Writing · task 160 to 120 wordsLevel B1

Suggesting a Friend Do Sports Together

The task

60 to 120 words

Vous souhaitez convaincre un(e) ami(e) de se mettre au sport avec vous. Rédigez-lui un message dans lequel vous présentez votre projet : quelles activités vous envisagez, où vous comptez les pratiquer, à quel rythme, et ce dont vous aurez besoin comme équipement. Votre message doit compter entre 60 et 120 mots.

TCF Canada — expression écrite — tâche 1

Translation of the prompt

You want to convince a friend to take up sports with you. Write them a message in which you present your project: what activities you're considering, where you plan to do them, how often, and what equipment you will need. Your message must be between 60 and 120 words.

How to structure your answer

Start with a friendly greeting and briefly announce the purpose of the message
Present the sports project: which activity or activities, when, and how often
Give practical details: location, necessary equipment, and possible cost
Add a motivating argument: why doing it together is better (fun, mutual support, consistency) — you can reuse the turn of phrase "tenir à cœur"
Close with a clear invitation for a reply

Model answer

about 113 words

Salut Karim,

J'espère que tu vas bien ! Je voulais te proposer un projet qui me tient à cœur : reprendre le sport ensemble. Que dirais-tu de courir deux fois par semaine, le mardi et le samedi matin, au parc du Mont-Royal ? C'est un endroit magnifique avec des sentiers bien aménagés, à dix minutes de chez toi en métro.

Pour commencer, pas besoin de matériel compliqué : de bonnes baskets et une tenue confortable suffisent. On pourrait aussi s'inscrire ensemble à un cours de natation le week-end à la piscine municipale.

Bouger ensemble nous motivera davantage et ce sera l'occasion de discuter en plein air.

Dis-moi vite si ça te tente !

Sarah

Show the translation

Hi Karim,

I hope you're doing well! I wanted to suggest a project that matters a lot to me: getting back into sports together. What would you say to running twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturday mornings, at Mont-Royal Park? It's a beautiful spot with well-maintained trails, ten minutes from your place by metro.

To start, we don't need any complicated equipment: good sneakers and comfortable clothing are enough. We could also sign up together for a swimming class on the weekend at the municipal pool.

Exercising together will motivate us more and it will be a chance to chat outdoors.

Let me know quickly if you're interested!

Sarah

Key vocabulary

Word or phrase	Meaning
se mettre au sport	to start practicing a physical activity regularly
un sentier aménagé	a path specially prepared for walking or running
une tenue confortable	comfortable clothing that doesn't restrict movement
s'inscrire à un cours	to officially sign up to take part in a supervised activity
tenir à cœur	to be something that matters a lot to someone
motiver quelqu'un	to give someone the desire or energy to do something
la régularité	the fact of doing an activity often and at regular intervals

Common mistakes

Forgetting the greeting suited to a friend — using a formal opening instead of a first name or a casual 'Salut'.
WrongMadame, Monsieur
RightSalut Karim
Confusing prepositions of place: using 'en' instead of 'au' before a masculine place name like 'parc'.
Wrongje fais du sport en le parc
Rightje fais du sport au parc
Dropping the partitive article with 'sport' — you always need 'du' before 'sport' in this expression.
Wrongfaire sport
Rightfaire du sport
Using the simple future everywhere instead of the conditional when making a suggestion or proposal.
Wrongtu viendras
Righttu viendrais
Forgetting to specify frequency or location, which makes the project vague and costs points on the 'relevance of content' criterion.
Going far over 120 words by trying to include every detail, or staying under 60 words due to insufficient development.

The grammar this task needs

Use of the conditional mood for suggestions and invitations

Since this task asks you to propose an activity to a friend, you need the conditional to sound polite and inviting rather than demanding, instead of using the future tense.

Que dirais-tu de courir deux fois par semaine ?
On pourrait aussi s'inscrire ensemble à un cours de natation.

Prepositions of place (au, à la, en)

You must correctly locate where the sporting activity will take place, and these prepositions are commonly confused by learners.

au parc du Mont-Royal
à la piscine municipale
à dix minutes de chez toi en métro

Partitive articles with 'faire du/de la sport'

The topic requires talking about sport activities in general, and the partitive article is essential here.

reprendre le sport ensemble
faire du sport

Phrases to reuse

Phrase	When to use it
J'espère que tu vas bien !	Use this as a warm opening line in an informal message to a friend.
Je voulais te proposer...	Use this to introduce the main idea or project you want to suggest.
Que dirais-tu de...	Use this to make a friendly suggestion in the conditional mood.
On pourrait...	Use this to propose a joint activity casually.
Pour commencer, pas besoin de...	Use this to reassure your friend that getting started is simple, with no complicated requirements.
Ce sera l'occasion de...	Use this to highlight a positive side-benefit of the activity.
Dis-moi vite si ça te tente !	Use this as a friendly closing line that invites a quick reply.
Ça me tient à cœur	Use this to show that the project matters personally to you.
à dix minutes de chez toi	Use this to give a quick, clear indication of distance/location.
Bouger ensemble nous motivera davantage	Use this to justify why doing the activity together is a good idea.

Ideas bank

Position	Argument	Example
for	Doing sport together increases motivation and consistency	Two friends running together are less likely to skip a session than someone training alone.
for	Shared activities strengthen friendship while improving health	A weekly swimming class becomes both exercise and a chance to catch up and talk.
for	Choosing an accessible location makes the plan realistic	A park close to home, reachable by metro in ten minutes, removes excuses for skipping.
nuance	Starting simple avoids discouragement	Suggesting no special equipment beyond good shoes and comfortable clothes lowers the barrier to starting.
against	A friend might worry about cost or time commitment	You can address this by mentioning a municipal (public) pool, which is usually affordable.

What the examiner looks for

The examiner checks that you clearly state a concrete sports project: which activity, how often, and where. They expect an appropriate informal tone with a friendly opening and closing, since the message is addressed to a friend. They also look for correct use of place prepositions and the conditional mood when making a suggestion. Finally, they check that the word count stays within 60-120 words while still covering all the requested details (activity, location, frequency, equipment).

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