Test Preparation Advice - Chapitre 5

1. Using question words and interrogative expressions: how, who, where, how many, what color, what, why, with whom. Part of the test asks you to write questions based on the statements using the cues in parentheses. Try these. They are similar.

a. This is a model: Daniel va à la banque à pied. (where?) correct response: Où est-ce que Daniel va à pied?

b. Il va à Paris par le train (how?)

c. Mon cousin est chez moi. (who?)

d. Sa voiture est au coin de la rue. (where?)

e. Ma grand-mère a trois frères. (how many?)

f. Ses chaussures sont noires. (what color?)

g. Son chapeau est sur le chaise. (what)

h. Nous sommes à l'école parce que nous sommes des élèves. (why?)

i. Son père va au restaurant avec ta mère. (with whom?)

2. Know your pairs of opposites for certain prepositions or prepositional phrases: gauche: ___________; sur: ______________; près de: ___________; après: _____________

3. Know which adjectives (p. 80) are the same masculine and feminine (jaune, rouge, jeune, facile, difficile, possible, impossible, riche et pauvre) and which are spelled with a final -e in their feminine forms (bleu/bleue, noir/noire, joli/jolie), how to make them plural (add -s) - and remember that they agree in number and gender with the noun they modify (e.g., le pantalon noir, les pantalons noirs, la voiture noire, les voitures noires)

4. Know all about à and de when combined with one of the definite determiners (le, la, l' and les). à and le combine to make au. de and le combine to make du. à combines with les to make aux. de combines with les to make des. There is no contraction or change of spelling when à or de is combined with la or l'. These are covered in the exercises on page 85 and on items J - M of the workbook pages. Obviously, it is essential to remember the genders of nouns. Note also that definite determiners are not used with the names of cities. Examples:

a. Le café est près ______ parc.

b. Nous sommes _______ école.

c. Nous allons ____ Cannes.

d. Les trains vont ________ campagne.

e. La piscine n'est pas loin __________ plage.

5. Study the Mots Nouveaux II on page 75, with particular attention to the words that mean please, thank-you very much, you're welcome, excuse me, not at all