Goals
What you'll be able to do- 📝 Fill in a registration form
- 🎓 Introduce yourself in a university setting
- ❓ Use the interrogative adjective quel / quelle
- 🗣️ Master the 3 levels of question forms (casual · standard · formal)
- 📅 Give your date and place of birth
- 🎵 Tell the 3 question types apart by ear
👋 Welcome to A2! You've finished A1 — congratulations!
At the A2 level, you'll:
- 📚 Go deeper into structures (questions, negation, relative clauses…)
- 📖 Read longer texts (articles, blogs, letters)
- ✍️ Write emails, short narratives, opinion pieces
- 🗣️ Speak with more nuance — express cause, consequence, opinion
🎯 Your A2 finish line: being comfortable in everyday life in France and ready for your DELF A2!
Discover
Dialogues📍 Setting: Li Xinyi (Lily), a 22-year-old Chinese student from Beijing, has just finished her A1 in Strasbourg. She is now enrolling in a master's programme at the Université de Nantes. She is filing her paperwork at the registration office.
Registration form · Academic year 2025-2026
- Last name
- LI
- First name
- Xinyi ("Lily")
- Date of birth
- 14 / 03 / 2003
- Place of birth
- Beijing, China
- Nationality
- chinoise
- Level of study
- Master 1 — Lettres modernes
- Address in France
- 12, rue Crébillon · 44000 Nantes
- Student ID
- 22025104
Dialogue 1 · At the registration desk
At the International Office counter, Madame Pasquier welcomes Lily.
Hello. Do you have an appointment?
Yes, my name is Li Xinyi. I have a 10 a.m. appointment to register for the master's.
Very well. Have a seat. I'm going to ask you a few questions. What's your nationality?
I'm Chinese. I'm from Beijing.
What's your passport number?
Here's my passport, and my student visa.
Perfect. What's your date of birth?
14 March 2003. I'm 22.
And what's your previous academic background?
I got my bachelor's in Beijing last June, in French literature. Then I did a year of French in Strasbourg to certify my B1 level.
Excellent! And which programme would you like to register for?
First-year master's in Modern Literature, "Comparative Literature" track.
Very well. Here's your student ID. Welcome to Nantes!
Thank you very much.
Dialogue 2 · Bumping into someone in the hallway
As she leaves the office, Lily runs into Lucas, a French student also in literature.
Hi! Are you new?
Yes! I'm from China, I'm registering for a literature master's.
Cool! I'm in literature too! Which track are you doing?
Comparative Literature. You?
Same here! Awesome, we'll see each other in class then. Where do you live?
Rue Crébillon, near the château.
Oh, great location! Here's my number. What's your WhatsApp? That way we can stay in touch about classes.
Sure! (She writes down her number.)
Perfect! See you very soon, Lily. Hope you settle in well in Nantes!
💡 Notes
- Université de Nantes — a major French public university founded in 1962, in western France (Pays de la Loire). Over 38,000 students.
- "Quel est votre… ?" — the polite phrasing used in any administrative setting. Much more formal than "C'est quoi votre… ?"
- Licence + master + doctorat = the French LMD (Bachelor's-Master's-Doctorate) system. 3 + 2 + 3 years. Roughly maps to BA / MA / PhD — but a French licence is 3 years, not 4 like a typical US bachelor's.
- "Tu fais quel parcours ?" — casual spoken word order, a contraction of "Quel parcours fais-tu ?". In writing, prefer the inverted version.
- "Bonne installation !" = a wish for someone who's just arrived somewhere new — roughly "hope you settle in well!". No exact one-word English equivalent.
Vocabulary
Words to remember| French | Type | English |
|---|---|---|
| une université | n.f. | university |
| l'année universitaire | n.f. | academic year |
| une fiche (d'inscription) | n.f. | (registration) form |
| une inscription | n.f. | registration, enrolment |
| s'inscrire (à / en) | refl. v. | to register, to enrol (in) |
| la licence | n.f. | bachelor's degree (3 yrs in France) |
| le master | n.m. | master's degree |
| le doctorat | n.m. | PhD, doctorate |
| une filière | n.f. | programme, study path |
| un parcours | n.m. | track; (life) path |
| les lettres modernes | n.f.pl. | modern literature (academic field) |
| la littérature comparée | n.f. | comparative literature |
| la nationalité | n.f. | nationality |
| un passeport | n.m. | passport |
| un visa | n.m. | visa |
| un visa étudiant | n.m. | student visa |
| une date de naissance | n.f. | date of birth |
| le lieu de naissance | n.m. | place of birth |
| obtenir (un diplôme) | v. | to obtain, to get (a degree) |
| valider (un niveau) | v. | to validate, to certify (a level) |
| précédent / précédente | adj. | previous, prior |
| poser une question | phrase | to ask a question |
| un guichet | n.m. | counter, service window |
| un service | n.m. | department, office; service |
| les relations internationales | n.f.pl. | international relations / international office |
| nouveau / nouvelle | adj. | new |
| une installation | n.f. | settling in; installation |
| contacter | v. | to contact |
Grammar
How French works① The interrogative adjective quel "which / what" + a noun
Quel is the interrogative adjective. Like any French adjective, it agrees in gender and number with the noun it relates to:
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | quel | quels |
| Feminine | quelle | quelles |
📌 Good news: all four forms are pronounced exactly the same — [kɛl]. The difference is only in writing.
3 main uses:
- Quel + être + noun:
Quelle est votre date de naissance ? "What's your date of birth?"
Quel est votre numéro de passeport ? - Quel + noun + verb:
Quelle filière choisissez-vous ? "Which programme are you choosing?"
Quels cours préférez-vous ? - Preposition + quel + noun:
Dans quelle filière voulez-vous vous inscrire ?
À quelle heure arrivez-vous ?
De quel pays venez-vous ?
② Asking questions — 3 registers Three ways to ask the same question
French gives you three ways to phrase a question, depending on register (casual, standard, formal). English does the same thing — "Where you at?" vs. "Where are you?" — but French makes the three layers more visible.
① Casual (spoken)
Spoken, with friends. Word order unchanged.
👉 Rising intonation ↗
Tu fais quel parcours ?
Vous habitez où ?
Tu t'appelles comment ?
② Standard
Spoken and written. The everyday default.
👉 Est-ce que…
Est-ce que vous avez rendez-vous ?
Quel parcours est-ce que tu fais ?
Où est-ce que vous habitez ?
③ Formal / written
Written, professional, administrative.
👉 Subject-verb inversion
Avez-vous rendez-vous ?
Quel parcours faites-vous ?
Où habitez-vous ?
⚠️ A note on inversion:
- With il / elle, insert a -t- between verb and pronoun for pronunciation:
Habite-t-il à Paris ? · A-t-elle 20 ans ? - Inversion is rare in everyday speech — it lives mostly in writing, formal contexts, and literary style.
- 🇬🇧 (casual) You live where? ≈ 🇫🇷 Tu habites où ?
- 🇬🇧 (standard) Where do you live? ≈ 🇫🇷 Où est-ce que tu habites ?
- 🇬🇧 (formal) Where do you reside? ≈ 🇫🇷 Où habites-tu ?
③ Question-word recap All the question words at a glance
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| qui | who (a person) | Qui est-ce ? |
| que / quoi | what (a thing) | Que faites-vous ? · C'est quoi ? |
| quel(s) / quelle(s) | which/what (+ noun) | Quelle filière ? |
| où | where | Vous habitez où ? |
| quand | when | Quand est-ce que tu pars ? |
| pourquoi | why | Pourquoi étudier le français ? |
| comment | how | Comment vous appelez-vous ? |
| combien (de) | how much / how many | Combien de cours par semaine ? |
How to say it
Useful chunks📝 Asking for administrative information
- Quel est votre nom de famille ? "What's your last name?"
- Quel est votre prénom ? "What's your first name?"
- Quelle est votre date / votre lieu de naissance ?
- Quelle est votre nationalité ?
- Quel est votre numéro de passeport / votre numéro étudiant ?
- Quels sont vos diplômes précédents ? "What previous degrees do you have?"
- Dans quelle filière voulez-vous vous inscrire ?
🎓 Introducing yourself at uni
- Je m'appelle…, j'ai 22 ans, je viens de Chine.
- J'ai obtenu ma licence en juin dernier, en littérature française.
- Je veux faire un master en lettres modernes.
- Je suis en master 1, parcours « Littérature comparée ».
- J'étudie le français depuis 4 ans.
👋 Meeting another student
- Salut ! Tu es nouveau / nouvelle ? "Hi! Are you new?"
- Tu fais quel parcours ?
- Tu habites où ?
- Quel est ton WhatsApp / WeChat ?
- On peut se contacter pour les cours ? "Can we keep in touch about classes?"
- Bonne installation ! "Hope you settle in well!"
Practice
Try it outExercise 1 · Quel / Quelle / Quels / Quelles?
Pick the right form.
- est votre adresse ? (une adresse — fem. sg.)
- est votre numéro de passeport ?
- sont vos diplômes ?
- sont vos langues étrangères ?
- Dans filière vous inscrivez-vous ?
- À heure commencent les cours ?
- âge avez-vous ?
- De pays venez-vous ?
Exercise 2 · Just a question!
Fill in with the right question word (qui, quel, où, quand, comment, combien, pourquoi).
- tu t'appelles ? (name)
- âge as-tu ? (age)
- viens-tu ? (country)
- habites-tu ? (address)
- est-ce que tu apprends le français ? (reason)
- langues parles-tu ?
- est-ce que tu rentres chez toi ?
- est ton meilleur ami ?
Exercise 3 · The 3 question registers
Rewrite each casual question in the other two registers.
Model: Tu habites où ? (casual) → Où est-ce que tu habites ? (standard) → Où habites-tu ? (formal)
- Casual: Tu fais quel parcours ?
Standard: ?
Formal: ? - Casual: Tu pars quand en Chine ?
Standard: ?
Formal: ? - Casual: Vous travaillez où ?
Standard: ?
Formal: ?
Exercise 4 · The registration form
Listen to Dialogue 1 again. Fill in Lily's registration form.
- Last name + first name:
- Date of birth:
- Place of birth:
- Nationality:
- Previous degree:
- Programme chosen:
Exercise 5 · True or False?
Based on the two dialogues.
| Statement | True | False |
|---|---|---|
| Lily is 22. | ||
| She comes from Shanghai. | ||
| She did her A1 in Strasbourg. | ||
| She's enrolling in a PhD. | ||
| Lucas also studies literature. | ||
| Lily lives 20 minutes from the château. |
Exercise 6 · Your own form
Imagine you're enrolling in a French university. Fill in your own form.
- Last name:
- First name:
- Date of birth:
- Place of birth:
- Nationality:
- Level of study:
- Programme:
💡 Open-ended — no auto-correction.
Communicate
Real-world tasks🎭 Welcome to the university!
With a partner, role-play a registration officer and a new student. Ask and answer at least 8 questions using quel and the other question words.
Question ideas:
- Quelle est votre nationalité ?
- Quels diplômes avez-vous ?
- Combien de langues parlez-vous ?
- Quand est-ce que vous êtes arrivé(e) en France ?
- Pourquoi avez-vous choisi notre université ?
🤝 Meeting someone — small talk
You meet a French student in the university cafeteria. Introduce yourself, ask 5 questions, swap contacts. Use the 3 registers — but mostly the casual one (you're between students!).
Pronunciation
Hearing the question typesThe 3 question types — by ear Spotting register from intonation
In speech, what tells you it's a question is the intonation. Three typical patterns:
① Casual question (rising intonation)
Pitch rises ↗ at the end of the sentence, as if you'd left it unfinished.
- Tu t'appelles comment ↗ ?
- Vous habitez où ↗ ?
- Tu fais quel parcours ↗ ?
② Question with "est-ce que"
Intonation is flatter, almost like a statement, with a slight rise at the end.
- Est-ce que tu as faim ?
- Quel parcours est-ce que tu fais ?
- Comment est-ce que vous vous appelez ?
👂 Listen and identify the register:
- Vous avez quel âge ? →
- Quel âge avez-vous ? →
- Quel âge est-ce que vous avez ? →
💬 Anglophone tip: in English, "do"/"does"/"did" + word order does most of the heavy lifting. In French, the entire melody of the sentence carries the question. Exaggerate the rise at the end, especially in casual register:
- 🇬🇧 What's your name? — slight rise on the last word.
- 🇫🇷 Tu t'appelles comment ↗ ? — much sharper rise; the whole question hinges on it.