Summer or l'été in French language is one the favorite seasons of French people. It's the ideal time to forget about work, to travel, go on vacation, go to the beach or sea and enjoy holidays with family.
These recent years, summer has been impacted by the the COVID -19 pandemic situation, but there are still ways to enjoy your vacations.
Today we will see some keywords and expressions about summer (l'été) such as clothing names and activities you can do during summer and verbs to use in French.
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Essential Words for talking about summer (l'été)
Let's start with the must-know French word: l'été which means summer. The word été can also be used in compound tenses like passé composé, as the past participle of the verb être (to be). So, do not make the confusion!
For example :
L'été dernier, je suis allée au Canada. => Last summer, I went to Canada.
Hier, j'ai été malade .=> yesterday I have been sick.
When talking about summer, we think automatically of the words sun, beach and months like June, July, August. Here is how the essential words related to l'été are called in French.
le Soleil : sun
la chaleur : heat
la canicule : heat wave
la plage : the beach
la Mer : the sea
la Montagne : the mountain
les vacances d'été : summer holidays
juin : June
juillet : July
août : August
You will certainly need to know these verbs to be able to make a small talk about vacations and holidays.
Voyager : to travel
Partir en vacances : to go on vacation
Aller quelque part: to go somewhere
Visiter : to visit (talking about visiting places)
Nager : to swim
Se baigner : to swim
prendre son congé annuel : to take one's annual leave
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12 Favorite Summer activities in French
In general to talk about activities that we do, we use the essential French verb faire. During vacations, people's favorite activities can be :
faire du surf or surfer : to surf
faire de la plongée : to dive
faire de la natation : to swim
faire de la randonnée : to hike
faire du ski nautique : water skiing
aller dans les montagnes : to go in the mountains
aller à la plage : to go to the beach
la pêche : fishing (do not mix it up with the peach (fruit) which is written exactly the same way)
faire un pique-nique : to picnic
faire un barbecue : to have a barbeque
bronzer : to tan
se bronzer : to sunbathe
How to name Summer outfits in French?
During summer, it's the time to take out from your closets the light and easy-to-where clothes and accessories like your short, tank top, hat, sunglasses.
Let's see how to call these summer essentials in French, the most common words and phrases.
un short : a short
un débardeur : a tank top
une robe : a dress
une jupette : a mini skirt
des tongs : flip flops
des Sandales : sandales
un sac en bandoulière : sling bag
une casquette : a cap
un chapeau : a hat
des lunettes de soleil : sun glasses
un maillot de bain : a swim suit
une serviette de plage : a beach towel
Linen (le Lin) and cotton ( le coton) are the fashion trend of summer season. Among the indispensables pour l'été, you will also need for sure your crème solaire (sunscreen) to avoid having des coups de Soleil (sun burns).
Practise your French summer vocabulary
Through the text below, you will discover examples of sentences and phrases about l'été. You will also be able to practice your understanding of the vocabulary related to summer holidays.
So, read it and answer the comprehension questions with true (vrai) or false (faux).
Text
"J'adore les vacances d'été car c'est enfin le moment de passer du temps avec ma famille.
En général, nous allons au sud de la France. Nous allons tous ensemble à la plage. J'aime me baigner dans la mer; alors je prends toujours avec moi, ma crème solaire, mes lunettes de soleil et mon maillot de bain.
Ma sœur préfère ramasser des coquillages et construire des châteaux de sable. Quant à mon frère , il aime aller dans les montagnes pour faire des randonnées. Alors, pour satisfaire tout le monde, on passe quelques jours en bord de mer, et le reste du temps nous allons dans les montagnes. Cela nous occupe beaucoup et on ne s'ennuie pas du tout!
Cette année, nous sommes en confinement et je doute qu'on puisse partir en vacances d'ici l'été."
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