Describing a photo
A few sentences in French about what a photo shows (Foundation).
Learn
Describing a photo, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know how the photo task is set and marked
Question 1 of the Foundation writing paper asks for sentences in French about a photo: five for 10 marks with AQA, four for 8 with Edexcel, which marks this question for communication alone. AQA gives each sentence up to 2 marks: 2 if a relevant message is clearly communicated, 1 if it is relevant but a little ambiguous, and 0 if it is not relevant or cannot be understood. The whole sentence counts, so one clear sentence beats a long, muddled one.
Write about what you can see in the photo
Every sentence needs to be about the photo: who is there, where they are, what they are doing, what they are wearing and what the weather is like. Il y a une famille à la plage is relevant. A sentence about your own weekend is not, however good its French.
Use il y a and the present tense
The photo shows what is happening now, so write in the present. Il y a (there is, there are) starts many sentences: il y a deux garçons. Use est and sont for what something is like (le parc est grand) and the present for actions: ils jouent au football.
Say where people and things are
Position phrases make clear sentences easy: à gauche (on the left), à droite (on the right), au milieu (in the middle), devant (in front of), derrière (behind) and à côté de (next to). À droite, il y a un arbre is a complete, relevant sentence.
Describe people, clothes and the weather
Il porte un pull bleu means he is wearing a blue jumper, and elle a les cheveux longs means she has long hair. Il fait beau and il fait chaud cover the weather, and ils sont contents says how people feel. Make each adjective agree: une robe rouge, des chaussures noires.
Keep each sentence short, complete and accurate
Four or five sentences of five to eight words each is plenty. Every sentence needs a verb: un grand chien is not a sentence, but il y a un grand chien is. Check that each verb matches who is doing it: le garçon joue, les garçons jouent.
Describing a photo key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- il y a
- There is or there are: the most useful phrase for a photo, followed by a noun, as in il y a trois personnes.
- sur la photo
- In the photo: French says on the photo, so a description often begins sur la photo, il y a une famille.
- porter
- To wear: elle porte une jupe means she is wearing a skirt.
- à gauche and à droite
- On the left and on the right, for placing people and things in the photo.
- au milieu
- In the middle: au milieu, il y a une table means there is a table in the middle.
- Relevant
- About the photo. A sentence earns its marks only if it says something about what the photo shows.
- Agreement
- Making an adjective match its noun in gender and number: un sac noir, une veste noire, deux petits chiens.
- ils sont
- They are, for a group in the photo: ils sont au parc means they are at the park.
Common mistakes in Describing a photo
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Writing about yourself instead of the photo, such as what you did last weekend.
A sentence only earns its marks if it is relevant to the photo. Keep to who is there, where they are, what they are doing, what they are wearing and the weather.
Writing a phrase with no verb, such as une belle plage.
A sentence needs a verb to communicate clearly. Add il y a or c'est: il y a une belle plage.
Writing dans la photo for in the photo.
French says on the photo: sur la photo. For two photos, use sur la première photo and sur la deuxième photo.
Forgetting plural endings for more than one person, as in les enfants joue.
Check who is doing the action. Two or more people need a plural verb and plural adjectives: les enfants jouent, ils sont contents.
Writing long, ambitious sentences that lose their meaning.
Each sentence is marked on how clearly it communicates. Short, accurate sentences with words you know are the surest way to the marks.