Writing complete phrases means combining a subject, a conjugated verb and relevant details to communicate clearly in French. In the Junior Cycle exam, writing tasks ask you to complete sentences or produce short texts such as emails, letters, blogs and postcards.
The Core Sentence Pattern
For a simple statement, start with a subject and a conjugated verb, then add any needed details. The subject can be a noun or a pronoun.
| Element | Role | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Person or thing the verb refers to | Je, Mon frère, Nous |
| Verb | Expresses an action or state | habite, joue, préférons |
| Detail | Object, location or time | à Cork, au rugby, le samedi |
- J'habite dans une grande maison. (I live in a big house.)
- Mon frère joue au rugby tous les soirs. (My brother plays rugby every evening.)
To make a phrase negative, wrap ne and pas around the conjugated verb. Drop the 'e' before a vowel sound:
- Je n'aime pas les devoirs. (I do not like homework.)
- In compound tenses like the passé composé, wrap the negative around the auxiliary helping verb: Je n'ai pas regardé le match.
Linking Clauses with Connectors
Connectors join words and clauses so your writing flows logically. Match the connector to the relationship between your ideas.
Key connectors include:
- et (and): J'aime la musique et je joue de la guitare.
- mais (but): Le français est intéressant, mais la grammaire est difficile.
- ou (or): Tu préfères le football ou le basket ?
- comme (as / since): Comme il fait beau, nous allons à la plage.
- parce que / car (because): J'adore le sport parce que c'est passionnant.
- puis / ensuite (then / next): D'abord, je mange, puis je fais mes devoirs.
Before a vowel sound, parce que elides to parce qu': write parce qu'il fait froid. Always follow parce que with a full clause containing both a subject and a verb, such as parce que c'est amusant.
Shifting Time Frames
Written tasks regularly require you to recount past events, state present routines and explain future plans. Starting a clause with a time marker makes your timeframe clear.
| Timeframe | Time marker | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | D'habitude | Subject + present tense verb | D'habitude, je finis les cours à seize heures. |
| Past | Hier soir | Subject + present of avoir or être + past participle | Hier soir, j'ai regardé un bon film. |
| Future | Demain | Subject + present of aller + infinitive | Demain, je vais aller en ville. |
For future plans, using the futur proche (aller + infinitive) is the most reliable approach because you do not need irregular future stems.
Letter, Postcard and Email Formats
In correspondence tasks, place, date, greeting and sign-off follow predictable rules.
- Place and date: If a place/date line is requested, write Cork, le 3 juillet. Follow the question's layout. French month names always stay lowercase.
- Greetings: Open informal messages with Salut [prénom], or Cher [prénom] for a boy and Chère [prénom] for a girl.
- Sign-offs: Write a closing phrase on a separate line before your name, such as À bientôt (See you soon) or Écris-moi vite (Write back soon).
An informal email skips the postal place and date line, but still requires an appropriate greeting and sign-off.
Key terms
- Sujet (Subject)
- The person, pronoun or noun that the verb refers to.
- Verbe conjugué (Conjugated verb)
- A verb form changed from its infinitive to match its subject and tense.
- Connecteur (Connector)
- A linking word like 'mais', 'ou' or 'comme' used to join clauses together.
- Élision
- Dropping the final vowel of a word before a vowel sound and adding an apostrophe, such as 'parce qu'il'.
- Passé composé
- The past tense formed with an auxiliary verb ('avoir' or 'être') and a past participle.
- Futur proche
- The near future tense formed with the present tense of 'aller' followed by an infinitive.
Check yourself
Identify the subject and conjugated verb in 'Mon frère joue au rugby'.
Subject: 'Mon frère'; conjugated verb: 'joue'.
How do you make the sentence 'Je joue au tennis' negative?
Je ne joue pas au tennis.
How does 'parce que' change before the pronoun 'il'?
It drops the final vowel to become 'parce qu'il'.
What is the rule for capitalising months when writing the date 'le 12 mars'?
French months are written with a lowercase initial letter.