Maharashtra SSC French (MSBSHSE) key terms

The part of the exam where you read short French texts such as notices, letters, or articles and answer questions showing you understood the main idea and details.

The central point a text makes, which a reader must state when asked what the passage is mostly about. Usually found in the first or last sentence.

An important word in a question or passage that signals the topic or the answer. Scanning for it helps you locate the relevant line quickly.

A reading strategy where you scan a text for specific information such as a date, price, name, or place without reading every word in detail.

A question type where you decide whether a statement matches the text. The answer must be justified by quoting or pointing to the exact line.

The sentence from the text that proves your answer. In reading tasks you copy the relevant phrase exactly rather than inventing your own wording.

The writing section of the exam, where you produce a short message, postcard, dialogue, or paragraph of about 60 to 80 words on a given topic.

A friendly letter to a friend or relative. It opens with a greeting like Cher or Chère, uses tu, and closes with bises or amitiés rather than formal formulas.

A set closing phrase in a letter or email. Informal versions include bises, amitiés, and à bientôt; formal ones include Cordialement or Je vous prie d'agréer mes salutations distinguées.

A linking word such as d'abord, ensuite, puis, cependant, donc, or enfin that joins ideas and makes a written text flow clearly and logically.

Expressing why something happens and what results from it, using words like parce que, car, donc, c'est pourquoi, and à cause de in written and spoken French.

A written conversation between two or more people, marked by dashes, with appropriate greetings, questions, and replies in the correct register of language.

The level of formality in language: familier with friends, courant in everyday situations, and soutenu in formal writing. Choosing correctly affects politeness and appropriateness.

Addressing someone with vous to show respect or distance, used with strangers, elders, teachers, and officials. It requires matching verb forms and possessive adjectives like votre.

Addressing someone with tu, used with friends, family, children, and peers. Using it wrongly with an adult stranger can seem rude in French culture.

The basic French present tense, describing current actions, habits, and general truths. Regular endings are -e, -es, -e, -ons, -ez, -ent for -er verbs.

A past tense formed with avoir or être plus the past participle, used for completed actions. Most verbs take avoir; movement verbs and reflexives take être.

A past tense describing ongoing situations, habits, or background in the past. Endings are -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient added to the stem.

Expressing near-future actions with aller conjugated in the present plus an infinitive, as in je vais partir. Common in speech and informal writing.

The rule that a past participle agrees with a preceding direct object or with the subject when the auxiliary is être, adding -e, -s, or -es.

Making the verb agree with its subject in person and number, for example nous parlons or les élèves arrivent. Careless errors here lose marks in writing tasks.

A verb used with a reflexive pronoun such as me, te, se, nous, vous, se, like se lever or s'appeler. Its past tense takes être and agrees with the subject.

The form du, de la, de l', or des used before a noun to mean some or an unspecified quantity, as in du pain or de la confiture.

The words le, la, l', and les placed before a noun to refer to something specific or already known, as in le livre or les enfants.

The grammatical gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of nouns and adjectives, which determine article and agreement choices in French.

Forming negative sentences with ne... pas, ne... jamais, ne... plus, or ne... rien around the verb. In informal speech the ne is often dropped.

The base form of a verb, such as parler, finir, or prendre. It follows prepositions, modal verbs like pouvoir and vouloir, and many expressions of purpose.

Object pronouns like le, la, les, lui, leur, me, te, nous, vous, and y or en that replace a noun and are placed before the verb in most tenses.

The worldwide community of French speakers and countries where French is official or widely used, spanning Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and Canada.

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, an organisation of mostly French-speaking countries that promotes the French language, cultural diversity, and cooperation.

Celebrated on 20 March each year, it highlights French language and culture worldwide with events, competitions, and cultural programmes in member countries.

A French overseas administrative region such as La Réunion, la Guadeloupe, or la Martinique, which is part of France and uses the euro.

The national anthem of France, composed by Rouget de Lisle in 1792. Its refrain begins Allons enfants de la Patrie.

France's national day on 14 July, commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille. It is marked by military parades and fireworks.

France's political system, based on the 1958 Constitution, with a president, a prime minister, and a parliament. Its motto is Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.

French food culture, famous for cheeses like camembert and roquefort, bread such as la baguette, and regional dishes. A common topic in culture questions.

Copying an exact phrase from a text to support an answer. In reading tasks the quoted words must match the original without changes in wording or tense.