Learn French: Avant-hier, j'ai téléphoné à une copine. - The day before yesterday, I called a friend.

In French, the past tense (Passé Composé) usually needs two parts: a helper verb (here, ai which means "have") and the main action verb in its past form (here, téléphoné). So literally, you are saying "I have called". You can't skip the helper verb!

How do we get the form téléphoné?

For regular verbs ending in -er like téléphoner (to call), you simply drop the -er and add an -é with an accent. That turns it into téléphoné (called).

Why is there an à after téléphoné?

In English, we just say "I called a friend," but in French, the verb téléphoner is always followed by the preposition à (to) when referring to a person. You are literally saying "I called to a friend."

How does the word avant-hier work?

Hier means "yesterday" and avant means "before". When you put them together with a hyphen, avant-hier translates perfectly to "the day before yesterday".

Could I use une amie instead of une copine here?