Education and work: Translation (both directions)
Translation practice on education and work covers present tense for daily school routine, near future/future tense for career plans and post-16 intentions, comparative structures for comparing subjects, and idioms such as avoir l'intention de + infinitive and compter + infinitive for future plans, plus faire un stage (to do work experience). Examiners are testing accurate translation of future-time expressions and subject-specific vocabulary, and whether students avoid inventing a literal English year-number for a French school-year name.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the whole sentence/passage first.
- Identify tense/person: near future (aller + infinitive, 'going to'), simple future (verb + future endings, 'will'), or present tense for routine facts; look for markers such as l'année prochaine (next year), plus tard (later), à l'avenir (in the future).
- Note that French school-year names do not translate literally into English year numbers (e.g. la troisième is roughly Year 10, la terminale is roughly Year 13); when translating, either keep the French term or give the nearest UK equivalent, but never invent a made-up literal number.
- Translate future-plan idioms by meaning: avoir l'intention de + infinitive (to intend to), compter + infinitive (to plan/intend to), faire un stage (to do work experience/an internship).
- Build comparative sentences correctly: plus...que (more... than), moins...que (less... than), aussi...que (as... as), remembering the adjective still agrees with the noun it describes.
- Write a full draft, then check agreements last (adjective agreement, subject-verb agreement in the future tense endings -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont).
- Read the finished sentence back for natural, exam-appropriate phrasing.
Worked example
Translate into French: Next year I am going to do work experience in a hospital, because I intend to become a doctor and I find science more interesting than history.
- Chunk the sentence: 'Next year I am going to do work experience' / 'because I intend to become a doctor' / 'I find science more interesting than history'.
- 'am going to do' is the near future (aller + infinitive), triggered by l'année prochaine: l'année prochaine, je vais faire un stage dans un hôpital.
- 'I intend to become' uses avoir l'intention de + infinitive: j'ai l'intention de devenir médecin.
- 'I find science more interesting than history' is a comparative with plus...que: je trouve les sciences plus intéressantes que l'histoire.
- Check agreement: intéressantes agrees with the feminine plural les sciences.
- Full translation: L'année prochaine, je vais faire un stage dans un hôpital, parce que j'ai l'intention de devenir médecin et je trouve les sciences plus intéressantes que l'histoire.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Translate into English: Je suis en première et l'année prochaine je passerai mon bac.Show answer
Answer: I am in Year 12 and next year I will sit my baccalauréat (French school-leaving exam).
Q2Translate into French: I plan to study languages at university.Show answer
Answer: Je compte étudier les langues à l'université.
Q3Translate into English: Elle vient de terminer son stage dans une école primaire.Show answer
Answer: She has just finished her work experience in a primary school.
Q4Spot the error and correct it: 'Je vais devenir un professeur.'Show answer
Answer: Professions after devenir/être do not take an article in French; it should read: Je vais devenir professeur.
Q5Translate into French: Maths is more difficult than geography, in my opinion.Show answer
Answer: Les maths sont plus difficiles que la géographie, à mon avis.
Q6Translate into English: Mon frère a l'intention de quitter l'école à seize ans pour faire un apprentissage.Show answer
Answer: My brother intends to leave school at sixteen to do an apprenticeship.
Q7Translate into French: After my exams, I will look for a part-time job.Show answer
Answer: Après mes examens, je chercherai un emploi à temps partiel.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: Au collège, ma matière préférée est l'anglais parce que le professeur est très sympa. L'année prochaine, je vais choisir mes options pour le lycée, et je compte étudier les sciences parce qu'elles sont plus utiles que l'histoire pour mon avenir. Plus tard, j'ai l'intention de faire un stage dans une entreprise avant de décider quel métier me convient.
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Translate this passage into French: This year I am sitting my GCSE exams and I work hard because my exams are in June. Next year I want to study at sixth form college, and I intend to choose subjects that are more interesting than the ones I study now. Later, I plan to do an apprenticeship in engineering because it is better paid than a normal job.
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