Maharashtra SSC French (MSBSHSE) flashcards

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

Vrai ou faux

Reading task: decide if a statement matches the text. It is false if any detail - number, place, time, or person - differs from the passage.

Mot du texte

Instruction asking you to copy a word exactly from the passage, keeping its spelling, accents, and agreement as printed, without changing the form.

Connecteur logique

Linking word that signals meaning: 'mais' shows contrast, 'donc' a consequence, 'parce que' a cause, and 'd'abord/ensuite/enfin' a sequence in the text.

Synonyme et contraire

A synonym means the same (grand/tall = grand), a contraire means the opposite (toujours/always ↔ jamais/never). The exam asks you to find these in the text.

Qui fait quoi

Reading task matching characters to actions. Track pronouns (il, elle, ils, elles) and possessives (son, sa, ses) to know which person performs each action.

Négation dans le texte

Forms ne…pas, ne…jamais, ne…rien, ne…personne, ne…plus reverse the meaning. A 'vrai' statement must respect the negation, not ignore it.

Thème du texte

The general subject or main idea of a passage. The correct answer is broad enough to cover the whole text, not just one example or detail.

Dialogue: question et réponse

In a conversation, the question is marked by a question mark, 'est-ce que', or inversion (Vas-tu…?). The answer often repeats the verb of the question.

Carte postale

Short informal message (30–40 words): greeting (Cher/Salut), one or two sentences about place and activities, closing (À bientôt, Bises), and a signature.

Courriel formel

Email with objet (subject), formule d'appel (Madame, Monsieur,), body starting 'Je vous écris pour…', formule de politesse (Cordialement), and signature.

Récit au passé

Past narrative: passé composé for completed actions (j'ai visité) and imparfait for background or description (il faisait beau), linked by hier, puis, enfin.

Description de personne

Use être/avoir plus adjectives that agree in gender and number (grand/grande, sérieux/sérieuse). Most adjectives follow the noun: les cheveux noirs.

Invitation écrite

Message using 'Je t'invite à…' or 'Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à…' plus date, time, place, and a request to reply (Réponds-moi vite).

Tutoiement et vouvoiement

Register choice: tu/ton for friends and family, vous/votre for adults and strangers. Never mix the two forms in the same message.

Compter les mots

Word-count rule: punctuation is not counted, contractions count as one word (l'école = 1), and numbers in digits count as one (12 = 1).

Cohésion du texte

Linking sentences with et, mais, parce que, donc, ensuite, enfin, and avoiding repetition by using pronouns (il, elle, on) and synonyms.

Présent des verbes en -er

Stem plus endings e, es, e, ons, ez, ent: je parle, nous parlons. Verbs like manger add -e- before -ons: nous mangeons.

Passé composé

Avoir or être in the present plus past participle. Être verbs (aller, venir, partir, rester, naître, mourir…) agree with the subject: elle est allée.

Futur proche

Aller in the present plus infinitive: je vais partir (I am going to leave). It expresses an action soon to happen, close to the English 'going to'.

Futur simple

Infinitive plus endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont: je parlerai, nous finirons. Used for future plans and predictions in writing.

Article partitif

du, de la, de l', des express an unspecified quantity (Je mange du pain). After a negation they become de: Je ne mange pas de pain.

Accord de l'adjectif

Adjectives agree with the noun: add -e for feminine (grand → grande) and -s for plural (grands). Irregular forms: beau/belle, vieux/vieille.

Place de l'adjectif

Most adjectives follow the noun (une voiture rouge). BAGS adjectives - beauty, age, goodness, size (beau, jeune, bon, grand, petit) - go before it.

Pronoms le, la, les

Direct-object pronouns replacing a noun: Je vois le film → Je le vois. They go before the verb, and before the auxiliary in the passé composé.

Pronoms lui et leur

Indirect-object pronouns replacing à + person: Je parle à Marie → Je lui parle; Je parle aux élèves → Je leur parle. Placed before the verb.

Trois formes de question

Intonation (Tu viens ?), est-ce que (Est-ce que tu viens ?), and inversion (Viens-tu ?). Question words: qui, que, où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien.

Comparatif et superlatif

plus/moins/aussi + adjective + que (plus grand que). Superlative adds le/la/les: le plus grand. Irregular: bon → meilleur, bien → mieux.

Symboles de la France

Motto 'Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité', tricolore bleu-blanc-rouge, national day 14 July, currency euro, and the Marseillaise as national anthem.

Monuments de Paris

Tour Eiffel (1889, Gustave Eiffel), Louvre (home of La Joconde), Notre-Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Sacré-Cœur, and the river Seine crossing the city.

Pays francophones

Countries where French is official or widely spoken: Belgique, Suisse, Canada (Québec), Sénégal, Côte d'Ivoire, Maroc, Algérie, Tunisie, Vietnam, Madagascar.

OIF et Francophonie

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie groups French-speaking states. The Journée internationale de la Francophonie is celebrated on 20 March each year.

Système scolaire français

école primaire (6–11), collège (11–15, ending with the brevet), lycée (15–18, ending with the baccalauréat). Grading is out of 20; mention très bien ≥16.