1 Places in town
To begin with, you will test your knowledge and vocabulary of French public buildings and spaces.
Activity 1
Le commissariat, l’office de tourisme, l’hôtel de ville will all normally be found in large towns or cities. You will usually see la gendarmerie, le syndicat d’initiative and la mairie in smaller towns or villages, although this distinction is becoming less pronounced. La police nationale and la gendarmerie are both police forces, but they serve different government ministries and in theory have different areas of responsibility. In reality, the areas of competence of la police and la gendarmerie often overlap and there have been proposals to merge the two forces.
Watch out for faux amis (‘false friends’) in the names of French public buildings. A railway station is la gare, and a bus station is la gare routière, but an underground station is une station and a taxi rank is une station de taxi. A library is une bibliothèque, but une librairie is a bookshop.
Activity 2
Imagine you are walking around a French town and you hear some people asking questions and receiving answers. Listen to the recording and then complete the sentences that follow.
Transcript
Dialogue 1
Dialogue 2
Dialogue 3
Dialogue 4
Dialogue 5
Dialogue 6
a.
in the street
b.
in the office
c.
at the restaurant
d.
at the hospital
The correct answer is a.
a.
meeting and greeting
b.
buying goods
c.
asking for directions
d.
ordering food
The correct answer is c.
Now listen to the recording again and decide which of the following places people ask for directions for in each dialogue.
Transcript
Dialogue 1
Dialogue 2
Dialogue 3
Dialogue 4
Dialogue 5
Dialogue 6
a.
la cathédrale
b.
la gare
c.
l’office de tourisme
The correct answer is b.
a.
le stade
b.
l’hôpital
c.
le parc
The correct answer is c.
a.
l’hôpital
b.
la bibliothèque
c.
le musée
The correct answer is a.
a.
le théâtre
b.
la cathédrale
c.
le parc
The correct answer is b.
a.
la mairie
b.
la piscine
c.
la poste
The correct answer is c.
a.
la gare
b.
la mairie
c.
le cinéma
The correct answer is c.