If you are preparing for TEF Canada exam, you must know that grammar is important. It is the base of everything. A strong knowledge of grammar can help you improve your speaking, reading, writing and listening skills and helps you adapt in the French working environment.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most essential grammar rules that every TEF student must know with a focus on clarity, examples and how to apply them in real TEF contexts.
Why Grammar Matters in Any Exam?
Exams like TEF Canada evaluate you in four core skills- listening, reading, writing and speaking. Getting a good score can help you make your immigration process easier. Grammar plays a critical role in understanding the sentence structures, helping to frame the sentences. All of this directly impacts your CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark) score, especially in writing (écriture) and speaking (expression orale).
1.Verb Conjugation with Tenses
French verbs are essential as they are used in day-to-day conversations. Learning to modify them with the tense help build complex sentences that are relevant in daily life. Some of the tenses are:
Présent (Present tense)
It is used while describing a present event.
Example: J’achète des pommes. (I buy Apples.)
Passé composé (Past tense)
It is used to narrate a past action or event that has been completed.
Example: Sophie est allée chez ses grands-parents. (Sophie went to her Grand Parent’s)
Imparfait (Imperfect)
It is used to describe the repeated actions of the past or background descriptions.
Example: Quand nous étions petits, nous jouions beaucoup. (When we were young, we used to play a lot)
Futur simple (Simple future)
It is used to talk about the simple future actions.
Example: Vous travaillerez à Paris? (You will work in Paris?)
Conditionnel présent (Conditional)
This tense often appears in TEF writing tests to express politeness or hypothetical situations.
Example: J’aimerais découvrir le monde entier. (I would like to discover the entire world.)
2.Subject Verb Agreement
This is the most frequent used rule. When I say most frequent, I mean in every sentence. Your verb must agree with the subject.
Les étudiants est gentils. (wrong)
Les étudiants sont gentils. (correct)
(The students are kind.)
Always ensure that the verb agrees with the number and gender of the subject.
3.Noun-Adjective Agreement
Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns that they describe.
This is also another most used rule that you must know.
Examples:
Une fille belle (feminine singular)
Un homme beau (masculine singular)
Les étudiantes gentilles (feminine plural)
Les étudiants gentils (masculine plural)
4.Pronouns
There are three types of pronouns- subject, direct/indirect and reflexive pronouns. Pronouns make the writings smoother and help avoid repetition.
Subject pronouns: je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles
Direct/Indirect pronouns: le, la, les, lui, leur
Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nous, vous
Example: Je le vois tous les jours. (I see him every day.)
5.Articles: Definite, Indefinite, and Partitive
Definite: le, la, les (specific items)
Example: La voiture est noire.
Indefinite: un, une, des (non-specific)
Example: J’ai acheté une mangue.
Partitive: du, de la, de l’ (some/any)
Example: Je bois du café.
Correct use of articles is expected in both TEF writing and speaking.
6. Negation
In French, negation is used for explaining negative events using ne+ verb+ pas or negation words like jamais, nullepart, pas encore etc.
Examples:
- Je ne parle pas espagnol. (I don’t speak Spanish.)
- Il n’a jamais voyagé en Europe. (He has never travelled to Europe.)
In native or casual speech, “ne” is often not used but for TEF, use the full form.
7.Prepositions of Time & Place
Not using the correct prepositions and comparing them to English is a common mistake. TEF demands using basic and correct prepositions.
- À (at/in): à Paris, à 8h
- En (in): en hiver, en France (used for countries)
- Depuis (since/for): depuis 2010
- Pendant (during): pendant la reunion
- Chez (at): chez mes parents
Learning the right prepositions is important to avoid silly mistakes.
8. Interrogation
Being able to form questions is crucial for TEF speaking and writing. There are different ways to form a question in French. Let’s look at a few examples.
- Est-ce que vous avez des questions?
- Où habitez-vous?
- Pourquoi veux-tu apprendre le français?
9. Subjunctive Mood
TEF Canada Grammar rules include the most important and commonly used topic- subjunctive mood.
Use the subjunctive after expressions like:
- Il faut que…
- Je veux que…
- Pour que…
Example: Il faut que tu sois ponctuel. (You must be on time.)
10. Connectors
Connectors are something that enhance your writing and speaking. French Grammar for TEF Practice Tests can also help you practice. Some of the useful conjunctions are:
- Parce que (because)
- Cependant (however)
- En revanche (on the other hand)
- D’abord / ensuite / enfin (first / next / finally)
Using connectors helps you score higher on coherence and cohesion.
Ready to Master TEF Grammar?
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- Recorded courses for TEF
- Practice tests for every competency
- TEF Canada sample test papers
- Structured lessons from A2 to B2+
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