Planning your week is an essential part of daily life, and this lesson gives you all seven days plus the vocabulary to talk about routines, habits, and future plans. Camille and Lucas sit down on Sunday evening to organise the week ahead — you'll learn how French uses the days of the week in a way that is subtly but importantly different from English. The key insight: whether you use an article (le lundi) or not (lundi) changes the meaning. Let's plan the week!
Learning tips
- Days of the week in French are always lowercase (lundi, mardi…), unlike English where they are capitalised. They are masculine nouns but are used without an article in many contexts.
- No article = a specific occurrence: lundi = this Monday (or just 'on Monday' referring to a particular day). With article = a habitual action: le lundi = every Monday, on Mondays.
- French weeks start on Monday (lundi), not Sunday. The weekend (le week-end) is Saturday and Sunday. This is reflected in French calendar layouts and workplace culture.
- The negative ne … jamais (never) works like ne … pas — the verb goes between ne and jamais: Je ne travaille jamais le dimanche. In casual speech, ne is often dropped: Je travaille jamais le dimanche.
- Parfois (sometimes) and toujours (always) are frequency adverbs placed after the conjugated verb: Je finis parfois tôt. Je travaille toujours le lundi.
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| l'heure | the hour / the time |
| quelle | which / what (f.) |
| maintenant | now |
| et demie | half past (and a half) |
| et quart | quarter past (and a quarter) |
| moins | minus / to (time) |
| midi | noon |
| minuit | midnight |
| à | at (time) |
| de | from (time range) |
Dialog
On Sunday evening, Camille and Lucas plan their week. They discuss which days they are free or busy, make a plan to have lunch together on Wednesday, and talk about their weekend routines. Notice how lundi (specific) and le lundi (habitual) are used in different contexts.
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| lundi | /lœ̃.di/ | Monday | From Latin Lunae dies (day of the moon) — always lowercase in French |
| mardi | /maʁ.di/ | Tuesday | From Latin Martis dies (day of Mars) — lowercase |
| mercredi | /mɛʁ.kʁə.di/ | Wednesday | From Latin Mercurii dies (day of Mercury) — lowercase |
| jeudi | /ʒø.di/ | Thursday | From Latin Jovis dies (day of Jupiter) — lowercase |
| vendredi | /vɑ̃.dʁə.di/ | Friday | From Latin Veneris dies (day of Venus) — lowercase |
| samedi | /sam.di/ | Saturday | From Latin Saturni dies (day of Saturn) — lowercase |
| dimanche | /di.mɑ̃ʃ/ | Sunday | From Latin Dominica dies (Lord's day) — lowercase; last day of the French week |
| la semaine | /la sə.mɛn/ | the week | La semaine — la semaine prochaine = next week; cette semaine = this week |
| parfois | /paʁ.fwa/ | sometimes | Frequency adverb — follows the conjugated verb: Je finis parfois tôt |
| jamais | /ʒa.mɛ/ | never | Used in ne … jamais: Je ne travaille jamais le dimanche. In casual speech ne is often dropped. |
Passive words
| Word | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| le week-end | /lə wi.kɛnd/ | ||
| aujourd'hui | /o.ʒuʁ.dɥi/ | ||
| demain | /də.mɛ̃/ | ||
| hier | /jɛʁ/ | ||
| chaque | /ʃak/ | ||
| prochain | /pʁɔ.ʃɛ̃/ |
Useful chunks
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| le lundi | on Mondays (every Monday) |
| la semaine prochaine | next week |
| ne … jamais | never (negative construction) |
Grammar: Days of the week with and without the article — frequency adverbs
| Usage | Français | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Specific day (this week) | lundi | on Monday (this Monday) |
| Habitual (every week) | le lundi | on Mondays (every Monday) |
| Specific day | samedi matin | on Saturday morning |
| Habitual | le samedi matin | every Saturday morning |
| Adverb: always | toujours | always |
| Adverb: sometimes | parfois | sometimes |
| Adverb: never | (ne …) jamais | never |
| Negation: never | Je ne travaille jamais le dimanche. | I never work on Sundays. |
In French, the days of the week behave differently depending on whether you are talking about a specific day or a recurring habit. Without an article, the day refers to a specific occurrence — usually this week or the week being discussed: Lundi, je travaille (On Monday [this week], I work). With the definite article le, the day expresses a habitual, recurring action: Le lundi, je travaille (On Mondays, I always work / every Monday). This distinction is important because English uses 'on Monday' for both meanings. In writing and speech, context usually makes the meaning clear, but the le is the reliable signal for habitual meaning. Frequency adverbs reinforce these meanings: toujours (always), parfois (sometimes), jamais (never). Jamais requires the negative structure ne … jamais — the verb is sandwiched between ne and jamais: Je ne travaille jamais le dimanche (I never work on Sundays). In informal spoken French, ne is frequently dropped: Je travaille jamais le dimanche. The week in France officially starts on Monday (lundi), and calendar grids reflect this — Sunday appears last, not first.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the correct day or time word.
- Aujourd'hui c'est . Demain c'est mardi. (quel jour ?)(If today is Monday and tomorrow is Tuesday, what day is today?)
- Je fais du sport matin — tous les samedis. (article habituel)(Every Saturday = le + day name — use the article for habit)
- Il ne travaille le week-end. (adverbe négatif)(Never = ne … ___; negative adverb of frequency)
- , je finis tôt — mais pas toujours. (adverbe de fréquence)(Sometimes = frequency adverb, starts with 'P')
- La prochaine, on se voit mercredi. (unité de temps)(Unit of time containing 7 days)
Grammar Application
Transform each sentence as instructed, applying the article rule for habitual actions or the ne … jamais negation.
- Transformez : « Je travaille lundi » → habitude chaque semaine → (Add le before lundi to make it habitual — 'every Monday')
- Transformez : « Il mange ici samedi » → habitude chaque semaine → (Add le before samedi to make it habitual — 'every Saturday')
- Transformez en négatif avec « jamais » : « Je travaille le dimanche. » → (Add ne … jamais around the verb: Je ne … jamais …)
- Mettez dans l'ordre : [ vendredi / je / parfois / tôt / finis ] → (Reorder: subject + frequency adverb + verb + time word — parfois goes after the verb)
- Quel jour vient après jeudi ? → (The day after Thursday in the French week)
Translate into French
Translate each sentence into French. Pay attention to whether the day needs an article (habit) or not (specific).
- I work on Mondays.
- Sometimes I finish early on Friday.
- She never works on Sunday.
- Next week, I have lunch on Wednesday.
- The week has seven days.
Build Your Own Sentence
Write 2–3 sentences in French describing your own weekly routine. Use at least two days of the week, one frequency adverb (toujours, parfois, jamais), and the article le where appropriate for habits.
Takeaway
In French, lundi means 'this Monday' (specific), while le lundi means 'every Monday' (habitual) — one small article, two very different meanings.