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Conseil or consigne? Eight questions on advice and instructions

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Test conseil and consigne in classroom tasks, everyday advice, luggage storage and bottle deposits, with picture cards and feedback for every answer.

In short

Un conseil is a piece of advice; une consigne tells you what to do in a task or situation. La consigne à bagages means luggage storage, and la consigne can also mean a deposit on a returnable bottle. The surrounding words tell you the sense.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Study first: advice, task and other senses
FrenchEnglish
Mon conseil : fais un plan avant d’écrire.My advice: make a plan before writing.
La consigne : écrivez trois phrases.The instruction: write three sentences.
Je laisse ma valise à la consigne.I’m leaving my suitcase in luggage storage.
La consigne est remboursée au retour de la bouteille.The deposit is refunded when the bottle is returned.

The task tells you the result to produce; advice suggests a way to get there. A teacher can ask for three sentences and suggest making a plan first. For a detail you need to check, ask Combien de phrases faut-il écrire ? or Est-ce que le plan est obligatoire ?

Objects that help you recognise the storage and deposit senses

  1. Question 1No account needed
    A teacher specifies the work to hand in. Which noun fits?Écrivez trois phrases et soulignez les verbes.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    une consigne. The teacher states the task to complete, so this is une consigne.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    A friend suggests a method. Which label fits?Tu pourrais faire un plan avant de commencer.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Un conseil. The friend offers a helpful method; un conseil means a piece of advice.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Complete the phrase for “two pieces of advice”.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    deux conseils. French counts pieces of advice: un conseil, deux conseils.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Complete the feminine noun phrase.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Cette consigne est précise.. Consigne is feminine, so use cette and the feminine adjective précise.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    At a station, what does la consigne à bagages mean?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Luggage storage.. The phrase à bagages points to the storage sense of consigne.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    What is refunded in this bottle-return example?Rapportez la bouteille pour récupérer la consigne.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    A deposit.. Here, la consigne names the deposit attached to the returnable bottle.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    You need to know whether to choose one answer or two. Which question helps?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Combien de réponses faut-il choisir ?. Combien de réponses asks for the missing detail in the task instruction.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    The task asks for a summary; a friend suggests underlining key ideas. Which description fits?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    The summary is the task requirement; underlining is advice about a method.. The consigne gives the requested output; the conseil suggests how to prepare it.

What else does conseil mean in French?

Le conseil municipal se réunit lundi.

The municipal council meets on Monday.

Conseil can also name a council. Here, municipal points to a group of people, while donner un conseil means giving advice.

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