NB Grade 10 PIF Reading cheat sheet

A literal question asks for information stated directly in the text; the answer is verifiable by pointing to a specific sentence.

Question stems: Qui, Quoi, Où, Quand, Combien, Comment (de quelle manière), Quel/Quelle - each signals a distinct type of explicit detail.

Qui → a person or agent; Quand → a date, time, or moment; Où → a place; Combien → a number or quantity; Pourquoi (literal) → a stated cause introduced by parce que, car, à cause de, grâce à.

Named entities, numbers, dates, and proper nouns are high-value targets: scan for capital letters, digits, and quotation marks first.

Distinguish stated fact from example: a sentence introduced by par exemple gives an illustration, not the general claim.

Negation and restriction words change the literal content: ne…pas, ne…que (only), sauf, hormis, aucun, jamais, rien.

Watch for false friends in literal matching: actuellement = currently (not actually); éventuellement = possibly (not eventually); demander = to ask (not to demand).

Literal answers must match the text's exact scope: a detail true of one character or one moment is not automatically true of all.

An inference is a conclusion the text supports but does not state; the correct answer must be provable from textual clues, not from personal opinion.

Inference triggers: contrast connectors (mais, cependant, en revanche), concession (bien que, même si), and unexpected reactions imply an unstated attitude.

Irony and understatement: a positive word paired with a negative situation (Quelle chance ! after a disaster) signals the opposite meaning.

Pronoun reference is an inference task: il, elle, celui-ci, en, y, dont must be resolved to the correct antecedent, usually the nearest matching noun.

Presupposition: verbs like cesser de, continuer à, regretter que, éviter de presuppose an earlier action or state that the text leaves implicit.

Speaker attitude can be inferred from punctuation and intensifiers: exclamation marks, si/tellement + adjective, and rhetorical questions.

Rhetorical questions imply the reverse of their surface form; a question with an obvious answer asserts that answer.

Titles, opening lines, and closing lines often carry the implied main point; the middle paragraphs supply evidence for it.

If two options both seem plausible, the correct one requires fewer unstated assumptions and is anchored to a specific phrase.

Context determines meaning: identify the word's grammatical role (noun, verb, adjective) and its collocates before choosing a sense.

Polysemy rule: pick the sense that fits the sentence's topic; e.g., une carte = map, card, or menu depending on context.

Morphology clues: prefixes (in-/im-/dé-/re-/pré-/sur-) and suffixes (-tion, -ment, -able, -eur) reveal meaning and part of speech.

Cognate caution: French words resembling English may differ - librairie = bookshop (not library); attendre = to wait (not attend); blesser = to wound.

Synonyms in options are rarely exact; test substitutability by inserting the option into the original sentence and checking grammar and sense.

Register matters: soutenu, courant, familier - a slang word in a formal text signals a shift in tone or speaker voice.

Fixed expressions carry non-literal meaning: avoir le coup de foudre, tomber dans les pommes, mettre les points sur les i.

Definition questions: locate the word, read the whole sentence plus one before and after, then eliminate options that contradict the surrounding logic.

Main idea = the claim the whole text supports; theme = the broad topic; purpose = what the author intends the reader to do, think, or feel.

Locate the thesis in the introduction or conclusion; supporting paragraphs provide evidence, examples, or counterarguments, not the main idea.

A main-idea option must cover the entire text; an option true of only one paragraph is a supporting detail, not the main idea.

Purpose verbs: informer, convaincre, persuader, divertir, dénoncer, rendre hommage, avertir, expliquer, inciter à - match the verb to the text's dominant mode.

Text type signals purpose: news article → inform; editorial/tribune → persuade or denounce; narrative → entertain or illustrate; guide → instruct.

Theme is broader than the main idea: a text about one family's move may have the theme of exile or belonging.

Beware of options that are too broad (the general topic) or too narrow (a single detail); the correct one is precise and complete.

The title often encodes the theme; the final sentence often encodes the purpose or the author's recommendation.

Common organizational patterns: chronological (d'abord, ensuite, enfin), cause-effect (donc, par conséquent, c'est pourquoi), comparison (alors que, tandis que, d'une part… d'autre part), problem-solution.

Connector functions: addition (de plus, en outre), contrast (or, pourtant, néanmoins), cause (car, puisque), consequence (donc, ainsi), illustration (par exemple, notamment), conclusion (en somme, bref).

Paragraph function: an opening paragraph sets context or hooks; a middle paragraph develops one idea; a final paragraph concludes, summarizes, or opens a question.

Pronouns and determiners create cohesion: ce/cette/son/sa point backward to a previously mentioned noun; en and y replace an entire phrase.

Anaphora (repetition of a word or phrase at the start of clauses) and parallel structure signal emphasis and rhetorical design.

Chronology markers in narrative (il y a, ce jour-là, plus tard, depuis) establish time order; a flashback is marked by a shift to the plus-que-parfait.

A transition word at the start of a sentence tells you the logical relation to the previous sentence - read it before the sentence's content.

Text cohesion questions often ask which sentence fits a gap; the correct sentence must satisfy both the preceding and the following connector.

Point of view: first-person je/nous signals personal involvement; third-person il/elle/on can signal distance or objectivity; on may generalize or include the reader.

Tone adjectives in French: ironique, lyrique, neutre, critique, humoristique, nostalgique, indigné, pessimiste, enthousiaste, sceptique.

Modality reveals stance: devoir + infinitive (obligation), pouvoir (possibility), peut-être, sans doute, il est certain que (certainty), il se peut que (doubt).

Evaluative vocabulary marks the author's judgment: hélas, heureusement, malheureusement, scandaleux, remarquable, médiocre.

Hedging (semble-t-il, en quelque sorte, pour ainsi dire, selon) softens a claim; absence of hedging signals firm commitment.

Quotation and attribution: the author may distance themselves from a quoted view using selon X, d'après X, or scare quotes - quoted opinion is not automatically the author's.

Irony detection: praise that contradicts the facts presented, or a shift to exaggerated vocabulary, signals a critical stance.

Tone is not the same as emotion of characters; the question asks about the author's or narrator's attitude, not a character's feelings.