Kuwait University French Aptitude common mistakes
Kuwait University French Aptitude · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Choosing an answer because it 'sounds French' rather than identifying which grammatical slot the blank occupies (subject, object, prepositional phrase), so a stressed pronoun like 'lui' is picked where a subject pronoun 'il' is required.
Candidates with Arabic or English as L1 transfer pronoun logic from their first language and rely on phonological familiarity; French pronoun sets (je/me/moi, il/le/lui) look similar and are rarely drilled as a system, so recognition replaces analysis.
What to do instead
Before answering, label the function of the pronoun: is it the verb's subject, a direct object, an indirect object, or after a preposition? Build a four-column grid (subject / COD / COI / stressed) and fill it for each person, then practise 20 sentences where only the function changes. Memorise the fixed pairs: à + person → lui/leur; de + person → en; place → y.
Matching the article to the noun's ending instead of its gender, e.g. writing 'le problème', 'le système', 'un programme' correctly but then producing 'la problème', or defaulting to masculine for every new noun.
Most French nouns ending in -e, -tion, -té, -ure are feminine, so learners over-apply a rule; conversely the very common -ème/-gramme/-scope Greek-origin nouns are masculine. Textbooks often introduce nouns in context without the gender being tested, so the gender is never stored.
What to do instead
Learn every new noun with its article and a colour/shape tag, never bare. Drill the high-frequency exceptions explicitly: le problème, le système, le programme, le thème, le poème, le diplôme, le musée, le lycée. Use a spaced-repetition deck where the front is the English meaning and the back is 'article + noun'.
Hearing a number, time, or price in the listening section and writing it down before the sentence finishes, missing the correction ('non, plutôt quatorze heures', 'ce n'est pas 15, c'est 50 euros') that follows.
Numbers in French are phonologically dense (quatre-vingt-dix-sept, soixante et onze) and are decoded slowly by non-native listeners, so working memory is consumed by the digits; candidates also assume the first number stated is the answer, whereas distractors and self-corrections are deliberately placed in the recording.
What to do instead
Train listening for discourse markers of correction: 'non', 'plutôt', 'en fait', 'je me suis trompé', 'attendez'. Practise dictation of numbers 70–99 and of prices with cents daily. In the exam, keep the pencil still until the speaker finishes the turn, and note both figures with a question mark before deciding.
Reading a comprehension passage word by word and answering from a single matching keyword, without checking whether the question asks about the whole text, the author's attitude, or an inference.
Keyword matching is a fast strategy that works in vocabulary tests and fails in comprehension; candidates also run out of time because they translate mentally, then rush the last questions and grab the option that repeats a word from the passage - typically the distractor.
What to do instead
Read the questions first, then skim the passage for structure (title, first and last sentence of each paragraph) before detailed reading. For each option, find the exact line that supports or contradicts it and mark it; eliminate options that are true in the text but do not answer the question asked. Budget roughly one minute per question and leave inference items for a second pass.
Choosing between passé composé and imparfait by translating the English tense ('I was going' → imparfait) instead of by aspect: background/habit versus a completed event.
English simple past covers both French tenses, so the L1 gives no reliable signal; learners also memorise 'imparfait = description' without learning the triggers (soudain, tout à coup, ce jour-là, pendant que, chaque, souvent, à l'époque).
What to do instead
Decide by asking: is this the frame (imparfait) or the event inside the frame (passé composé)? Learn the trigger adverbs as a list and tag every verb in 30 narrative sentences as frame or event. Note the classic contrast: 'Il lisait quand le téléphone a sonné.'
Writing the informal register in a formal task: using 'tu', 'on' for 'nous', contractions like 'y a', 'super', 'truc', and omitting 'ne' in negation in a letter or essay.
Candidates imitate the spoken French they hear in films and songs, and their only model of fluent output is conversational; the exam's written tasks expect a formal register but the rubric rarely states it explicitly, so the mismatch goes unnoticed.
What to do instead
Keep two phrase banks: formal (vous, nous, il convient de, je vous prie de, en effet, toutefois) and informal, and use only the formal one in written tasks. Always write 'ne … pas' in full. Before submitting, scan for tu/on/y a/super/truc and replace them.
Leaving out or misplacing accents and cedillas in written production (ecrit for écrit, francais for français, garcon for garçon, or 'a' for 'à'), treating them as decoration.
Accents are not used in the candidate's first language and are often dropped in typing and handwriting; learners also do not know that accents change pronunciation and meaning (a/à, ou/où, sur/sûr, cote/côté/côté), and graders treat missing accents as spelling errors.
What to do instead
Learn the minimal pairs as vocabulary (ou = or / où = where; a = has / à = at; sur = on / sûr = sure). In handwriting, write accents immediately after the letter, never at the end. Practise 15 minutes of dictation per week and self-correct with a checklist of é/è/ê/ç/ù before submitting.
Answering a listening question after the audio has moved on, because the candidate is still writing the previous answer and misses the next cue.
Recordings are played once or twice with no pause control, and candidates try to write complete sentences; note-taking speed and spelling accuracy compete with listening, so attention lags behind the audio by several seconds.
What to do instead
Write abbreviations and initials only during the audio (e.g. '14h', 'non', 'M. Dupont'), and expand them during the pause. Read the questions before play begins and predict the type of answer (time, place, reason, number). Practise with one-play recordings at natural speed, not slowed ones.
Using 'que' to introduce every subordinate clause, producing 'Je pense que je suis d'accord avec que vous dites' or 'bien que + indicative', and confusing 'que' with 'dont' or 'ce qui/ce que'.
Relative and complement clauses are taught late and thinly; candidates know 'que' as the default connector and never learn which verbs take 'de' (parler de → dont), which require the subjunctive (bien que, avant que, pour que), or the difference between 'ce qui' (subject) and 'ce que' (object).
What to do instead
Memorise short verb+preposition lists (penser à, parler de, s'intéresser à) and derive the relative pronoun from the preposition: de → dont, à → auquel. Drill the subjunctive triggers as a fixed set. For 'ce qui/ce que', test whether the clause needs a subject or an object after it.
Writing a written-production answer with no plan: starting the first sentence immediately, then repeating the same idea, exceeding or falling short of the word count, and omitting the required genre features (date, greeting, closing formula in a letter; thesis and conclusion in an argument).
Time pressure and anxiety push candidates to write linearly; they also do not know the conventional layout of a French lettre or essai, so structure, connectors, and word count are sacrificed, and graders deduct for both content and organisation.
What to do instead
Spend 5 minutes planning: list 3 points, choose connectors (d'abord, ensuite, en revanche, donc, enfin), and note the genre's fixed formulas (Madame, Monsieur / Je vous prie d'agréer… / Cordialement). Write to a visible word-count target, then use the last 5 minutes to check agreement, tense consistency, and accents rather than adding new ideas.