Revision sheets
One topic per sheet, made for going over before a test. Print any of them.
Exam
- DELF and DALF Overview A1How the official French diplomas work, how they are scored, and how to choose your level. Start here before you book anything.
- Exam Day A1A practical checklist for your DELF or DALF session. Most exam-day problems come from small things you can sort out in advance.
- Listening Strategy A2You can't re-read a recording, so listening marks are won before the audio starts. These habits turn half-understood passages into correct answers.
- Reading Strategy A2Reading is the paper where you have the most control, because the text stays in front of you. Good technique gets you the marks without needing to understand every word.
- Speaking Strategy A2The speaking paper is a live conversation with one or more examiners. They mark task completion, range, control and pronunciation. Preparation and calm technique can lift your mark as much as your level.
- Writing Strategy A2The writing paper rewards a text that does the task, is clearly organised and is controlled in grammar. A plain text with few errors usually scores more than an ambitious, messy one.
Grammar
- Adjectives: Agreement and Position A2Adjectives agree with their noun in gender and number, and most follow it. A few common ones go in front, and some change meaning depending on where they stand.
- Articles A1French nouns almost always need an article, including where English has none. Choosing between le, un and du is a daily decision and an easy place to lose marks.
- Causative Faire B2Faire + infinitive means to make someone do something or to have something done. It's the main French way to say 'have my car fixed' or 'make him laugh', and its word order is strict.
- Comparatives and Superlatives A2A small system: plus, moins and aussi or autant, then que, plus a few irregulars. Mastering meilleur and mieux, and the extra structures at the end, shows real command.
- Future and Conditional B1These two tenses share a stem and differ only by their endings. Learn the stems once and you get both, then learn the uses that have no English twin.
- Gender Rules A2Word endings predict gender far better than most learners expect. Learn these patterns and their short exception lists, and always learn nouns with their article.
- Gerund and Participles B1English -ing covers many jobs that French splits among the gérondif, the participe présent, the adjective, and the infinitive. Getting this right fixes a lot of learner errors.
- Literary Tenses C1Passé simple, passé antérieur and the literary subjunctives live in novels, history and formal prose. You should recognise them at C1 and C2, but only the passé simple is worth actively using.
- Negation A1Written French uses two parts: ne before the verb and a second word after it. Speech usually drops ne, but formal writing keeps it, and you should keep it in exam papers.
- Numbers, Dates and Time A1Numbers appear often in listening exercises, and 70 to 99 use a system of their own. Here are the forms, spelling rules, dates, clock times and how to read figures aloud.
- Object Pronouns and Their Order B1Object pronouns come before the verb, and when two appear together they follow a fixed order. The affirmative imperative is the one case that reverses it.
- Participle Agreement B1Past participles sometimes agree like adjectives. Examiners read for this, and in a few verbs (mise, faite, prise) you can hear it. The whole system comes down to three questions.
- Passé Composé vs Imparfait A2The two main spoken past tenses. Passé composé tells what happened, imparfait sets the scene. The choice shows how you see the event, so it can change the meaning.
- The Passive B1French uses the passive less than English, and often prefers on, a reflexive or se faire. It's common in formal writing and news, so know when each option fits.
- Plurals A2Most plurals just add a silent -s, so in speech the article carries the number. The rest fall into a few tidy families worth learning for writing.
- Prepositions of Place A2To, in and from all depend on the type of place and its gender. One table gives you most of it, and then a set of fixed phrases finishes the job.
- Prepositions of Time A2English 'for' splits into depuis, pendant, pour and il y a... que, and 'in' into en and dans. Choosing correctly also decides the tense, so these errors are costly.
- Questions A1French has three ways to ask the same question, one for each register. Knowing which to use, and handling qui, que and quoi, is the core of this sheet.
- Relative Pronouns B1Relatives join two ideas into one sentence. They can't be dropped as in English (the book I read), and the choice depends on grammar, not on person or thing.
- Reported Speech B1Passing on what someone said means changing pronouns, sometimes tenses and time words, and rebuilding questions. Essential for B2 and C1 writing, where you report sources.
- Si Clauses B1Conditional sentences follow strict tense pairs. They matter in writing from B1, and at C1 you should be able to mix them correctly.
- Subjunctive vs Indicative B2The hard contrasts: pairs of similar words that take different moods, and single words that change mood with meaning. The indicative states what you hold as fact. The subjunctive frames something as wished, doubted or judged.
- The Subjunctive B1Used after words that express will, feeling, doubt or a subjective view rather than plain fact. It's easy to form and matters from B1 onwards. This sheet covers forms and the main triggers.
- Tense Map B1Every French tense and mood on one sheet: how it is built, what it does, and its closest English match. Use it to see the whole system at a glance.
- Y and En B1Y and en replace phrases with à and de. English often has no equivalent word, so learners leave them out and sound unnatural.
Writing
- Formal Letter B1Formal letters and emails follow set conventions, and DELF B1 and B2 tasks may ask for one. Learn the frame and its key phrases, and the task becomes much easier.
- Opinion Essay B1From B1 to C1, you must defend a view in clear written French. A solid plan, varied connectors and well-chosen examples will carry much of your mark.
- Register Ladder B2French distinguishes registers more sharply than English, and exam tasks expect you to match them. This sheet moves key words and structures from familiar to standard to formal.
- La Synthèse C1The DALF C1 synthèse merges several texts into one short, neutral text. It's a test of method as much as of language, and it follows strict rules that are easy to break.
Speaking
- Debate Moves B1Debate language is a set of moves you can drill. Having these phrases ready gives you time to think, and shows the range examiners look for at B1, B2 and C1.
- Exposé Structure B2At B2, C1 and C2 you must deliver a structured talk from a document before a discussion. A clear plan and signposting matter as well as polished language.
Pronunciation
- R, U and French Consonants A1The French r and u are two of the sounds that most signal a foreign accent. Consonants are simpler, and a handful of spelling rules cover almost everything.
- H Aspiré A2The French h is never pronounced, but some words behave as if a consonant were there. These block elision and liaison, and using them wrong instantly sounds off.
- Liaison and Enchaînement A2French is spoken as a chain of sounds, not separate words. Liaison and enchaînement are why it's hard to hear word boundaries, and why getting them right makes you sound fluent.
- Nasal Vowels A1Three or four vowels are made with air through the nose, and with no n sound at the end. They're signature French sounds, and confusing them changes the word.
- Silent Letters A1Most final consonants in French are silent, and one memory word tells you the usual exceptions. Knowing the exceptions stops a lot of reading-aloud mistakes.
- Oral Vowels A1French vowels are pure: the tongue and lips hold still, with no English-style glide. Most of them come in close pairs that change meaning, and lip rounding does much of the work.
- Spoken French B1Real conversation shrinks, drops and rearranges what textbooks teach. Learn to recognise all of this so that you can understand native speakers. Choose how much of it to use according to the situation.
- Stress and Intonation A2Rhythm is what gives away most English accents. French stresses groups of words rather than single words, and gives every syllable nearly the same weight. Fix this and everything else sounds better.
Spelling
- Accents and Homophones A2Many French spelling errors involve homophones: words that sound identical. A quick substitution test sorts most of them. Examiners read accuracy into these small details.
- French Punctuation A2French punctuation uses spaces and quotation marks differently from English. Getting these right takes minutes and makes your writing look properly French.
- Spelling Patterns A2French spelling follows more rules than it appears to. These patterns let you spell words you've only heard and catch the errors examiners count against you.