Gap-fill
Maintenant, désormais, bientôt: French time words in a cloze story
Place French time words around a reference point. Complete an event-planning story, then distinguish a current state, a new rule and a later event.
- B1
- 7 gaps
- Translation included
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Maintenant points to now; actuellement describes the current period; désormais introduces a state or habit that holds from a change onwards. Bientôt means soon from the moment in view, including a moment in a past story. Add a separate date when the timing must be exact.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
| Expression | Time role | Example |
|---|---|---|
| maintenant | now, often this moment | Tu peux répondre maintenant ? |
| actuellement | currently, during this period | Elle prépare actuellement son intervention. |
| désormais / dorénavant | from now on, after a change | Désormais, nous répondons par courriel. |
| bientôt / prochainement | soon; no fixed interval | La rencontre aura lieu bientôt. |
| autrefois / jadis | a former period | Autrefois, il organisait tout seul. |
| deux jours plus tard | exactly two days after the stated moment | Deux jours plus tard, il a répondu. |
Nora’s group is preparing a discussion evening. Her message on Monday comes first, then a look back from Friday. Complete each gap from its English cue; accepted alternatives appear in the reference table. Jadis gives an earlier period a literary flavour.
Une soirée à préparer
Lundi, Nora écrit : « Je prépare (currently) notre prochaine rencontre. (in the past), je décidais de tout sans consulter le groupe. Cette fois, chacun peut proposer un sujet. Nous avons changé notre façon de travailler : (from now on), les décisions se prennent ensemble. »
Elle ajoute : « Nous publierons le programme (soon). Pour avancer, répondez (now) à cette question : préférez-vous une discussion ou de courtes présentations ? La date de la soirée reste fixée au samedi 18. »
Vendredi, Nora raconte la suite : « J’ai envoyé mon message lundi. Deux jours (later), mercredi, tout le monde avait répondu. Nous avons choisi une discussion. Je ne le savais pas encore lundi, mais nous allions (soon) recevoir beaucoup de propositions. »
Read it in English
On Monday, Nora writes: “I’m currently preparing our next meeting. In the past, I decided everything without consulting the group. This time, everyone can suggest a topic. We’ve changed the way we work: from now on, decisions are made together.”
She adds: “We’ll publish the programme soon. To move things forward, answer this question now: would you prefer a discussion or short presentations? The evening is still set for Saturday the 18th.”
On Friday, Nora tells what happened next: “I sent my message on Monday. Two days later, on Wednesday, everyone had replied. We chose a discussion. I didn’t know it on Monday, but we were soon going to receive lots of suggestions.”
What is the difference between maintenant, désormais and bientôt?
For each time word, ask which moment the speaker is looking from. A narrator can look back on a Monday and describe an event that was still ahead that day. The French tense and the surrounding dates work together. Read those before deciding whether an event has already happened.