Cameroon GCE O-Level French key terms

The skill of listening to spoken French - a dialogue, announcement, interview or radio extract - and extracting specific information, gist, tone or numbers. In the exam the recording is usually played twice, with short pauses for note-taking.

The few content words in a question or recording that carry the answer: names, places, dates, verbs of action. Identifying them before listening lets you ignore unfamiliar vocabulary and still locate the required detail.

The speaker's or writer's purpose - to inform, persuade, warn, complain, amuse or request. Questions often ask what the person really means rather than what the words literally say, so tone and choice of words matter.

Meaning that is suggested rather than stated directly, such as a refusal hidden in an excuse or irony in a compliment. Exam questions on inference require you to read between the lines instead of copying a sentence from the text.

A reading or listening strategy of scanning a text for a precise item - a price, a time, a name - without reading every word. It saves time in the exam and is the opposite of skimming for general meaning.

Understanding the overall message, topic and structure of a text before studying details. You read the title, first and last sentences, and paragraph openings, then decide who wrote it, for whom, and why.

The central point a paragraph or whole text makes, usually expressed in one sentence. Distinguishing it from supporting examples is the basis of summary questions and of planning your own composition.

The speaking component: describing a picture or document, answering the examiner's questions, giving an opinion and possibly role-playing a situation. Fluency, pronunciation, range of vocabulary and ability to react count as much as accuracy.

A simulated conversation in which you play a given character - asking for information, booking a room, complaining in a shop. You must use the polite register the situation demands and react to what the examiner says.

Addressing one person with vous and its verb forms, the normal polite choice with strangers, officials, shopkeepers and elders. Using tu with such people is a social error; the examiner notices register as well as grammar.

Addressing someone with tu, used for family, close friends, children and peers of the same age. In the exam, switch to tu only when the situation clearly implies familiarity; otherwise stay with vous.

The level of formality of language: soutenu (formal, literary), courant (neutral, standard) and familier (relaxed, colloquial). A letter to a mayor needs soutenu or courant; a text message to a friend allows familier.

Linking words that show how ideas relate: cependant, donc, par conséquent, en effet, d'abord, ensuite, enfin. They make a composition or oral answer coherent and are a common scoring criterion in writing tasks.

The outline of a composition: introduction, two or three developed parts, conclusion. A clear plan prevents repetition and ensures the argument answers the question rather than drifting into a related topic.

A letter to an institution or official, opening with Madame, Monsieur or Monsieur le Maire and closing with a formula such as Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées. Layout and formulas are marked.

A conventional closing phrase in letters, chosen to match the addressee's status. To a friend: Amicalement, Bises. To an official: the long Je vous prie d'agréer... formula. Using the wrong one is a register mistake.

A letter applying for a job, training place or grant. It states the post applied for, explains why the candidate is suited, mentions attached documents and requests an interview, all in a polite, concise register.

A résumé listing personal details, education, qualifications, work experience, languages and interests, usually in reverse chronological order. It accompanies a lettre de motivation and uses noun phrases rather than full sentences.

Translation from French into your own language (English in this exam). It tests accurate comprehension first: you must render meaning, tone and register faithfully rather than word for word.

Translation from your own language into French. It tests grammar, idiom and vocabulary control: correct tenses, agreement, pronouns and prepositions, plus natural French phrasing instead of literal calques.

Words that look alike in French and English but differ in meaning: actuellement (currently, not actually), éventuellement (possibly, not eventually), librairie (bookshop, not library), sensible (sensitive).

An expression copied word for word from another language, producing unnatural French such as réaliser for 'to realise' in the sense of becoming aware. Translators should use the genuine French idiom instead.

The rule that a past participle used with avoir agrees only with a preceding direct object (les lettres que j'ai écrites), while with être it agrees with the subject (elle est partie). A frequent source of lost marks.

Agreement in gender and number between a noun and its article, adjective or participle, and between a subject and its verb. French marks agreement far more visibly than English, so checking it is essential before handing in.

The grammatical gender of nouns, masculine (le, un) or feminine (la, une). Gender must be learned with each noun because it controls articles, adjectives and pronouns, and it cannot be predicted reliably from meaning.

The main past tense for completed actions: auxiliary avoir or être in the present plus past participle (j'ai mangé, elle est venue). Verbs of movement and pronominal verbs take être and agree with the subject.

A past tense describing ongoing states, habits and background in the past (quand j'étais petit, je jouais). It contrasts with the passé composé, which presents single completed events.

The past-before-past tense: auxiliary in the imparfait plus past participle (j'avais fini). It marks an action completed before another past event, common in narrative and reported speech.

A verb mood used after expressions of will, emotion, doubt and necessity (il faut que tu viennes, je doute qu'il soit là), and after certain conjunctions such as bien que and pour que. Regular forms derive from the ils stem.

A mood expressing hypotheses, polite requests and reported future (je voudrais, si j'avais le temps, je viendrais; il a dit qu'il viendrait). The si-clause uses the imparfait, never the conditional after si.

Reported speech, introduced by verbs such as dire, demander, expliquer. Pronouns, possessives and tenses shift (il m'a dit qu'il partirait le lendemain), and questions lose inversion and question marks.

The matching of tenses between a main clause and its subordinate clause, especially after a past main verb: present becomes imparfait, future becomes conditionnel, passé composé becomes plus-que-parfait.

Words joining a clause to a noun: qui (subject), que (object), dont (of which), où (place or time), and lequel with its forms after prepositions. Choosing the right one depends on the grammatical role of the noun.

Object pronouns replacing nouns: le, la, les (direct); lui, leur (indirect); me, te, nous, vous; y (à + thing or place) and en (de + noun, quantities). Their order before the verb is fixed.

The two-part structure ne ... pas, ne ... plus, ne ... jamais, ne ... rien, ne ... personne, ne ... que. In the passé composé the second element surrounds the auxiliary (je n'ai pas vu), and ne is dropped in informal speech.

The attitude conveyed by a text or speech - ironic, indignant, nostalgic, enthusiastic. Identifying tone helps answer inference questions and guides the register you adopt when writing a reply or an opinion piece.

The community of French-speaking countries and regions worldwide, including France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Quebec), Haiti, and numerous African states such as Cameroon, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. It is a frequent theme in cultural questions.

An intergovernmental organisation, founded in its present form in 1970 and headquartered in Paris, that promotes the French language, cultural diversity and cooperation among member states. Cameroon is a member.

The French-speaking countries of sub-Saharan and North Africa, home to the majority of the world's French speakers. Questions may cover literature, music, independence dates or the place of French alongside national languages.

A literary and political movement of the 1930s affirming Black identity and culture, associated with Aimé Césaire, Léopold Sédar Senghor and Léon-Gontran Damas. It is a standard reference in questions on Francophone literature.