This deep dive covers The Four-Step Translation Process 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 2 of 4 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📋 The Four-Step Translation Process
- Read the full English passage for meaning — understand what is being said before you translate a single word
- Translate phrase by phrase, not word by word — English and French phrase structure differ; match ideas, not individual words
- Apply the grammar checklist (see table below) — every sentence, every time
- Re-read your French aloud — does it flow? Does it sound like French or like English with French words?
The grammar checklist — 5 traps AQA always tests
| # | Trap | English | Wrong ✗ | Correct ✓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Articles — French needs one where English has none | I like cats. | J'aime chats. | J'aime les chats. |
| 2 | Adjective agreement — match gender & number | She is tall and intelligent. | Elle est grand et intelligent. | Elle est grande et intelligente. |
| 3 | Tense — match the English tense exactly | She has eaten. / She was eating. | Elle mange. / Elle mangeait. (wrong tenses) | Elle a mangé. / Elle était en train de manger. |
| 4 | Adverb & negation word order | I don't often eat meat. | Je ne mange pas souvent la viande. | Je ne mange pas souvent de viande. |
| 5 | Prepositions — don't translate them literally | in the town centre / at school | dans le centre de la ville / à l'école (at school is fine; but: en ville / au centre-ville are idiomatic) | en ville / au centre-ville / à l'école |
Annotated model translation
English passage: My sister loves sport. She goes to the sports centre every Saturday with her friends. Last year, she won a competition. Next year, she would like to join the national team.
Ma sœur adore le sport. [1] Elle va au centre sportif tous les samedis avec ses amis. [2] L'année dernière, elle a gagné une compétition. [3] L'année prochaine, elle voudrait rejoindre l'équipe nationale. [4]
My sister loves sport. She goes to the sports centre every Saturday with her friends. Last year, she won a competition. Next year, she would like to join the national team.
- [1] Le sport — French uses definite article le with adorer / aimer + noun; English has no article
- [2] Au centre sportif — au = contraction of à + le; à le alone is incorrect
- [3] Elle a gagné — perfect tense correctly formed; gagner uses avoir as auxiliary
- [4] Elle voudrait — conditional of vouloir for "she would like"; NOT elle veut (she wants)
Tense-matching quick guide
| English structure | French tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I eat / I do eat / I am eating | Présent | Je mange |
| I ate / I have eaten / I did eat | Passé composé | J'ai mangé |
| I was eating / I used to eat | Imparfait | Je mangeais |
| I will eat | Futur simple or futur proche | Je mangerai / je vais manger |
| I would eat / I would like to | Conditionnel | Je mangerais / je voudrais |
| I am going to eat | Futur proche | Je vais manger |
Prepositions — don't translate literally
| English | Wrong literal translation | Correct French |
|---|---|---|
| at school | dans l'école | à l'école |
| at home | à la maison (also acceptable) | chez moi (more natural) |
| in town | dans la ville | en ville |
| by bus / car / train | par bus | en bus / en voiture / en train |
| on foot | en pied | à pied |
| by bike | en vélo (common error) | à vélo |
| in the morning | dans le matin | le matin |
⭐ The Article Rule for Likes and Dislikes
In English we say "I like music" with no article. In French, aimer, adorer, préférer, détester always require a definite article before the noun: J'aime la musique / J'adore le cinéma / Je préfère les animaux. This is one of the most consistently tested points in the translation task.
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?