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.
