Questions, prefixes, suffixes, prepositions (AQA GCSE French): Revision Notes
Questions, prefixes, suffixes, prepositions
Introduction
Mastering question formation and understanding how prefixes, suffixes, and prepositions work in French is essential for your speaking exam role plays and overall communication. These grammar elements help you express yourself more precisely and ask for information effectively.
These fundamental grammar structures form the backbone of effective French communication. Focus on understanding the patterns rather than memorising individual examples, as this will help you apply them naturally in conversation.
Forming questions in French
There are three main ways to ask yes/no questions in French, each with different levels of formality and complexity.
Method 1: Raising your voice (informal)
The simplest way is to make a statement and raise your voice at the end, just like in English. This is most common in casual conversation.
Simple Voice Raising:
Statement: Tu vas en ville. (You're going to town.) Question: Tu vas en ville? (You're going to town?) - with rising intonation
Method 2: Using "est-ce que" (standard)
Add "est-ce que" at the beginning of your statement. This is the most commonly used method and works in all situations.
Using Est-ce que:
Statement: Tu vas en ville. (You're going to town.) Question: Est-ce que tu vas en ville? (Are you going to town?)
Method 3: Subject-verb inversion (formal)
Swap the subject and verb, connecting them with a hyphen. This is more formal and often used in writing.
Subject-Verb Inversion:
- Vas-tu en ville? (Are you going to town?)
- Va-t-il en ville? (Is he going to town?)
When the verb ends in a vowel and the pronoun starts with a vowel, add a 't' between hyphens for pronunciation: "Va-t-il" not "Va-il".
Question words
These essential question words help you gather specific information during conversations and role plays:
| French | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Qui? | Who? | Qui est-ce? (Who is it?) |
| Quand? | When? | Quand arrives-tu? (When do you arrive?) |
| Où? | Where? | Où habites-tu? (Where do you live?) |
| Comment? | How? | Comment allez-vous? (How are you?) |
| Combien de? | How many? | Combien de frères as-tu? (How many brothers do you have?) |
| À quelle heure? | At what time? | À quelle heure pars-tu? (What time do you leave?) |
| Pourquoi? | Why? | Pourquoi étudies-tu? (Why do you study?) |
| Que? | What? | Que fais-tu? (What are you doing?) |
| Depuis quand? | Since when? | Depuis quand habites-tu ici? (How long have you lived here?) |
Grammar tip: Question words can be followed by "est-ce que" for a more standard structure: "Où est-ce que tu habites?" (Where do you live?) This makes the question sound more natural and less formal than inversion.
Prefixes
Prefixes are added to the beginning of words to change their meaning. In French, you can create opposites by adding "im-" or "in-" to certain words.
Creating opposites
Understanding how to form opposites helps you expand your vocabulary efficiently:
- sécurité (security) → insécurité (insecurity)
- possible (possible) → impossible (impossible)
- complet (complete) → incomplet (incomplete)
- parfait (perfect) → imparfait (imperfect)
Prefix Selection Rule: The choice between "im-" and "in-" often depends on the first letter of the root word. "Im-" is typically used before 'p' and 'b', whilst "in-" is used in other cases. This follows pronunciation rules to make words easier to say.
Suffixes
Suffixes are added to the end of words to create new words or change their function. Here are the most important ones for expanding your vocabulary:
-ième (ordinal numbers)
Used to create ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.). When the number ends in 'e', drop the 'e' before adding '-ième'.
Creating Ordinal Numbers:
- quatre (four) → quatrième (fourth)
- cinq (five) → cinquième (fifth)
- douze (twelve) → douzième (twelfth)
- vingt (twenty) → vingtième (twentieth)
-able or -eable (adjectives)
Added to verb stems to create adjectives indicating possibility or capability.
Forming Possibility Adjectives:
- réutiliser (to reuse) → réutilisable (reusable)
- manger (to eat) → mangeable (edible)
- porter (to wear/carry) → portable (portable)
- boire (to drink) → buvable (drinkable)
Grammar tip: Verbs like "manger" keep the 'e' to maintain the soft 'g' sound in "mangeable". This preserves the correct pronunciation pattern.
-ation (nouns)
Added to verb stems to create nouns describing actions or processes.
Action Nouns:
- préparer (to prepare) → préparation (preparation)
- créer (to create) → création (creation)
- organiser (to organise) → organisation (organisation)
-eur (people)
Added to verb stems to indicate the person who performs the action.
Agent Nouns:
- chanter (to sing) → chanteur (singer)
- conduire (to drive) → conducteur (driver)
- vendre (to sell) → vendeur (seller)
Prepositions
Prepositions show relationships between words and are essential for accurate French expression. They must be learned with their specific contexts.
After verbs
Some verbs require specific prepositions - these combinations must be memorised:
- décider de (to decide to) - J'ai décidé de partir (I decided to leave)
- réussir à (to succeed in) - Elle réussit à comprendre (She succeeds in understanding)
- jouer à (to play sports) - Je joue au foot (I play football)
- jouer de (to play instruments) - Je joue du piano (I play piano)
Sports vs. Instruments: Remember the distinction between "jouer à" for sports and games, and "jouer de" for musical instruments. This is a common mistake area in exams.
Showing possession
Use "de" to show possession instead of an apostrophe like in English:
- C'est le livre de Manon (It's Manon's book)
- La voiture de mes parents (My parents' car)
With places
Country prepositions follow gender rules:
Country Prepositions:
- Use en with feminine countries: Je suis allé(e) en France (I went to France)
- Use au with masculine countries: Je veux aller au Canada (I want to go to Canada)
- Use aux with plural countries: Il habite aux États-Unis (He lives in the United States)
Before infinitives
These prepositions are essential for expressing purpose and manner:
- pour means "in order to": pour sauver la planète (in order to save the planet)
- sans means "without": sans détruire les forêts (without destroying forests)
- avant de means "before": avant de partir (before leaving)
Example sentences
Present Tense Examples:
- Où est-ce que tu habites? (Where do you live?)
- Je joue au football le weekend. (I play football at the weekend.)
- Elle prépare ses examens. (She prepares for her exams.)
- Comment allez-vous aujourd'hui? (How are you today?)
Past Tense Examples:
- Hier, j'ai joué au tennis. (Yesterday, I played tennis.)
- Nous sommes allés en France l'été dernier. (We went to France last summer.)
- Il a décidé de partir tôt. (He decided to leave early.)
- Qu'est-ce que tu as fait hier soir? (What did you do last night?)
Translation practice
French to English:
- Combien de livres as-tu lus?
- Cette tâche est impossible à finir.
English to French:
- What time do you finish work?
- I went to the cinema without my friends.
Practice Tips: When translating, pay attention to question formation methods and preposition usage. These are key areas where marks can be gained or lost in exams.
Answers:
- How many books have you read?
- This task is impossible to finish.
- À quelle heure finis-tu le travail? / À quelle heure est-ce que tu finis le travail?
- Je suis allé(e) au cinéma sans mes amis.
Key Points to Remember:
- There are three ways to form yes/no questions: voice raising, est-ce que, and inversion
- Question words like qui, quand, où help gather specific information and can be combined with est-ce que
- Prefixes im-/in- create opposites, whilst suffixes -ième, -able, -ation, and -eur transform words into different parts of speech
- Prepositions like à, de, en, au, pour, and sans show crucial relationships between words and must be learnt with their specific verb combinations
- Practice using these structures in context to become more fluent and accurate in your French communication