Translation into English
Learn Translation into English for GCSE French with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style practice with worked answers for AQA GCSE French (8652). Paper 3 Reading includes translating a short passage from French into English.
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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA specification. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.
Topic overview
Translation into English rewards accuracy over elegance, and the marks are awarded for conveying every element of the French.
Read the whole sentence before starting. Identify the verb and its tense first, since that anchors everything else. Then work out who is doing the action and what is being done to whom.
The trap is translating word by word. French structures often need restructuring: j'ai quinze ans becomes I am fifteen, not I have fifteen years. Il y a becomes there is. Depuis with a present tense becomes an English perfect. Every element must appear in the English, but the English must read naturally, so the two requirements have to be balanced.
Revision notes
The method
Read the whole sentence first. Identify the verb and its tense before anything else.
Then establish who is doing the action and what is being acted upon. Only then begin writing, so the structure is decided before the words are committed.
Structures needing restructuring
J'ai quinze ans becomes I am fifteen, not I have fifteen years.
Il y a becomes there is. Depuis with a present becomes an English perfect: j'habite ici depuis cinq ans becomes I have lived here for five years.
Balancing accuracy and fluency
Every element of the French must appear in the English.
But the English must read naturally. A version that omits a word loses a mark; so does one that is word-for-word and unreadable. Convey everything, in natural English.
Key points
- Identify the verb and its tense first.
- Read the whole sentence before writing.
- Do not translate word by word.
- J'ai quinze ans means I am fifteen.
- Depuis with a present becomes an English perfect.
- Every element must appear in the English.
Worked examples
Example 1
Translate into English: J'ai quinze ans. [2 marks]
Working
Example 2
Translate into English: J'habite ici depuis cinq ans. [2 marks]
Working
Example 3
State two things to identify before starting a translation. [2 marks]
Working
Common mistakes
Translating word by word.
Several French structures need restructuring in English.
Omitting a small word.
Every element must appear, including articles and negatives.
Writing unnatural English.
It must read as English, not as decoded French.
Missing the tense.
Identify it before writing anything.
Exam tips
- Identify the verb and tense first.
- Restructure known patterns rather than translating literally.
- Check every French element appears.
- Read your English back for naturalness.
Key terms
- Translation
- Conveying meaning accurately from one language to another.
- Restructuring
- Changing the structure to produce natural English.
- Tense
- The verb form, which must be identified first.
- Literal translation
- Word-for-word rendering, usually wrong.
Related topics
Written and reviewed against the current AQA specification. Spotted an error? Let us know.