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A1 French story: the missing jigsaw piece

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Read a short French family story with picture vocabulary and English support. Follow two coloured jigsaw pieces, then check the sequence in four questions.

In short

In this story, une pièce means a jigsaw piece and presque terminé means almost finished. Follow the blue and yellow pieces through the search. The colour words help you keep track of each one.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

Le puzzle sur la table

Dimanche matin

Yanis aime faire des puzzles avec sa grand-mère. Ce dimanche, ils sont dans le salon. Sur la boîte, l’image montre un bateau sur un lac. Le puzzle est sur la table. Il est presque terminé1, mais il manque une pièce bleue près du bateau.

La recherche

Yanis regarde dans la boîte, mais elle est vide2. Sa grand-mère cherche sous la table3. Elle trouve une petite pièce jaune. « Ce n’est pas la bonne pièce ! » dit Yanis. Puis il regarde la chaise. La pièce bleue est là !

La dernière pièce

Yanis prend la pièce bleue et la met à sa place4. Maintenant, l’image est complète5. La pièce jaune appartient à6 un autre puzzle. Sa grand-mère la range dans une autre boîte. « On fait un autre puzzle demain ? » demande Yanis. Sa grand-mère sourit.

Read it in English

Yanis likes doing jigsaws with his grandmother. This Sunday, they are in the living room. The picture on the box shows a boat on a lake. The jigsaw is on the table. It is almost finished, but a blue piece is missing near the boat.

Yanis looks in the box, but it is empty. His grandmother searches under the table. She finds a small yellow piece. “That’s not the right piece!” says Yanis. Then he looks at the chair. The blue piece is there!

Yanis takes the blue piece and puts it in its place. Now the picture is complete. The yellow piece belongs to another jigsaw. His grandmother puts it away in another box. “Shall we do another jigsaw tomorrow?” asks Yanis. His grandmother smiles.

Objects in the search

What does pièce mean in French?

Read the words around pièce
FrenchMeaning here
Il manque une pièce du puzzle.A jigsaw piece is missing.
Le salon est une grande pièce.The living room is a large room.

In the first sentence, du puzzle identifies the object. In the second, le salon gives the room context. Also notice the agreements: le puzzle est terminé, but l’image est complète. Both adjectives describe the state at that moment.

Retell the search in three steps

  • Find the sentence that introduces the missing piece.
  • Name what the grandmother finds and where she finds it.
  • Name what Yanis finds and how the picture changes.
Question 1No account needed
Which piece is missing at the start?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

La pièce bleue.. The first paragraph says a blue piece is missing near the boat.

Question 2No account needed
Where does the grandmother find the yellow piece?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Sous la table.. She searches under the table and finds a yellow piece there.

Question 3No account needed
Which sequence matches the story?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Yellow piece found → blue piece found → picture complete.. The yellow piece is found first. Yanis then finds the blue one and completes the picture.

Question 4No account needed
What happens to the yellow piece?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

His grandmother puts it in another box.. It belongs to another puzzle, so his grandmother puts it away in another box.

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