Free · AQA GCSE · Printable
Revision Notes
Exam guides, grammar and Grade 9 phrases with examiner tips, common mistakes and quick checks. Every note can be saved as a PDF.
Paper & skill guides
How each AQA paper is marked and how to score top band.
Paper 1: Listening & dictation
How the new-spec French listening paper works, including dictation and comprehension strategy.
Read notePaper 2: Speaking (out of 50)
Every part of the speaking exam, what examiners reward and how the 50 marks are split.
Read notePaper 3: Reading techniques
Multiple choice, match-ups and 1–2 mark short answers — avoiding the traps.
Read notePaper 4: Writing & translation
90-word and 150-word essays, plus the 2-marks-per-sentence translation scheme.
Read noteGrammar notes
Tenses, word order and structures you must know.
Present tense: -er, -ir, -re and irregulars
Regular verb endings plus the four irregulars you will use in every answer.
Read noteFuture tense & irregular stems
Infinitive + future endings, and the irregular stems that come up constantly.
Read notePerfect tense (passé composé)
Avoir or être + past participle, agreement rules and irregular participles.
Read noteModal verbs + infinitive
Pouvoir, vouloir and devoir are followed directly by an infinitive.
Read noteDepuis + present tense
How to say ‘I have been doing’ — French uses the present tense.
Read noteÀ / de / pour + infinitive
Which verbs need à or de before an infinitive, and using pour for ‘in order to’.
Read noteAprès avoir / être + past participle
A Grade 9 structure meaning ‘after doing something’.
Read noteImperfect tense (l’imparfait)
‘Used to’ / ‘was …-ing’ and descriptions in the past — with full conjugations.
Read noteConditional & si clauses
Future stem + imperfect endings, and ‘si + imperfect, conditional’.
Read noteGrade 9 phrases
Memorisable phrases with model sentences.