Patricia explains the multiple benefits of dictation exercises. Having fallen out of favor in recent years, dictation is making a comeback after the French Ministry of Education realized that language skills were deteriorating. Why not take full advantage of Yabla's Scribe game to improve those skills?

Patricia explains the importance of dictation exercises for learning French. Now an essential teaching tool in the classroom, dictation was originally a pastime for French nobility. The author Prosper Mérimée created a dictation exercise for Empress Eugénie that stumped even the brightest intellectuals. Think you can beat them? Try it yourself here.

It took two hundred years to standardize French spelling before it could be taught in schools using a method called la dictée (dictation), in which a student writes out the words he or she hears. As a matter of fact, this is the exact same principle behind Yabla's Scribe game!

Sometimes numbers like cent (hundred) and quatre-vingts (eighty) take an S at the end, but other times they don't. Others, like mille (thousand), never take one. Sophie and Patrice explain these and other rules of writing numbers in French in this video.

Patricia explains the difference between ne pas encore (not yet) and jamais (never), the two negative forms of déjà (already, ever). Ne pas encore applies to actions that are limited in time, while jamais applies to actions that aren't.

Patricia explains the use of déjà and ne pas encore in French. Déjà means "yet" or "already," depending on context. In the negative, déjà becomes ne pas encore (not yet).

Patricia concludes her lesson on negation with a discussion of phrases using sans (without), double negation, and negation in the imperative mood.

In part three of this series on negation, Patricia demonstrates the use of adverbs of frequency in the affirmative and in the negative form. Some changes are required with some adverbs.

In the second part of this series on negation, you will learn the negative forms rien ne... (nothing), ne... aucun(e) (not any), and ne... nulle part (nowhere). We hope you will be feeling more positive about these negatives!

In the first part of this series on negation, you will learn how to use the formula ne... ni... ni (neither... nor... nor) to construct a negative sentence in French.

In the second part of this lesson on ne plus and aussi, you will learn another meaning of aussi. In addition to "also," it can mean "therefore" or "so."

In part two of her lesson on elisions, Patricia will help you navigate the rules of elisions with multiple examples. They're an essential part of French speech that will no longer be a mystery!

Patricia explains the use of aussi (also) and non plus (neither). Non plus is the negative form of aussi.

Patricia takes a glimpse into the future by showing you how to conjugate verbs of the second group (ending in -ir) in the future tense.

Patricia teaches us how to conjugate second-group (-ir) verbs in the passé simple, or historical past. Unlike the more common passé composé, this tense is mainly used in literary works and in historical accounts.

Patricia explains how to conjugate second-group verbs in the present indicative. Regular verbs ending in -ir all follow the same conjugation rules.

In this video, you will learn how to conjugate the verb finir (to finish) in the present tense. This verb is used as a reference for all second-group verbs, which end in -ir.

In this video, you will learn to recognize the difference between first- and second-group verbs. First-group verbs end in -er in the infinitive and second-group verbs end in -ir. The verbs in each group have the same endings in each tense, which makes it a lot easier to learn how to conjugate them.

In this video, you will learn when to use the subjunctive mood in all kinds of everyday situations. Whenever you express a doubt, an uncertainty, or a wish, the subjunctive mood is usually required.

Patricia explains the conditional mood in the past and present tense.

Let's talk about the future with Patricia. She will show you how to conjugate verbs in the simple future of the indicative.

In this lesson, Patricia discusses some exceptions to first-group verbs in the passé composé, those that require the auxiliary verb être (to be) instead of avoir (to have). Don't worry, Patricia will conjugate them for you and illustrate them with a few examples.

Patricia demonstrates how to conjugate first-group verbs (ending in -er) in the passé composé of the indicative. She uses examples from daily life to illustrate her explanation.

In this video, Patricia introduces the four compound tenses of the indicative with a few examples.