This introduction covers Les marqueurs de temps — Signpost Past, Present, and Future within Time markers: spotting past, present and future for GCSE French. Revise Time markers: spotting past, present and future in Time Markers and the Three Time Frames 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 1 of 4 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
🕐 Les marqueurs de temps — Signpost Past, Present, and Future
Here is the secret the AQA mark scheme hides: the examiner does not count tenses — they count time frames. For the 90-word writing task, you need all three frames to reach the top AO3 band. A time marker placed at the start of a sentence does that signposting instantly. Even "demain je mange de la pizza" counts as a future time frame. One word can unlock a whole mark band.
Practice questions for Time markers: spotting past, present and future
What does the French word 'hier' mean in English?
Which tense does the time marker 'demain' signal?
Quick recall flashcards
hier
yesterday -- signals the perfect tense (past)
demain
tomorrow -- signals the future tense