Dialogue
French sentence focus: make the corrected detail clear
Practise correcting who, when and what happened in a French dialogue. Compare short replies, full restatements and clear focus constructions.
- B1
- 12 lines
- Practice mode
- Learn this in the B1 notebook →
In short
Decide which detail needs correcting, then give that detail a clear place in your reply. C’est Nora qui vient demain highlights the person; Nora vient demain, pas aujourd’hui corrects the time. Say the whole reply at a comfortable volume.
Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn
In the conversation below, Nora is coming tomorrow to confirm an appointment. Amine keeps mixing up one detail. Practise Nora’s friend’s replies, then ask a partner which detail each reply corrected. Give the correction a clear rhythm and keep the surrounding words light.
- Amine
C’est Léo qui vient demain ?
English
Is Léo coming tomorrow?
- You
Non, c’est Nora qui vient demain.
Correct the person: Nora is coming tomorrow.
English
No, Nora is the one coming tomorrow.
- Amine
Ah, Nora vient aujourd’hui, alors ?
English
Ah, so Nora is coming today?
- You
Non, elle vient demain, pas aujourd’hui.
Correct the day: tomorrow, not today.
English
No, she is coming tomorrow, not today.
- Amine
Et elle vient annuler le rendez-vous ?
English
And is she coming to cancel the appointment?
- You
Elle vient le confirmer, pas l’annuler.
Correct the action: confirm the appointment.
English
She is coming to confirm it, not cancel it.
- Amine
D’accord. Et toi, tu viens aussi ?
English
All right. And are you coming too?
- You
Moi, je reste ici.
Contrast yourself with Nora: you are staying here.
English
I’m staying here.
- Amine
Tu l’as appelée hier ?
English
Did you call her yesterday?
- You
Non, je lui ai écrit.
Correct how you contacted her: you wrote.
English
No, I wrote to her.
- Amine
Donc, Nora vient demain pour confirmer le rendez-vous.
English
So Nora is coming tomorrow to confirm the appointment.
- You
Oui, c’est ça.
Confirm the final summary.
English
Yes, that’s right.
How do you emphasise a corrected detail in French?
| What needs correcting? | Reply | What makes it clear? |
|---|---|---|
| Person | C’est Nora qui vient. | The c’est … qui construction singles out the person. |
| Time | Demain, pas aujourd’hui. | A short contrast names both alternatives. |
| Action | Elle vient confirmer le rendez-vous. | A full restatement puts the corrected action back in context. |
For the spoken round, have your partner make one mistake from the dialogue in a new order. Reply before looking at the model. Let the corrected part be easy to hear through timing and emphasis. A small pause can help separate the two alternatives in demain, pas aujourd’hui. Listen to your partner’s summary to find out whether the correction landed.
Ce que je veux, c’est confirmer le rendez-vous.
What I want is to confirm the appointment.
This longer construction is useful when the purpose of the call needs extra clarification.