Another year has come and gone, and what a year it was. The team at Transparent has had a lot of fun writing articles for you every week, but now we’re going to test to see how much you retained 😉

In 2016, the French blog received almost one million hits! We also added another writer to the team, Tim, and he’s been bringing you fun articles since joining us. It’s great to have a variety of writers on the team – we all have different topics we’d like to cover, so there’s something for everyone. Because we wrote so much this year, I thought I’d ask my colleagues their favorite articles they’d written in case you missed them 😉

Elizabeth: Les Petites Noires Chaussures? Ou Les Petites Chaussures Noires?
Think you know everything about French adjectives? Think again! Read about how certain placements can alter the meaning of a sentence.

John: Travelling in French – Le Nouvel An en Belgique !
French can be found in more than just France. Read about all the modes of transportation John took to get to Belgium. Pretty much covers them all!

Tim: Because You Can’t Always Have Paris in the Springtime…
There’s French to be found in North America, too! Tim gives you a nice little tour of must-see spots in Quebec.

Josh: Learn French Pronunciation with Beyoncé, Britney, and Adele!
Are you making the same French pronunciation blunders as these pop divas? Learn how to correct them now!

Today, I’m presenting a Year in Review quiz of the articles Elizabeth, John, Tim, and I wrote in 2016. I’ve split the questions into different categories: grammar, holidays, music, general & culture, food & beverage, vocabulary, and literature.

If you’re stuck on a question and need help, clicking the question mark or period at the end of the question will take you to the appropriate blog post. Remember that V/F stands for vrai/faux and is the equivalent of true/false.

Ready?

1. V/F Adjectives always go after the noun in French.
2. En dépit de, à l’insu de, and près de are examples of what part of speech?
3. This tense is used to describe what could or would have happened in the past if things had happened differently.
4. Why do some people use l’on instead of on in front of the word que?
5. How many irregular verbs exist in the imperative mood?
6. -ai, -as, -a, -ons, -ez, -ont are the endings to what tense?
7. This, that, these, and those are what part of speech?
8. What is the name of the tense used in literature to describe the past?
9. Conditional sentences often start with this word.
10. When the speaker of a sentence has an action completed by someone else instead of completing the action himself, which construction should he use?
11. Bon is usually an adjective while bien is usually an…
12. What does la relecture mean?
13. This pronoun replaces words that follow the preposition à.
14. Translate the following into French: I miss you.
15. This verb mood doesn’t use a personal pronoun.
16. Inversion and changing intonation are 2 ways of asking questions in French. What is the third technique?

1. Le réveillion de la Saint-Sylvestre occurs on what date?
2. V/F To wish someone a Happy New Year, you say “Bon an !“
3. Which holiday falls on July 14th?
4. This holiday, celebrated November 2nd, is to honor close friends and relatives who have passed away.
5. V/F Halloween is a traditional French holiday.
6. Le jour de l’Armistice, which celebrates the end of WWII, is celebrated on this date.
7. This facial hair growing ‘holiday’ takes place during the entire month of November.
8. “Vive le vent !” is the French equivalent of what Christmas carol?
9. What is the name of the goose liver dish often served at Christmas?
10. “Au Royaume du Bonhomme Hiver” is the French equivalent of what Christmas carol?
11. This guy works alongside Santa Claus, but he whips children instead of bringing gifts.

1. Which French artist known for his song “Wight is Wight” passed away in January 2016?
2. What is the name of the genre that mixes le jazz and le musette?
3. “Águas de Março” was covered (and re-covered many times) in French under what name?
4. V/F Celtic music is traditional in Brittany.
5. This Swiss performer sings in French, German, Italian, English, Swiss-German, and Romanche.
6. Amir’s “J’ai cherché” was France’s submission for this European song contest.
7. Singer Carla Bruni is married to this former French president.
8. This singer used a lot of passé composé examples in her 1986 hit ““Les bêtises.“
9. V/F Un contralto is the lowest male singing voice.
10. À or De: Which do you use to say you’re playing an instrument.
11. V/F “Les petits poissons dans l’eau” is an example of une comptine.
12. “J’ai tout gâché. Maintenant, tu m’abandonnes” is a line from what Maître Gims song?
13. This British singer/songwriter has also produced French songs such as “Elle me dit.“
14. This French singer goes to Rio “quand tu souris.“
15. He won the 5th season of Nouvelle Star and released a song called “Le lac” in 2016.
16. She is the singer of “Je traine des pieds,” “La femme chocolat,” and “Elle panique.“
17. This recently passed Canadian singer known for his song “Hallelujah” also recorded a cover of “Un Canadien errant.“
18. This song was written by composer Henri Betti for the film Honoré de Marseille.
19. “Tu étais formidable, j’étais fort minable” comes from what song?

1. V/F Graduation ceremonies are the same in France as they are in the US.
2. What is the name of the driverless shuttle in Lyon, France?
3. Dogs born in 2016 should have a name starting with this letter.
4. V/F Myriam El Khomri, France’s labor ministry, presented a bill allowing employees to work more than 40 hours a week.
5. L’Atelier Diktée is a tool to improve your French dictation skills produced by what well-known newspaper?
6. What is the name of the shop where you can buy cigarettes, magazines, and cigarettes?
7. V/F Funiculaire du Vieux Québec is a staircase you can take to get down to La Basse-Ville in Quebec.
8. What court must assurer le respect de la Constitution?
9. This French video game company just celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2016.
10. V/F Many French children go to school on Saturday.
11. Which short series on M6 follows household scenes of multiple families?
12. Originally built as a royal residence by Henry IV, this place today is a quiet spot in an otherwise busy city bordered by shops and cafés.
13. This country uses septante, octante, and nonante instead of soixante-dix, quatre-vingt, and quatre-vingt-dix.
14. On what day of the week are French elections held?
15. “Attrapez-les tous !” is the slogan for what TV show?
16. Basically the whole country of France goes on vacation during this month.
17. What is the last step of completing a Master’s degree in France?
18. Amqui is a small city located in which Canadian province?
19. Which comedian known for his sketch “Where is Brian?” performed in NYC in 2016 in English?
20. V/F It’s common to faire le bisous when meeting someone.
21. With the new spelling rules, which letters have removed their circumflex accents?
22. Belgium is split between les Flamands and the ___.
23. Yann Barthès hosted this news show for 5 years before leaving in 2016.
24. Which French artist wrote a song about a blue house in San Francisco?
25. V/F – Beating a game as fast as possible is part of a genre called le speedrunning. *
26. What does it mean to “composter votre billet” before getting on the train?

1. V/F Vegan is an acceptable term in French.
2. Le blé refers to more than just wheat. What else can it mean?
3. A recipe for this chicken, mushroom, and vegetable dish was published back as far as the 1300s in Le Viandier.
4. V/F Les pets de nonne are savory puffs served at dinner.
5. You order this beverage in either un demi or une pinte.
6. V/F Milk, eggs, and yogurt are pasteurized the same way in the US as they are in France.
7. This long bread is a staple in French culture and cuisine.
8. Que veut dire “mettre la table” en anglais ?
9. This cold salad is a mix of peas, carrots, beans, and turnips in a mayonnaise dressing.
10. Un barbeuc is a shortened word for what similar-sounding term?
11. How do you say “a clove of garlic” in French?
12. What does “tomber dans les pommes” mean?
13. What have you done if you just lancer une patate at someone?
14. What is the French name for the hot mixture of red wine and mulling spices that is generally served with an orange slice or some raisins?
15. What is the name of the pork pie served around the holidays in Quebec?
16. This food can be prepared dur, à la coque, tourné, sur le plat, or brouillé.

1. What’s the difference between un bus and un car?
2.  Qu’est-ce que c’est qu’un calembour ?
3. What does it mean to have 200 balles ?
4. Translate l’année bissextile into English.
5. Comment dit-on “la couette” en anglais ?
6. What do tousser and éternuer mean?
7. Une BD refers to what printed book type?
8. How do you say night club in French?
9. What are “les stores ?“
10. What do you call the pinky finger in French?
11. Qu’est-ce que c’est qu’un pied-noir ?
12. How do you say “channel surfing” in French?
13. What is the difference between le disel and la diesel?
14. Translate these words into English: une virgule, un dièse, un apostrophe.
15. V/F Un mail refers to email.
16. What does faire la lessive mean in English?
17. What’s the difference between un fleuve and une rivière?
18. Comment dit-on the next day en français ?
19. What is “une assurance” in English?
20. What is un enterrement de vie de garçon?
21. V/F One million in french is un milliard.
22. V/F “Oh la barbe !” is a positive expression.
23. When referring to a researched paper or article, what is une problématique?
24. V/F “Never” and “ever” are expressed using the same word in French.
25. What does MDR mean?
26. Qu’est-ce que c’est qu’un stage ?
27. Bosser and boulot refer to what?
28. V/F 14 est un nombre impair.
29. Which is a permanent contract for work: CDI or CDD?
30. What is une radiographie?
31. Comment dit-on “une boussole” en anglais ?

1. Who is the author of the poems “Le Message” and “Le Jardin“?
2. “Amers,” a poem by this author, is full of word play.
3. Morgane, the sister of King Arthur, was deceived by her lover and wanted to take revenge on all disloyal men (you go, girl!) in this forest.
4. V/F Being called Rastignac is a compliment.
5. Name the Maurice Leblanc character often called a gentleman-thief.
6. What 1959 novel by Raymond Queneau was revolutionary in its use of language?
7. This author describes his year living in Provence in a national bestseller.
8. Who is the author of the poem “C’est place de la Concorde à Paris” ?
9. Which classic French novel follows the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont?
10. What is the French title of the classic Christmas tale by Charles Dickens following Scrooge?

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Finished? Here are the answers!

Grammar: 1) faux 2) (compound) prepositions; 3) past conditional; 4) to avoid the word con; 5) 4: avoir, être, savoir, vouloir; 6) le futur; 7) demonstrative adjectives; 8) le passé simple; 9) si; 10) the causative; 11) adverb; 12) proofreading; 13) y; 14) Tu me manques; 15) the imperative; 16) adding est-ce que before the sentence

Holidays: 1) le 31 décembre 2) faux; 3) la Fête nationale/Bastille Day; 4) La Toussaint; 5) faux; 6) le 11 novembre; 7) Movember; 8) Jingle Bells; 9) Fois gras; 10) Walking in a Winter Wonderland; 11) Père Fouettard

Music: 1) Michel Delpech; 2) le jazz manouche; 3) “Les eaux de mars”; 4) vrai; 5) Stephan Eicher; 6) Eurovision; 7) Nicolas Sarkozy; 8) Sabine Paturel; 9) Faux; 10) De; 11) vrai; 12) “Ma Beauté”; 13) Mika; 14) Claude “Cloclo” François; 15) Julien Doré; 16) Olivia Ruiz; 17) Leonard Cohen; 18) C’est Noël; 19) Formidable

General & Culture: 1) faux; 2) Navya Arma; 3) M; 4) faux; 5) Le Monde; 6) un tabac; 7) faux; 8) Le Conseil constitutionnel; 9) Ubisoft; 10) vrai; 11) Scènes de Ménages; 12) le Marais; 13) Belgium (our article only mentions Belgium, but Switzerland is also acceptable!); 14) Sunday; 15) Pokémon; 16) August; 17) la soutenance – defending your thesis; 18) Quebec; 19) Gad; 20) faux; 21) I and U; 22) Wallons; 23) Le Petit journal; 24) Maxime Leforestier; 25) vrai; 26) validate your ticket

*The AGDQ is about to start up soon! Check it out. 

Food & Beverage: 1) vrai; 2) money; 3) fricassée de poulet à l’ancienne; 4) faux; 5) beer; 6) faux; 7) baguette; 8) to set the table; 9) la macédoine; 10) un barbecue; 11) une gousse d’ail; 12) to faint; 13) you punched him!; 14) vin chaud / mulled wine; 15) la tourtière; 16) eggs

Vocabulary: 1) Un bus goes throughout a local area while un car is intercity and travels far distances (and even to other countries); 2) a pun; 3) to have 200 euros; 4) leap year; 5) quilt; 6) to cough and to sneeze; 7) a comic book; 8) une boîte (de nuit); 9) blinds; 10) l’auriculaire; 11) Someone from Europe who lived in Algeria during French rule and who returned to Europe after Algeria’s independence; 12) le zapping; 13) masculine refers to the fuel you put in the car, feminine refers to the car itself; 14) comma, pound sign, apostrophe; 15) vrai; 16) to do the laundry; 17) While they both mean river, a fleuve flows into the sea or ocean while a rivière flows into another rivière or fleuve; 18) le lendemain; 19) insurance; 20) bachelor/stag party; 21) faux; 22) faux; 23) thesis statement; 24) vrai; 25) lol, but it stands for mort de rire; 26) an internship; 27) working; 28) faux; 29) CDI; 30) an x-ray; 31) a compass

Literature: 1) Jacques Prévert; 2) Saint-John Perse; 3) La Forét de Brocéliande; 4) faux; 5) Arsène Lupin; 6) Zazie dans le métro; 7) Peter Mayle; 8) Jacques Charpentreau; 9) Les Liaisons dangereuses; 10) Un chant de Noël

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From all of us at the Transparent Language French blog, thank you for reading, suggesting, commenting, participating, asking questions, and correcting us! You’re the reason we do this, and we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoy writing it!

Bonne année !