This paper is a gentle introduction to the theory of quasi-log varieties by Ambro. We explain the fundamental theorems for the log minimal model program for log canonical pairs. More precisely, we give a proof of the base point free theorem for log canonical pairs in the framework of the theory of quasi-log varieties. Comment: 17 pages; comments welcome, v2: typos were corrected, v3: many errors were corrected, subsection 2.1 is new, v4: minor modifications, v5: typos were corrected, v6: title changed, a completely revised version, v7: minor modifications following referee's comments, v8: a typo was corrected