Gap-fill
French formal gap-fill: a clear exception inside a longer sentence
Complete a French formal notice whose exception applies to one defined group. Keep qualifying phrases attached to the correct people and action.
- B2
- 4 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the B2 notebook →
In short
Put the exception beside the group it qualifies and repeat the action when necessary. A longer sentence is useful only if the reader can still identify who follows the general route and who uses the exception.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
The notice concerns registration for workshops. Online registration is the general route. People without internet access may register at reception on Wednesday; members needing only to update a telephone number use a separate form. Complete the text while preserving these distinct routes.
Une exception clairement rattachée
Les inscriptions aux ateliers se font en ligne. (contrast introducing the exception), les personnes sans accès à Internet peuvent s’inscrire à l’accueil le mercredi. Cette possibilité concerne (only) le public ainsi défini.
Les membres qui souhaitent seulement modifier leur numéro de téléphone utilisent un formulaire distinct ; cette démarche ne constitue (negation) une nouvelle inscription. Le formulaire de mise à jour ne remplace donc pas la procédure prévue pour rejoindre un atelier.
Pour éviter toute confusion, les horaires de l’accueil figurent dans un encadré séparé. L’exception est rattachée aux personnes sans accès à Internet, et (contrast: not) à l’ensemble des membres. Le mercredi décrit le créneau d’accueil ; il ne devient pas une date limite pour toutes les demandes en ligne.
Read it in English
Workshop registration is online. However, people without internet access may register at reception on Wednesdays. This possibility concerns only that defined group.
Members who merely want to change their telephone number use a separate form; that procedure is not a new registration. The update form therefore does not replace the workshop-registration process.
To avoid confusion, reception hours appear in a separate box. The exception attaches to people without internet access, not all members. Wednesday describes the reception slot; it is not a deadline for all online applications.
A nearby noun can attract the wrong reading
If several groups appear before sauf or à l’exception de, the reader may attach the qualification to the nearest noun. You can avoid that by naming the group again: les personnes sans accès à Internet. Repetition is useful when it prevents a substantive misunderstanding.
Les demandes sont déposées en ligne ; les personnes sans accès à Internet disposent d’un créneau d’accueil distinct.
Applications are submitted online; people without internet access have a separate reception slot.
After drafting a notice, ask the operational question for each sentence: who must do what, and when? If two routes share one overloaded clause, split it. A semicolon or a full stop can help, but a clear group label is the decisive part.