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French grammar B2: upper intermediate

The complete guide from A1 to C1: the rules, examples to listen to, the usual mistakes.

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At B2, you use French to argue, weigh up a situation, imagine what might have been and report long exchanges. The verb system is completed by three compound tenses.

By the end of level B2, you will be able to:

  • say what will be over before a point in the future, with the futur antérieur (future perfect);
  • imagine what might have been and express regret, with the conditionnel passé (would have);
  • talk about a completed action after a verb or expression that takes the subjunctive, with the subjonctif passé;
  • use the subjunctive after many new expressions and conjunctions;
  • recognise the ne that is not a negation after a verb of fearing or some conjunctions;
  • report a long exchange in the past, with its shift of tenses and time words;
  • recognise the passé simple (past historic), the past tense of novels, when you read;
  • have something done by someone, with the causative faire + infinitive;
  • leave out the doer with the pronominal passive, and use nouns in place of verbs;
  • link your ideas with words of cause, result, purpose, opposition and concession.

What you already know

  • The two object pronouns together, the compound relatives and emphasis are completed here.
  • The passive, known from B1, is completed here in every tense.
  • The participles are completed with the participe composé and the exceptional cases of past participle agreement.

  1. The present: new verbs

    Most verbs added at B2 are conjugated like a known verb, and a few have stems of their own.

  2. The compound tenses

    In this part, you will learn to say what will be done by a deadline and what would have happened.

  3. Telling a story: the past tenses and the passé simple

    In this part, you will learn to choose the tense of each action in a longer story in the past.

  4. The conditionnel passé and conditions about the past

    In this part, you will learn to talk about what would have happened.

  5. The subjunctive extended

    In this part, you will learn to use the subjunctive after new expressions and conjunctions, and for a completed action.

  6. Participles and the agreement of the past participle

    In this part, you will learn to link two actions in one sentence.

  7. The passive and other ways to leave out the doer

    In this part, you will learn to talk about an action without naming who does it.

  8. Reported speech in the past

    In this part, you will learn to report what someone said or asked at a moment in the past.

  9. Pronouns, relatives and emphasis

    In this part, you will learn to place two pronouns after a command and relative pronouns after a preposition.

  10. Questions, indefinites and negation

    In this part, you will learn to ask “which one”, to say “any … at all”, and to say “nobody” and “nowhere” in careful French.

  11. Linking words: cause, result, purpose, opposition, concession

    In this part, you will learn to link ideas in written and formal French: cause, result, purpose, opposition and concession.

  12. Comparison and manner

    In this part, you will learn to say how big a difference is and how something is done.

  13. Verbs whose preposition changes the meaning

    In this part, you will learn about verbs whose meaning changes with the preposition that follows them.

  14. Register: familiar, standard and formal French

    In this part, you will learn to recognise familiar French and to speak and write standard and formal French.

  15. The verb forms of B2 side by side

    In this part, you will learn to tell all the verb forms apart and to choose each by its meaning.

Contents · French grammar