MTTC French (023) flashcards

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

Liaison obligatoire

A required linking of a normally silent final consonant to a following vowel-initial word, as in 'les_amis' or 'vous_avez'. It follows determiners and pronouns and is blocked by 'et' and h aspiré.

E caduc deletion

The schwa in 'le', 'de', 'ce' and medial syllables drops when surrounded by pronounced consonants, as in 'petite fenêtre' pronounced 'ptit fenêtre', but is kept word-initially before a consonant.

Nasal vowel denasalization

A nasal vowel loses nasality when a nasal consonant follows in the same syllable: 'bon' [bɔ̃] versus 'bonne' [bɔn], 'un' [œ̃] versus 'une' [yn]. This affects listening discrimination.

Question intonation

Yes/no questions can be formed by final rising intonation alone ('Tu viens ?'), while wh-questions typically fall; 'est-ce que' allows a declarative contour. Rising final contour is the key cue.

Enchaînement consonantique

Linking of an already pronounced final consonant to a following vowel-initial word, as in 'une belle_époque'. Unlike liaison, no silent consonant surfaces, so it never changes spelling.

Faux amis

Words that look like English but differ in meaning: 'actuellement' = currently, 'éventuellement' = possibly, 'assister à' = to attend, 'librairie' = bookshop, 'blesser' = to injure.

Pronoun y

Replaces a phrase introduced by 'à' when it refers to a place or thing ('Je pense à Paris → J'y pense'). It does not replace animate indirect objects, which take 'lui/leur'.

Pronoun en

Replaces a noun phrase introduced by 'de' or a partitive quantity ('J'ai des livres → J'en ai'). It also replaces a place after 'de' and stays before the verb.

Relative pronoun dont

Replaces 'de + antecedent' in a relative clause ('Le livre dont je parle'). It corresponds to 'whose', 'of which', or 'about which' and cannot follow a preposition other than 'de'.

Connector bien que

A concessive conjunction meaning 'although' that requires the subjunctive: 'Bien que je sois fatigué'. By contrast, 'même si' takes the indicative and 'pourtant' is an adverb.

Partitive after negation

The partitive article 'du/de la/des' becomes 'de' in negative sentences ('Je ne bois pas de café') and after quantity expressions ('beaucoup de'), regardless of gender or number.

Passé composé with être

A closed verb set (aller, venir, arriver, partir, entrer, sortir, naître, mourir, monter, descendre, rester, tomber, retourner, devenir) plus pronominal verbs uses 'être'; the participle agrees with the subject.

Past participle agreement with avoir

With 'avoir', the past participle agrees only with a direct object that precedes it: 'les lettres que j'ai écrites'. No agreement occurs when the object follows: 'j'ai écrit les lettres'.

Subjunctive after avant que

'Avant que' ('before') requires the subjunctive, as do 'pour que', 'à moins que', and 'bien que'. 'Après que' and 'parce que' take the indicative in standard usage.

Pronoun order before verb

Object pronouns precede the verb in the order me/te/se/nous/vous, then le/la/les, then lui/leur, then y, then en. In affirmative imperatives they follow with hyphens: 'donne-le-moi'.

Adjective meaning shift

Some adjectives change meaning by position: 'un grand homme' = a great man versus 'un homme grand' = a tall man; similarly 'ancien', 'propre', 'cher', and 'pauvre'.

Si hypothesis clauses

A hypothesis uses 'si + imperfect' in the if-clause and the conditional in the result: 'Si j'avais le temps, je viendrais'. The imperfect never follows 'si' in this pattern.

Laïcité

The French principle of state neutrality toward religion, rooted in the 1905 law separating churches and state. It bans conspicuous religious symbols in public schools and underpins public institutions.

French school sequence

Maternelle (ages 3-6), élémentaire (6-11), collège (11-15, ending with the brevet), then lycée (15-18, ending with the baccalauréat). Public schools apply laïcité rules.

OIF

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie promotes the French language and multilingualism among member states. It organizes summits and supports cultural and educational cooperation across the Francophone world.

Quebec Bill 101

The 1977 Charter of the French Language makes French the official language of Quebec, governing signage, education, and workplace use. It is a central reference for Francophone language policy.

French administrative divisions

France has 18 regions (13 metropolitan, 5 overseas), divided into numbered departments and further into communes. Overseas territories (DROM-COM) hold distinct legal status within the republic.

Fête nationale

France's national holiday on 14 July, commemorating the 1789 storming of the Bastille and the 1790 Fête de la Fédération. It features military parades and local celebrations nationwide.

Formal letter closing

Standard formal closing: 'Veuillez agréer, Madame, Monsieur, l'expression de mes salutations distinguées.' The letter also uses 'Objet :', place and date, and no contractions.

French guillemets

French quotation marks « » enclose quoted speech, with a non-breaking space inside each mark. Dialogue turns may instead use em dashes, and titles of works are italicized.

Avoir expressions

English 'to be' plus adjective often maps to French 'avoir' plus noun: 'avoir faim', 'avoir froid', 'avoir peur', 'avoir raison'. These are fixed expressions, not literal translations.

Depuis with present tense

French uses 'depuis' with the present tense where English uses 'for' or 'since' with a perfect: 'J'habite ici depuis trois ans' means 'I have lived here for three years'.

IPA cycle

The Integrated Performance Assessment organizes a unit into interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational tasks, each scored with a rubric naming criteria such as comprehensibility, vocabulary, grammar, and cultural appropriateness.

CEFR levels

The Common European Framework of Reference describes proficiency from A1 to C2, with A1-A2 basic, B1-B2 independent, and C1-C2 proficient users. It complements ACTFL Novice-to-Superior ratings.

CaReFuL rule

Final consonants c, r, f, and l are usually pronounced in French ('avec', 'soir', 'neuf', 'sel'), while most other final consonants are silent. The acronym helps predict pronunciation.

Accent minimal pairs

Accents distinguish homophones in writing: 'a' versus 'à', 'ou' versus 'où', 'la' versus 'là'. Pronunciation may be identical, so grammatical context decides the correct spelling.

Quebec French features

Quebec French affricates /t/ and /d/ before high front vowels and uses distinct vocabulary such as 'char' for car. Parisian French instead drops final 'e' and favors 'on' for 'nous'.