French Advanced Grammar and Conversation Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Advanced Grammar and Conversation deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. How does 'que' vs. 'si' vs. 'ce que' work when converting questions to indirect speech?

   Statements → 'que'. Yes/no questions → 'si' ('Il demande si tu viens'). 'Qu'est-ce que/que' → 'ce que' ('Il demande ce que tu fais'). 'Qu'est-ce qui' → 'ce qui'.

2. State the tense backshift rules when the reporting verb is in the PAST (e.g. 'il a dit que...').

   présent → imparfait; passé composé → plus-que-parfait; futur simple → conditionnel présent; futur antérieur → conditionnel passé. Imparfait and plus-que-parfait stay unchanged.

3. Convert to indirect speech (past reporting): Il a dit: « J'ai fini mon travail ».

   'Il a dit qu'il avait fini son travail.' (passé composé → plus-que-parfait; 'mon' → 'son').

4. Convert to indirect speech (past reporting): Elle a demandé: « Est-ce que tu viendras demain ? »

   'Elle a demandé si je viendrais le lendemain.' ('est-ce que' → 'si'; futur → conditionnel; 'demain' → 'le lendemain').

5. How do time and place expressions shift in indirect speech with past reporting?

   aujourd'hui → ce jour-là; hier → la veille; demain → le lendemain; maintenant → à ce moment-là; ici → là; ce matin → ce matin-là.

6. How are imperatives reported in indirect speech?

   With 'de + infinitive' after a verb like 'dire' or 'demander'. Direct: « Pars ! » → Indirect: 'Il m'a dit de partir.'

7. What is the passive voice (la voix passive) and how is it formed in French?

   The grammatical object becomes the subject; formed with the auxiliary 'être' conjugated in the required tense + past participle, which agrees with the subject. Example: 'La lettre est écrite.'

8. How do you introduce the agent (the doer) in a French passive sentence?

   With 'par' for most actions ('Le livre a été écrit par Hugo') or with 'de' for verbs of state/emotion ('Elle est aimée de tous', 'entouré de').

9. Transform to the passive: 'Le chef prépare le dîner.'

   'Le dîner est préparé par le chef.' (être in present + past participle agreeing with 'le dîner').

10. How does the past participle agree in the passive voice?

    It agrees in gender and number with the SUBJECT (which was the original object). Example: 'Les portes ont été fermées' (fermées, feminine plural).

11. Name two common ways French AVOIDS the passive voice.

    Using the pronoun 'on' ('On a construit ce pont') and using the pronominal/reflexive passive ('Ce plat se mange froid' = this dish is eaten cold).

12. Give the passive of a compound tense: transform 'On a vendu la maison.'

    'La maison a été vendue.' (passé composé passive = 'avoir été' + participle, both agreeing → 'été vendue', feminine).

13. In a debate, which connectors introduce and reinforce an argument (adding points)?

    'd'abord', 'ensuite', 'de plus', 'en outre', 'par ailleurs', 'non seulement... mais aussi', 'd'une part... d'autre part'.

14. Which French expressions signal CONTRAST or concession in a discussion?

    'cependant', 'néanmoins', 'toutefois', 'pourtant', 'en revanche', 'par contre', 'malgré (+ noun)', 'bien que (+ subjunctive)'.

15. Which expressions are used to give one's OPINION in a debate?

    'à mon avis', 'selon moi', 'je pense/crois que', 'je trouve que', 'il me semble que', 'personnellement', 'd'après moi', 'en ce qui me concerne'.

16. Which phrases express AGREEMENT and DISAGREEMENT politely in French discussion?

    Agreement: 'je suis d'accord', 'tout à fait', 'en effet', 'c'est vrai'. Disagreement: 'je ne suis pas d'accord', 'au contraire', 'je ne pense pas', 'permettez-moi de nuancer'.

17. Which connectors introduce a CONCLUSION or summary in an argument?

    'en conclusion', 'pour conclure', 'en somme', 'finalement', 'en définitive', 'donc', 'par conséquent', 'ainsi'.

18. Which two past tenses form the backbone of storytelling in French, and what does each do?

    Passé composé narrates completed, sequential main events ('foreground'). Imparfait describes background: settings, ongoing states, habits, and descriptions. Example: 'Il pleuvait (imparfait) quand elle est arrivée (passé composé).'

19. When is the plus-que-parfait used in narration?

    To describe an action that happened BEFORE another past action ('a past within the past'). Formed with imparfait of avoir/être + past participle. Example: 'Il avait déjà mangé quand je suis arrivé.'

20. What role does the passé simple play in storytelling, and where is it found?

    It is the literary/written equivalent of the passé composé for narrating completed main events in novels, fairy tales, and formal writing. Example: 'Il entra, vit le roi et parla.' Rare in spoken French.

21. Which time connectors structure a spoken/written story in chronological order?

    'il était une fois', 'd'abord', 'puis', 'ensuite', 'alors', 'soudain', 'tout à coup', 'enfin', 'à la fin'.

22. What is the 'liaison', and why is it crucial for listening comprehension of native French?

    Liaison is pronouncing a normally silent final consonant when the next word begins with a vowel sound (e.g. 'les_amis' = /lezami/). It blends words, so learners must recognize it to segment native speech.

23. What is 'enchaînement' and how does it differ from liaison, affecting listening?

    Enchaînement links an already-pronounced final consonant to the following vowel-initial word ('une amie' → /y-na-mi/), shifting syllable boundaries. Unlike liaison, no silent consonant is 'reactivated'; both make native speech sound continuous.

24. List common features of informal spoken French that make native listening content harder than textbook audio.

    Dropped 'ne' in negation ('je sais pas'), elided/dropped vowels ('j'suis', 'y a'), fast contractions ('t'as' for 'tu as', 'chais pas'), 'on' replacing 'nous', and filler words ('ben', 'quoi', 'euh').

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