Here is a set of example questions and answers about your school.

Read the questions and try to answer them - then compare your
answers with ours.
1. Quelle est ta matire prfre? Pourquoi?
What is your favourite subject? Why?
Rponse:
a matire prfre est... parce que...
My favourite subject is... because...
Voici des exemples:
!a matire que "e prfre est la biolo#ie.
My favourite subject is biology.
!e prof explique bien le su"et et il est trs #entil.
The teacher explains the subject well and is very nice.
$e m%intresse & la nature et & l%en'ironnement.
I am interested in nature and the environment.
(ans l%a'enir "%espre )tre chercheur.
In the future I would like to be a researcher.
2. *u tudies le fran+ais depuis quand?
ow long have you been studying !rench?
Rponse:
$%tudie le fran+ais depuis...
I have been studying !rench for...
Voici des exemples:
$%tudie le fran+ais depuis cinq ans.
I have studied !rench for five years.
$%ai commenc les cours de fran+ais & l%,#e de on-e ans.
I started !rench lessons when I was eleven.
3. Que peut-t-on faire comme acti'its sporti'es ou
musicales?
What sports or music activities are there to do?
Rponse:
.n peut faire...
"ou can do...
.n peut "ouer...
"ou can play...
Voici des exemples:
.n peut "ouer dans une quipe de sport ou chanter dans la chorale.
"ou can play in a sports team or sing in the choir.
/l y a aussi des clubs de danse et des arts dramatiques.
There are also dance and drama clubs.
1. 0omment s%appelle ton cole?
What is your school called?
Rponse:
on cole s%appelle...
My school is called...
2. (cris ton coll#e.
#escribe your school.
Rponse:
on coll#e est...
My school is...
/l y a ... l'es.
There are ... pupils.
!es b,timents sont...
The buildings are...
Voici des exemples:
on coll#e est asse- #rand.
My school is $uite big.
/l y a 122 l'es en tout.
There are %&& pupils altogether.
!es b,timents sont modernes et bien quips.
The buildings are modern and well e$uipped.
3. Parle-moi d%une "ourne typique au coll#e.
Tell me about a typical day at school.
Rponse:
!es cours commencent &...
'essons begin at...
!es cours finissent &...
'essons end at...
!es cours durent...
'essons last...
!a rcr commence &...
(reaktime begins at...
3 midi "e man#e & la cantine 4 & la maison.
)t midday I eat in the canteen * at home.
1. *u portes un uniforme scolaire? Que portes-tu
exactement?
#o you wear school uniform? What exactly do you wear?
Rponse:
$e dois porter...
I have to wear...
$e ne dois pas porter l%uniforme scolaire.
I do not have to wear a school uniform.
Voici des exemples:
$e dois porter une "upe #rise5 une chemise blanche5 une cra'ate
'erte et rou#e et un pull #ris.
I have to wear a grey skirt+ a white shirt+ a red and green tie and a
grey jumper.
$e porte un pantalon noir5 un chemiser bleu5 et un sweat-shirt noir.
I wear black trousers+ a blue shirt and a black sweat,shirt.
$e ne porte pas de cra'ate.
I do not wear a tie.
2. *u aimes porter l%uniforme scolaire?
#o you like wearing school uniform?
Rponse:
.ui5 "%aime porter l%unifome scolaire parce que...
"es+ I like wearing school uniform because...
6on5 "e n%aime pas porter l%unifome scolaire parce que...
-o+ I don.t like wearing school uniform because...
Voici un exemple:
on uniforme scolaire n%est pas trs confortable mais il est rapide le
matin.
My school uniform is not very comfortable but it is $uick in the
morning
Tenses
/n any lan#ua#e5 when we refer to somethin# happenin#5 we always
use a tense to indicate whether it is #oin# to5 is5 or has already5
happened.
e.#. /%m going to eat an apple. / am eating an apple. / ate an apple.
!earnin# 7rench would be much easier if there were no tenses5 but
communicatin# somethin# clearly would be impossible - tenses are
really powerful.
*here are three main types of tenses8 present 9now:5 past 9then:
and future 9to be:. *here are different rules for each5 dependin# on
how they%re used.
*his is tricky stuff5 but li;e most tric;y stuff5 #et somewhere with it
and you%ll #et #reat mar;s<
The Present Tense
hen to use it8 *o tal; about what is happenin# at the moment or
now5 what happens usually or normally.
!ow to form it8 any 7rench 'erbs are re#ular -er 'erbs. *he
infiniti'e ends in -er. e.#. "ouer5 re#arder5 couter5 arri'er.
*hese 'erbs are re#ular because the endin" of the word follows a
pattern accordin# to who or what is doin" the action8
re#arder = to watch
"e re#arde = I watch
tu re#ardes = you watch
il re#arde = he watches
on re#arde = one watches
nous re#ardons = we watch
'ous re#arde- = you watch
elle re#arde = she watches ils re#ardent = they watch
elles re#ardent = they watch
3s you probably ;now5 there are other types of 'erb ...
#ore on the Present Tense
*here are also re#ular -ir 'erbs and re#ular -re 'erbs. *he endin#s of
these words also follow a pattern8
$ir %er&s
finir = to finish
"e finis = I finish
tu finis = you finish
il finit = he finishes
elle finit = she finishes
nous finissons = we finish
'ous finisse- = you finish
ils finissent = they finish
elles finissent = they finish
$re %er&s
perdre = to lose
"e perds = I lose
tu perds = you lose
il perd = he loses
elle perd = she loses
nous perdons = we lose
'ous perde- = you lose
ils perdent = they lose
elles perdent = they lose
>nfortuantely there are also many irre"ular present tense 'erbs which
do 6.* follow a pattern...
?ou should learn the common irre#ular 'erbs. >se a 'erb table in a
7rench dictionary to help you with the less common irre#ular 'erbs
The Past Tense: Perfect
$ust to really complicate matters 9stay with us<: there is more than
one past tense< @e start by ta;in# a loo; at the so-called perfect
tense.
hen to use it8 7or describin# what has happened5 what someone
has done or what happenend in the past.
!ow to form it8 ?ou need to remember that there are two parts to
a perfect tense 'erb - the auxiliary 'erb and the past participle.
*he auxiliary 'erb shows who or what did the action and the past
participle shows what happened.
The Perfect Tense with
Re"ular Ver&s
Here the auxiliary 'erb is a%oir. 7or re#ular -er 'erbs5 the past
participle is formed by replacin# the -er endin# of the infiniti'e with
-.
e.#. tra'ailler A tra'aill8
"%ai tra'aill = I worked
tu as tra'aill = you worked
il a tra'aill = he worked
nous a'ons tra'aill = we worked
'ous a'e- tra'aill = you worked
ils ont tra'aill = they worked
6otice that the past participle does not chan#e.
/t is the auxiliary 'erb that chan#es.
#ore on the Perfect
Tense
/n a similar way to -er 'erbs5 we can alter re#ular -ir and -re 'erbs.
7orm -ir 'erbs by ta;in# the -ir off the end of the infiniti'e and
addin# -i.
7orm -re 'erbs by replacin# the -re of the inifiniti'e with -u.
Bxamples8
"%ai "ou = I played
nous a'ons choisi = we chose
ils ont perdu = they lost
tu as re#ard = you watched
elles ont fini = they finished
'ous a'e- quitt = you left
The Perfect Tense of
'rre"ular Ver&s
*here is no simple rule for formin# the past participle of irre#ular
'erbs. /t is a #ood idea to learn the common past participles. ?ou
can find these in the 'erbs tables of dictionaries under past
participle.
>se part of the 'erb a'oir accordin# to who or what did the action
and add the past participle.
*hese are common irre#ular past participles with their meanings8
"%ai
tu as
il a 4 on a
elle a
C
compris
couru
dit
dD
crit
fait
lu
understood
ran
said
had to
wrote
did * made
read
put
nous a'ons
'ous a'e-
ils ont
elles ont
mis
pris
pu
re+u
'oulu
'u
took
could * was able to
received
wanted
saw
The Perfect Tense with (tre
*he 'erb )tre is used as the auxiliary 'erb with certain action 'erbs
and also with reflexi'e 'erbs 9doin# to yourself:.
*he past participle must %a#ree with% who did the action. Eo if the
person was female you must add an extra -e to the end of the past
participle8 e.#. elle est partie - she left.
/f two or more females did the action you must add -es8
e.#. elles sont parties - they left.
/f the person who did the action was one male5 then the past
participle does not chan"e8 e.#. il est parti - he left.
/f two or more males did the action add -s8 e.#. ils sont partis -
they left.
/f %on% refers to more than one person5 the past participle must be
plural8 e.#. on est alls - we went
#ore Perfect Tense with
(tre
>se the correct part of the 'erb )tre with the followin# 'erbs.
*o remember them5 learn the first letter of each word8
MRS VAN DE TRAMP
monter - to go up - mont9e:
9s:
rester - to stay - rest9e:9s:
sortir - to leave - sorti9e:9s:
'enir - to come - 'enu9e:9s:
aller - to go - all9e:9s:
naFtre - to be born - n9e:9s:
descendre - to go down - descendu9e:
9s:
entrer - to enter * go in - entr9e:9s:
tomber - to fall - tomb9e:9s:
retourner - to return - retourn9e:9s:
arri'er - to arrive - arri'9e:9s:
mourir - to die - mort9e:9s:
partir - to leave - parti9e:9s:
nenomic MRS VAN DE TRAMP will help you remember< Bxamples8
"e suis parti 9here masculine: = I left
il est all = he went
elle est arri'e = she arrived
Bs-tu entr? = #id you go in?
/ls sont retourns = They returned
.n est sortis = We went out
$e suis alle 9here feminine: = I went
The 'mperfect Tense
hen to use it: *o describe what was happening or what used to
happen at a certain time in the past.
!ow to form it: *he startin# point is to ;now the nous form of present
tense 'erbs. e.#8
nous re#ardons5 nous finissons 5 nous lisons 5 nous man#eons.
Remo'e the -ons from the nous form5 so that you are left with a stem8
re#ard...5 finiss...5 lis...5 man#e....
3dd the followin# endin#s to all imperfect 'erbs. e.#. "e re#ardais8
je ... -ais
tu ... -ais
il*elle ... -ait
nous ... -ions
vous ... -ie-
ils*elles ... -aient
*here is only one exception< *he imperfect stem of the 'erb )tre is t-5
used as in "%tais5 etc.
Here are two expressions usin# imperfect 'erbs that are really useful8
cGtait - it was
il y a'ait - there was * there were
The *uture Tense
hen to use it: to describe what will or shall happen at a certain time in
the future.
!ow to form it: there are two parts - 9i: the future stem and 9ii: the
future endin#s.
Forming the stem
7or re#ular -er and -ir 'erbs use the infiniti'e as the stem and "ust add
the appropriate endin# dependin# on what is doing the 'erb8
e.#. "e re#arderai5 nous couterons5 ils finiront.
7or re#ular -re 'erbs drop the -e from the end of -re to form a stem8
e.#. il 'endra.
Future endings
*he endin#s of future tense 'erbs always follow the same pattern8
je ... -ai
tu ... -as
il*elle ... -a
nous ... -ons
vous ... -e-
ils*elles ... -ont
!andy tip: notice that the endings are the same as the present tense of the 'erb avoir5
except for nous and %ous forms.
The *uture Tense +
'rre"ular Ver&s
7or irre"ular %er&s you only need to learn the stem as the endin#s are
the same as for re#ular 'erbs.
.nce you ha'e learnt the je form of the stem and the endin#s5 you will
;now the whole 'erb<
Here is a list of common irre#ular future tense 'erbs
aller ... "%irai
avoir ... "%aurai
boire ... "e boirai
envoyer ... "%en'errai
croire ... "e croirai
devoir ... "e de'rai
dire ... "e dirai
/crire ... "Gecrirai
0tre ... "e serai
faire ... "e ferai
falloir ... il faudra
lire ... "e lirai
mettre ... "e mettrai
pleuvoir ... il pleu'ra
pouvoir ... "e pourrai
prendre ... "e prendrai
revevoir ... "e rece'rai
rire ... "e ririai
savoir ... "e saurai
tenir ... "e tiendrai
venir ... "e 'iendrai
voir ... "e 'errai
vouloir ... "e 'oudrai
P!,- *ests on this comin# 'ery soon<