French A1.8 Listening Practice: Countries And Origin
Listen to a A1 French dialogue about countries and origin, with audio, transcript, and grammar notes for language learning.
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Level
A1.8
Audio
Segmented audio
Transcript
22 segments
A short French listening chapter with transcript.
Unit 2: add origin to identity sentences with one useful movement verb chunk.
Read while you listen.
1. Hélène · Teacher
Welcome! Today we will practice expressing where you come from in French using the pattern 'venir de'. Let me let you listen to a short five-sentence dialogue first.
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2. Alain · Native Speaker 1
Bonjour ! Tu viens d'où ?
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3. Mathieu · Native Speaker 2
Je viens de France.
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4. Alain · Native Speaker 1
Tu viens de Paris ?
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5. Mathieu · Native Speaker 2
Non, je viens des Pays-Bas.
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6. Alain · Native Speaker 1
Ah, tu viens des Pays-Bas !
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7. Hélène · Teacher
Now, let's break down each sentence from the conversation.
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8. Hélène · Teacher
First, Native Speaker 1 said: 'Bonjour ! Tu viens d'où ?', which means 'Hello! Where do you come from?'.
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9. Étienne · Student
Why is 'de' written as 'd' apostrophe here?
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10. Hélène · Teacher
Because 'où' begins with a vowel sound, 'de' shortens to 'd' apostrophe.
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11. Hélène · Teacher
Next, Native Speaker 2 replied: 'Je viens de France', meaning 'I come from France'.
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12. Étienne · Student
Do we always use 'de' before country names?
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13. Hélène · Teacher
We use 'de' with feminine countries like France, but it changes for plural country names.
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14. Hélène · Teacher
Then, Native Speaker 1 asked: 'Tu viens de Paris?', which means 'Do you come from Paris?'.
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15. Étienne · Student
Is 'de' also used for cities?
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16. Hélène · Teacher
Yes, you use simple 'de' right before city names.
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17. Hélène · Teacher
Next came our challenge sentence: 'Non, je viens des Pays-Bas', meaning 'No, I come from the Netherlands'.
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18. Étienne · Student
Why do we use 'des' instead of 'de' here?
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19. Hélène · Teacher
Because 'Pays-Bas' is a plural country, so 'de' and 'les' combine into 'des'.
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20. Hélène · Teacher
Finally, Native Speaker 1 said: 'Ah, tu viens des Pays-Bas!', meaning 'Ah, you come from the Netherlands!'.
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21. Étienne · Student
So 'tu viens' is the form for 'you come'?
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22. Hélène · Teacher
Exactly, 'tu viens' goes with the informal 'you'. Excellent listening practice today!
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