AP French AP French Grammar & Language Mechanics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which French verb construction uses the infinitive to express an action immediately preceding another past action?
- Venir de + infinitif (Correct answer)
- Aller + infinitif
- Être en train de + infinitif
- Finir de + infinitif
Correct answer: Venir de + infinitif
Venir de + infinitif (to have just done something) expresses a very recently completed action, e.g., 'Je viens de manger' means 'I just ate.'
Question 2: What is the role of the French pronoun 'en' in the sentence 'J'en veux trois' ?
- It replaces a direct object preceded by an article défini
- It replaces a noun preceded by de or a partitive article (Correct answer)
- It replaces an indirect object referring to a person
- It replaces a location already mentioned
Correct answer: It replaces a noun preceded by de or a partitive article
En replaces a noun that was introduced by de, du, de la, or a number, as in 'Je veux trois pommes' → 'J'en veux trois.'
Question 3: Which is the correct past participle agreement in: 'Les lettres qu'il ___ (écrire) sont intéressantes' ?
- écrit
- écrites (Correct answer)
- écrits
- écrite
Correct answer: écrites
When the direct object (les lettres, feminine plural) precedes the verb in the passé composé with avoir, the past participle agrees: écrites.
Question 4: In French, the phrase 'Il faut que' is always followed by which mood?
- L'indicatif
- Le conditionnel
- Le subjonctif (Correct answer)
- L'infinitif
Correct answer: Le subjonctif
Il faut que is an impersonal expression of necessity that always requires the subjunctive in the dependent clause.
Question 5: What distinguishes the usage of 'depuis' from 'il y a' in French temporal expressions?
- Depuis indicates duration continuing to the present; il y a marks a completed past moment (Correct answer)
- Depuis marks a completed past moment; il y a indicates ongoing duration
- They are fully interchangeable
- Depuis only refers to the future; il y a to the past
Correct answer: Depuis indicates duration continuing to the present; il y a marks a completed past moment
Depuis + present tense indicates an action that started in the past and continues now, while il y a + passé composé marks a specific moment ago.
Question 6: Which sentence correctly applies the rule of double negation in French?
- Je ne mange pas rien.
- Je ne mange rien. (Correct answer)
- Je ne rien mange.
- Je mange ne rien.
Correct answer: Je ne mange rien.
Je ne mange rien correctly uses ne...rien (nothing) as a negative pair, with ne before the verb and rien after it.
AP French AP French Grammar & Language Mechanics 2
Which French verb construction uses the infinitive to express an action immediately preceding another past action?