📖LearnModule 12 · Lesson 15 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, completedUnit 3 · La phrase soignée
Ponctuer une longue phrase
Module 12 of the free French course (CEFR C1, completed), lesson 15 of 30: French punctuation does real grammatical work. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's lesson 15.
The words
French
English
Say it
le point-virgule
the semicolon
luh pwa(n) veer-GEWL
les deux-pointsplural
the colon
lay duh-PWA(n)
annoncer ce qui suit
to announce what follows
ah-noh(n)-say suh kee SWEE
la citation
the quotation
lah see-tah-SYOH(n)
l'espace avantfeminine — the article elides to l'
the space before
lehs-pahs ah-VAH(n)
la ponctuation
punctuation
lah poh(n)k-tew-ah-SYOH(n)
traduit
translated
trah-DWEE
typographique
typographical
tee-poh-grah-FEEK
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La règle · The rule
French punctuation does real grammatical work. The point-virgule joins two full sentences that belong together; the deux-points announces what follows — an explanation, a list, a quotation.
Et aussi · And also
One typographical habit to adopt: French puts a space before the semicolon, the colon, the question mark and the exclamation mark. It looks odd until it does not, and its absence marks a text as translated.
Attention · Watch out
French puts a space before ; : ? and !. The point-virgule joins two full sentences; the deux-points announces what follows. Neither is a comma.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the French spelling alone — begin with le point-virgule.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the French.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 15 in Module 12 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The French Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.