Character and personality
Caractère et personnalité
- Learn to describe the character of people.
- Talk about personalities.
- The superlatives: "Le plus, Le moins," etc...
Explore how to describe personality traits in French using positive words like gentil and courageux, along with superlatives such as le plus and le moins, to compare characters effectively.
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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Lesson Overview: Character and Personality
This lesson introduces fundamental vocabulary and expressions to describe character traits and personality in French. It focuses especially on using superlatives to compare people, highlighting how to express who is the most or least of a particular quality within a group.
Key Vocabulary: Positive and Negative Personality Traits
Understanding personality adjectives is essential to describe people effectively. Here are some important traits covered:
- Positive Traits: gentil (kind), généreux (generous), courageux (brave), intelligent (intelligent), dynamique (dynamic)
- Negative Traits: paresseux (lazy), menteur (liar), méchant (mean)
Using Superlatives in French
The lesson explains how to form superlatives with expressions like le plus (the most) and le moins (the least), enabling learners to compare personalities within contexts such as colleagues or friends:
- Mon frère est le plus gentil de la famille.
- Elle est la moins timide de ses amies.
- Le plus courageux de notre classe, c'est Paul.
- Marie est la plus drôle pendant les fêtes.
These structures are key to expressing comparisons uniquely in French.
Describing People in Context
The course includes practical dialogues to practice talking about personalities in everyday situations:
- At the office: Describing a colleague using superlatives.
- At a café: Talking about friends’ personalities.
- In a park: Discussing traits of people around you.
Verb Focus: Connaître and Paraître
Important verbs helping to talk about people are:
- Connaître (to know someone well) - je connais, tu connais, il connaît...
- Paraître (to seem, appear) - je parais, tu parais, il paraît...
Note on Language Differences
Unlike English, French uses definite articles (le, la, les) before superlatives, e.g., le plus gentil means "the kindest." Also, adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun described, such as la plus gentille (feminine).
Additionally, the verbs connaître (to know a person or place) and paraître (to appear or seem) are used frequently when talking about character. This contrasts with English, which often uses "to be" or "to seem." For example, Elle paraît courageuse translates to "She seems brave."
Useful Phrases
- Il est le plus intelligent que je connaisse. – He is the smartest I know.
- Elle est la moins bavarde. – She is the least talkative.
- Je connais bien mon collègue. – I know my colleague well.
- Tu parais un peu stressé. – You seem a little stressed.
This lesson equips you with essential tools to describe personalities naturally and compare people with confidence in French.
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