Narrative connectors
A story is not a list of sentences. These are the words that turn one into the other, and an examiner listens for them.
Sequence — the backbone:
| d'abord | first |
|---|---|
| ensuite / puis | then, next |
| après | afterwards |
| enfin / finalement | finally, in the end |
D'abord j'ai cherché mes clés, ensuite j'ai appelé un taxi, et finalement je suis parti à pied.
Setting the scene — these open a story:
| un jour | one day |
|---|---|
| ce jour-là | that day |
| à cette époque | at that time |
| il était une fois | once upon a time |
The break — what makes a story a story:
| soudain | suddenly |
|---|---|
| tout à coup | all of a sudden |
| au moment où | just as |
These almost always introduce a passé composé, into a scene set in the imperfect. That is the week 18 sentence shape in two words.
Joining two things in time:
| pendant que | while (two things at once — imperfect) |
|---|---|
| quand | when |
| avant de + infinitive | before doing |
| après avoir + participle | after having done |
Pendant que je préparais le dîner, les enfants jouaient.
Cause and consequence:
| parce que | because |
|---|---|
| comme | as, since (at the start of the sentence) |
| donc / alors | so |
| c'est pourquoi | that is why |
Two notes on use. Alors is spoken, donc is written — both mean "so", and alors also just fills a pause. And puis does not take et in careful French: puis il est parti, not et puis il est parti, though everyone says the longer version out loud.
Used well these are invisible. Used badly — three ensuite in four sentences — they are the most obvious tell in a beginner's narrative, so vary them.
Knowing the rule is not the same as producing it.
This page explains the pattern. The track drills it: the point arrives inside a mini-dialogue, then production marked against a CEFR descriptor, then a module test that returns you to your two weakest sessions if you miss it.