Free C1 French course: advanced

C1 is advanced French for work and study: implicit meaning, nuance, idiom and register. You'll read literature, recognise the literary tenses and express yourself flexibly.

12 grammar lessons, 7 classic books, flashcards, audio lessons and an AI conversation partner, all free during the beta. Plan on about 300 hours of study for this level (900 in total from zero).

What you'll be able to do

• Listening: I can understand extended speech even when it's not clearly structured.
• Listening: I can understand TV programmes and films without too much effort, including slang.
• Reading: I can understand long, complex factual and literary texts, and appreciate style.
• Reading: I can read specialised articles and technical instructions outside my field.
• Speaking: I can express myself fluently without much obvious searching for words.
• Speaking: I can use French flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes.
• Writing: I can write clear, well-structured texts on complex subjects, choosing a suitable style.
• Writing: I can write formal letters and emails that sound natural to a French reader.

What you'll learn

Learning C1 French with AI

At C1 the AI partner discusses complex topics with you, explains fine distinctions of meaning, and points out where your French sounds translated. 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 12 C1 grammar lessons

Free to read here. In the app, each one is taught in short steps with audio, practised, and brought back for review.

1. Passé simple
2. Past subjunctive
3. Ne explétif
4. Concession
5. Inversion after peut-être, sans doute, aussi, à peine
6. Present participle vs verbal adjective
7. Le temps que, jusqu'à ce que, en attendant que
8. Au cas où + conditional
9. Subjunctive in relative clauses
10. Demonstrative pronouns
11. Si, tellement, tant … que
12. Advanced idioms

Reading at C1

• Le Horla by Guy de Maupassant (1887): The diary of a man who believes an invisible being is taking over his life.
• Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier (1913): A schoolboy stumbles into a mysterious party at a lost estate and spends years searching for it.
• Trois contes by Gustave Flaubert (1877): Three tales, including Un cœur simple, the life of a devoted servant.
• Quatre contes by Prosper Mérimée (1880): Four short stories, including Mateo Falcone.
• Candide by Voltaire (1759): A naive young man discovers that this is not the best of all possible worlds.
• Zadig by Voltaire (1747): A wise man's misadventures in ancient Babylon, a satire on fate.
• Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (1857): A doctor's wife in Normandy dreams of a life like the novels she reads.

Questions