Notes
House and town
- Rooms: la cuisine, le salon, la salle à manger, la chambre, la salle de bains, le garage, le jardin. Le rez-de-chaussée = ground floor.
- Town: la banque, la poste, la boulangerie, la pharmacie, le supermarché, la bibliothèque (library), la librairie (bookstore), la gare, le musée, la mairie.
Prepositions and contractions
- Place: dans, sur, sous, devant, derrière, entre, à côté de, en face de, près de, loin de, à gauche de, à droite de.
- à + le = au, à + les = aux; de + le = du, de + les = des. à la / à l' / de la / de l' do not change.
- Cities: à Paris. Feminine countries: en France. Masculine countries: au Canada. Plural: aux États-Unis.
Francophone world
- French is spoken on five continents: la France, la Belgique, la Suisse, le Canada, le Sénégal, le Maroc, Haïti, Madagascar, and overseas regions like la Martinique.
- Canada has two official languages (French and English); Québec's only official language is French. Haïti has French and Haitian Creole.
- Directions: Allez tout droit. Tournez à gauche / à droite. Traversez la rue.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Bibliothèque is feminine and starts with a consonant: à la.
Mairie is feminine: en face de la mairie.
Le Sénégal is masculine, so au Sénégal.
A bibliothèque is a library. A librairie sells books.
À côté de means next to and en face du means across from.
Tout droit is straight; traversez la rue is cross the street.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Nadia has just arrived in Québec to visit her cousin. Her cousin's house is next to the library and across from the park. She wants to go to the post office, which is on the left, past the bakery.
(a) Write a sentence saying where the house is, using two prepositions of place.
Show the answer and scoring guide
La maison est à côté de la bibliothèque et en face du parc.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Write what Nadia asks to find the post office, and give directions: go straight, turn left.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Où est la poste, s'il vous plaît ? Allez tout droit, puis tournez à gauche.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Complete with the right form and explain the choice: « Elle habite ___ Canada. Son cousin va ___ musée. »
Show the answer and scoring guide
Elle habite au Canada. Son cousin va au musée. Canada and musée are masculine, so à + le becomes au.
Check off the points you earned: