Giving Details
Do not give more than what is explicitly necessary! |
Comprehension of Questions -> see above with summary technique as the same principles apply. Bring a highlighter with you in the exam! |
Some grammatical may be necessary, largely with taking things out of the 1st person to the 3rd (eg. J'aimerais becomes Il/Elle aimerait) |
eg. 7.2 (June 2023) Pourquoi est-ce qu’il n’a pas pu lire le reste du télégramme ? Donnez deux raisons. |
il y a eu un coup de tonnerre = 1 les ondes électriques étaient interrompues = 1 |
Box letters
First of all, it is necessary to understand what the text and the passage is about. See summary comprehension for details of this |
Next, identify the types and conjugations/agreements of words. |
Is it a noun, adjective/adverb or a verb? |
How is it conjugated (what tense- be wary of similarities between them - is is singluar, masc/fem, plural? is it a past participle?) |
Translate the words wherever possible. Understanding the sense of the text, the sentence and the kind of word it is will help you if you're stuck |
Synonyms
In a similar vein to the Box letter question, understanding the word type and the translation will help you find synonyms |
Synonyms will always be in the order of the text. |
The synonyms will be as such so that they can quite literally replace the word you are looking for. Like the Box letters they will be conjugated and ready to go |
It is imperative that you include all the words in an expression that translate to that meaning. Copy and Paste from the text- do not manipulate (eg Il y ait stays that way instead of becoming Il y a) |
eg. en croissance |
en augmentation |
Les pieges communs
Ne...Que |
Translates to 'Only' - be careful on P/N questions! |
Faux amis |
Sans doute = probably, Sans aucun doute = definitely, A la fois = at once, En meme temps = at the same time, Plusieurs = several, Une centaine = around a hundred, a moins que = unless |
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Summaries
Remember- 90 words is a maximum! The examiner is required to stop reading after this point. Know what 90 words looks like for you on exam paper before you go in (roughly how many words per line and overall) so that you don't waste time counting in the exam |
Therefore, it is imperative that you only write the key 'bullet points' stated in the question. 90 words is less than you think! |
1. Read the title and the subtitles. |
2. Read the text once before looking at the questions. |
3. Study the questions carefully: highlight key words in the questions. Translate the question in English to make sure you are clear what the question is asking before looking for the answer in the text. |
4. Knowing what the question is asking will allow you to start your answer properly. Your answer must flow from the question. Translate your answer in English to see whether this is the case |
5. Highlight the sentence or sentences in the text which contains the answer. ( the questions will follow the order of the text ) |
6. Do not lift and copy. Manipulation is key. This doesn't mean you have to find a synonym for every word. There are lots of ways to manipulate the language: see below |
eg. Le nombre de sans-abris a doublé |
Il a 50 % de plus de sans-abris/ il a deux fois plus de sans abris maintenant |
Grammatical Manipulation
Eviter les mots du texte- Chercher des synonymes ou des expressions equivalentes. However, choose your battles, as you will not be able to find a synonym for every single word |
Pas plus de trois mots consecutifs. eg. Travail/emploi, pour/afin de, diminuer/ baisser, L'objectif/ le but, Parce que / en raison de |
La nominalisation |
Il a decide -> sa decision, Il a reduit -> sa reduction |
Reformuler la cause ou la consequence |
See: La voix passive |
Le subjonctif |
eg. Il faut que... , Pour Que..., Il/Elle/Ils est/sont [Adjectif] que [+Subjonctif], |
Participes présents (simultaneous action) |
« En travaillant avec les jeunes, les associations préviennent la délinquance. » |
Negatives |
eg ne cesse d'augmenter |
Translations
Calculated out of 30 'points' |
Usually concerns current events around January of the year of the exam (this is when the papers are written) |
It's more or less a word for word translation- however, if you're stuck, think of other ways of expressing the phrase (this may also actually lead to the correct answer) |
Common points tested: dont, a and de verbs, both future tenses, subjunctive, conditional (+conditional past), recognising differences between imperfect, perfect and pluperfect |
Anything could come up though, past papers have also included numbers, question forms, passive voice, and reported speech. |
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Grammar Overview
Masculine Nouns |
Days, Months, Seasons (un samedi, le printemps). Languages, Metric Weights and Measures, Imported nouns, especially from English (un sandwich, le football), compound nouns of which the first part is a verb (eg. un gratte-ciel) Endings: -acle, -age, -ail, -eau, -ou, ege, -et, -sme, -ment |
Feminine Nouns |
Most Continents, countries and rivers, Fruit and Veg, occupations or jobs ending in -erie, abstract concepts ending in -graphie, -logie, -sophie, -nomie, -ure (eg. geographie, astronomie, peinture). Other Endings: -(t)te, -anse/ance, -ee. |
Subjunctive |
'Que' is only the trigger word in clauses expressing subjectivity, uncertainty, or unreality, NOT certainty etc! (endings: -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent) |
Irregular Subjunctive |
fass-, puiss-, sach-, aill-/all-, vaill/val-, veuill/voul- |
Gender |
Nouns (General Endings) and Posessive Pronouns/Adjectives in agreement. |
'Dont' |
Usually included: 'whose', 'of whom', 'which' |
Passive Voice |
'Des soucis graves ont été causées par un manque de sécurité.', can be avoided by using 'On' (eg.On m’a envoyé 10 cartes pour mon anniversaire) |
Vocab |
Look through Past Papers- examiners want to know you've been looking and learning! |
Verbs containing à + de |
A general rule of thumb: à verbs tend to be more positive, de verbs usually more negative |
Indirect/Direct Object/Disjunctive pronouns |
Influenced by above! Direct: me/te/le/la/nous/vous/les. Indirect: me/te/lui/nous/vous/leur. Disjunctive: moi/toi/lui/elle/nous/vous/eux/elles |
Nuances to 'de' clauses |
eg. 'De plus en plus de' and when 'Beaucoup de' becomes 'Beaucoup des' (i.e when refferring to something specific eg. J'ai acheté une chemise dont beaucoup des boutons s'étaient détachés) |
Prepositions- Countries |
'To' and 'in' a place: En -> Fem countries & continents, à -> with definite article w/ masc & pl countries, mountain ranges + w/o an article for cities and towns (Je vais à Paris) |
Conditional + Past Conditional |
Would vs 'Would Have'. -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient |
Future Anterieur |
What will have happened before another event, also when reporting what someone said about a future event that has not yet happened. Eg: Elle m'a dit qu'elle aurait terminé son projet avant la fin du mois. |
Pluperfect |
Often used- what has happened before another action in the past. Used in conjunction with perfect tense, also in reported speech |
Future |
Irregular stems (ser-,aur-,ir-,fer-,viendr-,devr-,voud-, pourr-, saur-, verr-), and endings (-ai, - as, -a, -ons, -ez, - ont) |
Determiners |
Plusieurs (invariable)= 'several', can be used w/ or w/o a noun (eg. j'en ai plusieurs), tel/tels/telle/telles- always preceded by an article -> such/such a + noun (for adjective inbetween, 'si'), tout ce qui/que -> everything/all that which, tout à fait = quite/completely (eg. ils etaient tout a fait inconscient du danger), quelque part = somewhere |
Superlatives |
le/la/les plus/moins (agrees w/ noun) -> eg. C'est l'équipe la plus prometteuse de la ligue, les produits les plus seduisants, la solution la moins acceptable), le moindre = the least/lowest/slightest (il est venu sans la moindre protestation, il faut chercher le moindre prix), le pire = the worst, formal/emotional reactions. Adverbial form= does not agree, def article always le (eg. De tous les étudiants, c'est Christine qui parle français le plus couramment), le mieux (best) |
Definitive Articles- easy to miss |
B4 places, talking about nouns in a general sense (eg l'espoir), listing (eg: j'ai oublié le crayon, le papier et la gomme) |
Comparatives |
aussi (as)/plus/moins ... que. execeptions: meilleur (better), pire (worse), moindre (less/lower). pire -> only used after etre, sembler, abstract sense, use 'plus mauvais' in most cases (eg. je connais un plus mauvais cas. Ces cas sont pires maintenant qu'il y a quelques années) with numbers -> plus/moins de. |
Position of Adjectvies |
Before the noun- BAGS (Beauty, age, goodness, size), eg: une belle maison, un vieux homme. Also: see movable adjectives such as même |
Il/Elle est -> C'est |
Il/elle est is never! followed by a determinant. (C'est une belle femme) |
Perfect vs Imperfect tense |
Perfect = finished, one-off/single actions (even if it actually lasted a long time, eg. Hier je suis allé(e) à la plage avec mon club de jeunes). Imperfect = No indication of beginning or end, sets the background. Used to indicate habits/repeated happenings, describe a situation in the past, say what was happening at a particular time (eg. Florence faisait du café), in this sense often used w/ perfect/past historic. |
Articles after a negative |
Definite articles (le, la, les) stay the same (Il n'ouvra pas la porte), Indefinite (un, une, des) and Partitive articles (du, de, de la) become de (Il n'a pas de chien) sauf avec être (Ce n'est pas un jeu amusant.) |
Present tense |
-er verbs: -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent -ir verbs: -is, -is, -it, -issons, -issez, -issent -re verbs: -s, -s, -t, -ons, -ez, -ent |
Participles Passives irreguliers |
acquis, appris, atteindre- atteint, eu, bu, compris, conduit, connu, construit, courir- couru, couvrir- couvert, craindre- craint, croire- cru, décevoir- déçu, découvert, dû, dit, écrit, été, fait, instruire- instruit, joindre- joint, lu, mis, mort, né, offert, ouvert, paraître- paru, peint, pu, pris, produire- produit, reçu, savoir- su, souffert, suivi, tenir- tenu, venu, vivre- vécu, vu, voulu |
Articles contractés |
De + les = des Du + le = du A +le = au A +les = aux |
MRS VANDERTRAMP |
descendre, rester, monter, mourir, sortir, venir, arriver, naître, entrer, retourner, tomber, rentrer, aller, partir |
Pendant vs Depuis |
"Pendant" refers to the duration of an action that has a definite start and end point, while "depuis" indicates an action that started in the past and is still ongoing |
Si clauses |
Present + Conditional, Imperfect + Conditional, Plus-que-parfait + Conditional Past |
Mieux vs Meilleur |
"Mieux" is the adverbial form of "bien" (well), while "meilleur" is the adjective form of "bon" (good). "Mieux" is used to compare actions or verbs, while "meilleur" is used to describe the qualities of nouns. Mieux never changes to agree, meilleur does.J'aime bien ce film, mais l'autre est mieux. => I liked it more, I had more fun, it is better in a very general judgment J'aime bien ce film, mais l'autre est meilleur => it has better artistic qualities, the acting, directing, etc. can be rated as better. |
Question Forms |
Invert verb (parlez-vous francais?) - extra t added when there is vowel (parle-t-elle francais?). Est-ce-que makes the sentence stay the same (Est-ce-que vous parlez francais?), can also be used with pronouns to avoid inversion (Pouquoi est-ce que tu es arrive en retard?) |
Indirect Speech |
Tenses: Present -> imperfect, future -> conditionnel simple, futur anterieur -> conditionnel passe, passe compose -> plus que parfait. Aujourd'hui -> ce jour-la, hier -> la veille, demain -> le lendemain, (jour) prochain -> le (jour) suivant. est-ce que -> si/s'il, qu-est-ce que/qui -> ce que/qui, Qui est-ce qui -> qui, question inversees = si, L'imperatif -> De + Infinitive |
Superlative + Subjunctive |
Le pire chose que Hubert |
Venir De + Infinitive |
(Have just) done something |
Neither/Either |
Non plus |
Time |
Il etait de 12 heures |
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