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French Writing Practice
French writing exercises by level.
Practise your French writing skills with our ever-growing collection of interactive French writing exercises for every CEFR level from A0 to C1! If you're unsure about your current proficiency, try our test to get your French level before diving into the exercises.
All writing exercises are made by our qualified native French teachers to help you improve your writing skills and confidence.
Kwizbot will give you a series of prompts to translate to French. He’ll show you where you make mistakes as you go along and will suggest related lessons for you.
Boost your French writing skills by adding the lessons you find most interesting to your Notebook and practising them later.
Click on any exercise to get started.
A1: Beginner French writing exercises
- A Christmas feast Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Sébastien is in charge of Christmas Eve Dinner this year.
- A French lunch menu Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Here's the typical lunch menu of a French coffee shop.
- A French woman Employment Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Élodie tells us about her everyday life as a lawyer specialising in women's rights.
- A day in my cat Max's life Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Article Article contracté Juliette tells about her cat's daily routine.
- A day in the city of Le Mans Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Audrey had a nice time visiting Le Mans, in northwestern France.
- A dream Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Geoffrey tells us about one of his dreams.
- A love story Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Cécile and Andrew meet in a bar.
- A rainy afternoon Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Soizic and Armelle meet up on a rainy day in Brest.
- A romantic Valentine Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Henri tells us about his special plans for Valentine's Day.
- A winter meal Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Bernard has his perfect comfort meal for cold nights.
- Actress Anne Dorval Famous People Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Claire tells us about her favourite actress, French-Canadian Anne Dorval.
- Anne's Easter loot Celebrations & Important Dates Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Anne lists all the treats she found during her Easter egg hunt.
- Annoying Things Family & Relationships Adjectif Adverbe Article Philippe and Julien share some of the things that really annoy them.
- Arnaud and Ophélie describe themselves Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Arnaud and Ophélie describe themselves physically.
- At midnight Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Sébastien's family celebrates Christmas on the evening of the 24th.
- At the beach Free Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Adjectif Article Article défini Conversation at the beach between an ice cream vendor and a customer.
- At the beach Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Tom is telling us about his day at the beach.
- At the bookshop Employment Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe François needs help choosing a book.
- At the gift shop Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Mike and Linda pick some souvenirs in a Montmartre gift shop.
- At the newsagent's Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif Adverbe Article Sophie is buying a few items at a French newsagent's.
- At the sporting goods store Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Alain is buying tennis equipment for his son.
- Baby at the beach Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Baby enjoys being at the beach with his family.
- Back to School Family & Relationships Language & Education Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Mathieu tells us about going back to school tomorrow.
- Ball Sports Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Vincent and Leila discuss their favourite ball sports.
- Beyoncé Family & Relationships Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe The famous singer introduces herself.
- Board games Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Jonathan is playing board games with his family.
- Booking a hotel room Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Pierre wants to book a room in a hotel.
- Can I come? Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Marie chats with her roommate's friend Damien.
- Cleaning with my family Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Jonathan and his family are cleaning the house today!
- Corsica is beautiful! Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Julien explains why he thinks Corsica is so beautiful.
- Do you like the French language? Language & Education Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Noémie and Léo have opposite opinions on the French language!
- Do you like theme parks? Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adverbe Louis and Zoé give their opposite opinions on theme parks.
- Driving in the city Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adverbe Forme négative Sophie and Christophe talk about driving in city centres [US: downtown].
- Easter decorations Free Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Alice and her sister Zoé are decorating their house for Easter.
- Easter preparations Celebrations & Important Dates Language & Education Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Today, Daniel and his pupils are getting ready for Easter.
- Exchanging a scarf Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Article Christine is returning a scarf to the shop
- Father of two Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Léon talks about his two beloved children.
- Filling in a form Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Olivier answers questions from a form.
- Food shopping for a picnic Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Daniel and Aline are buying food for a picnic.
- Gardening with Jacqueline Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Julia always loves to take care of her aunt's garden with her.
- Going on a diet Family & Relationships Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marie has a plan to lose weight this year.
- Going shopping Family & Relationships Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Annie and Nicolas discuss her upcoming trip to the shop.
- Hanukkah with my family Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Rachelle celebrates Hanukkah with her family every year.
- Hello! I'm Mario! Famous People Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif The famous plumber introduces himself.
- Hello, my name is France! Politics, History & Economics Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif The country France introduces itself.
- Helping my neighbourhood Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Noémie likes helping her neighbours after school.
- Helping the planet Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe François does his best to help the planet in his everyday life.
- How to stay healthy Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Matthieu tells us about his healthy habits.
- How to vote at a polling station in France? Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Learn how to vote in a French election.
- I hate the rain! Sports & Leisure Adverbe Article défini Article indéfini Annie stays in on rainy days
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A2: Lower Intermediate French writing exercises
- A Creole picnic Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif During a visit to La Réunion, Julie and Léo went for a typical Creole meal.
- A family of dog lovers Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Anthony had many dogs growing up, but Pip was special.
- A few days in Dordogne Free Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Monique tells Patrick about her coming holiday [US: vacation].
- A football accident Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Anthony had his friend Bruno over to play...
- A great party for Mum [US:Mom]! Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Manon and her sister Aline treated their mother for Mother's Day.
- A nice train journey Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Lucie and her boyfriend Marc went to the countryside by train this weekend.
- A noisy hotel room Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Bertrand complains to the hotel reception about noises during the night.
- A romantic trip to Paris Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Anna took her boyfriend on a romantic trip to Paris.
- A romantic weekend away Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Aline and her boyfriend went away for a relaxing weekend.
- Afternoon ice cream Free Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Lucie and Greg feel like an ice cream this afternoon.
- An Easter egg hunt Celebrations & Important Dates Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Discover where Julien and his siblings found their Easter eggs!
- Arriving at the hotel Employment Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Aline checks into her Parisian hotel.
- At my best friend's wedding Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Patrick gives a toast at Stéphane's wedding.
- At rapper Soprano's concert Music Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Romain was thrilled to finally see his idol Soprano live!
- At the Chinese restaurant Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article James is ordering food in a Chinese restaurant.
- At the New Year's Eve House Party Celebrations & Important Dates Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Mathieu welcomes his guest at his New Year's Eve house party.
- At the allergist's Employment Technology & Science Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Pierre went to the allergist to get a diagnosis.
- At the bar Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adverbe Au bar Patricia and Samuel discuss what drinks they want to order.
- At the bureau de change Employment Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Patrick needs to change some dollars upon arriving in Paris.
- At the dermatologist's Employment Technology & Science Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Manon needs help with her eczema.
- At the farmers' market Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Stéphane enjoys a visit to his local farmers' market.
- At the grocery store Employment Family & Relationships Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Julie and Frank need some things from the grocery store.
- At the medieval market in Orléans Art & Design Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adverbe Flora and Sami enjoy Orléans's medieval market.
- At the mountain restaurant Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Gérard and Sylvie stop for lunch after their mountain hike.
- At the post office Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Christophe has a few errands to run at the post office.
- At the shoe store Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Christine is looking for a pair of shoes with the help of a nice sales assistant.
- Bastille Day in the South of France Celebrations & Important Dates Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adverbe Bernard tells us about celebrating Bastille Day last summer.
- Bedtime stories Family & Relationships Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Florian remembers the bedtime ritual he had with his daughter.
- Breakfast in the sun Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Sabrina surprised Thomas with a nice breakfast on the balcony.
- Calling the hotel's room service Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Valérie calls room service from her hotel room.
- Chocolate mousse cooking tips! Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe André gives us some tips to make the perfect chocolate mousse.
- Conversation on the plane Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Pascal and Julie get acquainted on a flight to Montpellier.
- Cooking as a family Family & Relationships Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Yesterday, Antoine and his family made tartiflette together.
- Dividing the restaurant bill Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Isabelle and her friends are splitting the bill at the restaurant.
- Do you have a favourite male singer? Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Simone and Amélie are talking about their favourite French-speaking male singers.
- Do you have any dirty clothes? Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Bastien and his mother debate the need for a dirty laundry basket.
- Driving in France Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Here are a few things to be aware of when driving in France!
- Fireworks Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Juliette went to watch New Year's fireworks yesterday.
- Fishing with Dad Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Benjamin went fishing with his father last Sunday.
- Getting to know each other Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe New colleagues Julien and Olivier get to know each other over a coffee.
- Giving up tobacco Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Amélie has stopped smoking and she's so happy about it!
- Holiday [US: Vacation] by the sea Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Édouard remembers his childhood seaside holidays [US: vacations] in the south of France.
- I love autumn! Family & Relationships Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Jacqueline tells us what she loves to do in the fall.
- I love my grandmother! Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Lucas tells us about his lovely grandmother.
- I prefer going skiing Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Pierre tells us why he prefers going skiing rather than beach holidays.
- In a taxi Family & Relationships Article Article contracté Article partitif Magalie needs her taxi to take her for a few errands.
- In the changing rooms Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Mélanie is trying on a dress... and testing Pierre's patience!
- Instagram love Family & Relationships Technology & Science Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Julien and Sandra became famous thanks to their Instagram account.
- Instructions for a test Language & Education Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Teacher Marc read out the instructions for today's French test.
- Jojo is such a joker! Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Thomas talks about his school friend Jojo, who loves a joke.
B1: Intermediate French writing exercises
- A French April Fool's Celebrations & Important Dates Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Cécile and her sons are making the traditional French fish for April Fool's day.
- A Horror Story Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe On a dark October night, Emma received a disturbing call...
- A childhood passion Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Vincent and his brother loved video games growing up.
- A clichéd break-up Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif François uses all the clichéd breakup lines to leave his girlfriend Sophie.
- A family day at the park Family & Relationships Food & Drink Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Benoît will spend this Saturday at the park with his daughter Mia.
- A game of hide and seek Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Article Linda and Christian are watching from afar a game of hide and seek between the children.
- A good work routine Employment Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marc plans to improve his work routine.
- A greener future Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Julien is seeing a future where people are more eco-conscious.
- A special Monday Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Anna is looking forward to a lazy Easter Monday!
- A strange encounter Family & Relationships Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Yoann had the strangest encounter in the Broceliande forest!
- A trip to the cinema Film & TV Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Antoine and his daughter Emma are planning a trip to the movies.
- A weather forecast Technology & Science Adjectif Adverbe Article Find out what tomorrow's weather will be like.
- A weekend in Montpellier Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Élise and Lucas plan their weekend in the southern French city.
- An amazing New Year's Eve meal Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Henriette is planning a dazzling meal for New Year!
- An annoying cat allergy Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Éloïse suffers from an annoying cat allergy.
- An incredibly caring boy Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Lydia's son, Olivier, is such a caring person.
- An old scary tradition Celebrations & Important Dates Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Yoann recalls celebrating the old Celtic tradition of Samhain with his Gran.
- Animal emergency Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Julien's cat is stuck in the tree!
- Around the world by motorcycle Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Joël would love to travel the world on his motorcycle.
- Artist Chéri Chérin Art & Design Famous People Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Learn about the amazing Congolese artist Chéri Chérin.
- Asking about a hotel room Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Catherine has a few questions about the hotel room she's booked.
- At the amusement park Sports & Leisure Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Thomas will go to the amusement park with his friend Samia for their birthday this year.
- At the doctor's Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Robert goes to the doctor for a consultation.
- At the till Employment Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Peter is at the till [US: cash register] of a French supermarket.
- Becoming a model Art & Design Employment Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Enjoy some useful tips on becoming a model.
- Birthday makeover Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini "New year, new me" Julia thought on her 20th birthday.
- Busy Schedule Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Isabelle recaps what everyone will have to do on Saturday!
- Camping at home Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Gabriel and Rose are making plans for the weekend.
- Cathy's future holiday [US: vacation] in Montpellier Free Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Learn about Cathy's plan to spend her holiday [US: vacation] in Montpellier.
- Christmas in the mountains Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Antoine will spend Christmas at his dad's house in the Alps, if he can get there!
- Christmas specialities Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Paul tells us about some traditional French Christmas dishes.
- Conversation between the election's two rounds Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marc explains the French presidential election process to his friend Alice.
- Corsican polyphonic singing Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Music Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Do you know about this bewitchingly melodic tradition from Corsica?
- Cycling in Nantes Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Isabelle agrees with Nantes's status as France's "cycling capital".
- Dalida Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Learn about Dalida, an iconic French-speaking singer.
- Dealing with your emotions Sports & Leisure Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Here's a guide to keeping calm.
- Discussing a ski weekend Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Laurent and his friend Matt are planning their ski weekend.
- Dreaming of Paris Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Grégory imagines his ideal Valentine's Day's proposal.
- Easter baking class Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Accord Adjectif Adjectif possessif Flora and Yvan enjoy decorating their Easter chocolate bunnies.
- Family holiday car trip Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif possessif Adverbe Concordance des Temps Let the squabbles begin!
- Flying anxiety Family & Relationships Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Jean-Luc has a plan to deal with his fear of flying.
- Following the GPS Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Technology & Science Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Follow this GPS's instructions to reach your destination.
- Getting ready for autumn Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Article Rosalie won't get caught out by the arrival of autumn this year.
- Giving up smoking Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe François tells us how he managed to stop smoking.
- Going back in time Family & Relationships Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adverbe Marine asks Amanda, Bruno and Sébastien what they would do if they could go back in time.
- Going to the bank Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Flora and her father need to go to the bank.
- How to share household chores equally Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Follow Céline's tips to share household chores more equally.
- I love swimming! Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Thomas tells us about his love for swimming and his hope to one day dive from up high!
- I miss French food! Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adverbe Hélène tells Betty how she's coping with missing French food abroad.
- I want to help! Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Suzanne wishes she had more time to help others.
B2: Upper Intermediate French writing exercises
- "Amélie": my favourite film! Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Lisa explains why "Amélie" is her favourite film.
- A History of French TV Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Learn some interesting facts about the beginnings of French TV.
- A busy weekend ahead Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Olivier sums up his busy schedule for the weekend.
- A day in the countryside Free Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Marie spent last weekend in the countryside with her daughters.
- A great Advent calendar Celebrations & Important Dates Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Find out how to make a unique Advent calendar.
- A great passion for reading Literature, Poetry, Theatre Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Florence talks about her grandmother's passion for books.
- A nice morning surprise Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Lucie will serve a delicious breakfast in bed to her fiancée on their anniversary.
- A nice table "à la française" Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Jacqueline explains the intricacies of setting the table the French way.
- A nightmare journey Free Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Josiane and Robert explain why they're an hour late to their friends' place.
- A perfect interview Employment Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Léo's just had the best job interview of his life!
- A slippery drive Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Richard struggled to get to work this morning: everything was frozen!
- At the football [US: soccer] game Celebrations & Important Dates Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Henri took his dad to a football [US:soccer] game for Father's Day.
- At the neighbours' house Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Véronique and Bruno are at their neighbours' house for an aperitif.
- Bad Movie Review Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Bernadette delivers a scathing movie review.
- Barbara Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Laëtitia talks about her passion for fascinating French singer Barbara.
- Bayonne, France's chocolate capital Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Learn why Bayonne is considered the French capital of chocolate.
- Brasserie La Coupole Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Vincent always eats here when he's in Paris.
- British National Museums Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini National museums are free in the UK, as Paul happily found out.
- Building a snowman Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Martine and Bastien enjoyed building a snowman.
- Camping with your dog Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Patrick gives us some advice on taking your dog camping with you.
- Catherine Ségurane: a local heroine Famous People Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Toni, a tourist guide from Nice talks about local legend Catherine Ségurane.
- City vs dog poop Family & Relationships Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Alain and Pauline discuss the city's measures to fight against dog waste.
- Composting is awesome! Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Elsa explains composting to her friend Pierre.
- Congratulations on your degree! Family & Relationships Language & Education Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Thomas's aunt and uncle send him an email to congratulate him on getting his Master degree.
- Conversation between friends Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Friends Simon and Isabelle are catching up.
- Couples' annoying habits Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adverbe Article Olivier gets so annoyed by the way couples behave sometimes!
- Easter, a family celebration Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini François and his family celebrate the religious holiday of Easter.
- Family Reunion Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini At a family reunion, Lea sees her aunt Patricia for the first time in years.
- Finding the perfect anniversary gift Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Jean-Paul is listing his gift ideas for his wife on their anniversary.
- Food shopping in farm shops Food & Drink Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Find out the advantages and disadvantages of food shopping in a farm shop.
- French Easter specialties Celebrations & Important Dates Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Discover some of France's regional Easter specialties.
- French-style lemon tart recipe Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Follow the recipe to make a delicious lemon tart.
- Garip Ay's amazing paintings Art & Design Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Jean-Pierre tells us about the work of this fascinating Turkish artist.
- Getting ready for the holiday [US: vacation] Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Article Article contracté Bastien and Alicia are getting ready for tomorrow's departure.
- Giving back Celebrations & Important Dates Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Especially during the holiday season, it's good to give back to those less fortunate than us...
- Going lily-of-the-valley picking Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Jean-Pierre's family goes to pick lily-of-the-valley every year.
- Heatwave Politics, History & Economics Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini A weather forecast on one of the hottest days of the year.
- High cost of cigarette packaging change Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Learn about the cost of the new policy on cigarette packaging in France.
- I can't find my shirt! Family & Relationships Adjectif possessif Adverbe Article Claire and Julien are almost ready to go out...except for Julien's missing shirt!
- In a clothes store Sports & Leisure Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Patrick complains to the sales assistant about a defective item.
- In the return taxi Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Aline talks about her trip with the taxi driver on her way back to the airport.
- Long time no see! Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Marina and her cousin Tom catch up after quite a while.
- Louise Bourgeois Art & Design Famous People Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marie-Claire tells us about her favourite French artist.
- Mice invasion Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Lisa and Paul are discussing options to get rid of Lisa's mice.
- Moving house chores Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Sophie had so many chores to do before moving into her new apartment.
- My car is a real beater! Sports & Leisure Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Yann's car has so many problems!
- My chosen family Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Magalie found her own loving family.
- My dream invention Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Sonia asks Sylvie what invention she'd dream to see becoming a reality.
- My exotic Christmas Celebrations & Important Dates Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Aline is remembering spending last Christmas in Marrakech, Morocco.
- My first Easter memory Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Alexandre remembers the first time he went egg hunting.
C1: Advanced French writing exercises
- 3 Culinary delights from French-speaking countries Food & Drink Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Find out about three dishes from French-speaking countries.
- A bad matchmaker Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Sophie tells us about her failed attempt at matchmaking.
- A couple's ups and downs Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Hélène explains how she and her partner managed to navigate out of a rough patch.
- A difficult sibling relationship Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Yvan has always had a fraught relationship with his sister.
- A dreadful teenager Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Philippe recalls his bad behaviour as a teenage boy.
- A ghost story Celebrations & Important Dates Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Hugo is visiting his mother on All Saints' Day.
- A hard time at work Employment Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Érica went through a rough time at work.
- A horrible storm! Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Julien remembers spending a horrible night due to a violent storm.
- A last minute request Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Isabelle's colleague keeps making her miserable...
- A long-standing friendship Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Carole tells us about her long-standing relationship with her friend Aline.
- A lovely car Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Find out about Michel's beloved 2CV car.
- A lovely encounter Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif On her daily walk, Audrey met a furry little friend in need of help...
- A special Christmas in Switzerland Celebrations & Important Dates Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Damien recalls a wonderful family Christmas holiday in Switzerland.
- A sudden reappearance Family & Relationships Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif After years of disappearance, Olivia's friend is back.
- Advice for new pet owners Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Laurent asks people for their advice on welcoming a new pet at home.
- Alice and the Caterpillar (Alice in Wonderland) Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Alice meets the mysterious Caterpillar in this adapted excerpt from "Alice in Wonderland"
- An animal tale Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini By a lovely winter morning, Henri the hare meets poorly Lili the rabbit.
- An incredible trip on the Canal du Midi Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Patrice recalls his trip along the Canal du Midi.
- An upcycling tutorial Art & Design Sports & Leisure Technology & Science Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Find out a few ideas for your upcycling projets.
- Anna's birthday party Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Clément discusses the organisation of his daughter's birthday party with his friend Charlotte.
- At Uncle Robert's 70th birthday Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe Laura catches up with her cousin Charlotte at a family event.
- At the psychiatrist's Employment Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Mme Dupont is talking to her psychiatrist.
- At the ski resort Sports & Leisure Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Paul needs to get ski gear for himself and his family.
- Back to School shopping Family & Relationships Language & Education Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Viviane and Christian try and get everything on their children's school supply list.
- Bathroom chat Family & Relationships Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Bruno and Sonia are having a chat in the bathroom.
- Brest during World War II Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Alex is talking about WWII in Brest with his granddad.
- Californian dream Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adverbe Olivia finally followed her dream to move to California.
- Camping in the woods Free Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Nathalie enjoys camping in the middle of the woods.
- Coco Chanel Famous People Politics, History & Economics Adjectif Adjectif possessif Article Learn about this extraordinary woman who became a fashion icon.
- Complaining about a hotel room Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Gérard complains to the receptionist about the state of his hotel room.
- Coping with the heatwave Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif possessif Adverbe Emma asks how Simon and his pregnant girlfriend Christelle coped with the extreme heat.
- Drôme provençale, a little piece of heaven Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Politics, History & Economics Accord Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Vincent tells us about this beautiful region in the South of France.
- Engagement dinner's speech Family & Relationships Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Adverbe The bride's father thanks the guests for attending and announces the evening programme.
- Engagement surprise Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Louise enjoys an unexpected visit at her engagement party.
- Finding love at a yoga retreat Family & Relationships Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Seniors Germaine and Pierrot didn't expect to fall in love at a yoga retreat.
- Fireside memories Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Manuelle has warm memories of family times by the fireside.
- First day back to school Family & Relationships Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Sabrina tells us what she'll do on her children's first day back to school.
- French Mobile Phone Habits Politics, History & Economics Technology & Science Accord Adjectif Adjectif indéfini We're taking a look at the importance of mobile phones in French people's lives.
- Gardening weekend Sports & Leisure Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Jean-Pierre had a busy weekend taking care of his garden.
- Gastronomical review Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Discover a mouthwatering review of a French restaurant.
- Gluten-free living Food & Drink Adjectif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif Alexandre tells us how he dealt with his newly discovered gluten allergy.
- Gustave Moreau Museum Art & Design Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Claire tells us about her fascination for 19th-century symbolist painter Gustave Moreau.
- Holidaying in July Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini July is a hard time to organise holiday [US: vacation] for, as Martine and Sam found out!
- How to show your love? Family & Relationships Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Marianne and her partner Adèle are making some changes to show their appreciation for each other more.
- In the lives of the writers of French romance novels Employment Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif possessif Discover what the life of a French writer of romance novels looks like.
- Jean-Marc Vallée Famous People Film & TV Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Nathan and Florence discuss the late Quebecois director Jean-Marc Vallée.
- Johnny Hallyday, a French icon Famous People Music Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Paul and his mum talk about her favourite French singer, Johnny Hallyday.
- La Petite France in Strasbourg Art & Design Monuments, Tourism & Vacations Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Discover this unique area of Strasbourg, a UNESCO site and tourists' favourite.
- Last-minute hesitations Family & Relationships Literature, Poetry, Theatre Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Adjectif possessif François is torn between his love for Marianne and his duty to the Duchess who he's about to marry.
- Letter to Santa Celebrations & Important Dates Adjectif Adjectif démonstratif Adjectif indéfini Timothée writes to Santa, hoping he's been good enough this year...
In this section
- Hanukkah 2023 Menorah
- Christmas 2023 Advent Calendar
- Tips and ideas to improve your French writing skills
- French Glossary and Jargon Buster
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40+ French Transition Words to Boost Your Vocabulary
For anyone learning a language, transition words usually aren’t first on the list. But after you’ve mastered nouns and common French phrases , transition words are key for stringing your sentences together. In fact, transition words are what transform your broken French into the smooth, swoon-worthy language you’ve always dreamed of speaking. So what are you waiting for? Master this list of French transition words and take your vocabulary to the next level.
Comme has a variety of definitions depending on the context, making it an important transition word to learn. First off, comme can be used to mean like or as when you’re comparing or contrasting two things or ideas. It can also mean since when used at the beginning of a sentence.
Puisque has a similar meaning to comme , meaning because or since . It’s a great tool for offering an explanation in the middle of a sentence, or justifying a thought or action in response to a question.
Translating directly to then , puis makes its way into many conversations and stories. The best part about puis is that its simple and easy to remember when you’re searching for a transition word in conversation.
Also is one of the most commonly used words in modern English, popping up across written and verbal language. En outre is its French equivalent.
This is a handy term that you’re bound to use in everyday conversation. It means because and it can be used to respond to questions or transition between phrases.
This can mostly be interchanged with parce que for a shortened version of because . However, more advanced French speakers use this word as something slightly more like since or for in conversation.
Similarly to puis and car , this go-to transition term is great for moving between multiple thoughts in a sentence. Pour que means so that when explaining why you did or thought something. It can also be used to support a proposition or plan.
Quand is an additional word that works well at the beginning of sentences. It means when . This word can also be combined with other words for a slightly more complex definition. For example, quand meme means even so, and n’importe quand (literally meaning it’s not important when ) means whenever.
Lorsque is a more formal version of one of the most common French transition words: quand. G enerally, it has the same meaning.
The word que is a multidimensional tool that can change a word’s meaning and transform it into a transition word. This is seen with alors que . Here’s how that works: alors means so , but adding que changes the meaning to whereas – an important transition word.
If you’re a fan of the word so , you’re going to love its French translation. Donc can be used as a filler word, a question, or to explain things, among many other uses.
Je soutiens donc que
After you’ve mastered the art of donc , see how it can be added to other phrases to mix things up. With je soutiens donc que , you can express something like I maintain that . It’s a more polite way to share your strong beliefs with someone, especially around strangers or colleagues where the conversation is more formal.
Similarly to donc , you might enjoy using the word bref . It means in short when summarizing an event or occurrence. Since bref looks similar to the English word brief , this is an easy one to pull out in a bind.
Considérons
Another helpful transition word for polite conversations is considérons . This means let’s consider and is used at the beginning of a phrase that expresses an alternate point of view. It is an important word for engaging in deeper dialogue that proposes multiple points of view.
Enfin is a multi-purpose word with many meanings, depending on the context in which it is used. On a basic level, it means end . Beyond that, enfin can be sort of a filler word (albeit more sophisticated than um ). Think of it more like the way we say well or I mean before we express an opinion in English.
à la fin is also used to express the end of something. However, it is used in a more specific way to mean at the end , and can’t be used as a filler word like enfin . It is best used when recounting a story, or when describing the plot of a book or movie.
Pour commencer
Now that you know how to express the concept of ending something, how about touting the start of something? Pour commencer means to start with or for starters and is best used at the beginning or end of a sentence.
Not to be confused with enfin , en fait is easy to remember because it has quite a literal translation in English. En means in and fait means fact . En fait = In fact . Easy, right?
This word looks a little like depending or dependent in English, but it instead means however or nevertheless.
This transition word is easy to remember because it looks like in contrast , which is essentially what it means. This phrase is also used to say on the other hand .
Au contraire
Likewise, au contraire is one of those French transition words that looks like its English counterpart. It means on the contrary .
D’un part / d’autre part
D’un part is used when expressing two varying ideas or points of view. It means on one hand… and is best at the beginning of a sentence. Once an idea is introduced with d’un part , it should be followed up with d’autre part , which is a perfect way to interpret the phrase on the other hand.
Ainsi que means as well as and it can be used in two different contexts. For the first usage, use it to transition between two items that you’re ordering at a restaurant. Je voudrais le salad ainsi que le viande. (I would like the salad as well as the meat). Ainsi que can also mean just as or as well , like when you’re saying the film was just as sad as I thought it’d be.
Autrement dit
If you know that dit refers to something that was said in discussion, than autrement dit should stick well in your mind. It literally translates to another saying and means in other words.
This phrase means first of all and it works well when recounting a story or giving directions or instructions. When writing, it’s also helpful when starting a sentence.
This is also a helpful transition word for giving directions or telling a story. It translates directly to next.
You probably know that après means after. But après que differs from the word après because it is supposed to be used after a verb. It is also used to talk about something that definitely happened in the past, rather than when proposing uncertain future terms. You can also use après with the word cela, which means after that.
In the same vein, avant que should be used after a verb. Avant by itself simply means before, and it can be used to start a sentence or phrase.
Making plans for tonight? Want to set up a date for tomorrow? Learn plus tard . As one of the simplest French transition words, it means later. Y et it’s used ubiquitously throughout French conversation.
Although this seems like it would mean “good that” it actually has a different meaning. Use bien que to mean even though or although between thoughts or before a phrase.
When making goals or plans, say dès que to express as soon as … to set up a phrase. Another way to say as soon as , albeit longer, is aussitot que.
This fun and subjunctive-friendly phrase will certainly take your French to the next level. It means no matter what and is helpful for starting a well-intentioned belief.
Tant que falls into the same realm as quoi que, meaning as long as. Don’t forget to add the que onto this phrase, because tant by itself is used to express a general quantity, like many.
D’aprés moi
Expressing your ideas and beliefs? Then you should know how to start a sentence correctly. This phrase means according to me. You can also say à mon avis, which means in my opinion. For another idea on expressing your opinion, try saying selon moi – which has a tendency to roll off the tongue with ease.
Je suis contre
Je suis contre is a more direct way to express your opinion about something. It translates directly to I am against in English. It’s beneficial to know when someone asks you your beliefs on something. It’s also a good way to get yourself out of an uncomfortable situation when traveling or in unknown surroundings.
De toute façon
Sooner or later, you’ll find yourself in a conversation where you’ll want to change the subject. Keep this transition short and light with de toute façon , which means anyway… and provides space for a new topic.
Boosting Your Vocabulary with French Transition Words
Learning to speak and write French is a challenging endeavor with long lasting benefits. Amp up your knowledge and become an impressive smooth talker by keeping these French transition words in your back pocket.
Want to learn how to use these transition words in context? Check out Clozemaster – thousands of sentences to help you learn French faster.
3 thoughts on “40+ French Transition Words to Boost Your Vocabulary”
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I’ve been studying French for 2 months now, this content is great for beginers! Thanks for posting!
It’s really helpful to summarize these transition words! I feel I have learned some difficult words in an easier way than I expected! Though I cannot say I understand them well since I’m a beginner, I feel l’ll definitely be more concentrated whenever I meet with them in my future learning of French! Great thanks!
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How to Write an Excellent French Essay (Resources Included)
Tips to write an excellent french essay.
Writing essays is challenging enough, but when you are asked to write a French essay, you are not only being asked to write in a foreign language, but to follow the conventions of another linguistic and literary tradition. Like essay-writing in any language, the essential part of writing a French essay is to convey your thoughts and observations on a certain topic in a clear and concise manner. French essays do come out of a certain tradition that is part of the training of all students who attend school in France – or at least secondary school – and when you are a French essay, it is important to be aware of this tradition.
The French philosopher Michel de Montaigne is credited with popularizing the essay form as a literary genre. His work, Essais, first published in 1580, and undergoing several subsequent publications before his death in 1592, covers a wide breadth of topics, ranging from “amitié” to “philosopher c’est apprendre à mourir”, and includes many literary references, as well as personal anecdotes. The name for this genre, essai, is the nominal form of the verb essayer, “to attempt”. We have an archaic English verb essay, meaning the same thing. The limerick that includes the phrase, “... when she essayed to drink lemonade ...” indicates an attempt to drink a beverage and has nothing to do with writing about it. But the writing form does illustrate an attempt to describe a topic in depth with the purpose of developing new insights on a particular text or corpus.
French instructors are very specific about what they would like when they ask for an essay, meaning that they will probably specify whether they would like an explication de texte, commentaire composé, or dissertation. That last essay form should not be confused with the document completed for a doctorate in anglophone countries – this is called a thèse in French, by the way. There are different formats for each of these types of essay, and different objectives for each written form.
Types of Essay
1. l’explication de texte.
An explication de texte is a type of essay for which you complete a close reading. It is usually written about a poem or a short passage within a larger work. This close reading will elucidate different themes and stylistic devices within the text. When you are completing an explication de texte, make sure to follow the structure of the text as you complete a close examination of its form and content. The format for an explication de texte consists of:
i. An introduction, in which you situate the text within its genre and historical context. This is where you can point out to your readers the general themes of the text, its form, the trajectory of your reading, and your approach to the text.
ii. The body, in which you develop your ideas, following the structure of the text. Make sure you know all of the meanings of the words used, especially the key terms that point to the themes addressed by the author. It is a good idea to look words up in the dictionary to find out any second, third, and fourth meanings that could add to the themes and forms you describe. Like a student taking an oral examination based on this type of essay writing, you will be expected to have solid knowledge of the vocabulary and grammatical structures that appear in the text. Often the significance of the language used unfolds as you explain the different components of theme, style, and composition.
iii. A conclusion, in which you sum up the general meaning of the text and the significance of the figures and forms being used. You should also give the implications of what is being addressed, and the relevance of these within a larger literary, historical, or philosophical context.
NB: If you are writing about a poem, include observations on the verse, rhyme schemes, and meter. It is a good idea to refer to a reference work on versification. If you are writing about a philosophical work, be familiar with philosophical references and definitions of concepts.
Caveat: Refrain from paraphrasing. Instead show through careful analysis of theme, style, and composition the way in which the main ideas of the text are conveyed.
2. Le commentaire composé
A commentaire composé is a methodologically codified commentary that focuses on themes in a particular text. This type of essay develops different areas of reflection through analytical argument. Such argumentation should clarify the reading that you are approaching by presenting components of the text from different perspectives. In contrast to the explication de texte, it is organized thematically rather than following the structure of the text to which it refers. The format for a commentaire composé consists of:
i. An introduction, in which you present the question you have come up with, often in relation to a prompt commenting on a thematic or stylistic aspect of the text, such as “Montrez en quoi ce texte évoque l’amour courtois” or “Qu’apporte l’absence de la ponctuation dans ce texte ?” In this section, you will be expected to delineate your approach to the text and illustrate the trajectory of your ideas so that your readers will have a clear idea of the direction these ideas will take.
ii. A tripartite body, in which you explore the question you have come up with, citing specific examples in the text that are especially pertinent to the areas of reflection you wish to explore. These citations should be explained and connected to the broad themes of your commentary, all the while providing details that draw the readers’ attention to your areas of inquiry. These different areas of inquiry may initially seem disparate or even contradictory, but eventually come together to form a harmonious reading that addresses different aspects of the text. The more obvious characteristics of the text should illuminate its subtler aspects, which allows for acute insight into the question that you are in the process of exploring.
iii. A conclusion, in which you evaluate your reading and synthesize its different areas of inquiry. This is where you may include your own opinions, but make sure that the preceding sections of your commentaire remain analytical and supported by evidence that you find in the text.
NB: Looking at verb tenses, figures of speech, and other aspects that contribute to the form of the text will help situate your reader, as will commenting on the register of language, whether this language is ornate, plain, reflects a style soutenu, or less formal patterns of speech.
Caveat: Quotations do not replace observations or comments on the text. Explain your quotations and situate them well within your own text.
3. La dissertation
The dissertation is a personal, organized, and methodical reflection on a precise question that refers to a corpus of writing. Referring to this corpus, you may be asked questions along the lines of “Que pensez-vous de l’équivalence entre l’amour et la chanson exprimée dans ces textes ?” or “Est-ce que la sagesse et la folie ont les mêmes sources?” This type of essay allows for an exploration of a question through knowledge of a corpus as well as through an individual’s cultural knowledge. The format for a dissertation consists of:
i. An introduction, in which you present the topic addressed, the significance of your argument, and the trajectory of your ideas.
ii. The body which, like a commentaire composé, consists of a tripartite development of your argument. This can follow any one of the following structures: a dialectical schema, organized into thèse, antithèse, and synthèse – an argument, its counter-argument, and its rebuttal; an analytical schema, consisting of the description of a situation, an analysis of its causes, and commentary on its consequences; a thematic schema, which consists of a reflection on a topic which you proceed to examine from different angles in an orderly fashion.
iii. A conclusion, in which you address the different ways in which you have approached the question at hand and how this deepens your insights, while placing the question within a broader context that shows room for expansion. The conclusion can open up the topic addressed to show its placement within a literary movement, or in opposition to another literary movement that follows it, for example.
NB: Approach the question at hand with as few preconceptions as possible. If you are writing on a quotation, gather all of your knowledge about its author, the work in which it appears, and the body of literature with which it is associated.
Caveat: Even for a personal reflection, such as a dissertation, avoid using the first person pronoun je. Nous or on are preferable. It is advisable not to switch from one to the other, though.
For each of these essay forms, it is a good idea to make an outline to which you can refer as you write. As your writing progresses, things may shift a bit, but having a structure on which you can rely as you gather your various ideas and information into a coherent argument provides solid foundation for a clear and well-developed essay. This also facilitates smooth transitions from one section of your essay to the next.
During your reading, you may encounter a problem, a contradiction, or a surprising turn of phrase that is difficult to figure out. Such moments in a text give you the opportunity to delve into the unique characteristics of the text or corpus to which you are referring, to propose different solutions to the problems you encounter, and to describe their significance within a larger literary, philosophical, and historical context. Essay writing allows you to become more familiar with French works, with their cultural significance, and with the French language. You can refer to the following resources to guide you in this endeavor:
Auffret, Serge et Hélène. Le commentaire composé. Paris: Hachette, 1991. Dufau, Micheline et Ellen D'Alelio. Découverte du poème: Introduction à l'explication de textes. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967. Grammont, Maurice. Petit traité de versification française. Paris: A. Colin, 2015. Huisman, Denis et L. R. Plazolles. L’art de la dissertation littéraire : du baccalauréat au C.A.P.E.S. Paris : Société d’édition d’enseignement supérieur, 1965.
The French newspaper Le Monde also has good articles on these essay forms that prepare French students for the baccalauréat exam: CLICK HERE
This is also a website with thorough information on essay writing techniques that prepare students for the baccalauréat exam: CLICK HERE
In addition, the University of Adelaide has tips for general essay writing in French: CLICK HERE
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Improve Your Written French Today
Whether you want to pen a love letter or submit an essay in France, you need to know how to write in French. Luckily, learning how to write in French is fairly straightforward. Since French uses the Latin Alphabet, you’re already ahead of the game. Improve your writing in French fast with these easy steps.
The Basics of French Writing for Beginners
When it comes to French writing, it’s a little different than speaking French. But, if you know how to read French well, you shouldn’t have a lot of problems.
Before you read the 8 easy steps of learning to write in French, there’s one important factor in mastering French writing: practice. The only way you can truly improve your French writing skills is with a lot of practice . Make sure you write a little bit in French every day. Soon, you’ll find that writing in French is like second nature.
1. Watch Out for French Spelling
One of the biggest obstacles that throws French learners off is spelling. Unfortunately, those silent letters that you don’t pronounce are very much there in writing. Be careful how you spell certain complicated words. You need to master all parts of French grammar to write French correctly.
2. Genders Influence Grammar in French
You may already know that nouns have genders in French. They can either be masculine or feminine. And depending on the gender, different parts of a French sentence need to be conjugated.
- articles : French articles need to be conjugated to reflect the gender and the number of the noun. These can be ‘le’, ‘la’, ‘l”, and ‘les’ for definite articles, and ‘un’ and ‘une’ for indefinite articles.
- pronouns : Pronouns in French are the words that replace the name of the subject in a sentence. ‘He’, ‘she’, and ‘them’ are some examples of pronouns in English. In French, you need to use different forms of pronouns depending on the gender of the subject.
- adjectives : When you’re describing a noun, you use an adjective. And since the noun is the only reason the adjective’s there in the sentence, you need to make the adjective fit the noun in French. There are various ways to conjugate French adjectives depending on the gender and the number of the noun, so make sure you brush up on that knowledge before you write in French.
3. Careful with French Accent Marks
French accent marks also don’t do us any favors. While they’re extremely useful when it comes to French pronunciation, their writing isn’t as straightforward. Try to associate the sound with the written French word. There are only 5 accent marks in French. One is the cedilla (ç), which only works with the letter “c”, and another is the acute accent (é), which only sits on top of the letter “e”. So in practice, there are only 3 different kinds of accents you should look out for in French.
4. Follow the French Sentence Structures
English and French sentence structures are similar in many ways. Both follow the SVO (subject-verb-object) structure, which makes writing in French much easier. And just like in English, the French sentence structure is also flexible. You can switch the words around to emphasize a part of a sentence, but still have the same meaning.
- Tomorrow , I’m going to work. Demain je vais travailler. I’m going to work tomorrow . Je vais travailler demain .
The most important part of the first sentence is the time the speaker goes to work. The second sentence focuses on the subject, the speaker instead. Still, both sentences convey the same meaning of going to work.
If you want to ask a question in French, you can do so by putting a question word at the beginning of the sentence. Common question words are:
- How Comment
- What Que / Qu’est-ce que queue
- What kind Quel genre
- When Quand
- Why Pourquoi
You can also ask a question by switching the order of the verb and the pronoun around, and connecting them with a hyphen:
- Do you speak English? Parlez-vous anglais ?
It’s important to remember these basic rules of French sentence structure before you start writing in French. If you want to learn how to write in French effectively, practice these 4 steps a lot.
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How to Write in French for Intermediate Students
If you’re an intermediate French learner you’re familiar with basic French grammar, and you’re confident in writing in French. But, there’s always room to improve. Once you know the basic steps of how to write in French, it’s time to make your writing even better. You can start paying attention to style, flow, and structure. The tips below will benefit your French writing practice.
5. Try Nominalization
This useful technique will make your sentences better. Nominalization means that you make nouns in the sentence more dominant. While in English, the dominant words are verbs, in French, you can write with the focus of the noun instead, making them more meaningful. Here’s an example to demonstrate.
- Normal sentence: The ice cream is cold. – La glace est froide.
- Nominalized sentence: The ice cream is cold. – La glace, c’est droid.
6. Use French Conjunctions
Conjunctions are the tools to write complex French sentences. Without them, you’re limited to simple and boring sentence structures. As an intermediate student, you can start connecting two equal or unequal sentences to make an even more interesting phrase. Here are the different kinds of French conjunctions you can use to write better in French:
Coordinating Conjunctions:
You use these kinds of conjunctions to connect two equal sentences. The most common coordinating conjunctions in French are:
Subordinating Conjunctions:
If one of the sentences in unequal or dependent on the other, you need to use subordinating conjunctions. These connectors often show causality. The most common conjunctions in French for this category are:
7. Style and Flow
Now that you wield the power of conjunctions, you have to be careful with it. As fun as it is to write long and complicated sentences in French, it doesn’t sound good. Make sure you use appropriate sentence lengths as you’re writing in French.
Aim for shorter sentences. Make them explain your point well. But, feel free to mix the flow up with the occasional longer sentences. That’s how you write in French with a nice and smooth flow. And that’s how you perfect your French writing too. It will be a pleasure to read your work.
Writing in French for Advanced Learners
Once you mastered all of the French writing rules, you’re officially an advanced French learner. But, there may still be room to improve your French writing. If you’re looking to kick your projects up a notch, you can learn how to write essays and dissertations in French. These pointers will be useful if you ever attend school or university in France, or you want to take a language exam.
8. Get Familiar with French Essay Structure
When you’re writing an essay, you have to structure it for readability. If you want to learn how French high schoolers are taught to write their essays, this is the structure they follow: thèse-antithèse-synthèse (thesis-antithesis-synthesis). Learn how to write French essays using a traditional French essay structure.
- Introduction : You begin your essay by having an introduction, which is a context for argument.
- Thesis : In this section, you present and defend the statement of your thesis. You need to write everything that supports the topic of your essay.
- Antithesis : The antithesis follows the thesis. This is where you state conflicting evidence and explain other potential substitutes for your essay. Including an antithesis doesn’t mean that you disagree with your original thesis. You just need to show that you thought of all possibilities before arriving to your conclusion.
- Synthesis : This is your conclusion. This is where you summarize your arguments, and explain why you still stand by your original thesis despite the antithesis.
9. Use Introduction and Conclusion Vocabulary
Certain words can encourage sentence flow by introducing or concluding some parts of your work.
- tout d’abord (firstly)
- premièrement (firstly)
- deuxièmement (secondly)
- ensuite (then)
- enfin (finally)
- finalement (finally)
- pour conclure (to conclude)
You can use these words when introducing a new idea to your dissertation or essay. These words will signal the readers that they are encountering a new part or thought of your writing process.
10. Writing a Dissertation in French
This is the form of writing you encounter in French higher education. It’s a very complex form of French writing, only the most advanced and fluent French learners should attempt it. It’s also a longer piece of academic writing. It may take you weeks to complete research and write your French dissertation.
The French dissertation is similar to essay structure. But, there’s one main difference: your thesis isn’t a statement, but rather a question. It’s your job in the dissertation to take the reader through your thought process and research to answer your question. This logic is known as “ Cartesian logic .” It comes from Descartes , who was a well known French philosopher.
History of Written French
French was used in Strasbourg Oaths, and it first appeared in writing in 842 AD. Before then, Latin was the only language used for literature in Europe. However, in the 10th and 11th centuries, French appeared in some religious writings and documents but was not used up to the late 12th century or early 13th century. The first greatest French Literature work, the Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland), was published around the year 1200.
Writing in French Alone Won’t Make You Fluent
You need to learn how to write in French to be proficient in the language. But, it won’t make you fluent. The only way to become fluent is to practice speaking French. While it’s crucial to develop every area of your French knowledge, if you want to be fluent in French, you need a reliable language learning method like OptiLingo.
OptiLingo is an app that gets you speaking, not typing a language. It gives you the most common French words and phrases, so you’re guaranteed to learn the most useful vocabulary. Don’t waste time trying to learn French you’ll never use. Complement your French writing practice with fun speaking exercises when you download OptiLingo !
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By: Author David Issokson
Posted on September 20, 2024
The French masculine noun endroit means “place”. Specifically, it’s used in the context of “I love this place”, “I don’t like this place”, etc. Further down the page we’ll look at la place , which also means “place”.
l’endroit
Word origin
The Modern French word endroit (place) comes from Old French endreit , which comes from in directum (in a straight line) in Latin.
Example sentences
Tu aimes cet endroit ? C’est beau, non?
You like this place? It’s beautiful, isn’t it?
J’adore cet endroit et je souhaite passer le reste de ma vie ici.
I love this place and want to spend the rest of my life here.
La cave est l’endroit où je mets les bouteilles de vin.
The cellar is the place where I put my bottles of wine.
Endroit vs. place
The feminine noun la place also means “place” in French but it’s used in the following contexts:
- la place de parking parking space/spot
- la place dans la queue place in line
- une place où s’asseoir a place to sit
- C’est ma place. It’s my place/seat/spot
- réserver une place to reserve a seat/place
- prendre beaucoup de place to take up a lot of place
- première place first place
Related lesssons
- Aimer – to like, to love
- Beau – beautiful
- Names of French wine
- La vie – life
- latinlexicon.org
- WordReference – la place
Word of the Day | Lessons by David Issokson
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David Issokson
David Issokson is a lifelong language learner and speaks over seven languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho.
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| Anglais | | Français | | (attempt) | essai | | | tentative | | | to make an essay at doing sth : essayer de faire [qch], tenter de faire [qch] | | Patrick's essay at painting the sunset was a complete disaster. | | L'essai de Patrick de peindre le soleil couchant était un désastre complet. | | La tentative de Patrick de peindre le soleil couchant était un désastre complet. | | (try) | essayer , tenter | | It is a climb that even the hardiest are reluctant to essay. | | C'est une ascension que même les plus hardis n'essaient ( ne tentent) pas. |
WordReference English- French Dictionary © 2024:
| Anglais | | Français | | (reportage through photos) | photoreportage |
Discussions du forum dont le titre comprend le(s) mot(s) "essay" : - Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.
Dans d'autres langues : espagnol | italien | portugais | roumain | allemand | néerlandais | suédois | russe | polonais | tchèque | grec | turc | chinois | japonais | coréen | arabe Publicités | | Publicités | | | | | | utilisez pour une recherche plus rapide de WordReference. | © 2024 WordReference.com | English version un éventuel problème. | Synonyms for French essay17 other terms for french essay - words and phrases with similar meaning. essay translation | English-French dictionaryessay question , essayist , easy Additional comments: | plan | | | | | | . | | | | | | can be on any topic. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 'essay' also found in translations in French-English dictionary | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ; introduction | | | | | | ; composition | | | | | | with examples. | | | | | | (m) | | | | | | ; trial (for adj.) | | | | - Edit the entry
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Each bylined essay in the collection reflected the author's unique experiences. | Chaque essai signé dans la collection reflétait les expériences uniques de l'auteur. | I don't have a clue how to start writing my essay. | Je n'ai aucune idée de comment commencer à écrire mon essai. | The essay question required us to analyze the themes in the novel. | La question de dissertation exigeait que nous analysions les thèmes du roman. | His essay question asked for a comparison of two different philosophical theories. | Sa question de dissertation demandait une comparaison de deux théories philosophiques différentes. | The professor assigned an essay with only an empty page to begin with. | Le professeur a assigné un essai avec seulement une page blanche pour commencer. | A clear thesis is important when answering an essay question effectively. | Une thèse claire est importante pour répondre efficacement à une question de dissertation. | Sign up to add your entryFind anything you save across the site in your account The Pain of Travelling While PalestinianThis year, I learned the difference between a traveller and a refugee. The first time I travelled outside of Gaza, I was twenty-seven years old. Growing up, I had always thought of “travel” as riding a taxi, bus, or bike within the borders of the Gaza Strip. My family lived not far from Railway Street, but there were no trains there. I had heard stories about the Gaza International Airport, but Israel had bombed it when I was eight. I remember asking my childhood friend Izzat, a soccer fan, about the places he wanted to visit one day. “Barcelona,” he told me. “I want to play alongside Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta.” In 2014, a few days after Izzat graduated from college, he was killed in an Israeli air strike. Our freedom of movement was just another victim of the occupation. The first place I tried to visit was Boston. I needed a U.S. visa, but was not allowed to travel forty miles to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, or to drive four hours through Israel to the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan. Instead, my brother-in-law drove me to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in southern Gaza, so I could fly to Jordan for my visa interview. I remember standing in the travel hall in Rafah, surrounded by the young, the old, and the sick, and thinking that my suitcase, like me, had never been on a real journey before. When my plane took off from Cairo International Airport, I had the feeling that my legs were shrinking below me. At the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, an officer handed me a list of personal information that I would need to provide: home addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses, the names of my siblings and children. My fifteen-year travel history was blank. I did not know how long the decision would take—only that I could not go back to Gaza while I was waiting. After forty days of limbo, living in a rented apartment in Amman, I finally got the visa. In the years that followed, I was lucky to go on many trips. Since October 7th, it has been difficult to exit Gaza at all. My immediate family was able to leave in November because my youngest son, Mostafa, has a U.S. passport. On our way to Egypt, however, Israeli soldiers separated me from my family, beat me, and interrogated me. In December, my mother applied to travel to Qatar with my twenty-year-old sister, Afnan, who needed medical care for a rare genetic disorder. They were not approved until late March. Afnan, who has the vocabulary of a four-year-old, could barely understand the broken Arabic of Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. My mother nearly fainted during a four-kilometre walk in the sun. In Gaza, this is what travel means now. In June, I took another trip. My family was relocating from Egypt to Syracuse, New York, and we planned to visit my mother and sister in Doha on the way there. We were excited. In the two-hour van ride to the airport, I took photos, and Yazzan, my eight-year-old son, looked out the window and asked questions. In Doha, my mother and sister greeted us at the entrance to their building. I laughed when I looked in their fridge, which was stocked with fresh foods that were impossible to find in wartime Gaza . “Look what you have!” I told my mother. “Mango, cherry, cucumber, cheese, and more.” She looked guilty, not happy. “I wish I stayed with your father and your siblings and their kids,” she told me. She had waited months to come to Doha, only to wonder if she never should have left. She said that Afnan was so afraid of going home that she was refusing to leave the apartment for days on end. We stayed for a week. Then, on the morning of June 18th, we woke up early and collected our suitcases. My mother stood in silence, avoiding our eyes. I promised her that we would meet soon in Gaza, but both of us knew that we might be away from home for a long time. On our way to the airport, the sun shone gracefully above the Persian Gulf. I felt proud that we had made it this far. We were sitting and waiting for our flight when a young man, who was tapping something into his phone, looked up at me and spoke in Arabic. “Are you Mosab? Mosab Abu Toha?” I pretended not to know the name, but my kids gave me away. “Yes, this is Mosab!” my daughter Yaffa said. “He is kidding.” The man smiled. I smiled at the kids, then at him. “How do you know me?” “I know your story. Is it not you who was detained by the Israeli Army?” “Yes. In fact, I was kidnapped, not detained.” The young man was Palestinian, like us. He studied at M.I.T. but had recently helped his family evacuate Gaza and resettle in Qatar. I was amazed that two Gazans could meet by accident, like two fish finding each other in an ocean. That is the nature of the diaspora: Palestinians who might once have met in Gaza now bump into one another in airports. When my family landed in Boston, for a layover, Mostafa jumped on one of our carry-on suitcases and asked me to pull him along. This was becoming his favorite kind of travel. In line for immigration, he started to sneak under the stanchions, laughing, his little face triumphant. Then it was our turn to step up to a booth. I handed over our passports and visas to a woman in a uniform. When I saw the woman’s reaction, I started to wonder whether something was wrong. She spoke into a radio. Then a muscular young man with a metal badge, who had a Taser, a pistol, and handcuffs on his vest, escorted us to a waiting area. After my experience with Israeli soldiers, I was nervous, but I didn’t want my family to notice. “We need to go to our new house,” Yazzan said impatiently. Finally, a young customs officer came over to talk to me. I was surprised by the officer’s kindness. He seemed concerned about whether my family in Gaza was safe and had enough food. When he was done asking questions, he gave our passports back and even offered to help us with our suitcases. I was starting to relax, and I texted a few friends. “All good,” I wrote to them. “Collecting our bags.” Before we could board our connecting flight, we had to pass through security again. My boarding pass seemed to trigger another alert. The officer reached for a radio and said, “Supervisor!” The supervisor appeared behind the officer and looked at the screen. They chatted in a low voice before eyeing me. It turned out that a string of four letters had been printed on my ticket: “SSSS,” for Secondary Security Screening Selection. “Your wife and kids can proceed,” the supervisor said. “I will have to ask you to follow me.” This time, I was told to pass through a metal detector and then a millimetre-wave scanner. Neither seemed to find anything. A T.S.A. employee asked if he could pat me down. I said yes. The employee ran his fingers around my collar and down my chest. Bystanders seemed to avert their eyes. I scanned the crowd and spotted my wife, Maram, in the distance, seeming to look for me. I wanted to shout to her, to reassure her, but I feared that would only make things worse. Then, with the back of his hand, the officer touched my private parts and my bottom. I knew that this sometimes happened to travellers. But for a moment, I felt as upset as I had been in Israeli custody. While the officer swabbed my palms for explosives, Yaffa finally spotted me and tried to beckon me over. “I will join you when Uncle is done,” I said in Arabic, acting like the T.S.A. agent was a relative so she would not be scared. Finally, the supervisor left to photocopy my passport. When he came back, he said we were done. “Before I go, I have to tell you something,” I replied. He listened. “I was kidnapped by the Israeli Army in November, before being stripped of my clothes,” I told him. “Today, you come and separate me from my wife and kids, just like the Army did a few months ago.” He nodded, looking embarrassed. I asked him whether he would do the same to travellers from Israel. I thought about how Israeli settlers, who live on Palestinian land in violation of international law, can travel to the U.S. without a visa. “This is random selection,” he told me. “It’s not meant for you.” I fought back tears. My children could see me. “For me, it’s not random,” I said. “I travelled to the U.S. three times before. Nothing like this happened to me.” He gave me a business card for complaints to the T.S.A. I carried my shoes, watch, and travel documents over to where my family was sitting. We ate some lunch. On the final leg of our flight, the kids quickly fell asleep. In Syracuse, five old friends picked us up and loaded our ten suitcases into their three cars. Their warmth, the smell of the trees outside, the hot meal that was waiting at our new home, pushed my exhaustion and frustration away. I could not have guessed that my next trip would be much worse. Around noon on July 1st, a friend took me back to the Syracuse airport. I was flying to a book festival in Sarajevo by way of Washington, D.C., and Frankfurt. I was unable to access my boarding pass from my phone, so I tried a self-service kiosk, which told me that my travel document required verification. “Please alert the nearest United representative,” the kiosk said. The United representative at the check-in counter stared at her screen for so long that a colleague came over to help. Then, struggling to pronounce the name of my destination, she asked, “Where is Sarajevo?” “It’s the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Another moment of silence. I asked if there was a problem. “We think you can’t transit in Germany,” one of them said. I was surprised. I had flown through Germany several times in the past. The first woman pointed to my passport number. “They only allow numbers that start with four, eight, and nine,” she said. “Yours begins with a six.” They found me a new route via Washington, D.C., and Athens. I wasn’t happy—the trip would be longer than before—but I didn’t think I had a choice. I accepted my new boarding passes and walked to security. The T.S.A. agent who scanned my ticket looked me over, then called his supervisor. My ticket said “SSSS” again. A young man read me the secondary-screening rules—two pages of tiny print—very quickly. My bags went through the scanner. I went through the metal detector and millimetre-wave machine. An officer asked me whether I had been patted down before. “Unfortunately,” I said. I knew what to do. He ran his hands over every part of my body, and I thought again of Israeli soldiers. Finally, I was allowed to rejoin the other travellers. I found my gate and pulled out my phone. When I looked up the rules for travel through Germany, I realized that the United representatives had made a mistake. They had been looking at a list of prohibited I.D.-card numbers, not passport numbers. The number on my I.D. card started with an eight; I was allowed to travel through Germany. But now it was too late. I needed to board or I would miss my flight. When we landed in D.C., I called United. An agent told me that I was still booked on a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt. “Are you sure?” I said. The boarding pass in my hand said Athens. For a moment, I felt relieved. It was 5:20 P.M. and my flight to Frankfurt was at six. At the gate, the Lufthansa staff had trouble printing my “new” boarding pass. They, too, called a manager, and I rushed through my story. I was now so frustrated that I was thinking about cancelling the entire trip. Then the manager told me, “You need to go and re-check in, I’m afraid.” She pointed to my new boarding pass. It said “SSSS.” Shocked, I told her that I had been screened just three hours before. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You cannot board the plane without this.” It was now 5:33 P.M. The directions to the T.S.A. checkpoint were complicated, so a kind female staff member ran there with me as my backpack bounced on my back like a door knocker. A T.S.A. supervisor confirmed that I would have to be screened again, and the officer who searched my bag appeared to touch every item in my luggage—tea bags, pens, a notebook, a comb. She put her hand into each of my socks, as though searching for something to justify the “SSSS” on my ticket. About five T.S.A. employees stood around as I was patted down, watching me realize that my trip was already ruined. After seventeen minutes, the supervisor stamped my boarding pass four times in red. When I told him that I had been treated unfairly, he told me about an online portal where I could complain. By the time I returned to the gate, it was 6:30 P.M. The plane was gone. United gave me a convoluted new itinerary with a total of five legs: Syracuse to Washington, Washington to Munich, Munich to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Zagreb, and Zagreb to Sarajevo. My next flight would not take off until after midnight, and I struggled to stay awake. I thought about giving up and flying back to Syracuse—a day of travel, wasted. But I reminded myself of the readers I would meet in Bosnia, of the excitement of signing my book of poems in Bosnian. Two hours before the flight, I requested my boarding pass at the Lufthansa gate. Again, the staff could not print it and called a manager. When he arrived about an hour later, he asked me whether I had a Schengen visa for travel in the European Union. “Why do I need a Schengen visa? I’m not staying in a country that needs one.” “You need a Schengen visa because you cannot transit in more than one Schengen country.” I could not believe this was happening. The airline had given me an itinerary that I was barred from following. “You have to find a solution for this,” I said. I was twelve hours into my trip and I had not even left the United States. The manager seemed kind, but after making some calls he concluded that I would not be allowed to board. “Maybe you should try finding a flight where you don’t have to transit in the Schengen area,” he said. When I called United and demanded a new flight, the woman on the other end of the line told me, “We can get you a trip to Sarajevo, but I cannot get you a stay in a hotel.” She connected me with her supervisor. “It’s your job to know whether I can take a flight or not,” I told him. I stayed on the phone for eighty-six minutes, until 1:55 A.M. I was tethered to an outlet so that my phone would not run out of charge. The only flight that could get me to the festival in time, the manager finally said, was leaving for Vienna in more than fifteen hours. The airline would not book me a hotel. I was lucky that my new gate was near an airport chapel. I went inside and found a pile of prayer rugs in a closet. The room was empty, so I arranged them into a makeshift pillow and blanket, lay down, and slept on and off for more than twelve hours. Before walking to the gate, I made up for all the prayers that I had missed. On July 3rd at 2 P.M. , I landed in Sarajevo. Forty-four hours had passed since I had arrived at the airport in Syracuse. Sarajevo reminded me of Gaza. I saw bullet holes in the walls of some buildings and craters in several streets. I thought back to 2014, when Israeli forces had bombed my neighbor’s house and my family had patched holes in our home. I thought of the day last year when Israeli strikes reduced our home to rubble . In my four days in Sarajevo, I met many writers and artists. One of them invited me to an upcoming festival there, which several Gazan photographers and artists were expected to attend. At first I said that I would be glad to come. Then I thought about the airports and the screenings and the days away from my family, and I changed my mind. When I wrote to the editor of my forthcoming book about how difficult the trip had been, he told me, “For your book tour, maybe we should arrange events in cities near you so you don’t have to enter airports.” I had hoped that travel would make my world seem larger, but I felt like it had clipped my wings. To my amazement, the return journey went smoothly. There was no “SSSS” on my tickets. When I checked in at the Sarajevo airport, an agent took a few minutes to confirm with a colleague that I could board, then waved me through. I made it to Syracuse as scheduled, feeling like I had got away with something. A friend picked me up at the airport. Later, I looked up an online ranking of passports from around the world. Israeli passports, which allow for visa-free travel to a hundred and seventy destinations, were ranked eighteenth in the world. Passports from the Palestinian Territories, which allow for visa-free travel to just forty destinations, were near the bottom of the list. In the weeks after my trip, I tried to understand what had happened to me. My friend Hasan, a U.S. citizen who spent most of his life in Gaza, told me that he is regularly stopped at airports and asked intrusive questions—for example, what he is doing in his own country of citizenship, or whether he is carrying a weapon. I also called three experts on the surveillance of travellers. Shezza Abboushi Dallal, an attorney at an organization that works to hold law enforcement accountable , housed at the City University of New York, told me that the U.S. government maintains a watch list, which includes travellers, that it calls the Terrorist Screening Dataset. The most famous part of the database is the no-fly list. “But there is also the selectee list,” she said. People on this list are often pulled out of line for secondary screenings, as I was. I learned from Faiza Patel, the senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, that even experts don’t know how many watch lists there are, or how people are added to them. A person can also experience secondary screenings without being on any list. Some passengers are flagged because of where they’re going, or because they have a one-way ticket. I kept wondering whether I was on a list because I come from Gaza, or because the Israeli government had wrongly labelled me a threat. Dallal said that many Palestinians have reported problems at U.S. airports since October 7th. “There’s a lot of intelligence sharing between Israel and the United States,” Patel told me. But we had no way of knowing whether that had played a role in my case. Saher Selod, the author of “ Forever Suspect: Racialized Surveillance of Muslim Americans in the War on Terror ,” connected my experience to the Bush era, when the screening database was expanded. She also mentioned another policy from that time, the now-defunct National Security Entry-Exit System, in which people from twenty-four Muslim-majority countries (and North Korea) were made to register for fingerprinting, photographing, and interviews. “If you’re wondering if being Palestinian is part of this . . . absolutely,” she said. I kept checking the Web site where the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the T.S.A., reviews complaints. For ten weeks, my case was “in progress.” Then The New Yorker sent the T.S.A. questions about my experience. Two and a half hours later, I received a “Final Determination Letter” from the D.H.S. It said, in part, that some airport screenings are random, and that the agency “can neither confirm nor deny any information about you which may be within federal watchlists.” The letter referenced “systems which contain information from Federal, state, local and foreign sources” that can sometimes lead to the misidentification of travellers. It also said that the agency has “made any corrections to records that our inquiries determined were necessary, including, as appropriate, notations that may assist in avoiding incidents of misidentification.” In response to questions from The New Yorker , a spokesperson for the Israeli Army said, “We do not comment on information shared between Israel and its strategic partners.” The T.S.A. shared background information about secondary screenings and said, “TSA works closely with the intelligence and law enforcement communities to share information.” It declined to comment on my experience at the airport. On a Friday in August, I was at home in Syracuse when the doorbell rang. The kids were playing outside, and I heard a male voice ask them, “Is your father home?” Maram and I found two men at the door. For a moment, I thought they worked for the school district where we were trying to enroll the kids. Then I saw that one of them was wearing a badge and a pistol. “Hi. We’re from the F.B.I.” One of the agents told me that he had heard about my experience with the T.S.A. at Logan Airport. He asked if I had a few minutes to talk about it. They remained standing while I sat on the couch; one took notes on a tiny pad. I told them about my airport experiences. Then they started to ask about a wide variety of other topics—how we felt about the neighborhood, what we had done in Egypt and Qatar, what our lives were like in Gaza. Then they asked me about my “interaction” with the Israeli Army. I told them that I had already described my experience in this magazine and on CNN, but they wanted me to talk about it. I was starting to explain how I was blindfolded and handcuffed when I realized that Yazzan was sitting next to me. I did not want him to experience my pain again, so I sent him upstairs before I continued. I explained that, since October 7th, I had lost thirty-one members of my extended family in a single air strike, an Israeli sniper had killed one of Maram’s uncles outside a school shelter, and Maram and I had each lost a grandparent to illnesses that were exacerbated by conditions in Gaza. Many of our relatives now live in tents. I got the feeling that they had not really come to ask me about my experience in the airport. After nearly an hour, one of the agents asked me if I had any questions or concerns, or if I wanted to tell them anything. He sent me a text message and invited me to reach out. Before they left, I asked for help with my T.S.A. complaint, or with removing my name from any watch list I might be on. They said that they couldn’t help with other government agencies. They gave me a nameless business card for the local F.B.I. office and left. Maram came downstairs with Yazzan. We ate lunch together, but I was unable to enjoy it. She told me that when I had sent Yazzan upstairs, he had asked her, “Are they going to take Daddy?” When The New Yorker asked the F.B.I. about my experience, a spokesperson declined to comment on where the agents had got my name or why they had visited me. A couple of years ago, I wrote on Facebook that I was in Cairo for a visa interview, and my friend Ahmad saw my post. “I’m in Egypt, too,” he messaged me. We spent a few serendipitous days together. Ahmad is a foodie, and one afternoon, we met for lunch in a restaurant that overlooked the Nile. Another day, we travelled together to the Red Sea—two Palestinians, exploring a place that was usually out of reach. Earlier this year, I wrote to Ahmad in Gaza. “You just came into my mind yesterday,” I told him in Arabic. “Do you remember our time together in Suez the summer before last? How are you doing?” “I’m just doing some travelling, like you,” he joked, wryly. “But I’m doing it from one school shelter to another.” He had recently been in Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians had taken refuge, and had tried to raise the money needed to leave Gaza with his family. Then Israeli forces had invaded Rafah, shuttering the border and displacing many families again. As of late August, Ahmad was living in a tent with his wife and three kids, in the Mawasi neighborhood of Khan Younis—the fifth place where they have stayed in the past year. Ahmad begins each day at 6:30 A.M. “You cannot have a moment of sleep after that, because of the flies in the tent,” he told me. He lines up to buy bread while his wife prepares breakfast, usually from canned food. “To make tea, I have to find someone who has lit a fire,” Ahmad said. Then he spends about an hour and a half waiting to fill buckets of water. In photographs, he looks much thinner than he does in my memory. Ahmad always dreamed of taking his wife and kids on a trip to Egypt, and beyond—to ride with them on trains, to try restaurants and cafés, to take pictures of new places. Now he dreams of adopting some other nationality, so he can escape in times like this. He is a refugee, not a traveller. “I’ve lost hope that we will return to our previous life,” he told me. “I feel like we will remain refugees forever.” ♦ New Yorker FavoritesIn the weeks before John Wayne Gacy’s scheduled execution, he was far from reconciled to his fate . What HBO’s “Chernobyl” got right, and what it got terribly wrong . Why does the Bible end that way ? A new era of strength competitions is testing the limits of the human body . How an unemployed blogger confirmed that Syria had used chemical weapons. An essay by Toni Morrison: “ The Work You Do, the Person You Are .” Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker . |
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Learn 30 useful French essay phrases and transition words to enhance your writing and speaking skills in French.
Useful expressions to help structure your A level French essay. Introduction. Il y en a qui pensent que - Some people think that. On entend souvent dire que - It is often said that. Tout le monde s'accorde à penser que - Everyone agrees that. Il est généralement admis que - It is generally agreed that.
A commentaire de texte should be written in three parts: An introduction, where the text is presented. An argument, where the text is analyzed. A conclusion, where the analysis is summarized and elevated. Here is a handy in-depth guide to writing a successful commentaire de texte, written for French speakers.
This useful word is not only used as a transition to mark la fin (the end) of something, but is also an interjection—a filler word, if you will. It can mean "well," "all in all," "I mean" or "at least.". It's a multi-edged sword. Use it as a transition to an end or to make your conversational French more authentic. Enfin, on ...
The first paragraph of your French essay should briefly introduce the topic and engage the reader. Here are some examples to help you write your essay: In recent years, the [topic] has become a hotly debated issue, with [brief outline of arguments]. The [subject] has been the subject of controversy for several decades, with [brief overview of ...
Analyzing essays written by experienced writers can prove invaluable in grasping the authentic style required to compose a captivating essay. 3. Use Transition Words: Crafting a Smooth Flow of Ideas. In French essays, the use of transition words and phrases plays a pivotal role in connecting ideas seamlessly.
Reverso gives you free access to an extensive French synonyms dictionary that can help you face communication challenges in French with confidence. When you translate into French and feel you're using the same words over and over again, you can go to our online dictionary and search for a French synonym. When you come across a French word you ...
Here we have a list of 20 most commonly used french words and phrases which can be very useful for essay writing. This video is aimed at helping beginners.Wi...
Ex: You write an average of 15 words per line. If you are required to write a 300-word French essay, you should aim for: 300 words / 15 words per line = 20 lines total. 2. Draft the outline of your essay. An essay typically has an introduction, a body with 2 or 3 distinct parts and a conclusion.
Writing an essay in French is just like writing an essay in English. However, writing in another language can be quite difficult for many students. Follow the same structure, but write in French. Proper organization and the ability to present an argument and justification of your side is necessary for all essays. It ...
What's the French word for essay? Here's a list of translations. French Translation. essai. More French words for essay. le essai noun. test, trial, testing, assay, try. essayer verb.
tout compte fait. all things considered. d'une côté. on one hand. de l'autre côté. on the other hand. ce que je trouve important. that I find important. ce que les gens pensent est important.
Practise your French writing skills with our ever-growing collection of interactive French writing exercises for every CEFR level from A0 to C1! If you're unsure about your current proficiency, try our test to get your French level before diving into the exercises. All writing exercises are made by our qualified native French teachers to help ...
French Translation of "ESSAY" | The official Collins English-French Dictionary online. Over 100,000 French translations of English words and phrases. TRANSLATOR. LANGUAGE. GAMES. ... This week's French word is 'petit'. Find out its meaning and how it is used! September 16, 2024 Read more Learning French: statements and descriptions ...
Considérons. Another helpful transition word for polite conversations is considérons. This means let's consider and is used at the beginning of a phrase that expresses an alternate point of view. It is an important word for engaging in deeper dialogue that proposes multiple points of view.
1. L'explication de texte. An explication de texte is a type of essay for which you complete a close reading. It is usually written about a poem or a short passage within a larger work. This close reading will elucidate different themes and stylistic devices within the text. When you are completing an explication de texte, make sure to follow ...
Soon, you'll find that writing in French is like second nature. 1. Watch Out for French Spelling. One of the biggest obstacles that throws French learners off is spelling. Unfortunately, those silent letters that you don't pronounce are very much there in writing. Be careful how you spell certain complicated words.
Google's service, offered free of charge, instantly translates words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages.
Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private lessons. When not teaching or writing his French Word of the Day lessons, David enjoys his time skiing, hiking and mountain biking in Victor, Idaho. See all posts by David Issokson
The project is a 4000 word IB extended essay utilizing primary sources such as letters and documents. Research Question What were the long-term consequences of the French Revolution on the development of political ideologies and the restructuring of governments in 19th century Europe, with an emphasis on the treatment of Marie Antoinette as a ...
essai nm. tentative nf. to make an essay at doing sth : essayer de faire [qch], tenter de faire [qch] loc v. Patrick's essay at painting the sunset was a complete disaster. L'essai de Patrick de peindre le soleil couchant était un désastre complet. La tentative de Patrick de peindre le soleil couchant était un désastre complet.
Another way to say French Essay? Synonyms for French Essay (other words and phrases for French Essay). Synonyms for French essay. 17 other terms for french essay- words and phrases with similar meaning. Lists. synonyms. antonyms. definitions. sentences. thesaurus. suggest new. french writing. french composition.
Rusty, this essay makes you sound arrogant and conceited. Rusty, cet essai te fait paraître arrogant et vaniteux. Planning an essay; responding to the argument; summarising, concluding. Organiser une dissertation ; répondre à l'argument ; résumer, conclure. This essay contest aims to identify innovative solutions to these challenges.
The Weekend Essay. The Pain of Travelling While Palestinian. This year, I learned the difference between a traveller and a refugee. By Mosab Abu Toha. September 21, 2024. Illustration by Matt Rota