French IV+

What this covers

• Subjunctive beyond the memorised list: après que vs avant que, subjunctive after superlatives and 'le seul qui', and why 'je pense que' flips mood when negated or made interrogative
• Recognising and translating the passé simple and imparfait du subjonctif in literary texts without trying to speak them
• Complex relatives and pronoun stacking: dont vs de qui vs duquel, ce que/ce dont, and ordering y, en and double object pronouns in negative and imperative sentences
• Hypothetical systems and nuance: si + plus-que-parfait with the conditionnel passé, plus the conditionnel of unverified claims used in news reporting
• Argumentative structure in French — thèse/antithèse/synthèse, connectors like or, certes, en revanche, d'autant plus que, and avoiding calqued English transitions
• Register shifting: ne-dropping and verlan in spoken registers versus the vouvoiement, formal closings and nominalised style expected in written French
• Listening at speed to unscripted francophone audio from different regions — Québec, Sénégal, Maghreb — and paraphrasing rather than word-for-word decoding

Where learners get stuck

Treating the subjunctive as a fixed list of trigger phrases instead of a mood tied to doubt, subjectivity and unrealised events

Levels I–III teach it as memorisation ('il faut que + subj'), so students freeze when they meet 'le meilleur film que j'aie vu' or 'penses-tu qu'il soit parti ?' where the trigger comes from negation, interrogation or superlative rather than from a listed verb.

Trying to use the passé simple in speech or in their own essays

Students first meet it in reading and assume any tense in a textbook is for production. It is a written narrative tense; using it in an oral presentation sounds like reading aloud from a novel, and its irregular stems (il vint, il fut, il naquit) waste study time better spent on recognition.

Using 'dont' as a catch-all relative pronoun, or avoiding it entirely with clumsy workarounds

English has no equivalent, so learners either translate 'whose/of which' as 'dont' everywhere — including after prepositions where duquel is required — or restructure sentences to dodge it, which caps essay sophistication.

Mapping imparfait and passé composé onto English past forms one-to-one

The rule 'imparfait = was doing' works until Level IV, where verbs like savoir, vouloir, pouvoir and connaître change meaning by aspect (je savais vs j'ai su), and English gives no signal that a switch happened.

What a session looks like

A typical 30–45 minute session runs mostly in French, with English used only to unpick a grammar point or check comprehension. Evelyn might open with a few minutes of unscripted conversation on a current topic, then work through a text or audio clip you bring — a chapter, a news segment, an essay prompt from class. You paraphrase, defend a position, and get pushed back on with follow-up questions. Errors are corrected in the moment and the pattern behind them named, so a slip on 'bien que' becomes a two-minute subjunctive drill rather than a note to look up later. If you are preparing a presentation or oral exam, sessions can be structured as timed practice with feedback on fluency, connectors and register.

Helpful to know first

• Three years of French, or French III completed, with the present, passé composé, imparfait, futur and conditional under control
• Present subjunctive forms known, even if usage is shaky
• A working vocabulary of roughly 1,500–2,000 words and the ability to sustain a few minutes of conversation without switching to English
• Willingness to speak in French for most of the session, including when unsure

Questions

My child is in French IV and reading Camus but can barely speak in class. Can this help?

Yes — this is a common split. Reading comprehension advances faster than production because class time rarely gives each student more than a minute of speaking. Sessions are one-to-one and mostly spoken, so the ratio flips: your child talks, gets corrected, and rebuilds. Text discussion happens in French, which turns reading into speaking practice.

Does Evelyn help with the French oral exam and the timed argumentative essay?

Sessions can be run as timed practice — a prompt, preparation minutes, a spoken response, then feedback on structure, connector use, tense accuracy and register. For essays, you talk through your plan and thesis aloud and get feedback on the argument and the French. Evelyn Tutor is not affiliated with any exam board and does not have access to exam material.

Is the French Canadian, European or African?

Evelyn speaks standard European French but works with texts and audio from across the francophone world, including Québec and West Africa. Vocabulary and pronunciation differences are pointed out as they come up, which matters at this level since listening sections and literature often draw on non-hexagonal French.

How much of the session is in French?

Most of it. English appears when a grammar explanation would otherwise cost more time than it is worth, or when comprehension has clearly broken down. You can ask for more or less English depending on the day and the task.