FlexiLingoIn one line
The reading text is usually a press article — and journalistic French uses nouns where speech uses verbs.
Structural verbs
These carry little content but tell you what the writer is doing:
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
il s'agit de | /il sa.ʒi də/ | it is about |
concerner | /kɔ̃.sɛʁ.ne/ | to concern |
constater | /kɔ̃s.ta.te/ | to observe, note |
observer | /ɔb.sɛʁ.ve/ | to observe |
souligner | /su.li.ɲe/ | to emphasise |
préciser | /pʁe.si.ze/ | to clarify |
affirmer | /a.fiʁ.me/ | to assert |
déclarer | /de.kla.ʁe/ | to state |
estimer | /ɛs.ti.me/ | to estimate, reckon |
considérer | /kɔ̃.si.de.ʁe/ | to consider |
mettre en évidence | /mɛtʁ ɑ̃n e.vi.dɑ̃s/ | to bring out, highlight |
révéler | /ʁe.ve.le/ | to reveal |
montrer | /mɔ̃.tʁe/ | to show |
expliquer | /ɛks.pli.ke/ | to explain |
s'appuyer sur | /sa.pɥi.je syʁ/ | to rely on |
permettre de | /pɛʁ.mɛtʁ də/ | to make it possible to |
entraîner | /ɑ̃.tʁɛ.ne/ | to lead to, cause |
provoquer | /pʁɔ.vɔ.ke/ | to cause |
favoriser | /fa.vɔ.ʁi.ze/ | to encourage |
limiter | /li.mi.te/ | to limit |
renforcer | /ʁɑ̃.fɔʁ.se/ | to strengthen |
réduire | /ʁe.dɥiʁ/ | to reduce |
augmenter | /oɡ.mɑ̃.te/ | to increase |
entraîneris a false friend worth flagging: in a press text it means "to lead to", not "to train".
Frequent abstract nouns
| French | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
le phénomène | /fe.nɔ.mɛn/ | phenomenon |
la tendance | /tɑ̃.dɑ̃s/ | trend |
l'évolution (f.) | /e.vɔ.ly.sjɔ̃/ | development, change |
le changement | /ʃɑ̃ʒ.mɑ̃/ | change |
la cause | /koz/ | cause |
la conséquence | /kɔ̃.se.kɑ̃s/ | consequence |
l'impact (m.) | /ɛ̃.pakt/ | impact |
l'enjeu (m.) | /ɑ̃.ʒø/ | what is at stake |
le débat | /de.ba/ | debate |
l'avis (m.) | /a.vi/ | opinion |
le point de vue | /pwɛ̃ də vy/ | point of view |
l'argument (m.) | /aʁ.ɡy.mɑ̃/ | argument |
l'exemple (m.) | /ɛɡ.zɑ̃pl/ | example |
la preuve | /pʁœv/ | evidence |
l'étude (f.) | /e.tyd/ | study |
l'enquête (f.) | /ɑ̃.kɛt/ | survey, investigation |
le sondage | /sɔ̃.daʒ/ | poll |
le chiffre | /ʃifʁ/ | figure |
le taux | /to/ | rate |
la moitié | /mwa.tje/ | half |
la majorité | /ma.ʒɔ.ʁi.te/ | majority |
la minorité | /mi.nɔ.ʁi.te/ | minority |
le problème | /pʁɔ.blɛm/ | problem |
la solution | /sɔ.ly.sjɔ̃/ | solution |
le risque | /ʁisk/ | risk |
l'avantage (m.) | /a.vɑ̃.taʒ/ | advantage |
l'inconvénient (m.) | /ɛ̃.kɔ̃.ve.njɑ̃/ | drawback |
le domaine | /dɔ.mɛn/ | field, area |
le milieu | /mi.ljø/ | environment, setting |
la société | /sɔ.sje.te/ | society, company |
le gouvernement | /gu.vɛʁ.nə.mɑ̃/ | government |
l'environnement (m.) | /ɑ̃.vi.ʁɔn.mɑ̃/ | the environment |
Frequent evaluative adjectives
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
important /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.tɑ̃/ | importante /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.tɑ̃t/ | important, large |
nécessaire /ne.sɛ.sɛʁ/ | nécessaire /ne.sɛ.sɛʁ/ | necessary |
possible /pɔ.sibl/ | possible /pɔ.sibl/ | possible |
probable /pʁo.babl/ | probable /pʁo.babl/ | likely |
récent /ʁe.sɑ̃/ | récente /ʁe.sɑ̃t/ | recent |
actuel /ak.ty.ɛl/ | actuelle /ak.ty.ɛl/ | current |
ancien /ɑ̃.sjɛ̃/ | ancienne /ɑ̃.sjɛn/ | old, former |
nombreux /nɔ̃.bʁø/ | nombreuse /nɔ̃.bʁøz/ | numerous |
croissant /kʁwa.sɑ̃/ | croissante /kʁwa.sɑ̃t/ | growing |
principal /pʁɛ̃.si.pal/ | principale /pʁɛ̃.si.pal/ | main |
essentiel /e.sɑ̃.sjɛl/ | essentielle /e.sɑ̃.sjɛl/ | essential |
efficace /e.fi.kas/ | efficace /e.fi.kas/ | effective |
durable /dy.ʁabl/ | durable /dy.ʁabl/ | sustainable, lasting |
inquiétant /ɛ̃.kje.tɑ̃/ | inquiétante /ɛ̃.kje.tɑ̃t/ | worrying |
surprenant /syʁ.pʁə.nɑ̃/ | surprenante /syʁ.pʁə.nɑ̃t/ | surprising |
actuelmeans "current", not "actual". A dangerous false friend — the Englishactualmeans something different. Seefaux-amis.
Source-citing phrases
They appear several times in every press text:
| French | Meaning | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
selon une étude | according to a study | /sə.lɔ̃ y.n‿e.tyd/ |
d'après les chiffres | according to the figures | /da.pʁɛ le ʃifʁ/ |
selon les experts | according to experts | /sə.lɔ̃ le.z‿ɛks.pɛʁ/ |
d'après l'auteur | according to the author | /da.pʁɛ lo.tœʁ/ |
il ressort de cette enquête que… | this survey shows that | /il ʁə.sɔʁ də sɛ.t‿ɑ̃.kɛt kə/ |
les données montrent que… | the data show that | /le dɔ.ne mɔ̃tʁ kə/ |
contrairement aux idées reçues | contrary to received wisdom | /kɔ̃.tʁɛʁ.mɑ̃ o.z‿i.de ʁə.sy/ |
de plus en plus de | more and more | /də ply.z‿ɑ̃ ply də/ |
de moins en moins de | fewer and fewer | /də mwɛ̃.z‿ɑ̃ mwɛ̃ də/ |
Where you meet them
| Type of text | What dominates | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| news article | abstract nouns, selon, statistics, passé composé | /sə.lɔ̃/ |
| advertisement | imperatives, n'hésitez pas, profitez de | /ne.zi.te pa/ · /pʁo.fi.te də/ |
| official letter | veuillez, je vous prie de, the conditional | /vœ.je/ · /ʒə vu pʁi də/ |
| friendly email | tu, ça, dropped ne | /ty/ · /sa/ · /nə/ |
| instructions | infinitives or imperatives: Appuyer sur… | /a.pɥi.je syʁ/ |
Traps
| Trap | Explanation |
|---|---|
actuel = current | Not "actual". And actuellement = at present. |
important means both "important" and "large" | une somme importante means a large sum. |
sensible = sensitive | Not sensible. |
assister à = to attend | Not to assist — that is aider. |
demander = to ask | Not to demand — that is exiger. |
la lecture = reading | Not a lecture. |
la place = square, seat, room | Not a place in general — that is l'endroit. |
rester = to stay | Not to rest — that is se reposer. |
Notice that every single row of that table is an English word that looks the same and means something else. That is not a coincidence: the trap list for the reading section is essentially the false-friend list. A learner from a non-Latin language will look these words up; you will not, because they look familiar. See
faux-amisfor the full inventory.
The nominal style of the press
why a news text feels harder than speech
Written French uses nouns where speech uses verbs. That single feature accounts for most of the difficulty of a news text:
| Spoken | Written |
|---|---|
Les prix ont augmenté. /le pʁi ɔ̃.t‿oɡ.mɑ̃.te/ | L'augmentation des prix… /loɡ.mɑ̃.ta.sjɔ̃ de pʁi/ |
La ville s'est développée. /la vil sɛ de.vlɔ.pe/ | Le développement de la ville… /lə de.vlɔp.mɑ̃ də la vil/ |
Parce qu'il pleuvait… /paʁs.kil plø.vɛ/ | En raison de la pluie… /ɑ̃ ʁɛ.zɔ̃ də la plɥi/ |
Beaucoup de gens sont venus. /bo.ku də ʒɑ̃ sɔ̃ və.ny/ | L'affluence du public… /la.fly.ɑ̃s dy py.blik/ |
So if you can recognise a verb-derived noun, the text suddenly clears up.
And these nouns are formed regularly:
| Suffix | Examples |
|---|---|
-tion | augmentation /oɡ.mɑ̃.ta.sjɔ̃/ production /pʁo.dyk.sjɔ̃/ évolution /e.vo.ly.sjɔ̃/ |
-ment | changement /ʃɑ̃ʒ.mɑ̃/ développement /de.vlɔp.mɑ̃/ gouvernement /ɡu.vɛʁ.nə.mɑ̃/ |
-ité | majorité /ma.ʒo.ʁi.te/ possibilité /pɔ.si.bi.li.te/ activité /ak.ti.vi.te/ |
-ance | croissance /kʁwa.sɑ̃s/ tendance /tɑ̃.dɑ̃s/ importance /ɛ̃.pɔʁ.tɑ̃s/ |
The detail is in nominalisation — and that page also gives you the gender of these nouns.
Most of these words are free to you — English has augmentation, production, evolution, majority, possibility — because English borrowed the same Latin suffixes. What is not free is the register. English news writing prefers verbs and treats heavy noun phrases as bureaucratic; French news writing prefers nouns. So the vocabulary is familiar and the style is not.
An effective drill: every unfamiliar noun you meet in a text, guess its verb. l'affluence → affluer. le déplacement → se déplacer. In most cases you already know the verb.