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A1 French story: the two coats look the same

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read an A1 cloakroom story with eight glosses. Identify two similar black coats using a red or blue button, pocket contents and lining colour.

In short

Marianne’s black coat has the red interior button and a bus ticket; Lucie’s has the blue button and her green notebook. The coats look similar, so their black colour alone cannot identify the owner. Follow the small details attached to each name.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Two black coats on a double wall hook, with red and blue inside buttons and distinct pocket items.
Use the inside button and pocket contents to keep each coat with its owner. Illustration: Atelier

Read the whole story before assigning a coat. Lucie initially takes Marianne’s by mistake. The first pocket clue raises the doubt; the button and named notebook resolve it. The glossary gives you the clothing and ownership words used to explain the mix-up.

A1 · The useful small detail

Deux manteaux noirs

Après le cours de dessin, Marianne et Lucie vont au vestiaire1. Deux manteaux noirs sont sur la même patère2 double. Ils ont presque la même forme. Lucie prend le premier manteau et cherche ses clés dans la poche3 droite. Elle trouve un ticket de bus. « Ce n’est pas mon ticket », dit-elle. Marianne s’approche.

« Mon manteau a un petit bouton4 rouge à l’intérieur », explique Marianne. Lucie ouvre le manteau qu’elle tient. Le bouton intérieur est rouge. « Alors, c’est le tien ! » Elle le donne à Marianne. Marianne sort le ticket de bus de la poche et le reconnaît. Ses clés sont dans son sac, pas dans le manteau.

Lucie prend maintenant l’autre manteau noir. Celui-ci a un bouton bleu près de la poche intérieure. Dans cette poche, elle trouve son petit carnet5 vert. Elle l’ouvre : son prénom est sur la première page. « Voilà mon carnet et mon manteau », dit-elle. Marianne sourit : « Les deux manteaux se ressemblent, mais pas les boutons ! »

Marianne remet le ticket6 de bus dans la poche de son manteau. Les deux amies regardent aussi la doublure7 : celle du manteau de Lucie est grise, celle du manteau de Marianne est noire. Maintenant, chacune porte le sien8. Marianne dit : « La prochaine fois, je regarde le bouton avant de partir. » Lucie répond : « Moi aussi. Un petit détail peut être très utile ! »

Read it in English

After the drawing class, Marianne and Lucie go to the cloakroom. Two black coats are on the same double coat hook. They are almost the same shape. Lucie takes the first coat and looks for her keys in the right pocket. She finds a bus ticket. “This isn’t my ticket,” she says. Marianne comes over.

“My coat has a small red button inside,” Marianne explains. Lucie opens the coat she is holding. The inside button is red. “Then it’s yours!” She gives it to Marianne. Marianne takes the bus ticket out of the pocket and recognises it. Her keys are in her bag, not in the coat.

Lucie now takes the other black coat. This one has a blue button near the inside pocket. In that pocket she finds her little green notebook. She opens it: her first name is on the first page. “Here are my notebook and my coat,” she says. Marianne smiles: “The two coats look alike, but the buttons don’t!”

Marianne puts the bus ticket back in her coat pocket. The two friends also look at the lining: Lucie’s coat has grey lining, and Marianne’s has black lining. Now each wears her own coat. Marianne says, “Next time, I’ll look at the button before leaving.” Lucie replies, “Me too. A small detail can be very useful!”

Question 1No account needed
Who owns the coat with the red interior button?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Marianne. Marianne explicitly identifies the red inside button as a feature of her coat.

Question 2No account needed
What confirms Lucie’s ownership of the other coat?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Her green notebook with her first name. Lucie finds her green notebook, opens it and sees her first name on its first page.

Question 3No account needed
Why is black an insufficient identifying detail here?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Both coats are black. The story begins with two black coats, so colour alone does not distinguish them.

Keep the clues attached to the owner
OwnerInside buttonPocket itemLining
MarianneRougeUn ticket de busNoire
LucieBleuUn carnet vertGrise

Le sien refers back to the masculine noun manteau. In chacune porte le sien, each woman wears her own coat. The masculine form follows the object being replaced, not the owner’s gender. At A1, you can keep the names explicit instead: Lucie porte son manteau. Marianne porte son manteau.

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