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AQA GCSE French revision notes

Concise notes per spec point, written in plain English with worked examples. AI-generated, admin-verified.

  1. GGrammar (defined grammar list)
  2. G.AAdjectives — agreement, position (before/after the noun), comparative (plus/moins...que) and superlative (le plus/le moins)
  3. G.ADAdverbs — formation in -ment, irregular adverbs (bien, mal, vite); intensifiers (très, assez, trop)
  4. G.CONJConjunctions and connectives — et, mais, ou, donc, car, parce que, puisque, alors que, par contre, cependant, ainsi que
  5. G.NNouns — gender (masculine/feminine), singular and plural, articles (definite, indefinite, partitive)
  6. G.NEGNegation — ne…pas, ne…jamais, ne…rien, ne…personne, ne…plus, ne…que
  7. G.NUMNumbers, dates and times — cardinal and ordinal numbers, days, months, years, the 24-hour clock
  8. G.PREPPrepositions — à, de, en (with countries, transport), depuis, pendant, pour, dans, avec, chez, sans
  9. G.PROPronouns — subject, direct object (le, la, les), indirect object (lui, leur), reflexive, y, en, relative (qui, que), disjunctive (moi, toi…)
  10. G.QQuestion forms — intonation, est-ce que, inversion; question words (qui, que, quoi, où, quand, comment, pourquoi, combien)
  11. G.V.FUTNear future (aller + infinitive) and simple future tense; conditional (je voudrais, j'aimerais, on devrait)
  12. G.V.IMPImperfect tense (l'imparfait) — formation, contrast with the perfect; talking about ongoing past states and habitual actions
  13. G.V.OTHEROther tenses and moods — pluperfect (HT), present subjunctive after il faut que (HT), the passive voice (HT)
  14. G.V.PCPerfect tense (le passé composé) with avoir and être, including agreements with être and with preceding direct objects
  15. G.V.PRESVerbs — present tense of regular -er, -ir, -re verbs; key irregulars (être, avoir, aller, faire, pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, savoir, prendre, mettre, venir, partir, dormir, sortir)
  16. PPapers and assessment
  17. P.LPaper 1 — Listening: Section A questions in English answered in English/non-verbally; Section B dictation. Foundation 35 min + 5 min reading time, 50 marks; Higher 45 min + 5 min, 50 marks. 25% of GCSE.
  18. P.RPaper 3 — Reading: questions in English answered in English/non-verbally on French texts, plus a translation from French into English. F 45 min, H 1 hr, 50 marks. 25% of GCSE.
  19. P.SPaper 2 — Speaking: role-play, reading-aloud task with short conversation, photo-card discussion, general conversation. Conducted by the teacher. F 7–9 min, H 10–12 min. 25% of GCSE.
  20. P.WPaper 4 — Writing: short writing tasks, longer structured response, translation from English into French. F 1 hr 10 min, H 1 hr 15 min, 50 marks. 25% of GCSE.
  21. T1Theme 1 — People and lifestyle
  22. T1.1Identity and relationships with others — family, friends, marriage and partnership; describing people and personalities
  23. T1.2Healthy living and lifestyle — diet, exercise, sleep, health problems and how to lead a healthier life
  24. T1.3Education and work — school subjects and routines, school rules, post-16 study, career plans and the world of work
  25. T2Theme 2 — Popular culture
  26. T2.1Free-time activities — hobbies, sports, music, TV and film, reading; how young people spend their time
  27. T2.2Customs, festivals and celebrations — French and francophone festivals (e.g. la Fête de la Musique, Mardi Gras, le 14 juillet), family celebrations, food traditions
  28. T2.3Celebrity culture — celebrities and influencers, the role of social media, positive and negative aspects of celebrity culture
  29. T3Theme 3 — Communication and the world around us
  30. T3.1Travel and tourism, including places of interest — holidays, transport, hotels, descriptions of places and cultural sites in francophone countries
  31. T3.2Media and technology — social media, mobile phones, internet, cyber-safety, digital habits
  32. T3.3The environment and where people live — town vs country, environmental problems and solutions, weather and climate