The environment and where people live: Vocabulary in context
Vocabulary for the environment and where people live covers nouns such as l'environnement (the environment), la pollution, le réchauffement climatique (global warming), les déchets (rubbish/waste) and les transports en commun (public transport); verbs including recycler (to recycle), gaspiller (to waste) and protéger (to protect); and the vocabulary of settlement types, from un village and une ville to la banlieue (the suburbs) and la campagne (the countryside). Examiners test whether candidates can discuss environmental problems and solutions with precise nouns and correct gender, and describe where they live with an accurate, opinion-backed comparison.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the core environmental nouns with gender: l'environnement (masculine), la pollution (feminine, cognate), le réchauffement climatique, les déchets (masculine plural), une usine (a factory), la couche d'ozone (the ozone layer).
- Learn the false friend une plage: it means a beach, not a plague, which is la peste - a good reminder that cognate-looking words can mislead in an environment text about coastal pollution.
- Learn the action verbs: recycler, gaspiller (to waste), économiser l'énergie (to save energy), protéger la planète - and their negative forms, ne pas recycler, ne rien gaspiller.
- Learn settlement vocabulary and gender together: un village (masculine), une ville (feminine), la banlieue (feminine, the suburbs), la campagne (feminine, the countryside) - and the set phrases habiter en ville/à la campagne/en banlieue, which do not all take the same preposition.
- Build comparison sentences about where you live using plus... que and moins... que, e.g. la campagne est plus tranquille que la ville, mais il y a moins de transports en commun.
- Learn les transports en commun (masculine plural, public transport) as a fixed phrase, and pair it with prendre (prendre les transports en commun) rather than a literal translation of 'to use.'
- When reading or listening, watch for cause-and-effect connectives (à cause de, donc, ce qui provoque) linking a human action to an environmental consequence - exam questions often ask you to identify exactly this link.
Worked example
Translate into French: 'In my town, there is a lot of pollution because of the factories, so I try to recycle and to use public transport instead of the car.'
- Translate the opening location phrase: dans ma ville.
- Translate the pollution clause with the correct cause connective: il y a beaucoup de pollution à cause des usines.
- Translate 'so' with donc, then the first solution verb: donc j'essaie de recycler.
- Translate the second solution, remembering prendre with transports en commun: et de prendre les transports en commun.
- Add the final comparison 'instead of the car': au lieu de la voiture, then join everything into one sentence: 'Dans ma ville, il y a beaucoup de pollution à cause des usines, donc j'essaie de recycler et de prendre les transports en commun au lieu de la voiture.'
Practice questions
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Q1What is the gender of environnement and déchets?Show answer
Answer: Environnement is masculine (l'environnement); déchets is masculine plural (les déchets).
Q2Translate into English: 'Il ne faut pas gaspiller l'eau.'Show answer
Answer: You must not waste water.
Q3What does une plage mean, and what English word does it resemble but NOT mean?Show answer
Answer: It means a beach; it resembles but does not mean 'plague', which is la peste.
Q4Translate into French: 'The countryside is quieter than the city.'Show answer
Answer: La campagne est plus tranquille que la ville.
Q5Give the correct preposition: 'J'habite ___ banlieue.'Show answer
Answer: en - j'habite en banlieue.
Q6Give one French verb meaning 'to protect the planet.'Show answer
Answer: protéger la planète
Q7Correct the error: 'Je prends la voiture pour aller au collège car il y a des transports en commun excellents.' (state the more environmentally sensible choice)Show answer
Answer: Je prends les transports en commun pour aller au collège car ils sont excellents.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE French exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Lisez ce texte, puis répondez aux questions en anglais. 'Dans ma région, il y a de plus en plus d'usines, ce qui cause beaucoup de pollution de l'air. Le gouvernement local a décidé d'améliorer les transports en commun pour réduire le nombre de voitures en ville. Moi, j'essaie de faire ma part en recyclant tout et en n'achetant que des produits avec moins d'emballage.' (a) What is causing air pollution in the writer's area? (1 mark) (b) What has the local government decided to do, and why? (2 marks) (c) Give two things the writer does personally to help. (2 marks)
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Translate this passage into English: 'Si on continue à gaspiller l'énergie et à polluer les rivières, la situation empirera pour les générations futures. Il est donc essentiel que chaque personne fasse un effort, même petit, pour protéger l'environnement.'
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See real GCSE French past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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