Talking about listening to music in your free time | Learn French in English

About This Lesson

Use Talking about listening to music in your free time to practice French conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Est-ce que tu écoutes de la musique ?

ess-KUH tyoo ay-KOOT duh lah myoo-ZEEK? Do you listen to music?

J'écoute de la musique pendant mon temps libre.

zhay-KOOT duh lah myoo-ZEEK pahn-DAHN mohn tahn LEEBR. I listen in my free time.

Quel genre de musique aimes-tu ?

kell ZHAHNR duh myoo-ZEEK em-TYOO? What kind of music do you like?

J'aime les chansons lentes.

zhem lay shahn-SOHN LAHNT. I like slow songs.

Est-ce que tu utilises des écouteurs ?

ess-KUH tyoo ew-tee-LEEZ day zay-koo-TUR? Do you use headphones?

Je les utilise quand je veux me détendre.

zhuh lay-zew-tee-LEEZ kahn zhuh vuh muh day-TAHNDR. I use them when I want to relax.

Est-ce que je peux écouter quelque chose ?

ess-KUH zhuh puh ay-koo-TAY kell-kuh SHOHZ? Can I hear something?

Je vais mettre un morceau calme.

zhuh vay METR uhn mor-SOH KAHLM. I'll play a quiet track.

Word by Word

Est-ce que “Est-ce que” introduces a yes-or-no question here, meaning “Do you…?”. “Est-ce” and “que” work together as one question construction. It is reusable at the beginning of a question before the subject and verb.

tu “tu” means “you” when speaking to one person in this dialogue. It is the subject of “tu écoutes” and “tu utilises”. Use it with a person you address informally.

écoutes “écoutes” means “listen to” here, in the question about listening to music. It is the form of écouter used with “tu”. The thing being listened to follows the verb, as in “tu écoutes de la musique”.

de In “de la musique”, “de” helps express an unspecified amount or type of music, rather than meaning “of” by itself. It is used together with “la” in this expression. A reusable pattern is “de” followed by an article and a noun.

la In “de la musique”, “la” is the definite article placed before “musique”. It marks the feminine singular noun in this expression. Together, “de la” introduces an unspecified amount of a feminine singular noun.

musique “musique” means “music” in “de la musique”. It is the thing being listened to in “tu écoutes de la musique” and “J'écoute de la musique”. It can be used after “écouter” to name what someone listens to.

J'écoute “J'écoute” means “I listen to” in this dialogue. It is the first-person form of écouter and is followed by “de la musique”. Use it to say what you listen to, as in “J'écoute de la musique”.

pendant “pendant” means “during” and introduces the period when the listening happens: “pendant mon temps libre”. It is followed here by a time expression. It is useful for locating an action within a period.

mon “mon” means “my” before “temps” in “mon temps libre”. It shows that the free time belongs to the speaker. A reusable pattern is a possessive word before the noun it describes.

temps “temps” means “time” in “mon temps libre”. Together with “libre”, it refers to the speaker’s free time. It is used here in the time expression “mon temps libre”.

libre “libre” means “free” in “mon temps libre”, describing time when the speaker has no other activity. It follows and describes “temps” in this expression. The full expression is useful when talking about activities done in free time.

Quel “Quel” means “what” or “which” in “Quel genre de musique”. It asks the listener to identify the type of music. It comes before the noun in this question pattern.

genre “genre” means “kind” or “type” in “Quel genre de musique”. The expression asks what type of music someone likes. A reusable question pattern is “Quel genre de” followed by a topic.

aimes-tu “aimes-tu” means “do you like” in this inverted question. It is formed from aimer with “tu” placed after the verb and linked by a hyphen. It is used to ask about someone’s preferences, as in “Quel genre de musique aimes-tu ?”.

J'aime “J'aime” means “I like” in “J'aime les chansons lentes”. It is the first-person form of aimer and is followed by the thing the speaker likes. Use it to state a preference.

les “les” means “the” before the plural noun “chansons”. It introduces the songs being discussed in “les chansons lentes”. It is used before a plural noun.

chansons “chansons” means “songs” in “les chansons lentes”. It is the thing the speaker likes. The adjective “lentes” describes these songs.

lentes “lentes” means “slow” and describes “chansons” in “les chansons lentes”. Its form matches the feminine plural noun “chansons”. It is used after the noun here to describe the songs’ pace.

utilises “utilises” means “use” in the question about headphones. It is the form of utiliser used with “tu”. The object of the verb follows it, as in “tu utilises des écouteurs”.

des In “des écouteurs”, “des” introduces an unspecified plural noun, meaning “some” or simply marking a plural object. It comes before “écouteurs”. A reusable pattern is “des” followed by a plural noun.

écouteurs “écouteurs” means “headphones” or “earbuds” in this dialogue. They are the object being used in “tu utilises des écouteurs”. It is useful when naming audio equipment used for listening.

Je “Je” means “I” and is the subject of “Je les utilise”. It identifies the person carrying out the action. It appears before the verb in this statement.

utilise “utilise” means “use” in “Je les utilise”. It is the first-person form of utiliser and is followed by “les”, which refers to the headphones. It is used to say that someone uses an object.

quand “quand” means “when” and introduces the situation in which the headphones are used: “quand je veux me détendre”. It links the main action to a time or condition. It is useful for saying when someone does something.

veux “veux” means “want” in “je veux me détendre”. It is the form of vouloir used with “je”. It is followed here by an infinitive to state what the speaker wants to do.

me In “me détendre”, “me” refers back to the speaker and forms part of the expression meaning “relax”. It shows that the subject is affected by the action. It comes before the infinitive in this construction.

détendre In “me détendre”, “détendre” contributes the idea of relaxing. The full expression “me détendre” means “to relax”, and it follows “je veux”. This construction is useful for saying what someone wants to do to unwind.

peux “peux” means “can” or “am able to” in “je peux écouter quelque chose”. It is the form of pouvoir used with “je”. It is followed by an infinitive to express ability or permission to do something.

écouter “écouter” means “listen to” or “hear” in “écouter quelque chose”. It is an infinitive after “je peux”. A reusable pattern places the thing heard or listened to after this verb.

quelque chose “quelque chose” means “something” in “écouter quelque chose”. “quelque” marks an unspecified item, and “chose” means “thing”; together they form the expression “something”. It is used here as the object of “écouter”.

vais “vais” means “am going to” in “Je vais mettre un morceau calme”. It is the form of aller used with “je” in the near-future construction. It is followed by an infinitive to say what the speaker intends to do.

mettre “mettre” means “play” in “mettre un morceau calme”, referring to starting a music track. It is an infinitive after “Je vais”. It is used here with the track as its object.

un “un” means “a” before the masculine singular noun “morceau”. It introduces one unspecified track. It is placed directly before the noun.

morceau “morceau” means “track” in “un morceau calme”. In this dialogue it refers to a piece of music that can be played. It is the object of “mettre”.

calme “calme” means “quiet” or “calm” in “un morceau calme”. It describes the musical track named by “morceau”. It follows the noun here to specify the track’s character.

Grammar Points

Est-ce que + sujet + verbe ?

Est-ce que tu écoutes de la musique ?

ess-KUH tyoo ay-KOOT duh lah myoo-ZEEK?

Do you listen to music?

Est-ce que forme une question fermée et reste inchangé quel que soit le sujet.

pouvoir / vouloir + infinitif

Je peux écouter quelque chose quand je veux me détendre.

zhuh puh ay-koo-TAY kell-kuh SHOHZ kahn zhuh vuh muh day-TAHNDR.

I can listen to something when I want to relax.

Après peux ou veux, le verbe suivant reste à l’infinitif, comme écouter et me détendre.

French Vocabulary

aime verb

EM like

J'aime les chansons lentes.

aimes verb

EM like

Quel genre de musique aimes-tu ?

chansons noun

shahn-SOHN songs

J'aime les chansons lentes.

écoute verb

ay-KOOT listen

J'écoute de la musique pendant mon temps libre.

écoutes verb

ay-KOOT listen

Est-ce que tu écoutes de la musique ?

Est-ce que phrase

ess-KUH Do

Est-ce que tu écoutes de la musique ?

genre noun

ZHAHNR kind

Quel genre de musique aimes-tu ?

lentes adj

LAHNT slow

J'aime les chansons lentes.

musique noun

myoo-ZEEK music

J'écoute de la musique pendant mon temps libre.

pendant prep

pahn-DAHN during

J'écoute de la musique pendant mon temps libre.

quel det

kell what kind of

Quel genre de musique aimes-tu ?

temps libre phrase

tahn LEEBR free time

J'écoute de la musique pendant mon temps libre.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

What kind of music do you like?

Show Answer

Quel genre de musique aimes-tu ?

I like slow songs.

Show Answer

J'aime les chansons lentes.

I'll play a quiet track.

Show Answer

Je vais mettre un morceau calme.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

what kind of

Show Answer

quel

listen

Show Answer

écoute

music

Show Answer

musique

Show Answer

aimes