Pre-U French CAIE

Grammar

Nouns & Articles

• Understand the concept of genders in French. All nouns are either masculine or feminine. The gender of a noun affects the form of adjectives, pronouns and verbs that are used with it.
• Identify definite articles, which are 'le' for masculine nouns, 'la' for feminine nouns and 'les' for plural nouns.
• Learn indefinite articles 'un' for masculine, 'une' for feminine and 'des' for the plural form of both.

Pronouns

• Know the French subject pronouns: je (I), tu (you), il/elle/on (he/she/one), nous (we), vous (you) and ils/elles (they).
• Direct and Indirect Object Pronouns: Consider that often, the object pronouns come before the verb in French. Understand how and when to use me, te, le, la, nous, vous, les, lui and leur.
• Manage Reflexive Pronouns that are used with reflexive verbs. These include me, te, se, nous, vous, and se.

Verbs & Conjugation

• Understand Regular Verb Conjugation: French has three regular verb patterns denoted by their infinitive endings '-er,' '-ir,' and '-re.'
• Master Irregular Verb Conjugation: Be cautious of verbs that do not follow regular conjugation patterns including être, avoir, aller, faire, and venir.
• Learn The Subjunctive Mood: Understand how and why to use the subjunctive mood in French, often necessary after expressions of doubt or uncertainty.

Adjectives & Adverbs

• Know how to form French Adverbs by adding -ment to the feminine form of adjectives.
• Become aware of Adjective Placing: In French, most adjectives come after the noun they modify, but there are several exceptions to this rule.
• Understand the Agreement of Adjectives: Remember that adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in gender and number.

Prepositions

• Understand the use of Prepositions of Place: Learn how to use à, en, au, aux, sur, dans, sous, devant, derrière, etc. to describe location.
• Master the Prepositions of Time: Know the difference between à, en, pendant, depuis, de, and du to describe time frames.

Sentence Construction

• Master the Questions Forming Techniques: In French, one can invert the verb and subject to form a question, or use question words such as qui, que, où, quand, pourquoi, etc.
• Be comfortable with Negation: Understand how to form negative structures using ne...pas, ne...jamais, and ne...rien.
• Learn the Connectives: Words such as mais, et, car, donc are used to connect sentences or thoughts together.

Remember, regular practice is the key to language proficiency. Practice speaking, writing, and reading in French as much as possible.