AP French Language and Culture cheat sheet

French family vocabulary: le/la conjoint(e) = spouse; le concubinage = cohabitation without marriage; le PACS = civil partnership contract.

la famille recomposée = blended family (step-parents and step-siblings); la famille monoparentale = single-parent household.

French civil code ties inheritance (l'héritage) to legal filiation; children have protected reserved shares (la réserve héréditaire).

le mariage civil must precede any religious ceremony in France; only civil marriage is legally binding.

Community vocabulary: le bénévolat = volunteering; une association loi 1901 = nonprofit association under the 1901 law.

Register matters: la fratrie (siblings collectively) is neutral; la smala (family/group) is informal.

Subjunctive trigger: expressions of emotion or necessity about family (il faut que, je veux que) require the subjunctive form.

Register ladder: soutenu (formal) > courant (standard) > familier (informal); verlan and argot sit at the informal end.

Tu is for peers, family, and children; vous marks formality, hierarchy, or plurality - mismatching it signals social error.

La francophonie spans over 50 countries; le français is an official language of the UN, EU, and OIF.

The passé simple is literary/narrative past; spoken French uses the passé composé for the same completed actions.

Connected speech: liaison links a silent final consonant to a following vowel (les_amis), forbidden after et.

Negation in informal speech drops ne: « Je sais pas » is standard in speech but not in formal writing.

Laïcité: French state neutrality on religion, codified by the 1905 law separating church and state.

Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Degas) emphasizes light and brushstroke; the term came from Monet's « Impression, soleil levant ».

Le cinéma: la Nouvelle Vague (Truffaut, Godard) rejected studio polish for location shooting and jump cuts.

Le patrimoine: les Journées du patrimoine open historic sites to the public each September.

Literary movements: le classicisme (17th c., rules and reason), le romantisme (emotion, nature), le surréalisme (dream, unconscious).

Le mécénat = private patronage of the arts; the state also funds culture via le ministère de la Culture.

Bande dessinée: la BD franco-belge (Tintin, Astérix) is often called the « neuvième art ».

Architecture vocabulary: une œuvre, un chef-d'œuvre, un courant artistique, un vernissage (gallery opening).

Le numérique = digital technology; une donnée = a data point (les données personnelles = personal data).

French data protection: la CNIL enforces the GDPR-aligned loi Informatique et Libertés.

Le développement durable = sustainable development; les énergies renouvelables include l'éolien (wind) and le solaire.

Scientific method terms: une hypothèse, une expérience, un résultat, conclure; le compte rendu = lab report.

Le nucléaire supplies the majority of French electricity; la transition énergétique aims to reduce fossil dependence.

Technology register: une start-up, le cloud, l'intelligence artificielle, un algorithme, une IA générative.

Conditional for hypotheses: si + imparfait, then conditionnel présent (Si on réduisait..., on économiserait...).

Le SMIC = the French minimum wage; le CDI = open-ended contract; le CDD = fixed-term contract.

Daily-life vocabulary: les transports en commun, le covoiturage (carpooling), le télétravail (remote work).

Le baccalauréat gates university entry; selective tracks use Parcoursup for admissions.

Health system: la Sécurité sociale reimburses care; une mutuelle covers the remainder.

Le logement: le loyer = rent; le bail = lease; les aides au logement = housing subsidies.

Time expressions: depuis + present for ongoing action; il y a + past for a point in the past.

Consumer terms: la consommation responsable, le gaspillage alimentaire (food waste), le circuit court (short supply chain).

L'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) promotes French language and cooperation across member states.

L'Union européenne: France is a founding member; le Parlement européen sits in Strasbourg.

Global issues vocabulary: le réchauffement climatique, la migration, l'égalité des sexes, l'aide humanitaire.

L'Accord de Paris (2015) commits signatories to limit warming; la COP is the annual climate conference.

Les droits humains: la Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme (1948) is a core reference text.

Cause-effect connectors: par conséquent, en revanche, d'une part... d'autre part, néanmoins.

Le commerce équitable = fair trade; la mondialisation = globalization, often debated with ses avantages et ses inconvénients.