Abitur French flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Hörverstehen: zweiter Hördurchgang

The second listening pass targets details such as numbers, names, places and times. Use the first pass for global meaning and speaker attitude, then verify each answer option against the exact phrase heard.

ne … que

Restrictive negation meaning 'only'. A statement containing it is not equivalent to the plain positive statement, so true/false items built on it are usually false or need careful checking.

French numbers 70–99

70 is soixante-dix, 71 soixante et onze, 80 quatre-vingts, 90 quatre-vingt-dix, 91 quatre-vingt-onze. These compound forms are a frequent listening trap in prices, ages and dates.

actuellement vs actually

French actuellement means 'currently, at present', not 'actually'. The English 'actually' is en fait or en réalité. Similar traps: éventuellement (possibly), assister à (to attend).

Liaison in listening

Liaison links a final silent consonant to a following vowel: ils ont [ilzɔ̃], un homme [œ̃nɔm], c'est-à-dire. It blurs word boundaries, so decode whole phrases rather than single words.

'Not said' answer option

In true/false/not-said listening or reading items, choose 'not said' when the text gives no evidence either way. Personal inference or general knowledge is not textual evidence.

Register markers in audio

Tu/vous, on versus nous, and slang such as bosser, boulot, truc, galère signal informal speech. Conditional and subjunctive forms signal politeness or hypothesis rather than plain fact.

Signalwörter der Argumentation

Connectors reveal the argument's logic: certes … mais (concession), or (contrast), ainsi (consequence or example), en effet (justification), toutefois and néanmoins (opposition). They are frequent question targets.

Conditionnel de rumeur

The conditional can report unverified information: selon X, il serait parti. In reading tasks it signals rumour or hypothesis, not established fact, which affects questions about the author's certainty.

Pronoun y and en

Y replaces a place or a thing introduced by à/dans/sur; en replaces a noun introduced by de or a quantity (j'en ai deux). Tracking them is essential to identify who does what.

Textsorten und Funktion

Fait divers reports an event, lettre de lecteur gives an opinion, article de presse informs, roman excerpt narrates or describes, essai argues. Identifying the type predicts the likely question focus.

Question stems in reading tasks

'Dans quel but' asks function, 'Que reproche l'auteur' asks criticism, 'Quelle est la position de' asks stance. The chosen answer must match the verb used in the question.

Quantity expressions

La plupart de takes a plural verb; un tiers is a third, la moitié a half; deux fois plus que means twice as much. Check the direction of the comparison before selecting an option.

ne … guère / ne … point

Guère means 'hardly', point means 'not at all'. Like ne … que, these negations change the truth value of a statement and cannot be read as plain affirmations in comprehension items.

Paraphrase as evidence rule

A correct inference option can be traced back to a specific quoted phrase in the text. Options based only on world knowledge or personal opinion are distractors, even when factually true.

Subjunctive triggers

Il faut que, bien que, pour que, avant que, à moins que, douter que and il est important que require the subjunctive: qu'il fasse, qu'il aille, qu'il soit.

Past participle with avoir

With avoir the past participle agrees only with a preceding direct object: les lettres qu'il a écrites. Without such an object it stays invariable: elle a écrit les lettres.

Past participle with être

With être the participle agrees with the subject: elle est partie, ils sont venus. Pronominal verbs agree too, except when a direct object follows: elle s'est lavé les mains.

Inversion with euphony

Inversion adds a hyphen and a euphonic t: a-t-il, va-t-il, peut-elle. With je only fixed forms occur (puis-je, ai-je); otherwise use est-ce que.

depuis, il y a, pendant, pour

Depuis plus present marks an ongoing action; il y a plus past means 'ago'; pendant plus past gives duration; pour expresses intended duration. Confusing them is a standard accuracy error.

Reported speech tense shift

Présent becomes imparfait, passé composé becomes plus-que-parfait, futur becomes conditionnel. Time markers shift too: aujourd'hui becomes ce jour-là, demain becomes le lendemain.

penser à vs penser de

Penser à means 'to think about/of something'; penser de asks for an opinion (Qu'en penses-tu ?). Other fixed pairs: dépendre de, s'intéresser à, éviter de, réussir à.

jouer à vs jouer de

Jouer à is used for sports and games (jouer au tennis, aux échecs); jouer de is used for musical instruments (jouer du piano, de la guitare). The preposition changes the meaning.

Accents that change meaning

A versus à, ou versus où, sur versus sûr, and the homophones ce/se, ces/ses, leur/leurs. Checking these pairs is the fastest way to catch accuracy errors in written production.

French quotation marks

French uses guillemets « » with non-breaking spaces inside: « Bonjour ». Long quotations may also be introduced by a colon and set off without quotation marks in formal school essays.

Task verbs in writing

Résumer uses present tense and third person without opinion; commenter allows opinion; argumenter needs thesis, arguments and examples; raconter uses past tenses. The verb dictates the format.

Structure of an argumentative essay

Introduction with problématique, two or three body paragraphs each carrying one idea plus evidence, and a conclusion that answers the problématique. The conclusion introduces no new arguments.

Narrative tense system

Imparfait gives background and description, passé composé carries foreground events, plus-que-parfait marks anteriority. Keep this system consistent and avoid switching to present unless asked.

Formal letter closing

Standard closing: Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées. The opening names the subject: Je vous écris au sujet de…

Argument connectors

D'une part … d'autre part, non seulement … mais encore, en premier lieu, par ailleurs, en définitive, force est de constater que. They mark structure and raise the register of a written production.

Structure of the oral exposé

Announce sujet, problématique and plan in the introduction, develop in two or three parts, then conclude with an ouverture. Signposting the plan explicitly helps the examiner follow the argument.

Interactive oral functions

Donner son avis: à mon sens, je trouve que. Nuancer: certes, cela dit. Ask back: et toi, qu'en penses-tu ? Gain time: en fait, c'est-à-dire. Keep one register throughout.