Maharashtra HSC French (MSBSHSE) flashcards

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

Accord du participe passé

With avoir, the past participle agrees with a preceding direct object: les lettres que j'ai écrites. With être verbs it agrees with the subject: elle est partie.

Imparfait vs passé composé

Imparfait describes background, habits and ongoing states; passé composé reports single completed events. Together: il lisait quand le téléphone a sonné.

Futur simple formation

Take the infinitive (drop final -e for -re verbs) and add -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont: je parlerai, tu finiras, il écrira, nous partirons.

Conditionnel présent

Infinitive plus imparfait endings -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Used for polite requests and hypotheses after si + imparfait: si j'avais le temps, je viendrais.

Subjonctif triggers

Required after il faut que, bien que, pour que, avant que, je veux que. Endings -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent on the ils stem: qu'il fasse.

Pronoun order in French

Object pronouns follow me/te/se/nous/vous, then le/la/les, then lui/leur, then y, then en: il me le donne, je lui en parle.

Prepositions before infinitives

Learn verb + preposition pairs: commencer à, finir de, décider de, essayer de, réussir à, penser à, éviter de, oublier de.

Negation with infinitive

Both negative particles go before the infinitive: ne pas fumer, ne rien dire, ne jamais arriver en retard. With conjugated verbs they surround it.

Avoir expressions

Common idioms: avoir faim, soif, sommeil, peur, raison, tort, besoin de, chaud, froid. Avoir beau + infinitive means to do something in vain.

Faire expressions

Faire attention, faire la queue, faire les courses, faire un voyage, faire semblant de, and weather: il fait beau, il fait mauvais, il fait chaud.

Être en train de

Means to be in the middle of doing something, stressing an action happening now: elle est en train de préparer le dîner.

Jouer à vs jouer de

Jouer à is used for sports and games (jouer au football, aux cartes); jouer de is used for musical instruments (jouer du piano, de la guitare).

French false friends

Actuellement means currently, éventuellement means possibly, la librairie is a bookshop, assister à means to attend, and la monnaie is change.

Synonyms to know

Content/heureux, fatigué/épuisé, beau/joli, grand/immense, petit/minuscule, rapide/vite, acheter/se procurer, parler/discuter.

Depuis, pendant, il y a

Depuis marks an action still going on (j'habite ici depuis dix ans); pendant a completed duration; il y a means ago; dans refers to future time.

Active to passive

Swap subject and object, add être plus past participle agreeing with the new subject, and par before the agent: la souris est mangée par le chat.

Direct to indirect speech

After que, shift tenses: présent becomes imparfait, passé composé becomes plus-que-parfait, futur becomes conditionnel. Time words also shift.

French question forms

Three ways to ask: intonation (Tu viens ?), est-ce que (Est-ce que tu viens ?), inversion (Viens-tu ?). Inversion keeps a hyphen.

Translating 'do'

English do/does/did in questions and negatives has no French equivalent: Do you like it? becomes Est-ce que tu l'aimes ? No auxiliary is added.

Formal letter formula

Close with Je vous prie d'agréer, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées. Open with Monsieur or Madame, and sign at the end.

Informal letter frame

Open with Cher or Chère plus the first name and a friendly remark; close with À bientôt, Bises or Amitiés, then your name.

Dialogue punctuation

Start each speaker's turn with a dash on a new line. Keep register consistent: tu with friends and family, vous with adults or strangers.

Narrative tense plan

In a story, use imparfait for setting and background, passé composé for main events, and plus-que-parfait for events that happened earlier.

Linking words for writing

Sequence and contrast: d'abord, ensuite, puis, de plus, cependant, pourtant, enfin, donc. They organise paragraphs and earn marks for coherence.

Skimming strategy

Read the title and first and last sentences for the main idea, then scan for names, numbers and dates asked about in the questions.

Pronoun reference in texts

Il, elle, le, la, les, en, y and dont refer to the nearest preceding noun matching gender and number; check the sentence before deciding.

French regions count

France has 13 metropolitan régions plus 5 overseas régions: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, La Réunion and Mayotte.

Symbols of the Republic

La Marseillaise is the anthem, the tricolore is the flag, Marianne represents the Republic, and 14 July is la fête nationale.

La Francophonie

The OIF groups French-speaking countries across Europe, Africa, America and Asia; 29 March is the Journée internationale de la Francophonie.

French daily life markers

La rentrée in September, le baccalauréat in June, la boulangerie and la pharmacie with its green cross, and le marché are everyday references.

Character question method

Name the character, state the role or relationship, then give one defining trait supported by a specific action in the extract.

Theme vs plot

Theme questions ask for the central idea, such as friendship, courage or social justice; plot questions ask what happened. Read the wording carefully.