French 1-2 Unit 2 study games — Family and Descriptions.
This unit covers family members, adjective agreement and être and avoir — essential concepts for French 1-2. Use our interactive study games to test your understanding, or review questions in traditional format below.
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This unit covers family members, adjective agreement and être and avoir — essential concepts for French 1-2. Use our interactive study games to test your understanding, or review questions in traditional format below.
Key Concepts Breakdown
1 Family Members
Students must know the French vocabulary for immediate and extended family members, including correct gender (masculine/feminine forms). Exams typically ask students to identify, label, or use family member nouns in sentences. Possessive adjectives (mon, ma, mes, etc.) are almost always tested alongside family vocabulary.
Key Points
- Masculine: le père, le frère, le fils, le grand-père, l'oncle, le cousin
- Feminine: la mère, la sœur, la fille, la grand-mère, la tante, la cousine
- Neutral/both: les parents (parents), les enfants (children)
- Possessive adjectives must agree with the noun, not the owner: mon frère, ma sœur, mes parents
Fill in the blank: C'est la ______ de ma mère. (sister) → C'est la sœur de ma mère.
The noun needed is 'sister,' which is la sœur in French. Because sœur is feminine, you use la, not le. Exams often test whether you know the correct gender of the noun and can place it correctly in a family relationship sentence.
2 Adjective Agreement
In French, adjectives must agree in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural) with the noun they describe. Students must know the four forms of common adjectives and the standard rules for forming feminine and plural. This is one of the most heavily tested grammar points in French 1-2 writing and fill-in sections.
Key Points
- Basic rule: add -e for feminine, -s for plural, -es for feminine plural (grand → grande → grands → grandes)
- Adjectives ending in -e already: same form for masculine and feminine (timide, mince, sympathique)
- Irregular adjectives must be memorized: beau/belle, vieux/vieille, nouveau/nouvelle
- Adjectives usually follow the noun in French; BAGS adjectives (Beauty, Age, Goodness, Size) come before
Rewrite with agreement: Mon frère est (intelligent). Ma sœur est (intelligent). Mes parents sont (intelligent).
For mon frère (masculine singular), write intelligent — no change. For ma sœur (feminine singular), add -e: intelligente. For mes parents (masculine plural), add -s: intelligents. Exams present this exact pattern to check that students apply all four forms correctly.
3 Être (To Be)
Être is an irregular verb that students must conjugate from memory for all six subject pronouns. It is used to describe identity, nationality, profession, physical traits, and personality — all core topics in the Family and Descriptions unit. Exams test conjugation in isolation and in context (completing sentences about people).
Key Points
- Conjugations: je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont
- Used with adjectives to describe people: Il est grand. Elle est timide.
- Used with nationalities and professions (no article): Elle est française. Il est médecin.
- Negative form: subject + n'est pas / ne sont pas + adjective
Conjugate être and add the correct adjective form: Mes cousines ______ (être) très (sportif).
The subject mes cousines is feminine plural, so être becomes sont. The adjective sportif must become feminine plural: sportives (sportif → sportive → sportives). The complete answer is: Mes cousines sont très sportives. This question tests both être conjugation and adjective agreement simultaneously, which is typical of exam writing prompts.
4 Avoir (To Have)
Avoir is an irregular verb used to express possession and to describe physical features such as eye color, hair color, and age. Students must conjugate it from memory and know which descriptions use avoir instead of être — a common exam trap. Age in French always uses avoir, never être.
Key Points
- Conjugations: j'ai, tu as, il/elle a, nous avons, vous avez, ils/elles ont
- Physical features use avoir: avoir les yeux bleus, avoir les cheveux bruns
- Age always uses avoir: J'ai seize ans. (NOT Je suis seize ans.)
- Negative form: subject + n'a pas / n'ont pas + de + noun
Correct the error: Ma grand-mère est soixante-cinq ans et elle est les cheveux gris.
Both verbs are wrong. Age requires avoir, so it should be: Ma grand-mère a soixante-cinq ans. Physical features like hair also require avoir: elle a les cheveux gris. Swapping être for avoir in age and physical description sentences is one of the most common mistakes exams specifically target.
Questions, answered.
What is Family and Descriptions?
Family and Descriptions is Unit 2 of French 1-2, covering family members, adjective agreement and être and avoir.
How to study for French 1-2 Unit 2?
Start with the Quick Summary above, review the Key Concepts, then test yourself with our interactive study games. Aim for 80%+ accuracy before moving on.
How many questions are in this unit?
This unit has 27+ review questions across 5 different game modes.