This key facts covers Key rules at a glance within English to French translation: gold structures for GCSE French. Revise English to French translation: gold structures in Writing: 50, 90 and 150 Words + Translation into French for GCSE French with 15 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 3 of 4 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📌 Key rules at a glance
- Never translate word by word: read the whole phrase, understand the meaning, then produce the French equivalent
- Article trap: after aimer/adorer/préférer + noun → always use definite article (le, la, les) even if English has no article
- Adjective agreement: every adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes — check every single one
- Contraction rule: à + le = au, à + les = aux, de + le = du, de + les = des — à le and de le do not exist in French
- Near future: "I am going to do" = je vais + infinitif — not je suis aller
- Negation: ne… pas wraps around the conjugated verb: je ne mange pas — never split into three separate locations
- Être verbs in perfect tense: aller, venir, partir, arriver, rester, naître, mourir + all reflexives use être as auxiliary — remember to add past participle agreement
Practice questions for English to French translation: gold structures
On AQA GCSE French Paper 4, how many marks is the English-to-French translation worth in total?
How do you correctly translate 'I am 15 years old' into French?
Quick recall flashcards
Translation trap: missing articles
French nouns almost always need an article — English often does not.
'I like chocolate' = 'J'aime le chocolat' (need 'le')
'She plays tennis' = 'Elle joue au tennis' (à + le = au)
'I eat bread' = 'Je mange du pain' (need 'du')
Always ask: which article does this noun need?
Translation trap: 'in/to' a country
The preposition changes by gender:
- Feminine countries (most -e): en France, en Espagne, en Italie
- Masculine countries: au Portugal, au Japon, au Canada
- Plural countries: aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas
- Cities: à Paris, à Londres, à New York
Never use 'dans' for countries.