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Strong reading and listening skills are essential for GCSE French — these papers typically account for 50% of your final grade. This lesson covers exam strategies, how to use cognates and avoid false friends, how to make inferences, and key phrases for time, opinion and quantity that frequently appear in exam texts.
Cognates are words that look and sound similar in French and English because they share a common origin.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| la musique | music |
| le restaurant | restaurant |
| la télévision | television |
| le chocolat | chocolate |
| l'hôpital | hospital |
| la pharmacie | pharmacy |
| l'animal | animal |
| le problème | problem |
| la différence | difference |
| confortable | comfortable |
| populaire | popular |
| important | important |
| nécessaire | necessary |
Many French words follow predictable patterns when converted to English:
| French ending | English equivalent | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -tion | -tion | éducation → education |
| -ment | -ly | rapidement → rapidly |
| -eux | -ous | dangereux → dangerous |
| -ique | -ic / -ical | fantastique → fantastic |
| -é | -ed / -y | fatigué → fatigued / tired |
| -aire | -ary | nécessaire → necessary |
False friends are words that look like English words but have completely different meanings. These are a common trap in reading and listening exams.
| French | Looks like… | Actually means… |
|---|---|---|
| actuellement | actually | currently / at the moment |
| assister à | to assist | to attend |
| la librairie | library | bookshop |
| la bibliothèque | — | library |
| le collège | college | secondary school (11–15) |
| le magasin | magazine | shop / store |
| la journée | journey | day |
| le voyage | voyage | journey / trip |
| la figure | figure | face |
| sensible | sensible | sensitive |
| raisonnable | reasonable | sensible |
| sympathique | sympathetic | nice / friendly |
| regarder | to regard | to watch / look at |
| attendre | to attend | to wait for |
| la monnaie | money | change (coins) |
| l'argent (m.) | — | money / silver |
| blesser | to bless | to injure |
| la chair | chair | flesh |
| la chance | chance | luck |
| passer un examen | to pass an exam | to sit / take an exam |
| réussir un examen | — | to pass an exam |
Exam tip: If a word in the reading paper looks identical to an English word, be cautious — it may be a false friend. Always check the context before committing to your answer.
flowchart TD
Word[Unknown French word] --> Look{"Looks like<br/>English word?"}
Look -->|Yes| Check{Check context}
Look -->|No| Pattern{"Recognise<br/>pattern?"}
Check -->|Fits sentence| Cog["Cognate<br/>e.g. restaurant, important"]
Check -->|Doesn't fit| FF["False friend<br/>e.g. librairie = bookshop<br/>sensible = sensitive"]
Pattern -->|"-tion / -ique / -aire"| Cog
Pattern -->|No pattern| Skip["Skip + use context<br/>surrounding words"]
Sometimes the answer is not stated explicitly — you must infer it from the context.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| maintenant | now |
| aujourd'hui | today |
| hier | yesterday |
| demain | tomorrow |
| la semaine dernière / prochaine | last / next week |
| le mois dernier / prochain | last / next month |
| l'année dernière / prochaine | last / next year |
| autrefois / avant | in the past / before |
| à l'avenir | in the future |
| de nos jours | nowadays |
| il y a (deux ans) | (two years) ago |
| pendant (les vacances) | during (the holidays) |
| depuis (cinq ans) | for / since (five years) |
| tous les jours | every day |
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