Edexcel AS French

Avec quelle fréquence?

How frequently?

Depuis que

Ever since

You're right about the general rule: the tu command of -er verbs (and aller) drops the s. Tu vas becomes Va !, and tu parles becomes Parle !

The exception is before y or en. The s comes back so the sounds link smoothly:

• Penses-y ! (Think about it!)

• Vas-y ! (Go there!)

• Manges-en ! (Eat some!)

So your original Va à la boîte was correct, and Vas-y is correct once y replaces the place.

Se priver

To deprive

to relapse

Faire une rechute

Majeure

Of age (18+)

Dans quelle mesure?/Jusqu’à quel point?

To what extent?

En quoi consiste?

What does it consist of?

De quelle manière/façon?

In what way?

À quoi sert?

What is its purpose?

De quoi s’agit?

What is it about?

À quelle fin?

What is the goal?

Look for the word “à” (or “au/aux”) in front of the person.

No “à” → use: le/la/les.

There’s an “à” → use: lui/leur

Examples:

• Je vois mes parents → no “à” → je les vois

• Je parle à mes parents → “à” → je leur parle

parler à, demander à, téléphoner à, expliquer à, donner à

memory hook:

le/la/les = the thing or person you’re acting on directly (I see them, I love her)

lui/leur = the person you’re doing something to/for (I talk to them, I give to her)

Slip a “to” in English → it’s lui/leur

Imperfect:

• Verbs with a stem ending in c add a cedilla (ç) in front of a.

• Verbs with a stem ending in g add an e in front of a.

bavarder

to chat

il y a à peine

there is barely

le forfait mensuel

the monthly plan

on s'en sert trop

On s’en sert trop = We use it too much.

• on = we / people

• se servir de = to use

• s’en = se + en: en replaces de quelque chose
  → se servir de l’Internet → s’en servir

• sert = the il/elle/on form of servir

• trop = too much / too often

to interrupt

interrompre

rassurant

reassuring

joindre

join

néanmoins

nevertheless

the cost

le coût

bullying

le harcèlent

to end up

finir par

appartenir à

to belong to

tels que

such as

À quoi bon?

What’s the point?

se changer les idées

to clear your mind

to get some fresh air

prendre l’air

s’éloigner de tout

to get away from it all

to be at the heart of

être au cœur de

c’est l’enfer!

it’s hell!

de telles activités

such activities

I would be too afraid

“J’aurais” is correct here. French uses avoir peur (literally “to have fear”), so “I would be afraid” becomes j’aurais peur, and trop goes before peur: j’aurais trop peur de me blesser.

de me blesser

to hurt myself

de telles activités

such activities

remarquer

to notice

à se bouger

to get moving

le taux d'energie

the energy level

autrefois

formally

quant a mes amis

as for my friends

être en pleine croissance

to be growing

être en surpoids

to be overweight

la méconnaissance

ignorance

comportement

behaviour

When you use si you must use the following sequence of sentences:

First part of the sentence:

Si + verb in present tense / very in imperfect tense

Second part of the sentence

verb in the future tense

il aura tendance à grignoter

the right path

la bonne voie

convaincre

to convince

choquer/choquant

to shock/shocking

puissant/fort

powerful

frappant/saisissant

striking/powerful

tabagisme passif

passive smoking

étaler

to spread

en outre

furthermore

convivial

friendly

Ie est indéniable que

It is undeniable that

Sans doute … toutefois

No doubt .. however

Soulignons que/Notons que

Let me point out that…

Il faut tenir en compte de

You have to take into account

Il faut attirer l’attention sur le fait que

It’s important to draw attention to