Translating into English
- Read the whole sentence first, then write the meaning in natural English rather than word for word.
- Watch the tense: je suis allé(e) = I went (not "I am gone"); j'allais = I used to go / I was going; j'irai = I will go; j'irais = I would go.
- Depuis + present = have been doing: j'habite ici depuis dix ans = I have lived here for ten years.
- Don't miss small words: très, souvent, toujours, ne… jamais, ne… plus, possessives and time phrases.
- On can mean we, you, people or they: choose what sounds natural.
False friends (faux amis)
- actuellement = currently (not actually), la librairie = bookshop (a library is la bibliothèque), la journée = the day (not journey), sensible = sensitive, rester = to stay (not rest).
- le car = coach, les chips = crisps (chips are les frites), assister à = to attend, passer un examen = to sit an exam (réussir = to pass), la monnaie = change (coins).
Translating into French
- Most adjectives come after the noun (une voiture rouge), but BAGS adjectives (beauty, age, goodness, size) come before: une belle maison, une vieille voiture, un bon film, un petit chien.
- French needs articles where English doesn't: I like dogs = j'aime les chiens; I eat bread = je mange du pain.
- Object pronouns go before the verb: I see him = je le vois.
- Negatives go round the verb (je ne mange pas), and round avoir or être in the perfect tense (je n'ai pas mangé).
- Check agreement: adjectives, past participles after être, and possessives (mon père, ma mère, mes parents).
- Choose the tense carefully: I have been living = present with depuis; I used to = imperfect; I would = conditional.
Exam technique
- Translate every idea: each part carries a mark. Don't add or leave out detail.
- If you don't know a word, use a similar word you do know rather than leaving a gap.
- Check verb endings: je parle, tu parles, il parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils parlent.
- Read your translation back: does the English make sense, and is every French word spelled and accented correctly?
Key terms
- un faux ami
- a false friend: a word that looks like English but means something else
- actuellement
- currently
- la librairie
- bookshop
- la journée
- day (the whole day)
- sensible
- sensitive
- rester
- to stay
- les chips
- crisps
- passer un examen
- to sit (take) an exam
- réussir
- to pass (succeed)
- la monnaie
- change (coins)
- assister à
- to attend