Gap-fill
French B1 gap-fill: plus-que-parfait at a ten-year reunion
Fill twelve gaps in a reunion story. Use the plus-que-parfait for earlier events, the imparfait for background and the passé composé for the meeting.
- B1
- 12 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
The reunion is your past reference point. Use the plus-que-parfait for events already completed before it, the imparfait for background, and the passé composé for the meeting’s main actions. Fill twelve gaps with the full forms; Claire and Nadia are both women.
| Layer | French example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Before the main scene | Il avait fermé le café avant mon arrivée. | He had closed the café before I arrived. |
| Background in the scene | La rue était calme. | The street was quiet. |
| Event in the scene | J’ai frappé à la porte. | I knocked on the door. |
A plus-que-parfait form keeps the auxiliary used in the passé composé, but puts it in the imparfait: a fini → avait fini, est partie → était partie. With a reflexive form such as elles s’étaient retrouvées, keep the pronoun and check the feminine plural ending.
Dix ans plus tard
Quand Claire (retrouver · event at the reunion) Nadia devant leur ancien lycée, elle avait le cœur qui battait vite. Elles (ne pas se voir · before the reunion) depuis dix ans. Elles (se rencontrer · before the reunion) dans une classe de musique, à quinze ans.
Après le lycée, Nadia (partir · before the reunion) vivre à Lyon. Claire (commencer · before the reunion) ses études à Lille. Au début, elles (essayer · before the reunion) de rester en contact. Puis Nadia (perdre · before the reunion) le numéro de Claire pendant un déménagement.
Ce samedi-là, le soleil (briller · background at the reunion) et des familles attendaient devant le portail. Claire (porter · description at the reunion) une écharpe rouge. Nadia (reconnaître · event at the reunion) cette écharpe immédiatement : Claire l’avait déjà au lycée. « Tu l’as encore ! » a-t-elle dit en riant.
Claire lui a montré une photo de leur classe. Elle (garder · before the reunion) cette photo dans une boîte pendant toutes ces années. Les deux amies ont cherché leurs visages sur l’image. Ensuite, elles (prendre · event at the reunion) un café et ont échangé leurs nouveaux numéros. Avant de se quitter, elles ont fixé une autre date : le mois suivant, cette fois.
Read it in English
When Claire met up with Nadia outside their old secondary school, her heart was beating fast. They had not seen each other for ten years. They had met in a music class when they were fifteen.
After school, Nadia had gone to live in Lyon. Claire had started studying in Lille. At first, they had tried to stay in touch. Then Nadia had lost Claire’s number during a move.
That Saturday, the sun was shining and families were waiting outside the gate. Claire was wearing a red scarf. Nadia recognised the scarf immediately: Claire already had it at school. “You still have it!” she said, laughing.
Claire showed her a photo of their class. She had kept it in a box throughout all those years. The two friends looked for their faces in the picture. Then they had a coffee and exchanged their new numbers. Before leaving each other, they arranged another date: the following month, this time.