Learning French, Friend or Foe? Quiz

Answer: Une véranda

"Une serre" is a greenhouse, "un conservatoire" is a school of music and not the correct translation of the English conservatory or sun-room, and "une gallerie" is a corridor, balcony or tunnel, or even a mall.

Answer: Bring along some cheese to accompany the delightful wine he is about to serve you

If Monsieur Dupont wanted to explore the coastal cave complex in the cliffside of his estate he would have invited you to visit "une grotte", but when referring to his collection of well-matured wine he will talk about his "cave", which might be an underground cellar, or nowadays simply a special refrigerator where his precious wine is stored at an ideal temperature and humidity.

Answer: A French "store" is found on every window of the house

"Un store" is an interior window blind or shade, used to keep out the sun (and curious neighbours from peeping in). Not to be confused with "un volet" or a shutter. Also called "une persienne", exterior window shutters of various kinds are extremely common in France.

They range from traditional hinged, wooden shutters to roll-down shutters made from PVC, wood or aluminium, which can be operated manually or electrically.

Answer: Everyone read for a while

A university lecture is called "un cour magistral", whereas reprimanding kids would be "gronder les enfants". "Une séance de lecture" means a reading session.

Answer: Un car

The correct answer is "un car", the French word for an inter-urban or long-distance holiday coach. "Un coach" is a mentor or sports trainer, "un bus" refers to public transport in a local urban area, and while many Citroën 2CVs are still wending their ways along the French highways and byways it would be difficult to fit a large group into one. "Une moto", (a motorbike) of course, is for cool, leather-clad, long-haired folk, or ordinary Joe-Soaps who are not averse to risking life and limb.

Answer: Her lunchtime baguette's dry and hard

Looks like Madame Dupont has some stale bread ("pain").

The French love their baguettes, so much so that they have a law about it. The French bread law states that baguettes must be made on the premises on which they are sold, and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. This is why you will find a bakery in even the smallest of villages, and it will be one of the most frequented establishments.

Baguettes only stay fresh for a couple of hours, so need to be purchased daily.

Answer: Going for a jog in tracksuit bottoms and trainers

The act of jogging is called "faire un footing" in French, whereas the tracksuit bottoms (clothing) are called "un jogging". And while a basket is called "un panier", "des baskets" just means trainers.

By the way, "un sweat" in French is a sweatshirt or hoodie, not briny beads of moisture dripping from your forehead after a tiring work-out, but to sweat is "transpirer".

Answer: La médiathèque

Books and movies are borrowed from "la médiathèque" (the media library), whereas at "la librairie" (bookstore) books have to be purchased and paid for. Indeed, the French ending -rie often denotes a shop of some kind ("une boulangerie" is a bakery, "une boucherie" is a butcher shop, "une poissonerie" is a fishmonger, and "une friperie" is a thrift store, whereas "une bibliothèque" is either a bookshelf, or a lending library for books only.

"La mediathèque" also lends out music and DVDs, video or pc games or magazines, and often has the day's newspapers available to read on site.

"Le troc et puces" is a flea market or car boot sale.

Answer: No

Of course not, Collège is the natural follow-on to primary schooling, and all children in France aged 11-15 attend "collège".

It's worth noting that highschool 'years' are numbered in reverse order in the French school system. An 11-year-old goes into "6ème" (or 6th form) and finishes "collège" in "3ème" (or 3rd form), then proceeds to "2nde", "1ère" and "terminale" in "Lycée", leaving school at 18 years old with (hopefully) "le Baccalauréat" (high school certificate/O Levels etc.) in their pocket.

Answer: He doesn't like French toast

French baguette goes stale within a few hours, hence the invention of "Pain perdu", slices of stale baguette dipped in a sugary, beaten-egg mixture and fried in butter. Known in English as "French toast", or sometimes "eggy-bread", it makes a delicious snack.