Where you live — J'habite dans une ville, un village or à la campagne means I live in a town/city, village or the countryside. Dans le nord means in the north. Une maison is a house; un appartement a flat. Describe the supplied or fictional place precisely.
Rooms and location — La cuisine, la chambre, le salon and le jardin mean kitchen, bedroom, living room and garden. Ma chambre est au premier étage means My room is on the first floor. Le rez-de-chaussée is the ground floor. Floor numbering needs care in translation.
Local facilities — Il y a des magasins près de chez moi means There are shops near my home. Il n'y a pas de gare means There is no station. Près de is near; loin de is far from. A negative changes whether a facility exists, not simply whether the speaker likes it.
Advantages and problems — C'est calme mais il y a peu de transports means It is quiet but there is little transport. Bruyant means noisy; propre clean; sale dirty. Peu de and beaucoup de quantify a feature. Relate the judgement to the actual area described.
Environmental choices
Problems — La pollution, les déchets and le changement climatique mean pollution, waste and climate change. Il y a trop de voitures describes too many cars. Language revision should preserve the cause or consequence given in a source rather than turning a slogan into a complete scientific explanation.
Everyday actions — Je recycle le papier, j'économise l'eau and j'éteins la lumière mean I recycle paper, save water and switch off the light. Éteindre has j'éteins. Explain the chosen action and purpose; avoid claiming one individual action solves every environmental problem.
Transport choices — Je vais au collège à pied pour réduire la pollution means I walk to school to reduce pollution. Pour plus infinitive expresses purpose. Le bus est moins cher que la voiture compares cost, not necessarily every environmental effect. Retain the actual comparison in the source.
Obligation and possibility — Il faut protéger la nature means We must protect nature. On peut réutiliser les sacs means We can reuse bags. Devoir and pouvoir distinguish obligation and possibility. On ne doit pas jeter des déchets par terre means We must not drop litter.
Collective action — Nous pouvons aider une association locale means We can help a local organisation. Chacun peut faire quelque chose means Everyone can do something. Chacun takes a singular verb. Discuss an actual or fictional initiative without inventing participation or measured outcomes.
Change and application
Past local area — Avant, il y avait moins de circulation means Before, there used to be less traffic. L'année dernière, on a construit un parc means Last year, a park was built/we built a park, depending on context. The imperfect describes the old situation; the perfect a completed change.
Future proposals — On va planter des arbres means We are going to plant trees. Je voudrais avoir plus d'espaces verts means I would like more green spaces. Higher on construira is a future form. A proposal or wish is not evidence that construction has happened.
Comparing homes — Mon appartement est plus petit que cette maison means My flat is smaller than this house. Il est aussi confortable means It is just as comfortable. Agreement follows the noun described: une maison confortable, des maisons confortables.
Reading evidence — La rue était sale, mais maintenant elle est propre means The street was dirty but is now clean. Elle refers to rue. The current state differs from the old one; follow time markers and pronouns. Do not select sale solely because it occurs first.
Application — Describe a fictional neighbourhood, evaluate two features and propose an environmental change with a reason. Include one past contrast and a future action. Check that claims follow the supplied evidence and that comparison, purpose and tense are accurate.
Housing and surroundings — J'habite dans un appartement au deuxième étage; il n'y a pas de jardin means I live in a flat on the second floor; there is no garden. Une maison has rooms such as une cuisine and un salon. In standard French numbering, rez-de-chaussée is ground floor, not first floor. Use à côté de, next to/beside, to locate a service relative to the home.
Access to local services — La bibliothèque est près de chez moi, mais l'hôpital est loin means The library is near my home, but the hospital is far away. Il faut dix minutes à pied means It takes ten minutes on foot. Une boulangerie sells bread; un bureau de poste is a post office. Describe distance and access as well as listing facilities: a service can exist yet be difficult to reach.
Waste and resources — Je trie les déchets, je recycle le papier et j'éteins la lumière means I sort waste, recycle paper and turn off the light. Le verre is glass; a plural les verres can mean drinking glasses. Réutiliser un sac means reuse a bag; recycling and reusing are distinct actions. Link an action to the stated resource rather than presenting all environmental actions as interchangeable.
Weather and environmental claims — Il y a moins de voitures, donc moins de bruit means There are fewer cars, so less noise. La pollution de l'air means air pollution; la sécheresse means drought. A single rainy day does not establish a change in climate. In a text, preserve the timescale and any stated cause rather than adding a conclusion not supported by its evidence.
Test yourself
30 questions · Random sets of 10. These quick checks support revision; practise longer explanations and justified judgements too.
Mind map
Use the branches to recall the ideas and explain their connections. Check the revision notes for the full detail.
FR9 · 1
View FR9 · 1 mind mapOpen the full-size map to zoom. Use the printable view for A4 landscape or enlarge to A3.
Mr Kidman's Classroom
