IB French B HL flashcards

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

Identité plurielle

Term describing a person who identifies with more than one culture, language, or nationality at once; used in IB texts about migration and belonging.

Subjonctif après 'bien que'

The conjunction bien que always takes the subjunctive: bien qu'il soit jeune. It introduces a concession meaning although, and never takes the indicative.

Tu versus vous

French distinguishes informal singular tu from formal or plural vous. Consistency within one text is graded in Paper 1, and switching without reason is an error.

Adjectif possessif et genre

Possessives agree with the possessed noun, not the owner: son père, sa mère, leur fille. So son can mean his or her; context decides.

Verbe pronominal 's'identifier à'

Means to identify with someone or something: je m'identifie à ce personnage. The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject and the verb takes à before its object.

Imparfait de description

Imperfect tense used for background, habitual actions, and descriptions in the past: elle vivait à Lyon, il faisait beau. It contrasts with the passé composé for single events.

Passé composé versus imparfait

Passé composé marks a completed single event (j'ai visité); imparfait marks ongoing or repeated past states (je visitais souvent). Time markers usually signal which is required.

Plus-que-parfait

Formed with avoir or être in the imperfect plus past participle: j'avais fini, elle était partie. It expresses an action completed before another past action.

Accord du participe passé avec avoir

With avoir, the past participle agrees only with a direct object placed before the verb: les lettres que j'ai écrites. Otherwise it stays invariable.

Depuis et le présent

Depuis plus the present tense describes an action still continuing: j'habite ici depuis trois ans. English uses a perfect tense here, French does not.

Discours indirect au passé

When reporting past speech, present becomes imparfait, passé composé becomes plus-que-parfait, and futur becomes conditionnel. Time words also shift, for example demain becomes le lendemain.

Passer versus réussir un examen

Passer un examen means to sit or take an exam; réussir un examen means to pass it. Confusing them is a common anglicism in IB writing.

Connecteurs cause et conséquence

Grâce à signals a positive cause, à cause de a negative one, and par conséquent or donc introduce a result. These structure argumentative paragraphs.

But: pour versus pour que

Pour plus infinitive is used when both clauses share a subject; pour que plus subjunctive is used when subjects differ: pour qu'il vienne.

Si imparfait, conditionnel

Second conditional pattern: si plus imperfect in the if-clause, conditional present in the main clause. Si j'avais le temps, je voyagerais. Never use the conditional after si.

Voix passive avec 'par'

The passive is formed with être plus past participle, and the agent is introduced by par: le téléphone a été inventé par Bell. Tense is carried by être.

Gérondif 'en + participe présent'

Expresses simultaneity or means: en travaillant, on apprend. The gerund is invariable and its implied subject must match the main clause subject.

Nuance: découverte et invention

Une découverte is something found that already existed, such as a planet or a law of nature; une invention is something new that was created, such as a machine.

Lettre formelle: formule de politesse

Formal closing formula, for example Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées. It must match the opening salutation in register.

Subjonctif après jugement

Expressions of judgment or necessity take the subjunctive: il est important que, il faut que, je trouve injuste que. The subordinate verb then uses subjunctive forms.

Même si + indicatif

Même si means even if and takes the indicative, not the subjunctive: même s'il pleut, je sortirai. Contrast with bien que, which requires the subjunctive.

Malgré versus bien que

Malgré is a preposition followed by a noun (malgré la pluie); bien que is a conjunction followed by a clause in the subjunctive (bien qu'il pleuve).

Comparatif et superlatif

Comparatives use plus, moins, or aussi with que; superlatives use le, la, les plus or moins. Adjectives agree: la ville la plus grande.

Le bénévolat

Unpaid voluntary work. In social-organization texts it illustrates solidarity and civic engagement, often contrasted with salaried employment and state provision.

Pétition: structure

A petition names the addressee, states the demand, gives supporting reasons, and closes with a call to sign. Register is formal and verbs of request take the subjunctive.

Empreinte carbone

The total greenhouse-gas emissions caused by a person, product, or activity, expressed in CO2 equivalent. Used in environmental arguments about individual versus collective responsibility.

Il faudrait + infinitif

Conditional form of falloir used to make polite suggestions: il faudrait réduire les déchets. It softens the obligation compared with il faut.

La plupart de + verbe pluriel

La plupart de takes a plural verb when followed by a plural noun: la plupart des élèves pensent. The article is de, not des, after these quantity expressions.

Énergies renouvelables

Energy sources naturally replenished, such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass. Feminine plural, and the adjective renouvelable takes s in the plural.

Tournure impersonnelle 'il s'avère que'

Means it turns out that and introduces evidence or a finding. It takes the indicative and helps cite facts without naming a source.

Verbes de cause environnementale

Entraîner, provoquer, and contribuer à express causal links: la pollution entraîne des maladies. Contribuer à takes à plus noun or infinitive.

Article engagé

An opinion piece using evaluative adjectives, rhetorical questions, and direct address to persuade. It contrasts with the neutral article informatif, which cites figures without judgment.