---
date: '2026-06-29'
description: épisode 3, l'heure, l'horaire, les objets de la classe, les prépositions de lieu et les consignes
id: episode-3
modified: 2026-06-29 16:14:59 GMT-04:00
tags:
  - fr
  - language
  - learning
title: 'épisode 3 : c''est la rentrée'
created: '2026-06-29'
published: '2026-06-29'
pageLayout: default
slug: fr/episode-3
permalink: https://aarnphm.xyz/fr/episode-3.md
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full: https://aarnphm.xyz/llms-full.txt
---
découvrez phrases set the tone: `Avez-vous l'heure?`, `De rien!`, `J'étudie du lundi au jeudi.`, `Les livres sont dans l'armoire.`

vocabulary and spelling here are Québécois with rectified orthography, so `un réveille-matin`, `un cellulaire`, and `une efface` are the local forms.

the source method writes clock times with a space, `9 h 30`, which i keep in prose.[^space]

## l’heure

> \[!note\] écrire l'heure
>
> one writes the hours `1h` through `12h` and then `13h` through `24h`. the letter `h` is the abbreviation of the word `heure`, so `9h` reads `neuf heures`.

`Il est…` plus the hour. the half-hour splits into two registers: the everyday reading counts up to `et demie`, then switches to the next hour with `moins`; the digital reading just states the minutes.[^moins]

| time | everyday                         | digital                       |
| ---- | -------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| 3:00 | `trois heures`                   | `trois heures`                |
| 3:05 | `trois heures cinq`              | `trois heures cinq`           |
| 3:10 | `trois heures dix`               | `trois heures dix`            |
| 3:15 | `trois heures et quart`          | `trois heures quinze`         |
| 3:20 | `trois heures vingt`             | `trois heures vingt`          |
| 3:25 | `trois heures vingt-cinq`        | `trois heures vingt-cinq`     |
| 3:30 | `trois heures et demie`          | `trois heures trente`         |
| 3:35 | `quatre heures moins vingt-cinq` | `trois heures trente-cinq`    |
| 3:40 | `quatre heures moins vingt`      | `trois heures quarante`       |
| 3:45 | `quatre heures moins quart`      | `trois heures quarante-cinq`  |
| 3:50 | `quatre heures moins dix`        | `trois heures cinquante`      |
| 3:55 | `quatre heures moins cinq`       | `trois heures cinquante-cinq` |

`et quart` is `:15`, `et demie` is `:30`, `moins quart` is `:45`. from `:35` onward the everyday reading borrows the next hour: 3:40 is `quatre heures moins vingt`, twenty minutes short of four.

`midi` /midi/ is 12:00 in the day, `minuit` /minɥi/ is 12:00 at night. to disambiguate a small hour you say `l'heure du matin`, `l'heure de l'après-midi`, or `l'heure du soir`: `trois heures du matin` against `trois heures de l'après-midi`.

## demander et donner l’heure

demander:

- `Excusez-moi madame, avez-vous l'heure?`
- `Excusez-moi monsieur, avez-vous l'heure?`
- `Pardon, quelle heure est-il?`
- `Excusez-moi, à quelle heure…?`

donner:

- `Il est 9 h 30.`
- `Je ne sais pas, désolé(e).`
- `Je n'ai pas l'heure.`

## l’horaire

a course has a start and an end. `commence à` for the start, `finit à` for the end, and the `de … à …` frame to give both at once.

- `Le cours commence à 9 h.`
- `Le cours finit à midi.`
- `Le cours est de 9 h à midi.`
- `La pause est de 10 h à 10 h 45.`

the same `de … à …` describes a day: `Je travaille de 9 h à 16 h.` for the week you switch to `du … au …`, which already folds in the article: `du lundi au vendredi`, `du jeudi au dimanche`.

the days are lowercase, no capital. the book’s calendar starts on `dimanche`:

| jour       | gloss     |
| ---------- | --------- |
| `dimanche` | Sunday    |
| `lundi`    | Monday    |
| `mardi`    | Tuesday   |
| `mercredi` | Wednesday |
| `jeudi`    | Thursday  |
| `vendredi` | Friday    |
| `samedi`   | Saturday  |

> \[!note\] le système horaire de 24 heures
>
> hôpitaux, gares, aéroports, and other formal systems use the 24-hour clock: `13 h`, `14 h`, `15 h`, up to `24 h`. there `15 h` is unambiguous where `trois heures` would need `de l'après-midi`.

## nommer et situer des objets

the objects on and around the desk, numbered as in the book.

| #  | objet                       | gloss           |
| -- | --------------------------- | --------------- |
| 1  | `un réveille-matin`         | alarm clock     |
| 2  | `un calendrier`             | calendar        |
| 3  | `une poubelle`              | trash can       |
| 4  | `un bac à recyclage`        | recycling bin   |
| 5  | `un tableau`                | board           |
| 6  | `un bureau`                 | desk            |
| 7  | `une chaise`                | chair           |
| 8  | `une lampe`                 | lamp            |
| 9  | `une affiche`               | poster          |
| 10 | `une plante`                | plant           |
| 11 | `une porte`                 | door            |
| 12 | `une fenêtre`               | window          |
| 13 | `un ordinateur`             | computer        |
| 14 | `une imprimante`            | printer         |
| 15 | `une souris`                | mouse           |
| 16 | `un parapluie`              | umbrella        |
| 17 | `des clés`                  | keys            |
| 18 | `des livres`                | books           |
| 19 | `un manteau ou une veste`   | coat / jacket   |
| 20 | `des souliers`              | shoes           |
| 21 | `un sac à dos`              | backpack        |
| 22 | `un sac à main`             | handbag         |
| 23 | `des lunettes`              | glasses         |
| 24 | `un cellulaire`             | cell phone      |
| 25 | `une tablette électronique` | tablet          |
| 26 | `une étagère`               | shelf           |
| 27 | `une table`                 | table           |
| 28 | `un étui à crayons`         | pencil case     |
| 29 | `un stylo`                  | pen             |
| 30 | `des crayons`               | pencils         |
| 31 | `une efface`                | eraser          |
| 32 | `un cahier`                 | notebook        |
| 33 | `des dictionnaires`         | dictionaries    |
| 34 | `des feuilles`              | sheets of paper |
| 35 | `une montre`                | watch           |

`Dans la classe, il y a 7 chaises.` is the model sentence: `il y a` plus a number plus the object.

two of these are Québécois and would be said differently in France. `une efface` is the eraser the book glosses as `gomme à effacer`; France says `une gomme`. `un cellulaire` is the cell phone; France says `un (téléphone) portable`. note also the pair `une montre` (worn on the wrist, [#35](https://github.com/aarnphm/aarnphm.github.io/issues/35)) against `une horloge` (a clock on the wall), which the time exercises lean on.

## les prépositions de lieu

the cat sits in six places, one preposition each.

| préposition | phrase                                   | gloss       |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------- | ----------- |
| `sur`       | `Le chat est sur l'ordinateur.`          | on          |
| `dans`      | `Le chat est dans le sac.`               | in          |
| `devant`    | `Le chat est devant le chien.`           | in front of |
| `derrière`  | `Le chat est derrière le bocal.`         | behind      |
| `sous`      | `Le chat est sous la chaise.`            | under       |
| `entre`     | `Le chat est entre le sac et la chaise.` | between     |

`entre` takes two anchors joined by `et`: `entre X et Y`.

## comprendre une consigne

a consigne is a written instruction. they come in the impératif with `vous`, and the episode draws six.

| consigne    | gloss         |
| ----------- | ------------- |
| `Écoutez`   | listen        |
| `Observez`  | look at       |
| `Cochez`    | check (a box) |
| `Encerclez` | circle        |
| `Soulignez` | underline     |
| `Signez`    | sign          |

`Il y a des consignes à suivre.`: there are instructions to follow.

## les couleurs

color adjectives follow the noun: `un cahier rouge`, `une porte verte`. most add `-e` for the feminine, which often resurfaces a final consonant.

| masculin | féminin   | gloss  |
| -------- | --------- | ------ |
| `vert`   | `verte`   | green  |
| `bleu`   | `bleue`   | blue   |
| `noir`   | `noire`   | black  |
| `brun`   | `brune`   | brown  |
| `blanc`  | `blanche` | white  |
| `jaune`  | `jaune`   | yellow |
| `orange` | `orange`  | orange |
| `rouge`  | `rouge`   | red    |

`blanc → blanche` is the irregular one; the others either add `-e` (`vert → verte`, where the final `t` now sounds) or already end in `-e` and stay invariable (`jaune`, `orange`, `rouge`). `brun` is the everyday Québécois word for brown.

> \[!note\] faits d'ici
>
> faire la file. au Canada, les gens font très souvent la file: à l’arrêt d’autobus, à l’épicerie, à la banque. the queue is the default, and respecting it is part of following the consignes.

[^space]: the method spaces the abbreviation, `9 h 30`, following the typographic convention that puts a thin space between the number and the unit. plenty of everyday writing closes it up to `9h30`. the abbreviation itself is just `h` for `heure`, and it never takes a period.

[^moins]: this book writes `moins quart` with no article. hexagonal usage usually says `moins le quart` (`quatre heures moins le quart`). both mean `:45`, fifteen minutes short of the next hour; the article is the only difference.