Ask questions and connect French sentences
Use questions, connectors, prepositions, quantities, numbers and time phrases to make practical French communication coherent.
Exam scope and assessment notes
All passages, prompts, listening scripts, model answers and practice tasks are original StudyForA materials, not Cambridge assessment content. Written answers are self-reviewed and not Cambridge-marked. Browser speech synthesis is not Cambridge audio and cannot guarantee a particular accent, pace or pronunciation. Speaking rehearsal is not the supervised centre assessment, examiner interaction, moderation or an official mark. This is not a complete timed specimen paper or a 130-hour course. Both five-area topic maps and grouped grammar pathways are linked, but the 2028 vocabulary spreadsheet has not been mapped word by word, and grammar still needs item-by-item specialist review. A French-language specialist should review the original French examples before we describe this as publication-ready. Confirm the right syllabus version, entry option and exam series with your centre.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Which question asks where a person lives?
What you will learn
- Ask questions with «qui, que, où, quand, combien, comment» and «depuis quand».
- Connect ideas with coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
- Use prepositions for place, time, movement and other common relationships.
- Express quantity, dates and time, including the 24-hour clock.
Make the relationship between ideas clear
The official appendix names coordinating links such as «car» and «donc», and subordinating links such as «quand, où, parce que, si, puisque». Use «parce que» for a reason, «donc» for a result, «mais» for contrast and «quand» for time.
Prepositions include place («chez, entre, devant, à côté de»), time («avant, après, pendant, pour»), movement («jusqu’à, vers») and others such as «contre, malgré, sans, sauf, selon». The right phrase changes where, when or how the action relates to something else.
Ask for useful details
Question words include «combien, comment, où, quand, depuis quand» and pronoun questions such as «qui ? que ? lequel ?». The list also includes all cardinal/ordinal numbers, quantity phrases («assez, beaucoup, peu, trop»), dates and time including the 24-hour clock and years.
Example: «À quelle heure part le train ?» (At what time does the train leave?) «Il part à 17 h 30.» (It leaves at 5:30 pm.) State the number with its unit or reference when it is important.
Sources for this lesson
Pause and explain
What does «depuis quand» ask?
Worked example
Join: ‘Je prends le vélo. Il fait beau.’ Choose a connector that explains why the speaker cycles.
Show the worked solution
- Identify the reason relationship.
- Choose «parce qu’» before «il».
- Check the elision and read the sentence as a whole.
Answer «Je prends le vélo parce qu’il fait beau.» The weather is the reason the speaker cycles. The apostrophe in «qu’il» joins «que» with «il».
From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Join «Je reste à la maison» and «je suis malade» with a connector that gives the reason.
Give me a hint
Choose «parce que» and remember the apostrophe before «je» is not needed here.
Compare my reasoning
- Identify which idea gives the reason.
- Place «parce que» before it.
- Read the final word order.
«Je reste à la maison parce que je suis malade.» The illness explains why the speaker stays home.
Look for these in your work
- Chooses a reason connector
- Places the clauses logically
- Explains the cause
Answer «À quelle heure commence le concert ?» and «Où est la salle ?» with 19:45 and ‘next to the station’.
Give me a hint
Match time with «à quelle heure» and place with «où».
Compare my reasoning
- Give the time in a clear French form.
- Use «à côté de» for the location.
- Do not add a date that was not given.
«Le concert commence à 19 h 45.» «La salle est à côté de la gare.» These answer when and where respectively.
Look for these in your work
- Answers the time question
- Answers the location question
- Uses the supplied details
Create a two-sentence French message for a club meeting. Include the date/time, a location, a condition for joining and the result.
Give me a hint
Use a place preposition and a conditional with «si».
Compare my reasoning
- Give the meeting time.
- State where the group meets.
- Connect the joining condition to a possible result.
Original example: «Le club se réunit jeudi à 16 h 30 dans la salle à côté de la bibliothèque. Si tu t’inscris avant mercredi, tu pourras participer à l’atelier.» This uses an informal address form consistently.
Look for these in your work
- Includes date and time
- Gives a place
- Connects a condition and result
Common mistakes
- Choosing «donc» when you mean to give a reason rather than a result
- Confusing «depuis quand» with «quand»
- Omitting the date, time or unit the question asks for
What can you explain now?
Which connector introduces a result?
Compare with the explanation
Donc
It links a cause or earlier fact to a consequence.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Before moving on, explain: ask questions with «qui, que, où, quand, combien, comment» and «depuis quand».
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.