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French groups in photos: all, some or just one?

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Sort nine French group descriptions by all four, exactly two or just one. Use a four-person picture and key with badges, glasses, clothing and a hat.

In short

Toutes les quatre refers to all four women; quelques personnes refers here to the two explicitly named people; une seule personne refers to exactly one. The group has four badges, two people with glasses and one hat. Use the picture and its named key to sort each description.

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Four women sit cross-legged with blank badges. The first two wear round glasses, and the third wears a green hat. Their tops are green, orange, navy blue and orange from left to right.
From left to right: Nora, Inès, Lina and Zoé. Count badges, glasses and the other features in the key. Illustration: Atelier

From left to right, the illustration shows Nora, Inès, Lina and Zoé. All four are seated and have badges. The key names the other pictured features. In this exercise, the middle bucket always contains an explicitly stated two-person subset; quelques alone does not give an exact number.

The complete four-person key
PersonGlassesOther visible details
NoraYesGreen jumper; dark hair
InèsYesOrange jumper; red hair in a bun
LinaNoNavy jumper; green hat; dark hair
ZoéNoOrange jumper; blond hair

All four, two of four or just one?

Tap a word, then the box it belongs in.

Tous and toutes follow the phrase being used

Toutes les quatre refers to the four women. Tous les membres uses the masculine grammatical noun membres. The reference is still the complete group, but the word accompanying the quantifier changes. Quelques personnes does not mean all people; this task names the two intended people after the colon.

Toutes les quatre ont un badge, mais seules Nora et Inès portent des lunettes.

All four have a badge, but only Nora and Inès wear glasses.

An explicit only-one statement is stronger than an isolated one

Une seule personne excludes the other three for the stated feature. Une personne can simply identify one person in ordinary language without saying no one else qualifies. Here the key gives blond hair only to Zoé, so that card also has an exact-one answer. Use the complete scene rather than treating une as always meaning only one.

Question 1No account needed
How many participants have badges?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Four. The scene explicitly gives a badge to all four participants.

Question 2No account needed
Which two wear glasses?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Nora and Inès. The glasses column marks yes for Nora and Inès only.

Question 3No account needed
Who alone has a hat?

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

Lina. The picture and key give a hat only to Lina, the third person from the left.

For a group description of your own, identify the complete group first. Then add a count or names for the subset. Trois personnes portent des lunettes is more exact than quelques personnes when the number matters.

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