Postcards
There are 30 marks for the postcard at Higher Level and 20 at Ordinary Level, all equally divided between language and communication.
All three points have to be dealt with and remember to sign your postcard (the same applies to the Note) or else you will lose one mark!
You are expected to put a date for postcards (not for Notes)
The instructions in most postcards will require a good knowledge of the three main tenses (present, past and future), so make sure you recognise them and know to use them.
Students can also expand the postcard by re-using the vocabulary they’ve learnt for the informal letter (especially for the activities, the weather), but remember that postcards only include three tasks, so get to the point.
Greetings
- Salut de Paris. Hi from Paris.
- Bonjour à tous. Hello everyone
- Cher/Chère… Dear…
- Salutations de Chamonix où je passe des vacances d’hiver. Greetings from Chamonix where I spend winter holidays.
Where you are and who with / Où vous êtes et avec qui.
- Me voici dans une colonie de vacances dans le sud de l’Irlande. Here I am in a holiday camp in the south of Ireland.
- Me voici au Portugal avec mon ami et sa famille. Here I am in Portugal with my friend and his family.
- Nous voici dans le Connemara pour une/deux semaine(s). Here we are in Connemara.
- Nous sommes ici en voyage scolaire/en échange avec ma classe et mon prof de français. We are here on a school trip/in an exchange with my class and my teacher of French.
The journey / le voyage
- Le voyage s’est bien passé, je n’ai pas été malade du tout. The journey went all right, I have not been sick at all.
- Je suis arrivé(e) à Strasbourg sain et sauf. I arrived in Strasbourg safe and sound.
- J’ai fait un bon voyage en avion/en train/en bus/en bateau. My trip by plane/train/coach/boat was ok.
- J’ai été malade pendant toute la traversée du voyage. I was sick during the whole journey.
- La traversée en ferry n’a pas été agréable. The ferry crossing was not pleasant.
- Mais maintenant je vais mieux. But now I feel better.
- Je me suis remis(e) du voyage. I recovered from the journey.
Describing the place and how you like it / décrire l’endroit
- La région est très pittoresque. The area is very picturesque.
- Paris est vraiment une très belle ville. Paris is a really nice town.
- La vue/la plage/le paysage est vraiment superbe. The view/the beach/the scenery is really superb.
- Je passe une semaine agréable. I am having a wonderful week.
- La famille irlandaise/française est très accueillante et généreuse. The Irish/French family is very welcoming and generous.
- Les montagnes sont couvertes de neige, c’est magnifique. The mountains are covered with snow, it’s beautiful.
- Il y a plein de touristes dans la ville; c’est génial. There are lots of tourists in the town; it’s brilliant.
The accommodation / le logement
- Nous restons dans un hôtel trois étoiles. We are staying in a three star hotel.
- Nous sommes dans un grand hôtel de luxe. We are in a big luxurious hotel.
- Nous logeons dans un appartement/un mobile home. We’re staying in an apartment/a mobile home.
- L’hôtel se trouve à deux minutes de la plage. We are two minutes away from the beach.
- L’emplacement est tout près de la piscine. The site is right beside the pool.
- le camping est très bien équipé. The camp site is very well equipped.
- Les installations sont très modernes. The facilities are very modern.
- Il y a même une piscine. There is even a swimming pool.
The weather / le temps
- Il ne fait que de pleuvoir depuis que je suis arrivé(e). It hasn’t stopped raining ever since I arrived.
- Hier il a plu. Aujourd’hui il fait beau. Yesterday it rained. Today the weather is fine.
- Il pleut à verse tous les jours. It is pouring down every day.
- Il fait beau et il n’y a pas de nuages du tout. It is fine and there isn’t any cloud at all.
- Le temps me plait beaucoup. Chaque jour est très ensoleillé. I like the weather a lot. It is very sunny every day.
- Le soleil brille chaque jour. The sun shines each day.
- Quelquefois il fait très/trop chaud. Sometimes it is very/too hot.
- Parfois il fait un peu froid. Sometimes it is a bit cold.
- Il fait mauvais! The weather is bad!
The food / la nourriture
- La cuisine ici est extra/excellente/dégoûtante. The food here is lovely/very good/disgusting.
- Ce qui ne me plait pas, c’est la nourriture. I don’t like the food.
- C’est trop épicé. It’s too spicy
- Trop de légumes, pas assez de viande! Too many vegetables, not enough meat!
- Comme je suis dans le sud de la France, je mange beaucoup de poisson. Since I am in the south of France, I eat a lot of fish.
- Hier j’ai goûté aux cuisses de grenouilles et je n’ai pas aimé! Yesterdai I tried frogs’ legs and I didn’t like it!
The activities / les activités
- On fait/je fais du sport tous les jours. We/I play sport every day.
- Je m’amuse bien. I enjoy myself a lot.
- Je me suis bien amusé(e). I enjoyed myself a lot.
- J’ai beaucoup nagé dans la mer. I swam a lot in the sea.
- Hier je suis allé(e) à une disco dans l’hôtel. Last night I went to a disco in the hotel.
- J’ai rencontré des jeunes d’Allemagne. Comme ça je peux pratiquer la langue. I met some young people from Germany. This way I can practice the language.
- Pendant la journée je vais à la plage et je bronze. During the day, I go to the beach and I sunbathe.
- La semaine dernière, nous avons fait une excursion près de la côte. Last week, we went on a tour near the coast.
- J’ai visité le Louvre et la Tour Eiffel. C’est grandiose! I visited the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. It’s huge!
- Je suis allé(e) voir un match de foot. J’ai adoré. I went to see a football match. I loved it.
- Nous sommes allés visiter les musées et les sites historiques de la ville. C’était très intéressant. We went to visit the museums and historical sites of the town. It was interesting.
- Demain nous ferons une randonnée en montagne. Tomorrow we’ll go walking in the mountains.
- J’ai loué un vélo. I rented a bike
- Je me suis acheté un beau collier/bracelet. I bought a nice necklace/bracelet for me
- Je t’ai acheté un t-shirt. J’espère que tu l’aimeras ! I bought you a t-shirt. I hope you’ll like it !
- J’ai acheté des cadeaux pour toute la famille. I bought presents for the whole family.
Common ways of ending postcards
- À bientôt. See you soon
- Meilleurs vœux. Best wishes
- Je te raconterai tout quand je te verrai. I will tell you all about it when I see you.
- Je t’écrirai quand je reviendrai. I will write to you when I return.
- C’est tout pour l’instant. That’s all for now.
- Amuse-toi bien à Nice ! Enjoy Nice!
- Je serai de retour la semaine prochaine/à la fin du mois. I’ll be back next week/at the end of the month.
- Dis bonjour de ma part à tes parents. Send my regards to your parents.
- Je t’embrasse. Love.
- Gros bisous. Kiss
- Amitiés. Regards.
Past exam papers (Higher level)
2009
You are on a school tour to Paris with your class. Write a postcard to your French penpal Camille. In your card tell her
- where you are and who you are with
- that you went to a museum yesterday
- that you will visit Fontainebleau on Tuesday.
2006
You are on holidays with your family in Spain. Write a postcard to your French penpal, Nicole. In your card tell her
- when you arrived and who you are with
- that the hotel is lovely and you are enjoying yourself
- that you will be going to the beach tomorrow.
2004
You are on holidays in Kerry with your family. Write a postcard to your French penpal, Marc. In your card tell him
- where you are and who you are with
- that you went to the Aquadome in Tralee
- that you will return home on Friday
2002
You are on holidays in Donegal with your family. Write a postcard to your French penpal, Didier. In your card tell him
- when you arrived and who is with you
- the weather is a bit cold
- you will be going to Derry tomorrow to do some shopping
1999
You are on holiday in Ireland with your family. Write a postcard, in French, to a French friend, Claude or Claudine and include the following:
- the weather is very good, and you are enjoying yourself;
- you are spending a lot of time on the beach with your friends;
- send your regards to his/her parents
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