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French LanguageEasy

True or False: French Language

Since the 1990 reform, French "oignon" can be spelled "ognon", "après que" demands the indicative, "amour" turns feminine in literary plural. Twenty statements to confirm or debunk.

20

Questions

2

Minutes

Tip: Use keys 1-4 to answer quickly

The 20 quiz questions

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

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

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

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

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

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

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

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

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

Explanation: 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.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

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

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

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

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

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

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

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

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

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

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

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

Explanation: 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 : "Dilemme" is spelled with two "m"s.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

Explanation: 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 : The word "personne" is always feminine.

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

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

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

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

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

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

Explanation: 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 : "Nénuphar" can be spelled "nénufar" since 1990.

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

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

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

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

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

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

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

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

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

Possible answers:

  • True
  • False

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

Question 20 : French has more words than English.

Possible answers:

  • False
  • True

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

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