Travel and tourism: Translation (both directions)
Translation practice on travel and tourism covers the perfect tense for a past holiday, the near future/future for an upcoming trip, prepositions used with countries and cities (en/au/aux/à), and idioms such as avoir hâte de + infinitive (to look forward to) and il y a, which can mean either 'there is/are' or, with a time expression, 'ago'. Examiners are testing accurate country prepositions, the correct past/future tense split, and whether students spot il y a's two different meanings.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Read the whole sentence/passage first.
- Identify tense/person: perfect tense for a completed past holiday, near future/future for a planned trip; look for time markers such as l'année dernière (perfect), l'année prochaine (future).
- Choose the correct preposition for the country or city: en + feminine country (en France, en Espagne), au + masculine country (au Portugal, au Japon), aux + plural country (aux États-Unis, aux Pays-Bas), à + city (à Paris, à Londres).
- Recognise the two meanings of il y a: with no time expression it means 'there is/are' (il y a une piscine); placed before a time expression it means 'ago' (il y a deux ans = two years ago) - never confuse the two.
- Translate avoir hâte de + infinitive as 'to look forward to' (j'ai hâte de partir = I am looking forward to leaving), not literally 'to be in a hurry to'.
- Write a full draft, then check agreements last: past participles of être verbs of movement agree with the subject (nous sommes allé(e)s).
- Read the finished sentence back for natural phrasing.
Worked example
Translate into French: Two years ago, we went on holiday to Spain and stayed in a hotel that had a swimming pool. Next summer, I am looking forward to going to Portugal instead.
- Chunk the sentence: 'Two years ago, we went on holiday to Spain' / 'stayed in a hotel that had a swimming pool' / 'Next summer, I am looking forward to going to Portugal instead'.
- 'Two years ago' is il y a placed before a time expression, meaning 'ago', not 'there is': il y a deux ans.
- 'we went on holiday to Spain' needs the perfect tense with être and the feminine country preposition en: nous sommes allé(e)s en vacances en Espagne.
- 'that had a swimming pool' describes a background feature, so the imperfect il y avait: qui avait une piscine (or: où il y avait une piscine).
- 'I am looking forward to going' is avoir hâte de + infinitive: j'ai hâte d'aller au Portugal (masculine country, so au).
- Full translation: Il y a deux ans, nous sommes allé(e)s en vacances en Espagne et nous avons logé dans un hôtel qui avait une piscine. L'été prochain, j'ai hâte d'aller au Portugal à la place.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Translate into English: L'année dernière, je suis allé aux États-Unis avec ma famille.Show answer
Answer: Last year, I went to the United States with my family.
Q2Translate into French: There is a beautiful beach near our hotel.Show answer
Answer: Il y a une belle plage près de notre hôtel.
Q3Translate into English: Il y a trois ans, mes parents ont visité le Portugal pour la première fois.Show answer
Answer: Three years ago, my parents visited Portugal for the first time.
Q4Spot the error and correct it: 'Je vais en Portugal cet été.'Show answer
Answer: Portugal is masculine, so it takes au, not en; it should read: Je vais au Portugal cet été.
Q5Translate into French: I am looking forward to visiting Japan next year.Show answer
Answer: J'ai hâte de visiter le Japon l'année prochaine.
Q6Translate into English: Nous avons loué une voiture pour explorer la région.Show answer
Answer: We hired a car to explore the region/area.
Q7Translate into French: The flight was delayed, so we arrived late.Show answer
Answer: Le vol a été retardé, donc nous sommes arrivé(e)s en retard.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Translate this passage into English: Il y a deux ans, je suis allé en Italie avec ma famille et nous avons visité beaucoup de monuments historiques. L'hôtel où nous avons logé avait une belle vue sur la mer. Cette année, j'ai hâte de partir aux États-Unis parce que je n'y suis jamais allé. Malheureusement, le voyage coûte très cher.
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Translate this passage into French: Last summer, I went to France with my school and we stayed in a small hotel near the beach. There was a swimming pool and the weather was lovely. Next year, I am looking forward to going to Germany because I have never visited it. However, the flights are quite expensive.
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See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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