Reading Comprehension (Compréhension écrite)
What this domain tests
Reading comprehension checks your ability to understand authentic-style French texts at CEFR A2: notices, signs, menus, timetables, emails, blogs, short articles, and simple literary extracts. Questions target gist, specific detail, inference, and the writer's purpose or opinion. You need to recognize familiar vocabulary in context, follow links between sentences, and identify tenses well enough to know whether an event happened, is happening, or is planned.
Core rules and concepts
- Skim the text first for topic and layout; then scan for the exact information each question needs.
- Use cognates and word families, but check for faux amis: librairie = bookshop, not library; actuellement = currently, not actually; éventuellement = possibly, not eventually.
- Follow discourse markers: mais, pourtant, donc, en revanche, par exemple, enfin. They often carry the answer.
- Track pronoun references: il, elle, y, en, celui-ci. Ask what noun each one replaces.
- Pay attention to negation and restriction: ne...pas, ne...jamais, ne...que (only).
- Identify time markers: hier, demain, depuis, il y a, dans, prochain.
Worked example
Text: « Bonjour Julie, Je ne peux pas venir samedi car je dois aider ma mère au magasin. En revanche, dimanche après-midi, je suis libre. On pourrait aller au cinéma ? Réponds-moi avant vendredi. À bientôt, Léa » Question: Why can't Léa come on Saturday? Reasoning: The sentence gives the reason directly: « car je dois aider ma mère au magasin » = because she must help her mother at the shop. « En revanche » introduces a contrast about Sunday and is not the reason. « avant vendredi » is a deadline for the reply, not the reason. Answer: she has to help her mother at the shop.
Traps that cost marks
- Choosing an option because it contains a word from the text rather than because it answers the question.
- Missing a negative or restrictive structure and reversing the meaning.
- Confusing the main event with a secondary detail or an example.
- Translating word for word instead of reading the whole sentence.
Key points
- Skim for topic, then scan for the exact detail requested.
- Cognates help, but faux amis such as librairie and actuellement mislead.
- Discourse markers signal contrast, consequence, and examples.
- Identify what each pronoun refers to before answering.
- Answer in the required language and length.