Theme 3.1/3.2: School Life, Subjects and Daily Routine
School life, subjects and daily routine, covered as Theme 3.1/3.2 of GCSE French reading, spans the school day, timetables, and comparisons between French and other school systems. Examiners are testing whether a student can track reflexive verbs of routine (je me lève, je me couche, je me prépare) to their correct subject in a passage describing more than one person, follow exact clock times and sequencing words (d'abord, ensuite, puis, enfin) to answer 'what time' and 'in what order' questions, and tell a fixed daily habit apart from something that only happens on a specific day such as le mercredi.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Identify each reflexive verb in the routine (je me lève, je me douche, je me couche) and check the reflexive pronoun matches the subject, since a passage describing several people needs each pronoun tracked separately.
- Underline the exact clock times and time-order words (à sept heures, avant de partir, après les cours, puis) attached to each part of the day, since 'what time' and 'in what order' questions rely on these details precisely.
- Note comparisons of routines between people or between school systems (au Royaume-Uni... alors qu'en France...) and identify exactly which detail belongs to which system.
- Watch opinion language about subjects or school life (je trouve, à mon avis, ce que je déteste c'est) attached to specific subjects or aspects of the school day.
- Distinguish a fixed daily habit (present tense) from something that only happens on certain days (le mercredi, seulement le lundi) - do not assume a detail applies to every day.
- For questions on daily routine order, list the events in the order given by the connectives (d'abord, ensuite, puis, enfin) rather than the order they might seem logical in real life.
Worked example
Lis la phrase et réponds. 'D'habitude, je me lève à six heures et demie, je me douche rapidement, puis je prends mon petit-déjeuner avant de partir au collège à sept heures et quart.' À quelle heure la personne part-elle pour le collège ?
- Identify the sequence connectives: d'habitude sets up a routine, then puis marks the next step.
- Track each reflexive verb and time: je me lève à six heures et demie (gets up at 6:30), je me douche (showers).
- Find the final clause with the departure time: avant de partir au collège à sept heures et quart (before leaving for school at 7:15).
- The person leaves for school at seven fifteen, a quarter past seven.
Practice questions
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Q1Translate: 'Je me couche vers vingt-deux heures les jours d'école.'Show answer
Answer: I go to bed around ten pm on school days.
Q2In 'il se prépare tout seul le matin', who prepares themselves in the morning?Show answer
Answer: He does, by himself/on his own.
Q3Give the English meaning of 'l'emploi du temps'.Show answer
Answer: The timetable.
Q4True or false: 'le mercredi après-midi, nous n'avons pas cours' means there are no lessons all week.Show answer
Answer: False - it only means there are no lessons on Wednesday afternoons specifically.
Q5Translate: 'Après les cours, je fais mes devoirs avant de dîner.'Show answer
Answer: After lessons, I do my homework before having dinner.
Q6Spot the reflexive verb and its subject: 'Mes soeurs se réveillent très tôt pour aller à la piscine.'Show answer
Answer: Se réveillent (wake up); subject = mes soeurs (my sisters).
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Lis le texte et réponds aux questions. En général, ma journée commence très tôt : je me réveille à six heures et quart, je me douche, puis je m'habille rapidement avant de prendre le bus à sept heures vingt. Les cours commencent à huit heures et se terminent à seize heures trente, sauf le mercredi, où nous finissons à midi. Ce jour-là, j'en profite pour faire du sport avec mon club de basket. Le soir, après le dîner, je fais mes devoirs pendant environ une heure, puis je me détends un peu avant de me coucher vers vingt-deux heures trente. (a) What time does the writer wake up? (b) What time do lessons normally finish, and when is this different? (c) True, false or not mentioned: on Wednesdays, the writer does basketball training. (d) According to the text, what does the writer do after dinner? (e) What time does the writer go to bed?
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Lis le texte et réponds aux questions. Ma correspondante anglaise, Emma, m'a expliqué que les journées scolaires au Royaume-Uni sont différentes des nôtres. Là-bas, les cours commencent vers neuf heures et se terminent souvent vers quinze heures trente, ce qui me semble très tôt comparé à la France, où on finit généralement vers dix-sept heures. Par contre, Emma porte un uniforme tous les jours, alors que chez nous, il n'y a pas d'uniforme obligatoire. Ce qui m'a le plus surpris, c'est qu'en Angleterre, les élèves ont souvent une pause déjeuner plus courte que la nôtre, qui dure généralement une heure entière. (a) According to Emma, what time do lessons finish in the UK? (b) True, false or not mentioned: French school days generally finish later than in the UK. (c) What difference is mentioned regarding uniform? (d) What surprised the writer most about the English school day? (e) How long does the lunch break usually last in France, according to the text?
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See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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