Notes
The francophone world
- About 300 million people speak French, on every continent. La Francophonie includes France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco, Canada (Québec), Haiti, many African countries (Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, DR Congo, Madagascar), and islands such as Martinique, Guadeloupe and Tahiti. French is widely used in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
- French is often one of several languages: Belgium (French, Dutch, German), Switzerland (German, French, Italian, Romansh), Haiti (French and Haitian Creole).
- Capitals: Dakar (Senegal), Port-au-Prince (Haiti), Brussels (Belgium), Rabat (Morocco), Québec (province of Québec).
Comparatives and superlatives
- Comparative: plus / moins / aussi + adjective + que: Paul est plus grand que Marie. With nouns: plus de / moins de / autant de + noun + que.
- Irregular: bon → meilleur(e)(s); bien → mieux.
- Superlative: le / la / les plus / moins + adjective + de: Elle est la plus grande de la classe. The best: le meilleur, la meilleure, le mieux.
Intro to the subjunctive
- Il faut que + subjunctive: Il faut que je finisse. Il faut que tu parles.
- Formation: ils stem + -e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent. Irregular: être (sois, soyez), avoir (aie, ayez), aller (aille, allions), faire (fasse, fassions).
- Il faut + infinitive for a general need: Il faut dormir.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Switzerland's national languages are German, French, Italian and Romansh.
Port-au-Prince is the capital of Haiti.
Plus + adjective + que for comparisons.
Bon becomes meilleur, and it agrees with the masculine noun restaurant.
Montréal est la plus grande ville de sa province.
After il faut que, use the subjunctive: que tu finisses.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
Samira writes about her trip to Dakar, Senegal, and about her classes.
(a) Write a sentence in French saying that Dakar is the capital of Senegal and that people speak French there.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Dakar est la capitale du Sénégal et on y parle français.
Check off the points you earned:
(b) Write two comparisons: her French class is more interesting than her math class, and she speaks French better than her brother.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Mon cours de français est plus intéressant que mon cours de maths. Je parle mieux français que mon frère.
Check off the points you earned:
(c) Write a sentence with il faut que saying that she has to study French before the trip, and name the mood of the verb.
Show the answer and scoring guide
Il faut que j'étudie le français avant le voyage. The verb étudie is in the subjunctive.
Check off the points you earned: