Most of the French you will read in real life is not a novel. It is a sign at a pool in Ottawa, a post from a friend in Montréal, a product review before you buy earbuds, a label in a museum in Québec City. These texts are short, but each form follows its own rules: a sign uses as few words as possible, a post is casual and full of abbreviations, a review mixes facts with the writer's opinion. If you know what features to expect, you can understand a text even when some words are new. For every text, ask four questions: What form is it? Who is it for? What does it want me to do or think? Which parts are facts and which are opinions?
Signs and notices
| Sign | Meaning | How it is built |
|---|---|---|
| Attention! Circulez à vos propres risques. | Caution! Proceed at your own risk. | impératif with vous |
| Ralentir! Sortie d'école | Slow down! School exit | infinitive used as a command |
| Danger! Interdiction de se baigner | Danger! No swimming | interdiction de + infinitive |
| Réservé aux voitures de police | Police cars only | réservé à + les → aux |
| Défense de fumer · Défense d'entrer | No smoking · No entry | défense de + infinitive (= it is forbidden to) |
| Stationnement interdit | No parking | noun + interdit |
| Prière de ne pas toucher | Please do not touch | prière de (please) + infinitive |
| Sortie de secours | Emergency exit | noun phrase |
| Poussez · Tirez | Push · Pull | impératif with vous |
| Hors service | Out of order | fixed expression |
| Arrêt | Stop (on stop signs in Québec) | a single noun |
Why signs love the infinitive
A sign speaks to everyone at once, so it avoids choosing between tu and vous. The infinitive does that job: Ralentir! (Slow down!), Ne pas déranger (Do not disturb). With a negative infinitive, both parts of the negation go before the verb: ne pas toucher, never ne toucher pas. Rules are also stated with nouns: Interdiction de… or Défense de… + infinitive both mean it is forbidden to…. And Défense here has nothing to do with defending: in this fixed phrase it means prohibition.
Museum labels and consumer reports
- A museum label (un cartel) — a fictional example — gives facts in a fixed order:
- Artist and dates: Louise Gagnon (1910–1987)
- Title and year: Hiver à Saint-Boniface, 1952 (Winter in Saint-Boniface)
- Technique and size: Huile sur toile, 60 × 80 cm (oil on canvas)
- Where it came from: Don de la famille Gagnon, 1995 (gift of the Gagnon family)
- Short description: Dans ce tableau, l'artiste montre des enfants qui patinent sur la rivière Rouge. Les couleurs froides donnent une impression de calme. (In this painting, the artist shows children skating on the Red River. The cool colours give a feeling of calm.)
- A rule for visitors: Prière de ne pas toucher les œuvres. (Please do not touch the works.)
AFact: you can check it
- Les écouteurs SonoMax A2 coûtent 89 dollars. — The SonoMax A2 earbuds cost 89 dollars.
- La batterie dure huit heures. — The battery lasts eight hours.
- L'ÉcouPro 5 coûte 40 dollars de plus. — The ÉcouPro 5 costs 40 dollars more.
- Les deux modèles existent en noir et en blanc. — Both models come in black and white.
BOpinion: a judgment
- C'est le meilleur rapport qualité-prix! — It's the best value for money!
- Le son est magnifique. — The sound is magnificent.
- À notre avis, l'ÉcouPro 5 est trop cher. — In our opinion, the ÉcouPro 5 is too expensive.
- Notre verdict: un achat génial! — Our verdict: a great buy!
Clues that separate fact from opinion
Facts contain things you could check: prices, numbers, dates, measurements, names. Opinions carry the writer's judgment: phrases such as à mon avis, à notre avis, je trouve que, selon nous; superlatives (le meilleur, le pire); judgment adjectives (génial, nul, décevant, magnifique); and exclamation points. A good consumer report keeps them apart: a comparison table of facts first, then Notre verdict, the writers' recommendation. Many sentences mix both: La batterie dure huit heures, ce qui est vraiment impressionnant = a fact, then an opinion.
Social media posts
Translation: @max_sudbury · 3 hours ago — Hi everyone! The farmers' market opens Saturday at 9 a.m. downtown. My brother is selling his homemade jams: come in big numbers please! Don't worry, there will be sugar pies for everyone. I've already eaten three LOL #FarmersMarket #Sudbury The features of the form are all here: a handle and a time stamp (il y a 3 h), abbreviations (slt, stp, tkt, mdr), a friendly, informal tone, and hashtags that link the post to a topic. Its purpose is to share and to invite.