Gap-fill
French thinking verbs: penser, réfléchir and croire in a short story
Follow a team choosing a workshop title. Practise penser à, réfléchir à, croire and sembler in a short French story with gaps and a translation.
- B1
- 6 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Penser à brings a person, topic or task to mind; réfléchir à means considering it carefully. Croire quelqu’un means believing someone, while sembler and paraître can describe an impression. In the story below, the team moves from a first opinion to a decision.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learnRed watch out
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| penser que | Je pense que ce titre est clair. | I think this title is clear. |
| penser à | Je pense à une autre idée. | I’m thinking of another idea. |
| réfléchir à | Nous réfléchissons à la question. | We’re thinking the question through. |
| croire quelqu’un | Je te crois. | I believe you. |
| sembler + adjectif | Cette réponse me semble utile. | This answer seems useful to me. |
| paraître + adjectif | L’explication paraît simple. | The explanation seems simple. |
Je pense que and je crois que often overlap in everyday opinions. The choice alone gives no fixed measure of confidence. Here, practise the construction and the activity: an opinion, a thought coming to mind, careful consideration, trust or an impression.
- Nora
Je pense que notre titre est trop long.
I think our title is too long.
- Malik
Tu penses à un autre titre ?
Have you got another title in mind?
- Nora
Oui, mais je voudrais y réfléchir avant de choisir.
Yes, but I’d like to think it through before choosing.
- Malik
D’accord. Ta première idée me semble intéressante.
OK. Your first idea seems interesting to me.
Pense à envoyer ta réponse ce soir.
Remember to send your answer this evening.
Penser à + infinitive can be a reminder. Compare bringing a title to mind with remembering to do a task.
Fill the gaps: a title, a discussion, a choice
Complete each gap using its cue. Read the whole sentence before answering: the subject tells you the form, and the words after the gap tell you the pattern. The team’s impressions can change during the discussion.
Le choix du titre
Nora (penser, present) que le titre de l’atelier est trop long. Malik (réfléchir, present) à une autre solution. Ils prennent cinq minutes pour comparer leurs idées.
« Ce titre me (sembler, present) plus clair », dit Nora. Malik répond : « Je te (croire, present), mais demandons aussi l’avis de Léa. »
Léa lit les deux propositions. « La deuxième (paraître, present) plus précise. » Ensemble, ils choisissent ce titre. Avant de partir, Nora dit à Malik : « (penser, tu imperative) à envoyer notre réponse ce soir ! »
Read it in English
Nora thinks the workshop title is too long. Malik thinks about another solution. They take five minutes to compare their ideas.
“This title seems clearer to me,” says Nora. Malik replies: “I believe you, but let’s ask Léa’s opinion too.”
Léa reads both proposals. “The second seems more precise.” Together, they choose that title. Before leaving, Nora says to Malik: “Remember to send our answer this evening!”