DF Bleu, Examen, Unité 1
Leçons 1 A, B, & C, and leçons 2 A, B, & C
Vocab and Grammar (content) overview
(You can scroll down to see culture and petit commentaire items)
Test Format:
Listening –
1. The Logical Answer – Questions. Listen carefully to each question and select the most logical answer.
i.e. [Ca va?] a. Salut! b. Bonjour. c. Oui, ca va. *(you would choose C as the correct answer)
2. The Right Person – be able to differentiate between male and female nationalities.
i.e. francais vs. francaise canadien vs. canadienne
Writing –
Part 1. Cultural Awareness – mostly multiple choice, you may have to answer a question such as “Who gave America the Statue of Liberty and when?”
Part 2. La Famille– you will be given a family tree and have to identify the relationship between the given person and that in the “tree”. Je m’appelle Marc. Mon __chat_ s’appelle Minou. (You locate Minou and see that he is the cat, so you write in the French word for cat). Etc…
*Study the family members for this section (and their spelling), as you will have to write these out!*
Part 3. Expression Personnelle– you will write out some information about a friend of yours. Answer the questions using complete sentences.
Part 4. The Correct Article– similarly to the practice quiz you took, you will write out either “le”, “la”, or “l'” (remember to use that with a word that starts with a vowel!), “un” or “une”, or “ton” or “ta”
*Remember that un/une means a/an, le, la, l’ means the, and mon/ma means my, whereas ton/ta mean your. You also you ton with amie (use mon or ton with a noun that starts with a vowel)!*
Part 5. Expression Personnelle– you will be greeting two different people you happen upon in the street. Use the correct greeting and ask them how they are (remember formal vs. informal!)
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Notes Culturelles –
la bise- (p. 13) While the French will greet an acquaintance with a handshake, they use another greeting with those they are closer to. It is a kiss on the cheek, on both sides (a kiss is une bise). Depending on where you are the in country, they may use either two or four kisses (total).
la Rentrée- (p. 15) This is the French phrase for the first day of school in the fall, or referring to “Back to School”. The average French student has summer break from ~the end of June until early September.
la Martinique – (p. 19) This is an island in the Caribbean, near Puerto Rico. It is a French territory. Because of this, citizens speak both French and the dialect créole
la Statue de la liberté – (p. 20) The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the U.S. to the French people on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of American independence. The Eiffel Tower (la Tour Eiffel) was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French revolution.
Bonjour ou Salut – (p. 23) French young people may greet each other with “Bonjour”, but they will more commonly use the less formal “Salut” (Equivalents of “Hello” vs. “Hey”). French teens are more formal with adults, using “Bonjour”, and often just Monsieur, Madame, or Mademoiselle (instead of using their last name with the title)- this is a formal sign of respect.
Amis et Copains – (p. 27) French young people like to spend time with their friends. They will call them un/e ami/e or un/e copain/copine depending on gender. Copain and copine may have special uses- not always, but often when a teen refers to “mon copain” – she means “my boyfriend” and a boy would use “ma copine” my girlfriend. Notice the small difference.
le Tour de France – (p. 28)– Cycling is popular in France. The “Tour de France” is one of the most popular races for men and the “Grande Bouclé Feminine Internationale” is for women.
le Québec – (p. 31) The province of Quebec is located in the eastern part of Canada. French speakers make up about 75% of the population. There are also many Haitian immigrants of African origin. Montréal is the largest city in the province, and it is also the second-largest French-speaking city in the world after Paris.
la famille francaise – (p. 35) The word for family in French is “la famille”, and though you may use it to only refer to immediate family such as siblings and parents, they will use it referring to aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, as well as even more distant relatives related by blood and marriage. There can be multi-generational households, and in general, the French find many reasons to get together to celebrate with family, even if they may not live close to one another.