Grammar
French B1
Move from short exchange into fuller narration, opinion, and connected French prose.
On this level
- Narration and background
Separate the event from the setting so longer French texts feel easier to follow.
- Linking and subordination
Make French feel less list-like and more flowing.
- Stance and politeness
Handle opinion, softer tone, and slightly more abstract meaning.
Narration and background
Separate the event from the setting so longer French texts feel easier to follow.
Imparfait vs passé composé
Use the imparfait for background, habit, and scene-setting, and the passé composé for finished events that move the story forward.
Depuis, pendant, and il y a in time reference
French uses several time expressions to distinguish ongoing duration, completed duration, and how long ago something happened.
Linking and subordination
Make French feel less list-like and more flowing.
Si clauses for real conditions
Use si with present or past forms to describe likely or real conditions and their results.
Relative pronouns with qui, que, and où
Relative pronouns help attach extra information to a noun without starting a fully separate sentence.
Stance and politeness
Handle opinion, softer tone, and slightly more abstract meaning.
Conditional for politeness and possibility
The French conditional softens requests and also expresses imagined or possible outcomes.
Present subjunctive basics
French often uses the subjunctive after expressions of necessity, emotion, doubt, or judgment.