What this task is
Somebody is organising something (a party, a move, a trip, a school event) and sends you the list of jobs. You answer. This is one of the most common Tâche 1 prompts, and it is easier than it looks, because the whole message is built from four short moves.
Vous organisez une fête de quartier avec vos voisins. Votre voisine Camille vous envoie un message avec la liste des tâches. Vous lui répondez (60 à 120 mots) : vous acceptez une tâche, vous refusez une autre en expliquant pourquoi, et vous proposez une solution.
You are organising a street party with your neighbours. Your neighbour Camille sends you a message with the list of jobs. You reply (60–120 words): you accept one job, you refuse another and explain why, and you propose a solution.
The four moves
| Move | What you do | The one phrase to know |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Accepter | Say yes to one job | Je veux bien + infinitive I'll gladly… |
| 2. Refuser | Say no to another job, and say why | Je ne peux pas + infinitive, parce que… I can't… because… |
| 3. Proposer | Offer something else instead | À la place, je peux + infinitive Instead, I can… |
| 4. Prendre en charge | Say clearly which job is yours | Je m’occupe de + noun I'll take care of… |
Look at who wrote to you. A neighbour, a friend, a classmate → tu. A boss, a landlord, an office, or several people → vous. Choose once at the top and never change it inside the message. Changing halfway is the mistake examiners notice first.
What the examiner counts
| Criterion | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Réalisation de la tâche the most important | Did you do all three things the prompt asked ? Accept, refuse with a reason, and propose. Missing one costs more than any grammar mistake. |
| Cohérence | One idea per sentence, in the order of the prompt, joined with et, mais, parce que, par contre. |
| Lexique | Do not repeat faire five times. Use apporter, acheter, réserver, préparer, s’occuper de. |
| Grammaire | pouvoir + infinitive, ne…pas, and the reflexive je m’occupe. Nothing harder is needed. |
60 to 120 words. 15 to 20 minutes. Three points to cover. If you have written the three points and you are at 70 words, you are finished: add one short sentence and stop.
Six lines, in this order
Follow these six lines in this order. Each one is a single short sentence. Six lines is already 60 to 90 words, which is the whole task.
Greet the person
Salut Camille, / Bonjour Madame Roy, Hi Camille, / Hello Mrs Roy, Then one friendly line: Merci pour ton message. Thanks for your message.
Say yes to one job
Je veux bien [verb]. or Je m’occupe de [the thing].
I'll gladly… / I'll take care of… Give one detail: J’achète le jus et l’eau.Say no to another job
Par contre, je ne peux pas [verb]. However, I can't… Never leave a refusal alone: the next step is obligatory.
Give the reason
parce que [reason] because… One simple reason is enough: parce que je travaille, parce que je ne suis pas libre.
Propose something else
À la place, je peux [verb]. Instead, I can… This is the sentence that turns a « no » into a helpful answer, and the examiner is looking for it.
Ask and close
Est-ce que ça te va ? Does that work for you? then À bientôt ! and your first name.
Refusing without a reason, or refusing without offering anything else. Je ne peux pas. on its own is a complete sentence in French, but it is an incomplete answer for this exam: the prompt asked for three things and you have delivered one and a half. Reason and alternative are not politeness: they are marks.
Proposing and offering
« Proposing » means two different things, and the exam can ask for either. Learn them as two short lists.
A · Offering to do something yourself
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Je peux + infinitive | I can… | The everyday one. Je peux apporter le dessert. |
| Je vais + infinitive | I'll… | A decision already made. Je vais acheter les boissons. |
| Je m’occupe de + noun | I'll take care of… | Very natural for jobs. Je m’occupe des boissons. |
| Je me charge de + noun | I'll take charge of… | A little stronger. Je me charge du dessert. |
| Si tu veux, je + present | If you like, I… | Softens the offer. Si tu veux, je viens plus tôt. |
B · Suggesting that somebody else does it
| French | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Est-ce que tu peux + infinitive ? | Can you…? | The safe, polite question. |
| Tu pourrais + infinitive ? | Could you…? | One step more polite. |
| Je propose de + infinitive | I suggest… | For the group: Je propose de commencer à 14 heures. |
| On peut + infinitive | We can… | On peut demander à Paul. |
| Qu’est-ce que tu penses de + noun ? | What do you think of…? | Asks for their opinion. |
s’occuper de and se charger de are reflexive, so they need the little pronoun: je m’occupe, tu t’occupes, nous nous occupons. And both are followed by de + a noun, which contracts: de + le = du, de + les = des. So je m’occupe du dessert, je m’occupe des boissons.
Saying yes, saying no
Saying yes is one word. Saying no needs three parts, and this is where most marks are won or lost.
Saying yes
| French | English | When |
|---|---|---|
| D’accord ! | OK! | The shortest possible yes. |
| Avec plaisir ! | With pleasure! | Warm, for a friend. |
| Bien sûr ! | Of course! | Confident. |
| Oui, je veux bien. | Yes, I'd be glad to. | The most useful of all. Add the verb: je veux bien apporter le dessert. |
| Pas de problème. | No problem. | Casual, only with tu. |
| C’est une bonne idée. | That's a good idea. | Accepts the plan, not the job. |
| Compte sur moi. | Count on me. | Strong. Ends the question. |
D’accord ! tells the examiner you understood, but it does not show what you can write. Always add what you are taking on and one detail: D’accord ! Je m’occupe des boissons : j’achète le jus et l’eau. Two extra sentences, and suddenly a third of the message is written.
Saying no: always three parts
| Part | What you write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Soften it | Je suis désolé(e), mais… / Malheureusement,… / Par contre,… | Je suis désolé, mais… |
| 2. The refusal + the reason | je ne peux pas + infinitive + parce que + reason | …je ne peux pas décorer la salle, parce que je travaille jusqu’à 20 heures. |
| 3. The alternative | À la place, je peux + infinitive | À la place, je peux venir samedi matin. |
parce que je travaille · parce que je ne suis pas libre ce jour-là · parce que j’ai un rendez-vous · parce que je suis en voyage · parce que je n’ai pas de voiture. You are not judged on the reason. Pick one you can spell.
I'm sorry, but I can't pick Paul up at the station, because I don't have a car. Instead, I can set up the tables on Saturday morning.
Build the sentence
Pick a job and pick what you want to do with it. The finished French sentence appears underneath, ready to copy into your message. The bars show how much of the job you end up owning.
The ne…pas wraps the conjugated verb only, and the second verb stays in the infinitive: je ne peux pas apporter, never je ne peux apporter pas. Same in every sentence on this page.
The same job, four answers
| Your answer | The sentence |
|---|---|
| Say no | Je suis désolé, mais je ne peux pas décorer la salle, parce que je travaille. |
| Say no, offer something else | Je ne peux pas décorer la salle, mais je peux venir plus tôt samedi. |
| Say yes | Oui, je veux bien décorer la salle. |
| Take it on yourself | Je m’occupe de la décoration. |
The words you need
Two short lists. The jobs you may be asked to do, and the words that join your sentences together.
The jobs that come up
| French | English |
|---|---|
| apporter le dessert / les gâteaux | to bring the dessert / the cakes |
| acheter les boissons / le pain | to buy the drinks / the bread |
| réserver la salle / le restaurant | to book the room / the restaurant |
| préparer les tables / le repas | to set up the tables / prepare the meal |
| décorer la salle | to decorate the room |
| ranger / nettoyer après la fête | to tidy up / clean after the party |
| prévenir les voisins | to let the neighbours know |
| envoyer les invitations | to send the invitations |
| chercher quelqu’un à la gare | to pick somebody up at the station |
| faire les courses | to do the shopping |
apporter is for a thing : j’apporte le gâteau. amener is for a person : j’amène mon frère. And to fetch somebody, French uses chercher : je vais chercher Paul à la gare, which means I'll pick Paul up, not I look for Paul.
The words that join your sentences
| French | English | Use it to |
|---|---|---|
| et | and | add a second job |
| aussi | also | add something extra: je peux aussi apporter des verres |
| mais | but | turn towards the refusal |
| par contre | however | start the refusal sentence, the most useful of the six |
| parce que | because | give the reason |
| à la place | instead | introduce the alternative |
English says I am in charge of the drinks. The word-for-word French, je suis en charge des boissons, is listed by the Office québécois de la langue française as an anglicism to avoid, and so is prendre charge de.
Use one of these instead : je m’occupe de, je me charge de, je suis responsable de, je suis chargé de. Note that prendre en charge, with en, is correct French : je prends en charge la décoration.
The template to copy
Keep the blue phrases exactly as they are and replace every [gold slot] with the details from your prompt. Six short lines, about 90 words.
Salut [name], Merci pour ton message. Je suis content[e] de participer à [the event]. Je veux bien [job 1]. Je m’occupe de [the thing] : [one detail]. Par contre, je ne peux pas [job 2], parce que [reason]. Je suis désolé[e]. À la place, je peux [job 3]. Est-ce que ça te va ? Dis-moi si tu as besoin d’autre chose. À bientôt ! [your first name]
Only four things change. Salut → Bonjour Madame / Monsieur. ton message → votre message. ça te va → cela vous convient. À bientôt ! → Cordialement,. The middle of the message does not move at all, because it is all about je.
Merci pour ton message. Je suis content de participer à la fête de samedi.
Je veux bien m’occuper des boissons : j’achète le jus et l’eau. Je peux aussi apporter des verres.
Par contre, je ne peux pas décorer la salle vendredi soir, parce que je travaille jusqu’à 20 heures. Je suis désolé.
À la place, je peux venir samedi à 14 heures pour préparer les tables.
Est-ce que ça te va ? Dis-moi si tu as besoin d’autre chose.
À samedi !
Marc
Greeting, thanks, one job accepted with a detail, one job refused with a reason and an apology, one alternative proposed, one question, one closing. Seven moves, 92 words, and every one of them is a sentence you can build with pouvoir, vouloir and s’occuper de.
Your turn to write
Fill in the table first, then write your message below. The word counter follows you live and your work saves itself on this device.
Votre ami / amie organise un déménagement samedi prochain et vous envoie la liste des tâches : transporter les cartons, louer la camionnette, préparer le repas, nettoyer l’appartement. Répondez-lui (60 à 120 mots) : acceptez une tâche, refusez-en une autre en expliquant pourquoi, et proposez une solution.
Your friend is organising a move next Saturday and sends you the list of jobs: carry the boxes, rent the van, prepare the meal, clean the flat. Reply (60–120 words): accept one job, refuse another and explain why, and propose a solution.
1. Prepare your information
| Who you write to | |
| The event | |
| The job I accept | |
| One detail about it | |
| The job I refuse | |
| My reason | |
| What I propose instead | |
| My question at the end |
2. Write your message
Checklist before you submit
Tick each point. When everything is green, your message covers the whole prompt.
Three formulas to memorise
These three sentences answer the whole task. Write them with the words from your prompt, add a greeting and a closing, and you already have a complete, correct message of about 60 words. Everything else on this page is there to make it better, not to make it possible.