Spot the mistake
French media corrections: attribuer à, accuser de and présenter comme
Correct six French press-summary sentences using attribuer à, accuser de and présenter comme, while keeping attribution distinct from proof.
- B2
- 6 sentences
- Tap the wrong word
- Learn this in the B2 notebook →
In short
Use attribuer quelque chose à quelqu’un / à une cause, accuser quelqu’un de faire quelque chose, and présenter quelque chose comme…. These constructions report attribution or framing. Reporting an accusation does not establish that it is true.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Each item has one target token to repair. The English line fixes the intended relation. Some grammatical forms could make a different sentence elsewhere, but they do not express that relation here. Keep the source of an accusation or characterisation in the corrected summary.
Tap the word that's wrong in each sentence.
The report attributes the increase to the new campaign.
The intended meaning is attributing the rise to the new campaign: attribuer quelque chose à une cause.
The opinion piece accuses the service of neglecting users.
Accuser quelqu’un de faire quelque chose uses de before the infinitive. This attributes an accusation, not a finding of guilt.
The article presents this estimate as a definitive result.
Présenter quelque chose comme names how the article characterises it.
The journalist attributes these remarks to Nora.
The singular subject la journaliste takes attribue.
The text accuses the author of plagiarising a passage.
De is followed by the infinitive plagier in accuser quelqu’un de plagier.
The statement presents the two figures as identical.
Identiques agrees with the plural noun phrase les deux chiffres.
Attribuer has two common relations
L’article attribue cette phrase à Nora.
The article attributes this sentence to Nora.
L’article attribue cette hausse à la campagne.
The article attributes this increase to the campaign.
The first concerns who said something; the second concerns an explanation of an increase. Both use à, but they require different kinds of evidence. Establishing authorship of words does not by itself establish a causal explanation of a measured change.
Retain who makes the allegation
La tribune accuse le service de négliger les usagers reports the opinion piece’s accusation. Rewriting it as le service néglige les usagers removes the attribution and presents the allegation as your assertion. A grammar repair should not quietly change that evidential status.
Présenter comme describes a characterisation
Présenter une estimation comme un résultat définitif can criticise how a number is framed. It does not make the estimate definitive. Likewise, présenter deux chiffres comme identiques reports a comparison that may still need checking against the figures themselves.
For a press summary, keep a small frame in mind: source, reporting verb, claim and status. Repairing the preposition is only useful if the resulting sentence still assigns the claim to the right voice.