to describe location.
Comment Comment means “how” in Comment viens-tu ici ? It asks about the way someone gets to a place. It commonly begins a question about how an action is done.
viens Viens means “come” in Comment viens-tu ici ? and is the form used with tu. In this question, it asks how the other person comes or gets here. Use it with a destination or place, such as ici.
ici Ici means “here” in Comment viens-tu ici ? It refers to the place where the speakers are, namely the classroom. It commonly comes after a movement verb to identify the destination.
Je Je means “I” in Je fais du vélo les jours ensoleillés and Je prends le bus quand il pleut. It identifies the speaker as the person doing the action. It normally comes before the verb in a statement.
fais Fais means “do” in Je fais du vélo, where the whole expression means “I ride my bike.” It is the form used with je of faire in this dialogue. Use it in the construction faire du vélo when talking about cycling.
du Du is part of the expression du vélo in Je fais du vélo. Here, faire du vélo as a whole means “to ride a bike”; du comes directly before vélo in this construction. Use faire du vélo to describe travelling by bicycle.
vélo Vélo means “bike” or “bicycle” in Je fais du vélo. It follows du in the expression faire du vélo, which means “ride a bike.” Use it after du when talking about cycling.
les Les means “the” before the plural noun jours in les jours ensoleillés. It refers to days in general rather than one specific day. It is used before a plural noun such as jours.
jours Jours means “days” in les jours ensoleillés and les jours de pluie. It names the days on which the speaker chooses a way to get to class. It commonly appears with a phrase describing the weather or circumstances of those days.
ensoleillés Ensoleillés means “sunny” in les jours ensoleillés. It describes the days mentioned in the sentence and matches jours in the expression. Use it after jours to talk about days with sunshine.
Et Et means “and,” but in Et les jours de pluie ? it introduces a follow-up question meaning “What about rainy days?” It connects this question with the previous mention of sunny days. This use is practical when asking about a contrasting or additional situation.
de De links pluie to jours in les jours de pluie, giving the meaning “rainy days” or literally “days of rain.” It shows what kind of days are being discussed. This pattern places de between a noun and the noun that specifies it.
pluie Pluie means “rain” in les jours de pluie. It specifies the weather associated with the days in this expression. Use it after de when describing days or periods characterized by rain.
prends Prends means “take” in Je prends le bus quand il pleut. It is the form used with je of prendre, and here it describes choosing the bus for transport. Use it before le bus when saying that you take the bus.
le Le means “the” before bus in le bus. It identifies the bus as the means of transport being taken. It comes directly before the singular noun bus in this expression.
bus Bus means “bus” in Je prends le bus quand il pleut. It is the vehicle the speaker uses when it rains. Use it after le with the transport expression prendre le bus.
quand Quand means “when” in Je prends le bus quand il pleut. It introduces the condition or time at which the speaker takes the bus. It commonly comes before a clause describing when an action happens.
il Il is part of the weather expression il pleut in Je prends le bus quand il pleut. Here it does not mean “he”; together with pleut, the expression means “it is raining.” Use il in this impersonal weather pattern.
pleut Pleut means “rains” in il pleut, the expression used for “it is raining.” It is used with il in weather statements rather than to describe a person’s action. Use il pleut after quand when explaining that rain determines what you do.

Grammar Points

faire du + activité

faire du vélo

FEHR dyoo vay-LOH

to ride a bike

French uses faire du before some activities; du combines de and le.

prendre + le + transport

prendre le bus

PRAHN-druh luh byoos

to take the bus

French commonly uses the definite article le with transport in this expression.

French Vocabulary

comment adv
koh-MAHN how
ensoleillé adj
ahn-soh-lay-YAY sunny ensoleillés
faire du vélo phrase
FEHR dyoo vay-LOH to ride a bike fais du vélo
habiter verb
ah-bee-TAY to live habites
ici adv
ee-SEE here
jour noun
zhoor day jours
où adv
oo where
pluie noun
plwee rain
prendre le bus phrase
PRAHN-druh luh byoos to take the bus prends le bus
tout près adv
too PRAY nearby
vélo noun
vay-LOH bike
venir verb
vuh-NEER to come viens

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Where do you live?

Show AnswerOù habites-tu ?

I live nearby.

Show AnswerJ'habite tout près.

How do you get here?

Show AnswerComment viens-tu ici ?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

bike

Show Answervélo

day

Show Answerjours

to live

Show Answerhabites

to come

Show Answerviens