True or False: French Language

Question 1

Question 1 : The word "oignon" can be spelled "ognon" since the 1990 reform.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! The 1990 spelling reform allows both spellings. "Ognon" simplifies writing by removing the silent "i".

Question 2

Question 2 : The plural of "cheval" is "chevals".

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! The plural of "cheval" is "chevaux". It's an irregular plural, like "journal/journaux" or "animal/animaux".

Question 3

Question 3 : "Après que" must be followed by the indicative mood, not the subjunctive.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! We say "après qu'il est parti" (indicative) not "après qu'il soit parti". The action is certain, hence indicative.

Question 4

Question 4 : The word "amour" is always masculine.

Réponses possibles :

Question 5

Question 5 : "Autant pour moi" and "Au temps pour moi" are both accepted.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! Both spellings are accepted. "Au temps pour moi" supposedly comes from military language, but "Autant pour moi" is very common.

Question 6

Question 6 : We say "je m'en rappelle" when talking about a memory.

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! We say "je me le rappelle" or "je m'en souviens". "Se rappeler" is directly transitive (rappeler quelque chose), "se souvenir" uses "de".

Question 7

Question 7 : French is an official language in more than 25 countries.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! French is an official language in 29 countries across 5 continents, making it one of the most widespread languages.

Question 8

Question 8 : "Croissant" comes from the verb "croître" (to grow) because the dough rises.

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! The croissant gets its name from its crescent moon shape, not from dough rising. It was inspired by the Austrian kipferl.

Question 9

Question 9 : "Anticonstitutionnellement" is the longest word in standard French dictionaries.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! With 25 letters, it's the longest non-technical word in French. It means "in a manner contrary to the constitution".

Question 10

Question 10 : "Ça" is always written without a cedilla.

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! "Ça" (demonstrative pronoun) takes a cedilla to distinguish it from "ca" which doesn't exist. The cedilla indicates C is pronounced [s].

Question 11

Question 11 : "Dilemme" is spelled with two "m"s.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! We write "dilemme" with two Ms. It's a common mistake to use only one. The word comes from Greek "di-lemma" (double proposition).

Question 12

Question 12 : The word "personne" is always feminine.

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! "Une personne" is feminine, but "personne" as an indefinite pronoun is masculine: "Personne n'est venu" (not "venue").

Question 13

Question 13 : The Académie française was founded in the 17th century.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! The Académie française was created in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu under Louis XIII to standardize the French language.

Question 14

Question 14 : "Faire faux bond" means to stumble.

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! "Faire faux bond" means to break an engagement, to fail to keep one's word. The expression comes from the game of jeu de paume.

Question 15

Question 15 : "Nénuphar" can be spelled "nénufar" since 1990.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! The 1990 reform allows "nénufar" with an F, more consistent with the Arabic etymology (nīnūfar). Both spellings are correct.

Question 16

Question 16 : The circumflex accent is mandatory on "île" since the 1990 reform.

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! It's the opposite: the 1990 reform made the circumflex optional on I and U (ile, cout...), except for cases of ambiguity.

Question 17

Question 17 : The verb "aller" uses three different stems in its conjugation.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! "Aller" is highly irregular: "je vais" (stem vai-), "nous allons" (stem all-), "j'irai" (stem ir-). It's a suppletive verb.

Question 18

Question 18 : "Malgré que" is a correct expression in formal French.

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! "Malgré que" is considered incorrect by purists. One should say "bien que" or "quoique" + subjunctive, or "malgré" + noun.

Question 19

Question 19 : "Gens" can be masculine or feminine depending on context.

Réponses possibles :

True
False

Answer

TRUE! "Gens" is masculine ("les gens sont contents") but feminine with a preceding adjective ("les vieilles gens"). A complex rule!

Question 20

Question 20 : French has more words than English.

Réponses possibles :

False
True

Answer

FALSE! English has about 170,000 words in use compared to 60,000-100,000 for French. English absorbs loanwords more easily.

Accepted Answer

FALSE! "Amour" is masculine singular but can be feminine plural in literary style: "de belles amours".

Question 5 : "Autant pour moi" and "Au temps pour moi" are both accepted.

Question 6 : We say "je m'en rappelle" when talking about a memory.

Question 7 : French is an official language in more than 25 countries.

Question 8 : "Croissant" comes from the verb "croître" (to grow) because the dough rises.

Question 9 : "Anticonstitutionnellement" is the longest word in standard French dictionaries.

Question 10 : "Ça" is always written without a cedilla.

Question 11 : "Dilemme" is spelled with two "m"s.

Question 12 : The word "personne" is always feminine.

Question 13 : The Académie française was founded in the 17th century.

Question 14 : "Faire faux bond" means to stumble.

Question 15 : "Nénuphar" can be spelled "nénufar" since 1990.

Question 16 : The circumflex accent is mandatory on "île" since the 1990 reform.

Question 17 : The verb "aller" uses three different stems in its conjugation.

Question 18 : "Malgré que" is a correct expression in formal French.

Question 19 : "Gens" can be masculine or feminine depending on context.

Question 20 : French has more words than English.

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Les 20 questions du quiz

Question 1 : The word "oignon" can be spelled "ognon" since the 1990 reform.

Question 2 : The plural of "cheval" is "chevals".

Question 3 : "Après que" must be followed by the indicative mood, not the subjunctive.

Question 4 : The word "amour" is always masculine.

Question 5 : "Autant pour moi" and "Au temps pour moi" are both accepted.

Question 6 : We say "je m'en rappelle" when talking about a memory.

Question 7 : French is an official language in more than 25 countries.

Question 8 : "Croissant" comes from the verb "croître" (to grow) because the dough rises.

Question 9 : "Anticonstitutionnellement" is the longest word in standard French dictionaries.

Question 10 : "Ça" is always written without a cedilla.

Question 11 : "Dilemme" is spelled with two "m"s.

Question 12 : The word "personne" is always feminine.

Question 13 : The Académie française was founded in the 17th century.

Question 14 : "Faire faux bond" means to stumble.

Question 15 : "Nénuphar" can be spelled "nénufar" since 1990.

Question 16 : The circumflex accent is mandatory on "île" since the 1990 reform.

Question 17 : The verb "aller" uses three different stems in its conjugation.

Question 18 : "Malgré que" is a correct expression in formal French.

Question 19 : "Gens" can be masculine or feminine depending on context.

Question 20 : French has more words than English.

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