Grammar marks come from the form that fits the sentence: the article, the verb, and the words that agree with the noun.
The idea
Every noun has a gender. Le and un go with a masculine noun. La and une go with a feminine noun. Les and des are plural. Before a vowel or a mute h, le and la become l'. The adjective follows the noun: un petit garçon, une petite fille, des petites filles. Learn the article with the noun, because the gender is part of the word. Negation wraps the verb: je ne comprends pas. A pronoun replaces a noun you have already named. Je le vois uses le for a masculine thing. Je la vois uses la for a feminine thing.
The verb changes with the person and with the time. The present describes what is true now or what happens regularly. The passé composé describes a finished event: elle a fini, il est allé, elle est allée. With être, the past participle agrees with the subject. With avoir, it agrees with a direct object that comes before the verb. The imparfait describes a habit or a background in the past: chaque samedi, nous allions au marché. The futur simple and aller plus the infinitive both point ahead: je visiterai, je vais visiter. Choose the tense the meaning needs. One tense for every sentence loses marks.
The French tips guide sets out the structure paper, the tenses to have ready, and the mistakes that cost marks. WASSCE French tips
What earns the marks
One form, one mark. The infinitive that was in the brackets is not the answer. Agreement is a separate mark from the choice of tense: elles sont allées needs être and the feminine plural ending. à and a are different words. ou and où are different words. An accent that changes the meaning is part of the spelling. If the question says "mettez au passé composé", a present tense answer does not get the tense mark.
Practice questions
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
1Question 1
4 marks
Mets les verbes entre parenthèses à la forme qui convient.
(a) Hier, Amina (aller) au marché avec sa tante. (2 marks)
(b) Chaque soir, nous (faire) nos devoirs avant le repas. (2 marks)
Model answer
(a) Hier, Amina est allée au marché avec sa tante.
(b) Chaque soir, nous faisons nos devoirs avant le repas.
Mark scheme
Passé composé with être for aller1 mark
Agreement: allée, feminine singular1 mark
Present tense, because the sentence is a habit1 mark
faisons, first person plural1 mark
2Question 2
2 marks
Récris la phrase à la forme négative : « Paul comprend la question. » (2 marks)
Model answer
Paul ne comprend pas la question.
Mark scheme
ne before the verb1 mark
pas after the verb, and the rest of the sentence kept1 mark
3Question 3
2 marks
Complète avec le, la ou les : « Marie achète une robe. Elle ___ met dans le sac. » Explique ton choix. (2 marks)
Model answer
Elle la met dans le sac. La remplace une robe, qui est féminin singulier.
Mark scheme
la1 mark
The pronoun matches a feminine singular noun, une robe1 mark
Practise French with Anna
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
With être, it agrees with the subject: elle est allée, ils sont allés. With avoir, it agrees with a direct object that comes before the verb. If the object comes after, there is no agreement: elle a mangé les bananes.
How do I choose between the imparfait and the passé composé?+
The imparfait is for a habit or a background: chaque soir, il lisait. The passé composé is for a finished event: hier, il a fini ses devoirs. A story often needs both. The habit is the background. The event is what happened once. All WASSCE French past questions