Character and personality
Caractère et personnalité
- Learn to describe the character of people.
- Talk about personalities.
- The superlatives: "Le plus, Le moins," etc...
This lesson covers describing character and personality traits in French at the A1 level. It focuses on using positive and negative adjectives, learning superlatives like "le plus" and "le moins", and practicing relevant verb conjugations to talk about people naturally.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (16) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Sort the words according to whether they describe positive or negative personality traits, to better understand character.
Traits de personnalité positifs
Traits de personnalité négatifs
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Menteur
Liar
2
Dynamique
Dynamic
3
Méchant
Mean
4
Connaître
To know
5
Généreux
Generous
Exercice 5: Conversation exercise
Instruction:
- Describe and compare the people. (Describe and compare the people. )
- Describe your own character. (Describe your own character.)
- Describe your family members and friends. (Describe your family members and friends.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
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Juliette et Lukas forment un couple affectueux. Juliette and Lukas are an affectionate couple. |
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Raúl est la personne la plus renfermée. Il est introverti. Raúl is the most closed person. He is introverted. |
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Caitlin n'est pas sportive ; elle est la personne la moins active. Caitlin is not sporty; she is the least active person. |
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Il est la personne la plus paresseuse. He is the most lazy person. |
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Je semble paresseux mais je suis actif. I seem lazy but I am active. |
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Je peux être timide si je ne connais pas les gens. I can be shy if I do not know the people. |
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Il n'est pas honnête. He is not honest. |
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Elle est très amicale mais pas très intelligente. She is very friendly but not very smart. |
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Ce sont des étudiants intelligents. They are intelligent students. |
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Ils sont plutôt bêtes, mais nous ne le leur dirons pas. They are rather dumb, but we will not tell them. |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Je ____ bien mon collègue parce qu'il est très dynamique.
(I ____ my colleague well because he is very dynamic.)2. Elle ____ toujours courageuse même dans les moments difficiles.
(She ____ always brave even in difficult moments.)3. Nous ____ les nouvelles collègues qui sont très gentilles.
(We ____ the new colleagues who are very kind.)4. Tu ____ parfois un peu stressé, mais tu es très courageux.
(You ____ sometimes a bit stressed, but you are very brave.)Exercise 8: Describe the personality of a new colleague
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Connaître - Know
Présent
- je connais
- tu connais
- il/elle/on connaît
- nous connaissons
- vous connaissez
- ils/elles connaissent
Paraître - Seem
Présent
- je parais
- tu parais
- il/elle/on paraît
- nous paraissons
- vous paraissez
- ils/elles paraissent
Exercise 9: Les superlatifs: "Le plus, Le moins,etc..."
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The superlatives: "Le plus, Le moins," etc...
Show translation Show answersles moins, la moins, le plus, le moins, la plus
Grammar Share Copied!
It's not the most exciting thing, we admit, but it’s absolutely essential (and we promise it'll pay off)!
A1.28.2 Grammaire
Les superlatifs: "Le plus, Le moins,etc..."
The superlatives: "Le plus, Le moins," etc...
Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
Connaître to know Share Copied!
present
| French | English |
|---|---|
| (je/j') je connais | I know |
| tu connais | you know |
| (il/elle/on) il connaît / elle connaît / on connaît | he knows / she knows / one knows |
| nous connaissons | we know |
| vous connaissez | You know |
| (ils/elles) ils connaissent / elles connaissent | they know |
Paraître to appear Share Copied!
present
| French | English |
|---|---|
| (je/j') je parais/j'apparais | I appear |
| tu parais | you appear |
| (il/elle/on) il paraît | he appears |
| nous paraissons | we appear |
| vous paraissez | You appear |
| (ils/elles) ils paraissent | they appear |
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Understanding Character and Personality in French
This lesson introduces you to describing character and personality traits in French using common adjectives and superlatives. You will learn positive and negative personality descriptors like gentil (kind), courageux (brave), and paresseux (lazy), and how to classify them effectively.
Using Superlatives to Describe People
One key focus is on superlatives such as le plus (the most) and le moins (the least). These help you compare people within a group. For example, expressions like "Marie est la plus gentille de toutes mes collègues" (Marie is the kindest of all my colleagues) demonstrate typical usage. You will practice building similar sentences, enhancing your descriptive abilities.
Practical Dialogue Examples
Through realistic dialogues set in offices, cafés, and parks, you will practice how to talk about colleagues and friends' personalities naturally. For instance, "Elle est la plus gentille de l'équipe" (She is the kindest on the team) and "Il est le moins serviable" (He is the least helpful) help you understand conversational phrasing.
Verb Conjugations and Sentence Building
This lesson also reviews present tense conjugations of important verbs like connaître (to know) and paraître (to seem), essential for describing people. Exercises include filling gaps in sentences such as "Je connais bien mon collègue parce qu'il est très dynamique."
Cultural and Linguistic Notes
Note that French superlatives require agreement in gender and number with the subject, differing from English where "most" or "least" are invariable. Also, some adjectives change form (e.g., gentil to gentille) to match feminine nouns, an important aspect to remember.
Key Vocabulary Highlights
- Positive Traits: gentil (kind), généreux (generous), courageux (brave), intelligent (intelligent), dynamique (energetic)
- Negative Traits: paresseux (lazy), menteur (liar), méchant (mean)
Use this lesson to confidently describe personalities in French and improve your conversational skills with accurate use of superlatives and relevant vocabulary.
Instruction vs. French Notes
In English, superlatives use "most" or "least" without gender or number change, whereas French requires agreement in gender and plurality of adjectives. For example, "the nicest colleague" translates to "la plus gentille collègue" (feminine singular) or "les plus gentils collègues" (masculine plural). Also, verbs like connaître and paraître are irregular and need practice to conjugate correctly in the present tense.
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