Sorting game
French money figures: income, spending, assets or debt?
Sort French money figures into income, spending, assets and debt. Keep monthly flows distinct from values recorded at a particular date.
- B2
- 8 words to sort
- 4 boxes
- Tap to play
- Learn this in the B2 notebook →
In short
Income and spending describe flows over a period; assets and debt describe stocks at a date. Salaire mensuel is income; a solde d’épargne au 30 juin is an asset value. Do not add unlike quantities as if they measured the same thing.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
A household note contains a salary, rent payments, savings and an outstanding loan. All are expressed in euros, but they answer different questions. Read the accompanying nouns and dates before sorting. The same bank account can receive monthly income while also having a balance measured on a particular day.
| Category | Time basis | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Income | During the month | Salaire reçu en juin |
| Spending | During the month | Loyer payé en juin |
| Assets | At a date | Épargne disponible au 30 juin |
| Debt | At a date | Capital restant dû au 30 juin |
Tap a word, then the box it belongs in.
A repayment is not the same as outstanding debt
Le remboursement mensuel describes a payment over time. Le capital restant dû is the amount of principal still owed. Paying €100 during June does not mean the debt is €100. Similarly, putting €50 into savings is a flow into an account; the account balance may contain many earlier deposits.
Le ménage reçoit 2 000 euros par mois et dispose de 5 000 euros d’épargne au 30 juin.
The household receives €2,000 a month and has €5,000 in savings on 30 June.
The conjunction joins two valid statements without adding them into a misleading monthly income of €7,000. When a source puts flows and stocks in one table, retain its period and date labels. The euro sign alone cannot tell you which operation is meaningful.