PAU French II (Cantabria) flashcards

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

Skimming a text

Reading quickly for global meaning: look at the title, first and last sentences of each paragraph, and the document type before answering detailed questions.

Scanning for keywords

Locating specific information (names, dates, numbers) by searching for words from the question in the text, without reading every word.

Inference question

A question asking what can be deduced from the text. The correct answer must follow from stated evidence, not from general knowledge.

Connector: cependant

Means 'however' and introduces a contrast with the previous statement. Similar connectors: mais, pourtant, en revanche, toutefois.

Connector: donc

Means 'therefore' and introduces a consequence. Related: par conséquent, c'est pourquoi, ainsi. Used to link cause and result in a text.

Negation: ne...que

Means 'only'. It is not a true negative; it restricts the meaning: Il ne reste que deux places = only two seats remain.

Pronoun en

Replaces a noun phrase introduced by de or a quantity: J'ai des livres → J'en ai. Also replaces a place after de: Je reviens de Paris → J'en reviens.

Pronoun y

Replaces a place or a thing introduced by à: Je vais à Lyon → J'y vais; Je pense à mon travail → J'y pense.

Passé composé with être

Formed with être + past participle for pronominal verbs and a fixed list (aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, monter, descendre, naître, mourir, rester, tomber, retourner, devenir, revenir, rentrer). The participle agrees with the subject.

Imparfait vs passé composé

Imparfait describes background, habits, or ongoing states; passé composé reports completed, bounded actions. Example: Il lisait quand le téléphone a sonné.

Futur simple irregular stems

Some verbs have irregular future stems: être → ser-, avoir → aur-, aller → ir-, faire → fer-, pouvoir → pourr-, savoir → saur-, voir → verr-, venir → viendr-.

Subjunctive after il faut que

Il faut que is always followed by the subjunctive: Il faut que tu viennes. Other triggers: bien que, pour que, avant que, je veux que, je doute que.

Conditional present formation

Infinitive + -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient, using the same irregular stems as the futur simple. Used for politeness, hypotheses, and reported future.

Pronoun order before verb

Order: me/te/se/nous/vous → le/la/les → lui/leur → y → en. Example: Il me le donne; Il lui en parle.

Agreement with avoir

The past participle with avoir agrees only with a preceding direct object: Les lettres que j'ai écrites. It does not agree with the subject.

Contracted articles

à + le = au; à + les = aux; de + le = du; de + les = des. Used before masculine singular and all plural nouns.

Formal letter opening

Begin with Monsieur, or Madame, (no name), then a formula such as Je vous écris pour... End with Je vous prie d'agréer, Monsieur/Madame, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées.

Informal message closing

Use Salut + prénom at the start and À bientôt, Bises, or Amitiés at the end. Use tu forms and on instead of nous.

Register consistency

Keep the same level of formality throughout: vous + subjunctive in formal requests (Je souhaiterais que vous...), tu + informal vocabulary in friendly messages. Mixing registers lowers the mark.

Essay connectors

Use tout d'abord, ensuite, de plus, en revanche, enfin, en conclusion to organise paragraphs and show logical progression in a guided composition.

Varying sentence openings

Avoid starting every sentence with Je. Use adverbial openings (Hier,), subordinate clauses (Bien que...), or relative clauses (Ce qui me plaît, c'est...) to show range.

French punctuation spacing

In French, a space is placed before : ; ! ? and inside guillemets (« »). Commas and periods take no preceding space.

Self-check before submitting

Check verb endings, participle agreement, accents (é/è/ê, à/â, ç), punctuation, and word count. Missing a required point in the prompt costs more than a grammar slip.

Laïcité

The French principle of state secularism, established by the 1905 law separating church and state. Religious symbols are banned in state schools and the state does not fund religions.

French regions

France has 18 regions: 13 in metropolitan France and 5 overseas (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, La Réunion, Mayotte).

OIF

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, grouping around 88 states and governments that share French. It promotes the French language and cultural diversity.

Official languages of Belgium

Belgium has three official languages: Dutch (Flemish), French, and German. French is spoken mainly in Wallonia and Brussels.

Official languages of Switzerland

Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. French is spoken in the west (Romandie).

Tu vs vous

Tu is used with family, friends, peers, and children; vous with strangers, superiors, and customers, or to show respect. In Quebec, tu is used more broadly than in France.

Politeness formulas

S'il vous plaît (formal) / s'il te plaît (informal); merci, je vous en prie / de rien; pardon, excusez-moi. In shops, Bonjour is expected on entering.

French national symbols

14 juillet (Fête nationale), la Marseillaise (hymne national), Marianne (symbol of the Republic), and the tricolour flag (bleu, blanc, rouge).

French meal order

A traditional French meal includes entrée, plat, fromage, then dessert. Bread goes on the table, not the plate; apéritif precedes the meal.