Gap-fill
Aussitôt or immédiatement: a French timing cloze
Follow a last-minute change of plan and practise aussitôt, immédiatement and aussi tôt. A short reference table comes before the six-gap story.
- B1
- 6 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Aussitôt and immédiatement both mean “immediately” or “at once”. Aussitôt often links a response to the event just mentioned; immédiatement stresses acting without delay. Keep aussitôt (“at once”) separate from aussi tôt (“so early”).
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| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| aussitôt | Elle a lu le message et a répondu aussitôt. | She read the message and replied at once. |
| immédiatement | Il faut répondre immédiatement. | We need to reply immediately. |
| aussitôt que | Aussitôt que tu arriveras, on commencera. | As soon as you arrive, we’ll start. |
| aussi tôt | Pourquoi commencer aussi tôt ? | Why start so early? |
In the first example, immédiatement also fits. In the second, aussitôt can also express prompt action. The exercises accept both where the meaning overlaps. A gap before que asks for the “as soon as” pattern; a gap about an early hour asks for two words.
A last-minute change of plan
Nora is organising an online session. A new starting time creates a rush of messages. Fill the six gaps from the English hints. Pay attention to the space in aussi tôt, the circumflex in aussitôt and the double m in immédiatement.
A time link and an early hour
aussitôt queas soon as
Focus: one event starting after another
Aussitôt que tu seras prêt, appelle-moi.
As soon as you are ready, call me.
aussi tôtso early; as early
Focus: the early time itself
Je ne pensais pas finir aussi tôt.
I didn’t think I would finish so early.
For a future event after aussitôt que, French uses a future form here: tu seras prêt. English uses the present in “as soon as you are ready”. The two-word spelling aussi tôt belongs to the comparison of times.
Une séance avancée
À sept heures, Nora a reçu un message d’Émile : « La séance commence à huit heures au lieu de neuf heures. Il faut prévenir le groupe. » Elle a répondu (at once: either adverb) : « D’accord, je m’en occupe. »
Elle a écrit aux participants : « Nous devons commencer plus tôt. Merci de confirmer votre présence (immediately: either adverb). » Paul a demandé : « Pourquoi commencer (so early: two words) ? » Nora lui a expliqué le changement.
Puis elle a promis à Émile : « (As soon as: one word before que) que tout le monde sera au courant, je te confirmerai le nombre de participants. »
À sept heures et demie, la dernière réponse est arrivée. Nora a (immediately: either adverb) envoyé la confirmation. Émile l’a remerciée : « Tout est prêt. Je suis content que tu aies pu répondre (so early: two words) ce matin. »
Read it in English
At seven, Nora received a message from Émile: “The session starts at eight instead of nine. We need to tell the group.” She replied at once: “All right, I’ll take care of it.”
She wrote to the participants: “We need to start earlier. Please confirm your attendance immediately.” Paul asked: “Why start so early?” Nora explained the change.
Then she promised Émile: “As soon as everyone knows, I’ll confirm the number of participants.”
At half past seven, the last reply arrived. Nora immediately sent the confirmation. Émile thanked her: “Everything is ready. I’m glad you were able to reply so early this morning.”