LC French cheat sheet

French liaison links a silent final consonant to a following vowel: les amis → [lezami], vous avez → [vuzave]; but not after et, and not before a word starting with a pronounced h aspiré (les héros → [le eʁo]).

Enchaînement carries a pronounced final consonant onto a following vowel without a change in spelling: elle est → [ɛlɛ], une amie → [ynami].

Nasal vowels drop their nasality when followed by a vowel or a nasal consonant: bon [bɔ̃] but bonne [bɔn], un [œ̃] but une [yn], paysan [peizɑ̃] but paysanne [peizan].

The passé composé is heard as auxiliary + past participle: j'ai parlé, elle est partie; the imparfait is a single word with endings -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient.

Distinguish /y/ (tu, rue) from /u/ (tout, roue) and /ø/ (deux) from /œ/ (neuf); minimal pairs carry meaning and are frequent distractors.

Silent final consonants are typical of French, but the consonant is pronounced when the next word begins with a vowel (liaison) or in fixed forms such as plus [plys] meaning 'more'.

Numbers and dates are common listening traps: 70 soixante-dix, 80 quatre-vingts, 90 quatre-vingt-dix, 21 vingt et un, 71 soixante et onze; mille is invariable.

Listen for discourse markers that signal the speaker's stance: en fait (in fact), par contre (on the other hand), donc (therefore), quand même (nevertheless).

Skim for the genre and register first: a fait divers, an editorial (éditorial), a small ad (petite annonce), a formal letter (lettre de motivation) each has recognizable layout and formulaic openings.

Cognates are useful but false friends are traps: actuellement = currently (not actually), éventuellement = possibly (not eventually), librairie = bookshop (not library), sensible = sensitive.

The passé simple marks written narrative: il parla, elle finit, ils vendirent; recognize it passively even if you do not produce it.

The plus-que-parfait (avait + past participle) places an event before another past event; the futur antérieur (aura + past participle) places it before a future point.

Impersonal constructions carry the argument: il convient de (it is appropriate to), il s'agit de (it is about), force est de constater (one must admit).

Connectors encode logical relations: cependant, toutefois, néanmoins (contrast); en effet, car (cause); par conséquent, donc (consequence); bien que + subjunctive (concession).

Pronouns refer back and must be resolved: celui-ci/celui-là, le premier/le second, dont (of which), y (there/of it), en (of it/some).

Watch negation and restriction: ne…que = only, ne…guère = hardly, ne…ni…ni = neither…nor; these invert the apparent meaning of a sentence.

Regular present endings: -er verbs (parle, parles, parle, parlons, parlez, parlent); -ir verbs (finis, finis, finit, finissons, finissez, finissent); -re verbs (vends, vends, vend, vendons, vendez, vendent).

Passé composé uses avoir with most verbs and être with pronominal verbs and a closed list (aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, naître, mourir, monter, descendre, rester, tomber, retourner, devenir, revenir); the participle then agrees with the subject.

Subjunctive is required after expressions of necessity, doubt, emotion, and after conjunctions such as bien que, pour que, avant que, à moins que: il faut que tu viennes.

Participles agree with a preceding direct object in avoir constructions: les lettres que j'ai écrites; no agreement when the object follows: j'ai écrit les lettres.

Adjectives normally follow the noun, but a short list precedes it (beau, joli, jeune, vieux, grand, petit, bon, mauvais, nouveau, gros, haut, long, premier, dernier, autre, même).

Articles contract with à and de: à + le = au, à + les = aux, de + le = du, de + les = des; de + un/une is not contracted.

Questions can be formed by intonation (Tu viens ?), est-ce que (Est-ce que tu viens ?), or inversion (Viens-tu ?); inversion is the formal register.

Depuis + present expresses an ongoing action (J'habite ici depuis trois ans); pendant + past expresses a completed duration (J'ai vécu là pendant trois ans).

A formal letter follows a fixed frame: sender's details top left, recipient's details below, place and date, objet (subject line), salutation (Madame, Monsieur,), body, closing formula (Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées), signature.

A structured argument uses connecteurs: d'une part… d'autre part, en premier lieu, ensuite, enfin, en conclusion; each paragraph carries one idea with an example.

A fait divers answers who, what, when, where, how, why in the opening paragraph, then gives detail; past tenses dominate, with the passé simple in narrative prose.

A lettre de motivation links the candidate's skills to the post advertised, using expressions such as je me permets de, fort de mon expérience, je serais ravi(e) de.

A compte rendu or synthesis reports without personal opinion: l'auteur affirme que, le document souligne, il ressort de ces textes que.

Written register requires full negation (ne…pas), no elision errors (je n'ai pas, not j'ai pas), and consistent use of vous in formal address.

Punctuation follows French spacing: a space before ; : ! ? and inside guillemets « … »; decimal comma is used (3,5).

Word count and task instructions are part of the marking: a 120-word task means roughly 110–130 words; going far over or under loses marks.

The oral often includes a monologue (exposé) followed by questions; structure the exposé as introduction, two or three developed points, conclusion with an opening (ouverture).

Buy time with natural fillers rather than silence: en fait, disons que, ce que je veux dire, c'est que, alors voilà.

Reformulate when stuck: comment dire…, autrement dit…, je m'explique…; asking for clarification is allowed: vous voulez dire que… ?

Useful opinion frames: à mon avis, personnellement, je trouve que, j'ai l'impression que, il me semble que; disagreement: je comprends, mais…, certes, cependant…

The conditional softens requests and opinions: je dirais que, j'aimerais ajouter, pourriez-vous préciser ?

Pronunciation targets: distinguish tu /y/ and tout /u/, drop the final consonant of most words, and keep the rhythm group rather than stressing individual words.

In a discussion, respond to the examiner's point before adding your own: oui, c'est vrai, et j'ajouterais que…; never simply repeat the question.

Prepare a personal repertoire of examples (studies, travel, reading, current events) so that abstract topics can be grounded quickly.

France is a secular republic (laïcité, law of 1905 separating church and state); the president is elected for five years by direct universal suffrage.

The Francophonie covers over 80 states and governments; the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) is headquartered in Paris, and French is an official language of the UN, EU, and African Union.

Major French-speaking regions outside France include Québec, Belgium (Wallonia and Brussels), Switzerland (Romandie), Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, and Haiti; each has distinct accent and vocabulary.

French cultural references often tested: the Cannes Film Festival, the Académie française (founded 1635), the baccalauréat, the 35-hour working week, and the Fête de la musique (21 June).

Current debates in France include immigration and integration, the reform of the pension system, ecological transition, and the role of the European Union.

Belgian and Swiss French differ in numbers and terms: septante (70) and nonante (90) in Belgium and Switzerland, huitante (80) in parts of Switzerland; Québec French uses fin de semaine for week-end.

French media landscape: Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libération, Les Échos (press); France Inter, RTL, Europe 1 (radio); TF1, France 2, Arte (television).

The European Union institutions relevant to France include the European Parliament (Strasbourg), the European Commission (Brussels), and the Court of Justice (Luxembourg).