Gap-fill
Describe a sound in French: loudness, pitch and rhythm
Separate fort from aigu and grave, describe short or repeated sounds, and complete a French sound diary with pictured sources and six vocabulary gaps.
- A2
- 6 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the A2 notebook →
In short
Fort and faible describe loudness; aigu and grave describe pitch. Add a timing detail such as bref, continu or toutes les dix secondes. Un son aigu et faible is high-pitched and quiet: the two adjectives describe different properties.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
Name the source when you know it
Find:
| Property | French choices | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Loudness | fort / faible | Le son est faible : on l’entend à peine. |
| Pitch | aigu / grave | Le sifflet produit un son aigu. |
| Duration | bref / long | Le bruit est bref : il dure une seconde. |
| Pattern | continu / intermittent | Le bruit est intermittent : il s’arrête et reprend. |
La sonnerie est aiguë, mais elle n’est pas très forte.
The ringing is high-pitched, but it is not very loud.
Aiguë and forte agree with feminine sonnerie. Compare un son aigu and des sons graves.
The diary below gives the details in words. Fill the gaps using the English cues. Pendant dix secondes gives duration; toutes les dix secondes gives the interval between repeated sounds. For an unknown source, J’entends un bruit derrière la porte gives a useful description of what you hear and where.
Le carnet des sons
À sept heures, le réveil sonne. Sa sonnerie est (high-pitched, feminine). Elle dure deux secondes, puis elle s’arrête.
Dans le salon, on entend à peine la musique : le son est (quiet, low in volume). Le tambour produit un son (low-pitched).
À midi, la cloche sonne très (loudly). Un autre bruit est (brief) : il ne dure qu’une seconde. Dans le couloir, un petit bruit revient (every) les dix secondes.
Read it in English
At seven, the alarm clock rings. Its ringing is high-pitched. It lasts two seconds, then stops.
In the living room, you can barely hear the music: the sound is quiet. The drum produces a low-pitched sound.
At midday, the bell rings very loudly. Another noise is brief: it lasts only a second. In the corridor, a slight noise returns every ten seconds.