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← Unit 2: Décrire: Describing People, Places and Things

FSF1D · Unit 2 test review

Décrire: Describing People, Places and Things: Test Review

Everything for the Unit 2 test on one page: the key facts from all 5 lessons, the mistakes that cost the most marks, and a practice test that points you back to the lessons you need.

Key facts

Adjective Agreement and Placement

  • An adjective agrees with its noun in gender and number: add -e for feminine, -s for plural, -es for feminine plural (petit, petite, petits, petites).
  • An adjective that already ends in an unaccented -e does not change in the feminine: jeune, rouge, facile, sympathique.
  • Special feminines: -eux → -euse, -if → -ive, -en → -enne, -on → -onne, -el → -elle, -er → -ère; plurals: -s/-x stay the same, -eau → -eaux, -al → -aux.
  • Most adjectives go after the noun; BAGS adjectives (beauty, age, goodness, size) go before it: une voiture rouge but une petite voiture.
  • Before a masculine singular noun starting with a vowel or silent h: bel, nouvel, vieil (un bel arbre, un nouvel ami, un vieil hôtel).
  • A group that includes at least one masculine noun takes the masculine plural: Paul et Julie sont contents.

Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives

  • Possessives: mon/ma/mes, ton/ta/tes, son/sa/ses, notre/nos, votre/vos, leur/leurs.
  • A possessive agrees with the thing owned, not the owner: son vélo = his bike or her bike; sa maison = his house or her house.
  • Before a feminine noun starting with a vowel sound, use mon, ton, son: mon amie, ton école, son histoire.
  • Demonstratives: ce (m.), cet (m. before a vowel or silent h), cette (f.), ces (plural). Add -ci / -là to contrast this and that.
  • No apostrophe s in French: le sac de Karim, le chien du voisin. À qui est ce sac ? — Il est à Karim.

Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur

  • plus / moins / aussi + adjective + que = more … than / less … than / as … as. The adjective agrees with the first noun: Léa est plus grande que Marc.
  • After que, use stress pronouns: moi, toi, lui, elle, nous, vous, eux, elles — plus grand que moi.
  • Superlative: le / la / les plus (or moins) + adjective. If the adjective follows the noun, repeat the article: le film le plus intéressant. In after a superlative = de: la plus grande ville du Canada.
  • bon → meilleur → le meilleur (agrees like an adjective); bien → mieux → le mieux (never changes). Never plus bon or plus bien.
  • With nouns, use plus de / moins de / autant de + noun: J'ai plus de devoirs que toi.

Describing Where Things Are

  • Single-word prepositions go straight before the noun: sur (on), sous (under), dans (in), devant (in front of), derrière (behind), entre … et (between), contre (against).
  • Prepositions ending in de — à côté de, en face de, près de, loin de, au-dessus de, à gauche de, à droite de — contract: de + le = du, de + les = des.
  • Il y a = there is and there are. Negative: il n'y a pas de + noun (il n'y a pas de télé).
  • devant / derrière describe place; avant / après describe time.
  • Set phrases: par terre (on the floor), sur l'étagère (on the shelf), contre le mur (against the wall).

Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time

  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nous, vous, se. They match the subject and go right before the verb: je me lève, nous nous levons.
  • me, te, se become m', t', s' before a vowel or silent h: je m'habille, il s'appelle.
  • Negative: ne + pronoun + verb + pas: Je ne me lève pas. With an infinitive, the pronoun matches the subject: Nous allons nous coucher.
  • With body parts use le, la, les: Je me brosse les dents.
  • Time: Il est … heure(s); et quart, et demie, moins le quart, moins + minutes; à + time = at. The 24-hour clock counts minutes forward only: 20 h 45 = vingt heures quarante-cinq.

Where marks get lost

  • Copying English word order: une rouge voiture. Colours go after the noun: une voiture rouge. (Adjective Agreement and Placement)
  • Forgetting that adjectives agree after être: Ma sœur est grand. Correct: Ma sœur est grande. (Adjective Agreement and Placement)
  • Just adding -e to every adjective: une fille heureuxe, une amie sportife. Use the pattern: heureuse, sportive. (Adjective Agreement and Placement)
  • Writing un beau hôtel or un nouveau ami. Before a masculine noun starting with a vowel sound, use un bel hôtel, un nouvel ami. (Adjective Agreement and Placement)
  • Making a mixed group feminine because the last noun is feminine: Marc et Julie sont contentes. Any masculine noun makes the group masculine: contents. (Adjective Agreement and Placement)
  • Matching the possessive to the owner: sa frère for her brother. Frère is masculine, so it is son frère, even for a girl's brother. (Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives)
  • Writing ma amie or sa école. Before a feminine noun starting with a vowel sound, use mon amie, son école. (Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives)
  • Writing ce ami or ce hôtel. Before a masculine vowel sound, use cet: cet ami, cet hôtel. (Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives)
  • Adding s to leur for one thing: leurs maison. One house = leur maison; leurs is only for plural nouns (leurs enfants). (Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives)
  • Confusing ses, ces and c'est in writing because they sound the same: Il cherche ces clés when you mean his keys — write ses clés. (Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives)
  • Writing plus bon: Ce gâteau est plus bon. Use meilleur: Ce gâteau est meilleur. (Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur)
  • Using meilleur for an action: Il joue meilleur que moi. Playing is a verb, so use mieux: Il joue mieux que moi. (Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur)
  • Forgetting agreement: Ma mère est plus grand que mon père. The adjective describes ma mère: plus grande. (Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur)
  • Using a subject pronoun after que: Il est plus âgé que je. Use the stress pronoun: que moi. (Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur)
  • Using dans after a superlative: la plus grande ville dans le Canada. French uses de: la plus grande ville du Canada. (Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur)
  • Leaving out de: La lampe est à côté le lit. Correct: à côté du lit. (Describing Where Things Are)
  • Forgetting to contract: près de le parc, en face de les magasins. Correct: près du parc, en face des magasins. (Describing Where Things Are)
  • Using avant for place: Je t'attends avant le cinéma. Avant is time; for place use devant: Je t'attends devant le cinéma. (Describing Where Things Are)
  • Using il est for there is: Il est un chat sous le lit. Correct: Il y a un chat sous le lit. (Describing Where Things Are)
  • Keeping des after a negative: Il n'y a pas des chaises. Correct: Il n'y a pas de chaises. (Describing Where Things Are)
  • Leaving out the reflexive pronoun: Je lève à sept heures. Without me, lever means to lift. Correct: Je me lève à sept heures. (Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time)
  • Keeping se with an infinitive whatever the subject: Nous allons se coucher. The pronoun matches the subject: Nous allons nous coucher. (Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time)
  • Using a possessive with body parts: Je me brosse mes dents. The reflexive pronoun already shows whose teeth: Je me brosse les dents. (Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time)
  • Putting ne after the pronoun: Je me ne lève pas. The pronoun stays glued to the verb: Je ne me lève pas. (Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time)
  • Writing Il est une heures or sept heures et demi. One o'clock is singular (une heure), and demie agrees with heure: sept heures et demie. (Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time)

Practice test

25 questions from across the unit. Each one shows the lesson it comes from.

  1. Adjective Agreement and Placement
    1
    What is the feminine singular form of heureux (happy)?
  2. Adjective Agreement and Placement
    2
    Write the correct form of nouveau: C'est un ___ ami. (ami is masculine.)
  3. Adjective Agreement and Placement
    3
    Write the correct form of vieux: Ma grand-mère est ___.
  4. Adjective Agreement and Placement
    4
    Match each masculine adjective to its feminine form.
    canadien
    actif
    cher
    blanc
    gentil
  5. Adjective Agreement and Placement
    5
    Put the steps for describing a noun with an adjective in the order this lesson's worked examples use.
    1. 1Write the article, noun and adjective in order
    2. 2Check for bel, nouvel or vieil before a masculine vowel sound
    3. 3Add the right ending: -e, -s, -es or a special pattern
    4. 4Find the noun's gender and number
    5. 5Decide whether the adjective is a BAGS adjective (before) or not (after)
  6. Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives
    6
    How do you say her brother in French?
  7. Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives
    7
    Complete with the possessive for ils (their). They own one house: C'est ___ maison.
  8. Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives
    8
    Complete with the possessive for nous (our): ___ voisins sont très gentils.
  9. Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives
    9
    Match each English phrase to its French translation.
    my books
    your school (talking to a friend)
    their car
    our friends
    his sister
  10. Possessive and Demonstrative Adjectives
    10
    Put the steps for choosing a possessive adjective in order.
    1. 1Look at the noun owned: masculine, feminine or plural
    2. 2If it is ma, ta or sa before a vowel sound, switch to mon, ton or son
    3. 3Pick the matching form from that row
    4. 4Identify the owner (my, your, his, our, their…) to choose the row
  11. Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur
    11
    Léa is 165 cm tall and Marc is 160 cm. Which sentence is true and correct?
  12. Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur
    12
    Complete with the right pronoun: Mon frère est plus âgé que ___. (than me)
  13. Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur
    13
    How do you say the most interesting book?
  14. Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur
    14
    Which sentence contains an error?
  15. Comparing with Plus, Moins, Aussi and Meilleur
    15
    Put the pieces in order to say It's the funniest film of the year.
    1. 1de l'année
    2. 2drôle
    3. 3le plus
    4. 4C'est
    5. 5le film
  16. Describing Where Things Are
    16
    How do you say The cat is under the bed?
  17. Describing Where Things Are
    17
    Complete: Le restaurant est près ___ banque. (banque is feminine.)
  18. Describing Where Things Are
    18
    Make it negative: Il y a une fenêtre. → Il n'y a pas ___ fenêtre.
  19. Describing Where Things Are
    19
    How do you say on the floor in French (the set phrase)?
  20. Describing Where Things Are
    20
    Put the pieces in order to say My backpack is on the floor, between the bed and the desk.
    1. 1et le bureau.
    2. 2entre le lit
    3. 3par terre,
    4. 4Mon sac à dos
    5. 5est
  21. Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time
    21
    Je ___ lève à sept heures.
  22. Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time
    22
    Which negative sentence is correct?
  23. Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time
    23
    What time is Il est sept heures moins le quart?
  24. Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time
    24
    A train schedule says the train leaves at quinze heures. On the 12-hour clock, at what hour in the afternoon does it leave?
  25. Daily Routine: Reflexive Verbs and Telling Time
    25
    Put Karim's day in a logical order.
    1. 1Je me couche.
    2. 2Je m'habille.
    3. 3Je m'endors.
    4. 4Je me réveille.
    5. 5Je me lève.
    6. 6Je me douche.

Endless drill

Fresh numbers every time, for the calculation questions in this unit.

Endless drillnew numbers every time

Generating a problem…

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