Learn each place noun with its article
Describing a town needs the buildings/services set, each learned WITH its article so gender is fixed. Feminine: la mairie, la banque, la bibliothèque, la gare, la piscine. Masculine (watch the -é): le supermarché, le musée, le marché. Elided: l'hôpital (m), l'église (f). Urban vs rural: une ville, un village, la banlieue, la campagne — all feminine except un village.
Location prepositions + compass points
To say where a place is, use location prepositions: à côté de (next to), en face de (opposite), près de (near), loin de (far from), entre (between). Remember de+le→du, de+les→des: en face du cinéma, près des magasins. Compass points use au/à l' + de: au nord de, au sud de, à l'est de, à l'ouest de. Where you live: habiter à + town (j'habite à Lyon), habiter dans + place (dans un petit village), se trouver, il y a.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Do not guess a place noun's gender
Examiner reports flag basic-noun gender insecurity, and buildings vocabulary is where it bites: -e nouns are often feminine (la mairie, la banque, la bibliothèque), but common -é nouns are masculine (le musée, le supermarché). Writing la musée is an accuracy error even when understood. Always learn the article WITH the noun, never the noun alone.
Digest, Gender errors (nouns): basic-noun gender insecurity flagged repeatedly (wrong article-noun pairing, missing accent), all four sittings (s22/w22/s23/w23).
Agree and place the adjective
Adjectives describing a town must agree in gender and number: une grande ville (NOT un grand ville), des rues étroites. So many place nouns are feminine (ville, banlieue, rue) that defaulting to masculine gives a visible error. Most adjectives follow the noun (une ville animée), but BAGS adjectives (beauty, age, goodness, size) precede it (une jolie ville).
Digest, Adjective agreement + placement: named in the Writing Accuracy checklist every sitting; candidates who knew a noun's feminine gender still lapsed into masculine agreement (w22 42 Q3(a)).
Contract de + le → du, de + les → des
Location phrases with de (en face de, près de, à côté de) must contract when the next article is le or les: en face du cinéma (NOT de le cinéma), près des magasins. Only la and l' stay: en face de la gare, près de l'école. The same affects à: au zoo (NOT à le zoo), au marché — a slip named in Writing Accuracy notes.
Digest, Prepositions and other precision traps: insecure preposition use — *à le zoo* (should be *au zoo*) — named in Writing Accuracy notes (s22 41).
librairie ≠ library
la librairie is a false friend: it means bookshop, not library. The library is la bibliothèque. A candidate who writes je vais à la librairie meaning "I go to the library" has actually said "I go to the bookshop" — a real French word with a different meaning, so the error is not forgiven. Learn the pair together: librairie = bookshop, bibliothèque = library.
marché (market) ≠ marcher (to walk)
le marché (the market, a noun) is confused with marcher (to walk, a verb) — they look and sound alike. Candidates who hear or read au marché sometimes answer about walking instead of the market itself, giving an irrelevant answer. Keep them apart: je vais au marché (I go to the market) vs j'aime marcher (I like walking).
Digest, False friends: *marché* (market) confused with *marcher* (to walk), irrelevant answers (s23 Speaking Topic 4; Reading 22 Q3(e)).
-e ending is not always feminine
A widespread misconception is that -e nouns are reliably feminine. In fact -é is a strong MASCULINE pattern (le musée, le supermarché, le café); plain -e is only a weak feminine tendency (le village is masculine). The same error gives la centre-ville or la parc (both le). Learn article + noun together, never infer gender from the ending.
Add a tense to widen Range
A present-tense-only description caps the Range mark. If the task allows, add what there used to be (imperfect: il y avait moins de magasins) or what will be built (near future: on va construire...). One extra tense lifts Range.
A checklist for describing a town
Describe a town from a checklist: (1) where it is (se trouve au sud de Paris); (2) what type (une grande ville, un petit village); (3) 2-3 buildings with the right article; (4) one agreeing, well-placed adjective per noun; (5) an opinion with a reason beyond parce que.
Re-read for gender, article, contraction
Before finishing, re-read once for four accuracy items: each noun's article (le/la/l'), each adjective's agreement (gender + number) and placement, each de/à contraction (du/des/au/aux), and elision. These are the easiest marks to lose and to protect.
This topic covers the vocabulary and structures for describing where you live: the town or village itself, the buildings and services it has, its location relative to other places, and your opinion of it.
Types of place:
| French | English | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| une ville | a town/city | f |
| un village | a village | m |
| la banlieue | the suburbs | f |
| la campagne | the countryside | f |
| le quartier | the (city) district/neighbourhood | m |
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