French is a Romance language, descended from Latin, while English is Germanic but borrowed heavily from French and Latin after the Norman Conquest of 1066. That shared history is why the French months and the English ones look so similar: both come from the same Latin roots.

One key difference: unlike in English, French months are not capitalised, except at the very start of a sentence. All twelve months are masculine.

• Août est mon mois préféré. = August is my favourite month.
• Le mois d'août est mon mois favori. = The month of August is my favourite.
• Avril est enfin arrivé. = April has finally arrived.

Prepositions: how to say "in" a month

To say something happens in a given month, French uses one simple preposition: en.

• Il est déjà tard, on y réfléchira en septembre. = It's already late, we'll think about it in September.
• Le printemps débute en mars. = Spring begins in March.
• En juin, le soleil chauffe déjà en ville. = In June, the city is already warm.

The same holds even when you add a year:

• Nous nous sommes fiancés en février 2013. = We got engaged in February 2013.

To express a span from one month to another, use the pair de ... à:

• L'école est ouverte de septembre à juin. = The school is open from September to June.
• Nous partons en vacances de mars à mai. = We go on holiday from March to May.

[Bridge: Teaserbox French Language Courses, link to programme page]

How to pronounce the months in French

Pronunciation is the one part that takes practice. Two habits cover most of it: the French r is a soft sound made at the back of the throat, and many final consonants (and the -er ending) are silent. The zh sound below is the soft s in the English word "measure".

The seasons in French

The seasons in French are just four words, and like the months they are all masculine and not capitalised unless they start a sentence.

• Le printemps a enfin commencé. = Spring has finally begun.
• L'automne est la saison la plus romantique. = Autumn is the most romantic season.
• Quel bel été ! = What a beautiful summer!

Three of the four seasons take en, but spring is the exception and takes au:

• au printemps = in spring
• en été = in summer
• en automne = in autumn
• en hiver = in winter

Examples:

• En automne, les feuilles tombent. = In autumn, the leaves fall.
• Nous y irons en hiver, quand il y aura de la neige. = We'll go there in winter, when there's snow.
• Je suis allé au Japon au printemps, et c'était incroyable. = I went to Japan in spring, and it was amazing.

How to pronounce the seasons