Common mistakes
French reading mistakes: possible, planned or already happened?
Compare pourrait, prévue, confirmée and a eu lieu. Correct five common overreadings, then test whether a paraphrase keeps the event’s status.
- B1
- 5 corrections
- Examples and fixes
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In short
Keep both the event and its status. Pourrait être reportée presents a possible postponement; est prévue gives a plan; a eu lieu says it happened. Selon names the information source, so read the rest of the sentence to judge certainty.
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- pourrait être reportéehas been cancelledmight be postponed
La visite pourrait être reportée si les travaux prennent du retard.The visit might be postponed if the work falls behind schedule.
Preserve the possible postponement and its condition. Cancellation would be annulée; a postponement moves the event to later.
- est prévuehas already taken placeis planned or scheduled
La visite est prévue vendredi.The visit is scheduled for Friday.
A scheduled Friday visit belongs to the plan. To state completion, use a eu lieu.
- est confirméeis completedis confirmed
La réunion de lundi est confirmée.Monday’s meeting is confirmed.
Confirmation settles an arrangement. The meeting can still lie ahead.
- a eu lieuis only being consideredtook place
La réunion a finalement eu lieu lundi.The meeting eventually took place on Monday.
A eu lieu presents the event as completed. Finalement introduces the eventual outcome here.
- selonthe writer necessarily doubts itaccording to
Selon l’organisatrice, la visite aura lieu vendredi.According to the organiser, the visit will take place on Friday.
Selon l’organisatrice identifies who supplies the information. The future clause reports her announcement.
| Sentence | Event status | Source named? |
|---|---|---|
| La réunion aura lieu lundi. | Announced future event. | No. |
| Selon Nora, la réunion aura lieu lundi. | Announced future event. | Yes: Nora. |
| La réunion a eu lieu lundi. | Completed event. | No. |
A matching date can hide a change of meaning. “Friday” stays the same in a plan and a completed visit, while the verbs tell different stories. Likewise, a conditional has several uses: a possible result, a courteous request or a future viewed from the past. In a reading question, take the whole sentence and its context together.