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Simple or facile? Eight questions on straightforward and easy

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

A clear plan can be hard to carry out. Compare simple and facile in instructions, reading and everyday tasks, then try eight focused questions.

In short

Simple means straightforward or uncomplicated; facile means easy. The two often overlap, but La consigne est simple, l’exercice est difficile makes sense: a task can have clear instructions and still take effort.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A learner reads a book held with its unmarked cover towards the viewer at a quiet French window seat.
Facile à lire describes how easy the reading feels. Illustration: Atelier

simplesimple / straightforward

Focus: The structure, explanation or number of steps.

Le plan est simple : lire, puis répondre.
The plan is simple: read, then reply.

facileeasy

Focus: How hard it is to do something.

Ce texte est facile à lire pour moi.
This text is easy for me to read.

Both adjectives have the same masculine and feminine singular forms. Their plurals take -s: des règles simples, des exercices faciles. Use facile à + infinitive to name the activity: facile à lire, facile à comprendre, facile à utiliser.

  1. Question 1No account needed
    The instruction is “Hold the note for twenty seconds”. It is clear, but the singer struggles. Which description fits?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    La consigne est simple, mais l’exercice est difficile pour elle.. A straightforward instruction can describe something demanding to perform.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    Complete this book description with “easy to read”.Ce livre est ___.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    facile à lire. After an adjective describing a noun, use à + infinitive: un texte facile à lire.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Complete the plural agreement.Ces questions sont ___.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    faciles. Questions is plural, so the adjective is faciles, with an -s.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Choose the feminine singular sentence.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Cette règle est simple.. Simple already ends in -e. The feminine singular has the same spelling.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    What does this sentence tell you?Cet exercice est facile pour moi.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    The exercise is easy for the speaker.. Pour moi identifies whose experience of the exercise is being described.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Complete the sentence with the adjective meaning “straightforward”.Le plan est ___ : choisir un texte, puis le lire.

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    simple. Simple is the adjective. Simplement and facilement are adverbs.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    You show someone an uncomplicated task and find it easy yourself. Can both comments fit?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Both *C’est simple* and *C’est facile* can fit.. The meanings overlap when a straightforward task is also easy to do.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Which sentence correctly uses “easy to use”?

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Cette application est facile à utiliser.. Use the adjective facile, followed by à and the infinitive utiliser.

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