French · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 3 of 12
Film, books and media
Cinéma, livres et médias
Talk about a film and a novel with nuance, sum up a plot, recognise the passé simple of written stories, and say “the best film I've seen”.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Give a nuanced opinion of a film or a book
- Sum up a plot in the present tense
- Recognise the passé simple in a novel
- Use the subjunctive after le meilleur… que and le seul… qui
Listen
Leaving a cinema in Lyon, Anaïs and Vincent talk about the film they have just seen, which is based on a novel Anaïs loves. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Vincent
Alors, ça t'a plu ?
So, did you like it?
Anaïs
Plutôt, oui. Les acteurs sont excellents, mais je l'ai trouvé un peu long. Et toi ?
Yes, on the whole. The actors are excellent, but I found it a bit long. What about you?
Vincent
Moi, j'ai adoré. C'est le meilleur film que j'aie vu cette année. Mais toi, tu avais lu le roman, non ?
I loved it. It's the best film I've seen this year. But you'd read the novel, hadn't you?
Anaïs
Oui, deux fois. D'ailleurs, c'est le seul livre qui m'ait fait pleurer.
Yes, twice. In fact, it's the only book that has ever made me cry.
Vincent
Et le film est fidèle au livre ?
And is the film faithful to the book?
Anaïs
Dans l'ensemble, oui. L'histoire est la même : une jeune femme revient dans son village après vingt ans et découvre un secret de famille.
On the whole, yes. The story is the same: a young woman comes back to her village after twenty years and discovers a family secret.
Vincent
Oui, elle apprend que son père lui a menti pendant trente ans. La scène de la gare est magnifique.
Yes, she finds out that her father lied to her for thirty years. The scene at the station is beautiful.
Anaïs
C'est vrai. Mais dans le roman, la fin est différente. Attends, j'ai le livre dans mon sac : « Ce soir-là, elle ouvrit la lettre et comprit pourquoi sa mère était partie. »
That's true. But in the novel the ending is different. Wait, I've got the book in my bag: “That evening, she opened the letter and understood why her mother had left.”
Vincent
« Elle ouvrit », « elle comprit »… Ça fait très littéraire !
“Elle ouvrit”, “elle comprit”… That sounds very literary!
Anaïs
C'est normal, c'est le passé simple. On le trouve dans les romans, mais presque jamais à l'oral.
That's normal, it's the passé simple. You find it in novels, but hardly ever in speech.
Vincent
En tout cas, tu m'as donné envie de le lire. Tu me le prêtes ?
Anyway, you've made me want to read it. Will you lend it to me?
Anaïs
Avec plaisir. Mais je te préviens : c'est le genre de livre qu'on ne peut plus lâcher.
With pleasure. But I'm warning you: it's the kind of book you can't put down.
Understand
The passé simple: the past of novels
Novels, tales and history books tell events in the , a past tense used in writing. It does the job of the passé composé: means (she opened the letter). The imparfait and the plus-que-parfait work as usual around it: ….
You only need to recognise it, mostly in the / and / forms. -er verbs end in -a and -èrent; most other verbs end in -it / -irent or -ut / -urent. Some forms look like the present (): the context tells you which tense it is.
| Infinitive | / | / |
|---|---|---|
The best film I've seen: the subjunctive after qui and que
After a superlative () or , the verb after or is often in the subjunctive: For a finished action, use the subjonctif passé: . In relaxed speech you will also hear the indicative ().
The subjunctive also appears when you are looking for something that may not exist: (any book like that, if there is one). If you know it exists, use the indicative:
- C'est le plus beau roman que j'aie lu.It's the most beautiful novel I've read.
- Tu connais quelqu'un qui puisse m'aider ?Do you know anyone who could help me?
- Je connais quelqu'un qui peut t'aider.I know someone who can help you.
Summing up a plot, giving a nuanced opinion
To sum up a plot, French uses the present tense, like English:
(I liked it) comes from : the film is the subject, and the person who likes it is … These phrases go from very positive to negative.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| I loved it. | |
| I liked it a lot. | |
| Yes, on the whole. | |
| Not bad, quite good. | |
| It's a bit long. | |
| It didn't convince me. |
More in the grammar: The passé simple: the past tense of novels · The past subjunctive: que j'aie fait, qu'il soit parti
New words
- plaireto please · : did you like it? : I like it
- le romannovel · : book
- d'ailleursin fact, besides, by the way
- pleurerto cry
- fidèlefaithful
- dans l'ensembleon the whole
- découvrirto discover, to find out · like : ,
- mentirto lie (tell lies) · like : ; past participle
- la finthe end, the ending
- à l'oralin speech, when speaking · : in writing; : hardly ever
- en tout casanyway, in any case
- prêterto lend · : will you lend it to me?
- prévenirto warn; to let (someone) know · like :
- lâcherto let go of, to put down · : a book you can't put down
Practise
1.In a novel you read: What does it mean?
2.Complete with the past subjunctive of .
It's the best film I've seen this year.
3.Complete with the past subjunctive of .
It's the only book that has ever made me cry.
4. is the passé simple of which verb?
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.It's the only book that has ever made me cry.
6.Match the French with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Ça m'a beaucoup plu, mais c'est un peu long.
I liked it a lot, but it's a bit long.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.