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To express a casual purpose or a minor goal, use the informal phrase **histoire de** (just to / so as to). Like other prepositional expressions of purpose, it is followed directly by an infinitive verb.

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### Taking It Easy

Because **histoire de** implies low stakes, it is a perfect match for describing relaxing weekend plans. You will often hear it paired with casual vocabulary like **bouquiner** (to read) or **traîner** (to hang around).

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Whether you are sipping a drink or soaking up the sun, **histoire de** sets a laid-back, informal tone for your sentence.

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Informal purpose (histoire de)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular 'to be' and indefinite articles (je suis un...)

Singular definite articles (le, la, l')

Identifying vs. describing (c'est vs. il est)

Feminine adjective agreement (+e)

Plural pronouns and 'to be' (nous sommes, vous êtes)

Formal and informal you (tu vs. vous)

Plural nouns and indefinite articles (des... -s)

Plural definite articles (les)

Plural adjective agreement (+s)

Stressed pronouns (moi, toi, lui)

The verb "to have" singular (j'ai, tu as, il a)

The verb "to have" plural (nous avons, vous avez, ils ont)

There is / there are (il y a)

Basic verbal negation (ne... pas)

Negating "there is" (il n'y a pas de)

Regular -er verbs singular (je parle, tu parles, il parle)

Regular -er verbs plural (nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent)

The verb "to be called" (s'appeler)

Yes/no questions with intonation (Tu parles ?)

Yes/no questions with "Est-ce que" (Est-ce que tu parles ?)

Informal questions (qui, que, quoi)

Standard questions (est-ce que)

Singular possessives (mon, ton, son)

Plural possessives (notre, votre, leur)

Demonstrative adjectives (ce, cet, cette, ces)

Adjective placement

Numbers 1 to 20

Numbers 21 to 100

Age and physical states (avoir)

The verb to go (aller)

The preposition to/at (à, au, aux)

Question word for location (où)

Prepositions for cities and countries (à, en, au, aux)

The verb to come (venir)

The preposition from/of (de, du, des)

Question word for origin (d'où)

The verb to do/make (faire)

Days of the week (lundi, mardi)

Telling time (il est... heure)

Question words for time (quand, à quelle heure)

The verb to take or have (prendre)

The verb to drink (boire)

Partitive articles (du, de la, de l')

Zero quantity (pas de)

Expressions of quantity (un peu de, beaucoup de)

Asking how much or how many (combien, combien de)

Very vs. a lot (très, beaucoup)

The verb to want (vouloir)

Polite requests (je voudrais)

The verb to be able to (pouvoir)

Obligation (devoir)

General obligation (il faut)

Why and because (pourquoi, parce que)

Expressing purpose (pour)

Reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nous, vous)

Daily routine verbs (se lever, s'habiller)

Adverbs of frequency (parfois, rarement)

Never (ne... jamais)

Regular -ir verbs (choisir, finir)

Regular -re verbs (attendre, répondre)

Irregular -ir verbs (sortir, partir, dormir)

Informal 'we' (on)

The imperative mood

Direct object pronouns (le, la, les, l')

The near future (aller + infinitive)

The recent past (venir de + infinitive)

The passé composé with avoir

Irregular past participles (eu, été, fait, pris, vu)

The passé composé with être

The negative passé composé (ne ... pas)

Saying goodbye

Please, sorry and thank you

Which / what (quel)

The indefinite adjective (tout, tous)

Irregular feminine adjectives (-euse, -ve)

Double consonant adjectives (-enne, -ette)

Feminine adjective endings (-ère, -trice)

Irregular plurals (-x)

Plurals ending in -al (-aux)

Present tense stem changes (e to è)

Accent stem changes (é to è)

Double consonant verbs (appeler, jeter)

Verbs ending in -yer (payer, envoyer)

Irregular communication verbs (dire, lire)

Irregular action verbs (écrire, mettre)

Question	Answer
just to / so as to	histoire de
to unwind	décompresser
We are going to the beach just to unwind.	Nous allons à la plage histoire de décompresser.
to read (informal)	bouquiner
quiet / peaceful (calm, undisturbed)	tranquille
She settles down anywhere just to read quietly.	Elle s'installe n'importe où histoire de bouquiner tranquille.
the sun umbrella	le parasol
I ended up reading quietly under the sun umbrella.	J'ai fini par bouquiner tranquille sous le parasol.
to hang around	traîner
They are hanging around at home just to have a quiet weekend.	Ils traînent à la maison histoire de passer un week-end tranquille.
Are you hanging around outside just to get some fresh air?	Est-ce que tu traînes dehors histoire de prendre l'air ?
to sip	siroter
He is sipping a coffee just to wake up.	Il sirote un café histoire de se réveiller.
the deckchair	le transat
We settled in the deckchairs just to sip a lemonade.	Nous nous sommes installés dans les transats histoire de siroter une limonade.
to laze about	lézarder
I am putting the deckchair in the garden just to laze about.	Je mets le transat dans le jardin histoire de lézarder.
the hammock	le hamac
I ended up lazing about in the hammock.	J'ai fini par lézarder dans le hamac.
He installed a hammock just to sleep outside.	Il a installé un hamac histoire de dormir dehors.
I am playing it just to unwind.	J'y joue histoire de décompresser.
I am setting up the deckchair under the parasol just to decompress.	J'installe le transat sous le parasol, histoire de décompresser.