Ask well-formed questions to get the facts you need (times, prices, conditions…). You get preparation time before you speak.
Question models
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The task is graded on your questions
Tâche 2 hands you an everyday situation, such as enrolling on a course, renting a flat, booking a trip or joining a club, and the examiner plays the person who has the information. You have about two minutes to prepare and then three and a half minutes to get what you need.
The important shift is that you are not being asked to describe the situation. You are being asked to obtain information, so almost every sentence you produce should be a question. Candidates who narrate instead of asking lose the first criterion even when their French is good.
Use the preparation time for a list, not a script
Write six keywords: price, timetable, location, conditions, documents, next step. That is your question order.
Open the exchange
Bonjour, je vous appelle au sujet de… J’aurais quelques questions. One sentence sets the scene and buys you the floor.
Ask, listen, react, ask
A short acknowledgement between questions is what makes it an interaction rather than a questionnaire.
Vary the form
Mix est-ce que, question words and one or two polite conditionals. Repeating one pattern eight times flattens your score for range.
Close properly
Je vous remercie beaucoup, c’est très clair. Bonne journée !
Six question shapes to have ready
Facts
- Combien coûte l’inscription ?
- À quelle heure commencent les cours ?
- Où se trouve exactement le bâtiment ?
Conditions
- Est-ce qu’il faut apporter un document ?
- Est-il possible de payer en plusieurs fois ?
- Qu’est-ce qui est compris dans le tarif ?
Polite and indirect
- Pourriez-vous me préciser… ?
- Je voudrais savoir si…
- Auriez-vous une brochure à m’envoyer ?
Checklist for the interaction
- Six to eight questions, at least three different forms among them.
- An opening sentence that names the reason for the call or the visit.
- A short reaction after each answer.
- One request for repetition or clarification if anything is unclear.
- Vous throughout, unless the scenario is explicitly with a friend.
- A thank you and a closing formula before the time runs out.
All three question forms, with word order and the difference between qu’est-ce que and qu’est-ce qui, are set out in asking questions in the grammar guide. The polite conditionals come from the same family as the forms in the future section. Next, tâche 3 asks you to hold the floor alone.
Questions people ask
How many questions should I ask?
Six to eight well-formed ones over the three and a half minutes. Fewer and the examiner has little to grade, many more and they become a list with no conversation. Ask, listen to the answer, react briefly, then ask the next.
Which question form should I use?
Est-ce que is safe everywhere and never wrong. Inversion sounds more formal and raises your level when it is correct. Rising intonation alone is very informal, so keep it for a friendly scenario only.
Do I have to react to the answers?
Yes, briefly. D’accord, très bien, ah, c’est parfait cost half a second each and turn an interrogation into an interaction, which is the name of the task.