Lesson 8.1

Qu'est-ce que tu aimes faire ?

What Do You Like to Do?

Welcome to Unit 8! In this lesson you'll discover how to talk about hobbies and leisure activities — one of the most rewarding topics in any language. You'll learn verbs for creative and physical pursuits and practise the near future tense so you can say what you're going to do. Camille and Lucas meet in the park and share their passions, giving you natural, everyday French to model. Let's dive in!

Learning tips

French infinitives ending in -er (danser, dessiner, chanter) are easy to spot — and they are the base form you plug straight into 'j'aime + infinitive' or 'je vais + infinitive'.
The near future (aller + infinitive) is one of the most used structures in spoken French. Mastering it with just six forms of 'aller' gives you enormous expressive power.
Try saying the nasal vowels aloud: 'danser' /dɑ̃.se/ and 'chanter' /ʃɑ̃.te/ both start with a nasal 'an' sound — round your lips slightly and let the sound resonate in your nose.
Chunk-learning 'pendant mon temps libre' as a single phrase will help you slot it naturally into conversations about your own life.
After the lesson, try writing two sentences about your own hobbies using 'j'aime' and two using 'je vais' — production practice cements vocabulary faster than reading alone.

Warm-up & Active Recall

Recap: In the previous lesson you used adjectives to describe an apartment — remember that French adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they describe (e.g. un appartement rénové / une cuisine rénovée).

Word	Meaning
lumineux	bright (of a room)
meublé	furnished
idéal	ideal
rénové	renovated
clair	light, airy
spacieux	spacious
pratique	practical, handy
la vue	the view
le loyer	the rent
déménager	to move (house)

Dialog

Camille and Lucas are relaxing in a Parisian park and chatting about what they enjoy doing in their spare time. Lucas reveals his love of sport and guitar, while Camille shares her passion for drawing, painting, and DIY. The dialog shows 'j'aime / j'adore + infinitive' in action and gives you a natural model for talking about hobbies.

🎨 Au parc — Camille et Lucas parlent de leurs activités préférées

Camille

Lucas, qu'est-ce que tu fais pendant ton temps libre ?

(Lucas, what is-it that you do during your free time?)

Lucas, what do you do in your free time?

Lucas

Moi, j'adore le sport et la musique. Je joue de la guitare le soir.

(Me, I-love the sport and the music. I play of the guitar the evening.)

I love sport and music. I play guitar in the evenings.

Camille

C'est génial ! Moi, j'aime dessiner et peindre. C'est très relaxant.

(It-is great! Me, I-like to-draw and to-paint. It-is very relaxing.)

That's great! I like drawing and painting. It's very relaxing.

Lucas

Tu aimes aussi danser ? Il y a un cours de danse au cinéma ce week-end.

(You like also to-dance? There is a class of dance at-the cinema this weekend.)

Do you also like dancing? There's a dance class at the cinema this weekend.

Camille

Au cinéma ? Non, Lucas, le cinéma, c'est pour les films ! Tu veux dire au centre culturel ?

(At-the cinema? No, Lucas, the cinema, it-is for the films! You want to-say at-the cultural center?)

At the cinema? No, Lucas, the cinema is for films! Do you mean at the cultural centre?

Lucas

Ah oui, pardon ! Et toi, tu aimes chanter aussi ?

(Ah yes, sorry! And you, you like to-sing also?)

Ah yes, sorry! And do you also like singing?

Camille

Oui, j'aime chanter sous la douche ! Et j'aime aussi bricoler à la maison.

(Yes, I-like to-sing under the shower! And I-like also to-do-DIY at the house.)

Yes, I like singing in the shower! And I also like doing DIY at home.

Lucas

Tu vas jouer au sport demain ? On va faire du football ensemble !

(You go to-play at-the sport tomorrow? We go to-do some football together!)

Are you going to play sport tomorrow? We're going to play football together!

Camille

Bonne idée ! Profiter du temps libre, c'est important.

(Good idea! To-enjoy of-the free time, it-is important.)

Good idea! Enjoying free time is important.

Vocabulary

Active words

Word	IPA	Translation	Note
danser	/dɑ̃.se/	to dance	Regular -er verb; used with 'faire de la danse' (the activity) or standalone as an infinitive after aimer/adorer.
dessiner	/de.si.ne/	to draw	Regular -er verb. Note: 'le dessin' is the noun (drawing/sketch).
bricoler	/bʁi.kɔ.le/	to do DIY, to do odd jobs	A very French concept — tinkering around the house. Comes from 'bricolage' (DIY).
peindre	/pɛ̃dʁ/	to paint	Irregular -re verb. It follows the same pattern as 'atteindre' and 'rejoindre' — the stem loses its 'd' in the singular present.
chanter	/ʃɑ̃.te/	to sing	Regular -er verb. The nasal vowel in /ʃɑ̃.te/ is the same sound as in 'enfant'.
jouer	/ʒu.e/	to play	Regular -er verb. Use 'jouer à' for sports/games (jouer au football) and 'jouer de' for instruments (jouer de la guitare).
le sport	/lə spɔʁ/	sport	Masculine noun. Used in 'faire du sport' (to do sport) — the most common collocation.
la musique	/la my.zik/	music	Feminine noun. 'Écouter de la musique' (to listen to music) is an extremely common phrase.
le cinéma	/lə si.ne.ma/	cinema, movie theatre	Masculine noun. 'Aller au cinéma' means to go to the cinema as an activity, not just the building.
le temps libre	/lə tɑ̃ libʁ/	free time, leisure time	Masculine noun phrase. Always used with the definite article: 'pendant mon temps libre'.

Passive words

Word	IPA	Translation	Note
le théâtre	/lə te.ɑtʁ/	theatre	Masculine noun. 'Aller au théâtre' — the accent on 'â' signals a historically lost 's' (compare English 'theatre').
la photographie	/la fɔ.tɔ.ɡʁa.fi/	photography	Feminine noun. Often shortened to 'la photo' in everyday speech.
le dessin	/lə de.sɛ̃/	drawing, sketch	Masculine noun. Compare with the verb 'dessiner' — the noun and verb share the same root.
collectionner	/kɔ.lɛk.sjɔ.ne/	to collect	Regular -er verb. 'Collectionner des timbres' = to collect stamps.
le passe-temps	/lə pɑs.tɑ̃/	pastime, hobby	Masculine noun. Literally 'pass-time'. A more formal/written alternative to 'le hobby'.
la danse	/la dɑ̃s/	dance (the activity/art form)	Feminine noun. 'La danse' is the art form; 'danser' is the action. 'Faire de la danse' = to do dancing (as a hobby).

Useful chunks

Word	Translation
qu'est-ce que tu aimes faire	what do you like to do?
pendant mon temps libre	during my free time
on va faire	we're going to do / let's do

Pronunciation: Nasal vowels in activity verbs: Several key verbs in this lesson contain the nasal vowel /ɑ̃/: 'danser', 'chanter', 'bricoler' has none, but 'pendant' does. To make /ɑ̃/, open your mouth as if saying 'ah', but let the air flow through your nose at the same time — do not close your lips into an 'm' or 'n'. Practise: 'danser… chanter… pendant mon temps libre'.

Grammar: Near future: aller + infinitive

Sujet	Aller	+ Infinitif	Exemple
je	vais	danser	Je vais danser ce soir.
tu	vas	chanter	Tu vas chanter demain.
il/elle/on	va	jouer	On va jouer au football.
nous	allons	dessiner	Nous allons dessiner ensemble.
vous	allez	peindre	Vous allez peindre ce week-end.
ils/elles	vont	bricoler	Ils vont bricoler samedi.

In this lesson you meet the 'near future' tense (le futur proche), which is the most natural way to talk about plans and intentions in French. It is formed with the present tense of 'aller' (to go) followed directly by an infinitive: je vais danser, tu vas chanter, on va jouer. The six forms of 'aller' in the present are: je vais, tu vas, il/elle/on va, nous allons, vous allez, ils/elles vont. Notice that the infinitive never changes — only 'aller' is conjugated. This structure maps neatly onto the English 'going to' future: 'Je vais chanter ce soir' = 'I'm going to sing tonight.' In spoken French, 'on va + infinitive' is particularly common and can mean 'we're going to...' or function as a suggestion ('shall we...'). Because the infinitive stays constant, you only need to learn the six 'aller' forms to unlock an entire future tense.

Exercises

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each sentence with the correct French word from the lesson vocabulary.

J'aime des tableaux le dimanche. (peindre)(the verb for applying paint to a canvas)
Mon préféré, c'est le football. (sport)(physical activity and exercise)
Elle adore la salsa avec ses amis. (danser)(moving to music)
Pendant mon , j'écoute de la musique. (temps libre)(time you have to yourself)
Il aime de la guitare le soir. (jouer)(to play — use with 'de' for an instrument)

Grammar Application

Fill in the blank with the correct form of 'aller' to make the near future tense.

Je danser ce soir. (aller)(je — I)
Tu chanter à la fête. (aller)(tu — you)
Nous dessiner au parc. (aller)(nous — we)
Ils jouer au football demain. (aller)(ils — they)
On bricoler ce week-end. (aller)(on — we / one)

Translate into French

Translate each English sentence into French. Use vocabulary and structures from this lesson.

I like drawing and painting.
We're going to play sport tomorrow.
She likes singing and dancing.
You're going to go to the cinema tonight.
We like music and sport.

Build Your Own Sentence

Write your own French sentence using the near future tense (aller + infinitive) and at least one hobby verb from this lesson.

Takeaway

The near future in French is beautifully simple: just conjugate 'aller' in the present tense and add any infinitive — 'on va danser !'

Culture note: In France, leisure time is taken seriously and protected by law — the 35-hour working week and five weeks of paid leave per year are cultural pillars. Parisians make full use of their city: the banks of the Seine, the parks, the open-air cinémas during summer, and the hundreds of free or low-cost municipal cultural centres (centres culturels) where dance, art, and music classes are available to all residents. Camille's love of drawing and painting reflects a long French tradition of accessible arts education, and Lucas's weekly football matches are typical of the millions who play in neighbourhood amateur leagues every Saturday across France.

Explanations in: de en