Introduction

In this topic you will study different aspects of family life and friendships. You will
practise using a dictionary and learn how to build up your own vocabulary and
grammar. You will study the present tense and the imperative, and get an
overview of the most common tenses. You will read a passage on friendship.
If you havent studied French for a while and need to refresh your
memory before starting on your first topic, you may like to do some
activities in Passerelle, the introductory unit in Elan (pp. 617). You
should do Activity 1 on p. 6, Activities 1 and 2 and Grammaire on p. 9, Activities
1a, 1b and 1c on p. 10, Activities 2a, 2b and Grammaire on p. 11, Activities 1a,
1b and 2 on p. 12, Activity 4 and Grammaire on p. 13, Activities 1a and 1b on
p. 14, Activities 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5a and Comptences (1) on p. 15, Activities 2
and 4 on p. 16 and 1a and 1b on p. 17.
As you start the course, please note that you will need a pen, a folder, filofax or
booklet, a CD player and something to record your speaking activities, such as a
cassette recorder or an MP3 player.
Objectives
By the end of this topic you should be able to:
recognise common tenses
use the imperative
use a bilingual dictionary
use the present tense accurately.
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TOPIC
1
Famille et amis
You will probably
need 45 hours
to complete this
topic.
En famille et entre amis
The first section in Unit 1 in Elan (pp. 1819) offers a good introduction to
the topic. Do activity 3.
The next section is La vie de famille (pp. 201). First read the passage La
famille: plus a change and do activities 2c, 3b and 4. Study carefully the
Grammaire section on inversion, and do activities A and B on registers in
Comptences.
Building up your vocabulary
Once you have read a text for comprehension, you should study it again more
closely to learn from it. The new vocabulary and grammatical structures it uses
are in context and therefore easier to understand and remember.
Here are a few tips about how to build up your vocabulary through reading:
Look up any word you dont know or arent sure about in the dictionary.
Decide if its a word you want to make your own, that is whether its a word
you may like to use yourself when the opportunity arises. At this stage,
there is no point in trying to learn unusual words or youll soon be
discouraged by the amount of new vocabulary you come across. Just
concentrate on useful words.
If its a word you want to learn, make a note of it. Use a folder, a lofax, a
booklet or your computer anything you nd practical and easy to refer to.
Divide your folder, booklet or computer le into sections. It will be useful
for revision later on if you have a section per topic and a section for more
general vocabulary. So your rst section will be Famille et amis.
Record words which belong together, e.g. verbs and nouns and/or
adjectives, synonyms and antonyms (i.e. opposites).
Choose the method you like best. I like to write the words I want to learn
on the right-hand page of a little notebook and their translation on the
next, left-hand, page. In this way I can start by learning the new foreign
words and then I can test myself by looking at the English translation and
see how many I remember and which words I still have to work on.
Have you met any vocabulary in La vie de famille youd like to learn? If so, start
your list straightaway and/or look for other useful vocabulary in the next
sections.
Now back to working with Elan:
In Amiti ou conit? (pp. 223), youll nd reading and listening activities,
and you will have a chance to explore the use of denite and indenite
articles, so do activities A, B and C in the Grammaire section. You should
also do activities 1b and 2 and read the advice on how to use a monolingual
dictionary in Comptences and do Activity A.
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In Pour ou contre le mariage? (pp. 245), study the adjectives listed on p. 24
and note the feminine endings. Then do Activities A, B, C and D in the
Grammaire section you will get more practice at using adjectives later in
the course (Topic 5) and 3a, 3b (see coping with tenses below).
Finally, in La famille en crise? (pp. 267) you should nd Activities 1a, 1b,
1c, 2a, 2b and 3 useful. Try to read aloud the gures in 1b and in the four
little texts gures are never easy to use in a foreign language, so do not
hesitate to read them aloud several times until you can say them with more
uency.
Study Comptences, which gives you advice on how to structure arguments
for a debate.
Coping with tenses
As you work through this course, you will have a chance to revise tenses and
increase your knowledge of how to form them and how to use them, including
irregular verbs e.g. in this topic you will revise the present tense. However, as
you may have noticed when reading Croyez-vous en limportance du mariage? on
p. 25 in Elan, you will meet a variety of tenses right from the beginning. It is
important to recognise them.
Activity 1
Re-read Croyez-vous en limportance du mariage? on p. 25 in Elan. Try to find examples of the
tenses below. Write them down in the appropriate column and translate them.
Future Present conditional Perfect Imperfect
Feedback to activities starts on page 14
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AS French I Topic 1 Famille et amis
The perfect and the imperfect
These two past tenses are easy to recognise. The perfect is built with avoir or tre
and the past participle, while the imperfect is built by adding the endings -ais,
-ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient on the stem given by the nous form of the present
tense, e.g. nous faisons, stem = fais.
The future and the conditional
Both these tenses are also easy to recognise because they are the only tenses
which have their endings added to the initive, so they have an r before their
endings, e.g. compare a donnait (imperfect) and a donnerait (conditional); in
the case of prfrer, je prfrais is the imperfect while je prfrerais is the
conditional. The future has the endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez,
-ont while the conditional has the same endings as the imperfect.
Depending on your previous knowledge, you may nd these explanations
obvious or, on the contrary, a little overwhelming. If the latter is the case, dont
worry, you will get lots of opportunity to practise tenses. But bear in mind that
one of your goals must be to dierentiate between these tenses and to use them
yourself appropriately.
Finally, in the last paragraph of Croyez-vous en limportance du mariage? youll nd
an example of the subjunctive which you will learn properly towards the end of
the course. Can you spot it? It is soient (third person plural of tre).
The imperative
The text below gives advice on how to make friends. Read it a rst time without
worrying about vocabulary or structures you dont know.
Comment se faire des amis?
Vous tes souvent seul et part quelques connaissances de bureau, vous
narrivez pas vous faire de vrais amis et vous ne savez pas comment y
remdier? Voici quelques conseils pratiques pour crer des relations
durables.
Tout dabord, ne restez pas seul chez vous, sortez, baladez-vous, dveloppez
vos activits. Les associations et autres clubs sportifs sont pleins de
personnes qui ont envie de se faire des amis.
Suivez quelques rgles de communication de base: souvenez-vous du prnom
des personnes que vous rencontrez, vitez de critiquer, faites-leur plutt des
compliments, et, surtout, coutez lautre vous parler de lui, vous en
apprendrez beaucoup.
cont.
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One way of giving advice is to use the imperative. There are therefore many
examples of the imperative in this passage. As you can see at the end of the last
paragraph but one, avoir, tre and savoir have irregular imperative forms they
use the subjunctive: soyez, ayez, sachez. But for all the other verbs, the imperative
is very easy to form and remember you only have to learn the tu and vous form
as the imperative addresses you, telling or advising you what to do.
What do you notice about the use of the pronoun?
These examples show that the pronoun (here vous) is only used if the verb is
reexive: se balader, vous vous baladez, imperative: baladez-vous like asseyez-vous
(sit down) which you probably know well.
The author of this passage is addressing the reader using the formal vous
form. Do you know what the imperative would be of the above four verbs
using the tu form?
Activity 2
Can you find four examples of the imperative in the second paragraph? Note them down and
translate them.
Feedback to activities starts on page 14
Faites le premier pas!
Limportant est dtre positif, souriant et accueillant. Ce nest pas en arrivant
tous les matins de mauvaise humeur au bureau que vos collgues auront envie
de venir vers vous. Faites le premier pas: des rencontres vous pouvez en faire
partout, le plus dlicat est de les dvelopper et les entretenir.
Pour cela, ayez conance en vous, si vous avez eu un bon contact au dpart, la
personne aura envie de vous revoir. Nhsitez pas lancer des invitations.
Orir un apritif chez vous avec vos nouveaux voisins ou collgues de travail
peut tre un trs bon point de dpart. Faites-leur plaisir, il ny a rien de
meilleur pour entretenir une relation.
Donnez-vous aussi du temps! Vous passerez progressivement du stade de
relation celui de copains, puis damis. Nattendez pas trop non plus: ce nest
pas en tant trop exigeant, que vous donnerez aux autres lenvie de venir vous
voir et se coner vous. Soyez souple et ouvert. Ayez conance en vous et en
lautre, et sachez entretenir la amme de lamiti.
Cest ainsi que, sans vous en rendre compte, vous pourrez progressivement
largir votre rseau amical et vous faire de vrais amis.
Marion Capeyron
www.doctissimo.fr/html/psychologie/mag_2001/
mag0126/ps_3315_se_faire_amis.htm
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It would be: ne reste pas seul chez toi, sors, balade-toi, dveloppe tes activits.
What do you notice about the verb forms if you compare them with the present
tense?
Present: Tu ne restes pas seul Imperative: Ne reste pas seul
Tu sors Sors
Tu te balades Balade-toi
Tu dveloppes Dveloppe
As you can see, -er verbs lose the s in the tu form of the imperative.
Study
hint
Why not start your own grammar summary? You can make a grammar summary in
the same way that you are making your vocabulary list. Note down all the things
you have not mastered yet under different section headings, like those used in the
NEC Grammar Summary for this course. You could jot down not only unfamiliar
verb forms but also examples of unfamiliar structures.
Activity 3
Below is a list of advice using the formal vous form. Rewrite them as if you were giving them
to a close friend, i.e. using the tu form.
1 Suivez quelques rgles.
2 Souvenez-vous de leur prnom.
3 Evitez de les critiquer.
4 Faites des compliments.
5 Ecoutez lautre.
6 Nhsitez pas lancer des invitations.
7 Nattendez pas trop non plus.
Feedback to activities starts on page 14
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Using a dictionary
Your dictionary will be a vital tool for your study of French, so you need to be
able to use it eectively. If a word has several meanings then the dictionary
should give these. You then need to choose the most appropriate word for the
context.
The dictionary gives you a number of clues to help you identify the appropriate
meaning. In particular, there should be a letter or letters that show what kind of
word it is verb, noun, etc. For example, the entry for attendre in my dictionary
is followed by the letters vt, meaning that it is a transitive verb (i.e. it can
have a direct object) and for sentretenir the abbreviation vpr (verbe pronominal,
i.e. reexive verb). A masculine noun is followed by the letters nm, while a
feminine noun is followed by nf. Your dictionary will have a list of abbreviations
and you should become familiar with these. Note the common abbreviations:
qn (quelquun), qc (quelque chose) and loc (locution, i.e. phrase).
Your dictionary may well give you further clues. For example, some dictionaries
give a guide to pronunciation after the word.
In your study of French you will meet a number of words that look very similar
to English words but have dierent meanings. Your dictionary can help you to
check these.
Activity 5
Try looking up these words in your dictionary. What different meanings can they have?
connaissance
entretenir
Feedback to activities starts on page 14
Activity 4
You know the verb attendre as meaning to wait for. Look it up in your dictionary to see if you can
find other meanings for it and decide which one is meant in the piece of advice: Nattendez pas trop
non plus.
Feedback to activities starts on page 14
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If you need to look up a phrase, you will nd it under the main word. For
example, in the last sentence of the passage, if you dont understand sans vous en
rendre compte, you have to look up se rendre, and there you will nd the
expression se rendre compte (to realise, be aware of).
As you continue your studies, make as much use of your dictionary as possible.
In particular, you should be able to use your dictionary to check numbers and
verb forms. Most dictionaries have tables of verbs.
As your knowledge of French is becoming more advanced, you may also like to
start using a monolingual dictionary as recommended in Elan. It is a good source
of examples of how words are used. It also gives you a better understanding of
register than a bilingual dictionary.
Revising the present tense
The present tense is the tense you rst learnt and the one you probably feel
most condent using. However, the present tense is not an easy tense because
the stem can vary according to the subject in irregular verbs (e.g. je peux, nous
pouvons). It is essential that you master all the forms of the most common verbs
in the present tense as soon as possible, since it is the tense you will be using
most. Examiners complain that it is very common for A level candidates to get
their subjunctive right and still make the most basic mistakes in the present
tense.
Remember also that if you want to say, for example, I am reading, in French,
you use the present tense and say: je lis. Only when it is important to stress that
you are in the middle of doing something, would you use the phrase tre en
train de. For example:
Ne me drange pas! Je suis en train de lire Dont disturb me! Im reading.
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Check how many you got right. If you had any diculties, look at the tables that
deal with the present tense in the Grammar Summary (pp. 229). Highlight any
form which you did not know, or which you nd particularly dicult. We will be
meeting verb forms all the time so you will have plenty of opportunity to learn
those you have not yet mastered. But please take the present tense seriously
and, if you scored less than 10 out of 13 in this activity, refer to the Grammar
Summary regularly until you feel you know all the various forms.
The next activity will give you more practice of the present tense.
Activity 6
The following exercise will help you to test yourself and find out how much you need to revise.
Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with the appropriate form in the present tense of the verb
given in brackets.
1 Nous ...................... tous les soirs 7 h. (manger)
2 Ils ...................... le formulaire. (remplir)
3 Mes parents ...................... tous les dimanches. (venir)
4 Vous ...................... trop. (boire)
5 Les Britanniques ...................... gauche. (conduire)
6 Ils ne ...................... pas la France. (connatre)
7 Quest-ce que vous ...................... ? (dire)
8 Ils n ...................... pas souvent. (crire)
9 Quest-ce quils ...................... ? (faire)
10 Elles ...................... le petit djeuner. (prendre)
11 Ils ...................... la maison. (peindre)
12 Ils ne ...................... pas venir demain. (pouvoir)
13 Combien a ......................? (valoir)
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Be aware that you sometimes use the present tense in French where you might
use another tense in English.
Activity 7
Below is a series of questions and answers. Fill in the gaps in each answer using the same verb that
is used in the question. Note how the singular form of the verb (here the first person) differs from the
plural (here the vous form).
1 Vous esprez recevoir une rponse demain? Oui, j ...................... bien.
2 Vous partez demain? Oui, je ..................... 5 h du matin.
3 Vous ne dormez pas bien? Si, je ..................... trs bien, merci.
4 Vous mourez de faim? Non, mais je ..................... de soif!
5 Vous devez envoyer un tlex? Non, mais je ..................... tlphoner au bureau.
6 Vous suivez un cours despagnol? Non, je ..................... un cours de franais.
7 Vous vivez avec vos parents? Non, je ..................... seul.
8 Vous apprenez lallemand? Non, j..................... le franais.
9 Vous recevez beaucoup de mails? Oui, jen ..................... normment.
10 Vous faites beaucoup de sport? Oui, jen ..................... tous les jours.
Feedback to activities starts on page 14
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Extension
In Grammaire active (p. 28 in Elan) there is a useful reminder rappel of the
use of adjectives and further activities. Do Activity 2a. You will also find more
reading and listening practice in Au choix (p. 29) 1a, 2a, 2b and 2c which you
may like to do.
Activity 8
Translate the following sentences into English and explain why the present tense is used.
1 Je connais Pierre depuis 2 ans.
.......................................................................................................................................................
2 Le livre que je lis en ce moment est trs intressant.
.......................................................................................................................................................
3 Je vois Claire cet aprs-midi.
.......................................................................................................................................................
4 De 1978 1987, il est journaliste la radio.
.......................................................................................................................................................
Feedback to activities starts on page 14
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Assignment
You should now complete Assignment 1 Parts A and B in your
Assignment Guide.
Self check
1 Fill in the gaps with the appropriate imperative form of the verbs given in
brackets.
1 (tu/se lever) Tu es encore couche! .!
2 (vous/se dpcher) Il est tard. .!
3 (tu/se reposer) Tu as lair fatigu! .!
4 (tu/faire) Tu ne travailles pas assez, un effort!
5 (tu/entrer) Aprs toi, .!
2 Complete the blanks using the present tense of the following verbs:
1 venir : nous ..; ils ..
2 lire : je ..; vous ..
3 dormir : elle ..; ils ..
4 ouvrir : tu ..; vous ..
5 connatre : il ..; vous ..
6 suivre : je ..; vous ..
7 faire : nous ..; vous ..
8 pouvoir : tu ..; ils ..
9 recevoir : je ..; ils ..
10 dire : vous ..; ils ..
You will find the feedback to self checks at the end of this topic.
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Summary
In this topic you have learnt to recognise common tenses and practised the
present and the imperative.
The key points are:
The present tense is used not only to express the present, but also the
future and historical accounts.
The present tense is also used for actions which started in the past but are
not yet completed.
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Activity 1
Future Present conditional Perfect Imperfect
je ne le ferai pas je prfrerais jai vu Tout le monde le faisait
I will not do it I would prefer I have seen/I saw everybody was doing it
je ne pourrai pas a nous donnerait
I wont be able to it would give us
je resterai nous rsoudrions
I will stay we would solve
nous voudrons
we will want
Activity 2
ne restez pas dont stay, sortez go out, baladez-vous go out (lit. go for a
walk) and dveloppez (develop).
Activity 3
1 Suis quelques rgles.
2 Souviens-toi de leur prnom.
3 Evite de les critiquer.
4 Fais des compliments.
5 Ecoute lautre.
6 Nhsite pas lancer des invitations.
7 Nattends pas trop non plus.
Activity 4
Also : to be in store, to await, to expect Nattendez pas trop non plus means
dont expect too much either.
Feedback to activities
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Activity 5
connaissance: a) (savoir) knowledge; b) (choses connues, science) s knowledge,
e.g. approfondir ses connaissances to deepen ones knowledge; c) (personne)
acquaintance, e.g. faire de nouvelles connaissances to make new acquaintances,
meet new people; d) (conscience, lucidit) consciousness, e.g. tre sans
connaissance to be unconscious; e) (loc) ma connaissance to my knowledge,
etc.
entretenir: 1vt a) (conserver en bon tat) to maintain, see to the upkeep of, look
after; b) (faire vivre) to support, keep, maintain; c) (faire durer) to keep alive, keep
going, foster; d) to converse with, speak to; 2 sentretenir vpr a) avec qn to
converse with, speak to sb; b) to support o.s.
Activity 6
1 mangeons (the e is added to make the g soft)
2 remplissent
3 viennent
4 buvez
5 conduisent
6 connaissent
7 dites
8 crivent
9 font
10 prennent
11 peignent
12 peuvent
13 vaut
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Activity 7
1 espre (note the change in accent)
2 pars
3 dors
4 meurs
5 dois
6 suis
7 vis
8 apprends
9 reois note the cedilla to keep the soft s sound
10 fais
Activity 8
1 I have known Pierre for 2 years the action started in the past but is not
completed, I still know him!
2 The book I am reading at the moment is very interesting there is no present
continuous in French.
3 Ill see Claire this afternoon or I am going to see her in French you can use
the present to refer to the near future.
4 From 1978 to 1987 he was a radio presenter the present is often used today
for historical events to make them more real or actual; this example comes
from the listening passage of Activity 2a and b on p. 15 in Elan: this listening
passage and the following two give an account of the lives of three famous
French people, all in the present tense.
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1 1 Lve-toi!
2 Dpchez-vous!
3 Repose-toi!
4 fais
5 entre
2 1 venons, viennent
2 lis, lisez
3 dort, dorment
4 ouvres, ouvrez
5 connat, connaissez
6 suis, suivez
7 faisons, faites
8 peux, peuvent
9 reois, reoivent
10 dites, disent
Feedback to self check
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Answers to Elan activits
Passerelle and Unit 1
Introduction
Passerelle
pages 67
1 lA 2D 3B 4E 5C
pages 89
1 Agnes:
a Jhabite Nantes, au centre-ville.
b La ville est la fois historique et moderne, jeune et vivante. On y
trouve beaucoup de choses faire et voir. Cest une rgion trs
agrable, calme mais intressante.
c Je vais aller luniversit ici et plus tard, jespre travailler ici.
Jean-Louis:
a Jhabite une ferme prs dune petite ville de Corrze.
b Cest une rgion trs rurale, sans industrie.
c Aprs avoir fait mes tudes agricoles Limoges, je voudrais revenir
en Corrze.
Herv:
a Jhabite Lille, une grande ville du Nord.
b Cest une rgion trs sympa, trs dynamique avec beaucoup de choses
faire.
c Jaimerais rester ici ou partir en Angleterre.
2 a J habite Mimet, au nord de Marseille, en Provence.
b Mimet est un village agrable et les paysages sont magnifiques.
Provence est la plus belle rgion de la France.
c Aprs avoir fait mes tudes Paris, je voudrais revenir en Provence.
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Grammaire
A
B
a after another verb:
jespre travailler Im hoping to work
jaime ... me promener avec mes chiens, pcher, travailler dans les champs
I like going for walks with my dogs, fishing, working in the fields
je veux y rester I want to stay there/here
je vais partir faire des tudes Im going to go away to study
je voudrais reprendre la ferme de mes parents Id like to take over my
parents farm
je vais faire des tudes Im going to study
j aimerais devenir prof et rester dans ma rgion, ou alors partir en Angleterre
Id like to become a teacher and stay in my home area, or go to England
b after a preposition:
beaucoup de choses faire et voir lots of things to do and see
cest pratique pour sortir its handy for going out
pour faire la fte to celebrate
c on its own:
vivre ici nest pas facile living here isnt easy
Quitter la Corrze? Leave Corrze?
sortir, se retrouver ... going out, meeting up with each other ...
-er
travailler
se promener
pcher
rester
quitter
se retrouver
-ir
voir
sortir
partir
devenir
-re
faire
vivre
reprendre
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pages 1011
1a
1 18 000
2 4 000
3 130
4 210 000
5 1880
6 1946
7 1987
1b
lc 2d 3a 4b
1c
Possible answers:
a Deux marins anglais dcouvrent les les polynsiennes au 18me sicle,
la France annexe larchipel en 1880 et il devient un TOM en 1946.
b Tahiti a limage dun paradis, mais la vie est difficile pour les Tahitiens
cause du chmage et de lconomie pauvre.
c La Polynsie franaise se trouve dans le Pacifique 18 000 kilomtres de
la France.
d La plupart des 210000 habitants de la Polynsie franaise se trouvent
Tahiti.
2a
nom: Sammy Rotua
ge: 17 ans
domicile: Tiarei
nationalit: franais, dorigine polynsienne
langues parles: franais, tahitien, anglais
famille: mre, un frre, deux soeurs
occupation: lycen
passe-temps: le sport, le boogie
projets: devenir prof de sport et travailler Hawaii
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Grammaire
A
B
1d 2f 3a 4b 5e 6c
C
Various answers are possible, e.g.
a 70% de la population est dorigine polynsienne.
b Je me lve trs tt le matin.
c Depuis 1987, le mouvement indpendantiste se dveloppe.
d En 1880, la France annexe larchipel.
e Je passe le bac lanne prochaine.
f La Polynsie franaise se trouve dans le Pacifique.
-er
se trouve
habite
parle
tudie
annexe
se dveloppe
encouragent
mappelle
habite
me lve
passe
me passionne
mentrane
travaille
adore
-ir
ont
devient
deviennent
a
ai
se voit
pars
-re
est
font
sont
suis
apprends
vis
vit
prends
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pages 1213
1a laccordon, le croissant, le tlphone portable
(Further details: the accordion and the croissant were both invented in
Austria, in 1829 and 1683 respectively; the first mobile phone call is
attributed to American engineer, Martin Cooper, in 1973)
2 1E 2D 3G 4F 5I 6B 7H 8C 9A
4 ingnieur (m) (-eur is typical masculine ending; name of profession)
l poque (f) (impossible to work out the gender from the text or the
ending)
accessoire (m) (not a typical masculine ending, but agreement of essentiel
is masculine)
dchets (m) (the adjective mnagers is masculine)
ouverture (f) (typical feminine ending)
manges (m) (adjective rservs is masculine)
personnages (m) (typical masculine ending)
appareil (m) (cet and invent are masculine)
coeur (m) (du is masculine)
aliments (m) (typical masculine ending)
armes (f) (typical feminine ending; napoloniennes is feminine)
bicyclette (f) (typical feminine ending)
Grammaire
A
1 le lancement (masculine ending in -ment)
2 la consultation (feminine ending in -tion);
la messagerie instantane (feminine ending in -rie)
3 la distribution, gratuite (feminine ending in -tion);
la scurit, garantie (feminine ending in -t)
4 lavantage principal (masculine ending in -age);
un rseau international (masculine ending in -eau)
22
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National Extension College Trust Ltd
23
pages 1415
1a
1 Sgolne Royal
2 Nicolas Hulot
3 Mimi Mathy
4 Yannick Noah
5 Sophie Marceau
6 Zindine Zidane
7 Jamel Debbouze
8 Diams
1b
l volontaire
2 beau, intelligent
3 dtermine, courageuse, drle
4 sympa, gnreux
5 belle, naturelle, sympathique
6 simple, honnte, sympa, gnreux
7 bavard
8 nergique, courageuse
2a
1C 2E 3A 4F 5B 6D
2b
extra details: ses parents se sparent, son pre meurt dun cancer quand Nicolas a 15
ans et son frre se suicide quatre ans aprs; sa mre rvait de le voir mdecin ou avocat;
il fait ses premires missions sur la moto, une de ses passions; de nombreux accidents
pour prparer lmission Ushuaa; il est le porte-parole prfr des Franais pour les
questions d environnement; plus de 500000 personnes signent le Pacte
3a
nat, grandit, perd, devient, encourage, participe, fait, obtient, reoit, met
AS French I Topic 1 Famille et amis
National Extension College Trust Ltd
4
Nicolas Hulot:
Nicolas was born in Lille in 1955, the son of an explorer. He had a tragic
childhood, with family problems: his parents separated, his father died of cancer
when Nicolas was 15, and four years later his brother committed suicide.
First, he became a photo journalist, and in 1973 he began a life of travelling and
adventures in dicult and dangerous conditions. This was a far cry from his
mothers dream of seeing her son become a doctor or a lawyer!
Then, from 1978 to 1987, he became a radio reporter: he shared his extreme
adventures with the public. His rst broadcasts were about motorbikes, one of
his passions.
Then, from 1987 onwards, he presented one of Frances favourite programmes,
Ushuaa, about ultimate adventure and nature. Nicolas had a lot of accidents
producing this programme but nothing stopped him!
After this, in 1990, he set up the Nicolas Hulot Foundation for the discovery and
protection of the environment. Nicolas was Frances favourite spokesman on
environmental matters.
Finally, in 2006, his commitment to the environment led him to set up the
Ecological Pact, to bring environmental concerns into politics. More than
500000 people signed the Pact.
Jamel Debbouze:
He was born in Morocco in 1975 and grew up in Trappes, a dangerous suburb of
Paris. At the age of 13, he lost the use of his right arm after an accident. How did
this nobody from the suburbs, the handicapped son of immigrants, become one
of the most highly paid actors in France and a teenage idol?
In 1990, a teacher who was impressed by Jamels talent encouraged him to do
some improvisation on stage. Very soon, he was taking part in radio broadcasts,
and in 1999 he did his rst one-man show on television.
He played bigger and bigger roles, in lms like Le Fabuleux Destin dAmlie
Poulain and Astrix et Oblix: Mission Cloptre. In 2006, he received an award
for his lm Indignes about the fate of North African soldiers during the
Second World War. Talkative, funny and provocative, Jamel uses his talent and
popularity to help underprivileged young people. A clown with a big heart!
5a
a ne Dakar, pre militaire, part habiter en Martinique, sinstalle en
France; quatrime de huit enfants, enfance difficile, pre trs strict
b jusqu 2007, un compagnon, Franois Hollande; pacss mais pas maris;
quatre enfants; maintenant spars
c trs bonne lve; tudie la politique dans une grande cole; obtient un
diplme davocat en 1994
24
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National Extension College Trust Ltd
25
d 1978: membre du Parti socialiste; 1981: nomme conseillre du prsident
de la Rpublique; 1988: lue dpute; 1992: ministre de lenvironnement;
2007: candidate aux lections prsidentielles, perd contre Nicolas Sarkozy
Comptences (1)
A
chaude: hot/warm/violent/dangerous
droit: right/straight
missions: programmes/broadcasts/emissions
prix: prize/price/cost/award
sort: fate/spell
service: service/duty
page 16
2
Hello Amy, its Claire!
This is the rst email Ive written to you in a long time!
You know that Ive been playing the violin since I was ve years old? Well, now I
live in Paris and Ive been studying at the Conservatoire for two years!
I play regularly in a string quartet. At the moment, were rehearsing to give a
new recital in a months time. And guess where? In London! Ill be arriving on 5
October.
It will be the rst time Ive played abroad. Its great!
Ive been waiting for this moment for a long time!
Shall we meet up in London in a caf?
4 a Je vais au cinma une fois par semaine.
b Je vois ma copine/mon amie Katya demain.
c Nos devoirs sont finis. Quest-ce que nous faisons maintenant?
d Je connais Marie depuis janvier.
e Ils attendent leurs rsultats dexamen depuis longtemps.
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National Extension College Trust Ltd
page 17
1a
A3 B2 C1
1b
1 Bretagne: mer, cte avec plages et ports, maisons bretonnes
2 Loire: jardin (de la France), eau, chteaux
3 Rhne-Alpes: montagnes, neige, chalets
Unit 1 En famille et entre amis
pages 1819
3 a Oui, depuis trois ans.
b Elle a dix mois.
c Le pre est ingnieur en informatique et la mre est prof danglais.
d Ils habitent un petit appartement prs de Bordeaux.
e Oui.
f Laura passe ses journes la crche.
pages 2021
2c
sous direntes formes in dierent guises
son pre tant dcd as/because his father died
une famille monoparentale a single-parent family
une famille nombreuse a family with several children
le cadet the youngest
ma demi-soeur my half-sister/stepsister
une fte de famille a family celebration
la vie de famille family life
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3b
4
c, g, b, h, a, d, f, e
Grammaire
A
sentences a, b, f, g, h
B
sentence f
Grgory Olivier
appearance people criticise his clothes
and hair
Grgorys clothes are
strange, his hair is too
long
school he does his best he thinks Grgory doesnt
take it seriously
smoking/drinking he doesnt smoke, he
drinks only two or three
beers at the weekend
he fears that Grgory
smokes and drinks too
much alcohol when hes
with his friends
friends his friends are very nice likes most friends, worries
about one or two
solution his parents will have to
accept that he has his own
style
he would be able to calm
down if Grgory would try
harder at school
AS French I Topic 1 Famille et amis
National Extension College Trust Ltd
Comptences
A
1b 2a 3a 4a 5b
B
Suggested answers:
1 Je ne mentends pas trs bien avec mon frre.
2 Ma mre travaille beaucoup et je la vois rarement.
3 Je ne veux plus voir ma belle-mre/Cest bien si je ne vois pas ma belle-
mre trop souvent.
pages 2223
1b
Yasmine d, h
Raphal b, g
Hichim a
Alice e
Juliette c, f
2
1 dix 8 tlphonait
2 moments 9 souvent
3 compris 10 garons
4 problmes 11 jaloux
5 couter 12 voir
6 compassion 13 expliquer
7 amusant 14 comprend
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National Extension College Trust Ltd
29
Grammaire
A
1 le/la
2 l
3 des
C
1 Jadore les soires DVD, mais je naime pas les sorties au match de foot.
2 Quand je tlphone avec des amis, je parle pendant des heures.
3 Tu as des problmes avec tes parents?
Comptences
A
l une discussion, une querelle
2 une relation, un lien
3 en finir avec, mettre fin des relations avec, ne pas rester en contact avec
4 lantagonisme, la lutte, la dispute
5 adorer
6 avoir horreur de, abhorrer, har
7 donner des conseils , recommander
pages 2425
3a
Pour: Stfane
Contre: Martin, Elose, Isabelle
3b
Martin: c, d
Elose: a, f
Stfane: e
Isabelle: b
AS French I Topic 1 Famille et amis
National Extension College Trust Ltd
Grammaire
A
describe; agree; after; before
pages 2627
1a
a 8,3 millions de femmes vivent seules en France.
b 21% des familles lvent trois enfants.
c En moyenne, les femmes en France ont 1,73 enfants.
d Il y a en France 1,2 millions de familles monoparentales.
e Les hommes se marient autour de 29 ans.
2a
c, e, a, g, b, d, f
2b
a Les jeunes ont des enfants plus tard dans la vie.
b Etre mre peut tre un handicap dans la carrire dune femme.
c La France connat une relle crise du mariage avec un taux de divorce
record.
d Le PACS est un statut juridique pour les couples non-maris.
e Dans les grandes villes franaises, les logements sont souvent chers
et troits.
f Beaucoup de personnes choisissent de vivre seules pour proter de leur
libert.
g De nombreuses personnes vivent aujourdhui loin de leurs parents.
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National Extension College Trust Ltd
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page 28
Grammaire Active
2a
a vital
b convaincantes
c solution cauchemardesque
d des disputes pouvantables
e miniscules
page 29
1a (optional)
a Benjamin
b Pierre
c Amanda
d Ses parents ont des ides diffrentes pour les vtements, la musique, les
sorties et les loisirs.
e Non, il dit quil ne voit pas comment il pourrait sentendre avec ses parents.
f Elle pense quils sont trop stricts.
g Elle devrait passer son temps faire ses devoirs et tudier.
h Parce quelle veut aussi sortir avec ses amis, regarder la tlvision et aller au
cinma.
i Ils aiment des choses diffrentes, mais ils ne critiquent pas les choses quil
aime.
j Parce quil ne veut pas dcevoir ses parents.
AS French I Topic 1 Famille et amis
National Extension College Trust Ltd
2a (optional)
2b (optional)
Oui, il dit quil adore tre clibataire parce quil a un maximum de libert.
2c (optional)
Il ne sait pas. Pour linstant, il prote de sa libert et aprs il verra.
emploi programmateur de jeux vido
heures de travail 8 h 50 18 h 00
repas prend le petit djeuner en shabillant, mange un repas
surgel le soir
activits: le soir ordinateur, lecture
le samedi visite ses parents, cinma
le dimanche VTT, tennis
32
AS French I Topic 1 Famille et amis
National Extension College Trust Ltd