Free B2 French course: upper intermediate
B2 is fluency: following films and the news, reading articles, and arguing a point with native speakers. The big grammar topic is the subjunctive, used properly.
20 grammar lessons, 7 classic books, flashcards, audio lessons and an AI conversation partner, all free during the beta. Plan on about 225 hours of study for this level (600 in total from zero).
What you'll be able to do
- Listening: I can understand most TV news and current-affairs programmes.
- Listening: I can follow most films in standard French.
- Reading: I can read articles and reports on current issues where writers take a position.
- Reading: I can read contemporary literary prose.
- Speaking: I can talk with native speakers fluently and spontaneously enough that neither of us has to strain.
- Speaking: I can explain my point of view on a topical issue, giving the advantages and disadvantages.
- Writing: I can write clear, detailed texts on a wide range of subjects.
- Writing: I can write an essay or report arguing for or against a point of view.
What you'll learn
The subjunctive
After wishes, emotions, doubt and conjunctions: il faut que tu viennes, bien qu'il soit tard.
Past conditional and future perfect
Regrets and hypotheses: j'aurais dû, quand j'aurai fini.
Connecting arguments
Cependant, pourtant, en revanche, à condition que: structuring an opinion.
Authentic material
Longer books, news and films in standard French.
Learning B2 French with AI
At B2 you can debate with the AI partner, ask it to rewrite your text in a more natural style, and get an honest review of your strengths and gaps. The AI also explains any wrong answer in a lesson, in plain English. It's included free, with a generous daily allowance; like any AI it can make mistakes, so the lessons remain the reference. More about learning French with AI.
All 20 B2 grammar lessons
Free to read here. In the app, each one is taught in short steps with audio, practised, and brought back for review.
- Subjunctive
- Subjunctive
- Subjunctive after necessity and wishes
- Subjunctive after emotions
- Subjunctive after doubt
- Subjunctive after conjunctions
- Past conditional
- Si + plus-que-parfait → conditionnel passé
- Futur antérieur
- Past infinitive
- The passive voice
- Causative faire
- Reported speech
- Double object pronouns
- Relative pronouns
- Indefinite pronouns
- Avant de, sans, au lieu de + infinitive
- Negation
- Devoir
- Emphasis
Reading at B2
- Lettres de mon moulin by Alphonse Daudet (1869): Stories from a windmill in Provence: Monsieur Seguin's goat, the Pope's mule, the three low masses.
- Voyage au centre de la Terre by Jules Verne (1864): A professor, his nephew and a guide climb down an Icelandic volcano toward the centre of the Earth.
- Cinq semaines en ballon by Jules Verne (1863): Crossing Africa by hot-air balloon, Verne's first novel.
- Le Petit Chose by Alphonse Daudet (1868): A semi-autobiographical novel about a poor boy who becomes a schoolteacher.
- Contes de la bécasse by Guy de Maupassant (1883): Short stories told around a hunting dinner in Normandy.
- Contes du jour et de la nuit by Guy de Maupassant (1885): Maupassant short stories, including La Parure (The Necklace).
- Boule de suif by Guy de Maupassant (1880): A coachload of travellers flees the Prussian army. Maupassant's masterpiece of hypocrisy.
Questions
What does B2 French mean?
Upper intermediate: you can follow most TV, films and conversations, read articles, and talk with native speakers fluently enough that neither side has to strain.
How long does it take to reach B2?
About 600 hours from zero, according to the Alliance Française: roughly 225 hours more than B1.
Do apps go up to B2?
Some do, many stop earlier. SparkAI's lessons continue through B2 to C2, free during the beta.
Start B2 French now
No account, no payment details. Your progress is kept on your device, and you can save it to a free account whenever you like.
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